CHURCHES AND DANCING

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1779, 6 July 1926, Page 6

CHURCHES AND DANCING

ANGLICAN VICAR APPROVES. A church that is big and broad must not only consider all sorts of people, but it must also consider them socially and intellectually as well as spiritually. This is the view taken by the Rev. F. E. C. Crotty, vicar of St. Luke’s Church of England, 'South Melbourne, of dancing in connection with church life.

It must be remembered (says tbs Argus) that not only do parishes diftcr greatly, but that their policies and the views of their clergy also differ Widely, so that a policy that be suitable to one parish would be entirely out of harmony with the outlook of the parishioners or the clergy, or both, in another.

It would probably be agreed by all that there was nothing inherenrly wrong in dancing itself, said Mr Crotty. At balls at Government House and similar functions it was not unusual for the highest dignitaries of the church to be present, even if they d,id not actually take part in the dancingThis fact would be a sufficient ground for arguing that dancing had been tolerated and countenanced by the church as an innocent pastime. It was however, when it became asso • ciated with the social aspect of chu,rch life that dancing became a debatable question. In some places there was no need for the church to consider the giving of permission for the use of its halls for the purpose of dancing. Where people live'd in roomy houses and had the necessary music, available in their own homes, such a provision would! be unnecessary; but in a parish such as South Melbourne people ,hadl no such facilities. In the conditions in which they lived they should, have social intercourse, and his 4 experience l was that dancing was the most popular form of social recreation. He foun dthat young people would dance and that if they did not do so in church halls they would do so in public dance halls. Mr Crotty’s view therefore, is that it is.infinitely better that young people should take dancing recreation in an innocent and wholesome way in a church ha'll under his immediate supervision andj care than in dancing halls. For this reason as part of the social work at St. Luke’s Church during the last few years, about £4OOO has been expended in the erection of build,ings which are used partly as a men’s club furnished with billiard tables, partly as a kindergarten and parish kitchen, and partly as >a very large hall furnished with a stage and mus'c and having a first-class dancing floor. In this hall husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, young/ 1 men and women, and boys and girls are frequently entertainedi at dances. Such dances, Mr Crotty firmly believes, when held under proper supervision, help to train young people of opposite sexes to treat one another with respect They meet here openly with the knowledge and approval of their parents instead of going clandestinely to public, dancing halls. Mr 'Crotty, has found that the behaviour of the young people is above reproach. Occasionally it has happened that a few of the “ untamed” element have gained admission, but these were very‘quickly given to understand that their misbehaviour woutld not be tolerated, and, as they wished to take advantage of the privileges of the hall, the youths who were generally only finding vent for superabundant spirits conformed to the regulations.

Dancing Mr Crotty explained, was only a small part of the .social work of the church. The men’s club, which was open every night, formed a rendezvous where the men could obtain social intercourse and entertainment. In addition, there were a free kindergarten, which was open daily, as well as a day school in the church buildings, and many social activities. He thought that if opponents to dancing in church bunldings could envisage the conditions under which many of his parishioners lived they would probabaly view the question from another angle, and would, agree that in some circumstances it was not only permissible, but right.