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racter for regular attendance upon divine worship , and for the seriousness and devotion which are observed during tie time of service . The charge of levity is so completely without foundation , that I thought few would know
to what congregation it was intended to apply ^ and , therefore , I did not consider it worth while to trouble you or your readers on the subject ; but finding that it is generally known in different parts of the kingdom to be
written by a member of the Unitarian society which assembles in Lewin ' s Mead , I must request you to insert the following remarks in your next , lest by letting it pass unnoticed the justice of the charge should seem to be acknowledged .
It has , confessedly , not been in the power of the writer till within the last few months to attend regularly upon public worship , and should not this circumstance have suggested the propriety of waiting till opportunity had been afforded of comparing our society
with others ? Had this comparison been made , it is probable that , instead of being stigmatized " with strange and reprehensible levity , " it might have appeared to be deserving of being held
up as an example of seriousness and deration . The writer says , " I can conceive nothing more unconsonant , more distressing to pious feelings , than to hear a solemn address to the Deity drowned bv the noise and bustle which
is unavoidable when many persons enter : " now , let me ask , what impression would be made upon the minds of those unacquainted with Lewin ' s
Mead , by reading this sentence ? Certainly that the noise and bustle are so great as to drown the voice of the preacher ^ I can only say , that the ** --Zealous Unitarian" must be most
unfortunately situated ; for in that part of the meeting where I sit there is never any '" noise or bustle" which could interrupt- a person who was not more under the influence of nervous
irritation th&n of that " pure devotfcm /* ' afcd those ** delightful asjiirfitions ^ of which-thewriter speaks . I have often heard it remaFked by those who have been accustomed to other do
congrega 4 aoii& , that no w ^ ere the aitendaote enter in so quiet fond orderly a manner . I ! have myself Had frequent opportunities of . attending other places worship iwLottdcta and various parta *
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of the kingdom , and I would not be understood to intend any reflection upon the members of any of these different societies , when I say , that on my return to Lewin ' s Mead I am always struck with the quietness and
attention which prevail there . That there are generally some who come in after the service is begun , must be confessed , and in some instances this might be , and certainly ought to be , avoided 5 but from the variations in clocks , and other causes too numerous
to be mentioned , I believe it will scarcely ever be found that several hundred people can assemble at precisely the same time , especially when , as is the case here , many of them live at a considerable distance , and some several
miles from the chapel . If there be any who are habitually late , 1 would not be understood to offer any apology for them . Respecting the charge of levity , I must say that it is as unjust and unfounded as the whole accusation
is hasty and injudicious . Your zealous Correspondent might reasonably anticipate much religious improvement and gratification from attending upon the ministry of our able and highly respected pastors , but it would be well to remember that
those who expect < s unmmgled gratification , ^ must meet with disappointment in this world ; it is no where to be found ; no , not even among Unitarians ; nor are we justified in allowing our disappointment to evaporate in peevish complaints against others , because they do not come up to our ideal standard of perfection .
Persons unacquainted with our society might be led to suppose , that those who , from their opulence and worldly station , have greater opportunities of spiritual improvement than their poorer brethren , are situated
nearer the . speaker , whale the latter are placed where they- are morfc liable to kitemiptioB , and where their attention must be " detracted by 1 &e figures which are moving around thqio / 1 I must here observe , that i * yaur € «*
-respondent ha * takto& ' tto ^ 'tirwil *;** gain infommtiGri on t ? he subject , whieh might easily htir ^ teett ' d 6 m ' ' fcy ' 4 P ^ cation to any of the ^ Idfey members of the congregation , and whteh oflght i » com * H 0 ii justice t& bnt&hem Aom before the ^ M&m ^ mA&m # m *** J co&ipibiii * e * e pMimvA i it WgiiM
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100 Vindication of the Lewin ' s Mead Congregation , Bristol .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1820, page 100, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2485/page/36/
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