Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-09-15

every steamer TO the rarthermoSt Colo
MES. There they were adopted. There.
amid the pure. sweet influence OF the
country, the boys and the girls or tho
London slums became the noble Chris
tan men and women Of the farm and
country village. DR.. Barnardo saved
the man by colonlzing the boy. while
General Booth sent his Salvation AT
my soldiers into the city slurns and
gathered the men and the women To-
gether and took them out Of their sur
roundngs and placed them upon the
farms and saved them also. Thus, my
brother, you and should embrace ey-
cry means we can find to take q boy
or girl or q man or woman out OF
the overcrowded city and send them
out to the soil, out into the farming re-
glons Then we are doing Gods work
as Dr. Barnardo did It and William
Booth Is doing It today.
The Institutional Church.
But we must do more than simply
colonize our boys and girls In country
places. We must carry the institution
al church into our poor districts and
fight sin on its own ground. The SIM
pie fact is that many Of our churches
are going to pieces simply because the
people do not have enough to do. The
congregations listen to sermons, but
do not work for Christ.
When Jacob Ris started in his long
ten years war to give Fairgrounds to
the children of the congested east and
west sides OF New York he could not
find enough room for the poor. even
! though millions Of dollars worth or
buildings were condemned and turned
into public Fairgrounds Then a happy
idea struck him. why can we not
turn the roofs Of our public schools In
to Fairgrounds for chlldrenw "Ab-
surd," said the politicians. Absurd"
said the teachers. absurd" said al
most every one. But Jacob Rils kept
on. and now the roofs of many OF
those public school buildings have
been turned into Fairgrounds for the
scholars. At last the common people
have come to learn that a magnificent
school building is not to be kept idle
all the time with the exception or the
few hours when school Is In session.
The public school buildings are now
used for public libraries and public
lectures and public concerts and public
Fairgrounds. Why cannot our church
learn the same lessoDi
The churches are gradually deserting
the poorer sections of our cities not be-
cause they are not needed there, but
because they do not do their duty as
they ought to do 1t. The poor OF our
large cities need q church building for
something more than a place where
they shall attend a divine service once
or twice on the Sabbath day. They
need church building where men and
women can come and find Christian
fellowship and help In, social inter-
course. They need a church building
where poor mothers. can come and
leave their babies while they them
selves 90 out for days work. They
need a church building for an intelli-
gence office and a dspensary. They
need a church building where d man
or a woman can 90 in all times or
trouble and always find it temple OF
refuge" Oh, why do we not as Chris
tian people grasp the gospel opportu-
nifty and 90 back into the poorer Sec
tions of the city and teach women how
to sew and how to keep the babies
clean and teach ignorant, tired men
how to work as well as how to pray
and to sing and to listen to Gods
wordl
want you to realize that Christ was
preaching a practical gospel sermon
when he told the Pharlsee the parable
of the good Samaritan l want you to
remember that Christ meant just what
he said when he took little child In
his lap and said, ut is better for you
that a milestone were hanged about
your neck and that you were drowned
In the midst OF the sea rather than
that you offend one Of these little
ones" I have tried to show you that
even among the lowest and the yllest
Of outcasts you can find some whom
you can lead to Christ II you will only
20 after them And thus. my friend
on this beautiful Christian Sabbath
day invite you to help bridge over
the ever widening chasm that Is sepa-
rating the rich man from the poor man
and the so called respectable man from
the social outcast by throwing across
It the strong. broad. central beam OF
the cross of ChrIstS sacrifice. VIII you
become q brother to the poor In
practical way. as Christ did during bis
earthly ministry?
[Copyright, 1906. by Louis Klopsch.l