Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-09-13

country village Or. Bernardo saved
the man by cll07i"ing tie boy. while
General Booth sent his Salvation Ar
my soldiers into the city sluns and
gathered the men and the women to-
getller and took them out of their sur
~roundings and placed them upon the
farms and saved them also. Thus, my
brother. you and I should embrace ev-
cry means we can find to take a boy
OF n girl or n man or a woman out OF
the ovcrcrowded city and send them
out to the soil, out into the farming re-
gions. Then we are doing Gods work
as DR.. Bernardo did it and William
Booth is doing it today.
h Institutions 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 w ground. The SIM
pie fact is that many of our churches
are going to pieces simply because the
people do not have enough 20 do. The
congregations listen TO but
do not work for Christ.
When Jacob Riis started in his long
ten years war to give Fairgrounds to
the - .dren 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 OF
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 children?" Alb
surd," said the politicians. Absurd
said the teachers. Absurd" said al
most every one. But Jacob Riis 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 n magnificent
school building is not to be kept idle
all the time with the exception of 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 lesson
The churches are gradually deserving
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 it. The poor of our
large cities need a church building for
something more han a place where
they shall attend a divine service once
or twice on the Sabbath day. They
need n 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 go out for a days work. They
need a church building for an intelli-
gence office and a dispensary. They
need a church building where a man
or a woman can so il all times Of
trouble and always find it a temple Of
refuge" Oh, why DO we not as Chris
tian people grasp the gospel opportu-
nifty and go back into the poorer sec
tons 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
word?
l want you to realize that Christ was
preaching q practical gospel sermon
when he told the Pharisee the parable
Of the good Samaritan. / want you to
remember that Christ meant Just what
he said when he took O little child In
his lap and said. ut is better for you
that q milestone were hanged about
your neck and that you were drowned
III the midst of the sea rather than
that you offend one Of these little
ones" l have tried to show you that
even among the lowest and the vllest
Of outcasts you can find ome whom
you can lead TO Christ II you will only
go after them. And thus, my friend,
on this beautiful Christian Sabbath
day l 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 nan from
the social outcast by throwing across
It the strong. broad. central beam Of
the cross of Christs sacrifice. Will you
become a brother to the poor In Il
practical way. as Christ did during his
earthly ministry
lCopyright. 1906, by Louis Klopsch,l