Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-04-18
combines against It. Labor distrusts

every turn. There Is IN New YORK a
single square, within the bounds of
which reside over 1000 human be-
ings. who live under the most dis
heartening conditions. To our shores
have come multitudes from every Eu-
ropean nation, from nearly all the
countries of the world. We have our
"little Italy," our German colony,
our French quarter, our Chinatown.
Upon the same page of daily news
paper we may read heart burning ac-
counts of the unutterable misery Of
multitudes OF our poor, and the story
of how one man is attempting to con-
troll the supply of the diamonds, or
the gold, or the steel, or the rubber,
or the railroads of the earth
Thus, in briefest, are described
some Of the conditions that make the
social problem so disconcerting. Let
us consider now our duty as men and
women who love our Lord to carry
His gospel of light and of life to q
world that is so sorely in need of 1t.
The prime duty of the church, here
as elsewhere, is to instil into the
hearts and minds of men the neces-
sity and the Joy of the presence Of
the saving power of the Holy Spirit
in the individual life. That's the
spiritual function of the church. The
ethical duty Of the church Is to i'm
press upon mankind the true relation
of man to man and to God.
In order to impart her fullest influence
1t is necessary that the church be filed,
individually and collectively, with the
deepest grace and the noblest love
for man. BY the exercise Of the true
principles of the Christ ideals In the
commonplaces of life, the charge OF
inconsistency must be nullified. AS
a body and as individuals the church
must be a brotherhood which, meas
ured by It's own ideals, is worthy.
To the church do the people look for
the purest, the most unselflsh leader
ship. That the depth of the spiritual
life within the church Is sure indi-
cation of the height Of the morality
of the people is demonstrated by the
ages past. Upon us as Christian
men devolves the privilege so to mold
the national mind that the law Of
the universal brotherhood of man
may become the law of our national
and international life. We must con-
vince the poor of their duty to the
rich; we must convince the wealthy
of the dignity of labor. Ours Is the
obligation to hasten the millennium
of peace through the universal appli-
cation Of the law of love. To accom-
plish this purpose we must obey, In
our daily lives, that command OF the
Master, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God and thy neighbor as thy
SELF"
The church must exercise her pre-
rogative as the natural leader in all
moral reform. That reform which
has not the support of the church
must sooner or later fail. She must
insist on a clean public conscience as
the logical sequence OF her demands
for purity in the private life. 1t is
not the province Of the church as an
ecclesiastical body to claim temporal
supremacy over the government OF
the city or the nation, but 1t is her
duty as composed of voting individ-
uals to demand. and to enforce the
demand, that municipal and national
government be undef1led. The poll
tics of our large cities will be only
so bad as the church cares to allow.
In a country where the citizen Is
king and the ballot alone Is supreme
strenuously to maintain the honor or
the sovereign people should be the
high aim of the church.
The church must, however. keep
strictly in mind the prime object or
her existence. Her mission 1t Is to
preach the good news throughout
the world. In the cities Is her mis-
sion most difficult to fulfil. Here, by
reason of the multitudinous obsta-
cles that beset her path, she must
use extraordinary measures to reach
the people. 1t Is not enough that the
spiritual needs of the immediate con-
gregation of any church be minis
tered unto. That the pastor preach
regularly twice upon the sabbath
that the exercises Of the Sabbath
school progress without interruption,
that the prayer meetings occur as Is
their wont, that the church be prompt
in her financial affairs. is not enough.
A yearly contribution to missions IN
the foreign fields and the support OF
city missionary do not constitute
the whole responsibility OF any
church.
The grace of the gospel Is for all
men. Unto all men must the tidingS
be told. To the unhearing and the
uncaring must the inspiration of the
infinite Son be carried. Christianity
must be proven a practical force in
the common life. For the Christ life
is practical life written large. AS the
only correct system of right living,
as the ultimate scheme of salvation
must the gospel be presented to the
people. To them we must show that
the promises of Christ are real, that
Christianity Is q synonym for broth
erly love, for the deepest consecra-
ton, for the highest purity of life
and motive, that Christianity Is
Christlikeness.
The church must carry to the null
titudes of the unsaved gospel unsul-
lied by her own insincerity and In
consistency. Her creed must be sim
ple, her differences dismissed. Her
forces must move in unison toward
the common end. Sect and party
strife must be eliminated. 1t may
be that the great divisions always
will exist. Always the Catholics and
the various Protestant denominations.
But like q mighty army in which the
different regiments have each their
duty and their position under a COM
mon generalship, 80 must the church
in waging the peaceful battles of the
moral war march, side by SIDE, sect
by sect. creed by creed, in full pano-
ply and with solid front, forward to
the victory under the common lead.
ership of the King of Kings. who is
Christ the Lord.
And now word upon the manner
of the preaching Of the good news.
The gospel should be preached at
tractively. Water street missions
and Salvation Army rooms may suit
the preferences of that class to whose
spiritual natures the workers may
wish to appeal. Wonderful is their
influence and to them be all honor
The average self-supporting poor