The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-04-26

| lives Win out small care TOT OF
thought of the wretched eXistences
worked out b. their fellows in the
slums. Vice shows il evil head az
every turn. Taere is in New York a
single square, within the bounds of
which reside over 2000 human be-
| ings, who live under the most dis
! heartenins con litions To our shores
| have come mulltud from every Eu-
! ropean nation from nearly all the
/ countries of tho 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 0nutterable misery OF
multitudes Of oar poor. and the story
OF how one man is attempting 10 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.N 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 10 carry
| His gospel OF light and of life TO a
world that is so sorely in need OF IL.
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 O. the church The
! ethical duty of the church is 10 i'm
press upon mankind the true relation
| OF man TO man and 10 God.
In order to impart her fullest in fluence
&c IA . l. 4. q
| 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 broth erhood which, meas
ured by its own ideals, is worthy
To the church do the people look for
the purest, the most unselfish leader
ship. That the depth of the spiritual
life within the church is a 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
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-
pliVh 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-
negative as the natural leader in all
moral reform. That reform which
has not the support OF the church
mast sooner or later fsTl She must
insist on a clean public conscience as
the logical sequence of her demands
for purity In the private life. IL is
net the province of the church as an
ecclesiastical body 10 claim temporal
supremacy over the government of
the city or the nation, but il is her
duty as composed OF voting iDdivid-
uals 10 demand, and TO enforce the
demand, that municipal and national
government be undefiled. The poll
tics of our large cities will be only
90 bad as the church cares 10 allow.
In country where the citizen is
king and the ballot alone is supreme
strenuously TO maintain the honor of
the sovereign people should be the
high aim OF the church.
The church must, however, keep
strictly in mind the prime object of
her existence. Her mission IL is 20
preach the good news throughout
the world In the cities is her mis-
sion most difficult TO fulfil. Here, by
feason of the multitudinous obsta-
cles that beset her pain, she must
use extraordinary measures TO reach
the people. II 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 a synonym for broth
erly love, for the deepest consecra-
tion. for the highest purity OF life
and motive, that Christianity is
Christlikeness.
The church must carry 10 the mBl-
titudes OF the unsaved a gospel unsul-
lied by her own insincerity and in
Her creed must be sim
pie, her differences dismissed Her
forces must move in unison toward
the common end Sect and party
strife must be eliminated. IL may
be that the great divisions always