The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1909-05-15
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS


A beautiful feature of a Labor sun
day service in a New York city church
was memorial of those members of
the labor unions attending who had
died during the year.
The enormously wealthy st. Barthol-
omew's church of New York city has
been considering removing from For
ty-Fourth street uptown. The Anal
decision is to remain down town, en-
large its plant and keep on doing its
splendid work where it will accom-
plish the most good. The wealthy
supporters can come down to Forty
fourth street, but the people who live
in down town hotels, and boarding
houses, would not be likely to go up
to Ninetieth street. The splendid mis-
sion work of ST. Bartholomew can
continue closely allied with its main
place of worship, while that remains
down town. There seems nothing
more discordant with the democratic
spirit of christianity than church in
a wealthy resident portion Of a city,
attended almost entirely by rich people.
Christianity Is the one uniting power
to bring together rich and poor, the
more favored and the less fortunate.
Too many churches have been blind to
this service, which is one of the chief
of its social missions. The church
which helps common humanity at
arms length may be benevolent So
ciety, but 1t is not a church, if the
constitutiye principle OF the church is:
Where the Spirit OF Christ Is, There
| is the Church" Christ did not send
help, He brought it. In all His giving,
He gave His own direct influence and
personality. So must the church do
| If it would be really church having
Christ's spirit. The church does not
need to descend from its highest
thought and finest ideals to preach
the Gospel to the poor" The highest
truth made practical and universal
and directed to the eternal needs and
aspirations of men, is what the heart
OF humanity is crying for. The church
indeed owes a Gospel to those of the
largest opportunities But Ii does the
most for these when 1t turns the rich
ness of their lives into direct service
to the less favored Only so are i'm
The churches that passed by the
overture of American labor for q Sum
day devoted to the gospel of labor have
abundant occasion for heart searching.
The greatest peril to the church and
to christianity in these days is the
growing estrangement between work.
ingmen and the church. The chief
mission of the church in these days is
to fill the tremendous currents of mod
ern industry with the spirit OF the gos-
pei and its Christ. BY a wonderful
providence, the representatives of la
Dor hold out cordial and respective
hand to every church all over the land.
Multitudes of the churches responded.
Many gave no heed to the invitation
and the opportunity. 1t would be in
teresting to know the reasons for this
mission. If it Is that requests for
| special Sundays are so numerous that
| 1t is impossible to comply with the
largest part of them. such an excuse
only emphasizes the inability OF some
churches and ministers to distinguish
this opportunity from others that cam
not compare with It. If the reason
alleged is that the business of the pull
pit Is not to deal with economic prob
lens, there is shown an inability to
distinguish between the laws Of econ
onnic process and the gospel Of indus
trial Transformation. If the reason
| is, in few cases. fear Of recognizing
organized labor or OF OFFENDING wealthy
church supporters, such reasons need
no answer The true reason In most
cases 10 undoubtedly the deplorabls
failure OF many churches and minis
ters to appreciate the church's present
lcrisis, opportunity and mission. It is
to be hoped that ysorkingmen will see
that the church which longs to do its
utmost to those whose need IL great
est, and 10 transform this Industrial
/ age with the spirit OF Christ Ia this true
Representative OF the church OF Christ,
lof the brotherhood Of the gospel.