Gunnison news-champion., 1910-12-02
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r, ses. Cha. y. ssse~ra D. D.

spsce 10 SAY some thlaos about the
interest Of she general public IN the
eharches. and the responsibility 81
the p.slsc for their mainteaaace |
wlsh ~ present the v,e~ thai the
chsrche~ IT eommpauv are pubic
institutions thai render an essential
psblsc servIce. aad that their liberal
financial ssppsrt ~ aecoHdsnriy-If
they are managed IN broad and
Psble-spsrsted fashion-a matter If
Psblse concern sad obligation. Aud
J wish this proposition might he
taken ~ heart N very serious and
practical way by the good estIzeas Of
Gunnlson and Gannl-,a county. an
the eroands of good citizenship and
psblse welfare--lf not on distinctly
Fell9loss and spsrItaal grounds
The churches of this community en-
Joy, | believe. the goodwill and best
wishes Of the people Of the town aud
coanty, bat the meaere financial
sspport they receive implies that
they are generally regarded as pri-
vate institutions, whose continuance
end saceess IA the business they are
doing is of real concern only 10 their
so-cslIed members.
] have no commission 10 speak for
eny other church than NV own, but
] msst ut necessity present this
matter IN its general aspect, and |
am swve ! cannot be mistaken IN
saying that the churches of this as
OF every community appreciate aud
highly value the goodwill and best
wishes of the town aud surrounding
region. But when it comes 10 pay
ING bills and meeting the necessary
expenses Of administration which in
tiunBlson are on most moderate
basis the goodwill Of the commu-
nifty ls by itself of little avail The
Apostle james question, what does
it profit" is in order 'If brother
or sister be naked, and destitute Of
daily food, and one of you say unto
them, Depart in peace, be warmed
and filed, notwithstanding We give
them not those things which are
neediul to the body-what doth it
pro6t?"
The simple fact is-and |
hope and bslie,e the public state
ment Of II will attract general atten-
ton, as | am sure it oa. ht to-the
community does not adequately sup
port even The limited amount of
church work at present done here,
and such contributions as are with
difficulty gathered from the local
field have To be eked out (or until
the present year have had 10 bel
with benevolent gifts from churches
in other localities But this depen-
dence upon other communities for
bel p In meeting our local bill for
church expenses, moderate as that
bill is, dIscredlts the enlightenment
and liberality Of Gunnison, widely
known aud heralded as one Of the
most intelligent and well-to do com.
munIties in the state-and in a word
pauperizes us, in so far as such out
side help is solicited and received,
in the eyes of the world
Such dependence upon outside
benevolent aid for meeting the mod
crate costs of church work in Gun
nlsOn rs as unnecessary as II is dis
credItable. and | believe the people
Of this community have only to IN
derstand the matter TO Justify TINS
statement Now it is essential. if
such local self support is to be real
ized, and the church work at present
carried on is not To be discontinue
or interrupted, that the community
as a whole should meet their re
sponslbilIties in this matter The
so-called members of these con
greeations are here, as in so many
other western communities where
the ener gies of generation have
been spent in subduIne Nature, a
feeble folk as 10 numbers, but
they are bearing alone the costs of
maintaining these institutions the
churches that promote and minister
To the higher life Of the whole com
mmuv But it is neither fair nor
right that this burden should fall
upon a lew in the case of the
churches. any more than it would be
IN the case of the schools. Nor are
the lev able to carry this burden for
the many. The result is either that
the churches maintain precarious
existence, living from hand 10 mouth
as it were, by the help of small
grants from the home mission funds
Of the outside churches, the per
sonnel Of their administration con-
stantlv changing from year 10 year
as it has been in Gunnison for years
past--or, dispensing with this help
r.