Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1912-07-18
CHURCH AWAKENING
Begins to See the Need of Minister
ing to IT'S People, Seven Days in
the Week.

Ing TO FITS People, Seven Days in
the Week.
On, of the greatest needs of
rural life today is play-recreation"
mat was the interesting state
ment made to the rural life confer
ence at Iowa State College by Rev.
A. b. McNutt of the Presbyterian
department of church and country
lffe Then he followed with a still
more interesting statement that the
church ought to make it its BUSH
ness to provide recreation for it's
people
1T isn't wise to limit the activi-
ties OF the church to the bible, the
catechism and the hymn book" de-
clared Mr.. McNutt. cit ought to
concern itself with the whole life
of its people. The catechism and
bible study are good, but they come
once week on Sunday; why
should the church concern itself
with this one day only and give the
devil full lee way on the other six
days Of the week A Scotch elder
that l know drilled his boy thor
oughly in the caetchism on Sum
days and let him loaf at the cross
roads blacksmith shop the other
six days, with the result that be-
fore he knew it, his boy went wrong
, 1t is not sin to have a good time;
the bible commends merry heart.
1t is great mistake for the church
to permit children to participate
in questionable amusements rather
than provide wholesome ones.
| Farm people need recreation,
even though the popular opinion is
that they don't. Boys, don't leave
the farm because they want to es-
cape hard work, because they are
equal to that, but because there is
nothing but hard work and no fun.
Farm life is strenuous now; there
are fewer worker, larger response
bilities, more skill is equired. ALI
this exhausts energy, which must
be restored by recreation. 1t is
worth while for the church to con-
Germ itself in the play life of its
people Many who come to play
viii! remain to pray. 1t is easy to
get boy even a bad boy, into an
athletic club and make that a
means of getting him into the chris
tian life. How many preachers ev-
er preach on play? Yet, it is one
of the most important subjects"
| Mr. McNutt's talk was based ON
a wonderful work achieved in his
own parish at Plainfield, Illinois.
| where his church concerns itself in
every kind of wholesome fun and
provides it for its people, not al
ways directly but through the lead
!, ership of christian men. 1t has
organized clubs and societies for
men, for women, for young women
and for young men. They meet pris
| marily for bible study and devotion.
then turn attention to agricultural
or home study, debate discussion
! of current questions, and wind up
with athletic games, sewing bees, 50
cial parties and the like. There are
community picnics; there are ly-
contests; there are home talent
farces and plays and concerts in the
church, and all these things give
the people the fun they need.
. SIT keeps their morals sweet"
declared Mr. McNutt, land its re-
suits in a better living are very
marked. In all the twelve years
of my pastorate only one young per-
son in that community went wrong
The boys and girls are staying by
the farm because its life is large
enough for them. In other COM
munitdes there is much wickedness
and many go wrong and there is
discomfort with farm life. 1 know
from my twenty years of teaching
and preaching in the country that
the church must concern itself with
the play life of its people"
Re. c S. Lyons of Logan, Iowa.
is duplicating the experiences Of
Mr.. McNutt. He told an interesting
story of the part his church is tax
! ing in the social activities of the
communities and in the provision OF
public play grounds and directed
play and the like Out of the con-
! ference will come still further eff
forts along these lines in Iowa this
year Nonpariel.
! A. NJ. Mason. farming near Ca