The Greeley tribune., 1912-12-12

problem such as faced Sir Horace
Plunkett when he returned TO Ire
land after years OF absence prob
lem such as Holland has worked
out with such conspicuous success.
There Is fourth period for
which the farmer must be prepared,
namely, the organized. co-operative,
scientific farmer. In this period a
ew communities have emerged, The
Hood River apple growers and the
California orange raisers are not
able examples OF the co-operative.
scientific farmer. The motto, Bet
ter living, better farming better
ousiness." must be realized by all
our farm communities: rural 30
ciety must be reconstructed along
large lines.
What institutions are to work it
out? There are four: the home.
the school. the farmers CO operative
organizations. the church. We can
here consider only the last,
President Butterfield says: Il
hold that the country church is the
| most important aspect of the rural
problem. it touches the highest
point In the reconstruction to rural
life. it sounds the deepest note in
harmonizing the factors Of perma-
nent rural civilization, II speaks
the most eloquent WORD in the
struggle to maintain the status of
the farming classes" The Rural
Life Commission says: ANY con-
sideration of the rural problem that
leaves out the country church is en-
tirely inadequate"
Let US consider several phases of
he rural church:
First-lts function. No one can
state it fully. but for one thing the
hurch must give idealism to rural
life. Besides giving the great.
grand ideals OF the Christian relig-
on its function should be TO make
these ideals concrete. II should
stimulate in the farmer love and
appreciation OF his environment
Susan Farrier said. my deepest
wish is that life should never lose
its halo" 1t is the duty of the
church and of her minister to help
the farmer to see the halo in his
surroundings. Country life is filled
with drudgery and poetry. The
'irst is self-evident. 1t is the duty
bring out he latter, to preach the
doctrine of the Holy soil, to give
men eyes that they may see and
hearts that they may feel the music.
the poetry. the spirit Of God all
about them. The country church
will find voice, and 1t will say:
Il stand in the fields
Where the wide earth yields
Her bounties of fruit and grain;
Wnere the burrows turn
Fill the plow shares burn,
AS they come round and round
again;
Where the workers pray
With their tools all day,
In sunshine and shadow and rain.
And l bid them tell
or the crops they sell,
And speak OF the work they have
done;
speed every man,
In his hope and plan.
And follow his day with the sun;
And grasses and trees.
rhe birds and the bees,
| know and l feel every ope.
And out Of 1t all
| AS the seasons fall
| build my temple always.
1 point to the skies,
| But my footstone lies
| In the commonplace work of the
day:
r'or l preach the worth
| Of the native earth,
pray" Bailey.
That to love and to work ia to
Another function of the church
tss t0 ~ s.1
community. One OF the great needs
| Of rural life is the need that arises
because OF the solitariness Of that
lite. 1t is cut off, segregated, the
heart grows hungry for fellowship.
This need the church should supply
| and direct. The social life of the
young people of the rural district is
often meager and unwholesome be-
, cause 1t is not well directed. Here
is large field for young peoples
societies and young peoples organ
ized Bible classes.
Another rural need is education
in scientific farming. The State
| Agricultural college of Colorado has
been kind enough to say that one
OF the best things done In the state
this past year along the line Of lect-
ureships on scientific farming has
been done by our congregation. 1t
| Is distinctly religious work: to
make man better farmer is to
do him y religious service.
Then there are community i'm
provements too numerous to men-
tion here. and such cooperation as
| eliminates poverty, which has been
practiced with such success by the
Mennonites. Quakers, Amish and
| other religious societies.
SecOnd-The Minister for the
| Rural Church.
He must be a part of the COM
| munity. The absentee minister who
comes into the community once
week to deliver u message cannot
cnpnly tho uaal L., ,,,r,, .