The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-11-02
PASSING OF THE COUNTRY
CHURCH,

Rev. j. H. Tedford Of Mt Ayr, Iowa,
editor OF the Ringgold Record News,
one of the clearest thinkers and best
informed writers on the Iowa press,
contributes to the Iowa Farmer an
Interesting and illuminating letter on
the rural church For a lifetime. al
most, Mr.. Tedford was country min
lister in active service. He has
studied conditions at first hand and is
qualified to speak from intimate per-
sonal knowledge of the tendencies OF
the time as they affect country con-
gregations- His verdict is that the
country church is doomed and there
is no help for 1t. Our readers will
thank US for reproducing the salient
points OF his letter, as follows:
1T is a self-evident fact that the
rural churches are passing and not to
return. They have had their day and
purpose and their work has been we'll
done. There IS no use in struggling
against fate. The marks of decay and
death are here and there upon them.
progress and reimbursement of the
times. Time and tide wait for no man.
"Messrs. Charles O. Gill and Clifford
Pinchot, the fathers of the fad. have
issued book, The Country Church.
in which. as the result of special ex-
animation of special cases. they are
forced to present the cold facts Of
country church decay and dissolution.
They examined the records of the
counties of Windsor, Vermont, and
Tompkins, New York. Other. and
precisely similar examples might have
been given. 1t Is admitted that the
conditions are universal. They all
tend TO show the utter and final de-
cadence Of the old-fashioned country
churches. The little churches at the
country crossroads and IN beautiful,
groves are fast disappearing and so
Is country store and the little red
school house Times have changed
and we must change with them. In
many cases the villages are also dis
appearing. They came as by magic
and mast go the same way. Com
merce with all her forces is going to
lligious have always followed com
merce. Commerce leads the CROWD
and the crowd remains only where
commerce stays. To make money we
must go where money is and circu
lates. To fight against 1t Is to flght
against the inherent laws OF nature
and humanity.
/ After inventing and floating tn,
rural school movement, these gentle
men are compelled to admit It's failur,
and utter impossibility Of the plans
formulated They fall back on com
mon sense and natural law. They rro
lpose two remedies, remedies alread
IFnown and used to the limit TIL
not prosper unless 1t Is deeply, In
diligently and effectively intereste
in agricultural production, and secul
ing for the farmer all that is best 1
/ life To get that Is the gist of tn
Question and to preach sermonett
4 about it is begging the question.
does not solve it. The problem is i
darkness, to be worked out by the e,
perience and common sense of tn
people.
"The second remedy is the moder
social service idea in its applicatio
to society They say the countr
church needs social service to vita
ize 1t, common effort for the commo
welfare That is another sermonett
thrust into the body of the remedy.
is mere advice. the cheapest thing
the world. The gentlemen fail
realize that we are called to me-
conditions and not to PROFOUND theo
les. Their book is a round robil
and does not fix responsibility 1t
Law sermon on church unity an
neighborhood solidarity things taugl
. in all the schools of religion Wh'
do the authors teach us? Nothing b