The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-04-19
MINISTER To LIFE
CHURCH'S MISSION
COZ NTRX PREACHER, THROUGH
NEGLECT, is EvADING HIS RE
SrONSIBILITY TO GOD.
STIMULATE READING
CANNOT BREED INTELLECTUAL
t'I~Sr WHICH SAVES SOULS, IN
RIG PIN. SAY THE
SPEAKERS.

That the mission ~ the church is to
minister to the life that now is, and
that in neglectng the salvation of
the rural communities from the prim-
tive conditions that exist i'm many of
them, the country preacher IS evad-
ing his responsibility to Cod was for
chilly brought out at the country
church conference yesterday after
noon. and some of the speakers did
not mince words in saddliue tho bur
den Of duty where they. think It be-
longs.
In fact the rather plain language
of several of the speakers created
somewhat of mild sensation, espe-
cially the declaration Of Health Com
missioner Williams, of Virginia, who
told the country preachers that they
couldn't breed intellectually in pig
pen, and you can't save souls until
the individual 9has sufficient intelleC-
tuality to understand that he has
soul to save"
Stimulation of Literature.
That the country church can do a
great work for the rural community
by stimulating the reading of good
literature by the young and the or
ganization OF community libraries was
also stressed by the speakers. Or. r.
II. Pitt. Of Richmond. led with an ex-
preston of his views as to what plans
should be pursued in effecting this OBJ
ject. Rev. NJ. r. Beckham. of Viz
ginia, backing these views strongly
and adding some very pointed ones
of his own. DR. J. a. F'errall. Of
Raleigh, \. c.. secretary of State
board of health. emphasized the OPP
promote good sanitary conditions
and Or Ennion G. Williams, of the
Virginia board of health scored the
country churches for their neglect of
the school houses in their communi-
ties
The conference was sorely disap-
pointed in the absence of Miss Anna
b. Taft, of New York, whose pro-
posed discussion Of the relation of the
village church to the open country
was looked forward to with much an
] ticipatory interest.
DIR. Branson Reelected.
The conference after hearing the
several excellent addresses, reelected
DR.. f. G. Branson, Of Georgia, as it's
+ chairman, and elected Rev. George
+ ii. Mayo. of Greene county, Va, to
create the post of secretary. II also
/ briefly summarized the results of its
several meetings in the shape of
i series of resolutions expressing the
views of the conference as to the duty
the country churches owe to the rural
communities.
Rev. Mr.. Beckham. in pointing out
what he conCeives to be a duty of
the rural church to foster and stimu-
late reading among the young In the
rural communities by the esta biish-
ment of community libraries empha-
sized the importance of the selection
Of the literature that is to be placed
in the hands Of these people He
scored the trashy novel and c6nsign-
+ ed it to the dump along with the
! superficial book, and the book that is
definitely. consciously religious" The
latter class Of reading is too dry. The
ruarl library should be supplied with
/ only the best of reading-"the books
that interpret life, written by people
! who know life as it Is, for all life ia
sacred" He told the country preach
erS that 1t is as much in their line
of duty to cooperate In these move
ments to promote better education
and better living in their communi-
ties as it is to save souls. The Mas
ter" he declared, lin all his teach
ting never said a word about the soul,
! but that he mentioned the whole man
He never spoke Of salvation as a
thing of the future: he preached of
] 1t as present, and told us to grasp it
/ and hold it now, and the salvation
/ OF these people from the wretched
unsanitary, uncomfortable and illit-
/ crate environment that surrounds
| them Is the work of the country
! preacher, and he can't escape that
| duty, for which he is responsible to
God"
Mission of Church.
| DR.. John A. Ferrall declared that
the mission OF the church is to min
lister TO the life that now is, and that
the laws of health are as important
to humanity as the ten command
ments. He suggested that the coun-
| try preachers preach sermons on
sanitation several times a year and
that the churches be thrown open oc-
casionally for community meetings on
! health and sanitation conditions.
/ Something must be done, he declared,
/ to reform present primitive condi-
/ tons which obtain in a majority of
the rural communities of the South.
He related the fact that of seventy
/ four counties In North Carolina sur
veyed under his direction, so per cent
I or more than 81 900 farm houses were
1 built without regard for sanitary con-
I ditions.
Il scores the Preachers.
DR.. Williams scored the country
! preachers for their lack Of interest
+ In the rural school houses, and de-
( tailed some observations he had re-
Gently made in one Of the best coun-
4 ties Of Virginia, where he found the
school houses in many instances ram
shackle structures. while the churches
/ IN the same community were we'll
I built we'll kept and cared for. The
school houses are open every day for
the Intellectual training of the chill
dren, and the churches in these come
munities, most of them, are open once
a month. He declared that he didn't
see a single rural school house which
he would have permitted his own child
to attend, at is time" he declared
for the church people to wake up to
, the responsibility that confronts
them. You cannot build an intellec-
tual rural life in pig pen. and you
can't save souls until the individual
has acquired sufficient intellectually
to understand that he has a soul to
]