The Oskaloosa herald., 1913-11-13
PASSING OF THE COUNTRY
CHURCH,

rev. j. III. 1eO1Or0, OF MI. Ayr, Ia,
editor of the Ringgold Record-News,
one of the clearest thinkers and best
Informed writer's on the Iowa press,
contributes to the Iowa Farmer all
interesting and illuminative letter on
the rural church. For lifetime, al.
most, Mr.. Tedford was a 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. The salient points
of his letter follow:
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 well
| done. There is no use in struggling
against fate. The marks of decay and
death are here aud there upon them.
! 1t is all inevitable, as a part of the
progress and readjustment of the
times. Time and tide wait for no man.
! "Messrs. Charles o. Gin 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 dcay and dissolution.
They examined the records of the
counties of Windsor, Vermont and
Tompkins, New York. Other, and
precisely similar examples might
bave been given. II 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 i'm beautiful
groves are fast disappearing and 50
/ 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 must go the same way. Com
lmerce with all her forces is going to
the cities and large towns and the re-
! ligious have always followed COM
niece. 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 it is to fight
against the inherent laws of nature
and humanity.
After inventing and floating the
rural school movement, these gentle.
men are compelled to admit its fail
ure and utter impossibility of the
plans formulated. They fall back on
common sense and natural law. They
propose two remedies, remedies al
ready known and used to the limit.
NhA l. sIaN II, Il,
cannot prosper unless it is deeply, in
telligently and effectively interested
in agricultural production, and secur-
ing for the farmer all that is best in
life To get that is the gist of the
question and to preach a sermonette
about 1t is begging the question. 1t
does not solve II. The problem is in
darkness, to be worked out by the ex-
perience and common sense of the
people.
'The second remedy is the modern |
social service idea in its application |
to society. They say the country |
church needs social service to vital |
ize it, common effort for the common |
welfare That is another sermonette |
thrust into the body of the remedy. II |
Is mere advice, the cheapest thing in |
the world. The gentlemen fail to
realize that we are called to meet
conditions and not to PROFOUND theor-
les. Their book is a round robin
and does not fix responsibility. II is
a lay sermon on church unity and l
solidarity things
taught in all the schools Of religion.
What do the authors teach US? Moth.
ing but what we shall know. Where
do they lead us? Nowhere. We are
landed just where we started. The h
book is all theory and speculation
and the final truth in the case must
be wrought out of the lives and ex-
periences of the people. No shot
from the city, and from the million
aires, will hit the mark II is all aside ;
from the real question at issue and '
thoroughly mpracticable."