Milford chronicle., 1914-12-04
THE RURAL
CHURCH
THE FARMERS THE cUsToDlANs
OF THE NATIONS MORALITY.
Cooperation Of Church, School and
Press Essential to Community
Building.
BY Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union.


The church. the press and the schoc
form a triple alliance Of progress tina
guides the destiny of every commu1
ity. state and nation. Without then
civilization would wither and die an,
through them life may attain its great
est blessing, power and knowledge
The farmers of this nation are greatly
indebted to this social triumvirate fol
their uplifting influence, and on behal
of the American plowmen l want tC
thank those engaged in these high
callings for their able and efficient
serfice. and l shall offer to the press
a series Of articles on cooperation
between these important influences
and the farmers in the hope of in.
creasing the efficiency Of all by mu-
tual understanding and organized ef-
fort. We will take up, first, the rural
church
The Farmers Are Great Church Build.
ers.
The American farmer is the greatest
church builder the world has ever
known He is the custodian Of the
nations morality; upon his shoulders
rests the lark Of the covenant" and
he is more responsive to religious in
fluences than any other class Of cit
izenship.
The farmers of this nation have
built 10000 churches at cost of
$75O,00O,OO0, and the annual contribu-
tiOn of the nation toward all church
institutions approximates 5000 100000
per annum. The farmers Of the Uni
ted States build % churches per day
There are 20,OO0,OOO rural church com
municants on the farm, and 54 per
cent Of the total membership Of all |
churches reside in the country.
The farm is the pOwer-house Of all !
progress and the birthplace of all that I
is noble. The Garden Of Eden was
in the country and the man who would
get close to God must first get close
20 nature.
The Functions Of Rural Church.
If the rural churches today are 60
ing to render a service which this age
demands, there must be cooperation
between the religious, social and eco
nOmic life Of the community.
The church to attain its fullest meas
nre Of success must enrich the lives
Of the people in the community it
serves; it must build character; devel-
Op thought and increase the efficiency !
of human life. II must serve the So 6
clal, business and intellectual, as well {
as the spiritual and moral side Of life. '
II religion does not make a man more 4
capable, more useful and more Just,
what good is it? We want a practical
one we can live by and farm :
by, as well as die Dy.
Fewer and Better Churches.
Blessed is that rural community b
which has but one place of worship. b
While competition is the life of trade. n
t is death to the rural church and =
moral starvation to the community. +
Petty sectarianism is a scourge that
olights the life, and the church preju- al
lice saps the vitality, Of many com j.
An over-churched commun- N
ty is a crime against religion, a seri- It
Jus handicap to society and a useless o,
az upon agriculture ot
While denominations are essential OF
ind church pride commendabIe. the
high teaching Of universal Christianity p
must prevail If the rural church is to u
ultill its mission to agriculture q
We frequently have three or four ~
hurches in a community which is not sI
BILE to adequately support one Small co
Congregations attend services once a
month and all fail to perform the re. tn
gious functions of the community. d
he division Of religious forces and y,
he breaking into fragments of moral T.,
forts is ofttimes little less than a n
alamity and defeats the very purpose dr.
hey seek to promote Of
The evils OF too many churches can Jo
e minlmized by cooperation The G'
Dcial and economic life Of a rural 70
are respective units and w
lnnot be successfully divided by de- / +
lines, and the churches to
an only occupy this important field
cooperation and coordination be
The efficient country church will Ial
serve its community by lead ~ ~
3 IN all worthy efforts al community H.
hiding, in uniting the people in all Br
cooperative endeavors for the gen vii
al welfare Of the community and IN De
ousing a real love for country life La
ID loyalty to the country home and De
ese results can only be successfully "'
complished by the united effort of
e press. the school, the church and
ganized farmers