Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1914-12-17
THE RURAL
'''' CHURCH
THE FARMERS THE cUsToDIANs
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 school
. form a triple alliance OF progress that
guides the destiny OF every commun-
ity, state and nation. Without them
civilization would wither and die and
through them life may attain its great.
est blessing, power and knowledge
The farmers of this nation are greatly
indebted to this social triumvirate for
their uplifting influence, and on behalf
OF the American plowmen | want to
thank those engaged in these high
callings for their able and efficient
service, 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 eff
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
| hhONA. Lie 10 TIC CuSlOQldu VI the
nations morality; upon his shoulders
rests the ark of the covenant" and
he is more responsive to religious in
fiuences than any other class of cit
izenship.
The farmers of this nation have
built 10000 churches at a cost of
$3.50, 900, and the annual contribu-
ton of the nation toward all church
institutions approximates s200,000O00
per annum. The farmers of the Uni
ted States build % churches per day
There are 20.000.000 rural church COM
municants on the farm. and 81 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
is noble. The Garden of Eden was
in the country and the man who would
get close to God must first get close
to nature.
The Functions Of a 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
ure OF success must enrich the lives
OF the people in the community it
serves; 1t must build character; devel-
OPP thought and increase the efficiency
of human life. 1t must serve the So
cial, business and intellectual as we'll
as the spiritual and moral side OF life
II religion does not make a man more
capable, more useful and more just,
what good is it? We want a practical
religion, one We can live by and farm
by, as we'll as die by.
Fewer and Better Churches.
Blessed ID that rural community
which has but one place of worship.
While competition Is the life Of trade,
1t is death to the rural church ard
moral starvation to the community.
Petty sectarianism is scourge that
blights the life, and the church preju-
dice saps the vitality, of many COM
munities. An over-churched commun-
ity ID crime against religion, a seri-
Gus handicap to society and useless
tax upon agriculture
While denominations are essential
and church pride commendable, the
high teaching of universal Christianity
must prevail If the rural church is to
fulfill its mission to agriculture.
We frequently have three or four
churches in community which is not
able to adequately support one Small
congregations attend services once a
month and all fail to perform the re-
ligious functions OF the community
The division of religious forces and
} the breaking into fragments OF moral
efforts is ofttimes little less than O
calamity and defeats the very purpose
they seek to promote
The evils OF too many churches car
be minimized by cooperation. The
social and economic life of a rura
community are respective units ant
( cannot be successfully divided by de
nominational lines, and the churches
can only occupy this important fielt
by cooperation and coordination.
The efficient country church will
definitely serve its community by lead
o ing in all worthy efforts at communit,
building, In uniting the people in al
cooperative endeavors for the gen
eral welfare of the community and il
arousihg real love for country III
and loyalty to the country home an,
these results can only be successfully
l accomplished by the united effort O
the press. the school, the church an
organized farmers
CONGRESS DEGREES DOLLARS IN
OULGING IN lUxURIES MlIer