Cheyenne record., 1914-11-26
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

Ofln Il Triple dlllauCe VI pIOSISSo tldI
,uides the destiny Of every commun-
ty, state and nation. Without them
civilization would wither and die and
trough them life may attain its great
yst bic. sing, power and knowledge.
The farmers of this nation are greatly
Indebted to this social triumvirate for
heir uplifting influence, and On behalf
If the American plowmen I want to
hank these engaged in these high
:ailings for thcir able and efficient
service, and>I shall offer to the press
series Of articles on cooperation
between these important influences
I'd the farmers in the hope of in
;reasipg the efficiency of all by mu-
ual understanding and organized eff
ort We will take up first the rura!
;hurch.
rhe Farmers Are Great Church Build
ers.
The tE.crican n farmer is the greatest
:hrrch blilCer the world has ever
:nown. He is the custodian OF the
lation's morality; upon his shoulders
ests the lark of the covenant and
le is more responsive to religious in
luencas thar -ny other class Of Cit
Icnrhip.
The farmers Of this nation have
| QUILT 100000 churches at cost OF
;750,G00,0G0, and the annual contribu-
iCn of the nation toward all church
nstitutlons approXimates 00,000,003
)Cr annum The farmers Of the Unit
ID States buid % churches per day.
There are 20,O0DOOo rural church COM
nunicants on the farm. and 81 per
:ent of the total ms membership Of al!
churches reside in the country.
The farm Is the power house Of all
'raEress and the birthplace Of all that
roble. 'fhe Garden of Eden was
n the country ard the man who would
get close to God must first get close
% nature.
The Functions Of a Rural Church.
If the rural churches today are 60
ng TO render a service which this age
demands, there ilust be cooperation
between the religious, social and eco
,omic life Of the community.
The church to attain it's fullest mea-
sure of success mvst cnri7i the lives
# the people in the community 1t
;erves; i. must build character; Cevel-
p thought and increase the efficiency
" human life. II must serve the SO,
'ial, business and intellectual, as well
s the spiritual and moral side Of life.
religion does not make man mere
,apable, more useful and more Just,
What good is il? We want a practica.
'eligon. one we can live By and farm
by. as well as de by.
Fewer ari Better Churches.
Blessed is tina, rural community
which has but one place CT WORSHIP.
While competition is the life Of trade,
it is death to the rural church aud
moral starvation to the community.
Petty seCtar.lHism is 4 scoUrge that
81 ghts the life. and church prciu-
lice saps the vitality CT many com.
| nunitics. An over -churched commun.
T. is crime against religion, scri.
us handicap to society end useless
|. Ak upon agriculture.
While Denominations are essential
I'd church pride cor2rlendah,e, the
N teaching of univClsal christianity
must prevail II the rural church is TO
ulfil its mission to agriculture.
We frequently have three or fo3r
'hurchcs in a community which is not
able to adequately support one. Small
congregations attend services once
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
effort is ofttimes little less than a
calamity and defeats the very purpose
they seek to promote.
The evils of too many churches can
be minimized by cooperation. The
social and economic life of a rural
community are respective units and
cannot be successfully divided by de-
nominational lines, and the churches
can only occupy this important field
by cooperation and coordination.
The efficient country church will
definitely serve its community by lead
ing in all worthy efforts at community
building, in uniting the people in all
cooperative endeavors for the gen
eral welfare of the community and IL
arousing a real love for country life
and loyalty to the country home and
these results can only be successfully
accomplished by the united effort O.