Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-12-15
THE RURAL
"' CHURCH
THE FARMERS THE cUsToOlANs
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 q triple alliance OF progress that
guides the destiny OF every cCmmun
ity state and nation. Without them
civilization would wther and die ana
through them lie may attain its great
est tsslh9. power and knOM ledge
The iaImers II this nation are greatl
inde he'd TO this social ,riumvir:te 81
their uplifting influence, and on beA@l
OF the American plowmen want t.
thank those engaged in these high
cal!ings for their able and eiIicieu
service, and ! shall offer to the press
series Of articles on cooperation
between these important influences
and the farmers in the hope of in
creasing the efficiency CT all by ,nu
tual understanding and organized ef
fort We Will take up. first. the rural
church
The Farmers Are Great Church Build
The American farmer is the creates
church builder the world has ever
known. lie is the custodian of the
nations morality; upon his shoulders
rests the ark of the covenant and
he is more responsive to religious in
fuences than any other class Of cit
izenship.
The farmers of this nation have
built 10000 churches at cost Of
$3.50 0c0, 900. and the annual contrbu
ton OF the nation toward all church
institutions approximates s20O,0O0,O00
per annum. The farmers of the Uni
ted States build % churches per day
There are 20.OO0.0OO rural church com
municants on the farm. and "a per
cent Of the total membership Of all
churches reside in the country.
The farm is the powerhouse of all
progress and the birthplace of all tina,
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 go
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 i
serves; it must build character, dcvel
OPP thought and increase the efficiency
of human life. 1t must serve the Sc
:.,l n
as the spiritual and moral side OF he
If religion does not make man NOR
capable, more usefu! and mere Just.
what good is it? We want a rscticai
religion, one we can live by and farm
by, as we'll as die by
Fewer and Better Churches
Blessed is that rural community
which has but one place Of worship
While competition is the life of trade
it is death to the rural church and
moral starvation to the community
Petty sectariansm is scourge that
blights the life, and the church preju
dice saps the vitality. OF many com
munt!es. An over-cturched cOmmur
ity is crime against religion. seri
Gus handicap to society and useles.
tax upon agriculture.
While denominations are essenria
and church pride conmendable, til
nigh teaching of universal Christianity
must prevail If the rural church is t.
fulfill its mission to agriculture
We frequently have three or -four
;.lN
able to adequately support one Small
congregations attend services once a
month and all fail to perform the re
ligous functions Of the community
The division of religious forces and
the breaking into fragments Of moral
efforts is ofttimes little less than
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 rura'
community are respective units an.
cannot be successfully divided by de
nominational lines, and the churcbe,
can only occupy this important fielo
by cooperation and coordination.
The efficient country church vii
definitely serve it's community by lead
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,
arousing a real love for country lf.
and loyalty to the country home an
these results can only be successful
accomplished by the united effort @
the press. the school. the church anc
organized farmers.