The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1914-11-26
The Rural Church

civilization would wither and die and
through them life may attain it's 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 I want to
thank those engaged in these high
callings for their able and efficient
service, and ! 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. e... tl
The Farmers Are Great Church Build
The American farmer ID 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 100000 churches at a cost OF
$75O,O0O,00O, and the annual contribu.
ton of the nation toward all church
institutions approximates 100000, 600
per annum. The farmers Of the uni.
ted States build % churches per day.
There are 2O,OO0,OO0 rural church com.
municants on the farm, and "a pei
cent Of the total rnas- -hsFshlp--ssifsl lsiil
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 Rural Church.
II 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 II
serves; 1t must build character; deyel
op thought and increase the efficiency
Of human life. It must serve the so
cial, business and intellectual, as vel
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 practica
religion, one we can live by and farm
BY, as well 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
1t Is death to the rural church anC
moral starvation to the community
Petty sectarianism is a scourge tha
blights the life, and the church preju
dice saps the vitality, Of many com
munities. An over-churched commun
ity Ia crime against religion, a seri
GUS handicap to society and a useless
tax upon agriculture.
While denominations are essentia
and church pride commendable, tn,
high teaching Of universal Christianit!
must prevail II the rural church is I.
fulfill its mission to agriculture.
We frequently have three or fou
churches in a community which is no
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 an,
the breaking into fragments of mora
Efforts Is ofttimes little less than
calamity and defeats the very purpos
they seek to promote.
The evils Of too many churches ca
be minimized by cooperation. Tn
social and economic life Of q rurs
community are respective units an
cannot be successfully divided by d,
nominational lines, and tho churche
can only occupy this important fiel
by cooperation and coordination.
The efficient country church wi
definitely serve its community by lea,
ing in all worthy efforts at communit
building, in uniting the people in a
cooperative endeavors for the gel
eral welfare Of the community and
arousing a real love for country III
and loyalty to the country home an
these results can only be successful
accomplished ~ the united SsliOrt
the press. the school. the church an
organized farms:s. V1 M
d y ssl alr5.s