The Spectator., 1915-01-26
THE RURAL
 CHURCH
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 tripple alliance of progress that guides the destiny of every community, state and nation Without them civiliza-!t tioh would wither and die and through them life may attain it's { greatest blessing, power and' knowledge The farmers of this nation are greatly indebted to this social triumvirate for its uplifting influence, and on be- half of the American plowmeh want to thank those engaged in these nigh callings for their able and efficient service, and I shall offer to the press a series oi articles on cooperation between these important influences and the farmers in the hope of in creasing the efficiency of all by mutual understanding and or ganized effort We will take up, first, the rural church
 The Farmers Are Great Church
 Builders.
 The American farmer is the greatest church builder the world has ever known. He Is the GUS todian of the nations morality; upon his shoulders rests the lark of the covenant and he is more responsive to religious influences than any other class of citizen ship
 The farmers of this nation have built 10000 churches at . cost of $750,0000OO, and the an nual contribution of the nation toward all church institutions approximates S2OO,OOO,OOO per annum The farmers of the Unit, ed States build 2 churches per day There are 20,O00,0OO rural church communicants on the farm, and 54 per cent of the total membership of all churches re- side 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 na- ture
 The Functions of Rural Church.
 If the rural churches today are going to render service which this age demands, there must be cooperation between the reli- eious. social and economic life of the community.
 The church to attain its fullest measure of success must enrich the lives of the people in the community it serves: 1t must build character; develop thought and increase the efficiency of human life. It must serve the social, business and intellectual, as well as the spiritual and moral side of life. If religion does not make man more capable, more useful and more just, what good is it? We want a practical re- liqion. 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 wor- ship. While competition is the life of trade, 1t IS death to the. rural church and moral starvation to the community. Petty secta- rianism Is d scourge that blights the life. and church prejudice saps the vitality of many com munities. An over-churched community is crime against religion. serious handicap to society and a useless tax upon agriculture
 While denominations are es- sential and church pride com mendable. the high teaching ot universal christianity must pre- vail if the rural church is to full fill its mission to agriculture.
 We frequently have three or four churches i'll community which IS not able to adequately support one. Small congrega- tions attend services once . month and all fail to perform the religious functions of the community The division of re- ligious forces and the breaking into fragments of moral effort IS ofttimes little less than . ca lamity and defeats the very pur. pose they seek to promote.
 APPRECIATION.