The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1915-10-14
Dorset Campaign in Full Swing

hsohR't 50 49, $500
The interest of all of Dorset west
of the mountain is centered in the
campaign which is being conducted by
the citizens in cooperation with the
Improvement Association. All the
people of the town are uniting to
make the campaign success. All are
looking ahead to the coming of the
Williams College men at the end of
the week. A more complete account
of the meetings will be given next
week.
The Church and the Community
We are indebted to Rev. Geo. S.
Mills of Bennington, VT, for the fol-
lowing article on "The Church and
the Community" All who are inter-
ested in the churches and in social
welfare organizations will be Interest,"
ed to read Mr.. Mills scholarly and
practical article.
"Let me speak first of fitting our
program for the new efficiency of the
church to the exact place where we
are-the need in our own village or
town or city as best we are able to
understand that need. The church in
the community must be such a gener-
ator and distributor of ideas, senti-
ments, plans, as will change that COM
munity for the better physically and
socially. If the community needs to
be taught how to grow potatoes and
corn, let the church see to it that the
community is taught just that. If it
needs to be taught what is wholesome
recreation for young people and how
to go about this, let the church be re-
sponsible for teaching just that. The
end is not to grow potatoes, but to
grow souls, not to train baseball teams
but to train character, but potatoes
and baseball may come incidentally
first; they are worth something in
themselves as pure material satisfac-
tons, and they may be worth more as
means of approach to the moral ideal
and as evidences of it. And this again
is to say that the church must moral
ize and idealize its community by
whatever simple, ordinary, first hand
means are available.
ITO make practical the gospel is
always community service. 1t is not
to build up the church or glorify the
church for its own sake. For their
sakes | sanctify myself We who
are Congregationalists have been say
ing in recent years that we ought to
be doing more on our own account. l
am not so sure. Yes and no. Without
our denominational self
or the wisdom Of i'm
proving it in this particular and that
and sturdily approaching our distinct
to the sum total of mod
srn Christianity, nevertheless we must
De grounded in the cardinal principle
If Jesus great word, and as churches
quite as much as individuals make
ourselves strong and beautiful and
rood not for our own sakes but for
he common life. We cannot save our
corporate soul alone; and there is no
'eason in trying to preserve Congre-
yationalism except as we are able to
'ender it increasingly serviceable. In
one Of our rural communities il
night be well for the Congregational
.hurch to die or to depart with It's
emnant into the body Of some other
hurch that discloses more vitality
md has succeeded in making itself
'eally useful. If in any community |
he faithful ones in a church OF our
rider maintain II is the other church
which ought TO die or be absorbed let
hem prove their faith by their works.
The church which has the right to
i've is the church in fact which does