Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-07-20
H. r. McKeen on Applied Christian
ity-Grand Musical Fes.
tival by Kryrs Con-
cert Band.
THE CAMBRIDGE PLAYERS
The Addresses by Ng Poon Chew,
Uel w. Lamkin and Ross
Crane.
From Yesterdays Daily:

From Yesterdays Daily:
Saturday morning, applied Chris
tianity had the stage at the Chau
tauqua tent. H. R. McKeen, min
lister who himself has largely solved
the problem in a remarkable person
al experience, spoke on Solving the
Rural Church Problems" Mr.. Nc
Keen is forceful personality, q
pleasing rapid-fire speaker, a man o1
ideals and of large experience in his
chosen field. N
Mr.. McKeen assured his audience
ahat the fate of the nation hung up.
on the wellbeing of the rural dis
trict. He spoke to promote the best
country church, home and school. He
pleaded for the very best for the rur.
al community. The minister of the
country church had too often been
either a "beginner" or an "ender,'
a man with no experience or man
ically the lecturer told the story OF
the unique success of Matthew
Brown McNut in a country parish in
northern Illinois,. and of two other
successful parishes in Kansas where
modern institutional work has put q
united church upon its feet. At Sar-
gent, Nebraska, a town of only zoo
population, where three futile and
dying churches were barnacles upon
the weakened life of the community
under competent leader the
churches merged for active Chris
tian work. They sold two of the
church buildings, erected a modernly
equipped edifice for 1880, increas-
ed the membership of the church to
460, paid their minister $4,000 last
year and are to raise his salary this
year to $2,5OO, and in all this they
brought religion up to par and made
the church real constructive force
in the life of the community.
Mr.. McKeen told some of his per
sonal experiences in the work. In a
little hopeless Oklahoma town he
went to be the pastor of moribund
church. From 70 he built the Sun
day school up to membership of
34S, established Ines of real study;
introduced better reading into the
community; established supervised
and well-planned play for the chill
dren and real socials for the young
folks; turned the ladies aid society
into vital force for social service,
brought about a mems organization
that played the part of farmers
institute for the community and put
into effect a system of farm econom-
les which brought thousands of dol
lars into the farmers pockets. Mr..
McKeen was careful to say that he
had both q church and an institute.
that his work did not merge the two
so as practically to leave neither part
of an institutional church in effect.
He closed his lecture with Bonny
Briar Bush-Twice Born Men stories
of personal reclamation in his parish
which took grip on those who
heard Mr.. McKeen's lecture was
one of the best given this year of
good things at Chautauqua. Every
body in Webster City ought to have
heard it.
Saturday at Chautauqua was
Kryl's day. With eight clarinets, six
cornets, three French horns, three
slide trombones, one euphonium, two
double B tass horns, one string bass
oboe, flute, piccolo, bass drum and a
nest Of traps, together with a fine
harp. xylophone and about three
octaves of cathedral pipes, Bohumir
Kryl filled the big tent and the city
with his music. His two concerts
made a profound impression upon
the music lovers of Webster City
Kryl does not need his mop of bushy
hair to mark his artistic tempera.
ment for his face tells the story oi
the artist before Superintendent
Graham puts the audience next tc
the romance of the great bandmast.