The Pageland journal. [volume] (Pageland, S.C.) 1911-1978, 1915-01-20
THE CHURCH As
AS0C.|AL CENTER.
A Broader Sphere %or ReIIsIon-New
Field for the Rural Church.
BY Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union

Lecturer National Farmers Union
The social duty of the rural church
is as much part Of its obligations
as It's spiritual side. In expressing its
social interest, the modern rural
church does not hesitate to claim that
1t Is expressing a true religious in
st1nct and the old-time idea that the
social instincts should be starved
while the spiritual nature was over
fed with solid theological food, is fast
giving way to a broader interprata.
u9 - OF true religion.
WeeshHe our place in the succession
OF those who have sought to make the
world fit habitation for the children
or man when we seek to study and
understand the social duty of the
rural church. The true christian re-
hg1on Is essentially social-its tenets
of faith being love and brotherhood
and fellowship While following after
righteousness, the church must chal-
lenge and seek to reform that social
order in which moral life is ex-
pressed. While cherishing ideals of
service, the rural church which IT.
Is that which enriches as many lives
as 1t can touch, end in no way can
the church come in as close contact
with it's members as through the
avenue Of social functions.
The country town and the rural
community need social center. The
church need offer no apology for it's
ambition to fill this need in the COM
munity, If an understanding of it's
mission brings this purpose into clear
consciousness. The structure of a
rural community Is exceedingly com.
plex; 1t contains many social groups,
each OF which has its own center, but
there are many localities which have
but one church and although such
q church cannot command the inter.
est of all the people, 1t is relieved
from the embarrassment of religiously
divided communities
Social Needs imperative.
Ihe average country boy and girl
have very little opportunity for real
enjoyment, and hava, as a rule, a
vague conception of the meaning of
pleasure and recreation. 1t is to fill
this void In the lives of country youth
that the rural church has risen to
the necessity Of providing entertain.
ment, as well as instruction, to it's
membership. among the young. The
chlioren and young -"Tle OF the
cHurch should meet. when /, 'igion is
not even mentioned. II has been
lound safest for them to meet fire..
quently under the direction anc care
or the church. To send them into tha
world with no social training exposes
them to grave perls and to try TO
Keep them out of the world with no
social privileges is sheer folly. There
ls social nature to both old and
young. but the social requirements of
the young are imperative. The church
must provide directly or indirectly
some modern equivalent for the husk-
ing bee, the quilting bee and the sing
ing schools OF the old days. In one
way or another the social instiocts
OF our young people must have oppor-
tunity for expression, which NAV
take the form OF clubs, parties, pic
MICS or other forms OF amusement.
one thing IS certain, and that is that
the church cannot take away the
dance, the card party and the theatre
unless 1t can offer in its place a sat
lsfying substitute in the form of more
pleasing recreation.