The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-30
Edgewood Community Church Building Up Standards or Life h Happy Community
Presbyterian Church Formed Nucleus in 913There Has Been Steady, Though at F rst Slow Development.
 Mir. Hickman Took Hold Two Years Ago. z .-t Developing the Greater Growth
By CAROLYN E. ELLIOTT

 , and our purpose is to render service in the name of Jesus of Nazareth"
 | The Presbyterian Church formed the nucleus for the Community Church. sim ply because the membership was there 1 as a beginning, and the building was there" he continued.
 | "Whse the old membership was, and | is, Presbyterian, the doors of the church 1 are open to all evangelical denominations who wish to unite in community inter- | ests> as associate members. Among the MethodistS who are associate members one is superintendent of the church school one is a deacon in the church. | a Baptist is on the board of trustees and other denominations are represented in various departments.
 | The community idea for the church is not new one however, said MT. Hicl<- man. Though it is rather new to the south, it has been put into practice sue | lcessfully in many northern cities, and in 1 the rural districts.
 | While the religious service comes | first, and should never be lost sight Of. l it is not all the service a church owes to 1 the community he continued. The ed- ucational, recreational and social devel- ophent should be a part of the pro- gramme of the church"
 l During the two years of life, the Edge wood Community Church has promoted 1 the recreational life of the young peo- | pie with baseball teams that the Edge | wood boys agree are the finest in the 1 country. Tennis courts have also been | opened, and a delightful playground for | the smaller children under the wise care | of Mrs Hickman. The church has also helped to promote the work of the CIVIC Association which meets in the church | school rooms twice a month for the pur- I pose of considering all questions of in- terest to Edgewood.
 l An effort is being made now to have a community sing said Mir. Hickman, land to open a public school in Edge l wood. We have also planned larger ' church school for the religious educa- 1 tion of our children. Only twenty-four l hours a year is what most Sunday 1 schools open only on Sunday give to re- l hgious education. At least 300 hours a i year should be given on Sunday and dur l ing the week. Really, the church should not only be open on Sunday, but all the 1 tinle and ours will be in time, for the | purpose of educational, recreational, so- cial, mental and religious training" l MT. Hickman's ideals for community | service through the combined effort ot | the churches came to him after he had 1 taken a theological course in preparation | for the ministry. Having graduated wi!al | honors at the University of Missouri and | l for usefulness in an exhaustive study oI economics, psychology, sociology and the Bible. Since then, though some of the leading universities of the country have made him flattering offers, he has con | tinued to refuse these, in order to realize his dreams of a church that will function :! for all phases of life of the community
 "At first my attitude toward the church
 was critical" explained Mir. Hickman l "but through this critical attitude l be | gan to see that the purpose of the church
 its largest opportunity, is the saving moi
 only of individual life, but community | life I don't see why this shouldn't Se l true, not only in small communities 2Io l in rural districts where good roads ano | good farms go hand in hand with sle gospel but why it shouldn't be the great l est influence for good in our cities. Full | returns will never be realized, however
 unless churches are willing to cooper l ate and combine their efforts for the up l building of the community.
 "As a result of the past two years
 l activities of the church in Edgewood a community spirit of cooperation ano good fellowship exists. It is not an eA | periment,"N MT. Hickman concluded, "l'
 is an assured success, and will continue te
 | thrive and develop. The spirit that pre- vails is that we have just begun-the fu'
 ture lies before us.