Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1920-02-21
CHURCH CONFERENCE
24-27, Notable Affair. Churches
Plan to Cooperate.

to attend the later Church Conference
at Mitchell This Conference marks a
situation that is SO unusual that it de
serves special mention. 1t is in fact a
| determined effort to obtain United
Protestant Church on the fundamental
| things and to reconcile as far as human.
| ly possible the different bodies to q
working basis in dealing with the prob.
lens that are now confronting the
Churches.
Every Protestant minister in the state
Of South Dakota has been invited to the
Conference as a guest Of the Inter
Church movement with expenses practi
caIIy paid The invitation is from the
representatives Of the Churches who are
heading the movement aud are plan
! ming to have the pastors spend the week
| together listening to the best minds oil
the Church movement, and Of course
having the privilege of considering the
future in conference. The benefits to be
obtained by such conference as this il
incalculable to the minister He will
become acquainted with men of other
denominations who having different
fields OF service, have the same problems
with which to deal, and incidentally
may have a better method Of solution
Each will be able to see presumably
that the line OF Demarkation separating
the Churches is some times very thin
one, and incidentally he may see the
wisdom Of the leaders in calling this
conference with view to obliterating
some of these lines which lately have
seemed to be like the Equator,
invisible" or perhaps we should more
correctly state like the usual eclipse
visible only in some places.
The movement itself doubtless grew
out of the war situation at least in in
cepton. We learned the necessity Of
cooperation and coordination througD
the law Of necessity. Nothing else couIu
have won the war From that the
p
of Unity in church work and the Ma
tional Conference held at Atlantic City
in January was the first great move to
unite the Churches in a forward move
ment. This was largely delegate
body of leaders. Then the state move
ment as now to be realized at the Nit
pbal Epn faranpa ,paa r,lanpa1 apI nil.
be conducted in or through state con
ference in each state in the Union
Then later on the plan will be continu-
ed through district meetings, and later
by community gatherings 1t will re
maiu 10 be seen just how far the rank
and file Of the great bodies will be will
ing to follow the leaders, but we will
hazard the opinion that the people will
eventually follow any sane move look
ing toward a more compact unity Of
work that may be lined up We have
always believed that the leaders were,
to greater extent than anyone else, re
sponsible for the manifold divisions
which have given Professionalism an un-
enviable reputation in the judgment
the eyes of the world, and that If sensible
cooperation is suggested and recommend.
ed and leadership provided, that the
people who represent the lay member
ship in the various churches will be
willing to follow TO the end of the plan.
Meanwhile it will be greal experience
TO have these preachers together for a
week discussing common problems and
exchanging experiences, and discover
ing possible values where we did not
sense their existence. We are remind.
ed OF the story told some time ago in a
big Inter Church movement by leader
of the Church OF man who had moved
to the west part of our country at an
early day and had there made his home
and had grown to considerable promi-
nence in his community. There came
time when he received an
invitation to attend a Home Com-
munity Coming Day at the birth
place, and the trip was a long one
and at one place necessitated a drive OF
70 miles overland by stage and at night
Only one passenger took the same stage
and TO the man returning home he was
not OF prepossessing appearance lie
coGjured ap stories he had read OF
brigands who awaited the opportune
time to rob or kill the passenger on
lonely road, and the trip was made
with maay forebodings, and, iltle
pleasure. They scarcely spoke, aud al
the end of the journey both took the
train on to continue the journey till
alighting from the train at the home
station the greeting accorded each of
them revealed them to be brothers long
separated, aud having changed to the
extent that neither recognized his
brother as such. BY allowing them
selves TO harbor a suspicion and not in
vestigating the community of interests
of the trip they had deprived them
selves of what would have been most
pleasant trip and profitable one to
each, and instead had isolated them
selves from the very things which they
were travelling miles to obtain. The
moral is obvious. Some day we shall
all arrive at the conclusion which came
TO these brothers when they reached
home.