Oxford Democrat., 1921-12-27
sectarlan Disarmament.

Were asked what the greatest 0osta-
Gle to Christian progress IN the world to-
day is, would not say war, social or in
dustrlal injustice, commercial greed, op
preston, liquor, seldshness, indidusl Inn
moraIity-none OF these concrete evils
but would say sectarisnism! That 10 .
strong statement. would make 1t even
stronger than say that 1t stands In the
way of Christian progress, and would
say that It 10 ono Of the outstanding evils
of our times. It does seem ludicrous
that the forces which promoted and In
stlgated the disarmament conference are
themselves unable to disarm. ] am not
going to preach, but Jesus said, "a
house divided against itself will fall"
He said this In substance II not In those
very words, and to-day the Protestant
forces of America which claim to bt
working at the mitigation of and from
the inspiration of the the holy Spirit oi
God, divided stand ~ q mockery OF the
Fatherhood Of God and travesty on the
Brotherhood Of Man. With denomina'
tionalism there can be no unity OF spiT-
itual purpose, no economy Of effort,
time nor money. The spectacle OF .
united Church presenting united front
In common task can only come % de-
rlvalries, jealousies, mar.
row. -mindedness, sectarianism are eradi-
Gated. Before the Church can do hef
most effective work In taking the m0tes
out of the eyes Of the world, It might be
we'll to remove few beams out OF ber
own eyes. The Church is not Mutual
Fire Insurance Company, in'uring the In
soul against the day OF judg
ment, but 1t is the official representative
OF Christ in the world, and charged b.
Him to build up and promote the King
dom of God, here and now, by using ev
cry legitimate means to make 1t q more
fit place to live 10. Divided the Church
is stumbling over its own shoe Iaces.
United the Church can use the most ef
fective means to promote the physical,
cultural, and religious betterment Of the
touching every phase OF hu'
man activity.
The old cry that competition 10 neces-
say is as dead as Julius Caesar. C0mpe-
tition may be the life Of trade, but 10 an
organization whose Founder prayed that
the members therof "might be one" il
engenders friction, III temper, jealousy.
pride, ,selfis ishness; promotes waste Of time,
talent, effort, and money, and does nu'
other things that are not com.
patible with true Christian spirit.
But let's get down to hard tack and
look at the financial side of IL. Take .
village like South Paris. ] wonder If
Christ needs four churches for the same
purpose in . village of this size. Sala-
ries for four pastors. Cost uf four dif-
ferent buildings with costly maintenance,
four sections, four heating and lighting
plants, four costly organs and furniture
and equipment, four choirs'to pay; the
just struggling along, and ter
rible groans and internal pains at every
Z fort to raise the budget. The combined
budgets probably amount to somewhere
around ten thousand dollars q year. The
otal attendance at all four churches
probably hovers around the four hun
dred mark each Sunday. Now picture
that In one large Community Church.
There would be large congregation that
would be an inspiration to any pastor.
There could be pastor and 9 director OF
religious education, we'll paid and com-
petent. There would be no waste nor
duplication of effort. Three ministers
could be released for other unnamed
fields. There could be an efficient plant.
The annual budget could be reduced,
and then more money could be devoted
to missionary and benevolent purposes
than is now done by the four churches
combined. How about meeting the mis-.
sionary programs of the denominations
involved? I would unite the member
ship of the four churches and then pro
rate the missionary money to the inter-
ested denominations according to the
number of missionary givers In each
church.
How about new members coming into
the church? They would unite With The
undenominational community church,
using their option as to whether baptism
would be administered by immersion or
sprinkling. and subscribe to Q church
covenant drawn up by the interested
churches at the time Of union and revised
az occasion demanded. AHerthe union
was perfected oil four ministers would
promptly resign, and then the new
church would call Q pastor and director
of religious education. There would be
one church organization, one program.
unity of effort, no overlapping, and 40
adequate service to the community could
be rendered.
This 10 all probably just dream, ct
the present writing, but hope II will
set people thinking whether our present
denominations system has any justifica.
tion for its existence, and will serve to
initiate and give impetus to q movement
for the attainment Of this ultimate ideal
for South Paris.
EDWARD A. MORRIS.