Six Thousand Country Churches

ectual, and physical vigor. In some instances the communities and their churches have not been seriously affected by the modern conditions and tendencies which elsewher

received from the modern country church movement, while not

ian co?peration has been brought to pass and the rural church conditions have been greatly improved. For that reason descriptions of actual successful cases of interchurch co?peration are here supplied. These examples are intended to include federated churches, church federations, and denomina

e Tow

f its residents are descended from the early settlers from New England, others have recently moved in from western sections of Ohio, while possibly 10 per cent are of forei

who were going into farming before the war can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It is probable, however, that a new era in agriculture has begun. Quite recently drainage, and in some cases the application of lime, have reclaimed mu

These two are about equal in strength, while in the northwestern part is a Baptist church with but three

ed for their preaching upon student supplies from a neighboring theological school, while the ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church have lived outside the township at North Bloomfie

pastoral calls. Several families in the southeastern section of the township have had little or no association with any ministers or churc

ber of families do not ask clergymen to officiate at funerals. The undertaker sometimes conducts a short service at the grave, or his w

ield Church in an adjacent township paid him $500, so that the total salary of the Methodist minister who gave part of his time to Greene Township was $800. Obviously this is not enough to support a family

It was decided by this committee that a federated church should be formed in which each constituent ecclesiastical body would preserve its own identity. Each church would independently meet its obligations to its own denomination in all matters outside of the commun

oing to help the whole community and not just a part. I believe the interests of the Kingdom will be advanced most where effort is united in rural communities. In our canvass for funds we were surprised to find that the non-church people were not willing that the churches should close their doors. In addition we found the

nt in religious, moral, social, and economic life. The increased giving in Greene Township has also influenced the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in North Bloomfield. They have

rto, while two communities will each have the full time service of a resident pastor. The significance of this increase in the money support of the church will be apparent to those who have studied moder

he churches of both North Bloomfield and Greene should federate it would be possible to employ a single pastor of even higher grade with an assistant. An automobile could be used effectiv

ro

the improvement of this situation an organization of the men of the churches was formed to promote the general community welfare. As in so many other cases, to bring the churches together in co?perative service to the community was seen to be the only way to secure a vigorous church life for Aurora. That led to the decis

ement was to be tried for but two years, at the end of that time the desirability of going back to the old way was not even discussed. So far as Mr. Gill could learn in a visit to the community, the one and only one person who still preferred the old way was a woman who had oppos

etts

and partly in supplying the various daily needs of the people. Its good houses, electric lights, paved streets, and trim sidewalks indicate progressiveness and community spirit

s of other towns, while one of the pastors was the Educational Secretary of a Y. M. C. A. in a town thirty miles away. The spirit of denominational rivalry was in no respect different from that commonly found where there are too many churches. When the pastor of the Congregat

hurches. In 1916, however, under the influence of the country church movement in Ohio, a successful effort was made to unite all three of them. In th

e in the separate churches had ever been, but the Sunday school, formerly with separate attendances of 65, 20, and 12, now had an att

and any candidate for admission might choose his own mode of being received, provided it was one used in some Evangelical church. Contributions for missionary work were sent to denominational bodies indicated by the givers or determined by a joint committee. For all local wo

ffords religious opportunities and renders service to the people far

mittee of the United Church. The officials of the denominations of the three churches interested heartily encou

the Scriptures as its sufficient rule of faith and practice, interpreted in the light of fundamental agreements in evangelical teaching, and in the spirit of its motto. Forms of ritual for the sacrament, for the public services, and for admission into the church are left to the decision

avor Society. The women's work is carried on by a most flourishing society under the name of "The Community Circle," whose form of organization provides for taking care of both local and mi

or promoting the social life of the community and general community interests, but has postponed it until after the war. In the Articles of Incorporation one of the obje

United Church. The pastor of the United Church is also pastor of each of the three denominational churches and so far as possible attends the district meetings of the denominational bodies in a representative capacity and cares for the loca

of Garrettsville differs in some respe

thf

ement in a federated church on December 1, 1914. Written articles were adopted several months later.

omination was first secured. Then the members of

h local church continues intact. Each set of trustees has charge of its property. The Presbyterian Church being the better located, is used for wo

ation as a whole. An every-member canvass for the local budget is made in which no account is taken of church relations, no one but the treasurer knowing how much is contributed

gly. No one seems to care in which they are enrolled, since they work in the same congregation and contribute to the same fun

ction between the denominations. No one seem

PRESBYTER

nomination which in time would pr

d annually which had been expended in Northfield to keep the

the various boards and int

HODIST CONFE

tless would have been closed in

and also the stipends of the district superint

all boards and benevole

COMMUNI

eeping two church buildings when one is suffi

than doubled, there is more en

cism that the churches are co

ation appeal to the public and bring into line p

hurches in

ccess or failure of these churches is therefore necessary to a reasonably full discussion of interchurch co?peration. Ac

of Fed

ons of consti

ach church at the

first minister and of

the present arrangemen

e want to go bac

enevolences decl

ary support of the mi

xpenditures of the

dance decline

embership declin

mation of the federated church had u

f the federated church as a means of secu

al, seven Baptist, and one Universalist. The Universalist was federated with a Congregational church, two federated churche

ed churches were Baptists, of five, Method

f eight, two of six, two of five, two of four, two of three, three of two, makin

iked the present arrangement better than the old, while the other two

ed the same, one said benevolences varied in different years, while in three the benevolences had decl

is ambiguous. In the case of Truro, Massachusetts, where one church had a membership of three and the oth

g expenditures of the churches are often less and

ed attendance, five no noticeable change. No church re

eased in membership, five have remained stationary, on

hat there was no marked effect yet, while one gave no answer. All but one of the correspondents cherish a strong opinion that the federated

questionnaire, "Kindly express frankly your opinion of the federated

thing

ational form of government should not federate, but it would be

tist Church had been pastorless for three and a half years. The Congregational Church was supplied by students from Hartford Theologi

ties and in many small cities. I see no other way to bring

community outside the federation. There is still the Unitarian Church outside the federation which necessarily makes a divided leadership in the small community. Our federated church has grown from two small churches to the position of dominance in the community. Our decrease in benevolences is largely

ore federation. Each church is stronger than before federation. We look forward to the day when federation will be the rule in overchurched communities for the sake

to say that I unqualifiedly recommend federation as a solution of the overchurched problem in co

reat help in

en a great success. Perfe

es should unite in the support of one minister. A federated church gives o

d August a great many city people attend church. I am pastor of this church and North Thetford, another federate

nt pastorate since May, 1914, 31 have been received into the church. The b

curing Christian unity and church efficie

s a wholesome and generally satisfactory plan of religious service in a community of changing personnel. In the community is quite a large Catholic element and also a very progressive and influential Universalist element.

in this and many other communities in Cape Cod, bu

he experience of these fifteen churches constitutes very strong evidence that the federated church is a pra

ound to be as successful as those which did. For example, the federated church of North Wilbraham, Massachusetts, the constituent bodies of which are Methodist Episcopal and Congregational churches, has greatly increased in me

breach of faith on the part of one of the churches, and disaster might well be expected to follow. The authors know of no experience which indicates any inherent weakness in the federated church, nor so far as they are aware is there any evidence that a federa