available by ,core ,historical          
,literature of ,agriculture 7,,chla71   
,albert ,r4 ,mann ,library1 ,cornell    
,university                             
7http3_/_/chla4library4cornell4edu_/7   
and ,internet ,archive_/,american       
,libraries                              
7http3_/_/www4archive4org_/details_/amer
icana7           file which includes the
 original illustrations4       ,see     
#cbgjc-;h4htm or #cbgjc-;h4zip3         
7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu
b_/#cbgjc_/pg#cbgjc-;images4html7       
or                                      
7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#cb
gjc_/cbgjc-;h4zip7         ,images of   
the original pages are available through
       ,internet ,archive_/,american    
,libraries4 ,see                        
http3_/_/www4archive4org_/details_/makin
gofcountryp#jjmill       or       ,core 
,historical ,literature of ,agriculture 
7,,chla71       ,albert ,r4 ,mann       
,library1 ,cornell ,university          
http3_/_/chla4library4cornell4edu_/cgi_/

t_/text_/text-idx8cchla2idno#bgejhdi    
,,the ,,making ,,of ,a ,,country        
,,parish        99      99      99      
99      99  ,,library ,,of ,,christian  
,,progress  ,volumes ,issued  ,the      
,church a ,community ,force4 ,by ,worth 
,m4 ,tippy  ,the ,church at the ,center4
 ,by ,warren ,h4 ,wilson  ,the ,making  
of a ,country ,parish4 ,by ,harlow ,s4  
,mills   ,cloth1 #ej ,cents1 ,prepaid   
,,additional ,,volumes ,,to ,,be        
,,issued        99      99      99      
99      99   ,illustration3 ,,from      
,,beulah ,,to ,,benzonia   ,,the        
,,making ,,of ,a ,,country ,,parish  ,a 
,,story  by  ,,harlow ,s4 ,,mills       
,new ,york ,missionary ,education       
,movement of the ,united ,states and    
,canada #aiad  ,copyright1 #aiad1 by    
,missionary ,education ,movement of the 
,united ,states and ,canada       ,,to  
,,the ,,rev4 ,,and ,,mrs4 ,f4 ,a4       
,,noble1 ,d4,d41   ,,who ,,made ,,the   
,,summer ,,of ,,nineteen   ,,hundred    
,,and ,,thirteen ,,memorable   ,,in     

,,the ,,larger ,,benzonia ,,parish ,,by 
,,their ,,presence1 ,,and ,,by ,,their  
,,kindly ,,and ,,helpful ,,interest ,,in
 ,,its   ,,work1 ,,and ,,to ,,whom      
,,this ,,story   ,,owes ,,its           
,,suggestion ,,and ,,inspiration1   ,,it
 ,,is ,,most ,,gratefully ,,inscribed4  
,,contents     ,,chapter                
,,page    ,,foreword ,,by ,,newell      
,,dwight ,,hillis                    ix 
,,introduction                          
xiii    ,,key ,,to ,,map                
xvii    ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,map  
xviii    ,i ,,the ,,historical ,,setting
 ,,of ,,the ,,story                #a   
,,ii ,,some ,,convictions ,,out ,,of    
,,which ,,the ,,vision ,,came    #ab    
,,iii ,,how ,,the ,,vision ,,came       
#be    ,,iv ,,how ,,the ,,vision        
,,became ,a ,,reality                   
#cf    ,v ,,the ,,methods ,,of ,,the    
,,larger ,,parish                  #ei  
,,vi ,,things ,,yet ,,to ,,be ,,done    
#ig    ,,vii ,,some ,,resultant         
,,conclusions                     #aac  

,,illustrations                         
,,page    ,,from ,,beulah ,,to          
,,benzonia                              
,frontispiece    ,,map ,,showing ,,the  
,,larger ,,parish                       
xvi    ,,crystal ,,lake ,,and ,,beulah  
,,from ,,benzonia               #aj     
,,the ,,platt ,,lake ,,chapel           
#gb    ,,the ,,benzonia ,,church        
#ajd     ,,foreword   ,for many years   
lovers of the republic have been warning
 our people as to the perils of modern  
city life4 ,in #ahjj one person out of  
thirteen lived in the city2 to-day      
nearly every other citizen lives in a   
large town1 or a great city4 ,the city  
is the home of wealth1 commerce1 and    
finance2 the home of music1 art1 and    
eloquence4 ,once each year all the great
 leaders come for a stay1 long or short1
 to the metropolis4 ,the birds leave the
 desert to seek the oasis1 with its palm
 trees and springs of water4 ,young men1
 for two generations1 have been         
deserting the farm and the village1 to  

make their home in the great city4 ,many
 unexpected perils have sprung up from  
this massing of population4 ,among these
 dangers are the tenements1 saloon1     
gambling houses1 dens of vice1 the      
tendency to anarchy1 incident to the    
contrast between the palaces on the     
avenues and the rookeries on the        
,bowery4 ,insane people1 defective      
children1 men and women wrecked through 
drink and drugs1 are some of the        
incidental results of congested         
populations4 ,innumerable addresses have
 been given upon the perils of the city 
life1 and innumerable pamphlets and     
books have been published filled with   
warnings and black with alarm4 ,the     
inevitable result is that the attention 
of the people has been focalized upon   
the manufacturing towns and the large   
cities4  ,now comes the ,rev4 ,harlow   
,s4 ,mills1 with his study of the rural 
population4 ,with the wisdom made       
possible by twenty years of first-hand  
knowledge he sets forth the influence of

 the country upon the large town and    
city4 ,he tells us that the country has 
furnished the leaders for the people4   
,it is in the country that the boy has  
his opportunity of brooding and reading 
and reflecting1 while in solitude he    
develops his own gift and grows great4  
,the ,church has learned to depend upon 
the country for its theological         
students1 as well as for its best       
students of law and medicine4 ,but of   
late the country church has suffered    
grievously through the pull of the city 
upon its best young men and women4 ,the 
inevitable result has been that as the  
city church has waxed the country church
 has waned in wealth1 numbers1 and      
influence4 ,many things have occurred   
during the past twenty years that are   
calculated to stir the note of fear1    
lest the life and institutions of the   
republic1 rooted in the country1 should 
slowly starve4 ,one of the problems of  
the hour has been the rejuvenation of   
the country ,sunday-school and the      

country church4  ,leaders of the past   
generation have struggled often in vain 
with this problem4 ,twenty years ago1   
the ,rev4 ,harlow ,s4 ,mills1 a friend  
of my boyhood1 took a country church in 
northwestern ,michigan1 and started in  
to develop the same community spirit    
among the people who lived in widely    
separated school districts that the     
student finds developed in the wards of 
a great city4 ,the story of these twenty
 years is full of fascination to all    
lovers of their fellow men and of the   
,christian ,church4 ,mr4 ,mills has made
 some important discoveries and         
established certain mother principles   
that should be of invaluable service to 
the one half of our people living in    
small towns and rural districts4 ,i     
believe this author and lover of his    
fellows has grown the good seed that    
ultimately will sow the continent with  
bread4  ,,newell ,,dwight ,,hillis4     
,,introduction   ,the rapid growth of   
our cities and towns during the last    

quarter of a century has brought us face
 to face with a serious problem4 ,the   
religious and social conditions that    
have arisen give occasion for grave     
apprehensions1 and have been subjects of
 careful thought4 ,the ,city ,problem   
has been widely discussed4 ,much thought
 and effort have been expended in its   
solution1 and1 while progress has been  
made and the outlook is hopeful1 the end
 is not yet4 ,within recent years       
another problem has arisen which is     
scarcely less serious than that which   
the city presents1 and that is the      
,country ,problem4 ,there are two       
reasons why this has not attracted      
special attention until quite lately4   
,first1 the city problem has been so    
serious and so acute that it has        
occupied the public mind to the         
exclusion of conditions in the country4 
,and1 in the second place1 those        
conditions have increased in seriousness
 so rapidly in recent years and their   
demand for attention and careful        

consideration has become so insistent   
and imperious that it can no longer be  
disregarded4 ,no thoughtful person can  
now blink the fact that there is a      
country problem1 that it is equal in    
seriousness to the city problem1 and    
that the two are so intimately related  
that neither of them can be solved by   
itself alone4 ,they stand or fall       
together4  ,i have no theory to present1
 nor any philosophy to exploit4 ,i have 
no patent way of solving either the city
 or the country problem4 ,i have only a 
story to tell of some things that have  
been done that may point the way toward 
a solution of the country problem4 ,it  
is the simple account of an experiment  
in the work of religious and social     
welfare that promises to be successful4 
,the parish that is spoken of may be    
regarded as an experiment station1 and  
this story is only the account of the   
working out of certain methods4 ,it will
 be enough if the story shall prove to  
be some small contribution to the       

solution of the important and difficult 
country problem4  ,one of the greatest  
difficulties ,i had in writing this     
story was with myself4 ,some of the     
experiences were so purely personal that
 ,i hesitated to speak of them and ,i   
shrank from the so frequent use of the  
personal pronouns4 ,in the first draft  
of the story ,i resorted to all manner  
of circumlocution to avoid their use1   
but ,i found it difficult to adopt any  
consistent form and the result was to   
weaken the impression4 ,so1 acting on   
the advice of able and judicious        
critics1 ,i concluded to tell the story 
in the simplest and most direct way4    
,h4 ,s4 ,,mills4  ,,benzonia1           
,,michigan1  ,august #ae1 #aiad4        
,illustration3 ,,map ,,showing ,,the    
,,larger ,,parish  7,,west ,,half ,,of  
,,benzie ,,county1 ,,michigan7   ,,key  
,,to ,,map  #a4 ,benzonia ,village1     
,benzonia ,township4 ,church            
,organization1 ,church ,building4       
,morning ,service every ,sunday4 ,sunday

 ,school1 ,christian ,endeavor ,society1
 ,woman's ,missionary ,society1 ,weekly 
,prayer ,meeting1 ,ladies' ,aid         
,society4  #b4 ,beulah ,village1        
,benzonia ,township4 ,chapel4 ,evening  
,service every ,sunday1 ,sunday ,school1
 ,ladies' ,aid ,society4  #c4 ,eden1    
,benzonia ,township4 ,church            
,organization1 ,schoolhouse 7,chapel1   
#aiad74 ,evening ,service every ,sunday1
 ,sunday ,school1 ,christian ,endeavor  
,society1 ,weekly ,prayer ,meeting1     
,neighborhood ,club1 ,ladies' ,social   
,circle4  #d4 ,champion ,hill1          
,homestead ,township4 ,church           
,organization1 ,chapel4 ,morning        
,service every ,sunday1 ,christian      
,endeavor ,society4  #e4 ,platt ,lake1  
,benzonia ,township4 ,chapel4 ,afternoon
 ,service on alternate ,sundays4        
,ladies' ,aid ,society4  #f4 ,north     
,crystal1 ,benzonia ,township4 ,private 
,home 7,chapel1 #aiad74 ,afternoon      
,service on alternate ,sundays1 ,sunday 
,school1 ,ladies' ,aid ,society4  #g4   

,grace1 ,gilmore ,township4 ,church     
,organization1 ,chapel4 ,morning        
,service every ,sunday1 ,sunday ,school1
 ,neighborhood ,club1 ,ladies' ,aid     
,society4  #h4 ,demerley1 ,joyfield     
,township4 ,schoolhouse4 ,afternoon     
,service on alternate ,sundays1 ,sunday 
,school4  #i4 ,south ,chapel1 ,benzonia 
,township4 ,chapel4 ,evening ,service on
 alternate ,sundays1 ,sunday ,school4   
#aj4 ,east ,joyfield1 ,joyfield         
,township4 ,chapel4 ,evening ,service on
 alternate ,sundays1 ,sunday ,school4   
#aa4 ,liberty ,union1 ,benzonia         
,township4 ,schoolhouse4 ,afternoon     
,service on alternate ,sundays1         
,neighborhood ,club4  #ab4 ,south       
,elberta1 ,gilmore ,township4           
,schoolhouse4 ,sunday ,school4          
,,description ,,of ,,the ,,map  ,in     
order that the term1 ,the ,larger       
,parish1 the name by which the work of  
this story has come to be familiarly    
known1 may be understood1 some          
description of its geography and        

topography as represented on the        
accompanying map1 may be necessary4     
,the ,larger ,benzonia ,parish is       
situated in ,benzie ,county1 ,michigan1 
eight miles from ,lake ,michigan and at 
the east end of ,crystal ,lake1 one of  
the most beautiful small lakes in the   
state4 ,benzonia-,beulah1 the twin      
villages which are at the center of the 
,larger ,parish1 are on the ,ann ,arbor 
,railroad1 which extends diagonally     
through the state from ,toledo1 ,ohio1  
to ,frankfort on ,lake ,michigan4 ,the  
,larger ,parish includes ,benzonia      
,township and portions of ,lake1        
,homestead1 ,joyfield1 ,gilmore1 and    
,crystal ,lake ,townships4 ,it divides  
itself into three sub-parishes3 the     
,north ,parish1 with two churches1      
,champion ,hill and ,eden1 and two      
out-stations1 ,north ,crystal and ,platt
 ,lake2 the ,south ,parish1 with one    
church1 ,grace1 and five out-stations1  
,south ,chapel1 ,demerley1 ,east        
,joyfield1 ,liberty ,union1 and ,south  

,elberta2 while between these is the    
,central ,parish1 with ,benzonia on the 
hilltop and ,beulah in the valley1 half 
a mile distant4  ,the map represents the
 western half of ,benzie ,county1 and   
the various churches1 chapels1 and other
 out-stations are designated4     ,i    
,,the ,,historical ,,setting ,,of ,,the 
,,story   ,the story of ,new ,england   
with the ,pilgrims left out could be    
neither understood nor appreciated4 ,we 
must know something about those sturdy1 
conscientious men and women who became  
exiles and crossed the stormy ,atlantic 
that they might have freedom to worship 
,god4 ,we must understand something     
about the barren and the wintry coast   
that received them1 something of their  
struggles and sufferings1 their aims and
 aspirations1 if we would know the      
history of that civilization that they  
founded1 or get a true conception of the
 experiment in democracy that they so   
successfully wrought out4  ,the story   
that is about to be told had its        

,pilgrims4 ,to leave them out would be  
to spoil the story4 ,it cannot be       
understood without knowing something of 
their heroic spirit1 their sincere      
devotion1 and the manner in which they  
permanently impressed their ideas and   
their personality upon the community    
which they founded and the institutions 
which they planted4 ,some account of its
 historical setting will be necessary in
 order to make this story of country    
evangelization complete4  ,the half     
century between #ahbe and #ahge         
witnessed the most remarkable           
educational movement that our country   
has ever seen4 ,it was the era of       
college planting4 ,during that period a 
line of ,christian colleges was         
projected from ,new ,york to            
,california1 many of which have been    
developed and stand to-day as monuments 
to the zeal and foresight of that       
remarkable generation of nation         
builders4 ,the value of their work1 and 
its influence for good upon the people  

and the institutions of the most        
populous1 the wealthiest1 and the most  
influential section of our country      
cannot be estimated4  ,in #aheh a       
company of people from northern ,ohio1  
who had lighted their torch of religious
 and educational enthusiasm at the flame
 of ,oberlin1 came into the vast        
wilderness of northern ,michigan with   
the purpose of planting there ,christian
 institutions4 ,they were high-minded1  
sturdy people1 with strong religious    
convictions4 ,the ,pilgrims did not     
bring to the ,new ,england coast a truer
 motive or a purer purpose4 ,they were  
willing to put into the enterprise their
 lives and their fortunes4 ,they stamped
 the new community that they founded    
with the impress of their ideals1 and   
that stamp has persisted4  ,these modern
 ,pilgrims repeated with some           
modification the experiences of their   
,new ,england prototypes4 ,after a long 
and stormy voyage on the ,great ,lakes  
they landed in the late autumn on an    

inhospitable coast1 built them some     
rough shanties that their descendants   
would not consider worthy to shelter    
their cattle1 and there they passed a   
severe winter4 ,they explored the       
northwestern ,michigan woods1 and       
finally1 with a strange indifference to 
the importance of a railway to the      
development of a town1 they lighted upon
 a level plateau on the top of a high   
hill1 two hundred feet above the placid 
waters of beautiful ,lake ,crystal1 and 
eight miles from ,lake ,michigan1 and   
there they pitched their tents4 ,like   
,abraham1 their first work after        
entering the ,promised ,land was to     
build an altar to ,jehovah1 and like him
 and their ,new ,england ancestors1 they
 built it on the highest elevation that 
they could find4 ,one of the first      
things they did was to select a site for
 a church and for a school1 and1        
standing under the tall maples and      
beeches1 with hymn and prayer1 to       
dedicate that high hilltop to the cause 

of ,christian education4  ,the church   
that they planted1 the first in all the 
,grand ,traverse region1 celebrated the 
fiftieth anniversary of its organization
 in #aiaj4 ,it has now a membership of  
about three hundred1 and is the center  
of the religious and social life1 not   
only of the immediate community but also
 of the territory known as ,the ,larger 
,parish1 twelve miles long and ten miles
 wide4 ,it has been the mother of       
churches1 and now stands encircled by a 
number of younger organizations that are
 growing strong and sturdy under its    
cherishing influence4  ,benzonia1 the   
village that they founded1 never became 
the populous center that they hoped it  
would be4 ,there are now but about four 
hundred people living on the hilltop1   
and nearly as many more in the village  
of ,beulah1 which1 at the bottom of the 
hill nestles around the head of the     
,lake1 half a mile away4 ,the two       
villages of ,benzonia and ,beulah form  
one corporation1 and contain together   

about seven hundred inhabitants4 ,the   
school which they established is still  
doing business1 though not exactly in   
the way that they anticipated4 ,they    
thought to repeat the history of        
,oberlin by planting in the woods of    
northern ,michigan an institution of    
learning such as the fathers planted in 
northern ,ohio4 ,but the conditions were
 very dissimilar4 ,oberlin was in the   
zone of quick settlement4 ,cities and   
towns soon sprang up all about it1 and  
it became in a few years the center of a
 large population4 ,but the northern    
,michigan region developed very slowly  
and it was a long time before there were
 enough people to maintain a college or 
to justify its presence4 ,but from the  
first there was in operation a school of
 high order1 and it performed a splendid
 service in those early years1 doing the
 educational work for all that region1  
and supplying teachers for the public   
schools throughout a wide territory4 ,it
 is now conducted as an ,academy and is 

doing an excellent work1 sending forth  
each year large classes of young people 
well prepared to enter any college or   
university in the country4 ,the ,academy
 has been maintained very largely by the
 gifts and sacrifices of the people of  
the community1 and is an important      
factor of the work that is being wrought
 out in ,the ,larger ,parish4  ,the     
people of this community are unusually  
homogeneous4 ,there are no ,roman       
,catholics1 few foreigners1 and no      
colored people4 ,they are hardworking   
and industrious1 none of them possessing
 large wealth1 and none of them being   
very poor4 ,all are compelled to toil   
for their daily bread4 ,there1 if       
anywhere1 it is possible to live the    
simple life1 and in such healthful      
conditions the community life has       
developed4 ,though the presence of the  
,academy has been a means of culture and
 the center and inspirations of literary
 life1 it is by no means true that all  
the people in the wide parish are well  

educated4 ,a few miles from the village 
primitive and pioneer conditions are    
found1 and there is no lack of genuine  
missionary ground4  ,the social life of 
this community is very satisfactory4    
,there are no classes or cliques4 ,the  
people mingle together freely on a      
common basis1 and exemplify to an       
unusual degree the principle of         
brotherhood4 ,there has never been a    
saloon in the community1 and the people 
are for the most part steady-going and  
law-abiding4 ,they are loyal to their   
home institutions1 crowding the church  
on ,sunday and taking a lively interest 
in all things that pertain to the       
welfare of the village and the          
surrounding country4 ,they are dependent
 upon themselves for literary and       
musical entertainments--no shows or     
moving picture combinations ever come   
that way4 ,but a good lecture course is 
maintained1 and there are frequent      
musical and literary entertainments by  
the ,academy and high school and by the 

people of the town2 so there is no lack 
of the means of recreation1 and that of 
a high order and of a helpful character4
  ,at the west end of ,crystal ,lake1   
eight miles distant1 on a beautiful     
tract of land with frontage on ,lake    
,michigan1 as well as on ,crystal ,lake1
 are the grounds of the ,frankfort      
,congregational ,summer ,assembly4 ,the 
location is superb1 and it is rapidly   
becoming a favorite summer resort1      
attracting people even from ,new        
,england and from the ,pacific coast4   
,the relation between ,benzonia and the 
summer assembly is very close4 ,it is   
easily accessible by frequent boats4    
,every year they have ,benzonia ,day1   
when the ,assembly adjourns to the      
beautiful campus on the hilltop1        
enjoying a dinner together under the    
trees and a well-arranged program of    
speeches and music4 ,the residents of   
the surrounding country come in crowds  
to these outdoor festivals and they are 
eagerly anticipated by all4 ,they afford

 a fine opportunity for the people of   
the vicinage to meet in friendly        
intercourse those who come from distant 
parts of the country to enjoy the cool  
breezes and the woods and lakes of the  
northern ,michigan regions1 and they are
 appreciated by all4 ,sometimes the     
,assembly is the host1 and the people of
 ,benzonia are the guests4 ,during the  
summer the leading ministers of the     
country are frequently in the ,benzonia 
pulpit1 and so the people1 though living
 quite remote from the great centers1   
and not given to much travel1 have the  
privilege of hearing the most noted     
speakers1 and thus come in touch with   
the good things that are being said and 
done in the wider world4  ,the ,academy 
and summer ,assembly are closely related
 to the work of the ,larger ,benzonia   
,parish4 ,while this work has not been  
dependent upon them1 their presence and 
influence have been a great stimulus and
 encouragement1 and they have added     
strength and stability to the movement4 

,thus briefly is sketched the setting of
 the story that will be told in the     
succeeding chapters4   ,illustration3   
,,crystal ,,lake ,,and ,,beulah ,,from  
,,benzonia      ,,ii  ,,some            
,,convictions ,,out ,,of ,,which ,,the  
,,vision ,,came   ,a conviction is a    
great thing4 ,it is the egg out of which
 all great enterprises are hatched4     
,almost everything that is worth while  
was once wrapped up in a conviction4    
,abraham had a conviction that he ought 
to obey ,god's leading4 ,he took his    
journey to the land that he knew not of1
 and we have as the result the ,hebrew  
race1 and all that has come out of it   
for the world4  ,the vision of which ,i 
am telling the story was at first only a
 conviction4 ,there were a few things of
 which ,i had become certain4 ,just how 
the conviction seized me ,i hardly know1
 but ,i like to think that it came from 
the same source from which ,abraham's   
conviction came1 and that thought has   
made me confident in following this     

guiding gleam4  #a4 ,i became convinced 
that the real object of the ,church is  
to serve the people1 and that its claim 
for support should rest upon the same   
ground upon which every other           
institution bases its claim for         
support--that it gives value received4  
,that has not always been the idea of   
church people4 ,they have considered the
 ,church as a divine institution1 and   
that because of its divine origin and   
sacred character it can properly demand 
respect and support4 ,there was a time  
in the not very distant past when the   
ministers of the ,church1 as its        
representatives1 might demand reverence 
and respect because of the position they
 occupied4 ,there was much of reverence 
and regard for the cloth4 ,but those    
days are past4 ,now the ,church is      
valued only for what it does4 ,if it    
does nothing1 it need no longer look for
 respectful recognition4 ,if it makes no
 contribution to the community whose    
value can be seen and appreciated1 it   

cannot expect support or favorable      
regard4 ,people do not care very much   
for clerical dignity in these days4     
,they are not asking what place a man   
occupies1 or what kind of clothes he    
wears1 but what he does for the         
community4 ,is he rendering valuable    
service8 ,they are quite ready to pay   
for service that is of real worth1 but  
for dignity and traditionary sanctity   
they have slight regard4  ,there are    
some who seem to think that the ,church 
makes good by building itself up--that  
if it becomes strong as an institution1 
if it flourishes in its outward aspects1
 it justifies its existence4 ,they are  
well satisfied if it increases in       
numbers1 if it erects splendid and      
beautiful buildings1 if it contributes  
substantially to the glory of the       
denomination to which it belongs1       
whether it really serves the people or  
not4 ,but it can never answer the ends  
of its existence by simply building     
itself up as an institution4 ,there have

 been periods in the history of the     
,church when it was very strong as an   
organization1 but very weak as an       
element of helpfulness in the lives of  
the people4 ,fine buildings and stately 
ritual and high social standing can     
never satisfy the great ,founder of the 
,church4 ,jesus said1 ,the ,son of man  
came not to be ministered unto1 but to  
minister1 and to give his life a ransom 
for many4 ,he sent his ,church on the   
same errand4 ,unless it is doing the    
thing for which it was sent it has no   
justification for its existence4 ,it is 
here to serve1 to help the people4      
,in-so-far as it actually does serve it 
may claim and expect love1 recognition1 
and support--but no further4 ,this      
became one of my strong convictions4    
#b4 ,i also became convinced that the   
,church1 if it makes good must serve all
 the people4 ,the impression has        
sometimes prevailed that the ,church is 
for good people1 for those who are      
respectable4 ,it has been thought of1   

and sometimes it has thought of itself1 
as under obligations to minister to the 
religious people of the community1 or to
 those who can be induced to become     
religious4 ,there is a large class of   
people who are not religiously inclined 
and who have no affiliation with the    
,church1 and who1 perhaps1 are not      
likely to have1 for whom it has not been
 thought to be responsible4 ,in almost  
every parish1 or within reach of it1    
there are numbers of people who are not 
touched by the ,church1 and who are not 
considered to be material for the       
,church to work upon4 ,some are outside 
of its influence because they live so   
far away that they cannot easily be     
reached4 ,some because of their         
character and standing in society are   
considered beyond its pale4 ,what would 
be the effect if a company of women from
 the street should come into one of our 
beautiful and respectable churches for a
 few ,sunday mornings8 ,how would they  
be received8 ,would the ushers show them

 comfortable seats8 ,would they be      
welcome in the pews of the good people  
who have come together to worship ,god8 
,and yet1 the great ,head of the ,church
 came to seek and to save that which was
 lost4 ,he did not shun such people or  
banish them from his presence4 ,he was a
 friend of publicans and sinners1 and   
brought down upon himself serious       
criticism because he did not            
discriminate more carefully in the      
matter of his associates4 ,the ,church  
should have the spirit of the ,master1  
and1 wherever there is a man1 woman1 or 
child1 there is one in whom the ,church 
should be interested1 and whom it should
 seek to serve1 whatever may be his     
character1 his condition1 or his        
standing socially4 ,it became one of my 
strong convictions that the ,church has 
a definite mission to every person      
within the possible range of its        
influence1 and out of that conviction   
came the vision4  #c4 ,it also became   
plain that if the ,church would fulfil  

its mission it must serve all the       
interests of the people4 ,i was brought 
up with the idea that its mission was   
largely1 if not exclusively1 spiritual4 
,its chief and almost only concern was  
the soul of the individual man4 ,it was 
thought that a man has a soul1 and that 
that soul was in peril4 ,his soul must  
be saved--that was the important thing4 
,it was of small consequence that the   
man himself went to the dogs1 if only   
his soul was saved4 ,the man was        
forgotten in anxiety for his soul4 ,we  
were the victims of a false psychology2 
as if a man and his soul could be       
separated--as if there could be any such
 thing as simply saving the soul of a   
man6 ,we have come to see that a man1   
though composed of many parts1 is a     
unit4 ,he is not put together           
mechanically1 so that one part may be   
taken and treated and the other parts   
ignored4 ,he is not built in separate   
compartments1 his soul in one1 and his  
body in another4 ,christianity is not   

dealing with souls alone4 ,it is dealing
 with men1 and we are becoming          
interested in all that makes a man a    
man4 ,the conviction became strong that 
the ,church should have something to say
 and something to do with everything    
that goes to make up the life of the    
man2 that it should make itself felt as 
an influence in his business1 his       
education1 his recreation1 his home     
life1 as well as in his so-called       
religious exercises2 that it should be a
 force with him on ,monday and ,tuesday 
and ,wednesday as well as on ,sunday4   
,in other words1 the line that has been 
supposed to separate the sacred from the
 secular must be obliterated1 and every 
common thing must become sacred4 ,it was
 seen that everything that has a        
rightful place in the life of a man     
should be the concern of the ,church1   
and that whatever cannot be brought into
 harmony with the ,church and its       
principles has no proper place in the   
real life of a man4  #d4 ,the conviction

 became strong that the village church1 
if it would fulfil its mission1 must be 
responsible for country evangelization4 
,it must reach out into all the         
surrounding neighborhoods1 and touch the
 people in a vital way for many miles   
around4 ,in the popular conception the  
influence of the church has been        
contracted and narrowed till it does not
 include half the territory nor half the
 people embraced in its responsibility4 
,many ministers are content to tramp    
around in the narrow confines of their  
own village1 with an occasional         
excursion into the country1 while there 
are scores of families living a little  
more remote for whom they are attempting
 nothing4 ,some ministers look upon     
their churches as their field rather    
than their force--a field to be         
cultivated rather than a force of       
workers to be led out into the          
widestretching fields that lie beyond4  
,this is a serious mistake4 ,such a     
limited conception of the extent of its 

work and such an inadequate idea of its 
real responsibility and of its best     
opportunity will certainly condemn a    
church to comparative uselessness1 and  
in the end to failure4 ,when all the    
village churches get the vision and see 
their work in its fulness1 the country  
problem will be solved4  ,country       
evangelization belongs primarily and    
practically to the village church4 ,the 
village church is the only one that can 
really take it up and deal with it in a 
successful way4 ,it is in the power of  
the churches in the villages and small  
towns to change the whole aspect of     
things in the country1 religiously1     
morally1 and socially4  ,for some years 
the pastor and church of this story had 
been trying to do something for the     
outlying regions1 but they had not      
grasped the idea that all the people for
 many miles around who were not cared   
for by some other church were in their  
parish--that for them they were         
responsible and to them they had a      

mission4 ,they began to see that they   
were not doing half the work they might 
do and ought to do2 that there were     
scores of families1 and hundreds of     
people1 to whom the church was nothing1 
who should be made to feel its force in 
a stimulating and uplifting way4 ,they  
began to feel the pressure of that      
obligation that had rested on them all  
along1 and of which they had been       
unconscious or unheedful4 ,the voice of 
,god began to sound plainly in their    
ears1 ,go ye forth into these ripe      
harvest-fields1 and gather sheaves for  
the ,master4 ,the conviction became so  
strong that they ought to take up the   
wider work1 and the duty grew to be so  
plain that they wondered that they had  
not seen it long before4  #e4 ,the      
conviction became strong that1 if the   
village church would fulfil its mission1
 it must be a community church4 ,i used 
to think that the church had simply to  
do with individuals2 that its work was  
to reach out here and there1 to get hold

 of this one and that one1 and that     
there its work terminated4 ,society was 
thought of as a heap of sand1 and not as
 an organism4 ,man was considered in    
himself alone1 and not in his relations1
 and so he was misunderstood1 for       
nothing can be truly and fully known    
except in its relations4 ,but it has    
become plain that this exclusively      
individualistic conception was a        
mistake2 that there is such a thing as  
community life1 the life that all the   
people have in common2 that men are     
bound up together by common interests2  
that they are members one of another2   
that none of us liveth to himself1 and  
none dieth to himself4 ,the conviction  
became strong that the church should    
take account of this community life of  
which the individual is a part2 that it 
should concern itself not only for men1 
but for man2 that it should serve the   
whole community1 and that nothing should
 be foreign to the church or ignored by 
it that in any way concerns the common  

life of the people4  ,this conviction   
did not detract from my estimate of the 
importance of the spiritual1 or of the  
individual4 ,i still regarded the       
spiritual part of a man as his most     
essential part4 ,it was still plain that
 we have to deal with men as            
individuals1 but ,i recognized them also
 in their organic relation to the whole 
life of the community4 ,not only were   
the men's souls to be saved1 but the men
 themselves were to be saved4 ,not only 
were the men to be saved and lifted up  
to a better life1 but the whole         
community was to be saved1 and the      
community life was to be uplifted and   
placed on a higher plane4  ,out of these
 convictions1 which grew more and more  
positive1 came the vision whose         
fulfilment is the subject of this story4
     ,,iii  ,,how ,,the ,,vision ,,came 
,the genesis of a vision is always      
interesting1 though often obscure4 ,on  
one day a certain side of life is a     
blank4 ,there is no outlook1 no hint of 

the coming brightness4 ,on another day  
that side of life is made all radiant   
and glorious by a vision1 clear and     
definite1 that beckons on to future     
achievement4 ,sometimes it comes        
suddenly1 like ,peter's vision when he  
was upon the housetop in ,joppa2 and    
sometimes it dawns gradually1 and little
 by little paints itself in beautiful   
colors upon the sky of one's inner      
consciousness4 ,as remarked in a        
previous chapter1 a conviction is the   
egg from which the vision comes2 but the
 egg is only dead and formless matter   
until it is brooded over and warmed into
 life4 ,so a conviction may be strong   
and positive1 but it may exist for a    
long time1 formless1 lifeless1 and      
useless1 until it is quickened into     
vitality by the brooding spirit of a    
man1 and thus becomes an active and     
inspiring force4 ,so it may be          
profitable and necessary to the proper  
understanding of this story to tell how 
the vision came4  ,for fifteen years ,i 

had been working away in my country     
parish4 ,they had been happy years of   
glad1 harmonious work4 ,i was satisfied 
with my job4 ,though remote from the    
great centers of population1 in a small 
village1 and with people of very modest 
means1 that restless feeling that spoils
 the peace and mars the work of so many 
ministers had been absent4 ,my people   
were of the strong and sturdy sort1     
faithful and appreciative beyond many1  
ready to coperate in carrying out any   
plans of work that the pastor might     
propose4 ,they were splendid followers1 
responding quickly to all my            
suggestions4 ,there was a good          
understanding between myself and the    
people4  ,i was called to pass through  
deep affliction4 ,my home was broken up 
by a sudden stroke and ,i was left      
alone4 ,into the dark valley of sorrow  
my people accompanied me as far as they 
were able to go1 and the effect seemed  
to be to unite us with bonds that were  
very strong and tender4 ,every home in  

all the parish was mine4 ,all the       
children belonged to me4 ,there was a   
chair for me at every fireside and a    
plate at every table4  ,but as the years
 went by there came some tempting       
opportunities to engage in work         
elsewhere4 ,i was not without my        
ambitions and aspirations4 ,i wanted to 
fill out the full measure of my ability 
and do my best work4 ,and when some     
opportunities came that made the little 
country parish seem by comparison rather
 small and meager1 ,i was not altogether
 proof against them4 ,to become         
assistant pastor in a famous church in a
 large city--to take up the work of     
general missionary for a whole state    
seemed to promise fields of usefulness  
so rich and large that they made a      
strong appeal to the best there was in  
me1 and perhaps also to the worst4 ,i   
spent some weeks and months in          
considering these propositions and      
finally turned them down4 ,i could not  
bring myself to sever my connection with

 those to whom ,i had been so long and  
so closely related4 ,the personal tie   
was too strong and ,i decided to remain 
with my people4  ,with the decision came
 a thorough heart-searching4 ,it marked 
a turning-point in my spiritual history4
 ,i was impressed with the thought that 
if it was ,god's will that ,i should    
remain in my present work1 it must be   
for a special purpose4 ,things could not
 be in the future as they had been in   
the past4 ,it would be criminal to turn 
down a larger work for one that was     
small unless there were good and        
sufficient reasons for doing so4 ,if it 
was the ,lord's will that ,i should     
remain in that country parish1 there    
must be some work there that it was     
worth while for me to do1 some work that
 in a proper degree1 at least1 would    
approach in importance the large        
proposition made by the city and the    
state4 ,what was the work8 ,was there   
anything to be done among those hills   
and in those rapidly disappearing       

forests that could fire a man's         
ambitions and satisfy his high          
aspirations8  ,just here the vision     
came4 ,at first a whole township was    
revealed as a possible parish1 with     
every family tributary to the church1   
and the church performing a valuable    
ministry for them all4 ,the vision      
expanded until it took in another       
township1 and parts of three or four    
more4 ,it became plain that almost half 
a county was tributary to the church1   
that five hundred families and          
twenty-five hundred people were waiting 
for its ministry4 ,it dawned upon my    
mental vision that ,i was called upon to
 be the pastor of all these people1 for 
five or six miles in every direction1   
that the ,benzonia church was           
responsible for them all1 that they had 
a right to look to us for service and   
help1 and that if we failed to give it  
we should be unfaithful to our ,master  
and recreant to our trust4 ,then ,i     
said3 ,here is something worth doing4   

,here may be wrought out an experiment  
in country evangelization and rural     
betterment that may help to arrest the  
downward trend that has become so       
alarming in these latter days4 ,it was  
for this that ,god has kept me here4 ,if
 ,i can make this vision a reality1 ,i  
need not pine for a larger field4 ,if ,i
 can help others to see the vision1 and 
inspire them with enthusiasm to make it 
real in larger fields than mine1 and in 
many parts of our country1 ,i shall     
never regret that ,i stayed by the      
stuff4 ,the vision came as a            
compensation4 ,it was the reward that   
,god gave for following his leading     
along those ways where natural          
inclinations would not have disposed me 
to go4 ,god wants us to do our best and 
largest work4 ,he never calls us to a   
smaller work4 ,if he bids us walk along 
a humble path and go in an obscure way1 
we shall find our true life-work there4 
,the church had for many years been much
 interested in both home and foreign    

missions4 ,i preached frequently upon   
the subject1 and kept it constantly     
before the people4 ,regular collections 
were taken for missionary objects1 and  
the ,every ,member ,canvass plan had    
long been in operation4 ,the response   
was always general and liberal4 ,in     
fact1 those who were well acquainted    
with the churches of the state have     
often said that in proportion to its    
resources1 its gifts were larger than   
those of any other church4 ,not only did
 they give money1 but they also gave    
their sons and daughters to carry the   
gospel to less favored regions4 ,many of
 the young women of the church had gone 
to teach in home mission schools4 ,and  
there came a beautiful summer ,sabbath  
when a favorite niece1 brought up in my 
home1 and an active and useful member of
 the church1 beloved by all1 with solemn
 services in the little church on the   
hilltop was consecrated to the foreign  
work and sent forth with the prayers and
 blessings of all the people to         

represent them among the awakening      
millions of ,china4  ,as ,i was sitting 
in my study one day pondering upon these
 things1 the absurdity of the situation 
came over me all at once4 ,here we are  
gathering money to send our sons and    
daughters to the distant parts of the   
earth1 but we are doing absolutely      
nothing for scores of families that are 
almost within the sound of our          
church-bell4 ,we feel some              
responsibility for the millions of      
people of other lands whom we have never
 seen1 and never shall see1 but we have 
not felt very much responsibility for   
those who are separated from us by only 
a few miles4 ,we are anxious to give the
 gospel to the colored people1 the      
,chinese1 and to those of alien races2  
but we have felt no such anxiety for    
those of our own race who are not so    
very far away4 ,there are many families 
and hundreds of people within five or   
six miles of our church that are        
practically without the gospel1 as truly

 as are the ,chinese or the ,south ,sea 
,islanders4 ,we have made no systematic 
effort to interest them in these things4
 ,we have given them no reason to       
believe that we are drawn out toward    
them with ,christlike motives4 ,surely  
there must be something wrong in our    
calculations4 ,then ,i heard the ,master
 say1 ,these ye ought to have done1 and 
not to have left the other undone4  ,and
 then came the vision of ,the ,larger   
,parish4 ,i saw the church reaching out 
its hand and touching tenderly but      
effectively all the people in the       
surrounding country4 ,i saw the church  
feeling some responsibility for every   
family1 and counting them all as within 
the bounds of its parish4 ,i saw every  
family in all that wide region as       
tributary to the church4 ,i saw the     
church making systematic plans to carry 
the gospel to all these outlying        
neighborhoods4 ,i began to think of all 
those people as my parishioners as truly
 as were those who lived near the church

 and were members of it4 ,and so the    
vision dawned upon me of the ,larger    
,parish4 ,in my own mind ,i annexed all 
the surrounding country and began to    
make plans for the evangelization and   
helping of all the people who dwelt     
therein4 ,so under the stimulus of      
foreign missions the vision came of the 
work that should be done and could be   
done nearer home4  ,and it may be well  
to add that since the work of the       
,larger ,parish began1 the contributions
 to foreign missions have more than     
doubled4 ,there are those all over this 
wide territory who knew little and cared
 less about missions three years ago1   
but who now are eager to make some      
contribution to the support of the      
missionary in ,china1 half of whose     
salary our ,church is pledged to        
provide4  ,and so the vision came1 from 
above as all good visions do1 but it    
came while walking in the pathway of    
duty1 in the unfolding of a larger      
experience4 ,he who follows the dawning 

light will see the vision4     ,,iv     
,,how ,,the ,,vision ,,became ,a        
,,reality   ,the chief value of visions 
is in their fulfilment4 ,a visionary man
 is one who sees but does not do4 ,he   
has revelations of splendid             
possibilities1 but they do not          
materialize4 ,the sky of his inner      
consciousness is all painted over with  
beautiful pictures1 but those designs   
never get on the canvas or into the     
marble or find their fulfilment in flesh
 and blood4 ,the most elaborate plans   
and specifications will not shelter a   
family nor constitute a home4 ,they must
 be embodied in brick and stone and     
timber in order to make them valuable4  
,only the concreting of ideals can save 
the vision-gazer from becoming a        
visionary4  ,it is always interesting   
and instructive to trace the process by 
which a vision is made real4 ,often the 
pathway to the goal is obscure1         
difficult1 and tedious1 but it is worth 
while to follow it4 ,this chapter will  

be an endeavor to trace the process by  
which the vision of the ,larger ,parish 
became a reality4  ,i had a clear       
apprehension of two things--the work to 
be done1 and the instrument by which it 
must be accomplished2 but just how the  
instrument was to accomplish the work   
was not so evident4 ,here was the       
church1 and here were the people2 but   
how could they be brought together to   
their mutual advantage8 ,i had been a   
very busy man for years4 ,my time had   
been fully occupied and ,i had not      
supposed it possible to take more work4 
,how was ,i to multiply my activities   
many fold and still be efficient8 ,the  
church had been active and aggressive4  
,it had been doing large things4 ,in the
 opinion of some it had been straining  
itself beyond reasonable limits in      
carrying on its work4 ,how could it     
quadruple the size of its parish by     
annexing all the territory within a     
radius of five miles in every direction1
 and increase its constituency several  

times over4 ,would it not be swamped by 
its acquisitions8 ,would it not be      
overwhelmed by the number and greatness 
of its obligations and responsibilities8
 ,it had not adequately ministered to   
all the people in its smaller parish4   
,how would it be when its boundaries    
were so greatly increased8  ,these and  
many other doubtful questions presented 
themselves1 and the answers were not at 
hand4 ,but there were the outlying      
neighborhoods2 without consulting them  
,i had annexed them to my parish4 ,there
 was the church2 without asking its     
consent1 in my own mind ,i had          
multiplied its work and increased its   
burdens many fold4 ,i had a task with   
the people to make them willing to be   
annexed2 with the church1 to lead it to 
accept its heavier burdens and its      
larger responsibilities2 and a still    
greater task to bring the church and the
 people into such relations that the    
work should be accomplished4 ,how did ,i
 go about my task8  #a4 ,the first thing

 to be done was to make a survey of the 
field4 ,i began to think of all the     
twenty-five hundred people in this      
,larger ,parish as belonging to me4 ,i  
felt a measure of responsibility for    
them all4 ,we1 as a church and pastor1  
must do something for them all1 and in  
order to do it1 we must know them all4  
,so ,i started out to visit all the     
families in this wide territory4 ,many  
of them1 of course1 ,i knew already4    
,but many that were more remote ,i had  
not touched closely1 though in my       
fifteen years' pastorate there were few 
who had not some acquaintance with me4  
,i tramped around over the whole parish1
 living with the people1 often being    
absent from my home for two or three    
days at a time1 until there was scarcely
 a home in all that region in which ,i  
was a stranger4 ,this was most          
delightful and rewarding work4 ,there   
was a welcome for me everywhere4 ,almost
 without exception the people seemed    
pleased to come in touch with the       

representative of the church4 ,weary of 
body1 but glad of heart1 ,i laid myself 
down at night under the shelter of some 
hospitable farmer's roof after having   
spent the evening in friendly           
conversation with him and his family4   
,such an opportunity to get up close to 
people is worth a score of sermons4     
,this visiting tour occupied many       
weeks--in fact a large part of the      
autumn months was spent in this way1 and
 in many desirable things more was      
accomplished in those three months than 
had been done in the fifteen previous   
years4 ,i came to know the outside      
people as ,i had never known them       
before4 ,my touch with them was warmer  
and closer4 ,i came to think of them in 
a different way4 ,my interest in them   
was more definite and more intelligent4 
,i came to understand the field--to know
 its extent1 its difficulties1 and its  
encouragements--and so ,i was prepared  
to grapple with the task ,god had given 
me4  ,the effect upon myself of these   

tours among the people was most         
salutary4 ,aside from the information   
that ,i gained1 there was an even       
greater gain in sympathy1 in            
understanding1 and in the inspiration   
and enthusiasm that came into my own    
soul4 ,i usually made these apostolic   
tours on foot4 ,i would start out in the
 morning with my staff in hand with a   
general route previously marked out4 ,if
 ,i saw a man plowing in the field1 ,i  
would sit down with him on the plow-beam
 while his horses were resting1 and have
 a good talk about his farm1 his home1  
the matters of interest in the          
community1 and there was almost always a
 good opportunity to get in a few words 
about the things of the ,kingdom4 ,then 
at the dinner or the supper hour1 when  
all the family were together1 there was 
a chance to get into the home life1 and 
to be for the time a part of the family 
circle4 ,i found that when ,i met the   
people1 not as a minister1 but as a man 
and a friend1 there was always a hearty 

and a glad response1 and it was easy to 
secure a sympathetic hearing for my     
projects and plans4 ,there was much     
gained in establishing such close       
relations with the people4 ,without such
 a basis1 the work of the larger parish 
could hardly have been successfully     
carried on4  #b4 ,my task with the      
church1 in bringing it to get my point  
of view1 to see the vision as ,i saw it1
 and to coperate in making it a reality1
 was not difficult4 ,they were ready for
 the larger work--at least1 they were   
ready to be made ready4 ,all they needed
 was light and leading4 ,this ,i        
undertook to give4 ,i told them my      
vision of the ,larger ,parish4 ,i held  
it up before them continually1 preaching
 it on the ,sabbath1 and talking about  
it in the prayer-meeting4 ,i described  
the situation as it had been revealed to
 me in my apostolic tramps4 ,from week  
to week ,i could see the kindling flame 
of enthusiasm in the congregation4      
,there was evidently a rising tide of   

interest in the wider work4 ,the people 
began to see the reasonableness of it4  
,they began to feel some sense of       
responsibility for it1 some joy and hope
 as the possibility of doing it began to
 dawn upon them4  ,i believe that the   
rank and file of our churches are more  
ready to march forth to larger service  
than most of us have thought4 ,there is 
really more willingness to take up new  
tasks and to engage in aggressive       
enterprises than they have had credit   
for4 ,the people want something to do4  
,they want a work that is worth while4  
,many churches are languishing for a job
 which they may apprehend and           
accept--for something large enough and  
difficult enough to challenge their     
powers and kindle their enthusiasm4 ,and
 when a proposition is made to them that
 seems sane and sensible1 when they can 
have confidence in their leaders1 they  
are generally ready to fall in line and 
to march forward with firm and steady   
tread4 ,that was the case with this     

particular church1 and they have stood  
behind the work of the ,larger ,parish  
from the first in solid phalanx4 ,there 
have been no kickers1 no knockers4 ,in  
all this work ,i have had the           
satisfaction of knowing that the people 
were with me4 ,they have been helpers   
all the way and not hinderers4  #c4 ,but
 how should we begin8 ,how can we move  
out into this ,larger ,parish and get   
hold of this greater work8 ,in some way 
we must be something to all these       
people4 ,we must find a way by which the
 church may make itself felt as a force 
in all these five hundred homes4 ,but   
how8 ,well1 ,i began to hold services in
 the schoolhouses around4 ,i could at   
least hold one meeting a week in these  
out-stations in addition to my regular  
duties4 ,that seemed a very small       
beginning1 but it was a beginning4 ,it  
was the entering wedge to the larger    
work that followed4 ,on ,wednesday      
nights some of my people would take me  
to these more distant points1 where ,i  

was almost invariably greeted by a good 
and attentive congregation4 ,i had no   
conveyance of my own1 and of this ,i was
 glad1 for it gave an excuse to call    
upon my people for transportation1 and  
gave them a chance to have a part in the
 work2 for ,i considered that the       
success of the work depended1 not so    
much upon what ,i did or said1 as upon  
the attitude that the people of the     
church took toward it4 ,and the presence
 of the men with me in these services   
greatly increased the effectiveness of  
the efforts4 ,i was a preacher and ,i   
was simply on my job4 ,they represented 
the church and proclaimed to the people 
in the outlying regions its attitude    
toward them4 ,in some of the            
neighborhoods there were no             
schoolhouses1 and the services were held
 in private homes4 ,in this simple way  
the work began to grow4  #d4 ,at first  
,i had no definite thought of how the   
work would develop4 ,i simply started   
out to do what ,i could for the people  

in this wide territory4 ,but it soon    
became evident that one man would not be
 able to do all the work that was       
opening up before me4 ,the need of a    
helper began to press heavily1 but the  
possibility of securing one had not yet 
dawned upon me4 ,the ,general           
,missionary of the state became         
interested in the work1 and he was the  
first one to suggest that an ,assistant 
might be secured4 ,this put new hope and
 courage into my heart4 ,the matter was 
brought to the attention of the         
,superintendent of the state1 and he    
consulted with his ,advisory ,committee4
 ,he came upon the ground1 and after    
making a thorough investigation1 agreed 
with the ,general ,missionary that a    
helper was necessary4 ,he thought that  
the work proposed was legitimate home   
missionary work1 that the best way to   
evangelize the whole country is for each
 village church to reach out into the   
country around as far as possible1 until
 village with village should touch hands

 over a region that is adequately       
supplied with gospel privileges4  ,the  
result was that a proposition was made  
by the ,superintendent to the church4   
,it was substantially this3 that we     
should take into the ,parish ,grace     
,church1 a small ,congregational        
organization four miles distant from    
,benzonia1 which had been moribund for a
 long time1 with no regular services for
 a number of years4 ,the ,home          
,missionary ,society would make a grant 
of one hundred dollars if ,grace ,church
 would raise one hundred and fifty      
dollars4 ,it was understood that the    
,benzonia ,church would raise the other 
two hundred and fifty dollars that      
should make out the ,assistant's salary4
 ,this should be the contribution of the
 ,benzonia ,church to the ,home         
,missionary ,society1 but should be     
returned to the ,benzonia field to be   
spent in the development of the ,larger 
,parish4 ,this proposition was brought  
before the church at a regular meeting1 

and by a unanimous vote it was accepted1
 and so the church in a formal and      
positive way committed itself to the    
work of the ,larger ,parish4  ,the      
pastor wishes to make grateful          
acknowledgment of the part that the     
state officers of the ,congregational   
,conference have had in developing the  
,larger ,parish4 ,without their         
coperation it could never have been     
brought to its present stage of         
development4 ,with clear foresight and  
generous contributions they have        
fostered the work1 and the success of   
the experiment is largely due to their  
sympathetic interest1 and their wise and
 helpful efforts4 ,they have regarded it
 as the demonstration of a method of    
dealing with the country problem that   
may1 if it proves successful1 find wide 
application throughout the state1 and   
they have been glad to give it their    
fostering influence and their           
substantial aid4 ,it is possible that   
the ,larger ,parish ,plan may furnish a 

most effective method of home missionary
 activity4  #e4 ,but the next thing was 
to find the man who1 for a salary of    
five hundred dollars1 was willing to    
undertake the work of tramping over     
three townships1 and of becoming the    
under pastor of twenty-five hundred     
people4 ,the ,larger ,parish was still  
unorganized4 ,it was still a rather     
indefinite and unrealized vision4 ,it   
was clear that in some way gospel work  
must be inaugurated in all that wide    
territory2 but just what form it would  
take was not yet so clear4 ,the         
,assistant must be a man of initiative  
and executive ability4 ,he must be able 
to strike out on new lines and to walk  
in untried paths4 ,there would be plenty
 of hard work1 much need of tact and    
wisdom1 and the absolute demand for     
consecration4 ,with these aggressive    
qualities he must also be able to act   
under the direction of another1 and to  
carry on this work in harmony with the  
pastor of the church4  ,this would seem 

to be a rare combination1 and the task  
of finding a man who would fit into this
 rather peculiar place seemed very      
great--especially so1 since a mistake or
 failure at the beginning of the work   
might put it back indefinitely1 or spoil
 it entirely4 ,but with unexpected      
promptness the very man was found who   
most fully met the need4 ,he had        
finished a high school course1 had      
taught two terms in a country school1   
had spent some time in the lumber and   
construction camps of the northern      
,michigan and ,wisconsin woods4 ,he had 
had a wide and a varied experience for  
one so young in almost everything except
 ,christian work and preaching4 ,in this
 he was a novice4 ,none of us--not even 
he himself--knew what he could do4 ,he  
had but one sermon to start with and all
 his powers were untried4  ,i made out a
 schedule of appointments for him4 ,at  
first there were seven neighborhoods    
where he was to hold services1 preaching
 at the ,grace ,church every ,sunday    

morning1 and at the other places as     
often as he could get around4 ,his      
regular program on ,sunday was three    
sermons1 a tramp of from twelve to      
twenty miles1 with such occasional lifts
 as he might from time to time receive4 
,several days of each week he spent     
among the people1 sharing their         
hospitality1 and entering into their    
life4 ,for two and a half years he lived
 this strenuous life1 organizing the    
work along various lines1 reducing the  
chaos to order1 getting close to the    
people1 and making a large and warm     
place for himself and his work through  
all the wide ,parish4 ,he made good1 and
 at the end of that time he was in      
demand as student pastor in more than   
one college town1 and went to pursue his
 college course1 paying his expenses by 
giving his services as assistant pastor 
in a large college church4  ,as the work
 developed and the boundaries of the    
,larger ,parish have extended it was    
found necessary to employ a second      

,assistant1 and three men found more    
work to do than they could fully cover4 
,the relations between the pastor and   
his two helpers are very close and      
happy4  #f4 ,of significant importance  
are some achievements in denominational 
comity that have greatly helped the work
 of the ,larger ,parish4 ,i had observed
 that in many parts of our country zeal 
for the denomination had outrun love for
 the ,kingdom1 and ,i despaired of doing
 such a work as ought to be done in the 
region round about1 unless there could  
be some new alinement of the ,christian 
forces4 ,in many places churches have   
been multiplied to the great detriment  
of the cause which they are supposed to 
represent4  ,it is true that some       
portions of our cities are overchurched1
 but the evil of it is not so much felt 
because of the unlimited material to    
work upon4 ,it is in the country and in 
the small towns and villages that the   
greatest harm is done4 ,there is many a 
country neighborhood where one church   

would thrive and be a great blessing2   
but two churches spoil the community    
completely1 so far as the interests of  
the ,kingdom are concerned4 ,oftentimes1
 too many churches are worse than too   
few4 ,if there are no churches1 there is
 a chance for some one to come in and   
start a successful work4 ,but if there  
are too many1 the forces are so divided 
that none of them can do a vigorous     
work1 they all live at a poor dying     
rate1 an unholy competition is almost   
unavoidable1 and by their fruitless     
struggle they defeat the very object for
 which they exist4 ,a minister who had  
recently gone to a new field replied to 
the inquiry1 how he was getting on3 ,i  
am doing very well now4 ,i only have two
 churches to contend against in my new  
field4 ,i had three before4 ,the people 
of the world1 looking at the situation  
of the overchurched community1 regard it
 with contempt1 it is so illogical and  
unreasonable4 ,this evil is recognized  
by all1 and will not much longer be     

tolerated by those who are sincerely    
interested in the progress of the       
,kingdom4 ,in fact1 there is a strong   
movement in these days toward a better  
state of things4  ,a fine example of    
what may be done in the way of          
denominational comity when a really     
,christian spirit prevails was shown in 
this field1 and it did much to make the 
work of the ,larger ,parish possible4   
,in ,benzonia there was a small         
,methodist organization1 in addition to 
the ,congregational ,church that had    
existed for thirty years1 but it never  
got a very strong foothold1 and finally 
it was evident to all that it was not   
needed4 ,five miles away there was      
another ,methodist church at ,champion  
,hill1 that was really within the       
territory of the ,larger ,parish4 ,in an
 adjoining county the                   
,congregationalists had two churches of 
about the same grade1 and surrounded by 
the work of the ,methodist ,episcopal   
,church4 ,the representatives of the two

 denominations got together1 canvassed  
the whole matter thoroughly1 and were   
able to come to a unanimous and cordial 
decision that was satisfactory to both  
sides4 ,the ,methodist ,episcopal       
,church in ,benzonia was dropped1 and   
the ,champion ,hill ,church became      
,congregational4 ,and the two           
,congregational churches in the         
adjoining county became ,methodist1 thus
 leaving a clear field in each county   
for each denomination1 much to the      
advantage of both4 ,it is understood    
that no work is to be undertaken by     
either denomination in the territory    
thus surrendered4  ,it was comparatively
 easy to work the matter through with   
the officials1 but there was some doubt 
whether the churches themselves could be
 brought to consent to a change4 ,they  
were visited by two representatives1 one
 from each denomination1 the whole      
matter was fully explained1 showing how 
much better the work could be cared for 
under the new arrangement1 and1 though  

there was some reluctance on the part of
 some who were strongly attached to     
their old church associations1 most of  
the members accepted the situation and  
cheerfully made the change4 ,after      
trying it for a year they all seemed    
well satisfied with their new relations1
 and new life and vigor has come into   
all the work4  ,the property interests  
involved in the exchange were adjusted  
in a very happy way4 ,all the four      
churches had houses of worship1 and some
 of them had parsonages4 ,a commission  
was appointed to appraise the property1 
consisting of two members each from the 
,congregational and ,methodist ,churches
 of ,traverse ,city4 ,they went         
together1 examined all the holdings and 
brought in a report4 ,the two ,methodist
 men thought the ,congregationalists    
ought to give two hundred and fifty     
dollars to boot4 ,the two               
,congregational men thought the         
,methodists ought to give two hundred   
and fifty dollars4 ,so they agreed to   

trade even1 and all parties were        
satisfied4 ,this gives the              
,congregationalists undisputed          
jurisdiction throughout all the         
territory of the ,larger ,parish4 ,in   
all that region they are without        
competition1 with the exception of a    
small ,disciple church in one corner of 
the field1 which divides up the work of 
one neighborhood to its great           
disadvantage4 ,there are a good many    
,methodist people living within the     
bounds of the ,larger ,parish1 but most 
of them are allying themselves with the 
church that is doing the work1 and the  
same is true of the ,congregationalists4
 ,they are now well satisfied with the  
arrangement4  ,so we may trace the steps
 by which the vision became reality4    
,the work has been a gradual development
 from the very first1 one step leading  
to another1 often with no more light    
than was sufficient for the single step4
     ,v  ,,the ,,methods ,,of ,,the     
,,larger ,,parish   ,practical methods  

that can be successfully worked         
constitute the great need in any        
enterprise4 ,the real measure of the    
value of any plan or scheme is found in 
what it accomplishes4 ,it may look      
well--the vision may be enticing--but   
will it really do the business8 ,if1    
after a fair trial1 achievements        
sufficient to justify the effort do not 
appear1 the scheme1 the method1 the     
vision1 however promising it may have   
seemed1 must be discarded4 ,a mill that 
does not turn out lumber soon goes upon 
the junk heap4 ,so a plan that does not 
bring results will soon be relegated to 
the limbo of unpractical and useless    
things4 ,of course it requires time     
fairly to test a plan1 an enterprise1 or
 a method4 ,an important experiment     
cannot be finished in a day4 ,but after 
three years it is time to look for some 
proofs of success4 ,what have we to show
 after working three years that will    
justify the methods that have been used8
 ,what methods have been employed8 ,how 

have they worked1 and what have they    
accomplished8  ,nothing has been        
finished4 ,the work is a growth1 and is 
still in the process of development4 ,we
 are all the while finding something    
more to do for the people1 and larger   
possibilities of service are opening up 
before us continually4 ,but it may be   
said to have passed beyond the          
experimental stage4 ,nobody looks upon  
it any longer as simply an experiment4  
,it is a practical plan in successful   
operation4 ,the church has come to have 
a well-defined policy4 ,the people have 
accepted the idea of the ,larger ,parish
 and are coperating heartily in carrying
 it out4 ,the work has been organized in
 respect to various community human     
interests1 and is moving on with a fair 
degree of satisfaction4 ,we are now in a
 position to deliver some goods--at     
least enough to prove that we are       
working a practical scheme2 enough1 as  
we believe1 to be a sure prophecy of    
greater results in the future4   ,i4    

,,religious ,,and ,,evangelistic        
,,progress  ,first1 ,i will speak of    
some methods used and some things done  
that show religious advance4 ,this must 
be the crucial test of any church work4 
,it must be work for the kingdom of     
,god4 ,it must bring people into harmony
 with ,god and his truth1 it must line  
them up on the side of ,jesus ,christ1  
or it cannot be said to be successful1  
however many other desirable things it  
may accomplish4 ,it is not easy to      
tabulate spiritual results4 ,any showing
 that can be made on paper may be more  
than the truth or less than the truth4  
,reports of organizations and methods   
and activities may be misleading4 ,the  
most that they can do is to approximate 
the truth4 ,and yet1 that is the only   
way we have of reporting spiritual      
results4 ,the results of religious work 
must appear in the lives of the people1 
in the ,christian sentiment of the      
community1 in the upward trend of all   
things that make for righteousness and  

for the establishment and prevalence of 
the kingdom of ,god4 ,these things      
cannot be definitely reported1 but some 
things can be mentioned that will       
indicate progress4  ,the work has been  
fairly well organized throughout the    
whole parish and is moving steadily     
forward in definite directions4 ,there  
are now twelve points where regular     
,sunday services are held in this       
territory1 which comprises one whole    
township and portions of five others4   
,these services are held in one church1 
six chapels1 four schoolhouses1 and one 
private home4 ,other points are asking  
for services1 but with our present force
 no more work can be undertaken4 ,these 
preaching points are so arranged that no
 family1 with the exception of a few who
 live in one remote corner of the       
parish1 need go more than a mile and a  
half to find a place of worship4 ,the   
aggregate attendance on these services  
will average not far from six hundred1  
in a population of twenty-five          

hundred--about one fourth of the        
inhabitants of the parish being present 
with some degree of regularity4  ,there 
are four organized churches in the      
parish1 at ,benzonia1 ,grace1 ,champion 
,hill1 and ,eden4 ,their combined       
membership is about four hundred4 ,when 
the church was organized at ,eden last  
year1 thirty members were dismissed from
 the ,benzonia ,church to enter the new 
organization4 ,they had long been       
connected with the ,benzonia ,church1   
and it was with some reluctance that    
they severed their connection with the  
mother church4 ,they wished in some way 
to retain a relation to the church that 
had for them so many tender             
associations4 ,so they decided that of  
their five trustees1 two should be      
chosen from the old central church4 ,the
 two churches at ,grace and ,champion   
,hill are likely to follow suite4 ,in   
that case1 we shall have a group of four
 churches1 organically related1 standing
 together to do the work of the ,larger 

,parish4 ,the trustees of the local     
church will attend to all ordinary      
matters1 but will feel free to call in  
the other two trustees to consult with  
them in things of special importance4   
,the trustees from the central church   
will1 of course1 feel a special         
responsibility for the welfare of the   
branch church with which they are       
connected4 ,this arrangement will unify 
all the religious activities of the     
parish1 and bind them up together in one
 organic relation4 ,and the churches    
that enter into the arrangement will    
surrender none of their independence as 
,congregational churches4 ,they will    
still be absolutely free to control     
their own affairs4 ,it is understood    
that the office of the trustees from the
 central church is largely advisory4    
,while this is something new in         
,congregationalism1 it promises to work 
well1 and if it does1 it will be its own
 sufficient justification4  ,ten        
,sunday-schools are maintained within   

the parish1 with a combined membership  
of about six hundred4 ,most of the      
schools are self-sustaining1 and are    
well able to carry on their own work    
without outside help1 but some are      
conducted by helpers who go out from the
 central church4 ,the schools at        
,benzonia and ,eden are well graded1 and
 are conducted according to the         
up-to-date methods4 ,the ,benzonia      
school has an average attendance of more
 than one hundred and fifty1 and the    
music is led by a large orchestra4 ,the 
,eden school has graduated two classes  
in teacher-training1 and the third one1 
with seventeen members1 is now at work4 
,the ,home ,department is maintained1   
and much is made of the ,cradle ,roll4  
,conventions in connection with the     
schools in the two adjoining townships  
are held once a quarter1 and they are   
doing much to unite the ,sunday-school  
interests in this region and to promote 
team work4  ,the clerical force that    
carries on the work throughout the      

parish is composed of the pastor and his
 two assistants4 ,the pastor preaches   
twice on ,sunday1 in the church at      
,benzonia in the morning1 and in the    
chapel at ,beulah1 half a mile distant1 
in the evening4 ,each of the assistants 
preaches three times1 traveling from    
twelve to twenty miles in reaching their
 appointments4 ,the ,larger ,parish     
naturally divides itself into three     
parts3 the ,north ,parish1 with two     
churches1 and two out-stations1 served  
by ,mr4 ,caldwell2 the ,south ,parish1  
with one church and five out-stations1  
served by ,mr4 ,huck2 and ,benzonia and 
,beulah in between1 served by the       
pastor1 who also has the oversight of   
the whole field4  ,the three pastors    
usually get together on ,mondays1 talk  
over the work1 compare sermons and      
discuss them1 and spend part of the day 
in the most delightful fellowship4 ,they
 make frequent exchanges1 taking each   
other's work for a ,sunday1 thus giving 
the people a change1 and themselves some

 variety of experience1 and promoting   
acquaintance and fellowship throughout  
the whole parish4 ,this is a most       
profitable combination4 ,the older      
pastor helps the younger men with his   
wider experience1 and the boys put new  
life and fresh spirits into the heart of
 the older man4 ,two men1 if they are   
congenial and can work harmoniously     
together1 are worth more than double the
 value of one man4 ,and three men1      
joining their forces1 increase their    
efficiency in geometrical ratio4 ,many a
 minister who works away in isolation   
and discouragement would have new heart 
and courage for his difficult task1 if  
he might be closely associated with one 
or two congenial and kindred spirits4   
,that is one of the advantages of the   
,larger ,parish ,plan--it makes such    
association and combination possible4   
,in the autumn of #aiab the pastor was  
impressed with the thought that the     
special emphasis for that year should be
 placed on the evangelistic phase of the

 work4 ,thirteen weeks in all were spent
 in holding special services at six     
different points4 ,two ministers from   
neighboring parishes assisted4 ,much use
 was made of the stereopticon4 ,in the  
out-stations the preaching was done by  
the pastors in turn1 and there was      
thorough personal work4 ,good results   
came from these meetings4 ,a large      
number decided to begin the ,christian  
life4 ,about sixty new members were     
received into the ,benzonia church1 and 
as many more into the other churches in 
the parish4 ,not all of those received  
were converted in the special meetings4 
,thirty of those who came into the ,eden
 church were dismissed from the         
,benzonia church1 and some others came  
by letter4 ,one of the results of these 
special meetings was the organization of
 the ,eden church4 ,the hearts of the   
people were drawn together1 the         
religious interest was quickened        
throughout the whole territory1 and the 
idea of the ,larger ,parish came to be  

more generally accepted4  ,eden is a    
country neighborhood three miles north  
of ,benzonia4 ,the people are thrifty   
farmers and fruit raisers1 and about a  
dozen families living there had for many
 years been connected with the ,benzonia
 church1 and were among its most        
faithful supporters4 ,for twenty-five or
 thirty years a ,sunday-school had been 
maintained in that community--one of the
 best country schools in the state4 ,a  
young people's society and a weekly     
prayer-meeting had also been kept up for
 a long time4 ,the special meetings were
 held in the schoolhouse in the month of
 ,february1 amid the stormiest weather  
of the winter4 ,but nothing could keep  
the people away4 ,there was a deep      
interest1 and a number of positive      
conversions4 ,it was thought best to    
organize a church4 ,thirty members were 
dismissed from the ,benzonia church to  
enter into the new organization and it  
started with fifty charter members4     
,practically all the religious elements 

of the community came together in the   
new church and it was launched with much
 rejoicing and enthusiasm4 ,under the   
efficient leadership of the assistant   
pastor1 it has gone steadily forward1   
and though the meetings held are in a   
schoolhouse that is most inconvenient   
and inadequate for their needs1 they are
 as dignified and churchly as many that 
are conducted in more appropriate       
surroundings4 ,there is a full service  
of readings1 responses1 well-prepared   
music by a faithful choir1 and the      
presence and power of ,god's ,spirit is 
often strikingly manifest in the        
services4 ,the recognition services of  
the ,eden church were most impressive4  
,the schoolhouse was crowded to its     
utmost capacity4 ,nearly fifty stood up 
together and entered into covenant      
relations1 a large number receiving the 
rite of baptism4 ,the communion service 
conducted by the pastor was especially  
solemn and tender1 and those present    
will long remember the influences of    

that hour4  ,in a number of cases the   
services have been held in schoolhouses 
that are inconvenient and inadequate1   
and in one instance the only place where
 the meetings could be held was a       
private home4 ,a movement is on foot to 
supply these places with chapels that   
will meet the needs of the community4   
,last summer a neat chapel was built at 
,platt ,lake4 ,there is no schoolhouse  
in that community4 ,the children are    
taken in a bus to the ,honor school1 and
 there was no settled meeting-place for 
more than two years1 the services being 
held in turn from house to house4 ,platt
 ,lake is somewhat of a summer resort1  
and the visiting people gave substantial
 help in the construction of the chapel4
 ,it is a convenient little building1   
well furnished1 with organ and stove    
contributed by the ,benzonia church4    
,there being no ecclesiastical          
organization in the place1 the title of 
the building is vested in the ,michigan 
,state ,conference1 with the            

understanding that when a church is     
formed it shall be deeded back4 ,since  
the erection of the chapel a fresh      
impetus has been given to the work in   
,platt ,lake4 ,at this point no regular 
religious services had ever been held   
until the movement of the ,larger       
,parish began4   ,illustration3 ,,the   
,,platt ,,lake ,,chapel  ,a ,typical    
,preaching ,place in the ,larger ,parish
   ,the ,eden church planned to erect a 
new building in the summer of #aiad1 in 
the form of a comfortable chapel with   
basement rooms for social purposes4     
,early in the spring of #aiac the       
farmers set apart a certain portion of  
their land1 the products of which should
 be given for a chapel fund4 ,about     
fifteen farmers entered into this       
arrangement1 the children also setting  
hens and cultivating garden patches for 
the same purpose4 ,on ,thanksgiving     
night of that year they had a special   
service at the schoolhouse to bring in  
the returns4 ,a neat model of a church  

was made for the occasion and placed on 
the desk1 and after an interesting      
program the people filed past the desk  
and dropped into the model church the   
proceeds of their summer's toil4 ,it was
 found to contain more than two hundred 
and fifty dollars--a good starter for   
the new building4 ,though the resources 
of the community are limited1 they are  
all working together with such industry 
and enthusiasm that it is probable that 
they will soon have a pleasant and      
convenient church home4  ,at ,north     
,crystal where there is a flourishing   
,sunday-school and where the services   
are held in a private home1 the people  
are working hard to build a little      
chapel4 ,here too the resorters1 who    
have their cottages along the shore of  
,crystal ,lake1 are very helpful4 ,in   
the summer the meetings are held under  
the trees1 and large crowds come        
together to hear the gospel and to join 
in the songs4 ,the ,ladies' ,aid        
,society is working hard and            

considerable progress has been made in  
collecting a chapel fund4 ,poverty of   
resources can hardly prevent the        
accomplishment of such an enterprise    
when all the people unite in the effort 
so heartily and with such a willingness 
to make sacrifices for the desired end4 
,the church at ,benzonia has also been  
building an addition to its house of    
worship1 adding one hundred sittings and
 numerous rooms for the accommodation of
 the ,sunday-school and social work4    
,one would have been considered rash    
indeed who should have prophesied       
beforehand that in two years in this    
community of limited resources so large 
a sum could be raised for the purpose of
 providing accommodations for the       
worship of ,god and for community and   
social work4  ,if the amount of money   
that people are willing to give for     
religious purposes is an index of their 
interest in the ,kingdom1 one must      
conclude that there has been a very     
significant revival in that respect     

throughout the ,larger ,parish4 ,more   
means for carrying on the work are now  
in sight than any one would have        
supposed it possible to raise three     
years ago4  ,the salaries paid the      
pastor and his two assistants are two   
and a half times as much as was paid to 
the pastor alone before the wider work  
was undertaken4 ,this1 however1 is made 
possible only through the help of the   
,home ,missionary ,society4 ,the        
contributions for home and foreign      
missions have more than doubled during  
this period1 and the number of          
contributors has increased more than    
twofold4 ,if there was any hesitation   
about undertaking the wider work on     
account of the increased financial      
obligation involved1 experience has     
shown that it was unnecessary4 ,more    
than twice as much money is raised on   
the whole field now than was the case   
before the wider work began1 and it     
comes with just as little effort4       
,nobody now objects to the work on      

financial grounds4 ,it has paid for     
itself in every way4  ,this experience  
leads me to believe that on almost every
 field there are resources sufficient   
for carrying on all the work that needs 
to be done there1 if only they can be   
reached1 and ,i am also convinced that  
an active1 aggressive program will be   
much more successful in developing the  
resources than a timid and conservative 
effort can ever be4  ,in order to       
promote unity and fellowship throughout 
the whole parish1 occasional meetings   
designed to bring all the people        
together are held with very good        
results4 ,two or three times during the 
year all the services in the various    
points are omitted and the people come  
together on the beautiful campus on the 
,benzonia hilltop and spend the day in  
worship and in social intercourse4 ,the 
services are held in the shade of the   
great beech and maple trees that crown  
the summit of the hill4 ,there is a     
large choir and orchestra to lead the   

music1 some noted speaker from abroad   
preaches the sermon1 and the            
congregation of four or five hundred is 
as devout and attentive as can be found 
in any church building4 ,at the close of
 the service they assemble in groups to 
eat the lunch which they have brought1  
the coffee being furnished by the       
,benzonia people1 and they spend two    
hours in delightful social intercourse1 
many old friends and neighbors meeting  
there who might not otherwise see each  
other for years4 ,in the afternoon a    
platform meeting is held with a number  
of speakers1 and as the sun is sinking  
low in the west the people disperse and 
go quietly to their homes1 with a larger
 outlook1 a quickened community         
consciousness1 and a fuller appreciation
 of the work of the ,larger ,parish4    
,last year we had on one ,sabbath       
,larger ,parish ,sunday ,school ,rally4 
,posters announcing the meeting had been
 previously circulated4 ,all the ten    
schools of the parish assembled1 holding

 in the morning such a service as ,i    
have described1 having dinner together1 
and in the afternoon occurred the       
,children's ,day services1 with         
exercises by the various schools and an 
address by ,john ,e4 ,gunckel1 the      
famous ,toledo newsboy man4 ,these      
,larger ,parish rallies have proved to  
be a valuable feature of the work and   
are anticipated with pleasure by all the
 people4  ,i wonder if any pastor ever  
felt entirely satisfied with the results
 of his work8 ,i certainly do not4 ,i   
have fallen far short of my ideal4 ,in  
looking back ,i see failures enough to  
keep me humble and mistake enough to    
make me cautious4 ,the numbers that have
 not been reached are so great that the 
thought of them mingles much of sadness 
with the gladness for those who have    
come into the ,kingdom4 ,i am thankful  
for the results that can be reported1   
and ,i consider them sufficient to      
justify the method of the ,larger       
,parish4 ,if the method had been more   

efficiently worked there would have been
 more to show4 ,my hope is that some one
 may make a better use of it and that   
such results may be evident that the    
,larger ,parish method will come into   
general operation1 and that it may play 
a large part in the spiritual and social
 rehabilitation of the rural regions4   
,,ii4 ,,community ,,uplift ,,and        
,,social ,,betterment  ,one of the      
convictions out of which the vision came
 that led to the work of the ,larger    
,parish was that the ,church should     
minister to the whole man2 that nothing 
that goes to make a man a full-rounded  
man1 or that has a legitimate place in  
his life should be ignored by the       
,church2 that it should have something  
to say and something to do with his     
social nature as well as his religious  
nature2 that it should concern itself   
with the affairs of the community and be
 an element of uplifting power in the   
community life4 ,following this         
conviction1 it was quite natural that1  

when the work of the ,larger ,parish was
 undertaken1 considerable attention     
should be paid to that part of the life 
of the people that is often thought to  
lie outside of the distinctive realm of 
religion4 ,the effort has been made to  
help the people in a social way and to  
make their recreations healthful and    
wholesome1 to stimulate and guide them  
in their intellectual life1 and by these
 broader aims to minister to all their  
needs4 ,it may be profitable to show how
 the methods used in the work of the    
,larger ,parish have contributed to     
these ends4  ,recognizing the tendency  
of country life to isolation and extreme
 individualism and the danger of its    
becoming barren and monotonous1 we have 
thought it important to provide for     
social and literary functions1 and for  
wholesome recreation and healthful      
pleasures4 ,this was thought desirable1 
not only for the young people1 but for  
all the people1 and we have sought to   
bring together in these activities the  

old and the young1 and the children as  
well4 ,it has been our effort to make   
all our out-stations1 where services are
 held1 social centers1 and to encourage 
frequent meetings of the people where   
they might mingle together in a free and
 friendly manner4 ,the people have      
responded to these efforts and have     
appreciated very much the opportunities 
that have been afforded them in this    
direction4  #a4 ,neighborhood ,clubs    
have been formed in some of the         
out-stations whose function it is to    
provide for these social necessities4   
,the name1 ,neighborhood ,club quite    
well defines their object4 ,they are to 
serve as social centers4 ,there is a    
simple constitution and by-laws1 and the
 usual officers4 ,but the work is       
carried on under the direction of three 
committees in three departments4 ,first1
 there is a ,social ,committee1 whose   
business it is to arrange for picnics1  
parties1 sociables1 excursions1 etc4    
,then there is a ,literary ,committee   

that provides for literary              
entertainments1 lectures1 debates1 and  
the like4 ,after that comes the ,team   
,work ,committee1 which leads out in any
 movement in which the people need to   
coperate1 such as helping an unfortunate
 neighbor to harvest his crops1 planting
 trees by the roadside1 plowing out the 
roads in winter1 or mending a bad place 
in the highway4 ,often many kindly deeds
 are omitted1 and many desirable things 
for a community are left undone1 not    
because the people are selfish1 or      
wanting in public spirit1 but for lack  
of leading4 ,there is no one to lead out
 in such things1 and so they are        
neglected4  ,not long ago one of the    
neighborhood clubs spent the day in     
helping to raise a barn1 having a dinner
 together and enjoying a jolly social   
time4 ,one of the clubs offered a prize 
for rat-killing1 getting out some       
posters that were a curiosity4 ,from    
time to time various matters of local   
interest are taken up and discussed by  

the club1 and considerable talent in    
debate has been developed in unexpected 
places4 ,occasionally the various       
neighborhood clubs get together for a   
day of sports and recreation4 ,they have
 in the forenoon games and contests1    
then a picnic dinner1 followed by a     
program of music and addresses4 ,these  
gatherings promote neighborliness and   
afford the farmers and their wives and  
children a little break in the monotony 
of their toilsome lives4  ,the first    
winter a lecture course was organized1  
consisting of five or six numbers1      
mostly by home talent4 ,all these       
lectures were given before the various  
clubs4 ,the pastor gave an account of   
his travels in the ,holy ,land4 ,the    
principal of the ,academy talked about  
,the ,farm and the ,school4 ,a doctor   
from a neighboring town spoke about     
,farm ,sanitation1 and an expert        
horticulturist about ,better ,orchards4 
,a layman spoke about ,some ,legal      
,principles ,that ,should be ,generally 

,known4 ,much interest was taken in     
these lectures1 and the people turned   
out well to hear them4 ,the next winter 
the clubs arranged their own programs   
and carried on a lively and interesting 
campaign4 ,one of the clubs had a series
 of ,special ,topic nights4 ,one night  
was devoted to ,the ,pilgrims1 with a   
varied and interesting program4 ,another
 to ,abraham ,lincoln1 another to       
,michigan1 with a program full of       
information1 historical1 statistical1   
and otherwise1 about the state of which 
the community was a part4 ,one of the   
clubs organized and maintained an ,old  
,fashioned ,singing ,school under an    
instructor from the village1 that was a 
fair success4 ,these neighborhood clubs 
have proved to be very popular and very 
valuable1 and it would seem that they   
are well adapted to almost any country  
community1 taking the place of the old  
lyceums and literary societies of a     
former generation that did so much to   
sharpen the wits1 inform the minds1 and 

increase the friendliness of those who  
went before us4  #b4 ,in some of the    
neighborhoods where it has not yet been 
thought best to organize clubs1 some    
attention has been paid to this side of 
life and some provision made for social 
diversions4 ,during ,thanksgiving week1 
festivals were held in three different  
places that were very successful and    
profitable4 ,the description of one of  
them will be typical4 ,three            
communities1 ,east ,joyfield1 ,demerley1
 and the ,south ,chapel1 united in      
holding a festival in the ,joyfield     
,town ,hall on ,thanksgiving ,day4      
,thorough preparations had been made4   
,various committees were appointed1 the 
teachers in the four school districts   
included in that territory trained the  
children1 a program of games and sports 
and contests was arranged1 and all the  
people took much interest in getting    
ready for the event4 ,at three o'clock a
 religious service was held in the hall 
and the pastor preached a ,thanksgiving 

sermon to a large and attentive         
congregation4  ,while the ladies were   
preparing the supper1 the program of    
sports1 a part of which had been        
previously given in a large barn near   
by1 was finished on the lawn4 ,various  
races were run and stunts of different  
kinds were performed1 including a tug of
 war and wrestling matches1 that took up
 the time till the call to supper came4 
,two long tables extending the whole    
length of the hall were filled twice1   
not less than one hundred and fifty     
sitting down to a sumptuous feast4 ,when
 all had satisfied the wants of the     
inner man1 there were supplies enough   
left to feed another crowd almost as    
great1 so lavish are the country folk in
 their hospitality4  ,as soon as the    
tables could be cleared away and the    
people could get seated the evening's   
entertainment began4 ,the hall was      
crowded to its utmost capacity1 the     
people were jammed in like sardines in a
 box1 and some could not find entrance1 

but the utmost good nature prevailed1   
and they sat1 not patiently1 but        
delightedly1 through a program of       
recitations1 dialogs1 songs1 and like   
exercises given by the children         
occupying two full hours4 ,then came the
 distributing of the prizes to the      
winners in the games1 and the happy     
crowd dispersed1 feeling more kindly    
toward each other and realizing more    
fully the joy of neighborliness because 
they had come together in their         
,thanksgiving festival4 ,similar        
festivals were held at ,grace the day   
before1 and at ,liberty ,union the day  
after4 ,they were all conceived and     
carried out by ,mr4 ,huck1 the assistant
 pastor1 just from ,england1 thus       
proving his efficiency and his          
adaptability4  #c4 ,on a snowy ,saturday
 the men of ,east ,joyfield1 under the  
lead of the assistant pastor1 arranged  
,a ,community ,rabbit ,hunt4 ,they met  
with their guns and went in pairs in    
different directions1 scouring the woods

 and the fields in search of game4 ,they
 were measurably successful1 and a heap 
of forty-five cotton tails rewarded     
their efforts4 ,they were distributed   
among fifteen families1 who were to     
prepare them with other good things for 
a ,rabbit ,social on the next ,tuesday  
night at the chapel4 ,though the night  
was stormy1 the chapel was well filled1 
there was a fine program of music and   
games1 and then a feast of rabbit pie   
that was appetizing and abundant4 ,so   
the cotton tails served the community   
better by being eaten themselves than   
they would if they had been left to eat 
the bark from the young fruit trees on  
the surrounding farms4  #d4 ,since the  
pursuit of athletics has so large a     
place in the minds of the young people  
in these days1 it has been thought worth
 while to do something in this field4   
,one of the assistant pastors having had
 some training when in school organized 
,athletic ,clubs among the boys and     
young men in six or seven different     

neighborhoods4 ,these clubs met from    
time to time for practise4 ,they were   
combined into an ,athletic ,league for  
the whole parish and occasionally held  
,field ,days4 ,they would come together 
on the ,academy campus at ,benzonia and 
spend the day in sports and games and   
contests in which a previously prepared 
schedule of events was carried on4      
,there were junior contests for the boys
 and the girls too had a part in the    
last field-day sports4 ,occasionally    
they have a banquet with toasts and an  
opportunity for social intercourse4     
,these athletic clubs have not only done
 much to encourage clean and healthful  
sports1 but they have given the         
assistant pastor large influence over   
the young people1 and most of them are  
noticeably regular in their attendance  
on the services he conducts on the      
,sabbath4  ,ladies' ,aid ,societies are 
organized in the various neighborhoods  
and they bring together in a social way1
 not only the ladies1 but also the men  

in the winter season1 who then find time
 to enjoy the good dinner that the      
ladies provide and to spend part of the 
day in social intercourse4 ,these ,aid  
,societies are ready to take hold in a  
helpful way of any enterprise that is   
for the good of the community1 and any  
enterprise to which they devote         
themselves is bound to go4  #e4 ,one    
more way of working has proved to be    
valuable1 and well worth while4 ,like   
nearly all small towns1 we have a weekly
 newspaper which finds its way into most
 of the homes of the parish4 ,the pastor
 and the editor work together in the    
effort to make it an organ of helpful   
power in the community life4 ,for the   
past three years ,i have had each week a
 column--usually a column and a half--in
 this paper4 ,it is my regular ,monday  
forenoon work to write that column4 ,i  
put into it whatever ,i think will be   
useful to the people1 bringing them many
 a message that would hardly come       
appropriately into the pulpit1 and      

reaching in that way many whom ,i would 
not often come in touch with otherwise4 
,the themes are various1 a few may serve
 as specimens4 ,how to ,keep ,one's     
,religion and ,make ,it ,pay1 ,the ,back
 ,yard1 ,the ,test of the ,summer ,time1
 ,the ,man ,you ,happen to ,meet1 ,the  
,utility of the ,yell1 ,the ,wedding    
,bells and ,funeral ,knells1 ,dr4       
,charles ,m4 ,sheldon and ,his ,ideas of
 an ,educated ,man1 ,be a ,columbus1    
,the ,keen ,zest of ,living4 ,any local 
topic of general interest is taken up   
and discussed1 and the activities of the
 church and the social and literary     
doings in the various out-stations are  
brought before the people4 ,so they are 
kept constantly aware that something is 
going on that is worth while throughout 
the parish1 and ,i have an opportunity  
to keep my ideas before the whole       
parish4 ,this ,i consider one of my most
 valuable ways of working1 and ,i find  
that the ,pastor's ,column is eagerly   
looked for and widely read4  ,this      

suggests the question whether in the    
past the pastors of our churches have   
sufficiently appreciated the value of   
printer's ink as an adjunct in carrying 
on religious and community work4 ,if the
 pastor can speak through the press as  
well as the pulpit1 he is duplicating   
his influence4  #f4 ,the ,benzonia      
,christian ,endeavor ,society purchased 
a stereopticon for use in the ,larger   
,parish4 ,it was equipped with          
electrical apparatus to be used in the  
villages1 and with acetylene light for  
the schoolhouses and country places     
where there was no electric current4 ,it
 could be easily carried from place to  
place1 and became a very practical and  
useful instrument in the work4 ,slides  
on various subjects were easily         
obtained1 and the effect of lectures and
 talks was greatly increased4 ,the      
people in these days want to see things 
as well as to hear about them1 and the  
sight helps out the hearing4 ,they never
 get tired of looking at good pictures4 

,it became easy with the help of the    
lantern to provide an interesting and   
profitable evening entertainment1 and   
the people showed their appreciation by 
their presence in large numbers and     
their careful attention4 ,the ,panama   
,canal was thus presented and           
illustrated1 and ,the ,other ,wise ,man4
 ,some lectures by the pastor--,on      
,horseback through the ,holy ,land1 ,a  
,week in and about ,jerusalem1 ,three   
,months on an ,ocean ,steamer--were made
 more vivid and attractive by views from
 photographs taken on a foreign trip4   
,in many ways the stereopticon has      
proved a valuable acquisition1 and      
especially in a country parish can it be
 used with great profit and             
satisfaction4  #g4 ,in a local option   
campaign the influence of the ,larger   
,parish made itself felt in an effective
 way for the banishment of the saloon4  
,debates were arranged on the question  
in the neighborhood clubs4  ,the pastors
 preached on the subject and made       

addresses at the meetings held          
throughout the county4 ,one of the      
assistant pastors gave valuable service 
on the ,central ,committee4 ,in all such
 movements that have for their object   
the purifying of the community and the  
establishment of righteousness the      
forces that are active in the ,larger   
,parish are lined up on the right side1 
ready to coperate and promptly available
 for practical work4  ,an ,every ,member
 ,canvass for home and foreign missions 
is carried on throughout the whole      
parish4 ,each year a letter is prepared1
 giving briefly the progress of the work
 for the year past and setting forth its
 present condition4 ,these letters are  
sent by mail to nearly all the families 
in the parish1 with small collection    
envelopes for the different members of  
the household1 with the request that    
they bring the offerings to their       
accustomed places of worship4 ,the      
children as well as the older people are
 encouraged to bring in their offerings1

 and we have found this an effective way
 of cultivating in them the spirit of   
benevolence4 ,there is much gain in     
leading them to feel that they have a   
part in the work4     ,,vi  ,,things    
,,yet ,,to ,,be ,,done   ,their name is 
legion4 ,everything is to be done4 ,only
 a beginning has been made4 ,nothing is 
finished4 ,what has been accomplished is
 only a prophecy of the larger and      
completer work that lies before us in   
the future4 ,religious and community    
work is not mechanical4 ,you cannot     
finish it up and store it away as the   
carpenter finishes a box1 or the        
housewife a garment4 ,life is a         
development1 a growth1 and those who    
deal with life must always be content   
with beginnings4 ,nothing that has life 
is ever finished4 ,life in its larger   
unfolding and its fuller meaning must   
always be in the future4 ,a life that is
 finished and complete would better end1
 and a community that has reached       
perfection should be translated to      

another sphere4 ,we must ever be content
 to spend our labor upon beginnings1    
thankful for such fruitage as may appear
 from time to time4 ,the real           
ingathering must always be in the       
future4 ,what has been accomplished in  
the ,larger ,parish gives us confidence 
in the methods employed1 and encourages 
us to expect larger things from the     
better and completer application of     
those and similar methods in the days to
 come4  ,in may be well to mention some 
of the things that have not as yet been 
fully done1 but that we hope to see     
accomplished in the ,larger ,parish in  
the future4  #a4 ,the first and most    
important aim of this work1 and of all  
church work1 is to bring people into the
 kingdom of ,god4 ,all social and       
community work must be subordinate to   
this and lead up to it4 ,the ,church    
must be something more than a social    
settlement4 ,i still hold to the        
old-fashioned idea that men need to be  
saved1 and that the only salvation that 

there can be for them is found in       
loyalty to ,jesus ,christ4 ,while this  
salvation is a matter of the spirit1    
affecting one's standing with ,god and  
his relation to the great eternal       
realities1 it also affects his standing 
with men and his relation to society4   
,and here comes in all the humanitarian 
and community work that is a legitimate 
and important part of the church's      
concern4 ,community work can never take 
the place of the work of ,god's ,spirit 
in the individual life4 ,to be          
permanently valuable it must be the     
result of that work4 ,the kingdom of    
,god embraces the complete ideal1 and if
 we can induce men to live according to 
the principles of that kingdom1 careful 
attention will be paid to all the work  
that needs to be done for the community4
 ,therefore the work of the ,larger     
,parish is primarily1 though not        
exclusively1 evangelistic4 ,we are      
trying to lead men to become            
,christians1 not in a narrow sense1 but 

in the large1 rich meaning of that word 
which the teaching of ,jesus gives it4  
,during the three years that we have in 
review there have been some such        
results4 ,a goodly number have decided  
to begin the ,christian life and have   
taken their places in the ranks of the  
followers of ,jesus ,christ4 ,we are    
thankful that the army of the ,lord has 
received so many new recruits4 ,but     
there are many more who are not as yet  
willing to enlist4 ,the number of those 
who are still outside the ranks is      
greater than of those who are marching  
under the banner of the visible ,church4
 ,much remains to be done in this       
direction4 ,the work is far from being  
complete in this its most vital and     
important aspect4 ,we have only made a  
beginning4 ,it will not be finished     
until every person in all the wide      
parish is openly and positively arrayed 
on the side of ,christ4 ,at the present 
rate of progress it looks as if the     
,church had work laid out for it for a  

long time to come4 ,it is not in danger 
of soon running out of material4 ,there 
is a great work yet to be done in the   
way of bringing men into the kingdom of 
,god4 ,we hope to keep that always in   
view--to make it our central aim and our
 uppermost thought4  #b4 ,there needs to
 be created in the hearts of the people 
more respect for the ,church1 a better  
understanding of its mission1 and a     
fuller appreciation of its work4 ,many  
people have mistaken ideas of the       
,church1 and therefore fail to          
appreciate its work or its purpose4     
,some regard it simply as a venerable   
institution that has long had a place in
 human society4 ,in former times it has 
done an important work1 and still has   
its value4 ,it is to be honored for its 
record and still encouraged in a mild   
and patronizing way4 ,they would not    
banish the ,church--they are not yet    
quite ready to undertake to conduct     
human society without it4 ,they tolerate
 it and perhaps support it in a         

half-hearted way1 but they do not regard
 it as absolutely essential or its work 
as vitally important4 ,they do not      
understand the ,church4 ,the ,church may
 be in some measure to blame for this4  
,it has not always understood itself4   
,its conception of its own mission has  
been small1 narrow1 and inadequate1 and 
it was inevitable that no truer or      
larger impression could be made upon the
 community4 ,when the ,church undertakes
 to do all for which it is responsible  
and prosecutes it with the vigor and    
earnestness that it deserves1 the people
 will begin to understand it better and 
to appreciate more fully its mission4   
,many people regard the ,church as an   
institution to be supported4 ,in common 
thought this institution1 for some      
reason that may not always appear1 has  
assumed the right to lay the community  
under tribute for support4 ,some accept 
this traditional idea without thinking  
much about it1 while others are in      
revolt against it4 ,one of the assistant

 pastors was calling at a house for the 
first time4 ,the master of the house1   
when he was introduced1 said1 ,oh1      
another preacher6 ,well1 ,i suppose they
 all have to be supported4 ,and he was  
not the first representative of the     
,church that has met with such an       
indignity4  ,here again the ,church may 
be at least partially to blame4 ,it has 
too often regarded its office as that of
 preying upon the community as well as  
praying for it4 ,it has not always been 
careful to give value received4  ,it is 
our purpose to make the ,church a       
necessity in the community4 ,its good   
works1 its efficiency as an element of  
power in everything that is for the     
improvement and uplifting of the people1
 should be so great and so evident that 
no one can reasonably call them in      
question4 ,that is one of the things    
that needs to be done1 and that by the  
method of the ,larger ,parish we hope to
 accomplish4 ,we propose that the       
,church shall have such a spirit of     

helpfulness1 that it shall be so wise   
and practical in laying out its work1 so
 energetic and aggressive in prosecuting
 it1 that all shall recognize it as a   
potent and most blessed force--an       
institution that they gladly support    
because of its practical value4 ,some   
progress has been made in this          
direction4 ,the ,church has gained      
immensely in the respect of the people  
since it began the work of the ,larger  
,parish4 ,the people can see that it is 
really doing something4  #c4 ,there     
needs to be created a stronger and more 
universal community spirit4 ,the        
tendency in the country toward isolation
 and independence is especially strong4 
,each farmer is separate from every     
other4 ,he lives alone1 somewhat like a 
baron in his castle in old feudal times1
 sufficient for himself1 without much   
necessity of borrowing1 or thought of   
lending4 ,living in such conditions it  
is quite natural that he should grow    
selfish1 and should come to think       

largely if not exclusively of his own   
individual interests4 ,he is in danger  
of overlooking the fact that society is 
an organism1 and he is a part of it2    
that he has duties and obligations to   
the general public2 that his life cannot
 be complete if it is lived alone2 that 
he owes something to the community at   
large1 and that he must get something   
from it if he would really be a man1 do 
a man's work1 and fill a man's place4   
,he must come to see that the public    
good means private advantage1 and that  
when he cuts himself off from others and
 thinks only of his own individual      
interests he is following a foolish and 
suicidal policy4   ,illustration3 ,,the 
,,benzonia ,,church   ,this community   
spirit needs to be carefully cultivated1
 and that work has been going on in the 
,larger ,parish4 ,the community spirit  
has been growing4 ,the people are more  
interested in one another and in those  
things that are undertaken for the      
public good than they formerly were4    

,but there is still much to be done in  
this respect4 ,not all the people are   
yet able to look over the narrow        
boundaries of their own possessions and 
see their neighbors' needs4 ,not all    
grasp the idea of the solidarity of     
society4 ,but this spirit is growing and
 there will be larger fruitage in the   
coming days4  #d4 ,there needs to be    
more team work among the people1 more   
coperation in carrying out the schemes  
that are for the public good4 ,when all 
the people take hold together1 there is 
scarcely anything that needs to be done 
that cannot be accomplished4 ,a single  
individual is comparatively powerless1  
but a common movement in any community  
is bound to succeed4 ,one of the        
foremost services to any community is to
 unite its forces and bring the people  
to work together heartily and           
enthusiastically in some good cause4    
,the work of the ,larger ,parish has    
been useful in this direction4 ,the     
,team ,work ,committees of the          

neighborhood clubs have this for their  
object--to lead out in anything in which
 it is desirable for the people to move 
together4 ,it is easier to bring the    
people to unite their efforts now than  
it was three years ago1 but much more   
remains to be done4 ,the goal has not   
yet been reached4 ,the effective team   
work that we have seen is a prophecy of 
that completer coperation in all good   
things that we hope and expect to see in
 the coming days4  #e4 ,in some way more
 variety should be brought into the     
lives of country people4 ,farm life     
should become one of the most attractive
 and interesting spheres of activity4   
,its freedom1 its independence1 its     
close contact with nature1 should give  
to it for multitudes a compelling charm4
 ,it would seem that a strong current of
 human interest could be made to flow   
from the crowded and unwholesome        
conditions of the city to the open      
country1 where the fresh breezes play   
and the flowers bloom4 ,at present it is

 not so4 ,the stream flows in the       
opposite direction and every year the   
city swallows up much of the best blood 
of the country4 ,it is the city that    
attracts1 and the country that repels4  
,this can be explained very largely by  
the isolated and monotonous character of
 country life4  ,the only way by which  
this movement can be checked or reversed
 is to give more variety to rural life2 
to break up its monotony and to         
introduce into it those intellectual and
 social pleasures and employments that  
are a necessary part of a healthful and 
contented life4 ,young people crave     
variety1 they must get together1 they   
must have some kind of amusements1 some 
form of recreation4 ,if they cannot find
 it on the farm1 they will go to the    
city where it is supplied in lavish     
abundance but often in objectionable    
forms4  ,it has been the object of the  
work of the ,larger ,parish to supply   
this need of country life4 ,it has      
provided and promoted frequent          

opportunities for the people to come    
together in a social way4 ,the ,sunday  
services established in so many places  
have not only served as opportunities of
 worship1 but also of neighborly        
intercourse and of the interchange of   
friendly greetings4 ,the neighborhood   
clubs have been a kind of social and    
literary clearing-house for the         
community1 affording many a pleasant and
 profitable evening and providing       
something wholesome to think of and to  
plan for during the day4 ,the ,ladies'  
,aid ,societies have brought the women  
together1 in projects and               
accomplishments of common interest1     
relieving the weeks of monotonous toil  
with forms of coperative fellowship4    
,much more needs to be done to impart   
interest and attraction to life in the  
country1 and it is something to which   
the ,church1 in its desire to minister  
to the whole man1 may very appropriately
 give its thought and effort4  #f4      
,machinery seems to be a necessity in   

all kinds of work4 ,nothing can be done 
without a method1 an organization1 a    
machine--some kind of an instrument to  
facilitate the process4 ,but the machine
 is never properly an end in itself4    
,sometimes it is made an end1 but no    
farmer could be satisfied with a reaper 
that did not cut the grain1 however     
beautiful and well-made it might be or  
however smoothly it might run4          
,nevertheless some churches seem to be  
satisfied with the smooth running of the
 machinery1 even though the results of  
it all are very meager4  ,the primary   
object of the work of the ,larger       
,parish is to help the people and to    
serve them in a religious and social    
way1 not to promote a denomination1 to  
build up a church1 to perfect an        
organization1 or to construct or to     
operate machinery of any kind4 ,but in  
order to help the people and serve their
 best interests efficiently1 some       
machinery1 some organization1 is        
necessary4 ,our thought is to supply it 

when the necessity comes1 but not       
before4 ,when it is needed it must be   
invented or discovered1 or in some way  
brought into the service4 ,certain      
methods have been introduced4 ,there    
have been employed some forms of        
organization1 some machinery has been   
set in operation4 ,some things we have  
tried1 that did not work satisfactorily 
and they had to be discarded4 ,some of  
the methods that seem to be successful  
at present may not always continue to   
work so well1 and they will have to be  
exchanged for others4 ,we must ever keep
 in view the prime object for which we  
are working--to serve the people and to 
uplift the community life--and to that  
object we must adapt our methods and    
adjust our machinery4  ,if we do the    
work that needs to be done in the coming
 days we shall need a true and          
unwavering purpose1 a clear eye to      
discern the situation1 a calm and       
correct judgment to fit the method to   
the work1 and above all1 the constant   

leading of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the      
,larger ,parish is not a method1 or     
organization1 or machine1 that one can  
secure and put in operation and then the
 work is done4 ,it is a vision--an      
ideal--that must be a living reality in 
the soul1 and then must be wrought out  
in actual life in the best way possible4
     ,,vii  ,,some ,,resultant          
,,conclusions   ,this story began with  
,some ,convictions4 ,it ends with ,some 
,conclusions4 ,there has been an attempt
 to tell how a vision became a reality4 
,the vision originated in convictions4  
,the conclusions have come from the     
realization of the vision4  ,there are a
 few things that may be stated with     
confidence as the result of the three   
years' work in translating the vision   
into the fact of the ,larger ,parish4   
,the mention of some of them will round 
out the story4  #a4 ,the village church1
 if it would do its proper work1 must   
belong to the people and be in close    
touch with them4 ,it must minister in   

some way to all the people and be a     
force in the life of all the people4    
,churches like individuals are known to 
have certain characteristics1 to possess
 certain temperaments4 ,some are        
aristocratic and exclusive4 ,they gather
 to themselves a number of select       
families who have common tastes and are 
congenial with one another4 ,they have  
good times together1 and within that    
narrow circle there is a delightful     
social life4 ,those few people are well 
trained1 and well instructed in the     
facts and principles of religion as they
 are understood by them4 ,but they do   
not seem to get hold of the idea that   
the church is for all the people2 that  
as ,jesus conceived it it is essentially
 democratic4 ,they have no sense of     
obligation for the community at large1  
and make no effort to affect it as a    
whole and to lift it up to a higher     
level4  ,the village church that would  
do its work must be democratic and must 
have a community consciousness4 ,it must

 belong to the people--be in close touch
 with those of each and every class4    
#b4 ,the village church1 if it would do 
its proper work1 must recognize its     
obligation to minister in some way to   
the religious and social needs of the   
people in the outlying country          
districts4 ,the village should not be   
its parish1 but rather its base of      
operations1 from which it goes forth to 
all the wide-stretching territory that  
lies beyond4  #c4 ,the church which has 
this vision1 which recognizes this      
obligation and seeks to discharge it1   
will find some way of doing it4 ,the    
work within the towns and villages is   
often great and difficult4 ,many        
churches have failed to reach all the   
people within the sound of their        
church-bell1 and there is much work at  
their very doors that they have not yet 
accomplished4 ,shall they reach out and 
extend their parish threefold1 and      
multiply their duties and obligations   
many times8 ,if they do not do all that 

ought to be done in their smaller       
parish1 shall they increase its         
boundaries and assume greater           
obligations8 ,yes4 ,that is what many   
churches are languishing for--a bigger  
job1 something that it is worth while to
 do2 something that will challenge all  
their powers and awaken to enthusiasm   
their sleeping energies4  #d4 ,the only 
village church that will continue to    
abide in strength and vigor in the      
future years will be the church that is 
all buttressed about by a strong and    
vigorous country work4 ,it must be done 
as a means of self-preservation4 ,the   
village churches are as much in danger  
of losing their lives as the country    
churches are4 ,the church that confines 
its efforts within the village          
boundaries is sure to languish and      
dwindle and after a while it will give  
up the ghost1 as it ought to do4 ,as the
 city is fed from the towns and         
villages1 so the towns and villages are 
fed from the country4 ,if the work goes 

down in the towns and villages1 it will 
be felt in the city1 and if it loses its
 hold in the country1 it will soon lose 
its grip upon the villages and towns4   
,the country needs the work of the      
,larger ,parish1 and it will perish     
without it4 ,but the village church     
needs to do the work even more1 and     
unless it takes it up with vigor it is  
doomed4  #e4 ,when the churches come to 
be more interested in the promotion of  
the ,kingdom than they are in the       
promotion of their own particular       
denomination1 they will begin to have   
that prosperity which only those can    
have who are really doing the ,lord's   
work4 ,the chief hindrance to the work  
of the churches is often the churches   
themselves4 ,one of the greatest needs  
of the villages and rural regions is    
fewer churches4  ,if in each small      
village there was a single church in    
which all the ,christians of the        
community could unite1 they could easily
 organize the work in all the           

surrounding country and carry it on     
successfully4 ,but where there are a    
number of churches they are in the way  
of each other and effectually prevent   
any widespread and efficient work4      
,still1 even in that unfortunate        
condition1 something may be done in a   
systematic way to help the rural        
regions4 ,why cannot the representatives
 of the various churches get together1  
make a united survey of the country for 
miles in every direction1 become fully  
acquainted with the situation and       
conditions1 and seeing clearly what     
needs to be done1 divide the territory  
up between them1 giving each church its 
own particular field1 and allowing it to
 arrange for its cultivation in its own 
way8 ,i believe that some such          
arrangement is feasible when it is the  
,kingdom that the churches are chiefly  
interested to promote1 instead of the   
particular denomination to which they   
happen to belong4  #f4 ,when all the    
religious forces in any community can   

combine and work together1 all the work 
that needs to be done in the community  
can be done1 and there will be no lack  
of resources to carry it on with vigor  
and success4 ,in almost every community 
there are ,christians enough1 and there 
is money enough1 for the work1 if only  
they can be assembled and utilized4 ,but
 when they are scattered about1 lying   
around lose and uncombined1 or when they
 are organized into competing camps1    
they are useless for any purpose of     
aggressive and effective work4 ,it isn't
 the poverty of the people that stands  
in the way1 or the small number of      
professing ,christians4 ,it is the lack 
of team work1 the lack of coperation1   
that constitutes the weakness of the    
cause4 ,no work can be done in the      
country that is at all effective without
 this coperation and combination4 ,with 
it1 all the work that needs to be done1 
can be done4  #g4 ,the church that sees 
the vision and with faith and courage   
undertakes to make it a reality1 will be

 prospered4 ,perhaps the experience of  
the ,benzonia church may be cited as    
proof of this4 ,situated in a small     
village1 composed of people of meager   
means1 in a country that has not even   
yet emerged from pioneer conditions1 it 
had for many years carried on its work  
only with much sacrifice and careful    
economy4 ,three years ago1 by a         
unanimous vote1 it formally adopted the 
policy of reaching out and annexing all 
the territory within a radius of five   
miles in every direction1 thus greatly  
increasing its obligations and more than
 doubling its annual budget of expenses4
 ,there was some questioning as to how  
it could be done1 but1 without waiting  
for clearer light1 it moved forward     
unanimously to the enlarged work4  ,what
 do we find to be the result of the     
three years8 ,they have been the three  
most prosperous years of the church's   
history4 ,two men have been added to the
 clerical force4 ,the expenses of the   
church have been met1 and the bills have

 been paid when they were due4 ,the     
contributions for home and foreign      
missions have more than doubled4 ,more  
members have been received than during  
any other similar period4 ,there has    
been perfect harmony and the people have
 been glad and happy in their common    
work4 ,ten places of worship have been  
established in the country around where 
regular services are held4 ,the people  
in these neighborhoods attend their own 
services and do not come into the       
village church as some of them formerly 
did4 ,the present arrangement does not  
tend to build up a large central        
congregation1 but has the opposite      
effect4 ,thirty former central members  
have become part of a newly formed      
church three miles away4 ,there has been
 no great increase in the population1   
either of the village or of the country 
around4 ,but the congregations and the  
,sunday-schools were never so large as  
they have been during this period4 ,it  
has been found impossible to accommodate

 all those who wished to worship with   
the church1 or properly to care for     
those attending the ,sunday-school4 ,a  
larger building became an actual        
necessity1 and in the summer of #aiac an
 addition was made1 increasing the      
seating capacity of the building by one 
third1 and providing a number of rooms  
for ,sunday-school and social purpose4  
,can we doubt that the blessing of ,god 
will attend any church that sees the    
vision1 and with faith and courage and  
sacrifice gives itself to the work of   
making it a reality8  #h4 ,when all the 
ministers and all the churches catch the
 vision of the ,larger ,parish and      
address themselves to the work of making
 it a reality1 the rural regions will be
 rehabilitated1 religiously1 morally1   
and socially1 and a splendid impulse    
will be given to the work throughout the
 whole country4 ,if some practical plan 
can be adopted by the village churches  
for extension work1 the whole aspect of 
the country situation may be quickly    

changed4 ,the people1 both in the       
villages and in the open country1 are   
more ready for some such movement than  
has been supposed4 ,would not the       
,larger ,parish idea as set forth in    
this story furnish a good working plan  
for such a movement8  ,no man can have  
very much enthusiasm in a task that does
 not challenge all his powers and bring 
them into action--neither can a church4 
,with the village churches it is a case 
of self-preservation as well as         
outreaching service4 ,they must do this 
work or die4 ,they will not long survive
 the spiritual declension of the        
country4 ,the country and the village   
stand or fall together4 ,their fortunes 
are united4 ,they must help each other  
up into a better life or they will sink 
into a like economic1 social1 and       
spiritual stagnation and death4 ,the    
plan of the wider parish1 or some better
 plan1 if it is wisely and vigorously   
worked1 will secure both to the village 
and the country communities their       

rightful heritage of spiritual and      
social strength and usefulness4  #i4    
,nearly all the ,christian denominations
 have their home missionary boards or   
societies whose functions it is to help 
sustain gospel work in needy places and 
to organize and cherish churches on the 
frontier and in destitute places4 ,the  
frontier lines are not so extensive as  
they once were1 but the desolate places 
are almost as numerous as ever1 and they
 are in the very heart of our most      
highly developed civilization4 ,in fact1
 they lie all about our churches1 often 
almost within the sound of the          
church-bell4 ,it is often too expensive 
to sustain a minister and maintain      
regular services in all these places and
 so they are left without gospel        
privileges4 ,if they can be grouped     
about a village church as a center1 and 
if the church can be the base of        
operations from which the work is       
carried on in all these outlying        
regions2 if through the aid of the home 

missionary boards a sufficient clerical 
force can be maintained to carry on the 
wide work1 will not such a course be a  
practical1 a successful1 and an         
economical method of accomplishing home 
mission work8  ,god is waiting to give  
the vision to those who are ready to    
receive it4 ,the country in its great   
need and desolation is waiting for the  
help which the village churches can give
 to them4 ,i believe the home missionary
 societies and boards are ready to      
coperate in some such plan for the      
uplifting and the evangelization of the 
country districts4 ,the village churches
 themselves are waiting for the wider   
work to quicken their waning life1 and  
to kindle their dying enthusiasm4 ,the  
world is waiting to see them move       
forward in a determined and consecrated 
effort to reduce the vision to reality4 
,god is waiting to pour out his ,spirit 
in abundant blessing upon the churches  
that have enough faith and courage to   
undertake the work4  ,i believe that the

 fulfilment of all this is not far in   
the future1 and if this story of the    
,larger ,parish shall contribute even in
 a small degree to this result1 the     
teller will be amply repaid for his     
attempt to picture the new path along   
which ,god has led him4    ,move to the 
fore4   ,god himself waits1 and must    
wait1 till thou come1   ,men are ,god's 
prophets though ages lie dumb4   ,halts 
the ,christ-,kingdom1 with conquest so  
near8   ,thou art the cause1 then1 thou 
man at the rear4   ,move to the fore4