The New Country' Church Building gjvfp, 'T'-f'f fSM ^mmi^ •I i 'It !3i ' Hate (JfoUcge nf ^^grtcultuce At efornell Untuersitg atljata. N. 1- ffiibrarg Cornell University Library HT 467.B89C The new country, church buiU«ng^^^ Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013887777 THE "OLD SHIP" MEETING-HOUSE, HINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS Exterior atv! InU'rinr THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING BY EDMUND deSCHWEINITZ BRUNNER Pastor, MoraTian Church, £«eton, Pennsylvania Author, Cooferalim in Cmpertburg NEW YORK MISSIONARY EDUCATION MOVEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 1917 corvBiGHT, 191 7. »■' MISSIONARY EDUCATION MOVIMINT Of THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA TO My Companion, Coworker, and Wife MARY VOGLER BRUNNER STATEMENT The following action was taken by the Com- mittee of Direction of the Commission on Church and Country Life of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, January 15, 1917: "It was voted that, in accordance with the recommendation of the Commission to pub- lish a small booklet containing plans for mod- ern community church buildings, the Com- mittee of Direction endorse the book by Dr. Brunner about to be published by the Mission- ary Education Movement." [iv] CONTENTS CHAPTER PACB Preface ix I Early American Churches i II The Old Plant and the New Program 13 III The Choice of Site and Ma- terials 27 IV Plans and Principles 35 V Rebuilding the Country Church 63 VI The Rural Parish House 83 VII For Beauty and for Service 99 VIII The Building Campaign 121 IX Dedication 133 [V] ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Old Ship Meeting-house, Hingham, Massachu- setts, Exterior and Interior Frontispiece Sharon Church, Tuscarawas, Ohio, First Building and Present Building 32 Ashland Church, Howard County, Missouri, Base- ment and First Floor Plans (Fig. i ) 40 Memorial Presbyterian Church, Bellona, New York, First and Second Floor Plans (Fig. 2) . . 42 Plan No. I, Floor Plan (Fig. 3) 44 Plan No. 2, Basement and Main Floor Plans (Fig. 4) 46 Plan No. 3, Basement and Main Floor Plans (Fig. 5) • 48 Plan No. 4, Basement and Main Floor Plans (Fig. 6) 50 Plan No. 5, Main Floor Plan (Fig. 7) 52 Plan No. 6, Main Floor Plan (Fig. 7) 52 Plan No. 7, First and Gallery Floor Plans (Fig. 8) 54 Plan No. 8, Basement and First Floor Plans (Fig. 9) 56 Plan No. 9, First and Gallery Floor Plans (Fig. 10) 58 Canadian Presbyterian Commission Plan, Ground and Main Floor Plans (Fig. 11) 60 [Vii] ILLUSTRATIONS Emaus, Pennsylvania, Moravian Church, Interior Views Showing Sunday-school Rooms 64 Plan for a One-room Sunday-school (Fig. 12) . . . 72 Wildman Folding Partition, Closed and Open (Fig- 13) 74 Benzonia, Michigan, Congregational Church 80 Brotherhood Building, McCIellandtown, Pennsyl- vania, Basement and Main Floor Plans (Fig. 14) 88 Moravian Parish House, New Dorp, New York, First and Gallery Floor Plans (Fig. 15) 90 Moravian Parish House, New Dorp, New York, Basement and Grade Level Floor Plans (Fig. 16) 91 Parish House, First and Second Floor Plans (Fig. ^7) 93 Parish House, Basement Floor Plan (Fig. 18) . . . 95 Reems Creek Parsonage, Weaverville, North Caro- lina, Exterior and Interior 96 Plan of a Model Church Kitchen (Fig. 19) 115 Moravian Parish House, New Dorp, New York, and a Remodeled Barn Community House 128 [ viii ] PREFACE The New Country Church Building was written in response to the publishers' request for a book treating in not too technical a form, a much neglected subject. For a number of years much has been said in regard to the problems that have their rise in the various conditions of rural America. The field of the country church has not been minimized. Its responsibilities for spiritual leadership have been rediscovered and its opportunities of service pointed out more clearly than ever before. Its strategic position in rural commu- nity life has been recognized far beyond im- mediate church circles. The call to the coun- try church has been to enlarge its ministry to include not alone the individual soul and the family, but the entire community as well. It has been realized that we can never have a great Christian civilization in America, or in the world, if we cannot build little Christian civilizations in the smallest of our rural com- munities. The summons to the country church has [ix] PREFACE been heeded, and is being heeded to-day by more pastors and laymen than ever before. The history of home missionary endeavor con- tains few chapters more thrilling than that one which is being written day after day, and which records the ever onward march of the country church in meeting these newer chal- lenges and applications of the age-old gospel of the living Christ. But as the church has gone forward to take up its new tasks in religious education, service, and worship it has found itself handicapped by buildings that were the product of an age that has gone. Efficient in their time, many of them, they need considerable remodeling to meet the present needs; or they belong to that class of which a prominent home mission secretary spoke when asked the chief architec- tural need of American rural churches. His reply was, "A large number of fires." Whether a church is to be remodeled, added to, or whether an entirely new building is to be erected makes little difference as far as intricacy of the problems that arise is con- cerned. This book is written in the hope that it may furnish some suggestions and some help to the building committee of a rural church, PREFACE as it takes up its problem, whatever it may be. The book is intended in no way to supplant the architect. It is to equip the architect with the point of view of the church, and to sug- gest to the building committee some of the things that it ought to be sure to have the architect include. These chapters are writ- ten, therefore, on the assumption that any in- terested reader or any committee in charge of building operations will employ an architect. To choose the right architect is one of the most important tasks of the committee. Many a building is marred forever by false economy on the part of the committee, or because of fear of offending "somebody's" feelings, which has caused the employment of a local man who has never drawn plans for a church before, rather than someone from outside who under- stands thoroughly the technique of church architecture. A fine method is to arrange for cooperation between the local man and the outsider, — the latter to draw the plans; the former, with his knowledge of local condi- tions, to assist in the details and to do the in- spection work. The building committee faces a most exact- ing and important task. Its n^embers will be [xi] PREFACE responsible to a generation or more of wor- shipers. They should make a careful study of their problem ; if possible they should examine other churcheis ; and they should not consider the financial considerations those of over- shadowing importance. It is a mistake not to include one or two members of the younger generation on every committee. Theirs will be the task of maintaining the edifice in after years, theirs the work of remodeling it if the work is not well done. The young members would give expression to the ideals and wishes of the generation which will have the greatest use of the building. The most valuable fea- tures of one $12,000 parish house were in- cluded only after the earnest pleading and enthusiastic arguing of the two junior mem- bers of the committee whose total contribu- tions amounted to just one one-thousandth of the entire cost. No estimates as to the probable costs of the buildings suggested in the plans are given in the book. These costs would vary according to the material used, wood, brick, or stone. They would also vary as much as 100 per cent, in different sections of the country, according to the prices of labor and the nearness of the [xii] PREFACE selected material to the site of the building. Frame churches, for instance, are much cheaper in the mountains of the South than in the northern or central states. Further- more, in these days of unsettled prices, and with no knowledge of what building condi- tions will be like after the Great War, it seemed best not to hazard any estimates that might cause disappointments or check pro- gressive plans. For this reason it cannot be too strongly urged that a competent architect and contractor estimate on any set of plans, before the expectations of the building com- mittee and the congregation soar too far. It is always better to be reasonably sure of the cost of a building project before going very far into it, than to be compelled to retrench and to cut out cherished schemes for improve- ment. For somewhat similar reasons, it has been thought best not to include dimensions. The majority of the plans shown are adaptable to several sizes, and the architect will be glad to communicate information about the originals. To committees, pastors, district and state superintendents, denominational secretaries and boards, and to all who are interested in a [xiii] PREFACE better country church, material and spiritual, these pages are offered. I am fully conscious of their defects and limitations. I hope, never- theless, that they will be suggestive. I am indebted to many friends for assistance in pre- paring this little work, and to two persons above all others. The first is Mr. James Grunert, of New Dorp, Staten Island, N. Y., an expert architect who has drawn practically all the plans used as illustrations and who has been generous with his advice and construc- tive criticism. The other is my wife, Mary Vogler Brunner. But for an error, my first volume, Cooperation in Coopersburg, would have been dedicated to her. Every word of this book, as of the former, has had her care- ful study from the time the first pages were penciled until the last sheets of proof were returned to the publishers. One entire section on "The Kitchen" in Chapter VII is from her pen. Edmund deS. Brunner. Easton, Pennsylvania April 1, 1917 Note : The reader should bear in mind the fact that the governmental classification of [xiv] PREFACE "rural" includes all communities of under 2,500 inhabitants. The term is so used in this book. The work is intended for the church of the rural village, as much as for the church of the open country. [XV] EARLY AMERICAN CHURCHES THE first settlers to arrive in America were influenced in their desire to come to the new continent by religious motives. While this cannot be claimed for the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and while economic motives played their part in all the migrations, especially in the coming of the Palatinate Ger- mans, now known as the "Pennsylvania Ger- mans," yet it is largely true that the Puritans of New England, the Quakers of Pennsyl- vania, and other distinct groups felt strongly, among other impulses, those of a religious nature. These people brought with them religious traditions which were born in the struggle for religious liberty that attended and fol- lowed the work of Hus, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and the other reformers of the fif- teenth and sixteenth centuries. They were willing to endure hardships as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. They were undaunted by the task of wresting a living from the soil of a new [I] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING land. They did not shrink from the problem of building a stable civilization upon the un- developed continent. They accepted the chal- lenge of the trackless forests stretching west- ward, and the hardy pioneer was ever ready to follow the setting sun across the unknown land. Such spirit, such ideals, such courage showed themselves in many ways and, not least of all, they were mirrored in the type of churches which these pioneers constructed. The first settlers brought to America a spirit of revolt against ecclesiasticism. They would have naught to do with anything which savored of the system of worship from which they had fled. The pioneer, living his solitary life, engrossed in the struggle for self-preser- vation, in his religious thinking cared for the preservation of his soul and nothing else. Worship, with all which the term first im- plies, was foreign to him, though doubtless the templed hills often saw the elemental worship of his soul as he turned his thoughts Godward. So far as organized religion was concerned, however, he cared only for the message of the preacher. That message he heard all too seldom. The field to be covered by the early ministers was too great and their number was [2] EARLY AMERICAN CHURCHES too few, to give a weekly service to the scat- tered groups of pioneer settlers who had pushed out from the towns. The circuit sys- tem was established and itinerant preachers went from post to post as often as possible. Naturally the type of church which such con- ditions produced was simple in the extreme. Ritual and traditional ceremony were de- liberately abandoned. The churches were very simple, as all pioneer work must be, be- cause of the few needs, the small means at the builders' disposal, a definite desire for sim- plicity, and the wish to protest against luxury. There was small regard for the conventional Gothic or classical styles. The church which grew up in the open country was essentially a "single-cell" building, square or oblong, con- taining rough board benches and a pulpit. Perhaps the type of church can best be il- lustrated by some extracts from the journal of one of the oldest and strongest rural churches in eastern Ohio, the Sharon church, near Tuscarawas. As originally built in 1815, it measured 26x32 feet, and was constructed of logs, hewed on two sides — an unusual luxury for those times — with the spaces be- tween chinked and daubed with plaster. It [3] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING was roofed with clapboards fastened down with wooden pegs. It was not until 1839 that this building was improved by the erection of an addition and the plastering of the walls. In regard to the latter step the minister of the time thus recorded his pleasure : "The pro- posal met with my entire approval, because I had arrived at the church on this bitter morning almost frozen stiff, and during the service, in spite of the red-hot coal stove, could not get warm and could scarcely lead the sing- ing for shaking and shivering." This picture of pioneer conditions is made complete when we read that it was eleven years before an organ was installed, which "there is seldom any one to play, and besides, it is very much out of tune," says the diary. The evolution of the country church of the last century can be shown no better than in the pictures of this church as enlarged in 1839 and as standing to- day. (See page 32.) The present building was erected in 1858, and was splendidly equipped for the work of its own generation and the one following, but is to-day proving inadequate. We have become so accustomed to conven- tional architectural terms, we have admired [4] EARLY AMERICAN CHURCHES for so many years the cathedrals of the world, that it is worth while, for a more thorough understanding of the American country church building, to examine the differences between the Roman and Anglican edifices and the buildings of all other denominations. With the former, the facts are positive. The type is traditionally either of a classic style, derived from adaptations of Roman basilicas, or Gothic, from the established forms of the cathedrals and churches of the middle ages. In both cases the forms developed from the necessity for impressive ritual, processional functions, occasional accommodation of the entire public, and almost constant occupation by some portion of the people. In the tradi- tional church, therefore, each detail is pre- determined by the exigencies of a service elaborated to the finest point, and at the same time capable of adaptation for the many or the few. This type of building was accompanied by an almost unlimited exchequer from gifts or tithes. Associated with these two conditions of definite type and adequate means for the erection of the building, and partly occasioned by both, was the existence of a body of church [51 THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING architects, either priests or laymen, and guilds of masons, carpenters, and artisans, whose chief efforts, for successive generations, were devoted to church building. These architects grew up within cloister walls or under church protection and patronage. They believed reli- giously in the work they were doing, gloried in it, even stood in awe of it. As their assis- tants, they had workmen of as great religious fervor as themselves. They never dreamed of doing their work ignorantly nor of introduc- ing experiments without good and sufficient reason. The honored type was too greatly revered to be lightly changed. It is small wonder that the results which the efforts of these men produced should have become, whether classic or Gothic in style, a type that has been a source of inspiration to many gen- erations of builders. On the other hand, the majority of our coun- try churches and many of those in our cities have not recognized nor desired to recognize these precedents and traditions. Denomina- tions withdrawing from a parent body are at first antagonistic to it even to the point of avoiding reminiscence in architecture. Furthermore, rural churches have been built [6] EARLY AMERICAN CHURCHES by small groups of people rather than by entire communities; consequently there has been comparatively little money to spend, and the possibilities for fine church building, in the conventional sense of the term, have grown but slowly with the increased prosperity among individual families in the congrega- tions. In America both the life of the people and the spirit of revolt against things old and accepted brought about the form of our first churches. Limited in numbers and funds, avoiding tradition and but slightly influenced by existing churches, lacking architects of ability, and confronted by all sorts of un- familiar local conditions, both physical and social, what wonder that the expression of architecture in the churches of America should be chaotic and, to some extent, crude! All this does not mean that many of the early churches were not of considerable stability and merit. Mr. Aymar Embury, II, in his book. Early American Churches, gives examples of several old churches in rural dis- tricts that are worth recording. The oldest of these is the "Old Ship" Meeting-house at Hingham, Massachusetts. The present build- [7] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING ing — the third — was erected in 1681, and by a vote of the town the "dimensions were fixed at 55 feet in length and 45 feet in breadth, and the height of the posts at 20 feet. There were galleries on the sides and porch end. The roof is in the form of a truncated pyra- mid, surmounted by a belfry and lookout station." ( See Frontispiece. ) One architectural tendency on the part of the first rural churches can be traced every- where. The people built churches which re- sembled their houses or other intimate types of building, such as the community meeting- house. In New England the town hall and the church could often be mistaken for each other. Any one can see that the churches of the Pennsylvania Germans have been built over the same lines as their houses and barns. The same thing is to be observed in the south and central West, and its latest manifestation, even in this day of the return to the more traditional types, such as the Greek temple style of some of the newer Southern churches, is to be found in the bungalow churches of California where the bungalow type of house obtained its first and greatest popularity. Not wishing to follow the traditional models, rural [8] EARLY AMERICAN CHURCHES people turned unerringly to that most intimate and holy building, the home, in order to give form and expression to their churches. Continuing our comparison we see that the rural church is focused upon its pulpit, not upon the altar. All the processional functions and ceremonial of the traditional church have been done away with, or were originally, with the possible exception of the funeral. The congregation used the building, but only at stated intervals. At other times the church was closed. Next in importance to the pulpit is the organ and choir. The choir is small and, too often, takes little part in the services except at festivals and other special occasions. As a result of these conditions the chancel, as such, ceases to exist, and becomes a niche or little more, the raised altar does not appear, and the communion table is set down on the level floor or only one step above it, while the slightly more elevated pulpit becomes the principal point in the church. As the ritual used by the congregation has become of less importance, the sermon, to which the audience is to listen, has become of more importance, and it is desirable that each person should be able readily to see and hear the minister. For [9] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING that reason practically all rural churches have eliminated all intercepting piers and columns, and the aisle is no longer the cathedral aisle but is the passageway between the rows of seats. The body of the church is then, in reality, an audience hall, with a niche and platform at one end. Partly from tradition, partly from simplicity of treatment, this hall is usually built on the rectangular plan. More and more, however, rural churches have be- gun to take the polygonal or circular form of auditorium, and it is becoming more usual to slope the floor, the better to carry out the pur- pose of having every one see and hear readily. The size of the audience room is limited, in addition to the limitations of expense, by the distance the human voice will normally carry, about 75 or 80 feet, and next by the length of span of the roof trusses, of which the cost in- creases rapidly beyond forty feet This then, possibly including additional provision for the Bible school, though this meets in the main auditorium or the basement in the majority of cases, is the American rural church as we find it to-day at its best. At its worst, it is still the box-like building with a steeple over it and a pulpit in it, and with no [10] EARLY -^AMERICAN CHURCHES room for the Bible school, save in the body of the church. It was only as the pioneer gave way to the household farmer that the develop- ment in favor of the Bible school was made, and usually this confined itself to added room for the children of the primary depart- ment and for a kitchen which would be of some use in the occasional social functions, and at such times as the congregation wished to stay over to an afternoon service. On the whole this has been the extent of the development of the American country church plant — a plant that has to-day become inadequate and unable to fulfil its duties of spiritual leadership and community service. ["1 II THE OLD PLANT AND THE NEW PROGRAM TO understand why the average country church plant of to-day is inadequate, it is necessary to go back and see something of the path we have taken in the development of American rural life, something of the motives and ideals which have entered into the spirit- ual life of the people on the soil, and made them produce such churches as they have. Church buildings have always been built to render service to the worshipers. The type of religion, the spiritual progress and needs, the Kingdom outlook of any company of peo- ple have, therefore, revealed themselves in the types of buildings produced. We have all become familiar with the classification of American farmers as belonging to four suc- cessive periods- — pioneer, land or household farmer, exploiter, and husbandman. The character of these periods has registered itself in the farm methods, the schools, the recrea- [13] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING tion, the religious thought, and the church buildings. It was the pioneer who pressed into the wild, alluring, unknown West and first truly discovered America. We have al- ready shown why no elaborate form of build- ing was required to meet his needs, which de- manded only that it be a place in which to hear the "exhortation" of the itinerant preacher. With the gradual settling down of the coun- try, the advent of the era of good-will, and a fuller realization of the extent and resources of the nation, the pioneer went westward to open up the Oregon country and mine the gold of California, and in his place came the household farmer. He planned that he and his children after him should live upon the soil. He reared a family, often a large one. His family group was the social unit of his thought, and his church was the family church in which the family pew came into being. In this period the Bible school was developed, the young people's and women's societies or- ganized, and in other ways the church life was made to minister to the home. This type also created for itself a church. It was not much different from the former "single-cell" [14] THE OLD PLANT INADEQUATE building, but it had a basement for Bible school purposes, and often a room for the primary department, and usually a kitchen was made a part of the equipment, useful on the rare but happy occasions when socials were permitted, but more so in times of spe- cial services or all-day meetings. The household farmer, however, while he built for the future, did not farm for posterity. Since 1890, this type has been gradually dis- appearing. The household farmer cultivated the first values of the land and, in so doing, robbed the soil. Soil values in many sections began to decrease while the general prosperity of the country forced up the price of land. At the same time the land farther west and in Canada was being opened up, making it attractive and profitable for the household farmer either to rent or sell his farm. Moreover, it was during these years that various socializing experiences began to affect farm life. The rural telephone and free postal delivery increased rapidly and brought the great outside world nearer to the farm. The trolley added its contribution in numer- ous localities. Urban ideals of recreation and education began to invade farm and village [15] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING life and to capture the thought of the young people. The inadequate satisfactions of rural life in meeting certain elemental human crav- ings became more clearly apparent. All this brought about a second migration, not from one farm to another farther west, but from the farm to the town or city. These conditions affected the farmer and his children in their religious lives. They presented a type of life and an array of social conditions which the church was utterly un- able to meet, and the school almost as little. The shifting population naturally weakened the country church, bringing about a corres- ponding loss of rural idealism, a sense of de- feat, and a feeling of pessimism. But there is hope, or this book would not have been written. That hope is growing ever stronger in the land to-day in the hearts of all those whose lives are being spent for and in the country. In human terms that hope is the coming upon the soil of the new, scientific farmer — the husbandman. Slowly but surely his kind is multiplying upon the face of the earth. To the husbandman the land is holy and dedicated, as a gift of God, to the feeding of his children. The occupation [i6] THE OLD PLANT INADEQUATE of the husbandman is his profession. Through it he expresses his religion. EfBciency is one of his key words. It becomes a sin to him not to farm as well as he can. By sheer results he becomes a community leader. The in- creased production of his farm solves the economic problem. Retaining the virtues of the past, he has also those which come with a social age. His religion is and his church will be strong, vigorous, purposeful. His ready sympathy includes all who have need of any sort. Because the daily life of man is an expression of his religion, the husband- man's church is ever ready to be of service seven days in the week. Each member of it is strong only as the church and the com- munity are strong, and here we meet the next great ideal in the religious life of rural Amer- ica — the expression of the gospel in terms of the social group as well as in terms of the single soul and the family. This type of farmer will also develop a church building which will express to him and to his community the enlarged meaning which his religion has come to assume, his clearer understanding of the life abundant which the Master came to bring. The present [17] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING rural church building cannot serve his needs. The present rural situation constitutes a chal- lenge which calls for 4 new type of building, adapted for worship, recreation, religious edu- cation, and service. It is to furnish sugges- tions for buildings which will meet these social and religious specifications that this book is written ; the nineteenth century church cannot meet them. Religious education is a more serious, important, and dignified thing than can be provided for in a Sunday-school that is housed in the basement of a church or thrown together for study, five to twelve classes at a time, in one main auditorium. The social work of a church is no longer confined to an annual Sunday-school picnic and a few suppers and socials held for a good time (and a consideration), at least, not if that church wishes to save completely the boys and girls to whom it should minister. The efficient country church must have a better building and better equipment than in the days that have gone. Specifically, what are some of the ideals in- volved in these statements? What is the func- tion of the country church? Its function and work will largely determine the type of build- [18I THE OLD PLANT INADEQUATE ing which must be erected. The question can be answered in no better way than by quoting from the statement of the Church and Coun- try Life Commission of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, as pre- sented at the great Columbus gathering of that body in December, 191 5. God's great purpose for men is the highest possible development of each personality and of the human race as a whole. It is essential to this growth that men shall hold adequate ideals of character and life. The Christian believes that these ideals must spring from a clear appreciation of God's purpose, and from a consuming desire to reproduce the spirit and life of Jesus. Therefore, the function of the country church is to create, to maintain, and to enlarge both individual and community ideals, under the inspiration and guidance of the Christian motive and teaching, and to help rural people to incarnate these ideals in personal and family life, in industrial efifort, in political develop- ment, and in all social relationships. The church must bring men to God, must lead in the task of building God's kingdom on earth. The mission of the Christian church is that of its Founder: To teach the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man as the ideal [19] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING of life for the individual, the family, the community, and the nation, and to point out the best way to make the ideal the actual. In fulfilling this function, the country church finds its work divided into a number of heads: knowledge, preaching and worship, religious education, community ministry and service, business administration, cooperation with other bodies, and leadership training. By knowledge is meant a thorough under- standing of the individual field for each church as well as an acquaintance with the special rural literature of the day, representa- tion at conferences, surveys, and other special means of preparation for efficiency. The functions of preaching and worship called for by the new country church program can be accomplished in any "single-cell" church, for the ideals are preaching every Sunday, the use of texts with a rural setting, the use of rural festivals, and the drawing of the congre- gation into the worship. It is in the other fea- tures of the program that some may find activ- ities whose place they would question. Com^ munity service, recreation, and such terms are comparatively recent in the vocabulary of rural Christians. [20] THE OLD PLANT INADEQUATE The new country church program suggests that the church stretch out into the community life, that it realize that nothing which touches that life is foreign to the interests of the king- dom of God. It can organize clubs within the church for community service, importing speakers to urge the march toward better busi- ness, better farming, and better living on the land. Because they make for a better, more abundant rural life, the church can throw its influence in favor of clean-up days, arbor days, village improvement, good roads, better schools, proper recreation, cooperation among churches and farmers, safer sanitation, and many things of such nature. In many com- munities the church will have to undertake the definite task of furnishing some recrea- tional features, utilizing thereby the great moral value of play. The time has passed when such a program needs very much of a defense. The church is the visible, organized agency of the king- dom of God, and it should be deeply con- cerned with the whole man, because a man's every act expresses his religion and in turn affects it, because the business, social, and recreational life of a man contain well-defined [21] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING moral elements which the church ought to utilize from their first appearance in the child. Especially in the country, where often there is no other community organization but the church to concern itself with some of the manifestations of the abundant life, the church is the proper place for everything that should legitimately enter into the lives of the people. If there are other organizations to do this, well and good. Let the church confine it- self to spiritual leadership. That is its pri- mary and never-to-be-forgotten function and responsibility. If there are other agencies but no equipment, why should not the church open its plant to the use of the community which allows it to stand tax-free, year after year, in return for a use by a portion of the people about one fourteenth of the time? Social and community activities are far from detracting from the sanctity of the edifice; rather, the place gives sanctity to the other activities. Such use of the plant, whether directly under church auspices and leader- ship, or whether in cooperation with other community agencies, gives to the church the priceless opportunity of injecting spiritual values into the interests of every-day life, and [22] THE OLD PLANT INADEQUATE it is only by this expansion of religion that all things can be done "to the glory of God," as the apostle commanded. How much more free and joyous is worship when the wor- shiping parent, teacher, or friend realizes that in that very building, that very week, wholesome recreation and inspiring instruc- tion have brought the boys and girls of the community a step farther from life failure, a step nearer to the ideal of Christian manhood and womanhood. How fitting that the corn club should meet to learn about the good of their souls in the same room that has also held their discussions of good soil and good seed, and whose walls are hung with pictures of fine stalks or ears. There is no need for apology when a rural community house is attached to a place of worship and the Bible school compelled to use the rooms and equip- ment of such a building as best it can for reli- gious education. The two conceptions are not contradictory, and a little care will safeguard both. Religious education has been mentioned. It is a new phrase to many in the open coun- try as well as in the city, but in a word it raises the work of the Bible school to the high [23] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING plane which it should occupy. The work of this organization is indeed religious educa- tion, and in this sphere great advances have been made in the last two decades. Once it was thought that the entire school could assem- ble in the church auditorium or basement, study the same lesson in much the same way, sing the same hymns, and gain the same bless- ing. That idea has now gradually changed. The primary department, with its restless children, was the first to be given a separate room and special methods of teaching. The increasing knowledge of psychology and the principles of modern pedagogy found their way into Bible school thought and work. If the children needed separate rooms, how much more did the intermediates of the younger teen years, with their tremendous problems in the approach of manhood and womanhood? Naturally the juniors and seniors on either side of this group could not be taken together, and the realization of the peculiar problems of each of these groups be- gan to spread. It was not long before the ideal Bible school was one in which the vari- ous ages could be separated into departments and classes for special instruction, but in such [24] THE OLD PLANT INADEQUATE a way that all could be united in one main school for opening and closing worship. This, too, still presented difficulties. None but pri- mary children could really sing the time- honored hymn, *'G, Double O, D, — Good;" nor could they, in turn, enter into the adult experience of "My Faith Looks up to Thee" and similar hymns. The question was per- sistently asked, "If our children study differ- ent lessons each year in the day-schools why should they all study the same lesson in the Bible school on Sunday?" The graded les- sons have therefore come into being and are used to-day in more than 40,000 American Bible schools, with the number increasing rapidly. These lessons are arranged to cover the entire period of work from the time the three- or four-year-old beginner enters the school until the senior emerges into the post- graduate or adult department. Each year is different, and the style of lessons is divided into the recognized periods into which the life of the child falls : beginner, under 6 years ; primary, 6 to 9; junior, 9 to 12; intermediate, 13 to 16; senior, 17 to 21, These lessons made it all the more desirable that the various de- partments have rooms of their own. This [25] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING greatly improved the efficiency of the teaching and raised religious education to the plane of week-day instruction, in the eyes of the pupil. The new country church program calls for the use of this graded instruction, adapted for the average small rural Bible school, and given with a decided rural emphasis. These two ideals — community service and religious education — will find large place in the plans of the new country church building, the church which the husbandman will build. He will desire that its work be thoroughly representative and thoroughly efficient in all its manifestations. It will be unified under a high spiritual impulse and in the practical working out of the plans we shall see how the two ideals will fit into one another for the enhancement of Kingdom values. Some of the chief things involved it will be our aim to set down in the following chapters. [26] Ill THE CHOICE OF SITE AND MATERIALS IT will not be possible in this and the fol- lowing chapters to offer plans and sug- gestions which will meet the need in every specific instance. It is believed, however, that this material is sufficiently in harmony with the basic principles and fundamental needs of the present day for reconstructed rural church buildings, to be useful. As in all else most suggestions must be adapted after being adopted. It is not always a wise economy that puts the rural church on any plot of ground which some member of the congregation may offer to donate or sell at a bargain price. The future must be kept in mind. What are the directions of the community's growth? Is the lot proposed, and will it continue to be, of easy access from every part of the neighbor- hood? Some are dreaming of the time when beside the centralized school, or across the [27] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING road from it, will stand the new country church building, with perhaps a parish house near it — a trinity of constructive rural forces which, under consecrated leadership, should work out the salvation of any neighborhood. In the village the choice of a site may be more limited than in the open country, but the same considerations of accessibility and utility should rule. Where there is only one church in a village — a rare condition — it may well be located near the school or other natural community center, such as the ship- ping point on the railroad, or the cooperative creamery. The lot on which the building stands is im- portant. There ought to be enough ground around the church to set off the building, and the grounds should also be large enough, if possible, to be useful for outdoor services and festivals, as well as for any outdoor athletic features that may be desired, such as tennis or volley ball, to say nothing of a garden, which is often more profitable to the women's organization, during the summer, than quilt- ting. Every rural church should have sheds for the horses and automobiles of its members. This is only humane, as far as the horses are [28] SITE AND MATERIALS concerned, and economical in the case of the inanimate machines. Irregular or hilly ground is the most ex- pensive site that can be chosen for a church building, as it means more work in almost every phase of the building operations, par- ticularly, however, in the digging, grading, foundation work, and hauling of materials. Whether the custom of placing a church on a hill, so prevalent in many parts of the coun- try, came from the historic desire of the race to erect its sacred shrines in "high places," or whether such ground was secured for the pur- pose because it was poorer farm land, is an open question. Another thing to consider in connection with the choice of materials, site, and general plan of the church, is the bearing power of the soil. This determines the width of the walls, size of the footings, and other things. Failure to consider this matter may cause the settling of a wall and the marring of the whole in- terior, with the resultant cracks and seams. All these things point to the desirability of having a competent architect in charge of the job. The scope of this book does not include an [29] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING extended discussion of the type of architecture to be employed. That will differ with the tastes of the people and the locality in which they live. No building is truly beautiful, whatever its style, which is not useful, and this discussion will be approached from the frankly utilitarian standpoint because it is also true that no church building is completely useful which does not, in its strength and dignity of design, minister to the esthetic taste and satisfaction of the worshipers. Whatever design be chosen, the village and country church must learn to do small things greatly. Cheap imitations are to be avoided, by all means, on account of their deleterious spiritual reactions. A frame building with a "stone" galvanized metal sheeting or any one of several other types of imitation is worse than the example of a hypocrite within the church, for it brands the whole church as will- ing to countenance architectural hypocrisy. There is always hope that the human hypo- crite may repent of his ways, but the silent influence of an imitation can never be changed. Dishonesty is never worth while, whether it be in packing a basket of fruit or in church building. It is fortunate that all over [30] SITE AND MATERIALS the country there is an increasing desire for good, honest, functional architecture and it is well to consider these things in building even the smallest church. Similarly, the choice of building materials is not one that needs extended treatment. Wood is almost always the cheapest and can be made very attractive. It needs to be kept well painted and in repair and has, therefore, a higher maintenance cost than brick, which, except for the chimney and possible gaps under the sills, needs little attention. Stone buildings possess an air of strength, dignity, and repose. Stone walls are likely to have the mortar washed out in process of time, and thus to require repointing. This must be care- fully done. It means almost as much for the church as the proper filling of a tooth does to a patient in the dentist's care. All the loose mortar must be raked out first before any of the new is put in. In building with stone it is important to watch especially the pointing of the foundations, so that no water gets in. If it does, it will rise in the walls, causing dampness with its attendant ills, and if it freezes, it will cause cracks to appear. What- ever the material used in building — ^wood, [31I THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING brick, cement, or stone — it is well to protect the walls of exposed rural churches with waterproofing. Tar, smeared on the inside of the outer wall, between it and the lathing, will answer the purpose quite well. Business buildings must pay dividends and are constructed to that end. They are made as durable and efficient as possible. Church buildings too should be constructed on this principle of dividend-paying, and that both in the coin of the realm and in the coin of the kingdom of Heaven. Repairs should be slight, maintenance low, and usefulness supreme in a well-planned, well-built church. To this end care must never be relaxed during the building operations. The work should be closely watched, for the finished structure will prove only as strong as the frame work; errors are much more easily corrected before than after a building is completed. Even when the church is finished and ac- cepted, the wise congregation will continue its building committee as permanent, to watch for the first signs of needful repairs, and in general to care for the building, making a thorough inspection of the entire plant not less than once a year. Such a plan centers the [32] SHARON CHURCH. TUSCARAWAS, OHIO Pirst and Present Buildings SITE AND MATERIALS responsibility and a conscientious committee can save much difficulty and some money by doing at once what would otherwise require official action on the part of the church board — which verily meeteth iiot in the harvest time nor when the roads are too bad. I33] IV PLANS AND PRINCIPLES IT is a mistaken idea that the country church differs widely from the city church in its functions and principles of service. It must preach the same gospel, offer kindred facilities for worship, perform the same work of reli- gious education, and upon it also rests the same responsibility for service. But the constitu- ency of the country church, environment aside, differs from that of the city in numbers, occu- pations, and types of opportunity. The coun- try church in its own way must, therefore, follow along the same pathway of service and leadership which the city church has so bravely hewn out in the last generation. It was in the city first that the efficacy of the eternal gospel for our industrial age was proved. To-day in the country those eternal values are receiving added emphasis as we see the country church advancing to meet the challenge of the changed rural conditions with a new attitude, issuing in churches built [35] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING for worship, religious education, service, and recreation. This process must continue, and will. All four of these responsibilities concern also the city church, but there are several differences between the two. In the first place, for the simple reason that land is so much cheaper, the country church will have more ground on which to build, but because money is not as plentiful it will not build so high an edifice as that of the city. Again, because the country still has an outstanding and dominant economic interest — agriculture — tending to make for a more simple life, the country church will reflect the life of its people. It will be more simple, less ornate and costly than its city mate. In the third place, the stronger of the city churches are more likely to have a separate building for religious edu- cation and social work than the country con- gregation. In the country one roof usually covers all the activities of the church. Remembering the principles and ideals of community service and religious education enunciated in Chapter II, let us now go on to note some of the plans by which such aims can be actualized in country churches. First of [36] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES all it is significant to note that such a scheme of work is not mere theory. It is being done by hundreds of country churches in the land to-day and brave beginnings at splendid pro- grams have been undertaken by churches that still suffer from inadequate plants — but they began with what they had. Two examples may suffice. The Suydam Methodist Episcopal Church, five miles northeast of Leland, Illinois, was a typical one-room building in which a half-hearted Sunday-school held its sessions, and to which a pastor came out from town every Sunday afternoon to hold a preaching service for the "faithful few." Such was the situation that the newly-appointed pastor, the Rev. Willis Ray Wilson, found in 191 5. His first effort was to instil an esprit de corps into the Bible school. This work left it with a membership of 354. Shortly afterward, the old building was opportunely struck by lightning and to- tally destroyed by the fire which resulted. The new church is a frame structure erected at a cost of $7,000. It was dedicated free of debt. Its dimensions are 54 x 40 feet, with a nine-foot basement under the entire building. This height of ceiling seems a little low. The [37] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING main floor contains the auditorium and lecture room, and above the latter there is a gallery. In a tower above the main entrance is a small room which is used as a community library. One of the state traveling libraries is always there. The basement is used for social and educational purposes, and the furniture and equipment is modern and complete through- out. Besides the usual church activities, this church carries on a Wednesday evening com- munity club which spends its time in study, discussion, and debates. Musicales and home talent plays are also given frequently. The church has a live young people's organization, conducts a short-course farmers' institute, holds a community picnic, a big field day, and a yearly corn show and domestic science ex- hibit. It is a notable locality for corn, and the pastor has found that there is a real relation between good souls and good soils well used. He sees it in the growth of the church, in the attendance at services, and in the many in- stances of deepening spiritual life. One hundred years ago (1817) the oldest church of the Disciples of Christ, west of the Mississippi river, was organized at Ashland, Howard County, Missouri. Every one of its [38] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES few members came to the services on horse- back, the men in blue jeans and the women in calico or linsey and sunbonnets. It was the community's one meeting-place — a primitive social center — and the people came from miles around to listen to sermons two hours long and to enjoy a chat with the neighbors. It was a rough structure of unhewn logs, chinked and daubed with mud. For fifty years this building stood and served the community. Within its walls rang the rude but powerful eloquence of the circuit-rider. The yellow records tell of the ban on the "gay fantastic" and of the prohibition of violin music as "kharnal." The next church was a roomy building of the household farmers' type, which burned down in 1913. The congrega- tion at once set about planning a building that would provide for the future of an enterpris- ing rural community. The present pastor is the Rev. Carl C. Taylor. The new building (Fig. i) is of brown brick, with a lofty cement basement. It has a pleasant auditorium with raised floor and curved seats, handsome glazed windows, and tasteful interior decoration. The choir platform provides for the future pipe-organ. [39] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING [40] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES There is a pastor's study, cloak, rest, and toilet rooms, a kitchen, a furnace room, and a com- modious basement for assembly purposes. All these rooms are utilized for the Bible school, for clubs, plays, and recreation. In the basement assembly room a subscription high school is conducted which graduated its first class in June, 1916. It is regularly ac- credited by the state university, and a fore- runner of the district high school. A farmers' club has been organized, and pruning and spraying demonstrations have been conducted. Alfalfa and corn plantings directed by experts from the State College of Agriculture, lec- tures on rural themes, a three-day farmers' and domestic science institute, and several neighborhood socials have been held. A regular series of lectures, entertainments, and home talent plays is given each year. The Bible school is completely graded and modern. Regular worship is well attended. Forty recruits for service were taken into the church last year as a result of a revival. A fine spirit of cooperation and Christian fel- lowship has spread abroad throughout the entire community as the result of the expanded function and service of this church. [41] THE J!^EW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING [421 PLANS AND PRINCIPLES Plans for the main and upper stories of the Memorial Presbyterian Church, of Bellona, New York, of which the Rev. T. Maxwell Morrison is pastor, are also given (Fig. 2). The plans show something of the scope of an equipment for service in an average-sized, modern village church. How plans for such churches can be worked out in detail will now be taken up. The first plans presented are by no means to be considered ideal. They are offered for the use of communities which must build cheaply or not at all, and are "single-cell" churches, adapted as much as possible for the working out of the modern country church program. These solutions are not at all held up as ultimate goals. It were far better to invest more than the $1,000 to $1,800 or $2,000 which these buildings would cost and erect a church definitely designed for the working out of a broad program of service and reli- gious education. For situations where this cannot be done, the first two plans may be suggestive. Number i (Fig. 3) contains, directly off the vestibule entrance, a parlor for wraps, where the worshipers may gather to converse before [43] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING or after service. This room can also be used for the primary department or some other division of the Bible school. Directly back of it is the kitchen. No body of Christians fr d.UBo«.CtA[r| Roojjl Purpo/e; would prefer to do so but, rather than do nothing, the average, wide-awake congrega- tion will use their one large room for social hall and gymnasium as well as for a place of [44] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES worship. Instead of pews, therefore, the seat- ing should be with folding chairs. Storage for these can be provided by a small room opening off from the church, but such a room, if any is built, had better be used for Bible school purposes. The best method of storing the chairs is to put them on either side of the pulpit platform or else to build the platform higher than usual, with the wainscoting in removable sections, and put them under the pulpit during the week. This work can be facilitated if the floor under the platform is put on large casters so that it can be rolled out and the chairs placed upon it without stooping down under the pulpit floor. Such a device will be found most useful in much larger and more costly churches and in prac- tically every type of basement or social and Bible school room combined. The plan of using chairs instead of pews will be found valuable in any church which wishes to do a variety of things with a small building. If used in a building that is also a church, it may cause inconvenience at communion but it is impossible to have everything ideally ar- ranged in a small church. Additional room for Bible school classes [45] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING < 04 3 J ^ ^ £ iSo] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES church auditorium for Bible school purposes, as is the case in most country churches. It is possible in this church to have either five classrooms or three departmental rooms, two of them with two classrooms each. The en- trance arrangements noted above can be re- peated and the body of the church will need to be less utilized by the Bible school. Here again, a light airy basement would add greatly to the value of the plant. Plan Number 4 (Fig. 6) shows a church, the cost of which should not exceed $2,800 and probably would run much less. The Bible school is held in the basement. The finished basement should then be from 12 to 16 feet in the clear, the higher the better. By following such a plan as is given in Fig. 3, this basement can be used for the Bible school, dining and social room, gymnasium and lecture room. The same idea can be tried out in the next plan. Number 5 (Fig. 7) which also gives space on the main floor for two departmental rooms of several classrooms each or for five classrooms. Plan Number 6 (Fig. 7) is for a slightly more expensive church, but one which, to a fine degree, combines the essentials of the [51] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING ■i J> O ^-) :~ O J 152] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES modern rural church. The ground floor provides for the main auditorium and for three departmental rooms in its rear. Over these can be placed a gallery which can con- tain all the additional separate room space necessary for the average Sunday-school. At times of emergency these rooms can be used to add to the seating capacity of the church. There are also places for pastor's and choir rooms which can be used for class purposes, and this leaves the basement entirely free for social and athletic affairs. Plan Number 7 (Fig. 8) is economical and advantageous in other ways. It is also capa- ble of almost infinite minor variation to suit the needs of the local church. It calls for a main auditorium in which also the Bible school may assemble, if desired, for opening worship, though it is always better to have departmental worship. Four departmental sections of two classrooms each, taking care of the beginners, primary, junior, and inter- mediate departments, can be had by placing them two on each side of the auditorium. If desired, further class divisions may be dis- pensed with, or three classrooms can be added back of the pulpit. As is always the case, these [53] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING [54] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES classrooms can also be used for club rooms and for society and board meetings. The depart- mental rooms can also be thrown into the main auditorium when occasion demands. It is quite possible, by widening and lengthening the church, to have three departmental rooms on each side, or to have three classrooms in each of the four departmental rooms, or to dispense with these entirely and simply make provision for classrooms. In the long run, however, the departmental system will prove of the greater advantage. It will be found possible in an enlarged building to introduce passageways between the departmental rooms, and even to arrange a separate entrance from the outside to such a hallway, either in one or both of the wings. A basement under the entire building would make this plant almost ideal for the average village or open country church. Plan Number 8 (Fig. 9) is one that has al- ready been tried out with peculiar satisfaction. The church auditorium is of fair size but can be added to by three departmental rooms that open off from it. Each of these has three sepa- rate classrooms. One of the departments is on the left side of the auditorium. The other [55] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING [S6] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES two are in a section to the rear of the building, one on each side. This leaves space for a classroom between, and the entire section can be thrown together for a Christian Endeavor or prayer service. Pastor's and choir rooms can also be used for Bible school purposes, if desired. The basement is to be used for the primary department and a gymnasium and social hall. A folding partition separates the primary department from the rest of the floor, when in use. This room can then also be used for musicales, entertainments, and dramatics. The stage platform at one end will be noted. Of course, there is one requisite in all the doubling-up that has been suggested. If class- rooms are to be used as club rooms and meet- ing-places for societies also, and if, as in the case of this plan, part of the Bible school is also to furnish floor space for indoor athletic games, adequate provision must be made for the safe storing of such apparatus and books as are used on Sunday. There must be large closets in every classroom. This has the added advantage of insuring cleanliness and neatness in handling the supplies and makes possible economies of space that would otherwise be out of the question. [57] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING I 58] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES Plan Number 9 (Fig. 10) is drawn with the idea that the country church has plenty of ground over which to spread in its building. Everything is put on one floor. The Sunday- school room can also be used for gymnasium purposes, the platform being a movable one. A place is provided for two departmental rooms with a passageway between and an entrance into it from the outside. The gallery above the Sunday-school room contains space for a library and reading-room and ten class- rooms. Several of these classrooms could be consolidated into departmental rooms, if de- sired. It would also be possible, by changing the whole interior arrangement, to place the seats lengthwise, the pulpit, organ, and choir space correspondingly, and thus upon occasion to use the church, Bible school, and depart- mental rooms for the congregation. As it is, the Bible school can be consolidated with the main auditorium. Such plans are, however, too ambitious for many a rural church in the far West, the South, and in many other sections of the coun- try. In addition to the first plans shown in this chapter, designed more to meet such needs, it would be well for any building com- [59] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING [60] PLANS AND PRINCIPLES mittee to give careful consideration to a plan (Fig. ii) presented to the Canadian Presby- terian General Assembly by its Commission on Religious Education. The plans are worked out for a school of about one hundred members. Movable partitions are used throughout, which enable the church to ob- tain two rooms suitable for mid-week services or other meetings of small attendance. It would be possible also, in the opinion of one critic of this plan, to add four plastered class- rooms with separate entrances, in conjunction with the main auditorium. [6il REBUILDING THE COUNTRY CHURCH DESIRABLE as it may be to have a new building, modern in every detail, most congregations have old buildings on their hands — buildings which represent, propor- tionately to the size and means of the mem- bership, a considerable investment of time, sacrifice, and money. Many a rural church under these circumstances must content itself with rebuilding the old edifice. There can be but two reasons for rebuild- ing. Either it is necessary from the standpoint of the building or from the standpoint of reli- gious and community service. Either the building is falling apart and needs to be re- paired or beautified from purely physical con- siderations, or the chief concern is the social and religious needs that should be met because of opportunity and obligation for community service. Congregations often waste hundreds of dol- lars by selfish rebuilding or remodeling. A [63] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING few years ago an eastern church in the open country, the only one in a large area, decided to renovate its property. Considering the fact that preaching services were held every other Sunday only, it was a strong organization. Its Sabbath-school held regular meetings. It could have been made a tremendously efficient power for good with a not unreasonable ex- penditure of time and money. What hap- pened? The honest, rugged stone exterior of the spacious old building was made smooth and treated to a coat of new color. The whole interior was refrescoed and elaborately deco- rated. The pulpit was painted a new hue, stained glass windows were put in, and, to cap the climax, a serviceable wooden fence around the cemetery was made to give way to an ornate cast iron production. The interior work alone cost $2,400 and the whole expense must have been almost three times that amount. The work was begun and finished. Sunday baseball and football still flourish, the community's band still practises in a room over the bar of the country hotel, not more than 125 yards from this church which minis- tered to itself alone. A more sinful waste of money could scarcely be found. And there [64] MORAVIAN CHURCH. EMAUS, PENNSYLVANIA Sunday-school Rooms REBUILDING are people in the community that bemoan the "degeneracy of the times" and sigh for "the good, old days," without ever realizing that their personal attitudes and the conditions they make possible should be the true objects of their anxiety. This church received little outside aid ex- cept from individuals, and borrowed what it could not pay at once. Most country churches are not strong enough to do this. They have to apply to the board of church erection, the church building society, or some other denom- inational agency. In such cases that board has an opportunity and a real responsibility to urge a proper remodeling and to avert a sinful waste of funds on non-essentials. The board need not dictate the conditions of build- ing and impose plans, but it can tactfully and not uncertainly exert a beneficent influence in order that the reconstructed building may minister to all the real needs of the commu- nity and not merely to — shall we, to be charit- able, say — the esthetic tastes of the members. Ideally no congregation should think of building or rebuilding its place of worship without first taking a social survey of the field. The Bell Telephone Company spends thou- [65] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING sands of dollars each year in our larger cities on what is largely sociological work, studying drifts of population, changing economic condi- tions, and the like. This is done, among other reasons, chiefly to determine the best location for projected exchanges. Similarly the church ought to take a social survey not merely to decide upon a proper location but also for a far more important purpose, to determine what features should be included in the new building to furnish facilities adequate to meet the church and community needs revealed by the survey. Furthermore, if there happen to be two or more churches of approximately equal strength and influence in one community, it is important that the work of rebuilding be done with no purpose of sectarian aggrandize- ment. In a certain town, "somewhere in America," an unfortunate situation grew up through failure to observe this very principle. In the community were churches of two de- nominations. Each church was blessed with a young, enthusiastic pastor with an eye on the statistic blank for the man higher up, and an ear attentive to the least intimation of a call to the city. Each proceeded with energy to [66] REBUILDING rebuild his church so that it would include parish house features. The antagonism which had existed heretofore between these churches was only deepened by this move. The com- petition became more and more severe, and in order to capture the young people, more and more liberty was allowed by one organization until it went so far as to permit some of the more modern dances within its walls, against which even liberals felt called upon to pro- test. This is an aggravated and extreme in- stance but clearly illustrative of the point. The solution of such a problem would have been the cooperation of both churches in a community parish house. The rebuilding problem is much more pleasant and worth while when considered from the point of view of a minister and con- gregation who wish to make their edifice of the greatest possible amount of service in meeting needs which they recognize as exist- ent in their community. They live, let us say, in the little rural village of "Couldamtfuntto- something." Week after week they worship in a box-like building with a belfry on one end of it and a pulpit at the other, known by common consent as a church. The congrega- [67] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING tion has been canvassed and the community surveyed. Some real needs have developed and some real opportunities are opened up. The people decide to rebuild and set about forming their plans. They face a difficult task. "One of the hardest problems known to architecture is that of rebuilding country churches and doing it well," says Mr. James E. Grunert, the architect who designed the majority of the plans in this book. The first need to be considered is for more adequate ministry to the needs of the immedi- ate church constituency. In every rural com- munity there are families living some distance from the church with children too young to be quiet during the service, even if the pastor is wise enough to have a junior sermon. Sur- veys made by the Moravian Country Church Commission show that from eight to twelve per cent, of the people who seldom attend church gave as their reason that they had children who were too young to take. When it is considered that this excuse applied ex- clusively to mothers, it will be seen that one fifth of the lack of attendance on the part of women was caused by the necessity of caring for very young children. Most of these [68] REBUILDING women would have been glad to attend church; a number had been workers in the church and Sunday-school. Now their motherhood was penalized by the church. As there was no room in the inn for the infant Jesus, so there is no room in the average coun- try church to-day for the young child. One of the first things to consider in rebuilding a country church is the need for a baby parlor or nursery in which one or two of the mothers alternately can look after the children of all the rest. In planning this room it is impor- tant not to forget a little corner partitioned off and equipped with cribs for those infants who happen to nap at service time. Such a room is also of great utility when entertainments and other social affairs are in progress in the church from which these mothers would otherwise be excluded. The problem of the boys and young men is usually a very real one in the average rural congregation. It takes something more than sermons and readings from lesson leaflets to appeal to them. They meet in the store across from the hotel, at the pool-room, or railroad station. They have begun to drift away and perhaps are in moral danger. A Boy Scout [69] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING troop or some similar organization is not enough to meet the situation, for the boys want a place where they can meet, which they can call their own, and where they can express themselves. How about the church cellar? Why not clean out the pile of old quarterlies and the rest of the rubbish that has accumu- lated there, and partition off a room or two. There could be placed magazines, some books, perhaps the Sunday-school library, if there is one worth the name, natural curios that speak of the outdoors and the farm, group pictures, and the like. Some games and gymnasium apparatus, especially such smaller pieces as the punching-bag and indoor quoits, could be installed. The lighting might be a problem. The average cellar has tiny windows just above the level of the ground, but, by building areas outside, a full-sized window could be put in and the old cellar made a fairly light basement. But with all our thought for the boys, let not the girls be forgotten. Often they need attention even more than their brothers. Many a country girl is losing her idealism, her altruism, because of the lack of opportunity for self-expression. In one community a [70] REBUILDING group of girls formed a club which offered various avenues of satisfaction for their long- ings. They banded together not to allow young men who drank to call upon them. They set up other standards which brought upon them the general ridicule of the village. Just at a critical time in the club's existence, two college girls returned from their year's work. The principles of the Eight Weeks club were tried out in the existing organiza- tion and it has now become a strong and recog- nized branch of the rural Young Women's Christian Associatioft. But before that time the club was discouraged by the church offi- cials, with the exception of the mistress of the manse and her husband, though these same officials, so ready with their criticism, did nothing to help solve the real problem with which these girls were stru^ggling. In this age the average country church ministers to its young women and girls as little as to its young men and boys, and neither should be forgotten in the rebuilding of the edifice. We have presumed too long upon the innate religious feelings of women. The average rural Sunday-school is an in- valid largely because of the environment. [71] 4PuiPifL ItableI c 0> I secret»ky| (Fig. 12) Plan for a One-room Sunday-school [72] REBUILDING Either it meets in a dingy basement or in the church proper, and neither place is a very good one. It seems imperative that an addi- tion should be built just for the Bible school. Whether or not this can be done depends al- together upon the amount of money and ground at the disposal of the builders. The minimum to strive for is an addition large enough for the primary department and the nursery mentioned before, the weekly occu- pants of which have some right to their room, since they are doubtless enrolled on the cradle roll of the Bible school. The addition should be separated from the churcn proper by fold- ing or rolling partitions. Some congregations would lack sufficient funds to put through even these suggestions; and others who could provide these desire still further separation of classes. To all such a most ingenious plan of Miss Blanche Zieb- er's for a one-room Sunday-school is com- mended. (See Fig. 12.) Miss Zieber is field worker for the missionary and education de- partment of the Publication and Sunday School Board of the Reformed Church in the United States. She places the beginners' and primary classes in the two forward corners of [73] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING the room, the juniors in the front part of the auditorium, and the intermediates opposite or back of them. The senior and adult classes share the rear of the building. The circles in her plan denote the position of the teachers during the class session. It is perfectly p o s- sible to separate these classes one from the other by means of yard-wide den- im, the length of the pews, sus- pended from pipe or heavy wire three feet above the back of the pew. At the bottom the curtains would also run along wire fastened to the pew. Mr. J. W. Wildman, of Yancey Mills, Virginia, also has a device for separating classes. (See [74] (Fig. 13) Wildman Folding Partition Closed — Out of Use. Open — Ready for Use. REBUILDING Fig. 13.) He uses heavy curtain material hung on a bracket. Swung against the walls, it makes an attractive decoration. Swung out, each curtain falls into place, separating several pews from one another and from the aisle. Some congregations have adopted the idea of partitioning off the rear of the church edifice itself and then building the addition so that it and the new room can be thrown to- gether to make a cozy church parlor, large enough for the business meetings of various societies. Christian Endeavor services, men's Bible classes, and the like. Such space could also be used for social affairs of various kinds and the annual suppers of the Ladies' Aid. The ideal place for such occasions, how- ever, is in the basement. One church, rebuilt recently, has in its basement, besides the heat- ing plant, a small gymnasium — yet large enough for basket-ball, a well equipped kitchen, and a light airy dining room. Here members who come from too great a distance to return home for dinner are allowed to pre- pare and eat their noon meal. On special oc- casions when there are afternoon services this is a great convenience, and the opportunity for so meeting together has real social value. [75] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING In fact, a basement that is well lighted and not less than thirteen feet high can be made a room of all work. It can be used for the Bible school with rolling or sliding partitions; as a dining room, with the tables fastened by hinges to the wall so that they fold flush with it when not in use ; and as a gymnasium, when the class partitions and tables are folded. The kitchen and the club room can be made to share the opposite end of the basement from the heating plant and all that is needed to complete the equipment is folding chairs that can be removed, stored in piles, and easily re- placed. Of course, where there is opportunity for real service in so doing and where there is money enough to carry out the project, it is well for any church to build a full-sized addi- tion for the Bible school, together with a place for entertainments, gymnasium, game and reading rooms. But such a plant must not be used for assistance in a competitive campaign for members. It must not introduce a spirit of envy into the rural church situation of any rural community. It must be done only to meet a real need, only to help supremely in the upbuilding of the Kingdom. Such a pro- [76] REBUILDING ject will be considered at greater length in the next chapter. It is practically the construc- tion of a new building. Suggestions for such a work have already been given. The reader may also find useful suggestions in The Sunday-School Building and its Equipment, by Herbert Francis Evans (University of Chi- cago Press, 75 cents). There are many details to consider in re- building the country church, but they are so similar to those important minor points essen- tial to the successful completion of a new edifice that they will be considered together in a subsequent chapter. In the main there are three methods of add- ing to a country church. One is to build an actual addition. Another is to dig out the basement still further and perhaps raise the church as well. The third is a combination of these methods, giving larger floor space and a better basement. All of these methods are good and have been used effectively. Which method to pursue depends upon the location of the church, the amount of volunteer labor at the disposal of the congregation, and the needs to be met. The problem of rebuilding the country church depends on so many things {77 \ THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING that it is hard to make suggestions any more practical. The condition of the building to be remodeled, the other buildings in the com- munity, the number of people in the parish, and the amount of money to be spent all enter in. One of the best known instances of a suc- cessfully rebuilt church is that of the Du Page (Illinois) Presbyterian Church of which the Rev. Matthew Brown McNutt was pastor. Under his enthusiastic and skilful guidance, an old one-room building was transformed into a modern plant with an auditorium, eight class rooms, three cloak rooms, mothers' room, pastor's study and choir room on the ground floor and a kitchen, toilet, heating, lighting, and water plants in the basement, together with a large room used for a dining hall, social and play room, and the primary department. "This building," writes Dr. Warren H. Wil- son, in his book. The Church at the Center,^ "furnishes means of ministry to the whole com- munity in educational, social, musical, and athletic directions, and all these kinds of min- istry are coordinated with the central fact of > Missionary Education Movement, Library of Christian Piog resB, 60 cents. [78] REBUILDING worship, to the uses of which the main part of the new structure is devoted." This build- ing was remodeled at a cash expenditure of $ro,ooo. It is an open country church. The Moravian Church at Emaus, Pennsyl- vania, did a piece of well worth while recon- struction a few years ago under the pastorate of the Rev. Robert H. Brennecke. (See page 64.) This congregation, which is situated in a large village, owned, in addition to its church, a Sunday-school building that consisted of a main auditorium and a primary room. There was no provision for any social and recrea- tional needs. It was decided to improve the property. Volunteer labor excavated the cellar, removing 400 cubic yards of earth. A heating plant was installed, a large game room and society room, separated by a sliding parti- tion, was added. Place was made for church suppers. Volunteer labor put up the beams which supported the main auditorium. Volun- teer labor also did much of the interior wood- work. The primary department room was enlarged and a board room and a reading room added. The space between the floor and the high ceiling was utilized by putting in a gal- lery in the rear containing two class rooms. [79] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING From one of these rooms the electric stereop- ticon and moving picture machine can be operated. The ground from the excavation was used to level off the land between the church and Sunday-school buildings so that tennis courts could be built. The entire value of the improvements was $2,300, of which $300 was contributed in free labor. After the completion of these improvements and the beginning of the work which they made pos- sible, the attendance of boys and men at the services increased until it soon numbered over fifty per cent, of the whole. Another effective piece of country church recasting has been done by the Congregational Church, at Benzonia, Michigan, where the Rev. Harlow S. Mills was pastor. Most readers of these pages will know his moving narrative of the work in this field, told in The Making of a Country Parish,^ and will not be in the least surprised to learn that it was necessary to enlarge the Benzonia church in 1 9 14. The Benzonia people are far from wealthy, none making more than a comfort- able living. They could not aflford a new structure. Had they been able to do so, Mr. > Mission^y Education Movement, Library of Christian Prog- resa, 60 cents. [80] REBUILDING Mills says, they would have done some things differently, especially in providing for more class rooms. In other words they were con- fronted by the same situation which faces many a country church that has entered upon a larger program of service. They were cramped both as to equipment and means. The solution was a rebuilt church. The church had been a typical enlargement of the old style one-room building. It con- tained an auditorium and a pastor's room up- stairs and the basement was shared by part of the Bible school, the kitchen, and the furnace. The plant measured 60 x 30 feet. To this an addition of 30 x 34 feet was built, giving the needed additional seating capacity for the main auditorium, as well as a class room. A gallery was also added. Down-stairs a cozy room was procured for the primary de-; partment and there were also rooms for the adult class. The old basement, into which the new part opened by means of a sliding parti- tion, is now used by the junior department and a young men's class. Given high idealism, large vision, and effec- tive leadership, a rebuilt church can do a great work in the kingdom of God. [81] VI THE RURAL PARISH HOUSE THERE will always be people who in all sincerity will prefer not to have the type of work that has been mentioned in these pages carried on in the rural church building and yet they believe that such work should be done. The solution of that problem is the parish house. It must always be remembered, however, that the erection of the parsonage precedes that of the parish house. The minister of the Lord, the executive of the work, must be housed before the wider needs of the commu- nity are looked after. Dr. Warren H. Wilson, who always speaks with authority, argues strongly for the inclusion in the parsonage of rooms suitable for social purposes, where the problem of supervision is solved Jay having the minister and his wife in the building. This plan has been worked out, among other places, at Reems Creek, near Weaverville, North Carolina. The illustrations will give a good idea of the plan. (See page 96.) 1 83] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING The improvement of the house involved two things. First, the enlargement and fitting of the front rooms for public rooms, especially the parlor. The double door arrangement makes it possible for the parlor to become a kind of small audience room. Around the room are v^^indow seats. A phonograph, daily nev^^spapers, and magazines are all put in there and the room is constantly used. The public telephone is on the w^all in the hall and every telephone message comes there. The minis- ter's study is directly across the hall beyond the stair. The second improvement of the house was to enlarge it in the rear by the addition of a sleeping porch and thus give a place of re- treat for the minister's wife and the children. Into the rear parts of the house, therefore, the pubHc is not expected to go. These two im- provements made it possible to devote a large part of the house to parish house purposes, and the conventions and standards of polite- ness were satisfied. Young people could come to the minister's house and take their leisure there and the house was always open and there was always some one on hand. This could not have been done in a parish house or in a [84] THE RURAL PARISH! HOUSE church building because there was no one employed who could take charge of such quarters. The modification is radical and yet is so slight that it is inexpensive, and many manses or parsonages in the country have been adapted in the same manner. It gives the community the benefit of the home life of the clergyman and his family, that could be secured in no other way. It does solve the problem of supervision. On the other hand, the success of such a plan depends on the mis- sionary spirit and strength of the pastor's wife, the mother of the manse, and upon the con- sideration of the congregation in realizing that the family in the parsonage has some rights which even the fact of living in church property does not take away from them. The parish house, in the opinion of many leaders, is the ideal for which always to strive, even though it comes in third place. Such buildings are also valuable in communities in which there are numerous churches with no one church in control of the situation and in which, therefore, any considerable forward step on the part of any one organization would be viewed with suspicion. Such a house, [85] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING erected in such a community, and under the control of the church people of the commu- nity, irrespective of denomination, can be made a power for good. The good of such a building is not limited to its ministry to the social and recreational life of the people. It will bring back, simply by fulfilling its pri- mary functions, something of the warmth and vigor and neighborliness of the community life, which is disappearing in too many coun- try places to-day. But especially in commu- nity enterprises the religious impulse and emphasis of the work must be safeguarded. This has been and can be done and is essential to the largest good of the effort. Be it parish or neighborhood house, because of the condi- tions mentioned, it seemed best to include in this volume a brief discussion of several such buildings. The first two instances are taken from a leaflet by the late Miss Anna B. Taft, "The Parish House in the Country Com- munity." "An example of a successful and inexpen- sive parish house, directly under the care of one church, is in the village of West Cum- mington, Massachusetts, a little community fourteen miles from a railroad or trolley, back [86] THE RURAL PARISH HOUSE in the hills of Hampshire County. The work was started by the women of the church, and born of realization of the absolute necessity of giving a wholesome social life to the young people of the locality, or facing the problem of rural degeneracy in the next generation. "An abandoned church of another denomi- nation was purchased for a small amount. Overlapping is an aggravated problem. "The equipment for the parish house was partly contributed by friends, but largely ob- tained by the people themselves, who gradu- ally raised the money by entertainments and social gatherings. "Regularly one evening a week the house is open for the parish — often many evenings besides — with a diversity of program that is extensive and interesting. Amateur dramatics are a very popular form of entertainment, and creditable and artistic results are often ob- tained. The house is patronized not only by the younger people, but is a meeting place also for the older ladies, who bring their fancy work, enjoy a social hour of common interest, and sympathetically share the more jolly time of the young people about them. "Another interesting and successful parish [87] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING house is in McClellandtown, Pennsylvania, under the charge of the Rev. Charles O. Bemies, a Presbyterian minister. This is a small community, with a problem complicated by a foreign population. So democratic and PcA rrajt M wassun \AoeM £U/>/tC/i/iMt , /CzTCJ/eyr 2>Aesjijro SM£M»r\ G/ttcgjt^ JSROTJfBRMOoa BwiBZ/fG, AtcCiJU.t.A^J)rOH9^. At. genuine is the spirit of this 'Brotherhood Building' that it is a real community center, where gather the farmers, miners, and for- eigners to share a common life. Mr. Bemies says of the work : " 'To meet the situation in our community, [88] THE RURAL PARISH HOUSE we erected what we call a Brotherhood Build- ing, 72 X 42 feet (see Fig. 14), with a large auditorium, inclined floor, platform or stage with dressing rooms; a gymnasium, bath and dressing rooms in the basement, besides a well-equipped kitchen. The building is fitted with hot water, natural gas, and electric lights. This building is designed and suc- cessfully used for our young people's meeting and preaching service on Sunday evening, as the church is a mile out of town — for the Ladies' Aid Society, lectures of various kinds, entertainments by local and outside talent, mining and farming institutes, literary society, teachers' institutes, school commencements, amateur plays, special occasions, such as Chil- dren's day and Christmas entertainments, re- vival services, Slovak meetings, Sunday-school conventions, Bible classes, public meetings for community improvement, festivals, basket- ball games, and whatever is for the general welfare of the church and the community. We could not measurably fulfil Christ's con- ception of his kingdom without the Brother- hood Building.' " In the suburban community of New Dorp, Staten Island, New York, the historic Mora- [89] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING AemrroBiun usscoom CLUB KM.Id3KT Eh. ' _ COAT Bw'^CLU* KwM , /vioRnviAri PftRISH Houst mwDoRP.ISY Gallery Flook [90] THE RURAL PARISH' HOUSE; Moravian m Pai^ism House I'f (F/G Id)' ~\\ It DASEOTE/I" ^i Floor [91] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING vian Church there has recently erected a fine parish house containing an auditorium for assembly purposes, with a capacious stage at one end, cozy class- and committee rooms, a modern gymnasium with a spectators' gallery, a bowling alley, a well-equipped kitchen and dining room, a library, game room, showers, and all other necessary equipment. The plan of this building is given in full (see Figs. 15, 16), partly because it is eminently satis- factory as it stands and partly because it is suggestive of smaller buildings which might be put up for much less by consolidating the functions of the main auditorium as suggested in the last chapter. The total expense in- volved in the erection of this parish house was $30,000. This is, of course, beyond the reach of many communities, but the investment is a worth while one, if at all possible. This par- ticular building is a tremendous force for good in its community which consists of three adjacent suburban villages. Both Catholic and Protestant are admitted to its privileges. It is a fine example of a denominational build- ing that is performing a community service without a thought of sectarian benefit. (See page 128.) [92] THE RURAL PARISH HOUSE [93] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING The next plans given (Figs. 17, 18) are for a community house under church auspices. Depending on the locality, the building material, and the lay of the land, this house could be erected for from $4,500 to $8,000. It would be quite suitable for a single con- gregation as well. The main floor contains an auditorium-gymnasium, and in the vestibule and front.part of the building, a reading room and game room as well as an office. Opening off the stage or platform are two dressing rooms. There is a gallery up-stairs which could easily be partitioned off into classrooms of a Bible school, and there are also five other rooms, in addition to a large storage room, which can be used for social rooms, committee meetings, or Bible classes. The basement (Fig. 18) contains lockers, a kitchen, and two other rooms which can be used for various purposes. Part of the basement is not exca- vated and, of course, the plant could be en- larged by making the basement complete. In the little community of Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, which is buried deep in the Pocono Mountains, thirteen miles from a rail- road station, a unique work has been carried through recently, in which the two denomina- [94] THE RURAL PARISH HOUSE tions represented in the field, Methodist and Moravian, had a large share. The movement Vi^as originally fostered by the Woman's Chris- tian Temperance Union, and was brought to a head as a result of a social revival held under the leadership of Prof, and Mrs. Varney at the instance of the only resident pastor, the CBmJdJ Rev. Paul Shultz. This movement brought the community together in a welfare associa- tion which was soon incorporated and one of the first acts of which was to buy out the com- munity's country hotel. This building was [95 J THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING turned into a community house. Down-stairs there are reading, committee, game, and so- ciety rooms. There also, each Monday eve- ning, meets the community Men's Bible Class. Even on some of the worst winter evenings the attendance does not fall below twenty. Up- stairs the rooms have been made into a delight- ful home for the principal of the consolidated high school and his wife, who live there rent free in return for the supervision they give to the plant. The barn has been transformed into a community hall. (Seepage 128.) The ground floor is a fine gymnasium. The upper floor is a dining hall that has given splendid service on several occasions. The purchase and alterations together cost $5,000. Much of this was raised by the self-sacrificing gifts of the community, the people of which are not wealthy, summer boarders yielding a better profit during the short season than any crop raised off the stony land. The small debt still resting on the property was covered by issuing shares of stock. The venture is proving emi- nently successful in every way. In general it may be said that the parish house problem is not one of overwhelming difficulty. In the first place it is a community [96] REEMS CREEK PARSONAGE. NORTH CAROLINA Exterior and Interior THE RURAL PARISH HOUSE affair, or should be, even when in the control of one church. This enables those interested to enlarge the circle of contributors. In the next place, though expensive plants are very useful, they are sometimes cumbersome. Many a barn, remodeled at a cost of less than $i,ooo has made an excellent parish house, allowing place for a gymnasium-auditorium for games, plays, entertainments, concerts, and also for all necessary dressing and plumbing arrangements. In all such work as building or rebuilding country churches and parish houses, much can be expected from volunteer labor if the right spirit of enthusiasm abounds, and the effort, besides its worth from the stand- point of cooperation, can be made of great social value if the women will turn out and furnish refreshments for the men who work. The largeness of the task should never be a check when the motives are Christian and the opportunity present. [971 VII FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE "Let all things be done decently and in order." —1 Cor. 14: 40 IT is small annoyances that destroy the poise of average humanity and it is the details which mar or make the supreme usefulness of the new country church building. Grounds Be the material what it may, so long as it is honest, the best of buildings may lose value if it is surrounded by ill-kept grounds. The country church above all others should have an attractive church yard. The lawns should be well kept and brightened by the season's flowers. It is often possible to give the flower beds into the care of different Bible school classes. The spirit of friendly rivalry thus stimulated adds zest to their work. A series of free pamphlets, published by The Youth's Companion (Boston, Massachusetts), on beautifying the farm home, the rural school, and the village and roadways, will give valu- [99] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING able suggestions for the church as well. We may begin to "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" before entering the church in grounds whose symmetry, orderliness, and beauty will have a silent and increasing influ- ence for good throughout the community. Towers Another exterior feature is the tower. To many, a church is not a church unless it has a tower, and hence the tower has come to be one of the most abused features of small churches, both from the architectural and financial standpoints. Originally, the object of the tower was to raise the bell to such a height as to carry its sound over a maximum territory. To-day, however, most people have watches and know when service will begin. Newspapers announce the event. The bell is a useful but not the supreme advertising agent of the rural church. Country houses of wor- ship need to be relieved of the expensive mass of masonry astride the ridge. A fine tower may add dignity to the building, but it should not be assumed that it is essential. The great- est care should be exercised as to how to con- struct the belfry. [lOO] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE Decoration To one entering the church, the decorative scheme is the first thing that catches the eye. The sins of country churches against the laws of interior decoration are legion. Colors are too somber, too clashing, too gaudy, or too cold. Now and then pictures adorn the pul- pit alcove which are fearful and wonderful reflections of the grotesque artistic concep- tions of the village fresco-painter and which are often equally grotesque in their interpre- tation of Biblical truth. The basic color of the church's interior should be such as to give a warm, light, yet refreshing and restful feel- ing to the worshiper. The exact hue depends, of course, upon the location of the building and the number and kind of the windows, but this is the effect for which to strive. If any design is used for walls or ceiling it should be in keeping with the general scheme. Nothing stiff and formal ever helps. Properly speak- ing, church interiors are decorated not from habit but in order to assist in the purpose of the edifice — a fact now and then forgotten, if we are to judge by results. Building com- mittees should remember this principle and make provision accordingly. The impression [ lOI ] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING received unconsciously week after week, year in and year out, cannot help but have a subtle influence on the home decorations of the wor- shipers. Failure to utilize this force means the weakening of the community by just so much. Lack of color harmony hurts some sensitive souls just as musical discord offends the trained ear. We all react in one way or another to varying impressions and it is only right and proper that the most effective schemes possible should be used in the interior decoration of church, Bible school, classrooms, and committee rooms. Lighting Another important detail is the lighting. It is possible in these days to have coal oil, acetylene gas, or electricity. The only kind that should never be considered is the first mentioned. For the amount of work it re- quires and for general inefficiency, there is nothing that can equal it. An acetylene gas plant can be installed in any basement, re- charged as needed, and made to do very effec- tive service. The actual tanks are usually buried in the church yard somewhere to avoid all possible danger. Regular gas fixtures can [102] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE be used, but a burner made especially for the purpose is required. In their practical value either natural or commercially manufactured gas is but slightly superior to acetylene, except that they come piped from a community source of supply and are therefore less likely to cause inconvenience. The fire risk is also supposed to be less. With all lighting the effect on the attending worshipers must be considered. Lights should be properly shaded, and if reflectors are used it is well to have them so placed that the light is sent toward the ceiling and thus diffused evenly throughout the building. Further- more, no burners should be placed too near to where any one has to sit. The heat generated is not conducive to comfort, even in winter, if the furnace is working. Electricity is by far the best form of light- ing possible for a public building. Several clusters of lights suspended in the new type of inverted or direct-indirect chandeliers will diffuse the light perfectly. Concealed lights are also good. The direct lighting is apt to cause an uncomfortable glare. For the same reason it is best not to have a circle of lights in the pulpit alcove. A sufficiently powerful [103] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING lamp in the protected pulpit light will give all the illumination necessary for the minister. It is a very good thing to wire a building completely when it is being constructed, even though there is no power line to furnish cur- rent. There may be such a line some day, espe- cially in the more closely settled Eastern sec- tions, and then the fixtures can be installed with small expense and less dirt and incon- venience. By means of a gasoline engine it is now pos- sible to generate electric power in any build- ing or series of buildings at a very low cost per hour. This system is used on many farms and is well worth while for moderate and large country churches, especially when the parsonage can be included. Such a scheme also permits the use of that most blessed of all modern household labor-saving devices, the electric vacuum cleaner, which may well be used for church as well as parsonage. Ceiling The lighting problem is intimately con- nected with another — the traditional high ceiling mounting to a peak in the roof, too often indicative only of the distance of many [104] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE country churches from the every-day life of the people to whom they are supposed to minister. It will make the church seem less cold and distant and much more cozy and homelike, if the ceiling is lower than the traditional standards. Even a flat or, better, a slightly concave ceiling is often good. Stereopticon The lower ceiling simplifies the heating problem also, but care must be taken never to have the light clusters or chandeliers too low to prohibit the proper focusing of a stereopti- con or moving picture machine without sacri- ficing any of the seating capacity. One of these machines properly belongs to the equip- ment of any rural church. There are a num- ber of excellent sets of Bible and missionary slides and films which may be had, and educa- tion through the eye-gate often clinches the repeated impressions that reach the mind through the ear. Heating This brings up the whole question of ade- quate equipment. The heating plant is an important detail which has wrecked the best laid plans of more than one building com- tios] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING mittee. Wherever possible it is best to have a central plant rather than stoves. If the plant is to be used during the week, or at least if the fire is to be kept up con- tinuously, steam is extravagant from the fuel standpoint. The fire must be hot enough to generate steam before any results are obtained. Steam heat, however, leaves no water in the radiators and, if a continuous fire is not de- sired, it is a more satisfactory system than any of the other plans which utilize water as the heating base. The hot water plant uses warm water circulating in the radiating coils for its work. In case the fire is allowed to go out for any length of time all the water must be drawn off each time to avoid freezing in the pipes.. The installation cost of a hot water plant is higher than that of steam, but the fuel cost is from ten to fifteen per cent, lower. A newer system is the so-called vapor vacuum. Its cost is still higher, but again there is a cor- responding saving in fuel. It is doubtful, however, if the average country church will find that it has enough advantages to compen- sate for the higher cost and for the fact that, if lying unused, the water must be drawn off. For small and medium-sized churches and [io6] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE for all churches where there is ilo running water, hot air is the most effective form of heating. A few years ago it was considered obsolete, but there is a marked tendency on the part of architects and heating experts to re- store the hot air furnace to its old and rightful place. This furnace forces hot air from over the burning coal through flues to various parts of the building. Recent improvements have been largely instrumental in making the hot air plant more effective. Particularly good is the tubular system in which cold air intro- duced into the cellar is sucked up through a large opening in the back of the furnace and drawn through coils which warm it before it reaches the fire pot. In this way the fire plays on air already warmed. The results are splendid, the fuel saving ranging from twenty- five to forty per cent. This furnace, known as the Forbes heater, from its inventor's name, has been tested in the laboratories of several universities. Ventilation Many a good sermon is neutralized by faulty ventilation. The introduction of a cer- tain amount of fresh air and the removal of the vitiated air is essential to the complete use- [107] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING fulness of any public building. In the old days when walls were not air-tight and win- dows fitted loosely, this was not much of a problem in the country church, but to-day some of the most poorly ventilated buildings in the nation are country churches. There are four points to consider: the area of floor for each person, the number of cubic feet of air required by each occupant, the allowance to be made for the vitiation of air by the gas or oil burneirs, and the quantity of fresh air to be brought in, and old air extracted. The means of securing adequate ventilation are three : inlets for fresh air, outlets for viti- ated air, motive force to produce current. In a small building such as the average country church, natural ventilation does very well. There is a chimney draught which causes a circulation of air. If a hot air plant is being used the registers are constantly pouring out a supply of fresh warmed air. Gratings in the ceiling or cornices in communication with flues leading to the open are sufficient to re- move the used air. There are various forms of inlets. The simplest is a board or piece of cloth stretched on a frame the width of the window, in the [io8] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE position which the screen occupies in sum- mer. This allows fresh air to enter but breaks its force. Such contrivances can be placed at windows away from where the people usually sit. The Sheringham inlet is an amplification of this principle. It forms a wedge-shaped projection into the room and admits air in an upward stream through its open top. The size of the opening can be regulated. There are numerous artifical ventilation systems, including the vacuum, plenum, and fan systems. These are designed for large buildings. Any rural church large enough to need such a system will do wisely to make a thorough study of the whole question. The real need for proper ventilation, which is so easy to secure, is in the smaller churches and particularly on special occasions. Furniture Most building committees should be able to make a good selection of pews and pulpit furniture after studying the catalogs with which they will be deluged. Pews and pulpit, however, are but the first steps in securing adequate equipment. The Bible school chairs should be folding, [109] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING in order that they can be removed when neces- sary. They should be fitted either with rub- ber "shoes" or metal "sleepers" to make them slide over the floor without undue noise. The latter device is by far the more durable. Com- mittees which have plenty of money to spend would do well to lay a cork floor in the Bible school rooms. This is most effective as a noise deadener and wears well. The chairs should also be of three heights, one for the beginners and primary, one for the juniors, and the regu- lation adult size for all above that grade. The same is true of the class tables. Pictures and mottoes are valuable and each classroom should have a few and every school a number. They also carry a message and speak sermons with words unuttered. In the primary department these pictures should be on the level with the little ones' eyes. They are not hung for the pleasure of the faculty. The larger size of Perry Pictures are splendid for this purpose, especially when they can be framed. Unframed and unmounted copies cost only seven cents. A high artistic stand- ard in the choice of pictures cannot be too strongly urged. For those unfamiliar with such matters, the state Sunday-school asso- [no] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE ciations and the home decoration departments of the state agricultural school will be found of very valuable assistance. Each class having its own room ought to have a closet in which text-books, paper, and supplies can be kept. This insures neatness and prevents loss if the room is used by more than one set of persons or for more than one purpose. Failing this, each class ought al- ways to have a table as a part of classroom equipment, which can be used as far as pos- sible for storage purposes. It is well for each church and school before building to investi- gate all modern forms of equipment, such as the sand table. This is a device that can be made by some interested and handy member for much less than it costs when bought from any Sunday-school supply house. Sunday-school classrooms ought to be planned for use on more occasions than for an hour a week. Pictures and pennants may adorn the walls ; curtains may be hung at the windows; the table may be of attractive library style ; settees with restful cushions may be placed along the wall. Such simple and comparatively inexpensive furnishings add much to the comfort and attractiveness of a [III] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING room, and it can then be used for committee meetings, socials, and club purposes. A class often takes great interest in fitting up a room which has possibilities for beautification. If the church is planning for any sort of gymnastic work, there is a temptation to spend too much for apparatus at the start. Basket- and volley-ball, indoor quoits, and a punching bag do very well for a beginning. More can be added if the demand really justifies it. The chances are that it will not be needed in the open country church. The village congrega- tion may find it profitable to furnish a more elaborate equipment. The danger is that ex- pensive apparatus lies unused or misused be- cause of the lack of a physical director to show the way. The real need for team play and recreation can be met with very little expense. The experience of the rural Young Men's Christian Association has proved that. Basket- ball goals and banking boards, fastened on stout beams, can be fitted securely into the floor during a game and then removed. The Kitchen One of the factors in the unrest of rural women has been the outworn methods of [112] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE ■ ■ I II. i w . I ■ I II —M^— M l m ill I. ^^M^i^^^^i^ 11 I . I I ■■III. 1 1 a^^^^^^^^— 1 11^ c m household work which they are still compelled to use. The large, old-fashioned kitchen to which most country women are accustomed is an illustration of this fact, and it is fortunate that, with the general improvement of rural conditions, it is passing out of existence. Airy living rooms are becoming the center of the social life in the home and the kitchen is com- ing into its own as a laboratory. Consequently the best thought of the age is helping the farm woman to solve the old problem of the lessen- ing of drudgery in order to give more time to the housemother who probably cares as much for reading, fancy-work, or sewing as any other member of the family. Floor space is being economized and the weary mother is saved hundreds of steps during the day; while labor-saving devices are making the many necessary tasks much less burdensome. Perhaps, before trial, one may be slow to realize the great change in the home atmos- phere which will result from thus lightening the mother's burdens. Probably the best place to prove the worth of the new kitchen is at the common meeting ground, the church, where many suppers and entertainments are held and where a good working plan for a kitchen can [113] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING be brought to the attention of the greatest number of people. No building committee composed of men only ought to plan the kitchen without seeking and taking the advice of the local women and also of the domestic science department of the state agricultural college. The kitchen of many a small country church seems to be the most neglected and sorrowful looking place on the whole premises. The kitchen of the new rural church will play so large a part in the social and community life that it must be thoroughly equipped and not forced to depend upon the good nature of the overworked pastor's wife to supply everything that has been forgotten, from solid silver spoons down to dish-towels, bread knives, and scrubbing pails. The little bride will be glad, too, not to have to lend her good, damask table- cloth, only to have it come home all spotted with the worst sort of stains, and have to smile sweetly and say, "It's all right." In the first place, the proper grouping of the tables, stove, and sink is of great impor- tance for the sake of convenience and speed during suppers and entertainments. Then, too, if the place for every utensil is conven- [114] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE ient, more things will be likely to find their proper abiding places after they have been washed. This will cause less wrath to fall from those who have "never been young once" upon the heads of careless youths and maidens whose minds and eyes are wandering. Furthermore, the older people, upon whom the brunt of the work falls, will not find it so Cupboard A Taile » Outside Entrance Wheel Cart E Closet Sa-n-ap, (Fig. 19) Pla/i of a Model CiroR.CH Krrcfi£/i, [IIS] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING irksome if steps are saved and things run more smoothly. The accompanying diagram shows what seems to be an easy way to route things (Fig. 19). Suppose we start a supper. On the table B are prepared the things taken partly from the cupboard A and cooked on the stove C. As they are finished they are placed upon the movable table D, which has good casters, or directly on the wheel cart E and taken to the dining room through the door X. Supper over, the women who are assigned to remov- ing the dishes and silverware take the wheel cart, load it, and bring it to the table F through the door Y. They are washed at the sink G, close by, and placed in the cup- board above the sink. Those that belong in A are taken there on the wheel cart, again saving steps. The other dishes follow the same route. In preparing, serving, and clear- ing away a supper each woman should have her definite task. This avoids confusion and saves hours of labor. Another useful part of the equipment is a closet between the two doors in which wraps may be placed and kept out of the way. It ["61 FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE will be found most convenient to have an out- side entrance where supplies may be delivered and garbage removed without tracking it through the kitchen and other parts of the building. In case the kitchen is in the base- ment and the dining hall on the floor above, a dumb-waiter, beside the range, takes the place of the wheel cart, but such a cart will then be found useful in the dining hall itself. Kitchen Equipment Perhaps the following list will be helpful in choosing equipment. It is not complete, for each church is a law unto itself. It may be made larger or smaller and is merely sug- gestive. Inexpensive table-cloths Alarm clock Dish cloths and towels Waxed paper Hand towels String Paper napkins Old newspapers Trays Dishes and flat silver Bread board and knife Several inexpensive Cooking pans vases Dish pans Salt and pepper shakers Small hand basin Cooking spoons, knives, Garbage cans forks Soap shaker Vegetable brushes Soap dish Carving set Scissors Egg-beater [117] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING Meat-grinder Fruit press Containers for salt, sugar, coffee, etc. Can opener Lemon squeezer Measuring cup Match box and matches Penknife Pencils and pad Wrapping paper Paper bags Baskets Several stools for sitting down while paring vegetables and washing dishes will be found indispensable. A wheel cart or tea wagon or any such contrivance on which to place dishes before and after a large supper is a great saver of steps. Cleaning Outfit Two brooms Two pails Ammonia Scouring soap Clothes-pins Clothes-line Dust-pan and brush Scrub brush and cloths Sal soda Furniture polish Floor mop Dust cloths Soap Sand soap or other cleanser Cloak Rooms Cloak rooms are not a luxury in a rural church to which people have to drive in all kinds of weather. They make for neatness and comfort. It is surprizing how many com- [n8] FOR BEAUTY AND FOR SERVICE mittees fail to provide for them at all, or if they do include such a room, there is a tend- ency to forget a row of hooks low enough to accommodate those young children whose de- veloping independence makes them wish to look after themselves — sl desire that should be gratified in and out of church because of its habit-forming value. Organ A final detail is the organ. More money is wasted on organs than on almost any other detail in the church. Organ manufacturers are often tempted to add frills to their specifi- cations and these should be cut out mercilessly by some one who knows. For the average country church $1,200 to $1,500 is ample for a good organ. Tracker action, though not recommended for large churches, makes the only "fool-proof" organ. Electric and pneu- matic organs are more expensive, more showy, and more likely to get out of order for the simple reason that expert organists are not often tempted to take country churches. The trackers should be carefully varnished and all the interior carpenter work should be of the very best. Another device of organ builders ["9] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING is to introduce false or borrowed pipes. This makes a good showing when the organ is not in use but such extras are valueless in the actual work. Seven or eight full value pipes are plenty for the average church. Ample allowance should be made for the organ as the pipes speak from both the top and the lip and there is need for generous space between the pipes and for head room above them. Conclusion Minor things these are, all of them, but failure to consider them detracts from the use- fulness and comfort of many a church. It is said by those who have examined the ruins of the famous Greek temples that the workman- ship in those parts which were never expected to meet the eye of a human being is just as exquisite as that which has been the age-long admiration of man. The gods were all-seeing and the whole temple was for their glory. Even so the whole country church down to its last detail should be a harmony of the or- derliness, usefulness, and beauty which makes for effectiveness in the worship of God and in the service of his kingdom. [120] VIII THE BUILDING CAMPAIGN THE ablest architect, the most finished and serviceable plans, the most intelli- gent building committee, and the best quali- fied contractor are checkmated in any given building project without one other thing — money. Without a well-planned and still bet- ter managed financial campaign, the enter- prise may fail. Practical suggestions are ad- mittedly important here, but those first given are not directly financial. This chapter is not a book on church finance.^ The first requisite for a building campaign is faith, personal as well as organizational, and sustained — not borrowed for a limited period, but a possession forever. Only the eye of faith can see the vision of effective service to be done by a new building. Only faith can apprehend the idea of the building before the first shovelful of ground has been removed. • Frederick A. Agar, Church Finance, Missionary Education Movement, New York, 50 cents. [121] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING Only faith can make enthusiasm permanent and service effective. A second requirement is enthusiasm. The faith of the committee must grip the loyalties of the people. There must be nothing half- hearted or the campaign will fail. Enthusi- astic faith will convince the rank and file and compel a willing support. Finally, there must be perseverance. There comes a time in most building campaigns when everything seems to be going dead wrong, when failure stares the committee in the face, when all reason to hope for com- plete success is at an end. Then perseverance is needed, perseverance inspired by faith, and kept at its best by an enthusiasm that nothing can cool. These are not mere platitudes. They are facts of psychology which have a definite bear- ing on the financial success of any building venture. Every means possible should be utilized to develop and sustain these qualities. One of the first essentials for the financial part of a building campaign is a strong and efficient committee to handle this department of the work. No matter what plan is used to raise the funds, it is essential that records [122] THE BUILDING CAMPAIGN should be accurately kept and that all the de- tails of the plan run smoothly. This should liot be left generously to the pastor. His regular tasks are usually pressing enough to make any man with an average conscience work overtime and he should not be compelled to assist in work that does not belong to him. It will be found unprofitable for both the man and the congregation in the long run. There are several methods by which the big start in the campaign can be made. In some cases a special day is set apart on which the pastor or some imported official makes a plea for subscriptions. The congregation is then thoroughly canvassed by the ushers and those not present are solicited as soon after as pos- sible. Another method often used is to divide the congregation into groups and have each group canvassed by two members of the official board. This allows for a thorough discussion of the plans and gives opportunity to meet criticism and to answer questions. A third method is an amplification of the second. It transfers to the country the plan so success- fully used in the metropolitan Young Men's Christian Association work. The congrega- THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING tion is divided as before. Teams of canvassers, usually from six to ten in number, with from six to twelve on a team, are appointed. These figures will, of course, vary according to the size of the congregation. On a given Satur- day evening all the canvassers meet in the church, and a supper is served by the in- dispensable Ladies' Aid Society. The plan of campaign is explained, inspirational ad- dresses are given, there is earnest prayer, and the canvassers proceed to their tasks. In- stead of the daily noon luncheon which fea- tures the city campaigns, the teams meet to report each Saturday evening. There are de- votional and social features. This plan intro- duces the spirit of friendly rivalry between the teams, generates more enthusiasm, puts a larger number of people to work, and keeps the effort more constantly in the public eye. Experience has shown that it is best to hold such a campaign in the fall of the year, shortly after the harvest is completed and the heaviest rush of the fall work is past. Not only is there more money in rural communities at this time but the roads are also far better than in the late winter. Whatever the difficulties, some sort of individual house to house solicitation [124] THE BUILDING CAMPAIGN is always the best; and that church whose building enthusiasm is so low that its members are not willing to sacrifice the time for a well- planned and carefully conducted every-mem- ber canvass had better stop the enterprise with all possible speed. One absolute necessity for the successful execution of any of these plans, and, indeed, of the entire campaign, is thorough advance preparation and sustained publicity. Pulpit announcements and local and county papers must be freely used. There must be brisk and enthusiastic notices and reports. The progress of the work, specially significant gifts, unique money-raising methods and similar features will all furnish material for such announce- ments and articles. The possible sources of income are by no means exhausted with the membership of the congregation. One member of the committee ought to be assigned to the task of getting in touch with non-resident and former members, and especially with non-resident property owners, whether members or not. The build- ing of the right sort of country church will enhance property values and those who thus benefit largely should contribute generously. [125] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING It is a debt which they owe to the community. The country church has been the spiritual alma mater for thousands of successful men and women who will be glad to have the op- portunity to assist the old home church, so dear to memory, in any forward step. It is all the better if they can be brought back to their childhood home for an anniversary or old home week held in connection with the ground-breaking, cornerstone laying, or dedi- cation. Furthermore, any church with a community vision has a right to go with its appeal to the community at large. All who are interested in the advancement of the Kingdom, especially the members of churches elsewhere, should be given an opportunity to contribute to such a worthy community enterprise. Nor should the unchurched be forgotten. Their very sur- prize, and perhaps indignation, at being so solicited will give an opportunity to explain the motives, methods, and entire new program of the church. There is no measuring the possibilities that may come from such inter- views. Too often the attitude of the church in building campaigns, as, alas, in lall else, has been that of an humble suppliant. The rural [126] THE BUILDING CAMPAIGN church needs to realize its own dignity and worth and to present its appeal in no cringing way, but from the standpoint of offering a supreme opportunity for Kingdom invest- ment. Another detail in the successful conduct of a building campaign is the thorough organiza- tion of all the societies within the church to do their full share. It is of the utmost impor- tance at such a time that all the regular ex- penses and apportionments of the congregation be met as usual and without delay. In all likelihood this will now include interest charges in addition to the former items of the budget. This annual expense can best be met only when the congregation and all the organi- zations within it are cooperating to the fullest extent. Each organisation should take a por- tion of the budget — not more than past ex- perience shows it can meet, but not less. There is one source of assistance that most churches can call upon, not only for lending money, but also for help in meeting the mort- gage, and for a contribution to the original pledges. That source is the denominational church erection society, board of church exten- sion, or some similar organization. Each de- [127] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING nomination has its own customs and rules in handling these cases, and no church will be wise to attempt a building project without the advice of such an organization and without inquiring into the ways and means of securing an appropriation. In many cases the denomi- national board can lend the money at a lower rate of interest than could be obtained else- where. It is hardly within the province of this chap- ter to list a number of money-making schemes for the different organizations. Every de- nomination has suggestions to make through its boards and there are numerous books on the subject, such as Five Hundred Ways to Help Your Church, by Theresa Hunt Wol- cott.^ Every church knows how to hold bazaars, bakery and candy sales, suppers, and such affairs. There are, however, four money- making plans so eminently suitable for rural churches that they will be mentioned. The first of these is a sale of discarded articles of personal use. Every old country home has broken jewelry, worn-out watches, outgrown thimbles, and a host of other things which ar e kept but never used and seldom > The Sunday School Times Cc^ Philadelphia, $ 1.00. [128] TWO TYPES OF PARISH HOUSES Moravian Parish Hiiusc. New Dorp, N- Y. A Remodeled Barn Communit\- Hall THE BUILDING CAMPAIGN touched, except with a sigh at the semiannual housecleaning. The metal in these trinkets is still good and can be sold. The same thing applies to old furniture. It is a known fact that most of, the expensive chairs, chests of drawers, tables, and bureaus which, when done over, bring high prices in urban antique shops, come from the country. In many in- stances the original owners receive next to nothing for these pieces. A large number could easily be gathered together, an honest city dealer invited to view them, and a fair price realized for the whole lot. One con- gregation went so far as to do the necessary overhauling, polishing, and repairs itself and cleared over $i,ooo on such a sale. Another plan is known as "God's Acre." This phrase invariably suggests the cemetery. But why particularly should that piece of real estate be acknowledged as the only possession of God, whose is "the earth and the fulness thereof"? Let each farmer set apart an acre for the Lord's work, cultivate it as carefully as he does any other piece of his farm, and turn the proceeds over to the fund. There are several ways for the women to help that are more eflfective than quilting, that [ T29I THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING time-honored pastime of all rural ladies' aid societies. It is not very hard to work up a profitable "from farm to consumer business" through such an agency as the woman's ex- change of the nearest city. If each woman, as she cans or preserves her tomatoes, cherries, beans, pears, peaches, beets, and other fruits and vegetables, sets aside one or more cans or glasses of each variety for sale for the benefit of the fund, it will be found most profitable. Finally, the Bible school will undoubtedly succeed in the use of the well-known "mile of pennies" plan. This consists of the use of strips of light cardboard, each a foot long, and containing space for sixteen pennies. It is interesting to see which class turns in the greatest number of feet. These strips are pro- curable from the Harrison Printing Company, Union City, Indiana. A full mile nets over $820. Only a large school can attempt to raise a full mile. The distance must be graded according to the enrolment and the size of the community. One school of 200 members in a community of about 1,500 inhabitants re- cently "traveled" more than 700 feet ($112) toward a half-mile goal in the slack six months of the year. Others claim even better records. [130] THE BUILDING CAMPAIGN Some do not do as well ; but the device grips the interest of the young people, an4 the amount asked for is so small that none refuse. Thus, by a thorough marshaling of all the resources, by effective money-raising methods and interorganizational cooperation, a build- ing campaign can be carried through to a suc- cessful finish. [131] IX DEDICATION THE completed country church, all the expenses of its construction paid, needs but to be handed over to God before it can be used by all the people for all its purposes. It is an age-old tendency for man to mark the progress of his achievements by special deeds, services, and ceremonies. To these things memory returns and around them cluster the recollections of the effort that has been made, the sacrifices that were brought, the v^orth that was uncovered, the new leaders that were de- veloped, and the spirit of cooperation and mutual helpfulness which permeated the church and community. It is not strange that men desire to celebrate specially the breaking of ground for a long- cherished, long-considered enterprise; that they wish to lay the corner-stone to mark the progress of the work and carry the witness of it, its people, and its times, to all future gen- erations; and finally, that in joyfulness of [133I THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING spirit they turn the house over to God in solemn dedication. From the time of Solo- mon's prayer of dedication at the completion of the temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem and be- fore, down to the present time, these things have been true. It is not intended to give anything of a his- tory of the ceremonial forms that have clus- tered around the erection of church buildings ; nor is it the plan to make many suggestions in regard to these services. A large number of denominations have liturgical forms for these services which are more or less strictly adhered to. For the interest of members of denominations which leave such, a service to the option of the minister there are appended here two of the best services of dedication which the writer has ever seen. The first is the work of a Congregational pastor in North Dakota whose name is not attached to the serv- ice slip : Service of Dedication Minister : To the glory of God, our Father, by whose favor we built this house; to the honor of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior; to the praise of the Holy Spirit, source of life and light; [134] DEDICATION People : We dedicate this house. Minister : For worship in prayer and song ; for the ministry of the Word; for the cele- bration of the holy sacraments ; People : We dedicate this house. Minister: For comfort to those who mourn ; for strength to those who are tempted ; for help in right living; People : We dedicate this house. Minister: To the memory of our beloved dead, to the gentle and true of former times, to all who have unloosed the bonds of ignor- ance and wrong; People : We dedicate this house. Minister : To the welfare of the living ; to those whose ways are good and those whose ways are evil ; to the strong souls that stoop to share the burden of their fellows ; to the weak and defenceless, to the darkened mind, the tempted heart, the life weary and heavy-laden, and to all human need ; People : We dedicate this house. Minister : To the ministry of the strong to the weak ; to the bringing of light in darkness ; to the giving of hope, courage, and spiritual health to all human hearts ; People : We dedicate this house. Minister: To the proclamation of the truth that sets men free ; to the liberty of the sons of God ; to reverence for all worth of the [135] THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING past; and to the eager acceptance of all good which the future may unfold ; People : We dedicate this house. Minister: For the sanctification of the family; for the guidance of childhood; for the salvation of men ; People : We dedicate this house. Minister : For the fostering of patriotism ; for the training of conscience; for aggression against evil; People : We dedicate this house. Minister: For the help of the needy; for the promotion of brotherhood ; for bringing in the kingdom of God ; People : We dedicate this house. Minister: As a tribute of gratitude and love, a free-will offering of thanksgiving and praise, from those who have tasted the cup of thy salvation, and experienced the riches of thy grace ; People : We, the people of this church and congregation, now consecrating ourselves anew, dedicate this entire building in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Choir and Congregation : Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost ; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. The second service given was used at the [136] DEDICATION dedication of the Octoraro People's Meeting- house near Rock Springs, Cecil County, Maryland, on June 9, 191 2. After a devo- tional service, the reading of the history of the meeting, and the presentation and accep- tance of the keys, the minister and people en- gaged in the following beautiful act of dedi- cation : Minister: What though for him who filleth heaven and earth there can be no dwell- ing made with hands ; what though his way is in the deep, and his knowledge too wonderful for us ; yet his light is in our souls, his peace is in our hearts, and the prayer that rises in us, is in his Spirit, that man may find the God he seeks. We thank thee, our Father, for the house of prayer. From thee the purpose came; from thee its strength and beauty are; to thee it shall belong. Establish thou the work of our hands; yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it. To righteousness we dedicate it. To purity of heart, to holiness of purpose, to loyalty to our ideals, to the life of God within the soul of man, let us strive to dedicate the house that we have built. People: God helping us, we will. Even to the life of God within the soul we dedicate our church. Minister : To truth we dedicate it. To the {137I THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING spirit that seeks the truth, that trusts the truth, that speaks the truth in love, and speaks it though one must stand alone ; to the mind that reconsiders and restates and confesses error; that loves the old, and greets the new with welcome ; that seeks for substance under forms and symbols, and for unity beneath differ- ences; to the truth which maketh free, with gratitude to all teachers, scriptures, holy lives, that through the ages have revealed it unto men, let us strive to dedicate this church. People : God helping us, we will. To the open mind, to the doubt that guides to light, to the joy of reverent conviction, to the ser- vice of the truth which maketh free, which liveth and conquereth forevermore, we dedi- cate our church. Minister : To love we dedicate it. To the kind face, the tender word, the self -forgetting deed; to forgiveness and the charity which never faileth, to the bearing of each other's burdens, the remembering of those who are bound, as bound with them, the love of every unloved creature, the joining of hands in lives of service, let us strive henceforth to dedicate this church. People : With God'? help we will. To fel- lowship of hearts, to bearing each other's burdens, to the love of every unloved creature, we will strive henceforth from day to day to dedicate our church. [138] DEDICATION Minister: To the memory of Jesus we dedicate it, that his ideals may prevail, and that our Christianity be more than a name and a form, but a life full of grace and truth. People: Amen! So be it! As those who would be disciples, confessing our last debt to Jesus, we dedicate these walls, proclaiming in his name, that religion of the spirit which embraces Jew and Gentile, bond and free. Minister: To every noble faith; to the faith that no good thing is failure and no evil thing, success; that to love goodness and to live it is the supreme thing in religion ; to the sense of • union here and now with things eternal; to the sense of deathlessness which the life of self-forgetting awakes in man; to these high faiths, and to the spreading of them that other men may share their inspiration, let us seek to dedicate our church. People : God deepen these faiths in us ! To the end that their best meanings may open in our minds, and their glory fill our lives and make men glad, we dedicate our church. Minister: Thus unto thee, O God, our Life, our Light, the One in All, we dedicate thy house. Here we will think the thought of thee together. Here we will name thee, O Eternal, by the heart's name, our Father, and sing the song of praise and thanksgiving, and in the still ways of the spirit seek thy help to lead the noble life. [139I THE NEW COUNTRY CHURCH BUILDING People: To thee, in whom we live and move and have our being, to the eternal God, our heavenly Father, with thankful hearts, in spirit and in truth, we dedicate this house. Establish thou the work of our hands, yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it. Minister: So may this house be our altar, our school of noble ministries, our common home and fireside. Here let the glory of Nature in her seasons be revered with thanks- giving. Here let the joyful festivals of the Christian church be observed with prayer and praise. Here let the church universal be a vision to us of things to come. Here let the things which make for civic righteousness and national honor be taught, the country's anni- versaries kept, her helpers and defenders com- memorated. Here let all services that make home beautiful be fostered. Here let the chil- dren love to come. Here let our aged ones be greeted reverently. Here, week by week, let the strong consecrate their strength, and those who sit in shame renew their hope, and those who are beset be comforted. Here let the babe be welcomed to the earth, the wed- ding vow be hallowed, the dead be tenderly remembered, and those who sorrow find the peace of God. Within these walls let no man be stranger, but all find home who come for ends of truth and righteousness and love. People : Peace be within these walls, peace [ 140] DEDICATION to young and old that enter here, peace to every soul herein, and to our children's chil- dren. Amen. [141] LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN PROGRESS Folumes Issued The Church a Community Force, fForth M. Tippy The Church at the Center, Warren H. Wilsm The Making of a Country Parish, Harlow S. MM Social Evangelism, Harry F. Ward Working Women of Japan, Sidney L. Gulick Church Finance, Frederick A. Agar Cooperation in Coopersburg, Edmund deS. Brunner The New Country Church Building, Edmund deS. Brunner Cloth, 50 cents, prepaid except The Neiv Country Church Buildings 75 cents, prepaid ADDITIONAL VOLUMES TO BE ISSUED m ^m ■.if«(IltH«ll!i>.ti-l]l(l!lll;ill ' ,11 ilMLI! )