“The profounder my faith, the more am I able to work in affectionate association and harmony with the many who do not see eye to eye with me here on earth; I cannot, however, continue to work with any who demand as the price of their help that I shall stifle all outward expression of my faith. He who walks in the light must sing of the light lest the light he has shall fade into darkness, and he too shall be left to flounder along the dead level of merely human self-guided impulses.
A PRAYER FOR EFFICIENCY
O God, as to an earthly father, we bring thee each our yearning confession of failure to realize to the full the powers thou hast given us as laborers in thy kingdom on earth. May we learn through this, our mutual prayer, to be charitable to one another’s shortcoming. Teach us, by love if it may be, by bitter rebellion, if it must be, that our prayer may be answered only as we are firm to lend a hand in mutual aid and sympathy to the less fortunate. Let each in strength supply his neighbors’ weakness, and build up in him the efficiency which is his birthright.
Thus, in humility of heart, we pray for justice to our overstrained and blighted brothers who never catch up, who grind their lives into sieves of despair and deficit, each grist the harder because there is less of life to spare. Think upon the handicapped in body and in soul, for whose backwardness we are jointly responsible through our inefficiency. May we give them health and leisure and knowledge and so joy and inspiration so that, restored to themselves, they may in free good will repay them a hundredfold, in deeds of brotherly gratitude and justice to others, for thy sake.
And chiefly we pray for those in whom we have put our trust; that their strength may be equal to the temptations of the power we have given them from thee. May they realise that not their own gain, but social justice, must measure the efficiency of their efforts. Bring home to their minds and hearts the far-reaching power, for evil and for good, of industry and government, of church and press; let them remember vividly the remote effects of indifference and negligence in the web of modern life.
May the getters of gold give justice to its producers; may its earners have charity toward its spenders; may the givers of gold be gifted with wisdom and courage; and may all social workers feel the weight of an especial responsibility; that the surplus wealth of which they are guardians may be husbanded for its true purposes and not be betrayed, nor delayed, nor wasted in their hands; that thou mayst have gratitude in turn toward all, for thy children’s sake. Thus may thy kingdom grow on earth into fuller and more abundant life for each and all.—AMEN.
“The church must be a great, perennial fountain of spiritual and moral energy to the whole people in all the avenues of human interests. She must realize her obligation to champion the cause of the oppressed, whatever the cause and whoever the oppressor, whether in her fold or out of it. She must watch to prevent the rich from grinding the faces of the poor. She must when necessary provide for every legitimate desire of the people. If politics are corrupt, then she must enter aggressively into the field of politics, only for purity and not for party. She must fight all saloons and organize neighborhood opposition to their continuance, but provide too for some form of social life to replace them.
“The rich churches most be big sisters to the poor, providing means and sending talented workers wherever they are needed. If the church needs money for neighborhood enterprise, let her lop off her choirs and stained glass windows and bells, expensive altars, and put the money saved into human lives. She must discourage all extravagances which give the poor just cause for bitterness and arouse envy and set up unworthy standards. Let the church make a map of neighborhood conditions. This will serve as an object lesson and as a basis for action. In weekly classes she should then study such social problems as:
Social teachings in the Bible.
Tuberculosis in our city.