t is
for the improvement and uplifting of the people, should be so great and so
evident that no one can reasonably call them in question. That is one of
the things that needs to be done, and that by the method of the Larger
Parish we hope to accomplish. We propose that the Church shall have such a
spirit of helpfulness, that it shall be so wise and practical in laying
out its work, so energetic and aggressive in prosecuting it, that all
shall recognize it as a potent and most blessed force--an institution that
they gladly support because of its practical value. Some progress has been
made in this direction. The Church has gained immensely in the respect of
the people since it began the work of the Larger Parish. The people can
see that it is really doing something.

3. There needs to be created a stronger and more universal community
spirit. The tendency in the country toward isolation and independence is
especially strong. Each farmer is separate from every other. He lives
alone, somewhat like a baron in his castle in old feudal times,
sufficient for himself, without much necessity of borrowing, or thought of
lending. Living in such conditions it is quite natural that he should grow
selfish, and should come to think largely if not exclusively of his own
individual interests. He is in danger of overlooking the fact that society
is an organism, and he is a part of it; that he has duties and obligations
to the general public; that his life cannot be complete if it is lived
alone; that he owes something to the community at large, and that he must
get something from it if he would really be a man, do a man's work, and
fill a man's place. He must come to see that the public good means private
advantage, and that when he cuts himself off from others and thinks only
of his own individual interests he is following a foolish and suicidal
policy.

[Illustration: THE BENZONIA CHURCH]

This community spirit needs to be carefully cultivated, and that work has
been going on in the Larger Parish. The community spirit has been growing.
The people are more interested in one another and in those things that are
undertaken for the public good than they formerly were. But there is still
much to be done in this respect. Not all the people are yet able to look
over the narrow boundaries of their own possessions and see their
neighbors' needs. Not all grasp the idea of the solidarity of society. But
this spirit is growing and there will