quired for the up-keep of the church property and other running expenses. 

 The average for benevolences per church is $259, for Sunday-school $36 

 and for other expenses $404. The average total annual budget per 

 church is $1,080. It has usually been concluded that the greater part 

 of the expenditures of the Country Churches is for the perpetuation 

 of their own denominational institutions. This in itself is of course a 

 very important form of service to society. There is, however, little 

 attempt to serve communities in any broad sense outside of denomina- 

 tional limits and independent of denominational agencies. 



The 76 white schools with their total enrollment of 3,927 cost the 

 county nearly $100,000 for a year. Eighty-six white churches with a 

 total membership of 6,994 cost $88,500. Figuring on the basis of the 

 direct expenditure i)lus the interest on the amount invested in property, 

 as a rent equivalent, every day a school is actually opened for school 

 purposes the average cost is $8.00. Every day a church is actually in 

 use the average cost is $20.90. If the total cost of maintaining the 

 churches were equally distributed among all the members, and if the 

 Oyster and the Strawberry did not cooperate in raising the money, 

 the annual cost to each member would be $12.66. 



Two churches in the county are endowed, sharing between them the 

 income from $74,830. 



A RECTORY IN THE OPEN COUNTRY 

 97 



