RURAL I.' PL I FT ELSEWHERE 239 



mand the specific approval of the church? (2) How 

 can the agencies of the Methodist Episcopal Church be 

 wisely used or altered with a view to promote the prin- 

 ciples and measures thus approved? (3) How can we 

 best co-operate in this behalf with other Christian de- 

 nominations < (4) How can our courses of ministerial 

 study in seminaries and conferences be modified with a 

 view to the better preparation of our preachers for effi- 

 ciency in social reform { 



The Joint Commission on Social Service of the Pro- 

 testant Episcopal Church is rendering efficient service 

 with its sane and scientific work, for example, the 

 " social service programme for a parish in an agricul- 

 tural community." This church bids fair to be one of 

 the foremost leaders in the work. 



The Moravian Church, which has a rapidly expand- 

 ing work in our own Xorthwest. recently appointed a 

 Country Church Commission, which began its work 

 with a thorough study of the statistics of the rural con- 

 gregations for the last seven years the first systematic 

 effort by any denomination to separate the statistics of 

 city and country work. The results are reported to be 

 " of a kind that challenges the attention and calls for 

 action." 



The Reformed Presbyterian Church, whose member- 

 ship is largely in the country, has, through a strong 

 commission, of which Dr. Henry Wallace, one of 

 America's leading agricultural editors, is chairman, 

 attacked the problem with vigor. 



Other denominations are engaged as well. The re- 

 port of the Commission on the Church and Social Ser- 

 vice to the Federal Council in December, 1912, informs 

 us that the Department of Social Service of the 



