A CHURCH IN CONFERENCE.
The second rest-day at Craighelbyl was even more peaceful and happy than
the first, for there was less excitement and a greater feeling of
at-homeness in the hearts of the people. Arthur Knight and his friends
wondered very much whether the response to the invitation of the church
bells would be as universal as before; but it was. At the appointed time
groups of neighbours, with their families, were seen wending their way
to the Father’s House with one accord. The people did not go, perhaps,
from the highest motives. Can it be said that all the members of any
congregation do? But so much were they impressed with the great kindness
and good feeling of the master, that they, one and all, were trying to
keep as right as they could, and many of them, knowing their own
weaknesses, were thankful for the strength and help which they received
from joining in the hymns and listening to the sermon.
This notable Sunday was commenced with a communion service. The
invitation was given to “all members of churches who love our Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity, and consider His laws of life and conduct binding
upon them.” And a large proportion of those who filled the building went
forward. This service was short and solemn; it was a time of
reconsecration to many, and it prepared them for what was to follow at
the close of the day.
After the evening service those who had joined in the communion service
in the morning were requested to remain behind in order to attend the
first church meeting, and, indeed, to form the church itself. The church
was formed accordingly, and on a very simple basis. The following was
the creed:—
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
“I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ the Redeemer of the world, as my
Saviour and Law-Giver.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Revealer, the Enlightener, and the
Comforter.
“I take as my rule of life the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ,
believing that His laws are binding upon His disciples, and assured that
He who lived for thirty-three years among men has raised no impossible
standard of excellence and brotherly love in the Sermon on the Mount,
and the other words of His placed on record in the gospels.”
This confession was inscribed in a book, and those who were prepared to
subscribe to it wrote their names beneath.
At the close of this ceremony the minister, the Rev. James Davies,
offered a dedicatory prayer, and the people sang, on their knees, the
solemn and significant hymn,—fit to voice the faith and feelings of
those who are resolved to consecrate themselves entirely to God, and to
do His will, “the Lord being their Helper”—the hymn composed by Gregory
the Great, somewhere between the years 540 and 604, and translated in
1627—and as good for the new time as the old—
“Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire.”
After the hymn, Mr. Davies gave a short address on the creed to which
they had given their adhesion, and the resolution contained in the last
clause of it.
But the people would not leave until Mr. Knight had spoken, and he was
ready with a few words.
“Dear Friends, you know, and I am sure many of you share, my belief,
that Christianity is a life, and that all real discipleship is eminently
practical. You have declared, by adding your signatures to this book,
that you mean to live up to your faith. I think you understand that my
heart’s desire and prayer to God is that our little community shall be
strictly governed on New Testament Principles, and, according to the
laws of the New Kingdom which Christ came to set up in the world. I
believe that those who have entered this kingdom, and who live in
communion with its Head, do receive daily enlightenment from Him who is
the Light of the World, and therefore I believe that the true rulers of
men must be those who are ruled by Jesus. Now, I ask you, the members of
Christ’s Church, to take upon yourselves the responsibility of the
management of this community, and to govern it according to the will of
your Master, as revealed in the New Testament, and in the events and
progress of these times. You surely know the right; _do it_, and, as far
as you can, see that others do it also. I invite you to become during
the next week a church in council; to consider certain things which
relate to the well-being of the community; to decide what, if any,
by-laws shall be made and enforced; to appoint an executive committee;
to settle certain sanitary, educational, and other matters; and
generally to undertake the responsibilities of our little State. You can
govern in your own right, which I hereby commit to you; or you can, if
you prefer to do so, submit your suggestions to the whole society. In a
little while, perhaps, we shall discover that the best way to rule will
be to have a number of men and women chosen and elected by the people;
but at present I ask you to appoint a committee of, say, twenty men and
women, who shall prepare and propose, not to the community, but to the
Church, certain resolutions touching the interests of us all. This will
be your first work to-morrow. I do not propose to be on this committee,
nor to interfere with it unless it should become absolutely necessary,
but to leave the management of affairs in your own hands. You know
better than I who are the wisest among you. I hope you will choose
these, and ask them to serve you, and that they will gladly do so to the
best of their ability. But, dear friends, do not forget that you can
legislate for our little world as well as our own small church; and that
it will depend very much upon your treatment of those outside the church
whether or not they are attracted to Christianity. May you, therefore,
be guided in all things by the spirit of love, fairness, and
righteousness; and may God give you the wisdom which you require! It is
for you to show yourselves disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to
win others to Him by your unselfishness, your consideration of others,
and your goodness of heart and life. If you are true to your Master we
shall have reason to rejoice in our Craighelbyl life. This is a great
trial place; it is a test of the real worth of Christian principles;
everything depends upon your faithfulness to Him. I hope you will hold
your deliberations here, in this sacred place, and that no spirit will
be exhibited contrary to His Spirit, and no laws enacted but those which
He would sanction.”
The next evening the church again assembled.
The first thing was to appoint an executive committee, numbering about
twenty. Mr. Knight and the minister asked to be allowed to stand aside
excepting as they were needed. Dr. Armitt, a Christian man of great
ability and kindliness, was first elected; then Mr. and Mrs. Wythburn
and their daughter; next Mr. and Mrs. Hancourt, but the latter excused
herself on account of her domestic duties. Fanny Burton was asked to
become a member, and she consented; and then a dozen of the working men
of the community, who were known to be wise and honourable men, in equal
proportions of young men and old, were asked to serve; and the business
before them was at once commenced.
The first question which was settled affected the age at which the
children of the town should leave school. Two evenings were occupied in
discussing this; but it was eventually decided that the children were to
remain in the ordinary school until they were twelve, and that two
supplementary years were to be added, during which half the school
day—which was to be extended to seven hours—should be spent in the
ordinary and half in the technical school.
This involved considerable self-denial on behalf of the parents; but one
man enthusiastically declared that at Craighelbyl the heroes and
heroines of the future were to be born and trained, and then sent forth
into the world to take the highest places everywhere, and teach other
men to copy the example of Knight’s own town. It was worth while, he
argued, for fathers to manage without the earnings of their children
when such issues as the reformation of the world depended upon it. And
although some of his neighbours laughed at his “tall talk,” they decided
that fourteen school years were none too many for the children of
Craighelbyl.
The next matter settled was a law that all young people should pay into
a fund to provide them with an income in old age, and that a savings
bank belonging to Knight’s business should be at once established, in
order that some provision should be made for sickness.
And yet another law was passed, that if any man or woman should tempt a
child to take intoxicating drink, he or she should be asked to at once
quit Craighelbyl.
Another excellent resolution was passed affecting the women who were
employed in the factories. A young Crusader introduced the subject in
words that went directly to the point. “Most men,” he said, “are jealous
of the positions that women are making for themselves, and this feeling
renders us unjust. They work as many hours as men, and always for less
wages. If they do the same work why do they not have the same money?
Many masters would probably give them the same, but for the knowledge
that in so doing they would displease their men, who have always been
content that women should labour under this disadvantage. They do work
often that men might do, we say, and they are not to be encouraged in
it. But how many factory lads are there who are chivalrous enough to
prefer to keep their sisters? How many fathers who object to the money
which their daughters earn and bring home to pay for their board and
lodging? Yet we are full of complaints that factory girls do not make
good wives. How in the world are they to make good wives when they are
at work all day? They ought not to be expected to work as many hours as
we do; and I beg to propose that all who are willing shall sign a
petition to Mr. Knight, asking him to make a woman’s working day in
Craighelbyl two hours less than a man’s. (Murmurs of dissent were
heard.) Nay, with such helpers of womanhood as Miss Wythburn and her
assistants we may be quite sure that the women and girls would turn
those two hours to good account, and that in the end, we, the men of the
place, will be better off for the change. Of course it is all very well
for us to pass this resolution; you say Mr. Knight will be the only
loser by it. But the women would not be willing for him to lose, neither
would a man among us. What I mean is that we should offer to work one
hour a day longer for the same wages, and also that heads of households
should be willing to take a little less money for the ‘keep’ of
daughters or sisters; or, if that does not answer, that every man, who
is a man and deserves the name, should pay into a fund in order to make
this matter straight. Why, you know it is only of late years that women
have been expected to earn their own living, and it is only because the
men have grown more feeble and less gallant, less chivalrous, less
manly. Here at Craighelbyl we have a chance to show that we at least are
made of different stuff from many of our fellows. Let us set the example
of putting this women’s question upon another basis.”
In consequence of this resolution the meeting had to be adjourned, and
two evenings were given to the discussion of the subject. Eventually,
however, it was agreed to ask Mr. Knight to make the women’s day an hour
less than the men’s, and to keep their wages at the same rate as before,
and to assure him that in Craighelbyl there would be enough volunteers
among the men to prevent his having any loss from the change.
And it may be safely said that no action of the Craighelbyl Church in
conference created such a sensation throughout England and Wales as
this.