The rapid growth of our cities and towns during the last quarter of a century has brought us face to face with a serious problem. The religious and social conditions that have arisen give occasion for grave apprehensions, and have been subjects of careful thought. The City Problem has been widely discussed. Much thought and effort have been expended in its solution, and, while progress has been made and the outlook is hopeful, the end is not yet. Within recent years another problem has arisen which is scarcely less serious than that which the city presents, and that is the Country Problem. There are two reasons why this has not attracted special attention until quite lately. First, the city problem has been so serious and so acute that it has occupied the public mind to the exclusion of conditions in the country. And, in the second place, those conditions have increased in seriousness so rapidly in recent years and their demand for attention and careful consideration has become so insistent and imperious that it can no longer be disregarded. No thoughtful person can now blink the fact that there is a country problem, that it is equal in seriousness to the city problem, and that the two are so intimately related that neither of them can be solved by itself alone. They stand or fall together.

I have no theory to present, nor any philosophy to exploit. I have no patent way of solving either the city or the country problem. I have only a story to tell of some things that have been done that may point the way toward a solution of the country problem. It is the simple account of an experiment in the work of religious and social welfare that promises to be successful. The parish that is spoken of may be regarded as an experiment station, and this story is only the account of the working out of certain methods. It will be enough if the story shall prove to be some small contribution to the solution of the important and difficult country problem.

One of the greatest difficulties I had in writing this story was with myself. Some of the experiences were so purely personal that I hesitated to speak of them and I shrank from the so frequent use of the personal pronouns. In the first draft of the story I resorted to all manner of circumlocution to avoid their use, but I found it difficult to adopt any consistent form and the result was to weaken the impression. So, acting on the advice of able and judicious critics, I concluded to tell the story in the simplest and most direct way.

H. S. Mills.

Benzonia, Michigan,
August 15, 1914.

KEY TO MAP

1. Benzonia Village, Benzonia Township. Church Organization, Church Building. Morning Service every Sunday. Sunday School, Christian Endeavor Society, Woman’s Missionary Society, Weekly Prayer Meeting, Ladies’ Aid Society.

2. Beulah Village, Benzonia Township. Chapel. Evening Service every Sunday, Sunday School, Ladies’ Aid Society.

3. Eden, Benzonia Township. Church Organization, Schoolhouse (Chapel, 1914). Evening Service every Sunday, Sunday School, Christian Endeavor Society, Weekly Prayer Meeting, Neighborhood Club, Ladies’ Social Circle.

4. Champion Hill, Homestead Township. Church Organization, Chapel. Morning Service every Sunday, Christian Endeavor Society.

5. Platt Lake, Benzonia Township. Chapel. Afternoon Service on alternate Sundays. Ladies’ Aid Society.

6. North Crystal, Benzonia Township. Private Home (Chapel, 1914). Afternoon Service on alternate Sundays, Sunday School, Ladies’ Aid Society.

7. Grace, Gilmore Township. Church Organization, Chapel. Morning Service every Sunday, Sunday School, Neighborhood Club, Ladies’ Aid Society.

8. Demerley, Joyfield Township. Schoolhouse. Afternoon Service on alternate Sundays, Sunday School.

9. South Chapel, Benzonia Township. Chapel. Evening Service on alternate Sundays, Sunday School.

10. East Joyfield, Joyfield Township. Chapel. Evening Service on alternate Sundays, Sunday School.

11. Liberty Union, Benzonia Township. Schoolhouse. Afternoon Service on alternate Sundays, Neighborhood Club.

12. South Elberta, Gilmore Township. Schoolhouse. Sunday School.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MAP

In order that the term, “The Larger Parish,” the name by which the work of this story has come to be familiarly known, may be understood, some description of its geography and topography as represented on the accompanying map, may be necessary.

The Larger Benzonia Parish is situated in Benzie County, Michigan, eight miles from Lake Michigan and at the east end of Crystal Lake, one of the most beautiful small lakes in the state. Benzonia-Beulah, the twin villages which are at the center of the Larger Parish, are on the Ann Arbor Railroad, which extends diagonally through the state from Toledo, Ohio, to Frankfort on Lake Michigan. The Larger Parish includes Benzonia Township and portions of Lake, Homestead, Joyfield, Gilmore, and Crystal Lake Townships. It divides itself into three sub-parishes: the North Parish, with two churches, Champion Hill and Eden, and two out-stations, North Crystal and Platt Lake; the South Parish, with one church, Grace, and five out-stations, South Chapel, Demerley, East Joyfield, Liberty Union, and South Elberta; while between these is the Central Parish, with Benzonia on the hilltop and Beulah in the valley, half a mile distant.

The map represents the western half of Benzie County, and the various churches, chapels, and other out-stations are designated.