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T
HE redemption of the human race is the
supreme concern of man here below. In
this larger end all other ends are includ
ed. By their relation to this process all
other processes derive meaning.
The kingdom of God, which in the Christian con
ception never means anything less than a righteous
society on earth, is at once the ideal and the inspira
tion of social service.
I. The Program of the Kingdom.
In the complete program of the kingdom there are
four chief items:
1. Evangelism; the winning of men unto Jesus
Christ that they may become like him in character.
2. Missions; the announcement of the good news
and the giving of the blessings of the kingdom to
every soul in the world.
3. Education; the training of lives in spirit, mind,
and body, and their preparation for life and ser
vice in all the relationships of society.
4. Social Service; the application of Christian
principles to social life and the effort to realize in
the social order the ideal of the kingdom of God.
Each of these items represents an essential part
of the Christian program. Each serves a necessary
function in the life of man. Each supplements the
work of all the others. Each is a necessary form of
Christian service. Where all are Christian, and each
is necessary it is needless to establish any priority
or pre-eminence. They who would make one first
and all the others subordinate, or would pit one
against another do not really understand any. The
evangelist who makes light of social service does not
really understand evangelism. The social worker who
ignores missions does not really understand social
service.
11. Social Service Defined.
Social service is neither the theory nor practice
of church sociables, though it believes in sociability.
It is not sociology, though it aims to be sociological.
It is not socialism; though it believes in social and
To my mind a European trip is one contin
uous range of peaks so nearly equal in height
that it is difficult to determine the one stand
ing a fraction above the others. I must choose,
however, so come with me for several days
to Naples, and perhaps you will then be able
to appreciate such a choice. This is a typi
cal Italian city, as one pictures it before visit
ing Italy; and yet Naples differs greatly from
all its other towns. It it quite unique and at
tractive, despite its filthiness. There are so
many interesting things in and about the city
that one is absorbed in its treasures and for
gets its outward appearance. One of the most
fascinating places we visited was the large
handsome Cathedral of San Gennaro (St. Ja
nuarius), built between 1294 and 1323. It is
in the French Gothic style and has been re
stored and altered since the earthquakes
the fifteenth century.
The chapel of St. Januarius in the right
aisle contains seven altars, a valuable treasury
forty-two columns, and in the tabernacle oi
the chief altar are two vessels supposediv
filled with the blood of St. Januarius, Bishop
of Benerento, who suffered martyrdom under
Diocletian in 306. The liquefaction of the
blood, which, according to the legend, took
place when the body was first brought to Na
ples in the time of Constantine, takes place
thrice annually, on several successive days,
MOUNTAIN PEAKS OF MY EUROPEAN TRIP
By MADA ROUNTREE.
THE GOLDEN AGE FOR WEEK OF MARCH 19, 1914
WHAT IS SOCIAL SERVICE?
economic reconstruction. It is not soup kitchens, or
phanages, missions; though it believes in helping
people.
Social service embraces all forms of effort for
man’s redemption, which in a conscious way and by
collection action undertake to improve living condi
tions and transform human society. We call it so
cial service for the reason that it deals with man
as a social being in his relations and institutions. We
call it social service because it deals with social causes
and conditions. And we call it social service be
cause it demands social action through social agen
cies.
Social service recognizes the fact that man is spirit
and body; not spirit alone or body alone, but spirit
and body so interknit and interdependent that neither
can be considered apart from the other. It recog
nizes the fact that man is made in society, and by
society, and for society. And it recognizes the fact
also that social conditions —the ideas, the ideals, the
customs and atmosphere—in which he lives determine
many things in his life from the hour of birth till
the end of his days. And so it seeks to secure for
each person such conditions as shall induce a right
course of life, and shall build character for the king
dom.
111. The Three Aspects.
There are three aspects of the social-service meth
od —relief, prevention, and construction. Relief is
the first and immediate thing. This relief must al
ways be given with a desire to help the recipient
rather than to benefit the giver. But relief to be
wise and effective must always lead on to preven
tion. To be content to nurse the sick when we can
keep people well is as foolish as it is irreligious.
But relief and prevention, necessary as they are in
their way, stop far short of the goal. For relief
is the temporary thing, and does not change causes.
And prevention deals with negatives mainly; it may
prevent some evils, but it deals with conditions rather
than with life. So we pass beyond relief and pre
vention to construction, the work of upbuilding life,
and according as the liquefaction is rapid or
slow, it is a good or evil omen for the year.
Next the tomb of the saint was pointed out:
it is in a richly ornamented Confessio, above
which stands an excellent piece of sculpture,
the bust of St. Januarius.
After seeing several (other altars, shrines
and chapels, we left the Cathedral to drive
to PosillipOj a small town just above Naples.
We enjoyed a magnificent view of the city
Sorrento, the isle Capri, the mountains far in
the distance, and the wide expanse of the love
ly Bay of Naples. We passed myriads of
handsome Italian villas, imbedded in luxu
riant gardens of flowers and shrubbery.
The following day was taken up with a trip
to Pompeii. We went by train, crossed ex
tensive fields of lava, and from the cars cau f
glimpses of Mt. Vesuvius on one side, while
on the other lay the bay, Sorrento and Capri.
Among the many things we saw and had ex
plained to us by our guide, I recall especially
the ruins of the homes of the. wealthv citi-
•/
zens of old Pompeii, the undrained streets pro
vided here and there with large stepping
stones for rainy weather, the interesting ruins
of the temples of Jupiter, Mercury and Apol
lo, the public baths still in a remarkable state
of preservation, the Museum, containing plas
ter casts of bodies found during the excava
tions, and three theatres of the old city, those
of developing human capacity, of seeking to secure
the fullest unfolding of each person’s powers, and
of building a Christian type of society. Thus social
service aids all other forms of Christian effort, and
so is a necessary part of the Christian program.
IV. Social Service Standards.
There are certain minima which we seek to secure
for every person as the necessary basis of a good
life.
Sufficient income for effiiciency and comfort.
Protection from injury.
Protection from disease.
Defense against injustice.
Removal of needless temptation.
These are but the minima, and are not the measure
of our thought for man. The Christ has come that
men may have life, and may have it more abundantly.
We must labor to secure for every life:
Wholesome and helpful living conditions.
An adequate training for life and citizenship.
Opportunity for rest and recreation.
A fair opportunity in society.
Unfolding human capacity to its highest possibili
ties.
In all we aim to increase the sum of human val
ues rather than increase the mass of material wealth.
But we do say that if material things—food and
clothing, a good home and books —have a meaning
to man and value for life for a few, their posses
sion should become possible to every member of so
ciety.
V. Means and Methods.
Social service seeks to accomplish its ends in and
through all the relations and institutions of man’s
life. It believes that the family, the church and
the state are all divine institutions, with a divine
meaning and mission, and it seeks to interpret the
meaning of each of these institutions, to fill each
with the Christian spirit, and to make them all means
in the redemption of man. Social service recognizes
(Continued on page 7).
of Comedy and Tragedy and the Amphithe
atre. After seeing these things we could well
picture the once imposing Pompeii, the proud
citizens clothed in their purple togas, and
drawn about the streets by their poor mal
treated slaves, the costly Pompeiian villas with
their picturesque landscape gardening.
Leaving Naples in the morning about 9
o’clock, we went out in little row-boats to get
aboard the steamer that crosses the Bay. For
a half-hour the weather was superb, but soon
the sun was completely hidden by heavy clouds
and the rain came thick and fast. Upon ar
riving at Capri, the sea was quite rough and
the small steamer fairly danced upon the high
waves; sea-sickness soon followed and for some
time our hopes of entering the Blue Grotto
took on a very melancholy aspect. However,
once arrived, we grasped our courage in both
hands and went down the small ladder into
the row-boats with the other passengers. These
little boats seemed to play see-saw on the
waves, and certainly brought quickly to mind
the old song, “Rocked in the Cradle of the
Deep.” Happily, we were not to be rocked
very long, for after lying flat in the row-boat
we passed through a very narrow entrance
and found ourselves in a little corner of a real
fairy-land. All was calm and beautiful within
and one felt the true enthusiasm of the Italian
(Continued on page 6).
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