mile, a distance that certainly stood as a geographical obstacle to the
church attendance of the neighborhood, even supposing the people were
eager to go to the large churches, which was not at all the fact.
Indeed, Philip soon discovered that the people were indifferent in the
matter. The churches on the fashionable street in town meant less than
nothing to them. They never would go to them, and there was little hope
that anything the pastor or members could do would draw the people that
distance to come within church influence. The fact of the matter was,
the seven churches of different denominations in Milton had no living
connection whatever with nearly one-half the population, and that the
most needy half, of the place.

The longer Philip studied the situation, the more un-Christian it looked
to him, and the more he longed to change it. He went over the ground
again and again very carefully. He talked with the different ministers,
and the most advanced Christians in his own church. There was a variety
of opinion as to what might be done, but no one was ready for the
radical move which Philip advocated when he came to speak on the subject
the first Sunday of the month.




CHAPTER VIII.


The first Sunday was beginning to be more or less dreaded or anticipated
by Calvary Church people. They were learning to expect something
radical, sweeping, almost revolutionary in Philip's utterances on Christ
and Modern Society. Some agreed with him as far as he had gone. Very