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Title: What the Church Means to Me
A Frank Confession and a Friendly Estimate by an Insider

Author: Wilfred T. Grenfell

Release Date: May 4, 2007 [EBook #21323]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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MY IDEAL CHURCH IS CHARACTERIZED SOLELY BY THE VERY SIMPLEST
INTERPRETATION OF THE OLD, OLD STORY, AND EACH MEMBER DESERVES THE
NAME OF THE "FRIEND OF ALL THE WORLD"

WHAT HAS THE CHURCH MEANT TO ME? IT HAS MEANT THE AGENCY THROUGH
WHICH I RECEIVED SUCH SPIRITUAL SIGHT AS I HAVE. IT HAS MEANT THE
BODY THROUGH WHICH HAS COME TO ME STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS MANY TIMES,
COMFORT IN TRIAL, HELP IN TIME OF NEED

WHAT THE CHURCH MEANS TO ME

[Illustration]

WHAT THE CHURCH MEANS TO ME

A FRANK CONFESSION AND A FRIENDLY ESTIMATE BY AN INSIDER

BY

WILFRED T. GRENFELL, M.D. (Oxon.)

_Superintendent Labrador Medical Mission_

THE PILGRIM PRESS

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO

_Copyright, 1911_
By Wilfred T. Grenfell

THE PLIMPTON PRESS
[W . D . O]
NORWOOD . MASS . U.S.A

WHAT THE CHURCH MEANS TO ME

The Church to me means all who, consciously or unconsciously, are
forwarding God's kingdom on earth. In the broad definition of the Master
it means "all those who are not against us." The way in which men
associate for worship, or in which they consider it most remunerative to
invest their efforts to forward the kingdom, gives them no right to
arrogate to themselves the title of God's Church. Any body of men
saying, "We are the Church," seems to me ridiculous.

If they try to exclude at the same time those who approach their Maker,
or who are endeavoring to do faithfully the things Christ would approve,
only in some other way, then they become offensive also. I am firmly
convinced the world is coming to this view, and I am glad it is already
beginning to express it. Through "the Church" the sa