INDUSTRIAL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]
SLR,—May .I have space in your columns to introduce a matter, which is, in my opinion, of national importance ? I have been in close touch with the work of the Industrial Christian Fellow- ship in the Potteries, which is of no recent growth but has gone on without interruption since the late G. A. Studdert Ken- 'ne4y's Crusade here shortly after the War.
Two or three years ago a representative group of North Staffs. Manufacturers, to which I belong, undertook to co- oPerate with the local I.C.F. Association in enlisting still further the interest of local manufacturers, and in obtaining annual subscriptions from those works in the district—rather more than a hundred—on which our Missioner and his Assis- tant give their regular and well-attended dinner-hour " talks." We have been able to do a good deal in the way of putting the local work on its feet financially ; and in the process we have been increasingly impressed by the lasting value of its practical presentation of the Christian way of life, which we know to be the only means of rescue from the hopeless atmosphere of materialism which oppresses so many of our people.
It should not be long before our own work here is entirely self-supporting and independent of financial grants from headquarters. That, however, is our own job, which does not concern us unduly and is not the main point of this letter. What does concern us is the fact that, for the past year or two, headquarters have not succeeded in making ends meet, and the Committee have been encroaching on their slender reserves of capital in order to maintain the Fork throughout the country. This can go on no longer ; and we supporters of the Fellowship are faced with the necessity, not simply of getting in a number of extra subscriptions, but of raising at least L5,000 of new capital as well. Fortunately, the alternative of the immediate curtailment of the work does not arise, for one of our local manu- facturers has given us, anonymously, £r,000 on condition that we raise this year the necessary money to maintain the work on its present basis—a challenge which has been gladly accepted by the Committee at headquarters.
It is now the task of I.C.F. enthusiasts to convince business men throughout the country, as I and my manufacturer friends are convinced, of the fundamental value of the I.C.F. work in our industrial centres. I earnestly solicit the help of all who desire a Christian England, not with the object of merely staving off the crisis for another year or so, but in the more ambitious task of putting this most vital work on to a really sound financial basis for the future. Donations, or enquiries for further information, may be sent to me at my address, or to the Industrial Christian Fellowship, 4 The Sanctuary, West- minster, S.W. am, Sir, yours, &c.,
E. R. G. CORN, Chairman,
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