Washington Gladden was a leading voice in the social gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this book, he examines the role of the church in addressing the social and economic issues of the day, including poverty, labor relations, and the environment. His message is still relevant today, as churches continue to struggle with how to best serve their communities. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.