All humanity is hungering for Religion. Let us make it a permanency in the household. "A place for prayer implies a time for it.' Let us consecrate one room in our homes, no matter how small, to the worship of God. The home Sanctuary is not a luxury but a vital necessity. "The Church and the State both depend for vigor and stability upon the home." Every home should have a bath-room for the cleanliness of the body and a sanctuary for the cleanliness of the soul. "If Pagan Rome had domestic shrines for household gods, surely Christian America ought to have domestic shrines for the one God." There are few of us who have not longed, at some time, for the quiet room in our home in which to pray-in which to shut ourselves off from the world and be alone with God. A CHAPEL IN EVERY HOME CHAPTER I THE MESSAGE "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Be- To All Who Worship God, Irrespective of Creed or Denomination Now comes this appeal to the world, to every man and woman, and for this and all the ages to come, for a Chapel or Sanctuary in every home-impracticable in millions of homes already crowded, practicable in millions of homes which are not-possible in every home that may hereafter be built-and ultimately, a chapel in every home, the tribute of mankind to his Maker. The home is the foundation of the State. The home and family is the cornerstone on which rests national life and progress. Is this not so? Then any effectual means of strengthening and uplifting home life, of deepening the religious and moral convictions and purity which are the very essence of home life, must have vital effect upon the national life of the human family as a whole. Hence this suggestion that in every home there should be a place for prayer or meditation; a family center for spiritual thought, communion and uplift. The suggestion is not for an elaborate addition to the house, but to take one room, small or large, as circumstances may permit, if only six feet by four, set it (7) aside, call in your minister and consecrate and dedicate it to Almighty God as the "closet" for prayer, the chapel in the home, an Audience Chamber for the King of Kings. It would be a potent influence on the child life and a "witness" and a reminder to the parents and to every visitor. The larger the home the larger the chapel. We have enriched our homes from time immemorial with provisions for every physical comfort and luxury, but where is there any visible evidence of religion in the modern home? The weakness of Faith in the present generation has its foundation in the decline of religion in the home, or to put it more forcibly, the absence of it. Children lack the parental spiritual foundation on which to build their Faith. There are so many other gods in the home today, and so little to suggest the presence of the One God. It is timely that we should make provision for a sanctuary for prayer in every home throughout the land, and by this means strive to build a new spiritual foundation for the world in the home, in the life of the child, by the gradual introduction of the "consecrated room," so that there shall ultimately be a chapel in every home, of the rich and the poor. Religion will be on a surer foundation, beginning with earliest consciousness. Then the nations will be more God-fearing, for the children will grow into men and women, and the sanctity of the home will be reflected in their lives and in all their dealings with their fellow-man. This cannot be accomplished by any one denomination any more than it can by one individual; it is a work of labor and love, nay more, it is a duty for us all. The chapel in the home will have its enemies; it will be called "impracticable," and its path will be thorny, but all must admit that "the things of God must be first or we perish." There is nothing new in the thought of a chapel in the home. In the days of the Apostle Paul he personally |