Labour church and allied movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Date
1958Author
Summers, David Fowler
Metadata
Abstract
The Labour Church, in its early stages, was the product of two
main factors: the man whose idea gave it birth, and the movement
within which it found its life. We shall discuss each of these
before we turn our attention to the church itself, for apart from
this background the events are inexplicable.
Initially the Labour Church was the creation of one man. Though
it quickly assumed an independence which led to its development in
other directions, its form was moulded to a great degree by its
founder who has been described by one who knew him wellt as a poet
and a prophet. Poet he was in temperament if not in the product
of bis pen (though his writings are often more than mere prose2);
and prophet he was in speaking to the imperative needs of his day
if not in recalling men to a more orthodox doctrine (though his
faith demanded a return to Christian moral standards). In these
respects the Labour Church followed him, for, in the growing Labour
movement, its inspiration was that of poet and its role was that
of prophet.