Page:The Art of Helping People Out of Trouble (1924).pdf/224

 ever relationship may exist between a man and the institutionalized expression of the faith which he professes. While this practice is partially the result of a desire not to break denominational bounds it also rests upon the sound principle that in a time of distress an individual will be most likely to want to turn to the spiritual bases upon which in the past, even though remote, he may have begun to build.

This means more than merely telling a man that he ought to attend church or synagogue. It means bringing him into touch with some other human being, whether priest, social worker, or layman, who understands how best to ta his faith in him.

This principle was put into ideal practice by the social case worker who opened the way to a more intimate relationship of a man with his church by helping him to move his family into a house next to one occupied by a devoted and active member of the same denomination. Telling him that he ought to go to church would have had little effect. It was through the life with his neighbor that he was brought to see the value of religion so that he once more attended services and experienced a quickening of his faith. The