St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-14
Ecumenical Orators Discuss
Their Place in Church
Endeavor.
Both Find Many Champions,
but a Negative Spirit Also
Appears.
Politics, Gambling and Lieen-
tiouSnesS Great Promo
ters Of Crime.
Presbyterian Synods Meet
and Pronounce Views on
CreedS.

CPc0QS.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13.-Bishop r. H.
Hargrove. of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South, Nashville, Tenn, pre-
sided at the opening Of the sixth days
session of the ecumenical Methodist
council. The resolution referred to
committee concerning joint action of
| Methodist missionary bodies working in
| the same fields, was reported back
favorably and committee was appoint
| ed to consider the subject.
The order of the day, the subject,
1.-THE Church and Her Agencies" was
the same as that discussed yesterday.
Rev. j. Travis, general missionary
| secretary Of the Primitive Methodist
| church, England, read paper on 1.-The
| Place and Power of Lay Agency in the
| Church." He said the church, as
founded by Our Lord and built up by
| His inspired apostles, was community
| of brethren. They knew of no such
| distinctions as priests and people, or
clergy and laity. All the members stood
in the same relation to Christ. the one
head; were sanctified by the same spirit
| and had an equal share in all the bless
ings Of salvation and in all the privi-
| leges of the church. The division of
| the church into clergy and laIty dates
from the second century. The question
| is, What does it mean? Is the difference
between the clergy and the laity organic
| or only functional, one of order or
simply one of office? Methodist min
| listers are
Not a Sacred Caste,
curtained off from the laity by mystic
| powers conveyed in ordination, but
| brethren. They are pastors, elders or
bishops invested by the church with
| the common brotherhood of the saints
| and in spiritual privileges stand exactly
| equal with all the children Of God. The
Methodist denominations are agreed
that the laity have a place in the
! church, but they are far from being
agreed as to extent. And here is the
supreme difficulty to the organic Metho-
| dist union. Rev. Thomas B. Appleget,
of New Jersey, said he had found the
power of the laity blessing. The great
| question Of cooperation lay with them.
Rev. DR.. Lawrence. of Lawrence,
| Eng, feared the Methodist church was
not raising the number of preachers it
| should. There should be more open air
meetings, and the church should not
lower its flag to the Salvation Army, or
| any other agency.
+, Rev. William Arthur, of England,
| said that the old question as to the place
of the laity in the church has become
the question of the power of the laity
| That is very different question from
the first, and in disputatious assembly
| was calculated to make trouble.
| Councillor j. Duckworth, of England,
| Thought there was danger of wasting
| time in discussion of the subject. The
| preachers should turn their attention to
likely young men willing to become
! local preachers.
The DeacOnness Movement.
Rev. M. d. Crawford, of the M. e.
| church of New York, was down for an
address on the ''Deaconness Move
ment." but, owing to his illness, Bishop
| William x. Ninde, of Kansas, treated
the subject. He said sanity lady,
without church aid, had inaugurated
| school for deaconneSSes in Western
metropolis, and the movement HAD sur
| passed the expectations of its Sanguine
| friends. In some quarters the move
ment had been viewed with alarm. 1t
was said to resemble papal methods.
| The Roman Catholic church was becom-
| ing rapidly protestantized in this coun-
| try. He was ready to borrow of the
| Roman Catholics, of anybody, any good
| thing that could be used to advantage.
| The deaconneSS movement was so free
| from prieStly supervision and other re-
| pellant features that it could be truly
| said to resemble its papal prototype.
| 1t had been urged that the movement
interfered with the proper sphere of
woman. He recognized the holy duties
| OF motherhood and of the. family, but
what of the women who were to mother
| thousands Of the homeless and helpless?
| There was much talk of woman's un-
| Sexing herself and plunging society into
| commissions. There were silly women
| and silly men. IT we could not trust
! our mothers and sisters, in Gods name
| whom could we trust? He believed
| they could be trusted, and Gods work
| could never be consummated without
| their aid. Chicago was sort of storm
| center, yet woman went into the hot
bed Of anarchism, organized a mission
| and sought entrance tothe homes of the
people. At first they repealed her, but
| open door and laid flower on the dead
| body, and bye and bye they welcomed
her. Socialist men and women said to
| her: "Whatever may happen in this
| city no harm shall come to YOU" Leave
! aside the dogma-what was needed was
the simple. kindly doctrine of love.
WOman's Help Needed.
Mr.. Atkinson. M. p, of London, be-
! lieved in women; as a married man he
was bound to say so. They were more
| intelligent in the judgment upon social
questions. His own wife and his sisters
had been forty years leaders, and he
..1I In In1 han fl,o,, ~
| the president of the conference himself.
A discussion of the general subject of
! the church and her agencies was con-
|, tinued at the afternoon session. DR..
! Benjamin st. James Fry, of the Metho-
| dist Episcopal church, st. Louis, editor
| of the Central Christian Advocate, read
paper on the subject of "Woman's
| Work in the Church." He said that there
was ministry of women in the church
| in the apostolic times, but Protestant
| ism had generally failed to secure the
| 1t had been afraid of the charge Of fol-
lowing papal practices. A hundred
| should enter the work where now one
| was engaged and women must take a
prominent part in it. Man could not
deal with the victim of mans lust; 1t
was work for women themselves. The
church could not do the work before it
| without the aid of women.
Rev. William German. of the Irish
! Methodist church, Belfast, made
strong plea for women in connection
with every phase of church work. That
there should be need for the organiza-
tion of women for the regeneration of
woman was a blot upon the church
which should be wiped out. On the bat
tie field woman stood by the son like an
angel of God. She had anointed the
soldiers wounds, and, as his life ebbed.
| she poured into his ears the story of
Christ. Wonld you stop her because she
| was woman? Was she obnoxious in
| the nnlnit2 Well that was q simnle me-