Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-26
CHURCHMEN CONVENE
Opening of The Thirty-Fourth General
Assembly of the
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Delegates Present From All Parts of the
Habiable Globe.
THE QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED

tion to the thirty-fourth General Assembly
the highest body Of the United Presbyte
rian Church of America, last evening. The
delegates present, numbering hundreds,
represent every civilized and uncivilizeC
place in the world where the seed of this
,aith has been planted The auditorium OF
the church was thoroughly packed when the
last note of the sacred music had ceased tc
vibrate. A very fashionable and intelli'
gent audience intermingled with the
austere and cultured faces of reverend dele
gates and attendant lavmen.
The entire auditorium was beautifully
decorated. Upon the platform, where sat
the speaker of the evening, were gigantic
ferns and immaculate lilies, rhododendrons
from tropical climes and dwarfed evergreeps
from our own country. From the crowded
galleries, alive with moving FANS. there
hung in graceful semi-circles the inverted
arches Of the corded leaves of eYergreens
from Southern hemispheres.
Opening of the General Assembly.
After the regular prayer and psalm sing
ing, Prot White, D. D., of Xenia Theo-
logical Seminary, stepped to the front, and
delivered the opening sermon of the as
sembly, which for linguistic beauty and
elegance of diction ranks with the splendid
pulpit efforts of the day.
During the afternoon there was general
hurry in getting things ready for the con-
venience of the many eminent delegates
who will take part in these sessions.
The church edifice itself is one of the old
est in the community and will be large
enough to accommodate the great number
of spectators as well as the delegates. All
week the delegates have been slowly string
ing in from their respective districts and
by the opening of the session last night,
about all that were expected were on hand
A talk with one of the eminent delegates
disclosed the fact that subjects of the deep
est interest to believers of this creed will be
discussed. The sessions will close about
June ,. anG they will be distinguished by
harmony and courtesy in the discussion o,
the questions before the convention. and
the sentiments to be uttered" saws Pastor
w. Ii. Mcmillan, will be delivered in the
language of love and good fellowship, since
there is entire peace reigning throughout
the BODY
Important Questions to BE Discussed.
Among the many questions to be handled
by this-one of the busiest of the annual ses-
sions-will be the following reports of the
committees which were appointed at the
last annual session held in Princeton, Nd,
May q to June 5 1891 The question of cre-
dentials will be first discussed by the Gen
eral Assembly. The history and state of
the religion will be discussed by J. A Hen
derson, of Monmouth College. The question
of reduced railroad fare will he discussed at
length by Robert Trimble. W. ]. Sawyer
will present an excellent mode OF rails
ing funds for churches, and will further
discuss all ways and means for the
strengthening of the financial portion of the
church. The eminent Doctor of Divinity,
ID. p. Littel. will open the question of union
with the Reformed Presbyterian Church,
this being one Of the most important sub
jects before the General Assembly. Young
peoples organizations will he handled by
Mr.. Hugh Moffet This subject was recently
discussed at length in Springfield, .. Few
steps have been taken by the church as yet
and religious interests of the army and navy,
but work in that missionary line will be con-
sidered properly at these sessions. J. Will
hanson. ID. D.. will open the question.
J. T. Sankey, ID. D., will talk on the con-
federation of churches. ID. S. Littel, d. D.,
will again como before the convention on
reform. Rev. J. I. Brownlee will discourse
on the relations of the womens auxiliary
board to the general Assembly.
ways and Ne=ns of Raising Funds
The ways and means for raising funds and
securing contributions for the financial
discussed by w J. Sawyer.
j. A. Grier, d. D., will give his report on
institutes for training evangelists. The
question of cooperation with the American
sabbath Union will be presented by w. j.
Robinson, ID. ID.
cussed by W. j. Reid, d. d., and the rela-
tionS of theological seminaries to the As
sembly, by W. W. Barr, d. d.
The all-importiint question of temperance
Tsl.-~
it is anticipated that there will be consider
able diversity of opinion shown in the dis
cussion. What the Univer- al opinion of the
United Presbyterian Church is on temper
anee will be declared by this Assembly.
The training of students for evangelistic
work has always been question OF
great moment and consideration by
this church body, and further plans
and systems will be considered. Changes in
the Home Mission system will be introduced
by john A, Wilson, d. d.
A splendid and attractive feature of the
session Will be the memorial tributes to be
paid to the dead members of the last As
sembly. This will be by the officers of the
society. The day of the session set aside for
the memorial services is Friday and at 7:30
O'Clock in the evening the addresses will
be delivered. The dead members are Revs
John Charles Hanna, J. p. Lytle, d. D.,
David French Mustard, John Cunningham
steele. William Mccormack Gibson, d. D.,
Thomas Brown, James Z. Hammond and
Robert Armstrong, ID. ID.
The day for the conference of Elders has
been set for Saturday at , P. NJ.
Some of the Prominent Delegates.
There are between 200 and 800 delegates
present. Prominent among whom is Pro-.
W. W. White, d. D., of Xenia Theological
Seminary. to whom was conferred the honor
of delivering the eloquent opening sermon.
Prof White, though young, is a man of
eminent scholarship and experienced be-
yond his years. There are so Presbyteries
represented, and the Allegheny and Monon-
Cahela have the greatest number of dele
sembly is Rev. w. j. Reid d. D., pastor of
the First United Presbyterian Church, of
Pittsburg. He has been in charge of the
First church for so years.
Rev. VIM. S. Owens, d. D., OF Indiana, Pa,
is Corresponding Secretary of the Board of
Home Missions. He is a native of County
Down, Ireland. He graduated in the Allc-
gEeny- Seminary and entered the ministry.
Since the death OF Silas NJ. Clark, Rev.
Owens acted as President of the Board of
Trustees of the State Normal School of In
diana, Pa.
Rev. William T. Meloy, D. d., is a very
widely known delegate Hs is prominently
known as an author ana popular lecturer,
and is at present member of the Worlds
Fair Commission. He is q graduate of Wash
ington and jefferson College.
Pastor for Nearly Fifty Years.
Gray hairs aud venerable features make
attractive the person of DR.. James 7. Nc
Clure, of Wheeling. He is graduate of Du-
quesne College, which is now the Western
University. He has been pastor of his
present church for over ~ years.
David MacDlf, ID. D., is also connected
with the Theological Seminary at Xenia,
Ohio. Heis a member of the Alumni OF
Center College, Kentucky, and also of the
Allegheny U. p. Seminary.
Delegates have lett their fields of labor in
foreign clinics and have crossed the ocean
to attend the Assembly. Egypt and India
have Sent their delegates, and the most in