Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-06-21
IN CONyOCA7ION
The Protestant EpiscOpalians Meet in
Their Fifteenth Annual Con-
vocation.
BISHOP BREWERS ADDRESS
The Year That Is Past Has Shown
Most Encouraging Growth in
the Church.

IN LDlSCcpui VI ANA'i
tana opened with morning prayer and
sermon at the church of the Incarna-
ton Sunday at II a.. m. There was a
generous attendance at the first religious
session, every seat being taken. After
the service of ritual the Rev. John F.
Pritchard of Livingston gave the sermon
and this was followed by the holy com
munion. The Rev. Pritchard used for
his text Hebrew vii, Is: "And it is yet
far more evident: for that after the sim
ilitude of Melchisedec there ariseth an
other priest" The discourse first d.
rected attention to the circumstance
that as Melchisedec, the Arab king, rose
to worship the true God from influences
that directed him otherwise, SO Christ
came, not from a p~riestly family, but
from parents and a community not
versed in the law. Melchisedec rose
above the people around him and
from idolatry, hence was not a priest &C.
cording to the law, but Of the endless
life. st. Paul illustrates the humble
origin of Christ by the old story because
Melchisedec was a priest recognized by
the Jews. So it may be said az we'll
that there are two kinds of priests today
one according to tn command, n of
the endless life. 1t is the priesthood of
Melchisedec that can make us eayiors of
men. People look upon the clergy as
performing duties more or less of a per-
functory character, but the layman who
shows by his works that he is striving
for the endless life has a more far-reach-
ing influence. The power Of good is
given to each of us and not alone to the
clergy.
At the evening session Bishop Brewer
gave his annual convocation address.
The church was crowded to its fullest
capacity and the audience listened with
His address was in substance as follows:
BISHOP BREWERS
Dear Brethren of the Clergy and Laity
We meet again in our annual couvo-
cation to review the work of the year.
Reviews are necessary III everything. by
them We find OUT our true condition.
whether we are going ward or for
ward, whether there Is ground for hope
or encouragement, whether the Nug-
dom OF which we are officers and serv-
ants is moving forward Or standing still.
1t is a helpful incentive also to meet as
fellow laDOreIs IN d onmon cause. 1T
enable us To compare methous, and
learn lessons from each others successes
and failures. The legislation in which
we take part has it's proper place, but an
inferior place. The review Of the work
and the mutual interchange of confiden,
ces and counsels give lis the most i'm
rortant results Of our annual meeting s.
No Clergyman can afford to stay at home,
and no Clergyman ought TO stay at home
except for the most pressing reasons, and
the laity can derive just as much benefit
from coming as the clergy. The work is
theirs even moro than ours, since our
work is for them. We need both their
help and their counsel. | know that it
costs money 10 come, but | notice that
political conventions are always we'll
attended, and | havo never heard that
mileage fees are allowed for attendance
upon these. 1t is we'll for the citizen to
fulfill the duties that belong to him as a
citizen. 1t is also well for the church
man to take au active interest in all
that belongs to the well being of the
church. Brethren of the iaity, first of
All the church Is yours and for you.
You prize her faith, you love her wor-
ship, you desire her prosperity. Come.
then. TO her councils and take yOnr
proper part IN our convocatiOn.
In 1890, after ten years of convoca-
tional lie, | gave a brief review of the
work of the church from the date Of ite
planting. Now, at our fifteenth annual
convOcatlon, ! propose to review our
work from the .imo We became Il sepa-
rate jurisdiction. The last Journal Of
the undivided jurisdiction gave the fol-
lowing statistics for Montana:
Clergy, g.; services held IN 10 places;
1 churches built and | rectory; bap
tisms for year, 1l5; combinations, 80;
enrolled commandments, 80; Sunday
schools, 5; scholars, 404; money raised
during the year, Sl2,Ol6,37, of which
5l20.3O was for diocesan purposes and
Sll5.l7 for general purposes. The value
of church property was S25,G3l.
This was after fourteen years of church
life and effort. No man could have done
more than Bishop futile with n dill
culties he had to encounter and the re-
sources at his command.
Fifteen years have passed and the con.
vocational journal of 1895 will show the
following record:
Clergymen, II; holding services in
nearly 40 places; churches, IS; rectories,
10; baptisms for year, 401; confirma-
tions, ia; Sunday schools, p; scholars,
1,42l; communicates, 1886; money
raised during the year, nearly $4,000,
including about $500 for diocesan OBJ
jects and Sl,4O0 for general objects;
value of church property, 1857 $50, in
Guiding st. Peters hospital. the bishops
house, lots in various places for church
building, the endowment for the support
of the episcopate and the missionary On
dowment.
While we all must regret that the record
is not a better ono yet ! cannot feel that
it is one of which w ought to feel
ashamed. The growth has been steady
from the beginning. We have taken no
backward stens. Ii we could hnyr moro