The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-11-09
THREE REPRESENTATIVE CHURCH
Els LAST SUNDAY.

| This impression of HE UNIVERSAL
IsT goes to press too early in the week
to record the result of JAPAN SUNDAY
in our Western churches. The offic-
al reports which will come in due
time will soon make known that re-
suit; and in the meantime the col
umns of this paper will record what
comes in the usual course of our
Church News department. We have,
however, the pleasure of announcing
thus early that three of our represent
alive churches observed the day with
commendable promptness and splen-
did success.
The call of the Trustees of the Gen
eral Convention for an appeal and
offering for the Japan Mission was
heard and answered in st. Paul's
church, Chicago. DIR. Garfield per-
sonally placed the pledge slips in the
pews on Sunday morning, and before
his sermon read the circular of the
Mission Comm. tee. In the sermon
he explained the opportunity in ia
pan and outlined the work of the
Mission and its success during the
five years since it's establishment. He
then left the matter for each one to
decide as to what they would pledge
toward the $4,000 needed for the
work in 1896. The amount of the of
fering is not reported, but we are
safe in saying that it was largely be-
yond the average of the annual con-
tribution of this church for the five.
years that the Mission has been in
existence. The same kind of work
and appeal in all our churches would
make the Japan Mission secure not
alone for '96, but to the end of the
century.
In Galesburg, another of our rep
resentative churches, the seat of Lom-
bird University, the UNCONVENTIONAL
call was needed and good example
furnished by church and pastor to
the young people of the college and
! theological school. A large and deep
ly interested congregation listened to
sermon from DIR. Stocking on ''The
Missionary Motive" The result was
eminently satisfactory. Notwith-
standing the drafts recently made
upon this people in building the new
and costly church, the response to the
Japan call placed the Galesburg
church high up in the list of our con-
tributing churches. The average
here was also largely beyond that of
the pledges for the first FIVE years of
the Mission.
La Crosse, Wis, also observed Jap
an Sunday and the people made their
offering for the Mission. The pastor,
Rev. G. c. Conner, preached sermon
appropriate to All Souls Day and
commented intelligently on the Mis-
sion and its needs.
These friends were especially fav-
ored by the presence of Rev. t.
Mural, Congregational minister of
Tokyo, who gave in the evening his
lecture on the practical Phases of
Oriental Religions" He is a fine
representative of the living Christian
spirit and thought, and is well ac-
quainted with our Universalist work
ers in Tokyo. We understand that
he gave the baccalaureate address. ION
the occasion of the first commence
ment of our Theological School in
Japan. His presence in La Crosse on
Japan Sunday was pleasing and
profitable incident in the notable SER
vices.
We make record of the observances
of Japan Sunday in these represen-
tative churches with unfeigned pleas
ure. They are the first to report in
response to the call and will doubtless
be followed by many more. We re-
cord their action here as fairly repre-
sentative of the spirit of the stronger
and influential Western churches with
reference to the work of the General
Convention in the foreign missionary
field.