The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-02

IiiS lSNeiSe lS TRUE OIL tne MetHouISt
church. In 1890 the Methodist church
had 1900 congregations with church ed
it1ces and 5000 Sunday schools without
shelter. Ten years ago there were 1000
congregations without church buildings
and the society redoubled its efforts to
provide for these, but so rapid has been
the growth of the church that it has
got ahead of the society
The New York East conference is one
of the best provided for in the United
States, not only as to it's ministers, but
in it's wonderfully beautiful church
buildings, but In many western confer
ences the people meet in school houses
barns, sod houses or anywhere where
they may obtain shelter The society
asks each conference to give more than
it gets in return. Last year $1,000 were
lost by the shlinkage in the amount
given by this conference.
The only church prepared to meet
emergencies in the United States is the
Roman Catholic church, because it has
practically sixty eight church extension
societies; that is, each one of it's bish-
ops is practically the same as a society
because he has funds at his disposal
anu OWHS dll tIlG CIulCH property VI
his diocese, and if it is necessary to
meet emergencies he may borrow from
other bishops. If every Catholic church
in Arkansas were destroyed by fire or
otherwise within ten days the bishop
would find himself with abundant
means to rebuild them. DR.. Spencer
then said: If we had little money to
lay away we could buy church sites,
but as it is we have all the time a de-
mand beyond the ability of the church.
Methodism has ben cramped because it
has ben gaining as has no other body
of Christians. 1t is like a boy who cam
not wear his four-year-old jacget. In
nine cases out of ten the Methodist
preacher has the first service in a new
community, but perhaps after a while
some other denomination builds the
first church. This is because there is
no money to build new churches.
Since 1898 there have been 200 church
es in the country which were about
to be sold for debt, but our society has
saved them. In the four years ending
with November 1, 1895, there was an in
crease of $31, 900 over the amount raised
by the society in the preceding four
years. The Methodist church is the
pastor Of the unsaved masses West of
Ohio we find nine out of every ten un-
saved people of every community send
ing for the Methodist preacher if they
meet with any misfortune. They want
him to stand by the bedside of the dy-
ing and the grave of the dead. They
turn to us because we have great
gospel which appeals to the rank and
file of the people. God seems eager to
thrust on us opportunities which come
to no other denominations. 1t has been
said that the reason Methodists sue
ceed is because they believe in a God
and heaven and in a devil and hell and
are not afraid to mention it some
times
The doings of the morning session of
the conference will be found on our
third page.
The program of the conference to-day
is as follows:
Morning, s o'clock-Conferenc Prayer
Meeting in the chapel. Leader,
Rev. l. Simmons, d. D.
Morning, o'clock-Conference Ses-
sion.
Afternoon, 2:3o o'clock-Anniversar of
the Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society Rev. William w. Carr,
presiding. Report of the years
work by Mrs. z. p. Dennler, con-
ference secretary. Address by Rev.
W. F. Oldham, d. D., formerly of
Singapore Mission.
Evening, 7:45 o'clock-Anniversary of
the Missionary society. Rev. Will
liam A. Richard, presiding. Ad-
dress, Rev A. B. Leonard, D. D.,
corresponding secretary of the Mis-
sionary society.