Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-06
Canvass of the District to Be Made
by s. S. Union.
GATHERING OF RELIGIOUS STATISTICS
Statement of Need and Nature of
the Proposed Work
THE RESULTS ELSEWHERE

like work successfully done elsewhere,
and the idea of taking what may be term
ed a religious canvass of city a given
day, in the interest of the Sunday schools
and churches of the community a whole,
without regard to race or religion, Is not
original with the promoters of this move
n,ent in the District of Columbia.
In st. Louis such canvass has been
made every year since 1891. The first two
were made in the month of May. first
proposed here. Since then they have been
made in the month of October.
The initial visitation in ST. Louis Is de-
scribed in a pamphlet, entitled ''House-to-
House Visitation, as Conceived and Adopt
ed by the st. Louis Sunday School Union,
which was distributed at the international
Sunday school convention there in 1893.
The city carefully divided. the circular
states, into eighty-one districts, ana con-
secrated and responsible chairman secured
for each. In the majority OF instances the
chairmen We're superintendents of the
principal Sunday schools in the several
districts. These chairmen secured the as
Sis tance and hearty cooperation of The
various workers in their several districts
The pastors presented the SUBJECT and Its
Importance from tie several pulpitS IN the
city, and on Thursday, May 49, 1871, II
was agreed that every home in ST. Louis
should be visited; that every Individual
should be invited to the Lords mouse. ard
a religious census of the city secured A
partial canvass was subsequently made
Promoters Of the Work.
There is usually an individual behind
such work. In ST. Louis the leading pro-
moter was NJ. Greenwood, jr., business
man. who has ever since been leader IN
its management in the state work to which
it soon grew in Missouri, as in Iowa and
! Indiana. The prime mover here is Jerome
F. Johnson, secretary and field worker
of the Sunday School Union of the Dis
trict of Columbia.
The following statement of the need and
nature of the proposed work, taken from
an address by Mr.. Johnson, will be Of in
tereSt:
"Unquestonably the field of Christian
work just now most prominently before
our district Sunday School Union. and
which is most urgently demanded, is tnat
of house-to-house visitation. or house
toulouse canvass. During the last three
years this subject has received much at
tention alike from national, State and city
Sunday school associations. No conven-
ton program seemed complete without
paper or address on Its importance or Its
results as aid in church and Sunday
school work. The work of house-;G-
house canvass is ordinarily carried out TN
der the auspices of the Sunday School AS
ISOLATION, as being more directly in line
with their work, being strictly interdenom-
national in character ana an organization
already in the field.
Scope of the Inquiry.
I'm simplest words, it may be defined rs
an effort to obtain the exact information
of the church relations or church prefer
ences of all citizens: to extend a cordial
Invitation to every man. woman and child
to attend some church and Sunday school;
to make a record of the name, street and
number of persons in the family over
twenty-one years of age. the number be-
tN cen six and twenty-one and number I'M
der six. Also, of these different ages the
number who are and the number who are
not church members, and the number who
are and who are not in Sunday schools.
Also the number Of Bibles in he house,
what church or churches they attend. ana,
il not regular attendants of any church,
the church or denominatio of their pref
erence is noted.
OF each visit and of the information so
gained to enable the pastors and church
and Sunday school officers to ,ntelllSerlly
follow up the work done by further calls
and invitations. You see, the work has
not been finished by any means when TINS
information has been gathered l. has only
been begun. 1t is to be carefully assorted,
compiled and put m proper shape Tor Inc.
use of the churches.
Utilizing the Information
Il emphasize that word use. 1t is of the
utmost Importance that this mass OF lnfor-
nation put in the possession of the church
IS be utilized just as last as possible, ana
that pastors and church committees SO
realize it. 1t furnishes great ana COM
parativtly new field for church activities
Where persons express preference for
any particular church, and are not mem
bers Of that church, the cards are turned
over to the pastor of that church. WI here
they express no church preference, The
data is given to the nearest pastor
..At Our annual Sunday school convention
held in November last the date hXed upon
for this canvass was May 10, but. alter tax
ing into account the amount OF work and
organization necessary, and the 1urtner
fact that summer would be upon us before
all the essential matter could be put In
the possession of the churches and made
ready for the vital work to follow, it was
decided by the executive committee of the
union to change the date to Saturday, Oc-
tober 16 next. The judgment of many
pastors was sought before the change was
made and correspondence was had with
some who could give intelligent advice,
from experience. as TO the best season of
the year in which to make the canvass and
follow up the work.
Experience in Indiana.
Here is what the general secretary for
Indiana, where they had an increased en-
1ollment in the Sunday school in three
years. from 1888 to 1896, of $1,000, and
was added on the average each day in the
year. has to say on the matter:
:" L have come to the conclusion, through
observation and experience, that the fall
of the year. say about the LIST of October,
is much the best time to make the can
vass. Such a canvass is not worth doing,
if the information gathered is not very
soon thereafter utilized. In other words,
if ii is not followed up by such visitation
as can be done by the pastor and Sunday
school workers, the results are not near
what they should be. When the canvass is
taken in the spring, it is very near the
time when religious zeal begins to flag
Sunday schools generally run down in at
tendance during the warm weather, and
teachers and pastors go OF on their sum-
,ner vacations and it seems hardly possible
to follow up a canvass at that time of the
year SO as to get the best results from it,
If, however, ii is done early in October
there are six months Immediately follow
ing in which the most aggressive church
work is generally done. For that reason
I advocate that the work be done in the
fall rather than in the spring
Twenty Per Cent Enrolled.
I'm the District OF Columbia but % per
cent of the population are enrolled In the
Sunday schools. while of the remaining 50
per cent about 10 per cent, or approx
:nately 5000, are of school age 1t is to