The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-19
NEWEST MISSION FIELD
HARDY PREACHERS AND DEACON
EssEs NEEDED IN THE KLoNDIkE.
Church Boards Seeking Teachers Who
VIII Labor to Save the Souls of
Those Who Dig for Gold.
spec,al to the indianapolis Journal.

managers. The estimate that from 100. 900
to 100000 people will go to Alaska in March
has aroused the churches TO the necessity
of doing their part in this mission field.
Much is being planned and more would be
If the boards had more money. Alaska
mission work is carried on by Baptists,
Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Episco-
palians and Roman Catholics OF these the
Baptists are not now exerting themselves,
and the Congregationalists are maintaining
merely their one mission station, that was
started before the Yukon excitement. Ro-
man Catholic work there has not been
much changed in method by the gold ex
citement, and just at this moment is Grip
pied to some extent by the illness Of the
head worker, who is in California con-
valescing.
The Episcopal Church and the Church of
England, which are working in close har-
mony, have two bishops there, together
with almost one hundred clergy. deacons,
male lay assistants and deaconesses. A
shaIlow-bottom boat has been built on the
Yukon, and in small places which it visits
services are held on board this boat AT
larger places, where rooms can be had,
services are held in them. Circle City,
which has been abandoned through the
shifting of population, is believed by the
Episcopalians to be certain to spring into
life again when spring opens. Accordingly,
they have secured desirable quarters and
are ready for the crowd. The English mis-
sion boards are preparing to send to Alaska
next spring five priests and three deacon
esses together with equipments and out
fits. The American Mission Board works in
conjunction with the bishop and is pre-
IT.
Money and volunteers are asked for. Rath-
er~oddly, money is coming in faster than
volunteers. OF the latter, a clergyman
without family is desired to work at Circle
City and another is wanted at Anvik-one
who can get on with boys, for his work
will be in a school for boys. Another single
clergyman is wanted for Point Hope, and
teachers are desired at many stations to
train native helpers. Along the Yukon and
the Klondke two men are wanted who un-
derstand fishing and fishing tackle, and
who are warranted not to get the gold
fever. There is plenty of fish in the rivers,
but the natives do not know how to catch
small for these volunteers and the hard
ships great. But the churches stand ready
to send them if the men can be found.
Quite as active as the EpiscopalianS are
the Presbyterians. Two missionaries sent
out by the Presbyterian home board have
already reached the klondilxe country. They
took every possible thing needed in their
equipment with them, and are now doing
good work One is clergyman and the
Al
among so many, the Rev. DR.. Sheldon Jack
son, moderator of the General Assembly
and educational agent of the United States
government, says he hopes to send at least
twenty-five Presbyterian clergymen into the
Klondike country by April at the furthest.
When Greater New York comes into legal
existence two weeks hence it will he not
the greatest Methodist Episcopal Church
city in the world, but the greatest in
pressed in this supremacy Philadelphia.
Greater New York has J Methodist
churches, Philadelphia so md Chicago IS.
But London, if all of its half dozen varie-
ties of Methodism be included, still leads,
with 1928 churches and about 10000 more
members than Greater New York An in
teresting fact is the one that New York
MethodistS give less per member than do
MethodiStS in either Philadelphia or Chi
cago. For example, If you live in Philadel..
the Methodist Church, you must plan to
pay, per annum, $19.1S, for If you do not
pay so much some one else has to pay more
In order to keep up the average If you
live in Chicago you must plan to pay $500
TO keep up your average, but If you live in
curious thing about Methodists in Greater
New York and to some extent in all cities,
is the very large amount they spend on
themselves-that is, on their own churches
compared to the amount they give to mis-
ssions. For instance, New York Methodists
spend $14.s1 on themselves to each 50. As CIV
holds in other cities, Chicago making a
trifie better showing These conditions will
not change when the Methodists of Great
@r New York come into one municipality
fortnight hence.
The selection of the Rev Dr. Edward S.
Lines. rector of St. Paul's Church, New
Haven, Conn.,, to be general secretary of
the Episcopal Board of Domestic and For
eign Missions, means a continuation of
former methods of management. The new
secretary was educated at the Episcopal
Academy at Cheshire, Conn, at Yale and
at Berkely, and for some years has been
one of the most prominent priests in Con-
necticut. He was mentioned as coadjutor to
Bishop Williams at the time Dr. Brewster
was elected. He is strong man physically,
but will need all of his strength TO dis
charge the onerouS duties of the great
office he is to ente~
Plymouth Church -~vKIyn, has just APP
pointed historian, whose special duty it
is to collect Henry Ward Beecher docu-
ments. There are in all parts of the coun-
try letters written by Mr.. Beecher to emf
nent laymen and clergymen, which, it is
believed would prove of great interest to
literature and to church history to possess
Appeal is made to persons having such
letters to communicate with the Plymouth
No. 65 Nassau street, New York. Since
the memorial sermon by the Rev. DR.. Berry
last month there has been sort of Beecher
revival, and this proposed Beecher museum
is an outgrowth of it.
The universal. pilgrimages which had been
planned to reach Rome * the end of De-
cember, in order to be present at St. Pc
ters on the occasion of the celebration by
Pope Leo XIII of the sxtieth anniversary
of his first mass, have been postponed until
February, owing to the Christmas festivi-
ties in the Eternal City. The pigrimages,
both from Europe and this country are to
be more numerous In the coming February
and March than for many years past
All of the Roman Catholic archblshops
and bishops of France have now officially
promulgated the rules of the Archconfra-
ternity and Association of Prayer and Good
Works recently created by Pope Leo XIII.
This organization is interesting as show
ing q method undertaken by a church which
knows human nature we'll to accomplish a
vast undertaking. That undertaking is the
conversion of England to the Roman Cath
olic faith, and the method is prayer.
France is made the seat of the movement
A few months since the undertaking was
formally begun by great service in Paris
attended officially by Archbishop Vaughan,
of Westminster, and within a few days
Bishop Perrand, OF Autun, perhaps the most
historic diocese in all France, has created
a diocesan fraternity, with headquarters in
his own cathedral church. In connection