New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-06-07
A ROUTINE BUSINESS DAY.
GENERAL SYNOD REFERS LITURGY RE-
VISION TO COMMITTEE.
IRE OF MICHIGAN DELEGATES AROUSED
OVER OPPOSITION TO APPOINTMENT
OF IAYMAN TO THAT BODY.


Asbury Park, June (speciaD.- bust
ness, and plenty of 1t, occupied the attention OF
the delegates to the ninety-sixth regular session
of the General Synod of the Reformed Church
in America to-day. Early in the day President
Kittredge announced that both the mission
boards and the two theological seminaries con-
nected with the Church were out OF debt ana
| self-sustanng, and this evidence OF prosperity
kept the delegates in good humor, notwith-
standing they kept hard at work from .
a. m. until late this afternoon.
AS usual, half-hour prayer meeting precedeo
the regular business meeting this morning. The
devotions were conducted by the Rev. benjamin
Hoffman, of Spring Lake, Mich. This service
was held in the Auditorium the beach front
at a. m At the same hour. in the Reformed
Church in Grand-ave., women's prayer meet
ing was held.
There were three hundred delegates in their
seats when President Kttredge called the busi-
ness meeting to order at $50 a. The hrst
business to be considered was the report on the
Western Theological Seminary at Holland, Mich.
The Rev. Dr. James F. Zwemer. the fnanclai
agent of the seminary. submitted the report
which showed that the institution was self-sus-
tanning last year. There have been recelHeu III
donations for current expenses the SUM VI
| 81 $50 IS, while the proposed endowment luhu
of $4,000 amounted to $4,000 The Rev Dr-
J. w. Beardslee dean of the Western Seminary
also spoke He appealed for greater interest IN
educational work in the West, field, ne saio'
almost lfmitless. He deprecated the fact that
there was a possibility of the seminary losing
one of it's most valuable professors because OF
the meagre salary he received.
Collections for the Board of Education for the
wear 1t was shown aggregated $7.375 II, and
there are sixty-eight students under its care
Three hundred and thirty-fve churches nave
aferht nor ncn
of the men in the New-Brunswick Seminary
and 81 per cent of those in the Western Sem
mary have been aided by the funds of the
Church Twelve of these students were gradu-
ated from the ew-Brunswick Seminary ana
eight from the Western Seminary. Inc Kew
DR. I w Hathaway of New-York City, general
secretary of the American Sabbath Union next
spoke in behalf of that body, urging the min
listers present to aid the work for Sabbath OBJ
servance by taking up collection every year
in the churches. In pleading for SabDath Cd
servance, DR.. Hathaway said:
1.-The prosperity OF this country does not de-
pend entirely upon the amount of gold or silver
in circulation but obedience to human and d.
vine laws. We are forgetting the Fourth Com
mandment. The commercial spirit has taken
possession of us, and we are trampling over men
in our eagerness to secure the dollar Just De-
fore u.s.
considering the report of the special committee
appointed last year to revise the liturgy or the
Church. The report submitted and read by
the Rev DR.. Edward A Collier, of kinderhook'
n. Y, who told of the difficulties under which
his colleagues had labored, owing to the varied
views of the different classes on the SUBJECT.
The report, as submitted, ended as follows:
I'm view of the fact that twenty-five classes
have expressed a wish for some revision of our
1iturgical forms and In view also Of the charac-
ter Of many of the objections to the forms lately
submitted, your committee recommend the aoop-
ton of the following resolution:
Resolved That committee Of eight ministers
subtect under consideration be referred together
with the action OF the Classes ann
ar Resoived. That this committee be Instructed to
sP Re o the pre1ang views Of the Glasses
and to be submitted to the next General synod:
@RsitS dFRx aad Of fsrm
shSgd be TSa fhe committee be- to
results Of its work IA ELY printed rim and
consideration before the spring meeting Of the
Resolved That this committee consist Of t the fol-
seardsIee W eFsnInSr }oh9sq 2,,s and
J. Collier D. ]. Diekema and Samuel Roland with
power to fill vacancies
The name of DR.. Collier added after the
report had been submitted. Some of the dele
gates objected to Mr.. Diekema being made
member of the committee, because he was not
an official of the Church, the contention being
that only elders and deacons should
such an important committee
The protest raised the ire of the delegates from
Michigan. Mr. Diekema's home, and of them
said: Mr. Diekema is of the big men of
the Great West. While he is not official. he
is a valued member of the Church. He is a
member of the commission appointed to revise
the claims incident to the Spanish-American
War He is a close friend of that other great
Hollander-President Roosevelt-and some day
Mr. Diekema may succeed him President"
After this tribute all objection TO Mr. Diekema
was withdrawn, and he will aid in preparing
new liturgy for the Church
The report of the committee was adopted,
with the exception of this paragraph:
Resolved, That the Synod hereby expresses
its approval of a change in the phraseology of
the second question in the form for the baptism
of adults. and also in that of the prayers in the
form for infant baptism, indicated in the
body of the report.
This was stricken out, after several delegates
objected to anticipating the work of the re-
vision committee.
The special committee appointed last year to
report on the advisabity of charging the cur
riculum at the seminaries supported by the
Church rendered a report in which it was ad-
vised and recommended that post graduate
course be added, the cost of the same not to be
more than 500 year. The recommendation
was adopted.
caused a long debate by introducing a resolu-
ton urging united effort in the future in evan
geliStic work. The resolution was finally unani-
mously adopted
President Kittredge said that while rhetorical
and doctrinal sermons were all right in their
place there crying need for an old fash
he Ref med