The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1902-08-26
A NOTABLE GATHERING.
National winona Bible Confer
ence Opens Largest Attend
ance in its History.


diana, ON Sunday, August II, witt
a record breaking attendance
This Conference, founded by thu
Rev. DIR. j. Wilbur Chapman eigh
years ago, has rapidly increased in
attendance and has now become
the largest and most notable gath
ering of its character in the world
| Last year the enrolment of min
listers reached nearly 1920, and
the lay members from churches of
all denominations brought the at
tendance to about 5000. 1t is es.
timated that at least l, 500 minis
ters and evangelists are on the
grounds besides the thousands Of
laymen and christian workers,
which represent almost every State
in the Union.
The morning prayer service at
$50 was led by Rev. Arthur j
Smith, the evangelist, in the Chap
| ell of the Inn. Notwithstanding
the early hour the chapel was well
filled and the services marked by
an earnest devotional spirit.
The Sunday-school at 900
O'Clock was held in the auditorium,
Capt. F. F. McCrea, of Indianapo-
lis, conducting the exercises. The
attendance was the largest Of the
year, the enrolment reaching al.
most one thousand.
TIE opening sermon at ii a. m.
was delivered by DR.. Chapman. He
took for his text, "Let Us Arise
and 90 to Bethel" Gen. 35-3. 1t
was an earnest appeal to consecre-
cation. He said "Put away all
sin. Live clean lives" Put away
the gods of the stranger" In
closing he said, "We have all had
our Bethel experiences and many
of us have wandered away from
them. Let us go back, pray as we
used to pray, work as we used to
work, preach as we used to preach,
and the heavens will, be opened -
The large auditorium was crowded
to its utmost at this the regular
opening meeting.
At 3 p. m. the Rev. DR.. George
A. johnson Ross, pastor of the
Presbyterian church, Cambridge,
England, was introduced by DR..
Chapman. He gave his first SER
mon in this country, taking for his
theme the "Universality of Jesus,
text, Col. 1:19, "It pleased the
Father that in him should all
fullness dwell" He began by
saving that he desired that this,
his first religious address in Amer
lea. should be devoted to an at
tempt to exalt his Lord before his
hearers. His sermon was mar
velous one, and as he described the
character of our Savior the intense
interest the audience showed could
almost be felt. He said in part,
"All careful readers of the gospels
note the strange manifoldness of
,Jesus Christ. He alone bears the
lineaments of the Universal. If
emphasis is laid upon one aspect
of his character a perfect balance
is restored by recalling another.
In his nature alone is q storehouse
for all the ideals realizable by men
everywhere. AS Christ stands
midway between the sexes SO He
stands between the races of man
kind. In him there is neither Jew
nor Greek. He is the son of man.
His mind spans the centuries. He
is the one Catholic man DR..
Ross traced the progress of Chris
tianity through the ages, and its
present progress into the various
of the world. Let us, he
said, be filed with doring love
for this Christ whom we preach |
and serve. Let US not fear that
any msl is beyond the reach of His
saving arm. Rev. Ross is consid-
cred by the Bible teachers of this