The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-28
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
DENOMINATION THAT HAS GROWN
RAPIDLY IN MEMBERSHIP.
Methodist Ministers to Hold Gre
treat"-TroubIes of the Brother
hood of st. Andrew.

| Special to the Indianapolis Journal
NEW YORK. Sept. PA fortnight hence
| there will be in Omaha the largest gather
| ing of any single religious body ever held
| in America. The occasion is the annual
convention of the Christian churches,
| known in some sections as the Disciples OF
| Christ. The sessions will be three day,
and they will cover eight days. Aside from
| the regular programme, which is taken up
| chiefly with missionary addresses, the
| evangelists of the church will hold noon
| day and vesper meetings on the street cor
| ners, in the larger department stores, fac
| tories and packing houses. On Sunday the
| pulpits of all the churches of all denomina-
| tons will be occupied by Disciple preach
| ers. In the afternoon union meeting Will
| be held in the Coliseum, when the COM
| munion service, or Lords supper, will be
| partaken. Ten thousand persons, probably
the largest number record, Will take
! part at one time. This is feature OF an
nual Disciple gatherings.
| Disciples now number 100000, yet as
| brotherhood of religious people they are
| not yet a century old. They plead for the
authority of Jesus Christ in all things, the
| Bible the only rule of faith and prac-
| tice, and they have no man-made creed
| or book of discipline. They aim at the res
| toration of apostolic Christianity and the
practice Of the frst-century church as a
| means to Christian union. The body is
noted for its missionary and evangelistic
| zeal and aggressiveness. Its strength as
| denomination is in the middle West, but
| progress is making in the East and South.
| For years it has distanced every other re-
| ligious body in America in annual growth
| in membership.
For the first time Methodist ministers are
| planning to hold what, if it were held by
| some other religious bodies, would be an
nounced as a retreat" The gathering
| is announced for the deepening of the spir-
| itual life. The date is Sept. 20, for three
| days. and the place Worcester, Mass. The
pioneer in it is the Rev. James Nudge, for
| some years a missionary in India, but at
present pastor of the Methodist Church in
Webster, Mass. The programme consists
| of short addresses upon strictly spiritual
| topics and long periods of silence. Secular
subjects are barred absolutely. Only min
| listers are admitted, but they need not of
necessity be Methodist ministers. About
| the meeting there are all of the features
| of the retreat" that advanced Anglicans
are holding the same week in Kingston,
| N. Y, and that the Jesuits conduct in so
many places for the Catholic clergy. Ar
| rangements are made for board. the cost
being So for the three days. 1t is stated
| that large number Of ministers have sig
nified their intention to be present. While
meetings of Methodist ministers for the
| deepening of the spiritual life date from
| the time of John Wesley. this is the first
| time Methodist ministers I'm this country
| have adopted the features of the Roman
| and Anglican retreat"
| XXX
The Brotherhood of st. Andrew, which
| opens its annual convention In Boston next
| Wednesday, is going through the expert
| ence Of all young peoples societies in all
/ religious bodies. 1t and others have been
| in existence about twenty years. Two diff
| fculties now confront them. One is that
large proportion of people in the particular
| communion to which they happen to belong
| declare they have not accomplished enough
/ good to Warrant time and expense. In
the case of the Brotherhood of st. Andrew
| this criticism comes especially from the
| clergy. The other difficulty, and it con-
/ fronts all, is that members young ten years
/ ago are middle-aged now. They have
| grown into larger work. and many of them
| seek to pull these young people societies
| after them and into the particular form Of
/ work which has especially interested them.
| There is a large proportion Of Episcopal
/ clergy who are bitter against the Brother
/ hood of st. Andrew. They say 1t is dead
and does not know 1t. They belong to no
| particular school, and to no one part Of the
| country. The number Of bishops are not
1 few who will not attend the Brotherhood's
/ annual convention, or any other, for that
/ matter, and who declare that 1t ought to
| be abolished. They charge it as useless
| waste of time and money, and say Brother
/ hood men hold grand conventions, work
4 when the rector pushes them into work,
and do nothing else.
| On the other hand, there are some bish-
| ops and clergy, probably minority. who
| praise the Brotherhood highly. They say
| II has been a splendid training school. and
| that the present active interest of men in
| missions and in other active work of their
/ church is due to the influence of the Broth
| erhood and to it's teaching. A curious con-
| dition obtains in the church in which the
| Brotherhood belongs in this respect, and the
/ truth lies somewhere between excessive
| criticism and overpraise. In many cities
| the Brotherhood has done, and is doing,
| excellent work. 1t has had tremendous
| influence upon the life of the Episcopal
| Church, and hundreds of the very clergy
/ who now denounce ii were members of it
| in their younger days, and received their
| religious inspiration and ambition through
| it. There has been a proposition to change
| the Brotherhood into lay auxiliary to the
| board of missions of the Episcopal Church.
| This proposition came from few of the
older men, who are specially interested in
/ missions and think the Brotherhood, as a
| whole. should help along their plans.
| Honesty in Wall street.
/ W..