The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-17
Annual Meeting of the American
Church VIII Be Held at Los An
geles on May 21-3O.
ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE
THE ASSEMBLY is EXPECTED TO
TAKE IMPORTANT ACTION.
Woman Question Also VIII BE Up for
ConsideratfOn-HOme Mission Work
Other Features.
,ecial to the indianapolis Journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
LOS ANGELES. May 1.-THE Presbyter-
ian General Assembly will hold its 115th an
nual meeting in this city, May 21-3O. For
year preparations have been in progress
looking towards this great gathering. The
task of providing for the reception and en-
tertainment of the 600 commissioners and
the many delegates to the missionary meet
ings held by women as well as by an equal
ly large number of friends has been UNDER
taken and executed by a committee led by
the Rev. Hugh X. Walker. d. D., Of I'm
manuel Church, where the assembly will
be held.
The General Assembly meets invariably
on the third Thursday of May, at IL a. m.
The credentials of commissioners and dele
gates are to be presented at a. m. the
same day. to the stated and permanent
clerks, DR.. W. II. Roberts and DR.. William
b. Noble. acting as permanent commit
tee on commissions. The Rev. Henry Van
Dyke, d. D., will preach the opening SER
mon at II o'clock, after which a recess will
be taken until d. m, when the new mod
orator will be selected. In the evening the
Lords supper will be celebrated. The
dates assigned to popular meetings are as
follows:
The evening of Friday. the second day,
to the board Of publication and Sabbath
school work and the Sabbath school inter-
ests Of the church; the afternoon of the
first Sunday to the woman's board of home
missions; the evening to the board of aid
for colleges and academies; the evening
Of Monday, the fourth day. to missions
among the freedmen; the evening OF Tues
day, the fifth day, to the home mission
work; the evening Of Wednesday, the sixth
day, to the foreign mission work, and the
evening of Friday. the eighth day, to the
cause of young peoples work and temper
ance.
| The annual reports Of the standing COM
milttees on the boards of the church will
be considered as follows:
Ministerial relief, Saturday: freedmen
and education, Monday; home missions and
aid for colleges and academies, Tuesday;
foreign missions and publication and Sab
bath-school work, Wednesday; church erec-
ton and benevolence, second Thursday, and
temperance. second Friday. Thesstanding
committees on home missions and foreign
missions have each two and half hours;
and those on education, publication, church
erection, ministerial relief, freedmen, tenn
perance and aid for colleges have each one
and half hours. The secretaries and the
| chairman of the standing and special COM
mittees are requested to make their state
ments within the limits of half an hour,
and the remainder Of the time allotted to
the committees is assigned to the COM
missioners and to the agents from the fields
of service.
There are seventeen special committees
to report, including those that have been
considering 'evangelistic work." divorce
and remarriage. work among Hungarian
| immigrants" Omaha Seminary" Pres
byterian building in New York. Sabbath
observance" pulpit vacancy and supply
land young peoples societies.
STOPPED IN TRANSIT.
| AS this letter is written the wheels of
| the special assembly trains are nearing
the places where they are to be held over
| Sunday-Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and
the Grand canyon OF Colorado. The Pres
byterians are strict Sababth keepers. A
| year ago this action was taken at the meet
| ing in New York:
THAT the General Assembly enjoins all
| ministers, officers and members of the Pres
| byterian Church in the United States of
America, also all members of their young
| peoples societies and Sabbath schools, to
| special care and faithfulness for the preser-
| walton, both by precept and example, of the
sacred character OF the Christian Sabbath.
| That the day should be observed in such
| a manner as to be restful for the body and
| for the soul-a day for communion with
God. for divine worship and for Christian
service; that we strongly reprobate all
games of sports, such golf, ball games,
| Sunday photography and social functions,
etc, on the Lords day: that we remind
| all church members of the necessity of spe-
cial watchfulness their conduct dur
| ing the summer days Of vacation and rec
reation, either at home abroad, with re-
| gard to their Christian example on the
| Lords day: that we most respectfully but
earnestly request all officers of public trans
portation companies to seriously consider
| the subject of Sunday excursions to the
end that they may be discontinued in the
interest of labor, morals and religion"
Among the important reports to be con-
sidered is the one on Divorce and Remar-
| riage." which has timely interest In view
of the Vanderbilt Rutherford wedding in
London. The divorce question came to the
front a year ago, when. in response to the
fraternal request of the committee of the
Protestant Episcopal Church. the General
Assembly appointed committee of five
ministers and four elders to confer with
the committee of the Protestant Episcopal
Church and with smaller committees Gre
ated by other churches. with view of
curing some concerted opinion and action
by the churches of America relative to di-
vorce and remarriage, and so to affect pub
lie opinion that uniform legislation may be
enacted by the States that will conserve
the family institution and preserve the
-sanctity of the marriage bond.
Closely allied TO this question is that Of
Mormonism. which will be forced on the
attention of the commissioners this year in
an unusual manner. as two or three of the
special trains remain in Salt Lake City to-
morrow. When the assembly came West
in 1892 a real-estate speculator got hold of
some of the commissioners. and, under the
plea that his relatives in the East were