The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-30
CHURCHES TO
 BE MERGED Union Comes AfteS Long Separation. 1 WO. K OF HE COMMITTEE Pans for Am llgamatl0n Of
 Presbyterian Bodies. The Dissenters Among the Cumberiands Are Told that Progress is Never Accomplished by Unanimous Consent.
WO. K OF HE COMMITTEE

 summated today in the joint session of general committees which. when for mally ratified, will unite the Northern Presbyterian Church and the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church.
 Almost two days have been consumed by sub-committees in arranging de- tails for the union. Their reports were submitted to the general committees representing each church, this after noon. Within two hours the two gen. erai committees had met in joint ses- sion and agreed upon basis for the union of the two denominational bodies. The agreement will be reported to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church at Des Moines, Iowa, May IT, 1906, and of the Cumberland Presbyte- rian Church, meeting in Decatur, H., the same date. for formal ratification by these two assemblies. which will be followed by the official announcement that the union of the two churches has finally been consummated.
 Tho general committee of the Cum berland Presbyterian Church had its ! full quota of twenty-one members present, the chairman being Rev. pr. W. H. Black of Marshall. Mo. Only sixteen of the twenty-one members of the Presbyterian General Committee were present, the others being detained. Rev. W. H. Roberts of Philadelphia was chairman.
 Session Was Executive. The joint session was executive in character. It was stated that on the joint ballot on the question of the pro posed union there was but one dissent ing vote, that being cast by Elder L. W. Keller of Knoxville, Tenn. membSr of the Cumberland committee. It was further stated that when the cumber- land committee was appointed seven men known to be in opposition to the proposed union were placed on the committee. The vote today indicated that six had changed their minds dur ing the deliberations in committee. The substance of the report adopted in he joint session of the general committees follows;
 The report, after carefully reviewing several similar efforts for union of the two churches, recites tho legal steps taken, beginning with the appointment of committees in. 1903, and declares that the effect of all these steps is prf- marily that the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America, as revised in 1905, and the other doctrinal and ecclesias- ticaI standards of the church have been constitutionalIy adopted by the Cum berland Church. as has already the joint report prepared by these two general committees two years ago.
 The reunion and union Of the two churches has been fully agreed to by both. and 1t Is recommended that im- mediately after the foregoing effects of the steps thus taken have been an- nounced. the Confession of Faith and the other doctrinal and ecclesiastical standards of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America shall be binding upon the ministers, ruling elders. deacons officers, churches, ad- indicators. boards, committees and all other agencies of the Cumberland Pres byterian Church.
 United General Assembly,.
 When this announcement has been made by the moderator of the general assembly of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church and that body shall have adjourned sine die as separate assembly and as the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church Of the United States of America shall adjourn sine die, the moderator of the latter assembly shall announce that all of the Presbyteries of the two churches shall elect commissioners to the United General Assembly of 1907 on basis of one minister and one ruling elder for every twenty-four ministers or moiety thereof.
 TrntiI the new moderator of the
 
 moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly shall preside over the gen eral assembly Of 1907 and 1t is recom- mended that the moderator of the Cum berIond Presbvterian Assembly of 1906 shall preach the opening sermon of the United General Assembly of 1907, the stated clerk of the Presbyterian As sen,blv with the assistance of the stated clerk of the Cumberland Presbytcrian Assembly making up the roll of the United Assembly.
 Announcement of Union.
 Finally that when the foregoing has all been adonted and official announce ment of tho fact telcpranhed by each Of the assemblies to the other, the mod orator of each assembly shall be em- powered to announce that the reunion nYa union of the Northern prcsbvteriar CNu-ch and the Cumberland Presbvte- rian Chur'h has been fully consiin1- mated and will be henceforth in full force and effect. the history and records of both churches to be preserved as the history and records Of the united church
 II Is provided by the general com rnittees that all boards committees. trTatecs and other a"cncios Of the Cumberland PrcsbvtA rian Church that have hitherto been required to report to the general assemb'v of that church shall report to tho United Assembly in 1907 and thcreafter until or unless these boards and other institutions shall h" united with similar Prosbv- toriau organ 'zations.
 All other det1ils as tO pr0perty riohts Of boards. colleges, etc. the question cf re"oroU'e~dirr the n'ace of rn"ctinrr oe tho T-0ited hssen' hlY. ru~gestiors ae 70 PrcsbytericS and svHodfcal nance and lines, md otNcr adlnstn'orts that may become ncccSsarv. verr referred b,, tho genera! conor'fttaes n fhcir sub. rornrnlttcrs for furthr~ consideration md final report to t1,r two renornl .ns- Scnrblcs meeting 'H Decatur and ree Moinre next year
 Story nf Separation.
 Related hriefi2'. the story of the sem araticn Is follows;
 In 1S10 the Cumberland Presbvterian Church was organized in Dixon County. Tennessee by three Presbvteriah min isters, who had withdrawn from the Presbyterian Church February { of that year. The division arose concerning the extreme doctrine of predestinatIon and certain other questions of practices