Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-29
RELIGIOUS NOTES
AND COMMENTS

Theodore Roosevelt, jr.. has resumed his
Sunday school work at Oyster Bay. David
Rogers, the leader of one of the classes,
being i'll, Theodore took his place. There
were only three pupils in the class last Sun
day, and Theodore, jr, took them through
the catechism. Later he joined his father
and mother and his sister Ethel in the fam
fly pew of Christ Church.
The nineteenth annual reunion Of the Lu-
theran churches of Maryland, Pennsylvania
and surrounding states, held Thursday at
Pen-Mar Park, attracted to the mountain
resort about 10000 people. During the aft
ernoon interesting addresses were made by
prominent members of the church.
One of the speakers of the occasion was
Miss Sophia Jepson. native of Denmark,
who is now the head sister of the Lutheran
Deaconess House in Baltimore. She made
an earnest appeal for more women to de-
vote themselves to the dacOnate of the
church She said that the order has ex-
tended through the continents including
Asia and Africa, and that it embraced over
1900 women the keynote of whose labor
IS service. The restoration of the female
diaconate to the church took place about
seventy years ago, and now there are seven
213 sisters. The largest mother house is in
Philadelphia, where the German Hospital is
conducted by the deaconeSses. The home
In Baltimore was started about ten years
ago with six sisters.
There are two lines of work, the speaker
said, in which the deaconess is needed-in
nursing and in parish work. The former is
a wide field for her, especially in the private
homes of the poor and of those in trouble
A wider field is that of parish work she
said, especially in instructiug the children
In country where the CHURCH and state
are divided as In this, the spiritual instruc-
ton received by the children is woefully in
adequate, and here the deaconess can find a
special and important work.
But" she said, I'VE often find 1t impos-
sible to answer calls, and we need good
strong women for the diaconate. We need
women who are strong physically, morally
and spiritually, who are consecrated to the
service of God. And perhaps / might say
what kind of women we do not want
1--WE do not want sentimental young wom-
en-, who take up religious work an IDEAL
without an idea of the practical demands
to be made upon them.
1--WE do not want the woman who is look
ing for an easy job and thinks she will find
q comfortable place.
I'VE do not want the woman who has
been disappointed in life and goes into the
work for the purpose of broodlng over her
troubles
I'VE do not want the woman who has fail
ed In everything else and thinks she will
try the deaconess life as a last resort"
Another interesting speaker was Rev r.
P. Peery, now of Philadelphia but who for
merly spent some time as a missionary to
Japan, and who will probably return to
that country next September Under the
title Our Lutheran Church and Missions"
DIR. Peery drew interesting comparisons be-
tween the manner in which the missions of
Catholic and Protestant creeds were con-
Quoted. He opened his address with the
statement that 1.-THE history of the World. is
a history of the worlds great men; hack of
every great movement has been on master
mind" In support of this belief he quoted
Moses, st, Paul and Martin Luther. He
then spoke in detail Of the task which
faced the latter reformer who, he said. was
selected to strike out the abuses of the
Catholic Church, the rites and ceremonies
and get down to the bed rock of religion.
He spoke of his influence on the missionary
spirit in his work of organization.
The Methodists of Somerset county, Md,
held big basket picnic and reunion at
lockwood this week. Rev. G. w Smith,
LID, editor of the Pittsburg Christian
Advocate spoke on Wesley and Metho-
dsm". Rev. DR.. w r. Wedderspoon.
pastor of Henry Street Methodist Episco-
Pal Church, Pittsburg, spoke on "Metho-