Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-22
T HE religious world is to have an
awakening in 1908. Many events of

awakening in 1908. Many events Of
L the last half dozen years are to
have their elimination in the coming
twelve months through number of ma
tional and International assemblies that
are expected. to stir the church world to
its foundation.
The year now drawing to a close has
been fruitful in it's way, but four seasons
more will not have passed before the
great Protestant denominations will have
been brought face to face with host of
problems that must be solved for the well
fare of Christian work.
The year 1907 is marked by the Episco-
pal triennial convention at Richmond.
There will be a dozen such beacons to
light the religious life of another twelve
months. Preparations for most of them
are still incomplete, but enough is known
to make it certain that there will be work
for all and plenty of 1t in the conventions
SO far arranged.
The first of the great gatherings will be
the Church Laymen's Missionary Con-
gress, which has taken up volunteer work
Tor the men only The congress will as
semble next month at Seabury Hall,
Christ Church, New York. and is intended
TO outline suggestions for lay effort in the
mems organizations now existing as we'll
do mission work. The Church Laymen's
Union is strongly organized in nearly all
the large cities of the east and expects to
grow pore rapidly after the congress.
AsssrgeS Wharton Pepper of Philadelphia,
one of Ale>nost active lay workers and
the ondNesbonsible| for the missionary
canon aHoEted by the Episcopalian gen.
eral convention at Richmond, will be at
the congress- to make some new susses-
February will be an important month,
asAthree conveDtions will be inssession at
the Same tasH Presbyterian men of the
eastern section of the country will hold
missionary gathering at Philadelphia Feb
ruary. IL to Is along the lines of the as
sembIy afthe same church in Omaha last
fall. dissertations have been made for
the nth convention of the Religious Edu-
cation Association at Washington Febru-
airy IL to ID. The general theme VIII De
The Relation of Moral and Religious
Education to the Life of the Nation"
This theme is divided into the following
topics for the general sessions: HOW
Can the Educational Agencies Be Made
More EhU<<ive as Moral and Religious
Forces?" low Can the Moral and Re-
ligious Agencies in the Nation Be Made
More Effective as Educational FORCES!
Educating the Conscience of the Ma
ton. "A 1Ourtn ReneTdl SSSSlOh 10 0S-
voted to reviews of work and the annual
survey of progress by Dean george
Hodges.
UNIQUE gathering, also to be held in
Washington, February IL VIII De mat OF
a council of bishops OF the African Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, the Negro Metho-
dist Episcopal Church and the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The
bishops who will attend represent oyer
100000 persons, and they say that the
ecclesiastical, religious, civil. political ana
sociological conditions of the race at TINS
time are such that it requires attention
mature reflection and expression, and pos
sibly committal expression.
Another early convention viii be that OF
the young peoples missionary movement
in Pittsburg, the organized agency for
cooperative missionary education. The
board of managers is made up or twenty
secretaries OF home and foreign mission
boards and nineteen laymen from various
denominations. 1t was organized In July.
1902, to assist in an educational campaign
for the churches. 1t is publishing suitable
mission study books for the younger lay
men and members of the young peoples
societies. also graded text books and other
missionary literature for use in the Sum
day school It holds summer conferences
for the training of leaders in missionary
work and also winter Institutes In the
leading cities. The coming convention will
outline new work well as search FOR
new lines of endeavor.
y
Soon after that gathering is out of the
way there will come along in Baltimore
the general conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. at which one of the
principal features will be report of the
commission on deaconesses' work. Fifteen
men. divided equally among bishops. min
listers and laymen, have considered the
subject for four years and have now en-
tirely rewritten that part of the discipline
relating to deaconesses' work some old
things having been retained and much
that is new added. The commission de-
fines a deaconess as "a woman who has
been led by the spirit and the providence
of God to forego all other pursuits In life
that she may wholly devote herself to the
Christlike service of doing good, has been
approved by the church, and solemnly set
apart to this vocation. The general over
sight of the work of deaconesses Is to be
given to the bishops. although active
direction of II is vested in a general dea-
coness board to be composed of five bish-
OPS. four laymen. four ministers and six
women, three of whom shall be conse-
Grated deaconesses. This board is to be
elected quadrenniaIly at the general con-
ferences Each annual conference is to
have q conference deaconess board of
nine members, three of whom must be
women. These boards are authorized to
license deaconesses, to determine who
shall be placed on the retired list, and
those entitled TO aid from the relief fund.
1t is directed that the e1aconess license
may be given only to a candidate who is
unmarried and over twenty-three years of
age, and she must be recommended by