Evening star., 1909-03-07
140r Church Wlmto0u~
Significant Meeting Of Leaders of Mems Church
Societies Held in Pittsburg RecentIy---Plan
Monster Convention National Gather
ing, Representing All the Organiza-
tions Of Protestant Laity in the
Land, to Meet in St. Louis.

The two broadest and deepest currents
In present day American religious life
converged in Pittsburg a few days ago.
These currents are the tendency to Chris
tian unity and the activity Of the laity
in church work. The occasion was pre-
arranged meeting Of the officials OF all
the denominational and INSTRUMENTATION
al organizations of churchmen.
1t was gathering entirely without par
allel In American history, for these offi-
cial representatives of the newest and
most potent force in church life, the or
ganized laymen. had for their avowed OBJ
ject a consideration Of methods OF fur
thering cooperation and unity. A dis
cerning observer sees In these the poss-
bility of church union coming in by the
back door, SO to speak, while the ecclesi-
astics are debating in the parlor whether
or not to admit it. Obviously, when the
business men Of the churches say. Let us
get together" the denominational leaders
cannot say them nay.
Men by the Myriad.
The total number OF men represented in
this conference can only be estimated. but
its aggregate is at least million. A mere
CdhuS VI LILO Ecit VI tuc UO0AGo NleOSC VI
ficials were present must sufice to indi-
cate the scope and size Of this new con-
certed movement: The Brotherhood OF St.
Andrew, of the Protestant Episcopal
Church. the interdenominational Brother
hood OF Andrew and Philip. the Laymen 3
missionary movement. the Young Mems
Christian Association, the Presbyterian
Brotherhood. the Methodist Brotherhood.
the Baptist Brotherhood. the Consrega-
tional Brotherhood. the Southern Presby-
terian Brotherhood. the United Presbyter-
ian mems movement, the mems movement
Of the United Brethren Church. the mems
movement of the Disciples OF Christ, the
National League Of Universalist Laymen,
the American Institute OF Social Service
and the Federal Council Of the Churches
of Christ in America. This last was rep
resented because 1t is the official organi-
cation wherein evangelical American Pro-
testantism is already federated.
significant fact about this epochal
Pittsburg meeting is that 1t came togeth-
er, as did a small preliminary conference
Gardiner, the president of the Protestant
Episcopal Mems Society. the Brotherhood
Of St. Andrew. Throughout, the official
character OF the negotiations was empha-
sized. in order to- differentiate this meet
ing from the deliberations of a self-ap-
pointed and irresponsible body of men. 1t
would be impossible to get a more omcdal-
ly representative company of American
laymen than that which convened In Pitts
burg last week.
Men Cant Be Kept Apart.
eTheologans and ecclesiasttcs may per-
ceive formidable reasons for maintaining
the many denominations, but the laymen
are troubled by no such technicanties. At
the recent big convention Of Southern
Presbyterian men In Birmingham two
speakers representing the northern church
were cheered heartily by the audiences.
A leading layman OF the Protestant
Episcopal Church. Silas McBee. editor Of
The Churchman, has been addressing