The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-29

days al noon ana on Week niSHtS dl 'eA - tain seasons of the year. shows a marked increase and is helping to keep up the total Christian support So far as can be learned from Christian lead CTS. those of both America and Eng land having been consulted within a month. there is little pereeptible growth in the higher criticism move ment. The old faiths and creeds do not seem to lose their hold. The so- called institutional church is no long CT regarded as a necessity for cer- tain parts of large cities and there seems to be, as nf;lrll of the year now closing. return to the preaching of so years ago.
 Missionary Progress
 The cause of Christian missions in America at the close of the year 19l2. for America and for the world. seems to be affected little by the special mis- slonary movements Of the past three or four years. There is a moderate in crease in missionary increase and ill missionary giving, but it is an increase that has been going on for at least q dozen years. The present year shews no marked difference over almost any one of the past F. The American board. supported in largest measure by Congregationists, the Presbyterian home and foreign boards, and tho gen eral Episcopal board showed their largest years at their last annual meet ings. Methodist boards suffering from slumps of two and three years ago, pulled up considerably at their fall meetings just held. The disciples and Baptist boards show steady but not un- usual gains. Foreign gifts, now nearly SIS, ,000. 900 a year, lead those from all other countries, England included, and home mission gifts have just passed the s40,000, ,000 mark per year.
 New Form of Mission
 A newer form of missions social ser vice and social justice has grown rap- Idly during the year now ending. In the larger cities neighborhood guilds have formed composed of tho best residents who support one man whose duty it is to look after neighborhood welfare. In few cities exhaustive studies of conditions have been made, until surveys have come to be hack . lneyed. The year has been prolific of surveys of many things. Men and wom- en of wealth are giving time and money to the uplift of society, the prevention of disease, the immunity from accident, and the roofing out of so-called graft The federal council of the churches meeting in quadrennial session in the closing month of the year, adopt a so- cial service programme that Is the most stringent and far reaching that Chris tianity has ever set Itself and others.
 The beginning of the year saw the closing meetings of the men and re- ligion movement, but apart from these meetings the year now ending wes freer from special occasions than any for a long time. Special movements, so called, seem to have lost some of their popular favor The Christian er- fort of the year has been devoted chiefly to the strengthening of churches as congregations, the helping of pastors in their individual plans, rather than ili the promotion of mass meetings. Even the general societies, like those to fur ther temperance, have felt the pres sure of the new plan, and have suf- fered in their efforts. The year 1912 shows, as a whole, d steady growth ia missions of the old sort. new em- phasis on social work, and lack of en- thusiasm for special efforts,