Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-03
23d ANNUAL
-
Meeting Name Interde-
nMninationaI Commission,
Al UdyersaIisi Church, Wsdnes.
day Afternoon and Evening.
Officers Chosen for Year..Evening
Program Public and interesting.

The ntcrqEnominational Commits.
sion Of Maiaez held its 23rd annua,
meeting. Wednesday afternoon and
evening, ut the Winthrop Street Uni
versalist church, with good attend
ance. The business meeting was held
at > o'clock in the afternoon, Pres
Aent William DeW1vt Hyde of Bow
Ain College presiding. Among other
Nnsiness transactfd was the election
of officers for the ensuing year. the
choice resulting as follows:
President. Milliam Dewitt Hyde of
Bowdoin College, congregationalist;
vice president Rev d. b. Holt of
Portland. Methodist; secretary anG
treasurer. A. w Anthony of Bates
College. Free Baptist: executive COM
mittee William Dewitt Hyde Rev
d. B. Holt Rev T. c. Whittemore Of
wgerville Rev W. + Berry of Wa
terville, Rev Henry Arnold of Gorinna
Sec. Anthony's Report.
Prof. A. w. Anthony. secretary of
the commission, submitted his annual
3 report, for the year 1872, the text of
which follows:
During the year Just closing. the eX-
sions. On May Il. on invitation from
residents of DiN6eld. the committee
conferred with the members of tn
universalst and Free Baptist churches
in pixfield relative to the union 81
these two churches \ village of about
500 Inhabitants had of itself decided
that two churches were more than the
village could properly support. For
1 . H..
pertinent of worshippihs in the Uni
versalist house together while 4 Free
Baptist minister served as pastor and
then they bad decided that the two
churches should become one organiZa
ton Obviously it did not seem wise
for either TO unite with the Other.
. Could p:eSeiind Q denomination which
would receive them as one Of its own
CHURCHES q They decided OF Themselves
that. taey-might become a GonGrega-
a tionai c;Iurch, ii the congregational
Denomination would extend to them
fellomship: Ina smuch as thrce denoml-
nations werc involved, they determin
ed 70 ineitc The commission to give
counsel.
on visiting Dixfeld the commission
found a I'niNersalst church of y
members, all but three of wnom. liV-
ing in or near the village, had eN-
pressed approval of the merger; and Il
Free Baptist church of IL members, all
but two of whom approved the union.
1t is a peculiar fact that in each
church there were only three male
members in these large maiorities ia
voring union. The commission in its
decision approved the plans contem-
y plated, with two proNisos: First, that
each church. voting separately, in duly
authorized meeting, should approve
the union with a substantially IMAM
imous vote. and conclude it's separate
existence with the formalities befit-
ting the character and dignity of the
church. and. second That the new
church, or the Congregational body, o!
~ which it became a member, should re-
= in1burse the denomination. or denomi-
nations. which might have made APP
preparations from their treasures for
the purchase or erection of either oni-
Vcrsalist or Free Baptist houses OF
worship. "hese two provisos were in
tended to safeguard the equities of the
Universalist and Free Baptist denom-
nations which were to be transferred
10 the Congrega tional denomination,
On Oct. IL the executive committee
met in Bangor to consider the relig-
ious conditions of Sebee. Bowerbank.
& and Barnard. In these three towns
+ by IA common agreement, entered into
several years before religious work
had been left for the Methodist church
to prosecute. Conditions had changed
somewhat and now it was discovered
that work conducted by Baptists
might be more acceptable to some OF
the people of these towns. After an
q investigation of the conditions, the
committee suggested that, while the
Methodists were fully within thei,
rights. and should i5t protected in
them if they desired, vet they might