El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-01-03

MARK THE YEAR
Churches Take Up in Earn
est Advertising IN
Newspapers.

To-. sa,-o,a1 reasons. the year 1913 has
bea,7 notabIe in religious history. The
epochal events range al the way rom
Z the smashing Of the ecClesIe1 tIcdl ma
chine in the general Assem- pIy OF the
/ Northern PRESBYTERIAN church and the
radical reorganization OF the Congre-
eationaI denomination, 10 several eX-
fraordinary missionary occasions, of
which the CHIEF IS w d - lIIOn 81
all the home and foreign mission boards
of North America for an eVefy-mem-
Der canvass" next MaIcn
Most notable of all the missionary
developments Of the year ives me or
campaign. This finally brought to-
gether all the different nome and for
eign mission boards OF the United
States and Canada. There. mad long
been rivalry between the H0me and for
eign ends of the work. as well as be-
tween the different denominations.
Now all have united for a concerted
campaign of education, eliminating In
an "everv member canvass, IN every
Protestant church in the land, in be-
half of benevolences, during the month
The go to Church" Movement
During the past few months there
has sprung into wide faVOr the idea
of a ego to church Sunday. This is
really an adjunct of the church ad-
Vertising plan, which aims TO keep
people going to church every sunday
The avidity with which this method
has been seized shows tnat pastors re
alize that church attendance is basic
to the life of the organization. II you
cannot get the people to church, you
simply cannot do anything else with
them. Church attendance underhes all
benevolent projects.
Advertising in Newspapers.
The past year has also made a per-
manent place for itself in religious his
tory by the Widespread Introduction
of the new ideas of publicity, especial
" N the form of PAID display adVerus-
ing by the united churches Of a COM
munity This goes hard with many
congregations. They have been so long
used to sitting as beggars at the back
gate Of the newspapers that the IDEA
of walking upright and prospecting
" into the front office, like any other
big business concern, IS strange TO
them. All uncOnsci ously, many
churches have demanded the special
consideration that is given to weak
lings. They are slow to realize that in
this new era they have got to get out
and make good in the world of affairs.
HencefOrth the churches will increas-
ingly have to justify their immense ex-
penditure for plant and preacher by
making an adequate return upon their
investment
Several notable conventions marked
the year 1918. All were conspicuous
for their new breadth of view and
quickened interest in social problems.
A consciousness that this is a new day
seems to have pervaded all Of them
The Northern Presbyterians made
their part of the historic three-assem-
bly,, Pan-Presbyterian meeting In At
lanta famous by wrecking the ven
cradle ecclesiastical machine" dis
crediting the ecclesiastical politicians
and manifesting a spirit of democracy
and insurgency that will be felt for
long years to come.
The trienniaI general convention of
the Protestant Episcopal church was
marked by a refusal to consider a
change of name for the church; by a
vigorous interest in missions, and by
increasing democracy in methods of
representation and legislation.
Three great meetings of laymen, the
Southern Presbyterian at Memphis. the
Southern Methodist at Junaluska, n
c., and the Northern MethOdists at In
dianapolis, were features Of the year
that profoundly affected the life of the
respective denominations These meet
ings were for Inspiration, rather tain
for legislation.