The Washington herald., 1914-09-13
uPLFT CAMPAIGNS
UNITE CHURCHES
Social Service and Evangelisdc Effort
Bring Together Workers of
Many Denominations.
OTHER RELIGIOUS MATTERS

4 significant movement is reported from
Seattle, Wash. The pastors and people
Of Seattle are planning to launch a CO.
operative social service work this fall
which bids fair to revolutionize the work
Of the Seattle churches. and to go long
way toward bringing about Christian
unity During the last three years a
wave Of sentiment has swept the coun-
try which has opened wide the fields Of
cooperative social endeavor. Boy scouts,
civic centers. elder brother and circles
and clubs Of many spheres OF action have
turned the churches swiftly into a cur
rent that the centuries had left I'M
touched The Seattle plans will include
the plating of the city into districts,
each Of which will be studied, classified.
and indexed. A council, composed Of
representatives OF every church in the
city. will plan and care for the labors
of the whole, Strengthening outlying out
posts that show weakness, solving prob
lens of duplication and maintaining a
house-to-house and individual check upon
the entire population of the city. Repre-
sentation. as tentatively planned, will be
based upon membership, and labors will
be proportioned in the same manner
The Christian churches Of Japan have
entered into an evangelistic campaign to
continue for three years. The movement
is the result of the visit last year Of DR..
John r. Mott in connection with the work
Of the continuation committee OF the
Edinburgh conference. The foremost lead
ers of all the denominations are making
united and determined efforts. as though
this were to be the last and most telling
effort of a lifetime. The propaganda be-
gan in March and it is thought will prove
a great spiritual awakening. The political
reformation of a half century ago has
been chiefly intellectual, industrial, COM
mercial. financial. The time is ripe for
a religious revolution. The old existing
religions are without vitaliZing life and
power This campaign is predicted as
the harbinger Of a greater and divine
movement. Tokyo is chosen for the next
worlds Sunday school convention which
is timed to come in about the close Of
this evangelistic enterprise.
At the University Of Oregon recently an
Interdenominational conference was held,
attended by eighty-one ministers, repre-
senting eight religious bodies. The ex-
pertinent is to be repeated on a larger
scaIe, it is reported. A volunteer commit
tee was authorized to make a survey of
religious conditions in Oregon and see
what might be done to remedy over
churched" conditions. It was agreed that
one enthusiastic, hopeful church, well
equipped in every way, would be Of far
greater value TO a community than five
feeble churches dragging out a starved
existence.
Rev. Joseph Beech. D. D., who has been
Identified with the West China mission
work for the past fifteen years, and since
1901 president of Chengtu Methodist Col
iege, has been unanimously elected presi-
dent OF the Chengtu Union University,
which is jointly controlled by the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church. the Canadian
Methodist Church, the American Baptist
Church. and the Friends Mission Of Eng