Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1915-09-21
: LOCAL CHURCHES
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Rev. George Fl. Bennett, pastor of
the Dallas Methodist church, left yes
terday for Roseburg, there to attend
the annual conference for the district.
Mr.. Bennett formerly held a pastor
ate at the Umpqua valley town, and
has many friends and acquaintance
in that community. A largely signed
petition by the people of Dallas re.
questing that the conference return
Rev. Bennett to his present post will
probably have the desired effect.
While absent Mr.. Bennett will join
a party of Roseburg friends in a deer
hunt in the mountains out from that
city, grounds that are not unfamiliar
to the pastor. Before taking his de-
parture, the following information
concerning the Methodist church and
the great work it is carrying on, Rev.
Bennett Furnished The Observer:
The Methodist Episcopal church
consists of 113 annual and 20 foreign
conferences, besides Is missions and
13 mission conferences. The member
ship includes $4,000 ministers and g.
100000 members. 1t has nearly &c.
600 Sunday schools with four million
members. Its Epworth and Junior
leagues number over twenty thousand
chapters. Church property consists
of over thirty thousand churches and
$4,000 parsonages valued at more
than thirty-one million dollars. About
$50 new churches are built each year.
The denomination is under the SUI
pervision of % bishops and z mission
ary bishops and 500 district superin-
tendents. Methodism has under its
control SO colleges and universities,
"A professional schools, SO academies,
besides 1S missionary and training
schools. In the field of literature its
work is great, as it issues II great
weeklies and bi-monthly magazine.
1t issues also 46 publications devoted
to departmental work. The semi-of-
fetal papers include 16 papers, be-
sides 13 in Europe, 4 in Africa, 5 in
China, IL in India and IL in other
countries. 1t has book stores in eight
leading American cities. Their sales
in four years reached the sum of ten
million dollars.
Its board of foreign missions has
lisbursed in its ninety years of exist
nee forty-eight million dollars.
Church extension has built $4,000
on the frontiers. Education
ociety has aided $4,000 students rep {
esenting 81 nationalities The church
maintains 16 homes for the aged, u I
ospitals and II orphanages. The la
lies of the Home and Foreign Mis-
ionary societies have done a great
FORK, maintaining nearly nine hun
red missionaries and deaconesses. In
Orty-two years the foreign society
as disbursed twelve million dollars. {
he general conference meets every
our years, consisting of $50 mem t
ers, laymen and ministers and is the l
My legislative body of the church.
The Eugene Bible University will q
resent its claims to the people of
alias next Wednesday evening at h
Ie Christian church. 0tho H. Will e
ans will be the speaker of the even
g. II is claimed by those who have C
sard him that he is great speaker. s.
r. Williams will be assisted by Rev.
con L. Myers, a former pastor of n
e Christian church here. and we'll f
lown to the people of Dallas. The c
lfilen-Hatly quartet will furnish
usic for the evening. This is a qaur-
t of national renown and will prove h
rare treat for music lovers. The g
ople of Dallas are invited to hear
ese people. No admission price will t.
charged. nor will any offering be el
ken.
The Methodist Sunday school will 10
Id its annual bazaar on the first Oh
inday in December. A large collec-
N of needle and fancy work, home Sc
oking and candies will be on sale. Ia