The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-05-21
THOUSANDS HEAR SPLENDID SERMONS BY VISITING CLERGY Business of Presbyterian Assembly to Be Resumed
 This Morning
WOMAN'S AUXILIARY
 WILL SUBMIT REPORT
Interest Centered on Report of the Committee on Oglethorpe Uni versity and That on
 Bible Cause
By MAMIE BAys


 mated Presbyterian Sabbath" in Bir- mingham, in view of the fact that in by 1 far the larger per cent of Protestant churches ministers who are in the city in attendance at the general assembly 1 of the Presbyterian church in the United | States occupied the pulpits. The day was ideal and thousands of regular churchgoers heard the sermons of the visiting ministers. And many of the con gregations, no doubt, were increased by scores of people who are not regular at tendants<at church, but who were drawn 1 there yesterday to hear the messages of the friends of former days or to hear ministers preach whom they had not known except by reputation and whom they desired to hear preach
 The business of the assembly will be resumed this morning and the day will be marked by important action. A spe- cial order of distinct importance to be considered today and one upon which the interest of the entire church is cen tered, as regards the action of the as- sembly, is the report of the ad interim committee on Oglethorpe university. As had been stated in The Age-Herald al- ready, the report of this committee will show that it has not been able to find any plan touching the university that would be satisfactory to the board of di- rectors of Oglehorpe university, and would be satisfactory also to the assem- bly's executive and advisory committees and the educators of the church.
 The department of Christian education of the assembly, under the direction of the Rev. Henry H. Sweets, D. D., execu- tive secretary, has underway a number of advance movements in the interest of the educational institutions of the as- sembly. One of the most important of these is the effort to secure the endow- ment of chair in every college of the assembly for the teaching of the Bible.
 REFORMATION CENTENNIAL
 On account of the fact that the year 1917 marks the quadri-centennial of the reformation, the general assembly has called upon the Southern Presbyterian church to make this occasion a season for increasing the interest in and the equipment and endowment of the educa- tional institutions of the church for larger service. In this connection special effort is being made to endow in each college of the church a chair for the teaching of the Bible alone, the amount sought being from $5,O0o,000 to s60O0,0O0.
 Attention is called to the fact that all of the great denomina tions in the United States are putting forth strenuous eff forts at this time to maintain their schools and colleges and to build strong departments for the study of the Bible. Amounts as follows are now being sought through special campaigns by the vari- ous denominations for this purpose: Pres byterlan church, U. s. A, $36, 0OO 900; Methodist Episcopal church, GOO, of which $16,O00,0O0 has been secured; South ern Baptist convention, $1o,0oo0OO; Dis ciples of Christ $3,500,000, large part of which has been paid; Northern Baptist convention, $6.OOOO0O United Presbyterian, $1, ,450 900; Reformed Church of America, $1 250, GOO. There are in the Southern Presbyterian church theological semi naries, colleges, institutes, seminaries and academies, mountain schools and or phans' homes and schools, total of about 100 schools.
 The assembly Is also reminded of the fact that in the state institutions of learning in the south an average of one student in every seven is from Presby- terian home and the educational depart ment of the church is making special effort to keep in close touch with these students by means of pastoral oversight. As far as possible ministers of marked ability and of special gift in dealing with student life are placed in charge of Presbyterian churches in cities and towns where state institutions of learning are located
 BIBLE CAUSE
 Among the many reports of permanent committees to be presented to the gen. eral assembly, that of the committee on Bible cause will prove of special interest
 The American Bible society has conn., pleted only recently its first centennial and the report of the permanent commit tee on Bible cause will call the attention of the assembly to the following facts One hundred years ago the society began its existence with the non- Christian world closed against the Bible. Today that same world is wide open and clamorous for the truth. Then the society was moved by the cry of a world need. Now it is urged by the same worid-need plus world opportunity
 The work of the society is carried on in North, Central and South America Europe, Asia, Africa and the islands of the seven seas. Under it's direction the scriptures have been translated, printed and distributed in more than 150 Ian guages and dialects.
 Owing to the limitations under which the home agencies labored the past year, 1t was inevitable that the total circula- ton of the scriptures through these agen- cies should be less than during the previ- ous year, but it is gratifying that this decrease amounted to less than 5000. The total number of copies distributed through the home agencies during 1916 was 1157,197, and to this should be added S51, ,45S copies circulated through auxiliary