The Republican journal., 1918-11-07
The Call from Bible Lands.

''The remotest place on the continent
in these stirring days is not too secluded
to feel the world-thrill, and to have a
part in the great movements that are
making the world better place to live
in, and alleviating its suffering" Mr.. E.
H Boyington of Winterport has been
chosen by the Maine State Sunday School
Association and the International Sunday
School Association, with headquarters in
Chicago, as the leader of a campaign
looking toward Continent-Wide Sun
day School Visitation Day, December
1st when every Sunday School in North
America will be visited by representa-
tive of the Organized Sunday School
Movement, in behalf of the suffering
thousands in Bible lands.
"Christian North America" ''is being
called on at this time to pour out it's
money for Liberty Bonds and for War
Service activities of every kind it is
responding nobly. Another challenging
call, however, is sounding in the ears of
the Christian people of North America.
1t is the call of over two million people
in Bible lands s-Armenians, Syrians and
Greeks of Asia Minor.
"These people, who are the hope of
civilization in Western Asia, have en-
dured, and are enduring, such suffering as
our American minds cannot conceive.
They have been massacred and deported.
Men have been separated from their
families and ruthlessly murdered. At
tractive women and girls have been sold
as slaves or taken by the Turks. The
rest of the women and the children have
been driven into the mountains and the
desert, and the path over which these
refugees have gone is strewn with the
dead. In the past two years over one
million have died from massacre, deporta-
ton, exposure and disease. But the dead
no longer challenge US; it is those who
live and can yet be saved.
"The ravages of war the past year
have added to the horror. The Turkish
armies have destroyed everything in their
wake. Four million people destitute of
home, clothed only in rags, are facing the
cold of winter and starvation. One mil
lion of these can be reached by relief
agencies. Four hundred thousand of them
are orphans. The relief agencies can do
f1,rr hac
the money
'The land where Christianity had its
birth is asking for practical demonstra-
ton of that Christianity now. All the
Denominations have united to answer
this call from the East and campaign
has been launched to raise two million
dollars from the Sunday Schools of North
America Every Sunday School is asked
to give a Christmas season offering to
Armenian and Syrian Relief work.
''To make sure that no Sunday School
is overlooked in this appeal, the lnterna-
tlonaI Sunday School Association is plan
ming to have every Sunday School visited
va
planning the need, creating enthusiasm
and pledgine the schools to make as large
an offering as possible. The International
Sunday School Association in this cam
paign is working in cooperation with
the Armenian and Syrian Relief Commit
tee in New Y York, and the two million
which they are to raise is part of larger
campaign on the part of the Committee
for thirty million dollars.
'The Armenian and SYRIA Relief Com
mittee have already done wonderful
work in ministering to these suffering
people and have been enabled to save
thousands of lives. The Committee is
directed by leading men of the Continent
and it's work has been highly endorsed by
President Wilson, and Sir Robert Borden,
the Premier of Canada, and by Mr.. Roose-
welt and Mr.. Taft. One feature of the
work of the Committee is unique. 1t is
enabled to devote all money collected for
relief work to the immediate cause for
which it is given. Expenses for collec-
ton, printing, postage and administration
and the transmitting of funds, are met
privately. Distribution of all supplies IS
cared for by the American Consular forces
and American missionaries, whose SER
vices are loaned for this ministry"