Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-29
POINTS OUT NEEDS
OF AGED MINISTERS
OF N. {. CONFERENCE
"There is No Shame in His Neces-
sity," Says Report of Rev.
E. H. Dashiell.
FUND WILL BE INADEQUATE

Tho progress of the fund for Con-
ference Claimants is described in the
following report, read Saturday to the
Wilmington Methodist Episcopal Confer
ence by Rev DIR. +. III. DaShiell, chair
man of the committee on conference
claimants:
THE original objective for our Con-
ference Claimants Endowment was $780,
600 At the last conference we reported
S20S, 4l9. During the year it became ne
cessary. at the request of certain con-
tributors, to make an adjustment that
brought this amount down to S2OS, ,334.
After another years work, the total now
stands, counting all bequests and prom
ises of every form, 1854 ,006.
"AlI expenses of the campaign, includ-
ing secretary's support, are paid to date,
and there is now in hard cash, including
all the conference holds, as follows: In
vestmentS in real estate securities, S19,-
325: Liberty bonds, S27 300; War Savings
stamps. S555: cash ready to be forwarded
to treasurer, 81, ,S27; total, SlO9,OO7 Dur
ing the past year there has been col
lected from all sources S33, ,9S7.
Nearly all our leading layrnen, and
our ministers without exception as lar as
they felt they could go, have Loyalty CO
operated in reaching this point OF prog
ress. Your secretary, likewise, has done
his best to discharge the responsibility
placed upon him. But, after ample credit
has been given every human agent, when
the situation is reviewed IN all its aspects,
we have no explanation for the result ex-
cent the blessing of God In the begin
ming. realizing something of the difficulties
of the task, and keenly feeling the neces-
sity of divine aid, ten or twelve were select
ed from among the most spiritual persons
of orr knowledge, and requested to enter
a covenant to pray for this work, and
for us, at least once a day until the end
was reached.
Eve called it Our Conference Claimant
Prayer League. Reports from time to
time of gracious divine visitations upon
these souls as they plead for their aged
ministers and the opening to them OF the
heart of the church, have kept us from
faltering in many hard place, and have
rendered triumphant our confidence IN
ultimate success Therefore in utter free
dom from cant, we fully and firmly be
lieve that the result must be ascrlbed, not
in general but in particular, to the gra-
cious activity of the Spirit OF God. Per
sonaIlv. we have to a peculiar degree been
sensible of His presence, and have never
IN our ministry felt more deeply assured
OF walking in His will.
Some believe the work could have
been done in much less time, as were the
campaigns for the institute and the cen
tenary. But we think they fail to con-
slider three important things:
81. Our people are thoroughly drilled
in the necessity of Christian education
and missions, and every preacher is en-
thusiastic on both subjects.
- The appeal for conference claim
ants meets a partly developed and often
antagonistic sentiment among the laity.
And preachers. who throw themselves so
enthusiastically into all other campaigns,
are embarrassed and backward when
facing this They feel they are asking for
themselves; and. however clearly 1t may
be demonstrated that they are not, they
cannot wholly divest themselves OF the
feeling that. at least, 1t has that appear
ance This work, therefore, IN large mea-
sure, loses the impetus OF their efficient
leadership which is delivered with such
telling effect to education and missions.
''3. Not all the conferences attempting
endowment for conference claimants have
succeeded, although they have had IN
tensive campaigns, either preceded or
followed bv the work OF a secretary Long
in the field. The Ohio conference, for in
stance. is a hundred thousand dollars short
of its objective. In the very outset we
publicly stated it as our Judgment that
the time element was essential to success,
and we are today still more thoroughly
convinced Of the soundness of that ludg-
ment. To those who feel it ought to have
been completed sooner, we can only say:
The present status of the fund has been
established in the shortest time In which
we could do it.
There are three distinct impressions
which We wish to make and make deeply
upon the mind of the conference and the
church. They are vital to the high end