The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-26
.METHOD|STS WILL
 HANDLE CENTENARY WORK IN MEETINGS
Educational Phase Will Be Rapidly DeveIoped-Gather- ings Scheduled for This
 Week In Local Churches

Two important gatherings of Methodists are to be held this week, one at the First Methodist church, Birmingham, and the other at the First Methodist church. Ems ley
 The meeting at First church. Birming ham, will be for the Birmingham 1istrict, and will be held Thursday evening at 7:D o'clock The special subject for consider ation will be the Centenary Making Good Visiting speakers will show how the centenary campaign of Methodism hss made good in the use of funds al- ready collected.
 In speaking of the work accomplished by the centenary, the conference secre- tary, the Rev. Foster K. Gamble. said; i such work has been accomplished as the sending gut of 100 new missionaries , to the foreign fields during the past year; hthe opening of orphanage in Belgium, and the care of Serbian orphans at special home In England. religious work and mission operations in Belgium. Pos land and Czecho-SloVakia; the sending or 10 colporteurs for distribution of the Bible in Palestine; the opening of new mission, work in Siberia; the enlargement Of schools, hospitals and other mission plants as well as building of churches and the establishment of new enterprises in all the mission fields: the enlargement and strengthening of 12 mission schools in the mountain section of the southern sta tes the launching of more definite and systematic work in the cities and rural sections of the south, as well as among the foreigners in our midst.
 "The gathering of more than lOO,U0 people into the church on profession or faith during the past F months the result of the evangelistic campaign. fol- lowing the money drive It will also be clearly shown that the continuance of the .1r hapr iNr of new enterprises will depend upon the l prompt and full payment of centenary | pledges.
 ! "Defnite plans for these collections will 1 be presented at the meeting, to which are | invited the pastors of all the churches m the Birmingham district, together with the centenary treasurers, campaign di- rectors Sunday school superintendents, minute men, laymen, presidents of the I Woman's Missionary society and presi- dentss of the Epworth league. It is ex- pected that a good representation will De
 had from each church in the district"
 MEETING AT ENSLEY l The meeting at Ensley will be Jointly m the interest of the centenary and tho ! Christian education movement, and will be attended by representatives from all the churches in the Bessemer district, and the hour for this meeting is o'clock in the afternoon, and the session will con
 tnue throughout the evening, with supper
 served at the church.
 Not only will the same general infor-
 nation and plans be set tortn concerning
 the centenary as at the Birmingham
 meeting but under the direction of Dr. fL. C. Branscomb, as conference secre-
 tary, the plans for the Christian educa-
 tion movement will be presented.
 A programme of spiritual cultivation, including prayer, life service and the
 stewardship of money. Is to be carried out during the next three months, beginning
 January l.
 'The great need for Christian educa-
 ton, both as a means of propagation or Christian religion, and as the only method
 for securing the needed trained workers. is recognized by all leaders in the church today said Dr. Gamble. ''The place Of the family altar, the Sunday school ana the young peoples societies and the church college in the great scheme of re- lligious education will be discussed. These meetings of the pastors and leading lay
 men and women in the Birmingham and Bessemer districts are the beginning or a series of meetings to be held in all the districts of the North Alabama confer
 ence The other districts are to be reached by visiting teams of speakers
 duting the month of January