Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-28
CHURCH PROBLEM
IS KEEPING PACE
WITH NEW PHASES
Population Change and Growth
Called Greatest Strain on \
Methodists.
to The Tribune.

GH6Cldl u luc liiUuIC'
Havre. Aug. 27.-"The problem of
the Methodist Episcopal church and
of the board of home missions and
church extension has been in past
years and is now the problem of keep
ing pace in the development of the
church with the changes taking place
in population and the increase in
population" said DR.. Forsythe to the
Northern Montana Conference Sun
day, 80.
illustrated by this one incident" con-
tinued DIR. Forsythe. One of our
Methodist Episcopal bishops went
down to southern California TO or
ganize the southern California Ton
ference in 1875. The conference was
TO he held in the place where los
Angeles now stands. The bishop vas
compelled to go IS miles by stage
coach to get there. Now Los An
geles is one of the great cities of the
I.ation. Recently ! found in files
a letter written by Jason Lee, the
pioneer Methodist Episcopal mission
airy who helped save Oregon for the
United States. TO the corresponding
secretary of the Methodist Missionary
society in 1886. Jason Lee said in
this letter that his associate, who had
gone out with him to the northwest
as a missionary, was returning to
the states" That great northwest
was not at that time a part of the
United States. Now within that re-
gion are a number of our great cities.
vast agricultural developments, lum-
ulation. 1t has been the problem of
the Methodist Episcopal church in its
development to keep pace with such
changes in population.
Points Out Development
'The frontier is even yet a great
mission field. A few years ago Mon
tana was a vast grazing region. very
sparsely populated. To-day it is being
broken up into farms. and hundreds
of thousands of families are finding
their way there. man. to battle as
pioneers with dry farming. The same
statement could be made with refer
ence TO Wyoming. Aside from this
type Of change, we have a number
Of groups such as the Mormons, the
lumber jacks and the Spanish people
in the southwest.
One Of the most sensitive problems
confronting us is that of keeping pace
with the negro problems of America,
due to the migration north and the in
crease of his numbers. To make this
sensltiveness concrete one need only
consider the riots of Omaha, East st.
Louis. Chicago and Tulsa, Okla. One
of the most providential things done
by the Methodist Episcopal church was
its action at the close of the civil wal
IN behalf of the black race. Our in
vestments since that time have resulted
In 70 great conferences with 100000
members and - or IL million dollars
worth of church and parsonage prop
erty. In the early seventies one of
our Methodist Episcopal bishops went
down south TO organize the Mississippi
conference and after a group of negro
ministers. who were to be the minis
ters of that conference. came together
and the organization of the conference
was proceeding, the question was asked
Who shall be the secretary of the
conference 1t developed that no one
of the negro ministers in the group
could either read or write. A white
man was selected as secretary. We
now have a number of well developed
men in every one of the negro confer
ences in this country. The centenary
movement has made it possible for us
to meet our responsibility in keeping
Face with the changes in population so
that in many of our southern cities
like New Orleans, Savannah, Green's
burg, Lake Charles and Atlanta we
have been able to help develop a num-
Der tof strong and adequate negro
Churches. The mayor of Lake Charles
at the time of the dedication of u