Evening star., 1925-10-18
CONTEST EXPECTED
AT CHURCH SESSION
Opposition Likely to Amalga.
nation of Congregational
Missionary Activities.

| 4 spirited contest over the project ed
Indignation of nearly dozen indie
/ pendent missionary activities, one of
which is 100 years old and several of
which control funds of more than a
million dollars. into TWO powerful
orga MIA tions. is expected To draw ma
tional attention to the twenty first
regular meeting of the National Coun-
ell of Congregational Churches of the
! United States, which will he convened
at the Washington Auditorium Tues
day morning 10 continue until the
! night of October %, OF a period Of
/ nine days.
, The absorbing Of the separate mis-
Sionary entities. fVe devoted to for
elSn missions and nine to home mis-
SlonS, has been opposed by conserva-
| tiveS of the faith for several wears,
but progressive group in the church
in the interest of good business, has
succeeded in forcing final disposi.
ton of the all-important question.
President to Speak.
Two other scheduled events which
| promise 10 make the gathering the
most significant in the history of the
/ congregational denomination will be
! an address by President Coolidge,
| honorary moderator, Tuesday night
| ano the election of a new moderator
with nine candidates -four clergymen
! and five laymen-in the field.
| A committee of -. composed OF S
men and women, who in January.
| 1924. We're charged with perfecting
plans for the proposed merger OF the
missionary bodies, sat in special ses
| sion at the MaNfiower Yesterday, and
| they will continue their deliberations
! tomorrow. The committee, which is
headed by the Rev. William Horace
Day, ID. D., OF Bridgeport Conn, is
! putting the finishing touches on the
! report.
| Bodies In Proposed Merger.
The organizations slated to he af-
fected by the proposed merger are
! The American Board of Commission
ers for Foreign Missions. headquarters
at Boston: the Womans Board of
! Missions, Boston: the Woman's Board
OF Missions of the Interior, Chicago;
! the Woman's Board of Missions for the
! Pacific: the Council of Woman's For
| eign Mission Boards; the American Mis-
sionEy Association. New York city;
the Home Missionary Society. New
York City; the Church Building So
| ciety. New York City; Sunday School
Extension Society, New York City;
the Education Society, Boston; the
Board of Ministerial Relief. New York
City; the Annuity Fund. New York,
and the Founda alton for Education,
Chicago.
We conceive" states the tentative
| report of the committee OF II on the
/ proposed merger, in explaining the
reason for their recommendations,
| that with single promotional
agency embracing all the contracts,
/ II will be possible to deal personally
/ with any church which desires il and
! TO establish contracts with many times
! the number of individuals now in
| terested. Where any one society on
| a limited budget and for limited
| contribution could not AFFORD such re
! lationships, and where now they
| would not be possible because of the
| forbidding number of approaches. one
! body with II large appeal and corre-
! spondngly large resources can estab-
! lish these connections effectively
Prominent Persons to Speak.
Among nationally prominent men
! and women to address the conven-
! ton during its sessions are William
| Howard Taft, Chief Justice, United
| States Supreme Court; Secretary of
! the Navy Wilbur, Mrs. Mabel Walker
! Willebra ndt, AsSista Mt Attorney Gen
eral; Commissioner John j. Esch. In
| terstate Commerce Commission, and
! Miss Mary Anderson.
The participating local churches are
! the Cleveland Park Church, Thirty
fourth and Lowell streets; the First
Congrega tional Church, Tenth and G
streets northwest; Ingram Memorial
Church. Tenth street and MasSa chu-
/ SettS avenue northea st; Lincoln Me-
mortal Church. Eleventh and r streets
northwest; Mount Pleasant COngrega-
tional Church, Columbia road and
! Fourteenth street: Peoples Church. NJ
street near Sixth street northwest.
and the Plymouth Church. Seven
teenth and = streets northwest.
$500 Attendants Assured.
| Frederick l.. F'agley, associate sec
retary of the National Council. who
Yesterday superintended the prepara-
tions for the opening. announces that
$500 have paid registration fees and
will sit through the sessions, while
no less than 500 visitors are expected
each day
The. ma iority of the delegates are
expected to arrive tomorrow, and a
score of local men and women Will
! be on duty at the Union Station to
greet them. In addition to the morn
| ing. afternoon and evening sessions
there will be special activities in the
various Congregational churches.
| Ex-Governor Sweet of Colorado and
| Roger Babson of Wellesley, Mass,
| we'll known financial writer are two
of the lay candidates for moderator.
The other lay candidates are j. r.
! Harwood of Appleton, Wis; Fred b.
! Smith of New York, and a laywoman,
! President Mary +. Woolley of Mount
/ Holyoke College. The following
! clergymen have been named: Rev.
| Ozora ). Davis Of Chicago. Rev. Dan
I +. Bradley of Cleveland, Rev. Charles
). Mills of New York and Rev. Carl
$. Patton Of Los Angeles.
Growth in Membership.
A report of the Rev. Charles Emer
son Burton, ID. D., secretary of the
council, TO be presented at the con-
| vention will show there were more
members of Congregational churches
at the end Of 1924 than ever before in
! the denomination history. The
number increased from s57 1916 to
| s7s.955, net gain Of s1.149 in the
two wears. The net increase for 1924
| was 1881. which number has been
exceeded but twice in the last 80
, years.
shingtonians who will serve on
the general committee for the coun-
ell are Rev. Jason Noble Pierce,
chairman; Rev. George l.. Farm
ham, Rev. Kyle Booth, Rev. Rob-
ert w Brooks, Rev. Walter A. Nor
gan, Rev. James Brown, Rev. James
c. Olden, pastors: John T. Axton and
| Evan w. Scott, chief chaplains of the
Army and Navy, respectively; VIII
liam knowles Cooper, secretary Y. NJ.
{. A.: Leonard w. De-Gast, associate
secretary and the chairman Of com
| mittees.