Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 60, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1919 — REV. BARBRE RETURNS HOME [ARTICLE]

REV. BARBRE RETURNS HOME

Attended Christian Church Convention at Cincinnati, O. The international convention of Christian churches, which had been in session at Cincinnati, 0., the past week, catoe to a close Monday night. Rev. and Mrs. W. T. Barbre, who attended the meeting, returned home Tuesday. The attendance was one of the largest of these annual gatherings. Besides ministers who rode on clergy certificates, the railroads reported that 5,000 reduced fare tickets were sold to persons attending. This does not include those of Cincinnati and nearby towns who came in on Interunbans and many who did not receive the reduced fare tickets. The meetings were held in Music hall, one of the finest convention auditoriums in the middle west, which seated 10,000 people. Many things were done at this

convention which will mark a new era for this Christian body. The most outstanding advanced step was the organization of the United Christian Missionary society, which, is a merger of six other itßtlssionary organizations, which include the Foreign Christian Missionary society, the Christian Woman’s Board of Mossions, the American Christian Missionary society, the National Benevolent association, the Board of Ministerial Relief and the Board of Church Extension. Other organizations will be taken into the uindted society later. This unification step was taken in the interest of efficiency, economy, and to avoid duplication. Rev. Raphael Miller, Kansas City, was elected president of the convention for the next year. Rev. Miller was one of the men who brought to such a successful close the Men and Millions Movement of the Disciples of Christ. Many very important resolutions were introduced in the convention. Resolutions were adopted endorsing the Inter-'Ohurch World movement, the United Budget for Missions, and urging the speedy ratification ot the league of nations and treaty of peace and declaring against military Intervention in Mexico. Two resolutions having to do with the local church and the minister were also adopted. The first of these was to the effect that a na-tion-wide calmipaign be conducted urging every church to own a residence for their minister. The second asked the churches to in-, crease the salary of their ministers on the basis of a sliding scale, 25% for those now receiving sl,500 or less; 20% for those receiving $1,500 to $2,000; 15% for those receiving- $2,000 ,lo $2,500, and 10% for those receiving over

13,000. Two-thirds of the delegates voting on this proposition were lay members. The greatest session of the convention was the communion service on Sunday at which nearly 15,000 people partook of the Lord’s Supper. It took three of the largest auditoriums in the city to hold the people. The largest of these was in Music hall. Rev. Edgar Dewitt Jones, pastor at Bloomington, 111., was the presiding officer for this year, and gave the president’s address, taking for his subject “The Old Evangel ajid the New Era.” Many noted men of other communions were on the program. Rev. S. Earl Taylor, general secretary of the Inter-Church World movement, and the chairman of the centenary movement of the Methodist Episcopal church, spoke on the InterChurch movement. Dr. Daniel Poling, associate president of the United Society of Christian Endeavor, addressed the convention on “The Call of the New Crusade,” which was a plea for Christian unity. The sessions closed Monday with the organization of the new United Christian Missionary society, but the officers of the new society have not been announced-