Fraternal Address
Bishop Charles W. Smith, Fraternal Delegate Methodist Episcopal Church
East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Saturday Night, October 16.
I greet you in the name of our common
Father and in the name of Jesus
Christ, our Saviour and our Lord. As
fellow-soldiers following the same flag
and under the command of the Captain
of our salvation, I hail you on the
march--hail and godspeed! The occasion
for the present Convention of your
people is one of deep interest and one
for devout thanksgiving and good cheer.
A century is not a long period in the
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| C. W. SMITH. |
vast stretches of
human history; but
a hundred years of
earnest Christian
work can not be
without lasting results
in the establishment
of the
kingdom of God
among men. To
have gathered more
than seven thousand
ministers, almost
twelve thousand
churches and
about a million and
a third of members during this period,
with all the educational, philanthropic
and spiritual agencies belonging to such
a movement, is a result well worthy of
a great celebration. You do well, therefore,
at such a time to carefully consider the
past, give devout thanksgiving to almighty
God, take a census of your people,
estimate your resources, and lay wisely
your plans for the forward march. On
this happy occasion, so memorable in
your history, we, your friends and
neighbors, are glad to be permitted to
look in upon you, tender our congratulations,
and, join with you in your rejoicings.
For myself, I may say that I
have been commissioned by my colleagues
to bear to you the cordial Christian
salutations of the Methodist Episcopal
Church; and if I may be allowed
by courtesy to speak for the Methodist
brotherhood, I am sure I can present to
you the goodwill of the entire Methodist
family. However imperfect the message
I may bring, I am confident you
will not fail to appreciate the earnest
greetings of the more than 6,800,000
members of the Methodist family in the
United States. I have personal reasons
for pleasure in bearing this message.
When as a young man I came to the
pastorate of a church in Allegheny, the
first minister to call upon me to extend
brotherly greetings and cordial welcome
was the Rev. Mr. King, pastor of the
Disciples Church. His kindly courtesy
ripened into a personal friendship which
lasted during his lifetime and remains
with me a delightful memory and a
blessed influence to this day. And, furthermore,
I am glad to come to you in
this capacity because I hail with delight
every movement which brings the followers
of Christ into closer fellowship;
and in this I am but one of the thousands
of my Methodist brethren.
[Here Bishop Smith read an address
on "The Attitude of Methodism toward
Christian Fraternity," which was heard
with marked appreciation by the Convention,
but the manuscript of which
we have been unable to secure.]
Fraternal Address
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| J. M. BARKLEY. |
James M. Barkley, of Detroit, Mich.,
Moderator of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian
Church in the
United States of
America, attended
the Convention as
fraternal delegate
from that body, and
gave a gracious and
effective address in
Carnegie Music
Hall, Saturday
night, October
16. [Understanding
that the manuscript
was available,
no transcript
was made of the shorthand notes. But
at the last Dr. Barkley was unable to
furnish his manuscript.]
[490]
[CCR 490]