p. 10 | The British Union Conference by W. J. FITZGERALD

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 21, 1910

The British Union Conference

By W. J. FITZGERALD

W. J. FITZGERALD

No general report has appeared in the REVIEW for the British Union Conference since the General Conference session held about nine months ago. The delegates all returned from the General Conference with renewed courage, and the news which they brought comforted and stirred with enthusiasm their fellow workers and our churches generally. Since that time we have all been seeking with renewed earnestness to press forward.

The year 1909 produced sufficient in the British field to encourage our hearts. Two hundred sixty-two new members were added to our churches. The gain in tithes over the year 1908 was $1,187, the total amount of tithe being $26,265. A good degree of liberality was shown toward missions, the total offerings amounting to $5,125, this being an increase of $1,568 over the previous year. About $2,000 was contributed toward the union conference building fund, while over $70,000 worth of literature was sold in the field. The health food factory enjoyed a prosperous year—by far the best in its history. The Caterham Sanitarium also experienced the most successful year since it was opened. It was possible to make important improvements there, the same being paid for out of the earnings of the institution. The sanitarium in Leicester enjoyed a greater degree of prosperity than ever before. A shortage of water at the Rostrevor (Ireland) Sanitarium rendered the work more difficult and less profitable.

We would make special mention of the training-college. Its work has been conducted again in the old mansion on the estate. A new house of about twelve rooms has served as a dormitory for the young men. The school year, which opened last September, found the facilities of the institution taxed to their limit. The work of the school has been moving encouragingly, and the close of each session finds a fair number of students prepared to enter the field, to remain. Thus our force is constantly being increased. Some who received training in the school went out to Africa and India last year.

All were encouraged at the opening of the present school year to see the new college in process of erection. At the present time, nearly three fourths of the labor has been done. A few more months will suffice to complete it, and the time of the dedication has already been appointed. That ceremony will take place in connection with the union conference session, which will convene July 28. Those who have seen the building are pleased with the exterior appearance. We think we shall be as well satisfied with the interior when all is finished. It will provide facilities for about one hundred students. The chapel will have a seating capacity of about two hundred twenty-five.

The faculty and students are looking forward to the next school year with much happy anticipation. The new building will doubtless prove a great boon to our educational department in Great Britain. We are expecting 1910 to be productive in all lines in the British field. For this we shall earnestly labor.

London.