The Pacific Union Conference, as its name implies, extends the length of the Pacific coast of North America, and includes, generally speaking, the territory west of the Rocky Mountains. It embraces the States of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Nevada, the Territories of Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. This vast region, reaching from Mexico on the south and extending far into the frigid zone on the north, contains 1,842,986 square miles, or, by comparison, has an area a little over half as large as that of the United States. It is a sparsely settled portion of the world, for in all this great territory there is a population of only 3,774,342, a trifle less than that contained in the State of Ohio, and only 140,000 more than in the city of New York alone.
In this union conference there are six self-supporting State conferences, namely, California-Nevada, Southern California, Western Oregon, Western Washington, Upper Columbia, and Montana,—and three mission conferences which receive annual appropriations from the union conference, namely,—Utah, Arizona, and British Columbia,—and two mission fields, Alaska and Hawaii, which are almost wholly supported from its treasury.
In these conferences and mission fields there are, according to our latest reports, 9,754 Seventh-day Adventists, of whom 8,940 enjoy the privileges of organized churches, 292 are in unorganized companies, and 552 are classed as isolated. Our roll of churches numbers 221. We have at present 341 Sabbath-schools with a membership of 9,447, a gain of 67 in schools and 1,114 in members for the biennial period.
In this union conference there are eighty-nine ordained ministers, twenty-eight licentiates, and fifty-four who hold missionary credentials.
Our finances show a total tithe (two years) of $230,180.15, being a per capita tithe of $11.54 annually. Our Sabbath-schools have contributed $16,643.49 in weekly offerings, of which $10,645.63 has gone to the foreign work; $6,874.59 has been given as First-day offerings, and $2,698.90 has been contributed from various other sources to the foreign field, making a total of $44,507.12 for foreign missions.
Before touching upon the several departments of our work on the coast, let me speak of the mission fields which are under the direct supervision of the union conference, namely, Alaska and Hawaii. The former field has had a laborer for the past three years, and work has been done at Skagway, Dawson, and other points on the southwestern coast. Some good fruit is already seen, and we hope for more. Hawaii has had the labors of an ordained minister during most of the biennial period. The Anglo-Chinese Academy at Honolulu,9for the benefit of the Chinese youth of the island, is in a prosperous condition, with an enrolment of about fifty. It is hoped that the medical work may be re-established at this point ere-long.
Our publishing house, the Pacific Press, has labored under peculiarly trying circumstances the past year, in the removal of its plant from Oakland to Mountain View, and in the cutting out of much of the commercial work which it formerly carried. While we believe this move is right and for the best, it has created temporary problems of a difficult nature, and has been attended with financial loss. We are glad to say, however, that the prospect for the coming year's work is very bright, and we are hopeful for the future.
During the past two years part of the conferences in our union have transferred their heavy stock of subscription and trade books to the Pacific Press Publishing Company, agents and churches now dealing directly with the house and with its Portland branch. Most of the conferences carry a light stock of tracts, pamphlets, Sabbath-school supplies, etc. How this experiment, this departure from the past regular lines of work, may affect the State conference interests, remains to be seen.
The general depression of the past few years in the sale of our publications has been felt in the Pacific Union Conference in common with other parts of the field. There are at present about forty-five who are giving all or a large portion of their time to the work of putting our publications into the homes of the people, and in two years the book sales have amounted to $57,993.47. Feeling the need of a general awakening along the line of our book work, a bookmen’s convention was called last January at Mountain View, Cal., which was attended by all the leading general agents, canvassers, conference presidents, and tract society secretaries of our union. Ten days were spent in carefully planning for the prosecution of this important branch of the cause, and already there are indications of a genuine revival of the canvassing work in the several conferences. We look for the coming year to be a prosperous one in this department. Considering our Spanish population, we are at a disadvantage on account of the limited number of denominational works published in this tongue. Here is a foreign field at our very doors, indeed within our own borders, which is scarcely touched, and for which we plead the translation of books and tracts on present truth at an early date.
Some or all of our papers are finding their way into the homes of most of our people, the REVIEW having a circulation in our territory of 2,524 copies, the Signs of 4,621, Good Health of 1,448, and Life and Health of 2,191. Our conference organ, the Pacific Union Recorder, has also a weekly circulation of 850.
Our camp-meetings held last summer, sixteen in number, were seasons of great power and blessing. The hearts of the people were greatly cheered and strengthened in the faith, sinners were converted, and many who had been cold and careless were awakened to a new life. In some of the conferences steps are now being taken to cut out, as far as possible, the business of the conference from the large camp-meeting, thus giving more time and opportunity for spiritual work.
In the Pacific Union Conference there are three training-schools where the young may receive a Christian education,—at Walla Walla, Wash.; Healdsburg, Cal.; and at Fernando, Cal. These schools during the last two years have enjoyed a reasonable patronage, there being at present a combined enrolment of 402. During the school year now closing a goodly number in each of these schools have started in the Christian life, and have received baptism and church fellowship. All these schools are struggling with the burden of debt, and while through the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons” and voluntary donations, they have been able to materially reduce their liabilities, the battle for freedom from debt is still on. At present the debt on Walla Walla College is $19,527.82, on Healdsburg College, $32,070.96, and on the Fernando school about $8,000. Five intermediate schools have come into existence of late, and are being patronized to the extent of their accommodations. Western Washington has a small school at Mt. Vernon, north of Seattle; western Oregon, one at Gaston, about thirty miles south of Portland, and another at Gravelford, in southern Oregon. Montana is now putting its Bozeman school on an industrial basis and British Columbia has a country school near Hammond. Their schools have a combined enrolment of eighty-four, and employ six teachers. Our churches are also conducting seventy-two church-schools, with eighty-four teachers, and a total enrolment of 1,560. Thus there are 2,046 children and youth enjoying the advantages of a Christian education in our schools on the coast.
During the last two years some plans have been laid to bring out needed text-books for our primary and intermediate grades, and these efforts have been well received among the people. We feel, however, that to insure uniformity, General Conference plans should be inaugurated which may include all our schools. We trust that this may have careful consideration at this conference. As far as possible, our training-schools and intermediate schools, and in some cases our church-schools, are carrying on industrial work, but we are coming more and more to the conclusion that only such departments should be opened in this line as can secure the services of competent instructors and be successfully conducted.
Passing to the medical interests, we would say that we have six organized sanitariums, located as follows: St. Helena, Cal.; Glendale, near Los Angeles, Cal.; Paradise Valley, near San Diego, Cal.; Portland, Ore.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Spokane, Wash. The latter suffered the misfortune of having its main building destroyed by fire about a year ago, and is now moving to Walla Walla, Wash., having leased a portion of the college building. The institutions at Glendale and Paradise Valley have both been opened during the past year, and have been full to overflowing from the very start. Treatment rooms are also being maintained at Vancouver, Seattle, Spokane, Salt Lake City, Ogden, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and at several other points. We are glad to say of all these institutions and branches that they are enjoying a good patronage, and their financial reports show encouraging gains each year.
There are also conducted in our union conference seven successful vegetarian cafes and three health food factories. Most of these institutions are now paying a tithe of their net earnings to the union conference, and it is planning to put one or more persons into the field who shall give all their time to instructing the people in the principles of health reform. We feel that these many lights along the Pacific coast which point to a better way of living are of incalculable value to the work, and we are glad to say that the greatest harmony exists between the evangelical and medical departments of the work. There is being maintained on the coast a legal medical association termed the Pacific Union Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association, incorporated under the law, and having its requisite number of officers.
Needs of the Field
As we regard it, the needs of our field to-day are:—
1. A spiritual reviving in all our churches, which shall create more of a realization of the needs of the hour, the times in which we live, and the work we have to do. We believe that there should be in this great field a few strong, spiritual men who can give their whole time to evangelistic efforts, especially in our camp-meetings, schools, sanitariums, and important centers, who will present before the people the living issues of the day, the need of a complete consecration to God, and who, in connection with State conference officials, will organize the people for active work. We feel that these should have the burden of the work at heart, and should call the attention of the people, especially those of means, to the necessity of giving liberally to the cause, both at home and abroad.
2. A greater appreciation by the ministry of the need of carrying this truth speedily to those who are still unwarned, especially in the large centers of population.
3. A need of a consecration by all, ministers, physicians, teachers, laymen, to this work, which will lead us away10from commercialism and worldly ideals to the simple, straightforward principles of our message, and which will make the teaching of the third angel’s message the one great object indeed of all our preaching and of all our institutional life.