Report of the Third Biennial Session of the Atlantic Union Conference
By Jennie Thayer
THE Atlantic Union Conference, as its name indicates, borders on the Atlantic Ocean, and it is comprised of the conferences of Maine, Vermont, Central New England, Southern New England, New York, Greater New York, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, Chesapeake, Virginia, and West Virginia. The third biennial session of this conference was held at South Lancaster, Mass., Nov. 1-9, 1905. In addition to the ministers directly connected with the conference, the meeting was favored with the labors and counsels of Elders A. G. Daniells, G. A. Irwin, S. N. Haskell, and E. W. Farnsworth. Brother S. N. Curtiss, of the Review and Herald Publishing Association, was also present. Including these, forty-five delegates were in attendance. During the session, a devotional meeting or Bible study was held each morning from 6 to 6:45; a business meeting from 9 to 10:30 A. M., and from 2:30 to 4 P. M.; and a preaching service at 11 A. M., and at 7:30 P. M. Fifteen business meetings were held, and were especially characterized by a spirit of religious liberty and Christian courtesy. The Chair being empowered to appoint the usual committees, named the following: On nominations, E. E. Miles, A. G. Daniells, J. E. Jayne, W. J. Fitzgerald, and C. H. Edwards; on plans, G. A. Irwin, A. E. Place, W. A. Westworth, S. H. Lane, Frederick Griggs, T. H. Purdon, M. L. Andreasen, F. E. Painter, C. C. Nicola, O. E. Reinke, and O. O. Farnsworth; on credentials and licenses, R. D. Hottel, C. F. McVagh, P. F. Bicknell, B. F. Purdham, and S. H. Lane; on distribution of labor, I. N. Williams, G. A. Irwin, F. H. De Vinney, F. C. Gilbert, and Morris Lukens; on apportionment of funds, A. G. Daniells, V. H. Cook, and J. E. Jayne; editorial committee, C. H. Edwards, M. L. Andreasen, W. J. Fitzgerald, and J. S. Wightman. The treasurer’s report for the twenty-two months ending Oct. 31, 1905, showed that there had been received in tithe, $17,251.02; in trust funds, $38,157.47; in local funds, $4,170.59; and that the present worth of the conference was $3,052.59, against $1,148.85 Jan. 1, 1904. The reports from the presidents of the conferences were all of an encouraging tone, showing a general improvement in the financial condition of the work, an increase in tithes and offerings, also in church-membership, and a determination to enter more vigorously upon aggressive work now that the burden of debt is being removed. So far as can be determined from these reports, the number of churches in the Atlantic Union Conference is about two hundred and eighty-five, with a membership of eight thousand seven hundred and ten. In addition to the reports from the presidents of local conferences, a report was given of the canvassing work, of the educational work, and of the Hebrew, the German, and the Scandinavian work conducted within the conference limits. The largest number of canvassers reporting any one week was fifty-three, and the average number was thirty-one. The total value of orders reported for the biennial term was $7,232.64. The average sales a week for each agent were $21.08; the average each hour, $1.08. There have been thirty-one church-schools, with an enrolment of five hundred and forty-six, one hundred of whom are reported as coming from homes where the Sabbath is not observed. A comprehensive view of the work of the conference may be obtained from the following resolutions, which were adopted:— “Whereas, The abounding mercies of God have been manifest in all the various branches of our work, and his guiding hand has been evidenced in the success that has attended our efforts during the conference term; therefore— “1. Resolved, That as a conference and as individuals, we unite in praising our Heavenly Father for his manifest goodness, and further— “That we show our appreciation of God’s grace by pressing forward into the openings of his providence. “Whereas, The General Conference during its last session, held in Washington, D. C., created a foreign department to foster evangelical work among the various nationalities; and— “Whereas, Persons have already been chosen to act as directors of this work among the German, Danish-Norwegian, and Swedish nationalities; and— “Whereas, There is in the Atlantic Union Conference millions of foreign-speaking people, for whom comparatively little is being done; therefore, be it— “2. Resolved, That we heartily approve of the recommendations passed by the General Conference relative to the foreign work, and that we invite the directors of the foreign work to give special attention to the needs of their respective nationalities in this union conference, and we pledge our hearty co-operation with said directors in carrying forward their work. “Whereas, The union conference is much interested in the development of all the various lines of work connected with the message in its territory; therefore— “3. We recommend, (a) That when there arises a need for enlarged facilities for any line of work connected with the message involving any large outlay of means, the matter be first carefully considered by the said conference, and if the move seem to be a proper one, the matter then be brought before the attention of the union conference for investigation and counsel before any definite move is made. “(b) That if the move be considered a proper one, whether it be the purchase of property or the erection of buildings, the project be then brought before the conference concerned, to ascertain the amount they are able to raise in the home field, and if this does not cover the full amount of the outlay needed, the counsel and advice of the union conference be sought as to the best way of raising the necessary funds. “Whereas, There are nearly one million emigrants landing at New York City annually from all parts of the world, to become citizens of this country, and— “Whereas, The first impressions received in this country are lasting; therefore— “4. Resolved, That the Atlantic Union Conference make an appropriation to the Greater New York Conference sufficient to employ a worker understanding several languages, to act as colporteur to distribute our literature prepared for the purpose, said conference to pay for the literature. “In view of the fact that this union conference has a surplus of $2,500 in its treasury, and— “Whereas, Our General Conference is badly in need of funds to sustain its missions in foreign lands, and also to open new missions in needy fields; therefore— “5. We recommend, That this union conference donate $1,500 of this surplus to the General Conference for mission purposes. “Whereas, There is not as effective work being done by the Educational Department of the Atlantic Union Conference as there should be; therefore— “6. Resolved, That the department be reorganized, and made to consist of fifteen members, with a chairman and secretary, and that this committee be appointed by the executive committee of the Atlantic Union Conference, and be under its control and direction. “7. Resolved, That we urge each of the conferences comprising the union to establish and maintain a department of education. “Whereas, The subject of Christian education is of vital importance to our people in preparing young men and women to be workers in the cause of present truth, and in the salvation of our children, therefore— “8. Resolved, That the Department of Education of the Atlantic Union Conference prepare two educational programs, to be presented each year in the churches throughout the union. “9. Resolved, That we urge upon our people the necessity of a prayerful study of the instruction given by the spirit of prophecy regarding the establishment and maintenance of schools of all grades for our children and youth. “Whereas, There are throughout the conferences of the union many young men and women of promise, who are unable to obtain the education necessary to properly qualify them to be workers in the cause of present truth, and— “Whereas, There is at present no permanent fund established for the purpose of assisting such proper and worthy young persons in attending our accredited training-schools; therefore— “10. Resolved, That steps be taken at once to establish such a fund in each conference of the union, said fund to be maintained by contributions and other laudable means, and to be under the joint management of the executive committees of the conferences and the local departments of education, and further— “That twenty per cent of such funds be appropriated to the like fund of the board of management of our union conference academy, and further—20“That to assist in building up such funds we accept the kind offer of Elder S. N. Haskell to print a special issue of the Bible Training School. “That the special issue of the Training School be twenty thousand copies, and that it be issued during January, 1906. “11. Resolved, That we urge our conferences that have not already done so to prosecute most vigorously the matter of closing out their quota of ‘Christ’s Object Lessons.’ “Whereas, There is an urgent need for a church manual to assist both local and conference officials in their work, and— “Whereas, The General Conference has planned the publication of such a work; therefore— “12. Resolved, That we request the General Conference to hasten the issuance of this manual. “Whereas, God has placed upon this people the responsibility of finishing the gospel work in the earth in this generation, and— “Whereas, Notwithstanding abundant harvests and unusual temporal prosperity, men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth, and— “Whereas, The warning message in printed form is one of the most mighty agencies for the rapid proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom; therefore— “13. Resolved, That we most earnestly request conference and church officers and ministers to give diligent attention to seeking out and encouraging suitable persons to engage in the circulation of our literature, both as resident workers and as regular canvassers. “14. Resolved, That in order to carry this work forward in the strong, aggressive manner so necessary at this time, each conference shall maintain continuously a competent canvassing agent. “15. Resolved, That in each conference arrangements be made for the training and development of men for the management of this line of work. “Whereas, There is a tendency to relax vigorous missionary work during a portion of the year, because of the special efforts put forth during the fall campaign; therefore— “16. Resolved, That we endeavor to keep constantly before our people the idea that we are engaged in a continuous, ever-increasing missionary movement, of which these special campaigns are only a part. “Whereas, The Ministry of Healing, an illustrated book of about five hundred and forty pages, has been offered by Mrs. E. G. White as a gift to our people, to be used by them for the help of our medical work, as the book, ‘Christ’s Object Lessons,’ was used to assist our educational work; therefore— “17. Resolved, That we express to the author our appreciation of the gift of this most excellent work for the benefit of the sanitarium enterprises in this field, and our determination to use the book in a way that will make it a messenger of light to thousands of homes, a source of encouragement to our churches, and of strength to the work in each conference; and further— “That in order to carry out this resolution, we proceed at once to organize a strong and continuous effort for its circulation in harmony with the plan suggested by the Relief Bureau, as follows:— “(a) That the New England States work their territory in behalf of the New England Sanitarium at Melrose. “(b) That the Greater New York Conference gather a fund for medical missionary work in its own territory, it being understood that the fund will be deposited with the General Conference without interest until it is required by the conference for medical purposes. “(c) That the New York Conference devote the proceeds from its sales to organized sanitarium work under the auspices of the conference. “(d) That the Eastern Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, and New Jersey Conferences work for the Philadelphia Sanitarium. “(e) That Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia work in behalf of the Washington Sanitarium. “Whereas, At the recent General Conference, held at Washington, D. C., the message came to us from Sister White that ‘the time has come when the Jews are to be given light,’ and— “Whereas, Years ago the Testimonies declared that publications should be prepared for the Jewish people, and— “Whereas, ‘The Lord wants us to encourage and sustain men who shall labor in right lines for this people,’ and— “Whereas, There are within the borders of the Atlantic Union Conference more than one million of Jews; therefore— “18. We recommend, That we consider the publication of the Jewish tract, ‘Israel’s Deliverer,’ by F. C. Gilbert, as a right step in this direction, and that other literature for the Jews be prepared, and that definite steps be taken by this conference to start, in the near future, more public work for this people. “Whereas, There never was a time when the powers of evil worked with greater diligence than now to counteract the work of God, and curtail the liberties of God’s people; therefore— “19. Resolved, That we recommend that each conference in this union that has not already done so, organize a religious liberty department, or appoint a secretary, whose special duty shall be to watch the different issues coming up that may affect the liberties of the people, acquaint our churches with the situation, and create a general interest in this much-neglected branch of the Lord’s work.” The following officers were elected: President, E. W. Farnsworth; Vice-president, W. J. Fitzgerald; Secretary and Treasurer, Jennie Thayer; Union Canvassing Agent, F. E. Painter; Executive Committee, in addition to the presidents of local conferences, Frederick Griggs, C. C. Nicola, M. D., S. N. Curtiss, F. E. Painter, and E. E. Miles. Advisory Committee of the Medical Department: G. T. Harding, M. D., C. C. Nicola, M. D., H. B. Knapp, M. D., E. F. Otis, M. D., Patience Bourdeau-Sisco, M. D., G. H. Heald, M. D., J. E. Jayne, C. H. Edwards, and W. J. Fitzgerald. Department of Education: F. Griggs (Chairman), W. J. Fitzgerald (Secretary), A. E. Place, W. A. Westworth, Mrs. S. J. Hall, H. W. Carr, C. H. Edwards, J. E. Jayne, Frank A. Page, B. F. Purdham, Eliza H. Morton, Lula I. Tarbell, Sue M. Andrews, Fannie Fondersmith. Credentials were granted to H. W. Cottrell, E. W. Farnsworth, W. J. Fitzgerald, Frederick Griggs, R. F. Cottrell, and F. C. Gilbert; and a ministerial license to F. E. Painter. Professor Griggs introduced the following resolution, which was adopted on motion of E. E. Miles, seconded by several simultaneously:— “Whereas, Elder H. W. Cottrell has for many years carried the heavy responsibilities incident to the office of president of the Atlantic Union Conference, and— “Whereas, He has been called to the work in another union conference; therefore— “Resolved, That we tender to Elder Cottrell our sincere thanks for his very earnest, conscientious, and untiring efforts for the upbuilding of the work of the Lord in this conference, and that we hereby assure him that our prayers, love, and good wishes shall follow him and his family in his future work.” Elder Cottrell called upon all to support Elders Farnsworth and Fitzgerald as heartily as he had been supported, and said he believed that this would be done, for he knew of no more loyal people than those of the Atlantic Union Conference. JENNIE THAYER, Secretary.