Eighteenth Meeting by Arthur G. Daniells; William A. Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jun 1, 1905

Eighteenth Meeting

By Arthur G. Daniells; William A. Spicer

THE eighteenth meeting was called to order May 22, at 7:30 P. M., A. G. Daniells, chairman.

Prayer was offered by J. N. Loughborough, and minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

The Chair stated that the session was to be devoted to the Medical Department. After inviting a number of the doctors to occupy the platform, the chairman called for a partial report on medical work from the committee on plans. This report was presented, and it was moved to adopt it by considering each item separately.

Before taking up the recommendations, the chairman reviewed the forming of the union conference departmental plan in the Atlantic Union. This form of organization had been followed in the Southern, Central, Southwestern, and Northern Unions, and now the general plan was being adapted to a General Conference departmental organization, to foster medical missionary interests as the interests of other departments were conserved by departmental committees.

The first series of recommendations on medical work, number 17 in the report of the committee on plans, was considered item by item as follows:—

17. Whereas, True medical missionary work is an essential principle of the gospel as set forth in the threefold message of Revelation 14; and,—

Whereas, We have been repeatedly counseled by the spirit of prophecy that medical missionary work should not be separated from the other lines of gospel work of the conference, the church, and the people; therefore,—

We recommend, (1) That this branch of our work be made the Medical Missionary Department of our conference organization.

Question was called, and the second section of the series was read.

(2) That the medical missionary work in all its features receive the same fostering care and financial support from the conference organization, churches, and people that are given to other branches of our work.

In reply to a question, remarks were made on this resolution.

A. G. Daniells: It is not that the medical worker as a regular means of support will be placed upon the tithe as evangelistic field workers, but he will be treated as the educational and other workers. The true medical missionary is a gospel worker as much as the true Bible worker or preacher, and in entering new fields and reaching his place of work and getting started in it should be helped in the same general way that we help other laborers. Yet it is not at all contemplated that the medical worker shall be salaried from the conference treasury, leaving income from the work to be used in enlargement, etc. Examples were cited in Australia showing how help from the conference enabled workers to get a foothold in new centers, and then the work itself was able to sustain the laborer. In mission fields where there can be no supporting income, as in the case of Inland China, our medical missionaries are dealt with the same as all the other workers.

Dr. W. A. George: No physician will feel that he has made a success until self-supporting, but in getting into new fields help is needed.

A. T. Robinson: Nebraska has been putting nurses into field work on salary as Bible workers. The receipts have been more than the salary, and they have secured entrance to homes that could not have been reached otherwise. The conference is much pleased with this kind of work.

Question was called, and the next section read as follows:—

(3) That the general advisory work of this department in the General, union, and local conferences be placed in the hands of departmental committees of suitable size and experience to properly develop the medical missionary work.

Question was called, and further recommendations

read, dealing with the question of corporations for holding properties of medical missionary institutions, as follows: “That the real estate and personal property of medical missionary institutions created and supported by conferences be held in trust for said conferences by legal corporations created by said conferences, and that the executive management of each institution be vested in a local board of management elected by the conference or constituency.” “That the constituencies or trustees of corporations aforementioned shall be elected by the conferences in sessions.”

Free discussion was had of the question as to whether the creation of special corporations for holding these properties should be recommended by the General Conference, or whether it should be left to local arrangement without such general recommendation. The question was whether it is better to have one corporation as a body to hold conference properties, churches, schools, and sanitariums, or whether it is not better to have a special conference corporation to hold sanitarium properties. All were agreed as to the necessity of local boards of management, with full powers, created by and responsible to the conference.

An amendment was moved to make it read “legal corporations specially created by said conferences for this purpose.”

It was, however, voted to refer these recommendations to the committee on plans for further study.

Further sections of recommendation 17 were considered, and amended as follows:—

(4) That the General Conference Medical Missionary departmental committee consist of the chairmen of the union conference medical missionary organizations, or where there are no medical missionary departments in the Union, that a representative from the union conference be chosen by the union conference or its executive committee, and eight persons to be appointed by the General Conference Committee.

(5) That the departmental committee be authorized to appoint standing committees either of their own number or others, to supervise definite phases of the work.

Question was called on the report as far as considered and amended, and it was adopted unanimously.

A. G. DANIELLS, Chairman,

W. A. SPICER, Secretary.