The Wisconsin Conference
By William Covert
Report of the President at the Lake Union Conference
OUR conference is composed of 3,030 church-members, organized into ninety-seven churches. It also has within its boundaries eleven unorganized companies with seventy-three members, and one hundred and fifty isolated Sabbath-keepers, making a total constituency of 3,253. Death has been permitted to take from our ministry a beloved brother, Elder William Sanders, who now sleeps in Jesus. There has been quite a dropping of names by some of our churches since we met at Chicago two years ago. The distribution of the book “Christ’s Object Lessons,” upon the quota plan, resulted in the dropping of about four hundred members from the records of our churches. Later the collection of funds for the General Conference Association indebtedness has effected a shrinkage in our statistics. The usual evangelistic work has gone forward, and nine churches have been added to the conference, yet the severe trimming of records has in numbers more than balanced our increase.19 Our Sabbath-schools number one hundred and thirty at present. We had twenty church-schools last year, and the year before there were thirty church-schools. The number of schools depends upon the number of available teachers. Probably forty of our churches asked for schools last fall and winter, but it was impossible to furnish teachers for them all. The number of students in attendance has varied from two hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty, according to the number of church-schools in operation. This count does not include our intermediate and preparatory departments in Bethel. Our churches in Wisconsin own fifty-nine church buildings. Seven of these were dedicated during the last two years. Our laborers receiving pay from the conference tithe at present comprise seventeen ordained ministers, fourteen licentiates, and nineteen other workers. Besides these we are paying the salary of Sister Ida Thompson in China, and Brother and Sister Ritchie in Scotland. We have also about fifty other certified laborers,—doctors, teachers, nurses, and canvassers,—who are self-supporting, and whom the Lord is graciously blessing in their work for him. These are worthy of consideration with those who receive financial support from the tithe. Wisconsin has furnished the following-named persons for the fields herein specified since our session two years ago: Brother and Sister Ritchie for Scotland, Brother and Sister Brandt and Brother David Johnson as canvassers for England, Dr. Volmer for medical work in Samoa, B. F. Machlan for principal of the intermediate school at Boggstown, Ind., Brother G. A. Grauer as German teacher for Union College, Miss Cook as teacher and preceptress in intermediate school at Sheridan, Ill., and G. W. Stilson as stenographer at Washington, D. C. The total tithe received during the last two years is $48,322.10. The total amount of this tithe used outside of Wisconsin these two years is........$11,709 51
Total annual offerings to missions ............ 3,879 83
Weekly offerings ............ 1,947 34
Miscellaneous offerings ..... 2,524 58
Sabbath-school offerings to missions ............ 2,755 69
Total sum of offerings ............ 10,587 44
Total tithe and offerings sent abroad ............ 22,296 95
Total amount of tithe used in our own conference ............ 36,612 59
Average annual settlement ............ 18,306 29 At the last biennial session of the Lake Union Conference the delegates by vote encouraged the erection of a sanitarium at Madison, Wis. This has been done under the supervision of the Medical Missionary Department of the Wisconsin Conference. A report of the workings of this institution may be expected during the present session of the Lake Union Conference. We have erected three church-school buildings during the last two years, and are planning a small industrial school for the Oneida Indian church. We have authorized our missionary to China, Miss Thompson, to establish a school for girls in Canton, and the school is now in operation, with twenty-one students in attendance when last heard from, and room for three more. We have provided five hundred dollars to meet the first year’s expense. Our missionaries in Scotland report a company of twenty-four Sabbath-keepers, as having accepted the faith in the field where they labored last year. In our book department the retail value sold for the two years amounts to ......$12,566 48
Amount of “Christ’s Object Lessons” sold ............ 14,340 00
Total amount ............ 26,906 48 Total number of “Christ’s Object Lessons” purchased since the beginning of 1902 12,378
Previous to 1902 ............ 2,800
Total to date ............ 15,178 “Christ’s Object Lessons” on hand in our office ............ 626 Due Emmanuel Missionary College ............$ 4,000 00
Due the Mission Board..... 450 00 We are disposing of this business as rapidly as we can, and expect to keep it moving until it is done. The missionary campaign upon which our people entered last fall marked the beginning of greater activity in the circulation of our literature. This little revival came in good time to encourage the sale of the Capital and Labor number of the Signs. As a result twenty-two thousand copies of this excellent number were sold in Wisconsin. We know this report is imperfect, but a fair idea of what has been done in the Wisconsin Conference can be gained from it. It is realized that the final result must be left with the Lord.