Northern Illinois Camp-Meeting by William Covert

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 12, 1911

Northern Illinois Camp-Meeting

By William Covert

This meeting was held in City Park, Aurora, Ill., August 22 to September 3. It was attended from without the conference by Elders A. G. Daniells, O. A. Olsen, Allen Moon, J. J. Westrup, J. B. Blosser, Profs. H. R. Salisbury, M. E. Kern, and O. J. Graf, and Brother I. A. Ford.

The preaching and teaching were so practical and good that the people were filled with gladness as they listened. The remark was frequently made by tenters and visitors that the camp was the most beautiful they had ever seen, and the meeting the best they had ever attended. Of course our meetings should become better as we come nearer to the end and get into closer union with our Lord and the truth.

Thousands of dollars have been spent by the city in providing facilities and in beautifying this park. Nature has done much to beautify with hills and groves the fifty acres on which we camped; and the art of man has made walks and planted flowers and shrubs to please the eyes and lift up the hearts of all who behold them. And the grounds, with spacious dining-hall and electric lights, were given freely to our people for the twelve days of convocation.

About seventy tents were pitched, and all made for dwelling purposes were occupied, yet there were not canvas homes for all; so many people had to seek lodging in the city.

The weather was so fine that it seemed a constant smile from heaven almost every hour of the period. There we were made to know that God's people can abide under the favor of heaven without criticizing any one, and without murmuring at Providence.

It was estimated that 400 of our people were present at least a part of the time. Seventeen were baptized by Elder Magoon in the little lake upon the campground. Three new churches were received into the conference. The tithe for the year 1910 was $24,923.86, which was nearly nineteen dollars a member. The subscription book sales and the magazine sales were more than any previous year; I have not the statistics at hand, so can not report the exact amount.

The Tri-City Sanitarium reported that the institution had enjoyed the largest patronage of any time during its history. It had made substantial gain in its finances.

Since the graduating exercises, when eight nurses were graduated last spring, many of the physicians in the city have been bringing patients to the sanitarium. Some divine influence has enabled them to see that our nurses and our methods are just what the afflicted people need, so they have been keeping the house full of people.

Fox River Academy, located in this conference, having been remodeled and put in good condition of late, reported a full school for the past year, with a gain of $1,000 in its operations. Its prospect for the year just opening is very bright. The applications for places in the school next year are calling for all the rooms in the institution.

The proceedings of the annual conference passed off harmoniously, and the majority of those who filled offices of trust during the past year will serve the same good cause during the year to come. But the writer, who has served as conference president in Northern Illinois for the last six years, and who was first called to the conference presidency when the Indiana Conference was organized thirty-nine years ago, lays off the official burden of conference work now, and our dear fellow worker, Elder George E. Langdon, will put on the official harness in the Northern Illinois Conference.

We surely believe God will bless Elder Langdon's labors here, and that our people will sweetly cooperate with him as they have so kindly done with his predecessor.

I most sincerely thank the Lord that although I have just about completed my threescore and ten years, and have invested forty of these in labor for this good cause, I am yet able to labor in the ministry. Not this only, but I feel wholly disposed to push forward in the blessed way which leads to our Lord's second coming. We are assured that some who have been long in this way shall abide till his coming.

WM. COVERT.