The Biennial Council in Friedensau, Germany by William Ambrose Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 24, 1911

The Biennial Council in Friedensau, Germany

By William Ambrose Spicer

Fifth and Last Report

A Great Field

The Russian reports required three sessions of the council. H. J. Loebsack told about work in that most difficult field of West Russia (the Polish and Bohemian and Jewish region). There are more Jews in that region than in any union conference field in the world. In 1910, 40 new members were received; but thus far in 1911, 35 have already been baptized.

O. Wildgrube spoke for the Middle Russian Mission, where there is one ordained minister for 50,000,000 people. In Moscow the state church missionaries are especially active against us, having issued six pamphlets to oppose our work. To their activity is due the arrest of our brother, who must stand trial on his return to Moscow. We have 100 members in this new field.

A Russian choir sang a portion of Luke 1 (verses 46-55); then the Siberian Union reported, G. Perk for the general field, and F. Ginter for the eastern part of European Russia, where he finds

it against the law to baptize any one under twenty-one years of age, or any one not released from the Orthodox Church. To secure this release is often very difficult for the people.

Elder H. K. Loebsack, of Omsk, spoke for West Siberia, where there are 286 members. Four churches are now awaiting admission to the conference.

Elder J. Ebel, of the Turkestan Mission, had already described his field in one of the services. He returns from the council to far Tashkend. And Elder E. Gnaedjin had also told of the believers in Harbin, Manchuria, and of work and service along the Mongolian border.

Elder J. T. Boettcher remarked that in these vast Siberian fields we have brethren in this blessed hope who live one thousand miles from a railway. Thus the message is penetrating to “the uttermost parts of the earth.”

Latin Union

The session devoted to this field was a cheering one. L. P. Tieche introduced the reports for this union, with its 100,000,000 inhabitants, mostly Catholic, where we have 1,060 members. H. H. Dexter spoke for French Switzerland, the cradle of our work in Europe, the smallest field of all, but still a base of supplies for the Latin work. F. Bond, of Spain, reported 23 new members in 1910; but thus far in 1911, 24 have already been received. The brethren were greatly cheered by the coming of Brother J. Brown, from Mexico, to push the book work in Spain. C. E. Rentfro reported 5 new members thus far this year in Portugal, and L. Zecchetto made a good report for Italy. The company at Genoa numbers 22; another company in Gravina, south central Italy, numbers 27.

T. Nussbaum spoke for south France, U. Augsbourger for Algeria (where he had formerly worked), and J. Curdy for the north France field. Only eighteen months ago there was but one member in this newly-set-apart mission field—one among 20,000,000. Fifteen have now been baptized. P. Steiner, of Paris, closed the report with a message of love and fellowship from the French believers to the German brethren.

Committee Actions

Elder W. J. Fitzgerald, for the British representatives, stated that the British Union was not asking now for financial help to work out its mighty city problems, but they did ask that effort be made to secure five or ten young men of the class who secure scholarships by canvassing, who might be persuaded to finish their school work in England, and prepare for work in some part of the British empire. The council recommended,— That the request regarding students from America for the Stanborough Park College be approved, and that the educational secretary be asked to take the responsibility of securing these students.

Further actions were taken, as follows:— That A. G. Daniells be requested to attend the British ministerial institute to be held in England next winter. That L. R. Conradi arrange to visit the Siberian and the East African missions before the next General Conference, and that the secretary of the European Division, G. Dail, accompany him to Africa. That, after about eleven years’ service, Elder L. V. Finster and his wife be granted a furlough from the Philippines, and that he be requested to plan his furlough so as to include attendance at the next General Conference as a delegate. That the Egyptian Mission be constituted a mission field separate from the Syrian Mission, and that it be placed under the management of the Levant Union in connection with the European Division.

Asiatic Division

The fields of the Asiatic Division have been set before the council in addresses and with stereopticon views by Elder I. H. Evans. Elder J. Westrup has also briefly recounted experiences. It is a wonderful situation that opens before us in the Orient so rapidly that we are far behind the providences of God. The Sabbath-keepers spring up in China faster than they can be visited and instructed. The following recommendations were made by the council:— That Manchuria be made a separate mission field, under the direction of the Asiatic Division of the General Conference. That for the present, until the work in Manchuria becomes more fully developed, the Russian work in that field be continued under the direction of the European Division. That the Publishing Department be asked to recommend at once a bookman for China. That Elder G. A. Irwin and the officers of the Southern California Conference make the selection of an evangelist and his wife to go to China this autumn, this request being made on the suggestion that a brother offers the support of these workers in China. That the officers of the General Conference find an evangelist for the Philippines, to enter the field this autumn. Other calls from Japan, Korea, and China were agreed to as most urgent, but it was decided to wait until the autumn council before taking further action, owing to the insufficiency of the current income to keep up with the rapidly expanding work.

Departments

One session in the large tent was devoted to departmental reports. The report for the Educational Department was given by H. R. Salisbury; for the Publishing Department by E. R. Palmer; and for the North American Foreign Department by O. A. Olsen. These reports were intensely interesting. It was stated in the educational report that the German school at Friedensau has sent out 525 students, 250 of whom are preachers or Bible workers. There are 6,500 students in our higher training schools, just the number of Sabbath-keepers that we had in 1874, when our first missionary, J. N. Andrews, crossed the sea; and it was in that year that our first college was being established. In the same year the International Tract Society was organized, Elder Palmer told us, to be the parent agency in the international distribution of our publications. The story of the canvassing work, year by year, was vividly told with the aid of charts. To purchase to-day one copy of all of our literature would require $500, representing a purchase of 1,860 publications, in 67 languages, with the imprint of 27 publishing-houses.

Elder O. A. Olsen showed how, through the providence of God, peoples of all nations have been gathering in America. He reviewed the history of the spread of the truth to other lands by means of those who have heard the message in the United States. He appealed to the brethren in Europe to cooperate in every way possible in the efforts now being made to evangelize the foreign peoples of America. During the council, the strengthening of the work of the Foreign Department in America received earnest consideration. In planning for the great and growing German work in the States, the council recommended,— That the West German Union Conference be requested to release Elder J. H. Schilling, president of the West German Union, and that he be invited to take the superintendency of the German work in North America; also that the General Conference Committee in America be asked to make arrangements for the future work of Elder G. F. Haffner, who has been doing faithful work in the German department.

When this action was reported by Elder Daniells on Sabbath afternoon in the large tent, after a stirring missionary service, expressions of surprise and regret rose involuntarily from hundreds of lips; but very cheerfully, as the matter was explained, the congregation voted to acquiesce in this gift to the German work in America, though they felt that it was indeed a sacrifice. In the sessions of the West German Union Committee following the council, Elder J. G. Oblaender was selected to take the presidency of the West German Union. At the close of the council the following vote was passed:— Voted, That the visiting members of the General Conference Committee Council, meeting in Friedensau July 4-16, 1911, extend to the East and the West German Union conferences and to the brethren and sisters of these unions, hearty thanks for the hospitality which they have freely bestowed upon delegates from other fields, and for the kind care and brotherly welcome which they have given us; we assure these brethren and sisters that we shall ever treasure

the memory of these days of association together in Christian fellowship, and shall pray that God’s richest blessing may abide with them until the Saviour comes.

Our space does not allow reporting the proceedings of the East German Union Conference, which occupied one of the morning hours during most of the time of the council. This union, under the presidency of Elder H. F. Schuberth, is vigorously pushing forward the work in the eastern part of Germany and in Hungary and the Balkans.

One meeting of the camp was devoted to the financial interests of the school and institutional enterprises at Friedensau. The congregation subscribed about $11,000 to these enterprises, sufficient to practically set them free from all indebtedness, we understand.

The Last Sabbath

As the Lord richly blessed on the first Sabbath in the great congregation, so also his blessings were showered richly upon us the last Sabbath. The people came seeking God, and throughout the Sabbath hours the presence of the Spirit of God was felt in our hearts. In the morning service as those who knew that they had definite surrenders to make to God were invited to come forward to seek him for definite victory, so many responded that it was impossible to ask them forward. As they stood in the aisles and amid the congregation, their needs were spread before the Lord in prayer. The after-meeting, attended by upward of 500, who had come to receive definite help, was a season of blessing. All hearts rejoiced as heavy burdens were laid down, and the bands of sin were broken.

At the afternoon service, Elder Daniells presented the high calling and work of the gospel ministry, and following this 12 men were ordained to the ministry. These men represented work in 7 different languages. The following is the list of the 12 who enter the full work of the gospel ministry from this council meeting:—

A. C. Enns (German-American), German East Africa.

George Keough (English), Egypt.

R. P. Paulini (Rumanian), Bucharest, Rumania.

J. Schneider (Lettonian), Baltic Conference, Russia.

C. Motzer (German), Bulgaria.

A. Langholf (Russian-German), Rumania.

B. Schmidt (German-Russian), South Russia.

F. Koch (Russian-German), Caucasus, Russia.

R. Lusky (teacher formerly), Germany.

H. Langenberg, Germany.

W. Schaefer, Saxon Conference, Germany.

Guy Dail, European Division secretary.

Each of these brethren spoke a word to the congregation, and then the following workers, under appointment to leave Germany, spoke each a few words, and were bidden Godspeed by the brethren:—

R. Stein, and his intended wife, Miss Eichler, under appointment to Victoria Nyanza, German East Africa.

E. Lorntz, of Norway, under appointment to the Abyssinian Mission.

P. Hennig, of Germany, called to the Clinton German Seminary (Missouri).

O. J. Olsen, under appointment to Iceland.

R. Kuempel, under appointment to Brazil.

J. H. Schilling, under appointment to North America, German work.

Thus closed the last Sabbath in the camp amid blessings fresh from heaven. The following Sunday, the public again visited the camp in large numbers, and the day was devoted to public preaching services; and again the children (this time of the Berlin churches) rendered a missionary program, and gathered a large offering for the missionary cause.

The biennial council of 1911 has been a rich spiritual feast to all, and all are assured that it will mark a long step forward in the finishing of the work.

W. A. SPICER, Secretary.

Friedensau.