Dedicatory Exercises at the Foreign Mission Seminary by William Warren Prescott

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 28, 1908

Dedicatory Exercises at the Foreign Mission Seminary

By William Warren Prescott

The new building of the Washington Foreign Mission Seminary, designed for use as a recitation and lecture hall, was dedicated with appropriate exercises on Tuesday evening, May 19. The halls and principal rooms of the building were attractively decorated with palms and wild flowers, presenting a very inviting appearance. The pleasant chapel was filled with an audience composed of the faculty and students of the Seminary and their friends, the faculty, patients, and nurses of the Sanitarium, and others interested in the work of the Seminary.

The exercises opened with a hymn by the congregation and prayer by Dr. D. H. Kress of the Washington Sanitarium. Following this there was a song by the Seminary male quartet; then Elder A. G. Daniells, president of the board of trustees, made a general statement concerning the work of the institution and the circumstances which led up to the construction of the building. The modification of the original plans for an educational institution at Washington grew out of the constant and increasing calls for workers for the mission fields, and as the Mission Board faced these demands, the necessity for an institution for the training of workers who should respond to these calls seemed imperative. He felt that the providence of God had been over the work, and had guided to the present moment when this building, so necessary for carrying out the general plan of work, was ready for dedication.

Prof. H. R. Salisbury, the treasurer of the board, submitted a financial statement showing that in constructing the building the cost had been kept within the original appropriation, a fact which afforded him much satisfaction to report. The figures were presented which told the financial story and indicated the cost of the various materials entering into the construction of the building, as well as of the items of labor. At the close of his remarks, speaking as the president of the faculty, he expressed, in behalf of himself and his associates, their great satisfaction that the Seminary was now provided with such facilities as would enable them to carry forward their work to advantage.

Prof. Frederick Griggs, the chairman of the Educational Department of the General Conference, gave a brief review of the history of the educational work of the denomination, showing how the colleges and academies were first established, followed by the church-schools, and later by the industrial schools. He felt that the establishment of the Foreign Mission Seminary was the last, but not the least important, step in the development of the educational system of the denomination. He expected to see many well-trained workers go forth to all parts of the harvest-field, bound together by a common interest in a great work, and by the ties of personal friendship formed in their association together at the Seminary.

A selection of instrumental music was then rendered by the Seminary orchestra, after which Elder I. H. Evans, in a brief address, emphasized the need of making the Seminary especially strong in the lines of Biblical research and in the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. He declared that the reputation of the Moody Bible Institute at Chicago was due to the fact that they made the earnest study and the teaching of the English Bible the leading feature of their work. He deplored the lack of scholarly Bible teachers in the denomination, and earnestly urged that the Seminary should give especial attention to this feature in the education of gospel workers.

Prof. B. G. Wilkinson was then introduced, and in his remarks recalled some of the experiences in conducting the work of the Washington Training College, now the Foreign Mission Seminary, when the proper facilities were wholly lacking. It was a source of great gratification to him that the completion of this new building placed the Seminary in a position to conduct its work on a basis most satisfactory both to students and instructors, and he hoped to see well-trained workers from the Seminary carrying the closing message to the various nations of the earth.

The concluding address was made by Prof. W. W. Prescott, editor of the REVIEW, who spoke of the need of such an institution as the Foreign Mission Seminary from the standpoint of the field, and suggested three general reasons which would not only justify, but call for, the establishment of such a place for the training of workers: (1) in order to determine the general fitness of the candidate for mission work; (2) in order that candidates for the mission field might be able to breathe a missionary atmosphere while preparing for their work; (3) in order that those under appointment to specific fields might receive such special instruction as would enable them to cope with the difficulties which would confront them, and to preserve both life and health. Enlarging upon these reasons he declared that something more substantial than the transitory halo which in many minds surrounds the foreign-mission idea, was necessary in order to prepare the candidate for work in heathen lands so that he would remain permanently in the field under adverse circumstances, facing influences which tend to depress and discourage. The opportunity of associating with instructors who had themselves had experience in the foreign fields; and of becoming acquainted to some degree with the countries, and peoples, and their conditions; and of acquiring such knowledge of the diseases peculiar to the several countries and the methods of successfully treating them, would place the candidate for foreign work upon vantage-ground and would make his success much more assured. He closed by referring to the urgent calls from the great centers of darkness and heathenism for missionaries of the true gospel, and expressed the hope that at the Seminary many would be trained who would respond to these calls.

Brother A. S. Baird, the architect and builder, responded to the chairman's call for a few remarks, and expressed gratitude for the privilege of having had a part in constructing the buildings for the use of the Seminary. He spoke appreciatively of the work done by the students in the erection of the buildings, and of the advantage which such a training would be to them in the mission field.

The dedicatory prayer was then offered by Elder G. B. Thompson, who invoked the special blessing of God upon the Seminary, that it might fill its place in the great work of carrying the last message to the ends of the earth. The exercises closed with a song by the Seminary male quartet and the benediction by Dr. W. A. Ruble.

In response to the invitation to inspect the building, the friends visited the various rooms. The building is pleasing both in its exterior appearance and in its interior arrangement, and is a credit to those who planned it and to those who constructed it. By this addition to its facilities, the Seminary is now prepared to carry forward its important work in a manner satisfactory both to the management and the students. W. W. P.