The Danish Conference by Guy Dail

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 9, 1906

The Danish Conference

By Guy Dail

GUY DAIL

This year the twenty-seventh annual session of the Danish Conference was held in the pleasant city of Randers, a place containing about twenty thousand inhabitants, June 13-18. Sixty-two delegates represented seventeen of the eighteen churches in the field. In all, about three hundred persons attended. We had an excellent and harmonious meeting. The Sabbath day was one of blessing, and revival of God's work in many hearts. The Holy Spirit greatly assisted Elder Conradi as he presented the need of unity in the church. Hearts were touched. Souls were converted.

The reports of the laborers for the past year contained many encouraging items. Through the opposition offered to some of the statements one of our ministers made about the attitude of Romanism to heretics, he was led to investigate authorities referred to by the questioner, and it was found that, contrary to what had been expected, our worker secured only better support for the statements he had made, so that our case was still more clearly seen to be just. We also learned that at the Skodsborg Sanitarium God had remarkably blessed some of the work done. A girl had been unable to walk for seventeen months, because of paralysis; her physicians could do nothing for her, and they told her that if she could not be helped at Skodsborg, she could not be benefited anywhere. She came, has been under treatment, and now is able to walk—a case in which God has especially been pleased to help us. The sanitarium is overcrowded, and will soon have another building, which will have about thirty rooms for patients, besides dining-rooms in the basement for patients and helpers. It will be three stories above basement, will cost about fifty thousand kroner, and will be erected on our own land. We hope to have it finished by this autumn, and it will probably be the best-paying building we have here. At Frydenstrand, they are also having a good run of patients.

The campaign on Danish “Christ's Object Lessons” began last October; about seventeen hundred books have already been disposed of. Some had a very good experience in their work, disposing of as many as seventy, eighty, or even one hundred copies, and being supported in their efforts by some of the popular ministers.

Advanced steps were taken in the resolutions presented at the conference. It was unanimously voted to support the proposed mission to Abyssinia, and the First-day collection, amounting to about thirty-five dollars, will go toward this object, as will all the First-day offerings in the Scandinavian conferences in the future. Since it has been decided to give for a special object, we believe there will be a material increase in the weekly offerings the coming year.

Denmark has taken the initiative among the Scandinavian fields, in adopting the plan followed by most of our European conferences, as expressed in the following preamble and resolution:—

“Whereas, It is now the practise of most of the local conferences in Europe to give a second tithe to the union conference, and,—

“Whereas, This plan has brought great blessing to the people, and,—

“Whereas, The Scandinavian Union Conference will hereafter need more means, therefore,—

“Resolved, That the Danish Conference pay a second tithe to the Scandinavian Union, beginning with July 1, 1906.”

Co-operation and support were pledged to the proposed union school, to be held at Nyhyttan, Sweden, the coming winter; the publication of local conference reports in connection with the Sabbath-school lesson pamphlets was favored; and the conference sanction was given to the work of the Copenhagen Young People's Society, which is especially interested in seeking to deepen the religious life of our youth in that city, and in working for the cause of missions.

Financially, there has been a wonderful improvement in this field the past five years, each year showing a better report. The tithe for 1905 was $7,066, against $5,700 the previous year; the offerings were $1,053, or $265 increase over 1904; book sales, $8,849, or $1,633 better than the year before. Sixty-four were received into the Danish Conference last year, but the net increase is not large, the membership at the close of 1905 being 724, or six more than twelve months earlier. The large number emigrating to America cuts down our net gain in this field very materially.

The following officers were chosen for the coming year: President, J. C. Raft; Vice-president, P. A. Hansen; other members of the Conference Committee (this committee also acts for Frederikshaven Sanitarium), Dr. N. P. Nelson, Jens Olsen, Peter Hansen, L. Muderspach, H. L. Henriksen; Canvassing Agent, Peter Hansen; Secretary and Treasurer, Jens Olsen; Auditors, R. J. Aagaard and Peter Hansen.

Ministerial credentials were granted to J. C. Raft and P. Christensen; ministerial licenses to L. Muderspach, Z. Sherrig, N. P. Hansen; missionary credentials to O. T. Helleraas, who has been recently invited into the field from Norway.

These workers go forth to another year's labor, among the two and one-half millions in their field, with better courage than before, feeling happy for the instruction they received at the meeting, and determined to press the battle to the front. Among workers and people there is a good spirit, and we think the days before our work in Denmark will be still brighter than they have been in the past.

Hamburg, Germany.