Northern Illinois Conference
By Wm. Covert
A FEW items with reference to how the message is going in the Northern Illinois Conference will doubtless be of interest to our people. I will give a very short report of the work. A few weeks ago there were eight baptized in the South Side church by Elder Williams after a sermon by Elder Warren. Next Sabbath several are to be baptized in the South Side church. I think eight have already given in their names for the ordinance. About six weeks ago Elder H. Hansen baptized five in the Erie Street church, and next Sunday evening eight or ten others are to be baptized by Brother Hansen in the Humboldt Park church. Elder Santee is expecting to hold quarterly meeting and baptize a number of candidates at Moline next Sabbath. There are also six or eight to be baptized at Streator. Some of the Germans in Chicago who have lately embraced the truth are getting ready for baptism. In our Swedish church there was baptism a few weeks ago, and others are expecting to be baptized soon. Elder Warren is holding meetings in Chicago, and is also organizing a training-school for workers, and his labors are beginning to bear fruit. We frequently hear of individuals who are just beginning to keep the Sabbath. Large congregations attend the services at the Forty-sixth Street church on Sunday evenings, where the message in its strength is presented. We have paid for and installed a small printing-press, and the various features of the third angel's message as presented by Elder Warren in his lessons are being published in leaflets upon our press. Many thousands of these are given to the people who attend the meetings, and they are also being distributed in the city by those interested in this work. The printing is done free of charge by a number of our own members who are practical printers. We have an organization of about forty brethren and sisters who agree to pay one dollar a month for the purpose of meeting the expense of material and power connected with the printing work. We hope to increase this company till they number one hundred or more, so as to have one hundred dollars a month for this work in the city. We learned last week that a special Earthquake number of The Signs of the Times was to be printed, and our churches in Chicago took this matter up in their meetings last Sabbath, and as a result of the effort, more than twenty-five thousand copies of this special number of the Signs was subscribed for. We have already sent in an order for twelve thousand copies, and will order more as fast as these that have been ordered can be disposed of. At Moline, where we have a small church, one thousand copies of this special number was ordered. We have just received an order this morning from Streator for three hundred and sixty-five. We trust that other churches will do their full part in the same good work. The church at Kankakee has sent in an order for 1,175 copies of April Liberty. Some special interest there caused this order to be made. We hope that our churches everywhere will take an active interest in the religious liberty work, and make all out of it that the times demand. The interest in the various features of the message is increasing, and yet there is much room for improvement, especially in some departments. The things taking place in the world surely indicate that the time to arouse has fully come. May our dear people be faithful to the trust that the Lord has committed to them. WM. COVERT.