Help for Our Washington Church
By Arthur G. Daniells
During the council of the General Conference Committee at Battle Creek last November an appeal was made to the committee in behalf of our church in the city of Washington, D. C. After giving the matter careful consideration, the committee passed the following recommendations:— “Your committee, to make recommendations concerning the assisting of the brethren in Washington in paying for their new church, would respectfully submit the following:— “Whereas, Washington is the capital of our nation, and is deserving of respectable places of worship, where our people can assemble with those interested in the third angel’s message; and,— “Whereas, The brethren in Washington have appealed through their union conference president to the General Conference Committee for help; therefore,— 1. “We Recommend, That the president of the General Conference, the president of the Atlantic Union Conference, the president of the Chesapeake Conference, and the pastor of the Washington church shall be encouraged to make appeals to the brethren and sisters throughout the United States, to assist by donations in paying for the church. 2. “We Recommend, That all donations received for this purpose, to an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars, shall be used to assist the church. 3. “We Recommend, That in all this, the General Conference make no pledge of responsibility regarding the obligations of the church. “H. W. Cottrell,
“W. C. White,
“I. H. Evans,
“Committee.” The importance of establishing our work on a good basis in the city of Washington, our national capital, is a problem which the General Conference Committee has had under consideration for years. More or less labor and means have already been bestowed upon the city, and good fruit has appeared. Since the last session of the General Conference most earnest efforts have been made to strengthen the cause at Washington. During the summer of 1901, tent meetings were conducted by Brethren John A. Branson and W. A. Westworth. Since last May the work has been carried on by Brethren J. S. Washburn and Lewis C. Sheafe. These laborers have been successful in awakening a good interest, and in leading many dear souls to accept the message they proclaimed. The difficulty in providing suitable places of worship during the winter and for a class of people in Washington who should be reached by the third angel’s message, has given those directly responsible much serious thought. Those best acquainted with the conditions have felt that if a good foothold could once be secured in Washington, the cause would make encouraging progress in that city; but while the believers were few and poor, it seemed almost impossible to provide such accommodations for religious services as were absolutely necessary to make their work as successful as it should be. Feeling that they cannot permit past conditions to exist any longer, the brethren in Washington now appeal most earnestly to their brethren throughout the United States to assist them in lifting the work to a better point of advantage. In considering the request of our Eastern brethren for help, the members of the General Conference Committee recognized that conditions in Washington are very different from those in almost any other city in the United States, and they felt that we should be justified in appealing to our people to assist a needy yet worthy enterprise. A full explanation will appear in this number of the Review, and a list of donors will be started. Now that our brethren in Washington have come forward with such a bold, earnest request, and the General Conference Committee has responded favorably and joined them in the appeal to all our people, we most sincerely hope that a noble and generous contribution will be made. Are there not many brethren and sisters throughout the United States who will be glad to invest something in the Washington church? Whether you can do little or much, send in your contributions, and with these gifts remember at the throne of grace the work in Washington, and pray earnestly that this effort may be signally blessed of God. The help now rendered may result in establishing a light in the city of Washington that will in future days be a source of much blessing to the cause of God, and to many precious souls.