Report of the Foreign Mission Seminary
By M. E. Kern
As the United States War College and the Naval Academy are objects of special regard by those who are interested in the national defense and in the standing of our government among the nations of the world, so, we believe, the Washington Foreign Mission Seminary is an institution dear to the heart of every advent believer, who is "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." This institution was established in 1907, in response to a definite demand from the foreign field for more and better-trained missionaries. It is a necessary factor in a great missionary enterprise. The plans on which the Seminary is operated are the result of much earnest study and prayer on the part of the Foreign Mission Board and the workers in the school, coupled with the experience gained in the conduct of the school and in the management of our foreign mission work. The prominent features of the Seminary might be enumerated as follows:— 1. Personal acquaintance between missionary appointees and the members of the Foreign Mission Board. This means much in the testing of appointees, in placing them in the fields for which they are best fitted, and in the future relations between the missionary and the Mission Board. 2. Study of special mission fields. Definite knowledge of a proposition is a necessary prerequisite to its solution. So a thorough knowledge of a mission field,16with its climate, people, religious and social conditions, and the previous missionary efforts in its behalf, will enable the missionary candidate to go out better equipped and with a far greater chance for success than otherwise. These special studies include a class in the city problems. 3. Studies in the message. Before sending men and women to the uttermost parts of the earth, the church should make sure that they have their tidings ready. Thorough review of the fundamentals is given at the Seminary, besides advanced work in Bible and history. 4. Special methods and practical training in Christian work. A series of lectures on denominational organization and work by General Conference men gives to the students of the Seminary the benefit of the broad and varied experiences of these leaders in the work. Special classes are also conducted in methods of ministerial, colporteur, medical evangelistic, and Bible work, and a definite time each week is devoted to practical work along these lines. Thus students are "tested and proved that it may be seen what their adaptability is." 5. Study of languages. Many missionaries fail because they never master the language of the people for whom they labor. Experience has demonstrated that it is advantageous in some cases to begin this study at home. Spanish and French are taught regularly, and Oriental language work arranged for as the needs demand. Consideration is being given to the science of phonetics as a preparation for the study of any language. 6. Special training in medical evangelistic work. There is a great demand from the foreign fields for well-qualified nurses, and it is important that all missionaries know the elements of the treatment of disease. The Seminary is endeavoring to meet both these needs, and this is an encouraging feature of the work. A dispensary established among the poor of Washington the first of May, has prospered beyond our own expectations. The clinical advantages and the opportunities for genuine missionary effort are most excellent. A new feature along medical and practical lines this year is a course in hygienic cooking. 7. Industrial studies. The foreign missionary, of all workers, must be practical. Successful work is being done in farming, dairying, printing, poultry raising, dressmaking, and millinery. 8. Review of the fundamentals of literature and science. Those who have neglected academic science and mathematics can get them at the Seminary. Special attention is given to academic and collegiate work in English, including journalism and Biblical literature. A class will be conducted in English for those who need hastily to review the fundamentals of English grammar and composition. It is poor policy to send to a mission field to learn a foreign tongue those who have not been able or have not seen fit to become proficient in their own. At the meeting of the constituency held at Pittsburgh April 17, 18, 1912, the work of the Seminary was carefully considered. Elder A. G. Daniells and others set before the meeting the great value of the work that the school is doing, emphasizing the importance of our present effort to combine Biblical research, medical instruction, and practical experience in Christian work. The following resolutions were adopted:— "Whereas, There is a crying need for gospel medical missionaries in the great unworked fields of the non-Christian world, and in the cities of our own land as well, and,— "Whereas, The Washington Foreign Mission Seminary and the Washington Sanitarium, in harmony with the instruction that led to their establishment, have been located side by side in order to co-operate in the training of workers for missionary service, and,— "Whereas, An effort is being made by these institutions to unite more fully in the training of graduate nurses and others as medical missionary workers,— "1. Resolved, That we heartily approve of this effort, and encourage the board of directors to persevere in perfecting and carrying forward this plan of work. "2. Resolved, That we commend the action of the District of Columbia Conference in cooperation with the Seminary and Sanitarium in establishing a dispensary in the city of Washington, as a center of medical missionary effort, to help the poor and unfortunate, and to give our missionaries in preparation a training in medical and gospel work. "3. Resolved, That we heartily approve of the work done by the Seminary in giving students preparing for the ministry and the Bible work, practical field experience in connection with their studies. "4. Resolved, That we continue to co-operate in every way possible with the District of Columbia Conference in carrying forward evangelistic and medical work in and about the city of Washington." The enrolment for the year was 173. Counting on the basis of the enrolment of the previous year, eliminating the undergraduate nurses and those taking chorus work only, the enrolment would be 130, or twenty more than the previous year. A board of trustees was elected, and is now constituted as follows: W. T. Knox, A. G. Daniells, L. A. Hansen, M. E. Kern, H. R. Salisbury, Dr. George Thomason, Dr. H. N. Sisco, F. M. Wilcox, and J. L. McElhany. The personnel of the Seminary and Sanitarium board is the same, and the two institutions are operated as one enterprise. Thus every effort is being made to conduct here an all-round educational effort for the preparation of workers for the great world field. Announcements for 1912-13
The executive committee of the board as at present constituted is as follows: L. A. Hansen, general manager,—chairman; Dr. H. N. Sisco, medical superintendent Washington Sanitarium; M. E. Kern, president Foreign Mission Seminary; G. W. Chase, steward,—secretary; F. L. Hommell, Sanitarium house manager; C. Sorenson, Head of Seminary Bible Department. Dr. H. C. Menkel, on furlough from India, has been retained for the year, to teach the class in India missions and to assist in the medical work. We are hoping for a large class of volunteers for India. J. A. P. Green, leader of the colporteur work in Mexico, has been secured to teach that work here, and we are expecting a large class of experienced canvassers to take this work as a preparation for colporteur work in Spanish and other fields. The Seminary opens this year on September 4. All who desire to attend, or who wish information, should write the undersigned at Takoma Park, D. C., for a copy of the Annual Announcement, application blanks, etc.