f* JUL 22 1903 *j BV 4423 .G6 1903 Golder , Christian. History of the deaconess movement in the Christian HISTORY OF THE Deaconess Movement IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH By REV. C. GOLDER, Ph. D, With 200 Illnstratio7is CINCINNATI: JENNINGS AND PYE NEW YORK: EATON AND MAINS Copyright, 1903, by Jennings and Pye PREFACE. When we consider the fact that at least one hun- dred and forty Deaconess Institutions (inclusive of the various branch Homes) have been founded within the last fifteen years in the United States alone, ninety of which are controlled by the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and that the number of deaconesses has increased during this period to over eighteen hun- dred, it is clear that a presentation of the historical development of this promising and rapidly-growing movement has become a matter of necessity. I had hoped that a more capable pen would take up the task; but as year after year slipped by without an attempt in this direction, I concluded that I ought to comply with the desire of the Central Deaconess Board of the German Methodist Conferences, and the request of a number of friends of the cause, and therefore have undertaken to write this volume. Ten or twelve years ago several valuable books on the Deaconess Cause appeared in this country, namely: "Deaconesses in Europe and America," by Jane M. Bancroft Robin- son, Ph. D., (1890); "Deaconesses, Biblical, Early Church, European, American," by Lucy Rider Meyer (1889); "Deaconesses, Ancient and Modern," by Rev. Henry Wheeler (1889); "The Deaconess and her Voca- tion," by Bishop J. M. Thoburn (1893). At that time the Deaconess Cause was in its infancy in this country; 3 4 Preface. to-day it has passed the experimental stage, and the history of its development has awakened a remarkable degree of interest. The time is ripe, as was the case nearly seventy years ago in Germany, for the renewal of this apostolic office, and the work, although still sub- ject to much misunderstanding, is from year to year gaining a more definite and permanent shape. Diffi- culties of all kinds are still to be overcome; but the object in view is now more clearly understood. It is hoped that the following pages may show the great im- portance of this work by presenting a comprehensive view of its development in the Old and New World. The history of the female diaconate, from the time of the apostles up to the present, has repeatedly been written by specialists in England, and especially in Ger- many; and the origin and development of the insti- tutions belonging to the General Conference of Kaisers- werth may be found in well-written books; but the in- stitutions of the Free Churches of Germany, as well as the movement in England, and especially in America, have, as far as we know, never been comprehensively treated. This fact is of itself a sufficient justification of the appearance of this book. As it is intended chiefly for American readers, and appeared first in the German and now also in the English language, it seemed best to give a complete though abbreviated historical review of the movement. All denominational barriers disap- pear in tbe work of Christian love; therefore, I did not hesitate to disregard all sectarian interests, and have given a general view of the Deaconess Movement with- out denominational bias. Since illustrations are the fashion nowadays, and, outside of a German book published by Pastor Dissel- hoff entitled "Jubilate," no illustrated book on this sub- Preface. 5 ject has appeared either in German or English, I have been at much pains to secure abundant material for this purpose, and take this occasion to express my sin- cere thanks to the directors of institutions, at home and abroad, for their kind and prompt assistance. I regret that I was unal)le, in many instances, to obtain photo- graphs, and in such cases I was obliged to depend on the pictures found in annual reports and magazines. That is the reason why the pictures are not all uniform in execution. I also express my thanks to the numerous friends who assisted me with historical sketches and other information. Especial credit is due to Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft Eobinson, Ph. D., of Detroit, Mich., and Mrs. Lucy Rider Meyer, of Chicago; also to Rev. H. W. Hortsch, secretary of the Protestant Deaconess Confer- ence, and superintendent of the German Protestant Deaconess Institution in Cincinnati. I shall be thankful if any error discovered is promptly reported to me for the next edition. If the reader shall be moved to praise God for the Deaconess Movement and to devote himself to the advancement of this cause, the chief object of this book will have been accomplished. CiNciNxNATi, 0. C. GOLDER. CONTENTS. Page. CHAPTER I. The Female Diaconate iu Apostolic Times and Until the Reformation 1^ CHAPTER II. The Rpnewal of the Female Diaconate in Modern Times 33 CHAPTER III. The Institutions at Kaiserswerth 59 CHAPTER IV. The Development of the Deaconess Work in the State Church of Germany « '^^ CHAPTER V. The Free Church Deaconess Institutions in Germany. Switzer- land, and Sweden 128 CHAPTER VI. The Deaconess Cause in England and Scotland 170 CHAPTER VII. Deaconess Institutions in Other European Countries 208 CHAPTER VIII. Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church of America 249 CHAPTER IX. Deaconess Homes in Various Protestant Churches in Amer- ica 273 CHAPTER X. The Beginning of Deaconess Work in the Methodist Epis- copal Church in America 305 7 8 Contents. CHAPTER XI. Deaconess Homes of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States 341 CHAPTER Xn. Deaconess Homes of German Methodists in the United States 420 CHAPTER Xin, The Female Diaconate in the Protestant Episcopal Church of America and in Other Churches and Lands 440 CHAPTER XIV. Mission and Aim of the Female Diaconate in the United States 480 CHAPTER XV. The Hospital in General, and the Deaconess Hospital in Par- ticular 498 APPENDIX. Page. The Woman Question in the Light of the New Testament. . . 52G Scriptural Conceptions of Deaconesses and Their Work 547 Principles of the Deaconess Office and Outlines of the Or- ganization of Kaiserswerth 557 Constitution of the Deaconess Mother House Connected with the General Conference of Kaiserswerth 570 The Deaconess Mother House 574 The Deaconess and the Professional Nurse 585 Deaconess Institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. . . 597 Deaconess Mother Houses Belonging to the Kaiserswerth Conference (303 Statistics of the Protestant Deaconess Conference in the United States 605 Statistics of the Lutheran Deaconess Conference in the United States. 605 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ■ Fliedner, Theodor Frontispiece PORTRAITS (IN EUROPE). Amann, Amanda, Neuenhain 149 Anna, Sister, Countess of Stolberg-Weringerode 77 Bodelschwingh, Pastor Friedrich von 89 Charteris, D. D., Rev. Archibald Hamilton 203 Dipon, Maria, Pforzheim 150 Disselhofe, D. D., Rev. Julius 64 Eckert, Rev. G. J., Superintendent of the Martha and Mary Society 1.53 Empress of Germany Visiting the Sick in a Deaconess Hos- pital 127 Fliedner, Caroline (Bertheau) 49 Fry, Elizabeth 175 Gossner, Pastor Johannes 85 Haerter, Rev. Franz Heinrich 80 Hughes, Rev. Hugh Price 192 Hurter, Sophie, Hamburg 148 Keck, Louise, Head Deaconess 80 Kajser, Anna, First Methodist Deaconess in Sweden 169 Keller, Emilie, Zurich 149 Keller, Martha, Frankfort-on-the-Main 148 Langenau, Baroness von 155 Leiser, Eliza, Lausanne 149 Loehe, Pastor Wilhelra 93 Malvesin, Mademoiselle 212 Mann, Rev. H., President of the "Bethany" Society 137 Nightingale, Florence 175 Ninck, Rev. Karl Wilhelm Theodor 102 Ostertag, Katherine, Berlin 149 Pennefather, D. D., Rev. William, London 186 Recke-Vollmerstein, Count Adelbert v. d 43 Reichard, Gertrude 48 Reiche, Auguste, Strasburg 150 Schaefer, Pastor Theodor, Rector in Altona 98 Scheve, Rev. Edward 166 Scheve, Mrs. B 166 Schneider, Louise 154 9 10 List of Illustrations. Senn, Verena, St, Gallen 149 Sieveking, Amelia 38 Staeiibli, Lucie, Vienna 149 Stevenson, Rev. Dr 198 Uhlhorn, Dr. Gerhard 10(> Valette, Pastor Louis 211 Vermeil, Pastor Antoine 209 Weiss, Rev. L., Superintendent of the "Bethany" Society. . . . 147 Wichern, Rev. Johann 53 PORTRAITS (IN AMERICA). Abbott, Anna Agnes • 426 Bancroft, Miss Henrietta A 329 Bangerten, Marie, Head Deaconess 274 Baur, .lohanna M 427 Beard, D. D., Rev. J. N 388 Binder, Martha 441 Buckley, D. D., Rev. J. M 517 Deaconesses, The Seven, in the First Training-school in the United States 411 Gallagher, D. D., Rev. C. W 30G Gamble, Mrs. Fanny Nast 410 Gamble, James N 35(3 Golder, Miss Louise '437 Gregg, Mary Eva 425 Harris, N. W » 344 Haynes, Mrs. Kate Rawls 358 Hennig, F. Frank F 288 Hortsch, Rev. H. W 27(3 Ingram, Helen 42(3 Kreitler, F. X 434 Lankenau, John D 257 Lunn, Miss Mary E 418 Martens, Catherine Louise, First American Deaconess 254 Meyer, Mrs. Lucy Rider 317 Meyer, Rev. J. S 347 Napper, Dr. Albert 512 Palmer, Miss Sybil C 374 Passavant, D. D., Rev. W. A 250 Peirce, Miss Hannah M. . 358 Reeves, Isabella A 426 Riley, Rev. W. H 410 Robinson, Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft 323 Roentgen, Rev. J. H. G 294 Rust, Mrs. R. S 831 Scott, Miss E. Jane 476 Seney, George 1 520 List of Illustrations. 11 Severingbaus, J, F 445 Spaulding, Miss Winifred 384 Stewart, Dr. Scott 522 Tlioburn, Bishop James INI 313 Thoburn, Miss Isabella 420 Traeger, Rev. W. H 438 Wallon, Rev. L 443 Weakley, D. D., Rev. H. C 392 INSTITUTIONS IN EUROPE. Altona, Deaconess Home in 96 Amsterdam, The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 230 Amsterdam, The Lutheran Deaconess Home in 231 Arnheim, The Deaconess Home in 228 Berlin, The Deaconess Home "Bethanien" in 75 Berlin, The Deaconess Home "Bethel" in 167 Berlin, The Deaconess Home "Lazarus" in 121 Berlin, The Methodist Deaconess Home "Ebenezer" in 140 Bielefeld, The Deaconess Home "Sarepta" in 86 Bielefeld, Some of the Deaconess Institutions in 87 Breslau, Main Buildings of the Deaconess Institution in.,.. 120 Budapest, The Deaconess Home "Bethesda" in 242 Colmar, The Deaconess Home of the Bethany Society of the Evangelical Association in Alsace 164 Copenhagen, The Deaconess Home in 244 Danzig, The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 121 Darmstadt, The Deaconess Home in 116 Doi'tmund, The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 119 Dresden, The Evangelical Lutheran Deaconess Institution in. 114 Edinburgh, Scotland, The Deaconess Home in 202 Elberfeld, The Deaconess Home "Bethesda" in 160 Frankfort-on-the-Main, The Deaconess Home in 110 Frankfort-on-the-Main, The Mother House of the Rethania Society in 133 Gallneukirchen, The Deaconess Mother House in 244 Haarlem, The Deaconess Home in 227 Hague, The, Deaconess Home in 225 Hague, The, Evangelical Deaconess Home in 224 Halle, The Deaconess Home in 116 Hamburg, The Deaconess Home "Ebenezer" in 101 Hamburg-Eppendorf, The Methodist Deaconess Home and Bethany Hospital in 131 Hanover, The Deaconess Home "Henriettastift" 107 Kaiserswerth, The Deaconess Mother House in 65 Kaiserswerth, The Deaconess Hospital Twenty-five Years Ago 62 Kaiserswerth, The First Deaconess Home in 59 Kaiserswerth, The Institutions in 67 12 List of Illustrations. Kaiserswerth Twenty-five Years Ago 60 Karlsruhe, The Deaconess Home in 109 Leipzig, The Deaconess Home in 104 Magdeburg, The Deaconess Home of the Martha and Mary Society 157 Muehlhausen, "Bethesda" of the Bethany Society of the Evan- gelical Association, Alsace 1G4 Munich, The Deaconess Home in 15S Neumuenster, Switzerland, The Deaconess Institution in,... 21!> Niesky, The Deaconess Home "Emmaus" in 108 Nuremberg, The Deaconess Mother House of the Martha and Mary Society 150 Posen, The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 120 St, Gallen, Switzerland, The Deaconess Home "Bethany" in. 144 St. Loup, Switzerland, The Deaconess Home in 215 St. Petersburg, The Deaconess Home and Hospital 238 Strassburg, The Deaconess Home in 81 Strassburg, The Mother House of the Bethany Society of the Evangelical Association in Alsace 104 Stuttgart, The Deaconess Home in 100 Tottenham, London, The Deaconess Home in 184 Utrecht, The Deaconess Home in 223 Vienna, The New Evangelical Deaconess Home in 118 Wehlheiden near Cassel, The Deaconess Home in 117 Zehlendorf near Berlin, Home of the Evangelical Diaconate Society 123 Zurich, Switzerland, The Methodist Deaconess Home in 143 INSTITUTIONS IN AMERICA. Allegheny City, Pa., The St. John's Hospital in 263 Aurora, 111., The Young Woman's School 352 Baltimore, Md., The Deaconess Home (Lombard Street) in.. 377 Baltimore, Md,, "Mount Tabor," The Deaconess Home and Industrial Building in 37(5 Boston, Mass,, The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 371 Boston, Mass,, New England Deaconess Home and Hospital (projected building) •: 372 Brooklyn, N. Y,, The Bethany Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 442 Brooklyn, N, Y., The Deaconess Home in 369 Brooklyn, N. Y,, The Methodist Episcopal Hospital in 519 Brooklyn, N, Y., The Norwegian Deaconess Hospital in.... 271 Buffalo, N. Y., The Methodist Deaconess Home in 380 Buffalo, N. Y., The Protestant Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 285 Chicago, 111,, The "Bethesda" Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 290 List of Illustratioj^"S. 13 Chicago, 111., The First Deaconess Home of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States 342 Chicago, 111., The German Deaconess Institute in ; . . 440 Chicago, 111., The "Harris Hall" Deaconess Training-school in 345 Chicago, 111.. The "Wesley" Hospital in 353 Cincinnati, O., The Christ Hospital in 355 Cincinnati, O., The Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home in. . . 360 Cincinnati, O., The German Deaconess Home (First Hos- pital) in 274 Cincinnati, O., The German Deaconess Home (New Hospital and Deaconess Home) in 274 Cincinnati. O., The German Methodist Mother House and Bethesda Hospital in 431 Cincinnati, O., The Methodist Old People's Home in 391 Cleveland, O., The Deaconess Home in 382 Cleveland, O., The Deaconess Home of the German Reformed Church 293 Cunningham, The, Deaconess Home and Orphanage 407 Deaconess Home of the Southwest Kansas Conference 398 Denver, Col., The Deaconess Home in 397 Detroit, Mich, The Deaconess Home in 405 Edgewater, 111., The Proposed Deaconess Home for Old People 351 Evansville, Ind., The Protestant Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 281 First Deaconess Home and Hospital in the United States. . . 2.52 Grand Rapids, Mich., The Aldrich Memorial Deaconess Home in 394 Indianapolis, Ind., The Protestant Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 284 Jeffersonville, Ind., The Deaconess Hospital in 402 Lake Bluff, 111., The Agard Deaconess Sanitarium in 3.50 Los Angeles, Cal., The Deaconess Home in 389 Louisville, Ky., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 444 Milwaukee, Wis., The Deaconess Home in 399 Milwaukee, Wis., The Deaconess Mother House and Hos- pital in 2<^'5 Minneapolis, Minn., The Asbury Hospital (First Building) in. 373 Minneapolis, Minn., The Rebecca Deaconess Home and As- bury Hospital (New Building) 375 New York City, The Baptist Deaconess Home in 473 New York City, The Deaconess Home and Training-school in 308 Ocean Grove, N. .J., The Bancroft Rest Home in 408 Omaha, Neb., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 3(35 Omaha, Neb., The Immanuel Deaconess Institute in 2(39 Peoria, 111., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 400 Philadelphia, Pa., The German Deaconess Hospital in 2.59 Philadelphia, Pa., The Mary .J. Drexel Deaconess Home in. . 260 Philadelphia, Pa., The Methodist Deaconess Home in 378 14 List of Illustrations. Philadelphia, Pa., The Methodist Episcopal Hospital in 522 Pittsburg, Pa., The Deaconess Home in 381 Pittsburg, Pa., The Passavant Hospital in 255 Rensselaer, N. Y., The GrifGn Deaconess Home in 401 Roanoke, W. Va., The Colored Deaconess Home in 412 San Francisco, Cal., The Deaconess Home and Training- school in 887 St. Joseph, Mo., The Ensworth Deaconess Home in 404 St. Louis, Mo., The Evangelical Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 297 Spokane, Wash., The Maria Beard Deaconess Home in 386 Toronto, Canada, The Deaconess Home in 475 Toronto, Canada, The Deaconess Home and Training-school in 463 Verbank, N. Y., The Watts De Peyster Home in 395 Washington, D. C, The Lucy Webb Hayes Deaconess Home in 362 Washington, D. C, The Rust Training-school in 365 Washington, D. C, The Sibley Memorial Hospital in 364 INSTITUTIONS IN AFRICA, ASIA, INDIA, ETC. Alexandria, Egypt, The Deaconess Hospital in 71 Cairo, Egypt, The Deaconess Hospital "Victoria" in 72 Kolar, India, The William A. Gamble Deaconess Home in. . . 415 Smyrna, The Deaconess Home in 69 HISTORY OF THE DEACONESS MOVEMENT IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. CHAPTER I. THE FEMALE DIACONATE IN APOSTOLIC TIMES AND UNTIL THE REFOKMATION. The Christian Church was slow in grasping the idea of the nature and object of the kingdom of God. The history of this kingdom and that of humanity in gen- eral would have been ess'entially different if this had not been the case. The Church would have exerted a more extended influence and proven a greater blessing. As it was, she paid too much attention to theory and doctrine, and too little to the practical life. In later times she subordinated such temporal affairs as the physical welfare of the poor, the sick, the widows and orphans, prisoners, etc., altogether too much to her spirit- ual interests, and Church organizations have too often forgotten that the Judge of the world will say on that great day: "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came to me," or the reverse. (Matt, xxv, 35, 36.) It is clear that both the body and the soul of man must be in- cluded in the ministrations of the Church. The work of the Lord Jesus also typifies this. He preached the gospel of the kingdom, and taught in the synagogues; 15 16 History of the Deaconess Movement. but he also made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, cleansed the lepers, and healed the sick. He fed the hungry and blessed the children. He proved himself to be, not only the Son of God coming down from heaven, but also the Son of man, "who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." In this he has left us an example "that we should follow his stejjs." We must not only understand the doctrine of the Divinity of Jesus^ but we must also have a right understanding of his humanity. As his work included the whole man, body and soul, so the Church must con- tinue his work in this twofold aspect. She should bring man into right relations with God — that is, care for the salvation of his soul — but at the same time she must bring men into right relations with one another, and concern herself with the amel-ioration and improvement of those temporal conditions which so closely affect his existence in this world. And let us keep in mind that God did not design the Church to be a machine whose wheels and springs have been regulated for all time, but that the Church is an organism, which adapts itself to growing needs and develops according to changing conditions. This Church organism is like a tree, which has the power of growth and development in itself, putting forth new branches, blossoms, fruit, and foliage in due season. The institutions and rules of the Apostolic Church were very simple ; a Church organization such as we have to-day, with its benevolent institutions, its Missionary, Educational, Tract, and Bible Societies, its Sunday- schools, Asylums, Houses of Kescue, its Deaconess Homes and Hospitals, its Homes for the Aged and Orphans, its Magdalen Refuges and Lodging-houses, its City, Emigrant, and Jewish Missions, as well as its extensive The Female Diaconate. 17 activity among prisoners and the lost and erring of all classes, was unknown in the Apostolic Church; but, like a grain of mustard-seed, this all-inclusive work of love is contained in the clearly-established principles of the Scriptures. God committed the form of government and the final development of the future Church to the Church itself. He gave life and sent the Holy Spirit, and it naturally followed that the constitution and neces- sary institutions of the Christian Church would be de- veloped with the growing needs of humanity. It was not necessary that God should give us a doctrinal sys- tem, much less that he should give us constitutions, by-laws, and regulations for all desirable benevolent in- stitutions and organizations; for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Possessing the Spirit, it would not be difficult for the Church to find the right forms, and to change them, whenever necessary, as the occasion might demand. Therefore the merciful ministrations of the Church should not be bound by forms and fetters. It was rather the intention of God that they should be free and elastic, fitting themselves to the needs and circumstances of the centuries and of different peoples. Naturally, the prosperity of the Church required .regular offices, and the x4postolic Church felt that the unorgan- ized benevolence of its Church members was not suffi- cient, and that new adjustments would always be re- quired. The Church in Jerusalem grew, and we read: "Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.'' (Acts vi, 1.) The congregation bore a family character, and the com- munistic feeling was so strong that the individual pos- 18 History of the Deaconess Movement. sessions of each were subordinated to the whole, the restrictions of private property were abolished, and the meals were taken in common. Already, at this time, the apostles to whom the leadership of the Church had been committed found it no longer possible to do all the work required. They could not devote themselves to the "ministry (Greek, dialconia) of the Word," and also "serve (Greek, diakonein) tables." Therefore they asked for the selection of "seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." (Acts vi, 3.) This was the origin of the male diaconate. Into its care the sick were given, as we undoubtedly understand from Acts vi, 8; viii, 5; and these men combined the work of evangelization with the office of serving the sick and the poor. The deacons were ready, whenever the opportunity offered, to testify for the Lord or to show a seeking soul the way into the light. We read in the "Apostolic Constitutions," "Let the deacon be the bishop's ear, eye, mouth, heart and soul." The last expression, "heart and soul," clearly indicates that the office of service was conceived of as distinct from, but as growing out of, the ministry of the Word, and that these two forms of service supple- ment each other. So it appears that the diaconate did not lack freedom of development according to the needs of the times. As the times, so the manners, customs, and institutions. Diakonia, or the corresponding verb diakonein, de- notes a variety of kinds of service. A deacon is a servant, and Luther frequently translated the word diaconate (service) with "office." The Bible uses it in a broader sense as coming under the classification of "diversities of administrations" and "workings." In a The Female Diaconate. 19 narrower sense in the history of the Church, a certain office is foreshadowed as the ministry of helpful service in contradistinction from the ministry of the Word. The apostle required of the deaconess, above all things, three qualifications: 1. A good report; 2. Being filled with the Spirit; 3. Possessing wisdom. But the communica- tion of spiritual gifts varied according to the diversity o^ character, and we must conclude from 1 Cor. xii that the Holy Spirit took the natural gifts of the individual into account in the distribution of spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit equipped woman in an especial manner for the service of tlie Church, and in Rom. xvi the Apostle Paul shows us that he is perfectly convinced of the blessing which godly women wrought in the Apostolic Church. He himself recruited a large number of his workers from among the women. He called them his "fellow-workers," and says that they have "labored much in the Lord." They acted as prophets in many places in Asia Minor, and of many of them we know that they prophesied. It is not improbable that these female work- ers, or servants (deaconesses), devoted themselves es- pecially to their own sex. That this was done exclusively, however, is nowhere proven. The Scriptural right of the female diaconate is es- pecially apparent when we think of Phoebe, of apostolic times, who is expressly called "a servant [deacon] of the Church which is at Cenchrea." That Phoebe is not called a deaconess, but a deacon, proves that not only the male diaconate was legitimately acknowledged in the Apostolic Church, but that the office of the deaconess was officially sanctioned in a perfectly similar manner. So far as this office is concerned, woman is apparently placed in the same rank as man, and that by the Apostle 20 History of the Deaconess Movement. Paul himself. He writes to the Church in Rome : "I commend unto you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the Church that is at Cenchrea : that ye receive her in the Lord, worthily of the saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter slie may have need of you: for she herself also hath been a succorer of many, and of mine own self." (Pom. xvi, 1, 2.) The apostle recom- mends Phoebe to the Church in Rome, the deaconess, ^, literally, the diaconus (the word "deaconess" is not used in the Scriptures) ; and with that he clearly states what her office and calling is. So there were male and female deacons in the Apostolic Church, and Sister Phoebe is the first female representative of this office of whom we have any " knowledge. x\pparently the office is estab- lished by the apostles themselves, and 1 Tim. iii, 2-13, gives unimportant particulars concerning it. Here the office of the bishop as well as that of the deacon is mentioned ; it would be surprising to find the ' wives of the deacons mentioned while the wives of bishops are passed over in silence. Therefore several commentators explain the word "women" (verse 11) as referring to female deacons. Dr. Adam Clarke says: "If the apostle had those termed deaconesses in his mind, which is quite possible, the words are peculiarly suited to them." The apostle frequently gave advice to those who held this office, and he was anxious that no unworthy persons might crowd themselves into it. Rom. xvi, 1, 2, justifies the belief that we are here concerned with a well-regu- lated female diaconate, only that the office of the deaconess was less conspicuous and public. It was, no doubt, introduced quietly, just as the Sabbath was trans- ferred to the first day of the week. In any case this much is certain, that the office existed in a well-regulated form in the Apostolic Church, and that it had the sane- The Female Diaconate. 21 tion of the apostles. In his "Church History" Dr. Philip Schaff, amongst other things^ says: "Deaconesses, or female helpers, had a similar charge of the poor and sick in the female portion of the Church. This office was the more needful on account of the rigid separation of the sexes at that day, especially among the Greeks. It opened to pious women and virgins, and especially to widows, a most suitahle field for the regu- lar official exercise of their peculiar gifts of self-deny- ing love and devotion to the welfare of the Church. Through it they could carry the light and comfort of the gospel into the most private and delicate relations of domestic life, without at all overstepping their nat- ural sphere. Paul mentions Phoehe as a deaconess of the Church at Cenchrea, the port of Corinth; and it is more than probable that Tryphena and Tryphosa and Persis, whom he commends for their labor in the Lord, served in the same capacity at Rome." By specifying the work of the deacon we have also specified the work of the deaconess. The wants of the female portion of the Church are substantially the same as those of the male portion. The spiritual baptism that came upon the disciples at the Pentecost set every heart on fire with the love of God, and "they all began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." This was remem- bered during the apostolic age, and some of the subjects of it perhaps survived the apostles. It was not an un- common thing for women to speak or prophesy to the edification of the Church; and doubtless some of those who were set apart as deaconesses obeyed the divine impulse and told publicly and privately the story of the cross. Neither deacons nor deaconesses were specially ordained to the work of preaching in the early Post- 22 History of the Deaconkss Movement. Apostolic Church, and yet we are constrained to believe that it was not foreign to either. Priscilla took Apollos and "expounded unto him the way of God more per- fectly," unfolding to his inquiring mind the Scriptures of truth. "The new life which pervaded the whole Chris- tian society would lead w^omen as well as men to devote themselves to the labors of love." Teaching was cer- tainly a part of their work. "The social relations of the sexes in the cities of the empire would make it fitting that the agency of woman should be employed largely in the direct personal application of spiritual truth (Tit- ii, 3, 4), possibly in the preparation of female cate- chumens. Their duties were to take care of the sick and poor, and to minister to martyrs and confessors in prison, to whom they could more easily gain access than the deacons; to instruct catechumens, and to assist at the baptism of women; to exercise a general oversight over the female members of the Church, and this not only in public, but in private, making occasional reports to the bishops and presbyters." Jerome says, "Each in his own sex they ministered in baptism and in the min- istry of the Word." Bishop Lightfoot says: "In reading the New Testa- ment I find that the female diaconate refers to an equally well-attested office as the diaconate of men. Phoebe is as much a deacon as Stephen or Philip." And Dean Howson, in his well-known book, "The Diaconate of Women," says : "We may, strictly speaking, express the case in still stronger terms; for Stephen and Philip are nowhere designated by this title, whereas Phoebe is distinctly called a diacoiius." But even if the apostle did not use the word in an official sense, yet we know that Phoebe " exercised all the functions of the office, and The Female Diaconate. 23 that she became the pattern of the female diaconate of all times. Even in later times^ when the Church organization was perfected, there was no distinction made between the male and female diaconate. Dr. Ludlow, in his book, "Women's Work in the Church," seeks to prove that no difference was made between the ordina- tion of deaconesses and deacons; and Dr. Philip Schaff also believes that there is no doubt that the Apostolic Church did ordain deaconesses. Consequently, the con- secration of the deaconess was accomplished in the pres- ence of the congregation through the laying on of hands on the part of the apostles. The Apostolic Church was convinced that no spiritual victory was to be gained with- out the influence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the installation of deacons into their office by the laying on of hands was done under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Why should not the deaconesses have been installed in the same way ? This is very clearly shown in the "Apos- tolic Constitutions," where we read the following: "With regard to the deaconesses, I, Bartholomew, lay down the following rules: The bishop shall, in the presence of the presbyters, lay his hands on the deacons and deacon- esses and offer the following prayer: ^0 eternal God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, thou who didst conde- scend to let thine only-begotten Son be born of a woman ; thou who didst fill holy women — Miriam and Deborah, and Hannah and Huldah — with the Holy Ghost, and didst select women to be the guardians of the holy gates, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, mercifully be- hold these thy servants who are now to be consecrated to the office of deaconess. Fill them with the Holy Spirit, that they may perform the work to which they are called in a worthy manner, to thy glory and the 24 History of the Deaconess Movement. exaltation of thy Son Jesus Christ, through whom honor and worship be unto thee and the Holy Ghost, now and forever. Amen. Amen.' '' In the above-mentioned book, "The Diaconate of Women," Dean Howson says: "It seems to me, if we simply keep to the New Testament, that we have as much ground for the recognition of deaconesses as a part of the Christian pastorate as we have for the episcopacy itself." It certainly is to be regretted that for more than a thousand years an office which is so clearly defined in the Holy Scriptures should have been entirely ignored, and that it should have been left to the Church of the Eeformation to pave the way for the renewal of this apostolic institution. What was the status of deaconesses in the first cen- tury of the Christian period, and what was their call- ing ? On this point the "Apostolic Constitutions" * gives us definite information. The deaconesses belonged to the clergy. Their consecration, or ordination, was ac- complished by the laying on of episcopal hands. It is shown by the minutes and resolutions of different Coun- cils that deaconesses and deacons were ordained in the same manner. Their work may be briefly described as follows: They guarded the door of the house of God; they were the agents in the dealings of the bishop with the women of his congregation; they directed the latter where to sit in church ; they prepared female cate- chumens for baptism; they assisted at baptism; they * "Apostolic Constitutions" is tlie title of a work which appeared in the Greek language in eight volumes. It contained the rules and regu- lations of the Christian Church. The book dates from the middle of the fourth, or possibly the beginning of the fifth century. Its value to the historian is incalcuable, because it desci'ibes the institutions and customs of the Church in the fourth century. It throws a great deal of light on the subject under discussion,— the female diaconate. Nearly every phase of this question is touched upon in the "Apostolic Con- stitutions." The Female Diaconate. 25 nursed the sick, visited tlie poor, and cared for widows and orphans. By the end of the third and the begin- ning of the fourth century we find that the Deaconess Work was in a most flourishing condition in the Oriental Church. Maidens who were willing to forego marriage, and childless widows who had been married but once and who bore a good reputation, were chosen for this office. In one isolated case history shows us that even married women, living continently, might become deacon- esses. The names of a number of deaconesses have come down to us, who, in that dark period of defection and secularization, were bright stars in the ecclesiastical sky. In the fourth century, Constantinople was the center of political and ecclesiastical life in the Orient. In the year 398, Chrysostom, of Antioch, was called to the Episcopacy of Constantinople. Forty deaconesses were employed in his congregation alone, of whom many are known to us by name. We recall Amprukla, to whom Chrysostom wrote a number of letters during his banish- ment; and Pentadia, the widow of the Consul Timasius, who displayed such great courage when the bishop was carried away; and Sabiniana, who voluntarily followed and served the bishop during banishment. Olympia, born of a noble family, deserves more than a passing mention. As a deaconess she laid not only her youth and personal beauty, but her gifts and education as well as her great wealth, on the altar of the Church. Of the numerous letters which Chryostom wrote to Olympia during his banishment, eighteen are still in existence. The superscription on these generally reads, "^'Eeverend and pious Deaconess Olympia!'' He often speaks of his sufferings and privations, but he also speaks of the self-denying devotion and great faithfulness of his friend Olympia. His language is figurative, and it brings out ^6 History of the Deaconess Movement. the charms of Olympia's noble character. "It is not necessary/' writes Chrysostom, "to speak of your alms, nor of the diverse and unwearying perseverance which you have shown in the severest trials and persecutions. . . . When I. remember how frail you are, and what a delicate nature you have inherited, and how you have been raised in luxury, it is astonishing how you have hardened, yea, deadened your flesh through hardships and privations. You have brought such a host of sick- nesses upon yourself that the doctors are helpless and medicines have no more effect upon you. . . . Your pains are countless. ... I can not call it control, for the desires of the flesh are dead. You eat only so much as is necessary to prevent starvation. - You have accustomed yourself to stay awake all night. Wak- ing is natural to you as sleep is to others. ... I admire not only your coarse clothing, in which respect you surpass every beggar, but also the want of elegance and the negligence with which you wear them. It is the same with your shoes and with your gait. Therein one recognizes your virtue. ... I have still to speak of your liberality and of the heroism which you have shown under severe persecution.'^ Here we have the description of a deaconess of that day. Her opposition to the luxury, the worldliness, and the pleasure-seeking with which she was surrounded were as firm and immovable as the rock of the ocean. Self- denial and abstinence gave her a deep and far-reaching influence. At the same time we notice that an unevangel- ical, ascetic tendency is threatening to overshadow the practical work of Christian love. It is the first intima- tion of the deterioration of the female diaconate into the sanctimonious austerity of convent life. The office had already lost some of its purity. The Female Dtaconate. 27 In the following centuries, as the order of nuns be- came ^^rominent, the New Testament conception of the Deaconess Work became obscnred. It was buried under false doctrine and wrong practice while the light of the gospel was hid under a bushel. From now on, more stress w^as laid on outward works of piety and externals in religion. The nuns sought a higher degree of salva- tion by means of a greater degree of sanctity, which they hoped to attain by living in a celibate state. In the course of time there remained very little power of comprehension for that freer evangelical spirit of the diaconate as it had developed in the Apostolic Church. The nuns locked themselves up in their convents, and if one of them left the convent to enter the married state the penalty of death was decreed against her. The high convent walls which separated her from her fellow- mortals symbolized also her separation from the prin- ciples of free grace. The original calling of the\ deaconess was to bring light, consolation, and joy into the suffering of every-day life, and to make the world acquainted with the Savior. But the order of nuns sought sanctity by withdrawing from all contact with the world. Of course^ this was not the spirit of Him who came "to minister." Had the Church preserved her evangelical simplicity, the office of the female diaconate would never have disappeared. This would have been an indescribable benefit to the Church and the kingdom of God. The clergy, which was in favor of monasticism, naturally advanced the interests of the order of nuns and secured the downfall of the original apostolic diaconate of Avonien. The word "nun" in dis- tinction from "deaconess" shows the difference. "Nun" is of Egyptian origin, and signifies a virgin. "Deaconess" is a servant; that is, one who serves suffering humanity 28 History of the Deaconess Movement. for the Lord's sake. The whole cloister S3^stem is built up on false principles, and is therefore unscriptural and thoroughly unevangelical. Therefore a "nun" has noth- ing in common with a "deaconess." Not the slightest relationship exists between them. Convents are houses whose inhabitants think that they can serve God better by retirement and avoidance of the world, by prayer and meditation. Deaconess Homes are institutions for women and maidens M'ho devote their time and strength, for Jesus^ sake, exclusively to the poor and sick, the help- less and the children. These institutions are as wide apart in principle as the North and the South Pole, and there is no reason to fear that the Deaconess Work, so long as it is conducted on a Scriptural basis, will de- cline into monasticism. The vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience under which nuns live rob the soul of the purest and most exalted motives to piety and be- nevolence. The child of God owes obedience to Christ only, and if God's love is shed abroad in his heart through the Holy Ghost, sacrifice becomes easy and the motive for self-denial pure. The nun believes that she makes the sacrifice when she takes the vows, and that she can keep her vows only through constraint and years of practice. Through constraint and bodily exercise she wishes to attain a higher degree of happiness. The method here employed of building from outward to in- ward piety is altogether wrong. Christianity furnishes an entirely different rule. It renew^s the heart first, and thus lays the foundation for right conduct. When the love of God fills the heart, it is easy to do the will of God. This is the faith which worketh by love. The nun seeks justification by works; the deaconess performs works from love for the Savior. Therefore it is evident that the institution of deaconesses rests on a different The Female Diaconate. 29 basis, and that the office of the female diaconate neces- sarily disappeared when these Scriptural principles were neglected. The deaconess took no vows. The nun had to take the vow of celibacy, and let herself be buried alive behind the walls of the convent. It is not sur- prising, therefore, that the Deaconess Work declined when its distinctive principle was given up. Pastor Theodor Schaefer, in his book, "Die Weib- liche Diakonie" (Part First), speaking of the downfall of the Deaconess Cause, says: "One chief reason for the downfall was this, that a change had come over the Church. Among the civilized nations the missionary period was past, and the period of permanency had be- gun. Infant baptism was customary, and adult bap- tism seldom occurred. But one of the principal duties of deaconesses had been to assist at baptism. Along with this came the removal of the local center of the Church from the Orient to the Occident. Instead of Constantinople, Eome became the center. But in the Orient the social condition of woman had favored in a great degree the need of deaconesses to work amongst the women. And, lastly, the valuation of cloister life increased to such a degree as not only to threaten, but in many instances to suppress, the true evangelical life. But the diaconate can thrive in the pure atmosphere of evangelical faith only. To speak of an inner relation between the diaconate and Roman orders is to be ig- norant of history. The one is the death of the other. The office disappeared more and more. About 700 to 800 A. D. it had entirely disappeared in the Occident. In Constantinople the office still existed about 1200 A. D., but nowhere else in the Orient. Thus was the ministry of evangelical love buried by the gravediggers of evangelical faith. This ecclesiastically-regulated min- 30 History of the Deaconess Movement. istry of evangelical love — a love which serves not for wages or honor, but out of thankfulness for the ex- perience of God^s mercy — can not flourish except where faith is vital, and where the inner life finds expression in the primal forms of Apostolic Church life/^ The Eeformation did not restore the female diaconate, but Luther prepared the soil for its reception. He restored evangelical freedom and the Bible, he tore down the bulwarks of self-righteousness, and brought the doctrine of the universal priesthood of believers to light again. By doing this he prepared the way for the free exercise of evangelical love, and especially for the New Testament office of deaconesses. It has fre- quently been asked why Luther did not, instead of abolishing the convents, reform them and change them into deaconess houses. Whoever know^s the condition of the cloisters at that time knows that the idea of reform was inconceivable. There was nothing left but to discontinue them. Moreover, one ought not to ex- pect too much of the Eeformers. The development of God^s kingdom has its history. It has its consecutive steps, and there must necessarily be something left for the future to do. Luther often expressed his desire that not only the male but also the female diaconate might be renewed according to apostolic models; but he de- spaired of the possibility of so renewing them because of the conditions then existing. He says, "We have n't the people, and I am afraid to begin until our Lord God makes Christians.^' Luther recognized the importance of the women in the Church. He knew that woman is peculiarly fitted to take care of the sick body, and es- pecially to guide the erring soul. He says: "The in- clination to show kindness to others is more natural to women than to men. . . . Those women who love The Female Diaconate. 31 God truly generally have especial grace to comfort others and to allay their pains." In his comments on 1 Pet. ii, 5, he says amongst other things: "Where there are no men, but women exclusively, as in a nun's convent, there one would have to put up a woman to preach. This, then, is the right priesthood, which consists of three things, — to offer spiritual sacrifice, and to preach, and pray for the congregation. Whoever can do that is a priest, and is bound to preach the Word, to pray for the congregation, and to sacrifice himself for God.'' We see, then, that Luther was not afraid to permit the appointment of a woman to preach where there were only women to listen, in view of the universal priest- hood of believers and of the disposition, gifts, and powers which God had given her. In the year 1523 he recom- mended the parish of Leisnig, Saxony, to employ female teachers in their girls' schools, and Luther's friend, Bugenhagen, did not hesitate to incorporate this recom- mendation as a valid order into the rules of the Church. History further teaches that women and maidens were at this time privately employed to nurse the poor and the sick, and occasionally a woman was regularly called to this office, without being known, however, by the name of deaconess. In the Keppel Nunnery, at Siegen, deacon- esses were employed in the middle of the fifteenth cen- tury, and these were regularly ordained to the office by laying on of hands and prayer. We find the begin- nings of the renewal of the apostolic office of deacon- esses on the Lower Rhine during the Ee formation, in the following words, taken from the official records: "In places where circumstances call for it, we believe that even aged women, of proven faith and honor, may be chosen for this office, according to the example of the apostle." 32 History of. the Deaconess Movement. Even in the Reforined Church we find institutions which remind us of the female diaconate of apostolic times. The General Synod of the Reformed Church of the Lower Rhine and the Netherlands, in the year 1568, announced the following order: "Especially in larger cities, it will be best to elect two classes of deacons, of which one class will take up the work of collecting alms and distributing the same, and the other shall attend especially to the sick. We also deem it appropriate that, in these places, women should l)e lawfully chosen for this work." Eleven years later (1579) the following was brought before the Synod: "An inquiry comes from the brethren of the city of Wessel, whether it would not be well in the Churches and congregations, wherever it is necessary and the customs allow, especially for the sake of the timid women, that the office of deaconesses should be again instituted, because it has not yet been introduced in any reformed manner." There existed at this time an association known as "The Maidens of Mercy." The duties of its members consisted in caring for the aged and poor and nursing the sick. Similar institutions to those of Holland are also found in Eng- land; and these remnants suggested to Fliedner, in the third decade of the nineteenth century, the thought of renewing the apostolic diaconate. It was left to him to resurrect in its original purity the office of the female diaconate which had been instituted in apostolic times. CHAPTEH 11. THE RENEWAL OF THE FEMALE DIACONATE IN MODERN TIMES. The first efforts to introduce the female diaconate, during the Reformation, were retarded by perplexing cir- cumstances and immense difficulties which stood in the way of the reformers. In fact, they never got beyond the initial stages, and even these beginnings dwindled in the course of time, so that at last there were only traces left to remind one of the office which flourished so happily in apostolic times. But the more prevalent the rigid and heartless rationalism of the latter part of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth cen- tury became, suppressing all the affections of the spirit- ual life and devastating, the Church, the more clearly was the serious gap recognized that had arisen in the sphere of Christian benevolence. When subsequently new life appeared and the pietistic movement became more widespread, there was no lack of prominent and consecrated persons who sought to supply this need. In this they were very much helped by another circum- stance. In England, and especially in the independent Churches of England, a remarkable activity appeared in religious work. The Church circles of England had re- ceived a powerful impulse from Germany, and now Eng- land returned the benefit with compound interest. Boehme, a former inspector of the orphanages of Halle, was called in the year 1707 as court chaplain to Queen Anne and George I of England. He translated the writings of Francke, Arndt's "True Christianity,'' and 3 33 34 History of the Deaconess Movement. other German works, into English, and these books were widely circulated in England. The Moravians also, hav- ing established a number of Churches in England, es- pecially in London, exerted a wide influence. John and Charles Wesley, who became acquainted with Spangen- berg and other Moravians on their visit to America, received very important light from them on the Chris- tian life, and when they returned to London, turning away from the dead State Church, they sought peace for their hearts in the meetings of the Moravian Brotherhood. They courted the society of Boehler, a Moravian, a man who had received a thorough German University education, and who was afterwards made a bishop of the Brotherhood. John Wesley, especially, entered into a lasting friendship with him. In Febru- ary, 1735, he wrote in his diary: "I have never willingly neglected an opportunity of conversing with Boehler. . . . With the help of God, I was to-day convicted of my unbelief through him; for he clearly proved to me that I do not possess that faith by which alone we are saved." Prepared by Boehler, Wesley found "rest for his soul" in a meeting of the Moravians, while Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Eomans was being read. He translated rnany of the Moravian books and the hymns of Zinzendorf into English. He even paid a visit to Herrnhut, and became an intimate friend of Zinzendorf. A prominent divine of that period declared that when Wesley appeared, the Anglican Church was an ecclesiastical system under which the people of Eng- land had lapsed into heathenism, or a state hardly to be distinguished from it; and that Methodism preserved from extinction and reanimated the languishing Non- conformity of the last century. Wesley was the instrument, in the hand of God, Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 35 of awakening new life and inaugurating a movement which was destined to open entirely new fields in the sphere of Christian benevolence. He has been called the Father of Home Missions in England. It was through German Christians that he received the knowl- edge of the truth, and now Germany was to reap the benefit of its former contributions to England. Uhl- horn, in his work, "'Die Christliche Liebesthaetigkeit," page 706, says: "The motive power for the revival of practical Christian benevolence (in Germany) was to be found in the revival of faith; and this was stimulated largely through outside influences, chiefly from England. The intercourse between the pious circles of Germany and those of England dates as far back as the older pietistic movement. ... In the last decades of the eighteenth century a powerful religious movement arose in England, for which Methodism had prepared the way, and of which the French Revolution and its propaganda furnished the inciting cause. It aroused not only the dissenting groups but the Established Church as well. For the first time members of the Anglican Church, and Dissenters of all denominations, including even the Quakers, united in common efforts, for the promotion of the kingdom of God. In a single decade some of the most important religious societies of our times were organized for this purpose, — in 1795, the London Mis- sionary Society; in 1799, the Tract Society; in 1804, the British and Foreign Bible Society. Soon after these societies were founded their influence was felt in Germany. As early as 1798 the directors of the Mis- sionary Society appealed to the Christians of Germany to co-operate with them; and the last years of the closing century saw the beginning of this work," Wichern and Fliedner owe the inception of their noble 36 History of the Deacoj^ess Movement. Christian benevolence and the foundation of their ex- tensive establishments to the influence of England. "Keceiving encouragment from Englanc"," Uhlhorn goes on to say, "Pastor Eautenberg opened a Sunday- school in Hamburg, in which Wichern also took part as a teacher. The Sunday-school gave rise to a visiting club, and here Wichern gained a knowledge of the wretchedness and moral degradation to be found in the alleys and courts of the great commercial city. On the other hand, it brought him into touch with those personages who aided him in his vast undertakings." From England came the Bibles and tracts with which Germany was furuished, and from thence came also a large part of the money for auxiliary societies and benevolent institutions. Steinkopf, who served a long term as pastor of the German Lutheran Church in London, and who was secretary of the "Society for the Promotion of Christianity," became through his personality a bond of union between London and Basel and between the awakened circles of England and Germany. He it was who principally solicited considerable financial support from wealthy England for the Christian societies and institutions of Germany; and thus it happened that activity along these lines in Germany remained for a long time under the dominating influence of England, which certainly was not a disadvantage. The Basel Missionary Society, organized in 1816, and originally well supported by English means, became a pattern for the institution in Beugen. The latter undertook to do the work at home which the former was aiming to do in heathen lands. The Tract Societies of Wupperthal, Berlin, and Lower Saxony were originated in England, and for a long time received much of their financial Female Diacoxate tx Modern Times. o7 support from thence. These few examples show what part England took in the revival of practical Christian- ity in Germany at the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. Yet another circumstance was very helpful in the organization and spread of the Deaconess Work. Dur- ing the wars a number of women's societies had been called into being for the amelioration of suffering. They took charge of the wounded, sent provisions to the soldiers, cared for the destitute, especially for the widows and orphans of fallen soldiers. When the war was over, these societies continued in existence as caretakers of the sick, the poor, and of lying-in women. Through these means the idea suggested itself to such distinguished persons as Minister Von Stein and Amelia Sieveking to organize a Sisterhood in the Protestant Church similar to that of the Catholic Church. They adopted the pattern of the Roman Catholic institutions, and attempted to cultivate a like plant on Protestant soil. But Divine Providence prevented the realization of their plans. The future Minister E. Von Bodelschwingh at one time paid a visit to Von Stein. The latter spoke enthusiastically of his favorite plan of making the numerous women's societies then existing a nucleus for the organization of a Sis- terhood of Mercy in the Protestant Church. Mr. Von Bodelschwingh imparted this conversation to Amelia Sieveking, and she immediately wrote to the minister and laid her own plans for such an organization before him. Although Amelia Sieveking's plans were never carried out, yet she is to be honored as a pioneer in the great Deaconess Movement of modern times. It is therefore proper that we take a brief glance at her character and career. 38 History of the Deaconess Movement. Amelia Sieveking came from an honorable family which had its home in Westphalia. Among her ances- tors were several celebrated Lutheran divines in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her grandfather took up his residence as a merchant in Hamburg and soon gained the respect of his fellow-citizens. He is the ancestor of the three branches of this family which has up to recent times brought forth a long list of highly-honored names. A number of ex- cellent men out of this family have been employed in the state affairs of Hamburg. The syndic, Karl Sieveking, was a faithful friend and adviser of W i c h e r n. Amelia^s father, Henry Christian Sieveking, was in later years a senator of Hamburg. Her mother, Caroline Louise (nee Volkmann), died when "Malchen" — for thus she was known all through life, and thus she is called in that interesting book, ^'Denkwlirdigkeiten aus dem Leben Amalie Sievekings" — was in her fifth year, Amelia was born on the twenty-eighth of July, 1794. In her fifteenth year she also lost her father, who died without leaving anything to his children. They were consequently separated. Amelia, with her governess, went to Miss Timbel, a sister-in-law of Klopstock; but later she found a home with a relative, the widow Brunnemann. She possessed a remarkable talent for teaching, which was developed early in life Amelia Sieveking. Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 39 in teaching a girls' class. Thus she was providentially led to a career in which God gave her extraordinary success and delight. Her great diligence, good sense, deep fervor, and conscientiousness, were qualities which made her a superior teacher. But her heart was still empty and desolate. She had received her religious in- struction from a rationalistic divine, and it left her with a distressing sense of spiritual want. The death of her brother Gustav, a young theologian, with whom she had stood in the most affectionate and confidential relations, made a deep and lasting impression on her mind. This was the turning point of her inner life. There was a void in her heart which must be filled, and while she was seeking for a sure foundation, Thomas a Kempis's "Imitation of Christ^^ came into her hands. This book and Francke's "Directions for Reading the Bible" proved a great blessing to her. But at last she laid all books away, and turned to the Bible only. After long seeking and searching, with much fasting and prayer, she found the pearl of great price. Hers was a secret, severe struggle, but at last she received the wit- ness that she had obtained mercy and was happy in the sense of her adoption as a child of God. From now on she used every opportunity of freely and openly speaking for the Savior; and what a blessing her tes- timony was for others is shown in the biography of the wife of Pastor Fliedner, the deaconess-mother of Kaiserswerth, who in her youth was one of Amelia's best pupils. Her acquaintance with the devout Johannes Gossner, whom she often visited, and with whom she kept up a lively correspondence, was instrumental in leading her into deeper religious experience. Her child- like faith incited her to deeds of Christian love. She thought to strengthen and promote her new spiritual 40 History of the Deaconess Movement. life by organizing the Sisterhood of Mercy. At the same time such an organization appeared to her to supply a suitable calling for that class of single women who had no domestic duties and who spent their time in an unprofitable manner. Detailed plans for this work she laid before Minister Yon Stein and her friend Johannes Gossner. Both gave their assent, but the latter advised her to wait until God opened the way more clearly. At last, in 1831, the time for action seemed to have come. The cholera had broken out in Hamburg, and since extraordinary events generally call for the in- auguration of extraordinary movements, she concluded that the time had now come for her to act. She oifered her services as nurse in the cholera barracks, and issued a call to her fellow Sisters to join with her in this labor of love, but no one answered. This was a bitter disap- pointment. Nevertheless she was not to be discouraged, and notwithstanding the physicians at first thought her a religious enthusiast, she soon so thoroughly gained their confidence by her tact and perfect devotion to her difficult duties that they placed her in charge of all the assistants. When she left the hospital after the plague was driven out she was the object of general admiration. But she was also wiser by one experience, and gave up her plan of organizing a Sisterhood of Mercy. Instead, in the year 1833, she organized a society for the care of the poor and sick. On this she now con- centrated all her efforts. Her name was soon known beyond the borders of her Fatherland, and will go down in history along with the names of Elizabeth Fry, Florence Nightingale, Theodore Fliedner^ John Wichern, and other prominent philanthropists. The establish- ment and promotion of such societies in the old Father- Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 41 land became her life-work, for which she rejected a call to become the directress of the newly-established Deaconess Home in Kaiserswerth, refused an invitation to take charge of the public hospital in Hamburg, and declined the urgent request of Frederick William lY to accept the post of directress of the Bethany Deaconess Hospital in Berlin. She founded a colony for the poor, consisting of three stately buildings, in which about sixty families find a healthy and inexpensive home, and which is known as the "Amalienstift." In the suburb of St. George she erected a Children's Hospital with thirty beds; and the number of her assistants soon in- creased to eighty. Her extensive labors of love led to a personal friendship between her and the noble Queen Elizabeth of Prussia; and she stood on intimate terms with Quoen Anna of Denmark. But the favor of the great; never caused her for a moment to forget her mis- sion to the poor and lowly. Even in later years she would walk through the streets of Hamburg, carrying a heavy basket filled with books and eatables, scarcely allowing herself time to eat. Her unceasing activity during all the hours of the day, as well as her sim- plicity, her moderation, and her indefatigable zeal, won for her the highest admiration. Hers was a simple, energetic, sensible, warm nature. She was an earnest Christian, who had a childlike faith in her Savior. She paved the way, so far as the times and circumstances permitted, for women's work in this branch of service. Her crowning merit consists in having induced women to devote their gifts and energies to the service of suf- fering humanity, who did not feel called to offer them- selves exclusively to the Deaconess Work. She called it the great object of her life to lift up her sex to a higher plane of activity, to more effective efforts for 42 History of the Deaconess Movement. the advancement of God's kingdom, and to a life of greater usefulness among all classes of society. She believed in the power of women, and wanted to show how it should be made eilicient in all spheres of activity. Wichern came over from Berlin to Hamburg, in 1857, when she celebrated the twenty-fifth anniver- sary of her Society. But her life lasted only two more years, and on the first of April, 1859, she was called to the rest of God's people; but her work still lives, and the societies organized by her still flourish, although it has been necessary to adapt the organization to the varying conditions of the times. Although her original idea of organizing an evangelical Sisterhood on the pat- tern of the Catholic Sisters proved impracticable, she de- serves credit, nevertheless, as a pioneer of the female diaconate of modern times. Contemporaneously with these events God awakened men who, taking the diaconate of the Apostolic Church as their pattern, sought to meet the deeply-felt need of their times by organizing an institution in the Protes- tant Church which, far from being an imitation of Catholic institutions, was to be built up on the foun- dation of the Eeformation, according to apostolic models. The popular pastor, Kloenne (born at Wessel on the 3d of April, 1795), stands first in this con- nection. The beneficial activity of the women's socie- ties during the wars encouraged him to write an article for the press on "The Eevival of the Ancient Christian Deaconesses in our Women's Societies." In this article he bewails the afflictions of the times and calls upon Christian women to engage in Christian benevolence in a systematic way after the example of the Apostolic Church. The diaconate of the primitive Christian Church was his model, and he fervently sought to revive Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 43 the New Testament office of deaconesses. He sent this article to the minister, Baron Von Altenstein (1820), and also to the Princess Marianne, of Prussia, who had proven herself a faithful friend of the suffering during the wars. He succeeded in interesting both persons in his plans, but unhappil}^ nothing- ever came of it. Nevertheless Pastor ^^^^ Kloenne continued untiringly to plead in favor of his great idea, appealing to many dif- ferent persons. But before anything tan- gible was reached he died (1834), not witli- 0 u t the assurance, however, that others would realize his cher- ished plans. Simultaneously with Pastor Kloenne, Count Adelbert of R e c k e - Vollmerstein, who afterwards founded the Eescue House of Duessel- thal, near Duesseldorf, and early in the sixties estab- lished the Deaconess Mother House in Craschnitz, strove for the same ol)ject. In 18,'^5, he published a periodical entitled "The Deaconess ; or. Life and Work of the Female Servants of the Church for Doctrine, Education, and Nursing.^^ In this he refers to the diaconate of the Apos- tolic Church, and in the most impressive manner urges that it be renewed. "Twenty years ago'' (1815), he says, "I felt the need of deaconesses in our Church, and spoke of it frequently." At the same time he declared that Count Adei^bert of Recke- Vollmerstein. 44 History of the Deacoxess Movement. it was his object to create a Deaconess House in Duessei- thal. This was in the year 1835. The Crown Prince Frederick William, of Prussia, to whom he had sent his writings, wrote him a letter, dated November 6, 1835, in which he says: "Your thoughts on the revival of the order of deaconesses in our Church have filled me with exultation. For many years this revival has been an object for which I have longed, as one of many things which our Church truly needs. ... I thoroughly share ihe opinion that this office should be formally acknowledged as a Church office. But to this object the Church, as such, must give its recognition, and from the Church this order of woman-helpers must receive its sanction.^^ It is evident that in every circle there were those who planned, discussed methods, and longed for a revival of the female diaconate. Singularly, how- ever, it was neither brought about by the State or Church authorities, nor through a higher mandate, nor a reso- lution of the Consistory, but through a simple country parson. God himself had chosen the instrument, and prepared him through various experiences and many trials. Here, too, that principle of the kingdom of God was to be applied: "God hath chosen the weak things, and things which are not, that no flesh rdiould glory in his presence.'^ Pastor Theodore Fliedner was God's cliosen instru- ment for the founding of a great work. The beginning was small and modest; but as everything in the king- dom of God begins as a mustard-seed, so the female diaconate was to grow from a tiny twig to a great tree, destined in a short time to spread its branches over five continents. Fliedner's whole personality was im- portant for the development of the Deaconess Work. Female Diacoxate ix Moderx Times. 45 T^o doubt that is the reason why the work still exists in much the same form in which Fliedner molded it; and it may well be said that the blessings which it has distributed are due largely to the fact that Fliedner, with rare good sense and far-sightedness, laid a broad and safe foundation for this movement. He possessed a thorough religious experience, and "his plans took shape under the impulse of the revival spirit." He took up the popular theme among the awakened circles of his time, and gave it form and substance; his sober sense, keen intellect, and a heart enlightened by the Holy Spirit, guided him in the right way. His immov- able faith urged him on to action. He had given him- self wholly to the service of the Savior, and was now ready to follow implicitly the leadings of Divine Provi- dence in great things as well as in small. The main conception he derived from the Scriptures, but he adapted it to the needs of the times, and sought the necessary enlightenment, day by day, on his knees in the closet. He realized that if the calling of deacon- esses was necessary as an apostolic institution in the primitive Christian Church, it certainly belongs to the order of things now. He therefore provided for the systematic education of the Sisters, and demanded that when a Sister has given her youth and strength to the service of the Church, sure and adequate provision should be made against the days of sickness and in- creasing age. But this could be best accomplished if they lived together in a community; and thus the idea of the Mother House arose. Like many others before him, Fliedner desired to utilize the buried talents of womanhood, and in carrying out this idea he became a pioneer in many fields of home missionary work. 46 History of the Deaconess Movement. Theodore Fliedner's cradle stood in the romantic village of Eppenstein, in the Tauniis. He was the fourth of twelve children in a clergyman's family, and was born on the 21st of January, 1800. It seemed to his father that the timid, diffident Theodore Avas far behind his brothers in natural gifts; but, contrary to all expecta- tion, the lad developed such astonishing diligence and such brilliant intellectual capacity that he was able when only twelve years old to read and understand Homer. In the year 1813, during the terrors of the war, his father died of typhoid fever, and the widow, with twelve unprovided children, was left behind. In the follow- ing year (1814) Theodore and his elder brother attended the Gymnasium at Idstein, where they were given free lodging; but in every other respect they had to con- tend with the most distressing poverty. Three years later (1817) Theodore entered the University of Giesen, and later that of Goettingen, and in 1820 he passed a good examination at Wiesbaden. He Avas first engaged as a private instructor in a wealthy merchant's family in Cologne. A year and a half later he was called to the small congregation at Kaiserswerth, upon the duties of which he entered on the 18th of January, 1823. There were very few Protestants in the town. The congre- gation of our young preacher was correspondingly small and poor; this proved a double hardship, for five weeks after the installation of the new pastor the very exist- ence of the congregation was threatened by the bank- ruptcy of silk factories in Kaiserswerth, and the Gov- ernment resolved to close the church, which could noi pay a debt of $500 still resting on it. Quickly resolved, Fliedner started out on a collecting tour, during which he received in Holland $5,000, and in London $3,500, returning to Kaiserswerth in 1824 with $9,000, Ho had Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 47 secured enough to pay off the debt and to invest a fund for the future security of the Church. But the chief importance of this journey was not in its financial suc- cess, but in the observations which he made in Holland and England. In speaking of this he says: "In both of these evangelical countries (England and Holland) I observed a number of benevolent institutions for the cure of body and soul, — schools and educational institutions, asylums for the poor, the orphans, and the sick, prisons and so- cieties for the improvement of prisoners, Bible societies, missionary societies, etc.; and I also observed that all these institutions and societies were called into existence and sustained by a living faith in Christ. These ob- servations on the fruitfulness and benevolent power of faith were very potent in strengthening my own faith, which was very weak as yet. I was especially impressed by the majestic activity of the British and Foreign Bible Society, which labors in all parts of the world, and of the British Prison Society, into whose labors and suc- cesses I gained an insight through the Rev. Dr. Stein- kopf, of London, and his friends." The important knowledge thus acquired he soon put to use. His pastoral duties being comparatively light, he had considerable time at his disposal, and first directed his attention to the prison in Duesseldorf. In order thoroughly to understand the condition of the prisoners he proposed to be imprisoned with them for four weeks; but this was not permitted. He was per- mitted to preach to the prisoners every second week, and he regularly availed himself of this permission from October 9, 1825, to the year 1828. The future of dis- charged prisoners gave him much concern. In order to restore them to usefulness in society he decided to found 48 History of the Deaconess Movement. an asylum for this class. Lacking the means for a honse, he utilized his garden-house for this purpose, a building twelve feet square (see page 59), in which the first discharged convict found refuge. Through tlie "Ehenish-Westphalian Prison Society," which he organ- ized, better conditions were brought about in the prisons themselves; and when once the interest in the prison- ers was awakened it soon became pos- sible to secure a house of shelter for discharged prisoners. Up to the present time, more than nine hundred discharged prisoners have been taken care of in this branch in- stitution at Kai- serswerth. Fliedner^s chief aim was the re-es- tablishment of the diaconate, and on April 20, 1836, he bought a large house in the center of the town of Kaisers- werth for two thousand and three hundred dollars. Of this sum Sophie Weiring loaned him eighteen hundred dollars, and other benevolent friends five hundred dol- lars, without interest. The financial depression was gen- eral, and the house was very poorly furnished; but it was still more difficult to obtain Sisters for the Deaconess House. The first Deaconess House was opened October Gertbtjde Reiohabd, The First Deaconess in Europe. Female Diacoxate ix Moderx Times. 49 13, 1836. The first patient, a servant girl, was received October 16th, and the first deaconess, Gertrude Reichard, daughter of a ph3'sician, o n October 20th. She was soon followed by others. F 1 i e d n e r found a great helper in his wife. He says of her': "In my first wife, Friederika ]\Iuenster, who was taken from m e i n April, 1842, the Lord had given me a faithful helper in this labor of love, and espe- cially for the care of the prisoners. After having gratuitously served in the Rescue House at Duesseldorf, for several years, as as- sistant in taking care of neglected children, she was about to devote herself to the care of the prisoners in the prison of Duesseldorf, when the Lord led her to me (1828)." Standing in the midst of the harvest- field, this successful worker laid down her sickle all too soon, and entered into rest. This was a hard blow for Fliedner. But he found another faithful com- Carolixe Bertheatt-Fliedner. 50 History of the Deaconess Movement. panion in Caroline Bertheau, of Hamburg. She had been a pupil of Amelia Sieveking, and had served for three years as an overseer in the great hospital of Ham- burg. She now undertook, following in the footsteps of her predecessor, the superintendency of the Deaconess House at Kaisersv/erth. For forty years she continued in this office (1843-1883), even after the death of her husband showing rare good judgment, and her influence has been strongly felt in the development of the various institutions of Kaiserswerth. It is but fair, after this historical review, to cast a glance at Fliedner's great personality. His whole life was a school in which his naturally strong will-power had ample opportunity to assert itself. The distressing conditions of his youth through which he successfully struggled, the difficulties which met him in his pastorate and followed him through life, the slanders to which he was exposed, the constant miscon- struction of his motives and purposes, show us how severe the trials were through which he passed. But nothing was able to quench his spirit or hinder him. He welcomed difficulties as ordained for our discipline. They were sent to be overcome, and so they steeled his powers and winged his steps in striving for the goal. With innate power he combined a clear insight into current conditions, and a shrewd sagacity for future contin- gencies, which helped him to choose the right methods and reach the desired object. He never groped in the dark; his steps were sure because he sought clearness of vision in the closet and power in prayer. He never re- treated, the timidity of others never deterred him, and all prophecies of ill, whether from friend or foe, could not affright him. They struck the rock of his con- victions but to rebound and fall back like impotent waves Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 51 of the sea. Countess Spee predicted that the inmates of his asyhim would at hest remain but a month. The mayor would not at first enroll the names of the pro- bationers because they would soon run away anyhow. The physician agitated against the erection of the hospital because the atmosphere of the town might become in- fected. Two councilmen, the mouthpieces of the Roman Catholic zealots, urged him to give up his plans because the whole town was opposed to him, and complaint would be brought against him before the Government. He was subjected to petty annoyances by his landlord, and oppo- sition came from all quarters; but all these assaults were shattered upon the impregnable rock of Fliedner's trust in God and his assurance of ultimate victory. To the human eye his work seemed visionary, but he knew that it was founded on God's Word, and that it would stand the test. Fliedner remained faithful to his cause, to his principles, and to the place where he had begun his work and where God had placed and so signally blessed him. Even when King Frederick William IV sought to draw him to Berlin, he declined modestly but firmly, and pursued the chosen path that Providence had marked out for him vigorously and steadily to the end. He had long tried to interest others in his work; but when no one was willing to help him, he said, "I perceive that God wants to lay this burden on my shoulders, and I am ready for it.'' Fliedner has been compared with Wichern and Loehe. These three men moved in the same sphere, and a com- parison is not without interest. Wichern and Loehe were certainly more highly gifted than Fliedner, whose gifts were of a narrower kind; but he was eminently adapted for his special calling, and therefore he had greater suc- cess in this field than the others could have had. Both 52 History of the Deaconess Movement. Wichern and Loehe produced deep and glorious thoughts from well-stored minds; their writings should continue to live and incite others to fresh studies of the subject; but Fliedner's thoughts were simpler, and therefore more practical and productive in every-day life. Wichern and Loehe were men of inflexible will-power and indefatigable industry; but Fliedner was their equal in this respect. He subordinated all his powers to a strong will, and placed these completely in the service of achievement. Fliedner was not a brilliant speaker, and yet he preached a great deal and delivered many addresses, and the peo- ple heard him gladly. His words came from the heart, and therefore reached the heart. He was. not considered a poet, but he made verses, and the few hymns from his pen will be sung by deaconesses, and will be an inspira- tion as far as the German tongue is heard. Fliedner was not, in the modern sense, a learned man, yet he was a man of varied mental acquirements, who knew how to apply what he had seen and experienced in prac- tical life. His force lay chiefly in his activity. In the sphere of practical life he accomplished the extraordinary and incredible, and he also possessed the gift and ability of putting others to work in the service of the king- dom of God, and of training them for the work to which God had called him. Excellent and eminent peo- ple had for a number of decades dreamed about the re- newal of the diaconate; they had spoken about it, and had drawn up rules and regulations for it. Fliedner achieved it so that others can follow in his footsteps. ^'Fliedner placed the dot on the 'i' when he took the greatest and most successful advance step by creating a vocation for woman in the benevolent ministrations of the Church.^^ (Schaefer.) Fliedner seems to have acted on a well-known saying of Pastor Werner: "Things un- 54 History of the Deaconess Movement?. done have no vahie/^ His whole life was controlled by an intense realism; he daily strove to turn some prac- tical thought into action. His choleric temperament contained strongly-marked, sanguine elements, which ex- plains the serenity shown under all difficulties, and which helped over the most trying situations. There was not a trace of the phlegmatic or of melancholy in his dis- position. His understanding of the female character was marvelous. In this respect he was much in advance of Wichern. Wichern's chief mistake consisted in not clearly recognizing the intellectual powers and gifts as well as the aspirations and emotions of women, and con- sequently treating them as he would have treated men. It often seemed that Fliedner understood woman bet- ter than she understood herself, and for this reason he was .able to advance and lift up womankind. Wichern's conception of the female diaconate was superficial, which accounts for the inconsiderable success of his under- takings in this line of work; not even his establishments for girls in the "Eauhe Haus" prospered as they should. Their success was much inferior to- that of the estab- lishments for boys. Loehe understood the feminine mind as well as Fliedner, but he was too ideal. But Fliedner stood in the midst of practical life, and sought to idealize the meanest work and events of the every- day life by recognizing their ideal value. He knew that the mainspring of true womanly character is motherli- ness, and he tried to solve the problem of woman's work from this point of view. He also knew that this motherly impulse helps w^oman to bear burdens which no man would be able to bear. For this reason Fliedner only recognized that which belongs to the sphere of womanli- ness as belonging to her life work, and therefore he was Female Diaconate in Modern Times. 55 careful to require nothing of her which did not belong to this sphere. No one better understood how to treat that great weakness of womankind, sentimentalism ; and, as a practical man, he concluded that the Mother House is the proper home for the Sisters. Here they could move about with all the freedom of the home, and yet as maturer children of the same, and therefore Fliedner combined the associational feature with the Mother House. But he also knew that only the love of God, shed abroad in the heart through the Holy Ghost, can be the true and safe foundation for this companionship. His own heart was filled with this love, and he tried to lead the Sisters to the same open fountain. His religious experience was verified by a life of unselfish devotion, and fully tested in the crucible of affliction. Therefore the glory of the Lord was reflected in his face, and he knew that prayer is the only source of strength and the Word of God the only guiding-star. Theodore Fliedner inaugurated a movement which will be as far-reaching as eternity, just as the waves of the sea never rest till they reach the shore. Some one has summarized the results of his work in the following sentences: 1. Fliedner's work has demonstrated the reality of the divine vocation of women; that is, their capacity and duty as co-laborers in the kingdom of God. 2. Through the revival of the Apostolic Diaconate Flied- ner has given to unmarried women in the evangelical Church a vocation for life that meets their highest aspira- tions. 3. Fliedner originated a movement in the evan- gelical world by which women may be led to a fuller realization of the blessedness of Christian service. 4. His work is an evidence that equalization of classes is pos- sible on an evangelical basis. 5. By his principle of abolishing the difference between higher and lower 5G History of the Deacoxess ^Fovement. grades of work he has also discovered the proper ^^oint of view for estimating the work of woman; namely, that whatever a Christian believer does in the name of Christ is true worship. 6. By introducing a mode of life and conduct in which the golden mean is properly observed he has set a noteworthy example worthy of all imitation. 7. He has given a new impulse and strength to the work of saving imperiled and lost women. Some one has said that the year 1800 gave two great leaders to Germany: General Field Marshal Von Moltke (born October 26, 1800) and the Deaconess Father, Theodore Fliedner (born January 21, 1800). To the first the German is indebted chiefly for the victory of its armies; to the latter for the gathering of that great army of peace-bearers, the deaconesses, who go about, not to make wounds but to heal those already made. And the fact that in the year 1852 two hundred young women from the upper and lower grades of society responded to Fliedner's call for deaconesses by offering themselves as probationers at Kaiserswerth shows how extensively his voice was heard in all parts of Germany. When he was placed on his last bed of sickness (1864), he exclaimed, "All that is necessary is to be a saved child of God." He was very much comforted by the words, "Here a poor sinner cometh home, who would be saved by grace alone." When the time of his dissolution approached, and his sons were to leave in order to enter the gymnasium (preparatory school for the university), he gave them his hand in parting, and said: "It is prob- ably the last time that I will see you thus about me. We will not disguise the fact that I will soon pass over into a blessed eternity. It is a solemn and mighty mo- ment! When I look back upon my life I can only say, 0 that every heartbeat were a throb of gratitude, and Female Diacoxate ix Moderx Times. 57 every breath a hymn of praise! How can I worthily exalt Him? How blessed it is to serve such a Master, who forgiveth sin, and will forgive me all my sins! The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth from all sin. . I cling to that. . . . Let no one deceive yon, that you should doubt Him who said, '^I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.^ Jesus Christ is the Son of God. One thing is needful — the salvation of your souls.^' Then he laid his hands on the head of each mem- ber of the family and gave them his parting blessing. As he grew weaker and the physician at last could feel no pulse, the sick man was still heard to lisp, ^'Thou Con- queror of Death — Victor!'^ Death came without a strug- gle, October 4th, and the burial took place on October 7, 1864, in Kaiserswerth. The simple gravestone is decorated with a cross and palm, beneath which is his name and the text of the funeral sermon: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Pastor Mallet, of Bremen, very beautifully and truly says in his memoir: "Fliedner remembered the words of Jesus, T have compassion on the multitude.' He had seen the distress of the prisoners, the children, the poor, and the sick. He saw the work, but there were no workers, and yet many were standing in the market- place idle. A new thought came to him from above, a new name and a new work. He re-established the Apos- tolic Diaconate. It has already taken root in four con- tinents; for wherever distress became known he was anxious to relieve it. Ever new workers, ever greater resources were attracted to him. He had no money, and yet he never ceased building; he had not the aid of powerful influence, yet he became a prince. During the 58 History of the Deaconess Movemext. last years he breathed with only half a lung, and yet he worked on with tireless energy; yea, the Word of the Lord applies to him, ^Thoii hast labored, and hast n-ot grown weary/ In him we can see what the Lord Jesus can make of a poor man. In the industrial world Flied- ner w^ould have been a millionaire, would have built palaces and parks, and the millionaire would have died a poor man; but through faith he dedicated everything to the service of his dear Master. By faith he achieved mighty results. How this man must have prayed! How he pleaded, not only with men, but with God! And so he found more than he sought, received far more abun- dantly than he had asked.^^ Fliedner himself has disclosed the secret of his work and of his success in the motto of his life: "He must increase, but I must decrease." He never sought glory or rew^ard or recognition. He studiously avoided all marks of personal distinction, but the blessings which God brought to modern Protestant Christianity through him abides. His last great work was the organization of the General Conference of all Deaconess Mother Houses in Kaiserswerth in 1861. This Conference was to meet every third year, according to his desire. But he did not live to see the second meeting in the year 1864. CHAPTEE III. THE INSTITUTIONS AT KAISERSWERTH. If Theodore Fliedner is the founder of the Deaconess Movement of modern times^ Kaiserswerth is the cradle and the 13th of October, 1836, the day of the founding of the Kaiserswerth Mother House. AYithout any means, any prestige or renown, the young Pastor Fliedner, trust- The First Deaconess Home at Kaiserswerth. ing in God and guided by Divine Providence, opened on that day an institution which was destined to become the model of all Deaconess Institutions of the world, and which to-day has numerous branch institutions and hun- dreds of stations and fields of labor in five continents. Several years previously (on the 17th of September, 1833) Fliedner had opened the first asylum in the small garden- house that has become so renowned. (See cut above.) On this day the first ward of the asylum, a dis- 59 60 History of the Deaconess Movement. charged female convict^ arrived in Kaiserswerth. A second arrived shortly after, and these two measured the full capacity of the Home. Fliedner soon realized that he must have an institution in which young women could be prepared for the calling of deaconess and in- structed in the necessary branches, and which at the same time would afford them a moral rallying-point. Without a penny in his pocket, as a man of faith and Kaiserswerth, twenty-five years ago. action he bought a house for $2,300, and into this there entered, on the 20th of October, 1836, the first deaconess, Gertrude Beichard, a talented and experienced nurse, the daughter of a physician in Euhrort. Concerning the very meager beginning Fliedner himself writes: "A table, several chairs with half-broken backs, damaged knives, forks with only two prongs, worm-eaten bedsteads, and a few other things, constituted the whole outfit. In this humble style we moved in, but with hearts full of The Institutions at Ivaiserswerth. 61 joy and praise/' That is the simple record of the small beginning of one of the most extensive and blessed move- ments of the Protestant Church in modern times. But Fliedner was a progressive man, and from the beginning his breadth of vision, as well as the undaunted courage of his faith, reached far beyond little Ivaisers- werth. In the autumn of 1835 he opened a Christian kindergarten in the same small garden-house, and on the 21st of February, 1838, he founded the first station of the Mother House in Elberfeld. Thenceforward, step by step, especially in Prussia, one institution followed the other. Fliedner^s busy and progressive spirit constantly originated new plans, and his attention was directed to all forms of human need which the genius of woman was especially fitted to relieve. It is a striking coinci- dence that the Church seal of Ivaiserswerth represents a tree that, under the benign influences of the sun, has sprung from a tiny mustard-seed. It bears the inscrip- tion, "The mustard-seed has become a tree.^^ By the end of the fifth year there were ten deaconesses employed in five outside stations, and in the surrounding cities and towns they were engaged in private nursing. The spark had been fanned to a bright flame, and at the close of the first decade there were 108 deaconesses in the Mother House. Of these, 62 worked in nineteen branch stations, and from numerous cities of Germany there came urgent inquiries for private nurses. Parish work had also become such a hopeful department that Fliedner himself acknowledged that the work of the "parish- deaconess" — that is," the deaconess who is attached to a Church in the capacity of a home missionary — would be- come more important year by year. The hospital had been enlarged so much that about six hundred patients could be received and treated an- 62 History of the Deaconess Movement. niially, and in the seminary 270 young women had al- ready been educated as teachers. The manual-training school and the higher school for girls prospered, and both an orphanage and a preparatory school for deacon- esses had been established. Seventeen Christian kinder- gartens had been founded in various parts of Prussia, and the institution at Kaiserswerth had been able to trans- Deaconess Hospital, at Kaiserswerth, twenty-five years ago. fer deaconesses to assume the direction of the Mother Houses that had been founded in many cities of Europe, and soon become self-sustaining. The institution at Kaiserswerth received rights of incorporation with the title "Rheinisch-Westfaelischer Yerein fuer Bildung und Beschaeftigung evangelischer Diakonissen," and this so- ciety gradually extended its activity to the following lines of work: hospitals (including institutions for the simple- minded and epileptic), poorhouses, infirmaries, orphan- The Institutions at Kaiserswerth. 63 ages, educational institutions, elementary schools, semi- naries for the education of kindergarten teachers, kinder- gartens, nurseries, houses of refuge, children's hospitals, schools of industry, homes for servant-girls, Magdalen Asylums, hospices, pensions, retreats for boys and girls, prison mission-work, parish work, and numerous other spheres of activity for which woman is especially fitted. Such was the glorious record of the first decade. At the close of the second decade the number of dea- conesses in Kaiserswerth had already reached 244, of whom 177 were employed outside the Mother House in the branch institutions and in various departments of work. The number of Deaconess Mother Houses that were in- dependent of Kaiserswerth had already increased to eleven, and each of these institutions formed a center for the varied and extensive forms of Christian benevo- lence. When, on the 16th of December, 1861, the twenty- fifth anniversary of the founding of the institution at Kaiserswerth, as well as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the appointment of Gertrude Eeichard, the first deaconess in said institution, eighty-three separate fields of work of the Mother House at Kaiserswerth could be enumer- ated; and in his annual report Pastor Fliedner said, with a glad heart and with gratitude toward God, "The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.^' When, in the year 1864, he entered into the rest that remaineth to the people of God, four hundred and twenty- five deaconesses belonged to the Mother House at Kaisers- werth, besides one hundred different fields of labor. The number of Deaconess Mother Houses had increased to thirty-two, and altogether there were sixteen hundred deaconesses employed in more than four hundred different fields of labor. Fliedner found a worthy and most competent succes- 64 History of the Deaconess Movement. sor in his son-in-law, Pastor Dr. Julius Disselhoff, who superintended the institutions with much wisdom for thirty-two years. In all departments of home missions, and in all questions bearing on Deaconess Work, Dissel- hoff has come to be a recognized authority. In all ques- tions of organization he remained true to Fliedner's views and princi- ples; but he knew how to reckon with changing cir- cumstances, and to shape the interior development of the work accord- i n g 1 y. Through his literary activ- ity he contributed much toward a wider and better understanding of the Deaconess Work. Of his lit- erary productions the following are especially worthy of notice : '^Jubi- late; or, Denk- schrift zur Jubel- feier;" "Pastoral- briefe an meine lieben Diakonissen,^' and "Wegweiser fuer Diakonissen." The first named of these is a most thankworthy. historical work that has received wide rec- ognition. On Good Friday, 1896, he preached his last sermon on the last words of Jesus on the cross, "It is Rev. Jumus Dissex,hoff, D. D. The Institutions at Kaiserswerth. 65 finished," and died July 14th of the same year, his last words being, "Grant me some rest, 0 thou Prince of peace!" His death deprived not only the institution at Kaiserswerth, but also the Deaconess Work at large, of a diligent, safe, and influential leader, and of a wise and prudent counselor. The institution at Kaiserswerth consists of two Deaconess Mother House at Kaiserswerth. groups: The Mother House, with its branch institutions in Kaiserswerth and elsewhere, constitute the first group; and the numerous fields of labor, or stations, the other. The property of the first group belongs to the "Rheinisch- Westfaelischer Diakonieverein," which society must pro- vide for these institutions in every particular through the Mother House. The property of the second group belongs to other societies and organizations, wherefore this group is not so closely affiliated with the Mother 66 History of the Deaconess Movement. House. The deaconesses are stationed in these fields of labor (stations) under contract, and, consequently, can at any time be recalled or replaced by others. A survey of the lovely grounds and buildings of Kaiserswerth may interest the reader. We start from the main building, the Mother House, which is three stories high, and adjoins the pleasant chapel building of the institution. (See illustration.) This main building has from time to time been considerably enlarged by ad- ditions and connecting wings. It contains the simple but neat rooms of the deaconesses, besides a department for the sick of their number and another for the infirm. Adjoining the stately church, the slender tower of which rises to quite a height, is seen the instruction hall, and adjoining this the "Feierabendhaus" and the "Pilger- haus,^^ with supply-store. Here may be found the mu- seum, with its rich contents: models of the institutions in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, wood-carvings from Jeru- salem, mummies from Egypt, numerous relics from bat- tlefields on which the Sisters, like angels of mercy, nursed the sick and closed the eyes of the dying. Among the numerous articles that are of special interest and his- toric value there, is the cup out of which Emperor Wil- liam I drank at Vyonville. N'ear the main building are situated the dwellings of the otTicers and teachers, the parsonage and the dwelling of the pastor of the seminary, the storage buildings, and the dwelling of the porter. Beyond the wall we enter the kindergarten, and also visit the higher school for girls and the preparatory school for deaconesses. In close proximity the bookstore is situated, in which the numerous literary productions printed in Kaiserswerth and sent into all parts of the world are to be found. We are especially interested in the Kaiserswerth Calendar, Avhich is sent out in hundreds of thousands The Institutions at Kaiseeswerth. 67 of copies annually. We enter the seminary in which young women are prepared as teachers for kindergartens, puhlic schools, and schools for girls. Xear by is the ^'Magdalenenstift/' an asylum in which discharged female convicts find a refuge. Toward the north the gar- dens of the Mother House and the hospital extend to Wall Street: toward the Ehine the mill-tower (MuchJen- Institutios at Kaiserswerth. turm) stands as guard of the western border. This row of houses forms the northern border of Kaiserswerth. Beyond it extend the gardens and meadows of the insti- tution, and on the other side is the farm^ with its barn, stables, dairy, etc. Besides these we mention the '"Paul Gerhardtstift," in which sick and helpless women are cared for. In a charming location on the Johannisberg is situated the institute for deranged women; also the 68 History of the Deaconess Movement. sanitarium and the house for recreation, which is beau- tifully located, and is surrounded by magnificent parks. At some distance from this lies the Fronberg, where the main hospital for adult patients of both sexes is situated, containing one hundred and twenty-five beds. The hos- pital for children has sixty-five beds, and in front of this magnificent building is a monument of Emperor Fred- erick III. While visiting Kaiserswerth as crown-prince, he had held in his arms a sick and half-blind child, and permitted it to play with the medals on his breast. In this position he is represented on the monument, and on the front of the die there is the inscription, "Our crown- prince in Kaiserswerth, September 21, 1884," while on the back of it is inscribed the words that an Arabian child addressed to him during his visit in Jerusalem in 1869, "I love you." The orphanage on the Fronberg has been named "Kingdom of Heaven" (Himmelreich). The parklike surroundings, with their walks under chestnut- trees, its gardens and fountains, its flower-beds and snug corners and little garden-houses, make a most pleasing impression on the visitor. In the hospital w^e are charmed by the magnificent glass windows, and in the chapel by the grand painting of Behmer in Weimar, representing the healing of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda. Before leaving Kaiserswerth we must visit the small garden-house mentioned above, the cradle of the insti- tutions at Kaiserswerth, which formerly belonged to the city evangelical parish. In 1886 the deaconesses bought this garden-house and presented it to the Mother House at its anniversary. It is impossible to describe in this connection the branch institutions belonging to the Mother House at Kaiserswerth. We can only mention that there are branch Homes in Austria, Switzerland, Bohemia, Mo- The Institutions at Kaiserswerth. 69 ravia, Hungary, the iNetherlancls, France, England, Nor- way, Belgium, Sweden, and Italy. The work of Christian charity has been extended even into the Orient. And apart from the institutions the deaconesses are employed in the numerous forms of Christian charity mentioned above, whereby the most varied gifts and powers are put tc efficient use. Special mention should be made of the Dkaooness Home in Smtrna. institutions at Jerusalem, Alexandria, Cairo, Beirut, Smyrna, and Bucharest. It was one of the great life- thoughts of Fliedner not only to show forth deeds of Christian mercy in evangelical countries through the Deaconess Work, but also to bear witness to the prac- tical benevolence of the evangelical faith in Roman Cath- olic countries. This has in a great measure been accom- plished through the work of the deaconesses. The institu- tions in France, Hungary, Bohemia, and Italy, especially 70 History of the Deaconess Movement. in Florence and Eome, have come to be a source of bless- ing to thousands upon thousands. We would, however, point in particular to the salutary influence exerted by the deaconesses among the Mohammedans. A traveler relates the following: ^'The Kaiserswerth deaconesses are fulfilling a mission in the Orient of deepest significance. They are a credit to the Evangelical Church and a last- ing honor to the German Fatherland. I do not hesitate to rate the work of these deaconesses as one of the most im- portant achievements of the Evangelical Church. It is done unostentatiously, quietly, and with such self-denial that it is almost overlooked at home; but it sinks deep into the secluded life of the Orient. Surrounded by Mo- hammedans, these deaconesses, bearing in their hearts the message of the cross, are testifying by their lives to the power of the gospel of Christ. They nurse their sick and educate their daughters. In the hospitals of Con- stantinople and Beirut, of Jerusalem and Alexandria, I have witnessed the wondering admiration and the deep gratitude of communicants of the Evangelical, the Koman Catholic, and the Greek Catholic Church, who had been nursed by the deaconesses in these far-away lands as only a mother can nurse, and such touching experiences are to many 'the means of finding their w^ay to their Father's house.^' Fliedner himself accompanied the first deaconesses to Jerusalem, and laid the foundation of the blessed and widespread Deaconess Work in the Orient. He had been invited by Bishop Gobat to visit him, and had been re- quested to found an institution in Jerusalem. When Flied- ner reported this to King Frederick William IV, the latter at once placed two houses at his disposal, and offered to bear the total expense of the journey. On Thursday, in the Passion Week of the year 1851, Fliedner arrived The Institutions at Kaiserswerth. 71 in Jerusalem with four deaconesses^ and on the 4th of May following he was able to dedicate the first Deaconess Home of the Orient in Jerusalem. It was intended for a house of mercy and training-school from which Chris- tian nurses and teachers for the Orient should go forth. To-day there are on opposite sides of Java Street two large institutions: the educational institution ^'Talitha- cumi/' in which there are one hundred and twenty chil- dren, and the Deaconess Hospital, in which there is room Deaconess Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. for one hundred beds. Thence the w^ork spread into other parts of the Orient, and to-day more than one hun- dred deaconesses are employed in the following cities: Jerusalem, Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, Beirut, and Cairo. In May, 1901, the fiftieth anniversary was celebrated, and from all parts of the world there arrived charitable gifts for the propagation of the work in Je- rusalem. In the cities mentioned there are stately institutions The Institutions at Kaiserswerth. 73 in which the sick are nursed and the youth are instructed in the way of salvation. In Alexandria alone, where the work was begun in 1857, more than fifty thousand patients have been nursed. How much actual charity work, how many prayers and sleepless nights, how many tears and deeds of self-denial are represented by these names and numbers! What has thus far been said is really only the scaffolding of the actual work done. God alone knows what these deaconesses have really accom- plished for immortal human souls. If we add to this the work of the deaconesses in private nursing and the help rendered by them in times of general need, in epidemics of cholera and typhus, during great wars, on the battlefields, and in field-hospitals, we can realize how truthfully Oster- tag has spoken in his volume on "Werkstaette evangeli- scher Liebesthaetigkeit'^ concerning the work of the Kai- serswerth Sisters: "Xo natural energy, no human be- nevolence, no spirit of patriotism could adequately ac- count for such a service of love as has been described. Its secret is to be found in the Pauline missionary spirit ex- pressed in the words, ''The love of Christ constrain- eth us." Up to the present time there have been received in Kaiserswerth between three and four thousand deacon- esses, and more than eleven hundred are to-day connected with the institution at Kaiserswerth. More than one thou- sand have celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of their entrance upon the work, and several are already in the fortieth, and some even in the fiftieth, year of their serv- ice as deaconesses. About two-thirds of the amount needed to sustain these institutions is earned by the deaconesses in their work; the remainder is obtained through private gifts and church collections, penny subscriptions, and the aid of ^4 History of the Deaconess Movement. anxiliarv societies. A considerable income is received from tlie sale of books in Kaiserswerth and the publi- cation of numerous other books and periodicals. The "Kheinisch-Westfaelischer Diakonieverein'^ owns prop- erty valued at several million marks, and in the past year the current income amounted to 815,713 Eeichsmarks ($204,000), the current expenses to 810,687 marks. CHAPTER TY. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEACONESS WOKK IN THE STATE CHURCH OF GERMANY. The preceding chapter was devoted exclusively to the Mother House at Ivaiserswerth and its branch institu- tions. In this chapter we shall call attention to some of the principal Mother Houses in the State Church. Our limited space will, of course, make it impossible to touch upon more than the chief facts and phases of the work there. The Deaconess Mother House "Bethanten" in Berlin. Bethany, in Berlin, is the most beautiful and endur- ing monument that Frederick William IV of Prussia ever erected. In February, 1842, he wrote to his minister Eiehhorn : "It seems to me most de- sirable that there be an institution erected in Berlin similar to the order of Sisters of Mercy, but entirely in the spirit of freedom, for the purpose of training nurses, and in connection therewith, for the same purpose, a well-endowed hospital." This institution was to have been a central Deaconess Home; that is, a center from which other Deaconess 75 Deaconess Home "Bethanien, IN Berlin. 76 History of the Deaconess Movement. Homes could be erected in the provinces. The king in- tended tlmt a cliain of benevolent institutions should be built throughout the land, and that the noblest and best of his people should be united in this charitable service. The building of the hospital was begun in 1845, and two years later Bethanien was opened. Queen Eliza- beth, wife of Frederick William IV, assumed the pro- tectorate. The inner management was intrusted entirely to the head deaconess (Oberin), with the chaplain of the institution and the chief physician as advisers. The hos- pital is a magnificent building, with a church in the cen- ter. On the first floor are the private rooms for the dea- conesses, three nurseries, a drugstore, halls for the pro- bationary nurses, the rooms of the head deaconess (Oberin), offices, committee-rooms, and an assembly hall. On the second and third floors are the Avards for the sick. In 1871 a number of one-story hospitals were erected on the grounds. During the wars of 1864, 1866, 1870-71 the Sisters of Bethanien rendered noble service on the battlefieids. Unmarried women and widows from eighteen to thirty-six years of age, and of evangelical faith, are admitted for training. The time of probation is one year, and the consecration can not take place be- fore the third year of their service in the institution. Two persons chiefly contributed largely to the up- building of this institution, and their names will for- ever remain closely allied with the history of Bethanien. The first is the chaplain of the Home, August Gottlieb Ferdinand Schultz, who is rightfully considered the or- ganizer of the inner arrangement of the institution. Being of a practical turn of mind, he devised plans and regulations of such practical excellence that the majority of the Deaconess Homes in Europe have been patterned after them. Pastor Schultz was the son of a merchant, Deaconess Work in the State Church. 77 and was born in Stettin, October 13, 1811. In Greifswalde and Berlin he prepared himself for the ministry, and in 1846 assumed the superintendency of the Deaconess In- stitution Bethanien, to which task, for the remainder of his life, his whole time and strength were devoted. He died October 11, 1875. Like Fliedner, he considered parish work the crown of all Deaconess Work. He made the highest demands on his deaconesses, and in no institution did the Sis- ters receive a more thor- ough, all-around training for their high calling. The other person who so greatly influenced the development of the insti- tution was Sister "Anna," Countess of Stolberg-We- ringerode. When in the year 1855 the first head deaconess, Marianna von Eanzau, died, she assumed the position thus vacated, with much fear and trembling. But a good training and many sore trials had prepared her for this important calling. Born September 6, 1819, in the castle Peterswalden, in Silesia, she spent the time of her youth most happily in the home of her parents, and be- came noted at an early age for deeds of charity. Her father, the Count of Stolberg, governmental president in Duesseldorf, was an intimate friend of Fliedner's, and in his house the statutes of the "Eheinisch-Westfaelischer Diakonissenverein,^' framed by Fliedner, were signed. and the count himself was elected first president. In Sister "Anna," Countess of Stolberg-Weringerode, 78 History of the Deaconess Movement. 1836 he, with his daughter Anna, attended the dedica- tion of the first Deaconess Home in Kaiserswerth. Dur- ing her preparation for confirmation Anna was con- victed of sin, and experienped in her heart the pardon- ing grace of God. Thenceforward her motto was, "The hlood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." These words are inscribed on her monument. In Berlin her spiritual life was greatly quickened through Johannes Gossner, and there arose in her mind the ardent desire to join the Society of Sisters in Bethanien. Her wish to serve the sick finally grew so strong that every thought of it became a prayer; and when at last, in the winter of 1852, she w^as permitted to enter Bethanien, she leaped for joy. From that time her rich life, conse- crated to the service of God, was indeed a thank-offering. Shortly after she had finished her probation (1855) she was placed at the head of the Sisterhood as head dea- coness, and her joy was greatly increased when Frederick William IV appointed her brother Eberhardt command- ant and chancellor of the Order of Malta (Johanniter- orden), founded by him. Whenever he erected a new hospital he called at Bethanien for help, and Sister Anna always set out with several of the deaconesses in order to introduce them to the services of the new Johanniter Hospital. In this way the brother and sister instituted no less than twenty-four hospitals and infirmaries, and finally Bethanien obligated itself to take charge of all hospitals of the Order of Malta. In the field hospitals Sister Anna always took the lead. But after the cam- paign of 1866, when the king desired to confer some dis- tinction upon her, she declined it, saying, "Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, give glory." Scarcely were the wounds of war healed when an epi- demic of typhus began to rage in East Prussia (1868). Deaconess Work in the State Church. 79 Sister Anna hastened there with several deaconesses. It was her last mission. Day and night she hurried untiringly from bed to bed, and when she returned to Berlin, Janu- ary 28, 1869, it was to die. She "set her house in order," partook once more of the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and said to the weeping Sisters around her death- bed, "Do not separate me from my Lord by your im- petuous entreaties." Her large patrimony she willed to the Mother House Bethanien and to the "Mariannen- stift" in her Silesian home. To the Sisters she wrote the following farewell: "The Lord has looked kindly upon me, has forgiven me my many great sins for Christ's sake, and has graciously received me to himself. This I hope and believe, according to his great mercy. I pray and admonish you: 'Little children, abide in him, and love ye one another.' This is my last wish and entreaty to you." Her death was truly the death of a heroine. The king himself laid a laurel wreath upon her plain casket, and the queen added a floral tribute. An immense procession followed her casket. In the streets of Berlin a dense throng had assembled, and many wept. The king himself followed the casket with un- covered head, leading the aged mother of the deceased by the arm. To-day Bethanien has three hundred and forty dea- conesses, who are employed in one hundred and ten diiferent fields of labor. It has become the Central Deaconess Home, especially for East Prussia. The Evangelical Deaconess Home in Strassburg. This institution owes its origin to the new awakening of spiritual life in the first half of the nineteenth cen- tury. The pious pastor, Franz Heinrich Haerter, is its founder. The history of its origin was peculiar. It had 80 History of the Deaconess Movement. been i3roposed to turn the city hospital over to the evan- gelical people, if two women could be found capable of taking charge of the same; but none applied. The Sis- ters of Mercy accordingly took possession of the hospital, and the Protestants became the butt of ridicule among the Catholics. Deeply grieved and mortified, Haerter re- solved to vindicate the honor of the Evangelical Church, and immediately founded (1836) a Deaconess Society, which many influential women joined. Out of this society, called ^'Dienerinnenverein,^^ the institution devel- Rev. Franz Heinrioh Haebter. Louise Keck, Head Deaconess. oped. The society had set for itself the task of visiting poor and sick women on Sundays, to render temporal aid and spiritual comfort. It soon became apparent, how- ever, that the poor and sick were in need of ministering love, not only on Sunday, but also on week-days, where- fore several of the women offered to devote all their time and strength to this work. Haerter saw that the time had come for the founding of a Deaconess Home, and on the 9th of July, 1842, he opened the institution. He had a broad conception of the Deaconess Work, and turned his attention, not only to the training of Sisters Deaconess Work in the State Church. 81 for nursing the sick^ but also to the training of teachers, and soon a teachers' training-school resulted. Then he founded a Home for servant-girls, a reform school, a kindergarten, and a nursery. There was also an asylum founded which might offer to the old, sick, and for- saken a pleasant home. Much stress was also laid upon the work among the fallen. In one particular the regu- lations differ from all others. The right of membership Deaconess Home in Strassburg. in the Sisterhood is determined by a two-thirds vote of the Sisters. The head deaconess^, as well as the chief Sisters of the branch stations, are chosen by the Sister- hood for a term of three years. The pastor is only an adviser, and the institution is governed by a committee of ladies. In its main features the organization is a female democracy. Tlie motto of the house is, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.'' (Phil, i, 21.) The talented and pious founder gave to the Home a peculiar and lasting impress. 6 82 History of the Deaconess Movement. Franz Heinrich Haerter was born in Strassburg, Au- gust 1, 1797, and died there August 5, 1873. In early childhood he experienced the preserving grace of God, in that he awoke from apparent death after he had al- ready been placed in the casket. Yielding to the wish of his father, he studied theology, but barely escaped utter spiritual ruin in the labyrinth of the rationalism of the times. When he was already in the pastorate he strove to attain saving faith. He wrote: "Through dili- gent prayer and reading the Scriptures my knowledge grew clearer day by day; but I painfully realized that love was still wanting in my soul. I prayed long and often in great distress, '0 my Savior, give my poor heart thy love!' About a year passed before my prayer was fully answered. Little by little, and at long intervals, He who is rich in mercy poured out his love into my heart. At first my heart thawed out slowly,, then the God-life, like a gentle spring rain, fell in drops into my thirsty soul. At last the inner foundations of my being were submerged -by love, so that in the midst of the con- sciousness of my sinfulness I could praise him and pro-; claim to all the world, 'This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.' " On the following Sunday, in his sermon to his congregation, he testified clearly to his conversion. Five hundred years before the famous Tauler had also related his conversion from the same pulpit. Through Haerter's sermon a great awakening began, and multitudes came to a saving knowledge of the truth. The result was a life full of missionary zeal and Christian love. Haerter soon became the leader in a number of charities, and his principal achievement was the Strassburg Mother House. He died in the Lord in the year 1873. The institution employs Deaconess Work in the State Church. 83 two liuiKlred and sixty deaconesses in fifty-nine fields of labor, and the income last year was two hundred and twenty thousand Reichsmarks. The present institution was occupied in 1853, and was incorporated in the same year. The Elizabeth Hospital and Deaconess Home in Berlin. This institution is almost as old as Kaiserswerth; at any rate it ranks second chronologically. Johannes Gossner, pastor of the Lutheran Bethleliems-Gemeinde in Berlin, in connection with several Christian friends, founded a Women's Society for Healing the Sick (Kran- l-enverein) in 1833. Its express purpose was to "assist deserted, helpless, and comfortless women by tendering financial aid and visiting and nursing them day and night." He had previously organized a similar society for men, and it now appeared that the care of the sick of both sexes required a hospital. A house was accord- ingly rented and arranged for this purpose on Herschel Street, July 9, 1836. In the following year Gossner was able to purchase a piece of land near the Potsdamerthor for twenty-two thousand thalers, and there the first Christian hospital in Berlin was dedicated to God. Her Royal Majesty, Princess Marianna, assumed the protec- torate. After the death of the princess (1846) the pro- tectorate of the institution was assumed by Queen Eliza- beth, whose name the hospital had borne since 1838. The hospital and Deaconess Home were erected in 1840, and from that time this place of Christian mercy became a center for the care of the female sick in Berlin, ^ot only were hundreds received and nursed annually in the beautiful sick wards, but the sick were also sought out in their homes by the members of the society, and usually 84 History of the Deaconess Movement. soup was furnished ten to fifteen thousand patients an- nually. It was not Gossner's intention to found a Dea- coness Institution; he even avoided the name "deaconess" purposely, and preferred the German name Pflegerin (nurse). His purpose was the training of nurses after the pattern of the Sisters of Mercy. He embodied his principles in a tract entitled, "How Must Christian Nurses or Evangelical Sisters of Mercy be Constituted?'' The Sisters cared for the sick free of charge. They wore, like the deacones-ses, a uniform garb, but they were not so closely organized, and therefore the Sisterhood was subject to many fluctuations. Gossner superintended the Women's Society for the Care of the Sick and the Eliza- beth Hospital for twenty-five years. He was, to iise his own words, "inspector, father of the family, secretary, packhorse, all in one person." He was of a mystical turn of mind, and exerted a wide influence through his Chris- tian character and that most edifying devotional book known as "Gossner's Schatzkaestchen." Like Haerter in Strassburg, he gave to the institution the impress of his own independent and original personality. He died March 30, 1858, and was succeeded by Pastor Prochnow, a former missionary in India. A new era opened for the institution when, in 1867, Anna, Countess of Arnim, was appointed head deaconess (Oberin). It numbers at pres- ent one hundred and fifty-four Sisters, of whom the greater number are employed in the forty-three different outlying stations. The Deaconess Home "Sarepta," near Bielefeld. The Mother House "Sarepta," near Bielefeld, is the center of the Deaconess Work in Westphalia. The insti- tution was founded in 1869, and on the 31st of March of that year Inspector Disselhoff, of Kaiserswerth, dedicated the newly-purchased house to its purposes. With four 86 History of the Deacoxess Movement. Sisters from Kaiserswerth he had arrived at Bielefekl the day previous, and no institution has from its very heginning had a more prosperous growth than this one. In 1872 Pastor von Bodelschwingh assumed the super- intendency of the institution, and at once planned a new buikling, which was opened two years later and named "Sarepta.^' The house can accommodate four hundred^ Deaconess Home •' Sarepta," in Bielefeld. and twenty patients and sixty deaconesses. The origirial building of the Mother House was converted into an in- firmary for women and called "Marienstift." At the tenth anniversary, in 1879, the number of deaconesses had increased to two hundred, who were employed at sixty-three stations. To-day the institution has the fol- lowing branches : 1. Sarepta, the Mother House with the chapel. 2. Bethel, for female epileptics. 3. Xazareth, the Brother- Deaconess Work in the State Church. 87 hood Home with the Maltese Cross. 4. Ebenezer, a Home for wards. 5. Zoar^ a Home for feeble-minded boys. 6. Emmaus, a Home for feeble-minded girls. 7. Nain, a Home for sick young men. 8. Tabor, a Home for invalid men. 9. Bersaba, a hospital for patients from the higher stations of life. 10. Bethanien, a hospital for the same class. 11. Gilgal, workshop for tinners. 12. Saron, gar- den, with seedstore. 13. Sunem, book-bindery and sales- room. 14. Bethlehem, bakery, furnishing bread for three thousand persons. 15. Bethlehem, depository for maga- zines, bookstore. 16. Saba, a general store-room. Some of the Deaconess Institutions in Bielefeld. 17. Morija, a Home for deranged men. 18. Magdala, for deranged women. 19. Mamre, a farm of seventy acres. 20. Hebron, a farm of one hundred acres. 21. Hephata, hospital for contagious diseases. 22. Bethabara, inn with small lodging-place. 23. Salem (Old and New), place of recreation for convalescents and deaconesses. 24. Be- thesda, for women afflicted with nervous diseases. 25. Sichem, an infirmary for men. 26. Ophra, for feeble- minded boys. 27. Three parsonages. 28. The large Zion's Church, seating twelve hundred people. The donations for the erection of Zion's Church came from all parts of the world in over sixteen thousand re- 88 History of the Deaconess Movement. mittances, the donors fcr the most part remaining unknown. The institution covers an area of fifteen hundred acres; almost all the buildings have Biblical names; and the colony, containing about seventy larger and smaller buildings, has often been called "The Hill Country of Judah." Here, in this favored region of Ra- vensberg, a city of compassion has been built, with "Sa- repta," the Deaconess Institution, as its center, contain- ing more than nine hundred deaconesses. The Mother House has branch institutions in Paris, Nice, Metz, Ber- lin, Lemgo, Arolsen, Brussels, and in Zanzibar (East Africa). The founder and superintendent of this institution is Pastor Friedrich von Bodelschwingh. His father, Ernst von Bodelschwdngh, was Prussian minister, and subsequently governmental president. He was born in Haus-Mark, near Tecklenburg, in 1831. After having first chosen the calling of a professional miner, then that of a farmer, he relinquished them both for the study of theology. Having passed his examination, he w^as ap- pointed as pastor of the German Church in Paris in 1858, at Dellwick in Westphalia in 1864, and in 1872 accepted a call as superintendent of the Institution for Epileptics at Bielefeld, which had been founded shortly before. That was the field of labor in which he achieved his greatest and most signal success. During a term of thirty years he sent more than one thousand deaconesses and deacons into the service of suffering humanity, and mighty streams of mercy and blessing have gone forth from this place for the alleviation of the poor, the fallen, and the sick in body and soul. Pastor von Bodelschwingh is a veri- table general, and know^s how to use the talents of the individual in the proper sphere and to the best advan- tage. Never daunted, he has the gift of soliciting aid Deaconess Work in the State Church. 89 in so kind and gentle a manner that he is seldom refused. Of a practical mind, with clear insight into details, full of happy enthusiasm, and, above all, firmly grounded in Pastor Friedrioh von Bodelsohwingh. his trust in God, which has been tested and strength- ened by the tribulations and trials of a lifetime, he is an example of that Christian optimism which has its secret springs in the love of God, and has won a place side 00 History of the Deaconess Movement. by side with such great and blessed men. of God as Wich- ern, Fliedner, Loehe, August Hermann Franke, George Mueller, and other pioneers in the multiform work of home missions. When the German emperor visited Bielefeld in 1900 he said: "With unbounded amazement have I beheld the tremendous achievements of this man so signally blessed and commissioned of God. Farther than the eye can reach the blessed influence of this true disciple of our Lord is felt in our German Fatherland." Not only in the work of home missions did von Bodel- schwingh labor with untiring zeal, but his influence was also widely felt in the work of foreign missions through his close relations with the German East African Mis- sion, Berlin III. In recognition of his unusual merit, the theological faculty of the University of Halle con- ferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1884. On his seventieth anniversary (March 6, 1891) he received congratulations and tokens of respect from all parts of the world; " The emperor sent him a congratu- latory telegram fuil. .of warm recognition and expressing the hope that many more years, of blessed activity might be added to his life. Von Bodelschwingh's favorite words are, "Our need is not greater than our Helper." The motto of the Mother House "Sarepta" is: "Hereby per- ceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the breth- ren." (1 John iii, 16.) It is a fact worthy of mention that an especially intimate relation exists between the Mother House and the deaconesses in the branch-stations. Besides the inspection tours made by the chaplain and the head deaconess (Oberin), a letter is sent once a month to every deaconess; in addition, each deaconess receives the "Westfaelische Sonntagsblatt," which contains the news of the institution and a short weekly chronicle of Deaconess Work in the State Church. 91 its work written by one of the deaconesses. Once a year, in rotation, the deaconesses attend the Conference held in the Mother House, and those who have been absent from the Mother House for a prolonged period are occa- sionally transferred to stations near the Mother House, in order that the bond of fellowship may be knit the closer. The deaconesses are employed in three hundred and nineteen different stations and in ninety-two hos- pitals. The annual income amounts to 700,000 Eeichs- marks ($175,000). In ninety-three stations two hundred and fifty-one deacons (brothers) are at work, of whom fifty-seven are unmarried, and one hundred and eighteen are employed in thirty-seven homes for epileptics. The Deaconess Institute in Neuendettelsau. The first Deaconess Institute in the kingdom of Bavaria Avas founded by Pastor Wilhelm Loehe in 1854. Among the most prosperous Mother Houses in Germany this institute is worthy of special mention, since it be- longs to the most successful and extensive enterprises of its kind, and bears the characteristic peculiarity of its founder. Originally Loehe did not intend to found a Deaconess Mother House, but only to train a small num- ber of women for professional service in the work of Christian charity. He named his society "Lutherischer Verein fuer Weibliche Diakonie." Through it, and the founding of similar societies, he intended to kindle "a fire of mercy" in all the land, and everywhere to awaken the spirit of Christian benevolence. On the 13th of March, 1854, six women and eight pastors assembled in Neuendettelsau, and this company constituted itself as a Central Board. The purpose was not realized, for it soon became apparent that chief stress must not be placed upon the organizing of societies, but upon the 92 History of the Deaconess Movement. founding and building up of Deaconess Institutions; and Pastor Loehe was the first to realize this and to try to correct his mistake. The beginning of the Mother House was very modest. Several rooms were rented in the inn ^^Zur Sonne/^ and here several deaconesses moved in 1854. Loehe now secured an interest-bearing loan, and purchased a house. He afterwards related that his financial straits were frequently so great that the waters reached his neck and threatened to overwhelm him. He could not boast of experiences like those of August Her- mann Franke, who so often received financial aid in a miraculous manner. He also said that he did not possess the gift of that great and successful beggar (he undoubt- edly means Fliedner), of whom King Frederick William IV said, with a smile, "I avoid him, because from him even the calf in the cow is not safe;" that nevertheless God had been gracious to him and had given him suc- cess, so that he could neither number nor weigh all the blessings received, and that he was one of the many in whose life the words of Mary had been verified: "He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away." The Lord owned Loehe^s work in such extraordinary manner that to-day there are but few branches of charitable work that are not represented at Neuendettelsau. The Deaconess Mother House, with its branch institutions, surpasses Loehe's most sanguine expectations, and has been called a "university of mercy." Loehe was an extraordinary man. He was broad- minded, original, thoroughly prepared for his calling, and possessed a capacity for work equaled by few. He de- scended from an honorable burgher family of the Bavarian city Fuerth, where he was born February 21, 1808. His parents gave him a thorough classical train- ing, and later he turned to the study of theology. At Deaconess Work in the Stx\.te Church. 93 the age of twenty-nine he became pastor in the Franconian town of Neuendettelsau. The great mind of the man reached far beyond the small village parish, and in 1841 he organized the American mission, through which he exerted a great influence on the character of Pastor Wilhelm Loehe. the Lutheran Church in America by sending numerous missionaries thither to organize Churches for the large number of Germans destitute of proper ecclesiastical care. Later he founded a mission house for the training of such missionaries, and in connection therewith he also organized a society for home missions, through which he 94 History of the Deaconess Movement. promoted the distribution of literature. Gradually insti- tution after institution arose in Neuendettelsau. The erection of the Deaconess Home was followed by the erection of a benefice, a village hospital, an institution for feeble-minded, a house of refuge for girls, a Magdalen Asylum, and an institution for epileptics. Then he founded a district hospital, a manual-training school, a retreat for the sick and for invalid deaconesses, a lodg- ing-place, and numerous other buildings and Homes, un- til finally a whole village of Christian institutions had arisen, and a network of charitable institutions had been spread over Bavaria. He called the vocation of a deaconess a service of mercy, and in the broader sense of the term a ministering to the wretched, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, and the care, instruction, and training of the children. He aimed at a wide range for Deaconess Work. It was to include both the most menial and the most exalted service of woman. He spoke the following beautiful and well-known words: ^'A deaconess must know and be able to do that which is lowly and that which is great; she must not be ashamed of the lowliest service, and must not prejudice the highest work of woman; her hands and feet must be in the service of the higher, but also of the coarser and meaner forms of labor; her head must bathe in the sunlight of true devotion and the fellowship of her Master. She should do all unto Him: work, play, and sing.'^ He describes the difference between the vow of the nun and the evan- gelical liberty of the deaconess as follows: "The three characteristic words of the Roman Catholic orders — poverty, chastity, and obedience — are also the character- istic words of all true service in the female diaconate, and the only possible difference between the old Church and ourselves is, that in the old Church a will bound by Deaconess Work ix the State Church. 95 vow, among us a wholly unbound free will, both bear the same threefold noble fruit. A free will is the soil in which the Protestant female diaconate must grow, a will wholly unbound in its daily renewal" Various circumstances made it possible that the deaconesses in Xeuendettelsau could be trained more systematically and more extensively than in most institu- tions. Loehe also developed an astonishing literary fer- tility, having written about sixty larger and smaller pamphlets and books. On the 2d of January, 1872, this great man entered into the rest that remaineth to the people of God. He can well be reckoned among the brightest lights of the Lutheran Church of modern times. His last resting-place is in the parish cemetery of N'euen- dettelsau. He was followed by Pastor Friedrich Meyer, of Hesse-Darmstadt, who succeeded in carrying forward the great work in the mind and spirit of Loehe. To-day more than five hundred deaconesses belong to the Mother House in Xeuendettelsau, sixty-one of whom are daugh- ters of pastors, and a great number of .whom have served twenty-five years. The Deacons' Institution numbers thirty-two brethren. The lodging-place was frequented by eight hundred and thirty-five guests last year. The deaconesses are employed in forty-three different hos- pitals and in one hundred and seventy-three different fields of labor. The annual income is 450,000 marks ($112,500.) The Evangelic-Lutheran Deaconess Institution in Altona. This institution was begun in 1867 upon the instiga- tion of Pastor Dr. K. L. Biernatzki. Although the Deaconess Work had spread over many parts of Ger- many, it had as yet gained no footing in Schleswig- 96 History of the Deaconess Movement. Holstein. Dr. Biernatzki, who at the time was pastor of the principal Church in Altona, ventured accordingly to propose the founding of a Deaconess Home. To his great joy the proposition met everywhere with hearty approval. On December 28, 1867, a house was opened for this purpose, and the deaconesses were to be trained Deaconess Home in Altona. in the city hospital, situated just opposite. It soon ap- peared, however, that this arrangement did not meet the requirements, and the erection of a hospital was begun. The institution progressed satisfactorily, and soon needed its own pastor. Pastor Theodor Schaefer was chosen for the place, and entered upon his new office September 5, 1872. He proved to be the proper man for the superintendency of the institution, and under Deaconess Work in the State Church. 97 his direction the work became very flourishing. He at once planned a new building, which was ready for dedi- cation and use October 13, 1875. Pastor Theodore Schaefer was born February 17, 1846, and is the son of the founder and rector of the blind asylum in Friedberg, Hessen. Having completed a university course, he accepted a call as Lutheran pas- tor in Paris, from where he went to Altona in 1872. Accustomed to subject everything to the most search- ing investigation, he also studied the Deaconess Work most thoroughly, being led especially into the field of its literature, where he himself became extraordinarily productive as a writer during the last two decades. On the line of home missions, and especially of the diaconate, he has in fact created a literature that has been of in- calculable benefit to the work. Of the great number of his works we mention the following: ^'Die Weibliche Diakonie in ihrem Ganzen Umfang Dargestellt,^^ 3 vols.; "Diakonissen-Katechismus;" "Die Innere Mission in der Schule;" "Im Dienste der Liebe, Skizzen zur Diakonis- sensache;" "Die Innere Mission auf der Kanzel;" "Keden und Predigten von dem Gebiete der Diakonie und Inneren Mission;" "Praktisches Christentum," 3 vols.; "Leitfaden der Inneren Mission;" "Zur Erinnerung an die Diakonis- sen-Einsegnung;" "Die Innere Mission in Deutsehland," 6 vols. In addition, Pastor Schaefer wrote numerous contributions for periodicals and magazines, and his Monthly for Home Missions well deserves its wide cir- culation. Special mention is due his latest work, "Evangelisches Volkslexikon zur Orientierung in den Sozialen Fragen der Gegenwart." The articles con- tained in this work number five hundred and seventeen, and in its production the author was assisted by fifty contributors, mostly specialists. Pastor Schaefer has ac- 7 -#■ Pastor Theodor Schaefer, Rector in Altona. Deaconess Work in the State Church. 99 complished more in the work of home missions than the indefatigable Dr. Warneck in the work of foreign mis- sions. One hundred and fourteen deaconesses belong to the Deaconess Home in Altona, who are emplo3^ed in fifty-five different fields of labor and in nine hospitals. Its territory is principally the province of Schleswig- Holstein, and the management is for the main part in- trusted to the chaplain of the institution. The Board of Directors consists of twenty-one members. Since 1874 a Deaconess Institution has been built in Flensburg, in the same province, with one hundred and sixty-three deaconesses, who are employed in sixty-three fields of labor. The Flensburg Mother House was com- pleted in 1883. It has a capacity for one hundred beds, and in point of location and arrangement of the buildings, is one of the most beautiful Mother Houses in Germany. The Deaconess Institution in Stuttgart. Wurtemberg, which has proven such a blessing to all institutions of the kingdom of God, has a Mother House in Stuttgart, the charming capital, in the founding of which the former prelate von Kapff had an important part. A public appeal in 1853 was the first incitement towards this object, and on March 18, 1855, a house was bought, into which eight deaconesses moved. As long as the institution had no hospital, the deaconesses re- ceived their training in practical nursing in the Strass- burg Deaconess Home. At first they devoted themselves almost exclusively to the care of the sick, since there were numerous societies and institutions in Wurtemberg at that time that were active in the various branches of home missions. The institution prospered greatly under the superintendency of Pastor C. Hofi:mann particularly, Deaconess Work in the State Church. 101 who was chaplain for many years. From the beginning it has been nnder the protectorate of Her Majesty, the Queen of Wurtemberg. The royal family has shown a continued interest in the institution, and has given it a liberal financial support. The immediate management is placed in the hands of the chaplain and the head deaconess (Oberin), but the Board of Directors reserves for itself the right of decision in all questions of special importance. The course of instruction begins twice a year, and from the beginning the institution has laid great stress upon a thorough training. The building is beautifully located and excellently arranged. The Rest Home is in Oberesslingen. It is situated in the center of a garden of four acres, and its surroundings are very attractive. The fields of labor are divided as follows : 1. Parish work; 2. Hospital nursing; 3. Hospitals for beneficiaries; 4. Nurseries; 5. Kindergartens and ref- uges for children; 6. Homes for servants and women; 7. Magdalen Asylums; 8. Private nursing. There are seven hundred and thirty-five deaconesses in the institution, who are employed in one hundred and seventy-two different fields of labor. The annual income is 375,000 Reichsmarks. The Deaconess Institution "Bethlehem" in Ham- burg. We speak of this Deaconess Institution at some length also, because, like the Strassburg Institution and the Elizabeth Hospital and Deaconess Home in Berlin, it differs in many respects from all other institutions, and because we would make mention in this connection of a man w^ho has accomplished great things in the realm of home missions, and whose name has become known far beyond the bounds of the old Fatherland. From the be- 102 History or the Deaconess Movement. ginning the Mother House "Bethlehem" refrained from founding branch stations, and restricted the activity of the deaconesses to the Mother House itself. The found- er's motto was, "Out of the congregation for the congre- gation." After h i s d e a t h this principle could not be adhered to; but even now the deaconesses serve onlv the poor and poorest, and wealthier families can rarely secure a nurse. It was a maxim of the in- stitution that the Sisters serve only the poor and lowly, and the means necessary for the support of the institution were to be ob- ReV. KARI, WlIiHELM TheODOR NINCK. ■ • -, ,^ i tamed through charitable gifts to a greater extent than was the case in other institutions. The person referred to above is Pastor Karl Wilhelm Theodor Ninck, who founded the Deaconess Home "Bethlehem," and erected its imposing edifice. Ninck was a man of diversified gifts. Besides promoting the Deaconess Cause, he was a productive writer, and organ- ized the workingmen's colony on the heights of Anschar, near Hamburg-Eppendorf . He was at the same time pas- Deaconess Work in the State Church. 103 tor of a large congregation, inspector of the school con- nected with the institution, and founder of an asylum in Mecklenburg. He devoted special care to the children's service, promoted the social idea of the community, was interested in the Bremen ^N'orth German Mission, founded a sailors' mission, and reorganized the Netherland Tract Society. He was the able editor of the family magazine Nachhar and the periodical Deutscher Kinderfreund, both of which had an enormous circulation. Ninck's main work, however, was the founding and superintending of the Mother House "Bethlehem," which to-day numbers one hundred deaconesses. He died December 17, 1887, after a severe and protracted illness. For his funeral ad- dress he had chosen the words, "Da kommt ein armer Suender her, der gern ums Loesgeld selig waer.'' His death was mourned far beyond the bounds of Germany, while his w^ork survives. The Deaconess Home in Leipzig. The impulse towards the founding of this institution was given by Dr. Pank, member of the Privy Church Council. In 1887 he formed a union of a number of parish and other local societies whose object was declared to be "the care of the poor and the sick in Leipzig through deaconesses, irrespective of religion or creed." An unexpected gift of 50,000 marks plainly showed that Divine Providence had pointed out the way for the founding of such an institution. Accordingly Dr. Pank issued an appeal, in response to which the Union received large gifts, so that in the course of a few years there were nearly half a million marks in the building fund. When, in the year 1890, it had been decided to found an institution. Dr. Pank issued a call for deaconesses. Of those who responded, eight were found acceptable. 104 History of thi<] Deaconess Movement. The villa of Count Hinterthal-Doelkau, Weststrasse 9, was rented for several years for a comparatively small sum, and for the time being the deaconesses received their training in practical nursing in the Jakobi Hos- pital. The office of chaplain was intrusted to Pastor Schultz, of the Georgienkirche. The number of deacon- esses increased, and when, on March 5, 1893, the first head deaconess (Oberin), Honorary Patroness Elsa von W e r d e c k , was in- stalled into her new office there were thirty-six deaconesses in the institution, and after seven more years (1900) the num- ber had increased to one hundred. I n 1892 a kindergarten was established, and in 1893 the first branch station in parish nursing (Grimma) was begun, and now more at- tention could be devoted to private nursing. At the close of 1899 there were twenty-one deaconesses em- ployed in parish nursing, twenty-two in the city and uni- vergity hospitals, sanitariums, and the surgical poly- technic institute of Leipzig, six in private nursing in Leipzig, and sixteeen in sixteen branch stations of the Leipzig district and the Voigtland. To-day the institu- tion has forty-three different fields of labor and takes care of eight hospitals. In 1895 the City Council donated a magnificent build- ing site on Luetzenerstrasse for the erection of a Deaconess Home, and on the first day of October, 1900, Deaconess Home in Leipzig. Deaconess Work in the State Church. 105 the vast complex of buildings was dedicated. In the cen- ter is the Deaconess Home, with its massive tower, and surrounded hy a beautiful park. The cost of the build- ings that have been finished up to the present time is 867,000 marks, and considerable sums will yet be neces- sary before the complex of buildings will be completed as planned. Though the youngest, this institution may be considered a model Deaconess Institution in point of location and arrangement. Deaconess Home "Henrietta Stift'^ in Hanover. This institution owes its origin to Queen Maria, who personally donated the princely gift of 150,000 marks. The spiritual direction of this large and growing institu- tion has, from the beginning, been intrusted to the able abbot. Dr. Gerhard Uhlhorn, so well known in the United States through his excellent work, "Die Christliche Liebesthaetigkeit." Dr. Gerhard Uhlhorn was born on the 26th of Feb- ruary, 1826, at Osnabrueck. He studied theology, and in 1855 was made assistant pastor at the court church at Hanover; then consistorial counselor and court preacher at the same place. In 1863 he was appointed high consistory counselor; in 1866 he entered the newly- erected country consistory, where he remained until his death (December 15, 1901), having been the first clerical member of this body since the death of Abbot Kupstein in 1876, and appointed to the abbotship at Loccum in 1878. He was a man of untiring diligence, clear thought, sober love of the truth, penetrating sagacity, and the possessor of a happy faculty of combining and formulat- ing truth. His earliest studies were devoted to the primi- tive Church. He met the views of modern criticism by his "Modern Presentations of the Life of Jesus,'^ written 106 History of the Deaconess Movement. in a popular style (1865, fourth revised edition in 1892). In his "The Battle of Christianity with Paganism/' the ripe fruit of his earlier studies is gathered, and this work has prohably brought him more fame and dis- tinction in remote circles than any others. This was followed by the "Bat- tles and Victories of the d" his the Christianity in Germanic W o r (1898). Among historical works prize should be awarded to that on "Christian Benevo- lence" (second edition 1895). This paved, for the first time, the way to a domain hitherto untrodden, and furnishes us a most intelligent and fascinating insight into this sphere. But lucidity is a charac- teristic of all of Uhlhorn's works. The Hanover Home has three hundred and fifty-two deaconesses, and occupies one hundred and fifty-two different fields of labor. Ex- penditure, $75,000 annually. Buildings (see next page). The Deaconess Home of the Moravians at Niesky. From the first the Moravians took an active part in the Deaconess Cause. Count Zinzendorf, their founder, consecrated a number of deaconesses in 1745 by the im- position of hands. Their position and the functions of their office corresponded exactly with those of the deacon- Dr. Gerhard Uhlhorn. 108 History of the Deaconess Movement. esses of apostolic times. In their work they were en- tirely restricted to the female sex; and, besides caring for the sick, they assisted in certain parts of Divine wor- ship. They performed the customary ceremonial act of washing of feet, handed the consecrated bread for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to the officiating deacon, had charge of the houses of worship and places of as- Deaooness Home " Emmaus," in Niesky. sembly, and were intrusted with the oversight and train- ing of the younger girls. The office has been retained among the Moravians, but those holding it are no longer called deaconesses, although they are still consecrated to their office by the Church. Such was the state of affairs when, in 1842, Hermann Plitt, the second founder of the Deaconess Work among the Moravians, incited by the success in Kaiserswerth, became impressed with the idea of renewing the office introduced by Zinzendorf. He issued an appeal that was Deaconess Work in the State Church. 109 not in vain; but the founding of an institution could not be begun before the year 1864. Plitt rented the upper story of a dwelling in the village of Pawlowitzky, near Gnadenfeld, and dedicated the same May 6, 1866, nam- ing it "Heinrichsstift/^ The first gift has a wonderful Deaconess Home in Karlsruhe. story. During the great revival among the Moravians in Niesky in the forties a male nurse named Koeler was thoroughly converted to God. Among his patients there was a son of the deceased Prince Henry. The latter, de- siring to send his elder sister, the reigning Duchess Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a birthday present, decided to use for this purpose a dollar (Thaler) to which a peculiar significance attached. He decided to present his sister with a devotional book of Zinzendorf's, and 110 History of the Deaconess Movement. commissioned his nurse to procure the same. The latter paid for the book out of his own pocket, and kept the dollar, Avhich seemed to him to be a treasure on account of its history. The subsequent history of this dollar was also noteworthy, and finally it became the first building- stone for the foundation of the blessed institution "Hein- richsstift." Of the two nurses that entered the newly- founded institution, one had been trained in Kaisers- Deaconess Home in Frankfort on the Main. werth. The Heinrichsstift was soon known far and wide, and in 1869 the foundation of a new building was laid. Meanwhile an orphanage and an asylum for the aged and the invalid had arisen alongside the Heinrichsstift. The new house was dedicated September 28, 1870, and was the first Deaconess Home of the Moravians. Means were now received more abundantly, and many royal persons gave large gifts. In 1879 branch stations were begun, for the number of deaconesses had increased to fifty. The year 1880 marked a significant change. Pastor Plitt, Deaconess Work in the State Church. Ill the founder of the institution, was forced by failing health to resign his position at the theological seminary of the Moravians and to withdraw from the superin- tendency of the Deaconess Work. He was succeeded by his friend, Professor Wilhelm A^erbeek. Notwithstand- ing his departure from Gnadenfeld, Plitt remained in close touch with the work, and, when he had sufficiently regained his health, resumed the superintendency, which, however, through a decision of the Moravians, made a change of residence necessary. The institution was therefore removed from Gnadenfeld to Niesky. On July 3, 1883, the house bought there, and named "Emmaus,^^ was opened, and two years later a permanent building had been erected and dedicated. The number of deaconesses now increased rapidly, and the necessity of enlarging the institution to a Mother House became more and more apparent. At the opening of the new century sixty dea- conesses moved into the new building. In October, 1897, the first missionary deaconess went to India, to devote herself chiefly to the care of lepers. In 1898 the insti- tution joined the Kaiserswerth General Conference. The Home has forty different fields of labor and an annual income of $50,000. The Evangelical Lutheran Deaconess Institution IN GUBEN. The Evangelical Lutheran Deaconess Institution "Xaemi-Wilkestift" was begun by Mr. Friedrich Wilke in 1878 by the founding of a children's hospital, to which a year later a refuge for children was added. Deaconesses of the Dresden institution had charge of the educational part of the work. In 1882 Mr. Wilke offered the Church authorities in Breslau a piece of land and the sum of fifty thousand marks for the founding of an Evangelical Lutheran Deaconess Institution. He intended to place 112 History of the Deacoxess Movement. the institution under the control of a Mother House. But as negotiations continued for several years, he finally founded a Deaconess Home alongside of the children's hospital and the hospital for adults. Up to the close of the negotiations just mentioned the entire institution was supported by Mr. Wilke as the sole proprietor, until finally the whole matter could be turned over to the Church authorities. The institution was named "Naemi- Wilkestift, Hospital, and Evangelical Lutheran Deacon- ess Institution," and in 1889 it was granted full chartered privileges. Since that time it has been under the charge of the Consistorial Board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Prussia. Besides a fund of one hundred and fifty thousand marks in cash, the institution has at its disposal the following buildings: 1. The Deaconess Mother House; 2. A hospital with thirty-six beds; 3. An insane asylum; 4. A preparatory school for deaf-mutes; 5. A refuge for children. In addition it has twenty-two branch stations, as follows: A hospital, an infirmary, a nursery, an asylum for women, a training-school for girls, two Homes for convalescents, five schools for children, and nine stations for parish work. In 1901 the institution also assumed the management of the newly-founded Lu- theran Mother House, House of Mercy (Wiskiti), in the government district of Washaw, in Kussia. There are forty deaconesses connected with the institution. Of all Mother Houses mentioned in this chapter, this is the only one not belonging to the Kaiserswerth Union. Of fifty Deaconess Mother Houses in the old Father- land that belong to the Union of the Kaiserswerth Gen- eral Conference, we have selected a number, and have tried to show the history of their development. The history of the remaining institutions is not less interest- ing, and the hand of Divine Providence is no less manifest Deacoxess Work in the State Church. 113 in their development; but it would carry us beyond the intended scope of this work if we entered upon the his- tory of each separate institution, however interesting it might be. We must therefore content ourselves with a brief reference and a tabulated summary. To-day almost every State and province of the Fatherland has its own Mother House, and in most of the great cities there are several institutions. Berlin alone, for example, has six institutions belonging to the Kaiserswerth Union. Foremost among these is the beautiful Elizabeth Hospital, founded in 1837, and Bethanien, founded ten years later through the liberality of King Frederick William IV. These institutions were spoken of at greater length above. In 1865 the Lazarus Hospital, in 1876 the Paul Gerhardt- Stift, in 1887 the Elizabeth Children's Hospital, and in 1888 the Magdalen Hospital were founded. Saxony has three Mother Houses belonging to the State Church. The principal one is that in Dresden, founded in 1841, one of the oldest Mother Houses (see next page). Second only to it is the new institution in Leipzig, which was established in 1890, and has grown phenomenally. The institution Borsdorf, near Leipzig, was founded in 1896, and has a promising future. In 1850 the institution in Breslau and that in Koenigsberg were established. These two institutions together have nearly one thousand dea- conesses, stationed in many hundred fields of labor in Northern Germany. In 1851 the prosperous institutions in Ludwigslust and Karlsruhe were founded. The insti- tutions in Neuendettelsau and Stuttgart were begun in 1854. Then followed the founding of Mother Houses in Augsburg in the year 1855, in Halle on the Saale (1857), in Darmstadt (1858), in Speyer (1859), in Hanover and Craschnitz (1860). The impulse for the founding of these Mother Houses proceeded, for the most part, from Kai- 8 114 History of the Deaconess Movement. serswerth, from whence also, in the beginning, most of the head deaconesses were procured. The first donation in Speyer was made by King Frederick William IV, and the great material progress recently made is due to the magnificent gift of the German-American, Mr. Henry Villard (since deceased). In connection with the Augs- burg Mother House there is a training-school for female teachers in refuges for children, and the new building Evangelical, Lutheran Deaconess Institutions in Dresden. of this institution was dedicated December 3, 1899. A most magnificent building, the "Paulinenpflege," was fin- ished in 1900. The first head deaconess (Oberin) of the "Elisabethenstift" in Darmstadt came from Bethanien in Berlin, and Princess Elizabeth, wife of Prince Karl of Hessen, whence the institution derives its name, is its chief patroness. The institution in Craschnitz, Silesia, grew out of the Eescue Institution founded by Count of Recke- Vollmerstein. The Mother House "Bethesda" in Ham- burg, founded in 1860, Avas erected on a valuable building site donated by the State. All these institutions, num- bering twenty, were founded during the first twenty-five years — i. e., up to the year 1860. Deaconess Work in the State Church. 115 During the next decade (1860-1870) more than a dozen new Mother Houses were erected in the Fatherland, every one of which is to-day in a flourishing condition, and is extending its boundaries year by year. The Dea- coness House in Danzig (1862) developed from a chil- dren's hospital. The institution in Cassel, founded in 186-1, had to pass through sore trials; but during the past decade it enjoyed a healthy and rapid growth. In the provincial capital Posen an institution was founded in 1865 and dedicated in 1866. In the same year a Mother House was opened in Frankenstein, Silesia. Besides the nursing of the sick, this institution chose kindergarten work as its specialty. So there are three institutions in Silesia: "Bethanien" in Breslau, and the Mother Houses in Craschnitz and Frankenstein. In addition there were founded, in the '60's, the Mother House in Bremen (1868), and in Stettin the institutions Salem (1868) and Betha- nien (1869). The latter institution is a monument to the benevolence of the Counselor of Commerce Quistrop. The foundation of the Bielefeld institution was laid in 1869, and that of the institution in Altona in 1867. Be- sides these there were founded in this decade the insti- tutions in Hamburg (Bethesda), in Hanover, and the Lazarus Hospital in Berlin. The institutions in Braun- schweig and Frankfort on the Maine were founded in 1870. The decade of 1870-1880 marked an equal advance in the development of the Deaconess Work. Old buildings were in many cases enlarged or replaced by magnificent new edifices, and the Mother Houses grew sufficiently strong to push out on new lines of charitable work. The increase in the number of deaconesses kept pace with the increase in the number of branch institutions and sta- tions. In the great campaigns of 1864, 1866, and 1870-71 116 History of the Deaconess Movement. the deaconesses rendered inestimable service on the battlefields and in the field hospitals, and the German people appreciated and praised the self-sacrificing labors of these messengers of mercy. In the Franco-German War alone there were "!; ^ more than eight hun- - dred Evangelical dea- conesses from thirty d i if e r e n t Mother Houses at work on the battlefields and in two hundred and thirty field hospitals. And these deaconesses not only nursed the sick soldiers and dressed their burning wounds, but they also pointed the sick and dying to the Savior of sinners. After the Franco-German War, Empress Augusta sent the cross of Deaconess Home in Halle. Deaconess Home in Darmstadt. Deaconess Work ix the State Church. 117 merit for women to the "Oberin" of the Mother House in Kaiserswerth, with the following letter: "His majesty, the emperor and king, has considered the service ren- dered by the deaconesses, their unselfish devotion, bound- less sacrifices, and unwearied fidelity, performed in the spirit of genuine Christian humility, as worthy of the highest recognition." The German people were per- suaded that it was more than mere natural enthusiasm Deaconess Home in Wehlheiden, near Cassel. and inclination that made it possible for the deaconesses to render such service, and the empress voiced the secret of this devotion in the words: "They have rendered this service in the spirit and in keeping with the principles of a vocation that is wholly dedicated to our Lord and Savior." The secret was, "The love of Christ constrain- eth us." In the decade 1870-80 the following institutions were founded: Flensburg and Nowawes (1874), Breslau (1873), Berlin (Paul Gerhardt-Stift, 187G), and in 1S77 the in- 118 History of the Deaconess Movement. stitutions at Hamburg (Bethlehem) and Ingweiler. The latter institution was founded by Baron von Bissing-Beer- berg. Field Marshal General von Moltke manifested spe- cial interest in the institution in Nowawes^ which re- ceived the name "Oberlinhaus." Nowawes is a flourish- ing suburb of Potsdam, and, although Berlin has six Mother Houses belonging to the State Church, the "Oberlinhaus" is enjoying a rapid and healthy growth. In the '80's and '90's the following institu- tions were founded: Niesky (1883), Mannheim (1884), Berlin /:\ragde., 1888), Kreuzberg (1888), Groningen(1888)^.; Soljernheim (1889), Witten (1890), Olden- burg (1890), Leip- zig (1890), Micho- witz (1891), Eisenach (1891), Frankfort on the Oder (1891), Wies- baden (1896), and Borsdorf near Leipzig (1896). All but five of these Mother Houses located in Ger- many, and belonging to the Kaiserswerth Union, were founded in the latter half of the past century. In these institutions there are over ten thousand deaconesses, who The New Evangelical Deaconess Home in Vienna. Deaconess Work ix the State Church. 119 are employed in nearly four thousand fields of labor. Ev- erywhere in the cities of Germany, on trains and street- cars, in passenger stations and mail-coaches, one meets with these angels of mercy, hastening in all directions, to relieve the needy and the suffering, to extend help and comfort, following the example of their Divine Master in their labor of love. We must not close this chapter without calling atten- tion to several related institutions. We have in mind Deaconess Home and Hospital at Dortjiund. the "Filial-Diakonissenhaus" founded by the Dresden Deaconess Institution, which represents a new concep- tion, and the Evangelical Deaconess Society, founded by Professor Dr. Zimmer, also the "Sisterhood Community.'' The First "Filial Deaconess Home." Although none of the existing Deaconess Institu- tions is able to meet the demands in any adequate man- ner, it was evident that no institution can expand indefi- nitely without aifecting its efficiency. By continually opening new fields of labor, which remain connected with the Mother House as stations, the dangerous congestion Main Buildings of the Deaconess Institution in Breslau. Deaconess Home and Hospital in Posen. 120 Deaconess Work m the State Church. 121 Deaconess Hospital in Danzig. of forces was obviated ; but it became manifest that in this way the necessary individual training and pastoral over- sight were made impossible, and so the Dresden Dea- coness Institution was led to a new thought. It founded a "Filial Deaconess Home" in Zwickau, which is an exact copy of the Mother House, but on a smaller scale. The property belongs to the Official Board of the Mother House. The institution is under the direct superintendency of the Mother House, and is similarly managed. The plan seems to meet with ap- proval, and it is possible that other Mother Houses will adopt it. The establishment of "Filial" in- stitutions is far preferable to the estab- lishment of in- dependent Mother Houses, as it secures for the new Institutions the full benefit of the varied experience of older workers. Deaconess Hospital, "Lazarus" in Berlin. 122 History of the Deaconess Movement. Frequently inexperienced persons, blinded by their en- thusiasm, undertake to found an institution with the sincere desire to venture great things for God and suf- fering humanity; but in most cases they must pass through sore trials and sad disappointments until they have passed the time of probation, which no one escapes. These sad experiences are discouraging, very costly, and ,hurtf ul to this great and worthy . cause. In this plan the Dresden institution hopes to find the means by which |u-ch disappointments and losses can be avoided in the future.-: The Evangelical Diaconate Society. In October, 1899, the Evaiigelical Diaconate Society opened a Home in Zehlendorf, near Berlin. The society was organized by Professor Dr. Zimmer, of Herborn, April 11, 1894. The object of the society was to furnish em- ployment in nursing and in parish work for such young women and childless widows as could not become dea- conesses, or did not wish to. It purposes to give women without a calling a definite aim in life, maintenance, and a future support, by preparing them for special^ kinds; of service in the Deaconess Work, thus also promoM' ing the Evangelical Diaconate in a general way. The so- ciety combines the "Diaconate for Womeii^' and the "Di-; aconate hy Women." It rests upon a necessity f elt; espe-' cially in Germany; viz., of finding proper and congenial^ occupation for unmarried women, and enlisting ^t.H^r' active sympathy and co-operation for the public welfare. For such, however, as wish to consecrate their lives to the Church and work within Church lines, it recommends the benevolent activities of the Church — that is, the di- aconate— and offers them many new opportunities for Christian culture and work in the Church. Deaconess Work in the State Chuech. 123 As to form, the society is an association of employers and employees. Its form of law is new in Germany. By virtue of this it is possible to nse larger city hospitals as places for nurse-training. Of these there are at present seven so-called ^^Diaconate Seminaries/' arranged for nursing: in Ell)erfeld, Zeitz, Erfurt, Magdebur^ Stettin. Home of the Evangelical Diaconate Society IN ZehijEndorf, near Berlin. and Danzig (two institutions). Besides these there is a "School for Female Nurses'' in Waldbroel, which is in- tended for girls from the humbler stations of life. In this school girls are first trained in caring for the men- tally deranged and in housekeeping (one and a half to two years), then in general nursing and midwifery (two to two and a half years). From the beginning they draw a small salary. They are not employed in parish nursing 124 History of the Deaconess Movement. under the age of twenty-five, and not until they have served at least four years in hospital work. The imme- diate purpose of the first-named Diaconate Seminaries is to furnish women a year of voluntary service in the care of the sick; i. e., to train young girls from the higher stations of life in nursing and for fellowship regulated by evangelical principles, by affording them a year of train- ing and practice, during which time they are kept free of charge, receive no remuneration, and are placed under no obligation for the future. A large part of these after- wards remain in the work voluntarily, and join the Sis- terhood of the Evangelical Diaconate Society as "proba- tioners." The probationers, just as the deaconesses of the Mother Houses, are liable at any time to dismissal. If the probationers prove acceptable, they are employed as "Sisters of the Society" after one to two years, mutual notice having been given three months in advance, after which they can not again be taken from their po- sition against their and their employer's will. The "Sis- ters of the Society" who, after a longer term of service, prove acceptable, are, through consecration, received into the innermost circle, the "Schwesternverband," which as- sures them a position for life. In case old age or sick- ness should disable them for service, they receive a pen- sion from a Pension Assurance Society, claim on which they do not forfeit if they withdraw from the institu- tion. There are several branch institutions connected with the society which have begun some new phases of Dea- coness Work. To these belong the Toechterheime — i. e., educational institutions for girls from cultured circles — reform boarding-schools, for the purpose of fitting young women to become good wives, mothers, and housekeepers, but also of disposing and educating them for usefulness Deacoxess Work in the State Church. 125 in independent callings. To these also belong the Maed- chenheime — i. e., social working-girls' clubs for mutual improvement — to whom these Homes also assure the pos- sibility of saving a respectable dowry (at least one thou- sand marks in six years). In like manner a Home for the care of students (Fuersorgeheim fuer Zoeglinge) has been opened, in conformity with a law of Prussia (Fuer- sorgeerziehungs-Gesetz) passed July 2, 1900. The Deaconess Mother Houses manifest little inter- est for the Evangelical Diaconate Society. It is held that the purpose of the society does not properly entitle it to the name "Evangelical Diaconate Society.'' "This name historically belongs only to that kind of Christian benevolence which has for its object the upbuilding of the kingdom of God and the saving of the souls of men.'' Since many young women do not wish to become dea- conesses, but can do much good in a position such as is made possible by the Diaconate Society, it is clear that this society meets a want, and so far we rejoice and wish it Godspeed. Nevertheless, no harm would have been done by giving it another name. The Sisterhood Community in West Prussia. The "Sisterhood Community" at Yandsburg, West Prussia, was founded in October, 1899, through the ef- forts of Pastor Blazejewski, of Borken, assisted by Pastors Paul, Girkon, and Krawielitzki. Just six months later. Pastor Blazejewski was called away by death; but his faithful wife, familiar with the work, having participated in the management of a hospital in Holland, carried on the one just begun at Vandsburg. The education of the Sisters usually embraces three stages of work. First of all they are expected to show, by their practical activity and domestic work, that it is 126 History of the Deaconess Movement. their sincere desire to serve the Lord. During this time great stress is laid upon a deep personal self-examination and practical self-denial. Then fourteen hours a week are devoted to Biblical study, German grammar, the care of the sick, etc., assisting in religious services for chil- dren, in work among different societies, etc. And the practical training in nursing is received, either in hos- pitals or at the Koyal Charite in Berlin. Special stress is laid upon the final course of their edu- cation, which requires from two to three months' time. Thirty-three hours a week are devoted exclusively to study, the sisters being relieved during this time from all other work, thus securing complete concentration of effort. Up to the present time the Sisters have been active in West Prussia, Silesia, and Hamburg. The institution numbers about forty members (Sisters). Superintendent, Mrs. Blaze jewski. The Empress of Germany Visiting the Sick in a Deaconess Hospital. CHAPTER V. THE FREE-CHURCH DEACONESS INSTITUTIONS IN GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, AND SWEDEN. The Bethany Society of the Methodist Episcopal Chuech in Germany and Switzerland. The thought of heginning Deaconess Work in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Germany and Switzer- land was early entertained by ministers and members in those countries. In 1864, scarcely fourteen years after the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Germany, the Minutes of the Annual Conference men- tion a Committee on the Establishment of a Deaconess Institution. At that time it was already well known, not only that young women converted in the Methodist Epis- copal Church offered themselves for the service of the diaconate, but also that those who entered one of the existing non-Methodistic institutions were, as a rule, lost to Methodism. It was quite natural, therefore, that an attempt should be made to find a way by which such per- sons might enter upon this form of Christian work with- out being obliged to leave the Church that had been the means, under God, of their soul's salvation. The attempts of individual ministers during the en- suing ten years (1864-1874) to introduce the diaconate into the Methodist Episcopal Church met with little suc- cess. After many discouraging experiences, the author- ities finally refused to entertain the question any longer. Not much having been accomplished hitherto by con- 128 In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 129 fining their efforts exclusively to parish Deaconess Work, the Methodist minister in Calw, Wurtemberg, deter- mined, in 1868, to employ deaconesses as nurses only. They wore a special garb. A society was organized there under the direction of the pastor. The Meth- odist Churches in Frankfort on the Main, Pforzheim, Karlsruhe, and Bremen soon followed this example. In Frankfort the number thus employed reached at one time five.* But the results of all these attempts, up to the year 1873, were quite discouraging. There was, above all, a lack of efficient trained nurses. Nurses lacking the necessary preparation for their work did not answer. Be- sides, the general lack of interest in the matter on the part of the Annual Conference precluded the possibility of any lasting results. At other places there were dis- couraging experiences with the nurses. There was also lacking the essential unity of government. Nevertheless the Conference roused itself at last to action, and adopted a report, in 1873, calling for more decisive steps toward the founding of an institution. A central committee was also appointed. * An earnest effort to introduce the female diaconate was made in 1868, by Rev. L. Nlppert, in Frankfort on the Main. In 1865, Dr. L. Nlppert had already employed a parish deaconess in Zurich, Switzerland. In Frankfort on the Main a Committee was appointed consisting of Rev. L. Nippert and wife, Mrs. Tempel, Mrs. Siesbearn, Professor O. F. Paulus— after his departure for America, Professor (now Bishop) J. F. Hurst, was appointed in his place— Professor A. Sulsberger, and Mr. L. Mack. At first the society employed four, subsequently seven or eight Sisters, whose work was confined exclusively to nursing the sick. During the war of 1870-1871, they served in the military bar- racks in Frankfort, and two of them were sent to the field hospitals in Alsace. This society disbanded in 1872. Another attempt was made in Bremen by Rev. C. Weiss and his wife, a deaconess trained in Strass- burg, in the early 70's. Rev. C. Weiss being removed to Speyer two years later, this undertaking was also abandoned. But the Sisters had deposited the money earned by their nursing (1,200 marks) in the Tract House in Bremen, which sum formed a fund that facilitated the subse- quent second step. 9 130 History of the Deaconess Movement. The year 1874 came. The Annual Conference met in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The friends of the Deaconess Cause presented "a well-considered plan" for aggressive steps in the matter^ as they had been in- structed to do the year previous. An earnest and pro- longed discussion followed, with the final result that the Conference resolved to drop the entire matter and to proceed to the order of the day. The Annual Conference deemed it wise to dismiss the deaconess matter entirely. Shortly after this vote was taken, four members of the Conference met in an adjoining room, and, after a brief consultation, organized a free and independent society, naming it "Bethanien-Verein." The same afternoon a constitution was framed, containing the following pro- visions : 'The management of the society shall be in the hands of a Central Board of Managers. This Board shall be composed, in the first place, of the undersigned founders of the society, who shall elect the officers from their own number, and report to the annual meeting. Full author- ity shall be vested in the Board. It shall fill all vacancies in the Board, and have power to increase the number of its members at pleasure. The members of the Board, however, must be members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Local Boards are to be formed for the different stations. The deaconesses shall form a Sisterhood under the direction of head deaconesses (^Oberschwestern). All receipts for nursing shall flow into the main treasury, out of which board, lodging, and clothing are to be paid." This constitution was signed as follows : "Schaffhausen, July 8, 1874. "C. Weiss, H. Mann, J. Wischhusen, F. Filers." On the following day (July 9th) the above constitu- tion was adopted in a formal session of the Board, C. 132 History of the Deaconess Movement. Weiss presiding; H. Mann, secretary. On the same day, by resolution of the Board, the Conference was notified ^^that an independent society had been formed for the promotion of the Deaconess Cause, bearing the name ^Bethanien-Verein.^ " Having read its statutes, the so- ciety then asked that it might have the hearty indorse- ment of the Annual Conference. This was done by a formal resolution of Conference. Of sixty-four members of the Conference, twenty-one then joined the society as paying members. This was the origin of the Bethanien- Verein (Bethany Society). When this Deaconess Society began, almost all Deaconess Work in the local Methodist Churches had ceased. Under such circumstances it was no easy task for the newly-organized society to resume this work. Be- sides, its organizers were widely separated, and they felt that their chief energies had to be directed to their pas- toral duties. But God in his good providence directed all things from the beginning. A year and six months passed before the w^ork of the deaconesses could develop suffi- ciently to conform to the ado^rted principles. But they were not idle during this time. An opportunity for exe- cuting the resolutions passed was sure to come. Frankfort on the Main was the place where the Mother House of the Bethany Society was destined to arise. Eev. F. Filers, one of the four founders of the society, was transferred to this city in the summer of 1875. Eev. C. Weiss, chairman of the Board, had be- come acquainted, in the fall of 1875, with a deaconess whose time was her own^ and who offered her services to the society. In April, 1876, she moved to Frankfort on the Main. Eev. F. Filers received her into this home, and arranged a room for her in the parsonage. The members of the Board and several friends collected In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 133 enough money among themselves to buy the most neces- sary furniture, a bed and table. Forthwith there was Avork enough. Soon a second and a third deaconess entered the society. Several of the physicians in the city were in sympathy with the enterprise. In the spirit Deaconess Mother House of the Bethany Society IN Frankfort on the Main. (No. IC Gauss St.) of self-denial a second room in the parsonage was vacated for the deaconesses. Their number still increasing, the Board rented a small dwelling for them. One of the rooms was set aside for the sick, and here the first patient underwent a serious operation. It was successful, and she was discharged entirely cured. In 1878, when Eev. 134 History of the Deaconess Movement. F. Eilers left Frankfort, the number of deaconesses had reached seven. Such was the modest beginning of the Dea- coness Work. The institution progressed hopefully, though slowly. There was little available room and no favorable opportunity for the professional training of the deacon- esses. The Board sent some of them to the Academic Hospital in Heidelberg, where, for adequate remuneration, they acquired the most necessary knowledge for. their calling; others learned what they could at home. AI7 though many a friend observed the development of the new enterprise with misgivings, and it had been proph- esied more than once that the undertaking would perish, God kept his servants so far from becoming disheartened that in December, ISTS, they ventured to extend their work, and opened a field of labor in the city of Hamburg. At first one deaconess was sent there; shortly after, a second; then a third. The minister there, Philip Lutz, who was in sympathy with the work, assisted the deacon- esses in every possible way. During this time, not only the members of the Board gave time, strength, and many prayers to the work, but the deaconesses themselves put their whole souls into the work as unto the Lord. They voluntarily submitted to the greatest privations, and at times even suffered want when the necessaries of life were lacking in the Home. They were deaconesses in deed and in truth, dis- charging their duties obediently, willingly, and faithfully. The Central Board held its sessions annually, the local Boards more frequently. The pastors in charge were members of the local Boards, and the superintendency of the local stations lay respectively in the hands of a member of the Central Board. In 1878, Rev. G. Hauser also joined the Board, serving as president for three years, and then severing his connection with the Board. In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden, 135 While in Frankfort the work was seriously impeded by the resignation of the head deaconess, who was joined by several of the deaconesses, in Hamburg there was cheering prosperity and progress. Here, too, they were obliged to begin at the bottom, although they lived in an attic on Kleiner Kirehweg 10, St. George. The noble band of deaconesses had to endure sickness, privations, and straits of every kind. . They were led through deep waters, but led aright. God would thus manifest himself only the more gloriously to his own. He answered their pray- ers, and raised up patrons and friends with means, who were in a position to give substantial support to the cause of the Bethany Society. One example will suffice: The four-year-old son of one of the foremost bankers of Ham- burg became sick with diphtheria. The family physician gave instructions that a proper nurse be employed. The father searched the city in vain for one until his atten- tion was called to the Sisters of Bethany Society. When he came, there was only one Sister at home, who had her- self been sick with diphtheria a short time before, and Avas still convalescent. Upon the urgent request of the father, and trusting in God, who can perform miracles, the deaconess ventured to take charge of the boy. The child recovered. From that time the parents were warm friends of the society. Other friends joined them, and through their efforts a charity bazaar was instituted in March, 1884, the proceeds of which were to go toward erecting a Deaconess Home. The proceeds amounted to 25,000 marks. From this time on the deaconess cause had a remarkable growth in Hamburg. In 1882 the Board elected Rev. F. Filers as inspector of the society. In this function there devolved upon him principally the care of the inner affairs of the work, the special pastoral care of the deaconesses, the course of in- 136 History of the Deaconess Movement. struction, the inspection of the stations, and general spiritual oversight. In the reception of deaconesses, in transferring them, in the appointing of head deaconesses, such superintend ency was of the greatest importance. Every three months he was required to submit to the Board a written report on the state of the work. The gen- eral superintendency of the society remained in the hands of the chairman of the Board, the president of the society, who was its properly-constituted representative in its out- side relations and associations. lie was also the editor of a deaconess paper, the organ of the Bethany Society.* In 1883 a house, located in Frankfort on the Main, Gauss Street 16 (the smaller part of the present Mother House), was purchased and occupied by the deaconesses; but it could not be arranged for a hospital before the spring of 1885. In order to defray the cost of recon- struction, the authorities of the province Hesse-Xassau permitted the society to take a collection among the in- habitants of Frankfort, going from house to house. This collection netted the handsome sum of 7,000 marks. The house was dedicated April 25, 1885, by H. Mann, a mem- ber of the Board of Directors, after an address by Dr. A. Sulzberger on Luke x, 4. The hospital had nine rooms for patients, with eighteen beds, a small operating-room, and the necessary living and sleeping apartments for twenty deaconesses. During the first year eighty patients received treatment. The year 1883 was marked by another important event in that the society began work in Berlin in the month of February with two deaconesses. Sister Eosa Fisher had supervision for the time being. It was necessary soon *In October, 1882, the first number of the small deaconess paper, Bethania, appeared, edited and published by Rev. H. Mann. It is a bimonthly, furnished free of charge to any one who wishes to receive it. Ix Ger-maw, Switzerland, and Sweden. 137 to send two additional deaconesses. At first these four lived in a single room with a kitchen. In the same year (1883) the society suffered a severe loss. Eev. Carl Weiss, then president of the society, and residing in Berlin, died in Frankfort, June 8th, from a prolonged lung trouble. The death of this devout and diligent man was a great loss to the entire Church. lie was succeeded by Rev. H. Mann, a member of the Board of Direc- tors. In 188-1: the superintendency o f the Deaconess Home in Frankfort was in- trusted to Martha Keller. In Berlin, Sister Sophia Hurter was appointed head deaconess ; a n d i n Hamburg, Sister # %- Rev. H. Mann, President Bethany Society. Sophia Hof meister. They proved to be a great success. In Hamburg the need of a home for the deaconesses be- came more and more urgent. Many friends, won by the work of the deaconesses, would now have been ready to support the cause with the necessary funds if the ques- tion of religious creed had not intervened. "What is the Bethany Society ? Is it not a Methodist institution ?" was eagerly asked. Many warned against supporting it. It would not do to encourage the sects. A warm friend of the cause, Mr. B. G., sought a conference with the presi- dent of the society. The interview took place in the 138 History of the Deaconess Movement. office of Mr. B. G. and Inspector F. Eilers and Eev. 0. Sehell, member of the Board of Directors, also took part in it. The Hamburg friends wished to know the re- lation of the Bethany Society to the Methodist Church. The president gave the following explanation: "We mem- bers of the Board of Directors are all ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which we are loyally de- voted as its servants. Through its instrumentality we have come to a saving knowledge of the truth, and we love our Church. All our deaconesses are likewise mem- bers of this Church, and do not wish to belong to any other. But the society, as such, is not under the official direction of the Church. The Annual Conference re- fused to carry on the Deaconess Work as a denominational enterprise. The Bethany Society leans upon the Meth- odist Church, but it is an independent organization, just as the other Deaconess Institutions, that lean upon the State Churches.^' The Hamburg friends thereupon declared that they were satisfied with the explanation given, and promised magnanimously to support the work. The bazaar mentioned above shows that they kept their promise. On March 11, 1886, a house was purchased on Grindelberg 15a, and arranged as a Deaconess Home. It was a pleasant Home, but in the course of time became too small. In the same year, August 13, 1886, the Deaconess Home "Bethany," in Hamburg, was publicly recognized as a charitable institution, and granted the charter privileges, which also was of great importance in view of its future development. We have already mentioned that in the house, Gauss Street 16, in Frankfort on the Main, purchased in 1883, the first Deaconess Hospital was fitted up in 1885. In August, 1885, the first course of instruction began in the society's own institution with four probationers; at In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 139 the same time, however, six deaconesses were being trained in the city hospital in Berlin. From St. Gallen a call had come long ago asking the Bethany Society to found a station in that city. This request was com- plied with in July, 1885. Two deaconesses were sent there. After the lapse of twelve years (July 1, 1886), the number of deaconesses had increased to sixty-six. Another step forward was taken during this year. At the annual meeting in Frankfort, June 12, 1886, the members of the Board of Directors and other friends of the society present formed the nucleus of a fund for the founding of a "Rest Home,^' and on April 9, 1888, the corner-stone was laid in the village of Neuenheim, on the Taunus. The building was dedicated the following June, and called "Erholungsstation Gottestreu" — Rest Home — "God's Fidelity.^' In the early part of February, 1887, the city of Zurich was taken up as the second field of labor in Switzerland, and three deaconesses were stationed there. In 1888 the City Council of Berlin gave permission to take a collection from house to house, the money to be used for the purchase of property. September 5, 1888, a house located at Steglitzer Street 71 was bought and fitted up as a Deaconess Home. In Frankfort on the Main the hospital soon proved to be too small. In order that as few patients as possible might be turned away, it was necessary to rent living- rooms for the deaconesses in a neighboring house. This induced the Board of Directors to buy an adjoining house (Gauss Street 11), November 15, 1890. Both houses were placed under the direction of the new in- spector, Philip Lutz, and were connected by an inter- mediate building. Thus arose the Mother House in its present form, partly hospital and partly Deaconess Home. Xearly half the sum necessary for the erection of the Methodist Deaconess Home " Ebenezer,'' in Berlin. (No. 74 Steglltzer St.) In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 141 intermediate building was given by friends of the cause in response to a call in the public press. Upon repeated requests, the city of Lausanne, in Switzerland, was taken up as a station in the same year, and two French-speaknig deaconesses were stationed there, October 31, 1890. During the year 1891 there were no less than six- teen hundred requests for deaconesses as private nurses to which the society was unable to respond. The Ham- burg friends earnestly requested that the number of deaconesses be increased; in other stations the want also was keenly felt. To this was added the ever-growing de- mand for a second hospital for the entire work, in order that all deaconesses might be trained under personal super- vision. The available room in Frankfort did not suffice for this. In Hamburg the enlargement was rapid and extraordinary. A second charity bazaar, held in 1888, and a third one in 1893, under the patronage of one hundred and fifty influential ladies, netted large sums. Then, through the generous sanction of the honorable Senate and "Buergerschaft,'*' a large and eligible build- ing site was placed at the disposal of the Bethany Dea- coness Home, thus enabling the society to erect a large hospital and Deaconess Home (see page 129). These two large buildings were completed in the cholera year, in which thirteen of the deaconesses were placed at the dis- posal of the city authorities, and twelve more were nurs- ing among the cholera-stricken, especially among the poorer families. One of these deaconesses fell a victim to the disease. Through the blessing of God the society was able to dedicate the edifice September 14, 1893. Kev. P. G. Junker, of Bremen, a member of the Board of Directors, frequently went to Hamburg to superintend the building and to encourage the deaconesses. As no 142 History of the Deaconess Movement. inspector was appointed in that year, the local superin- tendency was intrusted to him for the time being. During this trying time the head deaconess, Sister Catharine Stoll, who in 1886 had succeeded Sister Josephine Hofmeister, labored with marked wisdom and discretion. That the authorities of Hamburg highly appreciated the work of the deaconesses during this sore affliction appears from the fact that, after the epidemic had ceased, the Hospital Board of Hamburg presented the Deaconess Home with a magnificent testimonial in fine morocco. The front cover contains a beautiful medallion in the center repre- senting Christ in Bethany, Mary sitting thoughtfully at his feet, while Martha is serving. Above the medallion is the word "Bethanien" in large gilded letters, under it "Hospital Board, Hamburg,'^ and the coat of arms of the city. Within the following words are engrossed on parch- ment in black, red, and blue ink: "The Hospital Board of the Free and Hanseatic City, Hamburg, thanks the Deaconess Institution Bethanien for the self-sacrificing devotion of its deacon- esses, exhibited in the hospitals of Hamburg during the cholera epidemic of 1892. "Senator Dr. Lappenberg, President. "Hamburg, October, 1892.^' A second sheet of parchment contains a fuller ex- pression of gratitude addressed to the Board of Directors of the society. On June 13, 1893, a Home was secured for the deacon- esses in Zurich, adjoining the Methodist church on the Zeltweg. Several friends of the society made it possible to cancel a considerable part of the debt at once. In 1895 another step was taken in Frankfort toward the future enlargement of the Mother House. A piece of In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 143 land adjoining tlie institution, Gauss Street 20, and con- taining the small Goethe honse (the former garden-house of Goethe's parents) was bought. This assures the in- stitution light and air. October 1, 1897, Strassburg, in Alsace, was taken up as a station, and two deaconesses were employed there. November 1, 1897, the Board re- Metiiodist Dkaconess Home in Zurich, Switzerland, sponded to a call from the capital of Austria, Vienna, and sent four deaconesses into the field given over to the Bethany Society by the Martha Maria Society. In Yolksdorf, near Hamburg, the Bethany Society is at pres- ent erecting a large and commodious Eest Home at a cost of 80,000 marks. All the money was raised in ad- vance. The youngest station is Pforzheim, in the Grand 144 History of the Deaconess Movement. Duchy of Baden. It was taken np Jnly, 1900, and two deaconesses were stationed there. These last three cities, Strassburg, Vienna^ and Pforzheim, are the youngest Deaconess Home " Bethany," in St. GAx-iiEN, SwiTZERiiAND. branch stations, of which Vienna is most prosperous. The number of deaconesses has already reached fifteen, and the erection of a Home is contemplated. In a meet- ing of physicians the Bethany deaconesses w^ere spoken of In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 145 as the "technically best-trained deaconesses/' which is say- ing a great deal considering the numerous nuns active in Vienna. Calls for deaconesses come from all parts of Austria, and the institution has a hopeful future. So much concerning the extent of the work. Through force of circumstances the work of the dea- conesses was at first restricted principally to private nurs- ing among rich and poor. The remuneration received from the former helped toward serving the latter free of charge. Private nursing is the most taxing part of the work of a deaconess, especially the great amount of night duty. Besides, in private nursing a deaconess must quietly endure much from sensitive patients, especially in unchristian or irreligious families. On the other hand, right here a true disciple of Christ, who does not seek her own but the glory of the Master, can do much good through her gentleness, devotion, joy, and patience — vir- tues learned in the school of her Master. Here, too, the faith of deeds has conquered barren unbelief. How much light is brought into the dark dwellings of doubt and distress by the faithful work of a deaconess, and how often are penitents pointed to the source of joy "by the testimony of the life rather than that of the lips!" Since 1889 the Bethany Society has also endeavored to introduce the parish diaccmafe. For a small remunera- tion a number of deaconesses are assigned to different Churches, in order to aid in nursing the poorer mem- bers, in conducting Young Ladies' Societies, and Martha Societies, and in other charitalde work, as well as in mission work. These parish deaconesses work under the direction of the pastors of the respective Churches and local auxiliaries which secure the means neces- sary for their support, and in this way aid in the work. The Woman's Missionary Society of the Meth- 10 146 History of the Deaconess Movement. odist Episcopal Church has also extended financial aid to several Churches in employing such deacon- esses. The parish deaconesses remain deaconesses of the Bethany Society, to which the}^ belong as members of a family, and which, according to the constitution, cares for them in sickness and old age. Their work is under the control of the Bethany Society. The parish deacon- esses may be transferred and recalled to the Mother House according to stipulations. At present they num- ber ten. In the same relation as the parish deaconesses, sev- eral Sisters are employed in nurseries. These are insti- tutions in which small children are cared for whose mothers are obliged to work in factories or elsewhere outside of the home during the day. The children are brought to the nurseries early in the morning, and called for in the evening. While the mother is earning their daily bread, a nursery deaconess watches over, provides for, and cares for her little child till evening. In like manner, a few deaconesses serve the families of work- men in the larger factories. In the principal stations of the Bethany Society in Frankfort on the Main, Ham- burg, and Berlin, three so-called "Sisters of the Poor'^ are at work among the poorer population exclusively. They bring to needy families the gifts of the well-to-do, seek out the really needy, and render such aid as may be required. At the same time the deaconess often is physician to the soul by means of the Word of God and prayer. The hospitals are especially helpful to such as are entirely without means, or whose means are very limited. In the Mother House in Frankfort, for example, the number of free consultations in the polyclinics, at which several deaconesses are continually employed, increased In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 147 to about 8,000 per year. Another example: In the Hamburg hospital during the year 1901 ninety-seven patients were nursed in 2,663 nursing-days in first-class rooms, seven hundred and two patients, however, in 21,934 nursing-days in third-class rooms. The charges for nursing pa- tients of the third class are so low that they do not cover the expenses. The number of pa- tients in second- class rooms is also considerable. B e- sides, there are constantly patients in both institutions who are entirely without means, and can offer no remu- neration. Since 1893, Rev. Leonhardt Weiss has been superii;- tendent, and God has richly blessed his work. At the close of 1901 the Sisters numbered two hundred and forty-five. Of this number one hundred and fifty-five have been consecrated, eighty are probationers, and ten are ante-probationers. The head deaconesses at present are: Martha Keller, in the Mother House of the Deaconess Institution and Hos- pital in Frankfort on the Main; Sophia Hurter, in the Rev. L. Weiss, Superintendent OF THE Bethany Society. 148 History of the Deaconess Movement. Bethany Hospital and Deaconess Home in Hamburg; Catharine Ostertag, in the Deaconess Home "Ebenezer" in Berlin; Yerena Senn, in the Deaconess Home "Bethany" in St. Gallen; Emilie Keller, in the Deaconess Home "Bethany" in Zurich; Eliza Leiser, in the Deaconess Home "Bethany", in Lausanne; Auguste Eeiche, in the Deaconess Home "Bethany" in Strassburg, in Alsace; Lucie Staeubli, in the Deaconess Home "Bethany" in Martha Keller, Sophie Hurtek, Frankfort on the Main. Hamburg. Two Head Deaconesses of the Bethany Society. Vienna; Marie Dipon, in the Deaconess Home "Bethany" in Pforzheim. In the modest Best Home "Gottestreu," in Neuen- hain on the Taunus, in 1901^ more than one hundred deaconesses sought rest, aggregating 1,914 days. Sister Amanda Amann is head deaconess. In recognition of her services as nurse, the empress presented her with the "red-cross medal." Besides this medal, she possesses two more, received in recognition of the valuable serv- ices she rendered as nurse in the military hospitals dur- ing the Franco-German War (1870-71). If a Sister wishes to become a deaconess, the follow- KATHARINA OSTEBTAG, BERLIN. LUOIE StAECBLI, VIENNA. .NBA AMANN, NEUENHAIIT: VERENA BeNN, ST. GALLBN. EMII.IE KELLER, ZURICH. ELIZE LEISER, LAUSANNE. Six Head Deaconesses of the Bethany Society. 150 History of the Deacokess Movement. ing is usually the method of procedure : She calls at the inspector's, who gives her the necessary written instruc- tions. Then follows her written request for admission, with which she must inclose a sketch of her life, com- piled and written by herself, the certificate of a physician as to the state of her health, and a certificate from her pastor. A committee of the Board of Directors, con- sisting of five members (usually the president, the super- Maria Dipon, Pforzheim. AuGUSTii Reiohe, Strassburg. Two Head Deaconesses of the Bethany Society. intendent, the head deaconess of the Mother House, and two other members of the Board), examine the request, and pass upon her acceptance as ante-pro- bationer. The term of this relation is three months, during which time the Sister does the necessary house- work in the deaconess family in one of the stations. On recommendation of the respective local Boards the Sis- ter is then admitted on probation, and receives the garb of the society, which differs but little from the deaconess garb proper. The time of probation includes the period of training in one of the hospitals. The course covers In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 151 a full year. The time of probation is three to five years. The committee of the Board of Directors then passes npon the final reception of the Sister into the society, or her consecration as deaconess. At the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Epis- copal Church of Germany and Switzerland the inspector, or some other member of the Board of Directors, reports on the progress of the cause. At each x\nnual Confer- ence a printed annual report is also presented. The Con- ference of which the superintendent is a member, is annu- ally requested by the Board of Directors of the society to recommend to the bishop that the respective minister be left as superintendent (inspector) of the society. To the local Board of the stations usually belong the pastors in charge of the respective Churches of which the Sisters are members. These local Boards are appointed annually by the Board of Directors of the society. The following persons have served on the Board for a longer or shorter pf^riod: Rev. Gustav Hausser (1878- 1881) and Rev. Clement Achard (1886-1889), both of whom are now in America; Rev. F. Eilers (1874-1889); Dr. A. Sulzberger (1887-1896). The latter, as well as Dr. L. Nippert, were several years members of the local Board in Frankfort on the Main. Special credit is due the Bethany Society for its share in bringing about the adoption of the Deaconess Work by the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. When the first resolutions concerning the introduction of the Deaconess Cause were adopted by the General Con- ference of 1888, special mention was made, in the re- port of the Committee on Deaconess Work, of the Deaconess Work carried on by "our brethren in Germany, who for a number of years have employed such con- 152 History of the Deaconess Movement. secrated workers in the kingdom of God with the most happy results." (Journal of the Gen. Conf. of 1888, p. 435; Report No. IV, pp. 246 and 292.) In August of the year 1899 the Bethany Society cele- brated its twenty-fifth anniversary in a large tent in the garden of the Mother House at Frankfort on the Main. The morning service was held in Zion's Church. Rev. H. Mann, president of the Bethany Society, and the only one of the four original founders, who has con- tinued in official relationship with the same to the pres- ent time, preached the sermon for this occasion on Lament, iii, 23 : "Great is thy faithfulness." The Martha and Mary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This society embraces the Deaconess Work of the former Wesleyan Synod in Germany, which body several years ago was amalgamated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. To-day the society has a Mother House in Nuremberg, and branch stations in Magdeburg, Munich, and Heilbronn. The history of its origin is interesting. In 1887, Rev. G. J. Eckert, one of the principal founders and at present superintendent of the society, urgently re- quested the Wesleyan Synod to found a Deaconess In- stitution. The committee appointed by said body met in Lorch, December 10, 1888, to consider the advisability of founding such an institution. Miss Luise Schneider, a deaconess from Buchengehren, met with them. They considered the question, resulting in the organization of the Martha-Maria Society. Sister Luise Schneider con- sented to begin the work in Nuremberg in the name of the Lord, where she arrived February 4, 1889. She moved into a modest little room in Fischer Alley, which rented for a mark (25 cents) a week. A probationary deaconess. In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden; 153 Eliza Heidner, who had for some time heen doing nurs- ing, was with her. There was no lack of difficulties, some of which seemed almost insurmountable; neverthe- less the institution flourished, and a number of Sisters entered on probation. In September of the same year (1889) the society was granted the charter privileges. When, toward the end of the year, an epidemic of in- fluenza broke out in Nuremberg, the Sisters were able to furnish valu- able aid to the "reserve" hospital of the city. These services were gratefully recog- nized by the city council in a pub- lic manner. In the following year a branch station was founded in Munich, the beautiful capital of Bavaria, and in 1892 a work was begun in Magdeburg and in Vienna. In Vienna five deaconesses had been at work for sev- eral years previously; but in 1897 the Martha-Maria So- ciety turned this work over to the Bethany Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. As the society had no hospital of its own at the beginning, the deaconesses were trained in the ^'Charite," the famous hospital in Berlin. Rev. G. J. ECKERT, Superintendent of THE MAKTHA-MARIA SOCIETY. 154 History of the Deaconess Movement. Besides the head deaconess, Luise Schneider, two per- sons in particular rendered the Martha-Maria Society great service; viz.. Inspector G. J. Eckert and the Baroness of Langenau. Eev. G. J. Eckert is a talented and successful minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who devoted much self-sacrificing work to the founxling of the society. Under his wise and conscien- tious direction the work progressed rapidly and safely. The Baroness of Langenau supported the institutions of the society with her means, and founded a Home for Children in Vienna, which is superintended by dea- conesses. Concerning the leadings of Divine Provi- dence in her life, she tes- tifies as follows: ^'After my betrothal I was very happy. I lived at various European courts, where my husband repre- sented the Emperor of LuisE Schneider, Austria as ambassador. Head Deaconess. ti*- t -i t • J^ Meanwhile i was inwardly conscious of a great void, and all the joys of the world could not fill it. Suddenly my only child died, and after a few years my husband also. I was left alone, a broken- hearted widow. At the same time I was deeply con- vinced of my love of the world and of my sinfulness, and knew no helper. I now devoted myself to extensive char- ity work, hoping thus to find peace; but all this served to make me self-righteous. Each day my condition be- came more unbearable. One day God guided my foot- steps to the impretentious hall in which the Methodists were worshiping. Here I was shown the way of salva- In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 155 tion, and heard that Christ is able and willing to save us if we trust in him with all our heart. I trusted him, and a wonderful peace, such as I had never known be- fore, filled my heart. I vowed (1890) to spend the re- maining days of my life wholly in the service of my Master. There followed times of bitter persecution and almost insur- mountable d i ffi - culties, but I ex- perienced the truth of t li e words: 'Our need is never greater than our Help- er.^ '' Only eternity will reveal what she has done for suffering human- ity and for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. In her the Dea- coness Cause had found a devoted friend. She ex- erted no small in- fluence in promoting the union of the Wesleyan Synod and the Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Germany. She died August 7, 1902. In the following we shall give a brief survey of the history of the several institutions of the society : Nuremberg (Sulzbacher Street 79): This institu- tion was opened in a rented house February 24, 1889. Baroness of Langenau. 156 History of the Deaconess ]\Iovemext. In 1893 the inagnificent and suitable property shown in the cut was bought. The building, one hundred and fourteen feet long and thirty-six feet wide, is situated in a magnificent garden. The Baroness von Langenau contributed 50,000 marks for the purchase of the place. The property, with improvements, cost 110,- ^ ^. Deaconess Mother House of the Martha-Makia Society in Nuremberg. 000 marks. Besides a Home for the deaconesses, the building contains a hospital, a polyclinic, and a large chapel, in which regular services are held. The dea- conesses are employed in the hospital of the Mother House, in private nursing and parish nursing, and five deaconesses are employed in the Sebastian Hospital. The head deaconess is Luise Schneider. In early youth she felt the workings of the Holy Spirit in her heart, and In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 157 desired to devote her entire life to the service of suffer- ing humanity. Magdeburg (Bismarck Street 47). Here too the in- stitution developed from small heginnings. In the spring of 1891 the first deaconess was re- ceived here from fc,, and JSTuremherj in the year fol- lowing a settle- ment on Johan- nisberg Street was opened. In 1894: the beauti- ful building o n Bismarck Street, shown in the cut, was bought at a cost of 54,000 marks. The Baroness von Langenau m a d e the first payment possible by the donation of 22,- 000 marks. On April 1, 1895, the deaconesses moved into the new Home. Sister Dina is head deaconess Deaconess Home of the Martha-Maria Society in Magdeburg. There are seven Sisters in the institution; five of them are em- ployed in the "Schwiesau^' Hospital, a city hospital of Magdeburg, and three in three other hospitals. Munich (Bader Street 56a). The first beginning dates 158 History of the Deaconess Movement. back to the year 1889. Ten years later a magnificent property was bought for 57,000 marks. The air-line dis- tance from the Council Hall is eight hundred meters, and the house is excellently adapted to the purposes of an institution. Sister Johanna (Schoedel) superintends the institution as head deaconess. HeiTbronn. In this flourishing city of traffic and in- dustry, the society began a promising "Filial" Institu- tion in November, 1899, employing three deacon- esses. Ferienheim Rupprecht- stegen. In the romantic Eupprechtstegen in Swit- zerland lies the magnifi- cent "Ferienheim" (Rest Home). This place, with its quiet forest seclusion and its clear brooks full of trout, seems to have been designed especially for the Sisters, who, after a yearns burdens and trials, seek a place where they may rest and gain new strength of body and soul for their labor of love. After a history of twelve years the society possesses property valued at 315,000 marks, and had a current income during the past year of 40,000 marks. Alto- gether there are seventy-five deaconesses in the institu- tion, and the superintendent writes: "If there were five hundred Sisters at our disposal, they would all have quite enough to do." In the first year the allowance of the deaconess is 2.50 marks a month- in the second year, Deaconess Home in Munich. In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 159 3.30 marks a month; from the third year to their con- secration, 3.80 marks a month; after that 4.80 marks a month. A deaconess is at liberty to withdraw at any time. But if she withdraws before she has completed the three years' course she must refund the cost of her education. Young women and childless widows from eighteen to thirty-four years of age are eligible as can- didates. A necessary requirement is the conviction of a Divine call and the love of God shed abroad in the heart through the Holy Ghost. A candidate must, of course, possess at least a common elementary education and good health. Young women just entering must pass a previous probation of at least fifteen weeks; then they are received among the probationers, and assigned to the course of study at the expense of the society. Be- sides private nursing and parish work, the society contem- plates the founding of kindergartens and Homes for the Aged. The Institutions of the Evangelical Association in Germany and Switzerland. The MotJier House ''BeiJiescW in Elberfeld. The first institution of the Evangelical Association was founded in Elberfeld. In June, 1886, a number of min- isters and members of the Evangelical Association met at Essen on the Kuhr, to take counsel together as to how the misery of the poor and sick might be relieved and the common welfare of the people promoted. The result of this meeting was the founding of the Deaconess Insti- tute "Bethesda" at Elberfeld. A society numbering about seventy-five members Avas organized for the pur- pose of raising the necessary funds. In August of the same year the project took definite shape by renting a room at Elberfeld and appointing two young women 160 History of the Deaconess Movement. i-ii^fi*:^ as deaconesses. Small and meager was the beginning, but sure and blessed the progress made. In 1890 a hos- pital was erected on the Hombuechter hill at Elberfeld, which also serves the purpose of a Mother House. This was enlarged in 1901 by the erection of a splendid ad- dition and the purchase of a neighj^oring house, which was fitted up for a Home for the Sisters. Up to the time of the erection of the Mother House the deacon- esses received their training at different hospitals in Elberfeld and ! Berlin. In the course of time branch institu- tions were es- tablished at dif- f e r e n t places, viz. : at Berlin (1887), at Ham- burg (1888), at Strassburg in Al- sace (1889), a t Dresden (1891), at Stuttgart (1896), and Carlsruhe (1900.) In August, 1892, a house was secured at 129 Eitterstrasse, which was fitted up as a clinic and a Deaconess Home. In Berlin, the Bethesda Institution has a hospital in a rented building, erected for this purpose, at 42 Gneisenaustrasse, and at Solingen the Bethesda deaconesses have charge of a hospital. In rented quarters at Friedrichrode, a beautifully situated little village in the Thuringian Forest, there is a Rest Home for the Sisters. Thus hospital nursing is com- bined with private nursing. Only those acknowledged as the best physicians are employed at the hospitals. At MM is^W^ Deaconess Home "Bethesda," in Elberfeld. (The First Home.) In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 161 Elberfeld there are four, among whom is Dr. Tischnerj house physician. As there is no distinction made, as re- gards religion, in the nursing of the sick, so also the religious profession of the physicians is not considered when they are elected; yet the institution is conducted on purely evangelical principles, and no deaconess is ad- mitted who is not a member of the Evangelical Asso- ciation, that the character of the institution may be pre- served. For this reason^ too, the management lies in Dkaconess Home "Ebenezer," in Hamburg. the hands of the pastors and members of this Associa- tion, and is sanctioned by the highest authorities of the Church. In 1901 the institution numbered over two hundred deaconesses, distributed in the various stations as fol- lows: Elberfeld, 47; Berlin, 64; Hamburg, 20; Dresden, 27; Stuttgart, 8; Carlsruhe, 7; Solingen, 11. Besides this, deaconesses are appointed to parish work in the Churches at Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Koenigsberg, 11 162 History or the Deaconess Movement. Elberfeld, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Barmen, Stuttgart, Carlsruhe, and Eeutlingen. One of the Bethesda deacon- esses is serving at a Home for the Aged in Philadelphia, and two are engaged in work among children at Gros- glinike, near Berlin, and at Wolfartsweier, Baden. The institution is also interested in the special care of the poor, and at a number of different places deacon- esses are appointed to visit them, care for them, and minister to them in body and soul. About 20,000 marks are expended annually, either in money or in distributing food and clothing among the poor. The local institution is directed by a local Board consisting of seven members or trustees elected from the Board of Managers, consist- ing of twenty-five members. This Board elects an in- spector (superintendent), who directs the affairs of the institution and its representation abroad. At present Rev. G. Barchet, of Elberfeld, holds this office. He is allowed three assistants (chosen from the Board) to aid him in the discharge of' his duties. The institution enjoys the good will of the Govern- ment and the people. It has been incorporated, and has received public official recognition by a small endowment. In time of war it engages to supply nurses for the battle- field, and also loans portions of its garden land for the erection of barracks. In 1901 a total of 6,123 visits were made to the sick and the poor. Sixty-three manual- training schools were conducted with an attendance of 2,128 poor children, and two hundred and sixteen Sun- day-schools with an attendance of 10,136 children. The Ladies' Working Societies met eighty-eight times, with an attendance of 1,042. Young Ladies' Societies met 242 times, with an attendance of 12,291. About 64,900 peri- odicals were distributed to individual persons. This is certainly an encouraging year's work. The connection In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 163 with the branch institution at Strassburg was severed in May, 1892, and the latter was transferred, with several deaconesses, to the care of a newly-organized society for Alsace and Switzerland. This new society, whose inspec- tor is N. G. Shaefer, numbers forty-eight Sisters. Mother House in Strassburg. In 1889 a second Mother House was founded by the pastors of this Church in Strassburg. The beginning was very humble, but its development was all the more surpising. Two deacon- esses from Elberfeld moved into a room of the parsonage in Strassburg. Shortly after their arrival, while mak- ing her house-to-house visits, one of the deaconesses found a Jewish lady in an attic room. When the latter was told the purpose of the visit she praised God with a loud voice for having heard her prayer and having sent this messenger of peace in the hour of need. From that time the deaconesses became known in wider circles, and so many doors were opened to them that two more deaconesses were called to their assistance. A dwelling was rented, and as it became evident that the institution would develop more rapidly independently of the Mother House in Elberfeld, the connection was severed in 1892. The management is in the hands of three pastors of the Switzerland Conference and two lay members of the Church in Strassburg. The society is known as the "Bethesda-Verein fuer allgemeine Krankenpflege im Elsass urid in der Schweiz.*' Pastor N. G. Shaefer was the discreet and practical inspector of the society from the beginning, but in 1902 he was called to his reward. In the fall of 1892 a station was founded in Colmar, Alsace, and a fine piece of property bought. This Home affords the deaconesses their requisite periods of rest and recuperation. As far as the available room will permit, private patients are also received here. To-day the In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 165 Strassburg ]\Iother House has a promising station in Zurich besides the branch stations in Colmar and Muehl- hausen. Naturally Strassburg remained the largest field of labor, and it became possible to purchase a beautiful house centrally located, which serves the Bethesda So- ciety as Mother House. At present the society numbers sixty-five deaconesses, who are in great demand because of their faithfulness and competence. The most urgent requests on the part of military as well as the city author- ities and private clinics must be refused for want of workers. March 13, 1896, the society was granted charter privileges. The financial progress is shown by the fol- lowing figures: The receipts for the first year were 3,651 marks; disbursements, 2,827 marks. The annual report of 1900 shows receipts 38,988 marks; disbursements, 37,985 marks. All these institutions rest on a solid financial basis, and the society is making perceptible progress from year to year. Deaconess Home 'T>ethel" of the Baptist Church IN Berlin. This institution was founded by Rev. Edward Scheve, an honored and talented pastor of the Baptist Church in Berlin, who has since then been its superintendent. His like-minded wife was a great help to him in the develop- ment and promotion of this most successful work. In February, 1885, he founded the "Martha" Deaconess So- ciety, the purpose of which is indicated in the following words of the constitution: "The object of this society is to encourage all of its members to engage in per- sonal work in the kingdom of God, and to further this object the Quarterly General Assemblies shall lend their especial, aid. The further purpose of the society is to 166 History of the Deaconess Movement. train and employ suitable deaconesses in the work of Christian charity, particularly as nurses and as mission- aries among their own sex/' After Pastor Scheve had founded the society the chief thing was still lacking — the deaconesses. In the summer of 1887 a deaconess from Stettin unexpectedly came to Berlin, requesting that she might be employed by the Martha Society. Pastor Scheve received her as a mem- ber of his family, and employed her as parish nurse. Rev. Ed. Soheve, Supt. Mbs. B. Scheve. When in the following year another Sister came he rented a small room, six by twelve, and in this modest way opened the Deaconess Institution "Bethel" in Berlin. From this unpretentious beginning a widespread and richly-blessed work of Christian charity has developed. According to the last annual report at hand (1900), sev- enty-seven deaconesses are at work; forty-six are em- ployed in Berlin, twelve in Hanover, and eight in Koenigs- berg. Besides these, there is one parish deaconess in Endersbach (Wurtemberg), who nurses at various places under the direction of a committee and a physician. Two In Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 167 ; fill deaconesses are doing good work in Zurich, two are super- intending'a hospital in Southern liussia, two are at work in Eussian Poland, two are in India as missionaries, and two more in Kamernn, Africa. The Mother House "Bethel" is in Berlin. It is a magnificent huilding erected on Emden Street, No. 15. To the right on the ground floor there is a confectionery, and immediately to the left of the entrance the bookstore "Bethel" of the Baptist Mis- sion. Back of the store is the office. At the extreme left is the large chapel in the rear of the building. Above the gateway is the inscription, "Serve the Lord with glad- ness.^^ Entering through this gateway into the court, we find ourselves in a beautiful garden with a small foun- tain. There is the entrance to the chapel, which is well lighted and ventilated, and seats about four hundred per- sons. Eising above the chapel there are two floors, with about twenty rooms. The residence of the superintendent and the parlor are located in the front part of the house, on the second floor. On the third floor are the school- rooms of the deaconesses and the missionary pupils, the difl'erent working-rooms, the room of the head deaconess and teacher, the living rooms of the deaconesses, and a hall leading to a wing containing the dining-room and kitchen. Besides these, the building contains thirty-four habitable rooms that are now rented, and are later on to be used for the purposes of the institution. Deaconess Home "Bethel, IN Berlin. 168 History of the Deaconess ^Iovemext. As the ]\[artha Society has no hospital, the deaconesses are trained in nursing in the royal Charite and in the famous hospital "Friedrichshain/^ The course usually covers six months. Besides being employed as parish nurses and nurses of the poor, the deaconesses do private nursing, and a number of them are superintending pri- vate hospitals. In Berlin, Sister Caroline Jenner is head deaconess; in Hanover, Mathilda Kubling; and in Koe- nigsberg, Sister Csecilie Ehlers. During the past year the institution received 1,467 requests for deaconesses, of which only 754 could be com- plied with. The current receipts for 1900 were 40,286 Reichsmarks. The Deaconess Home "Bethel" in Berlin, including the inner equipment, cost 177,000 marks, and there is a mortgage on the property of 126,000 marks. In Buchow, Switzerland, the Board of Directors of the institution have fitted up a Rest Home. Inspector Schove closes his last an-nual report with the following beautiful Avords: "When I consider the life of the deaconesses in their Home, their blessed work among the sick and the well, their happy and, in many respects, privileged station in life, I forget all the care and lal)or connected with the work, and am grateful to our Heavenly Father that he has given us an institution in which our young women have an opportunity to be useful in the service of suffering humanity and to find for themselves an occupation that fully satisfies them in soul and body.'' The Deaconess Woek of the Methodist Church in Sweden. Rev. Dr. K. A. Jansson, a Methodist preacher in Sweden, writes as follows: "A number of Methodist Churches, located at Gefie, Matheus, Upsala, Stockholm, St. Peter, Norrkoping, Gothenburg, etc., have employed liV Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. 109 Sisters during the last ten years to do city mission work. They were neither trained nurses nor were they eonse- created deaconesses; but they visited the poor and the sick, and were holpmaids of tlic pastors. In 190(* a few interests I p e r so n s organ- i z e d a Deacon- ess Society in Gothenburg. The next Annual Con- ference approved of it, and there- upon the society rented a room and employed Anna K a j s e r , who had received a nurse-training in the city hos- pital at Gothen- burg. At the Annual Confer- ence in 1901 she was consecrated by Bishop Vin- cent, and thereby became the first Methodist deaconess in Sweden. The society at once sent several young ladies to Hamburg for training, and, upon their return, hopes to dedicate a large Deaconess Home and open up a Dea- coness Work on a larger scale.^^ Anna Kaj^^er, first Methodist Deaconess in Sweden. CHAPTER VI. THE DEACONESS CAUSE IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND In no part of Europe has the life of the Church de- veloped with so much freedom from lack of restriction as in England; in no other part has it been more greatly enriched in its outward expression and inner force. The other branches of Protestant Christianity on the Conti- nent have been greatly quickened in all the various fields of Christian charity by the vigorous and practical forms of Christian activity exhibited in England. This is espe- cially true of Germany. In a previous chapter we have seen how Fliedner's great plans matured during his trav- els in England J and from the same source Wichern re- ceived an impulse and inspiration for his extensive enter- prises. Johann Falke and Count of Recke-Vollmarstein received large donations from England for the founding and development of their institutions and societies. Much enthusiasm was kindled by Hannah More through her pamphlets, which were widely circulated in Germany, and by Elizabeth Fry during her extensive travels in Germany. Numerous women's societies were organized, whose work was not in vain. The newly pulsating spiritual life that was manifest in all parts of the United Kingdom as a result of the great awakening in the eighteenth century, and the clear and intelligible doctrine of a personal ex- perience of salvation, called forth that burning love for sinners that continually summoned to personal work for the Master. Add to this the practical turn of mind of English Christians which easily accommodates itself to 170 In England and Scotland. 171 existing circumstances, and it would seem that England must be the most favorable soil for the growth of this new and beautiful plant of Christian charity. Strange to say, however, this was not the case, and to this day the Deaconess Cause has not developed in England as it might have been expected to do. As in Germany, so also in England, the beginnings of the Deaconess Movement are antedated by interesting events. And if one would un- derstand this movement, he must consider the ecclesias- tical and social changes that have taken place during the past three or four generations. In the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth century the public ap- pearance of women in Christian work is scarcely known, and perhaps in no period of Church history was the co- operation of woman less sought. At the beginning of the Reformation the cloisters were closed, the only remaining opportunity for the exercise of Christian benevolence by Avomen being thus cut off. But it can be truly said to the credit of the cloisters that they had accomplished much in the training of the youth, in charitable work, and in self-denying sacrifice. Perhaps it was a compensation that the clergy were now permitted to marry, whereby woman to a greater extent became a coworker in the life of the parish. Aside from this, however, there was little encouragement for her to take part as a co-laborer in the kingdom of God. Not before the latter half of the eight- eenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century was there a change for the better, due in large measure to the awakening called forth by Wesley. John Wesley tore down all traditional barriers and opened new spheres for the activity of woman. He appointed women as teachers in the Sunday-school, permitted them to pray in public, to speak in class-meetings and love-feasts, and made the various offices of the Church accessible to her, with the 172 History of the Deaconess Movement. one exception that she was not permitted to enter the ministry. His example was followed by others. The bar- riers disappeared more and more, and new spheres of Christian activity were constantly opened to women. Wesley knew how to use the talents and the peculiar influence of woman for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. Susanna Wesley, Countess Huntingdon, Lady Fitzgerald, Lady Maxwell, Lady Glenorchy, Hester Ann Eogers, Sarah Ryan, Sarah Crosby, Sarah Lawrence, Eliz- abeth Kitchie, Grace Murray, Elizabeth Evans, Elizabeth Wallbridge, and many others, exerted a mighty influence in their age. Their hearts yearned for the salvation of their fellow-men, no sacrifice was too great for them, and their entire influence was devoted to the cause of the Master. An event in the life of Susanna Wesley is worthy of mention here on account of its historic importance. Dur- ing the somewhat extended absence of her husband, Dr. Samuel Wesley, rector of the parish, the pious mother of the two Wesleys conducted religious services in the par- sonage at Epworth. At first the rector did not seem to countenance the action of his wife, but after she had in- structed him in regard to the nature and purpose of these meetings he finally acquiesced. He had a vicar who was so little adapted to his office that he emptied the church.. A number of the members of the Church, therefore, asked the wife of the rector that they might be permitted to participate in the family services held in the parsonage Sunday afternoon. Susanna Wesley granted the request. The attendance increased, and the parsonage soon became too small. Mrs. Wesley usually read a sermon to those assembled. When her husband in London protested, she explained the matter in a letter addressed to him, and closed thus: "If after all this vou think fit to dissolve Ix EXGLAXD AND SCOTLAND. 173 this assembly, do not tell me you desire me to do it, for that will not satisfy my conscience, but send your positive command in such full and express terms as may absolve me from all guilt and punishment for neglecting this opportunity for doing good, when you and I shall appear before the great and awful tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ." The rector was, of course, not willing to assume this responsibility; therefore these meetings were con- tinued, and the result was a thorough spiritual awaken- ing in the parish, so that, upon the return of the rector, the church was hardly large enough to hold the attentive and hungering souls who assembled on each Lord's day. In a similar manner John Wesley, originally a very conservative clergyman of the Established Church, was led step by step in regard to the woman question. Gradually he recognized the importance of opening new channels of activity for women, and assigned to them an extended sphere of Christian usefulness. Thus the cause of tem- perance, the anti-slavery movement, the missionary work, and numerous other great movements, had a mighty sup- port in woman, and from that time forward she frequently led in great reformatory efforts. So to Methodism be- longs a share of the credit given the Friends for the im- pulse given to a healthy reform in the woman question. Among the pioneers in this sphere must also be reckoned Hannah More (1745-1833), who devoted herself entirely to the service of the destitute classes. She erected schools for the poor, provided wholesome literature, and sought to improve the condition of the most needy in every pos- sible way. Elizabeth Fry, Sarah Martin, Florence Night- ingale, Agnes Jones, and many other prominent women, rendered noble service in prisons and among all classes of the neglected. The cities grew rapidly, and the problem of bringing 174- History of the Deaconess Movement. the masses that were alienated from the Church and from God nnder the influence of the gospel became more and more urgent. The clergy were helpless, and even if they had been willing they would not have been able to do the immense work. Co-laborers were called for, and as in the days of the apostles woman stepped to the front. Numerous organizations Avere formed — Sunday-schools, district aid societies, temperance societies, women's clubs, guilds and associations of all kinds. Meetings were held for children and mothers, manual-training schools, sew- ing schools, and night schools were organized, and city mission work of every sort was begun. Attention was also called to the lack of female nurses, and to the example of the Sisters of Mercy in the Catholic Church, just as it had formerly been done in Germany. The well-known English writer, Southey, who in his youth had fought under Wellington against Napoleon, and had learned to know the blessed work of the Sisters of Mercy on the battletields and in the field hospitals, wrote : "It is a great loss to England that we have no Sisters of Mercy. There is nothing Eomish, nothing unevangelical in such organ- izations; nothing but what is right and sacred; nothing but what belongs to that religion which the apostle James has described as ^pure and undefiled before God and the Father.^ . . . Thirty years hence England may also have her Sisters of Mercy .^^ Southey's prophecy became true, and his call did not remain unheeded, although it did not at once bear the desired fruit. The extraordinary success of the Deaconess Work in Germany could not fail to in- fluence England, and the attention of the English public was called to Kaiserswerth and the other prosperous Dea- coness Institutions on the Continent by Miss Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry. It may not be amiss to call attention in this connec- In England and Scotland. 175 tion to the career of the three principal pioneers in woman's labor of love. The first is Florence Nightingale. She was horn in Florence, Italy, in 1823, where her father, an Englishman, was residing at the time. She was ex- ceedingly talented, nnassuming in her bearing, sympa- thetic, devout, and had such winning ways that she at Fr,ORENCE Nightingale. Elizabeth Fry. once made friends of all with whom she associated. While yet young she devoted all her powers to alleviating pain and suffering and distress, wherever met. She visited houses of correction, prisons, and hospitals, both in Eng- land and in other countries of Europe, and made a close study of the benevolent societies of the time. She also acquainted herself thoroughly with the rules and regu- lations of the order of the Sisters of Mercy. In the Mother House in Kaiscrswerth she found the organization 176 History of the Deaconess Movement. she was seeking, and there she prepared herself especially for her important life-work. The defects of the nursing of the sick in England became more and more apparent to her, and when, npon her return from the Crimean war, a considerable sum of money was presented her in recognition of the valuable services rendered by her and her nurses on the battlefields and in the field hospitals, she founded a training-school for nurses. This under- taking was soon generally imitated on the Continent. Although these nurses were not deaconesses, the way was thereby prepared for nurses and deaconesses. A small book published by Florence Nightingale in 1851, entitled "An Account of Institutes of Deaconesses," was widely circulated, and the interest for the Deaconess Cause in- creased so much that many were moved to write in its behalf, and more attention was devoted to it by the press. Of equal importance was the blessed influence and the untiring activity of Elizabeth Fry. She belonged to the Society of Friends, and her motto was, "Charity with a soul is the soul of charity." Without neglecting her large famil}^, she devoted herself principally to the care of pris- oners, and has properly been called "the female John Howard." She planted a mustard-seed of that faith which worketh by love, and it grew to be a mighty tree, the branches of which have spread over land and sea. She traveled in various countries, visited the prisons, founded prison societies, gathered collections of books, and became a shining example of all-embracing love for man, whose influence was felt among all classes of people. Her death in 1845 was mourned as generally as the death of a queen. A pioneer of the same sort was Mrs. Agnes Jones, the daughter of a rich aristocratic family in London, gifted and filled with the love of God. She had but one passion, which consisted in sacrificing herself for the welfare of In England and Scotland. 177 others. She also was trained in Kaiserswerth, and after her return devoted herself to efforts of reform in the care of the poor and the sick of England, Later on she super- intended a house of correction in Liverpool; here she sacrificed her young life, dying after three years of labor. Florence Nightingale called her the pioneer of nurses in houses of correction. But with all the good intentions and untiring efforts of these honored and influential women, to whom Kaisers- werth had been a model, they did not get beyond the founding of schools for the training of nurses. The less restricted position and the totally different training of the female sex, the greater differences and prejudices of rank as well as the differences of customs, may account for the fact that the Deaconess Cause did not prosper in England, and that to this day it is of a peculiar type, totally different from the Deaconess Work in Germany. "On the one hand, the English women do not possess the spirit of service to the same extent as their German sis- ters; on the other hand, the work has been hindered by the sharply marked denominational contrasts within the Protestant Church, and especially by the stern Protestant- ism of the people, which anxiously recoils from the slight- est approach to Eoman Catholic regulations." Then it must also be admitted that in England more women are active in various lines of home mission work, aside from their domestic duties, than in any other part of Europe, and this more unrestricted and unfettered mode of ac- tivity is better suited to the English character than the method followed in the Mother Houses on the Continent. Nevertheless there is a fuller comprehension of the Dea- coness Cause, and during the past two decades it has made encouraging progress. After this general survey, let us turn to the institutions of the various denominations, 12 178 History of the Deaconess Moa^ement. The Deaconess Cause in the Established Church of England. In 184:6, Theodore Fliedner came to London with four deaconesses from Kaiserswerth, and introduced them to their work in the German hospitaL One year later the influential English clergyman, Dr. Pusey, organized a Sisterhood in Park Village, a suburb of London. In the same year his example was followed by Miss Sellon in Devonport. A strong movement had arisen in the Church of England at that time called "Puseyism/' and the result w^as that a network of Christian charity was spread over the entire land. Unfortunately, however, they were sail- ing full speed into Romanism. The Sisterhood mentioned above, in which we find the first beginnings of the Dea- coness Work, was accordingly largely Roman Catholic in its character. Nevertheless this Sisterhood seems to have met a want, which fact accounts for its great success. In twenty years it numbered seven hundred to eight hun- dred members, and to-day the number has increased to two thousand in twenty-five different institutions. This organization has done much along the line of practical charity. It labored chiefly among friendless and fallen women, and devoted itself to nursing the sick and training children. But on account of its Romish coloring it met with great opposition. There was an ever-increasing de- sire for an institution that might be embodied in the Church organism, and the members of which might be under the direct supervision and direction of the bishop. A female auxiliary pastorate was intended; this called for devoted and talented women, whose lives must be wholly given to the service of the Church, and who would do parish work in closest co-operation with the pastorate. In the deaconess office of the Apostolic Church the de- In England and Scotland. 179 sired sphere of labor was found, and the undertaking was encouraged by the success in Germany. Meanwhile Eev. W. Pennefather had begun the Mildmay Deaconess Insti- tution in London (I860), and had operated the same with great success; but the work was met with prejudice on the part of the Established Church, because the deaconesses had not been ordained by the imposition of the bishops' hands and because the office was not embodied in the Church organism. In short, from the view-point of the Established Church the institution was conducted too lib- erally and too loosely. The matter was brought to the knowledge of the public through a book, entitled "Diac- onate of Women," and published in the beginning of the sixties by the learned Dean Howson of the Established Church. In the year 1858 the question had been pre- sented to the Convocation of clergymen, and thoroughly ventilated there. The founding of an institution had been recommended, and the bishops requested to appoint a committee for joint counsel. The Upper House, con- sisting of bishops and presided over by an archbishop, ex- pressed its joy at what had so far been accomplished, but thought it too early to fix rules and regulations. Thus thirteen years more passed by before a diaconate proper was officially embodied in the Church organism, although the subject had at various times been presented to Church Congresses and Diocesan Conferences. Meanwhile the first Deaconess Institution of the Es- tablished Church really meriting the name was founded in 1861. Archbishop Tait, at that time Bishop of the Diocese of London, installed in office Elizabeth Catharine Ferard as the first deaconess of the Established Church of England. Her training for the work was received in Kaiserswertk, and her heart glowed with desire to see a Female Diaconate similar to that in Germany introduced 180 History of the Deaconess Movement. into England. Aided by Dean Champneys and Rev. Phel- ham Dale, she founded the first Deaconess Institution in Xorth London, and Archbishop Tait assumed the super- intendency. Catharine Ferard, who was head deaconess of the institution for twelve years, at the same time founded an elementary school for poor children, and fitted up a small hospital in the same house. This allorded the probationers an opportunity for training both in the work of education and in nursing. Unfortunately the young enterprise had to contend with great difficulties and al- most unconquerable prejudices; there was also a lack of young women who were willing to devote themselves to this calling. Miss Ferard died in 1883. Meanwhile sev- eral other institutions had been founded, and the bishops had become aware of the great practical importance of the Deaconess Work. As already indicated, two tendencies manifested them- selves in the Established Church at an early period, and to this day the "Diocesan" Institutions and the Sister- hood oppose each other. The members of the latter are called "Sisters," as distinct from the term "deaconess." These two terms have a different meaning in the High Church of England from their meaning in the institutions of other Churches, especially those on the Continent. The Sisters of the "Sisterhood" are never called deacon- esses, although the deaconesses usually are also called "Sisters." A "deaconess" is a member of a Mother House; her entire time and strength is given to the serv- ice of Christian beneficence; she takes no vow, and can therefore dissolve her connection and return to her fam- ily without casting any reflection upon herself. The members of the "Sisterhood" on the contrary, like the nuns, must take the threefold vow of poverty, celibacy, and obedience, with the proviso, hoAvever, that they may In Exglaxd axd Scotland. 181 resign again, if circumstances compel; but the conditions are similar to the rules and principles to which the Sisters of Mercy are subjected. The garb of the Sisters is ex- actly like that of the nuns. They call the Sister Superior, "Mother,"' and installation can occur only according to special instructions of the bishop. The chief motive that leads Sisters into the Union is, for the greater |)art, merit, as they would "purchase to themselves a good degree." (1 Tim. iii, 13.) The main purpose of the Sisterhood is religious fellowship above all else, whereas the deacon- esses enter the Mother House for Christ's sake and for the purpose of benevolent work. The latter follow the call into the field white for the harvest, and are trained for the sole purpose of ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of their fellow-men and of saving their souls; the former seek personal edification. That the Sisterhood is so extraordinarily popular is evidence that the extreme tendency of the Established Church of Eng- land in doctrine and practice is very similar to the Eoman Catholic Church. The Diocesan Deaconess subscribes to less restricting principles, and the two chief tendencies of the Established Church have found their most definite expression in the organizations mentioned. The Diocesan Institutions adopted the garb, the rules of order, and the plan for training adopted by the Mother House in Kaiserswerth. At first they also joined the Kaiserswerth Conference; but they severed their connec- tion with the same in the eighties. This separation may be due to the Back-to-Eome Movement in the High Church. Unfortunately in all English institutions the curse of social rank was not broken. As many Sisters of the Sisterhood, so also many deaconesses of the Diocesan Institutions belong to the nobility, and as frequently great wealth is at their disposal they usually sujiport 182 History of the Deaconess Movement. themselves, thus gaining many privileges for themselves. For example, they are frequently granted the privilege of living in their OAvn homes and yet wearing the dea- coness garb. Upon entering the institution the deacon- esses receive a gray dress with a leather girdle, a white hood, a black hat, and a long veil. When the term of their probation has elapsed they receive a blue dress, and, on a chord that hangs about their neck, they wear a black ebony cross set in gold. Their sphere of labor embraces parish work, nursing, visiting from house to house among the poor, visiting prisons, conducting midnight missions, directing manual training schools, kindergartens, Sunday-- schools, meetings for mothers, Bible study, orphanages, houses of refuge, and in general beneficent work in all branches open to woman. Although the first Diocesan Deaconess Institution was founded in 1861, the movement did not receive the full support of the Established Church before 1871. In that year the rules and principles were laid down by which, since then, all institutions have been governed. From that time this subject came up regularly in all meetings of the bishops. No one exerted a greater influence than Dean Howson. The end he strove for was the embodi- ment of the Deaconess Cause in the Church organism, which end, to his great satisfaction, was realized before his death (1884). In regard to the embodiment of the Deaconess Cause in the Church organism, the training and consecration of deaconesses, the care exercised over them by the Church, their employment, and their sup- port, the Anglican Church is inferior to none. There the office of deaconess has come to be an auxiliary pastorate in the fullest sense of the term. The only parallel in modern times is to be found in the Deaconess Work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. In England and Scotland. 18S The following is a brief summary of the existing Di- ocesan Institutions : 1. St. Andrew's Deaconess Institution in West London. Founded by Bishop Tait in 1861. Twenty-five deaconesses. 3. The Ely Diocesan Institu- tion in Bedford. Founded by Bishop Harold Browne in 1869. Four deaconesses. 3. The Broughton Home in Chester. Founded by Bishop Jacobson in 1869. Six dea- conesses. 4. The institution in Salisbury. Founded by Bishop Moberly in 1875. Eight deaconesses. 5. The St. Andrew's Home in Portsmouth. Founded by Bishop Harold Browne in 1879. Twenty-three deaconesses. This institution has a Sisterhood proper, and a training-school for deaconesses. Lay Sisters are also trained here; i. e., such young women as do not wish to become deaconesses. The deaconesses of this institution must take the three- fold vow customary in the Sisterhood, and the vow must be renewed annually. 6. All-Saints Institution in South Hackney, X. E. Founded by Bishop Walsham How in 1880. Eighteen deaconesses. Here the deaconesses are restricted exclusively to parish work. 7. The Xorth Side Institution, Clapham Common, S. W., in the Diocese of Rochester. Founded by Bishop Thorold in 1887. Twenty deaconesses. This institution is a training-school for parish deaconesses, and serves as a Rest Home for Sisters that are in need of rest. All consecrated deaconesses are stationed in outside parishes. 8. The St. Andrew's Insti- tute in Exeter. Founded by Bishop Bickersteth in 1890. Three deaconesses. 9. The Llandaff Diocesan Deaconess Institute in Penarth. Founded by Bishop Lewis in 1893. Three deaconesses. Besides these, there are Deaconess Institutions in Lichfield, Durham, and Worcester. The sum total of all active consecrated deaconesses in these institutions is one hundred and twenty-five. 1S4 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess House in Tottenham, London. Tottenham is a suburb of London, and there the only Mother House in England is situated that belongs to the Kaiserswerth Conference. The founder and first super- intendent of this institution. Dr. Michael Laseron, was a German. Born in Koenigsberg as the child of Jewish parents who died while he was still young, he became acquainted with the Christian religion in his seventeenth year, and, after being soundly converted, was sent to Lon- don by Chris- tian friends, t ) be educated in the College for Jewish Mis- sions. Later he studied medicine, and became a noted and successful physician. In 1855 his only child died, and, following the wish of his like-minded wife, he erected a Home for children, which had a prosperous growth, and in a short time harbored one hundred and twenty children. Frequent urgent requests being re- ceived for nurses, Dr. Laseron founded a small hospital with twelve beds. Being acquainted with the Kaisers- werth Deaconess Institution, he decided to found an institution in London based on similar principles and for like purposes. After much thought and prayer he presented his plan to Mr. Samuel Morley (1877). Mr. Morley donated $35,000 for a Mother House, his brother . 1 ^ jh ^^^ "^H ^K - -St tef'*~^^ ^^ Je^ ■ w^ ' 'B ^M M -f ^s"™* '-'"''■• B w m Deaconess Home in Tottenham, London. In England and Scotland. 185 added $15,000, and in a short time $20,000 more had been contributed by other Christian friends. Mr. Laseron now bought four acres of land, and erected a Deaconess Institution and HospitaL The first Sister entering upon the work here was from the Deaconess Home "Beth- anien" in Berlin, and a Sister trained in Kaiserswerth was head deaconess. The Kaiserswerth institution was the founder's model as regards government, garb, rules and regulations, training, support, etc. The institution prospered, and house after house had to be erected. The deaconesses trained here superintend many other hos- pitals in England, Ireland, Scotland, and even in Pales- tine and the distant Sierra Leone in Africa. Besides doing private nursing and nursing in hospitals, the dea- conesses conduct various missions among factory girls, a school for servants, an orphanage, a home for girls, numerous night schools, sewing schools, kindergartens, and the like. The Sisters also conduct meetings among the working classes, special meetings for the police, for letter-carriers, and are generally active among all classes of people. Dr. Laseron, who unfortunately died too soon, was very diligent in the training of the deaconesses. He trained noble characters, and the in- stitution bears the stamp of true piety and noble broad- mindedness. Dr. Laseron's last testimony was, "The Lord hath done great things for us, and hath blessed the work of our hands.'' The number of deaconesses was never large, but after Dr. Laseron's death it de- creased from seventy-five to fifty, and the number of branch stations from sixteen to eight. The new hos- pital is fitted out with modern equipments, and around it are grouped the numerous institutions superintended by the deaconesses. The institution is prosperous at present. 186 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Institution in Mildmay, London. The founder of this institution, Rev. William Penne- father, was a clergyman of the Established Church of England. His s_ympathetic heart, his liberality, and his desire to mitigate the suffering of others, led him into huts of misery and made him thoroughly acquainted with the needs of the low- est and most miserable in the slums of London. A small institution founded by him m Barnet, in the year 1860, was the begin- ning of the Mildmay Dea- coness Institution, which has now grown to great dimensions and fame. He had realized that, if any lasting good should come to the poorer classes, it must come through the ac- tivity of Christian women. In the execution of his plan, however, he met with great prejudices and strong opposition. But his courage increased with the diffi- culties, and when, in 1864, he moved from Barnet, where up to that time he had been rector of Christ Church, to Mildmay Park, where he had accepted the call of a large and influential congregation, new doors were opened to him, and from the small beginning at Barnet a Dea- coness Mother House resulted, that in a short time was the center of an extensive system of Christian benefi- cence. Although a clergyman of the Church of Eng- Rev. Wm. Pennefather, D. D., London. Ix EXGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 187 land and acquainted with the Kaiserswerth institutions, he soon lost sight of the definite aim of a Church office, which the institutions on the Continent, and especially the Diocesan Institutions in England, sought to realize, and was more and more governed by the great thought of an alliance which the renowned Mildmay Conference, organized by him, represented. He ignored denomina- tional distinctions, and received deaconesses from the various Protestant denominations into the Union. The Mildmay deaconesses wear a black garb, with a small hat and long veil. After a probation of five years they are solemnly consecrated, but without the imposition of hands. The Established Church does not recognize these deaconesses, because they are not installed ii> office by the bishops through the laying on of hands. They do not take a vow, and can at any time withdraw upon three months^ notice. Nevertheless, when they are re- ceived, they are expected to consider this their life-call- ing. Subsequently, Dr. Pennefather called the Sisters "deaconesses," and his broad catholicity is expressed in the following words, addressed to them: "Hold fellow- ship with all workers in the kingdom of God, even if they do not labor in that portion of the vineyard in which you are placed." The Mildmay deaconesses are known in London, and their services are much desired. In Mildmay there has arisen an extensive complex of houses, and the following institutions are situated there amid lovely surroundings: 1. The Deaconess Mother House. To this all the deaconesses who in the mornino- go out to work in the various parts of the city must return in the evening. Here their welfare and future support has been j^rovided for in the best possible man- ner. Close by is the Tabernacle (Conference Hall), seat- ing three thousand persons, which was erected for the 188 History of the Deaconess Movement. Mildmay Conference, and in which annually pastors and workers in the kingdom of God assemble from all parts of the world. The large basement of this building, with its immense apartments, is used for various purposes of the institution. During the winter months a night school is conducted here with fifty different classes. Here is the circulating library and the headquarters of the flower-mission, from which forty thousand to fifty thousand bouquets are annually sent to the sick and the poor. Every bouquet is accompanied by a passage of Scripture. When no flowers are to be had, the dea- conesses take fruit, cake, tea, or small vials of lavender- water to the sick. Here Bible-classes are conducted on Sundays for men, women, and children. Adjoining the Conference hall is the Cottage Hospital, in which the deaconesses are trained in nursing. There is the Pro- bation House, and near by the Junior Deaconess Home. Besides the Mother House there is another building, which serves as a training-school for those deaconesses who wish to devote themselves to the work in heathen lands. The Pennefather Memorial Home, erected a few years ago in memory of the founder of the Mildmay Institu- tion, serves as a home for aged workers, who have sacri- ficed their lives in the service of suffering humanity. Besides these, there is the Nursing Home, in which the deaconesses reside who nurse in private families. Since Mildmay also trains persons for service in the kingdom of God who do not wish to become deaconesses, Dr. Pennefather erected a separate Home, called "The Wil- lows.^^ Such persons receive the same training as dea- conesses, but are not permitted to wear the deaconess garb. Besides the institutions mentioned, there are in Mildmay a Home for convalescents, a Home for chil- dren, an inn for servant girls, and other institutions of Ik England and Scotland. 189 this kind. The free and joyous sjDirit here reminds the visitor of home, and only eternity can reveal the sum total of the blessings proceeding from this place. From Mildmay our way leads to Bethnal Green, where the Mission Hospital is situated. In connection with this a free dispensary has been fitted up, in which about two hundred patients receive medicine and med- ical advice daily. Before the physicians and deaconesses begin work, brief devotional exercises are held with the large number of the poor and suifering. This hospital itself is a five-story building, situated in one of the poorest parts of London. Not only the sick are treated here, but the poorest also receive food and clothing, as far as the means make it possible. In Barnet there is a home for convalescents, and on Trinity Street a refuge has been opened for ruined girls. In Brighton there is a Home for poor convalescents, and in Newton Green there is an infirmary. Simply defined, the Dea- coness Work in Mildmay is threefold — mission work, medical work, and work in foreign lands. To support all the training, teaching, mission, medical, nursing, and foreign work in connection with Mildmay, some i25,000 per annum is needed. To meet this, there is very earnest effort on the part of the Mildmay workers themselves. None can know as they do how God honors the ministry of Mildmay by bringing souls out of the thralldom of Satan and enlarging the desire of God's children to learn more of his will through the Word of God. Every worker who has the means pays into Mildmay's exchequer the cost of her own maintenance, and in some cases more than this sum is added in donations. There are others who have made it their special object to work for Mild- may's funds through a trade effort; conspicuously the Illumination Department stands out first through the 190 History of the Deaconess Movement. untiring zeal of Miss E. St. B. Holland and those asso- ciated with her. The method of the Mildmay Institution is very elastic^ and the sphere of lahor is more varied than in any other institution in the United Kingdom. These in- stitutions, as well as those of the Wesleyan Chu,rch in England, Pastor Theodore Schaefer has in mind when he says in his ^'Geschichte der Weiblichen Diakonie:" "They cultivate certain phases of the Diaconate, but they lack the Scriptural and historical foundation, as well as the definite aim of Church office, found in the Continental institutions." The difference between these and the Diocesan Institutions is great; nevertheless, each can learn from the other. The Mildmay Institution has stations on the islands of Malta and Jamacia, and a medical mission in Hebron, Palestine. The total annual expenditure is one hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars. At least half of this amount is received through voluntary contributions. A considerable income is received from the sale of Bible- texts and illustrated cards for Church festivals. Colonel J. F. Morton is superintendent and treasurer of the institution, and the monthly, published in the in- terest of the Mildmay mission, is entitled Service for the Ki7ig* * Mr. Pennefather died at the age of fifty-seven, physicaUy worn and shattered with constant care and toil, but at the very zenith of his use- fulness and influence. He was pre-eminently a man of love. Such was his natural amiability that none could know him without loving him; but to this he added the aggressive power of true Christian charity. Completely devoted to his Master's service, blessed with a wonderfully childlike faith, and possessing a habit of constant prayer, the man's whole life was a perpetual sermon, which spoke to the heart much more forcibly than any words. His work is left as a legacy to the Church of God, and up to the present time it has been graciously sus- tained. Mr. Pennefather's remains were laid In the little country churchyard of Ridge, near Barnet, amidst the tears of grateful hun- dreds, to whom his memory is blessed. Ix England and Scotland. 191 The Institutions of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. The Wesleyan Church in England has been inter- ested in the Deaconess Cause since 1888. The work of the Sisters is similar to that of the deaconesses in the Mildmay institutions. The institutions of the Wesleyan Church also lack the definite aim of Church otTice pur- sued on the Continent; but they do deaconess work in the fullest sense of the term. From the beginning the Sisters were employed in the following ways: 1. In the education of children, as well as in the superintendency of orphanages, asylums, kindergartens, and the like; 2. In nursing the sick; 3. In home and foreign mission work. In 1903 the Wesleyan Conference formally adopted the Wesley Deaconess Institutions as a part of its own organism. That there has been a lack of uni- form system is shown by the different kinds of organiza- tions: 1. Many Churches and districts have secured the services of consecrated and talented women who are not connected with any organized society, but neverthe- less are active as deaconesses in city missions. They wear a peculiar garb, are called Sisters, and receive a small remuneration for their services. Sisters having means serve free of charge. 2. In connection with the London West Central Mission, Rev. Hugh Price Hughes and his distinguished assistant. Rev. Mark Guy Pearse, organized the society of the Sisterhood. These "Sisters of the People," as they are called, work in city missions ex- clusively, and as they are members of the Board of Di- rectors their position is semi-official. 3. The Wesleyan Deaconess Institution has two training-schools in Eng- land and various branch stations in other countries. These organizations merit brief mention here. 192 History of the Deaconess Movement. Tlie Sisterhood was organized by Kev. Hugh Price Hughes in West London in 1888. This talented min- ister, who was known beyond the bounds of his Father- hind, realized early that little could be accomplished among the poor and in the slums of the great city with- out the co-operation of devoted women. The idea of such a Sisterhood was first conceived as Mrs. Hughes, the talented wife of Eev. Hugh Price Hughes, and one of her girl friends were talking, one even- ing, many years ago, about Mazzini, who was so successful in inspiring the enthusi- asm and devotion of the nobles of Young Italy. With the stand- ard that triumphed for a few glorious months in 1891, and which bore the legend, ^Tor God and the People," the Sisterhood is closely bound up. Observing what was being done by ladies in the Roman Catholic Church at one end of the scale, and by the enthusiastic and self-denying w^omen officers of the Salvation Army at the other, Mrs. Hughes saw that among the educated women of the Evangelical Churches there was a great unused force, and she was impressed with the belief that if only equal opportunity were given them they would show as much earnestness and en- r^'^ -"* vm- - ^ - -''^^li^ w^^W^ ■B Rev. Hugh Price Hughes. Ix EXGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 193 thiisiasm as any Roman Catholic Sister or Salvationist officer. Mrs. Hughes felt, moreover, that a definitely and well organized community could accomplish what to individual workers was impossible, especially in large centers of population. Three great principles seem to have actuated her in the development of this invaluable and most successful agency. The -first is, that the Sisterhood afi'ords a sphere for refined, educated women, who, with their superior priv- ileges and wider outlook, can accomplish work and exert an influence impossible to those who have had no such advantages. The more gifted and cultured a woman is, supposing her, of course, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, the more successful and efficient she is in the work of the Sisterhood. The best qualified women are those who are endowed physically and mentally, as well as spir- itually. Education, culture, refinement, with every charm and grace of womanhood, only serve to enhance the power of service when these gifts are laid at the feet of Him •who gave them. The second principle is, that the Sisters are allowed opportunity to devote themselves to work for which they have special aptitude. They are per- fectly free, and are trusted absolutely. If they are not worthy of confidence they are unfit for the Sisterhood. The third principle is, that they are emphatically Sisters of the People. Unlike the Sisters of some other institu- tions, they are always accessible. The following extract from a book* recently pub- lished indicates the work of the Sisters of the People: "The amazement of the leading London journals, when, a few years ago, Mr. Arthur Sherwell published his volume on 'Life in West London,' was a striking *''HuKh Price Hughes," by J.Gregory Mantle. New York: Eaton & Mains. 13 194 HlSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. illustration of the proverbial statement that Londoners do not know London. In the district next to the richest in the world, Lazarus still lies at the doorstep of Dives and receives nothing more than the crumbs which fall from his table, and sometimes not even those. Within a stone's-throw of the palaces of the princely are the hovels and fever-dens of the starving. Here you find every shade and variety of life, from the highest to the lowest; the extremes. of wealth and the extremes of pov- erty. Here are to be found every variety, too, of creed, language, and race — Kussians, Poles, Swedes, Nor- wegians, Danes, Dutch, Belgians, French, Germans, Aus- trians, Hungarians, Swiss, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Jews, Greeks, Servians, Eoumanians, Turks, Persians, Chinese, Africans, and Americans. "That trinity of evil — intemperance, impurity, and gambling — holds high court in the West Center of Lon- don. It is strange that the very district where Parlia- ment sits should be known as the plague-spot of the Em- pire. Every night Piccadilly witnesses scenes of shame- less vice, the awfulness and hideousness of which are beyond all power of description. Boundless wealth, luxury, and vice prey upon weakness, misery, and inno- cence; and the weak, the unfortunate, and the helpless drift down lower and ever lower, with few to care, few to pity, and fewer still to help. The increasing shame- lessness of West End vice was clearly evidenced in an interview with the Vicar of St. Martins-in-the-Fields in London. He said that no respectable woman or girl shopping in Eegent Street cares now to remain there much after four o'clock." "Mr. Hughes once said : ^West London is the head- quarters of everything that is cruel and wicked and diabolical in the English-speaking world. It is the center In England and Scotland. 195 from wkich the poison of deadly sin radiates to every city, town, and village in the land. No one who knows West London can doubt that the work of Christianity is more arduous here than anywhere else in this redeemed world. Two thousand years ago St. Paul realized that the strategic point, the fateful spot, was Rome; now it is London. For weal or for woe, the future of the British Empire, and to a great extent the future of the human race, depends upon London, and London depends upon West London. There is scarcely a Christian family in the land which does not at some time or other send a son or a daughter there, and if these innocent children of Christian homes fall in London — as thousands as in- nocent as they have fallen, and are continually falling — they will not fall in the north, nor in the east, nor in the south of London, but in the west.' "These Sisters of the People, who spend their days among the poor and needy, and some of them their nights amidst the sinful, can tell terrible stories of tragedy and agony under the glare of the electric light, and be- hind the mask of wild scenes of license and revelry. They say it is only as they get into personal touch with the hapless victims who throng the streets of this Vanity Fair that they have any conception of their temptations, or of the miserable hearts which so many carry about under all their superficial appearances of finery and frivolity. Nor has one any conception of the subtlety of the Satanic agencies which are at work to entrap the unwary, and hold them fast when once entrapped." In 1888, Hugh Price Hughes rented a house in the vicinity of the British Museum, and called it "Catherine Home," in honor of his wife. There was- room in it for twelve Sisters; but it soon (1891) was too small, and the institution was removed to larger quarters in Viceroy 196 History of the Deaconess Movement. Square. There the institution still is, and forms the center of extensive and successful city mission work. The Sisters visit from house to house, conduct kinder- gartens, meetings for mothers, play-hours for children, and several nurseries, superintend an inn for servant girls and a labor bureau, and founded an aid society, in which the poor and poorest may safely deposit their savings. In the notorious quarters of Walthamstow they conduct a very prosperous midnight mission. They con- duct clubs for boys and girls, temperance societies, and young people's organizations of all kinds. The newest experiment is, that two Sisters have rented a flat of five rooms in the slums. There they attend to their simple home duties, and give the people object-lessons in prac- tical housekeeping. They show how, with little means, a small household can be kept clean and cheerful. Poor women and their children are frequently invited to a meal, and in that Avay the most intimate relation possible is established between the Sisters and the poor classes. Other Sisters are at the head of the Sheen Society. This society collects all kinds of clothes, new or worn, and distributes them among needy persons. Each member must furnish one piece of clothing at least once in three months. When every organized branch of work has been fully described there yet remains a mass of untabulated work which can not be labeled, but which comes from all sorts of unexpected quarters and unexj^ected per- sons. "We have entered into the lives of those who live in the shops, in the squares, and in the slums of West London,'' says one of the Sisters of the People. "We have fought in individual lives, drink, cruelty, impurity, and infidelity in its lowest form; and what, perhaps, is even worse, selfishness, callousness, ignorance, and lux- In England and Scotland. 197 ury; we have given a voice to the dumh. We have come into the homes of the poor quietly and naturally, and the kinship we claim has been silently, unconsciously, accepted. We know the inside of the workhouse, hos- pital, prison, and police court; we have tasted the bitter cup. We have carried little children in our arms, we have nursed the sick, and watched by the dying, and comforted the grief-stricken. We have lifted up the fallen or the trodden-down, and have fought the battle of the weak. We have gathered the girls and the boys, the young men and women, with us as we went on, and have shared our thoughts, our education, our best joys with them. We have seen Christ in every one, however wicked and degraded. We have felt ourselves one with every victim of social injustice and wrong, we have borne their griefs and carried their sorrows, and their iron has entered into our soul. We have kept our faith — in man, in God. Have we justified our existence?" Rev. Hugh Price Hughes preferred the name "Sister," and up to the present time the use of the term "deaconess" has been avoided. The Sisters are called by their Chris- tian names, as is also the case in Germany — Sister Hulda, Sister Clara, etc. The rules and the garb are similar to those of the Established Church, and the Sisters also receive thorough training for their profession. The Rest Home is in Bisley. Especially noteworthy is the rescue work of the Sisters in the slums and destitute parts of West London. Rev. Hughes died in November, 1902, and at his request these words were placed on his tombstone: "Thou, 0 Christ, art all I want." In East London there are fifteen women min- istering to the poor, the outcast, the sick, and the lost. At the Bermondsey Settlement, Miss Simmons has four- teen women residents. Mr. and Mrs. Champness have 198 History of the Deaconess Movement. their Joyful News evangelists. Sisterhoods are organized in Central London, Manchester, Leeds, and other places. The Wesleyan Deaconess Institution was founded in 1890 by Eev. T. B. Stevenson, D. D., in connection with his orphanage, which is surpassed in size and importance only by those founded m Bristol by George Mueller. Dr. Steven- son is superintendent of a Deaconess Home, and also has charge of a congregation in Ilkley. He is justly most prominent min- considered one of the isters of the Wes- lej^an C h u r c h, and along the line of prac- tical charity he has ac- complished as much as Rev. Hugh Price Hughes. This Dea- coness Institution has two training - schools, Newburn Home in London (84 Bonner Road, N. E.), and Calvert Home, in Leicester (20 Highfield Street). Those Sisters who have been consecrated are stationed in all parts of England in the circuits of the various districts, and are chiefly em- ployed in parish work. There are branch stations in South Africa, New Zealand, and Ceylon. During their twelve months of probation the deaconesses receive thorough theoretical instruction, and at the same time Rev. Dr. T. B. Stevenson. Ix England and Scotland. 199 practical training in city mission work. As there are no hospitals in connection with the training-schools^, the Sisters receive their practical training in hospital work in a city hospital. After a year in the training-school they spend another year in practical work or in a hos- pital, and after two years of probation they are solemnly installed in office. The rules and regulations are not essentially different from those of the institutions of the Church of England. At present the Institution has fifteen student probationers and seventy consecrated Sisters, who are employed in the institutions and branch stations mentioned and in forty-five different circuits and districts. The following paragraphs are taken from the annual report of the Wesleyan Deaconess Institution: "^'What is a Wesley Deaconess? One who belongs to the Order so called, governed by the Council, and sanc- tioned by the Wesleyan Methodist Church. But her work is not sectarian, and she may, by arrangement, serve other than Methodist Churches. "For what does the Order exist ? To supply qualified and devoted women-workers to towns, villages, missions, circuits, or Churches, either in the United Kingdom or abroad. "What advantage has a Wesley Deaconess over a woman-worker independently engaged by any Church or person? The average deaconess has, as compared with the average worker independently found and engaged, the following amongst other advantages: "1. She is carefully tested before she begins her pro- bation, and during a year's residence under skilled super- vision. "2. She is trained by twelve months^ residence in one of our Deaconess Houses. 200 History of the Deaconess Movement. "3. She passes through a special course of instruc- tion in medical nursing. "4. She receives special teaching in Biblical and theo- logical studies. "5. She is specially introduced to various methods of Christian work. "6. She is trained and tried by actual experiment in the kind of work she will afterwards do. "7. She gives herself to the work, not for the sake of employment, but from a sense of divine vocation, and the reality of this is tested by her two years' probation. "8. After her residence of one year in the Training Home, she spends a year in actual work — that she may be more fully tested. "9. At the end of her two years' probation, she is set apart to her work in a solemn consecration service, which impresses upon her and others the importance and obligation of her work. "10. She can be removed from one appointment to another, as the circumstances of the case may require. The authorities who employ her are therefore able to seek a change without considering that she may perhaps be left without employment; and she can ask for a change, if she feels that her sphere is uncongenial, or that her mission there is accomplished. '^11. She meets yearly, in Convocation, her Sisters from all parts of the field, and is refreshed and stimu- lated in spirit thereby. "13. She has an influence and position which arises out of her connection with an organized body of dea- conesses, sanctioned by the Church. "What is her relation to the Church, or Circuit, or Mission employing her? So far as her work is concerned, she is under the direction of the local authority only. In England and Scotland. 201 "How is she supported ? The Institute meets all her needs: and receives from the locality an agreed amount in consideration of her services. "What does she receive? A few are able to support themselves, wholly or partly. Some live in Deaconess Houses, where board and lodging are provided, and an allowance is made for other expenses. Others receive from the Council an alloM^ance to cover the cost of board and lodging, as well as other necessary expenses. "What becomes of her when she is old or infirm ? The Superannuation Fund provides a small but adequate al- lowance for those who have completed their term of service. "What is her work ? Anything that the cause of Christ and the poor demand. She is nurse, teacher, vis- itor, even preacher when necessary. She is a helper in all sorrow, and a rescuer from all sin. Her work varies in almost every locality. "'What is her sphere? John Wesley's parish — the world. Wesley deaconesses are already at work in Eng- land, Scotland, Ireland; in South Africa, in Ceylon, and in New Zealand. It is hoped and believed that they will find work also in India, in China, and 'in the uttermost parts of the world.' " The Deaconess Cause in Scotland. During his stay in England (1846), Pastor Theodore riiedner visited Edinburgh, Scotland, in order to form the acquaintance of the renowned Scotch minister, Dr. Chalmers. At that time his plans for the founding of a Deaconess Institution did not mature, but in 1886 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland took the matter in hand, and in 1887 the Deaconess Institution in Edinburo^h was established. The head deaconess had 202 History of the Deaconess Movement. been trained in the London Mother House. The Gen- eral Assembly of the Church of Scotland adopted rules bearing on the admission, training, garb, and support of the deaconesses, and on December 9, 1888, the first deaconess was solemnly installed in office. The garb, training, and regulations are not essentially different from those of the Mother Houses .in England. It is noteworthy that here, from the very beginning, the Dea- coness Work was em- bodied in the Church organism ; and whereas the institutions on the European Continent were for the greater part founded by de- vout and influential individuals, the found- ing of the Mother Houses in Scotland proceeded from the legislative body of the Church of Scotland. It is singular that in the same year (May 18, 1888) the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States adopted similar measures, bringing the Deaconess Work into organic union with the Church. The property of the Deaconess Institution in Edin- burgh was secured in 1893 at the price of $11,500. The St. Ninian's Mission House is connected with the Sisters' Home, and contains a schoolroom, a chapel, a kinder- garten, and other departments necessary for extensive mission work. Adjoining this Mission House is the Dea- coness Hosnital, in which the Sisters are trained in nurs- Deaconess Home in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rev. Archibald Hamilton Charteris, D. D, 204 History of the Deaconess Movement. ing. It was erected in 1894, costing $18,000, and was considerably enlarged in 1897. At present there is room for twenty-eight beds. The annual expenses are $7,500. Two hundred dollars will endow a bed for one year, and sixteen beds are provided for annually by in- dividual gifts to this amount. At present the insti- tution has three buildings, and is free from all in- debtedness. Twenty-six deaconesses have been conse- crated, of whom six are employed in foreign mission- fields. The remainder are employed in the hospital, in parish work, in private nursing, in the St. Ninian's Mis- sion Institution, and in the orphanage founded a short time ago. The greatest services in the founding of the institution was rendered by the well-known Scotch minister, Kev. Archibald Hamilton Charteris, D. D. He w^as born in 1835, the son of a schoolmaster. At the age of twenty he was graduated from Edinburgh Uni- versity, and entered the pastorate in 1858. As the biographer of Dr. James Robertson, the renowned Pro- fessor of Church History, he became more widely known. In 1868 he accepted a call as Professor of Biblical Criti- cism in Edinburgh University, and there wrote a number of theological works that have made himi renowned. As founder and president of the Christian Life and Work Committee he has rendered the Church of Scotland val- uable service. This society gave the impulse to the founding of the Young Men's Guild, the Woman's Guild, and the Deaconess Institution. These organizations have proven a wonderful inspiration for renewed activity in the Scotch Church. Dr. Charteris gives the following account of the move- ment in the Church of Scotland: "Regarding the scheme for the organization of woman's work as a pyramid, whose broad base is the In Exglaxd and Scotland. 205 Woman's Guild, we see it tapering up through Guild leaders and associates to the deaconesses, who give their whole time and strength to the service of Christ in his Church. We have been fortunate in our deaconesses. Many of them are dedicating their time and their means to the work of their order; and all of them are working with whole-hearted devotedness. They have already out- lived objections, indifference, and misconstruction; and some earnest friends are now desirous to extend the order and to erect new institutions like the first Mother House, which was founded in Edinburgh. We advocated from the first similar institutions in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and some other large towns, and even tried to found one in Glasgow; but the time had not then come. I rejoice to think that it is now coming near in several of our cities. "The Deaconess House in Edinburgh has accommo- dation for eleven probationers, and we may say it has. been always full since it was first opened. It has largely owed its continuous success to the deaconess superintend- ent. Miss A. M. Maxwell, D. C. S., efficiently aided as she has been by Miss Mary Lamond, D. C. S. As the work proceeded it was found necessary to provide means of training our probationers in sick-nursing, and the Dea- coness Hospital was the natural result. Since the day it was projected that hospital has been a great joy and delight. Friends have come to its support. Every on- ward step has been made easy. The poor of our mission district, and sufferers in many other places, some of them in remote country parishes, have found rest, comfort, and a cure in the wards. A^ery many have testified of their own accord to spiritual benefit received through the af- fectionate ministrations of the Christian nurses. Miss Ella Pirrie, D. C. S., has been deaconess superintendent from the first. Under her superintendence Miss Paton, 20 C History of the Deaconess Movement. D. C. S., one of our own trained nurses, began some years ago the long-contemplated training in district nursing, and with it our system is in theory pretty complete. ^^A large addition to the hospital was lately opened. Our nurses had not suitable rooms for themselves till then. It is superfluous to add that the new building, like the old, was opened without debt. During 1898 the in- crease of expenditure in the hospital, made necessary by the extension of the building, gave some anxiety to the Board of Management; but as soon as our increased needs were explained to the Church and the public, the contri- butions were increased, and the year ended, like its prede- cessors, with a surplus in the treasurer's hands. Our ex- perience in the end of 1900 was the same. An increasing pressure has come upon us to enlarge the hospital, so as to have forty beds, and thus be able to give a technically qualifying certificate to our probationers when their course with us is finished. The Royal British dissociation for Nurses, founded since our hospital was built, has made forty beds indispensable for any hospital wishing to give such a certificate. It is hard upon our thoroughly trained probationers that they can not leave us with a diploma; and we find that many who would fain come to us and stay with us are compelled to go elsewhere for their training. We are thus unable to train our own upper or staif nurses; for only certified nurses can l)e put in charge of the wards over the probationers. It is easy to see how this affects all our work, and causes much trouble. "We hoped that we should never need to enlarge the Deaconess Hospital. The Eoyal Association, however, has changed the whole case ; and the Hospital Board have no choice but to enlarge, unless they accept a permanently subordinate and demeaning position for our beloved hos- In England and Scotland. 207 pital. Quite recently and opportunely some property ad- joining the St. Ninian's Mission House has been offered for sale, and at the time we write the Board are anxiously considering whether it can be acquired at a reasonable price, and serve as a site for the unavoidable enlargement. We believe that when we explain our whole case to our kind friends who have so generously supported us hith- erto, they will enable us to meet this new and unexpected necessity also.'' This necessity has since been met. It is proposed to found Deaconess Institutions in all the larger cities of Scotland, and thereby to spread a net- work of Christian charity over the entire country. CHAPTEE VII. DEACONESS INSTITUTIONS IN OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. As EVEKY nation has its own character and in every country the Church assumes a different form, so also does the Deaconess Cause bear a distinctive cast in different countries. The Mother House at Kaiserswerth was gen- erally taken as a pattern, and the rules and regulations adopted by Fliedner were ever3^where accepted in outline, as is plainly seen in the history of the different institu- tions; but we nevertheless meet with the peculiarities of the different Churches and peoples even in the Deaconess Cause. Looked at from this standpoint this chapter offers interesting material for study. The work in France is upon sterile soil as compared to Protestant countries. The Protestants of France are but few in number, and at the beginning of the work some influential Protestants exerted an influence adversely to the good cause. The Deaconess Institutions of Fkance. The oldest Deaconess Institution of Paris owes its origin to Pastor Antoine Yermeil, of the Reformed Church, who, similarly to Fliedner in Kaiserswerth and Haerter in Strassburg, was an instrument in the hand of God for inaugurating the Deaconess Movement in the Protestant Church of France. Antoine Vermeil, a de- scendant of a Huguenot family, was born March 19, 1799, in Nimes. He first chose the study of medicine, but finally turned his attention to theology, and was called to the pastorate of the French congregation in Hamburg 208 In Other European Countries. 209 in the year 1823. A year later he accepted a call to the Reformed Church at Bordeaux, where he labored with good results for sixteen years. He showed great skill and energy in the establishment of several benevolent insti- tutions. He also had the faculty of training others for the work, and of gaining the interest of many people for his plans. In the year 1840 he accepted a call to Paris, where he was destined to succeed in carrying out a long-felt desire of re- newing the office of the diaconate according to primitive Church pat- tern. Before he had passed a year in Paris he decided to execute this purpose. His first letter written with this object in view crossed in trans- mission another letter which was virtually a reply to it; for a Chris- tian friend. Mademoi- selle Malvesin in Bor- pastor antoine vermeil. deaux, to whom he had written, on the same day com- municated her great desire to find an opportunity of de- voting herself entirely to the service of the Savior, who had given himself for her. Shortly before this Elizabeth Fry had formed a society whose members made it their duty to visit the female prisoners in the St. Lazare prison. The president of this society soon found that a place of refuge was necessary for discharged prisoners. She asked Pastor Vermeil for advice, and talked with him about establishing such an asylum, but thought that the chief 14 210 History of the Deaconess Movement. difficulty would be to find a suitable person to take charge of it. She was deeply affected when Pastor Vermeil showed her the letter from his friend, and exclaimed, ^^Now that a deaconess is found, we must begin.^^ They bought a house in the suburb St. Antoine, and furnished it with the assistance of friends. This institution was opened to the public on November 6, 1841. At first Mademoiselle Malvesin was alone. In a few weeks, how- ever, several Sisters joined the movement. The first work attempted was the rescue of fallen women, a part of the building being set apart as a place of refuge for them. A flourishing Deaconess Institution sprang from this Magdalen Asylum. Soon influential friends were won for this work, and through their advice and help a Children's Hospital, and then a Training and Eeform School for Girls, and ultimately a Woman's Hospital, were opened. After four years the building was found to be too small, and Mr. Vermeil succeeded, in a truly marvelous manner, in purchasing a suitable property at No. 95 Reuilly Street, which contained sufficient space for the erection of a grand Central Deaconess Institution for the Evangelical Church of France. The place, containing several acres, was covered with a number of buildings, and the whole was inclosed by a wall. It was offered for sale at 110,000 francs. The Eoman Catholics had their eye on the place, and it seems like a miracle that Pastor Vermeil should have succeeded. In three days he had collected 70,000 francs, with v/hich he made the first payment, and, in the providence of God, the rest was easily managed. Up to the present the principal branches of work have been nursing, the education of children, and the rescue of the fallen. The favor of God and man rested on this work, and the necessary funds came in such abundance that the work could be extended with each year. During the In 'Other Eueopeax Countries. 211 revolutionary period of 1848 the institution struggled against hard times. On account of continued illness, Pastor Vermeil found himself compelled, at the close of the fifties, to withdraw from the control of the institu- tion, he placed it in the hands of Pastor Louis Valette. He fell asleep in Jesus October 8, 1864. With his death the Deaconess Cause lost a warm friend, and a successful and faithful witness for Jesus Christ departed from this life. Pastor Louis Valette was born in the village of Chene- Thonex, on the border of Switzerland, May 24, 1800. As early as his eighth year he visited the school at Ge- neva, and in his eighteenth year he accepted a situation as tutor, which enabled him to assist his widowed mother. In 1827 he was called as pastor to the French congregation at pastok Louis valette. Naples, where he labored with marked success for four- teen years. He returned to France on account of his health, and undertook the pastorate of the Church of the Augsburgian Confession of Faith in Paris. Here he formed an intimate friendship with Vermeil. When Ver- meil was obliged to take a long vacation on account of his health, Valette took charge of the institution, and, upon the retirement of the former, devoted his whole time and energies to the Deaconess Work. Under his very capable leadership the institution received a mighty impulse, and he directed his attention especially to the 212 History of the Deaconess Movement training of deaconesses for parish work. On January 1, 1868, Mademoiselle Malvesin, the superintendent, re- signed, after twenty-six years of activity, with the inten- tion of devoting the rest of her strength to the founding and direction of a Girls' Asylum. In this she was also very successful, but returned to the Mother House two years before she was called, in the eighty-third year of her life, to the rest of the saints above. Her mantle fell on Sister Waller, who had come over from Holland in 1866, and who united in herself all the qualities of a successful superintendent. The years of the Franco- Prussian War (1870-71) were years of especial trial and tribulation for the Dea- c o n e s s Cause in France. The Deaconess Institution is situated in the Faubourg St. Antoine, a constantly MADEMOISELI.E MAI.VESIN. gmolderiug hearth of revolu- tion. During the siege the Sisters remained faithfully at their post. In the school, which lies opposite the Mother House, they established a hospital, where the sick and wounded, without distinction of religious faith, were skill- fully nursed by the deaconesses. Pastor Monod provided an ambulance with all the necessary equipment, which, with two deaconesses, followed the army, and did great service on the battlefields. After peace was restored, funds came in more freely, and it was possible to establish a hospital for women, which was opened to the public in September, 1873. But Pastor Valette was not per- In Other European Countries. 213 mitted to attend the dedication. His health had suffered through the hardships of the campaign and the excite- ment of the siege, and he withdrew from the superin- tendency of the institution in 1872. After a short illness he entered into the rest of the people of God on the twentieth day of October of the same year. Shortly be- fore his death he uttered the words, ^'Everything with Jesus, everything in him, and everything for him.'' Under the inspiration of this motto this faithful servant of God had devoted his life fully and completely to the service of the kingdom of God. The directorship of the institution was now intrusted to the hands of four pastors, of whom two were members of the Reformed and two of the Lutheran Church. Pastor Dhombres replaced Valette as president, and in 1876 Pastor W. Monod was elected as his assistant. This devout and gifted divine remained in the service of the institution until 1901. He withdrew voluntarily in order that younger hands might take up the responsible office. When, in the year 1891, the insti- tution celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, it had the satis- faction of looking back over a record of great usefulness. Its blessed influence was not limited to the great city of Paris, but extended over all France. The institution now has eighty-five deaconesses, and numerous branch houses and spheres of labor in all parts of France. The oldest deaconess, Victoria Duval, who superintends the House for Convalescents in Neuilly, celebrated the fiftieth anni- versary of her own official connection with the work in 1899. The following branch institutions and stations are connected with the Mother House: 1. Branch institu- tions: Woman's Hospital, Christian Kindergarten, Re- formatory for Older Girls, Reformatory for Young Girls, and a Training-school for the Sisters. 2. Fields of Labor: (a) In Paris — Parish nursing (St. Marie and Belleville), 214 History of the Deaconess Movement. Keformed School, Orphan Asylum, House for Con- valescents, Asylum (Frangois Delessert), Men's Hospital (Neuilly-sur-Seine). (b) Outside of Paris — Uzes: Prot- estant Hospital. Mazures: School for Young Girls. Or- leans: Orphan Asylum for Girls. Orthes: Evangelical Asylum. Nanterre: Asylum for Old and Feeble Women. Marseilles : Protestant Hospital. Audincourt : Hospital. Montauban : Orphan Asylum. La Kochelle : Protestant Hospital. Livron: Industrial School. Clermont: Prot- estant Quarter of the Central Home. Cannes: Evangel- ical Asylum. Montanban : Hospital and Asylum for Old Women. Bordeaux: Asylum for Protestant Old Men. Versailles : House for Convalescent Young Boys. Lyons : Asylum for Old Women and Convalescents. Valence: Parish nursing. In the year 1874 a second Deaconess House was founded in Paris by the Lutheran pastor, Felix Kuehne. In this he was assisted by a consecrated deaconess, Miss d'Haussonville. A number of women took part with him in the government and responsibilities of the work. Fre- qnent changes of the directress, as well as removals from rented dwelling-houses, have been a hindering cause to this enterprise. Besides parish Deaconess Work and nurs- ing, the Sisters preside over various institutions. The number of Sisters, however, is comparatively small. The Deaconess Institutions of Switzerland. 1. The Deaconess Home of St. Loup was founded in the year 1842 by Pastor Louis Germond. It was orig- inally opened in Echallens, but transferred to St. Loup in 1852. In consequence of the ecclesiastical disorders which so deeply affected the Church life of Switzerland in the forties, the Deaconess Institution suffered much an- In Other European Countries. 215 tagonism. The hatred of opponents turned against it as "si fortress of Methodism" (I) and twice compelled it to close its doors. In 1848, Germond left his field of labor, in which he had been so greatly blessed, with a sad heart; but when, in the year 1852, he reopened the Home in St. Loup, near the village of La Sarraz, he was again able to look with glad hopefulness into the future. He departed this life September 11, 18G6, and his son. Pastor Henry Germond, who had assisted his father in the superin- -mm Deaconess Home in St. Loup, Switzerland. tendency since 1861, now continued his father's work until he himself, in the year 1881, fell asleep in Jesus. The present rector, Pastor 0. Kau-Yaucher, was the im- mediate successor, and under his leadership the institu- tion has had a prosperous growth, and its benign influence has spread over the whole of French-speaking Switzer- land. The institution to-day numbers one hundred and eighty deaconesses, who are employed in the Mother House as well as in the branch establishments of St. Loup and in fifty-four outlying fields of labor. In the hospital 216 History of the Deaconess Movement. of Lausanne alone thirty-four deaconesses are employed. The institution is known and loved throughout Switzer- land, and every year about two thousand people come together at St. Loup to take part in the glorious gospel services, which are held in the open air. When a Sister is received, she is not asked what Church she belongs to, but whether she has experienced a change of heart, and whether she lives in personal fellowship with the Savior. The picture on the preceding page shows the old house at the left, which is still used as the Mother House. Next to it is the Home of the Probationers, and between them is the parsonage, in which the rector lives. To the right is the Infirmary for Women and Children wath chronic diseases. In front, but not visible on the picture, is the Eest Home for the Deaconesses, and in the background is an Institute for Scrofulous Children. Still farther back the roof of the Agricultural Building can be distin- guished. Lately stations have been founded in Cannes, Turin, and Pinchat near Geneva. The annual disburse- ments amount to about 160,000 francs. 2. The Deaconess Institution in Bern. The first be- ginnings of the founding of this institution reach back to the year 1836. A Woman's Society was organized in this year, w^hose members took upon themselves the duty of visiting the sick and providing for the necessary nurs- ing. The members of the society met every week for consultation and the exchange of experiences. But it was soon apparent that a hospital was needed, as many in- conveniences and abuses w^ere met with when the sick were nursed in their own homes. But now discord arose. Miss Sophia Wurstemberger, of Wittihofen, the most prominent member of the committee of ladies, moved that the control of the whole institution be given to one lady, and that she be held responsible for all its branches. In Other European Countries. 217 The other members of the society were in favor of divid- ing the household into its several branches and placing a lady separately over each, whose duty it should be to look after that part of the institution, without caring for the rest. The first plan was called monarchic, the second constitutional. As it was impossible to reach an agree- ment. Miss Sophia Wurstemberger withdrew, and under- took a long journey (1842). She visited Kaiserswerth and Pastor Fliedner, who, admiring her for her culture and pleased with her deep piety, sought to win her for Kaiserswerth. But she went on to England, and remained for some time in the house of her friend, Elizabeth Fry. Eeturning at last to Switzerland, she firmly resolved to devote the rest of her life to the service of the poor and sick. In the meantime, by resorting to the casting of the lot, her plan of government triumphed, and she was elected to the directorship of the institution. But her parents refused their consent. It was something unheard of that a daughter of the nobility should leave her family, move into an inferior rented dwelling, and, in company with those of obscure social rank, sacrifice her life for the poor and the sick. After a long struggle, she obtained the consent of her parents, but with the positive declara- tion that she need expect no assistance from them. With very little money she undertook the work in a wretched dwelling in the Aarberger Lane. 'The great day will disclose what self-denial she imposed on herself, what dis- tress she endured, and what answers to prayer she experi- enced." After two years the dwelling was too small, and she rented another on the Brunngasse, and in the year 1849 they were able to remove the institution into the Nydecklaube, where the Evangelical Society occupied the upper floors, partly for the book-trade and partly for preaching the Word of God. For eighteen years the in- 218 History of the Deaconess Movement. stitution remained in rented rooms; but in 1862 a house with garden was bought on the Altenberghoehe, and in 1864 a house in the city; in 1865, the adjacent 2Dlace on the Hoehe called Blumenberg; in 1878, the adjoining building in the city; and in 1883, the country-seat Wyler, with one hundred acres of land for agricultural purposes, were purchased. In the year 1876 the institution was incorporated, and in 1878 Sister Sophia, who in the mean- time had become the wife of the well-known "Father of the Deaconess Work," John F. Daendliker, was called to her reward in the full triumph of faith. The Deaconess Home received a new matron on the 17th of February, 1880, in the person of Miss Jennie Schnell (now the widow Daendliker), of Basle. Eev. J. F. Daendliker died on De- cember 7, 1900. He was born in 1821, in Hombrechtikon, on the Lake of Zurich; in the fifties he took charge of the rapidly growing Deaconess Institution and Hospital in Bern. Daendliker's personal appearance was impos- ing; he was a thoroughly original, consecrated character, a philanthropist, and a practical Christian, whose death was deplored in remote circles. The institution to-day has three hundred and fifty deaconesses in seventy-seven different fields of labor, and deaconesses are employed in more than forty hospitals. The annual income is about 200,000 francs. 3. The Deaconess Institution in Neumuenster near Zurich. The origin of this institution takes us back to the fifties. It received its first impulse from a silver penny with the image of Zwingle, which was put in the collection-bag of the church at Neumuenster, along with a little poem in which the hope was expressed that, in the course of time, a Deaconess Home might result from this gift. Antistes Fuessle took up the thought, which had been on his heart for a long time, and persuaded the In Other European Countries. 219 Evangelical Society to carry it out. On March 5, 1857, Anna Sieber, of Neiimuenster, daughter of a family con- nected with Fuessle, went to Riehen to study the organ- ization of the Deaconess Institutions there. In June of the same year the Evangelical Society issued an appeal for subscriptions for the founding of an institution, which was so well received that within a year 54,000 francs were , 3t<, . t -t,,**^^ v" > Deaconess Institution in Neumuenster, Switzerland. contributed, and in November, 1858, the newly-erected Deaconess Institution was ready for dedication. Miss Anna Sieber was installed as Sister Superior, and became widely known as Sister Nanny. The first year was a year of joy; but in the following year death first took away the first superintendent, j\Ir. Antistes Fuessle; then the first treasurer, Mr. Pestalozzi-Hoffmeister; and lastly, in the autumn of the same year, Sister Nanny. In the year 1862 Pastor Flury entered as spiritual adviser. On the eve of the Christmas celebration, in the year 1868, a 220 History of the Deaconess Movement. whole eoimtry-seat in Hottingen, with commodious dwell- ings and a beautiful park, was presented to the Director- ship, for old people of both sexes, for convalescents, and for the recuperation of deaconesses, besides 20,000 francs in cash for the regular work of the institution. The dedi- cation and occupation of the Home for Old People oc- curred June 6, 1869. At its twenty-tifth anniversary the institution could already boast a magnificent group of affiliated institutions and stations. Pastor Flury retired, and Pastor C. Brenner was called to take his place as rector. He still fills this position with great wisdom; but in the last five years he has had the assistance of another clergyman in the person of Mr. Ebinger. The institution has two hundred and thirty-eight deaconesses, of whom one hundred and seventy-eight are, and sixty are not, con- secrated. The institution has four branches and seventy- four fields of labor, as follows: 26 hospitals, with 144 deaconesses; 8 infirmaries and charitable institutions, with 18 deaconesses; 35 parish Nursing Stations, with 40 deaconesses ; 1 Children's Rescue Home, with 7 deacon- esses; 4 lodging-houses for servant-girls. The income for the last year was 242,000 francs. 4. The Deaconess Institution at Eiehen, near Basle, was founded in the year 1852, at the suggestion of the well-known Papa Spittler. The president of the City Council, Mr. Bischoff-Respinger, stood at the head of this institution for twenty years, while for twenty-seven years the head deaconess, Trinetta, was the soul of the Home. The assistant clergyman and fellow-worker. Pastor S. Barth, published a sketch of her life, under the title "^ister Trinetta." In 1876, when the number of deacon- esses had already reached one hundred and twenty, Theo- dore Fliedner, a son of the father of Kaiserswerth, who had been a German pastor in London, was called as rector Ij^ Other European Countries. 221 to Eiehen. But after three years he withdrew, and ac- cepted (1879) the management of the Paul-Gerhardt-Stift in Berlin. But the house is beholden to him for many improvements in its organization. Sister Trinetta died in the same year. So the year 1880 brought not only a new deaconess superintendent, but also a new rector. The latter was found in the person of Pastor Kaegi, who has proven himself to be extremely well adapted for this important post. The whole number of deaconesses is three hundred and thirty-nine. Of these the great ma- jority are employed in eighty-four stations and thirty-five different hospitals. The Deaconess Homes of Holland. There are not only a large number of Mother Houses in Holland, but in no other country has the work so re- markable a previous history. In Holland and England Pastor Fliedner received his first inspiration, of which he himself relates the following : "In June, 1823, I began my collecting tour of fourteen months through Holland and England. The Lord greatly prospered this journey in a temporal way, so that I was enabled to collect quite a large capital. But as he, in his overflowing love, gladly blesses his servants in more than one way, he bestowed on me a much greater spiritual blessing on this journey. In both of these countries I became acquainted with a num- ber of benevolent institutions for both the body and the soul; schools, and educational institutions, poorhouses, orphanages and hospitals, prisons and societies for the improvement of prisoners, Bible societies, Missionary so- cieties, etc., and I noticed at the same time that all these institutions and societies were created and sustained by a living faith in Christ. The perception of the rich re- wards of this faith, and its impulse of love, greatly 222 History of the Deaconess Movement. strengthened my own very weak faith. ... I returned home in August, 1824, filled with admiration and thank- fulness that I had been permitted to see these great mir- acles of evangelical faith, but also with deep shame that we men of Germany had permitted the women so far to outstrip us in Christian charity, and especially that we had cared so little for the prisoners." When Pastor Fliedner visited Holland for the second time in 1827, he became still better acquainted with the Deaconess Work, as it was then conducted, and writes as follows: "In the churches (of the Dutch Mennonites) there are deacon- esses who are elected and controlled by the Official Board of the Church, and whose duty it is to look after the poor of their own sex. They visit the huts of the poor, dis- tribute what clothing they have received, see that the girls find employment as servants, etc. Neither they nor the deacons are paid; they belong to the most respectable families of the Church, and they undertake this work, w^hich requires considerable sacrifice of time, etc., with the greatest readiness. Other Evangelical Confessions ought of right to imitate this praiseworthy and Christian practice." From another source we learn that parish deaconesses were at work in Holland as early as the Reformation, and therefore it is pleasant to know that in Holland the Churches of to-day have not fallen behind their prede- cessors, and that so many large and flourishing institu- tions are to be found, several of which are little inferior to the Mother Houses in Germany. Foremost among them is the Deaconess rnstitution of Utrecht. The Deaconess Mother House of Utrecht. This insti- tution was founded in 1844 by several women. The widow of Zuylen Van Nyevelt, Lady Van Tuyll Yan Scroosker- ken, Lady Van Eeede Van Oudshoorn, and Lady Van Ix Other European Countries. 223 Deaconess Home in Utrecht. Boetzelaer, of Utrecht, organized a Deaconess Society and issued an appeal to Christian women for help. They im- mediately sent two deaconesses to Ivaiserswerth for train- ing. When these returned, in Xovemher, 1844, a little house was ready to be opened as a hospital. The number of Sisters grew rapidly; but in the year 1847, during an epidemic of ty- phoid, three dea- conesses, as well as the physician of the hospital, died, and a number of dea- conesses recovered very slowly. The head deaconess, Mej. A. H. Swel- lengrebel, deserves great credit for long years of faithful service in the institution. In the year 1849 the institution was removed from Breed Strauss to Oude Gracht. and Wij Strauss. This piece of property was looked upon from the start as a desirable location, but it could not be purchased until after the death of the owner. After a few years, how- ever, the house was too small, and, as the means for en- largement were lacking, the deaconesses undertook out of their own means to build an extension, in which they also provided for a roomy chapel. The dedication took place on the 27th of Jul}^, 1856. Another addition was made when two adjacent houses were bought, which were to be used as an isolating barracks, and were called "Little Bethesda.'' In the year 1860 Mej. H. F. De Meij Van Alkemade built a Children's Hospital with her own means, and presided over it with great success, until, in 1873 224 History of the Deaconess Movement. death called her from the scene of her labors. In 1875 a Eest Home for the Deaconesses and an Old Ladies' Evangelical Deaconess Home in The Hac^ue. Home were built on the grounds of the institution. The Bethany Hospital was considerably enlarged in 1889, a clinic, a ward for men, and a number of rooms for the Ix Other European Countries. 225 deaconesses being provided in the extension, and now the hospital is one of the best equipped sanitariums in the Netherlands. The institution has twenty-seven conse- crated deaconesses, forty-three probationers, and twelve on preliminary probation. Countess Anna Von Bylandt Eheydt is head deaconess. The Deaconess Home in The Hague. The origin of this institution is to be traced to the well-known Dr. The Deaconess Home in The Hague. Basting, who, in the year 186J:, published a pamphlet under the caption, "A Voice of Warning for my Father- land.'^ He showed how important it was that competent nurses should be trained in times of peace, in order that they might be ready in ease of war. His appeal was not in vain. Forthwith several ladies made a modest begin- ning, and as early as the following year (1865) a building was purchased and dedicated. The first deaconess super- intendent was Madam D. Bornovo. From the beginning this institution had many influential friends, and the Queen of the Netherlands was its protector and munifi- 15 226 HlSTUKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. cent patroness. The house, which was occupied in 1865, was greatly enlarged in 1870, and seven years later the foundation was laid for a beautiful new building, which was occupied in 18T9. The institution to-day has fifty deaconesses (including the probationers), and five of them are engaged in parish nursing. The annual income is $25,000, and the prin- cipal building, of which a view is given, is a massive struc- ture, with all modern equipments. The management of the institution is almost entirely in the hands of the dea- coness superintendent, who is assisted by several of the older deaconesses and by a committee of ladies. Miss A^an Soeterwoude is the head deaconess, and the clergymen of the institution are Dr. J. G. Knottnerus and Dr. G. A. Rademaker. Besides the Deaconess Institution the Board of Man- agement controls the following establishments: 1. A san- itarium for old ladies and for wornout deaconesses. 2. An isolating station. 3. A Home for the deaconesses who are on preliminary probation. 4. An isolating division for nervous diseases. 5. A Deaconess Home. The Deaconess Home in Haarlem. In the year 1874 Miss A. J. M. Teding Van Berkhout took the first patient into her house, and six years later (1880) a building was erected in the garden of this house for the treatment of epileptics. This institution received the beautiful Scrip- tural name of "Zoar.^^ As the building soon became too small. Miss Teding appealed to a number of Christian friends for help. Thus a society was formed which de- voted itself enthusiastically to this branch of Christian benevolence, and in a few years it had erected three build- ings for epileptic women in Haarlem, and three buildings for epileptic men near by in Heemstede. Pastor L. H. F. Creutzberg was installed as rector of the institution in In Other European Countries. 227 1885. He was soon convinced that deacons were necessary for the care of epileptic men, and in this Pastor Von Bodellschwingh, of Bielefeld, came to his aid nntil a Deacons' Home could be built and a male diaconate pro- vided. The management succeeded in purchasing a beau- tifull}^ situated manor-house "Meer en Bosch/' and fitted it out for the male nurses. Pastor Creutz- berg found himself com- pelled as early as 1890 to re- sign his ofHce on account of his health. His successor was Pastor J. L. Zegers. In the year 1887 Miss A. J. M. Teding Van B e r k h 0 u t founded a "^^^ Dkaconess home in Haarlem. Deaconess Home, the management of which she laid in the hands of a committee, she serving as a member of the committee. Miss Aletta Lamberta Hoog served as the first head deaconess. So prosperous was the work that in the following year the neighboring house was bought and a Children's Home begun. In the year 1889 the number of deaconesses had grown so rapidly that sev- eral of them could be sent to Amsterdam for parish work. This was the beginning of the Deaconess Insti- tution in Amsterdam. In the year 1893 a new hospital 228 History of the Deaconess Movement. building with the latest improvements was erected. In 1894 the organization of a Eescue Home for Fallen Girls was undertaken in Haarlem, and in 1897 the management of the Home for Old People and Incurables in the neigh- boring Hillegom assumed. In this year, also, an isolating barracks was built on the grounds of the institution, which had been enlarged. The management of the in- stitution controls at present numerous buildings, and Deaconess Home in Arnheim. the work has grown in all directions in the most gratify- ing manner. Including the thirty-five probationers, the institution has fifty-six deaconesses. Connected with the hospital, in which five hundred patients have been nursed and one hundred and seventy-one operations performed during the past year, is a clinic. The institution has three buildings in Haarlem — "Bethesda," "Sarepta," and "Shiloh;" also three buildings in Heemstede — "Zoar," "Salem,^' and "Ebenezer.'' Besides this, the deaconesses nurse in several parishes; namely, Hillegom, Beesa, In Other European Countries. 229 Brenkelen, Doom, Nymegen, and Zeist. They also have charge of a summer station in Zandvoort. For several years an interest has been awakened in the Institution for Foreign Missions, and several deaconesses have been sent to the Dutch East Indies. The monthly organ of the institution is "Het Diakonaat.'' The Mother House in Arnheim. The establishment of this institution had its origin with the consistory of the Reformed Church of Arnheim. The Home was opened on the 3d of August, 1884. Mother Johanna Van Ness is the first deaconess superintendent. The management of external affairs is in the hands of a Board of Directors. The house, which originally had room for twenty-four patients, has been enlarged to a capacity of one hundred and forty. The isolating ward lies to the rear of the hospital. Only a short distance away is the Old Ladies^ Home, and near by is the par- sonage, in which several rooms have been fitted up for cripples. In another part of the beautiful grounds is the Eest Home for sick and wornout deaconesses. Fifty- five deaconesses, including the probationers, belong to this institution. Pastor D. Disselhoff, son of the late Dr. Disselhoff, of Kaiserswerth, was for a long time rector of the institution. In September, 1900, he ac- cepted the call as co-rector of Kaisersw^erth, and moved thither. The vacant place was filled in March, 1901, by Pastor A. M. Knotterus. Seven deaconesses are em- ployed as parish nurses in different towns, and one has charge of the Children's Hospital. The queen's mother has been a patroness of the institution since its incep- tion. During the past few years the buildings have been considerably enlarged. The Deaconess Mother House in Groningen was founded in 1888, and has now fifteen deaconesses. To 230 HiSTOEY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. judge from the reports, an extraordinary work has been accomplished in spite of the fact that the number of deaconesses has remained small. For instance, in the past year nearly four hundred patients were nursed and two hundred and forty-seven operations performed. In round numbers the income and disbursements amounted to 20,000 francs. Deaconess Home and Hospital in Amsterdam. The Lutheran Deaconess Mother House in Amster- dam was founded in 1880, and now numbers forty-five deaconesses. The Reformed Deaconess Institution, also in Amsterdam, which was founded in 1891, erected a large Deaconess Home immediately contiguous to its hospital in 1899. The number of deaconesses, includ- ing the probationers, is forty-five. The Deaconess Institution in Rotterdam was founded September 22, 1892, and the first head deaconess. Mevr. Ix Other European Countries. 231 De Wed J. Baljon, was installed on the same day. The organization of this institution is to be traced back to the labors of two parish deaconesses, who had up to that time been employed in Eotterdam. Two ladies, who wished to remain unknown, donated a splendid house for deaconess purposes, and furnished it in the most elab- orate style. Not even a collection was permitted on the day of dedication. All contributions which came un- solicited were used for the endowment of a free bed. The Lutheran Deaconess Home in Amsterdam. Of the seventeen probationary deaconesses, after the lapse of five years, only two were consecrated. In 1896 the institution was considerably enlarged by the erec- tion of a large annex, which contains a ward for male patients, a polyclinic, and a number of rooms for the Sisters. The hospital has room for twenty-seven beds, but is too small for the present requirements. Several Sisters are parish nurses, and others nurse in private families. The Zeeland Deaconess Institution was founded June 13, 1900. A number of pastors met on April 17th, 232 History of the Deaconess Movement. and again June 13th, in Middelburg. At their second meeting they organized a Deaconess Society, and decided to establish an institution. Especial stress was laid on parish work. So far, the number of Sisters is small, but they work with great faithfulness and devotion among the poor fishermen's families, who are very nu- merous in this locality. A number of Deaconess Institutions have been founded lately, but have not yet advanced beyond the first stages; for instance, the Lutheran Deaconess Institution in Zwolle, the Hospital in Scheveningen, the Institutions in Leyden, in Breda, and in Lemoade, and the Best Home in Zeist. In 1866 several Mother Houses in the Netherlands formed a Conference under the title "The United Dea- coness Conference of the Netherlands.'^ The Deaconess Homes of Eussia. Tlie Deaconess Mother House of St. Petershurg, the capital of the Eussian Empire, grew out of the Evangel- ical Hospital, which was founded in 1859. Pastor Theo- dore Schaef er describes its origin as follows : "In a rented frame house, diagonally across from St. Ann's Church, the first Evangelical Hospital found a home. Dr. Karl Von Mayer, a young and devout physician who had studied the Deaconess Cause in Germany, ruled here with a strict hand as physician, but as a director was deeply respected on account of his tireless zeal and warm devotion. His wife, who was especially fitted by previous experience to preside over the internal affairs of the institution, was equally loved and revered. Yet her period of usefulness was limited to two and a half years. She died of consumption, and Sister Angelica Eschholz succeeded her as deaconess superintendent. In In^ Other European Countries. 233 prosperity and adversity Mayer was equally indefatigable in his devotion to the interests of the young institu- tion. His zeal and especial fitness enabled him every- where to gain the public ear, arouse interest, secure funds, and win friends for the good cause. The assistant physician, Dr. T. Von Berg, proved himself eminently fitted for the medical work. The number of patients, and with the amount of work, grew to such an extent -'ly^jM'Mj^ii-tia Dkaooness Home and HospixAii in St. Petersburg. that only the most capable of the Sisterhod, and they only by the most strenuous exertion, were equal to the task. Mayer was aware of the incipient danger which threatened the great cause that lay so near his heart. In the misproportion of hospital w^ork to the available help he saw a proof that if the hospital were given prom- inence at the expense of the Deaconess Cause, the latter would be in danger of extinction. This was a thought he could not tolerate, for his first concern was for the 234 History of the Deaconess Movement. Deaconess Home, and he was fully convinced that even the hospital could not remain as an Evangelical Hospital and fulfill its purpose unless a Deaconess Home were provided. On the 2d of June, 1875, Pastor Kersten was in- stalled as rector; but as the differences between Dr. Ma3^er and the Board of Managers were not yet settled, he found it difficult to maintain his position. After several years he therefore resigned, and accepted a call to the Church of Jesus in St. Petersburg. At last came the inevitable crisis. Dr. Mayer moved, on May 21, 1878, that: "The chief interest shall center in the Deaconess Home, and the Evangelical Hospital shall cease to be an independent institution. It shall be the hospital of the Deaconess Home; the director of the Deaconess Institu- tion shall be the director of the Evangelical Hospital, the deaconess superintendent shall be his assistant. The chief physician may designate the treatment, but not the spirit of the Home.'^ At the same time. Dr. Yon Mayer notified the Board of Managers that his future connection with the institution would depend on their adoption of his resolution. The result was that a reso- lution was adopted placing the hospital and Deaconess Home on a relation of equality to each other. Under the circumstances. Dr. Mayer was bound to withdraw from the directory according to his ow^n declaration. With this it was decided that the two co-ordinate in- stitutions, the hospital and the Deaconess Home, should exist under the same roof. In this respect this institu- tion differs from all other Deaconess Mother Houses in Europe. Dr. Yon Mayer lived only five years after his withdrawal. On the 26th of July, 1883, this meritorious and great philanthropist, who had devoted the best years of his life to this institution, fell asleep in the Lord. Ix Other European Countries. 235 Acting Counselor of State Dr. Otto A^on Gruenewaldt was chosen director of the hospital, and Pastor Nicolai Von Euckteschell as rector. Hospital and Deaconess Home now retained a co-ordinate relation. From the above-mentioned frame building, in which it was begun (1859), the institution was removed to the splendid building, which is shown on page 233, in 1873. This is a Gothic brick structure, an ornament of the imperial city. Both in the arrangement and fur- nishing of the rooms it was sought to preserve the char- acter of the family home as much as possible. The building, complete with furniture, cost nearly 200,000 rubles. This example has been followed, not only in Moscow, which received its directress from the Deaconess Home of St. Petersburg, but also in Warsaw and Odessa. However, there are no Deaconess Homes connected with these hospitals. When Dr. 0. Von Gruenewaldt left the residence. Counselor of State Dr. Frankenhaeuser took his place, after Pastor Fit Von Busch had already been installed, September 17, 1889, in place of Ixector Von Euckteschell, at present pastor of the Church of Peace, in Eilbeck, near Hamburg. In 1895 the institution was substantially enlarged by the erection of an extensive barracks in honor of Her Majesty the Empress Maria Feodorowna, and perfected by putting in an operating- room which fills all the requirements of modern surgical science. At the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession of Emperor Alexander II, a fund of 38,000 rubles was created as the "Alexander Jubilee Endowment" for the main- tenance of six free patients, in memory of this noble patron of the institution, who presented Ligowka Island, with all its buildings, to the Evangelical Hospital, when, at the expense of the Grand Duchess Alexandria 236 History of the Deaconess Movement. Josephowna, thirty officers were taken in for treatment after the Turkish War. He often visited the institu- tion in company with the empress, once bringing with him nearly the whole of the imperial household. In the last twenty years the institution has had a quiet and gratifying growth, although there have been several changes in the office of the deaconess superin- tendent. Since its organization fourteen thousand pa- tients have been nursed in the hospital. The deaconesses (including probationers) now number forty-two. In addi- tion to the Mother House must be noticed a primary school, a Children's Asylum, and the Rest House. Sev- eral deaconesses are also engaged as nurses in private families and in parish work. On the 10th of December, 1901, it was decided to erect on the valuable piece of ground adjacent to the other hospital, which had been left them by the City Board, a second modern hospital, to contain twenty-five rooms. The sum of 116,000 rubles is to be expended upon it. The trustees appealed to the public for aid. To-day the structure stands completed and elegantly furnished. The rector of the Deaconess Home and pastor of the Church of the hospital is Dr. F. von Busch; the head deaconess, Mrs. I. Behm. We make the following extracts from the conditions laid down for admission to the Sisterhood: "As a rule, the age must not be under eighteen or over forty years. On entering, the applicant remains on a preliminary probation. The shortest term of the preliminary pro- bation is six weeks, the longest six months. Then they enter the ranks of the probationers and assume their garb. When they have proven themselves worthy, they receive the confirmation of the Church and enter on the calling of a deaconess. During the first year the pro- bationers receive free board and lodging; at the expira- In Other European Countries. 237 tion of this time they also receive clothing and pocket- money. The Mother House provides for all necessities of the deaconess, including their support in old age or when incapacitated for active service.'' Tlie Deaconess Mother House in Helsmgfors was founded in September, 1867, by the wife of Colonel Ivaramzin, at her own expense. Up to this time the female diaconate was entirely unknown in Finland. Fin- land had passed over from Sweden to the Russian Em- pire in 1806, and as all religious activity of the laity was treated with great distrust in Russia, it received the same treatment in Finland. On her extensive travels through Germany, Madam Ivaramzin became acquainted with the Deaconess Cause, and promised Pastor Fliedner that she would found a Deaconess Institution on her re- turn to her home. She kept her promise, and opened a small hospital in a rented house. A widow, Mrs. Amanda Cajander, was appointed superintendent. She had received a thorough training in the hospital in St. Petersburg, and, besides the management of the hos- pital, presided over a Children's Home, which she founded in 1869. As the Finns are very slow to adopt anything new, the growth of the Deaconess Institution was like- wise very slow. The pastors remained its best friends. In the year 1875, however, a Deaconess Home was se- cured through the liberality of Madam Ivaramzin, which also served as a hospital. The work in the Children's Home was also continued, parish nursing introduced in a country town, and the poorhouse of the Province in- trusted to the management of the. deaconesses. The greatest hindrance with which the institution constantly had to contend was the lack of appreciation for the object of the Deaconess Work, and the conse- quent lack of young women who were willing to devote 238 History of the Deaconess Movement. themselves to the Cc-Jling. There is still much uncer- tainty as to how parish nurses, should be trained, and many are of the opinion that the communal principle of Fliedner's system is out of harmony with modern views of freedom and independence, and that therefore a dif- ferent form of Deaconess Work should be introduced in Finland. Many are in favor of training the Sisters on the principle of the Evangelical Diaconate Association in Germany. The former professor, H. Eabergh (at present bishop), from the beginning showed great in- terest in the work, and for a time even took up his resi- dence in the Deaconess Home. The Mother House had no rector of its own until 1893, when Pastor C. G. Olsoni was chosen. The institution then made very rapid prog- ress, although the increase in the number of deaconesses has not been in proportion to the needs of the work. The city of Helsingfors donated a suitable building site, and in the year 1897 two new buildings, a hospital and a Deaconess Home, were ready for dedication. The site of the institution is very fine, affording a w^de view of the sea. The Deaconess Home, with the church belong- ing to it, is connected with the hospital by a covered passage. The latter is furnished with all modern con- veniences, and has a capacity for seventy-five patients. In the year 1900 the number of patients nursed was 1,039; days and nights of nursing, 31,414. The number of deaconesses is fifty. The income during the last year amounted to 154,311 francs. Pastor G. A. Palmroth has been rector since 1899. The deaconesses are stationed in fourteen fields of labor, as follows: 1. In six hospitals (one of which is the Lepers' Asylum near Helsingfors); 2. Parish-nursing in six parishes; 3. Ministering to the poor in four districts; and 4. Managing a poorhouse in a country village, founded by Madam Ivaramzin. Ix Other European Countries. 229 The Evangelical Lutheran Deaconess Institution in Beval was opened on the 23d of May, 1867, with the as- sistance of three deaconesses from Xeuendettelsau. Pastor NichoLas Yon Stackelberg had received a great amonnt of information and encouragement during a former sojourn in Neuendettelsau, and presided over this institution for man}^ years with zeal and discretion. Un- fortunately it seemed necessary, after the first four years, to recall the deaconesses from Neuendettelsau on account of their health, thus leaving the management to depend entirely on its own resources. It succeeded in gaining a suitable deaconess superintendent in Miss Theresa Von Mohrenschildt. But the development of the institution was hindered in the same vvay as it was in Helsingfors. Financially the institution received extraordinary sup- port through a legacy of 100,000 rubles from Mr. August von Kursell, who died in 18T8. This made it possible to improve the buildings considerably, and to extend the fields of labor. The present rector is Pastor G. Berg- witz, and the institution has forty-two deaconesses, of w^hom twenty-four are consecrated. The work of the in- stitution covers the following branches: Three aflfiliated Homes, the hospital of the Mother House, an Asylum for Lnbeciles, and a Children's nursery, with courses of instruction for children's nurses. Fields of labor: 1. Two hospitals, with twenty-five deaconesses and pre- liminary probationers; Eeval : the hospital (23); Asylum for IndDCciles (2). 2. Children's nursery, with two dea- conesses. 3. Xursing in ten parishes, with seven dea- conesses, of which seven are in Reval, with four dea- conesses, one in Ampel (Esthonia), one in St. Catherine (Esthonia), and one in Fallia (Livonia). 4. Magdalen Asylum in Eeval, one deaconess. Evangelical Maria Deaconess Home in Riga. This 240 History of the Deaconess Movement. institution was founded, in 1866, by Baron E. Von Ungern-Sternberg, Counselor of State L. Kaestner, Dr. Henke, and Pastor Loesewitz. The latter accepted the management of the institution, and Deaconess Anna Eysold was the first deaconess superintendent, filling the office for eleven years with entire satisfaction. In the third year a house was bought for 9,000 rubles, and nearly paid for, thus securing a permanent home. The growth of the institution was very much retarded by a clash of principles. The question in dispute was whether the chief physician or the rector of the institution was the highest in authority. This dispute was settled in 1872 by electing a rector exclusively for the institution. From this time on, for many years, the institution was unfortunately involved in heavy debts, from which it was unable to extricate itself until the last few years. To- day the institution has forty-two deaconesses, of whom twenty-seven are consecrated. Two Branch Homes and eleven fields of labor are connected with the Mother House. One-half of the deaconesses are employed at the stations. Pastor Zinck is rector, and Deaconess A. Pell is deaconess superintendent. The property is valued at 95,404 rubles, and the receipts and expenses of the last year were 24,000 rubles. The Deaconess Institution ''BetlieV in Wihoi^g was dedicated September 29, 1869. This institution is the result of a large donation made by the Hackman family. In reality the institution grew out of a Children's Asylum. A deaconess was at the head of the asylum from 1868 to 1882. Driven by necessity, she opened a hospital with ten beds, and in this way provided the possibility of furnishing the deaconesses with the necessary medical training. As early as 1873 a large house was occupied and dedicated as a Deaconess Institution. In 1879 a In Other European Countries. 241 children's school was opened, and in 1881 a second school for small children was established. Ten deaconesses are at present employed in seven different fields of labor. The institution is situated in a beautiful garden, is free of debt, and has an interest-bearing capital of $25,000. The Alexander Asylum in Sarata. This institution was founded in 1865 by the following pastors: Behning, Becker, and Bienemann. In commemoration of the rescue of Emperor Alexander II, on April 4, 1866, the title Alexander Asylum was adopted. Four deaconesses from Neuendettelsau were connected with the institution till 1871, after which time the work was carried on by native talent only. During the Turkish War (1877-78) the institution co-operated with the Society of the Ked Cross on the field by sending three nurses. In 1883 the present stately building was dedicated. The institution has thirty Sisters, and its income for the year 1900 was $5,200. The deaconesses are employed in twelve fields of labor. The Deaconess Home in Mittau is a daughter of the Mother House in Dresden, and it owes its origin (1865) to the liberal financial support which that institution received from the Countess E. Von Medem. This in- stitution contended vrith various difficulties until, in 1880, Pastor L. Katterfeld, at that time pastor of St. John's Evangelical Church, took control. His wife, being in thorough sympathy with her husband's work, presided as matron. The institution now has forty-two deacon- esses, employed in seven hospitals and in nineteen dif- ferent fields of labor. The annual income amounts to $14,000. The organ of the institution, "Der Bote," pro- motes an intelligent appreciation of the work, which has taken deeper root in the last few years. The chief hindrance proves to be the continual lack of deaconesses. 16 242 lilSTOEY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. The Deaconess Cause in Austeia-Hungary. The Mother Home '^Bethesda' in Budapest. There are two prominent Mother Houses in Austria-Hungary, one in Budapest and the other in Gallenkirchen (Upper Austria). The Deaconess institution in Budapest was the first benevolent institution organized by the Home Mis- sion of the Evangelical Church in Hungary. For two 'A i Deaconess Home "Bethesda," in Budapest. hundred years the Protestant Church of Hungary suf- fered from severe persecution. When, at last, in the middle of the last century, the times had become more settled, it was possible, through an encouraging gift from Scotland, to entertain the thought of establishing a Dea- coness Institution. Four deaconesses, for whom appli- cation had been made in Kaiserswerth, arrived in Buda- pest in 1866, a year after a house had been fitted up for the reception of patients. This was during the war be- In Other European Countries. 243 tween Prussia and Austria, and the little hospital was filled with wounded soldiers during the first weeks. But this served to advertise it far and wide. After two years the opportunity offered itself of securing a commodious house in the midst of a large garden, at a reasonable price. After the lapse of two more years the first half of the purchase money was paid. The city authorities, however, then confiscated the whole property for the pur- pose of laying out a street, and paid for it an amount large enough to enable the management to purchase a more suitable property and furnish it in the most satis- factory manner, free of debt. The German Eeformed Church, which had originated the institution, was now able to establish an Orphans' Home, to be managed by the deaconesses. Through these two institutions a Protestant center of evangelization was created in Hun- gary, which has proven a great blessing to that country. The greatest difficulty with which the Deaconess Insti- tution contends is the lack of deaconesses, the supply having been almost exclusively drawn from other coun- tries. Lately, however, Hungary has supplied some na- tive candidates, and the Deaconess Cause will therefore see greater successes in the future. The twenty dea- conesses are employed in four different fields of labor. Pastor Biberauer has been the rector for the past two years. The Evangelical Deaconess Institution in Gallneu- Urchen. The beginning of this prosperous institution, which, as will be seen in the illustration, embraces a number of respectable buildings, is to be traced back to the religious awakening which came to Upper Austria under the leadership of the Catholic clergyman, Martin Boos. Several evangelical congregations were the result of that revival, and the one in Gallneukirchen, in 1872, 244 History of the Deaconess Movement. purchased of Prince Stahemberg the former government '^coiirf' or "guardhouse/' in which the followers of Boos had often been tried and condemned. Here the Dea- Deaconess Mother House, Gai.lneukirohen. eoness Institution was opened by the entrance of two deaconesses who had received their training in the in- stitution at Stuttgart. Very soon a separate hospital was erected, and from this center the work soon spread over Ix Other European Countries. 245 many towns in Austria. In Meran, Tyrol, after tlie new Evangelical Chnrch had Ijeen dedicated, two deaconesses were installed as parish deaconesses, December 13, 1885. The first inducement to establish this institution came from the gift of a former deaconess, who gave the pastor the sum of 10,000 marks. An addition to the Mother House in Gallneukirchen was finished in 1880. In April of the same year the building of an Orphan and Rescue Home was begun in Reckersdorf, and on the 4th of October, the anniversary of the name of the emperor, this building, brought by the Evangelical Church as a thank-offering to God for the grant of religious tolera- tion, was dedicated to its benevolent object. To-day a walk through Gallneukirchen would lead past a large number of institutions which were begun in faith, and now enjoy a happy measure of prosperity. Besides the Mother House we find Zoar, an institution for children; the Martin's Institute, an establishment for epileptic idiots; an Orphanage, a Rescue Home, and a Book De- pository. The Mother House has fifty-seven deaconesses, who are stationed in ten hospitals and eighteen other fields of labor. The annual income in round numbers is $15,000. The Institutions in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The Deaconess Home in Copeiiliagen. When, in the year 1888, this institution celebrated its twenty-fifth an- niversary, it was with sincere joy over the magnificent edifice occupied by the Mother House with its one hundred and fifty deaconesses. The first impulse to the organization of this institution came from the royal family. Princess (afterwards Queen) Louisa, as well as the widowed queen, Caroline Amelia, were inter- ested in the Deaconess Cause, and through their in- 246 History of the Deaconess Movement. fluence the institution was organized in 1863. In his younger years the well-known Bishop Martensen was at the head of this institution, and it owes its prosperous development more to him than to any other person. His Excellency, Privy Counselor Classen, was connected with the institution from the beginning as president of the Board of Directors. Through the influence of the court and of other influential persons, who from the beginning Deaconess Homk in Copenhagen. took an active interest in its affairs, this institution never lacked the necessary means nor the good will of the public. In the year 1891 it suffered a grievous loss in the death of its first and most experienced deaconess superintendent, Louisa Conring. Sophia Zahrtmann was elected to fill her place. Another serious loss for the in- stitution came with the death of its honorable founder and protectress. Queen Louisa (September 29, 1898). Up to her last breath she watched over the welfare and progress of this institution with indefatigable devo- tion and great faithfulness, and sacrificed much time ix Other European Countries. 247 and money in its welfare. The income of the institu- tion is increased by a general collection from the Churches, which is taken annually. The expenses for the year 1900 were 234,347 crowns. One hundred and ten fields of labor and twenty-one hospitals are connected with the Mother House. The seven Branch Institutions include a Crib, a Kindergarten, a Boys' and Girls' School, a Girls^ Home, an Infirmary, and a Colportage Society. Four branches are in the country, among them a Home for Epileptic Girls and a Women's Rescue Home. In many towns of Denmark, as well as in numerous country parishes, the deaconesses are employed in parish work as well as in hospitals and poorhouses, kindergartens, boys' and girls' schools, and benevolent institutions of different kinds. To-day the institution has two hundred and seventy-five deaconesses, of whom one hundred and fifty-nine are consecrated. The Deaconess Motlier House in Christiania. This institution was founded in 1868. The first deaconess superintendent was Cathinka Guldberg. She received her training in Kaiserswerth, and was employed in the hospital in Alexandria for several years. The beginning of this institution may be traced to tlie publication of several articles in the N'orwegian "Kirchenzeitung," in the years 1857-58. These articles referred to the pros- perous institutions in Germany, and, as a result, the Society for Home Missions in Christiania resolved to take action in the matter. Pastor Broon made a number of public addresses, which were pul)lished in the Lutheran "Kirchenzeitung," and awakened a great deal of en- thusiasm. So the l)eginning was made in 1868, and after four years they were able to purchase a valuable piece of property. The institution has over four hun- dred deaconesses, who are employed on one hundred and ^48 History of the Deaconess Movement. forty-one different fields of labor and in thirty-nine hospitals. The Deaconess Mother House in Stockholm. This institution was dedicated in 1851, and Sister Maria Cederschiold, who received her training in Kaiserswerth, was called as the first deaconess superintendent. The first object of the young institution was the training of nurses; but necessity soon led them into other fields of labor, so that, after two years, both an Orphan Asylum and a Girls' Home were opened. In a short time a Mag- dalen Asylum was founded, which, in 1858, was asso- ciated with the Deaconess Institution. The establish- ment of a Rescue Home for the reception of girls of the age of eight to twelve years followed in 1860. Then, as a sequel to the Rescue Home, a Housekeeping School was established, in which the girls were trained for domestic service. In the year 1884 a Rest Home was dedicated, and then an Infirmary for Incurables. So one institu- tion followed another. The institution is beautifully situated, and from the midst of a group of houses arises an imposing church edifice. CHAPTER VIII. DEACONESS WORK IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AMERICA. In all new undertakings of God's kingdom the Lord chooses his agents to incorporate and realize the funda- mental idea of the movement; and so it was with the Deaconess Work in America. In a French Huguenot family by the name of Passavant, who had left their old home for their faith's sake, a child was born in 1821, who received the name of William. His parents were devout and practical Christians, and it gave them much joy when one day the growing boy told them that he would like to go to school and become a preacher of the gospel. His parents sent him to a college at Canons- burg. After he was graduated here, he entered the seminary at Gettysburg. His heart was full of the love of God, and during his course of his studies he could not refrain from missionary work among the inhabitants of the neighboring mountains, and after finishing his term he accepted a call as colporteur of the Pennslyvania Bible Society. His first pastorate was a small congregation in Baltimore, Md. Here he labored with so great a zeal that the little mission soon became the center of numerous missionary efforts; but his real field of labor he was to find finally in Pittsburg, Pa. At that time the Evangelical Alliance was founded, and the first meeting was fixed for London. Eev. Wil- liam Passavant, who was but twenty-four years old, had been elected a delegate, and, with great expectations, he began his journey to London. Here he made the ae- 249 250 History of the Deaconess Movement. qiiaintance of representative men of wisdom and experi- ence in the field of home and foreign missions, in educa- tional work, and in the pastorate. There a new world opened to him, and he received incentives for his whole future life. It is self-evident that a meeting conducted in the spirit of such men should make a deep impression upon the young preacher. One day, as he was walking through the streets of London, he Avas over- taken by a shower of rain. He passed through a gate to seek shelter, and suddenly found himself before a building which a de- vout Jew had erected in memory of his de- ceased wife. It bore the inscription: "Here shall the orphan find refuge." Surprised and deeply moved, Passa- vant entered, and made himself ac- quainted with the management of the in- stitution. Before he left the place he had formed the resolution of establishing a similar institution in America. By returning to the meeting-place of the Alliance on foot he saved a shilling, and this he put by as the first contribution towards the realization of his plans. A few weeks later he arrived in Kaiserswerth, and there saw with astonishment Avhat the Lord had done through Fliedner. The Mother House at that time already num- Rev. W. a. Passavant, D. D. Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church. 251 bered one hundred and eight deaconesses, of whom sixty- two were employed at stations outside of Kaiserswerth. A Mother House had been established in Dresden, and steps were being taken to open an institution in London. Passavant urgently besought Fliedner for deaconesses for America, and his request w^as granted. He handed Fliedner the funds that were necessary for their train- ing, and received from him the promise that within two years he would send the first deaconesses to America. But Pastor Fliedner was not able to keep his promise. Li 1848 the Revolution broke out in Germany, and al- though Passavant had rented a house in Pittsburg and fitted it np as a hospital, he was obliged to wait eight long months before the deaconesses arrived. Fliedner came with them himself, in June, 1849, and the dedica- tion of the new hospital, which was known as the first Protestant hospital in America, now took place. (See cut of this hospital next page.) Pastor Passavant had well utilized his time during this waiting-spell; for at this time a number of sick and wounded soldiers were returning from the Mexican War to their homes. Passavant opened his hospital to them, and in the absence of the nurses, who had not yet arrived, he nursed them himself. All the greater was his joy when he finally had the privilege of placing the manage- ment of the institution into skilled and experienced hands. The hospital was dedicated July 17, 1849. Pastor Fliedner was present, and a large audience had gathered. Passavant himself wrote about it as follows: "A great multitude had come. The celebration was opened with the singing of the English hymn, ^Before Jehovah's awful Throne.' Pastor Fliedner made an ad- dress in German, in which, with presuasive words, he ^52 History of the Deacoxess Movement. appealed to the adult women and young women, urging them to consecrate themselves to the Deaconess Work. After another address, the German part of the audience joined in Luther's majestic old hymn, ^A mighty fortress is our God,' and the formal dedication followed." In May, 1850, the first American probationer, Kath- arine Louise Martens, was consecrated a deaconess, and, in order to strengthen the work, Fliedner sent over another deaconess. Passavant was indefatigably busy in the establish- The First Deaconess Home and Hospital, in the United States. ment of new institutions. Besides the Infirmary in Pitts- burg, he founded a hospital and Deaconess Home in Milwaukee, a hospital in Jacksonville, 111., orphan asylums in Rochester and Mt. Vernon, N. Y., and a Boys' Institute at Zelienople, Pa. The incipient work lacked neither friends nor money. The Pittsburg Synod of the Lutheran Church passed the following resolution the next year: ^'Resolved, That our best wishes and fervent prayers accompany Brother Passavant in his philanthropic labors, and that we commend the Pittsburg Infirmary to the Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church. 253 sympathies, prayers, and active support of the public in general, as well as of our own members/' Passavant labored incessantly in the propagation of his work, finally resigning the pastorate of his Church in Pittsburg (1855) in order to be able to devote himself exclusively to its rapid progress, and that he achieved success is proved by the fact that from this beginning the direct or indirect origin of forty-five benevolent in- stitutions of the Lutheran Church may be clearly traced. Passavant made extensive travels, funds flowed in abun- dantly, the numerous institutions were being filled with inmates, and the work appeared to prosper beyond ex- pectations; but in one direction it was lacking, and on this account the Deaconess Cause, so auspiciously begun, finally failed. There was a lack of deaconesses. Passa- vant published appeal after appeal, and made personal efforts to secure deaconesses, but without avail. A few girls fresh from Germany responded, but the native-born young women kept themselves aloof from the work. The deaconesses on hand were abundant in their labors, and when the cholera and typhus epidemics broke out the public had opportunity of becoming acquainted with the blessings of the female diaconate; but nevertheless no applicants presented themselves. In consequence, the Kaiserswerth deaconesses gradually lost courage and left. One deaconess who superintended the Orphan Asylum in Rochester, N. Y., remained at her post until the Lord called her to receive her eternal crown. In this connection we must bear grateful tribute to the first deaconess who was consecrated to her work on American soil — Katharine Louise Martens, who was ad- mitted on probation in the year 1849, and consecrated in 1850. She afterwards undertook the management of the hospital in Jacksonville, 111., founded by Passavant, 254 History of the Deaconess Movement. and here, a few years ago, she entered into rest, having passed her seventieth year. She was a true, devout dea- coness, who devoted herself entirely to her chosen calling. The question has been frequently asked how it came that Dr. Passavant^s plan to establish a Mother House so completely failed. Many reasons have been adduced; among others, that the Amer- ican Church at that time was not ripe for its accept- ance, and that the plan, being prem- ature, could not but end in disap- pointment. Eev. E. W. Passavant, later rector of the Lutheran Deacon- ess Home in Mil- waukee, a worthy son of Dr. Passa- vant, gives the reasons for this failure, which we reproduce here in brief: The movement having in view the opening up of new avenues of activity for woman was still in its infancy, and the prejudices of the public against the employment of women in public functions were still very great. Nor should it be for- gotten that Church hospitals, and, in fact, charitable in- stitutions of all kinds, in which deaconesses might have Katharine Louise Martens, THE First American Deaconess. Deaconess Wokk in the Lutheran Church. 255 served, were not in existence. Dr. Passavant's under- taking was entirely new to the Cliiirch, and it was five years later that Dr. Muehlenberg undertook to found a Protestant (St. Luke's) Hospital in N'ew York City. As there had hitherto been a lack of such spheres of Chris- tian activity, it was no wonder that there should now be The Passavant Hospital, in Pittsburg, Pa. a lack of the proper workers. The Lutheran Church fifty years ago offered the female sex but little opportunity for higher education. Dr. Passavant complains of this sorry condition of things in his periodical. The Missionary (1852), as follows: "We have seven theological seminaries, four classic schools, five colleges for the education of our young men, and for our women two seminaries on paper: That shows what little importance is attached to the edu- cation of women. Our attitude so far in this question is neither Scriptural nor just to the female sex or the 256 HiSTOEY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. Church of Christ itself." There was certainly great igno- rance concerning the office of the female diaconate at that time, and the laity as well as the Synod assumed a waiting attitude in the matter. The newly-founded institution had many difficulties to encounter, and one of these, which could not but have been a menace to the young work, was the dependence of the Mother House on the hospital. The hospital had forty beds, was over- crowded with patients, and the work required was far beyond the capacity of a few deaconesses. There was no time left for the proper education and spiritual culture nor for the training of the deaconesses on probation. Dr. Passavant was tireless in the establishment of new institutions; he was editor of the periodical. The Mission- ary; he traveled a great deal; and so the Mother House was unavoidably left without the necessary spiritual care. The circumstance ought also to be mentioned that, in those years, a strong tide made itself felt against the Catholic Church, and to many minds Eomanism was a formidable menace to our American institutions. Anti- papal demonstrations frequently led to bloodshed, and the popular sentiment against everything that had any resemblance to Roman Catholic institutions was very pro- nounced; and so it happened that deaconesses were often made the subjects of attack in the daily press, and they finally found themselves obliged to dispense with their professional costume. We have given some of the reasons why the Deacon- ess Cause would not tlirive on American soil, and why the young enterprise finally collapsed altogether. But the undertaking was not on that account in vain, and the time of waiting bore its good fruit in the end. The seed that had been sown in American soil was destined sooner or later to spring up and bear fruit. Deaconess Wokk in the'Luthekan Church. 257 Mary J. Drexel Deaconess Home in Philadelphia. Thirty-five years after the beginning made by Dr. Passavant in Pittsburg, the thread was resumed, and a Deaconess Home established in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. This time the effort was crowned with better success. But here again it was a personality which the Lord used first to give impetus to this great under- taking, and after- wards to furnish the means for carrying it on. This divine in- strument was John D. Lankenau, a success- ful merchant in Phil- adelphia. Born in Bremen, March 18, 1817, the son of a merchant, he received a good edu- cation in his native city, and entered into the business firm of "Tiersch & Gerisher,'' Lnporters. He was sent to Philadelphia in 1836 on business matters, and in five years succeeded in elevating himself to the position of partner in the firm. In 1846 he made the acquaintance of his future father- in-law, F. M. Drexel, who found much pleasure in the well-mannered, enterprising, young man, and often in- vited him to his house. Here he met Mary Johanna Drexel, whom he married in 1848. After F. M. Drexel met his death in a railroad accident in 1863, his son-in- 17 John D. Lankenau. 258 History of the Deaconess Movement. law was appointed executor of his will, and, like the de- ceased, was intent on dispensing the worldly possessions with which God had blessed him to suffering hu- manity. As the late Mr. Drexel had been treasurer of the hos- pital, Mr. Lankenau determined also to be a patron and friend of this institution. He accepted its presidency in 1869. He has filled this office ever since, and words can not express what this modest benefactor has since accom- plished in his quiet way for suffering humanity. The hospital owes to him its present prosperity and impor- tance. In 1877, losing by death his only son, he under- took, with his daughter Eliza Catharine, whose health had been much impaired by the shock (the mother had died in 1863) an extended tour of Europe, Egypt, and Palestine. On their return they sojourned for a short time at the Hotel Fleming, in London, and here the daughter suggested to the father the thought of estab- lishing, in connection with the German Hospital in Phila- delphia, A Home for the Aged, which would bear the name of her mother,- Mary J . Drexel. The proposition of his daughter was kindly entertained. Arriving home in Philadelphia during the fall of 1878, the father busied himself with the daughter's plan; but it was not until after her death, which occurred all too soon, April 22, 1882, that he began to carry it out. In 1886 he conceived the thought of connecting a Deaconess Home with the Home for the Aged. The corner-stone of the beautiful "Mary J. Drexel Home" was laid November 11, 1886, and December 6, 1888, the imposing building was dedicated. A finely- executed portrait of the daughter, Elise Catherine Lanke- nau; hangs in the consultation-room of the hospital, and Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church. 259 beneath it is a memorial tablet with the following in- scription : Elise Catharine Lankenau whose benevolent sentiment gave the suggestion for the founding of the Mary J. Drexel Home Born, September 29, 1854. Died, April 22, 1882. This portrait was presented to the German Hospital, March 18, 1900, by her father, John D. Lankenau, founder of the Home, and benefactor of the Hospital. C5FERM,AN (DEACONESS) HOSPITAL, PHILADELPHIA, PA. Before the Deaconess Home was erected, Mr. Lanka- nau communicated with Christian friends for the purpose of securing deaconesses. He was vigorously supported in this undertaking by Charles H. Meyer, German consul in Philadelphia, and Mr. Kaschden, German consul in New York. But their efforts to induce the Ivaiserswerth in- stitution or any other great Mother House in Germany to relinquish deaconesses to the new establishment in Philadelphia, were fruitless. Finally they prevailed upon a little independent Sisterhood in Iserlohn, to which Rev. 260 History of the Deaconess Movement. C. Ninck, of Hamburg, had called their attention, to leave their native land and enter the Philadelphia insti- tution. They arrived in Philadelphia, July 19, 1884. There are still three of their number in the institution, and, April 20, 1897, they together celebrated the twenty- Mary J. Drexel Deaconess Home in Philadelphia. fifth anniversary of their diaconate. As soon as Mr. Lankenau had determined to build a Deaconess Home, he was at once intent upon changing the German Hos- pital to a Deaconess Hospital, and in 1882 he succeeded in inducing the hospital management so to change its charter that nothing further stood in the way. The German Hospital was founded in 1860 by promi- Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church. 261 nent Germans, and the present magnificent structure at the corner of Girard and Corinthian Avenues was erected in 1895. It is an imposing building of stone, having a great four-storied wing and being provided with spacious wards for the sick, operating-rooms, a free dispensary, and the Latest improved hospital appointments. The sur- roundings are charming, and in the rear of the hospital, separated therefrom by magnificent grounds, stands the greatest Deaconess Home of America, the "Mary J. Drexel Home," which cost half a million dollars. Al- though both institutions are under separate manage- ment, they have the closest relations to each other, and Mr. Lankenau until his death was president of both. Like the Deaconess Home with its seventy-five members and its numerous branches and stations, the hospital is one of the most important Deaconess Hospitals in America. After the death of Marie Krueger, the first directress of the Mary J. Drexel Deaconess Home, in 1887, Wil- helmina Dittmann filled the position temporarily until the management secured for this responsible office Dea- coness Wanda, of Oertzen. She arrived from Germany May 26, 1888, and was installed July 18th, filling the place until her death, November 14, 1897. After her demise Deaconess Emilie Schwarz became the directress, but she resigned in 1901, and undertook the management of the hospital in Easton, Pa. Magdalene Steinmann be- came her successor. The rectorate of the Home was first given to Eev. A. Cordes, who had been an assistant of Rev. C. Ninck, deceased, of Hamburg. On the day of its dedication he was installed into office by Dr. Spaeth. He retired in July, 1892, and the position was vacant until July, 1893, when Eev. Karl Goedel accepted it, and was installed by Dr. Spaeth on Sunday, July 8th. 262 History of the Deaconess Movement. Eev. Carl Goedel was born in Zurich, Switzerland, February 13, 1862. He studied at the Universities of Tuebingen, Halle, and Bonn. In 1888 he supplied a pul- pit near Solingen. From 1889 to 1893 he was pastor in Weinheim, near Kreuznach. Here he received a call to the superintendeney of the Mary J. Drexel Deaconess Home in Philadelphia, which he accepted. In order to get more fully acquainted with the Deaconess Caiis.e, he visited the Mother Houses in Kaiserswerth, Neuendettel- sau, Bielefeld, and Hanover. He arrived in Philadelphia, July 4, 1893. The institution was now brought into organic connec- tion with the Lutheran Church through the General Council, and in September, 1894, taken into the Kaisers- werth affiliation. The resident pastor of the institution has, since 1890, published The Deaconesses' Friend, which has a wide circulation. The following branch institutions are connected with the Mother House: Home for the Aged, with forty in- mates; Children's Hospital, which, in 1901, cared for four hundred and forty-one children; Girls' School, at- tended by sixty pupils; Primary School, in which seventy children were gathered. In the German Hospital 3,427 patients were treated; in the Dispensary, 39,047 more; in the hospital at Easton, Pa., 423 house patients, and 1,008 at the Dispensary; in the St. John's Hospital, at Allegheny City, Pa., in 1901, 860 patients. Since Sep- tember, 1893, St. John's Home for the Aged has been placed under the management of two deaconesses. In the Children's Hospital a kindergarten is conducted for convalescents. Five parish deaconesses are employed in as many Lutheran Churches: three in Philadelphia, one in New York, and one in Brooklyn. They also conduct four kindergartens. 264 HrsTORY of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Mother House and Hospital in Milwaukee. As early as 18G3 Dr. W. A. Passavant opened the hos- pital which^ thirty years later, was to be made a Deaconess Hospital. The Mother House was established in Septem- ber, 1891, when the first three deaconesses were conse- crated. One of these had been trained at Kaiserswerth, and the other at Neuendettelsan. Deaconess Martha Gensicke was elected directress, and the Philadelphia Home came to the assistance of the young institution by supplying it for a brief time with a Mistress of Proba- tioners. Rev. J. F. Ohl, of Quakertown, Pa., was ap- pointed rector, and for seven years conducted this office with great wisdom and fidelity. His successor was Eev. E. W. Passavant, son of the founder of the institution, who began his duties December 31, 1900, but died July 3, 1901, of apoplexy. It is an interesting fact that, fifty years after the opening of the first Deaconess Home and the arrival of the first deaconesses in America, the son of the honored pioneer of this movement should have under- taken the management of one of these institutions. The Mother House in Milwaukee is endeavoring to emulate the best German models without copying them after an abject fashion. Both English and German are used alter- nately in the instruction and divine services. The insti- tution has at present twenty-six deaconesses, of whom fifteen are consecrated. The course of instruction em- braces all branches of subjects which are generally taught in a Mother House. We append a picture of the mag- nificent establishment. It is built on an elevation, in a beautiful part of the city. The hospital lies back of the Deaconess Home, and the whole makes an imposing ap- 266 History of the Deaconess Movement. pearance. Tlie following fields of work are connected with the institution : Milwaukee Hospital, with an average of fourteen nurse-deaconesses. During the past year about six hun- dred patients were treated, and the income amounted to $20,000. Passavant Hospital in Pittsburg, under the manage- ment of Deaconess Katharine Forster, where, in addition, four deaconesses are employed. Number of patients one hundred and fifty, and receipts $6,000 per annum. Passavant Hospital in Jacksonville, Hi., where three deaconesses are at work, nursing two hundred and sev- enty-five patients annually, and having annual receipts of $7,000. Orphan Asylum and Agricultural School at Zelienople, Pa., under the management of Eev. J. A. Kribbs, with an attendance last year of eighty-nine children. The aver- age annual receipts of the Orphan Asylum are $6,500. Passavant Memorial Home for Epileptics in Rochester, under the management of Deaconess Caroline Dentzer, where four deaconesses are employed. In the first four years of its existence the Home has domiciled fifty-one epileptics, and last year the total number was thirty. The annual receipts are $5,000. Lutheran Deaconess Home and Training-School^ Baltimore, Md. This institution was opened in October, 1895. It has fourteen consecrated deaconesses and fifteen probationers. As early as 1885 the General Synod appointed a com- mittee to draft a plan for a Deaconess Home and go over the matter in detail. This committee, two years later, presented to the Synod definite plans, and in 1891 its incorporation as "Board of Deaconesses of the General »EAC0XESS Work ix the Lutheran Church. 267 Synod" was decided upon. The Board at once sent some deaconesses to Germany to be trained, and in 1895 the institution was opened in a rented house in Baltimore. The rooms were furnished by interested friends and Church societies. When the accommodations were no longer suflficient, the Board rented the house adjoining, and when both houses were inadequate to the demands, they acquired by purchase the residence of the celebrated Chief-Justice E. B. Taney, at a cost of $26,350. It is a large piece of property in a beautiful location, accessible by the street-car lines from all parts of the city, and the intention is to erect thereon, according to needs and means, the necessary buildings, including a spacious and modernly appointed hospital, a Deaconess Home, a school- house for kindergarten teachers, an industrial school, chapel, administration building, parsonage, etc. The in- stitution, being under the supervision of the General Synod, is deprived of any local character, and its pur- pose is to serve the interests of the whole Synod. The latter voted the institution an annual support of $6,000. Oustide of the institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church this is the only Deaconess Home in America that is incorporated into the Church organism and is under its immediate direction. The first deaconesses were trained in Kaiserswerth and in Philadelphia, and the first directress was Auguste V. Schaeffer, who was succeeded by Jenny Christ. The course of study embraces the following branches: Bible Exposition, Christian Doctrine, Christian Worship, Lu- theranistics. Church History, Evidences, Catechetics, the Diaconate, German and English Grammar, Principles and Method, Nursing and Household Economy, Hygiene, Anatomy, and Materia Medica. As a rule, the principles and methods of the Kaiserswerth institution are followed, 268 History of the Deaconess Movement. with the necessary adaptations required by the religious and social conditions of the American communities. The Course of Study is arranged to fit the deaconesses to do efficiently all such work in a congregation and community as may properly be assigned by a Christian pastor to a Christian woman educated and set apart for a service and ministry of help and mercy. It will require two and a half years. Deaconesses are classified as teaching, nursing, and parish deaconesses. These terms,- in a very general way only, indicate the very varied lines of work followed by Christian deaconesses. It is the purpose of the Mother House and Training-school to prepare women especially for work as parish deaconesses. They will be sent out by the institution upon request, and work under the im- mediate direction of the pastors and Churches in com- munities where the General Synod is represented. Two classes of women who do not intend to become members of the Mother House can receive the training regularly given to candidates and probationers. These classes are: 1. Such as are sent by congregations to be trained for Deaconess Work; and, 2. Such as intend to become foreign missionaries and are sent by the Foreign Board. In either case the special student would receive the same training and conform to the same rules as the candidates and probationers. The charge is $125 per year, the cost of clothing, and the usual allowance. Rev. Frank P. Manhart, D. D., is rector of the institution. Immanuel Deaconess Institute^ Omaha^ Neb. Eev. E. A. Fogelstroem, present rector of the institu- tion, sent a Sister in 1887 to Philadelphia for the purpose of training her for her vocation. She was followed the next year by four more Sisters. Three of these returned Deaconess Woek in the Lutheran Church. 269 to Omaha in June, 1890. After a two years' service Sister Bathilde was sent to Europe, to spend a year for further training in the Deaconess Institute at Stockholm. She also made herself acquainted with the management of prominent Mother Houses in Europe, and returned to Omaha in the fall of 1890. Eev. E. A. Fogelstroem had meanwhile labored in- cessantly, and with God's help had succeeded in building Immanuel (Swedish) Deaconess Institute, Omaha, Neb. a hospital for the incipient work. It received the name of Immanuel Hospital, and at the close of the year 1890 it was dedicated. The undertaking thus far has cost $30,000. The first patient, a poor Swede from the West, was received December 20, 1890. The very same year a Deaconess Home was erected opposite the hospital. The whole represents a value of $50,000; but the property has an incumbrance of $40,000, which, however, is amply covered by legacies. The annual receipts in 1900 were $21,546, and the expenditures $20,828.77. 270 History or the Deaconess Movement. On occasion of the first anniversary, April 5, 1891, the first deaconess, Bathiicle, was consecrated. The com- munity has grown to twenty-eight, of whom nine are con- secrated deaconesses and nineteen probationers. Outside of the Mother House the deaconesses are active at the fol- lowing stations : ten deaconesses at the Immanuel Orphan Asylum, Omaha; four deaconesses in the Bethesda Hos- pital, Minneapolis, Minn. ; one deaconess in parish work at Duluth ; two in a similar capacity at Sioux City ; also a deaconess in each one of the following cities as parish workers : Chicago, 111., Omaha, Neb., and Ogden, Utah. Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Institute and Hos- pital^ Brooklyn^ N. Y. The history of the origin of this institution is simple, but very wonderful. Mrs. Anna Boers, wife of the Nor- wegian General Consul in New York, who had made her- self familiar with the distress of the Norwegian poor in the Metropolitan City, conferred with Eev. Mortenson, at that time pastor of the Norwegian Mariners' Church in Brooklyn, as to what could be done for their relief. The result was that a call was extended to Elizabeth Fedde, a deaconess of Norway, who arrived in New York, April, 1883. Hereupon was established the Norwegian Dea- coness Institute of Brooklyn, and a rented dwelling was opened in William Street. The building of a hospital was soon seen to be an unavoidable necessity, and on March 1, 1885, the Board of Managers rented a larger house, which thereafter served the purpose of Deacon- ess Institute and Hospital. In 1889 the Board erected their own hospital, and the foundress of the institution, Mrs. Anna Boers, received from an unknown friend a gift of $100^000 for its maintenance^ which was put by Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church. 271 as a permanent fund. Interest on this sum is paid out to the institution quarterly. The number of deaconesses grew, and several came to them across the waters from Christiansen, Norway. Long ago the building proved too small; and, consequently, a site for the hospital was pur- chased. Fifteen thousand dollars are already in the building fund. As soon as possible a modernly ap- pointed hos- pital will b e erected. Be- sides the large p e r m. a n e n t fund already mentioned, this institu- tion has prop- e r t y free of debt to the value of $50,000. Receipts last year, including contri- butions to the building fund, were $37,60-1; expenditures, $15,443. The rector of the institution is Eev. E. C. Tollfsen, and Mathilde Madland is the directress. In- cluding probationers, it has twelve deaconesses. Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home^ Minne- apolis, Minn. The beginnings of this institution date back to 1888, and two years later it had twelve deaconesses, owned its own Home, and $2,000 in a building fund for a larger hospital. Above all does the community of deaconesseg Norwegian Deaconess Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y. 272 HiSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. enjoy a healthy growth. There are at present in the house ten deaconesses, twenty-two probationers, and four- teen in the preparatory course. The deaconesses serve in the hospitals at Grand Forks, N. D.; Hillsboro, N". D.; Sioux City, and in a Children's Home at Beloit, Iowa. Passavaxt Memorial Hospital, Chicago. This hospital was opened as early as 1865 by Dr. W. A. Passavant. Its primary object was to serve poor emigrants. The institution from the beginning had to contend with financial difficulties, and when it was con- templated to purchase a house for $30,000 the great Chi- cago fire swept everything away, and the work of the hos- pital was interrupted for fourteen years. Finally the present building was erected and opened in 1885. The plan of making the institution a Deaconess Home was entertained from the beginning, but up to the latest this object could not be carried out. A Training-school for Nurses was connected with it in October, 1898, and a request sent to the Milwaukee Mother House to affiliate the institution, w^hich w^as not granted. Finally an at- tempt to change the institution to a Deaconess Hospital was successful; but the number of deaconesses is small. Lutheran Diaconate Conference. In 1896 the Lutheran Mother Houses of America es- tablished a Deaconess Conference. The German, English, Swedish, and Norwegian Homes of this denomination, seven in number, belong to this Conference. The English language is principally used at the meetings, and their publications are also in English. Otherwise the Confer- ence is modeled after the Kaiserswerth General Confer- ence, and its several representatives here belong to it. CHAPTEE IX. DEACONESS HOMES IN VARIOUS PROTESTANT CHURCHES IN AMERICA. 1. Interdenominational Homes. The Board of Managers of these institutions is com- posed of members of different Church denominations. In the acceptation of deaconesses, the question is not asl^ed to what Church she belongs, but whether she is fitted for the duties of her calling. The German Deaconess Home and Hospital^ Cincinnati. This institution is known as the oldest Interdenomi- national Deaconess Home in the United States. In the spring of 1888 a number of pastors of different denomina- tions of Cincinnati and vicinity met for conference in the Evangelical Zion's Church, and on June lith they estab- lished the "Evangelical Society for Deaconess Work.^^ The society was afterwards incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio as "The Evangelical Protestant Society for Deaconess Work and the Care of the Sick." Such was the modest beginning of the Cincinnati institution. On July 17, 1888, a German mass-meeting was held in the centrally-located St. Peter's Church. The object of the meeting was explained by the ministers present, who made addresses. Eifty-one persons declared them- selves ready to join the society. The members adopted at once the projected constitution, and elected the officers. A Board of Managers, composed of fifteen men, was also elected. Two deaconesses of the Eed Cross, who had 18 273 Deacoxess Homes in Protestant Churches. 275 been trained in Germany, were engaged as nurses. The society had all the elements of a vigorous growth, and after six months numbered five hundred and sixty-six members. A cornmodious and favorably-located house (533 East Liberty Street) was rented, and afterwards, with the adjacent property, purchased. The two houses were con- nected and fitted up for hospital purposes. The institu- tion has room for twenty deaconesses and twenty-two pa- tients. The first two deaconesses arrived October 10, 1888, and they were solemnly consecrated to their office in the presence of a great festal gathering, November 4th. Seven probationers were received during the following six months, and to-day the institution numbers twenty-one deaconesses, including those on probation. The buildings of the institution have long since be- come too small. The Board of Managers accordingly pur- chased a large site on Clifton Avenue, opposite the most beautiful of the city's parks, Burnet Woods, where a new structure, with all modern improvements, has been erected at a cost of $80,000. The corner-stone w^as laid March 16, 1902, and the building was dedicated in January, 1903. A spacious Deaconess Home is annexed to the hospital. The former building on Liberty Street has been converted into a Home for the Aged. The direction of the institution for the first years was subject to many changes. The first directress, Anna Kypke, was at the head of the institution for two years. Then Eev. J. J. Meyer was called as rector, presiding over the institution from January 1, 1891, to July 1, 1892. After he accepted a call to the pastorate, Deaconess Ida Tobschall was elected directress by the Board of Managers. It was at her instance that a Deaconess Home was estab- lished in Buffalo, her native city; and after many years of service in Cincinnati she undertook the management :76 History of the Deaconess Movement, of the Buffalo institution. Deaconess Marie Bangerter succeeded her. She had rfcci\('d her training- as dea- Re^t. H. W. Hortsoh. coness in Germany, and she still faithfully and carefully presides over the Cincinnati institution. Rev. Kohlmann served as its rector from June, 1894, to June, 1895, and Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 277 H. W. Tuecliter was its business manager from September 1, 1898, till July, 1901. The present rector, Kev. H. W. Hortsch, former!}^ pastor of the First German Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, began his duties August 15, 1901. He is a man well equipped for the place, and had done good service for the institution as corresponding secretary. From the beginning he has been the recording secretary of "The Protestant Diaconate Conference" and editor of the "The American Friend of the Sick and the Poor." A Woman^s Auxiliary Committee was of practical service in the beginning, and also subsequently, in directing the economy of the household. This committee was changed in 1890 into a "Woman's and Young Woman's Society for the Deaconess Work," and as such has contributed a great deal to the outward growth of the institution. Few institutions in the United States have accom- plished as much in the founding of similar organizations as this Home. Those in Dayton, Buffalo, and Indianapolis received from it their first impulse and their first deacon- esses. Two-thirds of the necessary funds have already been secured for the new building, and the Board of Man- agers hope to secure the rest within a short time. The various departments of the institution are as fol- lows: The Hospital in connection with the Mother House, an Old People's Home ; a Xurse-training School ; a Branch Hospital, in which one hundred patients annually receive attention ; a Children's Boarding-house ; and a School for Midwives. Deaconess Home and Hospital, Dayton, 0. The first incentive for the building of this Home was given the founder, Eev. C. Mueller, on a European tour. He became acquainted on this occasion with men familiar 278 History of the Deacoxess Movement. with the work, and the blessed usefulness of the deacon- esses awakened in him the resolution to establish, if pos- sible, a similar institution in Dayton, where he had charge of a large congregation. But while he often laid his wishes before his ministerial associates in Dayton, he did not meet with the desired encouragement. It was not until 1890 that, at the fiftieth anniversary (Golden Jubi- lee) of his congregation, he was enabled to initiate into their work two deaconesses, who meanwhile had been sent to him from the Home in Cincinnati. Their service met with great favor, not only in the congregation, but in wider circles; for up to that time there Avas no Protestant Home for the sick in Dayton, and the only institution of the kind was a large Catholic hospital. On August 21st of the same year six German preachers of different denominations established themselves as a Deaconess So- ciety. In a subsequent mass-meeting, held September 1st, at which the Deaconess Work was elucidated in several addresses, more than three hundred became members of the society. It was now proposed to establish a Protestant hos]3ital, as soon as the society numbered eight hundred members. In a few weeks this number was reached, and the carrying out of the plan was decided upon. As the institution in Cincinnati could not spare any more dea- conesses, and all requests from other Mother Houses were of no avail, Eev. Mueller decided to go to Germany to procure deaconesses for his work. After being refused at several places, he finally found Rev. von Bodelschwingh, in Bielefeld, who promised to let him have two deacon- esses. They arrived in Dayton, October 10th, and on the 19th the little Home was opened with two deaconesses and four probationers. The institution had a rapid growth, and, under the faithful and vigilant management of the directress, Anna Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 27^ von Dilfurth, the work made such rapid progress that the erection of a new hospital was soon projected. A beau- tiful site on a hill was selected and purchased. The pa- troness of the work paid for it, and donated it to the Deaconess Society. The . purchase price was $5,000. A gentleman bountifully blessed with this world's goods of- fered to donate $10,000 to the institution, provided a hos- pital should be erected at a cost of $100,000. His propo- sition was accepted, and a large hospital was built, which, with the appointments and building site, co,st $150,000. It was dedicated and given over to its purpose October 14, 189-1. The Deaconess Home continued until 1898, when it was dissolved, and the institution at present is only a hospital, in which professional nurses are employed. Why did a work, which began so auspiciously and made such rapid progress, fail, in spite of the great num- ber of deaconesses? We will give the reasons briefly. The first danger lay in the rapid growth of the institution. Thereby elements were received into the community which afterwards had to be eliminated or removed, a course that is always injurious to its inner life. Again, the deacon- esses had so much work that they found but little, if any, time at all for their theoretical training and spiritual edi- fication. In the overcrowding of work the superintendent, too, could not pay sufficient attention to his duties, so that, in this respect, the institution also suffered. A leading mistake was made when affluent men were received into the Directory only because their financial assistance was deemed necessary. But they had no understanding of the Deaconess Cause. They only had a mind for a great Prot- estant hospital with professional nurses. Superintendent Mueller now sought to separate the Deaconess Institution from the hospital ; but when he saw this was impossible, he determined, to the great regret of the Board and the 280 History of the Deaconess Movement. public, to leave altogether. Succeeding him, Rev. B. Stern was active as superintendent, but after a trial of nine months he also retired. And thus the Deaconess Work collapsed in Dayton. The hospital continues, with a train- inof-school for nurses. *•& Deaconess Home and Hospital, Evansville, Ind. The Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital of Evansville, Ind., was founded in 1892. Foremost among the promoters were the pastors, G. A. Schmidt, of the Evangelical St. Lucas Church; George Schwinn, of the First German ]\rethodist Church; and E. Vernly, of the First Evangelical Reformed Church. These gentlemen took the initiative in the work, and were very ably as- sisted by other pastors of the different Churches of the city. A constitution was adopted, and the Protestant Dea- coness Association was organized on the 22d of February, 1892. The first officers of the association were : Rev. G. A. Schmidt, president; Rev. George Schwinn, vice-president; Rev. E. Vernly, secretary; and John B. Ortmeier, treas- urer. After some delay two deaconesses of the Bethesda Hospital, Chicago, 111., were assigned to the work. Their labors were restricted to private nursing. The association had not yet entered upon regular hospital work. In June, 1893, a large house, located on Mary, Iowa, and Edgar Streets, including one half-block of land, was bought for the sum of $8,000. The Board of Trustees failing to get additional help in 1894, finally concluded to make the institution a station of the Deaconess Home in Dayton, 0. In 1895 the Board decided to carry on the work independent of any other Deaconess Home. In 1897 the work of building the new hospital was begun. The corner-stone was laid on the 17th of October, 1897. and in 1899 the new hospital was dedicated to the Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 281 service of suffering humanity. Tlie building cost $50,000, without the internal furnishings. These were supplied by the Ladies' Deaconess Aid Society, the Young Ladies' Deaconess Aid Society, the different Churches and Lodges Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital IN Evansville, Ind. and other charitable organizations in the city. The Ladies' Aid Society especially has been a great help to the insti- tution. The hospital is a three-story brick building, and has three operating-rooms — one for emergency, one for minor 282 History of the Deaconess Movement. surgery, and one for abdominal and aseptic cases. Each of these rooms is supplied with hot and cold sterilized water. Lighting is good, so that operations can be performed with the same degree of safety night or clay. The hospital has a capacity of seventy-five beds in the four wards, and twenty-five private rooms. It has steam heat throughout the building, and good ventilation in each room, ward, and hall. The then president of the institution, Eev. J. F. Severinghaus, of the First German Methodist Church, made himself specially meritorious in the erection of the hospital. The work was supported by the citizens in the most laudable manner, so that the debt, still on the build- ing, in no way interferes with its progress. Without a permanent fund, the hospital is almost self-supporting, and a laudable emulation is being manifested by the Prot- estant Churches of the city. Instruction and conversation are carried on in the in- stitution in the English language. The course of studies embraces all branches that are usually taught in Deaconess Homes, and extends over a period of three years. The work has grown to great dimensions, compared with the very modest beginning of ten years ago. In 1902, three hundred and ninety-two patients were treated in the hospital. .One hundred and thirty-six operations were performed and fifty-four patients were nursed in their homes by deaconesses during five hundred and eighty-two days. The receipts of the hospital were $8,449.53. The work is done by fourteen deaconesses, four of whom are consecrated. The management of the Deaconess Home and Hospital is in the hands of a Board of Trustees, consist- ing of eighteen members. Twelve of these are chosen by the Deaconess Association to serve a term of two years, and six are appointed by the twelve to serve a term of one year. The superintendent is elected by the Board of Man- Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 283 agers at the first session of each new year, but the directors are elected for an indefinite time. Protestant Deaconess Home, Indianapolis Ind. The Protestant Deaconess Society in the Hoosier Cap- ital is the result of a lecture which Eev. C. Mueller, at that time superintendent of the Deaconess Home in Day- ton, 0., gave, October 22, 1894, in Indianapolis, at the invitation of the German Protestant Pastoral Conference. On November ITth of the same year each pastor devoted a special sermon to the subject before his congregation. The matter being well received, the Pastoral Conference appointed a committee of five to draft a constitution. At a largely-attended meeting, December ITth, a constitu- tion was adopted. From that time the work developed in a normal and pleasurable way. A suitable piece of ground, with house, costing $21,000, was purchased at a prominent corner. The intention was to pay for it in ten years; but in three years the entire indebtedness was canceled, and a project was entertained to erect a new hospital. On April 3, 1899, the new building, prominent among the benevolent institutions of the city, was dedi- cated. The property represents a value of $85,000. The society numbers five hundred active, forty-eight life, and twenty-one honorary members. Eleven deacon- esses are connected with the institution; but as their serv- ice was not sufficient, a training-school for nurses was established. Eev. J. C. Peters, president of the Board of ]\Ianagers, and pastor of the largest German Protestant Church in the city, has made himself especially useful for the welfare of the institution. Five hundred patients were nursed in the hospital in 1902, and there are eight inmates in the Home for the Aged. 284 HiSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. ^ i i \ I ik^ 1 ^^ ■"^vw^.. "^ I ' ^Ul Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital in Indianapolis, Ind. German Deaconess Home, Buffalo, N. Y. The incentive for the foundation of this institution was given by the deaconess, Ida Tobschall. She had been a teacher in the public schools of Buffalo, and in 1891 en- tered the German Deaconess Home and Hospital at Gin- 286 History of the Deaconess Movement. cinnati. Letters and reports which she sent home were so encouraging that they prompted the establishment of a Deaconess Home in Buffalo, and on January 26, 1895, a number of friends of the cause gathered together and organized a Deaconess Society, of which at once one hun- dred and twenty-five became members. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution, which at a second meet- ing, on May 1st, was discussed and adopted. The object of the society is expressed in the following words : 1. The collection and training of Christian young women and lone widows to the exercise of Christian benevolence. 2. The establishment and support of institutions in which deaconesses may give their services for the welfare of suf- fering and imperiled humanity. The institution was opened October 23, 1895, in a rented house at 27 Goodrich Street. The Deaconess Home and Hospital in Cincinnati gave the society two deaconesses for an indefinite period of time. A Woman^s Society, which meanwhile had been organized, performed good services in the appointments of the house. In a short time a number of probationers were entered, and the house was so filled with patients that en- largement of the premises became imperative. The society purchased a large, suitable site on Kingsley Street, and erected thereon a spacious building, so arranged that the three departments of the institution — Hospital, Deaconess Home, and Home for the Aged — could be kept separate. The new structure was dedicated November 28, 1896, with imposing ceremonies, in which the German Protestant in- habitants of the city largely participated. The Board of Managers had, a short time previously, extended a call as head deaconess to Sister Ida Tobschall, who for many years was at the head of the Deaconess Home and Hospital in Cincinnati. Under her circumspect management the Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 287 Buffalo institution is developing great prosperity. Eev. C. L. Schild, who did much for the founding of the insti- tution, filled the office of director from April, 1895, to the fall of 1899. Since his retirement the Home has had no resident minister. Rev. Dr. A. E. Dahlmann, in addi- tion to his duties as pastor of a large congregation, is superintendent of the institution. The community counts twenty-six members, of whom eleven are consecrated dea- conesses. The average number of patients annually is six hundred. There are fifty inmates in the Home for the Aged, and, in addition to nursing in private families, the deaconesses have charge of a day-nursery. The annual receipts, on an average, are $25,000. Deaconess Home "Bethesda/^ Chicago. This institution was founded in 1895 by the German philanthropist, F. Frank F. Henning. As early as 1883 Mr. Henning conferred with several German citizens of Chicago with a view of discussing the availability and necessity of a German Hospital. The result was the or- ganizing of a Hospital Association, which was incorporated December 17, 1883, in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois. The object of the institution was stated to be to afford a refuge to all persons, irrespective of creed or nationality, in cases of sickness, and to give this benefit to the poor without compensation, with moderate charges to those of means. Mr. Henning was elected president of the society, and later of the hospital. He was born May 3, 1840, in Prussia, and in his fif- teenth year came with his parents to America. They set- tled in the then sparsely-populated State of Wisconsin. Here they came in touch with the Methodist Church. Young Frank experienced a change of heart, and became 288 History of the Deaconess Movement. a member of this Church. At the age of nineteen he left the paternal roof in order to take up the battle of life. He showed great perseverance and decided will-power, working in a factory and on a farm until, in 1861, he heeded the call of his country and joined an Illinois voh anteer regiment. In the Civil Wai he was engaged in many hardly- fought battles. and, after being wounded, received an honorable dis- charge, in June, 1863. A year later he entered a furniture b u s i- ness house in Chi- cago as clerk, and by his fidelity and diligence worked himself up, so that, in a few years, he became a member of the firm. A t t h e great Chicago fire in 1871 he lost his possessions, but not his courage. The firm established itself again, erected a large factory of its own, and in a short time Mr. Henning was an affluent man. The year 1880 was a turning point in his life. After hearing an impressive sermon by Evangelist Moody, he formed the resolution of thereafter consecrating his life to the Lord. He joined the newly-established society of Mr. F. Frank F. Henning. Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 289 "Christian Young Men/' and soon became its president. His heart was aglow with love for the Master, and he put himself at the head of the committees which visited the hospitals, infirmaries, prisons, and numerous benevolent in- stitutions of the city of Chicago. This work gave him so much enjoyment and pleasure that he resolved to retire from business, and devote his whole time and strength to philanthropic work. As there was no German Prot- estant hospital in Chicago, he resolved to found one. On account of the difficulty experienced in getting the right point of view, there were many experiments and fluctua- tions in his venture, until, in December, 1883, he under- took to carry out his projected great plan of founding a German Protestant hospital. The question jof combining with it a training-school or a Deaconess Home was by no means an unimportant one, as there was as yet but little understanding of the Deaconess Work. Nevertheless, trust- ing to the Lord, he undertook to establish the Bethesda Deaconess Society, February 4, 188G ; and four days later Louise Schmidt, an experienced hospital nurse, was in- stalled as the superintendent. This Deaconess Society was one of the first in the United States. After a twelve years' connection with the German Hospital, Mr. Henning re- tired from its management, and founded the German- American Hospital, combining with it also a training- school for nurses, which, however, is conducted by dea- conesses. On his retirement from the German Hospital it was free from debt, and the property had a value of $70,000, besides a permanent fund of $30,000. Mr. Hen- ning also founded the Bethesda Deaconess Home, and, October 1, 189G, opened the German-American Hospital. Here, during the first four years, 1,324 patients were re- ceived and nursed, and the receipts and expenditures dur- ing that time were, in round numbers, $40,000. Mr. 19 290 HI8T0KY OF THE DeACOXESS MOVEMENT. Henning also founded the Bethany Brothers Industrial Association. This society furnishes employment to the unemployed, and in connection with it he established a broom factory, a printing-house, a Home for Incurables, Bethesda Deaconess Home and German Amerioajn Hospital,, Chicago, III. an Industrial School, and a restaurant combined with a lodging-house, in which the worthy poor may find shelter for the night at a nominal cost. Five deaconesses are active in the institution, and the balance of the work is Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 291 done by other help. Mr. F. Frank F. Henning is super- intendent of the work. Deaconess Home, Lincoln, III. The foundation of this institution is to be traced back to the efforts of Rev. F. W. Schnathorst. In 1899 two deaconesses^ who had received their training in Dayton, 0., took charge, and three years later a building was erected, which is serving the com- bined purpose of hospital and Deaconess Home. St. Johns Home for the Aged, Rochester, N. Y. This institution was founded in 1899, with the intention of placing it under the management of deaconesses ; but so far it has been impossible to do so through lack of means. But the management has not for a moment lost sight of the end in view. Institutions of the Reformed Church. Deaconess Home of the German Reformed Church, Cleveland^ 0. At a conference of reformed preachers in Cleveland, 0., the question was put whether it would not be advisable to employ a deaconess for the nursing of the sick in the congregations. The fruit of this discussion was the estab- lishment of a ^^Society for the Christian Nursing of the Sick and Poor," which was organized July 2, 1892, in the First German Reformed Church of that city. A Board of Managers was elected, consisting of twelve members of the Reformed Church. During the first year they were obliged to content themselves with gathering members for the society, and no thought could be entertained of nurs- ing the sick, for the three young women who had been sent to the hospitals to be trained were lost to the society. Thus, after the first year, there was nothing to report ex- cepting receipts of $268.46. . But on the very first anni- 292 History of the Deaconess Movement. versary a beginning was to be made for the practical execu- tion of the work. The attention of the leaders of the movement was di- rected to the presence of a deaconess at the meeting, who chanced to be in Cleveland on a visit. She was Catharine Broeckel, a deaconess from the institution in Neumuenster, Switzerland. After several conferences, she declared her- self willing to assume the management of the work, pro- vided she obtained leave from the Mother House in Neu- muenster. That was given, and on Xovember 15, 1893, she came to Cleveland, undertaking the first private nurs- ing on the 21st of the same month. The next thing to be done was to provide a suitable dwelling for the deaconesses, and also room for a hospital. Three rooms, with kitchen, were rented in a house on Scranton Avenue, of which one was furnished with three beds as a sick-room. The premises were occupied March 1, 1894. The work increased, and soon the quarters were found to be too small. Then a house was rented in Frank- lin Avenue Circle, at $50 a month. This was the Home of the deaconesses for two years. At the end of this time it was determined to purchase property for permanent residence, and a most desirable piece of property was purchased in the immediate vicinity of one of the parks of the city for $10,000. Alterations in the house cost an additional $1,500, and an additional building in the rear about $3,000. Under the careful management of the directress, Dea- coness Catharine Broeckel, the internal prosperity of the work was well developed. On April 15, 1894, the first pro- bationer, Miss Anna Hofer, of Toledo, 0., entered the Home, and since that time the community has steadily grown. Sister Catharine was at the head of the house till February 1, 189 7, when she was succeeded by Deaconess Deacon Kss Homks in Protestant Churches. 293 Eosalia Knorj), of Suttgart. Upon the return of the latter to Germany after a service of three years, Deaconess Anna Hofer, longest in the community, was unanimously elected directress. It is just that we should rememher the man who was a main factor in the establishment and development of this Deaconess Home of the German Refokmed Church IN Cleveland, O flourishing institution. He, among very few in the United States, has fully grasped the thought of the female diac- onate, and belongs to the most prominent leaders of this great movement which is so promising for the future of the American Church. He is Eev. J. H. C. Koentgen, D. D., the present rector of the institution. He was born July 19, 1844, at Elberfeld, Prussia. His father, 2U History of the Deaconess Movement. Ferdinand Eoentgen, was a God-fearing man, who had ^ much at heart the Christian education of his children. His mother was a highly-gifted and noble-minded woman, who, by her devout life, made a lasting impression upon the hearts of her five children. Unfortunately she died early (1860), and in 1872 the father with his two surviving children — a daughter, who became the wife of Pastor Graul in Indianapolis, and a son, the present Dr. J. H. C. Eoentgen, emigrated to Amer- ica. Here the latter found opportunity to quench his great thirst for knowledge and prepare himself for his later conse- crated career. He at once entered the Ke- f ormed Mission House in Sheboygan, Wis. By his diligence and extraordinary firmness of character he became an ex- ample to his fellow-students. He assumed a pastoral charge in 1874 in La Crosse, Wis., and in 1882 accepted the call of the First German Eeformed Church in Cleveland. He served this congregation until he resigned his pas- torate in May, 1901, in order to devote his whole time and strength to the Deaconess Work. The Board of Man- agers of the institution unanimously elected him its su- perintendent. He had performed the duties of this office from the beginning, but not until this time had found it Rev. J. H. C. Roentgen, D. D. Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 295 imperative to give up all pastoral work. In 1892 he re- ceived from the Franklin and Marshall College at Lan-. caster, Pa., the title of Doctor of Divinity, and this dis- tinction he richly merited as a thorough theologian and successful pastor. For eight years he was a member of the Faculty of Calvin College in Cleveland, and the stu- dents highly esteemed him as a teacher. A near relative of Dr. Roentgen is Professor W. C. Roentgen, of Munich, whose name has become famous through the discovery of the X-rays. The essays which he usually reads at the Protestant Deaconess Conference, and his practical grasp of the needs of this young work, entitle him to a full share in the healthy development of the Deaconess Cause in the German Protestant Church of the United States. The hospital connected with the Deaconess Home in Cleveland, though not large, enjoys a high reputation. Besides the hospital service, the deaconesses are active in private nursing, and the institution has esta1)lished a Home for the Aged. The Evangelical Deaconess Homes. While the Deaconess Institutions under this caption are not organically connected with the Evangelical Synod of North America, the members of the Board of Managers, as well as the superintendents of the same, belong to this denomination ; hence the name. This great and influential branch of the German Protestant Church of America is most prominently represented in the Interdenominational Deaconess Institutions, and in most cases the initiative in their establishment has been taken by ministers of this Synod. Rev. J. Pister, president of the Evangelical Synod of Xorth America, is president of the Interdenominational Institution in Cincinnati, 0., and also has been president of the Protestant Deaconess Conference of America. 296 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Evangelical Deaconess Home at St. Louis, Mo. This institution is under tlie auspices of the Evangelical Deaconess Association, which was organized in 1889, and incorporated under the State laws of Missouri in 1890. En- couraged and guided by the Deaconess Work in Germany, several pastors of the German Evangelical Synod of North America deeply felt the need of devoted and well-trained Christian charity workers in the Protestant Church among the sick and poor. The matter was earnestly and prayer- fully considered, and the result was the organization of the above named Association and a general interest in the work among the German Churches throughout the city of St. Louis. The first officers were Eev. J. F. Klick, Presi- dent; Rev. H. Walser, Vice-President; Rev. C. Fritsch, Secretary; Mr. A. G. Toennies, Financial Secretary; and Mr. W. E. Hess, Treasurer. At first a house at Fourteenth and Clark Avenues was donated to the Association by Mrs. Mebus, a widow. This, however, could not be utilized for the purpose; so it was leased, and the proceeds were used to rent another house, better adapted, at 2119 Eugenia Street. The first deaconesses were Mrs. Catharine Haack, a minister's widow, and her adopted daughter. Miss Lydia Daries (Sisters Catharine and Lydia), who had been effi- cient trained nurses at the St. Luke's Hospital (Episcopal) of St. Louis. Soon other young women who became ac- quainted with the work applied for admission, and after three years there were ten deaconesses at work. The need for such work was very great, and in 1892 the Board of Directors bought the grounds now occupied by the Home and hospital, which is centrally located in a quiet residence neighborhood in the West End of St. Louis, at the corner of West Belle Place and Sarah Street. In addition to the 298 History of the Deaconess Movement. well-preserved schoolhouse on the place, which was thor- oughly renovated and rebuilt to suit its new purpose, a three-story hospital was erected the same year, with room for forty-two beds, at a cost of $20,000. In 1894, Mr. H. Tibbe, of Washington, Mo., donated the sum of $9,000 to the Association for the purpose of paying three-fourths of the cost of a large corner lot east of the Home and hospital building, thereby greatly enhancing the value of the property and improving its. surroundings for the future. A new addition was built extending on to the new ground in 1897, thereby providing room for twenty-five dea- conesses and fifty patients and several rooms for hired help. In the same year the Board of Directors decided to intrust the management into the hands of a minister of the German Evangelical Synod. To this action, however, the head deaconess. Sister Catharine, objected, and resigned her position. She also induced some of the other deacon- esses to leave the Home, so that, when the present superin- tendent, Eev. F. P. Jens, assumed charge of the work, in the spring of 1898, there were only five deaconesses in the Home. The work, although very much curtailed by these events, was continued, nnd began to grow anew. At pres- ent (1902) there are twenty-two deaconesses in the work, of whom ten are consecrated. The hospital, as well as the Home, is well equipped. It has two operating rooms, an electric elevator, and hot and cold baths. Together with the Home, the Association's property is valued at about $45,000. The deaconesses receive a regular course of training lasting from two to three years, whicli comprises not only the regular trained nurse's course, but also Bible study and the history and principles of Deaconess Work. Besides nursing the sick and poor in the hospital, the dea- conesses are doing considerable charity work among the Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 299 poor, irreS23ective of creed and nationality, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Illinois. They have nursed in the institu- tion for epileptics, ''Emmaus," at Marthasville, Mo., and also at the Good Samaritan Hospital of St. Louis. In 1901 five hundred and fifty-one patients were nursed at the hospital, sixty-nine in different Church districts out- side of the hospital, and numerous visits were made to the poor and needy. The income for 1901 was $27,000. The present officers of the Association are: Eev. H. Walser, President; Eev. J. Baltzer, Vice-President; Rev. C. G. Haas, Secretary; Mr. G. H. Wetteran, Treasurer; Rev. F. P. Jens, Superintendent and Financial Secretary; Sis- ter Magdalene Gerhold, Head Deaconess. The Tahitha InstiUite, Lincoln, Neb., is the oldest es- tablishment of this Church. It was founded in 1887 by the present director, the genial Rev. H. Heiner. It was originally an Orphan Asylum, but in 1889 there was con- nected with it a Deaconess Home. A handsome edifice was erected at a cost of $15,000, and the Deaconess Home, Orphan Asylum, and Home for the Aged are all under the same roof. Four deaconesses are connected with the institution, of whom two have been consecrated. Rev. H. Heiner is superintendent, and his wife directress, of the institute. The Deaconess Society organized by evangelical min- isters in New Orleans, La., in 1894, has accomplished but little so far. The society, however, hopes soon to erect a Deaconess Home. Deaconess Work Among the German Baptists. The German Baptist Churches of Chicago established, in 1897, a Deaconess Society with a membership of one hundred and fifty. They gathered funds for an institu- tion, and engaged two deaconesses who had received their 300 History of tttk Draconess Movement. training in Phila(leli)liia, Pa., and Dayton, 0. The society was incori)orated according to the laws of the State of Illinois under the name of "Deaconess Society of the German Baptists of Chicago and Vicinity," and, in the language of the constitution, the object of the society is : nursing the sick in the spirit of Christian love, as well as the training and support of deaconesses in their voca- tion. Unfortunately the society has not yet passed the incipient stage. However, a number of deaconesses are being trained for their work in different hospitals, and the society soon hopes to be able to purchase its own Home, and thereby give a new impetus to the work. Eev. Jacob Meier, pastor of the First German Baptist Church, 300 North Pauline Street, Chicago, 111., is president of the society. Sprunger's Deaconess Institutes. Eev. J. A. Sprunger, of Berne, Ind., founded a Dea- coness Home which, in several respects, is different from other Deaconess institutions. It is in the hands of a society known by the name of "United Deaconess Association." Only consecrated deaconesses may become members and superintendents of this Association, and the latter are elected by the former. Although the constitution provides a Board of Managers, the governing reins are held by the president. Rev. J. A. Sprunger, the founder of the insti- tution. He has the supervision of the property, examines the applications of those who wish to become deaconesses, md passes, in fact, on all questions of importance, whether in the internal or external management of the institu- tion. The directress is called Mother Superior, and her assistant. Matron of the Mother House. Although Rev. Sprunger himself belongs to the Church of Mennonites, the Deacoxess Homes in Protestant Churches. 301 Deaconess Association is interdenominational, and candi- dates are received from the different Churches. In fact, it is reported that they will not sever connection with the Church to which they belong. All the property belongs to the United Deaconess Association, and is therefore man- aged b}^ the community of deaconesses. This institution was founded in February, 1890, at Berne, Ind., by Eev. Sj^runger, and in June of the same year removed to Chicago. The work made rapid progress. In connection with the Mother House in this city, a Ma- ternity and Rescue Home was established, and in Berne, Ind., a large Orphan Asylum was erected, managed by deaconesses. In 189-1 the society opened a branch hos- pital in Cleveland, and another in Detroit, while deacon- esses were sent to help the institutions at Evansville, Ind. ; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Bloomington, 111. The hospital in Cleveland was destroyed by fire in 1895, and one of the faithful deaconesses, who might easily have saved her- self, perished in the flames, because she was unwilling to forsake her helpless patients. Three of the patients lost their lives. There are three deaconesses active in Africa as missionaries, and two in Turkey. The latter are in charge of an institution in which there are two hundred and twenty-five orphans and seventy-five widows. In 1897, eighteen deaconesses separated themselves from the Association, on account of a difference of opinion in regard to several points of teaching. They established a Home in Chicago, which is presided over by the deaconess, K. C. Moser. Eecently the Sprunger Deaconess Homes, as such, have collapsed, and the remaining deaconesses are managing the Orphan Asylum at Berne, Ind., and are active in foreign mission work. 302 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Cause in the Evangelical Asso- ciation. This Church has a flourishing Deaconess Work in Eu- rope, with a Mother House each in Elberfeld and Strass- burg, as we have previously noticed. In America, only small beginnings thus far have been made, — in Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, and Berlin, Ont. The General Con- ference of the Church, at its session in St. Paul, Minn. (1899), adopted commendatory resolutions, appointed a commission for the drafting of plans and a constitution, and laid the foundation for a uniform management of the matter in the whole Church. The plans adopted by this commission makes provision for the appointment of a Dea- coness Society in each Conference to which the branch societies of the congregations are subject. The entire ar- rangement leans on the German Mother House idea. None of the four institutions in question has, up to the present time, its own Home; but in each case the preparatory steps have been taken for the acquisition of a suitable piece of property, and in each one of these cities several deaconesses are busy in the nursing of the sick, and es- pecially in parish work. In June, 1902, the Chicago Home celebrated its sixth anniversary. The Home is lo- cated at 515 Orchard Street, and Rev. J. Wellner is super- intendent. Of the eight deaconesses, four are still in training. The Protestant Diaconate Conference. At the time of the dedication of the Deaconess Home in Dayton, 0., tlie rector of the institution. Rev. Carl Mueller called together the representatives of the German Protestant Deaconess Homes in America, and, October 15, 1894, opened the Protestant Diaconate Conference. Deaconess Homes in Protestant Churches. 303 Kev. Carl Mueller was elected president, and Dr. J. H. C. Eoentgen secretary. The object was to get acquainted with each other, and the representatives of the eight insti- tutions, who were present, reported on the condition of the work. Conference advised the smaller institutions to be- come affiliated with the larger ones, and that no Deaconess Home receive a deaconess leaving another without first communicating with the Mother House to which she be- longed. The next Conference was held, October 24-25, 1895, in Cleveland, and busied itself principally with the ques- tion of principles. Eev. J. H. C. Koentgen was elected president. The third Conference was held the following year in Cincinnati, and the training of deaconesses was the principal subject of discussion. Eev. H. W. Hortsch was elected the permanent secretary. At the fourth Con- ference, held in Buffalo, the principal subject deliberated on was the community life of the deaconess, and Rev. C. Colder was elected president. It was at this Conference that the secretary submitted the first statistics concern- ing the German Deaconess Work in America. The Conference in St. Louis discussed themes regarding the instruction of the deaconesses, and a constitution and rules were adopted for mutual assistance in times of N'a- 'tional calamities. Rev. C. L. Schild, of Buffalo, was elected president, and upon his resignation, which soon followed, as he retired from the work, the duties of the office were as- sumed by the vice-president, Rev. E. G. Hiller. The next Conference, in Indianapolis, was engaged with the question of the spiritual care of the sick by the deaconesses. Under the auspices of this Conference the Deaconesses' Minor was published. Rev. H. Walser, of St. Louis, was elected president. The Conference of 1900, in Louisville, Ky.;, busied itself with the better internal or- 304 History of the Deaconess Movement. ganization of Deaconess Homes, and elected Eev. J. Pister president. In 1901, Eev. Dr. A. E. Dahlman, from Buffalo, N. Y., was elected president, and Eev. J. F. Klick, from St. Louis, Mo., vice-president. This Conference has not been without its influence upon the development of the Deaconess Work in America. It has brought the workers in closer touch with each other; in the discussion of important questions it has served to lead the Homes into certain lines of work; it has spread a knowledge of the Deaconess Cause throughout the Chris- tian Church, and, by a uniform course, advanced the progress of the work. It ineets every other year, and the Head Deaconesses of the different institutions generally constitute a special committee, which not infrequently sub- mits important propositions. CHAPTER X. THE BEGINNING OF DEACONESS WOEK IN THE METH- ODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN AMERICA. We will now trace the early history of Deaconess Work in the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. Mrs. Susan M. D. Fry, a well-known lady, wrote, in 1872, in the Ladies' Repository, a family magazine which had a wide circulation among Methodists, as follows : "When will the women of America awake to a sense of their responsibility? And what great soul, tilled with love to God and man, shall open the way and prepare the means whereby we may be enabled to compete successfully with our sisters of Rome, not only as general charity women, educators, and succorers of the unfortunate, but especially as nurses of the sick — a department of such great good to soul and body, yet so long allowed to be monopolized by the daughters of Rome? Earnest thinkers upon the subect of 'Woman's Work in the Church' are looking to the Quakers and Methodists to move forward in God's name, smiting the waters of blind prejudice, and leading their daughters into the full possibilities of an entirely devoted Christian womanhood." The general impression seemed to be that the Church could not possi])ly perform the gigantic work devolving upon it in consequence of the unparalleled increase of population, unless it leave the beaten path and call into its service new help. It was therefore considered necessary to assign to women, whose sphere of action had been rather limited, a new field of activity in the Church. It is a known fact that the Methodist Episcopal Church 20 305 306 History of the Deaconess Movement. has always accorded greater privileges to women and made more use of their help than any other denomination, the Society of Friends excepted. Hence it is surprising that the Deaconess Work should have been ignored so long by American Methodism despite the fact that inspiration in that direction had not been wanting. Bishops and other prominent men in the Church were constantly coming into contact with the flourishing Deaconess Work abroad, and the vigorous Bethany Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Germany and Switzerland, which was founded in 1874, ought to have been an incentive to American Methodism. However, the Church did not seem to profit by these until toward the close of the ^80's, when it was suddenly stirred by the thought that it had been neglectful in this particular direction, and had closed its eyes to golden opportunities. The efforts made in Germany by Amalie Sieveking and Pastor Kloene in the organization of Deaconess Homes have a counterpart in the United States in the pioneer work of Mrs. Anna Wittemeyer and Bishop Simpson. The latter became acquainted with the Deaconess Work in Germany early in the '60's, and on his return to the United States advocated the founding of Deaconess Institutes after German models. Inspired by Bishop Simpson, the editor of the Ladies' Repository continued to bring the cause be- fore the public. Thus one of his contributors wrote in 1872 : "In the Methodist Episcopal Church there are seven hundred thousand women, or two hundred thousand more women than men ; and the question of how this force may be utilized is of no small importance both to the Church and to the world. If the Church lays not hold of it, the world does. But certainly this question has been at least partially solved by the organization of a society called the Methodist Church in America. 307 Ladies' and Pastors' Christian Union, which, to a great extent, supplies the want of the Order of Deaconesses. In fact, in this society we find the exact counterpart of the Commune Deaconess of Europe, or the apostolic Phoebe. It was first organized in Philadelphia, March, 1868, and the first year thirty-seven thousand families were visited, and during this last year already more than fifty thousand families have been visited by these ladies in the interest of Church, Sabbath-school, and religion. In this society the earnestly pious sisters in the Church simply propose to unite under the control and guidance of their pastor, and, as he shall direct, visit the sick, the poor, the fatherless, and the widows, and appeal to the careless and indifferent professor, or hardened sinner, giving as much as prac- ticable of their time and money for the upbuilding of Christ's kingdom; but, above all, their prayers and per- sonal efforts for the salvation of souls, ^engaging to watch for souls as they who must give account,' and be ready, if need be, to snatch them as brands from the eternal burning.'' Dr. ^[aclay, writing from China in the October number (1871) of the Heathen Woman s Friend concerning the labor of native Christian women in the China missions, asks, "Why not revive the ancient Order of Deaconesses in our Church?" In answer to this question, Mrs. Susan M. D. Fry says : "There is at present a movement on foot for the intro- duction of this order into the Church of England, and the subject is being agitated in the German Reformed Church of America. In 18G6 a gentleman of Hagerstown, Md., gave $5,000, accompanied with a proposition that three ladies of the congregation should be ordained deaconesses, and have control of the income of said fund for the pur- poses and duties as practiced in the early Church. Bishop 308 History of the Deaconess Movement. Littlejohn, before a Convention of ministers of the Diocese of Long Island in session some time during the past year — I have not the exact date — urged the importance of the setting apart of women for special Church orders and duties. The proposition met with great favor. There are several Deaconess Institutions in Europe at the present time, and at least two in our own country. I have not been able to gain information of any others, though there may be such.^^ The Ladies' and Pastors' Christian Union was founded by Mrs. Anna Wittemeyer, who is to be considered the Amalie Sieveking of American Methodism. ■ She was the pioneer of the Deaconess Movement in this Church. Like Florence Nightingale, Mrs. Wittemeyer brought comfort and solace to the wounded and dying on the battlefields and in the hospitals during our Civil War. She organized bands of ministering women, and under her direction they accomplished a great work during the war. When peace had been restored she endeavored to direct these labors of mercy into permanent channels. For this purpose she made Philadelphia her home, and published a paper called The Cristian Woman. She also traveled extensively, lecturing, organizing societies, and appealing to the women of this country to consider their duty toward the sick, the poor, and the forlorn. The pulpit and the press took no- tice of her activity, and, in harmony with her desire, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1872 officially recognized the above-named society, the Ladies' and Pastors' Christian Union. The Official Board of this organization was composed of twelve women and thirteen clergymen. However, the real moving power of the Union was Mrs. Wittemeyer and Mrs. Susan M. D. Fry. These two ladies traversed the country, and in simple but stirring language pleaded for a wider and more systematic Methodist Church in America. 309 exemplification of the principle of Christian benevolence, and advocated the founding of hospitals, orphanages, Dea- coness Homes, Homes for the Aged, etc. In the larger cities they also founded societies to look after the poor and the sick and to visit prisons. In these endeavors they were especially encouraged, and, aided by Bishop Simpson, with whom Mrs. Wittemeyer often discussed the Deaconess Cause. The bishop concluded that the time for founding of Deaconess Homes after German models had come. The Ladies' and Pastors' Christian Union seemed to him to be best adapted as a means for the realization of this purpose. In 1872, Mrs. Fry published a series of articles in the above-named monthly, the Ladies' Repository, in which she made a strong plea for the Deaconess Cause. Several of these papers, entitled "Ancient and Modern Sisterhoods" and "Ancient and Modern Deaconesses," called forth es- pecial interest. She closes one of these articles with the following words : "Where is there a broader field or more legitimate work for women than in the ministration of love? And if so much is accomplished 'by the desultory labors of Protestant women, how much greater success would crown concerted action! . . . Looking at the Sisterhoods, we can not fail to see that their success lies not in celibacy, but in system; not in monasticism, but in organization; not so much in blind devotion as in thorough training. When shall the question cease to be asked, 'Why can not Prot- estant women do what these Koman Catholic women do ?' Not that we do not as much as they, in other channels, per- haps, and unknown to the world, but that we fall so far short of what might be done, and, we may add, ought to be done. Because Kome once, with a great maelstrom of denunciation, swept in all the free bands of women de- voted to the service of Christ and humanity, and degraded SlO History of the Deaconess Movement. them to mere propagandizing forces, shall we fail to op- pose an equal barrier to her success? Yea, a more than equal; for so soon as Protestant women systematically undertake the good works humanity so loudly demands, not as ^engines of religious propagandism/ but simply show- ing their faith by their works, Eome's most powerful weapon passes from her hands. Already, in all Europe, the crown of victory is settling on the brows of Protestant nurses and teachers — thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Fry, Pastor Fliedner, and others.^' In the fall of 1872, Mrs. Wittemeyer made a journey to Kaiserswerth, in Germany, in order to acquaint herself more thoroughly with the working of the deaconess or- ganization. During her sojourn abroad she published sev- eral articles, in which she described the modern Deaconess Movement, especially the institution at Kaiserswerth, giv- ing an account of its purposes and results. A general en- thusiasm was created by these articles, and it seemed that the Church was now prepared for the introduction of Dea- coness Work. However, the activi1;y of the women par- ticularly interested in this cause was suddenly checked and diverted into another channel. In September, 1874, the women of this country became suddenly interested in the Temperance Movement, and many of them were drawn into the "Crusade,^^ which originated in Ohio, having been planned by several coura- geous women. The movement spread rapidly all over the country and caused intense enthusiasm. Mrs. Wittemeyer was made president of the organization, and from that time on devoted her efforts to the temperance cause, in which she had always been deeply interested. In the fall of 1874, Mrs. Fry returned from Europe, and she also was drawn into the movement. Meanwhile she accepted a call to a chair in • the Illinois Wesleyan University, Methodist Church in America. 311 with the intention of devoting her entire time later on to the temperance cause. It soon became evident that the Ladies^ and Pastors' Christian Union was not well adapted to establish the Deaconess Work, because of its unwieldiness, its directors being scattered all over the coun- try. True, the establishing of an Institution had been de- cided, but it was not to have a small beginning, developing like a mustard-seed. On the contrary, its was planned on a large scale, and this circumstance was the cause of its failure. Nevertheless, the work had not been in vain. The way had been prepared for a wider activity of women in the Church. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized, and the Woman's Missionary Societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church had for some time previous been doing excellent work. Hence, when a few years later, in the '80's, Bishop Thoburn began to advocate the Dea- coness Cause, and Mrs. Lucy Eider Meyer threw the weight of her powerful personality into the scales, it did not prove difficult to inaugurate the movement, which was to take a powerful hold on the Church in a comparatively short space of time. In 188G, Dr. J. M. Thoburn (at present Bishop Tho- burn), who had been sent to India in 1859, and who is beyond question one of our greatest missionaries, returned to America to restore his health. The voyage proved to be of historic significance. The misery of women in India was uppermost in his mind during the trip, and, after much prayer, the thought came to him that the intro- duction of the Deaconess Work might bring the desired relief. Millions of the women of India are debarred from participating in the sacrament of the communion, and this deplorable state of affairs will necessarily continue until one of their own sex can administer this sacrament. When- ever the Mission Conferences in India convene, this mat- 312 History of the Deaconess Movement. ter is usually discussed, and the question has often been asked whether it be possible to revive the Deaconess Order of the primitive Church, and thus to create an office which would empower the female missionaries to administer the holy communion to the Zenana women, who are kept in such strict seclusion that missionaries are not allowed to approach them for that purpose. If in the primitive Church laymen (e. g., midwives) were permitted to ad- minister baptism in case of urgency, why should female missionaries be prohibited from administering baptism to Zenana women who have been prepared for admission into the Church, and desire to be baptized ? And if baptism is admissible under such circumstances, why not also com- munion? Dr. Thoburn declared that he would have this privilege made use of only in cases of utmost necessity; it was to be considered an exception, and not a rule. In view of the fact that the deaconesses, if ordained, would enjoy the same privilege as the deacons in the primitive Church, he was confident that in the Deaconess Order he had found the desired help for India. Methodism has always held more liberal opinions con- cerning the question of ordination than the Established Church. By the introduction of lay preaching it has re- vived a custom of the Apostolic Church. It has always adapted itself to its surroundings, and would not be hampered by tradition. Like the Apostle Paul, it has manifested a cosmopolitan spirit in order to win men for Christ. Why, then, should it not be able to find a way in which it would be possible to administer the sacraments to newly-converted souls in the Zenana? Dr. Thoburn believed that the Deaconess Order, such as it is found in the primitive Church, would solve the problem, and, like Fliedner, he was used by Providence to point out the way to the Church. However, things did not come to pass Methodist Church in America. 313 as he had planned ; for his ideas did not meet with ap- proval at the General ConfeT-ence. Nevertheless, he aided in adding a feature to the organism of the Church in Bishop James M. Thobubn. America by means of which a larger field of usefulness was opened to American women. This was brought about in the following manner: On his return voyage to America, referred to above, Dr. Thoburn was accompanied by his wife and his sister, 314 History of the Deaconess Movement. Miss Isabella Thoburn, also a missionary. En route they discussed the mission work in India, and in connection with it the Deaconess Organization as it was found in Europe. In London the two ladies visited several Dea- coness Homes, among them "Mildmay." The impression which they received confirmed Dr. Thoburn in his opinion that deaconesses would not only prove a blessing for India, but also for entire Methodism. He resolved to present the matter to the Church, and to press the introduction of the order. He writes as follows : "We came over to America, and began at once to put the plan before the public. This was early in 1886. I think the first time that I ever stated the plan in detail before a public audi- ence was in Bellefontaine, 0., at the session of the Central Ohio Conference of that year. Everywhere I noticed with surprise that the proposal met with unexpected favor. Hundreds of people would say: Tt is just the thing we need. The time has come when some agency of this kind must be provided.' When we reached Chicago we were invited to the training-school of Mrs. Lucy Eider Meyer. Here we found a noble Christian worker with the same problem in her mind, and busy, not only pondering the subject, but arranging to carry it into effect. Here also we met our friend and brother, Mr. W^. E. Blackstone, pre- pared to help with counsel and with purse in initiating the enterprise. At other points I was surprised to find that God was stirring up the same conviction in the minds of leading men and women. I can not forbear to mention one, the late lamented W. H. Craig, of Kansas City. When I visited him at his home, and before I had said a word on the subject, he told me that the time had come for our Church to move in this matter. I mention all these incidents to show that God has been leading in this movement. Great movements of this kind never begin Methodist Church in America. 315 by a happy chance in a single place, and spread thence like fire over the prairies. God creates a widespread con- viction, prepares many minds for the reception of his plans, and so guides that when the time comes his people are prepared for their responsibilities. Hence it was that when we carried this subject into the General Conference of 1888, we were all amazed to find that it commanded, not only a majority of votes, but kindled a deep enthusiasm in the hearts and minds of the delegates there assembled." In Chicago, Dr. Thoburn spent a few days at the Training-school for Missions. This w^as important in the history of the movement. Mrs. J. M. B. Eobinson has said: "The honor of having introduced the Deaconess Work into the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States is due to Mrs. Lucy Eider Meyer, of the Chicago Training-school, who, with her pupils, visited the poor and the sick in the city during the summer of 1887." The first Deaconess Home in American Methodism was opened in unused rooms at the Chicago Training-school in June, 1887, in the fall, a "flat" near by having been secured, and Miss Isabella Thoburn was made "house- mother," as the office of matron is beautifully designated in the Deaconess Homes m Germany. But before this, October 20, 1885, Mrs. Meyer had opened the first train- ing-school for prospective deaconesses, in Chicago. Of it, Dr. Stevens, the historian of the Methodist Episcopal Church, writes: "This day will forever be a red-letter day in the history of American Methodism. From it dates the beginning of the Deaconess Work in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church of America." The official name of the institution was "The Chicago Training-school for City and Home and Foreign Missions." Funds were lacking, and, from the beginning, the institution had to depend on the aid of its friends. The instructors were 316 History of the Deaconess Movement. Mrs. Lucy Eider Meyer, her husband, Rev. J. S. Meyer, and several ladies, all of whom devoted their time to the work without remuneration. The subsequent history of the institute, its progress and expansion by founding new branches, and increasing the number of Sisters, is remark- able, and chapters could be written about it. We shall continue the narrative later. In passing, we will notice briefly the life of the person to whom the honor is due of having founded the first Dea- coness Home in the Methodist Episcopal Church of Amer- ica. Posterity will mention her name in connection with those of prominent leaders among the women of our coun- try. Mrs. Lucy Eider Meyer was born in a farm-house. She enjoyed good health, which was principally due to continual exercise in the open air. She thus trained her- self for the exhausting work awaiting her in later life. Her parents were deeply religious, and her father was favorably known in the neighborhood on account of his intimate acquaintance with the Bible. Hence it is not sur- prising that she became imbued with a love for the Scrip- tures. During the long winter evenings and on Sunday afternoons the entire family surrounded the hearth, and often occupied themselves with Biblical subjects. The father sometimes depicted a noted Biblical character, and, as an object lesson, he drew pictures with chalk on the kitchen floor. Lucy was noted for the kindness of her dis- position, and her mother, who was a very sensible woman, often expressed the desire that her daughter might receive a good education and become a useful member of society. When she was thirteen years old, one of her playmates died suddenly. The impression made on her mind by this incident was exceedingly deep, and she determined so to live that she, too, would be prepared to die. She con- tinued to seek the Lord until she had experienced a change of heart and had become a happy child of God. From that Metpiodist Church in America. 317 time she led a life so exemplary that she gladdened the hearts of her parents and of her pastor. Her character developed like the budding of a rose. She graduated at Mks. Lucy Rider Meter. Oberlin College, and later studied medicine, obtaining the degree of M. D. from a medical college which afterward became a part of the Northwestern University. It was her purpose to go to India as medical missionarv; but her 318 History of the Deaconess Movement. plans were frustrated through the death of a dear friend. Being thrown on her own resources, she was obliged to work for a living. She contributed to various periodicals, and wrote the Bible-lessons for several Sunday-school papers, being obliged thus to engage in systematic Bible study, thus preparing herself for her subsequent career. She accepted a professorship in McKendree College, and later she was employed by the Illinois Sunday- school Association. She was also a delegate to the Cen- tennial Sunday-school Jubilee, which was celebrated in London in 1880. At this meeting she became convinced that the Sunday-school needed teachers better prepared for their work, and she determined to found a Bible-school. About this time she heard an impressive sermon on sys- tematic giving, through which she was induced to give the tenth part of her income for benevolent purposes. She carried out this determination with the result that finally she laid herself upon the altar, and refused to accept any salary at all for her work. Several years before, while traveling in the interest of the Illinois Sunday-school Association, she felt a longing to experience a higher Christian life, and yearned for a pure heart. The more she studied the Scriptures, the more deeply she became convinced that she needed the baptism of the Holy Ghost. For this she continued to plead until her prayers were answered. This experience she relates in the following words : ^* As I was prostrate on my knees one evening, the thought came to me that perhaps I was self-willed and ought not to insist on hav- ing my way in this matter. As I continued in prayer my desire for the promised blessing became more intense, and I finally cried out, ^0, Lord Jesus, thou hast promised com- plete satisfaction to my soul, and I can not help asking thee for it!' Then suddenly my poor empty heart was Methodist Church in America. 312 filled with the Holy Spirit and with such gladness that I can not express my feelings in words." Shortly after this experience forty young men were converted in a meet- ing she was conducting. Her experience and that of her husband, Rev. J. S. Meyer, in the founding of Deaconess Homes calls to mind those of George Mueller, of Bristol. The beginning of the work in a rented house was as modest as the beginning in Kaisers werth. Yet to-day, after the brief lapse of seven- teen years, the work has acquired such dimensions that it is difficult for the historian to trace it in its various rami- fications. The Methodist Episcopal Church sustains Dea- coness Homes in all parts of the world. There are over one hundred of them, and from New York to San Fran- cisco there is a network of benevolent institutions trace- able, directly or indirectly, to the small beginning in Chicago. The money invested is over $2,000,000. In 1889, Mrs. Lucy Rider Meyer published a valuable and interesting book, entitled "Deaconesses," * which ran through several editions. In the first part she gives an outline of the history of the Deaconess Order from Sister Phoebe until the present time. In the second part she de- scribes the founding and development of the Chicago Training-school ; and in the third part she relates in a fascinating manner how the first Deaconess Home was originated, and how the hand of Providence guided her in her enterprise. Since then she has published various other books and pamphlets. She is also editor of the Deaconess Advocate, an official organ of the Deaconess Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the most widely-circu- lated deaconess paper in the United States. Mrs. Meyer * In the same year, another very excellent book appeai*ed : " Deacon- esses, Ancient and Modern," bv Rev. Henry Wheeler, and [published by Eaton & Mains, New York. 320 HiSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. still is principal of the Chicago Training-school. She travels in the interest of the cause, founds ne\^ Homes, and shuns no sacrifice when the interests of the Deaconess Cause are at stake. We will now take up again the thread of our narra- tive. The training-school attracted the attention of the Chicago Preachers' Meeting, and that body resolved to re- quest the General Conference, which was to meet in May, 1888, to recognize the Deaconess Work as a Church insti- tution. The Annual Conference of Bengal, India, sent a similar petition, with the additional request that the General Conference would empower the deaconesses in mission lands to administer the sacraments. The matter was referred to a committee, the chairman of which was Dr. J. M. Thoburn, and the secretary Dr. A. B. Leonard, at present missionary secretary. This committee drew up several resolutions in reference to the matter, which were adopted after a lengthy discussion. They were prefaced in the following manner: "For many years our brethren in Germany have employed a number of deaconesses, whose work is followed by the best of results. We rejoice that a beginning has also been made in our country. The training-school in Chicago is a success, and we think it advisable to found similar institutions in other cities. In some of our congregations Sisters are already employed, performing the work of deaconesses without being called so, and their number could be increased if we were to organize the workers. We believe that God is in this move- ment, and the Church ought to recognize this fact. We also think that General Conference ought to devise a plan according to which the work of these excellent women is to be regulated in accordance with the requirements of the Church, so that it may bring about the best results.'^ The discussion which followed proved that a clear con- Methodist Church in America. 321 ception of the deaconess office was wanting among the delegates. Dr. Thoburn said: "I do not think that there is one man in this Conference who really knows what the term 'deaconess' means. I myself do not know clearly; however, my sister is in reality a deaconess, and I earnestly hope that the Church will regard this movement favorably, and that General Conference will recognize the Deaconess Order as a Church office and introduce it.'' This was done by accepting the following paragraphs, which were incor- porated in the Discipline of the Church : "The duties of the deaconesses are to minister to the poor, visit the sick, pray with the dying, care for the orphan, seek the wandering, comfort the sorrowing, save the sinning, and, relinquishing wholly all other pursuits, to devote themselves, in a general way, to such forms of Christian labor as may be suited to their abilities. "No vow shall be exacted from any deaconess, and any one of their number shall be at liberty to relinquish her position as a deaconess at any time. "In every Annual Conference within which deaconesses may be employed, a Conference Board of nine members, at least three of whom shall be women, shall be appointed by the Conference to exercise a general control of the inter- ests of this form of work. "This Board shall be empowered to issue certificates to duly-qualified persons authorizing them to perform the duties of deaconesses in connection with the Church, pro- vided that no person shall receive such certificate until she shall have served a probation of two years of continuous service, and shall be over twenty-five years of age. "No person shall be licensed by the Board of Dea- conesses except on the recommendation of a Quarterly Con- ference, and said Board of Deaconesses shall be appointed by the Annual Conference for such term of service as the 21 323 History of the Deaconess Movement. Annual Conference shall decide, and said Board shall re- port hoth the names and work of such deaconesses annually, and the approval of the Annual Conference shall he neces- sary for tlie continuance of any deaconess in her work. "When working singly, each deaconess shall be under the direction of the pastor of the Church with which she is connected. When associated together in a Home, all the members of the Home shall be subordinate to, and directed by, the superintendent placed in charge.^' Thus the Deaconess Work was recognized officially as an institution of the Church, despite the fact that but few understood its high importance and its far-reaching in- fluence. General Conference, however, declined to ordain the deaconesses in the India mission-field. It also de- clined to admit to its membership the women who had been elected by the Lay Conferences as delegates to this body. However, new channels of Christian activity Avere opened to women through the introduction of the Deaconess Order into the Church as a part of its organism. In passing, we must not omit mentioning a lady who, through her wonderful activity, has been the means of greatly advancing the Deaconess Work, which she had studied in Europe, particularly in Germany. We refer to Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft Robinson, of Detroit, Mich., the secretary of the Deaconess Bureau of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was born in Stockbridge, Mass., being the daughter of a Methodist minister. Her father was educated with a view of entering the marine service, and until his thir- tieth year he served in the capacity of marine officer. Hav- ing experienced religion, he decided to devote his life to the service of the Lord, and entered the Methodist min- istry. The mother was a woman of rare intellectual gifts and of unusual executive ability. Above all; sh^ was Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft Robinson, 324 HlSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. deeply religions, and she reared her children most con- scientiously "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Every Sunday she took little Jane by the hand and led her to Sunday class-meeting. When she was born, her father was pastor of a Church in the above-named city. The child was gifted, and as she grew up she took great delight in books. In school she was generally first in her classes. As her father was stationed mostly in the cities of New England, she had excellent opportunities for acquiring an education, and she moved in the best society. In 1871 she graduated from Emma Willard's Seminary in Troy, N. Y., and a year later from the State Normal School in Albany, N". Y. After graduation she accepted a call to the principalship of Fort Edward Institute. Here she remained several years. Later, she entered Syracuse Uni- versity, and obtained the degree of Ph. D. In 1877 she was elected dean of the Woman's College, and Professor of French in the Northwestern University, at Evanston, 111., which position she filled for nearly nine years, holding that office longer than has any other dean of that institu- tion. Just previous to leaving Evanston, she was chosen Fellow of Bryn Mawr College, the first Fellow of History elected in that college. Despite the fact that she had been filling a professorship of French, her tastes were for his- tory and for years she had been pursuing this branch, with particular reference to the development of the Constitu- tions of various nations, doing an immense amount of original research work. With her election to the Fellow- ship at Bryn Mawr, there opened to her the opportunity of studying with Professor Woodrow Wilson, then holding a professorship in that institution. At the close of the year, still wishing to pursue her studies further, she went to Zurich, Switzerland, and there took up work in the uni- versity. Later^ she went for a year to the University of Methodist Church in America. 325 Paris, having the honor of being the first woman admitted to the "Ecole des Haiites Etudes/' While in Zurich, in the fall of 1886, Miss Bancroft became deeply interested in the deaconesses she saw there. She met them in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Zeltweg, and, having been informed of their work, it oc- curred to her that the order ought to be introduced in the American Church. She at once wrote to Mrs. E. S. Rust, corresponding secretary of the Woman's Home Mis- sionary Society, describing in glowing colors her obser- vations and impressions. Mrs. Eust at once saw the im- portance of this work, and therefore advised Miss Bancroft to make a special study of the Deaconess Cause, and on her return to America present the subject in its various bearings to the Official Board of the Woman's Home Mis- sionary Society, with a view of inaugurating a similar movement in the United States. When she went to Paris, in the spring of 1887, she inspected the Deaconess Insti- tute of Pastor Vermeil. She enjoyed the friendship of Mile. Sarah Monod, and, accompanied by her, she visited various branches of the Home and other benevolent in- stitutions in which deaconesses were employed. The self- denying spirit and the thorough work of the deaconesses made a deep impression on her mind. She also visited England, and inspected the hospitals and various benev- olent institutions. Above all, she was interested in the Mildmay Deaconess Home in North London. At the time she was not aware of the fact that Isabella Thoburn had visited the institutions a year previous. From London she went to Kaiserswerth, to acquaint herself with the details of the organization and work there. She determined to found something similar under the pa- tronage of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, hardly realizing that a beginning had already been made in 326 HrsTOKY of the Deaconess Movement. Chicago, and that there was a movement on foot to peti- tion General Conference to constitute the Deaconess Work an organic part of the Church. A few months after the adjournment of the General Conference of 1888, which had recognized the Deaconess Order as a Church office, she arrived in the United States, and at once attended the annual meeting of the Woman's Home Missionary Society in Boston (October, 1888). After listening to her inspiring address, a Committee on Deaconess Work was formed, with Mrs. Eobinson (then Miss Bancroft) as its chairman. Captain Thomas, who had listened to her plea, donated $100, and the ball was thus set rolling. The general impression was, that a move- ment which had been a great blessing in Germany would also prove to be beneficial in this country, especially since it now had the sanction of General Conference. In the following year the authority of the committee was en- larged, and a Deaconess Bureau was created, the manage- ment of which again was intrusted to Miss Jane M. Ban- croft, the pioneer of this great movement. She now traveled through the length and breadth of the land, delivering inspiring addresses and founding Dea- coness Homes and Associations. The first Deaconess Home under the Woman's Home Missionary Society was the one in Detroit, Mich. It had been a mission before, and was opened in January, 1890. Miss Gaddis, the first super- intendent, was trained in the Chicago Training-school. The Homes at Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo, Pitts- burg, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Brooklyn, and Denver owe their existence to her efforts, and under her direction the work of the Deaconess Bureau has in- creased to such an extent that to-day no less than forty- two institutions are connected with the Woman's Home Missionary Society. The aggregate value of the property Methodist Church in America. 327 amounts to over half a million dollars. There are 375 deaconesses, including probationers, in these Homes. In 1889, Miss Bancroft published a book entitled "Deacon- esses in Europe and Their Lessons for America." She made use of German authorities, and the work is the best that has been published on the subject in the English language. In fifteen chapters she covers the whole ground from apostolic times to the present day. Several editions of the book have been published, and it has been the means of enlightening the Church on the important subject of which it treats. Dr. Abel Stevens calls Mrs. Robinson the Evangelist of the Deaconess Work in the Methodist Church in the United States. In the spring of 1891, Miss Bancroft married George 0. Robinson, a prominent lawyer in Detroit. He is very much interested in the work of his wife, and is also able to aid her materially at times by giving legal advice. He helped in founding a Deaconess Home in Detroit, and has contributed freely toward the support of the cause. Mrs. Robinson continued her connection with the Deaconess Bureau of the Woman's Home Missionary Society after her marriage, and has made the cause in which she is engaged her life work. She does not travel as extensively as formerly, but from her home in Detroit she superin- tends her work in all parts of our great country. Far from accepting any remuneration for her services, she an- nually contributes largely towards the cause from her own private resources. Only eternity can tell what she has accomplished. Placed by circumstances in life where ease, comfort, and luxury might be hers, she relinquishes these to give herself to this Deaconess and Missionary Work. She has an abiding faith in the Deaconess Work of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, and believes that, under God's guiding providence, it is to be the most ef- 328 HlSTOHY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. fectivc arm of service of this great society, and that it is the highest Christian patriotism to encourage this work of noble, godly women who give themselves to God's serv- ice, "for the love of Christ and in his name." Besides founding numerous Deaconess Institutions in the States, the Woman's Honie Missionary Society has also begun the work in our new possessions, Porto Rico and Hawaii. The current expense of the society for the Deaconess Cause during the last year amounted to $60,000, and in the Year-Book of the Society, although the youngest branch of its various benevolences, it already holds the first rank. The Executive Board has decided that the head deaconesses of the institutions under the patronage of the society are to be members of the Conference Ex- ecutive Committee. Hence they are recognized as officers of the Conference Society. The deaconesses have further- more the privilege of choosing one of their number as delegate to the annual meeting of the Conference Society. Thus the Sisters are directly represented in the Executive Board. Besides this, at least one of the officers of the General Bureau is to be a deaconess. At this point we will mention a successful coworker of Mrs. Eobinson. Miss Henrietta A. Bancroft, field secre- tary for the Deaconess Bureau of the Woman's Home Mis- sionary Society, for many years occupied important posi- tions in institutions of higher education. She graduated first from the Albany State Normal College, then from Cornell College, Iowa, and later from the University of Michigan. Like her sister, Mrs. Jane Bancroft Robinson, her early training was in the family of a Methodist min- ister, where the spiritual and intellectual influences were deep and strong. She has vivid remembrances of the Sabbath afternoons when the mother gathered about her the children of the family and taught them the Catechism, Methodist Cuurch in America. 329 so that she could recite this long before she knew the fullness of meaning in which the thoughts of that book are expressed. There was also a rule in the household that, every morning before breakfast, each of the children must recite two verses from the Scriptures, and on Sabbath the twelve verses memorized during the week were all recited in review. Thus early was instilled into the minds of this family of children the great doctrines of the Church, strengthened by the possession of a large store of Scriptural knowl- edge and Christian life. After some years of teaching. Miss Bancroft continued her studies in the Universities of Oxford, England ; of France, in Paris; and Strassburg, Germany. She occupied the chair of English Language and Literature in Cornell College, Iowa; later was dean of the Woman's College of the Uni- versity of Southern California, and while there was elected as preceptress of Albion College, and also Professor of English Language and Literature in the same institution. When, in 1898, the Woman's Home Missionary So- ciety desired her services, she resigned her position in Albion College to give to the Deaconess Cause her thorough culture and rich experience. Since then she has traveled from city to city, holding meetings and speaking for the Deaconess Cause, and awakening understanding and in- MiBS Henrietta a. Banckoft. 330 History of the Deaconess ]\Iovemext. terest in this great work. In connection Avitli the same, she has organized Auxiliaries of the Woman's Home ]\Iis- sionary Society, collected money, and has everywhere heen helpfnl whenever necessary in the organization of Dea- coness Institutions, and by her imnsiial talent for organi- zation has rendered great service to this work. Miss Ban- croft has had marked success in fostering Deaconess In- stitutions, and has aided in the advancement of this work in all parts of the United States. For this purpose she has, the first four years, traveled about sixty thousand miles, has obtained large sums for the support of Deaconess Institutions, and, most important of all, has brought many pupils to the training-schools, and led many earnest women to enter the deaconess ranks. Mrs. E. S. Rust, the former corresponding secretary of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, died several years ago. She promoted the Deaconess Cause to the best of her ability, and lent a helping hand in the founding of many new Homes. Mrs. Professor Williams, a lady with a warm heart and noble impulses, is her successor. She, too, is deeply interested in the work, and endeavors to promote the cause to the best of her ability. Soon after the adjournment of the above-mentioned his- torical General Conference the leaders in the new move- ment in the Methodist Episcopal Church became impressed with the fact that the Deaconess Work in this country could not be an exact imitation of the work abroad, but had to be so shaped as to adapt it to our peculiar rela- tions in Church and State. The more general education of American girls, the different methods in Church work, the American views with reference to the work proper for women to engage in, and, above all, the greater diffi- culty in obtaining Sisters for this calling, — these and other matters called for a less rigid organization. Hence the Methodist Church in America. 331 necessity for frequent meetings and conventions for the purpose of exchanging views and communicating experi- ences. With these objects in view, a Deaconess Conven- tion was held in Chicago in the fall of 1888. Charles E. North, of Chicago, was elected chairman, and Rev. J. S. >-«3t> Mrs. R. S. Rust. Meyer, of Chicago, secretary. As a result of this meeting a plan was adopted for the organization and government of all Deaconess Institutions within the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rules were adopted regulating the founding of new Homes, the training, admission, costume, and sup- port of the deaconesses, and similar matters. It was also 332 History of the Deaconess ^Tovemext. decided that all the property acquired by or donated to Homes is to be held in the name of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. All Deaconess Institutes are to be organ- ized and governed according to the rules laid down in the Discipline, and all Deaconess Committees of the Annual Conferences are to meet once a year with the Executive Boards of the institutes under their patronage. No in- stitute can make any important change in its inner work- ing without the consent of the Conference authorities. Deaconesses wishing to enter the work must be on proba- tion for three months; they must not exceed the age of forty, and, in exceptional cases, must have the unanimous consent of the Executive Board. A two years' course of study was devised, and thoroughness in mastering it is in- sisted on. No deaconess is to be licensed who has not passed a satisfactory examination before the Conference Committee, and whose state of health has not been at- tested by medical authority. The question of providing for disabled deaconesses was also discussed, and an endowment for each institute was recommended, in order that those deaconesses who have given their years and strength to the cause may be provided for in old age. From what has been stated, it is evident that the first Convention planned wisely, and that the leaders were cog- nizant of the importance of this great movement. It was decided that a similar Convention should meet annually, and in the following year (1889) the meeting took place in the beautiful summer resort. Ocean Grove. The in- terest in the movement had in the meanwhile increased, and Bishops Ninde and Hurst spoke to immense audiences on the subject. Their addresses were published in the weekly Church papers, and thus became an inspiration to millions. The year following (1890) the Convention met at Chautauqua, and Bishop Thoburn, who had just re- Methodist Church in America. 333 turned from India, made the principal address. He re- ported that he had succeeded in founding Deaconess Homes in Calcutta, Lucknow, Muttra, and Bengalore, and that a Home was about to be founded in Shanghai, China. These Deaconess Conventions have since been held annu- ally, and they have continued to increase in interest and importance. The labors of the deaconesses in the Methodist Epis- copal Church embrace all those lines especially adapted to the nature and capacity of women, viz. : 1. Deaconess Work within the local Church or congregation; 2. Nurs- ing the sick, both in hospitals and private homes, giving especial attention to the poor; 3. Work among children, as instructors in kindergartens, kitchengardens, industrial schools, sewing-schools, etc. ; 4. Mission work in prisons, at railroad stations, midnight missions, etc. ; 5. Employ- ment in Bible Institutes, female seminaries, orphanages. Homes for the Aged, Hospitals for Incurables, and other benevolent institutions. Deaconess Homes and the various institutes connected with them have not been a financial burden to the Church ; the financial problem was solved with jarring. The Church was deeply interested, and made the sacrifice nec- essary for the acquiring of real estate and the erection of buildings. Through the income from the Deaconess Work in hospitals and private families, a large part of the run- ning expenses w^ere paid without disturbing the work among the poor. In view of the fact that the Methodist Episcopal Church already owns over one hundred Deaconess Homes in various parts of the world, that about fourteen hundred deaconesses and probationers are employed, and that, in the short space of seventeen years, the property owned is valued at $2,750,000^ it is evident that the work has de- 334 History of the Deaconess Movement. veloped much more rapidly than any one imagined in 1888. Of the twenty-six hospitals of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States that have been founded within the last sixteen years, all excepting two employ deaconesses. and the number of Sisters has increased twenty-six per cent annually since 1888. If this growth should continue — and there is no good reason why it should not — the number of deaconesses in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States will, in ten years from now, number thousands. Eighty-five of these one hundred and ten Deaconess Institutes are in the United States, thirteen in Europe, nine in India, two in China, and one in Africa. With these institutes fifty-two stations* are connected. The rules adopted by the General Conference of 1888 were not changed materially by the Conferences of 1893 and 1896. However, the General Conference of 1900 en- larged the plan, and placed the entire Deaconess Work under the control of the Board of Bishops. The Church was divided into districts, and the bishops were placed over these as general superintendents. Each superintend- ent is to report to the Board of Bishops, which meets twice a year. This new law, constituting the third chapter of the Discipline, is of sufficient importance to be inserted here : PART IV, CHAPTER HI, OF THE DISCIPLINE. GENERAL, DEACONESS BOARD. (a) The Board of Bishops shall be a General Dea- coness Board, which shall meet semi-annually, and have a general supervision over all Deaconess Work through- out the Church. * Deaconess work is tabulated under " Stations," if it includes cen- ters where only one Deaconess is at work, or where there is some prop- erty, but no Deaconess regularly stationedt Methodist Church in America. 335 (b) The Board shall quadrennially arrange the An- nual and Mission Conferences and Missions into Deaconess Districts, and at the sessions of the General Conference shall appoint a general superintendent or a Missionary Bishop as district superintendent over each of these districts. (c) The General Deaconess Board shall authorize, on the recommendation of the Annual Conference, the es- tablishment of Homes, Hospitals, Orphanages, Old Peo- ple's Homes, and other institutions, such as properly come under the care of deaconesses of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and shall authorize Conventions and other general meetings held in the interest of the Deaconess Work. (d) The Board may also authorize the establishing and maintenance of Homes for Deaconesses, who, on ac- count of age, loss of health, or other physical disability, are unable to continue in the work, and are without ade- quate means of support. (e) All questions of difference arising in the admin- istration of Deaconess Work shall be presented in writing to the district superintendent, to be by him submitted to the General Board for final determination at the next semi-annual meeting thereof. DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT. The district superintendent shall have supervision of all Deaconess Work within his district; he shall promote the interests of the work by all proper means; he shall receive reports of deaconesses. Churches, Conference Boards, Deaconess Institutions, and benevolent societies, and other matters pertaining to Deaconess Work, and shall render an annual re])ort of the same to the General Board. All transfers of deaconesses from one field of labor to an- other shall be subect to his approval. 33(3 History of the Deaconess Movement. GENERAL DEACONESS BOARDS. 1. In each Annual Conference a Conference Deaconess Board of nine members, at least three of whom shall be women, shall be appointed by the Conference for such a term of service as the Conference may decide. It shall be the duty of this Board to encourage and promote the establishment and support of Deaconess Institutions, and to exercise general control of this form of Christian work within the Conference, according to the provisions of this chapter; to see that all charters, deeds, and other con- veyances of the property of Deaconess Institutions within the bounds of the Conference conform strictly to the laws, usages, and forms of the State or Territory within which such property is situated, and also to the Discipline, and to see that all such property is well insured. This Board shall furnish annually to the Annual Conference and to the superintendent of the district, including the Confer- ence, a statement of the number of deaconesses in each institution, how employed, the amount of money received and how expended, and such other statistics as the An- nual Conference or the district superintendent may re- quire. 2. Ko institution shall be recognized as a Deaconess Institution of the Methodist Episcopal Church until it is authorized by the General Board on the recommendation of the Annual Conference within whose territory it is located, and shall conform to the regulations of this Chapter. 3. Each candidate for . a license as a deaconess must be unmarried and over twenty-three years of age, and be recommended by the Quarterly Conference of the Church of which she is a member. When coming from a train- ing institution or Home, she must also be recommended by the superintendent or manager of the same; she must Methodist Church in America. 337 have given two years of continuous probationary service, and have passed a satisfactory examination by the Con- ference Board as to religious qualifications and in the Course of Study prescribed for deaconesses by the bishops; and she must present a certificate of good health from a reputable physician, No person shall be recognized or employed as a deaconess of the Methodist Episcopal Church who fails to comply with the Disciplinary requirements. 4. The Conference Board may license women thus qual- ified and recommended, and shall arrange for their con- secration as deaconesses according to the order of services prescribed by the Discipline (App., Tf55), and shall re- port each year the names and work of such deaconesses to the Annual Conference and to the district superin- tendent. 5. The duties of the deaconess are to minister to the poor, care for the sick, provide for the orphans, comfort the sorrowing, seek the wandering, save the sinning, and, relinquishing all other pursuits, devote herself to these and other forms of Christian labor. No vow of perpetual serv- ice shall be exacted from any deaconess. She shall be at liberty to relinquish her position at any time; but while engaged in this voluntary service she shall be entitled to a suitable support. She shall also wear the distinctive costume prescribed by the Conference Board or the Home with which she is connected, and it is recommended that this garb shall be as uniform as practicable throughout the Church. 6. Each deaconess not in a Home shall be under the direction of the pastor of the Church in which she is at work ; but those who are members of a Home shall be sub- ordinate to and directed by the superintendent in charge. All others shall be under the direction of the district su- perintendent. 22 338 History of the Deaconess Movement. 7. When a deaconess is transferred from the bounds of one Conference to those of another, she shall receive a certificate of transfer from the Conference Board within whose jurisdiction she is transferred, which Board shall register her name and take the oversight of her work. Transfers to and within the bounds of a Conference shall be subject to the approval of the Conference Board. 8. The approval of the Annual Conference within whose bounds a deaconess is laboring shall be necessary for her continuance in office, and she shall present an- nually to the Conference Board a certificate of character and standing from the Quarterly Conference of the Church with which she is connected. 9. The superintendents of Deaconess Institutions, all societies and Churches employing deaconesses not mem- bers of a Home, shall report the names and work of the deaconesses in their charge to the Conference Board one month before the meeting of the Annual Conference. 10. The provisions of this chapter shall not disturb existing Homes or institutions now being operated for Deaconess Work; nor exclude any societies or associations now engaged in Deaconess Work, but authorizes any of these to employ deaconesses and establish and operate Homes and institutions for the Deaconess work of the Methodist Episcopal Church according to the provisions of this chapter. 11. Every Churcli and benevolent society employing deaconesses, Deaconess Institutions, and deaconesses not employed by any of them, shall make annual reports, em- bracing such items as the district superintendent shall indicate. 12. All proj^erty for Homes and other Deaconess In- stitutions that may hereafter be acquired shall be held in trust for the Methodist Episcopal Church by any of the Methodist Church in America. 339 Disciplinary societies of the Church or a local Board of Trustees elected by the society with which the institution is connected. 13. The foregoing provisions shall relate to Annual Conferences, and also to Mission Conferences and Mis- sions, except in those parts of Europe in which the Dea- coness Work exists as a legal corporation with an inspector appointed by the Annual Conference; but where Mission- ary Bishops have co-ordinate authority they shall exercise the same powers as are committed to the General Board of Deaconesses. Although the entire Deaconess Work in the United States has been placed under the control of the Board of Bishops, as is evident from the foregoing paragraphs, four branches have developed which differ from each other, in reference to their inner organization : ( 1 ) The insti- tutions of the German Methodists in the United States, which are under the supervision of the German Central Deaconess Board; (2) The institutions governed by Local Boards, and whose deaconesses belong mostly to the Dea- coness Society; (3) The institutions under the supervision of the Deaconess Bureau of the Woman's Home Mission- ary Society; (4) The institutions belonging to the Beth- anien Verein and the Martha-Maria Verein in Europe. Methodist Episcopal Deaconess Society. This association was organized in 1895, five years prior to the General Conference legislation of 1900 concerning Deaconess Work. The primary object of the organization was to form a bond of union between deaconess workers in various fields of labor; also to hold property for the care of disabled deaconesses. The society was also formed into a corporation to hold property until such property could be placed under the management of a Local Board, In 340 HlSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. this way it has been instrumental in opening hospitals, orphanages, and schools. The headquarters of the society are at 57 Washington Street, Chicago, 111. Deaconess Bureau of the Woman's Home Missionary Society. The work is in charge of the Deaconess Bureau, which consists of a secretary and assistant secretary, a field secre- tary— who visits all the Homes, giving them the benefit of her advice, and learns the needs of each Home — an advisory counsel of gentlemen, and several field deacon- esses. There are also two women from each locality where a Deaconess Home is established who have membership in the Bureau, and the deaconesses themselves are given representation in the management. Quarterly reports from the different Homes are forwarded to the secretary of the Bureau, giving a full statement of the condition of these Homes, and are kept on file. Financial reports are made at the end of each fiscal year; and connec- tional supervision is maintained by a system of transfers from Home to Home, and by the appointment of the grad- uates of the National Training-school to the several Homes. Secretary of the Deaconess Bureau is Mrs. Jane M. Ban- croft Eobinson, 425 Cass Avenue, Detroit, Mich. CHAPTER XI. DEACONESS HOMES OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH IN THE UNITED STATES. The Chicago Deaconess Home and Training-school. In October, 1885, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer rented a house in Chicago (19 Park Avenue), and opened the Chicago Training-school for Missions. In a short time tlie accom- modations proved insufficient, and the Board of Trustees that had been organized purchased a building on the corner of Ohio and Dearborn Streets. This Home (a cut of which is shown) is the cradle of the Deaconess Work in the United States. Previous to this time efforts had been limited to a training-school, but in these new quarters the work widened, including the Deaconess Home. The change was thus brought about : At the close of the second year the inmates of the institution declared their willingness to devote themselves during the sum- mer to city mission work. In his Commencement address, Professor C. F. Bradley said, among other things: "In large cities better opportunities to work for the Lord are often offered in summer than in winter. This fact, in connection with the desire that .this building might not be closed during the coming months, has deter- mined us to open a Deaconess Home, at least during the vacation. We will employ such deaconesses as are adapted to city mission work and are willing to devote themselves to it. They will receive no remuneration, excepting that their wants will be provided for. Any deaconess will be at liberty to withdraw whenever she wishes; but as long as she remains in the Home she is expected to be subject 341 A First Deaconess Home of the Methodist Episcopal, Church IN the United States. Oorner Ohio and Dearborn Sts., Chicago. Deaconess Homes in the United iS'tates. 343 to its rules and regulations. We have no doubt that this undertaking will be the germ of blessed results. It is, of course, a small beginning; but a mustard-seed is also a small thing. We shall plant it, and trust to the Lord that he will bestow the necessary rain and sunshine, so that it may develop. There is much misery in large cities, and the Church has made comparatively little use of fe- male help in the city mission-work. Women have been waiting patiently; and how strange it is that we have no plan according to which talented and pious women could devote their time and strength to the service of the Church ! And how seldom is the private work of women recognized ! How is it that the Church has made no provision in its Discipline for such female workers? There were times in Chicago when it paid to invest money in real estate. A man could put $500 into property that might be worth a million in a few years. Such opportunities are offered at present in the field of Christian benevolence. A few thousand dollars invested in a Deaconess Home would bear a high rate of interest, and some of my hearers, who may now reject the opportunity thus to invest, will prob- ably regret in the world to come that they had golden opportunities to do good which they neglected. There is a great opening in the Church of the present day. We need a Deaconess Home, and I am confident that we shall have one. There are in our times such deaconesses as Tryphasna and Tryphosa, who have labored much in the Lord, and we shall also find our Priscillas and Marys, who will shun no self-denial in working for the Lord. May God show us how we can open new paths of usefulness to our saintly women !" Eight women remained in the institution and began work as deaconesses. They distributed tracts, brought children to Sunday-school; invited strangers to Church, 344 HiSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENI^. visited the sick and about three thousand families, mostly in those parts of the city inhabited by the laboring classes. Good people provided the means needed to carry on this work, and when the vacation came to an end a balance of $6.40 remained in the treasury. Dr. Meyer wrote : "This work encouraged us, and we imme- diately planned to carry it on with- out interruption. The deaconesses were willing to continue in their relation, but the pupils of the school were com- ing in, and we needed more room. Trusting the Lord for pecuniary aid, we rented rooms in the vicinity of the school, and moved the Home into these rooms. Miss Isabella Tho- burn, the sister of Bishop J. M.Thoburn,vas the first Tiouse mother.' Dr. J.S. Meyer was superintendent of both the Deaconess Home and the training-school. As accommodations were soon want- ing, the Board of Trustees of the training-school purchased the property referred to at the beginning of this chapter, and began the erection of a new building. Soon after, the adjacent house was also purchased, for $12,000, and added N. W. Harris. Deaconess Homes in the United 6'tates. 345 to the Home. Thus the training-school and the Dea- coness Home were both provided for. When, in 1894, there was again need for more room, Mr. N. W. Harris, the well-known philanthropist, donated a large and convenient lot (corner Indiana Avenue and Fifteenth Street), and through his liberality and that of other friends the first wing of the beautiful new building was erected in 1895, which provided room for one hundred and thirty pupils. In 1899 the second wing was erected, and con- Chicago Deaconess Training-school, " Harris Hall." nected with the first by means of a wide archway. Each of these wings is one hundred and thirty-five feet long and forty feet wide, and they contain four hundred rooms in all. We present a cut of the building. The second wing was erected principally through a donation of $25,000 by Mr. Harris. The plan is to erect a third wing as soon as the funds will permit. In the school nearly two thou- sand young ladies have received their training. Of this number, one hundred and sixty have entered the mission service, over seven hundred have entered deaconess work, S46 History op the Deaconess Movement. and one hundred and fifty are employed in various ways in home mission work. In passing, we will notice briefly the life of the man whose work will never be adequately known nor told on earth. In Chicago alone the Deaconess Movement, in its various departments, is using property with an aggregate value of about $4G0,000. The hand of Rev. Josiah Shelly Meyer can be traced as securing almost every dollar's worth of this property. To him, more than to any other man, belongs the credit for the great material prosperity of the rapidly-growing Deaconess Work. Josiah Shelley Meyer was born in N'orthern Pennsyl- vania in 1849. His ancestors were German-Swiss, and he is remotely connected with the great commentator Meyer. His great-grandfather founded, and for many years was pastor of, the Moravian Church in Germantown, Pa., the building still standing as one of the landmarks of the city. Young Meyer's parents were farmers, and though they moved to Philadelphia when the boy was fourteen years of age, their financial circumstances were straitened, and they were not able to give their son the education which he so greatly desired. From the first of their residence in Philadelphia the boy was self-supporting, and very soon began to contribute to the support of the family. The insatiable desire for an education drove him to night- school and private study. He learned book-keeping, and later the details of a publishing-house, which experience has been of great value to him in his life work. Soon after attaining his majority he came West, and spent sev- eral 3^ears alternately studying and working. He attended Park College, in Kansas City, until ill-health and lack of means interfered with his studies. His last school work was done in the Northwestern Theological Seminary of Chicago. Rev. J. S. Meyer, B48 History of the Deaconess Movement. Mr. Meyer was converted at the knee of his godly mother, whose interest in the spiritual welfare of her children was most keen. He tells how, on coming in late at night from his work or his school, he would find, not only his chair drawn up by the fire, but an open Bible on a little table by its side. His mother had placed it there to catch his eyes. From almost the first his mind turned to Christian work. For some time he was engaged in Young Men's Christian Association work. Then, in ISSS, after his marriage, he devoted himself, with his wife, to the rapidly-growing necessities of the Chicago Training- school and the general Deaconess Work in the Church. So profoundly has Mr. Meyer been influenced by the great need of Christian workers, and the very evident fact that by unsalaried work it is possible to keep more laborers in the field, that, with his wife, he has for more than sixteen years worked entirely without a salary. Both of these workers rejoice that it has been possible for them to give their whole time to the blessed work. It means much of inspiration to the growing hosts of deaconesses that almost all the persons who have thus providentially stood at the head of the work in this country have been so situated that they could serve without salary. It is easier to say "Come" than "Go.'^ Mr. Meyer is superin- tendent of the Chicago Training-school, and also has en- tire control of the business interests of the large depart- ments of Deaconess Work and the Chicago Deaconess Home, which, as has been stated, is connected with the training-school, and is the mother of all Deaconess Homes of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. Its history is, therefore, intimately related to that of the training-school, and until 1895 both institutions were lo- cated almost under the same roof, although in separate quarters. During the Christmas vacation of that year the Deaconess Homes in the United States. 349 training-school was removed to the newly-erected building, ^^Harris Hall," distant about five miles. The Home, with twenty deaconesses and probationers, is still located at the old place on Ohio Street. Miss Isabel Leitch is head dea- coness. She is a very efficient woman in every way. The property is free of debt, and valued at $20,000. (See pic- ture on page 345.) .. The Deaconess Sanitarium, Lake Bluff, III. ■^f ' Agard Eest Home. !^.". ^ ;t.^^^^^^^^^ Home is beautifully situated on the western shore ol'Jjake Michigan, thirty miles from Chicago. It was donated by a noble lady, Mrs. Rosa Agard West, whose father^^^J. W. Agard, was an influential clergyman. Mrs. West alw^ays manifested a lively interest in the Deaconess Movement. The thought occurred to her that the dea- conesses^ needed a quiet place where they could rest from time to time or recuperate after sickness. In the fall of 1892 she, therefore, opened the beautiful Home, containing twenty-five rooms and provided with all necessary con- veniences. This was done in memory of her father. The Home has a small endowment fund, which is increased from year to year by benevolent friends. This Home is intended to be eventually an asylum for all deaconesses who have sacrificed their strength in the service of their fellow-men. Three deaconesses are employed in the in- stitute. The Deaconess Orphanage in Lake Bluff, III., Was founded in 1894. A philanthropic gentleman, Mr. J. B. Hobbs, and his noble wife, Mary M. Hobbs, donated the beautiful building, which was opened in 1895. Since its organization between four hundred and five hundred chil- dren have been received and provided for. This insitution is to be reconstructed on the cottage plan. Thirteen chil- 350 HiSTOEY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. dren will reside in a cottage, and constitute a family, under the supervision of a deaconess. Mrs. Hobbs has again do- nated a large plot of ground. The plant consists of five houses — three of them large — and two cottages. The value of the property amounts to $40,000. The incorporate name of the institution is "Methodist Deaconess Orphan- age.^^ Mr. N. W. Harris has aided the good work by the Agard Deaconess Sanitarium, Lake Bluff, Iiiii. purchase of the "kindergarten cottage/' which affords room for twelve children. A union of the orphanage and the Epworth Children's Home was brought about lately, in consequence of which the number of the inmates has in- creased to one hundred. The orphanage places about thirty children every year in Christian homes and families. The location is charming, and friends of the cause are anxious to see the results of the cottage-plan experiment, Deaconess Homes in the United States. 351 The Deaconess Home foti Old People in Edgewater^ Illinois^ A suburb of Chicago, was opened in February, 1898, in a rented house. A benevolent gentleman, the late Mr. W. H. Bush, donated a fine lot, on which the first part of the building was erected in 1901, which, when completed, will cost $100,000, and will have room for two hundred and fifty persons. At his death, Mr. Bush left the insti- ^^S^pL&^^?L£^Mm The Proposed Deaconess Home for OiiD People IN Edgewater, 111. tution $30,000. At present, the part completed affords accommodation for seventy-five inmates. The history of the Home is interesting. In 1893 a deaconess of the Chicago Home found an aged and pious woman, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in abject poverty and con- fined to her bed by sickness. Her only son, a confirmed drunkard, had dissipated all her means. The deaconess brought her to the Home, where she was cared for until 352 History of the Deaconess Movement. her death. Similar cases were met with by the deaconesses, and it soon became evident that an asylum for friendless old people was needed. The institution is manged by dea- conesses, and the intention is to make it a central Home for the entire Northwest. This Home was the first of its kind in ]\Iethodism in the Northwest, excepting a Swedish Home at Ravenswood. Churches can place their aged and Young Woman's School, in Aurora, Ilx,. dependent members in the Home for an admission fee of $300, which secures a home for life, care, and burial when not otherwise provided for. This institution is a worthy memorial of the philanthropist, Mr. W. H. Bush. Young Woman^s School (Jennings Seminary) in Aurora^ III.^ Is the only literary institution for girls in the United States conducted by our deaconesses. Formerly the school Deaconess Homes in the United States. 353 was a promising Conference seminary, but in 1898 it was transferred to the Deaconess Association by the Rock River Conference. The principal, Charlotte A. Codding, is as- sisted by ten teachers, all deaconesses. The property has a value of $50,000. The attendance is large, and the school is successful in every respect. The Chaddock Boys' Institute in Quincy^ III. An educational institution called Chaddock College, having sixty-four rooms, with a chapel attached, is under the control of an independent local Board, and the Chicago Deaconess Training-school furnishes the workers. The school was opened September 20, 1900, with Sister Eleanore Tobie as principal. The instructors are all dea- conesses, and the property represents a value of $100,000. The Wesley Hospital^ In Chicago, was incorporated in 1888. Previous to the erection of the building, its patients were cared for in the Chicago Deaconess Home, on Ohio Street. This hospi- tal, therefore, was the first in America under the charge of deaconesses of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1892 a N" 0 n - deaconess Training-school for ^^^ .. wesi^ijy" Hospitai. in Chicago. nurses was organ- ized, and the work became non-deaconess in character. But in 1899 it was again put into the hands of deaconesses for work and management. The property, however, is con- 23 354 History of the Deaconess Movement. trolled by a Board of thirty trustees, independent of the Deaconess Home. The building was completed in 1901. It affords room for two hundred beds, and is provided with all modern appliances. It cost $225,000, and the endow- ment amounts to $100,000. This is one of the most beau- tiful and best-arranged Deaconess Hospitals in America. The Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home and Christ Hospital, in Cincinnati, 0. i' On December 23, 1888, a number of persons met in Cincinnati to consult in reference to founding a Deaconess Home. The Gamble family offered a large building on York Street, free of rent, and also a liberal sum in cash. The institution was opened in a quiet manner, and Miss Isabella Thoburn, who had been house-mother of the first Deaconess Home in the United States, was elected head deaconess. Though against the wish of the Gam- ble family, but in memory of the deceased mother, the Board named the institution "Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home." The hospital very appropriately was called "Christ Hospital." Several years afterward the Gamble family bought a beautiful property on Mount Auburn, con- taining four and one-half acres, with a large building of seventy rooms, which had been used as a female seminary. In addition to this large building, which was remodeled at great expense and converted into a hospital, several other houses stood on the ground, and they were converted into homes for the deaconesses and probationers. The institu- tion stands on the hilltop, nearly four hundred feet above the city, and the panorama which unfolds itself to the eye is unequaled in the State of Ohio. The property is valued at $120,000, and is free of debt. The endowment fund aggregates $50,000. Mr. James N. Gamble, known as one 356 History of the Deaconess Movement. of the most liberal citizens of the "Queen City," as a true steward, puts to the best use the talents intrusted to him. Mr. Gamble was born in Cincinnati, August 9, 1836. His parents had emigrated from Ireland. They were zealous members of the Methodist Church all their lives. The father, James Gamble, was one of the founders of the large soap factory in Ivory- dale, near Cincinnati, owned by the firm of Procter & Gamble. James N". Gamble, the oldest son, together with his brothers and sisters enjoyed the ben- efits of an exemplary Christian home and of a good education. Hav- ing spent six years in K e n y 0 n College, in Gambier, 0., he grad- uated in his eighteenth year (1854). During James N. Gamble. :" , _ . his travels abroad m the following year he received, while in London, the wit- ness of his sonship, and his whole later life was character- ized by faithfulness to convictions, unstinted generosity, and a sincere Christian consecration. Having devoted two or three years to the study of chemistry in New York and Baltimore, he became a member of the firm of Procter & Gamble, and gradually advanced until he became one of the leading members of the firm. It was mainly due to his genius that "Ivory Soap" was brought to its present Deaconess Homes in the United States. 357 state of perfection. From the very beginning of the Dea- coness Work in Cincinnati he manifested a marked interest in every phase of the work, and, consequently, he is rightly looked upon as one of the pioneers in the Deaconess Work in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He united with his brothers and sisters in the purchase of the above-mentioned property in Mount Auburn for a Deaconess Home and. Hos- pital, which was to be a monument to the memory of his sainted mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Gamble; and later he like- wise purchased the beautiful edifice known as "The Cincin- nati Wesleyan College for Young Women,'^ situated on Wesley Avenue, Cincinnati. This property he still holds in his name, but it is occupied by the Elizabeth Gamble Dea- coness Home, free of rent. Miss Hannah M. Peirce has been superintendent since 1893. Her father, a farmer, having determined to give his children — a son and two daughters — a good education, placed them with relatives in the city, that they might enjoy the school facilities offered there. The oldest daugh- ter, following in the footsteps of her forefathers, chose the profession of teaching. She was gifted, and had a thirst for knowledge. However, when she had graduated from the Normal School and obtained a license to teach^ the Civil War broke out, and her only brother enlisted in the army. The two sisters were now compelled to manage the farm. In connection with their work, they taught in country schools. The w^ages earned they de- posited in the bank with a view of surprising their brother on his return. The latter also sent his wages home regu- larly, $16 a month. When, after an absence of three years he returned, he was surprised to learn that the farm was free of debt and that $2,000 was deposited in the bank in his name. This mutual devotion united the brother and sisters firmlv for the remainder of their lives. x4t the 358 History of the Deaconess Movement. close of the war the brother and younger sister married, but Hannah continued to devote herself to teaching, for which she had a passionate love. She accepted a call to the principalship of a ladies' seminary in Delaware, 0., and continued in this capacity for twenty-two years. She was happy in her chosen profession and beloved by her pupils. When, early in the nineties, Deaconess Homes Miss Hannah M. Peiroe. Mrs. Katie Rawls Haynes. were founded, her attention was called to the new move- ment, in which she now became intensely interested. When, in 1893, she received a call to the superintendency of the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home, she accepted it. She is still at the head of this institution, and finds a pleasure in setting an example of self-denial to the deaconesses, even in the smallest matters pertaining to daily life. Until 1897 the two institutions — the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home and Christ Hospital — were carried on in Deaconess Homes in the United States. 359 one building, and Miss Peirce sujoerintended both. In that year James N". Gamble purchased the Wesleyan Female College, situated about three miles from the hospital on Mt. Auburn, in a densely-settled part of the city. The Deaconess Home was transferred to these commodious halls, and the buildings on Mount Auburn are now used exclusively for hospital purposes. All Sisters enter the Deaconess Home on probation, and receive instruction in the branches prescribed by the Discipline. At the end of one year the deaconesses who are adapted to nursing are transferred to Christ Hospital, where they receive prac- tical instruction in that branch, whereas those who are best adapted to general missionary work or to teaching, con- tinue their studies in the Home for another year. The Home has accommodations for one hundred and fifty in- mates, and the building, which originally cost $150,000, is now wholly devoted to Deaconess Work. Mrs. Kate Eawls Haynes is head deaconess. She was born in Wilmington, 0., and received her education in Connersville, Ind., to which place her parents removed. In her seventh year she experienced religion, and, with- out speaking to her parents about it, she stepped forward to the altar one Sunday and asked to be admitted to the membership of the Church. Her parents were pious peo- ple, brought up in the fear of the Lord. When nineteen years old, she married ; but her husband soon died, and she returned to her former home. She now considered the time opportune to realize the long-cherished desire to de- vote her life to the service of the poor and forlorn, and she, therefore, gladly accepted the call of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to become the corresponding secretary of this so- ciety for the Northeast Indiana Conference. She founded 360 Deaconess Homes in the United States. 361 numerous branch societies, delivered addresses in the inter- est of the cause, and inspired the members toward sys- tematic effort. While connected with a society for aiding the poor in Indianapolis, she often came in contact with the most degraded classes, and thus gathered much ex- perience valuable to her in her later calling. When she entered the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home in 1898, her heart was aglow with love for the work. The Home took up station after station, and a network of Christian benevolence has spread over the city. In one year the dea- conesses distributed sixty-six thousand tracts and religious papers, they brought three hundred and fifty children into Sunday-school, and distributed one thousand pieces of clothing and many a basketful of eatables among the needy. They visited the poor-houses, the city hospitals, and the prisons; they nursed the sick, provided the unem- ployed with work, conducted Sunday-schools, kinder- gartens, "Travelers' Aid" work, and an Italian mission, which is very promising. Many new Homes have been provided with head deaconesses by this institution, and in various cities of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky its in- mates are employed by local Churches. The Home for Old People in Yellow Springs, 0., was founded by Eev. H. C. Weakley, for twelve years the efficient corresponding secretary of this Home. When the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home cele- brated its tenth anniversary it numbered seventy deacon- esses and had a property valued at $140,000, and was free of debt. The annual income and expenditure is $30,000. The number of deaconesses (probationers included) has decreased to fifty-five. Eev. W. A. Robinson, D. D., a mem- ber of the Cincinnati Conference, has been corresponding- secretary since September, 1901. He is a scholarly and practical man, and his experience is wide and varied. His 362 History of the Deaconess Movement, enthusiasm for the Deaconess Cause makes him a worthy successor to Dr. H. C. Weakley, who now is superintendent of the Old People's Home at Yellow Springs, 0. The Lucy Webb Hayes Deaconess Home and National Training-school in Washington^ D. C. This institution was founded in 1889 by the Woman's Home Missionary Society. It consists of three depart- The Luoy Webb Hayes Deaconess Home, Washington, D. O. ments, viz., the Deaconess Home, the training-school, and the hospital, all under the same governing board. The origin of the institution has some interesting features. When Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of the ex-President of the United States, was buried, the suggestion was made that a monument ought to be erected to the memory of this good and benevolent woman that would be a blessing to the living and of a more lasting character than one of marble or granite. In the capacity of president of the Deaconess Homes in the United States. 363 Woman's Home Missionary Society, Mrs. Hayes had inter- ested herself in tlie welfare of her fellow-men, and had sacrificed time and money in the interest of the society. Its directors, therefore, resolved to found a Deaconess Home bearing her name. In answer to a circular, $4,000 was contributed in a short time. The sum, however, was not sufficient to begin an undertaking of this kind ; there- fore, Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft Eobinson, secretary of the Deaconess Bureau, took the matter in hand and communi- cated her plans to numerous persons belonging to the higher classes of society in the capital. They were well re- ceived, and in May, 1890, the institution was opened tem- porarily in a building in F Street, offered free of rent by Susannah Wheeler. Eight young ladies entered the serv- ice on probation. Mr. Ephraim ^^ash, an old resident of the city, was so delighted with the undertaking that he donated his spacious residence, beautifully situated on Capitol Street. In October, 1891, the deaconesses moved into this building. From now on the work developed so rapidly that in the course of a year a second building had to be rented. Additions were made in this way from time to time, until finally the institution occupied six different buildings. The necessity for a hospital being felt, Mr. William J. Sibley, in 1894, donated $10,000 for this pur- pose in memory of his deceased wife, Dorothea Lowndes. The building which was erected for this purpose has since been enlarged, and is called Sibley Hospital. There is room in it for one hundred patients, and the arrangement of the house is a model one. The training-school occupied the same building with the Home, but the accommodations soon proved insufficient, and a large adjoining plat of ground was purchased, on which a new building was erected for the training-school, called "Eust Hall." The three buildings occujjy the greater part of a square, and 364 History of the Deaconess Movement, the property is valued at nearly $200,000. As this is the only Deaconess Home in Washington, the drain on it is great, and the number of deaconesses and workers, amount- ing to sixty-eight, are not sufficient to meet the demands. The inner government of the three departments of the institution is in the hands of a local committee, but the higher authority is vested in the Woman's Home Mission- SiBiiET Memorial Hospital, Washington, D. O. ary Society. Eev. Dr. C. W. Gallagher is the devoted and able dean of this suite of institutions. He is a man of profound conviction and large experience. The depart- ments of work are: 1. J^ursing; 2. Church work; 3. Con- ducting kindergartens and industrial schools; 4. Conduct- ing a Bible Institute and a training-school. The course of study in the latter extends through two years. Those who have completed it receive a certificate, and are at liberty to enter the Deaconess Home; or they can devote P.uaT Tkaininh-school,, Washingtox, D. O. ■1 %l ■^m/tm Deaconess Home and Hospital in Omaha, Neb. (See pages 382-3.) 365 366 History of the Deaconess Movement. themselves to nursing unless the Woman's Home Mission- ary Society assigns them a different field of labor. During the past year the pupils of the training-school performed the following work^ aside from their studies : They con- ducted seven kinder- gartens, two kitchen- gardens, three indus- trial schools, two mission schools, and a number of meet- ings in the interest of the temperance cause. The train- ing-school, which is very prosperous, is the first national in- stitution of the kind founded by the Woman's Home Mis- sionary Society. At present the training- schools are becoming an important depart- ment of the work of the society. The schools at Washing- ton, San Francisco, and Kansas City are the three National training-schools, so called because they provide workers for the National or- ganization, and because the Board of Managers makes special appropriations for their support, has a special over- sight over them, and, in accordance with its own rules, as- signs their graduates to the work of the society. The Na- tional training-schools are distinctly special objects of the Rev. C. W. Gallaghkr, D. D. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 367 responsible care of the National society. Local training- schools differ from the National training-schools in that the former arose to meet local needs in Conferences, and are largely under the direction of the Conference in which they are located. The Auxiliaries of the Woman's Home Missionary Society within the Conference greatly aid in the support of these local schools. The National society ap- propriates no moneys for the support of these local train- ing-schools. Of such are the schools at Brooklyn, N. Y., Grand Eapids, Mich., and Des Moines, la. The National Training-school and Deaconess Home in Washington, with its new Kust Hall, with Sibley Hospital, and a strong corps of Bible and medical teachers, offers special opportunities for preparation for Christian service. In its ample and well-arranged courses for missionaries, home and foreign, for deaconesses, either nurse, parish, set- tlement, or evangelistic, for kindergarten and domestic science work among the children and the poor, it invites all who may be willing to enter upon any of these different lines of service. The young women of the Church never had a grander, more holy and hopeful mission opened to them than the Christian service for which the training- school and the Deaconess Home prepares them. The Deaconess Home and Training-school in New York. This institution was opened in 1889 by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in a rented house on Four- teenth Street. The object is to prepare young women for all branches of home and foreign mission work. After com- pleting the two years' course of study, it is left to their own choice wdiether or not to enter the deaconess service. In consequence of this elective system, the training-school soon became prominent. After passing the required examina- 368 IIlSTOUY OF THE DeACOXESS MOVEMENT. tion, a large number of the inmates entered the Home, which was under the same roof. As there is no hospital connected with the Home, the nurse deaconesses are sent to the various hospitals for training. The object of the Home is parish work. In 19C1 the trustees bought a large and beautiful five-story house, situated on Madison Avenue and Eighty-sixth Street. The site is excellent; it is pro- JJK-^C;o>Ni^oo iiiOME AND '1 RAINING-SOHOOL, NeW YORK. Madison Avenue and 86th Street. vided with modern appliances, and the property, valued at $100,000, is free of debt. The Methodists of New York gave a million dollars as their share in the Twentieth-cen- tury Thank-offering, and from this source the means for the payment of the Deaconess Home were derived. The training-school is considered a part of the Home, and the whole is managed by a local Board. There are fifty-five deaconesses (including student probationers) in the Home. Last year the deaconesses succeeded in gathering six hun- Deaconess Homes ix the Uxited States. 369 dred children into Sunday-schools and in making thirty- nine thousand calls in the down-town district of the city. Miss Mary E. Lunn is superintendent. The Deaconess Home and Training-school in Brooklyn, N. Y. This institution was founded June 15, 1892, by the Woman's Home Missionary Society, and opened in a rented house .on Badford Ave- nue. In 1897, Elmira E. Christian donated the present beautiful Home (238 President Street), which will meet all demands for some time to come. The house was reno- vated and enlarged at an expense of $3,691, and a kindergarten was opened in another building, also presented by the noble donor. The training-school is its principal feature, with a two years' course of study. There is no hospital connected with the Home. Those dea- Deaooness Home, Brooklyn, N. Y. conesses who select nursing receive their training in one of the hospitals in the city. The property is valued at $20,000, and is leased of the Church Extension Society. The late George Barlow contributed $10,000 towards an 24 370 History of the Deaconess, Movement. endowment. There are twenty deaconesses employed, in- cluding those on 2:)robation. Deaconess Home and Hospital in Boston^ Mass. Two ladies in Boston, Mrs. J. W. Cushin and Mrs. T. C. Watkins, came into possession of $150, which was destined for benevolent purposes. They determined to use the money towards the founding of a Deaconess Home. When, in April, 1889, the matter- was brought before the New England Conference, that body resolved as follows : '^Tn view of the fact that General Conference has offi- cially recognized the Deaconess Work and recommended the founding of Homes, and since this recommendation has called the attention of many city congregations to the movement, with the result that a number of Homes have already been opened, and in view of the further fact that conditions in the New England States are such that the systematic work of Christian women is sorely needed ; be it '^Resolved, That we recommend the founding of a Dea- coness Home and Training-school for Boston and its suburbs at an early day." The Conference appointed a committee of seven to col- lect money and to aid in the founding of the proposed Home. A number of friends donated respectable sums, and the society, which had been organized in the meanwhile, was incorporated under the name "New England Deaconess Home and Training-school." On November 20, 1889, the Home was opened in a rented house in East Chester Park. Miss E. Thoburn became head deaconess. However, she soon withdrew, and Miss Mary E. Lunn succeeded her. The latter served until the spring of 1901, and was suc- ceeded by Miss E. M. Booker. A building well adapted for the purposes of the institution was purchased for $8,000, and within two years the property was free of debt. When, Deaconess Homes in the United States. 371 in 1896, the building proved too small, the Board pur- chased aji adjoining house, and the two departments were ■JMn. Deacon Kss IIumk am) IIuspital in Boston, Mass. located separately, each occujDying its own building. In a short time, however, the need of more room was again 372 History of the Deacoxess Movement. felt, and the training-school was transferred to rented quarters, and the two other buildings (shown in the cut) served as Home and hospital. The course of study in the training-school extends through two years. Of the many hundred young ladies trained here, some are stationed in China, Korea, Japan, India, and South America; others are engaged in the cities of our own country as deacon- esses, teachers, ' and missionaries. Almost all the deacon- esses in the Home are graduates from the training-school. The Projected Building of the New England Deaconess Home and Hospital, Boston, Mass. The hospital was begun in 1896. During the first six years over twelve hundred patients have been received. Twelve prominent physicians of Boston constitute the hos- pital staff. These, as well as the deaconesses, are anxious to see the new hospital erected which has been planned. In the fall of 1900, Eev. T. C. Watkins, D. D., was ap- pointed corresponding secretary. The number of deacon- esses, including probationers, has increased to twenty-five. A small monthly, ^The Christian Deaconess Home Journal, has been issued since 1891. The property is worth $60,- 000. The new building is to cost $100,000. Deaconess Homes in the United States. The Rebecca Deaconess Home and x\sbury Hospital IN Minneapolis^ Minn. This institution was begun in 1891 by appointing two deaconesses for mission work. In the following year the opening of the hospital was made possible through a gift ASBURY HoSPITAIi IN MINNEAPOLIS, MiNN. (First Building.) of $15,000 by Mrs. S. H. Knight. The Board now pur- chased the Minnesota Hospital College building for this purpose. In 1893 the institution was incorporated under the name "Asbury Methodist Hospital and Rebecca Dea- coness Home.'' There is room in the hospital for forty beds, and the deaconesses reside in the beautiful Home ad- joining. In February, 1895, the hospital \yas partly de- 374 History of the Deaconess Movement. stroyed by fire; however, no one was. injured, and within a few months it was reopened, having been enlarged and arranged more conveniently. As sufficient accommoda- tions were soon found to be lacking, a friend donated a val- uable piece of property on Ninth Avenue, opposite Elliott Park, and the Board decided to erect a new hospital build- ing, which will cost, when finished, $225,- nOO. It is nearing completion, and will have accommoda- tions for two hun- dred patients. The appliances are mod- ern, and the hospital is one of the best in the Northwest. In the old hospital more than five thousand patients have been cared for during the last ten years, fifteen thousand were treated in the dispensary connected with the hospital, and over three thousand operations were 23erformed. Forty dea- conesses and probationers are connected with the Home. Bishop Isaac Joyce is president, and Eev. C. F. Sharpe financial agent. Miss Sybil C. Palmer is superintend- ent of the Deaconess Home, and Mrs. Sarah H. Knight has charge of the hospital. The Hospital and Home Messenger, a quarterly, is published by the institu- tion. The Board of Control consists of thirty-one mem- bers, twenty-one of whom are laymen; four are members of the Minnesota, and five of the North Minnesota Con- Miss Sybil C. Pax,meb. v-^ M' ■^- 376 History of the Deaconess Movement. ference. The bishop residing in Minneapolis is ex-ofpcio chairman of the Board. The institution has an excellent organization, and the Annual Conferences of the North- west are proud of the undertaking, which promises great things for the future. The Deaconess Home in Baltimore^ Md. This institution was opened in 1892 by the Woman^s Home Missionary Society, by employing two deaconesses, who occupied rooms in a private house. Two years later a house was bought on West Lombard Street, A 1 which, in 1894, was oc- Ja^ ' cupied by five deacon- ^^^^W| esses, who were en- '^^^^E g^g^d mostly in city ^^^^^ mission work. They soon learned that in the Bohemian quarter success could be as- sured only through sys- tematic work. In order to reach the people, the Board, in 1897, erected a Deaconess Home in connection with a mis- sion church. The struc- ture is a massive build- ing, called Mount Tabor Industrial Institution. The upper audience-room for worship is ample for the purpose, and has been tastefully furnished. The lower floor has three rooms containing ample provision for all kinds of Deaconess Work ; viz., kindergarten, kitchen-garden, industrial school, chil- dren's hour, boys' club, men's reading-rooms, entertain- II 11 1-5! Mount Tabor Deaconess Home and iNDusTRiAii Building. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 377 ments, and prayer service. The comfortable, convenient, and tasteful parsonage adjoining is built of the same gray granite, and preserves the unity of the Mount Tabor In- stitutional Building. Mrs. Jane Bancroft Robinson says, "This is the first institu- tional building for Deaconess Work in this country, and possibly in the world.^' Sister H. C. Henry is at the head of this institution. The Sunday-school connected with it is attended by several hundred Bohemian children. There are ninety-five children attending the kinder- garten, and one hun- dred girls are in- structed in the sew- ing - school. M ore than five hundred Bohemian ( Catholic ) families are under the influence of these deaconesses. Thirteen hundred and fifty children and young people come directly under their teaching in the kindergarten, sewing-school, kitchengarden, Bible-class, Junior League, and primary work in Mission Sunday-schools. The Dea- Deaconess Home, i; (Lombard St.) i;E, Md. 378 History of the Deaconess Movement. coness Board maintains, in six centers of Baltimore, three kindergartens, four sewing-schools, and four Mothers' Meetings, besides classes for Bible and secular instruction. The Nurse Deaconess is a potent factor in the home life of the sick whom she serves. Sunday services are held in several hospitals at regular intervals, besides many hours spent in visiting hospital wards. During the summer, fresh- air work occupies a large part of the time. Homes for orphan and neglected children, situations for unem- ployed,— these and many other duties enter into the annals of the Home. Fifteen active women have been occupying every field possible. Miss Anna Leidigh is superintendent. The two institutions have a value of $30,000. The Deaconess Home in Philadelphia, Pa. At a meeting of the Woman's Home Mis- sionary Society of the Philadelphia Confer- ence, November 27, 1889, it was decided to found a Deaconess Home. The decision was materialized through the munificent gift of Mr. M. N. Simpson McCullough. Commodious quarters were rented on Six- teenth Street, and on February 20th the Home was opened with appropriate exercises by Bishop Foss. Two years later, on the evening of January 5, 1892, PHILADEIiPHIA DeAOONESS HOME. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 379 as the deaconesses were attending prayer-meeting, they were surprised by the widow of the late Bishop sfmpson, who informed the audience that Colonel Joseph Bennett had bought a suitable house on Vine Street, and had pre- sented it to the Deaconess Home. In consequence of this announcement, songs of praise and thanksgiving ascended to heaven that evening. The Women's Aid and Young People's Societies of the various congregations furnished the house, and on March 30th it was dedicated. Two years later. Colonel Bennett purchased the adjoining building and presented it to the institution; he also provided the furnishings, which amounted to nearly $5,000. The prop- erty is valued at $26,000, and is free of debt. The dea- conesses conduct a successful Italian and also an immi- grant mission, and are engaged in parish work through- out the city. The Philadelphia Deaconess, a monthly periodical, is published by the Home. Fourteen deaconesses are connected with the Home. Colonel Joseph Bennett, the liberal and cheerful donor, died in 1898. The Deaconess Home in Buffalo, N". Y. In the spring of 1888 the Woman's Home Missionary Society appointed a city missionary in Buffalo. When the latter, in her report, mentioned the degradation existing in the proletarian district, it became evident that system- atic missionary work had become a necessity for the city. This led to the founding of a Deaconess Home. After a series of addresses in the various Methodist churches by Mrs. Jane Bancroft Robinson, in which she spoke of the blessings caused by the Deaconess Work in England and Germany, people opened their hearts and purses, and in 1890 the Deaconess Home was opened. Mrs. Florence S. Wilson, of the Elizabeth Gamble Home in Cincinnati,' took charge of the institution. In December, 1892, a suit- 380 History of the JDeaconess Movement. able building was purchased and furnished. Twelve dea- conesses are engaged in the following branches of mission work : Nursing, visiting the poor, teaching in industrial schools and kindergartens, conducting the Italian mission, Travelers' Aid work^ and visiting the poorhouse and the city hospital. The current disbursements of the institution to the poor and needy amount to $3,000. The property is valued at $15,000. Mrs. Wilson resigned as superintendent of the Home in 1891. Miss Eliza- beth A. Smith, of Washington, D. C, was then engaged as su2:)erintendent. She resigned, Au- gust 1, 1900, and Miss Mary L. Mul- 1 e n , a deaconess who had been in the Home three years, and a graduate of the National Training-school at Washington, D. C, was made superintendent. The Buffalo Deaconess is published monthly, and has a circulation of two thousand coj^ies. The Deaconess Home in Pittsburg^ Pa. One of the largest Methodist Churches in Pittsburg employed a deaconess in 1892. The expenses were defrayed by the well-known and liberal drygoods merchant, Mr. Joseph Home. In the year following, a Deaconess Society was organized, a building was rented, and the Methodist congregations of the city vied with each other in furnish- Buffalo Deaconess Home. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 381 ing the house. In September, 1894, the Pittsburg branch of the Woman's Home Missionary Society offered a house free of rent, and since that time the Home is under the patronage of this society. The two years' course of study is that prescribed by the Church. As no hospital is con- nected with the Home, the Nurse Deaconesses receive the necessary instruction in one of the city hospitals. Others attend the Na- tional Training-school in Washington. The principal object of the institution is to pre- pare the deaconesses for parish work. The eight deaconesses con- nected with the Home conduct a primary school, a kindergarten, a mission school, a Travelers' Aid Depart- ment, an industrial, an evening, and a cooking school. Through the liberality of friends, Grace Mission Chapel was erected, and is the center of a flourishing mis- sion work, conducted by the deaconesses. One of the dea- conesses is engaged in missionary work in Porto Rico. The Governing Board is comjwsed exclusively of ladies. Pittsburg Deaconess Home. The Deaconess Home in Cleveland, 0. This institution owes its existence to a veteran Meth- odist preacher. A newly-organized Deaconess Society was 382 History of the Deaconess Movement. offered a commodious house on Madison Avenue, free of rent, for a term of five years, by Kev. Dillon Prosser. The number of deaconesses increased, and at the expiration of the five years, another benevolent gentleman, Mr. W. F. Walworth, procured property on Woodland Avenue, worth $10,000. He himself donated part of this sum, and the rest was secured by the Methodist Churches in the city. The build- ing was furnished by the Woman's Aid So- cities and the Epworth Leagues. In the rear of the building is an- other, in which an in- dustrial school is con- ducted. Fifteen dea- conesses are connected with the Home, and the course of study is iden- tical with that pre- scribed by the Church. The five departments of work are as follows : 1. The Evangelistic W^ork of the St. Clair Street Mission ; 2. House-to-house Visitation ; 3. Industrial Work; 4. Nursing; 5. The Travelers' Aid Department. The Deaconess Home and Hospital in Omaha^ Neb. (Picture of New BuUding, see page 365.) In May, 1891, a number of benevolent people opened a hospital with rooms for thirty-six beds. This was the Deaconess Home in Cleveland, O. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 383 beginning of an institution which has grown to such di- mensions that it has become necessary to erect a new build- ing. Tlie growth of the institution is in a large measure due to its superintendent, Mrs. Allie P. McLaughlin, better known by her maiden name of Allie Pfrimmer. Her hus- band, Rev. J. L. McLaughlin, is at present correspond- ing secretary of the institution. During the year 1902 nearly one thousand patients were cared for in the hos- pital, and several hundred applicants could not be ad- mitted for want of accommodations. A new building is nearly completed, corner Glenwood Avenue and Cunnings Street, which will cost not less than $100,000. The Home has thirty-six deaconesses, including those on probation. Some of them are nurses, others are engaged in parish work in various cities of the Northwest. The corporate title of the institution is, "The Omaha Hospital and Deaconess Home Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church." The Fisk Deaconess Home and Training-school in Kansas City. The wisdom of the Xational Woman's Home Missionary Society in establishing a training-school in this populous center of the West has been amply vindicated by the re- sults so soon accomplished. In September, 1898, Miss H. A. Bancroft, then laboring in Kansas City, had an op- portunity to observe the excellent work of Bethany Hos- pital. She saw, however, the great need of a specific Bible Department in which the nurse deaconesses could pursue systematically the required studies. This need Miss Ban- croft presented to the friends of Bethany Hospital, and, in harmony with the thought, Dr. Alderman, Rev. S. E. Betts, and the women of the Woman's Home Missionary Society strongly urged the founding of a training-school. A school 384 History of the Deaconess Movement. was opened in a small way, and the first class of two grad- uated in 1901. In 1902 a class of twelve graduated, every one of whom was under appointment as a dea- coness before the school closed. In the second year the institution had to be removed to larger quarters. A new and commodious building is planned for the near future. The institution was named in honor of Mrs. Clinton B. Fisk, president of the Wo- man's Home Missionary Society. Rev. J. W. Aldermann, D. D., is president, and Miss Winifred Spaulding superintendent. The deaconesses receive their nurse-train- ing in the Bethany Hospital. Bethany Deaconess Hospital, Kansas City, Kan. The Bethany Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., was es- tablished in 189G. Bishop Ninde and Mrs. Lucy Rider Meyer visited the city, made addresses, and helped to or- ganize a Deaconess Hospital. Nurses and workers were sent from the Chicago Training-school. The growth was slow, but the hospital is doing well, and has a capacity for sev- enty-five patients. Of the twelve hundred and fifty pa- tients treated in 1901, not less than nine hundred and forty-seven were treated free of charge. Income and ex- penses were $21,000. Two buildings are occupied, and the Miss Winifred Spaulding. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 385 doors of Bethany are wide open to the j^oorest as well as to the rich. There is no distinction of creed or color in the receiving of patients, and there are over thirty charity beds in connection with this hospital. In 1899 the hospital became affiliated with the Woman's Home Missionary So- ciety. Eev. S. E. Betts is superintendent of the institu- tion. The property is valued at $32,700. Twenty-five deaconesses and probationers are engaged in the hospital. The Bidwell Deaconess Home and Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. This institution was founded in 1892, in Des Moines, by a branch of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, and the following year the building was dedicated by Bishop Fowler. A few months later the incipient institution re- ceived $22,000 through a legacy of the Bidwell family. An effort was made in 1895 to interest the various Confer- ences of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Iowa in the Home, and, as a result, the four Conferences in the State united, and founded the Iowa Methodist Hospital. Each Conference elects one of its members to serve as director, and these, with the directors elected by the Woman's Home Missionary Society, constitute the Board of Control. A beautiful piece of ground, consisting of four acres, was bought in the capital city, on which a hospital was erected at a cost of $50,000. It is easy of access, and a large part of the city can be viewed from the windows. There is room for fifty beds. The Deaconess Home is in the adjoining building. A Bible Training-school was also organized, and the three institutions, the Iowa Bible Training-school, Bid- well Deaconess Home, and the Iowa Methodist Hospital, constitute a strong trio. They work together in harmony, and are a source of blessing to the entire State. Eighteen deaconesses, including probationers, are connected with the 25 386 History of the Deaconess Movement. Home. Mrs. H. Ida Benson is superintendent of the Dea- coness Home and Bible Training-school. The Maria Beard Deaconess Home and Hospital^ in Spokane^ Wash. In a small rented house this Home was opened in April, 1892, with two deaconesses from the Chicago Training- school. In 1896 the institution was incorporated under the name "M aria : Beard Deaconess Hos- pital." A year later a large hospital build- ing was erected through the liberality of Mr. F. P. O'Neill. W h e n this property was signed over to the Deaconess Home, the name was changed to "Maria Beard Dea- coness Home and Hos- pital." The work having already outgrown its accommo- dations, the Board has purchased a suitable piece of ground, and is planning to erect a new, commodious building in the near future. As it seemed almost impossible to obtain a sufficient number of young women willing to devote them- selves to the Deaconess Work, a Nurse-training School was combined with the hospital. A Home for the Aged was also founded, which was named "Spokane Deaconess Old People's Home." Twelve deaconesses are active in these three institutions, including those on probation. A paper published in the interests of the institution is called The Spokane Deaconess. Several of the deaconesses are native Germans. Maria Beard Deaconess Home. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 387 The Deaconess Home and Training-school in San Francisco^ Cal. Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft gave the impulse to the found- ing of this institution in 1891. She organized the Dea- The Deaconess Home and TRAiNiNG-scHooii in San Francisco, Cal. coness Society of the C-alifornia Conference, and the latter opened a Home before the close of the year. Bishop Fowler was the first president, and Mrs. Jennie Ebermann the first superintendent. In 1893 the institution was trans- ferred to the Woman's Home Missionary Society. Shortly after, one of the deaconesses died;, and the health of an- 388 History of the Deaconess Movement. other failed, in consequence of which the Home had to be closed. In 1894 the institution was reopened in better quarters, and Mrs. H. Ida Benson, from the Lucy Webb Hayes Training-school, was made superintendent. An in- teresting piece of history is connected with this reopening. In 189 3, Mr. and Mrs. Simms made a trip to Europe, and there became ac- quainted with the Deaconess Work. On their return they do- nated $1,000 to the society in San Francisco. When, in 1901, Kev. Dr. J. N. Beard, who had proved himself a warm friend of the undertak- ing from its be- ginning was made dean of the Home, and devoted- his whole time to the cause, it was soon in a flourishing condition. His years of service as j^resident in educational institu- tions of the Church, as pastor in large Churches, eminently fit him for the position. Besides, his studies on lines of sociology in European cities greatly add to his practical knowledge of working out the problems for which the Deaconess Institutions stand. He purchased a large and valuable building, which was originally built for a school. Rev. J. N. Beabd, D. D. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 389 San Francisco is an important mission field, being a cos- mopolitan city, in which nearly ail nations of the earth are represented. There being a large Chinese and Japan- ese population, many Church problems remain to be solved, Los Angeles Deaconess Home. and much mission work is to he done. Dr. Beard has laid broad foundations for the work, and he is hopeful that in the near future the Methodist Church will have in San Francisco one of the most promising Deaconess Homes in the United States. Twenty-five students and deaconesses are connected with the Home. 390 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Home in Los Angeles^ Cal. In 1896^ Miss Geneva Day, a deaconess from Chicago, came to Los Angeles to engage in deaconess work in South- ern California. She received an invitation to address the Preachers' Meeting on the Deaconess Cause. As a result, she was employed by the First Methodist Church in the city. Shortly after, the Woman's Home Missionary So- ciety rented a few rooms, and sent Miss Spaulding, of Cleve- land, to take charge of the work. At the end of the year a large and convenient house was rented and oceupiedr'^^y five deaconesses. In 1899, Mrs. DeEauw donated two build- ing-lots and $500 in cash. Other gifts ^ere added, and soon a commodious building was erected. At present there are eight deaconesses in the Home, whose services are sought mostly by the various Churches. They are also engaged in Travelers' Aid work. In 1900 the Home .was^rdedicated by Bishop Hamilton. The property is worth $6,000, is free of debt, and a beginning has been made in the accil- mulation of an endowment. , ., The Methodist Home for the Aged in Yellow . ' Springs, Ohio. ; This institution was incorporated August 4, 1899, and opened December 11th following. Eev. H. C. Weakley, superintendent of the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home, founded the institution, with the intention of making it a branch of the Gamble Home; however, the authorities de- cided that the two institutions should be independent. Dr. W^eakley, therefore, suggested a Board, in which the five Methodist Conferences in Ohio concurred, and are repre- sented. Thus the institution was, placed under the patron- age and control of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Be- sides the five members named in the charter — H. C. Weak- ley, A. J. Lyon, J. H. Fitzwater, A. H. Norcross, and R. 391 392 Deaconess Homes in the United States. Johnson — each of the iive Conferences elected three other members — a clergyman, a layman, and a lady. William McKinley, then President of the United States, accepted Rev. H. C. Weaki^ey, D. D. such an appointment, made by the East Ohio Conference. The Home property contains over fourteen acres, and the Dayton and Xenia Electric Eailway passes in front of it. The main building burnt down in November, 1902. A new structure, fireproof and supplied with all modern Deaconess Homes ix the United States. 393 conveniences, will be erected at once. Before the fire the property was valued at $20,000, and free of debt. In addition, the corporation has resources amounting to over $33,000. Dr. H. C. Weakley had been identified with the Deaconess Cause for ten years. The Gamble Home in Cincinnati was the first Deaconess Institution founded after the session of the General Conference in 1888, referred to above, and from the beginning until 1900, Dr. Weakley was its corresponding secretary. Having seen the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home and Christ Hospital firmly established in the confidence and affection of the people, and as two of the great and per- manent Christian institutions of Cincinnati, he asked to be released from his official relations thereto, in order to give his entire strength to building up the Home for the Aged. From the beginning until now it has been the purpose of those in charge of this institution to make it a part of the Deaconess Movement, to have the Sisterhood of the Church in charge of its internal afi'airs just as soon as they could secure or train them. As a matter of fact, those in charge and those who have taken care of the old folks have so understood, and came and wrought in the true deaconess spirit and on the deaconess basis, though none who are there now have been formally consecrated. The move- ment is too young to have produced them. Deaconess Home and Hospital of the State of Indiana^ in Indianapolis. In the fall of 1898 initial steps were taken toward es- tablishing a Deaconess Hospital and Home in the city of Indianapolis, to be the work of the three Conferences in the State of Indiana. Plans were matured and Articles of Incorporation adopted by all of the Indiana Conferences. Practical work was begun by Miss C. K. Schwartz in Oc- 394 lilSTOKY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. tober, 1898. In August of 1899 she was joined by Miss Middleton, a graduate of DePauw, and also of the Wash- ington Training-school, and later by Miss Plummer, a nurse deaconess. The City Union of the Epworth League pledged its indorsement and co-operation by supporting a visiting and a nurse deaconess, to work under its direction in the Mercy and Help Department. A temporary Home was opened, but later the Board of Directors purchased The Aldrich Memorial, Deaconess Ho3ie in Grand Rapids, Mich. a half square of land at Illkiois and Twenty-ninth Streets as a site for the institution. In the meantime the dea- conesses are engaged in city mission work of various kinds — kindergarten, industrial school. Mothers' Meetings, rescue work, and house-to-house visitation. Four deacon- esses are connected with the Home. The Board of Di- rectors, consisting of fifteen members, is thus constituted: Each of the three Conferences elects two clergymen, one layman, and two women, the latter from the ranks of the Woman's Home Missionary Society. The plans for the Deaconess Homks in the United States. 395 future include tlie raising of $100,000 for building and endowment purposes. The Aldricit Memorial Deaconess Home and Train- ing-school IN Grand Rapids, Mich. On February 19, 1891, the Methodist preachers of the above-named city met for the purpose of discussing the founding of a Deaconess Home. Work on a building was begun without delay. When, three years later, the debt on the Iniilding had been paid, the Home was dedicated. Watts de Peyster Home, Verbank, N. Y. In the fall of 1897 a training-school was organized in con- nection with the Home. The instruction is given by resi- dent clergymen and physicians. Both institutions are lo- cated in the same building. Mrs. W. J. iVldrich is super- intendent. By personal efforts she secured gifts and sub- scriptions toward the erection of the institution, and through various vicissitudes, as a wise leader, she brought it out into a large place of usefulness and prosperity. Watts de Peyster Hospital for Children. The founding of tliis blessed institute in Verbank. N. Y., was made possible through a liberal gift by General 396 History of the Deaconess Movement. J. Watts. The institution is located in a romantic region, on an elevation from which the greater part of Dutchess County can be viewed. It is therefore a healthy place. The building is of stone, has a length of one hundred and fifty feet, and is surrounded by a veranda. Sick and in- valid children are cared for in the Home. It is managed by the Deaconess Society of the New York Conference, and deaconesses perform the labors of love. There being no endowment, the institution is dependent on liberal contributions for its maintenance. The Shesler Deaconess Home in Sioux City^ Ia. On May 22, 1899, a meeting was called in the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Sioux City for the purpose of discussing the question of founding a Deaconess Home in the city. Miss Iva May Durham, one of the field secre- taries of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, addressed the meeting, whereupon Mrs. J. P. Negus, secretary of the Branch Society of the North Iowa Conference, stated that the branch would contribute $G00 toward the cause. In August, 1899, the institution was opened in rented quarters. A year later the Official Board was informed that Mrs. J. B. Shesler, of Spencer, la., the widow of the late Rev. Abram A. Shesler, of the Northwest Iowa Conference, had decided to donate some valuable property. In December, 1900, a building was purchased for $5,150. It contains twelve rooms, and is well adapted for a Deaconess Home. The benefactress, Mrs. Shesler; has been a true helpmate to her husband in. his pastoral labors, and an excellent Sunday-school worker. There are five deaconesses con- nected with the Home, and the latter has a promising future. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 397 The Colorado Conference Deaconess Home in Denver^ Colo. The Deaconess Work of Colorado, in connection with the Woman's Home Missionary Society, opened October 9, 1897, when Miss Me- lissa Briggs entered on her duties as a visiting deaconess. Colorado Methodism took a lively interest in the work, and early in 1898 the Conference Board of Deaconess indorsed the movement. Trinity C h u r c h subscribed twenty dollars per month, and Mr. H. S. Taggart supported a deaconess. In F e b- ruary, I8983 articles of incorporation were drawn up, and a house was rented, with three deaconesses, Miss Briggs, Miss Kich, and Miss James, as inmates. During the year 1902 fourteen deaconesses were employed in fifty different Churches of the Colorado Con- ference. A small paper. Woman s Worh, is published in the interest of the Home. Deaconess Hospital in Seattle, Wash. This hospital, which is under the auspices of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, was opened March 1, 1900, and, since it is the first Protestant hospital in the city, it fills Deaconess Home in Denver, Colo. 398 History of the Deaconess Movement. a real want. The millionaire, Thomas Lippy, well known on the Pacific Coast, presented the building, which has accommodations for ninety patients. Near the hospital three separate buildings were erected, each containing nine rooms. These are occupied by the deaconesses. Miss Dora Adron is superintendent, both of the hospital and the Dea- ^^^ coness Home. Tiie property is valued at $50,000, and is free of debt. Deaconess Home of the Southwest Kansas Confer- ence^ IN Wichita, Kan. In March, 1898, the Southwest Kansas Conference de- cided to found a Deaconess Home in Wichita. Two dea- conesseS; who had been trained in the Lucy Webb Hayes Deaconess Homes in the United States. 399 School in AYashington, began the work in a rented house. The year following, a building with seven rooms was pur- chased, and soon paid for. Five deaconesses are at present engaged in parish work, nursing, and teaching. Several others are being trained for their calling. The property is worth $3,600. Deaconess Home In Milwaukee, Wis. The Deaconess Home in Milwaukee, Wis. In 1893, Elizabeth Elmore, a benevolent lady and member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, donated a beautiful house to the Summerfield Methodist congrega- tion, on the condition that the latter organize and support 400 History of the Deaconess Movement. a Deaconess Home. The institution was opened with three deaconesses, which number has increased to eight. Six of them are employed in parish work, one is engaged in nurs- ing, and another is performing evangelistic work. Mrs. Elmore also willed $5,000 to the Home, which sum is in- vested as an endowment fund. The institution is con- trolled by a Board consisting of twenty-one members, ten of whom are women. The Woman's Aid Society provides for the running expenses. Dkaconkss Home and Hospital, in Peoria, III. The Deaconess Home in Newark, N. J. This institution was founded by the Woman's Home Missionary Society in Jul}^, 1899, through the efforts of a deaconess. The same year a building was erected, which at present is occupied by six deaconesses. Deaconess Home and Hospital in Peoria, III. Mrs. Isadore Edward Wilkinson donated property val- ued at $30,000 for the purpose of founding a Deaconess Deaconess Homes in the United States. 401 Home, which is to bear the name of "Wilkinson Memorial Institute/' The three-story building is situated on a hill, from the top of which the greater part of the city can be seen. The institute was opened May 24, 1900. It is pat- ronized and controlled by the Illinois Conference, within the boundaries of which it is situated. Besides the neces- sary accommodations for the deaconesses, there is room for thirty-five patients. Tpie Elizabeth Wellington Griffin Home Is situated in Rensselaer, N. Y., on the banks of the Hud- son, opposite Albany. It is a bequest of the lady whose name it bears. This Home came into the possession of the Woman's Home Missionary Society at the death of Mrs. Grif- fin, February 10, 1899, by deed ; also $1,000 by will for repairs. It contains twelve rooms with modern conven- iences, and is admirably adapted to the various lines of Deaconess Work. Seven deacon- esses set out every morning on their er- rands of mercy. Rensselaer, being a railroad center, is a field well adapted to Deaconess Work. One of the deacon- esses is engaged exclusively at the railway stations. The Home is worth $5,200, and is free of debt. 26 The Griffin Deaconess Home. 402 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Home in Pueblo^ Col., Was founded in 1898, and in February, 1890, the dea- conesses moved into their own quarters.^ The property is vahied at $3,000, and the institution is patronized by the Colorado Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Deaconess Home in Freeport, III. This Home was opened in 1892. It began with two deaconesses, but the number has since been increased to five. A suitable building was erected by the Board. In a hall adapted for that purpose religious services are held every evening. The deaconesses conduct an industrial school, two kindergartens, and are engaged in parish work and nursing. The Deaconess Home in Providence, R. I. In 1893 a dea- coness from the 1) OS ton Training- school was em- ployed in the city. Mrs. Lucy Rider -t Meyer, from Chi- I cago, and Miss M. E. ^ Lunn, superintend- ent of the Home in Boston, addressed large audiences on the Deaconess Movement, and Deaconess Hospital, Jeffersonville,Ind. created interest m the cause; but a Home was not founded until two years later. On June 21, 1895, the institution was opened with two deaconesses. The Deaconess Homes in the United States. 403 number has since increased to four, and they are engaged in nursing and parish work. The N. a. W. Mason Deaconess Home in Normal, III. In 1899, Mrs. N. A. W. Mason, one of the early settlers of the town, donated her valuable residence for deaconess purposes. As the house is situated near the Bloomington Hospital, it was fitted up for the deaconesses who are em- ployed as nurses in the hospital, which is undenominational, and affords room for twenty beds. Although the dea- conesses are employed in the hospital the Deaconess Home is, nevertheless, an independent organization. Deaconess Hospital in Jeffersonville, Ind. In this institution there are hospital facilities for twelve patients. The property represents a value of $9,000, and is free of debt. Seven deaconesses are engaged in general Deaconess Work. (See picture opposite.) The Deaconess Home in Jersey City, K J. The first Deaconess Home, under the auspices of the Kewark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was opened November 5, 1897, on Barrow Street. Five deaconesses are engaged in general Deaconess Work, includ- ing the conducting of kindergartens, a mission Sunday- school, and a successful mission among the poor. The Deaconess Home in Knoxville, Tenn., Was opened by the Woman's Home Missionary Society on February 7, 1893. The number of deaconesses, however, remained small, and Sister Rhoda A. Sigler has been the head deaconess from the beginning. 404 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Home in Fall Eiver^ Mass.^ Was opened June 12, 1894, with three deaconesses. The value of property and endowment amounts to $52,000. The institution also owns a Rest Home. The deaconesses, eight in number, are employed by the various congrega- tions in city mission work. Ensworth Deaconess Home and Hospital, St. Joseph, Missouri. A hospital is combined with the Home, containing fifty- four beds. During the past year four hundred and eighty Ensworth Deaconess HospixAii in St. Joseph, Mo. patients were cared for. Lodgings were provided for the deaconesses in a separate building. Five of them are or- dained, and -the remaining fifteen are on probation. The value of the jDroperty is $20,000. The Hollaway Deaconess Home in Bridgeport, 0. Property valued at $7,500 was donated by a benevolent lady, Mrs. J. M. Houston, toward the founding of a Dea- Deaconess Homes ix the United States. 405 coness Home. This Home was opened November 1, 1904^ with- three deaconesses enrolled. The Thoburn Deaconess Home in La Crosse, Wis., Was founded in 1895, but not opened until October, 1899. Six deaconesses are engaged in general Deaconess Work. The Deaconess Home in Detroit, Mich. Nine deaconesses are connected with the Home. They are engaged in nursing, parish work, conducting kinder- g a r t e n s, and three Manual Training- schools. One of the deaconesses, Mrs. Kel- ler, who conducts the Tillman Avenue Mis- sion,' deserves special notice. This Sister, whose portrait we pre- sent, is one of the mos^ successful city mission aries of our times. Sh*^ began her work h 1889, and has encoun tered great difficulties Her work lies in that part of the city occu- pied mostly by foreign- ers— Bohemians, Poles, Italians, and Hungarians ■""--s. \^ * ' MfS^^k^'^^: 1 1^^ iiB h^^ Mi *^^ ^.i^^^ JJETBOIT Deaconess Home. Sev- eral times the Catholics caused a riot, and threatened to set her home on fire. However, she has won all hearts through her amiableness and labor among the poor, and to-day Sister Keller is very generally invited to partici- 406 History of the Deaconess Movement. pate in the festivities of those i)oor and humble people. It is also known that whenever sorrow enters a home; she is the one to bring comfort. A mission building has been erected, containing a Manual Training-school, a Sunday-school, and a kindergarten. This Home has become the central point of an extensive mis- sion work. As the build- ing was inadequate, the Woman's Home Mission- arv Society of the Detroit Mrs. H. E. Kkli^er. ^' t. , -, n Conference erected a nne brick building at a cost of $5,000, with all modern ap- pliances for aggressive mission work. The Cunningham Deaconess Home and Orphanage in Urbana^ III., Was opened in 1895. Judge Cunningham presented the Woman's Home Missionary Society with a valuable build- ing, in which a Home was opened. Xhe structure has since been enlarged, and the property now represents a value of $26,000. There are thirty-five orphans and four dea- conesses in the Home. (See picture opposite.) The Deaconess Home in Columbus, 0., Is pleasantly located on the first floor of 1087 Dennison Avenue, in the building formerly occupied by the Protestant Hospital. The Home has been fitted up by the Methodist Churches of the city. Five deaconesses are engaged in parish work and nursing. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 407 Eest Homes for Deaconesses. They have been founded in various parts of the country. Some are on the shores of lakes or on the sea-coast, others on the mountain-side in the shade of century oaks, or near the rippling brook. The first we would like to mention is the Bancroft Rest Home in Ocean Grove, N. J., on the Cunningham Deaconess Home and Orphanage. Atlantic Coast. Besides deaconesses, other Christian work- ers are admitted, as long as there is room, for the small remuneration of $3 a week. The Home is well furnished, two additional lots have been bought, electric lighting has been put in the Home, and it has been decided that the house, like the Eternal City, should remain open all the year round. We present the picture of this beautiful Home. The second is the Thompson Vacation Home, 408 History of the Deaconess Movement- situated in Mountain Lake Park, Md., in the Alleghany Mountains. It is a model place for deaconesses needing rest. The building has nine rooms, and is surrounded by a veranda, in the midst of forest-trees. The third is the National Deaconess Sanitarium in Colorado Springs, Col. For years the necessity of a sanitarium for persons suffer- ing with pulmonary troubles, especially for deaconesses, had been felt, and the attention had been directed to the noted health resort, Colorado Springs. Through the liberality Bancroft Rest Home, Ocean Grove, N. J. of a deaconess, Miss Esther C. Finley, a vacation sani- tarium in the suburbs was purchased. The building con- tains twenty-six rooms, is provided with wide halls, electric light, verandas, excellent facilities for bathing, and is sur- rounded by a park containing four acres. The whole has a value of $25,000. Through the efforts of friends and Churches, the Home has been furnished. Bishop Warren is the president of the Board of Directors. Several other Rest Homes should here be mentioned : The Caroline Rest Cottage, in Round Lake, N. Y. ; the Rest Cottage in Chau- Deaconess Homes in the United States. 409 tauqua, N. Y. ; the Elvira Olney Rest Cottage, in Luding- ton, Mich. ; the Eest Home in Cottage City, Mass. ; Vaca- tion Cottage, Epworth Heights, 0. ; and the Deaconess Cot- tage, in Lakeside, 0. The Deaconess Home for Colored People in Cincin- nati^ 0. This Home, the first of its kind under the patronage of any Protestant Church, was founded in 1900. In view of the fact that the Negro question is one of the burning questions of the day in the United States, this undertaking is one of great significance. The Legislatures of the South- ern States, the press, and the pulpits of Protestant Churches, are agitating this question. The colored man is among us, and he is here to stay. The results of slavery will not be effaced for generations to come. For decades the Negro groaned under the oppression of slavery. He had been taught that he had neither a soul nor a con- science. He despised himself, because he had been reared in the belief that God had cursed and destined him for eternal slavery. He has been surrounded by a wall of super- stition too high to be scaled. Thus the Negro has lost hold on the future, and for him there w^as no race prob- lem, and, to a certain extent, there is still none — the main thought occupying his mind is his temporal well-being. A lecture on pathology would be of no avail to a patient down with cholera ; all he cares for is to get rid of his pain. Thus the colored man is not interested in the race prob- lem. He neither reads nor argues concerning the subject, but he is ready to be helped. Help, however, can not come to him excepting through the religion of Christ. The Church has done a great deal toward the amelioration of the black man's condition. It has founded congregations, Sunday-schools, institutions of learning, and numerous in- 410 History of the Deaconess Movement. dustrial schools in which the Negroes are educated and pre- pared for the discharge of their duties as citizens. The conviction, however, is growing that, if the race is to be elevated to a higher plane, the individual must be looked after, and the Deaconess Cause is expected to lend a help- ing hand in bringing about the desired results. The col- ored deaconess, visit- ing from house to house, coming into close contact with its inmates, giving prac- t i c a 1 instruction in housekeeping, bring- ing children to Sun- day-school, exhorting the indifferent, and inviting them to church, can accom- plish more good in this practical way than the minister of the gospel. The pur- pose is, therefore, to found Deaconess Homes for Negroes in all parts of the South, and to train a large number of pious young colored women for this work. A Deaconess Training-school has been established, and it is a pioneer in the work of educating the colored girls to become well-fitted deaconesses who shall work "for the love of Christ and in his name." Rev. W. H. Riley, formerly of Gammon Theological Seminar}^, now pastor of St. John Methodist Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, in the autumn of 1900, aided by his excellent wife, opened his home to Chris- tian girls who desired to be specially prepared as skilled Rev. W. H. Riley. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 411 workers to answer the cries of the suffering and the needy. There came to this school seven students, with no money, and at first no friends. These girls were at work during the day, and had to study and recite in the evenings. The first year one thousand missionary calls were made, help was given to twenty-five needy families, employment found for seventy-five persons, and more than one hundred people The Seven Deaconesses in the First Training-school for Colored Deaconesses in the United States. hrought to the church and Sunday-school. The students, in addition, passed creditable examinations in their studies. In the second year the Woman's Home Missionary Society pledged $800 toward the work. Mr. Riley and his wife in- structed two classes, and several resident clergymen and physicians lent them a helping hand free of charge. In the autumn of 1902 the senior class graduated, and, as far as known, these were the first graduating deaconesses from a distinctive colored school. The names of the grad- 412 History of the Deaconess Movement. nates are: Dovie Malissa Riley, Mary Evangeline Poin- dexter, Eowena Howard, and Martha Jane Joiner. Rev. W. H. Riley writes : "Ours is the only Deaconess Training-school among col- ored people in the United States. It is true there are schools in the Methodist Episcopal Church that do Dea- RoANOKE Colored Deaconess Home. cones Work, and several colored girls have gone out as dea- conesses; but ours is the only Deaconess Training-school. Only a beginning has been made in the African Methodist Episcopal Church along the line of Deaconess Work. Further than this, they have called a few women together, and have put on them the deaconess garb, and have started them out as deaconesses without any training whatever. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 413 But the movement has begun, and the training-schools will follow." EoANOKE Colored Deaconess Home. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, an organiza- tion whose membership consists exclusively of colored peo- ple, founded a Deaconess Home in the spring of 1901. Bishop B. F. Lee, of that Church, recognized the high im- portance of the Deaconess Movement, and devoted much thought to the subject. Before any deaconesses could be trained for their work, he had an opportunity to purchase some valuable property in a convenient location, almost in the heart of Roanoke, W. Va. H comprises two squares, and the building is of brick and contains thirty-five rooms. The value of the property is $20,000. Bishop Lee visited Cincinnati in the interest of the cause. He is evidently the man in whose hands the Deaconess Work of the African Church will prosper. The Deaconess Work in India. Shortly after the adjournment of the General Confer- ence of 1888, Bishop Thoburn returned to India, accom- panied by three deaconesses. Two of these, Miss Elizabeth Maxey and Miss Catharine E. Blair, both from Ohio, are still at their post. The third withdrew after a brief serv- ice. At the first Conference, in January, 1889, a state- ment of the character and conditions of the deaconess service was publicly made, and the whole subject fully dis- cussed. The general impression made was favorable, and Miss Lucy Sullivan, who had gone out a little earlier, was recognized as a deaconess, and also Miss Phoebe Rowe, who had been born and brought up in India, and been ad- mitted by the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society as a worker in the mission field. The first Home was opened 414 History of the Deaconess Movement. in Lucknow, the second in Calcutta. At present deacon- esses are employed in all parts of India — from Singapore in the southeast, to Eangoon and Calcutta in the north; and from the western part, where the Deaconess Cause is slowly gaining ground, to the southern, in Madras and Kolar, where two Deaconess Homes have been founded. Large institutions, with numerous deaconesses, are not met with in India ; nor will that be the case for many years to come. The missionaries live far apart, and, in some in- stances, but one of them or a single family is stationed at a place. For this reason there would be no use in employ- ing a large number of deaconesses in one Home. The largest institution is located in Kolar, and we are glad to be able to present a good picture of it. Through a munificent gift by Mrs. Fanny Nast Gamble, of Cincin- nati, a building was erected. In 1898, Bishop Thoburn laid the corner-stone, and to-day the structure is like "a city on the mountain," and an eloquent witness for the power of the Christian religion. On a plate to the left of the main entrance, the following inscription is seen : "To the memory of William A. Gamble^ Cincinnati, 0., U. S. A., who practiced justice, was mild and forbearing, and walked humbly before his God. He still speaks, al- though he is dead. Born September 1, 1845; died May 2, 1897." The situation of the Home is beautiful. In the rear, but not visible in the picture, the high Kolar range is seen. The building fronts toward tlie east, and the apart- ments to the right of the main entrance are occupied by the deaconesses. The daily work is begun with prayer. Every Thursday afternoon those connected with the mis- sion, the teachers employed in the orphanage, and other Christian workers, assemble for a service, and on Friday evening the Sunday-school teachers meet to prepare the 416 HlSTOIU' OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. lesson for the coming Sunday. During the first year the Hindus and Mohammedans came from a great dis- tance to view the "palace," as they called the build- ing, and to inform themselves concerning its purpose. Bishop Thoburn is anxious to have a number of women trained for the for- eign mission work, the demand for such workers being great in all parts of India. However, since it is not prob- able that America will supply them, the purpose is to train native women for the work. < B i s h o p TholDurn writes : "If the Methodist Church had sent deacon- esses to India forty years ago, much more would have been accomplished. I rejoice, however, at what has been done of late years." Our principal boarding-school, the Ladies' Seminary in Calcutta, is conducted by deaconesses; two of our papers are edited by them ; the most talented and successful evan- gelist that has ever labored among the women of India is also a deaconess; and the same can be said of one of our most successful lady physicians. The field of activity Mrs. Fanny Nast Gamble. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 417 of deaconesses has been widened in India, and thus an im- portant problem has been solved. However, we need more help ; we have a mission field among the natives, embracing a vast territory, within the limits of which the name of Christ has never been heard. Two of our deaconesses are employed in the extreme north, where eternal snow sepa- rates India and Thibet ; three others are laboring in the sunny south among the Malays and Chinese in Singapore, distant only ninety miles from the equator. In all India and Malaysia there are at present forty deaconesses; but what does that number mean in a mission territory with 300,000,000 inhabitants ? At the last session of the Bombay Conference, held in the city of Poonah, a most excellent English lady, who came to India some years ago, and who has given her flour- ishing orphanage, with herself, to our mission, was conse- crated as a Methodist deaconess. Every one familiar with the true character of the Deaconess Movement will ap- preciate at once the full import of these facts. One of the most striking features of the movement is its almost in- variable tendency to set on foot other forms of good work, such as hospitals, orphanages, old people's homes, children's refuges, and other eleemosynary institutions. Each Chris- tian woman who joins this select band of workers, if in- spired by the true spirit of a deaconess, is pretty sure to be found ready to assist in every good work of this kind. There are deaconesses working in Lucknow, Calcutta, Singapore, Madras, Kolar, Muttra, Rangoon, Poonah, Bom- bay, Dardeula, Moradabad, Bareilly, Darjeeling, Penang, and a number of other cities. It is the intention of Bishop Thoburn to place many of the schools and seminaries of learning, and all the benevolent institutions in India, in the hands of deaconesses, as soon as a sufficient number has been trained. 27 418 History of the Deaconess Movement. DEACONESS PERSONALS. Miss Mary E. Lunn Was born in Racine, Wis., and educated in Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis. She was converted in early youth, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church at the age of thirteen. September 17, 1889, she entered the Chicago Training-school, but was not permitted to remain for graduation, being sent, in December, 1889, to take charge of the newly-opened Deaconess Home and Training- school in Boston, Mass. When, in 1896, a hospital was added to the work there, at the earnest request of the Board of Managers, she retained the general oversight of the entire work, until, in 1899, she was released from the Home and school by the appointment of two other deaconesses, with her- self to superintendent the three houses. Miss Lunn devoting all her time to the hospital, which Miss Mart E. Lunn. ,-, ^ -, i -i t ^ greatly needed a new building tor its work. In May, 1901, Miss Lunn resigned for needed rest, and, September, 1902, entered upon her duties as superintendent of the New York Deaconess Home and Training-school. In 1897 she was privileged to study the Deaconess Work at Mildmay, England, and Kaiserswerth and Frankfort, Germany, after having visited more than a dozen of the Deaconess Homes in the United States. Miss Isabella Thoburn Was born in St. Clairsville, 0., March 29, 1840. She re- ceived a good education, graduating from the Ladies' Semi- nary in Wheeling, W. Va., where she remained for a while Deaconess Homes in the United States. 419 as a teacher. In 1866 she accepted a call to the principal- ship of the Girls' Seminary at Farmington, 0. From early youth she had a fervent desire to enter the foreign mission work, but the idea of sending out unmarried women as missionaries was unknown to the Church at that time. Nevertheless she addressed a letter to the missionary sec- retary of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in New York, asking to be sent to India, and declaring that she was will- ing to perform the humblest work. This letter embarrassed the Mission Board. They could hardly decline the offer, but at the same time they did not know what to do in the matter. Divine providence, however, pointed out the way to them. Several ladies convened in Boston for the pur- pose of founding the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. When Dr. Durbin, the missionary secretary, heard of this meeting, he sent Miss Thoburn's letter to these ladies. The communication encouraged them, and served to confirm them in their proposed undertaking. By this new society Miss Thoburn was sent to India. She was the first woman employed as a missionary in the foreign field. In January, 1870, she started for her new field of labor in company with Miss Clara Swain, M. D., who was the first woman sent abroad from America in the capacity of a medical missionary. Hence these two ladies are the pioneer workers in India of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. Miss Swain's work in India resulted in the founding of the ''Lady Dufferin Medical Eelief Movement," which has proved a great blessing, and is supported liberally by the Indian Government. In Upper India Miss Thoburn founded a girls' school. She noticed that missionaries attached too little importance to the education of girls, and had, until then, founded only boys' schools. Miss Thoburn's object was to educate the girls in order that they might later be true mates for their husbands, and bring up their children 420 HisTOHV OF THE Deaconess Movement. in the fear of the Lord. At first her efforts were not favored by the missionaries. However, in the course of a few years they were obliged to acknowledge that the ex- traordinary achievements justified the new movement. In Miss ISABELiiA Thoburn. April, 1900, however, after the lapse of thirty years — years of heroic labor — in her address before the Ecumenical Mis- sionary Conference in New York, referring to another great Indian educator, the late Dr. Alexander Duff, and quoting his rather pessimistic pronouncement, "You might as well Deaconess Homes in the United States. 421 try to scale a Chinese wall fifty feet high as to hope to educate the women of India/' Miss Thobiirn naively re- marked : ^'The wall has not only been scaled, but thrown down; there are to-day advanced schools and higher edu- cational institutions for India's women, and those schools are Christian." Miss Thoburn had a wide vision of the needs of India, and saw very clearly that the education, enlightenment, and conversion of the women — the mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters of the land — must be "the door, great and effectual," opening upon the evangelization of the mul- tiplied millions of India and through which Christianity must enter. To the accomplishment of this she bent all her energies, working quietly, planning wisely, and pray- ing with a full and earnest faith that India would be won for Christ. She was always confident of success; for she felt that the work was God's and could not fail, but must go on. She sought to develop Christians, earnest, true, and strong, full of faith and courage, who in turn should be- come flaming heralds and evangelists. Gifted girls, de- sirous to learn, crowded to the school, and many converted mothers were anxious that their daughters should receive a better education than they themselves had been able to obtain. JMiss Thoburn now purchased a large building, sur- rounded by a garden. When the school had been in opera- tion a few years, the applications for admission became so numerous that all could not be accommodated for want of room. While conducting this school. Miss Thoburn was also engaged in "Zenana" work ; that is, she visited those women who, according to Oriental custom, are excluded from the outer world, and from whose presence missionaries are rigidly excluded. She also supervised several elemen- tary schools, which were held in private houses, and was 422 History of the Deaconess Movement. instrumental in -upbuilding those parishes which were united with the Anglican Church in Lucknow. In 1880 she returned to the United States on a short visit. In 1886 she was obliged to sever her connection with the foreign mission-work on account of her health, and again came to America. For two years she was obliged to abstain from work. In 1888, her health having improved, she took charge of the first Deaconess Home of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, in Chicago. In this capacity she was in- strumental, jointly with Mrs. Lucy Eider Me3Tr, in up- building the Deaconess Cause. She impressed the Church with the high importance of the Deaconess Work, no less by her humble service than by her public addresses and published articles. In December, 1888, she accepted a call to superintend the second Deaconess Home just being established in American Methodism, the Elizabeth Gamble Home, in Cincinnati. A little later, Christ's Hospital — the second Deaconess Hospital to be established, Wesley, in Chicago, being the first — was founded under her imme- diate oversight. Her work in Cincinnati was crowned with success, the same as it had been in Chicago, and the hope was ex- pressed that she might devote the remainder of her life to the Deaconess Cause in the United States. She was re- quested to visit different parts of the country from time to time, for the purpose of founding new Homes. But none of these absorbing things could relax her interest in her foreign work, and in the midst of her duties she found time to write and send out leaflets and address meetings in behalf of India. Her health improved, and, after two years in Cincinnati, she retui-ned to India. Not- withstanding the great help she had been giving, during her convalescence, to the work at home, her purpose to re- Deaconess Homes in the United States. 423 turn had never for a moment faltered. So, wearing the gray costume, which has now been generally adopted in India, she went back to become, with Miss Phoebe Rowe, the pioneer deaconess of our Church in India, as she had been one of the two pioneer missionaries of the Woman's Society. Miss Thoburn's interest in Deaconess Work did not originate with the school in Chicago. She herself has told the story in an article contributed to the Deaconess Advo- cate of May, 1894 : "The beginnings of things are never easy to trace. They are like the tiny streams that are neither named nor noticed until their outflow unites and a river is formed. I am more interested in the deaconess river than in any of its rivulets, but I write as much as I can recall definitely of our particular streamlet. "Before I left India, in 1886, I had become convinced of two things that we have since thought important factors in our Deaconess System; first, that while there is so much to be done in the world it is impossible to accomplish it all, or a larger part of it, by salaried work ; and next, that life is not long enough nor money plenty enough to spend much of it either on the clothes we wear. "In India I had been associated with the Mildmay work- ers and was interested in the plan, and especially in its training-school. Such a school has been in my mind and heart for some time. My brother and I went home in '86 for our health. During the few weeks we spent in London on the way home my sister and I went to Mildmay one day. That evening we planned a Deaconess Home some time in Calcutta. The next definite word I heard about deacon- esses was in the report of the second Commencement of the Chicago Training-school." 424 History of the Deaconess Movement. Once more Miss Thoburn came to America. In 1899 she was here to help in the Twentieth-century Offering. She pleaded for Lucknow College and the womanhood of India. "I must have $100,000/' she said, "to pay our debts, complete our buildings, furnish an endowment fund, and make our college entirely self-supporting." Multitudes will recall the addresses to which they listened in the Ecu- menical Conference in New York and many other places all over this land, by which they were stirred to holier liv- ing, loving, and giving. At the close of the great Ecumenical Mission Confer- ence in New York in 1900 she sailed for India, and re- sumed her work, not knowing that her race was nearly run. On September 1, 1901, she died at her post of duty. She became a victim of cholera. She was a worthy sister of her noted brother, J. M. Thoburn, Bishop of India and Malaysia. He says of her : "My sister was an exceptional woman, one among ten thousand. Her strong character was notable for its sim- plicity. Her splendid courage was in striking contrast with her quietness of spirit. She was conservative by in- stinct and progressive from conviction. She was perfectly calm in times of storm, and always confident in the face of disaster. Her faith was like a clear evidence, her hope like an assurance of things not seen. Her absolute de- votion to the welfare of those who seemed to be thrown in her way was simply Christlike. Once when an epidemic of smallpox prevailed in Lucknow and all nurses had been engaged, a Bengalee lady w^as stricken down with what the doctor pronounced a hopeless attack of the prevailing scourge. Failing to find a nurse, my sister came home, arranged the house, set in order her personal affairs, kissed me good-bye, and deliberately shut herself up with a case Deaconess Homes in the United States. 425 of confluent smallpox for a month. At the end of the term she came out unharmed, having in the meantime saved the life of the sufl'erer. Literally she shrank from nothing when a question of duty was involved. My sister died in her best prime, but she had completed a well-rounded life. The great tasks of her life had all been finished, and they had all been well finished. A great multitude of many races had become her debtors; and, while we bend in sor- row here, these ransomed heirs of a better world have no doubt received her with joyous acclaim to an everlasting habitation. Would to 'God that a thousand young women of like spirit might be raised up for the splendid oppor- tunities which are now opening up before the Church V Mary Eva Gregg Is at present principal of a Deaconess Training-school in Muttra, India. She is a graduate of the Iowa Wesleyan University, and in 1891 she entered the Deaconess Home in Chicago. Later she made a journey to Pales- tine, and visited Kaiserswerth and other prominent Deaconess Homes in Europe, thus preparing herself for the position of teacher in a training-school. Until 1899 she was instructor in the Deaconess mary eva gregg. Training-school in Chicago, and president of the Deaconess Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the fall of 1899 she left for India. Isabella A. Reeves Is one of the first deaconesses of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the LTnited States. She was consecrated in 1889, 426 History of tpie Deaconess Movement. shortly after the founding of the Deaconess Work. She prepared herself for teaching, and had gained considerable experience in the school-room, but she felt drawn toward mission work. She therefore entered the Deaconess Training-school in Chicago, with a view of devotino^ herself to the Dea- coness Work. In 1891 she was made head of the New York Deaconess Home, and in 1897 she was called Isabella A. Reeves, to superintend the Old People's Home in Evanston, 111., which is under the management of deaconesses. Anna Agnes Abbott Was the corresponding secretary of the Deaconess Society of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and a mem- ber of the Chicago Deaconess Home, and was successful in managing the affairs of the society. She is at pres- ent in Godhra, India, in charge of an orphanage. Three hundred little children are under her care. Anna Agnes Abbott. Helen Ingram Is a missionary deaconess in India. She is a native of India, and was i)orn of wealthy parents. Her father was an English barrister, and her mother a Mohammedan princess, both converted under Bishop Tho- HeLEN INGRAM. Deaconess Homes in the United States. 427 burn. She has given up a beautiful home, with every com- fort and luxury, to devote herself to the missionary service, her consecrated parents meeting all the expenses of her work. She has recently visited and studied in the Chicago Training-school. She also visited several other institutions while in America, thus preparing herself thoroughly for her calling. She then returned to India, where as a deaconess, she has become a blessing to her people. ^Johanna M. Baur. She is a member of the German Deaconess Home in Cin- cinnati, and was during the last seven years matron of the Branch Hospital, called Union Hospital, in Terre Haute, Ind. She was born on a farm in Michigan and brought up by pious parents. In 1882 she joined the Methodist Epis- copal Church in Bay City, Mich., after experiencing a change of heart. After her conversion she felt a desire to become a nurse and thus to relieve human suffering. In August, 1891, while attending the Lake- side Camp-meeting, she listened to an address on the Dea- coness Work by Dr. Henry Liebhart, and also made -the acquaintance of Sister Louise Colder. As a result, she went to Cincinnati and entered the Deaconess Service. She is happy in her chosen work, and the new hospital build- ing in Terre Haute, Ind., is principally the result of her efforts. Johanna M. Baur. 428 History op the Deaconess Movement. In 1897 the German Branch of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States organized the Central Dea- coness Board, a hody having authority over all German Deaconess Institutes. These will be the subject of a special chapter. CHAPTER Xn. DEACONESS HOMES OF GERMAN METHODISTS IN THE UNITED STATES. The idea of establishing a Mother House for Deacon- esses was frequently advocated in the Christliche Apologete, the German organ of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States, as well as at Annual Conferences and district meetings. A pattern to copy after was furnished in the happy initiative taken by the Methodists of Ger- many in the city of Frankfort on the Main. In his travels through Germany in 18 78 the author of the present book made himself familiar with the Deaconess Work in that country, and upon his return, after publishing a series of articles relating his experience, he read a paper on the sub- ject before the North Ohio District Meeting of the Central German Conference (18?9). Deep interest was aroused, and the Central German Conference, to whose considera- tion the question was brought in 1881, would probably have been ready at that time to establish a Home if the presiding bishop had not declared that the Deaconess Movement had no future in America and was impracticable and superfluous. Although the Conference was offered a house in Cleveland besides a legacy of $25,000, and a num- ber of young women had presented themselves for this service, the Conference lost all courage at that time to begin the work. When, in the year 1888, the Elizabeth Gamble Dea- coness Home was established in Cincinnati by Methodists of the English tongue, German Methodists were called upon to assist, and among the first deaconesses who entered the 429 430 History of the Deaconess Movement. institution was Miss Louise Golder, the present directress of the German Methodist Mother House. In a short time fifteen German deaconesses had been admitted, and in numerous other English-speaking Deaconess Homes in all parts of the countr}^ many young women in the German Methodist Church felt themselves called to this blessed work. It was the searching eye of Dr. Henry Liebhart that recognized the importance of an exclusively German Deaconess Movement for German Methodism, and in 1891* he wrote as follows: ^'Our mission is fully as significant in every respect as that of our English-speaking brethren. There is but one difl'erence, and it is that we must accom- plish it through the medium of the German language, and have regard for the education, views, and character of the German people. For these reasons, with the approval of the Church, German congregations, German schools, Ger- man orphanages, and German Conferences have arisen, and the German Ej^worth League was established. Why not, therefore, have German Deaconess Homes, especially as the Deaconess Movement is to be a lever for home mission work among the Germans ? The best capital for an under- taking of this kind is young blood — consecrated Christian young women. This capital we have in our German dea- conesses and young women who, for the love of Christ, are willing to perform the most menial Samaritan service for rich and poor, high and low, and this is worth more for the Deaconess Cause than many hundredweight of gold." The necessity for a German Mother House became more and more apparent to the entire Church, and in St. Paul, Minn., on the 12th of January, 1891, through the liberal donation of a house, the Elizabeth Haas Deaconess Home was established. At the General Conference in Omaha, May, 1892, the German delegates resolved to establish a *Haus und Herd^ December, 1891. 432 IilSTORY OF THE DeACONESS MOVEMENT. German Mother House in Chicago as soon as $25,000 could be secured for that purpose. A committee was appointed for the drafting of a plan, the collection of funds, and the ultimate establishment of the institution. Two months later this committee met in Chicago and put the machinery in motion. Meanwhile a German Deaconess Institute was founded in Chicago, which made good progress, but, un- fortunately, did not succeed in raising the stipulated sum of $25,000. When the German delegates at the General Conference in Cleveland (1896) confronted this problem, they resolved to build the Mother House in Cincinnati, on condition that the first $25,000 be raised by November, 1896. This was done, and in Xovember, 1897, the Central Deaconess Board, with its newly-constituted members from the Annual Conferences, held its meeting in that city. Meanwhile, in addition to those in St. Paul and Chicago, Deaconess Homes had been established in Brooklyn, N. Y., and Louisville, Ky. As Cincinnati had met the required conditions, the Central Deaconess Board resolved to con- sider the Cincinnati institution as the Mother House of German Methodism, requiring that future Homes, as far as possible, be affiliated with it as branch houses, and that the other established Deaconess Homes, previously men- tioned, be considered "local institutions," having the same relation to the Board as the Mother House itself. The Central Deaconess Board is composed as follows: 1. Of two members each — a preacher and layman — from each German Annual Conference in the United States; 2. Of one male or female representative of each German Deaconess Home for every fifteen (and a fraction of two- thirds of this number) consecrated deaconesses connected therewith ; 3. Of seven members of the Board of Managers of the Mother House, three ministers, and four laymen. It is the duty of the Central Deaconess Board to make German Methodists in the United States. 433 regulations in conformity with the Discipline of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church for the reception, dismissal, train- ing, costuming, efficiency, and maintenance of the deacon- esses in the Conferences to which they belong, as well as the establishment of a Eest Home and a permanent fund for wornout and retired deaconesses. The management of the property of the different local institutions is left in the hands of the respective local Boards. While the local Boards are independent of the Mother House, they are, like the latter, subject to the laws and regulations of the Central Board. As the Mother House, so each local insti- tution has its own Board of Managers, exercising exclusive control over its property. The Central Board has nothing to do with the question of property, but it manages the fund for the future maintenance of retired deaconesses, to which each institution for ten consecutive years con- tributes an amount equal to ten dollars for each conse- crated deaconess. This fund is to be increased by dona- tions and legacies. By the exceedingly liberal gifts of several friends, it has made a very creditable beginning. The Central Board, up to 1900, met in Cincinnati an- nually, but it was then determined it should meet bi- ennially at such places as should be designated from time to time. The object of obtaining a uniform administration by means of this Board has been perfectly accomplished. The system is considered the most effective in the United States, and is worthy of imitation. Let us now direct our attention to the institutions under the management of the Central Board. The Mother House and Betiiesda Hospital, Cincin- nati, Ohio. In the year 1S94 an aged widow sent a check for $100 to the editor of the Christliche Apologete in Cincinnati as 28 434 History of the Deaconess Movement. a first contribution to the erection of a Deaconess Mother House. On New- Year's Day, 1895, Mr. John Kolbe, of Cincinnati, the present treasurer of the Mother House, offered to give $1,000 for the same purpose, and shortly afterward Mr. F. X. Kreitler,* a warm friend of the Dea- coness Movement, who lives in Pennsylvania, promised to ^ive $5,000 provided ,^f^ ^ $25,000 should be raised in the course of the year for the Mother House in Cincinnati. These sums were of- f e r e d spontaneously, and in this act was recognized the Hand of Divine Providence, so that the Central Ger- man Conference, which met in 1895 in Cincin- nati, after a thorough discussion, ^^assed the following resolution: "While we rejoice in the success of the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home and give it our fullest confidence, we are neverthe- less convinced that our mission among the German people would be much better j^romoted and our German Churches would interest themselves much more for the Deaconess Cause if we could establish an independent German Dea- coness Home. We heartily commend this jDroject to our well-to-do German Methodists.'^ Frank X. Kreitler. *Thls warm-hearted friend of the Deaconess Movement, who be- came acquainted with it while traveling through Germany, has, since the founding of the Mother House, given a large share of his means for the support of this glorious work. German Methodists in the United States. 435 The Lay Conference, at the same time and place, gave unanimous expression to similar views, and requested its delegates to the next General Conference to exert them- selves for the establishment of a German Mother House. The Central German Conference selected a committee with authority to collect funds and establish a Home as soon as circumstances justified such a step. Through their connection with the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home and Christ's Hospital the German Methodist Churches of Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport had acquired a knowl- edge of and interest in the Deaconess Work, and when several German deaconesses left that institution and a num- ber api^lied for admission on probation the above-named committee resolved to request the management of the Eliza- beth Gamble Deaconess Home to place at their disposal an experienced and capable deaconess to be at the head of the, German institution. The Board of Managers complied with this request in the most magnanimous manner, and, in response to a special wish, relinquished Miss Louise Golder to the German committee for that purpose. On February 29, 189G, Miss Golder, with several deaconesses and probationers, took a rented house at Hopkins Park, in the beautiful suburb of Mt. Auburn, and opened the institution which w^as to enjoy so prosperous a future. It was incorporated under the name of "German Methodist Deaconess Home and Bethesda Hospital.'^ Two years later, in April, 1898, the Board was enabled to purchase the well-appointed private hos])ital of Dr. T. A. Reamy for $55,000, and, aided by a liberal donation from this phy- sician, made a payment of $40,000 on the day of the prop- erty's transfer, canceling the entire indebtedness in the spring of 1901. The hospital was formally opened in Sep- tember, 1898 ; but the dedication did not take place until the property was free from debt. This occurred with ap- 436 History of the Deaconess Movement. propriate ceremonies, May 16, 1901. The property lies in Avondale, one of the most charming suburbs of Cincinnati, at the crossing of two of its principal streets, and at an elevation of three hundred feet above the Ohio Kiver. From the windows of the institution one may have a good view of the greater part of the city of Cincinnati, as well as of the romantic Ohio Valley and into the State of Ken- tucky. The building has fifty-two well-ventilated rooms, two operating-rooms, an elevator, and is heated by steam. Wide verandas inclose three sides of the building, and ad- joining is the beautiful Deaconess Home. Some extensive additions and improvements were made, so that the institu- tion now includes an adjacent Maternity Hospital, a steam laundry, and numbers about one hundred rooms. The in- creased value of the property is estimated at $100,000. The laundry has been put up in a separate structure, from which the heating, lighting, and hot water for the several buildings are supjjlied. The immediate surroundings of the hospital are not unlike a beautiful park, and the four edifices at the corners of the crossings have been happily named: Get well; Hope well; Do well; Live well. The first of these has been given to the Bethesda Hospital. * Xo one has contributed more to the successful develop- ment of the inner life of the institution than Miss Louise Golder, the deaconess superintendent. From her earliest youth she was impressed with the desire to become a dea- coness and consecrate her life to this incomparable voca- tion. She came to America in 1877, and took a brief course at the German Wallace College in Berea, 0. In 1881, when it seemed that German Methodism would es- tablish a Deaconess Home in Cleveland, she was the first one to apply for admission, and great was her disappoint- ment when the undertaking failed for lack of sufficient appreciation of the movemient. Seven years later she en- German Methodists in the United States. 437 iered the newlj-establislied Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home in Cincinnati, being the first German deaconess of the Methodist Church in the United States. Here, in con- nection with Christ's Hospital, she gathered valuable ex- l^erience as one of the nurse deaconesses, and, after five years of faithful service, was granted leave of absence to carry out her long-cherished wish of acquainting her- self with the Deaconess Work in the Fatherland. She visited the institu- tions at Kaiserswerth, Bielefeld, Stuttgart, Strassburg, A 1 1 o n a, and also spent some time in the two Mother Houses of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Frankfort on the Main and Hamburg. In Berlin, at the Hospital Fried- richshain, she com- pleted a course in nurse-training. After familiarizing herself with the management of the most prominent German Mother Houses, she returned to the United States, ready to give the full benefit of her experience to the German Mother House of the Methodist Episcopal Church. \¥lien we consider that this institution is but six years old, and remember how vigorous and normal has been its growth and how much it has been made to conform to the Ger- man pattern, we may well augur for it a great future. If we except the Mary J. Drexel Deaconess Home in Philadelphia, it is probably the most typical German Miss Louise Qolder. 438 History of the Deaconess Movement. Mother House in the United States. The number of dea- conesses, including probationers, is at present fifty-three, and, besides the hospital and private service, they are act- ively employed in missionary work in the Churches, in the care of the poor and the sick, and in conducting seven branch houses, including five hospitals, one station, three Rev. W. H. Trakger. kindergartens, two day nurseries, one clinic, and several sewing-schools. It is the intention to establish an Old People's Home, for which a beginning has been made arid some means have been provided. The institution, in Sep- tember, 1900, was provided with a superintendent in the person of Eev. W. H. Traeger, who has a rich experience in the pastorate and who built a hospital in Burlington, la. German Methodists in the United States. 439 The Bethesda Society was organized as early as 1896. Its members contribute one dollar or more annually, and the total annual receipts, about $1,500, in the absence of a greater j^ermanent fund, are expended for the care of the sick in the hospital and in the ministry of the poor. In this manner a larger field of charity is made possible. The branches of the Mother House are as follows: Pulte College Hospital, Cincinnati, 0.; Cincinnati Kindergarten and Day Nursery; Union Hospital, Terre Haute, Ind. ; Deaconess Home, Milwaukee, Wis.; Deaconess Home and Kindergarten, La Crosse, Wis. ; Deaconess Home, Kansas City, Mo.; Station, Pittsburg, Pa.; Deaconess Home and Hospital, Los Angeles, Cal. ; Maternity Hospital, Cincin- nati, 0. The extraordinary progress and growth of the Mother House in Cincinnati may be gathered from the following figures, representing the annual receipts : First year, $3,300; second year, $3,650; third year, $6,725; fourth year, $11,500; fifth year, $16,200; and the sixth year, $22,400. Including all Branch Homes, the running ex- penses amounted, in 1902, to over $45,000. One-third of the entire work is done withoi\t compensation. The deaconesses are instructed in the following course of study: 1. German and English Grammar; 2. Bible His- tory; 3. Church History; 4. History of Methodism; 5. Catechism of the Methodist Episcopal Church — jSTast; 6. History of the Deaconess Movement in the Christian Church — Colder; 7. How to Bring Men to Christ — Torry; 8. The Life of Christ; 9. Manual of Nursing — Duemling; 10. Materia Medica; 11. Forty lectures annually from staff of physicians; 12. Course of Bible lectures by the city pastors. 440 History of the Deaconess Movement. . The German Deaconess Institute in Chicago. This Home was founded in May, 1892, by the German ]\Iethodist preachers of that city. The first impulse to the work was given by Deaconess Margaretha Dreyer, at that time assistant secretary of the Woman's Foreign Mission- ary Society, who had prepared herself for her high calling in the Chicago Deaconess Training-schooL The institu- German Deaconess Institute, Chicago, 111. tion was opened with several deaconesses in a rented house, and Margaretha Dreyer was the first directress. After a few years a question of principle arose between her and the Board of Managers, resulting in the withdrawal of her- self and seven of the twelve deaconesses from the institu- tion, and the founding of the "Emanuel Deaconess Home." The Board of Managers of the Deaconess Institute purchased their own house in May, 1895, and the prop- erty, representing a value of $5,000, is free from debt. German Methodists in the United States. 441 Seven deaconesses are connected with the institution. Two have received their training in the Mother House at Cin- cinnati. Miss Helena Pape is head deaconess. The Bethany Deaconess Home and Hospital^ Brooklyn^ N. Y. This institution was established February, 1893, in the upper story of a house, 1192 Green Avenue, by several preachers of the East German Conference. A deaconess of the Bethany Society in Hamburg, Sophie Nuss- berger, was placed in charge, and the institution opened with two probation- ers. The management was in the hands of a Provi- sional Committee until, in May, 1891, the Bethany So- ciety was established, a con- stitution adopted, and a Board of Managers ap- pointed. The latter consists of six members of the East German Conference of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, of the two presiding elders of this Conference (ex officio), and of six women, who must be members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This Board fills its own vacancies, subject to the approval of Conference. The society was incorporated in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. When Miss Nussberger with- drew from the superintendence at the expiration of th^ first year, Martha Binder, who for eight years had been in charge of the Bethany Deaconess Home in Zurich, was chosen head deaconess. She has ever since, with great Martha Binder. 442 History of the Deaconess Movement. fidelity, attended to the duties of her office. Catharine Hartmann, a member of Greene Avenue German Meth- odist Church, offered to turn over to the Bethesda Society a large three-story dwelling on Green Avenue, represent- ing a value of $7,000, on condition that she be privileged to use a few rooms for herself until her death. The offer was gratefully accepted. The institution has since had a Bethany Deaconess Home and Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y. healthful growth, and the number of deaconesses, includ- ing probationers, has been increased to eight. Kecently the Board of Managers acquired possession of a large and centrally-located site — 100 x 165 feet — and have built a well-appointed hospital and Deaconess Home, and the corner-stone of this- beautiful edifice was laid on November 5, 1901, and the dedication of the building took place September 16, 1902. The three-story building can ac- commodate thirty patients besides the deaconesses of the German Methodists in the United States. 443 Home. It is constructed in the most substantial manner, and furnished with all modern improvements and con- veniences. The first floor is mainly taken up by a spacious hall, parlor, reception-room, office, sewing-room, dining hall, kitchen, matron's room, etc. The operating and sterilizing rooms are lighted by large skylights, and fur- nished with the most complete modern implements of sur- gery. All the rooms, except those tiled according to law, are laid with solid oak parquet floors, and an elevator will make the removal of patients from one floor to tlie other very easy. The whole building is heated by hot water pipes, and lighted by gas an^d electricity. A commodious veranda will be a splendid airing-place for convalescents, and the grounds around the building are made as attractive as possible. The property, situated at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and Bleecker Street, has cost $42,000. Eev. L. Wallon, who has made a close study of the Deaconess Movement in German, is president of the Board of Managers. To his able and wise management and untiring zeal the success of the institution is due to a great extent. Eev. Wallon has also been a member of the Central Deaconess Board since it was organized. His prac- tical grasp of the present needs entitle him to a full share in the healthy development of the Central Board. Rev. L. WALiiON. The Deaconess Home and Hospital in Louisville^ Kentucky^ Received its impulse from Rev. Jacob Rothweiler, D. D., at that time presiding elder of the Louisville Dis- 444 History of the Beacoxess Movement'. trict, living in Albany, Ind. He was instrumental in effecting an organization in October, 1895, in which the six German Methodist Churches of the Falls Cities were represented. A beginning was made by two deacon- esses undertaking the management of the Homeopathic Hospital. The present property was acquired February 24, 1898, at a cost of $16,000, and completely paid for Deaconess Home and Hospital in Louisville, Kt. two years later. It is a spacious private residence sur- rounded by large shade-trees, and the property offers room for a future hospital, the erection of which will be begun as soon as two-thirds of the required sum of $25,000 has been raised. The hospital has two medical staffs — a homeopathic and an allopathic one — and the president of the Board of Managers is Rev. E. G. Hiller, who is also a member of the Central Deaconess Board. Deaconess Louise Bockstahler was the head deaconess, but, on account German Methodists in the United States. 445 of impaired health, was compelled to resign, and Miss E. A. Borcherding was appointed. There are six dea- conesses in the institution, and one of them is parish deaconess. October 1, 1902, Rev. J. F. Severinghaus en- tered upon his duties as superin- tendent of the institution. He is able and practical, and has some experience in erecting hospitals and raising funds for institutions. Under his wise management the Home will have a still greater future. Plans for, a fine new hospital building have J' ^^- s^^^^^^^^s- been accepted, and it will be erected as soon as two-thirds of the necessary funds have been raised. The Elizabeth Haas Deaconess Home, in St. Paul, Minnesota^ Which was founded in the year 1891 as the first German Deaconess Home in the United States, after an existence of seven years, has unfortunately ceased to exist. The or- ganization, however, has been continued, and it is expected, as soon as possible, to open up a new institution in the heart of the city of St. Paul, probably as a branch of the Mother House. Emanuel Deaconess Home, Kansas City, Mo. The Emanuel Deaconess Society was organized on Thanksgiving-day, 1897, in Chicago, 111. The five charter members are : Margaretha Dreyer, Mary Kaeser, Martha A. Brose, Elizabeth Kaeser, and Magdalena R. Haefner. The society rented a house on La Salle Street, and Miss Mar- garetha Dreyer became superintendent of the Home. By invitation of the Deaconess Board of the Western German 446 HiSTOKY OF THE DeACOXESS MOVEMENT. Conference of the Metlioclist Ei^iscopal Church, the five deaconesses of the Home moved to Kansas City, Mo., in November, 1901. A house was rented on West Seventeenth Street, and the deaconesses have since rendered good service in nursing and parish work. The income in the first year was $829.50. Two of the deaconesses have a nurse-training. The develo])ment and present condition of the German Methodist Deaconess Work affords abundant cause for gratitude, and promises great things for the future. Dr. A. :Ji Nast, editor of the Cli.ristliche Apologete, on occasion of the dedication of the Mother House, expressed his con- viction that the secret of this healthful progress is to be found in the following reasons: "The Christliclie Apolo- gete/' said he, "from the beginning believed that it must recognize in this branch of women's work in the Church a special sign of Divine Providence for the carrying on of our German work in the new stage of history upon which it has entered. It appeals, in the first place, with particular force to the German mind and German sentiment in con- trast with the prevalent ideas of woman's emancipation, which in these times have obtruded themselves upon us in so marked a manner. Two womanly virtues shine out with special luster in the work of the deaconesses : self- sacrificing love for Jesus' sake, and true womanliness. In the second place, the care of the poor and sick by these consecrated w^omen has opened for our German Church a new and effectual door to the hearts of a large number of Germans in our great cities, who, on account of their prejudices, and for other reasons, could have been reached by us only with difficulty. In the third place, German Methodism, thanks be to God ! is not lacking in proper material for this blessed activity. There are in our Ger- man Methodist Churches, in city and country, hundreds and hundreds of strong, healthy, and consecrated young German Methodists in the United States. 447 women who have the necessary physical, intellectual, and religious endowment to choose this vocation in the service of God and of the Church. Finally, Methodism is es- pecially adapted, by its very spirit and genius, to carry out this work of love with devotion, zeal, and success. The employment of the varied work and talents of the laity, and the large liberty given to women in the advance- ment of the kingdom of God have, from the beginning, been two leading characteristics by which Methodism differed and distinguished itself from the other denominations. An- other distinction lies in its practical character. We believe that the New Testament idea of the female diaconate was destined to reach its complete and diversified realization in no other Church so readily as in the Methodist Church. Her teaching of a personal experience of salvation, attested by the Holy Spirit, her ardent love for sinners, her en- couragement of individual labor for the Lord, her capacity of easily adapting herself to the existing conditions of time and place, and her joyful spirit and freedom and sym- pathy with the common people, present, altogether, the most favorable soil for the vigorous growth of this new and beautiful plant of Christian activity.^' The history of the past few years has abundantly demonstrated the truth of these assertions. A warm inter- est has been awakened in this work, not only in Cincin- nati, but in many other places, and it has been constantly on the increase in proportion to the degree in which our preachers and members have become more fully acquainted with it. It is still in its beginning, but this beginning is very promising. The German Methodist Deaconess Homes belong to one or the other of the following organizations: The Central Deaconess Board of the United States, and the Bethany Society or the ^lartha-Mary Society of Germany. These 448 History of the Deaconess Movement. Boards, again, are under the supervision of the bishops, and have annually to report to the Board of Bishops. All the institutions carry the evidence of sound prosperity, and in this country, as well as abroad, they have become a mighty lever in the hands of the Church for the upbuild- ing of the kingdom. Including Branch and Eest Homes, German Methodism has thirty institutions and Branch Homes in Europe and America. Valne of property, $545,- 000; deaconesses, including probationers, four hundred. CHAPTER XIII. THE FEMALE DIACONATE IN THE PROTESTANT EPIS- COPAL CHURCH OF AMERICA, AND IN OTHER CHURCHES AND LANDS. It is not generally known that the Protestant Epis- copal Church in the United States, as early as the year 1845, laid the foundation of a Deaconess Home and or- ganized the Sisterhood of "The Holy Communion" in New York. In this they were two years ahead of the Mother Church in England, and, indeed, it was the first step taken in this direction in the United States. Rev. William August Muehlenberg, D. D., an influential clergyman of this Church, came in touch with the Deaconess Cause in Germany, and after his return wrote a pamphlet on "The Institution of Deaconesses in the Evangelical Church." Among other things he said: "Certain Anglican Sister- hoods appear to us like apings; they are not the products of evangelical love, conceived in Protestant sobriety; they have a foreign garment and a foreign flavor. The dea- coness is another personality." The institution which Dr. Muehlenberg at that time founded still exists. The movement received a mighty impulse in 1869, when, at the annual session of the Board of Missions, the following resolution was passed : ^'Resolved, That a committee be named to report on the important organized work of women in the Church." A committee, consisting of Revs. J. A. Harris and J. W. Claxton and Mr. William Welsh, reported very favorably at the annual meeting, 1870, on the movement, and re- quested that the Church recognize the work of the Sister- 29 449 450 History of the Deaconess Movement. hoods and appoint a Board for the same, consisting of bishops, ministers, and laymen. The request was granted, and a committee appointed, consisting of Eevs. A. N. Littlejohn, D. D., H. W. Lee, D. D., H. C. Potter, D. D., J. W. Claxton, J. F. Spaulding, and the laymen W. Welsh and George N. Titus. This was an important step with regard to the promotion of woman's work in the Protestant Episcopal Church. By means of this report the attention of the Church was directed to the activity of women; the matter was discussed at all important Church gatherings, and the subject was treated in the religious press. But no decision was reached until the next annual meeting of the Board of Missions. Woman's work now received the sanction of the Church; appeals were made for the propagation and support of the Deaconess Movement, and the organization was placed under the supervision of the bishops. Special sources of revenue were provided for the financial support of the work. Since then the movement has made great progress in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and it controls to-day twenty-seven Sisterhoods and Deaconess Organizations. We will first give a survey of the Sisterhoods, because they are older and more nu- merously represented than the Deaconess Institutions. 1. Sisterhoods in the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Sisterhood of the Holy Communion in New York, which takes its name from the congregation with which it was first connected, was, as we have seen, established in 1845 by Dr. Muehlenberg. The organization, however, was not completed until 1852, and in the spring of the follow- ing year the Sisters' House was erected next to the church. The house was built by Mr. J. Swift, who emphasized thereby his belief in the necessity of such institutions, though public opinion in the Protestant Church was ad- The Protestant Episcopal Church. 451 verse to them. The Sisters busied themselves with the care of the sick and taught in the parochial school. After occupying the house which was built for them, they opened a dispensary, and this was the beginning of the famous St. Luke's Hospital in New York. Up to 1858 it took all the ministering forces to meet the growing demands of the hospital. In this year the hospital building was enlarged, and the Sisters undertook its exclusive management. In the course of time they engaged in different fields of home mission work, and to-day they are active in the following branches : Care of the congregation, care of the sick, management of Home for the Aged, service of the altar in the Church of the 'Holy Communion, direction of a Girls' School and an Orphan Asylum for Infants. The management of the community of Sisters is in the hands of the pastor of the Church of the Holy Com- munion, Dr. H. Mottet. Next in authority to him is the superioress, who is elected by ballot by the Sisters. Sister Eliza is at present vested with this office. The Sisters are classified into community Sisters and probationers. The latter are obliged to take a course in the Sisters' School of not less than six months. Then they are received into the community of Sisters by ballot. They obligate them- selves for three years, but at the end of this time may re- new the term. It is a remarkable fact that the rules of the house are taken from those of Fliedner, and are only different in minor points. The community at present num- bers thirty Sisters. There are other co-workers who are called Associate Sisters, and whose position is similar to that of the Assistant Sisters in Germany. The annual income is $3,000, to which the Sisters themselves, if they have the means, contribute. The value of the property is $125,000. The organization known as the Sisterhood of the Good 452 History of the Deaconess Movement. Shepherd, Baltimore, Md., dates its history back to the year 1856. After varied experiences, it was first organized in 1865, and given the name of "Sisterhood of the Good Shepherd.^^ After a candidate enters the community she has a preparatory course of six months, and, if this is satisfactory, she is received as a probationer. At the end of eighteen months or more she is consecrated. Besides these three classes, the class of Assistant Sisters has been introduced. At the head of the community stands the Sis- ter Superior, who is elected for three years by the Conse- crated Sisters. In fact, all the affairs of the institution are discussed by the Sisters, and the Consecrated Sisters have the right to vote. The Sisterhood at first made great numerical progress, but it was overshadowed by several of the later communities, and at present is not very large. Its principal activity is confined to hospital work, teach- ing in some schools, and the management of several orphan asylums. But they have often undertaken other branches of work, and were at all times ready to do any- thing in the service of suffering humanity. Upon a more solid foundation, and therefore with bet- ter results, was established the Sisterhood of St. Mary. It belongs to the Diocese of New York, and began its life in 1865. On February 2, 1865, the Feast of the Purifica- tion, five Sisters were consecrated to their work by the bishop in St. Michael's Church, New York. They under- took the management of the House of Mercy, and estab- lished a Home for children under the name of "Sheltering Arms.^' This institution dispenses great blessings even to-day; but its management has passed into other hands. In 1866 the Sisters undertook the direction of the St. Barnabas House for two years, and in 1868 founded a boarding-school for girls in Forty-sixth Street, New York, which they called St. Mary^s School. One of the principal The Protestant Episcopal Church. 453 institutions which they organized is the St. Mary's Hos- pital on West Fortieth Street, which was opened in 1870, and continues its blessed usefulness to the present day. This community has much in common with the order of nuns. Its members at their consecration are obliged to take the threefold vows of poverty, celibacy, and obe- dience. They are classiiied into choir sisters, choir novices, younger sisters, and younger novices. No one is admitted who is not a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. If any one wishes to enter the community she makes a confidential entry with the Sister Superior. If the latter is satisfied, she comes to live for one month in tlie house. After satisfactory probation she is received as a postulant. In this relation she is kept from four to six months, and then she is introduced as a novice. The probation for a choir novice is three years, and for a novice minor, four years. Each Sister is expected to contribute according to her means to the maintenance fund of the work. The com- munity of Sisters has grown to two hundred members, and the association is one of the largest in the Episcopal Church. The following fields of labor are covered to-day by the Sisters : Four schools ; a House of Mercy for erring girls ; St. Agnes House and House of the Holy Kedeemer in In- wood on the Hudson; St. Mary's Hospital for Children, New York; Vacation Colony, Norwalk, Conn.; Neyes Memorial Home, Peekskill, N. Y. ; Home on the Strand, Great Kiver, Long Island ; Trinity Mission, Fulton Street, N. Y. ; Children's Home, Memphis, Tonn. ; St. Mary's Mis- sion and St. Mary's Home for Children, Chicago; St. Mary's Mission on the Mountain, Sewanee, Tenn. The Sisterhood of St. Mary exercises a great influence upon the development of the Sister communities in the Episcopal Church. 454 History of the Deacoxess Movement. One of the most successful organizations in the Epis- copal Church is the Sisterhood of the Good Shepherd. Xew York, which was established in 1869 in St. Ann's Church with three Sisters. In a short time more than a dozen Sisters were gathered together for works of mercy. Mem- bers of this organization entered at once into full activity. The}' undertook the direction of St. Barnabas House — a refuge for deserted girls and women in Xew York, with which is connected a day-nursery and kindergarten. They were, besides, active in the care of the poor and sick, visit- ing the patients at Bellevue Hospital and the inmates of the city's charitable institutions on Ward's Island. Later they undertook the management of the "Buttercup" House of Rest, at Philadelphia, where poor girls may spend their vacation without cost or at a nominal compensation. Un- like other Sisterhoods, these Sisters are divided into five classes. First come the Consecrated Sisters, and next the probationers. Then come the Assisting Sisters, who, al- though they remain at home, with their families, devote a certain portion of their time to the work. The Sisters of the fourth class carry the denomination of visitors. They have the object in view of becoming probationers at some time. After a visitor has served six months, she may be received as a probationer. In the fifth class we find the helpers. They are such as would like to be Sisters, but who, for some reason or another, can not enter the insti- tution, but are seeking to support the work according to the best of their ability. The rule, which frequently ob- tains, that the Sisters support the work financially, does not count with these, for they are given $150 each per year for incidental expenses. This Sisterhood has an eventful career behind it of thirty years. But its numbers have much decreased within recent years, because many of the Sisters have entered The Protestant Episcopal Church. 455 Deaconess Homes. It is possible that the organization will disintegrate altogether. As we have presented in this delineation the different types of the organization, we will now briefly touch upon the history of the other Sisterhoods, in order to get a cursory view of the movement in the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Sisterhood of St. John, Washington, D. C, was established in 1867 by Eev. J. V. Lewis. Appointments and organization are similar to those of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Baltimore, Md. The object, too, is the same as that covered by this community. The Sisterhood of St. John the Baptist, New York, was established in 1881 as an independent branch of the institution founded in Clewer, England, 1851. Dr. Mor- timer is at the head of the organization. The Mother House is located at 233 East Seventeenth Street, New York. The Sisters are active in the following branches of industry: In New York, Handiwork School for Girls; St. John's Boarding-school; St. Andrew's Hospital for in- firm women; City Mission on the East Side among the German population; School for Girls in connection with Holy Cross Church; St. Anne Summer Home for women and children; Eescue Home, St. Michael, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Christ Home for Children, South Amboy, N. J.; and an Industrial School, Morristown, N. J. The Sisterhood of All Saints, Baltimore, Md., was established as an order in 1851, in London, through the agency of Rev. W. Upton Richards. The order was trans- planted to America in 1891, and the Mother House opened at 801 North Eutaw Street. In Baltimore the Sisters have engaged in the following field of labor : Sewing-school ; All Saints' Home for Children ; Children's Country Home, near Baltimore; St. Catharine's Mission for the colored. In 456 History of the Deaconess Movement. Philadelphia: Congregational nursing in St. Clement Church; Home on the seaboard, Point Pleasant, N. J.; Mission House, Germantown, Pa. ; Boarding-school, Orange Valley, N. J.; and in Annapolis, a Mission House for the relief of the poor. In closest affiliation with these Sisters are those of St. Mary and All Saints, who have their Mother House at 409 West Biddle Street, Baltimore. They are exclusively Negresses, whose mission it is to work among the Negro population. They teach in the colored schools, and perform congregational work in connection with the Mt. Golgotha Chapel. Eev. J. M. Neale founded, in 1852, at East Grinstead, England, the Sisterhood of St. Margaret. In 1873 the Mother House was transferred to 17 Louisburg Square, Boston. The Sisters direct two hospitals; a Girls' School for Handiwork ; and a Home for Orphan Girls, in Brighton, Mass. They are engaged in congregational nursing in the Churches of St. John and St. Augustine, especially among the Negroes. They also preside over the following institu- tions : Children's Hospital, Boston ; St. Barnabas Hospital, Newark, N. J.; St. Mark's Home, Philadelphia; St. Michael's Home for crippled Negro children, Philadelphia ; Home for Incurables, Montreal, Canada; and attend to congregational services in the churches of St. Mark, Phila- delphia, St. Philip and St. John, Newark, N. J. The Sisterhood of the Holy Childhood of Jesus was es- tablished in 1882 by Eev. C. C. Grafton. Its Mother House is in Providence, E. I. The Sisters are principally active in congregational and city mission-work. Not in- frequently they accompany an evangelist and assist him in his labors. At the Mother House they make altar vest- ments, and the institution is always open to Assisting Sisters and others who need rest. Their work bears a spiritual character; its purpose is to cultivate the inner The Protestant Episcopal Church. 457 life and strengthen the faith. The bishop of the diocese in which the Sisters are active is their suj^erior. They are active in different congregational services, and superintend a House of Eest in Tiverton, R. I. In Fond du Lac, Wis., they direct a Mission House, and they carry on a mission among the Indians in the Oneida Reservation, Wisconsin. In contrast to the working of this Sisterhood is that of the Sisters of St. John the Evangelist. The Mother House is in Brooklyn, N. Y., and the Sisters provide for a school for handiwork, an orphan asylum. Home for the Aged, and superintend St. John's Hospital. In the sum- mer they generally direct several vacation colonies. A small Sisterhood is under the supervision of the Bishop of Albany, N. Y. It bears the name of "Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus.^' Its mission is the nursing and training of children. In the congregation worshiping at the cathedral and St. Peter's Church, Albany, they con- duct the St. Agnes School and look after the congregational service in connection with St. Paul's Church, Troy, N. Y. They also conduct the Children's Hospital and St. Mar- garet Orphan Asylum in Albany; the Summer Home and Industrial School of the St. Christiana Institution, Sara- toga, N. Y., and the Orphan Asylum of the Holy Re- deemer at Cooperstown. A Sisterhood was founded January, 1856, in Baltimore, under the name of "Sisters of the Good Shepherd.^' Its principal location was in Baltimore up to 1872, when it was transferred to St. Louis, Mo. In the beginning the Sisters undertook the management of St. Andrew's Hos- pital, and at the same time taught in a private school, as well as in two parish schools, which were connected with St. Luke's Church, Baltimore. Later, they established the Orphan Asylum of "The Good Shepherd" in Louisville, Ky. In St. Louis they superintended a short time the 458 History of the Deacoxkss Movement. Episcopal Orphan Asylum, and for twenty-seven years managed St. Luke's Hospital as well as a Boarding-school for Girls of social rank. The Sisterhood within recent years has diminished by deaths and withdrawals, and at present there are left only seven community Sisters. The Sisters of Bethany are under the supervision of the Bishop of Louisiana, and manage the Children's Home, 609 Jackson Street, New Orleans, La. The Community of All the Angels, a Sisterhood es- tablished in 1895, does city missionary work in Spring- field, HI. The Order of the Holy Resurrection was founded in 1891. The Sisters have opened an institution for women who are in need of rest and spiritual comfort. They also manage Trinity Home, a Eescue Home, and an Industrial School for Girls. All these institutions are in St. Augus- tine, Fla. A very young Sisterhood is the Society of the Apparition of Jesus, which was founded in the year 1897 in Washington, D. C. The object of the Sister- hood is to live and to work for the honor of the Lord, to educate and protect the youth, and to assist such women as are in need of help. The Sisters also practice other works of mercy. The Sisterhood of the Annunciation of Christ was founded as an order, and in February, 1893, incorporated according to the laws of the State of New York. The Mother House is located in West One Hundred and Fifty- second Street, New York. Incurable and crippled girls from four to fourteen years are received into the institu- tion. The Sisters also conduct a vacation colony and St. Elizabeth House in Riverbank, Conn. The St. Monica Sisterhood is an association of widows. They pray for the restoration of the Church to its apos- tolical purity and strength. They also labor for the ap- pointment of the widows' service as it existed in the Apos- The Protestant Episcopal Church. 459 tolie Church. The supervision is in the hands of the Bishop of Springfield. The Association of the Transfiguration was established by Eev. Paul Matthews in 1898^ at Cin- cinnati, 0. Its Mother House is at 1711 Freeman Avenue. Here there are working-rooms for men and women. The Sisters conduct a kindergarten, several sewing-schools at St. Luke's Church and St. Anne's Home for Aged Women at Glendale, 0. In 1870 a Sisterhood ^\as founded in London under the name of Sisters of the Church. This association, a few years later, was transplanted to the United States. Their number is small. They conduct a school in New York, and sew clothes which they sell to poor people for a trifling sum. Another Sisterhood, which was altogether fashioned after the Catholic Sisters, is the Sisterhood of St. Joseph of Nazareth. Its object is to deepen the religious knowledge of its members, to cultivate the communion of saints, and exercise Christian works of charity. The Sis- ters are in charge of the St. Martha School, in Bronxville, N. Y. Here is also their Mother House. A middle position between a Sisterhood and a school for deaconesses is occupied by the Bishop Potter Memorial House, in Philadelphia. The aim is to combine the ad- vantages of both organizations. When, at the close of the fifties, the Deaconess Movement began in the Episcopal Church, Bishop Potter conferred with the clergy of his Church in Philadelphia (1857-58) to devise ways and means for the better service and care of the poor. No practical results, however, came from these conferences. But at this time, in one of the suburbs, a number of people gathered regularly in the Sunday-school rooms of the church, and held sewing socials as well as meetings of dif- ferent kinds. The bishop, who presided, encouraged this missionary activity to the best of his ability, -and soon this 460 History of- the Deacoxess Movement. place became the center of a very successful and extended city mission work. It was now planned to erect a house for the training of workers to this vocation, but before a beginning could be made, Bishop Potter died. His suc- cessor carried out the idea, and gave the institution the name of "Bishop Potter Memorial House.^^ Mrs. Jack- son, widow of Rev. W. Jackson, Louisville, Ky., was selected as the matron. The Sisters do not take vows nor wear a special habit, but simply a badge. There are three classes in the Sisterhood : Consecrated Sisters, probationers, and Helping Sisters. The Consecrated Sisters are principally active in congregational and city mission work, and are generally under the supervision of a clergyman. Wherever several Sisters are active they live together in one house. Similarly organized is the Martha Sisterhood, Louis- ville, Ky. Its aim is to combine the advantages of Sister- hoods and Deaconess Institutions. It was founded in 1875, but to-day has only five Sisters. They are in charge of the Children's Home of the Good Shepherd and an in- stitution for little children in Louisville, Ky. They are also active in city mission work. 2. Deaconess Work in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Deaconess Organization in the Diocese of Maryland. — In 1855 two young women of St. Andrew's congregation, Baltimore, Md., declared themselves willing to give their wdiole time and strength to the service and nursing of the poor, and a room in the parish house was fitted up for their use. The congregation next acquired a piece of prop- erty, and, under the supervision of the bishop, opened St. Andrew's Hospital. The object of the organization is to take care of the sick and poor, and to engage in the in- struction of youth. The community is divided into three The Protestant Episcopal Church. 461 classes: Associate Sisters, probationers, and Assisting Sis- ters. It stands to reason that the number of Sisters is con- tinually subject to many fluctuations. Several years after the founding of this organization, Eev. E. H. Wilmer, of Mobile, Ala., following the same example, established (18G4) the Deaconess Association of the Diocese of Alabama. There were first three women, who obligated themselves, under the direction of the bishop, to perform works of mercy. They undertook the man- agement of an Orphan Asylum and a Shelter House for Girls. But the Orphan Asylum grew so rapidly that they were obliged to abandon the Shelter House. Their branches of industry to-day are the following: Several schools and hospitals, an Orphan Asylum, a Widows' Home, and a Eescue Mission. The organization is under the supervision of the bishop. Eev. G. C. Tucker is the rector, and Sister Harriet the superioress. The community is organized very similarly to the preceding one, and in its appointments is an exact copy. The number of Sisters is seven. A few years later (1872) the Deaconess Organization of the Diocese of Long Island was founded by Bishop A. ¥. Littlejohn. Their branches of industry are con- gregational, and especially the care of the sick in Brooklyn. The Sisters gather and distribute alms, manage an Em- ployment Information Bureau, instruct children, and pre- pare candidates for baptism and children for confirmation. The canon, referring to the deaconess matter, which was adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, 1889, prescribes that no one shall be consecrated as deaconess who has not received the necessary technical and religious training. As the Episcopal Church has no Mother Houses according to German conceptions, Bishop H. C. Potter established, Go- 462 History of the Deaconess Movement. tober, 1890, in New York, a "Training-school for Dea- conesses." The institution was placed under the super- vision of Dr. W. E. Huntington, rector of Grace Church, and received the name of "Grace School for Deaconesses." The instruction of the Sisters is in the hands of Dr. Mc- Kim, assisted by a staff of ten teachers. Its success was so surprisingly pronounced that the leaders in the enter- prise resolved to place it under the direct supervision of the bishop and incorporate it under the name of "The New York Training-school for Deaconesses." It is not a Deaconess Institution, but a training-school. The course of instruction embraces branches which are usually taught in the female seminaries of the Church. Instruction is also given the pupils in the female diaconate, and for three months in the year they receive directions in prac- tical mission work. The plan of studies embraces the fol- lowing branches : The Old Testament, Life of Christ, Life of the Apostle Paul, Christian Doctrine, Church History, Liturgy, History of Missions, Hygiene, Science of Teach- ing, nursing, and parish work. The course embraces two years. Matriculants must have passed their eighteenth year, and during their stay in the institution pay an an- nual fee of $200. Those who live in New York may keep their lodgings at home and pay $60 tuition per year. After finishing their course, pupils receive a diploma, and they now may join any Sisterhood or Deaconess Order in the Church; or, if they prefer, they may labor independently, but under the direction of the bishop. This training-school has rounded out the education of fifty-four pupils within the past ten years. The annual receipts and expenditures amount to $5,000. The Deaconess Institute and Training-school in To- ronto is the only institution of the kind established by the Episcopal Church in Canada. The Deaconess Cause in The Protestant Episcopal Church. 463 Canada is, in fact, still in its infancy. Besides this in- stitute, there are in the entire Dominion but two more organizations, both of recent origin. These are the Meth- odist Deaconess Home and the Deaconess Training-school of the Presbyterian Church — both in Toronto. The In- Deaconess Home and TBAiNiNG-soHooii, Toronto stitute of the Episcopal Church, a picture of which we present, has sixteen consecrated deaconesses and five pro- bationers. It is situated on Isabella Street, and Miss F. Cross is the superioress. The deaconesses are active in numerous fields of labor. The Deaconess Cause in Australia. — In 1891 a Deacon- 464 History oe the Deaconess Movement. ess Institute was founded in Sidney under the supervision of Rev. M. Archdall. Some years previously, resolutions had been adopted by the Diocesan Synod of Australia in favor of Deaconess Work. The Kaiserswerth Institution was known, and served as a pattern to the Synod; but the rules and regulations were nevertheless borrowed, for the greater part, from the Mother Church in England. The institution is therefore to be called, rather, a training- school than a Mother House, and the most exacting stress is laid upon the thorough training of the Sisters. Chris- tian education is the principal duty of the deaconesses. In connection with the institution is a Home for poor women of the better classes, a Children's Home, and a Girls' School. A second institution was opened by Bishop Goe in Melbourne. It has a Board of Managers, with the bishop at the head. The time of probation for the Sisters is two years. They receive a thorough instruction and undergo two examinations. In connection with the insti- tute a House of Mercy and Children's Home were erected, and, in addition to congregational service, the Sisters are busy in the nursing of the poor and sick. New Zealand. — Here Bishop Julius established an in- stitution in 1894, and its first superioress received her training in the West London Deaconess Home. The work, although still young, is in a flourishing condition. Tasmania. — Several years ago the foundation for an institution here was laid by Bishop Montgomery. A build- ing has not yet been erected, but a number of Sisters are engaged in the work. India. — The first Deaconess Institute of the Protestant Episcopal Church in India was established in 1896 by Bishop Matthew in Lahore. The first Sisters came from England, and the intention is to erect a great institution in which the mission workers for India may be trained. As the Various Other Churches. 465 women of India can only be reached through women, it is evident that such an institution has a particularly high and important mission to fill in this country. The Bishop of Lucknow is engaged with the grave question whether con- secrated deaconesses are not to be allowed to administer baptism to the female converts. The number of Sisters is still small, but it is the first institution in which native Christian women were consecrated as deaconesses. It is believed that the deaconess question will be an important factor in the Christian propaganda of India. South Africa. — While the Episcopal Church has not as yet established an institution in Africa, there are several deaconesses employed in the mission, and it is expected that in the near future a Deaconess Institute will be erected for the training of mission Sisters and nurses. After treating in separate chapters of the German insti- tutions in the United States, and the houses and Sister- hoods of the Episcopal and the Methodist Episcopal Churches, there remains for us to mention several institu- tions in various other Churches which have been developed so far in a normal and, in part, rapid manner. The American Congregational Deaconess Associa- tion. At the annual meeting of the Illinois State Association of Congregational Churches, held at Oak Park, May 21- 24, 1900, on the suggestion of the Hon. T. C. MacMillan, retiring moderator, a committee was appointed to carefully consider and report at the next annual meeting on the wisdom and best methods for the efficient training and housing of young women for all lines of work open in city and country as aids to pastors, as nurses, visitors, Bible- readers, etc. This committee consisted of the Kevs. G-. H. Wilson, DeKalb; B. M. Southgate, Pana; G. H. Bird, 30 466 History of the Deaconess Movement. South Chicago; A. H. Armstrong and W. B. Thorp, Chicago. At the annual meeting of the Illinois State Association at Galesburg, May 20-23, 1901, this commit- tee, through Eev. George H. Wilson, reported, and advised that the Hon. T. C. MacMillan, Professor William D. Mackenzie, of Chicago, and Eev. William Anderson, of Dover, be added thereto ; that steps be taken to inaugurate a plan for carrying into effect as rapidly as practicable the resolution of the previous year relative to the training and use of deaconesses. This recommendation was heartily accepted, and the committee thus increased was instructed to act for the Association. At once there was proffered the committee a property at Dover, 111., for such uses as could be made of it in connection with this work. This consisted of a three-story brick building in the center of two and a half acres of land, well shaded and beautiful for situation. To accept this offer it was necessary to incorporate. The American Congregational Deaconess Association was incorporated under charter from the State of Illinois, and Mr. John K. Allen, of Chicago, was elected its treas- urer. The Deaconess Association invited Miss M. Emerett Coleman to the superintendency of this work. The Chicago Theological Seminary proffered co-operation, and a strong group of able instructors constitutes the Faculty of the training-school. The Chicago Commons furnishes an op- portunity for industrial training. The three-story house situated at 513 Washington Boulevard has been rented for use as the Deaconess-training Home. Students for the Deaconess Work will be sent from this Training Home into fields for practical work affored by Churches and missions in the city. The Dover Home is to be fitted up for such philan- thropic uses as the work may develop. To devise means Various Other Churches. 467 to raise money to carry on this work a conference of tlie Deaconess Association and President J. H. George, with several business men of Chicago, was held in Chicago, September 23, 1901. It was decided that an effort be made at once to raise the sum of five thousand dollars to insure the work for one year. In an appeal to the Church we read as follows : The congested districts in the cities; the destitute por- tions of the towns; the unchurched masses in the mining and other labor centers; the scattered populations of sparsely-settled portions of the State and country; the in- numerable homes practically closed to all but the mother love of some sister of the Christ, where the already over- burdened wife of many a pastor can not go except to sacri- fice children and home; the need of helpers made com- petent by training, felt in Churches, with the common problems of town and country upon them, — these all ac- centuate the call to enter, in the Master^s name, this now open door. The women whose characters, conditions, and consecration qualify them for such high service, and urge them to it, need a training of heart, head, hands, that will give the ability of discipline to the ardor of discipleship. To afford the opportunity for that training, and to provide wise workers for this manifold service in these varied fields, is a call we dare no longer disregard. The building at Dover, in the midst of its spacious grounds and surrounded by a prosperous farming country where Congregationalism is strong, stands ready for use as orphanage, Kest Home, fresh-air center, or in any other way in which the expand- ing work may call for a country establishment. The chairman of the State Association's committee is Kev. George H. Wilson, of DeKalb. The treasurer is Mr. John K. Allen, of Chicago. Miss M. E. Coleman, superin- tendent. 468 History of the Deaconess Movement. The Deaconess Organization in the United Brethren Church. The Deaconess Movement in this Church is still in its infancy. Bishop G. M. Mathews deserves the credit of having called the attention of the Church to this depart- ment of Christian work. In an article on ^'The Order of Deaconesses/' which he wrote for the January number of the Quarterly Reuiew in 1901, he says: "There may be dif- ference of opinion in the minds of many of our best Chris- tian workers as to the desirability of establishing the Order of Deaconesses in our Church by official action at the ap- proaching General Conference; but surely there is great unanimity of conviction among us that the wide resources and varied gifts of our Christian women should be more generally recognized and utilized in a service which shall increase the working force of the Church. The matter of establishing Deaconess Homes and arranging for lectures and practical training to educate deaconesses for their work, as well as providing for their financial support, involves serious problems for careful and judicious consideration. That some new agency like this should be introduced into the practical working forces of our Church seems evident to all who have studied the growing needs of the Church and the changed condition of our social life. It may not be best to establish the Order of Deaconesses, or call it by that name. But some similar movement will likely en- gage the attention of the next General Conference and find crystallization in some wise enactment by which the con- secrated service of the minds, hearts, and hands of the daughters of the Church shall be used to advance the king- dom of God, and add to the Church's equipment for the humanitarian work and spiritual achievements of this new century. ^^ Various Other Churches. 469 From all parts of the country Bishop Mathews received favorable responses, and Bishop J. S. Mills deserves the credit of having put the subject in practical form. He, in conjunction with Bishop Mathews, brought the matter to the attention of the General Conference (May, 1901), and, after an interesting and enthusiastic discussion, the following was adopted and incorporated in the Discipline of the Church: ^'Chapter VIII. — ^Deaconesses. "1. When any Sister of suitable age, health, ability, cul- ture, and piety wishes to become a deaconess, she shall receive a recommendation to the Quarterly Conference from the class where she holds her membership. If, after examination by the presiding elder, or a committee ap- pointed by him, she is approved by the Quarterly Confer- ence, she shall receive license to perform the duties of a deaconess in the local Church, said license subject to an- Qual renewal. "2. Her duties shall be to teach in the Sunday-school, the kindergarten, the Young People's Christian Union, and in the houses of the people such religious and otherwise useful knowledge as may be needed ; to visit from house to house, reading, singing, teaching, exhorting, or comforting the people, as the case may require; to nurse, or otherwise minister to the sick and needy ; to solicit funds or supplies, and distribute the same ; all under the direction of the pas- tor, to whom she shall report as often as he may desire. "3. A uniform costume shall be selected by a committee appointed by the bishops, to distinguish and protect her. "4. The Deaconess Work is a high and holy calling for sacrificial service. Each local Church must provide for any necessary expense attending this work, always, however, 470 History of the Deaconess Movement. encouraging those who enter upon this service to do so for the love of Christ and humanity. "5. No one shall be required to make a perpetual vow in this work, but any one may retire from this office at pleasure, after giving the pastor the proper notice. "6. The deaconess shall be a member of the Quarterly Conference where she serves, and shall l^e responsible to it for her moral and official character. "7. If the deaconess is deficient in any of the common- school studies, she must pass examination in these, along with the following course of study. The presiding elder and pastor shall conduct the examination in writing annu- ally, or on part of the course quarterly, as the candidate may desire: "Course of Study.— First Year— The English Bible. Synthetic Bible Studies — Gray. With Christ in the School of Prayer — Murray. Life of Christ — Stalker. United Brethren Handbook — Shuey. United Brethren Discipline. Deaconesses — Wheeler. Books to be Head — Primer of Psychology — Ladd. His- tory of the United Brethren Church — Berger. Revivals — Torrey. Seven Laws of Teaching — Gregory. "Second Year— The English Bible. Outline Bible Studies — Dunning. Revised Normal Lessons — Hurlbut. Christian Character — Kilpatrick. Theology — Weaver. Life of St. Paul — Stalker. Social Law of Service — Ely. "Books to be Read. — The Tongue of Fire — Arthur. The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life — Smith. Bible Geography — Hurlbut. Manual of Nursing — Weeks. "The deaconess desirous to become a nurse should take the course of training for that purpose in a school con- nected with a good hospital. "8. On the completion of the course of study, and two years' practical work under the direction of a pastor, or an Various Other Churches. ^11 equivalent course in an approved training-school, or literary school providing such courses, the deaconess shall be con- secrated to this service by a bishop or presiding elder, and receive a permanent license. ''Consecration of Deaconess — Singing, 'Must Jesus bear the cross alone?' Scripture reading. (Matt, xxv.) Sing- ing, 'It may not be on the mountain height.' Invocation. Address. Prayer of consecration. Singing, 'Take my life, and let it be.' "section II. DEACONESS HOMES. "When a majority of the pastors of our Church in a city or Conference wish to establish a Deaconess Home, they must first submit their plans to the Board of Bishops, at one of its annual meetings ; and if the matter is approved by this Board, it shall prepare rules and regulations ac- cording to which a Deaconess Home shall be founded and managed." The General Conference appointed a committee to desig- nate a costume, and in July, 1901, the committee reported that the costume should be simple and serviceable, allow- ing place for individual taste, conforming to ordinary styles of dress, yet sufficiently uniform to constitute a costume and give necessary protection to the wearer when engaged in mission and evangelistic work. The distinctive features are the color, gray, and the bonnet with white ties. It was thought best not to adopt a particular style of dress ; only recommend that plainness be observed. The gray is to be a medium shade, that produced by the mixture of half black and half drab. The nurse's costume is gray-and- . white striped gingham, with white apron, tie, and cap. The first deaconesses in the United Brethren Church were employed in Colorado Springs and in Denver, Col. Quite a number of young women began at once, after the 472 History of the Deaconess Movement. action of General Conference, to pursue the course of study prescribed in the Discipline. The next step will be to organize Homes and hospitals in different parts of the country. Deaconess Home and Hospitals of the Reformed Church (English-speaking) of the United States. The first English Deaconess Institute of this denomina- tion in the United States was established by a few of its members at Alliance, 0. A constitution was adopted, en- tirely in accordance with the piiles of the Mother Houses in Germany, and an incor^Doration was secured in accord- ance with the laws of the State of Ohio. In the middle of the ^90's a suitable house was purchased for $10,000, which was appointed as a Deaconess Institute and Hos- pital. The institute was opened for hospital purposes in January, 1899. Besides this institution, the Reformed Church has a flourishing German Deaconess Home in Cleveland, 0., of which we have already given report. Deaconess Work in the Baptist Church. The first attempt in this Church to found an institu- tion was made in 1894, in New, -York. The Second Ger- man Baptist Church and the Amity Church (English- speaking) established in the month of June of that year "The Baptist Deaconess Society of the City of New York.'* The Home was opened in November, 1895, in the Amity Building, 312 West Fifty-fourth Street, with four dea- conesses. Since then the institution has been enlarged, and at present has sufficient accommodation. Besides the superintendent and a teacher, there are seven consecrated deaconesses and five probationers in the Home. The first deaconess was ordained, after a full course of study, in Various Other Churches. 473 November, 1897. The society follows up the ordinary branches of work: nursing of the sick, parish work, and one of the deaconesses is in the employ of the Eescue So- ciety. A Church receiving their services pays $300 a year. Baptist Dbaooness Home, New York City. The training of the deaconesses takes in a period of two years, but as there is no hospital connected with the institu- tion, the nurses receive their practical equipment at one of the city hospitals. Their costume is like that of the dea- conesses of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with this dif- 474 History of the Deaconess Movement. ference, that the color used is dark-blue instead of black, and they wear their white ties on their collars instead of on their bonnets. Like their comrades in Europe, the dea- conesses are called Sister Johanna, or Sister Elizabeth, as the name may be. The Board of Managers, consisting ex- clusively of women, is assisted by a Consulting Committee of men. Pastors of both congregations who founded the institution and have since cared for its support, are the spiritual directors of the community, and the jDrobationers are trained under their special supervision. In the same building with the Home is the Amity Theological School, an undenominational school for Christian workers, men and women. The deaconess students take their Bible study in this school, receiving, in the Home, lessons on the his- tory and methods of Deaconess Work. From all appear- ances, the Baptist denomination is recognizing the impor- tance of the female diaconate more and more each year, and if this aggressive body ever takes the proper view of the matter, there will soon be flourishing, numerous, and prosperous institutions in all parts of the country. The Methodist Deaconess Home in Toronto^ Canada. Methodism in Toronto has recognized the value of the Deaconess Work, and the founding of a Home has often been the subject of discussion. After the matter had been carefully considered by a Conference Committee, it was re- solved to found a Home, and on May 28, 1894, the institu- tion was opened by the head deaconess. Miss Alice Thomp- son. A deaconess from Chicago and a Sister on probation constituted the first family. However, at the close of the year the number had increased to six. Instruction was given by clergymen, university jDrofessors, and resident physicians. The first Home was organized in rented quar- ters. When, at the end of three years, more room was needed, a wealthy family donated a lot in a beautiful j^art Various Other Churches. 475 of the city, on which a building, answering the purpose, was erected. In August, 1896, Miss Thompson retired, and Miss E. Jane Scott took her place. She had been trained for her calling at the Chicago Training-school, and had been emplo^^ed for seven years in that city in Deaconess Work. Under her effective management the work grew rapidly and the number of deaconesses increased. The training-school which has been added is also progressing rapidly. Seventy pupils have been instructed in the train- Deaooness Ho3ie in Toronto, Canada, ing-school, most of whom have entered the Home. One of them is employed in the foreign mission-field; others are teaching, nursing, and performing general Deaconess Work. A year ago a house in White Bay, on Lake Ontario, was donated. More than one hundred children of poor parents were given an outing here for two weeks. The intention is to enlarge this department of the work. Two of the dea- conesses are residing in the Fred Victor Mission, in a dis- reputable part of the city. Two other deaconesses are con- ducting a midnio-ht mission. That there is an urgent need 476 History of the Deaconess Movement. for this class of laborers, especially in the large cities, everybody knows. But in the capacity of a parish deacon- ess she will be more like the deaconess of the early Church than in any other. Miss E. Jane Scott, the head deaconess, was born and brought up in Baltimore. In 1890 she entered the train- ing-school in Chicago, and two years later, during the session of the Rock River Conference, she was ordained. Then she was employed for several years in the slums of the metropolis, and, as a result of her work, a church was built, and the membership in- creased, largely through her instru- mentality. Then came the call which brought her to Toronto and placed her in charge of the work there. Her faithfulness, her un- tiring activity, busi- ness ability, and great enthusiasm for the work, have placed the Deaconess Movement on a firm foundation in Canada. Her thorough consecra- tion, unselfishness, and sound common sense make her fitted pre-eminently to stand at the head of a body of young women. Her wisdom in directing their energies and lov- ing thoughtfulness for their personal welfare, and, above all, her pure. Christian example, make her beloved and revered by all. Miss E. Jane Scott. Various Other Churches. 477 The Deaconess Cause in the Methodist Episcopal Church^ South. The Fourteenth General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Churchy South, at its session in May, 1902, in Dallas, Tex., established the office of deaconess in that de- nomination. The law, as adopted and incorporated in the Discipline, provides that the Woman's Home Mission Board shall prescribe a course of training for candidates for Dea- coness Work, and shall pass upon the applications of those persons recommended by Quarterly Conference for appoint- ment to a training-school, and shall have power to reject a candidate at any time during or at the end of a course of training, if she be found unsuited to the work. The Board, or the Executive Committee thereof, shall, upon application, recommend deaconesses to Mission Boards, preachers in charge, societies, or other Church agencies wishing to employ them. When a deaconess is thus em- ployed, she shall make reports to the Quarterly Confer- ence of the charge in which she labors, and be, so far as is practicable, under the direction of the preacher in charge. When removing from the bounds of one pastoral charge to another, she shall carry a certificate of official standing. She shall also make annual reports to the Woman's Board of Home Missions. Her certificate must be renewed annually. A candidate for Deaconess Work must be at least twenty-three years of age, a single woman or a widow. She must be a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, in good standing, and must have shown a fitness for this work by active service in some line of Christian work. She must have a good common school education, and a certificate of good health from a reputable physician. Her application for admission to the training- school must be indorsed by the Quarterly Conference and 478 History of the Deaconess Movement. the preacher in charge of the Church of which she is a member. She must pass a satisfactory examination before the proper committee of the Woman's Board of Home Mis- sions, both as to her educational and religious qualifica- tions, before she can be placed in the training-school. She must give two years of probationary service and study the course prescribed by the Board, after which she must have the recommendation of the superintendent of the school. In exceptional cases, when other requirements are met and the course in the training-school is not deemed necessary, she may be nominated by the preacher in charge, and elected to the office of deaconess by the Quarterly Con- ference, without attending the training-school. The duties of the deaconess are to minister to the poor, care for the sick, provide for the orphan, comfort the sorrowing, seek the wandering and sinful, and do any religious or teaching work to which she may be assigned by the preacher in charge employing her in the home or foreign field, and, relinquishing all other pursuits, devote herself to these or other forms of Christian work to which she may be found adapted. No vows shall be required of any deaconess; nevertheless, it is expected that those wlio seek admission to the training-school, or who apply for a certificate from the Quarterly Conference, will have considered carefully the steps they are taking, and, feeling themselves called of God to do this work, will enter upon it with the pur- pose of devoting themselves wholly to it. A deaconess shall, however, be at liberty to retire from the work after three months' notice to the Woman's Home Mission Board, and will be subject to a revoking of her certificate and dismissal if found unsuited to the work. While engaged in active service, she shall be entitled to such support as the Woman's Home Mission Board shall stipulate, and if, after a long term of service^, she shall be disqualified by sickness or old Various Other Churches. 479 age, she shall be cared for in a Deaconess Home hereinafter provided for. A deaconess, not employed by any of the above Church agencies, shall be under the direct control of the Woman's Home Mission Board. A report of the work of each deaconess, with a certificate of character and stand- ing, shall be sent annually to the Woman's Home Mission Board by the agency employing her, together with her per- sonal report. The Woman's Home Mission Board is author- ized to provide a Home where unemployed deaconesses may temporarily reside and be instructed, and where the aged or sick may be permanently cared for, and such other in- stitutions as will not be in conflict with other provisions of section 4, chapter xi, of Discipline of 1898. CHAPTER XIV. MISSION AND AIM OF THE FEMALE DIACONATE IN THE UNITED STATES. We have passed the threshold of the twentieth century, and behind us lies the most magnificent period witnessed in the world's history. In epoch-making it was only sur- passed by the first and sixteenth centuries of Christian chronology. In the domain of science and art the progress in the nineteenth century has been so vast that all the relations of life and commerce have been cast anew. We are living in a new, almost another world. Of the twenty great inventions, thirteen belong to the past century. They paved the way for a thousand smaller, but far-reaching dis- coveries and inventions. Through these the heavy burdens of humanity were lightened; pain and grief alleviated; misery lessened ; famines checked in civilized lands ; at- tention paid to growing wants; and daily comforts, as well as security of life, increased. Greater than in the Old World, at least more visible, is the progress in the New. Within the past century, in this country, more than four hundred cities were built, and amono: these are several countino^ a million or more of inhabitants. We are therefore facing the city problem. The huge forests and prairies have been opened for cultiva- tion, and the almost boundless territories given over to civilization. And this progress, too, has brought to the hearts of our people great questions, which must be an- swered. During the past century not less than twenty- nine States were organized and added to the Union. Twenty-four of these commonwealths are, each of them, 480 Mission of the Female Diacoxate. 481 greater in area than England, and for many of these States, most of which are more populated and mightier than many of the kingdoms of the Old World, laws, as well as a comprehensive literature and an influential press, were created; public schools, universities, libraries, and art-galleries were erected; a vast chain of railroads and telegraphs spread over the land; country roads and city parks laid out ; commerce and industry cultivated ; benevo- lent institutions of all kinds, and in great numbers, erected; national and social problems solved; and a Gov- ernment organized that has been approved and gained full recognition in the regard of civilized nations. Progress in the ecclesiastical domain has been, if pos- sible, even greater. The young Church, free from all fetters of State, has gone to the front everywhere as the advance guard; she carried the power of culture to this Western country, and had the greatest share in the progress of civilization and the solution of numerous problems. Our great, wide land was, as it were, soAvn over with churches, chapels, church schools, and institutions; the pioneer preacher followed close on the heels of the settler ; on the wide prairies mud houses were erected for divine services, and block churches in the cleared primeval forests. From these small beginnings great congregations, with mag- nificent churches, have gone forth, and the living Church was diligent in good works. She organized Mission, Sun- day-school, Tract, Church Extension, Temj^erance, and Sabbath Societies, and the Church organizations accom- plished such extraordinary and wonderful things that we can hardly think of them without being filled with as- tonishment and wonder. Numerous interdenominational and national organizations have sprung into existence, in- fluencing the entire public life mightily and emphatically unto good. There are twenty-seven million communicants 31 482 History of the Deaconess Movement. in the Churches of our land. The value of the Church property amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars, and the sum which is annually expended for the Christian propaganda runs also into the hundreds of millions. The past century has been justly called the mission century, for in the domain of pagan missions more has been accomplished than in the preceding eighteen centuries to- gether. The awful chasm that totally separated eight hun- dred millions of heathens from the civilized influences of the gospel at the beginning of the nineteenth century has been fully bridged over at the present day, and an intel- lectual reformation like unto a hurricane is sweeping through heathen lands and tearing down ancient opinions and pagan customs as though they were paper houses. The Bible has been translated into nearly four hundred dif- ferent languages and dialects, and the gospel made ac- cessible to millions of heathens. The mighty lever which can lift heathendom out of its deep humiliation has been applied, and in the twentieth century unexampled results will be accomplished. The nineteenth century was, as it were, the John the Baptist of the twentieth. The twentieth century places new responsibilities upon our shoulders, and imposes upon the Church greater duties than the nineteenth. We have greater opportunities to- day, and also, by far, greater resources. The nineteenth century pointed out the way in which we have to solve the problem in the twentieth; but the profound questions will not be solved unless it is by the Church. We call at- tention to the race question, the labor question, the tem- perance question, the Sabbath-day question, the mission question, and numerous other questions which are con- nected with the chief problems. The Church is impelled with the mighty feeling that Christianity is on the thresh- old of a new epoch, and that in the twentieth century she Mission of the Female Diaconate. 483 has the mission to Christianize the people and nations of the earth, the races and tribes of the globe. A recent writer, who knows exactly the pulse-beat of the present, expresses himself on the subject as follows : "A w^orld's intercourse spanning the whole earth is mediating a world's commerce agitating all nations ; a uni- versal world's culture is opening up; a world's literature is already present, and even the arts and sciences are be- coming international. As if by an invisible hand, the Churches have been drawn into this universal current of humanity. The scientific discoveries, the avaricious mer- chants, the cruel conquerors, are everywhere followed by the missionaries, if not preceded by them, unto the ends of the earth, practiced in self-abnegation, strong in faith, the right educators of the people, implanting divine spirit and divine life. The time seems to be on hand when there shall be one flock and one shepherd in all mankind and all peoples, and nations and races shall be gathered about the throne of God.^' Never before was the Church called upon to face such giant problems as those of the present day. This is uni- versally acknowledged, and it is the subject matter of dis- cussion at the pastoral Conferences, Assemblies, Conven- tions, and Church gatherings of all kinds. The pulpit and ecclesiastical press have united, and are constantly plan- ning new ways and means. It is clear to everybody that new forces and agencies must be brought into the field. Is it to be wondered at that we have finally rubbed the sleep out of our eyes and entertained the thought of plac- ing the hitherto fallow-lying strength of woman in the service of the kingdom of God in the most comprehensive and liberal manner? Thence we may explain the phe- nomenal growth of the Deaconess Cause in the United States. Not more than fifteen years ago the institution 484 History of the Deaconess Movement. of deaconesses was hardly known. Occasional beginnings failed, and the voices that had been raised died away al- most unheard. And now, in a dozen of years, at least one hundred and forty Deaconess Homes have been estab- lished, and among these are a number of Mother Houses, which, in regard to capacity of work and extent, put into the shade many institutions of the Old World. The value of the property amounts to at least five millions of dol- lars, and the number of deaconesses has grown to nearly two thousand. In the Methodist Episcopal Church alone, within this period of time, from ninety to one hundred Deaconess Institutions, and twenty hospitals in connec- tion with the same, were established. The number of Methodist deaconesses has grown to be over twelve hun- dred, and the average increase for the past twelve years has been annually twenty-six per cent. The woman's movement, which, in the past decade, has seized upo'n the public mind more than in the preceding entire century, finds an outlet in the Deaconess Movement, and it is pos- sible that the female diaconate will contribute more to the solution of the woman question than any other factor. The soil for the female diaconate is as thoroughly prepared in the United States to-day as it was sixty years ago in Ger- many. The young work shows an extraordinary power of life and attraction, and even if here and there the experi- mental stage has not been passed, it is evident that it is assuming a more definite and certain shape from year to year. Numerous difficulties have been removed, and the leaders have a much more fixed purpose in view. Even the Baptists and Congregationalists have taken up the thread, and the great group of Presbyterians in their annual As- semblies have taken hold of this momentous question, and there are mustard-seed beginnings here and there which promise much good for the future, Farthest in this mat- Mission of the Female Diaconate. 485 ter has progressed the German Church of our country. The Methodist Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church have also accomplished wonderful things. We have cir- cumstantially described their activity in several chapters. This astounding progress can but fill every Christian heart with inward joy, and justifies the hope that the Evangelical Church of North America, in spite of its religious differ- ences, will, in the not far distant future, be a ranking sis- ter of the evangelical Church of Germany in the domain of Christian ministrations of love. And the female diaconate, if anywhere, should be in this country an indescribable source of blessing. Eemarkaljle and astounding is the rapid development of the Deaconess Movement in the United States. Its progress is certainly without example. There has been no lack of financial assistance, and funds will flow in even more gen- erously, if possible, in the future. In another decade there will hardly be one of the larger cities in the United States which will not be able to show at least one of the Deaconess Institutions. Whenever the American has seized upon an idea, he brings it to execution, and that generally on the grandest scale. There is no lack of means, and the necessity is less in doubt. Not less than thirty-three per cent of the population of the United States live in cities with twenty-five thousand population and more, and year after year the influx to the cities is greater. And in this there is a great danger for our Nation. It is a fact that the unchristian and igno- rant masses in the great cities are threatening civilization. It would be idle to seek to deceive ourselves in regard to the sad conditions. Everywhere may be found the revo- lutionary tinder which threatens to be dangerous for the future. The Church of the present has a tremendous mis- sion; she is the light, and when the light ceases to give 486 History of the Deaconess Movement. light, how great will the darkness be! Thousands to-day hear the sound of church-bells; but they are indeed far separated from the Church, and there is as broad and deep a chasm between them and the church pews as though they lived in Central Africa. On the one hand we find to-day in the United States a prosperous and inde- pendent Church, made up of those who are in comparatively good circumstances, and of whom many have become affluent and wealthy. On the other hand we find the em- bittered and impoverished masses, who look with envious eyes upon the prosperity of the Church members, and this class are not only indifferent to the Church and religion, but the by far greatest portion hate the Church ; and the cause of it is easily recognized. People who are thrifty and diligent, and upon whom rests the blessing of God, make progress in this world. It is, therefore, in the nature of things that Christians work themselves up to better circumstances, and reach prosperity according to the words of Scripture, '^^Godliness is profitable unto all things, hav- ing the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.^^ The impoverished and degraded masses in the laboring quarters look with envious eyes upon the pros- perity of Church members, and accuse them as being con- federates of the capitalists. They note the well-being of Christians, without knowing the cause or wishing to know it. They are filled with prejudices, which generally change to bitter hate. Each property-owner is in their eyes an oppressor; they hate the power of riches, and they forget the benefits which they have received, and they recognize the blessings of the Church as little as they do the use- fulness of the Government. They hate both, because, in their opinion, they protect capital. But they hate the Church the most because slie protects the right of prop- erty, and because her members stand socially higher and Mission of the Female Diacoxate. 487 take a more influential position in society. True, it is to be regretted that to-day there are so many half-hearted Christians, who live indifferently and care not in the least for the poor and forsaken. Almost universally the large, wealthy Churches are removed to the suburbs, and the population of the poor in the older city quarters are left to themselves. Dr. George W. Gray, superintendent of Methodist City Missions in Chicago, has shown that in one district of Chicago, with a population of twenty-two thousand, there are but two Protestant Churches and one Catholic Church ; but in the same district there are two hundred and seventy- two saloons, eighty-five wine-houses, seven opium and eight gambling dens, and not less than ninety-two houses of ill- fame. If the Church is indifferent to such conditions, she will sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. True, it can not be said that the Church has altogether neglected her duties. She appoints city missionaries, opens mission halls, and has inaugurated an extended missionary ac- tivity of the most varied character; but the Church mem- bers themselves are passive; in fact, they studiously get out of the way of this class of people. They do not wish to give up anything of their social position; they move in other circles, dress better, cultivate science and art, and unfortunately the large churches of the present day are so arranged and appointed that this poorest and most abandoned class would not feel at home in them, even if they were visitors. City missionaries are looked upon by this class as paid agents of the Church, and the efforts made unfortunately do not achieve the results which, in view of the means employed, might have been reasonably expected. The Salvation Army has in this respect accomplished more than the Church, for the simple reason that its mem- 488 History of the Deaconess Movement. bers put themselves on the same plane with this class of the population, and make the people feel that they are really concerned regarding their temporal and spiritual welfare. These Christian workers are ready to deny them- selves and live among them in the same poor circumstances as those they endeavor to save. Every one who knows the human heart is aware of the fact that the desire for better conditions has not died out even in this class, and that, on the contrary, they also are possessed of a striving which, as a matter of course, is only concerned with temporal results. Conditions, however, are such that it is difficult for these people to tear themselves away. If no one takes them by the hand and shows them the way they will never break the fetters and come out of this sunken and hopeless condition. It is therefore left to the Church to find ways and means to help this class of people and elevate them morally and religiously. Their temporal welfare will, of course, go hand in hand with this. Moody, who studied this question minutely, came to this result: ^'Give me women,^' said he, "to work among this class of the population.^^ Moody was a practical man, and here, too, he took the proper view. More than ever be- fore are we in need to-day of female power. We need women who will give up the luxuries of life, who will forsake society and friends, and condescend to help this class of men. They must patiently persevere until these people regain confidence and give heed to the Church and the gospel. The only hope and possibility of elevating and saving this class of the population in our great cities lies in the unselfish and devoted activity of such women. The sufferings, cares, and sicknesses of these most aban- doned ones can only be reached by ministrations of love that will take a personal interest, nurse, encourage, counsel, and assist; that will give work to the unemployed, gather Mission of the Female Diaconate. 489 the children in kindergartens and the infants in day nur- series, and be present everywhere where help is needed. These people need education, not through books on the school bench, but education in the affairs of daily life, in practical economy, in the preparation of food, in sick-nurs- ing, housekeeping, and the training of children. They should also be taught the lessons of morality and practical Christianity, and this can best be done by deaconesses. The spirit and love of Him who "came not to be min- istered unto, but to minister, and give His life a ransom for many,^^ must be shown these people in incorporated reality, and for this purpose more than an occasional visit is necessary. Deaconesses who labor in these quarters will come in daily, unsought touch with this class of people; they will develop a relation of friendship, and win them' over to confidence. Here is a great and useful iield for deaconesses, and the Mother Houses should become central stations whence the most extended ministrations of love might be directed in a systematic manner. The time will come when tens of thousands of deaconesses, in city and country, will sacrifice their lives in Christian love services. We are convinced that the Deaconess Cause has a great future in the United States, and the promising beginning leads to the hope that in this respect even greater things will be accomplished hei'e than up to the present time in Europe. Many of the most prominent leaders of the American Deaconess Movement have visited Germany within the past century, and become acquainted with the work on its na- tive heath by personal inspection. That the tried rules of the old Fatherland were upheld stands as a matter of course. It is a beautiful trait in the American's char- acter that he is always ready to appropriate without preju- dice the good wherever it is found. It should not, how- 490 History of the Deaconess Movement. ever, be overlooked that the German way and arrange- ment must not be copied mathematically, any more than Fliedner would shapen the Deaconess Work of modern times in all respects after that of the Apostolic Church. The essential foundation is and remains the principal thing — the form of manifestation is accidental, and may well accommodate itself to the present circumstances and to different times and lands. For example, the Mother House idea was not entertained in the Apostolic Church, nor did the deaconesses appear in conventional costume. But even so the preacher's office of the old Church lacked a preparatory school and that official halo which to-day is so prominent; yet is the preacher's office not essentially different from that of the old Church. The totally changed time conditions explain the community feature and insti- tution management of the deaconess office of the present day. This changed management and methodically-ar- ranged practice are in accordance with our modern Church conditions requiring them, not only necessary and whole- some, but they are the only proper and normal course. Now, just as the historical development of the State Church in Germany is fundamentally different from the development of the American free Churchdom, so will and must the Deaconess Cause develop and shapen itself dif- ferently. The Deaconess Work here springs from an- other soil, and it must be suited to altogether different Church relations. The education of our daughters is dif- ferent. Our daughters in general are more free and in- dependent. The Deaconess Cause is still unknown in wider circles, and has to combat with heavy prejudices. It will take a number of years before it attains the position that it occupies in the eyes of the people in Germany. The daughters of the higher social circles are even farther removed from the subject than those of the Old World. Mission of the Female Diaconate. 491 As to the embodying of the Deaconess Cause into the organism of the Church, it must be acknowledged that the desired result, with two exceptions, has not been reached. These exceptions are the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Lutheran Dea- coness Institute in Baltimore may also be counted in. However, it may only be a question of time when all Churches will have embodied the Deaconess Institution into their ecclesiastical organism. Of course, it must al- ways be presupposed that the Deaconess Cause, wherever it may be, is not of artificial or fashionable growth, but that it supplies a deeply-felt want, and, suited to our con- ditions, develops itself upon genuinely evangelical soil, and proves its efficiency as a legitimate spiritual daughter of the Christian Church. There is serious danger still for the Deaconess Cause in America in the defective knowledge of its true essence. The American spirit of enterprise and ardent ambition for deeds mislead many devout and noble-minded people to begin the work without the proper understanding and without the necessary experience to venture upon a field in which there are many difficult problems to solve. It is therefore not to be wondered at that many institutions, after brief experimenting, collapsed, and that out of Mother Houses, promising in the beginning, plain Protestant hos- pitals with training-schools have gone forth. It is diffi- cult to get the approved personnel for the management of the institution, and frequent changes have retarded and, in some cases, totally destroyed the young work. There has been no lack of good will, of the spirit of enterprise, and of financial resources ; but our ambition to do great things always ran danger of transgressing the limits. Thus, not infrequently, the chief work of management was done at the sessions of the Board of Managers, and the hands 49^ History of the Deaconess Movement. of the appointed leaders, the superintendent and superi- oress, were tied. However, it need not to be feared that our practical people will not find the right way also in this matter, and if the Directory, for the greater part made up of the laity, is granted greater rights than in the old country, this is beneficial in another direction, be- cause it can only be useful if the laity becomes thoroughly interested in this great movement. It is a great evil that nearly all Deaconess Institutions are seriously overburdened. From all sides is heard the clamor for deaconesses ; everywhere new institutions are to be established, and for the daily increasing needs the available number is far from being sui!icient. Not one institution has even approximately the necessary number of deaconesses, and yet it is expected that the Mother Houses are to help in every direction. In many instances the besieging demands could not be withstood, and sev- eral institutions that had a promising beginning were crippled. The obligations of work exceed their strength; the deaconesses have not time sufficient for their spiritual edification and preparing for their vocation, and thus they are frequently discouraged, and the spirit of the house loses, through the driving work, its quiet character, which each Mother House should have. The forces of the deacon- esses are consumed too rapidly and their service is alienated in a manner that must become fatal. Another mistake is, that deaconesses are not infrequently sent out with in- sufficient training. This is all the more dangerous as the present time makes great demands on the deaconesses, and often those entering the community have neither knowl- edge nor the necessary experience to fit them in one or two years for their responsible vocation. In nearly all Mother Houses the complaint is made that the Sisters, through over-exertion, do not derive the proper advantage Missiox OF THE Female Diaconate 493 from instruction, that they can hardly be expected to memorize much, and that the hours of study are too fre- quently interrupted. The service of Mary in the deaconess vocation is too frequently swallowed up by the service of Martha, and, because thereby the inner source of life is not sufficiently nourished, freshness and pleasure in the work are. often lacking. The institutions are running in danger of alienation and depression, because nearly all of them suffer from an excess of work. It is a beautiful ut- terance that a rector of one of the institutions gives : "The Deaconess Mother House, as a training and educational institution, should, with all fidelity, deeply ground the Sisters in religion, teach them the care of the sick and children, fill up the gaps of school-training, and, without overburdening them with coarse work, make them efficient in house management. Unfortunately, this end is seldom reached in the new institutions." At a Deaconess Con- ference, a superintendent put the following question of conscience : "Are the young Sisters, by their prolonged sojourn in the Mother House, so introduced into the sub- ject of the diaconate and technically so trained that, when sent out as well-skilled and worthy representatives of the cause, they may assist in the building up of God's king- dom? Or do the Mother Houses, impelled by the requests outside, allow themselves to send out Sisters who, unfixed, insufficiently prepared and schooled, rather injure than benefit by their activity the Church as well as the diaconate in their appreciation?" What has been said goes to show that the evil conditions are known and that efforts are being made to remove them, but even the best of will can not succeed against the overwhelming force of circum- stances. In this respect a great injury can only l)e ol)viated if the congregations, and especially the preachers, will take a greater interest in the female diaconate, and better rec- 494 History of the Deaconess Movement. ognize its significance and importance. They will then be ready to encourage young women to enter into the Dea- coness Work and send to the institutions Sisters in greater numbers. If we reflect on the ill-placed conditions pointed out, as they are manifested in many Mother Houses, we are better able to speak for the American way according to which a separate training-school is connected with the Deaconess Institution, even if the German Mother House idea is given the preference. The training-schools have their advantages. It is difficult to understand why, from a certain side, the American method is so severely con- demned. If a young woman enters a training-school, and for two years devotes her imdivided strength and time to theoretical instruction in order to be then received into a Deaconess Institution, such a course has its advantages. After the deaconesses have thus been prepared, they can more easily give themselves to practical instruction in the nursing of the sick and city mission or kindergarten work. They will be less burdened and find more satisfaction in their calling. It is pleasant to note that the Mother Houses also, wherever the means allow it, domicile the deaconesses in their own Home, and emphatically keep it separate from the hospital. Unfortunately, up to the present time, most of the institutions have an overweaning hospital character, and hence flowed principally the miscondition of which Fliedner in the beginning complained: "The Mother House, as such, has so far too little care, and the proba- tioners receive too little instruction and spiritual atten- tion.^' It is indispensably necessary that the deaconesses should live in their own Home, apart from the hospital. This Home must bear the family character; here the dea- conesses are to receive their finished training, and hither Missiox OF THE Female Diaconate. 495 they are to return from the hospital or other work, after the day's burdens and heat are over. Then the Deaconess Home, and not the hospital, will be the domicile and train- ing-school of the deaconesses, and they will consider them- selves daughters of the Mother House, and it will replace to them, in a great degree, the home of their parents. We can not warn, therefore, often enough against the numerous and great hospital enterprises. Xot infrequently they are the grave of the Deaconess Institution. We are too precipitate to-day in the building of hospitals. But why was the deaconess office renewed at so late a date in America? It may be that the total failure of the attempt made by Fliedner to transplant the Deaconess In- stitution to American soil had its evil effects, and we ought not to forget that, by our free Church system, so general and liberal an exercise of charity was practiced that, on that account, no great need of deaconesses was felt. Be- sides, the young and active Church of America had so many irons in the fire that it was difficult to inspire her with a new thought. Added to this was the strong anti- Eoman feeling of the people and the confounding of the female diaconate with the monastic life. But all this is finally not a satisfactory explanation. We have no doubt here to deal with one of the great mysteries of the kingdom of God. History shows us that God always steps in at the right moment, and that he inaugurates a move- ment through a chosen personality whom he especially fits out and commissions to lead his cause. In this country, as we have elscAvhere shown, there was no lack of individual voices nor of individual attempts. Eeports were made on the subject at pastoral Conferences, Synods, Assemblies, and Conventions, and the ecclesiastical press frequently raised its voice; but, when the right moment had arrived, did the seed sown grow up, and, like unto a magic stroke, 496 History of the Deaconess Movement. institutions shot up out of the earth like mushrooms in all parts of our great and wide country. There was awak- ened an emulation that caused constant wonderment. That the life of the institution should have shaped itself dif- ferently, and not have been a servile imitation of the Ger- man Mother Houses, may be considered a matter of course to those who know the difference of American conditions and those of Germany; but it is just as evident that we can learn from Germany, and that much wisdom will be required to steer clear of the threatening dangers. Each system has its advantages and its dangers, and in the first years in America it was not clear which one of the dif- ferent methods would prove the best. We hold that the German Mother House idea, somewhat modified and adapted to American conditions, will be proved in the fu- ture as the best method. The Mother House must remain the center of authority; each deaconess ought to feel that here she has a home and a place where she will be taken care of in the event of disability for service, and finally, in her old age; for, after all, the guarantee for their care in the future can only be furnished by the Mother House. Before we cbse this chapter we would like to call at- tention to a point that has frequently been explained. In America we stand upon free Church soil. The great Protestant denominations join hands; they all have the same problems to solve and the same aim to pursue. Would it not, therefore, be advisable to build up the Deaconess Cause on interdenominational ground? This question is answered by many with an emphatic affirmative, while others just as positively believe that the object would be reached more easily and better in a strictly denominational domain. On this side the Deaconess Cause has been prom- ised a great future, and the establishment of institutions on an interdenominational basis characterized as a mis- Mission of the Female Diacoxate. 497 take. Experience hardly justifies us so far to answer this question decisively, one way or another. It is a fact that a smooth and rapid development within the Deaconess Homes of the outspoken denominational direction is not a rule in the lives of their experience, while, on the other hand, in the interdenominational territory — as, for in- stance, in Cincinnati and Buffalo— there has not been a lack of rapid and promising progress. If we cast our eyes on Europe, we find that, during the fifty years of its ex- istence, the older Parisian institution counts not more than seventy-five deaconesses, and this at first sight does not seem to open a very favorable prospect to the interdenomi- national houses for the winning of working forces. But if we reflect that in Paris there is also a strictly denomina- tional institution, established in his day by Rev. Felix Kuhn, which, during the first twelve years of its existence, did not count more than fifteen deaconesses, we have here a relatively depressing contrast. However, we ought per- haps to find the real cause there in local conditions, and should, therefore, not apply the same rule to America. The history of the female diaconate shows that its develop- ment depends largely upon the locality. It is our personal opinion that the ideal ]\Iother House will in this country grow in denominational soil. 32 CHAPTEE XV. THE HOSPITAL IN GENERAL, AND THE DEACONESS HOSPITAL IN PARTICULAR.- History shows us that we owe the origin of hospitals, not to medical science, but to religion. It need not astonish us to learn that hosjjitals (houses for the sick) were known in ante-Christian times. That they are not found with the cultured Greeks and Romans, but with the Buddhists, is proof that they are not the result of culture and civiliza- tion, but of religion. In the religion of the Greeks and Romans there was nothing that sanctified life and pro- moted brotherly love. Physically and intellectually these nations reached a high degree of development, but morally they made little progress, and sank gradually deeper- and deeper, until they finally perished. Buddhism teaches that every living being is holy ; therefore the Buddhist endeavors to prolong life, building hospitals, not only for men, but also for animals — even for the insects. During the reign of Asokas, who died two hundred and twenty-six years before Christ, a writing was engraved by the Buddhists into a cliff, which shows that at this time, along the country roads, there were houses for the sick where travelers were furnished with medicine. There were at the time, as Dr. Wiser proves in his "Review of the History of Medi- *Thls chapter, strictly speaking, does not fit into the frame of this work. But as the nursing of the sick and the entire hospital regime are in such close relations to the Deaconess Cause, and both are con- stantly dependent upon each other, and as, besides, the development of the modern hospital owes so much to the female diaconate, we have permitted ourselves to add a chapter on the subject. The hospital and Mother House questions are so closely united that it will never be pos- sible to separate them. 498 The Hospital. 499 cine/^ hospitals for cripples, for lying-in women, for the blind, for incurables, for lepers, and such as suffered from elephantiasis. As a matter of course, the hospitals of that pre-Christian time can not be compared with those of the present, but we nevertheless find the fundamental elements of the hospital present. It may appear surprising that the best encyclopedias in the discussion of hospitals do not go behind the birth of Christ, and the reason of this is probably because the several books that have been written on the subject of hospitals begin with the Christian era. That the Christian Church at very early date erected hospitals is by no means accidental, and their origin is no doubt to be ascribed to the willingness of the Church to relieve distress by means of benevolent organizations and institutions of every sort. The Church in this course followed in the footsteps of the great Master, who was in- tent upon relieving pain and prolonging life. Quite soon did people follow the impulses of Divine love poured out into the heart, and build houses for the poor, sick, widows, orphans, and the helpless. These houses, for the most part, stood next to the Church, and were under the direct supervision of a clergyman. By degrees the suffering were classified, and thus institutions arose of all kinds. The first great hospital mentioned in Church history, and which deserves this name in the fullest sense of the word, was founded in the fourth century in the days of Constantino the Great. The famous Basilius Hospital was erected in C. D., in "Jubilate." Uniformly with the whole Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Deaconess Movement has grown out of the Biblical, apostolic foundations of our faith and practice. The objection is often heard that the modern deaconess is very different from the deaconess of the Apostolic and ancient Christian Church. If we judge simply from the external appearance, and not from the inherent nature of the office, that would be perfectly true. But are not all our ecclesiastical regulations different in many ways from those of the Apostolic Church? Does our evangelical Church cease, therefore, to be a true Christian Church? Do we not conduct our missionary work different from the missions of the apostles and the early Christian Church? 558 History of the Deaconess Movement. Do they, therefore, cease to be a fulfillment of the com- mand of Jesus, "Go ye into all the world ?" Is not present- day preaching altogether different in form from the preach- ing of apostolic times? What did they know of our academies, universities, scientific examinations, etc., which to-day are indispensable requirements of the called and ordained ministry in the Church of Jesus Christ? Evi- dently the gospel heralds of the present day are farther removed in this respect from those of the Apostolic Church than our deaconesses are from theirs. But the essential character underneath all this difference of external de- velopment remains the same. And what is the essence of the Deaconess ^lovement? It is the exercise, officially regulated and followed as a profession by women, of that charity, which is born with the Christian faith, towards all who need help. Unto the Gentiles Paul became as a Gentile, and unto the Jews as a Jew. In like manner as the Christian Church, the evangelical diaconate must be- come a child of the twentieth century, that it may win the twentieth century for the gospel. All formal differ- ences between the modern and the ancient diaconate arise from this source. These times demand a careful training of the deaconess for all branches of her profession. In- dividuals, and especially gifted persons, may acquire this training by private means; but as a rule it is to be had only in training-schools especially arranged for the pur- pose. We are living in the age of associations. The cor- responding feature in the Church is a strong desire for the communion of the faithful. The heart of woman, hav- ing given itself to the service of the Church, seeks to be transferred from its isolation to an established community, such as is not usually found in our congregations; it de- sires a motherly, protecting, directing home, which a tran- sient Church Board can not possibly offer. It is evident Appexdix. 559 Sisterhoods, Mother Houses, are necessary. Were these to be discontinued, you would soon enough find that the ap- plications for the deaconess calling would grow discourag- ingly less. In our present age, only a few prominent ^personalities may develop an extraordinary activity as individuals. But in a community, even medium talents may fill their place with success, and this accords perfectly with that word of Jesus about the servant who had fewer talents than the others. (Matt, xxv, 2T.) Applied to the Deaconess Cause, this means that only under the direction and discipline of a firm central point, a Mother House, can even ordinary talents be successfully utilized. If the deaconesses of the j^resent day were suddenly to lose this superintendence, we would soon make the sad discovery how greatly their usefulness would be curtailed. Further, our age exists only through the reciprocal ex- change of commodities. A communit}' can not subsist, either physically or intellectually, on its own products. Similar conditions prevail in the spiritual world. Many capable persons would not find such a field for their energies at home as is open to them in other places. There- fore deaconesses gather from all parts of the country in the Mother House, that they may be sent where their work appears to be most necessary and advantageous, and where the need is so great that it can not l)e supplied by native resource. In conclusion, the need of help has increased, in many places, in such a manner and to such an extent that it can only be met by institutions and well-ordered associations, which proves that the Deaconess Work must, in such cases, adopt the associational or institutional form, even though that form was unknown to the primitive Church. Enough! The Deaconess Cause of this age seeks to 560 History of the Deaconess Movement. understand its century and to serve it, and therefore it has changed the old form, as Paul did his voice with the Galatians; but at the same time it wants to root deeply in its maternal soil the Apostolic Diaconate. In these two facts we find the only explanation of its exceedingly rapid and universal success. Yet, however emphatically we may j^roclaim the present prevailing form of Deaconess Work as the most suitable — in fact, indispensable — for our times, we are equally em- phatic in the opinion that it must not be declared as the only form. We hail the experiments which have been made in different places, to introduce other forms, with pleasure; provided they are made by people who have the interest of the Church at heart and possess good common sense. At least our Mother House has tried for some time, both verbally and by the use of the pen, to induce the Presbyteries of large congregations to employ their own deaconesses, who shall be responsible to them only, and have up to the present gladly, and to the extent of our ability, assisted in carrying out this plan. In common with the ancient deaconess, the modern deaconess has a calling, an office. This is another essential point. Even in social and business circles it is an incon- trovertible maxim that the demands of business or of the calling take precedence over personal desires and aims; otherwise the calling is a failure and the business a ruin. In civil life the office stands high above all personal inter- ests. Where the former commands, the latter are silent. An officer of State who neglects his office for the sake of his family is unfit. Even more decidedly would a con- gregation call its minister an unfaithful servant who lent a more willing ear to his personal and family affairs than to the demands of his calling. All this is considered ob- vious, because in these cases the importance of the calling Appendix. 561 or office is generally conceded. But the parents and rela- tives of a deaconess too often demand of her that she place her personal and family interests above the duties of her office. The demands of the diaconate are generally con- sidered less exacting than any other calling, even that of a servant. If parents have several unmarried daughters, who all have a definite occupation, and one of them is a deaconess, you may as a rule be sure that, when a daugh- ter is needed in the home, the deaconess will be called first, because they think she can most easily cast off her obliga- tions. This and similar experiences are based on the fact that Protestant people do not yet realize that the diaconate is an office. Such knowledge must become more vivid and general among us. But this can not and should not be brought about by greater strictness on the part of superin- tendents of Mother Houses in upholding the demands of the office in opposition to the desires of the parents; but it should be our principle conscientiously to honor the will of the parents, even though they do show a lack of under- standing, or perhaps a disregard, for the office of a dea- coness. The honor of the Church and the welfare of a legion of sufferers obliges us, by continual instruction, to impress upon our people an understanding of the nature of the office of a deaconess. I know it has been said that Deaconess Work may easily be degraded to a profession, and that personal love and mercy, which are the soul of this work, may disappear if we lay too much stress on the office. Had this accusation not appeared in print, one would hardly believe that it could have been made. Did not Jesus himself, the beginner and perfecter of our faith, who went about doing good, have an office? Did personal mercy and love suffer because of his office? Who is more positive than Paul in declaring his office; and whose work flows more freely out of liis personal love? Has Luther 36 562 History of the Deaconess Movement. been forgotten? Is it not known that his office of Doctor of the Holy Scriptures gave him no rest either day or night until he had again placed the Word of God on the candlestick ? The Divinely-appointed office is the true basis of action for every servant and every handmaiden of God. It inspires with courage and joy to pray for the necessary wisdom, love, strength, and endurance, or whatever else may be necessary in the service of Him who gave the office. There are many offices in the kingdom of Christ, but in all of them we may, in difficult and unfruitful times, appropriate the words of Isaiah xlix, 4 : "Then I said, I have labored in vain ; I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain ; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God." Of course the office of deaconess in our Church is not an office in the Eoman Catholic sense; it is to be taken in the Biblical, evangelical sense. The objective and the subjective call must be vitally one. The deaconess receives her office through the appointment of the Church; she takes it from the hands of her Lord; but she takes it of her own free choice, out of her innermost conviction, im- pelled by the love of Christ, convinced by the Lord and his Spirit. No rope is put around her neck when she is con- secrated to this calling. No vow, no external law, only the power which led her into the calling, can keep her in it. If she feels herself no longer bound by this jwwer, and if she does not want to be bound by it again, then it is better if she departs, just as a minister of the gospel should retire from that office when he can no longer preach the plain Word of God as the eternal truth, from his own free conviction. The evangelical Church can not and will not give its deaconesses the alluring prospect that they shall be deemed more saintly here and more blessed in the life to come Appendix. 563 than other believers, or, as the Catholic theology expresses itself, "a coronella with the corona/' — a small crown in addition to the crown of life. Our Church teaches that the office of deacon and deaconess is necessary and bene- ficial in addition to the exercise of private benevolence on the part of individual believers; but this office is neither more important nor more pleasing in the sight of God, nor is it in itself of greater sanctity than any other pro- fession in which Christians exercise their faith and love. This is an evangelical principle, which is true for every profession, not excluding that of the deaconess, that in Christ Jesus nothing counts except faith, which is active in love. "Forever lay aside the bonds of this world." What a different meaning these words have when coming from the lips of a true Catholic or when spoken by a true Prot- estant ! The Eoman Christian understands them to mean the tearing asunder of natural bonds which God has made, fleeing to the convent, whose portals, after all, can not shut out the worldliness of the heart. The evangelical believer understands separation from the world to mean the purifi- cation of the natural. Divinely-ordained bonds from sin and selfishness, and their renewal and transfiguration by the Spirit of God. The Evangelical Deaconess Home prays for its daughters as the Lord, in his intercessory prayer, did for his disciples : "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil." (John xvii, 15.) The Evangelical Deaconess is not sundered from her family. The written consent of the parents of those even who are of age, as well of the guardians of minors, is an indispensable, primary condition of their acceptance on prol3ation. At her consecration the deaconess promises faithfully to perform the duties of her office, in the fear of God and in accordance with his holy 564 History of the Deaconess Movement. Word. A vow is not made. Every deaconess may, with the most perfect freedom, return to nurse her aged or sick parents, when they so request; or she may marry at any time; in which event she is expected to notify the Mother House before she binds herself in an engagement, so that she may receive her dismissal with the good will of the in- stitution. Every deaconess retains perfect control over her private property, which, at her death, descends to her legal heirs. The deaconess remains in perfect affiliation with her relatives; her correspondence is, of course, per- fectly free from censorship. Every two or three years the Mother House furnishes her with the means to visit her relatives, especially her parents. In all that is promised to or expected of the deaconess, there is not a trace of what Luther calls monkishness or nunnism. There must be system that is fundamentally evangelical, for God is a God of order. The work of the deaconess extends to the needy of all denominations without distinction, but is not intended to make proselytes to the Evangelical Church from the mem- bers of other denominations. No field of human suffering, in which the aid of women can be employed, is excluded from the Deaconess Work. In the nature of the case this work is divided in two classes, — caring for the sick and needy, and teaching the children. The former work falls to the nurses, the latter to the teaching deaconesses. Our Ehenic-Westphalian Deaconess Union is under the supervision of the Rhenic and Westphalian Provincial Synods, whose presidents are ex-ofjicio members of the Board of Managers. One member of the Board must be a practicing physician. This Board conducts all the pub- lic business and exercises all the rights of the society. Under it the whole work is carried on by the "Directors of the Deaconess Institution;" that is, by the inspector, Appendix. 565 who is an evangelical minister, and by the supervising matron, who are both appointed by the Board of Managers, and conduct their work according to directions received from the Board. Buying and selling of real estate, build- ing, the appointment of officials, the adoption or abandon- ment of fields of labor, as well as all new arrangements, are subject to the decision of the Board. The pastor (inspector) and the supervising matron are the parents (Hauseltern) of all the deaconesses. Under them the Mother House, as well as each branch house or other sta- tion, has its own directing Sister, who is not called Sister Superior with us, but simply Sister, because she is con- sidered as an elder Sister in the family circle. She con- ducts the institution or station intrusted to her according to her instructions and fixed regulations of the house, so that the whole work is separated into distinct and auton- omic families or households, and yet controlled by one spirit. Only maidens and childless widows of evangelical faith, Christian spirit, and good moral conduct, over eighteen and less than forty years of age, are admitted to the pre- paratory classes of the Deaconess Union. In some cases an exception may be made with regard to age. Before entering on the deaconess office, the deaconess passes through a period of probation, the length of which de- pends on her previous training, natural ability, knowledge, and experience. In order to compensate them in some measure for the loss of their home surroundings, the newly-arrived Sisters, in our large institutions, during their preliminary probation, live, eat, and sleep together, in a smaller, cozier circle, with one of the older deaconesses as their maternal friend, until they have become familiar with their new surroundings and feel at home in their new sphere. The practical and theoretical training of the 666 History of the Deacone.ss Movement. probationers is carried on jointly. They are perfected in Christian knowledge and trained in all the technical re- quirements of the profession. Unconstrained love is the motive which induces each one to take her place, obe- diently and willingly, in the organism of the great institu- tion. Peculiar enchantments or methodistic appliances for breaking the will or making the mind pliant, of which some people seem to have dreamed, do not exist, and are useless. A probationer, who will not be governed by the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind, must de- part from us, as unfit for the office of a deaconess. But if she proves faithful in the Mother House, she will be sent, first tentativel}^, to some of the out-stations, to continue and perfect her training, and here she will have to prove whether she has faith and love enough to remain firm and worthy of her calling when far away from the Mother House. Before being received into the circle of Consecrated Sisters, all the deaconesses present at Kaiserswerth are asked for their consent, and have a right to produce reasons against the reception. We have already spoken of the consecration and the thoroughly evangelical nature of the promises made on that occasion. All classes of society are represented among the dea- conesses; but the office makes them all, without distinc- tion, children of the Mother House, Sisters among them- selves, and servants of those committed to their care. Every deaconess owes implicit obedience to the medical, surgical, and dietary directions of the respective physician. In attending male patients she is excused from duties that do not comport with her sex, an assistant nurse being fur- nished for these duties. She is not present at dissections. While the deaconess is the assistant of the physician in the physical needs of the sick, she is also the assistant Appendix. 56? of the regular minister in the spiritual wants of those intrusted to her care. If a sick person does not care for spiritual advice from the deaconess, she is instructed to show her faith, without words, by her conduct. The deaconess practices her profession without com- pensation. But she receives shelter, food, and her official garb from the Mother House. For the purchase of other necessary articles of clothing outside of her official garb, she receives a small amount of spending money. The dea- coness does not accept personal gifts from her patients. Every deaconess obediently accepts the field of labor to which she is directed by the Mother House. In case of contagious diseases, she is asked whether she will under- take the dangerous work. It ought to be known that, as yet, not one of our deaconesses has hesitated to offer her service in contagious cases. No deaconess is appointed to the care of feeble-minded or deranged persons if she has any scruples about undertaking such work; and no deaconess is sent to foreign countries unless she is per- fectly willing and has the consent of her parents. Only such are trained as teaching deaconesses who feel them- selves called to that work, and whose gifts and previous education show an aptness for that kind of work. As every pastor who is true to his calling gladly denies himself many recreations, pleasures, and societies which he might well enjoy without burdening his conscience, so every faithful deaconess will deny herself much that would otherwise be permissible, when it does not harmonize with the nature of her office; neither does she look askance at others, whose station in life permits them greater free- dom, nor exalt herself above others in an unscriptural spirit because of her voluntary self-denial. On the other hand, a deaconess enjoys much that is encouraging and invigor- ating, which, in our present Church life, devout Christians 568 History of the Deaconess Movement. must often do without; first of all, she is sure of com- panionship^ which is secured to all deaconesses by that household rule that she shall never be sent to her fi.eld of labor alone, but always in company. Every Sister who is taken sick in one of the outlying fiields of labor, returns, as soon as she is able to travel, to the Mother House, that she may recuperate either there or in one of the two recruiting stations. All old and in- valid Sisters are maintained by the Mother House, for which purpose the Rest House was established as early as 1854. After the foregoing description we will look for a mo- ment at the lajge number of Christian maidens and child- less widows who to-day are standing idle and a burden to themselves in the market-place of life. When, over fifty years ago, Minister von Stein reviewed these ladies of the higher classes of society, he was offended, as he wrote to Amalie Sieveking, at "the expression of uneasi- ness on the part of sensitive, grieved because of unsatis- fied vanity, unmarried, decaying maidens of the upper and middle classes, who were above the necessity of earn- ing .their bread by their own work, whose claims were ig- nored in so many ways, who, on account of their idleness, felt so unsatisfied and bitter that they were unhappy them- selves and a burden to others.^^ This description is not flattering, but it is true. The opinion that young women should confine their labors to the home and the family is largely responsible for the onesided turn which female education has taken, so that in families where there are many daughters the girls are compelled to occupy them- selves with employments which can not satisfy the hu- man heart. However forcibly and feelingly we may seek new recruits for this providential movement, yet we would not Appendix. 569 lure a single soul with our representations. In all serious- ness and sobriety, we call attention to the fact that the word '^deaconess" means a servant. There is little virtue in '^^drying tears, dropping balm into wounds," if we soon tire of it and quit. But there is virtue in continuing day after day, week after week, year after year, in such service. There is virtue in nurs- ing the sick and wounded according to scientific methods as prescribed by the doctor; there is virtue in observing all the rules and precepts of order and cleanliness, even though it be humble and trying. There is virtue in not shrinking when the plague rages for weeks and months, worse than iron and lead on the battlefield, and transforms the quiet, cozy sick-room into a place of dreadful woe, from which one shrinks affrighted. There is virtue in not withdrawing the hand, when, in such work, one occasion- ally grasps sharp thorns and scorpions, and not hiding one's face when it is covered with sneers and spittle in- stead of thanks. There is virtue in standing firm and un- changeable when one's heart is sore and wounded, because one must be as nothing. There is virtue in preserving peace and joy in the heart when the insignificant worries and duties of the daily toil threaten to ingulf one with yawning, enervating monotony. In a word, there is virtue in doing honest work where there is real need. No fervor of enthusiasm can ever accomplish that; it requires un- impassioned love, which beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. And this honest work in real need is certainly a thousand times more beautiful and sweet and happy than poetic, romantic enthusiasm. The words of Hamann are very appropriate : "The natural course of things surpasses all fairy tales and magic arts." 570 History of the Deaconess Movement. Constitution of the Deaconess Mother Houses Con- nected WITH THE General Conference of Kaiserswerth. Adopted by the Thirteenth General Conference on the 18th and 19th of September, 1901. I. relation of the mother house to the public. 1. Legal incorporation^ as well as the legal rights of charitable institutions^ shall be secured. 2. It is desirable to sustain an active yet independent connection with the State Church. 3. The pastor of the Deaconess House is the proper pastor for all the Sisters, even those who are employed in the outlying stations, especially in all personal and Sisterhood affairs. It is desirable, in the interest of the common work, that confidence be established between the Sisters and the pastors in whose district they are employed. II. BOARD OF MANAGERS AND DIRECTORS. 1. The Board of Managers may be composed of men and women; the directors, who are the inspector (super- intendent) and the Sister Superior, shall be advisory mem- bers of the Board, and, if i3ossible, shall have the right to vote. 2. The inspector, being a minister of the gospel, is in the natural and ecclesiastical order of things (1 Cor. xi) superior in rank even over the Sister Superior. The latter, as matron of the house, is next in rank over the Sisters. 3. The inspector and Sister Superior are respon- sible to the Board of Managers for their conduct. They are to guide the affairs of the institution according to in- structions received. The Board does not directly inter- fere with their management. Appendix. 571 III. THE SISTERHOOD. 1. After the period of probation, the deaconesses are set apart for the service by the act of consecration. A period of probation is necessary for their develop- ment and to prove their adaptability. In deciding on the fitness of probationers for consecration it is well to have the consent of the Sisterhood. Fallen women are not received as deaconesses. 2. Every Mother House gives its Sisters a certain "uni- form garb, which is not to be laid aside. From Sisters withdrawing from the Mother House the return of this garb will be demanded, and all possible means will be used to prevent their wearing the garb of the Mother House thereafter. 3. As members of the Mother House the Sisters re- ceive no salary, but will be provided with whatever they need, in sickness or health, at work or recreation, by the Mother House. To defray ordinary expenses they receive spending money. 4. (a) The Sisters are to realize more and more that the calling of a deaconess is to be their life work. (b) Every deaconess who becomes incapable of work will be provided for as a child of the Mother House. (c) The Mother House expects of a deaconess, just as parents do of their children, that if she receives a pro- posal of marriage, before deciding on the same she should notify her superiors and receive their advice. Otherwise she is perfectly free, and the Mother House dismisses a Sister, who has decided to marry, with its good wishes. If a Sister does not show a frank disposition toward the Mother House in this matter, she shall be simply dismissed. (d) If parents or guardians, in spite of their previous consent to enter the deaconess calling, demand the return 5*^2 History of the Deaconess Movement. of their daughters for an unlimited time for their own care-taking, the Mother House will, even though it be thereby hindered in its work, let the deaconess choose for herself. If, in exceptional cases, the commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother," is used as a cloak for quitting the calling of a deaconess, the consequences of such unrighteous act will fall on the guilty person. (e) If other relatives of a deaconess demand her re- turn, she has a perfect right to remain true to her calling, since they exerted the same measure of independence in choosing their calling in life and remaining faithful to it. In this case the Mother House has the right to refuse its consent to her return. If the Mother House can assist the relatives of a deaconess, at their request, in cases of urgent sickness, through private nursing, it is always ready to give such relatives the preference, either by sending the related deaconess or some other Sister. But the relatives can not demand such service. Neither can the deaconess claim the right to serve her relatives. (f) If, in the unbiased judgment of the Mother House, the withdrawal of a deaconess has been willful and unjust, and not in accordance with the rules of the house, it will notify her of the same, giving proofs; it will also notify the Sisterhood of her withdrawal, and recommend her to their prayers as an erring one, but will break off all formal association with her. 5. The Sisters are to use no morphine or other narcotic drugs, either for themselves or their patients, except on the express prescription of a physician. But if a Sister has conscientious scruples, she is to turn to the Mother House, with a clear statement of the circumstances, and it will, after careful consideration, advise her what to do. 6. (a) The sending out of Sisters is done on the basis of contracts, made with the management of stations. The Appendix. 573 sending out and stationing of one Sister alone is avoided as much a"s possible. The professionally necessary supervision of the Sisters by managers of a station must be limited by the instruc- tions which come from the Mother House. The Sister Superior is the authorized representative of the Mother House. She directs the individual labors of the Sisters; she also decides on whatever preliminary measure of dis- cipline may be needed. (b) Deaconesses and probationers are permitted to per- form only such duties, in nursing male patients, as, in the judgment of the Mother House, comport Avith a due regard for feminine delicacy. Positions in male wards of hospitals are only accepted where male nurses are employed as assistants. (c) Sisters are not required to assist at dissections. (d) In all stations we reserve the right that the Sis- ters and those committed to their charge, belonging to the Evangelical Confession, shall be permitted to hold their daily devotions according to the directions received from the Mother House. IV. MUTUAL RELATION OF THE MOTHER HOUSES. 1. The affiliation of the Mother Houses finds its ex- pression in the common prayer-meeting at the beginning of each month. 2. The annual reports and other publications are to be exchanged. 3. When a Sister, who has withdrawn or been dismissed from- one of our houses, applies at some other house for admission, the latter, if aware of the fact, must ask for information from the former. If the former should ad- vise against the admission of the applicant, giving impartial reasons for this advice, the latter will refuse her appli- cation. 574 History of the Deaconess Movement. 4. Besides the Triennial General Conference, individual houses may join each other in holding smaller Conferences. 5. The Armen- und Kranken-Freund is the official or- gan of the General Conference. 6. For the better maintenance of the common interests and for the preparation of the General Conference, the lat- ter elects a Special and a General Committee. 7. The Special Committee consists of four members. It gives advice and assistance to all connectional Mother Houses, when they ask for it, in difficult cases. It selects trusty men whenever needed. It defends the existing common principles. It conducts the business of the General Conference with the general public. It convenes the General Committee of the General Con- ference whenever needed. It publishes the Armen- und Kranken-Freund. It reports to the General Conference on all its actions. 8. The General Committee, which consists of nine in- spectors, meets at the call of the Special Committee for consultation on important questions and to make prepara- tions for the sessions of the General Conference. i^ 5^' ig J^ i^ The Deaconess Mother House.* Rev. R. Anthes, Rector of the Deaconess Home " Bethesda," . at Hamburg, Germany. No one can portray exhaustively, in a few pages, the extent of meaning that lies in the one expression of Dea- coness Mother House. The Deaconess Mother House is a living organism, with indefinitely many relations inwardly and outwardly. It may be said that it is not easy to get an adequate idea of a Deaconess Mother House un- * Excerpt from ''A Greeting from Bethesda," Hamburg, 1900. Appendix. 575 less one has at some time actually lived there. We must content ourselves to sketch a few fundamental outlines of the character of a Deaconess Mother House. 1. To place the gifts and faculties of woman in the service of the Church of Jesus Christ is the purpose of the Deaconess Mother House. It was this thought that animated Theodor Fliedner when, in the year 1836, he began the work of his life. In his first Annual Eeport (1837) Fliedner writes: "In the spirit and example of the Apostolic Church we desire the Christian service of love, so far as it belongs to woman, to be performed by deaconesses for the benefit of all classes of the needy, sick, poor, children, imprisoned and discharged criminals, and to this end to train and employ evangelical Christian women." And Fliedner remained true to this fundamental idea. In 1861, on occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary (jubilee) of the Kaiserswerth Deaconess Home, he clearly and unequivocally emphasized the ecclesiastical character of his work in the following language : "The Lord has permitted us to awaken in our evan- gelical Church an important function of the Apostolic Church — the office of deaconess, which had been wrapt in slumber." "The soil upon which the Deaconess Work stands is the Holy Land ; there is the foundation, the holy Apostolic Church, which will be the model for Christians for all times to come. We wish to cultivate simple hand- maids of merciful love, as a Phoebe in Cenchrea, a Tabitha in Joppa, an Euodias and Syntyche in Philippi, who were helpers of all the wretched and forlorn and imprisoned — trainers and teachers of needy children." In spite of a thousand protests, the current opinion is still in vogue that a deaconess is a nurse for the sick. That is about the same as if to the question, "What constitutes 576 History of the Deaconess Movement. a pastor?" the answer was given, "A pastor is a man who has learned Latin and Greek." Certainly pastors have learned Latin and Greek, but that does not make them pas- tors; for many other people know Latin and Greek. So deaconesses are trained to the nursing of the sick, but that does not make them deaconesses; for many others learn and practice the nursing of the sick. What makes a dea- coness, in the true sense of the word, is her position in the service of the congregation of the Lord; her vocation to promote the kingdom of God, in which it is immaterial how she does it, whether in the ministration of the sick, or the education of children, or perhaps (these were the chief offices of the deaconesses of the old Church) by usher- ing members of the congregation to their seats, instruct- ing female candidates for baptism in Christian doctrine, and facilitating pastoral communication of the clergy with the female members of the Church. It is not the work as such, of whatever kind it may be, but the ardent heart in the service of Christ and his Church, ever ready and will- ing to do every labor of love that makes the deaconess what she is. • As a matter of course, deaconesses must be able to work. The ecclesiastical character of her service does not give her a passport for an awkward usefulness. Besides those worldly-minded spirits whose censure is briefly and pointedly put by Fliedner in the following language, "The institution works splendidly ; it 's a pity there is so much praying in it/' — there are also those who in excessive de- mand of spirituality criticise the Deaconess Homes because they attach too much importance to outward practices. "If a deaconess has but her heart in the right place, that is enough,'' say these. No, and again we say, No ! The apostles (Acts vi) required of those appointed for alms- giving among the congregation, not only that they should Appendix. 577 be of good repute and full of the Holy Spirit, but also full of wisdom. If a pastor wishes to fulfill his duties, it does not sutfice that he stand firm in the faith, but that he pos- sess a certain degree of intellectual endowment and be thorough in his studies. Even so must a deaconess have acquired certain accomplishments in order to fill her place. As her service to the congregation is to be performed through the labor of love, she must needs be thoroughly acquainted with its demands and requirments. Fliedner, emphatic as he was in cultivating tlie proper spirit among his deaconesses, was of too practical a nature to be con- tented with the spirit alone. From the beginning he re- quired of tlie deaconesses a thorough outward training. And it is conspicuously his merit that soon after he had resuscitated the female diaconate, deaconesses were counted as the most skillful nurses of the sick and the most capable school-teachers for little children. For the honor of him whom the deaconesses serve in the first line, it is necessary that this reputation should be preserved to the institutions, and, if not already acquired, be striven after earnestly. For only in this way may deaconesses satisfy their duty of furthering God's kingdom in the most efficacious manner that is possible for woman ; that is, by quiet action with- out words. 2. The IMother House is that organization which Flied- ner devised for the work of the female diaconate. If, in the preceding paragraphs, we have pointed out the object of Fliedner's diaconate and characterized the spirit of its service and work, the phrase "Mother House" presents the way in which it is to carry out its purposes and the form in which this spirit is to find its expression. The connection of the diaconate with the Mother House is Fliedner's most individual work. Neither the diaconate as such, nor the Mother House as such, is of his invention. 37 578 History of the Deaconess Movement. The one existed in the early Christian Church, and the other belongs to the ministering orders of the Eoman Church. But to bring both together, to unite them as body and soul, that was his merit. If Friedrich Meyer, the successor of Loehe in the man- agement of the Deaconess Mother House at N^euendettelsau, says in his booklet, '^'Deaconesses and Their Vocation :" "Our Deaconess Homes and communities are modeled after the Roman order of Sisters of Charity, and do not claim to be a re-establishment of the apostolic office of deacon- esses." This is to be taken as a one-sided opinion, for, as a matter of fact, the spirit of the early Church diaconate has been revived in the evangelical Deaconess Homes. If we would properly appreciate Fliedner's work, we must disregard neither the spirit nor the form which is represented by the Mother House. The vitality of the Deaconess Mother House, which has asserted itself so glo- riously in the mighty and irresistible lifting up of the Dea- coness Cause, is to be found in the combination of spirit and form. It has been attempted to establish Mother Houses and communities on a purely secular basis. It would be an error of conception as to form to place them in the same line with Deaconess Homes. Attempts have also been made to retain the spirit of Deaconess Homes in the dissolution of the rigid forms and rules of the Mother Houses. These attempts must be characterized as errors of judgment. For the spirit can only be retained in suitable forms; without them, it vanishes. The Mother House is that form which best suits the substance and objects of the female diaconate, especially for the conditions of the times in which we live. This as- sumption requires a more circumstantial proof. The first reason may be found in the essence and needs of woman. It is a question of woman's service in the Appendix. 579 Church. Her entire equipment calls for a home in which she may feel well, a roof that will protect her. Man's home is the world; woman's world is the home. If, therefore, woman is to occupy a useful position in public, such as in the diaconate, there must be prepared for her a home dwell- ing in which her personal life and vocation may be grounded. This home is provided for the deaconess by the Mother House. Here she is known, here she is under- stood, here she is surrounded by devoted love. If she en- counters difficulties in her work, she will find in the Mother House comfort, counsel, assistance, and, if need be, strong protection. The Mother House provides for all her needs, and is a secure refuge for her in the event of infirmity or old age. It is the Mother House that obviates all dangers of emancipation which women in public life so easily en- counter. And it is in the Mother House that care is taken of those natures whose feminine qualities are exceptionally fine and delicate, and who, on that very account, are par- ticularly well qualified for the ministration of love, but who also need the influence of a firm hold and connection and secure guidance to find the way to a consecrated pub- lic usefulness. But the fitness of the Mother House for its purpose lies not only in the needs of woman's nature, but in the re- quirements themselves of the work incumbent on the diaconate. This work, above all, requires a thorough train- ing, not only of the heart and mind, but also of the out- ward faculties. Nowhere are the prerequisites for such a training so favorably at hand as in the Mother House, with its fruitful, God-serving life, its cultivation of personal service among the deaconesses, and its manifold oppor- tunities to learn in detail and practice daily the service of the sick, of children, etc. Here each gift and endowment will soon be revealed as well as the lack of qualifications 580 History of the Deacon kss Movement. required for the ministration of love in the Church. The Mother House is the place where, with those who are look- ing forward to the diaconate, the indispensably necessary process of sifting must be undertaken and the improper elements separated. But not only for the training and sifting, but also for the application of the matured forces, is the Mother House conspicuously adapted. That which a Mother House can accomplish with one hundred deacon- esses reaches far above what could be done by the same number individually in congregations. For the Mother House requires a thorough knowledge both of the available personal forces and the requirements and difficulties of the positions to be individually filled by the deaconesses. Thereby it is enabled to undertake, in the most efficient manner possible, the distribution of its forces for the dif- ferent posts of labor. As far as it lies in human power to do, it can obviate as well the evil of allowing the gifts of conspicuous talent to lie fallow and go to waste in a field of small demands, as of making a deaconess face difficul- ties to the demand of which she is not equal. In short, the entire prerogative found in the watchword, "With united forces,^^ attaches itself to the Mother House; and the significance of this prerogative may be measured by the knowledge of the fact that, in spite of the continual increase in the number of deaconesses from year to year, it is still far from meeting the present demands. And so the diaconate deserves at least the praise which the Lord gives to Mary, wdien he says (Mark xiv, 8), "She hath done what she could." And if the diaconate does wdiat it can in the most suitable application of its forces possible, this is not only owing to the spirit of a willing service for Christ's sake with which it is animated, but to the organiza- tion which Fliedner gave it in the Mother House founda- tion. Appendix. 581 3. The i)rinciple of service is the first rule, in accord- ance with wliich everything is to be conducted in the Dea- coness Mother House. All regulations and directions in the Mother House point to this service. And in the first place the deaconesses are to serve. They are to be servants of Jesus in the sense of doing his will in obedience ; servants to each other, and servants of the suffering members of the congregations, for the purpose of doing them good. They are, therefore, not to be the handmaids of men, but the handmaids of the Lord Jesus Christ for the benefit of men. To this lofty vocation they sacrifice all their time, all their strength, and themselves with body and soul. This is all that the much-decried "constraint" of the Mother House means. It does not bind the deaconess, but with gentle force loosens the bonds which would hinder her in her service. It does not rob her of freedom, but gives her freedom for service. It is evident that in a Daconess Home strict discipline in its management must prevail. It must be a discipline that from the beginning would pre- vent all arbitrariness of action, lest any member of the institution follow out her own way, and in order that all hands may be united to the one purpose of the Home — that of serving. It is foolish talk to say this severity is in con- tradiction to the princi})le of evangelical liberty. Did ever any one maintain that discipline in the army is opposed to evangelical liberty? Well, then, what is right for the service of an earthly king, should certainly not be declared wrong for the service of a heavenly King. The more so, because military constraint is of a much severer degree, for every young man in good health must conform to it; whereas the discipline of a Mother House requires sub- mission from no one save her who voluntarily requests to be admitted. The regulations not to participate in worldly amusements nor to cultivate time-robbing friendships with 582 History of the Deaconess Movement. persons outside of the Mother House, nor to carry on un- necessary correspondence, nor accept presents from those who have been served, and other things of like nature, are not arbitrary rules without purpose and hardships, but ap- pointments having the aim of not misleading the heart and thoughts from the lofty vocation of service. The rule, too, which does not allow a deaconess to seek her field of labor or forsake it, but that she is sent out or recalled under the direction of the Mother House, finds its grounds of justification in the fact that only in this way may the object of the Mother House, to give service everywhere in the best manner possible, be fully realized. As a matter of course, it would be a moral injustice thus to restrict the deaconesses in their determination of themselves, if the management of the Mother House in its own actions did not follow out the same principle of service. As the deaconesses serve the Mother House, so also does the Mother House serve the deaconesses. The superin- tendent (rector) and the directress (Sister Superior) are especially called to this service of the deaconesses. Ujwn their hearts should be deeply written the words of our Savior : "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." (Matt, xx, 25-28.) Arbitrary rule in a Mother House has a disintegrating and blasting effect. Never should the superintendents of a Mother House ask themselves, "What do I want?" but always, "What must I do ?" And in the first place, "What is the best thing for the community of deaconesses?" The very first rule for the management of the Mother House should be to pre- serve and increase the welfare and efficiency of the com- Appendix. 583 munity. An abundant presentation of the Word of God at the Divine services, a thorough instruction in all things that are necessary and useful for a deaconess to know, spiritual exhortation in addresses and lectures in common, and making the Mother House a place where the deacon- esses may be happy and feel at home, — all these things are not less necessary than their careful training in the nursing of the sick, etc. The best that the deaconess does, she does with her heart, and not with her hands. It is self-evident that this care of the community, which must be nearest the heart in the management of the Mother House, should not be allowed to degenerate into sentimen- tality. On the contrary, it must not infrequently take on the expression of a certain severity. For instance, in the matter of removing a deaconess from one field of labor to another, the management of the Mother House must often encounter her tears. But if the proposed removal has been well considered and is adapted to the whole situation of the conditions, and the deaconess is not required to do anything above her strength, the superintendents will re- main firm against her urgent pleading. No member of the community can be exempt from the obligation of sacrificing her own wishes for the benefit of the whole. Then, too, the dismissal of a deaconess who in some way has proven herself unfit for the office, carries with it a degree of sever- ity that can not be denied. But it is just the case for the entire community that often makes these dismissals a stern duty. Sympathy in such cases often causes afterwards great heart-suffering. Here often apparent cruelty is true mercy. To serve the community indeed must also in such questions be the supreme law for the management of the Mother House. Xo less does this rule obtain in the selec- tion of fields of labor. If the assignment of one or more deaconesses to any place is requested, the first question to 584 History of the Deaconess Movement. be asked is, Is the assistance of deaconesses really necessary there? The next will be, Is the work and are the con- ditions in this field of such a nature that our deaconesses may be able to satisfy requirements and do their service with inner cheerfulness ? To these phases are to be subordi- nated the further questions, Are we doing any one a favor or causing any one displeasure by undertaking this work? Is the work in question adapted to gain the favor of the public for the Mother House? The same principles must also prevail when there is question of abandoning some work that has been undertaken. The preservation and uplifting of the jDrosperity and efficiency of the community, as well as the provision that the deaconesses everywhere be equal to their lines of work and perform their service of love with cheerfulness is often, perhaps, the slow but only sure way for the prospering of a Mother House and the win- ning of friends for the same. For it is only the success and blessing of the work that wins the hearts. Like all the others who take j^art in the diaconate, so also the Board of Managers (Directory or Executive Board) must seek its honors in serving. Its efficiency will be the more blessed the more it determines to let the Mother House live its own life, and allow the principles and re- sources contained in the diaconate and Mother House to develop themselves without interference. As the Board of Managers naturally is composed of members principally, who live outside of the Mother House, its field of labor upon which its duties rest, is the wide domain of the in- ternal affairs of the Mother House. The management of the finances, the approval of extraordinary expenditures, the undertaking of buildings, the settlement of legal af- fairs, and the engagement of physicians, are its important duties. In addition to these is the election of a pastor and directress, in the matter of which, however, as it deeply Appendix. 585 concerns the inner life of the Mother House, the co-opera- tion of the members of the community is provided for in many of the Deaconess Homes. Undoubtedly, with all these duties, the Board of Managers has secured a decided share in the management of the Deaconess Homes. The diaconate means service. Happy the Mother House in which all the factors — Board of Managers, superintend- ents, and deaconesses — are combined for service and for the service of Him who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life for the redemption of many. The Deaconess and teie Professional Nurse.* Rev. W. a. Passavant, Formei'ly Rector of the Lutheran Mother House In MUwaukee, Wis. Before entering into a discussion of our subject and attempting to point out the similarities and diiferences in two sharpl3^-de fined forms of woman's work, let us first define the meaning of tlie terms used in our caption. A deaconess, according to the definition of Rector Jor- dan, of Halle, is ''a servant of Jesus and his congregation, who, free and clear of other duties, may and will devote her whole time and strength, in the power of faith, urged by the love of Christ, to perform deeds of mercy for her brethren in ])odily, moral, intellectual and spiritual need. By her quiet demeanor and devout action she wishes to honor Him who has communicated to her a bright reflection of his mercy.'' A prominent English ph3^sician writes as follows about the trained nurse : "The most important thing in every kind of nursing of the sick is to provide an adequate staff ♦Address made at the Conference of Evangelical Lutheran Deacon- ess Mother Houses of the United States, October 4th and 5th, 1890, in Omaha, Neb., by Rev. W. A. Passavant, rector of the Deaconess Home, Milwaukee. From The Home Missions Monthly, June, 1900. 586 History of the Deaconess Movement. of carefully-trained women, who will carry out the instruc- tions of the physician, to whom, and to whom alone, they ought to be subject." Florence Nightingale, who put high value on the efficiency of a nurse, as no one else perhaps, answers the question, "What is training in the nursing of the sick?" by saying, "Training is to teach the nurse to help the jjatient to live." The deaconess has a Biblical office (Kom. xvi, 1, 2) ; the nurse, a worldly vocation. The one serves through love; the other works for her support. In the one case we have an exercise of cliarity as wide in extent as the suf- ferings and misery of mankind; in the other, a usefulness circumscribed by the narrow circle of obedient help given to physicians and surgeons. Above all, the deaconess cares for the body in order to reach and save the soul. She Avorks for eternity. The trained nurse, like the man whose vocation brings him to the sick-bed, is, as a rule, quite con- tent to pass by unnoticed the possibilities of an eternal future in the demands of the present for the welfare of her patient. 1. The first radical difference in the two domains of woman's work is an historical one. The office of deaconess is eighteen hundred years old; the trained nurse is the product of the last fifty years, and but the logical development of a single phase of the dea- coness's activity. It is not necessary to here repeat the historical facts of the appointment and recognition of the deaconess as an official of the Church in the apostolical times; of the growth of this class of female workers in the succeeding centuries; of the gradual disuse of the office for a thousand years; of its resuscitation in modern form by Theodore Fliedner, and enormous spread of the deaconess's activity in the institutions and congregations of the world at the present day. Its history is glorified by Appendix. 587 the most sacred memories; for in the martyr-list of the Church there are also the names of deaconesses who did not regard their lives as too precious in the days of most sanguinary persecution. In the lirst place among the religious practices and works of mercy performed with the greatest devotion by these servants of the Church for many centuries stood the nursing of the sick. As early as A. D. 385 they had hos- pitals for the suffering, and a very considerable part of their time was consumed in the nursing of the plague- stricken and the incurables among the poor and the forlorn in the great congregations of the Christian cities in the Eastern as well as Western Empire of the Koman world. The paid lay nurse, on the other hand, is the product of a comparatively recent date. It has even been maintained that the honor of the first introduction of this great progress l)elongs to our country ; for in the Administration Building of the New York Hospital the following ex- tract from the written dedication, under the portrait of Dr. Valentine Seaman, reads: "In the year 1798 he ap- pointed in this hospital the first regular training-school for nurses, from which, since, other schools were orsran- ized, and their blessings spread over the land.^^ That was thirty years previous to the time when Elizabeth Fry gave directions to the nurses in Guy Hospital, London, and thirty-eight years before the opening of Fliedner's Mother House and Deaconess Hospital in Kaiserswerth. Howso- ever this may be, a writer in the publication "Hospital," of London, recently states : "This appears to be a fit op- portunity of reminding English nurses of the fact that, even though the distinction for the great movement which led to the introduction of a new and noble calling must be indisputably conceded to Pastor Fliedner and his train- ing-school for deaconesses at Kaiserswerth. they neverthe- 588 HisTOKY OF THE I)eaconp:ss Movement. less owe the rapid spread of trained nursing over the -whole world to the example and initiative of their fellow-sisters, and in the first plan of their j^ioneer, Florence Night- ingale/' But even if all this is true ahout "the rapid spread of trained nursing" after the year 18G0, when the Nightingale Home for Nurses was opened in connection with St. Thomas Hospital, London, it is equally true that when Elizabeth Fry, at the instigation of Dr. Gooch and Eobert Southey, in 1840, established the first training- school for nurses, she had been encouraged to do so by Fliedner's visit to London; and it was in Fliedner's Mother House that Florence Nightingale, and many other pioneers in the work later, received their training. In 1848, Bishop Blomfield founded the St. John's House, an outspokenly religious institution for the train- ing of nurses for the poor. In 1873, one of the nurses of this house, Sister Helena, came over to the United States and organized the first modern training-school in the United States at Bellevue Hospital, New York, and in 1884 she was followed by Miss Florence Fisher, of the Florence Nightingale School, who introduced trained nurs- ing in the Blockley Hospital, Philadelphia, whence her disciples spread her teacliings all over the land. The great training-schools of the East all belong to our generation: Blackwell's Island, 1875 ; Mount Sinai, 1881 ; German, 1885; St. Luke's, 1888; Presbyterian and St. Vincent, 1892; Roosevelt, 1896. From the historical standpoint, the modern reform, in the nursing of the sick proceeded from Kaiserswerth. The trained nurse is obliged to derive her origin from the re- ligious ideals of the Deaconess Mother House or the eccle- siastical community of Sisters. 2. These domains of woman's work are radically dif- ferent in their scope. Appendix. 589 The statistical review wliich triennially is published by the Kaiserswerth General Conference of Mother Houses contains a number of figures showing the exceedingly great scope of activity in an army of more than thirteen thousand deaconesses. There is no kind of human misery that it does not reach. They serve with loving hearts, wise discretion, and skillful hands the sick of every condition— epileptics, the imbecile, leiDers, and lunatics; neglected children and abandoned infants; the crippled, aged, fallen women; in- carcerated; orphans; servants out of employment; unat- tended children; young girls, and a number of others in need, besides thousands in the Christian schools. In every land these evangelical Sisters are bid heartily welcome. Their work is recognized and supported everywhere. The deaconess is therefore, as we see, not necessarily a nurse for the sick; in fact, there are not a few who do not have the necessary qualifications for this work, and who would never become good helpers in the sick-room. But whether nurse or not, she is nevertheless a deaconess. If her train- ing should include the command of requisites for the nurs- ing of the sick, she is all the better equipped for the various events in her manifold work. All the ordinary and ex- traordinary gifts and endowments may come to use in the deaconess's vocation, for the demands of service are of as many different kinds as the individual members of the community. In fact, it is one of the special privileges of this voca- tion that the monotony of employment is broken, and that by change of place different faculties are utilized. In- numerable opportunities are presented for the development of slumbering talent and. for the discovery and utilization of latent gifts of the deaconesses in the wide field of edu- cation and charity which opens wide for every Mother House. 590 History of the IDeaconess Movement. To this inviting prospect of a wide circle of works of charity the circumscribed sphere of the trained professional nurse points a sharp contrast. The hospital and sick-room are her home. If she possesses the necessary endowments for these, well and good. But if she has made a mistake, life will bring to her nothing but disappointments. Even her successes will be but temporary. Nursing the sick is taxing, and not infrequently the care for daily bread in the idle time between her engagements acts more violently on her body than when she is employed. Add to this that her work is really an occupation for the young, vigorous, and hopeful (on an average her services are in demand for not more than fifteen years) ; and in later life she faces the necessity of making a living some other way — a severe frustration of many hopes, and a sharp contrast to the quiet satisfaction and peaceful close of the life of a dea- coness consecrated to her lofty vocation. It is far from our intention to depreciate the standing and work of the trained nurse. She, too, has a high and noble calling. We would chime in v/ith the elegant words of Florence Nightingale, who so often admonished the professional nurses of the sick to earnestness and true de- votion. "Nursing," said she, "is an art; and if it is to be practiced as such, it requires as much devotion to the ex- clusion of everything else and as laborious a preparation as any work of painting or sculpture. For what is the handling of dead canvas or cold marble compared with the live human body, the temple of the Holy Ghost? The nursing of the sick belongs to the fine arts — yea, I would almost have said, it is the finest of them all." Many trained nurses, too, perform their work in this sense; but, judging from the warning words heard so frequently on occasion of the promotions in the training-schools and re- peated by the press, it looks as though serious dangers were Appendix. 591 still further circumscribing this field of woman's work. The selfishness and love of money so often manifested, the demoralizing sycophancy towards the rich and depreciation of the claims of the poor, the departure from truth for the sake of worldly advantages, threaten to undermine the strength of their true womanhood and to deprive the trained nurses of the moral power which they should exercise as members of society as well as confessors of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 3. Between the deaconess and the trained nurse there obtains farther the radical difference that the latter is the incorporation of individuality, and the former of the com- munity. Perhaps it is the lack of appreciation of this most pro- nounced and strongest feature of the Deaconess System that will explain the slow numerical growth of the dea- coness communities in our country. The disadvantages in this direction for trained nurses are evident. Even though they remain true to their high- est ideals, the training-schools may furnish workers, but hardly such as are able to work in community. Their life may be full of noble devotion, and display the blessed power of independent love of man to a high degree, but it ends with the individual. This solitude and standing alone of the trained nurse it is difficult to conceal. Thus Eobert W. Taylor, address- ing the graduating class of New York training-school, says : "With the reception of your diploma you enter upon a serious, perhaps the most serious, epoch of your life. From this moment you will have to fight the battle of life alone and unprotected, and 3^ou will stand or fall just as you show yourself equal to the conditions. During the time of your training you were shielded by the protecting arms of this great institution, but that is now past.'' True^ at- 592 History of the Deaconess Movement. tem23ts are continually being made to consolidate the train- ing-schools and to pension the old and infirm nurses; and England has created a Royal National Pension Fund for nurses, with a capital of $250,000, and an annual income of $30,000. But, taken as a whole, these attempts have so far been hardly successful. The rivalry among the in- stitutions, the selfishness of the nurses, and the circum- stance that too frequently the nursing of the sick is taken as a stepping-stone for something better, keeps those who are fit for this occupation away. Each trained nurse seeks as much as possible to utilize the present and turn her eyes away from the future, which too often brings with it a humiliating dependence, or neglected old age. On the other hand, when a young woman becomes a deaconess, even though she perhaps may have to sever home ties in order to be able to enter the Mother House, she is admitted as a member of a family circle which, year after year, will be more precious to her. In community with deaconesses of the same purpose she is never "alone." Ever and everywhere does the strength of union come to her assistance, and it reaches her in the farthest station. The Mother House is the home of the deaconess. The very nature of the thing makes it so. In answer to the ques- tion put to a deaconess by a stranger, "Where is your home?" she said, "I have no other home than the Mother House." It was true, for she was an orphan. But this will be unavoidably so with all of them in the course of years. Parents die, brothers and sisters are scattered, and the old home is dissolved; but the Mother House is al- ways open for the deaconesses. Hither they may retire in sickness and in health, when they are fatigued by the work of the station, or age oppresses them ; and they are certain of a friendly reception, comfort, and help. It is the home dear to them by the memories of }'outh^ which has be- Appendix. 593 come more precious in the lapse of years by its training and counsel, and which is now doubly theirs inasmuch as the time approaches when they shall be clad in the raiment that is of heaven. Moreover, this common interest is not confined to the community of each individual Mother House. There is here a world-embracing consolidation which makes each deaconess feel that, though she may only be a lonely sen- tinel, she is nevertheless part of a great army. She knows that she is not forgotten, and that far away from her own community — for instance, from the deaconesses in Jeru- salem, Constantinople, or Alexandria — she would receive the same loving hospitality, welcome, and domicile as at the doors of the Mother Houses of her native country. 4. The contrast between these two fields of woman's labor is most clearly manifested in that one is spiritual and the other worldly. I do not mean that the vocation of a trained nurse is necessarily void of religion or that devoutness might not dignify and consecrate its obligations and increase its blessed usefulness a hundred-fold. We know of nurses who have fully given themselves up to a Christian ideal. We know of others who by no means have undertaken their calling through selfish motives, but solely and purely be- cause in this way they might be a blessing for the souls as well as the bodies of their patients. They preach the gospel of a holy life with the same simplicity and earnest- ness with which they practice the heartfelt mercy of their Master. There are, in fact, institutions who have made Christian faith and a Christian life indispensable conditions for the training of their nurses. Ever so many training-schools in connection with denominational hospitals are permeated with a seriously Christian spirit. The results of these 38 59-1 liltSTOKY OF THE .DeACO.\E!SS MOVEMENT. praiseworthy efforts will gradually appear in a better tone to the whole work. , Nevertheless, the principal requisite for a good nurse is considered to be the training of head and hand, and the object of the training-school the preparation of a number of technically-equipped assistants for the doctors. The average trained nurse does not think by any means that piety and appropriation of spiritual things are any more desirable, efficacious, or necessary in her occupation than with the teacher or stenographer. Too many look upon nursing as being principally a business, for which religion is an inconvenience, and whose advancement is often seriously impaired by their demands. The deaconess is called to the performance of a Bib- lical and ecclesiastical office. The true deaconess is a blos- som of the Church — not of the externally devised, but of the religious life of a country. And if the latter flows deep and strong, the Deaconess Cause will flourish like all other noble fruits of the Spirit. The training of the Mother House is, therefore, of a different kind from that of the training-school for nurses. iVny woman who has learned the technical facilities necessary for the sick-room may receive the diploma of a trained nurse, and from the standpoint of the physician and patient may achieve splen- did success. She may be a lukewarm Christian, a worldly- minded trifler, or a scoffer at religion, yet she remains a trained nurse. Not so with the deaconess. How desirable soever tech- nical knowledge and fruitful experience may be to the Mother House, it makes higher demands than a merely ex- ternal efficiency. To begin with, the requirments of char- acter and the inner life must be satisfied; for their train- ing proceeds inwardly to outwardly, and not vice versa. First come self-control, the education of the conscience, Appendix. 595 the sanctification of the heart; then the acquired efficiency in external things. Without the former, the latter would be worthless for a deaconess; for she would be a servant of Christ only in name, and she would unavoidably have to dispense with an office whose first requisite she lacks. Not her attractions — her talent, health, or ability, or what she performs in any field of labor — hut what she is, deter- mines her influence as a member of the Mother House com- munity and her efficiency outside of it as a deaconess. The trained nurse may be, but the true deaconess must he, a genuine Christian. Deaconess Institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Name and Location OF Deaconess Institutions, 2;= ce 2S I. In America. Aurora, III. Young Woman's School (Jennings Seminary), Charlotte A. Codding, Supt Baltimore, Md. Baltimore Deaconess Home, 708 West Lombard Street, Annie Leidigh. Supt Mount Tabor Industrial Building Bangor, Me. Deaconess Home, 96 Larkin Street, Norma H Fendrick, Supt Boston, Mass. New England Deaconess Home, 693 Massachusetts Avenue, Josephine Fisk, Supt Deaconess Hospital, 691 Massachusetts Avenue Miss A. A. Betts, Supt Bible-training School, 175 Bellevue Street Orianna F. Harding, Supt Bridgeport, O. Holloway Deaconess Home, Dorothy Graham Superintendent Brooklyn, N. Y. (English ) Brooklyn Deaconess Home and Training-school, 238 President Street, Mrs. F. A. Fowler, Supt. . . (German.) Bethany Deaconess Home and Hospital, Myrtha Binder, Supt Buffalo, N. y\ Genesee Conference Deaconess Home, 2978 Main Street, Mary L. Mullen, Supt Chicago, III. (English.) Chicago Deaconess Home 227 East Ohio Street, Isabel Leitch, Supt t Chicago Training-school, 4949 Indiana Avenue. (Incorporation, non-deaconess. Internal man- agement, deaconess) Wesley Hospital, Dearborn and Twenty-fifth Streets, Mrs. Olive Ely, Supt Methodist Episcopal Old People's Home, Edge- water, Isabella Reeves, Supt (German.) Deaconess Institute Cincinnati. O. (English.) Deaconess Training-school for Colored Girls, Rev. W. H. Riley, Supt-rintendent Christ's Hospital, Mount Auburn, Hannah M. Peirce, Supt $50,000 29,000 16,000 43,000 700 7,50' »39,500 42,000 15,000 19,000 t250,000 69,000 5,00f $4,000 21.0C0 3,000 4,000 120 22 • Building, $20,000, leased of Church Extension Society. t Only deaconesses and probationers reported. t Property, $250,000, leased of trustees. 597 598 IIiSTOiiY or THE Deaconess Movement. Name and Location OF Deaconess Institutions. ^ J II 11 13 3 i Ci)icin)uUi—CGnth\ucd. Deaconess Home, Wesley Avenue, Mrs. Kate liawls Haynes Sunt 18 Deaconess Training-school, Margaret Wilson, 13 Rest Home, Lakeside $600 800 102,500 11,200 15,000 375 800 4,000 10,800 6,000 52,000 200 17,000 9,000 8,000 9,000 (German.) Methodist Deaconess Home ("Mother House") and Bethesda Hospital, Rev. W. H. Traeger, Supt., Louise Golder, Head Deaconess 24 31 Cleveland, 0. Cleveland Deaconess Home, 268 Woodland Ave- nue, Miss L. Willmott, Acting Supt Colorado S}:i)-ings, Col. National Deaconess Sanitarium, Mary Curniek, Superintendent 9 1 G $5,000 1 Columbus, 0. Columbus Deaconess Home, 1087 Dennison Ave- nue, Elizabeth A. Smith, Supt Denver, Col. Colorado Conference Deaconess Home, Mrs. A. E. Hull, Supt 9 Des Moines, la. Bidwell Deaconess Home and Iowa Bible-train- ing School, 1155 West Ninth Street, Mrs. H. Ida 600 11 Detroit, Mich. (Detroit Deaconess Home, 53 Elizabeth Street, \ Tillman Avenue Mission, Mrs. H.E. Keller, Supt. Fall River, 3[ass. Fall River Deaconess Home, Mrs. Eva C. Frields, Superintendent 6 3 3 5 1 4 4 Freeport, III. _ Freeport Deaconess Home, Olive G. Webster, Grand Rapids, Mich. . . Aldrich Memorial Deaconess Home and Trainmg- 19 Oreat Falls, Mont. Montana Deaconess Hospital, Augusta Anss, 7,000 6 Indianapolis, Ind. - c.^. *. Methodist Hospital and Deaconess Home of State S JeffersonviUe, Ind. ^^ .,, __., Jeffersonville Deaconess Hospital, Manila Wil- 1 3 4 Jerseri City, N. J. Newark Conference Deaconess Home, Mrs. 2 Kansas City, Kan. (English.) 32,700 600 1,800 218 } Fisk Tfiiining-school, Winifred Spaulding, Supt. (German.) Deaconess Home r"Emanuel"), 716 West Seven- teenth Street, Miss M. Dreyer, Head Deaconess. KnoxviUe, Tenn. Knoxville Deaconess Home, Rhoda E. Sigler,Supt. 4 5 1 18 Affiliated. Property owned by separate boards, and not herein counted. 1nstitutio>'s ax J) Okgaxizatioxs. 509 Name and Location OP Deaconess Institutions. L(i Crosse, Wis. (English.) Thoburn Deaconess Home, Eva Ford, Supt... (German.) Deaconess Home .' Lake Bluff, III. Agard Sanitarium, Matilda Westlake, Supt Methodist Deaconess Orphange, Lucy Judson, Superintendent Los Anaeles, Cal. (English.) Southern California Conference Deaconess Home, Mrs. A. E. Foote, Supt (German.) Deaconess Home Louisville, Ky. (German.) Deaconess Home and Hospital, Miss Borcherding, Matron Building Fund Miltvaukee, Wis. (English.) Milwaukee Deaconess Home, 186 Biddle Street, Mary J. Comstock, Supt (German.) Deaconess Home, Grand Avenue Minneapolis, Minn. Asbury Hospital, Mrs. S. H. Knight, Supt Rebecca Deaconess Home, Sybil Palmer, Supt Newark, N. J. Newark Conference Deaconess Home, Mrs. S.H. Doane, Supt New York, N. Y. New York Deaconess Home, 1175 Madison Ave- nue, Mary E. Lunn, Supt Training-school, 1175 Madison Avenue, Florence Slusser, Principal "Working Girls' Home, Tirzah Dinsdale, Supt Rest Cottage (Long Branch) Normal, III. N. A. Mason Deaconess Home for the Aged, Marv JefTerson, Supt ". Noi'th Yakijna, Wash. Deaconess Hospital, Mary Venama, Supt Ocean Grove, N. J. Bancroft Rest Home Omaha. Neb. Methodist Hospital ) Deaconess Home, Mrs. A. P. McLaughlin, Supt. ) Peoria, III. Deaconess Home Deaconess Hospital, Lucy A. Hall, Supt Philadelphia, Pa. Philadelphia Deaconess Home, 611 Vine Street, Mrs. Emma Turney, Supt Pittsburo, Pa. Pittsburg Deaconess Home, 2000 Fifth Avenue, S. E. Eyler, Supt Portland, Me. Deaconess Home, Miss R. E. Santee, Supt Providence, R. I. Providence Deaconess Home, 85 Harrison Street, Miss Wood, Stipt $14,000 40,000 7,000 45,000 lO.OOll 1-2,000 $1,500 112,000 500 100,000 3,000 15,000 90,000 25,500 25,862 13,500 20(1 600 History of the Deaconess Movement. Name and Location OF Deaconess Institutions. III : a d a" is CO ^ 3 1 1 3 Provo, Utah. East Ohio Mission and Deaconess Home, Mrs. $2,000 3,500 79,000 5,200 24,000 4,200 15,200 18,000 200 50,000 1 Pueblo, Colo. Pueblo Deaconess Home, Anna Burgess, Supt Qxiincy, III. Chaddock Boys' Home and School, Eleanor Tobie, Supt 2 7 4 9 2 3 3 1 1 2 3 1 1 120,000 6 Rensselaer, N. Y. Griffin Deaconess Home, Mrs. H. E. Lyon, Supt. . San Francisco, Ceil. San Franciso Home and Training-school, Rev. J. N. Beard, D. D., President 1 11,000 23 St. Joseph. Mo. Ensworth Methodist Hospital 4 9,700 Salt Lake City, Utah. Davis Deaconess Home, Miss C. E. Robinson, Supt. San Juan, Porto Rico. J 2 Seattle, Wash. Seattle Deaconess Hospital 4 7 Sioux City, la. Shesler Deaconess Home, Mattie Carpenter, Supt. Spokane, Wash. Maria Beard Deaconess Home 5,150 15,000 2 7 Old People's Home, Clara Brown, Supt 5,000 26,000 40,000 72,250 41,000 4,000 300 55,500 1 3 1 6 65 5 1 Urbana, III. Cunningham Deaconess Home and Orphange, Miss Emma H. Jones, Matron. 2 Verbank, y. Y. Watts de Peyster Home for Invalid Children, Miss Letitia H. Hicks, Supt 2 Washington, D. C. rLuoy Webb Haves National Training-school and j Deaconess Home, C. W. Gallagher, D. D., Dean ] Sibley Memorial Hospital,- Miss Carra Pew, Di- 1 rector 72 Wichita, Kan. Southwest Kansas Conference Deaconess Home 1 Wilmington, Del. Wilmington Deaconess Home, Mrs. J. M. Plyley Yellow Sprimis, Ohio. Methodist Episcopal Home for the Aged, Myra 1 1,500 Deaconesses not in Established Homes 12 1 1 1 12 Stations. (Deaconess work is tabulated under "Stations" if it includes centers where only one deaconess is at work, or where there is some property, but no deaconess regularly stationed.) Atlanta, Ga Boone, la Burlington, la 1 Charles City, la 1 Cincinnati, 0 1 1 Institutions and OrganizatioIsts. 601 Name and Location OF Deaconess Institutions. ^ » » OCT I stations — Continued. Cottage City, Mass., Rest Home Dubuque, la Duo, W. Va Eagle Grove, la East Street, St. Louis, Mo Erie, Pa Fresno, Cal Honolulu, Hawaiian Islauds Keam's Canyon, Ariz Knoxville, Tenn Lakeside, O Las Vegas, N.Mex Ludington, Mich., Elvira Olney Rest Home Moberly, Mo Mount Carniel, I'a Mountain Lake Park, Md., Thompson Rest Home. Ottumwa, la., Jessie Wyckoff Pittsburg (German) Rockford, 111 Round Lake. N. Y., Caroline Rest Home St. Louis, Mo St. Paul, Minn Salem, Ore Southern Illinois Conference Toledo, O ^Vest Superior, Wis Wlieeling, W. Va Wilmington, Del $1,000 1,025 3,976 II. IN EUROPE. Berlin, Deaconess Home, Ebenezer , Frankfort-on-the-Main, Deaconess Home and Hospital (The Mother House.) Hamburg, Bethany Home and Hospital Heilbronn, Deaconess Home 65,000 170,000 »500 Koeln Lausanne, Deaconess Home Magdeburg, Deaconess Home Muenchen, Deaconess Home Neuenheim, " Gottestreu," Rest Home Neuenberg, Deaconess Home and Hospital. Pforzheim St. Gallen, Deaconess Home Strasburg, Bethany Home Vienna, Deaconess Home Zurich, Bethany Home Stations. Adlisweil Faulkenstein Karlsruhe Pirmasens . .. Wadensweil . Zwickau III. In Foreign Mission Fields. 1. In India Calcutta Deaconess Home, Elizabeth Maxey, Supt.... Flora Deaconess Home, Darchula, Martha Sheldon, M. D., Supt 1400 16,500 14,250 6,500 27,500 8,250 10,000 4,000 6,500 16,500 t475 +I,fi25 10,200 12,300 No property. tNo property; inventory. 602 History of the Deaconess Movement. Name and Location OF Deaconess Institutions. PI 0 a; 0.^ So is. p 3 t o s CO 3 In Foreign Mission i^ie/ds— Continued. William Gamble Memorial Deaconess Home, Kolar, Fanni^ Fisher, Supt $7,500 12,500 5,000 12,000 5,000 10,000 2 2 2 3 S 3 2 } 1 1 3 3 1 1 Madras Deaconess Home, Grace Stephens, Supt Moradabad Deaconess Home, Mary Means, Supt Muttra Deaconess Home and Training-school, Mary Eva Greg-g, Supt 2 Pithoragarh Deaconess Home, Lucy Sullivan, Supt Mary C. Niud Deaconess Home, Singapore, Sophia Lucknow Deaconess Home, Helen Ingram, Supt 1 Stations. Aligarh Bangalore Cawnpore Gonda 2,500 Muzafarpur Naini Tal Pauri 2 2 1 1 5 5 6 Rangoon 2. In China. Flora Deaconess Home, Chungking Isolated Workers 2 3. In Africa. Isolated Workers Grand total in Methodist Episcopal Church (1902) Grand total (1901) 2,4!»2,506 2,276,942 270,250 238,019 685 657 739 706 165,564 124,333 41,231 28 33 Net Increase in value of property in 1902 statistics of the Evangelical Deaconess Mother Houses belonging to the Kaiserswerth Conference. 1901. Mother Houses. Kaiserswerth Berlin (Elizabeth Hospital) raris (Rue de Reuilly 95) Strasburg in Alsace St. Loup Dresden Bern Utrecht Berlin (Bethany) Stockholm Breslau (Bethany) Koenigsberg Ludwigslust Karlsruhe Riehen near Basil Neuendettelsau Stuttgart Augsburg Halle Darmstadt Zurich St. Petersburg Speyer Kraschnitz Hanover Hamburg (Bethesda) Danzig Copenhagen Cassel Hague Mitau Berlin (Lazarus Hospital) Posen Pesth Frankenstein Riga Reval Helsingfors Altona Sarata Bremen Christiania Stettin-Neutorney (Infirmary Salem).. Wiborg Bielefeld Stettin-Neutorney (Bethany) Brunswick Frankfort-on-the-Main Flensburg Paris (Rue Bridaine) Harlem Nowawes Berlin (Paul-Gerhard-Inflrmary) Hamburg (Bethlehem) Gallneukirchen 1836 1837 1841 1842 1842 1844 1844 1844 1847 1849 1850 1850 1851 1851 18.-52 1854 1854 1855 1857 1858 1858 1859 1859 1860 1860 1860 1862 1863 1864 1865 1865 1867 1867 1867 1867 1868 1868 1868 1870 1870 1874 1874 1874 1874 1876 1877 1877 ?3 1,071 154 85 260 180 530 348 70 340 245 440 658 283 284 339 505 735 209 209 263 238 42 250 272 372 573 323 275 219 50 42 100 317 25 244 47 42 50 114 30 70 414 337 10 900 297 106 138 181 15 56 192 283 99 57 416 217 200 241 345 496 128 147 184 178 26 168 93 248 31 195 1.59 86 26 31 67 137 12 143 24 24 51 59 54 231 77 13 110 106 119 276 98 107 84 173 172 96 93 116 74 6 122 152 30 164 110 159 19 14 15 55 12 18 141 15 7 319 151 44 59 75 6 16 126 117 27 18 604 History of the Deaconess Movement. Mother Houses. Ingweiler Mannheim Arnheim Arolsen Berlin (Magdalen Infirmary) Kreuzburg Groningen Amsterdam (Lutheran) Philadelphia Kreuznach Witten Oldenburg Leipsic Eisenach Frankfort-on-the-Oder Amsterdam (Reformed) Berlin (Elizabeth Children's Hospital) Niesky Miechowitz Baltimore 1877 1884 1885 1H87 1888 1888 1890 1890 1891 1891 1891 1891 1883 1890 1895 2.^ 29. Progress. Mother Houses Belong- ing TO THE KAISERS- Sisters. Fields of Annual Income. WERTH CON- Labor. ("Reiciismark.") FERENCE. 1864 30 1,592 368 813,273 1868 40 2,106 526 1,258,242 1872 48 2,657 648 2,103,729 1875 50 3.239 866 3,616,256 1878 51 ,3,901 1,093 4,110,147 1881 53 4,748 1,436 4,824,176 1884 54 5,653 1,742 5,607,886 1888 57 7,129 2,263 6,378,608 1891 63 8,478 2,774 7,649,097 1894 68 10,412 3,641 8,940,880 1898 75 12,935 4,519 10,525,742 1901 75 14,501 5,211 13,455,153 Deaconess Homes of the Protestant Diaconate Conference in the United States. Namks and Addresses of the Institutions. o s E Co cf° O 2 -.3 a en o 1886 1888 1889 1889 1892 1892 1894 18« 1895 1901 1896 1896 1895 1899 5 26 4 22 14 12 9 11 26 4 5 53 5 8 3 3 $61,500 110,000 50.000 35,000 16,000 50,000 45,000 85,000 80,000 German Deaconess Home and Hospital, Cincin- nati, O " Tabea " Institute, Lincoln, Neb Evangelical Deaconess Home, St. Louis, Mo Deaconess Home " Bethesda," Cleveland, O Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital, Evans- ville Ind Deaconess Home " Bethany," Brooklyn, N. Y Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital, Indian- apolis Ind Diaconate Society of the Evangelical Association, Chicago, 111 5.500 German Methodist Deaconess Home, Cincinnati, 0. Methodist Deaconess Home, Louisville, Ky Evangelical Diaconate and Hospital Society, Lin- coln 111 . / 112,000 35,000 190 24 $685,000 Deaconess Homes in the Lutheran Church in the United States. Names and Addresses of the Institutions. g CO O O < la Mary J. Drexel Home, Philadelphia, Pa 1890 1891 1885 1895 1890 1900 75 28 26 14 25 43 4 14 9 6 4 4 4 1 $600,000 Deaconess Institute " Immanuel," Omaha, Neb Milwaukee Deiiconess Home and Hospital, Wis- 50,000 250,000 30,000 Norwegiun Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hos- pital, Brooklyn. N. Y Lutheran Deaconess Mother House, Baltimore, Md. Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home, Minne- apolis, Minn . 30,000 Passavunt Memorial Hospital, tlhicago. Ill 218 40 INDEX Page. Abbott, Anna Agnes 426 Altoua, The Deaconess Institute in 95, 299 Amsterdam, The Lutheran Deaconess Mother House in.... 230 Anna, Sister, Countess of Stolberg-Weringerode 77-79 Apostolic Church, The Institution in 16 Apostolic Constitution 18, 24 Arnheim, The Mother House in 229 Aurora, 111.. The Young Woman's School in 352 Australia, The Deaconess Cause in 463 Austria-Hungary, The Deaconess Cause in 242 Baltimore, Md., The Lutheran Deaconess Home and Training- school in •^- 266 Baltimore, Md., The Deaconess Home in 376-378 Baltimore, Md., The Mount Tabor Industrial Institution in. . 376 Bancroft, Miss Henrietta A 328-3.30 Baptist Church, The Deaconess Work in " 472 Baur, Johanna M 427 Beard, D. D., Rev. J. N. 388 Berlin, "Bethanien" "^^ Berlin, The Deaconess Home "Bethel" of the Baptist Church .164-168 Berlin, The Elizabeth Hospital and Deaconess Home 83 Bern, The Deaconess Institution in 216 Bethany Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Ger- many and Switzerland 128 Bielefeld, The Deaconess Home in 84-91 Biernatzki, Pastor Dr. K. L 95 Binder, Miss Myrtha 441 Bodelschwingh, Pastor Friedrich von 88-91 Bodelschwingh, Prussian Minister E. von 37, 88 Boehme • ^^ Boston, Mass., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 370-3(2 Bridgeport, O., The Hollaway Deaconess Home in 404 Brooklyn, N. Y., The Bethany Deaconess Home and Hos- pital in 441 Brooklyn, N. Y., The Deaconess Home and Training-school in 369 Brooklyn, N. Y., The Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Insti- tute in 270 Buckley, D. D., Rev. J. M 517 607 608 Index. Budapest, The Mother Home "Bethesda" in 242 Buffalo, N. Y., The German Deaconess Home in 284 Buffalo, N. Y., The Methodist Deaconess Home in 379 Cairo, Egypt 72 Central German Deaconess Board, The 432 Charteris. D. D., Rev. Archibald Hamilton 203, 204 Chicago, 111., The Deaconess Home "Bethesda" in 287 Chicago, 111., The German Baptist Deaconess Society in 299 Chicago, 111., The German Deaconess Institution in 440 Chicago, 111., The Passavant Memorial Hospital in 272 Chicago, 111., The Training-school for Missions in 341-349 Chicago, 111., The Wesley Hospital in 353 Christiansen, The Deaconess Mother House in 247 Chrysostom 25 Cincinnati, O., The Christ Hospital in 355 Cincinnati, O., The Deaconess Home for Colored People in. . 409 Cincinnati, O., The Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home and Christ Hospital in 354 Cincinnati, O., The German Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital in 273 Cincinnati, O., The German Methodist Mother House and Bethesda Hospital in 433 Cleveland, O., The Deaconess Home in 381 Cleveland, O., The Deaconess Home of the German Reformed Church in 291 Colorado Springs, Col., The National Deaconess Sanitarium in 408 Columbus, O., The Deaconess Home in 406 Congregational Deaconess Association . 465 Constitution of Kaiserswerth 570 Copenhagen, The Deaconess Home in 245 Dayton, O., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 277 Deaconess and the Professional Nurse, The 585 Deaconess Work in the Lutheran Church of America 249 Deaconess Mother House, The 574 Denver, Col., The Deaconess Home in 397 Des Moines, la.. The Bidwell Deaconess Home in 385 Detroit, Mich., The Deaconess Home in 405 Diaconate of the Women, The 22, 24 Disselhoff, Rev. Julius 64, 557 Duesseldorf 49 Eckert, Rev. G. J 152, 154 Edge water, 111., The Old People's Home in 351 Eilers, Rev. F 132, 135 Elberfeld, The "Bethesda" Deaconess Home in 159 England, The Deaconess Cause io 170-203 In"dex. 609 England, The Deaconess Cause in the Established Church in 178-183 England, The Diocesan Institutions in 180-183 England, The Institutions of the Wesley Methodist Church in 191-201 Englnnd, Mildmay, London, The Deaconess Institution in 186-190 England, Sisterhood of the Wesleyan Church 192 England, Tottenham, London, The Deaconess Home in 184 Evangelical Association, The Deaconess Cause in 302 Evangelical Deaconess Homes in America 295-299 Evangelical Diaconate Society 122 Evansville, Ind., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 280 Fall River, Mass., The Deaconess Home in 404 Filial Deaconess Home, The First 117 First German Deaconess Society in the United States, The. . 289 First Protestant Hospital in America, The 251, 252 Flensburg, The Mother House in 99 Fliedner, Caroline (Bcrtheau) 49 Fliedner, Theodor 46, 55, 5y Fogelstroem, Rev. E. A '...'269 France, The Deaconess Institutions of 208-214 Frankfort-on-the-Main. The Methodist Mother House in 136 Frederick William IV 41, 51, 70 Freeport, 111., The Deaconess Home in '. . . 402 Fry, Elizabeth 170-176 Fry, Mrs. Susan, M. D 305, 310 Gallagher, D. D., Rev. C. W 366 Gallneukirchen, The Evangelical Deaconess Institute in 243 Gamble, Mrs. Fannie Nast 414, 416 Gamble, James N \ ^ ^ ' 35^ German Deaconess Homes in the United States 429 Goedel, Rev. Karl * ' ' 261 Golder, Miss Louise 43O, 436, 437 Gossner, Pastor Johannes .83-85 Grand Rapids, Mich., The Aldrich Memorial Deaconess Home in 395 Gregg, Mary Eva 425 Groningen, The Deaconess Mother House in 229 Guben, The Evangelical Lutheran Deaconess Home in Ill Haarlem, The Deaconess Home in 226 Hague, The, The Deaconess Home in. ] 225 Hamburg, The Deaconess Institution "Bethlehem" iu. .'.'.'.'. 101 Hamburg, The Deaconess Home "Ebenezer" in 161 Hamburg, The Methodist Deaconess Home in 141, 142 Hanover, The Deaconess Home in 105, 106 jHaerter, Franz Heinrich , , , 79-83 610 Index. Harris, N. W 344 Haynes, Mrs. Kate Rawls 359 Hayes, Mrs. Lucy Webb 362 Helsingfors, The Deaconess Mother House in 237 Henning, F. Frank F 287, 288 Holland, The Deaconess Homes of 221-232 Hortsch, Rev. H. W 276 Hospital, Block System, The 507, 508 Hospital, Church, The 516 Hospital, City, The 510 Hospital, Corridor System, The 507, 508 Hospital, Cottage, The 511 Hospital, Deaconess, The 524 Hospital, Deaconess, The, and the Hospital in General 498 Hospital, Medical College, The 514 Hospital, Military, The 515 Hospital, Pavilion System, The 507, 509 Hospital, Private, The 515 Howson, Dean 22 Hughes, Rev. Hugh Price 192, 197 India, The Work in 418 India, The Deaconess Institute of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 464 Indianapolis, Ind., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in. .. . 393 Indianapolis, Ind., The Protestant Deaconess Home in 283 Ingram, Helen 426 Interdenominational Homes 273 Institutions of the Evangelical Association in Germany and Switzerland 159-169 Jeffersonville, Ind., The Deaconess Home in 403 Jersey City, N. J., The Deaconess Home in 403 Jerusalem, The Deaconess Home in 70, 71 Jones, Agnes 176 Kaiserswerth 59-74 Kaiserswerth, The First Deaconess Home in 59 Kaiserswerth Twenty-five Years Ago 60 Kajser, Anna, The First Deaconess in Sweden 169 Kansas City, Kan., The "Bethany" Deaconess Hospital in. .. 384 Kansas City, Mo., The "Emanuel" Deaconess Home in.... 445 Kansas City, Mo., The Fisk Deaconess Home and Training- school in 383 Keller, Mrs. H. E 406 Kloenne, Pastor 42, 43 Knight, Mrs. S. H 373, 374 Knoxville, Tenn., The Deaconess Home in 403 Kreitler, F. X 434 Index. 611 La Crosse, Wis., The "Thoburn" Deaconess Home in 405 Ladies' and Pastors' Christian Union 307, 308 Lake Bhiff, 111., Tlie Deaconess Orphanage in 349 Lake Bluff, 111., The Deaconess Sanitarium in 349 Langenau, Baroness of 154, 155 Lankenau, Elizabeth Catherine 258, 259 Lankenau, John D 257 Laseron, Dr. Michael 184, 185 Lausanne, The Deaconess Home in 141 Leipzig, The Deaconess Home in 103-105 Liebhart, Dr. Henry 430 Lincoln, III., The Deaconess Home in 291 Lincoln, Neb., The "Tabitha" Institute in 299 Loehe, Pastor Wilhelm 51, 52, 91, 295 Los Angeles, Cal., The Deaconess Home in 390 Louisville. Kv., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 443 Lunn, Miss Mary E 418 Luther, The Deaconess Cause 30-32 Lutheran Diaconate Conference 272 Magdeburg, The Deaconess Home in 157 Malvesin, Mademoiselle 212 Manhart. D. D., Rev. Frank P 268 Mann, Rev. H 136, 137, 152 Martha and Mary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church 152, 159 Martens, Katherine Louise 252, 254 Mayer, Dr. Karl 232, 234 Methodist Episcopal Church, The Beginning of the Deaconess Work in 305 Methodist Episcopal Church, The Deaconesses of the. .. .334-339 Methodist Episcopal Church, The Deaconess Society of the. . 339 Methodist Episcopal Church, South, The Deaconess Cause in. 477 Meyer, Pastor Friedrich 95 Meyer, Dr. J. S 344. 349 Meyer, Mrs. Lucy Rider 316-320 Milwaukee, Wis., The Deaconess Home in 399 Milwaukee, Wis., The Deaconess Mother House and Hos- pital in 264 Minneapolis, Minn., The Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home in 271 Minneapolis, Minn., The Rebecca Deaconess Home and the Asbury Hospital in 373 Mission and Aim of the Female Diaconate in the United States 480 Mittau, The Deaconess Home in 241 Moravians, The First Deaconess Home of the 110 Mountain Lake Park, Md., The Rest Home in 408 612 Ikdex. Miiehlenberg, D, D., Rev. William August 449 Munich, The Deaconess Home in 157 Napper, Dr. Albert 511 Nast, Rev. Dr. A. J 44(j Neuendettelsau, The Deaconess Institution in 91 Neumuenster, The Deaconess Institution in 218 Newark, N. J., The Deaconess Home in 400 New Orleans, La., The Deaconess Society in 299 New York City, The Deaconess Home and Training-school in , 367, 368 New Zealand, The Deaconess Cause in 464 Niesky, The Deaconess Home in 106 Nightingale, Florence 175, 506 Ninck, Rev. Karl Wilhelm Theodor 102, 103 Normal, 111., The Mason Deaconess Home in. 403 Nuremberg, The Deaconess Home in 155, 156 Ocean Grove, N. J., The Bancroft Rest Home in 407 Olympia 25-26 Omaha, Neb., The Deaconess Home and Hospital in 382 Omaha, Neb., The Swedish Deaconess Institute "Emanuel" in 268 Palmer, Miss Sybil C 374 Pank, Dr 103 Passavant, D. D., Rev. William 249-256, 264, 585 Peirce, Miss Hannah M 357 Pennefather, D. D., Rev. William 186, 190 Peoria, 111., The Deaconess Home in 400 Philadelphia, Pa., The German Hospital in 260 Philadelphia, Pa., The Mary J. Drexel Deaconess Home in. . 257 Philadelphia, Pa., The Methodist Deaconess Home in 378 Pittsburg, Pa., The Methodist Deaconess Home in 380 Phoebe 20 Principles of the Deaconess OflSce 557 Protestant Diaconate Conference, The 302 Protestant Episcopal Church, The Deaconess Work in 460 Protestant Episcopal Church of America, The Female Di- aconate in 449 Protestant Episcopal Church, The Sisterhood in 450 Providence, R. I., The Deaconess Home in 402 Pueblo, Cal., The Deaconess Home in 402 Quincy, 111., The Chaddock Boys' Institution in 353 Rauhe Haus 54 Recke-Vollmerstein, Count Adelbert v 43 Beeves, Isabella A , ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 425 Index. 613 Reformation, The Deaconess Cause 30, 31 Reformed Church, The Deaconess Cause in 472 Reichers, Gertrude 48, 60, 63 Renewal of the Female Diaconate in Modern Times 33 Rensselaer, N. Y., The Elizabeth Wellington GriflBn Home in 401 Reval, The Evangelical Lutheran Institute in 239 Rheiniseh-Wesfalischer Diakonie Verein 62, 65, 74, 77 Riehen, The Deaconess Institution in 220 Riga, The Evangelical Deaconess Home "Maria" in 240 Riley, Rev. W. H 410 Roanoke, W. Va., The Colored Deaconess Home in 413 Robinson, Mrs. Jane M. Bancroft 322-328 Rochester, N. Y., The St. John's Home for Aged in 391 Roentgen, Rev. J. H. C 293, 294 Rotterdam, The Deaconess Institution in 230 Russia, The Deaconess Homes in 232-241 Rust, Mrs. R. S 330, 331 San Francisco, Cal., The Deaconess Home and Training- school in SH7 St. Joseph, Mo., The "Ensvvorth" Deaconess Home in 404 St. Louis, Mo., The Evangelical Deaconess Home at 296 St. Loup, The Deaconess Home in 214 St. Petersburg, The Deaconess Mother House in 232 Saratha, The Alexander Asylum in 241 Sarepta 84, 86 Schaefer, Pastor Theodor 96-99 Schaefer, Pastor N. G 163 Scheve, Rev. Edward 1(54, 166 Schneider, Sister Louise 152, 154 Schultz, August Gottlieb Ferdinand 76, 77 Scott, Miss E. Jane 476 Scotland, The Deaconess Cause in 202-207 Scriptural Conceptions of Deaconesses and Their Work.... 447 Seattle, Wash., The Deaconess Hospital in 397 Seney, George 1 520 Severinghaus, Rev. J. F 282 Sieveking, Amelia 37 Sioux City, la., The Shesler Deaconess Home in 396 Sisterhood Community in West Prussia 126 Smyrna, The Deaconess Home in 69 Spokane, Wash., The Maria Beard Deaconess Home and Hospital in 386 Sprunger's Deaconess Institutes 300, 301 Stein, Minister v 37 Stevenson, D. D., Rev. T. P 198 Stewart, Dr. Scott 422 Stockholm, The Deaconess Mother House in 248 614 Index. Strassburg, The Evangelical Deaconess Home in 79 Strassbui-g, The Mother House of the Evangelical Asso- ciation in 163 Stuttgart, The Deaconess Institutions in 99-101 Sweden, The Deaconess Work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 168, 169 Switzerland, The Deaconess Institutions of 214-221 The Lucy Webb Hayes Deaconess Home 362 Thoburn, Bishop J. M. . 311, 316 Thoburn, Miss Isabella 314, 315, 418-425 Tobschall, Ida 284 Toronto, Canada, The Deaconess Institution and Training- school of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 462 Toronto, Canada, The Methodist Deaconess Home in 474 Traeger, Rev. W. H 438 Uhlhorn, Dr. Gerhard 35, 36, 105, 106 United Brethren Church, The Deaconess Organization in... 468 Urbana, 111., The "Cunningham" Deaconess Home and Orphanage in 406 Utrecht, The Deaconess Mother House in 222 Valette, Pastor Louis 211 Verbank, N. Y., The Watts de Peyster Home in 395 Vermeil, Pastor Antoine 209 Wallon, Rev. L 443 Washington, D. C, The "Sibley" Memorial Hospital in.... 364 Washington, D. C, The National Training-school in 362 Washington, D. C, The "Rust" Training-school in 365 Watkins, D. D., Rev. T. C 372 Weakley, D. D., Rev. H. C 392 Weiss, Rev. Leonhardt » . . 147 Wesley, John 34, 171, 173 Wesley, Susanna 172 Wiborg, The Deaconess Institution "Bethel" in 240 Wichern, Rev. John 36, 51, 52, 53 Wichita, Kan., The Deaconess Home in 398 Wilke, Friedrich Ill Wittemeyer, Mrs, Anna 306, 309 Woman's Home Missionary Society Deaconess Board 340 Woman Question in the Light of the New Testament 526 Yellow Springs, O., The Methodist Home for the Aged in. . . . 390 Zinzendorf, Count of 106, 108 Zurich, The Methodist Deaconess Home in 142, 143 Date Due ["^CULry ' rf-n '^*"?r i^M ^1^*">* fwesiH r- If ^ .*.-%'tW.l^.*i*MLi ir 1 ••**~- ,^l^_ '" "^""^ Mif' c'T^ : f ;^' ♦ ♦ ii'Vmi'"" ^''^°'°'"^''' Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 01091 7179 il;.! I'i' I vH:,HJi!\i|:>ii'i'';-;:iiM!:;r^;!i:!;'i.' ;;' I'^Mhi: ! .i-^'ii ';. '!.iidi;iMi;ii' ,;;;i||)i.!i,ii|i| ::L>l''i. hill! iilih l;=';^-!..M!^' ^i'l