nil Home Missions and Social Service \bVYi£ lYl^^S John F. Goucher OowvUU I Number. A Record of Development and Progress A Review of Home Missions as expressed in terms of a Social Gospel, issued by the Home Missions Council and the Council of Women for Home Missions for Home Mission Week, November 17-24, 1912, Charles Stelzle, Executive Sec- retary, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. The Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America as the common agency .:. .:. HOME MISSIONS AND SOCIAL SERVICE John F. Gouche A Record of mber Development and Progress THE Federal Council, including thirty-two evangelical denominations and communions as constituent bodies, operates in the inter- est of Social Service through the Commis- sion on the Church and Social Service, ap- pointed at the organization of the Council in Philadelphia, 1908. At Philadelphia, the previous Committee on the Church and Modern Industry gave utterance to a message which was unanimously adopted by the Council, has become historic, has since been reaffirmed by practically all the leading church assemblies and received with gladness by social leaders and workers in all spheres of service. The Commission on the Church and Social Service is now thoroughly organized, and in the spring of 191 1 Rev. Charles S. Macfarland was elected as its Secretary, its offices being in association with those of the Federal Council, of which Dr. Macfarland is also Acting Executive Secretary. These offices contain a large Social Service Li- brary, which adds all the latest books, has on file about two hundred social and industrial magazines and papers, and contains the literature pertaining to social work issued by all the movements, both re- ligious and general. Its most important work is that of correlating and coordinating the various denominational com- missions and movements; and it has already gone a long way in bringing the denominational work into unity. Its first Interdenominational Conference was held at Boston in June, 191 1, and consisted of represen- tatives of the evangelical denominations which were definitely organized in the interest of Social Service. This preliminary Conference requested that Secre- taries Macfarland, Atkinson, Crouch, Stelzle and Ward arrange for an Interdenominational Confer- ence to which all the constituent bodies of the Fed- eral Council should be invited to send delegates. In accordance with this action, at an Interdenomina- tional Conference held at Chicago, November, 191 1, seventeen denominations were represented by dele- gates elected or appointed by denominational action, and the agreement was that the various denomina- tional committees and departments should cooper- ate through the Federal Council Commission. A Secretarial Cabinet was recommended, to con- sist of the denominational secretaries of those Com- missions having such executives, with the under- standing that the Secretary of the Federal Council Commission should represent in the Cabinet all the other denominations which did not have executive secretaries. Recently, the Committee of Direction of the Commission has voted that these Secretaries be made Associate Secretaries of the Federal Council Commission, subject to the acceptance of the ar- rangement by the denominational organizations. These Associate Secretaries are as follows : Henry A. Atkinson, Secretary of the Congregational Brotherhood; Samuel Z. Batten, Secretary of the Baptist Department of Social Service and the Brotherhood; Frank M. Crouch, Field Secretary of the Protestant Episcopal Joint Commission; Charles Stelzle, Superintendent of the Presbyterian Bureau of Social Service; Harry F. Ward, Secretary of the Methodist Federation for Social Service; Warren H. Wilson, Superintendent of the Presbyterian De- partment of the Church and Country Life. Through this Cabinet, the denominational agencies are working together, issuing their literature in common, dividing the work and cooperating at every possible point, both nationally and locally, and each Secretary, so far as it does not interfere with his denominational interests, is making his work in- terdenominational. The whole work of the Commission is proceed- ing in this way, conceiving its function to be that of bringing the denominational forces to work to- gether, rather than considering itself as an inde- pendent body. Its "Plan of Work" has been ap- proved and adopted by the Executive Committee of the Federal Council, the Interdenominational Social Service Conference at Chicago, and the various de- nominational Commissions or Committees. The Commission is made up of about fifty of the leading social workers of the nation, who repre- sent distinctively the view-point of the churches, and some of the important items in its current program are as follows : Close relationship is being established with the theological seminaries, the schools for training so- cial workers and other institutions of learning, in the particular interest of training men and women for a social service which will have the distinctively spiritual point of view. The Commission is working in close relationship with all the national agencies for social reform, in- cluding the National Child Labor Committee, the Playground and Recreation Association, the Ameri- can Association for Labor Legislation, and all other like organizations. It cooperates with the National Conference of Charities and Correction, the South- ern Sociological Congress, and similar movements in conducting departments of the Church and Social Service. Plans are now being arranged to cooperate with the Industrial and Social Service Departments of the International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Associations, and the newly created In- dustrial Department of the Young Women's Chris- tian Associations, so that the work of these im- portant agencies may be fully available for the use of the churches. One of its most important movements is its na- tion-wide campaign for one-day-in-seven for indus- trial workers. This year, on labor Sunday, over twenty thousand pastors and churches are known to have carried out the suggestions and program of the Commission, and in most of the pulpits the ques- tion of the industrial seven-day week was presented. Its Secretaries are received as "fraternal delegates" at the annual sessions of the American Federation of Labor. The Commission also participated in many ways in the Men and Religion Forward Movement, and is now engaged in assisting the conservation work of its Social Service Committees. The various Secretaries of the Cabinet are ar- ranging plans for social evangelism and civic re- vivals, and they are available for the services of Church Federations and other organizations in local communities for this purpose. 4 Several important investigations have been made, particularly of the industrial conditions in the steel industry at South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; the in- dustrial warfare at Muscatine, Iowa; and at the present time a Joint Committee of the Federal Council and the Massachusetts Federation of Churches is making an investigation of the situation revealed at Lawrence, Massachusetts. The literature of the Commission is assuming large proportions, and includes the reports of these investigations, study courses and bibliographies, so- cial service catechisms, and similar material for the guidance and instruction of pastors and churches. The Literature Committee has arranged for the publication of a series of handbooks for church classes, covering social questions and pre- senting them from the point of view of the obliga- tion and opportunity of the churches. Arrange- ments are being made to publish handbooks jointly with other organizations issuing common publica- tions, especially those issuing Home Mission, In- dustrial and Social Service Handbooks, like the Missionary Education Movement, and the Associa- tion Press. The Secretaries themselves find time to contribute to the literature on Social Service, new books appearing this fall by Secretaries Wilson, Ward, Stelzle, Batten and Macfarland. One of the most important movements under way at the present moment is that in the interest of country life and rural betterment. This department is now being organized, preliminary surveys of the agencies in the field have been made, and it is hoped that the work will be carried on in a genuinely in- terdenominational way in the interest of the coun- try church. •The Federal Council Commission on the Church and Social Service, like the Home Missions Coun- cil, is proceeding to carry out one of the most thorough and genuine pieces of interdenominational work that has ever been attempted. The churches are also working increasingly to- gether in local communities. Most of the Federa- tions of Churches are formed with community prob- lems and social uplift as their objectives. The Conservation of the Men and Religion For- ward Movement has largely been through the So- cial Service Committees. In some cities, Social Service Secretaries have been engaged to give their whole time to the work of the federated churches. Literature describing the work of the churches in association with the Federal Council may be ob- tained on application to Rev. Charles S. Macfar- land, Secretary, 1611 Clarendon Building, 215 Fourth Avenue, New York. The reports of the various denominational agen- cies, which follow, are mainly made up from the records of the Interdenominational Conference held by the Commission at Chicago, in November, 191 1. A similar Conference will be held at Chicago, De- cember 3 and 4, 1912, just preceding the Second Quadrennial of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, to be attended by appointed delegates from the thirty-two denominations in the Council. 5 The Denominational Commis- sions and Movements Included in the Federal Council The Presbyterian Board of Home Missions I. THE BUREAU OF SOCIAL SERVICE (Known originally as the Department of Church and Labor. Organized April I, 1903) The function of the Bureau of Social Service, according to the Presbyterian General Assembly, is "to study social conditions as they are related to the progress of the Kingdom of God, and to sug- gest to the Church practical ways of realizing the social ideals of the Gospel." It seeks to place the religious emphasis upon social service, and the so- cial emphasis upon religious work; to increase the efficiency of the church through standardized pro- grams which may be introduced in communities of a common type; to bring about a more cordial re- lationship between church and labor; to give vision and program to municipal authorities so that they may more effectively meet the social and moral needs of the people; and to enlist the men and women of the churches in definite social service tasks. This organization initiated much of the pro- gram which has since, through the Federal Coun- cil, become interdenominational. One of the strongest features of the work of the Bureau is its survey department, which not only in- vestigates conditions, but makes specific recommen- dations with regard to methods needed to meet these conditions. It has carried on investigations in nearly one hundred cities, and in thousands of churches, with a view to studying methods of church efficiency. It has made surveys of some of the largest cities of the country and of entire states. It has studied special problems, such as the attitude of organized labor toward the church; the economic aspects of the liquor problem, and, coinci- dent with this subject, the question of working- men's leisure; and the labor press of this and other countries. Representatives of the Bureau are in frequent con- ference with municipal officers for the purpose of studying with them such questions as the dance hall, the saloon, the social evil, and general recre- ational life for the people; also such matters as housing conditions, the wider use of public schools, vocational education, industrial training, sanitation, labor legislation, prison reforms, crimes and ar- rests, and the employment of social service agencies have been presented to city officials, with definite programs worked out for them. The Bureau has sought to interpret the move- ments of populations, especially in cities, anticipat- ing the character of the church enterprise required to meet the future as well as the present situation. The city has been the special subject of study with the Bureau since its organization. Probably the most notable achievement in demonstrating the methods required to meet the needs in one of the most difficult city fields in America is the Labor Temple in lower New York. A two years' experi- ment has just been completed, demonstrating that 6 the church may master the modern downtown sit- uation if it will adapt its methods to the changing conditions. It is a question, clearly, of studying the needs. The Bureau has sought to aid ministers in just this particular by preparing survey blanks whereby local fields may be studied by those who must finally do the work, the object being to train the men in their own fields to face their own prob- lems. It also does this through its Correspondence Course in Applied Christianity, only in a more com- prehensive way. Great shop meeting campaigns have been con- ducted in the last half dozen years. One year, dur- ing sixty days, in six cities, 500 ministers were en- listed in shop campaigns, 400 different shops were entered at the noon-hour, 1,000 different meetings were held and 250,000 working people were ad- dressed. It is one of the purposes of the Bureau to develop, for the churches in the industrial cen- ters, "industrial parishes," each church becoming responsible for a particular shop. The question of church publicity has received a great deal of attention in the work of the Bureau. Advertising principles and methods have been worked out for downtown enterprises, through sys- tematic study and experiment, and publicity plans of a general character outlined and suggested to individual churches and workers. Social Service Campaigns are held in colleges and universities, in theological seminaries, and other educational institutions. City and territorial campaigns are conducted. Social Service Confer- ences have also been held at summer assemblies and Chautauquas. One-day Social Service Cam- paigns are frequently carried on in cities. "Labor Sunday" was established by the Bureau seven years ago. It is now observed, through the Federal Council Commission, by nearly all the de- nominations. The exchange of fraternal delegates between Ministers' Associations and Central Labor Unions was inaugurated fully eight years ago. It is now in operation in over one hundred cities. The Bureau also originated the plan of sending dele- gates to the Annual Conventions of the American Federation of Labor, afterward giving this in charge of the Federal Council Commission. Great workingmen's mass meetings are conducted by the Bureau on almost every Sunday afternoon during the winter season. The audience is rarely less than 1,000 men. There were 15,000 present in the Kansas City Coliseum; 8,000 on the Million Dollar Pier at Atlantic City; 5,000 in Denver; 4,000 in Columbus; and 12,000 in Louisville. The labor press of the United States — there are 250 weeklies and 100 monthlies — has been regularly printing the articles sent out by the Bureau during the past eight years. It speaks every week through the la- bor papers to millions of workingmen and their families. In Massey Hall, Toronto, during a Na- tional Convention of the American Federation of Labor, the Bureau conducted a Temperance meet- ing, which was attended by 4,000 working people. The interest aroused in this movement, among workingmen themselves, has made it practically im- possible for the liquor interests in future to domi- nate organized labor. The Bureau has not limited its work to its own denomination, but has rendered staff service to va- rious interdenominational movements. It prepared the survey blanks, designed and finished the charts, and systematized the statistical material for the 7 Men and Religion Forward Movement in seventy cities, besides preparing and setting up the exhibits in connection with the Christian Conservation Con- gress of the Movement, held in New York City in the spring of 1912. Publicity campaigns have been conducted by representatives of the Bureau for the Home Missions Council and the Council of Women for Home Missions (representing practically all the home missionary agencies in the United States). It has also rendered service to McCormick Theolog- ical Seminary, the Bible Teachers' Training School, the Federation of Churches in New York City, the Commission on the Church and Social Service of the Federal Council (of which Mr. Stelzle served as voluntary Secretary), and the Commission on Industrial Education of the American Federation of Labor. The Bureau has a valuable sociological library, and is in close touch with the various organizations engaged in original research work, its own studies dealing with those social problems with which the church is more directly concerned. It furnishes bibliographies and gives other information on spe- cial sociological subjects. Literature in leaflet and pamphlet form for general distribution is constantly being issued. The Superintendent is Rev. Charles Stelzle, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. II. THE DEPARTMENT OF CHURCH AND COUNTRY LIFE This Department is two years old and employs now in field work six persons. It was organized in the interest of the country churches, specifically the Presbyterian churches, but following the ex- ample of the Department of Church and Labor, the workers in the Department have been encouraged to render service in such terms and, so far as pos- sible, in such connections as would be of service to all churches of whatever name, and all other social institutions in the country. It is, therefore, a social service agency, limiting its field to communities of less than twenty-five hundred population. The initial work is investigation. This is done under methods proposed by the universities, partic- ularly Columbia and Chicago Universities. The field workers are college and generally seminary graduates, selected for their preparation in the so- cial sciences and their willingness to work under precise supervision on a regular scientific plan. The work investigates country neighborhoods and records the social forces, institutions, tendencies, classes, incomes, and, so far as possible, the possi- bilities and record of progress. These social sur- veys are published by the Department and now constitute a body of knowledge, orderly, verified and precise, in regard to the leading representative states of the Union. This work is being pressed further, both intensively and in the study of new territory. At present the Department is engaged in the survey of the whole State of Ohio and in the survey also of the southern mountain schools and churches, in which a reconstruction is taking place. The Department, secondly, is engaged in agita- tion on behalf of the country church. This is done mostly by country church conferences, country life institutes, and by addresses before churches, re- ligious assemblies, schools, educational agencies, colleges and universities and other bodies in which 8 the leaders of country life, whatever be their inter- est, are assembled. The purpose of this agitation is to fix the attention of country people upon their own affairs and encourage rural social agents, es- pecially teachers and preachers, in the belief that their own work is worth while and that there are possibilities in the country church and country school. Thirdly, it is teaching a gospel of efficiency. The instances of successful country churches and coun- try schools of whatever denomination or connec- tion are kept steadily before country people. This is done by employing, usually for brief times, the successful country ministers in follow-up work, preferably in the territory in which a survey has been made. These speakers and writers are given a release from their own local work for a time in order to tell their story to others who may not have seen the possibilities of the country church. Fourthly, the Department carries on a propa- ganda through the agricultural press, sending reg- ularly to hundreds of agricultural papers distributed over the country the story of an attainment in some country church or school which is of value to coun- try people. This is of especial importance, because the common agricultural press more than almost any other in the country tends to be purely econo- mic and materialistic, being dominated almost everywhere by the interest of the advertiser. The purpose is to teach through this means idealism of the country. Fifthly, there has been insistence from the be- ginning upon the relation of rural religious insti- tutions to rural incomes. It has taught not merely the duty of social service, but the dependence of country institutions upon a distributed income in the country community. This has to be done in face of the general assumption that farmers are prospering. From the condition of the country churches, it is apparent that farmers are not pros- pering; but to prove this case, special studies of rural incomes need to be made. The income in most productive rural sections throughout the United States is insufficient for the improvement of social institutions. The Department is, therefore, advocating farm cooperation as a means of im- proving the farmers' own income, out of the profits that are made in handling his raw products. This teaching of the economic basis of rural religious or- ganization is essential to a thorough propaganda in the country, and without some such radical treat- ment of rural religion, no thorough attention can be fixed upon it. Sixthly, the Department is securing to country ministers specific opportunities for graduate study. In the summer of 1912, these privileges were se- cured in four schools to 155 country pastors. These men were carefully selected on a basis of work done and promise for the future, and courses were secured for them in one theological seminary and three universities. The results were extraordinary, both in the classroom and in the effects upon the men afterward. This is the third year in the use of this method. It is probably the best measure yet taken for training a rural leadership. Seventhly, the Department is attempting to pub- lish, in response to the existing demand, leaflets, survey reports, pamphlets and books on the social- religious problems of the country and their solu- tion. This is not merely to analyze and criticise, but rather to teach in particular detail what has to 9 be done. Important as agitation is, just now the need is of line upon line and precept upon precept in the way of helping people to do things. In the use of this printed material very much of the re- sources of the Department are employed and an efficient office in New York is maintained very largely for this purpose. This material is so pre- pared in all cases as to be of universal value not only for the Presbyterian, but for all churches, and for country people generally without regard to re- ligious connection. The Superintendent is Rev. Warren H. Wilson, Ph.D., 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. III. THE DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION The interest of the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., in the re- cent immigrant populations, is expressed through its Department of Immigration, with headquarters in New York, Rev. William P. Shriver, Superin- tendent. The Department assists Presbyteries in setting up and maintaining Churches, missions and neighborhood houses in immigrant and industrial communities, designed to be centers of the best American Christian life, and to furnish the com- munity, in turn, facilities for the expression of its own social and religious life in worship and ser- vice. The group of buildings, including a chapel, neighborhood house and residence house at Gary, Indiana, designed by the Department for the Synod of Indiana, and now in process of erection, is an illustration of this type of enterprise. The Department is cooperating in work in sev- enty immigrant communities, including a number in important cities, Newark, Baltimore, Cleveland, In- dianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Kansas, and San Francisco. It also furnishes superintendence and maintenance for Home Mission work in immigrant communities in New York and the Metropolitan District; the American Parish, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, being one of the most significant undertakings, under the direction of the Rev. Nor- man M. Thomas. To facilitate the training of men for this work, a series of Immigration Fellowships, bearing $1,000 each, is maintained; four men are now in resident study abroad, in Austro-Hungary and Italy, for periods of from one to two years. Vacation Bible Schools in immigrant communi- ties are conducted in connection with the Home Mission Committee of the Presbyteries of New York, Brooklyn, Newark, Baltimore, Cleveland and St. Louis. Studies of immigrant communities are made, especially where work is contemplated. The Department also serves as a general clearing house of information concerning immigration work for the Presbyterian Church. There are 400 Presbyterian Churches and Mis- sions using a language other than English in this country (Indian Churches not included). Three hundred and forty-one report 27,000 members, over 29,000 in the Sunday-schools, with $294,000 con- tributed for congregational expense and $34,000 for the Boards of the Church in the year ending March 31, 1912. Through its Boards, and established Home Mission Treasuries, including the self-supporting Synods, the Presbyterian Church is annually dis- bursing about $400,000 for work among foreign- speaking people in this country. A pamphlet, "The Presbyterian Church and the Immigrant," may be 10 obtained from the Literature Department of the Board. (40 pp., ten cents.) The Superintendent is Rev. William P. Shriver, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. The Methodist Federation for Social Service The Methodist Federation was organized in 1907, its object being "to deepen within the church the sense of obligation and opportunity, to study so- cial problems from the Christian point of view, and to promote social service in the spirit of Jesus Christ." The General Conference of 1908 gave the organization its official sanction. It has formulated what is known as "The Social Creed of Methodism," on which the later Federal Council utterance was based, and at the General Conference of 1912, a still more ringing and in- clusive utterance was delivered and approved by the Conference. Several volumes have been published and a con- siderable amount of literature issued for the guid- ance of pastors and churches, a press service has been maintained and the Federation is now co- operating with the organizations for social reform, both national and local. In October, 1912, Rev. Harry F. Ward was elected as Secretary, and has just edited an im- portant book entitled "The Social Creed of the Churches," an interpretation of the utterances of the Methodist Federation and the Federal Council. The immediate program is "A Community Min- istry for every Church." Some of its particular interests, as set forth, are child welfare, public health, the relief and removal of poverty, the up- lifting of public institutions, the improvement of reformatory treatment, and labor legislation in the interest of industrial justice. Secretary Ward is at present engaged in a wide-reaching campaign of Social Evangelism. He has already met with un- usual success in drawing the sympathetic attention of industrial workers to his message. The various states and districts have Conference Committees and Commissioners, a long list of available speakers in each state has been compiled, the Federation is in close relation with the Schools of Theology, its treasurer being the President of one. A Bishop of the church serves as President of the Federation. The Federation is giving Methodist pastors and churches a program adapted to their various com- munities, and is especially strong in its provision for a thorough study of social questions and needs. At every possible point the Federation is work- ing with the Commission of the Federal Council and the other denominations included in the Coun- cil. It is making a feature of educational work among the pastors and churches, has recently in- stituted a Committee on the Country Church, of which Rev. G. Frederick Wells is Chairman, issues a bi-monthly Social Service Bulletin, is arranging meetings in factory towns under the joint auspices of the Ministerial Associations and Labor Assem- blies, and is issuing, in cooperation with the Fed- eral Council Commission, an increasing literature, which may be obtained on application to Rev. Harry F. Ward, Secretary, 2512 Park Place, Evanston, Illinois. 11 The Department of Social Service and Baptist Brotherhood of the Northern Baptist Convention The people called Baptist, by their very history and fundamental principle, should be interested in the Social Gospel and in Social Service. The be- ginnings of the modern Baptist churches are found in the Ana-Baptist movement of the Sixteenth Cen- tury. It has become very evident to the student of history that this was quite as much a social as a religious movement. The leaders of the new faith preached the Kingdom of God; they threw great emphasis upon what was called the Gospel of the common man; they believed that the Gospel was a matter of experience and life; and they earnestly sought to establish justice in Church and Society. Their doctrines were in advance of the times, and it fared hardly with them. From one cause and another, the Social emphasis was largely lost, and so far as the Social Gospel is concerned, the Bap- tists differed in no essential respect from other Christian bodies. It is true that the Baptist princi- ple was developed in some of its bearings and great emphasis fell upon the negative idea — the separa- tion of Church and State. In its political bearing, the Baptist principle meant democracy in govern- ment; and impartial historians give great honor to the Baptists for their services in this respect. In all of their history. Baptists have been active in various lines of practical effort. It was perhaps natural that they should be among the first in mod- ern times to take an active interest in missions. Baptists were among the pioneers in Sunday-school work. During the American Revolution, they al- most to a man supported the colonists and advocated independence. In all times, they have been active in general philanthropy; but in this respect, it can hardly be said that they have been conspicuous above others in social duties. The Social emphasis early ceased among the Bap- tists and the Social Gospel dropped out of the cur- rent of Baptist life; so far as the Social aspects of the Gospel are concerned, Baptists have differed in no essential respect from any other body of Chris- tians. In fact, strangely enough, it may be said that Baptists have been somewhat tardy in their acceptance of the modern idea of Social Service. Nineteen years ago, a little company of Baptist ministers and laymen met in Philadelphia and or- ganized "The Brotherhood of the Kingdom." In its spirit and aims we find the following: "Each member shall lay special emphasis on the Social aims of Christianity, and shall endeavor to make Christ's teaching concerning wealth operative in the church." "On the other hand, the members shall take pains to keep in contact with the common people and to infuse the religious spirit into efforts for Social amelioration." The Brotherhood within a year broadened its scope and became interdenominational. Through all these years the members have thrown great empha- sis upon the Social aspect of the Gospel. And a number of the Baptist members of the Brotherhood have been very active in developing the Social Ser- vice idea within the Baptist fellowship. Among the early Baptist members who have been active in this line may be mentioned Dr. George Dana Board- 12 man, Professor W. N. Clarke, Professor Walter Rauschenbusch, Dr. Leighton Williams, Professor Spencer B. Meeser, Professor Samuel Z. Batten. Seven years ago, at the Baptist Anniversaries at St. Louis, a resolution called for a Committee to consider the relation of the churches to Social questions and to report their findings. The Bap- tists were not ready for the new interest and noth- ing came of the resolution. In the meantime, the Northern Baptist Convention had been organized, thus giving the Baptists a general representative body. Five years ago at Oklahoma City the reso- lution was renewed, and this time it met with a more hearty response. A Social Service Commis- sion of nine men was created. Two years later the Commission was increased to fifteen, and was also made a Department of the Convention. The Com- mission has thus far depended wholly upon volun- teer workers; yet it has done much to promote the Social Service idea and to develop an active inter- est in the churches. The Commission has presented a comprehensive report each year, defining Social Service, outlining a program of action and suggest- ing practical lines of effort. The American Baptist Publication Society, upon the recommendation of the Northern Baptist Con- vention, has created the Department of Social Ser- vice and Brotherhood. Professor Samuel Z. Bat- ten, formerly in charge of the Department of Bib- lical Literature and Social Science of Des Moines College, has been placed at the head of this new Department as the Executive Secretary. The Commission is securing the creation of state Commissions in all the territory of the Convention; thus far nearly every state has acted favorably. In several states, as Indiana, Nebraska, and Califor- nia, efficient and fruitful work has been done. The Commission is issuing much literature of various kinds bearing upon Social Service. It is issuing a number of volumes for Social Service Study under the general title, "The Social Service Series." The Commission has also been active in promoting the interests of the Country Church. A year ago the Convention urged every church to de- velop a "constructive program for service of the Social needs of the community, either singly or in the largest possible cooperation with others." To meet this demand, the Commission has submitted and the Convention has approved "The Social Ser- vice Program." This suggests some definite and practical lines in social effort in the Church, in the Family, in the Community, and in Industry. One year ago at Philadelphia at the meeting of the Baptist World Alliance a resolution signed by a number of delegates was presented, calling for the appointment of a World Alliance Social Service Commission. The Commission organized by electing Dr. John Clifford, of London, President, and a Vice- President for each country in the Alliance. A Cen- tral Executive of five was created, consisting of President M. G. Evans, President E. Y. Mullins, Professor Walter Rauschenbusch, and Professor S. Z. Batten, as Chairman, and Rev. J. W. Graves, as Secretary. Efforts are now being made, and with marked success, to secure the creation of a Commis- sion in each country of the globe. Many things in- dicate that the Baptist body throughout the world is accepting the Social Gospel and is taking an active interest in Social Service. The Commission publishes a number of leaflets, 13 which will be sent to all who desire copies. The present address of the Secretary is Rev. Samuel Z. Batten, D.D., care The American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. The Congregational Brotherhood of America Previous to the year 1910, the National Council of the Congregational Churches had for several years an Industrial Committee of the Council, which did a voluntary and more or less unorganized but important work. At the meeting of the National Council in Octo- ber, 1910, at Boston, by request of the Industrial Committee, the National Brotherhood of Congre- gational Churches instituted the Department of Labor and Social Service, electing Rev. Henry A. Atkinson as Secretary of the Department. Later on, Mr. Atkinson became the Secretary of the Brotherhood. The organization has a definite relationship to the National Council, which took action covering this at the 1910 Session. The men of the Congre- gational churches of the nation, represented in the National Brotherhood, have thus become responsi- ble for the work of Social Service. The report of the Industrial Committee, presented to the National Council, gives a complete history of this develop- ment and constitutes a strong and illuminating statement of the duty of the churches. This report recommended that "the Commission of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America should bring together the executive representatives of the various denominations" and thus suggested and anticipated the development which has since taken place in bringing this work into a thoroughly interdenominational relationship. Secretary Atkinson has visited practically all parts of the country and has carried on important campaigns of Social Evangelism. His work is re- ported through the denominational missionary magazine, "The American Missionary." The program of the Brotherhood in the interest of Social Service is clearly defined and strongly expressed. The report of* the action of the Nation- al Council, by the Brotherhood, contained the fol- lowing recommendations, which were unanimously adopted : (1) That the declarations of the Federal Coun- cil of the Churches (and which are heretofore quoted) be adopted by the Brotherhood as its own declaration. (2) We believe, and therefore advocate, that in- stead of having separate and distinct work organ- ized under the Protestant churches it should be the purpose of all churches to unite in one general, national work under proper organization, to which all should contribute, thus presenting, not a divided force, which would be confusing, but a united force which would give confidence and power. (3) Until this consummation is reached, and in hope that it may be hastened, we fecommend that our National Brotherhood undertake at this time a definite progressive part of this work, arranging for a secretary to be appropriately named as secre- tary of a department and who shall give all his time thereto. 14 (4) That we add the word "Labor" to the title of the Department of Social Service, so that it will be "Department of Labor and Social Service"; and that we urge upon state, city and local brotherhoods everywhere that they study to know of present plans and hopes, of present needs and of all that is being accomplished in the field; and that they plan to do active, continuous and effective work upon approved lines. (5) We urge upon the men of our churches in all states of the union that they will unitedly work to secure the passage by the legislature of their respective states of the Child Labor Law prepared by the Committee on Uniform Legislation of the American Bar Association. Following this action of the National Convention, the Board of Directors of the Brotherhood met and after full and careful consideration determined to employ a man who, under the immediate direction of the Department of Labor and Social Service, would proceed to carry out the program so adopted. The Brotherhood literature may be obtained on application to Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, Secretary, 19 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois. The Joint Commission on Social Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church During the past year, the Joint Commission on Social Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church has been engaged (1) in organizing the forces of the Church, diocesan and parochial, for service, and (2) in co-operating with outside social agencies, especially the Commission on the Church and Social Service appointed by the Federal Council of Churches. (1) The organization of the Church's forces has consisted mainly of the formation of social service commissions in the various dioceses, which should have a general oversight of the work of the differ- ent parishes in their respective fields. During the year, the number of such diocesan commissions has increased from eighteen to fifty-odd, most of which are making earnest efforts to meet their peculiar problems. Up to date, the Joint Commission has refrained from dealing directly with individual parishes, but has distributed, mainly through the agency of the diocesan commissions, several thous- and copies of "A Social Service Program for the Parish," a pamphlet especially prepared for the pur- pose. Another pamphlet has also been issued for the guidance of the diocesan commissions. (2) Co-operation with other social agencies has been confined mainly to the Men and Religion For- ward Movement and the Federal Council Commis- sion. Correspondence carried on by the Field Secretary of the Joint Commission resulted in the active enlistment of a number of clergy in the local Men and Religion campaigns, in the plan proposed by the Federal Council Commission, looking toward the organization of representative committees in the various states to press legislation on behalf of in- dustrial workers, — more specifically, to secure one day's rest in seven — and in the observance of Labor Sunday. These are but the beginnings, briefly indicated, of a work which has begun to show large possibilities. 15 The Joint Commission, while not neglecting oppor- tunities for co-operation in immediate remedial action in all that affects the well-being of men, women and children, has aimed rather to organize and to educate its own constituency, to the end that every diocese and every parish may ultimately have a social service agency actively at work, and that its people in general may come to recognize and to think about our contemporary social problems. This involves, of course, the reaching of the younger generation, through Sunday School, college, and theological seminary, and the training of our future clergy and laity for effective service of mankind in the name of the church, and in cooperation with all agencies that are working for the common good. This Commission contains some of the strongest leaders of the church. Its printed pamphlets, "A Social Service Program for the Parish," and "So- cial Service for Diocesan Commissions," have been widely used, not only in Protestant Episcopal Churches, but, through distribution by the Federal Council Commission, among other communions. The Diocesan Commissions are being developed and that in New York has an Executive Secretary on the field. The recently elected Secretary is Rev. Frank M. Crouch, The Church Missions House, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York. Other Partially Organized Denominations and Communions THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH A Commission on Social Service of the American Christian Convention works in cooperation with the Home Mission Department of the denomination, Rev. O. W. Powers, D.D., of Dayton, Ohio, com- bining the work of Home Mission Secretary and Secretary of the Commission on Social Service. This Commission has circulated through the de- nomination the interdenominational literature is- sued by the Federal Council Commission, has se- cured a hearing on the subject of Social Service at the denominational meetings, has cooperated in con- stituting the Federal Council Committee in several states for the campaign in the interest of one- day-in-seven for industrial workers, and also in the observance of Labor Sunday. Dr. Powers re- ports that the work must be for some time largely educational, and that, for the present, the Commis- sion had better attempt to act for the Federal Council Commission in reaching the denomination, being the interpreter of the whole movement. THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. The Disciples of Christ have a Social Service Committee whose activities have been in relation to the American Christian Missionary Society. This Committee was appointed at the general Convention at Portland, Oregon, and presents a report, with plans and program, at the general Con- vention at Louisville, Kentucky, October, 1912. It has acted in close cooperation with the Federal Council and has assisted in carrying out the plans of the Commission on the Church and Social Service. It is expected that the Committee will be- come a part of the Home Missionary Society. The Secretary of the Committee is Professor Alva W. Taylor, of the Bible College of Missouri, Columbia, 16 Missouri, the author of "The Social Work of Christian Missions." THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS This body has always laid great emphasis on So- cial Service as an inherent part of Christianity, but has done little in the way of organized and sys- tematic development. The first definite step in this direction has just been taken. A Committee on So- cial Service has been appointed to report at the Five Years' Meeting of the Friends, held in In- dianapolis, in October. This will be the first official document on Social Service prepared by the Society of Friends. The Chairman of the Committee is Professor Rufus W. Jones, Haverford, Pennsyl- vania. THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH A Committee on Industrial Conditions was ap- pointed by the church's Assembly in 1910, and at the Assembly meeting in 191 1, the Committee's Re- port was given thorough discussion. At Seattle in May, 1912, the Report of the Committee was adopted, with considerable enthusiasm. Lists of books for the pastors and churches have been issued and an educational work carried on through the church paper, Presbyteries, Synods and special meetings of the denomination. The present program is largely educational and mainly to inform the people as to industrial and social conditions. Committees are being appointed in the various Presbyteries and Synods. The Young People's Christian Union has become inter- ested in the Committee's work. The National Brotherhood has also appointed a Committee on So- cial Service and the people of the United Presby- terian Church are rapidly becoming awakened. The Chairman of the Industrial Committee is Rev. H. H. Marlin, 5151 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania. Other Denominations Represented at the Interdenominational Conference The following denominations which, although so far as reported, have no organized work, were rep- resented by delegates to the first Interdenomina- tional Conference at Chicago, 191 1. The FREE BAPTIST CHURCH has no distinct agency in the interest of Social Service, so far as reported. At the Interdenominational Conference in Chicago, one of its delegates reported that this work had taken mainly the form of training the theological students in such service, and that in this a good deal of progress had been made. Its work, especially relating to the country church, is rapidly increasing. The GERMAN EVANGELICAL SYNOD OF NORTH AMERICA reported that no official action had been taken, but the delegates were sure that the denomination would enter heartily into inter- denominational cooperation. The MENNONITE CHURCH reported an awakening interest and while the denomination is not definitely organized, in local communities it is exerting a large and increasing influence, especially in the problem of the country church and rural life. 17 The METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, while having no organized work, re- ported many institutions for social work and that its Woman's Council had a Committee on Social Service. This denomination, especially through the women and their Settlement Homes called "Wesley Houses," of which there are twenty-six, is doing an important work. There are also a number of important institutional churches and many others with parish houses reaching large communities. The Deaconess work is an important feature. So far as local work is concerned, this denomination is playing an important part in these great interests and the whole question of denominational develop- ment is now in the hands of a national Commission which will probably report to the General Board in May, 1913. THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH is doing considerable in the way of local work and one of the Bishops reports that the spirit is abroad and that the idea of Social Service is getting hold both of the laity and the ministry. The African Methodist Episcopal Church Quarterly Re- view contains a Department on the Church and Social Service, and the leaders of the denomination are hoping and expecting that the denomination as such will before long be organized in these in- terests. THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA reported that the project of an organization for social service was before the General Synod and had received favorable response, although so far as reported, the work is not yet organized. THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, though without formal or- ganization, reported through its delegate that much was being done by the churches and pastors in co- operation with the Presbyterian Bureau of Social Service. The delegate reporting expressed deep appreciation of the assistance which was extended to the Reformed Church, especially in Pennsyl- vania, from the Presbyterian Board of Home Mis- sions. THE UNITED BRETHREN reported partial organization and that a permanent organization had been ordered. A program of work has been recom- mended by a Committee and adopted, and the dele- gate reporting at Chicago stated that it was only a question of time as to when the whole church would be organized and working in close relation- ship with the Federal Council Commission. Other Constituent Bodies of the Federal Council While no definite denominational movement has been reported and these denominations as such do not appear in this department of denominational work, it is not to be assumed that they are in any sense indifferent to it. Secretary Macfarland of the Federal Council Commission reports that in vis- iting the other denominational gatherings, he finds not only a warm spirit of interest in the work of social uplift, but also a large amount of work being done by the local pastors and churches, and often- times a deep and intense interest on the part of the State and District Conferences. 18 The Lutheran Church has long had what is known as "The Inner Mission," which has been do- ing a wide-spread and effective work. The Mora- vian Church is organizing with unusual effective- ness in the interest of country life and the rural church problem, and the other denominations, — the Evangelical Association, the Methodist Protestant Church, the Reformed Episcopal, the Reformed Presbyterian, the Seventh Day Baptists, the United Evangelical, and other churches — are engaged, especially at important centers, in the work under consideration. The only reason their work is not more fully reported in this review is that it is difficult to comprehend such a work in a pamphlet of this kind where there is no denominational agency responsible for it. The Presbyterian Church in the United States (South) has all through the South a large and important missionary work, which gives special consideration to social problems. It should also be remembered that, in addition to the work comprehended in this pamphlet, all the denominations are really doing a large work of social uplift through their various Home Mission and Foreign Mission Boards. The attempt here has been only to present the work so far as it is assum- ing the form of organization in a specific and de- fined interest. Other Religious Bodies It should also be reported that other organiza- tions, such as the Universalist Social Service Com- mission and the American Unitarian Association's Department of Social and Public Service, are doing effective work, the latter having published some of the most instructive and illuminating literature issued on the whole question. The various Jewish bodies have their Committees and Commissions in this same interest, and the Roman Church is compactly and effectively organ- ized. 19 Further information may be obtained regarding the social work of the evangelical churches on application to the following members of the Secretarial Cabinet of the Federal Council Com- mission on the Church and Social Service. Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, Secretary of the Congre- gational Brotherhood, 19 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois. Rev. Samuel Z. Batten, D.D., Secretary of the Bap- tist Department of Social Service and Brother- hood of the Northern Baptist Convention, care of American Baptist Publication Society, Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. Rev.^ Frank M, Crouch, Field Secretary of the Protestant Episcopal Joint Commission for Social Service, The Church Missions House, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York. Rev. Harry F. Ward, Secretary of the Methodist Federation for Social Service, 2512 Park Place, Evanston, Illinois. Rev. Warren H. Wilson, Ph.D., Superintendent of the Presbyterian Department of the Church and Country Life, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. Rev. Charles Stelzle, Superintendent of the Presby- terian Bureau of Social Service, and Executive Secretary of the Home Mission Week Cam- paign, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. Rev. Charles S. Macfarland, Ph.D., Acting Execu- tive Secretary of the Federal Council and Secretary of the Commission on the Church and Social Service, representing Constituent Bodies of the Federal Council, 161 1 Clarendon Building, 215 Fourth Avenue, New York. The Willett Press, New York