NATIONAL CONGRESS 
 
 OF 
 
 UNITED BRETHREN MEN 
 
 “Bir ©ini' Sriioer” 
 
 DAYTON, OHIO 
 May 5, 6, 7, 1914 
 
 Issued by the General Committee 
 appointed by the Bishops’ Cabinet 
 
CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Correspondence concerning the National Congress 
 of United Brethren Men should be addressed to 
 H. C. Cridland, Secretary, 702 U. B. Building, Day- 
 ton, Ohio. 
 
National Congress of United 
 Brethren Men 
 
 THE CALL. 
 
 A National Congress of United Brethren men 
 has been called to meet in Dayton, Ohio, May 5-7, 
 1914. There has been a growing conviction in many 
 parts of the Church that such a congress is the will 
 of God for our denomination at this time. 
 
 The question was thoroughly considered at the 
 recent meeting of the Bishops’ Cabinet, which in¬ 
 cludes the heads of the various departments of the 
 Church, and a general committee was appointed with 
 power to constitute sub-committees, to arrange a 
 program, and to plan all the details for the holding 
 of this important meeting. 
 
 PURPOSE. 
 
 1. That our denomination may discover its re¬ 
 sources in Jesus Christ, and God’s will for us in the 
 extension of his kingdom. 
 
 2. That we may recount and be grateful for the 
 victories of the past. 
 
 3. That the tasks and opportunities now before 
 our Church may be set forth in a comprehensive, 
 constructive and convincing manner. 
 
 4. That we may discover the 150,000 members in 
 our communion now not active, and the means by 
 which they may be enlisted in the work of Christ. 
 
 5. That strong agencies may be provided for the 
 instruction and training of efficient leadership, both 
 in our local churches and in the general church work, 
 that our entire membership may reach its maximum 
 power in the work of the kingdom. 
 

 6. That a workable, inspiring, denominational pro¬ 
 gram and policy may be adopted as we enter the 
 second century since the death of Philip William 
 Otterbein. 
 
 PROGRAM. 
 
 A strong program is in preparation. Both laymen 
 and ministers will share in the addresses and dis¬ 
 cussions. The Bishops and other general officers 
 will bring vital messages growing out of actual needs 
 and experiences. Some of the strongest interdenom¬ 
 inational speakers of the world will deliver ad¬ 
 dresses. There will be a wide range of subjects 
 considered, as the statement on “Purpose” indicates, 
 but the themes will be so arranged as to make the 
 program constructive and vitally related to the devel¬ 
 opment of the life and work of our denomination. 
 
 In addition to addresses and discussions there will 
 be much attention given to conferences by Bishops’ 
 districts, and possibly to conferences of pastors, of 
 conference superintendents, and of laymen. One 
 session will be given up largely to a presentation of 
 our united work for all our benevolences, at which 
 time reports will be heard from local churches and 
 annual conferences. 
 
 There will be a great exhibit setting forth the 
 striking features of our missionary work, church 
 erection, educational and publishing work. There 
 will be an exhibition of the latest books and pam¬ 
 phlets on the various phases of the work of the 
 church. 
 
 TIME AND PLACE. 
 
 The date fixed for the Congress is May 5-7, 1914, 
 and the place, Dayton, Ohio. The first session will be 
 held in the First United Brethren Church, corner 
 Fourth and Perry streets, at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, 
 
 
T 
 
 
 
 May 5. It is important that every delegate be in his 
 seat at this first session. 
 
 By remaining a day or two after the Congress 
 closes, every delegate can gain much through attend¬ 
 ance upon the annual board meetings which immedi¬ 
 ately follow the Congress, and by visiting our splen¬ 
 did publishing plant and other places of interest in 
 and about Dayton. 
 
 DELEGATES. 
 
 It is very important that delegates should come 
 from all parts of the Church. The goal of every 
 annual conference should be at least twice as many 
 delegates as there were in the last General Confer¬ 
 ence. 
 
 After April 1, 1914, conferences desiring larger 
 representations will be allowed to enroll more dele¬ 
 gates if all the conferences have not enrolled their 
 full allotment. In addition to the Bishops, general 
 officers, and presidents of our schools, at least two 
 hundred and fifty laymen and two hundred and fifty 
 pastors should enroll. When the number that can 
 be accommodated has been reached no more creden¬ 
 tials will be issued. 
 
 Laymen and pastors should mark the date of the 
 Congress on their calendars and plan their work at 
 once with a view to taking part in the meeting. 
 Many a church at its own expense will find it profi¬ 
 table to send its pastor and possibly a layman. In 
 some cases groups of churches are sending delegates. 
 Brotherhoods, Sunday schools, and Young People’s 
 societies will send the persons suited to represent 
 them. Many will come at their own expense. 
 
 Admission to all the sessions of the Congress will 
 be by ticket. It is important that delegates register 
 
 
 
early in order to make certain of a seat in the Con¬ 
 gress and to have sufficient time to prepare thor¬ 
 oughly for the meeting. The delegations are filling 
 up rapidly. 
 
 NECESSARY EXPENSE. 
 
 Every effort will be made to reduce to the mini¬ 
 mum the expenses of the delegates while in Dayton. 
 Detailed announcements of entertainment and rail¬ 
 road rates will be made later. Following the custom 
 of such gatherings, a registration fee of $1.00 to 
 assist in meeting the necessary expenses is charged 
 each person who enrolls. The enrollment fee should 
 be sent to H. C. Cridland, Secretary, 702 U. B. 
 Building, Dayton, Ohio, who will issue credentials 
 and furnish full information. 
 
 INTERCESSION. 
 
 The Congress has been called in answer to prayer. 
 The declared purpose of the meeting cannot be fully 
 realized apart from definite, continuous, fervent 
 prayer, not only on the part of all the delegates, but 
 on the part of the local churches throughout the 
 denomination. 
 
 Let prayer begin now for those who have the 
 chief responsibility in planning for the Congress, 
 that the will of God may be done in every phase of 
 the vast and difficult work. 
 
 Pray for all who shall bring the messages, and 
 for all the delegates who shall attend that they may 
 enter fully into the purpose of this meeting and be 
 prepared to help work our policies and agencies that 
 shall be blessed of God in leading our Church to 
 understand his full will and to do it. 
 
 “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 
 I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” 
 
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