The Constitution and Organization of the Commission on Relations with France and Belgium T HE Commission on Relations with France and Belgium is composed, first of all, of the official representatives of the denominations having work or related work in France and Belgium, as follows: Northern Baptist Convention Methodist Episcopal Church Methodist Episcopal Church, South National Lutheran Council Presbyterian Church in the U. S. (South) Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. United Presbyterian Church Reformed Church in America Reformed Church in the U. S. It also includes representatives of the American Bible Society and the American McAll Association and has the cooperation of the United Society of Christian Endeavor. In addition to this it has about eighty members at large, selected from many commlinions because of their interest and special service. * The Committee on Work, which is the Executive Com¬ mittee, consists of the official representatives of the bodies concerned. There is a special Committee on Theological Seminaries for cooperation between seminaries of the three nations through the interchange of professors, lecturers and graduate students. Arrangements are also being made whereby the libraries of the seminaries in each country shall be supplied with informa¬ tional literature concerning the churches of other countries. Provision has been made for the other denominations of the Federal Council ^ participate in this work and it is hoped that ultimately all of the American church bodies will have their part in it. The corresponding organization in France, through which 1 the Commission carries out its work, is the Comite d’Union Protestante pour les Secours de Guerre en France et en Belgi¬ que, appointed by the French Protestant Federation, and consists of representatives of the following bodies: Federation Protestante de France Comite Protestant Frangais Comite Protestant d’Entr’aide pour les regions envahies Eglises Evangeliques Lutheriennes Union Nationale des Eglises Reformees Evangeliques Union Nationale des Eglises Reformees Union des Eglises Evangeliques Libres Eglise Evangelique Methodiste Eglises Baptistes Union des Eglises Evangeliques de Belgique Eglises Missionaire Beige Societe Centrale Evangelique Mission Populaire Evangelique (McAll) Societe des Missions Evangeliques Eglise Methodiste Episcopale de France The Comite Beige d’Union Protestante also acts in coopera¬ tion with the Commission. Thus we have in the three countries organizations effectively representing all of the Protestant work and institutions. The Efficiency of United Effort A Real Program for the Reconstruction and Development of the French and Belgian Protestant Churches United under Capable Local Leadership in Consultation with the Leaders of American Protestant Churches Cooperating in Counsel and Financial Aid. The efficiency of united effort is now assured in the recon¬ struction and development of the work of the Protestant Churches in France and Belgium. After a most careful study and consultation during the year following the armistice, the leaders of all the French and Belgian Protestant churches have agreed upon a united program and budget for the year 1920. A commission representing the Protestant churches of the United States has approved this program and budget and has assured the French and Belgian committee that the share asked from the American churches will be sent without fail this year. 2 The principal features of this program are: 1. Reconstruction, Repair and Development of Churches in the Devastated Area. About one hundred and thirty churches and parish build¬ ings were ruined by fire, bombardment, pillage and wanton The Protestant Church of Monneaux (near Chateau Thierry) destruction. The churches in the towns which are now being rebuilt are to be restored at once and increased facilities added for enlarged social service. Where the present population does not justify the im¬ mediate erection of a church, it is planned to found community centers in neighboring villages, grouped under the supervision of one of the local pastors. Two women, an efficient visitor and a trained nurse, placed in charge of each of these centers, by rendering real Christian social service would naturally de¬ velop the nucleus of a future church. In fact, at the present 3 time, the number of available pastors makes it practically impossible to extend the work in any other way. 2. Training for Leadership in Church Work and Social Service. The loss during the war of so many religious leaders and promising students and the requirements in personnel of the enlarged plans for the future necessitate the development as rapidly as possible of an adequate force of men and women to supply efficient leadership in all branches of Christian work. To this end, training schools have been organized in Paris and elsewhere, and give promise of great usefulness in meeting the need. These, and the theological seminaries as well, require temporary assistance in the present economic crisis. 3. Foreign Missions. Hundreds of thousands of black and yellow men were recruited in the French colonies of Asia and Africa and brought to the battlefields of the great war, where many of them laid down their lives, fighting bravely by the side of the French and American soldiers. While in Christian Europe they learned the vices of civilization and how to murder more rapidly and how to make the deadliest weapons. The least we can do is to bring to their families in the French colonies the best the world has ever known. The Paris Evangelical Missionary Society is practically the only French missionary society in foreign lands. It is inter¬ denominational and unites in one missionary effort the two sections of the Reformed Church, the Union of Free Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and some of the Wesleyan Methodist and Baptist Churches. The Society works in seven mission fields: five in Africa-Basutoland (South Africa), Barot- siland (Upper Zambeze), Senegal and Congo (West Africa), and Madagascar; and two in the South Seas (Tahiti and So¬ ciety Islands—New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands). In view of the orgnization of the work in the new mission field of Kamerun, formerly a German colony, as well as the extension of the work in the seven older mission fields, the Paris Society is preparing about twenty new missionaries, for the most part young soldiers and officers who have just come 4 back from the army; it prepares them with the full confidence that God, who has called the men, will also give the necessary resources to send them into the field. 4. Immediate Relief for Pastors , their Families, and Needy Church Members. The Comite d-Entr’aide, organized at almost the beginning of the war, with alertness and clear vision united all types of Protestants in a common organization to relieve the Protestant families rendered homeless and helpless by the war. Within a year the need of such relief will greatly diminish, but just at present it is still very necessary. 5. Protestant Schools. A strong proportion of the Protestant population, and, therefore, of the ministers, live in rural districts, mountain and country villages and small towns, where the children can only find primary education up to the age of twelve. The great need is, therefore, that of a few well-equipped and endorsed high schools or children’s hostels, where pastors’ children and others could find the best education. Such schools would prepare a new generation of Christian workers and leaders and could, if carried out on broad evangelical lines, be used by many outsiders and, therefore, be most useful for spreading evangelical principles among the better classes. There are, in addition, certain Protestant primary schools which it is useful to maintain; and small amounts are required by various schools and asylums which have suffered materially during the war and which require support for the next few years in order that they may not be permanently encumbered by debt. 6. Publication. It is highly desirable that Protestant literature be mad? available for the widest circulation as quickly as possible. This necessitates a capital fund for the printing of books and periodicals and an adequate appropriation for the production and distribution of the Scriptures in cooperation with the American Bible Society. 5 7. French and Belgian Protestant Hospitals and Asylums. The erection of new hospital buildings and asylums re¬ quires an amount of money that could hardly be expected to be received from general church collections. It is highly important, however, that a liberal appropriation be made to the Protestant hospitals for the training of district nurses who are urgently needed in the development of the work in the devastated areas. For this large program of Christian service the Protes¬ tant churches of the United States have pledged to the Committee of the Protestant Churches of France and Bel¬ gium ONE MILLION DOLLARS in 1920. The Commission counts oh the cooperation of American Christians to help carry out this pledge. Checks may be sent to Alfred R. Kimball, Treasurer of the Federal Council, and will be credited, if so specified, to the contribution of the denom¬ ination with which the giver is connected, and may be designated for particular objects. The Committee on Plans and Budget, of which Mr. William Sloane Coffin is Chairman, has gone over its subject with great care and its proposals have been accepted by the Commission and its constituent denominations with entire confidence and approval. America in France 6 Statement of the Commission “The Protestant Churches of France and Belgium have had much in common with the Churches of America, in origin, history, faith and sentiment. The Huguenots of France, largely through earlier persecution, have been distinguished among the planters of Protestant Religion in both Europe and America and in other parts of the world. “These Churches in France and Belgium, in addition to this kinship in origin and heritage, are related still more intimately, by historical ties and by forms of faith and order, with the Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist Episcopal Churches in America. “These relations and sympathies have normally and naturally deepened as we have witnessed the brave sacri¬ fices of these fellow-Christians and still more as we have in some measure entered into their suffering. It was in the ordinary course of nature that they should, in 1915, in their dire need, look across the sea to their brothers and sisters in faith for financial and moral support. Consequently, messengers have passed back and forth from the Churches of one country to another; we have received their messengers with sympathy and have made response to the needs they set forth to us, though in a measure which has been thus far all too meagre. “The Protestant Churches of France and Belgium now face the great tasks and opportunities of reconstruction. They do it with diminished ranks and resources, but with the same courage and resolution that they displayed in maintaining their life and giving heart and soul to their nation during the war. “A great portion of the people of France have no personal relations with religious institutions. It is not that they are irreligious. They have borne witness to their splendid ideals during these five momentous years. But, whatever may be the cause or causes, organized religion as ecclesiastically constituted has failed to reach them. To these millions of unattached men and women the Protes- 7 tant Faith of France is making its appeal. For them it has a message, a message which the Protestant Churches of France have a right to speak and an appeal which the people of France have a right to hear, if they choose to listen to it. “Our brethren across the sea, however, while their faith and spiritual power have been deepened, are de¬ pleted in their personal and physical resources; their Churches are destroyed, their institutions are impaired, and their workers have been laid low on the field of conflict. The Protestant Churches of America have here a great obligation and opportunity, which to ignore would be a sin against humanity and against God. These needs are, first of all, the rebuilding and strengthening of Churches, Manses, Hospitals and institutions of Christian teaching. But they are more than this; they include the great task of social reconstruction. “In this service with a view of strengthening and sup¬ plementing the forces already in those countries, the American denominations having work or> related work in France and Belgium propose to participate; namely, the Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal and Baptist, with such other denominations as may desire to unite in this duty and privilege. “In order that this great ecumenical undertaking may be broadly Christian, the Federal Council has appointed a ‘Commission on Relations with France and Belgium’ in which all participating denominations may have a common interest, work in consultation and cooperation, and insure results effective to the highest degree. “This Commission seeks no controversy, enters no de¬ bate, regarding other forms of religion in these nations. Their people will choose for themselves the expressions of their religious faith. The Commission and its con¬ stituent denominations enter upon their task, not destruc¬ tively, but frankly, openly and constructively. “In neither France nor Belgium has the state decreed forms or institutions of religion for the people and the 8 religious faith of men and women is not to be de¬ termined by numerical proportions or by majority vote. “In these nations the Church of Rome has a large body of faithful and devout adherents, whose devotion we respect and whose good works we esteem. We view with cheerful goodwill the efforts of Churches of that faith in America which seek to do for their brethren and sis¬ ters what we do for ours. They too will make their religious appeal to the great multitude in France who are without the Church. We do not assume to determine the course which such churches shall take, nor do we on the other hand admit the validity of their objection to our own cooperation with our spiritual brethren of France and Belgium. “Religion is not to be determined by national or po¬ litical boundaries. It is a matter between each individual soul and God. The nation most truly and deeply religious is not the nation in which forms and faith are determined and selected for the people, but in which each soul, in the inviolable solitude of personality, is brought face to face with the divine reality. “In this spirit of goodwill towards all good men and all good works and institutions, the Protestant Evangelical Churches of America desire to do their part in the moral, social and religious reconstruction of these countries, which, by their devotion to ideals and by the valor of their spirits, have saved us from the greatest moral and spir¬ itual disaster that ever threatened the civilized world.” The Needs of the French and Belgian Churches as the Result of Their Devastation In all the devastated regions of France and Belgium there are Protestant communities. During the war the majority were deprived of their pastors, who were mobilized as sol¬ diers or officers, as hospital attendants, as chaplains, or who, under German invasion, with the prominent citizens of their parishes, were led away into exile. Out of the thousand pastors, over four hundred and fifty 9 were mobilized and there were, in 1918, one hundred and fourteen serving as chaplains, the remainder being in the ranks. Two hundred and sixty-one were decorated for con¬ spicuous valor. Seventy-five French and eighty-eight Belgian pastors were in the invaded and bombarded regions. Nearly one hundred pastors and theological students and more than one hundred and fifty sons of pastors and missionaries were killed. Prior to the war there were about one thousand Protestant churches in France. One-eighth of these churches, including many of the strongest and most influential, were under fire in the industrial districts of the invaded north. In some in¬ stances every article of value—the communion sets, altars, etc., were taken away by the Germans, the churches damaged and many totally destroyed. About one hundred and thirty churches and other parish buildings were ruined—by fire, bombardment, pillage and wanton destruction. Twenty-eight pastors homes were de¬ stroyed. Captured army orders indicate the thoroughness with which German officers superintended the demolition. The losses among the Protestant congregations were often enormous. In many churches forty to sixty men never returned. In addi¬ tion, these people in the path of the fighting were of course scattered, and their churches were entirely crippled. For these reasons it is estimated that at least two hundred churches have been closed, awaiting repair, rebuilding, the finding of a pastor or the return of the people. The sum required (at pre-war prices) for the reconstruc¬ tion of the churches was estimated at more than 4,500,000 francs, and for furniture of both churches and manses, 475,000 francs. The actual cost of the materials cannot be given exactly but in many cases it has quadrupled. An immediate need is for semi-portable halls which can take the place of churches and stations until they are rebuilt or replaced, for it must be remembered that dwelling houses have to be built to accommodate the population before the church can be started. Another equally urgent need is to relieve pastors and their flocks in their time of distress. 10 Plans of the Religious Bodies in France and Belgium for the Expansion of Their Work 1. The French Protestant Assembly met at Lyons in November, 1919, in a gathering at which all of the Protestant denominations and their cooperating agencies were repre¬ sented. Plans were approved for the development of the French Protestant Federation, following in the main the organ¬ ization of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, with provision for headquarters in Paiis and the employment of adequate secretarial forces. 2. United Committee of the Protestant Churches of Belgium. The two main Protestant bodies in Belgium are also forming a United Committee for their common work and are receiving hearty cooperation from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of the United States, which is undertaking im¬ portant work in Belgium, as representing the Episcopal Meth¬ odism of America. 3 French Protestant Committee for Reconstruction. This Committee, inclusive of all Protestant interests in France and Belgium, is charged with the special duty of reconstruction work, is authorized by the French Protestant Federation and the United Committee of the Belgian Churches, and is the cor¬ responding Committee with the Federal Council Commission on Relations with France and Belgium. It includes as a con¬ stituent member a Committee charged with the special duty ol bringing relief to the Protestant institutions and families ot the invaded regions. 4. Plans of the Constituent Bodies. The Reformed Evangelical Church plans the restoration ot sixty buildings, costing, at present prices, $960,000; the devel¬ opment of pastoral training by relocating the seminary of Mon- tauban at Montpellier; the organization of lay activities m all of their churches; evangelization by urging its possibility m all of the churches, by providing tracts and other literature, bv preparing evangelists and colporteurs; the establishment ol a School of Religious and Social Work for women, m Paris and the use of women as deaconess evangelists; the increase ol pastors’ salaries from January, 1920, to $600 yearly for single, and $840 for married men, with house rental, and allowances for children and for years of service. 11 Ruins of Reformed Church at Verdun The Reformed Church plans the restoration of the churches of Lille, Roubaix, Verdun, Nancy and others, and evangeliza¬ tion throughout the country through a complete program of parochial effort. For this latter purpose a strong committee on evangelization has been formed and the next National Synod is to be called the Synod of Evangelization. In addi¬ tion to the plans for new work, the attempt of this denomination to regain its normal strength will require substantial financial support. The two Reformed bodies whose work is above described, together with the Lutheran churches, form the larger body of French Protestantism. The Lutheran Church is a strong body, especially now that it has received large accessions from the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. The Lutheran churches, with the assistance of their brethren in America, contemplate a strong development of their work. 12 The other bodies of the French Protestant Federation—the Free Churches, the Methodist and Baptist Churches—are also engaged in courageous plans for the expansion of their evan- gelical work. The Central Evangelical Society plans the restoration of stations in the industrial and manufacturing centers of the North at an estimated cost of $60,000 for reestablishment an $180,000 for rebuilding and furnishing; the creation of a School of Christian Service for men and women, of whom there are already many ready to take up such training, at an annual cost of $6,000, and the placing of workers on probation with qualified pastors before their selection for^ training m the School, involving a cost of about $10,000; the adoption of churches abandoned by their denominations through necessity and which have turned for aid to the Central Evangelical So¬ ciety, through which they were founded, involving a cost of $10,000; and the development of the previously successiul work of publication at a probable cost of $10,000. The Me All Mission plans immediate repair of the stations in the North—St. Quentin, Fives-Lille, etc. and enlargement of other stations—at Rouen, Amiens and Marseilles; the organ¬ ization of dispensaries with visiting nurses; the establishment of a Bureau of Publications, supplying magazines, papers, tracts, etc., for all Protestant churches, in order to reach par¬ ticularly the adult population, which is less ready than formerly to attend the public meetings where the religious message may be heard; the extension of activities for children, particular y in the permanent establishment of country homes and the starting of playgrounds; the training of the numbers of young men and women who are ready to become evangelists and mis¬ sion workers; and the extension of work in the small country places. The Central Evangelical Society and the Me All Mission have united in three important undertakings—the Bureau of Publications, the training of workers, and, to be carried on later, an evangelistic campaign. The two Societies continue their other work as before. 13 The Society of Sunday Schools plans to work with other religious publishing societies in the publi¬ cation of tracts, and needs $20,000 to start its work of securing teachers’ helps for all departments of the Sunday School. It will publish hymn books, Bible histor¬ ies, a book on Bible life and customs, a Bible dictionary, lesson cards, etc.; and also needs $3,000 for publication of UEffort, the only Protestant interdenomina¬ tional weekly. This Society plans to further its work, also, by translating and adapting from American publications and hopes for permission from American societies to do this freely. The Bible Society of France, which during the war has supplied its books ,to ten other Bible Soci¬ eties in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Haiti and three Missionary Soci¬ eties, believes that two editions of the Bible are urgently needed—one of the pocket style and one larger edition, as well as large marriage Bibles, New Testaments and single books of the Bible. The Society should have from $20,000 to $30,000 for the publica¬ tion of these editions. Sunday School Children in France The Society of Foreign Missions needs about $150,000 to carry on its interdenominational work in the French Colon¬ ies and to prepare young men and women for this work in a well-equipped training school. The Belgian Missionary Church hopes to provide scholar- 14 ships for the six candidates for the ministry already under training in Switzerland and America and for the others to follow: and also plans well-advertised evangelistic campaigns; the development of evangelization in Brussels; the founding of a Protestant Building there; providing of tracts and other lit¬ erature; aggressive extension of Sunday Schools; the reorgan¬ ization of Protestant primary schools and establishment of secondary schools; the extension of the medical work now being managed by a Union Protestant Board; the development of philanthropic work, including the continuation of orphan¬ ages and asylums; the strengthening of the fight for morality, reorganization of temperance societies, rescue work, etc.; and the extension of the Congo Mission work, since the expected Belgian mandate for part of German East Africa will necessitate their taking over the existing missionary effort. This Church also recommends the enlargement of the Brussels Hospital. The Union of Evangelical Churches of Belgium plans to carry on its work through evangelists at eight stations, two colporteurs, its three schools and its printing shop; and to provide pensions for four widows of evangelists. Interdenominational Social and Phil am thro pic Institutions. One of the most striking expressions of Protestantism in these two na¬ tions is in the various social and philanthropic institutions. Special consideration should be given to the School for Social Service connected with the publication of Faith and Life, under the direction of Paul Doumergue, the only school of its kind in France. In various parts of France and Belgium are Protestant hospitals, or¬ phanages and asylums and institutions for training social workers, which are of a high order. These institutions have, of course, suffered greatly during the war, just at the time when they were more needed than ever. Their facilities were turned over to the military authorities and their whole work disorganized. They are now in the process of re-building and re-manning and are among the most worthy objects that can be conserved through Ameri¬ can generosity. Cultured Societies. There are also several cultural organ¬ izations, like the Protestant Historical Society, the famous Museum of the Desert and similar institutions, not requiring large sums, but of the highest importance for the intellectual development of Protestantism and the protection of its ideals. The institution of a Franco-American Review has been proposed, which ought to receive its support in the main from the United States. Assistance Rendered by the Federal Council and the American Churches During the War Shortly after the beginning of the war, in 1915, the General Secretary of the Federal Council undertook to raise funds for the needs of these churches and organized committees from time to time for the care of this work. Commissioners from the French and Belgian churches came to America at the invi¬ tation of these committees and the results were as follows up to March 1, 1920: Total amount sent to France and Belgium since 1915.$757,219.28 The church leaders in France and Belgium say that without this aid it would have been very difficult to maintain their work during the war. Up to the latter part of 1918 these sums were secured from individuals and local churches through the visitation of the French and Belgian commissioners and the constant appeals of the General Secretary of the Federal Council. During 1919 the method was changed and for the most part funds secured through the denominational bodies, mainly the Baptist; Methodist Episcopal; Methodist Episcopal, South; 16 Lutheran; Presbyterian; Presbyterian South; Reformed Church in the United States and United Presbyterian. The McAll Association and the American Bible Society also carried on similar work. The following is a statement of the amounts received from denominational bodies and individuals from October, 1918, to March 1, 1920: Methodist Episcopal. Baptist . Lutheran .. Reformed Church in the U. S Presbyterian . Methodist Episcopal, South... Presbyterian, South. United Presbyterian. Reformed Church in America $75,000.00 64,159.73 50,000.00 50,000.00 48,000.00 25,000.00 25,000.00 15,000.00 150.00 From direct subscriptions $352,309.73 28,898.86 Total.$381,208.59 In addition to the above, other substantial amounts have been conveyed directly to their corresponding churches by the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; the National Lutheran Council and the Baptist churches. The McAll Association carried on its regular work. Plans of American Church Bodies in addition to the Common Work through the Federal Council Three American church bodies are also undertaking work in France, which, while carried out in consultation and cooper¬ ation with all of the other interests concerned, is of a direct nature. . . The Methodist Episcopal Church, which installed churches in France in 1906, has large and important plans, including the physical and social reconstruction of certain areas, with the approval of the French Government, and the development of its churches and social and philanthropic institutions, conducts four orphanages, and is at work in the Savoy, at 17 Chateau Thierry, and, among other cities, in Grenoble, Lyons, Toulon, Marseilles, Cannes and Strasbourg. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is confining its work to Belgium and has already purchased beautiful property in Brussels for an orphanage, is preparing to erect a general Protestant building in Brussels, has opened up a relief station at Ypres and is pursuing a vigorous work in cooperation with the other Protestant bodies in Belgium. The National Lutheran Council is also assisting the Luth¬ eran churches of France directly, the plans including the development of theological education, a students’ hostel in Paris, expansion of home mission work, religious publications, a high school or college and the possibility of establishing an American Lutheran church in Paris. The Reformed Church in the United States, as a part of its cooperative work with the Federal Council Commission, proposes to erect a memorial church at some historic spot. The American McAll Association proposes to continue in a still more effective way the splendid work which it has been doing for so many years. The American Bible Society will give its help, in cooper¬ ation with the Commission, to the Bible Societies in France and Belgium. The Committee on Work, following upon consultation with the Committee of the Interchurch World Movement took the following action: “It was voted that the Commission express to the Executive Committee of the Interchurch World Movement its appreciation of the offer of the Interchurch World Movement to cooperate with the Commission and to assist it in its plans, leaving to the Commission the relationships with the work in France.” The Obligation and Opportunity of the American Churches Various representatives of the American churches who have visited France and Belgium during the past two years have all come home urging that the program of this Commission be adopted by the American churches. 18 Rev. James H. Franklin, of the Baptist Churches, Chairman of the Committee on Work of the Commission, in his report of his visit has said: “The times are favorable for the preaching of the gospel of personal religion. Protestantism, which has been the salt of France in the past, has an unparalleled opportunity at such a time as this. Evangelical Christianity alone can meet the present need of the nations.” Rev. Arthur J. Brown, Chairman of the Commission, on his return, said: . .My visit deepened and strengthened my already deep and strong conviction that not only are American Christians called upon to help their sorely stricken brethren in a time of special need but that this help is absolutely _ indispensable to that strengthening of a pure evangelical faith in France and Belgium which will afford the most secure foundation for the peace and prosperity of these important countries and of all the interests that are related to them. As one of the fine young men of Pans told me, there is just now such a spiritual hunger on the part ol many of the young men of France as we have never seen belore. Our Protestant brethren in France are trying as best they can to satisfy that hunger; but, weakened and crippled by the war, they need the help of their brethren in America. Let us give it to them in abundant, ungrudging measure.” Rev. Charles S. Macfarland, General Secretary of the Fed¬ eral Council, who is considered in both France and America as an authority upon the situation in France and Belgium, has said: “The Protestant churches have a history, traditions, an apostolic succession, a power of personality and a clear grasp of funda¬ mental religious principles, with an adequate numerical force to make them the foundation of a great religious structure in France. “God has set before America an open door .in France and Bel¬ gium. Other agencies, including interests social, educational and philanthropic, are seizing the opportunity for service to these nations and are already on the field. They are preparing the way for the churches. “We have, on the part of the churches, an opportunity for con¬ secrated Christian statesmanship and unity in service, calling lor our earnest prayer, our deepest thought, our wisest and most effective action. France is ready for a great evangelical move¬ ment.” 19 Rev. Frank Mason North, President of the Federal Council, has said: “The present duty of the churches of America to French Protes¬ tantism is: “1. To recognize the significance of the present position 6f the evangelical forces in France herself and to world evangeliza¬ tion. “2. To promote those sympathies which shall develop into an enduring fellowship in faith and service. “3. To provide larger resources for the work of relief and restoration—sufficient at least to secure, in addition to the con¬ tributions, already generous, from France herself, enough to restore properties and to relieve and re-install pastors and workers. “4. To aid by sympathy, cooperation and resources, the pro¬ motion of the full educational missionary and social activities of the present evangelical forces, alike those of the churches known as historic and of those more recently established, urging always community of counsel, unity of plan, cooperation in action, en¬ thusiasm for achievement and always tolerance.” Mr. W. S. Coffin, who prepared these plans, served with the Foyer du Soldat during the war, and gives hearty testimony to the great opportunity of American Christians. Handbook of French and Belgian Protestantism Every pastor and church member would be deeply inter¬ ested in reading the volume prepared for the Commission by Mrs. Louise Seymour Houghton, the Handbook of French and Belgian Protestantism. It is a story which should be known far better than it is by the Christian people of America. 20 The Commission Rev. Arthur J. Brown, Chairman Rev. Charles S. Rev. Peter Ainslie Rev. J. Y. Aitchison Rev. George Alexander Rev. Maitland Alexander C. Edgar Anderson Bishop William F. Anderson Rev. Henry A. Atkinson Mrs. Anson Atterbury Rev. Arthur C. Baldwin Mrs. H. Roswell Bates Dr. Sylvester W. Beach Rev. Augustus F. Beard Rev. W. B. Beauchamp Bishop William M. Bell Rev. J. Frederick Berg E. M. Bowman Rev. W. H. Boyle Prof. Jean C. Bracq Rev. M. E. Broekstra M. Linn Bruce Rev. F. W. Burnham Bishop James Cannon, Jr. Rev. William I. Chamberlain Rev. Francis E. Clark Rev. Charles S. Cleland Rev. Henry Sloane Coffin William Sloane Coffin Mrs. James C. Colgate Miss Mary E. Converse Rev. W. Stuart Cramer Mrs. James S. Cushman Rt. Rev. James H. Darlington Dwight H. Day Rev. J. A. Detter John W. Dickinson Rev. Charles E. Diehl Rev. Paul D. Elsesser Rev. William Hiram Foulkes Rev. James H. Franklin Rev. James I. Good Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich William A. Harbison Rev. William I. Haven Prof. William Bancroft Hill Macfarland, Secretary Mrs. William Bancroft Hill Mrs. Louise Seymour Houghton Miss Edith M. Howard Rev. S. G. Inman Rev. Charles M. Jacobs Rev. Henry E. Jacobs Rev. J. Addison Jones Dr. James R. Joy Mrs. Frank B. Kelley Rev. Frederick H. Knubel Bishop Walter R. Lambuth Rev. Lauritz Larsen Rev. Albert G. Lawson Rev. Grant K. Lewis Rev. J. W. Liggitt Mrs. Henry P. Loomis Rev. Frederick Lynch Reginald L. McAll Paul G. Mclntire Rev. T. H. Mackenzie Frank H. Mann John T. Manson George W. Marston Alfred Mason Samuel Mather Rev. Oscar E. Maurer Rev. Harlan G. Mendenhall Rev. William P. Merrill Rev. W. W. Moore Rev. Henry Mottet Rev. Frank Mason North Rev. 0. A. Petty Rev. W. W. Pinson Rev. Thomas C. Pollock Rev. R. C. Reed Robert J. Rendall Rev. George W. Richards Edmond E. Robert Dr. William Jay Schieffelin John L. Severance William Shaw Rev. Charles J. Smith Mrs. H. R. Steele Rev. John Baer Stoudt 21 Rev. Carlyle Summerbell Dr. Wilbur K. Thomas Rev. Ezra S. Tipple Rev. James I. Vance Rev. Seth Van der Werf Rev. Henry Van Dyke Rev. Florian Vurpillot Rev. E. 0. Watson Rev. E. T. Wellford Dr. Edward E. Whitford W. R. Wills Bishop Luther B. Wilson Rev. G. B. Winton Rev. A. V. Wittmeyer Rev. Cornelius Woelfkin Rev. David G. Wylie The Committee on Work Rev. James H. Franklin, Chairman Rev. Arthur J. Brown, ex officio Rev. Arthur C. Baldwin Rev. W. B. Beauchamp Rev. William I. Chamberlain Rev. Charles S. Cleland William Sloane Coffin Rev. W. Stuart Cramer Dwight H. Day Rev. William Hiram Foulkes Rev. William I. Haven Rev. Charles M. Jacobs Dr. James R. Joy Rev. Lauritz Larsen Rev. Charles S. Macfarland Rev. Frank Mason North Rev. Charles J. Smith Rev. Ezra S. Tipple Rev. James I. Vance Rev. G. B. Winton The Committee on Plans and Budget William Sloane Coffin, Chairman Rev. Arthur J. Brown Rev. Charles S. Macfarland Rev. William I. Haven The Committee on Theological Seminaries Prof. George W. Richards. Chairman Prof. Frederick Loetscher Prof. MeJancthon Jacobus Prof. James H. Ropes Pres. Charles M. Stuart Prof. Henry E. Jacobs Pres. Clarence A. Barbour Rev. Ezra S. Tipple Prof. F. N. Parker Checks payable to ALFRED R. KIMBALL, Treasurer THE COMMISSION ON RELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND BELGIUM of the FEDERAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN AMERICA 105 East 22nd Street, New York City FEDERATION PROTESTANTE DE FRANCE COMITE D’UNION PROTESTANTE POUR LES SECOURS DE GUERRE EN FRANCE ET EN BELGIQUE Rev. Andre Monod, Secretary 8 RUE DE LA VlCTOIRE, PARIS COMITE BELGE D’UNION PROTESTANTE Rev. Henri Anet, Representative 11 rue de Dublin, Brussels