The Foreigner m Our Midst l,< ' Beginning at Jerusalem "The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among, you, and thou shalt love him as thyself." — Lev. xix , jy. Published by The Board of Home Missions and Church Kxtension of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1026 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa. :: :: :: :: TKe Foreigner in Oxar Midst. "Beginning at Jerusalem." The Command. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Sama- ria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Acts i : 8. The First The first Methodist service was Service, held on this continent in 1766. Founders. It was Missionary work when Philip Embury, Robert Straw- bridge, Captain Webb and others proclaimed the doctrines of Methodism on these shores. Mr. Wesley sent Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor as Missionaries to the New World. John Stewart. Before the organization of the Missionary Society, John Stewart, a Negro, began preaching among the Indians in Ohio. This is a significant fact — the representative of an enslaved people, a self-appointed Missionary, under Providence, to the " original inhabitants." Missionary The Missionary Society was or- Society. ganized in 1819. First The first appropriation was for Appropriation, work among the French in New Orleans. Thus Home Missions began among Foreign-speaking people. January, HOME MISSIONS AND 1907. CHURCH EXTENSION were united and placed under the care of the "Board of Home Missions and Church Extension," January i, 1907. English Home Mission and Church Ex- Speaking, tension appropriations for Eng- lish-speaking work among White people are $472,831 ; and for Negroes, $56,978 ; making a total of $529,809.* This is more than four-fifths of the entire amount appropriated. The Gospel If the Church seems to have been to Foreigners, slow in sending the Gospel to Foreign lands it should be remembered that the young Church was of necessity engaged in the work of organization and Church building. Its success was a triumphal march, and thus a foundation was laid as a source of revenue for ALL missionary and other benevolent enter- prises. Foreigners to The Lord is now sending For- the Gospel, eigners to the Gospel. Immigra- tion is not by accident, but in the order of Providence. To evangelize the foreign- speaking peoples in America is our duty. The obligation is a privilege. Our duty is a delight. The Call. This is a call to PATRIOTISM and CHRISTIANITY. *The appropriations named in this leaflet are for 1913, and include both Home Missions and Church Extension. A Great There are nearly 35,000,000 peo- Number. pie of foreign birth and native born children of foreign and mixed parentage. Here is our magnificent op- portunity to "TEACH ALL NATIONS." They are at our doors. German. The Germans number nearly 10,000,000. Work among them is thoroughly organized. We have ten German Con- ferences, with 727 ministers and 62,877 members. The appropriations amount to $52,950. Norwegian There are nearly 2,500,000 Nor- and Danish, wegian and Danish people in the United States, with two Confer- ences, 133 ministers and over 8,000 members. The appropriations are $23,600. Swedes. It is estimated that there are about 1,500,000 Swedes, among among whom we have five Conferences and one Mission, with 210 ministers and nearly 20,000 mem- bers. Appropriations are $36,235. The Best Work among the Germans and Type. Scandinavians is well established. They represent the best type of Methodism. They are integral parts of the Church and are reckoned among its vital forces. Slavs. The Slavs number about 8,000,- 000, including Polish, Bohemian, Moravian, Ruthenian, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Servian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Croatian, Slo- venian, Dalmatian. Bosnian and Herzegovinian. The work is in its infancy. We have only 18 min- isters among these people, but a brighter day is dawning. Italians. There are about 3,000,000 Ital- ians. Ministers within the terri- tory east of the Mississippi (the Italian Mission) number about 45. Members and probationers, about 4,000. Appropriations are $50,500. (There are several Italian congregations west of the "Father of Waters.") Spanish. The Spanish-speaking people in the United States and Porto Rico num- ber about 2,500,000. The appropriations are $50,070. The membership numbers between 8,000 and 9,000. There are 30 ministers on the Conti- nent and 10 in the Porto Rico Mission Conference. In addition, the latter Conference employs 36 Local Preachers and Exhorters. Japanese. The Japanese in the United States are estimated at 75,000. They are principally located on the Pacific Coast and in Hawaii. Appropriations for Japanese and Koreans amount to $30,400. Chinese. The Chinese are about 75,000 in number and are scattered among the larger cities throughout the United States. The appropriations are $20,110. Welsh. There are but two Welsh con- gregations in this country, one in Utica, New York, the other in Bangor, Pennsyl- vania. It is estimated that there are about 300,000 of these people in the United States. Finns. The Finns number about 250,000. The work of the church among them is principally in northern Minnesota and northern Michigan. French. There are in this country about 1,250,000 French. The French Canadians are to be found mostly in New England, while those from France are principally located in New York and Chicago. We appropriated for work among these people, $4,785. Other Peoples. The Board is doing Missionary work in a limited way among Portuguese, Greek, Syrian and Armenian people. There are estimated to be 110,000 Greeks and 120,000 Portuguese in this country. The appro- priations for work among these four nationalities are a little over $4,000. Foreign Mis- It will be seen from the forego- sions at Home, ing that the Board is carrying on a Foreign Missionary cam- paign in the Homeland. Appropriations. The General Committee makes appropriations to aid in the evangelization of Foreigners as their needs are made to appear and as the contributions of the Church make possible. Dr. Buckley's Dr. James M. Buckley, when Strong President of the Board of For- Statement. eign Missions and Editor of the Christian Advocate, published an editorial, January. 28, 1909, in which the follow- ing occurs : "DO YOU KNOW that for many years after we established Missions, missionary money from the Society was appropriated to every annual Con- ference in the Church ? "DO YOU KNOW that the Missionary Society solicited many of the Annual Conferences to re- linquish their appropriations, and that this was done that the Missionary Society might free itself from debt and aid the growing Foreign Missions ? " ARE YOU AWARE that the relinquishing of appropriations was asked by the Missionary Society and granted by the Annual Conferences with the expressed understanding that it was a TEM- PORARY EXPEDIENT, and that appropriations to all the Conferences which made the sacrifice would be resumed as soon as possible ?" Increase Certainly the time has come Needed, when, in view of the legitimate claims of the Rural Church and the absolute needs of the congested portions of the Great Cities, this " expressed understand- ing" should be fully met. This can be done by a marked increase in the contributions. Co-operation. The Board co-operates with City Societies and the Woman's Home Missionary Society in the work of evangelizing Foreign-speaking peoples. Education. There is a pressing call for American young men to study one or more foreign languages that they may suc- cessfully prosecute Missionary work among these foreign-speaking people. Facilities for such study are furnished by the Baldwin University and the German Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, and in a few other schools. Foreigners It is estimated that about 250,000 Returning, foreigners return to their native land every year. If each may carry with him correct ideas of civilization and Christianity gained during his residence in America, he becomes to that extent a Missionary. Thus the work of Home Missions among Foreigners is indirectly a contribution towards Foreign Missions. Foreign and English-speaking churches are English materially strengthened by re- Speaking, ceiving young people from the churches using a foreign lan- guage. Appropriations made to aid in the support of churches using an alien tongue thus indirectly aid the English-speaking churches. The young people should not be enticed away from the mother church, but associations generally lead to a desire on their part for a change of mem- bership. The tide of immigration from foreign lands will determine the need of appropriations to churches using a foreign tongue. While immigration con- tinues, the gospel should be preached to the new comer in the language which he used in his native land. Where the people understand the English language, as is sometimes the case, the services should be conducted in English. In one German church in New Orleans, Louisiana, within the bounds of the Southern German Conference, all the services are conducted in English. In another church in the same city, German is used in the morning service and English in the evening. Thanking God for past success, we rejoice in present prospects and are confident of a glorious future. Robert Forbes.