"John Wesley belongs to the greatest Christian minds. . . . Methodists make all men feel that they are brothers.”— Professor Adolph Hamack The EUROPEAN MISSION Mission Boundaries BRITISH ISLES 'The Methodist Episcopal Church " Not a new Gospel for Europe, but more Gos¬ pel.”—* President William H. Crawford NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Materials! The Minimum Fee for each Lost Book is $50.00. The person charging this material is responsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli¬ nary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/europeanmissionoOOvinc Hit ilbiUHli 0? THE i ' . ■ ^ r ' ‘ ■ ' uW W k •>* BISHOP JOHN HEYL VINCENT, D.D.. LL.D THE EUROPEAN MISSION OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH By Bishop JOHN HEYL VINCENT, D.D., LL.D. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Published by tiie OPEN DOOR EMERGENCY COMMISSION MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 150 Fifth Avenue, New York Price, Ten Cents EDITED BY Charles II. Morgan Me V e / ISHOP JOHN HEYL VINCENT, D.D., LL.D., was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala- bama, February 22, 1832, received his later education iu Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and began his public ministry in the last-named State. No record in Methodist annals, after that of our great founder, Wes¬ ley, shines with greater luster than does that of Bishop Vincent, in the power to transmute the highest practical forms of knowledge into the life of the masses of the people. This marvelous fertility as a religious educator has marked his whole career as pastor, Sunday school secretary and editor, lecturer, organ¬ izing genius of the Chautauqua movement, and bishop. The last four years of his full official service, closing in 1904, during which he was our resident bishop in Europe, left an indelible impress on the spirit and ideals of the Methodist movement in that Continent, and he is held in honor there as elsewhere by multitudes for his noble Christian manhood and pure and quickening influence.— Editor. / MONT J’.I.ANC FHOM CIIAMOIN'IX EUROPEAN MISSION HOW OUR WORK IN EUROPE BEGAN The mission enterprise of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Europe has arisen clearly in the order of Divine providence. This work began in Germany through the Rev. Ludwig S. Jacoby, born in Germany, converted in America, who Divinely went back under the impulse of the new love to pro- Opened Doors claim this “new old Gospel” to his fellows at home. He landed in Bremen November 7, 1849, and the work then commenced is now represented by three Conferences— North Germany, South Germany, and Switzerland—the move¬ ment being carried from Germany into Switzerland by two preachers in 1856. It was a converted Norwegian in New York city, the Rev. Olof P. Petersen, who, in December, 1853, landed in Norway and began his work of evangelization at Frederiks- stad. John P. Larsson, a Swedish sailor, also converted in New York city, made his way to Sweden in 1853, and though at that time a layman, so witnessed for Christ that a revival resulted which detained him eighteen months. In 1854 he received an appropriation from the Missionary Society, and became the founder of our Swedish work. The Methodist movement in Denmark was begun by a Dane, the Rev. Christian Willerup, who in Norway learned the secret of the new life, and carried it to his native land in 1857. Bulgaria was entered in 1857, the field being opened by the Rev. Wesley Prettyman and the Rev. Albert L. Long. Our work in Italy was commenced by the Rev. Leroy M. Vernon, who reached Genoa in August, 1872. Local preachers from Sweden began the work in Finland, and in 1883 a preacher was sent to that country from the Sweden Conference. The movement was extended to St. Petersburg in 1892. It will be seen that we do not cover the whole of Europe, as we have no work in Great Britain, Spain, and several other countries. WORD PICTURES OF OUR CHURCHES AND CONFERENCES Let us attend a service in one of our churches in Switzerland. It is the morning for holy communion. The regular public service is always held at nine o’clock in the morning. Then there is another service at five o’clock in the afternoon. The Spirit of church is plain but substantial—an old-fashioned church, Worship clean, bright, and comfortable On the wall behind and on each side of the pulpit are three mottoes (in German, of course): “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world:” “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only;” “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” There is a large choir in the gallery. The singing is excel¬ lent, and the congregation join heartily in the hymns. Everybody seems to be pro¬ vided with a hymn book. And it is the Church hymn book; no petty substitute of Gar¬ lands and Crystal Songs and Pearls of Paradise. Then the strong hymns of the Church are sung, book in hand and heart in voice. The reverent silence, the close attention during the service, the ardent preaching of the pastor with cuuucu at cunt, Switzerland his delightful manner, his mag¬ netic and well-controlled voice, his sermon full of evangelical and spiritual suggestion—all combine to make a profound im¬ pression upon the hearer. (5 The people are plain people. I believe that is the way we put it when we mean to say they' are people who work for a living and live economically and in simplicity. There is no million¬ aire in the congregation, no bank president, no Congregation statesman. There are clerks, mechanics, shop- of Plain People keepers, a few teachers; there are some sweet¬ looking “mothers in Israel,” neatly dressed, faces full of holy calm, believers in the life of inward peace and personal victory. Here, too, are a few deaconesses from the Bethany Home, which joins the parsonage. It is a lovely morning. The service is an inspiration. The holy sacrament is administered. Two brothers serve as gen- feral directors, keeping the altar filled now from this Sacramental ■ side of the Church, now from the other side, so that • - •-»» .* -V- Service there is no confusion. The prayer of consecration and the Gloria in Excelsis are pronounced by the pastor. Then the congregation rise and chant the benediction The Church in Germany (and throughout Europe) gives especial attention to the training of youth in the catechism. There are three catechism classes, all under the care Catechism of the pastor. The children are usually converted Classes before leaving these Bible and catechism classes, and become members of the Church. The Methodism of Switzerland is sound in doctrine, fervent in spirit, and loyal to the traditions of the Wesleyan movement. Our people believe in class meetings, prayer meetings, in con¬ gregational singing, with choirs of men, choirs of women, mixed choirs, and now and then a brass band made up of Church members. “Will you come to Chur and spend an evening with us?” wrote the pastor of our church in that venerable city. “Of course,” I replied, and, with I)r. Adolph Sulzberger as my com¬ panion and interpreter, I left Zurich one day and The Pretty went to Chur, about 130 kilometers from Zurich. Church at Chur Our church at Chur is a pretty bit of architecture, finished within in hard pine. The parsonage is under the same roof, and one climbs almost to the roof to find it. Once landed on the upper story, we are at home in a most comfortable flat. No more steps to climb, and cosy rooms, and the heartiest possible welcome and conversations in fragments of English and French and German, the ready and versatile Sulzberger always at hand to throw light on almost any subject and in almost any language required. In the evening we go to service in the little chapel. The building has a fresh look, the lights are bright, the singing hearty, the attention close, the spirit reverent, and the after-greetings full of cor¬ diality and fraternity. Let us study the composition of one or more of the churches, in Switzerland, for example, and re¬ member that it represents Who Compose a large number of our Our Churches churches throughout Eu¬ rope. Here is a little church with 210 members and pro¬ bationers. These members are di¬ vided into 10 different little churches, or ‘ ‘ appointments,” as we call them. Out of the 210 people there are 5 who have small farms, and these farms in debt; there are 5 milliners, 10 mechanics (only one of these a proprietor); there are 30 of the members who work in straw plaiting, 30 in preserving fruits, 20 in the manufacture of paper boxes, 10 in linen bleaching, 50 in day labor; there are 15 sew¬ ing women, 3 gardeners, and 4 schoolhouse sextons. These earn from 30 cents a day upward. They receive from the missionary fund 2,500 francs as the missionary appropriation for the year, but these poor people themselves gave from their own limited earnings 5,472 francs during the year. Take another church, one of those in Nuremberg, Germany It is made up of errand boys, girls in toy factories, Church in clerks, workers in Faber pencil factories, embroiderers, Nuremberg shoemakers, furniture makers, a few house servants 8 KEV. A. SULZBEllGEK, D.l>., GERMANY Some of them make 90 marks a month, or less than $22. Out of 120 members everyone gives in the collections. On one of the circuits in that section of Germany 50 poor members donate 2,500 marks a year, and only 5 or 6 of the 50 are in even mod¬ erate circumstances. To the poor the Gospel is preached. To these poor who do their best to support the Gospel we go. We bring religious experience, the broad religious truths which we are A Rich Gospel appointed to proclaim, the deep and genuine spir- to the Poor itual experience which we foster, and the denomi¬ national enthusiasm which becomes an uplifting and ennobling power in the lives of these humble folk. Not long ago I made an official visit to Bavaria, Saxony, and Prussia. I spent a Sabbath in Nuremberg, where we have two churches. The week after I visited and preached in Plauen, Reichenbach, Greiz, Zwickau, Wilkau, Schneeberg, and Chemnitz. It was real, rugged, old-fashioned winter time, with deep snow under foot, and much of the time thick snow in the air, but that did not prevent crowded houses. Brother E. C. Anner, then of Greiz, was my companion and interpreter. He is a good English scholar, a good writer in German, an extensi ve traveler, an author, with a home for any man to be proud of. Good discipline pre¬ vails in the house, and the chil- Pastors’ dren have musical taste and cul- H omes ture. These conservative Ger¬ mans have many wholesome les¬ sons for both American parents and American pastors, and the Methodism that inspires them takes one back a good many years to the days of faith¬ ful family prayer, the subjection of children to their parents, and the profound religious earnestness that characterized Metho¬ dist domestic life in those days. Here is one place, a manufac- 9 REV. EDWARD HUG, SWITZERLAND turing town, where our church has over 300 members and pro¬ bationers, composed of flannel weavers, bakers, sewing girls, peddlers, and others. There is one merchant who owns his shop and one farmer who owns his farm. They have no help from the Missionary Society- The pastor, with a family of six, lives on 1,200 marks ($300) a year, of which $100 goes for rent. Poverty, economy, cheerfulness, faith, hope, and love- all seem to live in the same little parsonage. In Germany, although most of the people are poor, they dress and look well. Their local church brass band (a very common institution in our German churches) leads the congre- Church gat ion in singing. Several of our preachers teach music. Brass Band The wife of our pastor at Ueichenbach has been a governess and teacher of French. The preachers’ wives are usually intelligent, many of them well educated, and are good housekeepers. At Schneeberg we have a good church, with five other appointments, forming Schneeberg Circuit, which has about 500 members, made up of miners, collar Choirs and makers, laundrvmen, color makers, Singing and other workers. There are IS class leaders (class meeting really means something in Saxony), 2 manner- cliors (men choirs), 1 choir of daughters, 7 mixed choirs, and a zither club. What music we had that day! Although the snow was new-fallen and deep, and some people waded “ four hours far” (as the good pastor put it), the house was full and the feeling intense; and a letter following me to Berlin reported three conver¬ sions as a result under God’s blessing of the service that morning I wish that we could all have paid a visit to Father Wunder¬ lich, who recently was taken to his heavenly home at the age of seventy-nine. He was a typical old-fashioned Methodist preacher, whose face was a benediction, a refined, fervent, godly man, honored wherever he was known. He lived on an old island farm in the river Elster. It had been in his family for 10 DKVMAUK more than two hundred years. It was once the property of a knight. The name of the farm is Russdorf. Behind the present house, on a hill, are the ruins of an old castle destroyed centuries ago. Father Wunderlich was converted when he was A Saintly Life about twenty-seven, and soon afterward began to preach. He changed an old barn on his place into a chapel, and attracted the people from far and near. He would preach several times during the day to the people, some of whom left their homes at midnight on Saturday, spent the Sun¬ day in service, and returned in time for Monday work. He was ordained an elder, and was a traveling preacher for twelve years, but was compelled to resume charge of his farm, where he con¬ tinued to preach most acceptably till near the close of his life. His eight children are all members of the Church. Near the old farmhouse there is now a beautiful chapel, well attended and free from debt. Let me give you a picture of a very unique service held in the far north, fifty English miles above the polar circle. The pastor, August Rockberg, is a consecrated and godly man, beloved by his people, has the confidence of his brethren, In the and lives in communion with Cod. I asked him to give Far North me an account of a Sunday service in the far north, where during part of the year it is day all the time and during part of the year night most of the time, and he re¬ sponded as follows: “It is Sunday, near New Year’s time, and at the winter solstice. Snow has been on the ground for more than three Now it is more than nine feet deep. The daytime has during the last three weeks become shorter and shorter, and the distance between the point in the horizon where the sun is rising and the point where the sun sets come nearer to each other. And at last the sun is rising and setting at the same point. “ It is ten o’clock on Sunday morning, and the time for the beginning of the Sunday school at Malmberget. It is not full daylight, but the children have good eyes, and can see to read and to sing. The school is closed at eleven o’clock, and then the regular preaching service commences. If it is a cloudy day 11 months. The Shortest Day the preacher must have an unusually good sight if lie is able to read in his Bible, but if it is a clear and cloudless sky it is daybreak about eleven o’clock in the forenoon, and the preacher can the better see to read. As the preacher has read his text and begins to preach the heaven is painted with the richest variety of colors. The whole canopy from Brilliant Colors horizon to zenith is red, brown, yellow, violet, radia¬ ting with all the colors of the rainbow. The light is throwing its red rays upon the white snow. Toward the south, from the other side of Mount Dundret, where the sun is ap¬ pearing, there are many-colored pillars of light rising, some¬ times up to the very zenith. This is the famous Lapland bril¬ liancy of play of colors. The preacher must preach with interest and vigor to keep the attention of his audience; otherwise they love to look out through the windows. When the preacher has gone through point one, two, and three, and is beginning with the application and exhortation (about 11:45 a. m.), the sun looks up with half of its face above the horizon away in a cleft in Dundret. It will not rise higher to-day, but it is enough to pour out upon the whole region a supernatural luster and splen¬ dor. Before the application of the sermon is finished, however, the sun has disappeared, and when we sing the long-meter doxology it is twilight again. “ This is one of the shortest days of the year in this region above the polar circle, but it is also one of the most beautiful days. To me, at least, it seems to be more glorious Service than even the midsummer day, when the sun shines Longer than day and night. When we leave the chapel it is already Daylight evening. Thus we arrive at the service before sunrise and leave after sunset. Sunday service at the winter solstice above the arctic circle is to the congregation ‘a whole day in the house of the Lord.’ “ At five o’clock we have our afternoon service, but then we must have the petroleum lamps burning to light the chapel. At eight in the evening we have the public service of the The League Epworth Chapter. To this meeting all are invited. In Meeting this way and under such circumstances we spend our shortest Sunday at Malmberget ” 12 Let us go to Conference, to a foreign Methodist Episcopal Conference. “Metodist,” is the way it is pronounced in Ger¬ many, but in Italy “Metodista Episcopale,” with a strong NORTH CAPE AND MIDNIGHT SUN A Foreign accent on the “pal,” and the final “e” a syllable by Conference itself and sounded like our long “a” or as “ ey ” in “they.” It is time for Conference prayer meeting. Most of the mem- 1 Q 1 o bers are present for that, and how heartily they sing! The tunes are familiar, if the words are in an unknown tongue. Usually at the Conference, especially in Switzerland and Ger¬ many, a “ mannerchor” leads, and it is an inspiration to hear them. Now the brethren pray, reverently, briefly, with sub¬ dued responses and a firm “amen,” with that rich, The Interpreter broad “a” which they always use. Conference opens. The interpreter sits on the left of the bishop. He repeats “ motions,” “seconds/ 7 “remarks/ 7 outlines of long addresses, if the bishop cares to know them, and he speaks for the presiding officer whenever desired. Conference business goes on as in America. Not entirely so, because at ten o’clock somebody is sure to remind the presi¬ dent that it is “time for lunch, 77 and, without formal motion, by “general consent/ 7 everybody makes for the base- The Forenoon merit, where tea and soda water and sandwiches are Lunch provided Breakfast in Europe is not much of a meal—coffee or tea and rolls—and the ten o’clock lunch is acceptable to the brethren. It is said that even some bishops have seemed pleased with the arrangement. In twenty or thirty minutes Conference is in session again The business goes on steadily. These Methodist preachers are thorough in their work, and they are in earnest. The Sunday service at Conference is usually held in a hall, no church being large enough. The outsiders come on Confer¬ ence Sunday. The hymn is lined after the good old “ Conference Methodist fashion, and when a congregation sings as Sunday ” the Swiss and German congregations do, and the preacher with rich voice and unction reads the two lines, the effect is finer than any antiphonal service of a cathedral. GLIMPSES AT SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS The earliest among our European educational enterprises, and one of the most valuable, is the Martin Mission Institute, at Frankfort, Germany. The germ of what grew into Martin Institute this useful seminary or training school for our minis¬ try was begun at Bremen in 1858 with the gift of 800, with three consecrated young men as students and I)r. 14 MARTIN MISSION INSTITUTE, FRANKFORT, GERMANY Jacoby and the pastor of the Bremen church as professors. In 1869 the school was moved to Frankfort, Mr. John T. Martin, of Brooklyn, N. Y., generously donating $25,000 for the erec¬ tion of the building, which still serves the needs of the school. Among those who later led the in¬ stitute forward in its firm growth w r ere two from America, one of whom afterward became Bishop John F. Hurst and the Some of the other President William Teachers F. Warren, of Boston Uni¬ versity, elected Dean of School of Theology of same, 1904. At present the instruction rests in the hands of three able men— pirector P. G. Junker, Professor Bichard Wobith, and Professor August J. Bucher, D.D., the last- named having gone as a missionary from America. The studies pur¬ sued are those of most direct prac¬ tical use in the pastorate, special attention being paid to Bible study, and the students are all active in preaching and Sunday school work during their course. Ascension Day is a red-letter occasion not only lor the school, but as well for the Methodist people from near and far in that part of the country. By hundreds they gather, some of them walking long distances to attend the ‘ ‘ Fest.” The Ascension Day campus is converted into a church, rude benches “Fest” being constructed by the students for the wor¬ shipers, a band of consecrated cornetists leading the singing, and choirs praising God and delighting the people with beautiful songs. From the platform, which is improvised in the shade of a tree, the missionary sermon is preached, if possible by a missionary from abroad, and other pleasing exercises fol¬ low. The festival bears entirely the character of a great family 10 reunion, furnishing from year to year an illustration of the joyful fellowship which should everywhere mark our Metho¬ dist life. The Crandon ‘ ‘ Institute Internazionale,” at Rome, is conse¬ crated to the work of woman’s education in Italy. It has for its object the presentation and advocacy of the possibilities and responsibilities of the emancipated, the aspir- Crandon Institute ing, and the consecrated Christian woman. It Ideals stands for the latest thought of this progressive age, and seeks to prepare the best girls of Italy to know, appreciate, and realize it. It is designed to em¬ phasize such ideas as the following: that woman is to be the companion, and neither the slave nor the plaything, of man; that she is to be an intelligent and faithful subject of her king, loyal to the government under which she lives, and pledged to train her children to the same unqualified loyalty; that because she seeks to honor God her Creator she must have respect for her own intellectual power, cultivate a free conscience, sensitive and intelligent, hold it in her own keeping as in the sight of God her Father, and as being directly and alone re¬ sponsible to God for her char¬ acter and conduct; that, ac¬ knowledging the authority of the Holy Scriptures, she is herself to interpret them, seeking as she may need the assistance of wise, devout, and faithful teachers; that she is to worship God according to her own convictions; that she is to think, to study the problems of the age with a reverent and humble spirit; that she is to give such time as she may be able to command, and as a part of her 17 religious duty, to the study of science, literature, art, history, and the pressing social questions of the age. The institute aims also to develop, in Christ’s own gracious way, a piety that is open and frank, free from artificiality, du¬ plicity, servility, and Pharisaism; a piety that does not depend for its vitality and growth on ceremonies, the kinder- Type of Piety garten playthings of religion, but that enters into the fiber of character, developing solidity, positiveness, naturalness, and sound sense, and that is compatible with refined and cultivated social life, interest in commercial and political affairs, and at the same time is inspired with genuine Christian enthusiasm. The institute promotes the religious education of girls whose families have become apathetic on the whole subject of religion, and in many cases skeptical and even atheistic. To girls thus exposed the Crandon Institute becomes an angel of light. There are also Roman Catholics who still hold to the essentials of the Christian faith which may still be found in Romanism, but which are so largely neutralized by human tra- Classes Served ditions, to whom the institute is opportunity for a pure religious training. There are many such inde¬ pendent and discriminating Roman Catholic families. There are also girls of real power who, by womanly quality and native genius, belong to the foremost classes, but who have been limited by poverty or ostracized by bigotry, to whom the institute comes with uplifting and refining power. The best blood of old Rome is in their veins. The Crandon Institute is also a school for American and other English-speaking girls who desire to enjoy the artistic, historic, and arclueological advantages of Rome, and at the same time be preserved from superstition. To these the Crandon Hall is a place of refuge and protection. This important educational work is facilitated by the direct influence of a gifted faculty, the members of which illustrate the ideals they present. Foremost among these Splendid Principal is Miss Martha E. Vickery, the principal, virtu- and Faculty ally the founder of the institute in its present form. She is a graduate (1891) of i)e Pauw 18 No. 1.—Miss Martha Ellen Vickery No. 2.—Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Crandon 30 Vor o I'KOFESSOR A. .1. BUCIIEK, D.D., FUANKFOKT “The Methodist Church in Switzerland lias in its service a body of well-schooled, devoted, and well-directed ministers. Its organization and spirit are such as to make it hardly possi¬ ble for a hireling long to stand in its service. One therefore need not be a prophet to wish and to predict that that Cur Work Church whose Conference met in Biel, the city of the Understood future, will prove herself a Church of the future.” Also Professor Harnack, in his lectures before his class in Berlin, on the Church in modern times, and Professor Loofs, of Halle, in his article on Methodism in the new edition of the Herzog Encyclopaedia, have shown that with these leaders of thought the prejudice against our cause is passing away. Another part of our mission in Europe wherever State Churches exist is to demonstrate the superiority of denominational Church life to external or organic unity. As it is not desirable that all families should live in one house or that all the nations of the earth should resolve themselves into one great nation, so it is not desirable that all the various developments of Christian ideas and Christian methods should drop their distinctive pecul¬ iarities and melt into one united external organization. Right The denominational form, with love at the core, is the Emphasis best form of the Christian Church. The unity that is and Unity born of such diversity and love is likely to be a more genuine and permanent unity. We need denominations in order to experiment on doctrinal theories and ecclesiastical methods. The denomination makes emphasis possible, and the emphasis of doctrine is of utmost importance in the largest and most thorough study of truth. There is always danger from external unity of a temporal power and authority which is very likely to paralyze spiritual life; therefore we stand as Methodists for the true unity—the unity consistent with separate denomi¬ nations, the wholesome rivalry of separate organizations and the spiritual oneness which comes after discussion and testing of doctrines and methods. The neglected masses need us. Many of these people are nominally within the State Church. To be sure M asses Need Us they attend no church and never feel any re¬ sponsibility for the duties which it is supposed 31 that the Christian Church imposes upon those who are con¬ nected with it. In Christiania, Norway, for example, there arc 250,000 people, and yet there is church room only for 20,000 of these people. As long as the State Church neglects the masses or fails to appeal to them, our own Church has a call to serve even though the people we awaken and stimulate to a better life fail to become members of our Church. We do not and must not exist for the sake of statistical tables or annual reports; it is our mission to stimulate all the Churches to greater diligence and devotion. The people who are in the future years to come to America from these European countries and become American citizens need us. We need to instruct them Effect on in the fundamental doctrines of Emigrants human equality and the democracy of Christian faith. Every man brought to Christ and blessed with a vital Christian experience in Europe, and then going over sea, becomes that much more valuable as an Ameri¬ can citizen. Wherever we go we carry vitality and new ideals of life. The three marked features of the reviving State Church life of Europe are the distinguishing features of Metho- Spiritual Vitality dism everywhere—aggressive evangelization, fra¬ ternal fellowship, and higher spiritual life. It is, moreover, a fact that we are in Europe because we have been called by the people. It is to be remembered that neither the General Missionary Committee nor the Board of Managers is responsible for the beginning of our work in Europe, nor Movement did the Church through any of its officers or organiza- of Grace tions take the initiative. Sailors and emigrants heard on our side of the sea the story of the Gospel. They felt the power of the new kingdom of grace. Returning or by correspondence they spread this work among their friends in Europe. One ship, years ago, came sailing into the port of 32 KEV. T. B. BAKKATT, NORWAY Arendal, on the east coast of Norway, the captain and the whole crew, with but a single exception, converted and singing the new songs of salvation which they had learned beyond the sea. From Norway and Sweden and Germany came a call for men to instruct the people in this new life. The Church in America responded. There was nothing else to do. Our branch of the FINLAND THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL (Principal J. Wilk Haggman seated) Church is in Europe and settled there from Hammerfest to Varna, from St. Petersburg to Palermo. The field and the duty are ours by divine appointment, and our Church must continue to occupy the field and discharge the duty. The success and present condition of our work make our con¬ tinued efforts absolutely necessary. If there be a reason, based on the needs of the people and the leadings of Providence, for our active presence anywhere in the world that reason holds good for our presence in Europe. The people—the plain, hard- 83 working, common people—to whom the Gospel came in the beginning, need us. We have now Methodists in Europe who from childhood, some of them lor fifty years, have been in our sanctuaries. We have members, ministers, periodicals, Our Success book concerns, educational institutions, and a large a Pledge constituency outside of our own regular Church enroll¬ ment who believe in and depend upon us. We have investments in real estate, in church buildings and parsonages, and are a part of the Continent. Every year brings to us new opportunities. We dare not give up the work in Europe. NEWER MOVEMENTS AND AGENCIES One of the most interesting and successful developments of Methodist work in Europe is that of the Bethany or Dea¬ coness Sisterhood. Although for wise reasons it is deemed necessary to keep the society entirely free from formal Deaconess ecclesiastical control, all of its officers and sisters are Work members of our Church. These excellent women are doing a beautiful work in Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich,..and'.elsewhere. Devout, cheerful, skillful - in their calling, they are popular with all classes of people. Many Homan r. , > ** • Catholic families prefer them to the “ sisters” of theiEown Church. “They are so happy and interesting,” said a Roman Catholic; “ they'itbn’t spend their time in counting beads and reading prayers and looking solemn.” Much attention is given to the children and young people in connection with our European missions. The Sunday schools in 1904 numbered more than a Sunday Schools thousand, with 6,448 officers and teachers, and 74,218 pupils. In all parts of the European field the Ep- wortli League has become a highly valued part of our work. This organization, in the Berlin District alone of the North Germany Conference, in 1904, numbered .44 UEV. F. AllOKFN, STOCKHOLM about a thousand members. In 1903, in the Frankfort District of the South Germany Conference, two secretaries visited all the circuits and addressed the Epworth League chapters. In the Heilbronn District the young people of the League, Epworth League Sunday after Sunday, called on the sick, dis¬ tributed our papers, and invited people to attend our services and to become teachers in the Sunday school. The convention for Sweden, in March, 1903, was a real revival occa¬ sion, with many seekers at the altar, and the report at the An¬ nual Conference showed 110 chapters, 4,953 members, and 986 Junior members. Rev. Fredrik Ahgren, of Stockholm, one of the delegates to the General Conference of 1904, is president of the League in Sweden, and is planning a strong “ forward move¬ ment” in missions and Bible study, using the material prepared for the home field in Swedish translations. We have publishing houses in Ger¬ many, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Italy, and Bulgaria; and during the quadren- nium from 1900 to 1904 Printing Press some new agencies of liter¬ ary and spiritual culture were introduced, and met with general favor. Every year a day—a Sab¬ bath day—was devoted to insistence upon increased Bible study by all of the people. Every year a month was set apart by the whole Christian Culture Church for “ conversa¬ tions” upon a special topic? The'first year the~topic was: “ The Class Meeting—Its Power and Possibilities;” the second year, “The More Careful Instruction of Our Chil¬ dren and Youth;” the third year, “The Distinctive Doctrines of Our Church;” the fourth year, “The Significance and Power of Prayer.” Most blessed spiritual results followed these “Novem¬ ber conversations.” The European Reading Circle, which is 35 ERNST G. BEK, PFORZHEIM, GERMANY almost entirely devoted to religious subjects, enrolled probably four or five thousand readers. Difficulties in connection with the publication of new books hindered its rapid progress, but its future success, under the direction of our energetic, versatile, and devoted layman, Mr. Ernst G. Bek, of Pforzheim, is assured. In the summer of 1902 a Bulgarian society was organized under the name of “The True Life,” and four tracts, on the true physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual life, were printed, and were widely scattered by our preachers. Hundreds of “ The letters were received from all parts of Bulgaria, in True Life” which the writers expressed their thanks for the tracts and their desire to lead this true life. The most inter¬ esting letter came from Vratsa, a town in which there was not a single evangelical Christian. The letter was signed by eight persons. After reading the tracts, which they enjoyed very much, they organized a circle, and wrote asking for further directions, and the interest thus awakened re¬ sulted in the organizing of a new charge at Vratsa, min¬ istered to by a native pastor. The first Methodist Epis¬ copal Church Congress for Europe met in Berlin in 1895. The second of these Church informal or unofficial Congress meetings, in which rep¬ resentatives from all parts of the field gather for interchange of thought, was held in Zurich, Switzerland, September 17-21, 1903. In its papers, addresses, and discussions the chief stress was placed on the full development of the individual life, including the chil¬ dren and youth, especially by greater attention to the study of the Bible, by seeking access to the treasures of general and 36 religious literature outside of one’s own tongue, and by closer cooperation with representative educators, a more intimate rela¬ tion to reform movements and philanthropic enterprises, an increasing joy in Christian experience and sharing of life by fellowship and correspondence. Several representatives in the congress have already been mentioned, such as Professors Jun¬ ker and Bucher, Dr. Sulzberger, Pastor Ahgren, and Mr. Bek. Among others who are strong workers in this field Our European are Dr. William Burt, farseeing, statesmanlike, in- Leaders vincible, who in 1904 was elected Bishop and became leader of our European forces; the Bev. K. A. Jans- son, the enthusiastic and aggressive president of the Sweden Theological School, at Upsala; the Rev. J. Wilk Haggman, presiding elder and also principal of the Finland Theological School; the Rev. T. B. Barratt, of Norway, probably our most successful revivalist and city mission worker in Europe; the Revs. Christian Jensen and L. C. Larsen, presiding elders of the Jutland North and Jutland South Districts, Denmark; the Rev. Karl Schell, our cultured pastor at Berlin; the Rev. Edward Hug, presiding elder of the Winterthur District, Switzerland, and editor; the Rev. Alfredo Taglialatela, gifted orator, preacher, and editor at Rome; and the Rev. Stephen Thomoff, of Bul¬ garia, editor, and master of ten languages. Ten other equally worthy names would need to be added to include the splendid personnel of our European leaders present at the congress. QUESTIONS OF FINANCE AND NUMBERS There remain two more questions to be considered. The first is the question of debts incurred in the planting and devel¬ oping of our European work. It is well before Debts Due to condemning those who are responsible for this to Wise Foresight take their point of view; for these debts are gen¬ erally the result, not of carelessness or mismanage¬ ment, but of a policy based on the highest wisdom. We must have land and buildings. The churches and Sun¬ day schools must be housed. Pastors and their families must have homes. It is usual at the beginning of our work in a given place to rent a hall. The hall must be large enough to accom- 37 modate the people who are likely to come to hear our message. The necessity of economy often compels the hiring of small halls. These are sometimes near or connected with saloons and beer gardens, sometimes with private houses; and Room the occupants object to an alien religious service and Required the hearty singing of our people or to having “poor people” entering their quarters. The larger and more favorably located halls are expensive. Hence, we must build. INTERIOR OF ST. MARK’S METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, COPENHAGEN But in Europe the ground is expensive, and the nearer we come to the people who need us the more expensive it is. If we remain in halls people wonder if we are likely to remain. The occupancy of a hall constantly suggests the possibility of 38 removal or the possible abandonment of the field. In Ham¬ burg we had to begin six times over. People do not care to identify themselves with an uncertain enterprise. We must buy land and build. In the larger towns and cities the local authorities have something to say about the material and style of the structure. Public safety demands it. And we must provide buildings of greater capacity than our imme- Property diate needs require. Thus the Church is compelled to M eans assume debt. The situation is not so much worse Permanence with the debt, because the interest on it is usually met by the money that hitherto has gone for rental. We have much good property unincumbered. Debts diminish gradu¬ ally. They must be slowly liquidated. We must raise a genera- MOSQUE OF SFIjTAN ACHMET, CONSTANTINOPLE (Famous for Six Minarets) tion of well-to-do men. And this is necessarily a much slower process in Europe than in America. While the Church is steadily paying her debts, she must continue to extend her work. New fields must be occupied and new indebtedness as¬ sumed. She is sure to pay. But she must have continued help 39 from America. The people are poor, but they are economical, conscientious, and loyal, and while supporting their own, they are compelled to pay taxes for the support of the State Church. Therefore let our Church “at home” continue to help our Church “abroad.” Another question often asked is why we do not show larger numerical results in Europe. The same question can be asked concerning the results of Church effort in our own land. We deal with the same human nature abroad as at Influence home. Again our people in Europe are not all tlior- Beyond oughly consecrated and intelligently active. How is Our Numbers it in these respects with our people in the home field? There, from the very necessity of the case, the limitations caused by the State Church system and the prevalence of the Roman Catholic superstition render it very difficult for us to bring into our communion the full propor¬ tion of those whom we bring to Christ. Rut it should be recog¬ nized that everywhere we are stimulating the other and older Churches to greater zeal and efficiency, and that we are slowly but surely building up the kingdom of Christ, as well as our own membership, in the countries of Europe where we labor. Some of the statistical results of our European missions for 1903 may be seen in the following table: 1 i w Namk of Coxkkkf.nck rj. <11: Mission. -r c 1 r T ' 8^ r* £ . .si SEC toOO Native Ordained Preachers. Native Unordained ' Preachers. Members. Probationers. North Germany. 64 46 6,533 3,542 South Germany. i 85 150 8,917 1,637 Switzerland. 52 16 7,912 1,095 Norway. 43 65 5,396 438 Sweden. 104 148 15,646 1,642 Denmark. 19 17 3,205 202 Bulgaria. 3 13 6 271 91 Italy. 8 27 22 2,086 656 Finland & St. Petersb’g 12 766 282 Total. 12 407 182 50,732 9,585 40 These sixty thousand Methodist members, with perhaps nearly twice as many more adherents, giving us a hundred and fifty thousand people distributed through eight European countries, constitute a noble return for our European missionary Work Should enterprise, both in themselves and in their evangelic Be Sustained influence, working toward the development of the highest type of Christianity in a great continent. Nobly should the work be sustained in all its parts and at all points. LITERATURE An extended account of the several European missions considered in the booklet can be found in the second and third volumes of Missions and Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, by J. M. Reid and J. T. Gracey, three volumes, $4; some notice of them in Volume II, Part IV, of History of the Christian Church, by J. F. Hurst, two volumes, $10; and a sur¬ vey of this field and strong appeal for its support are given in the address by W. H. Crawford in one of the seven little volumes reporting the Philadelphia Missionary Convention, 1903, $1, net, for the set. (By mail, $1.20.) For a summary of the general religious conditions in Europe at the beginning of this century, Christendom Anno Domini 1901, is recommended, two volumes in one, $1.50, net. (By mail, $1.75.) To one who would know the whole life of the people in any one or more of these countries, a better choice could not be made than the number or numbers of the series of books edited by W. H. Dawson, on Our European Neighbors, which treat the life of the same. Each volume is written by a thoroughly informed author, is fully illustrated, and is up-to-date. German Life in Town and Country gives the form of the separate titles, and others relating to our European field are those on Russian, Swedish, Danish, Swiss, and Italian life, per volume, $1.20, net. (By mail, $1.30.) A single-volume little book of travel, by a keen observer, touching nearly all parts of our field, is Rambles in the Old World, by M. S. Terry, $1. These and other mission books can be obtained, through the pastor, of the Methodist Book Concern. 41 THE OPEN DOOR SERIES Each number of the Open Door Series of Mission Booklets is issued in a cover similar to that on this number, giving a simple outline map with the essential facts of the geography of the coun¬ try, so that they can be seen at a glance, and some things char¬ acteristic of the land and a face typical of the people. The one on India has, as a background, the beautiful Taj Mahal; that on Korea, the queer Korean hat and the famous national emblem, which appears on all the stamps of Korea; that on Malaysia, the fruits which grow in the region traversed by the equator; while the one on Japan gives the jinrikisha and the flowers of the cherry, lotus, and chrysanthemum. The present cover has in the upper left-hand corner the figure of Wesley proclaiming the Gospel, as a symbol of the message which Methodism is now bringing to the continent of Europe, and in the lower right-hand corner the face of Bishop Burt. Each of the booklets has an excellent and, in most cases, a specially prepared map covering the two central pages, and is rich in carefully selected illustrations. In all respects the con¬ tents are strictly up-to-date. The booklets, therefore, will prove of direct value to Mission Study Classes, those having charge of missionary devotional meetings, pastors, women’s societies, Sunday school workers, and all who wish the most compact and latest information, accompanied by very clear maps and illustrations. Other booklets are planned to be issued, covering all the re¬ maining fields. It should be remembered that in each booklet, while our own missionary ivork is especially emphasized, the country and people, the native religions, and Christian Missions in general also receive attention, so as to give a complete survey of the field. The uniform price of ten cents per copy, postpaid, for each of the booklets, is exceedingly low, considering the high quality of matter, paper, and presswork. Send all orders, with remit¬ tance, to The Open Door Emergency Commission, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York. 42 Now Ready. The Korea Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Henry G. Appenzeller, D.D., late Superintendent of the Mission. The China Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Arthur J. Bowen, Missionary, Nanking, China. The India Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Jefferson E. Scott, D.D., Presiding Elder of the A j mere District, India. The Japan Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By seven eminent missionaries of Japan. The Malaysia Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. John Russell Denyes, Missionary, Singapore, Malaysia. The European Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Bishop John Heyl Vincent, D.D., LL.D., Indianapolis, Indiana. •43