Welcome.

An address of welcome was made by the Hon. F. E. Boothby, the mayor of Portland, and also by Rev. Jonathan L. Jenkins, minister to the State Street Church.

Rev. Elijah Horr, of Massachusetts, offered prayer and pronounced the benediction.

A recess was taken till 2.30.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

At 2.30 prayer was offered by Rev. Leavitt H. Hallock, of Minnesota.

Committees.

The following committees were appointed :

On credentials. - Rev. Elijah Horr, of Massachusetts; Rev. Frank S. Fitch, of New York; Rev. Russell T. Hall, of Connecticut; C. H. Howard, of Illinois; Rev. Horace Sanderson, of Colorado; Rev. James G. Merrill, of Tennessee; Rev. Charles W. Choate, of Indiana.

On business.- Rev. Michael Burnham, of Missouri; Rev. John H. Morley, of North Dakota; Rev. D. Baines Griffiths, of Kansas; Rev. Willard Scott, of Massachusetts; H. Clark Ford, of Ohio; Rev. William J. Mutch, of Connecticut; Rev. Julian M. Sturtevant, of Illinois.

Provisional committee. 1

The report of the provisional committee and trustees was presented and accepted, and the parts dealing with finance were referred to the finance committee.

The program was placed in the hands of the Council.

Publishing committee. 2

The report of the publishing committee was presented and accepted.

Secretary, auditor, treasurer.

The report of the secretary was presented and accepted. 3 The reports of the auditor were presented and accepted. 4 The report of the treasurer was presented, accepted, and referred to the finance committee. 5

1 Page 72-83. 2 Page 82.

3 Page 75.

* Page 87-95.

5 Page 88-94.

Rev. Dan F. Bradley, of Michigan, read a paper upon the question, How far does the application of doctrine to practical life constitute effective preaching? Discussion followed by Rev. Philip S. Moxom, of Massachusetts, Rev. Nehemiah Boynton, of Michigan, Rev. William E. Park, of New York, and Rev. Frank J. Goodwin, of Rhode Island.

The report of the committee on charter revision was read and accepted.

It was moved, That this report, with the report of the trustees and the report of the committee on ministerial relief, be referred to a committee of five.

This motion was for the time laid on the table. The hymn, "My Faith Looks Up to Thee," was sung, and a recess taken till 7.30 P. M.

SATURDAY EVENING.

At 7.30, after organ voluntary and choir anthem, Rev. Eugene G. Updyke, of Wisconsin, read the Scriptures and offered prayer.

Message to Judge Shipman.

It was voted, That the registrar express to Judge Nathaniel Shipman, of Connecticut, the Council's sympathy with him in his illness.

Daily order.

It was voted, That the morning and afternoon sessions of the Council be from 9 to 12.30 and from 2 to 5.

Rev. Williston Walker, of Connecticut, read a paper upon the topic, The Type of Christian Character Favored by Congregationalism; Rev. James G. Vose, of Rhode Island, upon the theme, The Sacraments: Their Function in Personal Life and in the Enlargement and Improvement of the Churches. Rev. William F. Slocum, of Colorado, and Rev. Frank S. Fitch, of New York, followed in discussion.

The hymn, "Saviour, again to Thy dear Name," was sung, the benediction was pronounced by the moderator, and a recess was taken for the services of Sunday.

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Page 157. 9 Pages 40, 96.

3 Page 166.

4

Page 175.

SUNDAY MORNING, October 13.

The Council convened at 10.30 A. M., in the State Street Church, for public worship. The devotional services were conducted by Rev. Jonathan L. Jenkins and Rev. S. B. L. Penrose. Rev. William J. Tucker, of New Hampshire, preached from Luke 18, 8, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

A children's meeting was held at the Second Parish Church at 2.30 P. M.

4,

At the Council united with the State Street Church in the Lord's Supper, administered by Rev. Frederick A. Noble, of Illinois, and Rev. Arthur W. Ackerman, of Oregon.

SUNDAY EVENING..

At 7.30, services were held in the Second Parish, Williston, and St. Lawrence churches.

Members of the Council were heard at the Y. M. C. A., and in most of the pulpits of Portland and vicinity.

MONDAY MORNING, October 14.

At 9, the moderator called the Council to order, and offered prayer.

Minutes.

The minutes of the preceding days were read, corrected, and approved.

Year-Book changes.

2

It was voted, That the question of changes in the Year-Book be referred to a committee, who were later appointed as follows:

Rev. Edward F. Williams, of Illinois; Thomas Todd, of Massachusetts; Rev. Alexander Milne, of Minnesota; Rev. James Dean, of New York; Rev. Homer W. Hildreth, of Vermont.

Yale Bi-Centennial.

It was voted, That the invitation of the president and fellows of Yale, to be represented at the two hundredth anniversary of the University, be accepted, and that the Council be represented by two of its members. Rev. Frederick A. Noble, of Illinois, and John H. Perry, of Connecticut, were later appointed.

John Robinson Memorial Church.1

The report on the John Robinson Memorial Church was accepted, and referred to the business committee. The letter of Rev. Hugh F. Griffiths, with its cordial invitation to the ter-centenary celebration of the John Robinson Church, and the resolution of Rev. Albert E. Dunning, of Massachusetts, concerning the Gainsborough church, were referred to the business committee.

Resolutions. 2

Rev. Frederick A. Noble, of Illinois, reported resolutions to be sent to Mrs. McKinley and President Roosevelt, and they were adopted by rising votes:

To MRS. MCKINLEY, CANTON, O.:

The National Council of Congregational Churches, assembled at Portland, Me., made it its first business after organization to remember you in your great sorrow by commending you to the God of all comfort, and singing the hymn which, since your husband's lamented death, has seemed charged with a fresh inspiration, and more easily to bring us all nearer to God. In common with the nations at large, and with all Christian peoples throughout the world, we share with you in the inexpressible grief of this sad bereavement, and assure you of our tenderest sympathy.

In virtue of his rare combination of high manly qualities, his clear thinking, his spotless integrity, his exemplary domestic life, his unfailing kindness, and his long, faithful, and eminently successful service to his country, he was sure of an enduring fame; but martyrdom has set the seal of an immortal remembrance to his name, and fixed his place forever among the great and good of the earth.

PORTLAND, ME., Oct. 14, 1901.

F. A. NOBLE,
ASHER ANDERSON,

for the Council.

TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT,

3

President of the United States, Washington, D. C.: The National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States, now assembled in triennial session at Portland, Me., bow with you in profound sorrow over the tragic death of our late President. With you and all other true patriots, we recognize his great personal Page 15.

Pages 23, 98, 100.

2 Page 15.

3

merit, and the distinguished service he rendered to the nation; but while mourning for the dead, we may not forget the living. Called as you have been by this strange providence to the responsibilities and duties of the exalted position you now occupy, we hasten to assure you of our hearty sympathy in the difficult tasks you have to perform, and of our unquestioning confidence in the integrity of your purpose, in the loftiness of your aims, and in your ability, under the guidance of God, to meet successfully the high demands of your great office. Many of the members of this Council have watched your career with an increasing pride; and as they have noted how loyal you have been to lofty ideals, and how true and unfaltering in situations the most trying, and how your patriotism has been characterized not alone by an intense earnestness, but by intelligence and breadth, they have been constrained to feel that you were born to be a leader at a time when wise and courageous eadership seems so essential to the welfare and substantial progress of the republic. We invoke God's choicest blessings upon you, and we promise to do our best to hold up your hands, and our best, also, to create a public opinion which will hold up your hands, in every attempt you may make, in every measure you may urge, in every policy you may adopt, which has promise in it of advancing this great people, over whose destiny you now preside, in knowledge, in righteousness, in the true appreciation and the right use of liberty, and in all the elements and qualities which bring the national aspirations more and more into line with the manifest purposes of Him whose kingdom ruleth over all.

PORTLAND, ME., Oct. 14, 1901.

F. A. NOBLE,

ASHER ANDERSON,

for the Council.

A resolution of sympathy and congratulation was also sent to Rev. William H. Moore:

TO THE REV. Wм. H. MOORE, Hartford, Conn.:

It

DEARLY BELOVED, - The National Council is in full headway in this city of Payson and Longfellow and Read and Neal Dow. gives promise of being one of the best Councils ever held. It is well officered, but we miss you. We miss your face, your voice, your hand-shake. We miss your boundless stores of information, and your wisdom. We are, however, profoundly grateful to Almighty