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counsel together how preparations may best be made
at home for this future and greater work of faith of
the Chruch of God in all lands; and we authorize the
Commission on Unity to represent our churches at
this conference.

3. In the particular conference which has been
happily entered upon between our Commission on
Unity and the similar Commission of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, with regard to the Lenox, Mass., pro-
posals, we authorize our Commission to express to them
our earnest desire and prayer that with conservation of
the principles, both theirs and ours, the spiritual values
of which have been proved in history, some orderly
means may be found possible for a closer affiliation of
our respective ministries in work and worship.

The committee on Memorials of Illinois Conference presented the following report which was approved and its recommendations adopted. (See page 372.)

Your Committee on Memorials have had placed in their hands for their consideration two memorials from the Illinois Conference.

The memorial designated A has reference to ministerial standing and character and has regard to the present inadequate definition of the status of ministers from whom fellowship has been withdrawn by district associations. Your Committee are in entire accord with the purport of this report and the intent of its resolution and submit the following preamble and resolution, and recommend that they be affirmed by this Council.

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'Whereas, The National Council has affirmed that the ministerial standing of an ordained man is completed and constituted only by membership in a District Association, or State Conference, and is sustained by the maintenance of such membership.

It is therefore voted, that the loss of such membership for good and sufficient cause is the loss of ministerial standing; that no further action, such as technical deposition, is required for terminating a man's ministerial character, and that

one who has thus lost ministerial standing and character should no longer be recognized as a minister or employed by our churches, and his name shall not appear in the Year Book."

As germane to the foregoing and as an essential corollary your Committee also recommend the adoption of the following resolution:

"That a minister who has been suspended from membership in a District Association, or State Conference, should not be permitted to exercise the functions of the ministry during the period of his suspension."

The second memorial referred to your Committee, designated B, pertains to the diversified character of our denominațional religious publications, weekly and monthly, and the need of a more general distribution of such journals, and recommends, if practicable, the unification of these interests so as better to conserve the growing demands of our denominational and religious life.

Your Committee regards the memorial as of large and vital importance, but the determination of a definite program involves so many questions of practicability and detail requiring most careful deliberation upon all the questions and interests involved that they unite in the recommendation that this Memorial be referred to the Executive Committee of the National Council for their early and earnest consideration.

The Business Committee announced special sessions of the Council at five o'clock P.M. Monday and another at five o'clock P.M. Tuesday.

The report of the Commission on Social Service was presented, approved and ordered filed. (See page 284.) The following resolutions submitted by the Commission were adopted:

1. That the special program and objective of the Social Service Commission be given wider publicity and a larger place in our denominational program.

2. That the activities of this Commission as outlined in this report be continued, and that our churches in their local work, as well as their fellow

ship, be more completely enlisted in the effort to
make the program for social reconstruction effective.
3. That the churches adopt the minimum program
as outlined in report:

1. Men's Work.

2. Social Service.

3. Industry.

4. Organized Charity.

5. Country Church.

6. Social Purity.

4. That special emphasis be placed on the rural church 1. Through the Agricultural Colleges. 2.

Through State and local Conferences and Associations.

A special session for the consideration of the Peace Resolution and amendment was called to order by Moderator Beardsley at 5:15 Monday. After prolonged discussion

Voted: That the entire matter be referred to a special committee to report at a time to be designated by the Business Committee. The Moderator appointed the following committee: Chairman, Rev. Charles F. Carter of Connecticut; Rev. G. Glenn Atkins of Rhode Island; Rev. Stephen B. J. Penrose of Washington; Rev. A. H. Armstrong of Missouri; Mr. James Lyman of Illinois.

Tuesday, October 26th.

A special session was called to order at 12:15 by Moderator Beardsley.

A resolution concerning Armenian atrocities submitted by Rev. J. L. Barton of Massachusetts was adopted and as later amended is as follows:

The National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States assembled in New Haven, Connecticut, profoundly moved by the unquestioned evidence of unprecedented atrocities committed on the non-Mohammedan population of Turkey, by order of the central government raises its voice in protest and urges upon the President of the United States to do all in his power to save the remnant of those stricken races and to secure in this endeavor the coöperation of all neutral nations, and the allies of Turkey.

On motion of Rev. Clifford N. Hand of California,

Voted: That the Executive Committee be directed to make careful inquiry as to the advisability of changing the time of the regular Council meeting from October to May, in order that said meeting may more closely follow the close of the Council's fiscal year.

The following amendment to the By-Laws, notice of the introduction of which had been given by Rev. W. E. Barton of Illinois on the previous day, was adopted:

To amend Article VII, Section 3, by adding at the end the following words "members of the Nominating Committee who have served for a full term shall not be eligible for reëlection until after an interval of two years."

Voted: That this Council recommends to ordaining councils and local associations a policy which declines to ordain to our ministry men without regular theological training before the successful completion of three years of field study under the auspices of a State Conference Committee regularly appointed for that purpose, or in correspondence courses with a theological seminary of recognized standing.

Special session convened in Woolsey Hall at 4:50 P.M., Tuesday, October 24, Moderator Beardsley presiding. Rev. Charles F. Carter of Connecticut, Chairman of the special committee on Peace Resolutions, presented a report based upon the resolution of Rev. Charles E. Jefferson and the amendment by Mr. H. M. Beardsley. This resolution was verbally amended by the Council and adopted in the following form:

Whereas, the war now desolating Europe deeply concerns Christian people everywhere and has laid bare the fallacies in the policy of armed peace and has demonstrated the futility of armaments as a guarantee of international security and justice, and

Whereas, we believe that God through this conflict is revealing the essential need of world-wide brotherhood and that no just and effective program for permanent peace can be

made, except in the spirit of the teachings of Jesus Christ, therefore,

Be it resolved, that, recognizing the weighty responsibility resting upon the President of the United States and commending the wisdom and strength he has shown, we appeal to him and to the members of Congress highly to cherish, in all their deliberations, the time-honored position of this nation as an advocate of peace and to take no steps toward increased armament not necessitated by grave considerations of national defence. We urge them to bend the energy of our government at this crisis in human history to working out, in coöperation with other governments, a plan of international organization that shall render the recurrence of the present world tragedy impossible. We trust that nothing may be done which shall hereafter hinder the Republic in any office of leadership or mediation to which in the providence of God she may be called.

Be it further resolved, that we direct the Executive Committee of this Council to co-operate with the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, the Church Peace Union, and with other Christian bodies of our own and foreign countries, in seeking to spread this sentiment in preparation for the new era of fellowship and to secure such action by our government and by other governments of the world as shall bring about enduring peace, international good-will and the resort to reason and justice in a court of final appeal.

The following amendment to the By-Laws was proposed by Rev. John P. Sanderson of Illinois and referred to the Executive Committee:

Nominations for the Executive Committee of the Council, the Boards of Directors of the several societies, and all elective officers shall be presented on printed ballots to be distributed to and cast by the members voting. A motion to instruct the casting of a single vote for any nominee shall be in order only upon the setting aside of this rule. Pending the declaration of the result of a ballot the order of the day may proceed.

The Nominating Committee named the following members of a special committee to report on the work of the Board of

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