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CORRECTED STATEMENT OF GIFTS FOR BENEVO LiENCES.
For the Year Ending March 31, 1922.
Foreign Missions $1,281,323
Assembly's Homo Missions 543,438
Synod's Home Missions 186,419
Presbytery's Home Missions 397,703
Congregational Home Missions 273,661
Christian Education and Ministerial Relief 380,165
Sabbath School Extension and Publication 96,704
Educational Institutions 739,776
Hible Cause 24,007
Orphans' Homes $4,286,665
Total for our Church Causes $4,286,665
Miscellaneous Contributions 1,185,658 1,18b, 658
Total $5,472,323 $5,472,323
Other Funds Collected.
Current Expenses and Presbyterial Tax $3,608,210
Pastors* Salaries Actually Paid 2,663,192
$4,286 665
$6,271,402 6,271,402
Crand Total to all Causes $11,743,725
Benevolent Per Capita.... $13.28
Current Expenses Per Capita 15.22
IVr Capita to all Causes
$28.50
REPORTS ADOPTED
ItKI'ORT OP THE COMMITTEE ON
AND OVERTURES
AIK)PTKI?.
Your committee respectfully report
the reception of the following over
turps with the recommended answers
thereto:
1. An overture from the Presby
tery of Albemarle asking the Assem
bly to send down to the Presbyteries
a proposed amendment to the Book
of Church Order providing for bien
nial instead of annual meetings of
the General Assembly.
We recommend that this overture
he answered in the negative.
An overture from the Presbytery of
Meridian asking the Assembly to take
steps to have changed the basis of
representation in the Assembly from
?J.iiOO to 5,000.
We recommend that this overture
he answered in the negative.
An overture from the Presbytery
<>t (ireenbrier, to which your com
mittee would recommend the follow
ing answer:
The Assembly of 1921 adopted the
1'lans for the raising of a fund of
$?>,000,000 for the equipment of the
several departments of its beneficent
w?rk, refusing to sei\d the proposi
"<>n down to the Presbyteries for
their approval of its plans. It also
directed" the lower courts to divide
">e beneficent funds according to a
s< hedule of percentages designated by
"?e Assembly. The Presbytery of
?Ireenbrier complains of these acts
"f the Assembly of 1921, and over
? nres this Assembly to give a deliver
ance upon the subject. Your commit
tee recommends that the Assembly
adopt the following reply: Without
' riticizlng or constraining the action
?f the Assembly of 1921, this Assem
bly declares that it is competent for
u>o Assembly to devise plans for the
C!?rrying out of the work committed
,0 't hy the Constitution of the Church,
a?d to recommend such plans to the
'"wer courts and seek their co-opera
1 K,n; but has no authority from the
,!?>ok of Church Order to control
'"Wer courts in their decisions as to
what collections shall be taken up,
"r how these collections shall be ex
pended.
Overtures from the Synod of Vir
ginia and from the Presbyteries of
^ iiiehoster and Montgomery asking
1,1,1 General Assembly to establish a
"nrejju 0f Vacancy and Supply.
^ <>ur committee recommend that
"'?8e overtures with accompanying
papers be referred to an ad interim
committee consisting of R. F. Camp
bell, D. D., Rev. P. C. Clark and Rul
ing Elder R. A. Dunn, with the re
quest that they report to the next
General Assembly on the whole sub
ject of Vacancy and Supply, submit
ting a plan to the next Assembly.
An overture from the Presbytery
of Kanawha asking the Assembly to
combine its Committees on Narrative
and Sabbath Observance into one per
manent committee, to be known as
the Committee on the State of Reli
gion.
We recommend that this overture
be answered in the negative, on the
ground that at the present time the
question of Sabbath observance needs
to be especially emphasized, and there
seems to be no sufficient reason for
making the Committee on Narrative
a permanent committee.
An overture from the Presbytery
of Central Louisiana asking advice on
the matter of trustees and incorpora
tion of churches.
Your committee recommends that
the Presbytery of Central Louisiana
be referred to the report made to this
Assembly by the ad interim Commit
tee on Judicial Powers of Trustees,
in which the desired information is
fully set forth.
An overture from the Synod of
Texas asking the Assembly so to ar
range the program of the Assembly
of 1923 as to give special emphasis
to the Sabbath and Family Religion.
We recommend that the Permanent
Committee on the Sabbath and Fam
ily Religion be requested to arrange
for an evening session at the next
Assembly to be devoted to this impor
tant subject.
An overture from the Presbytery
of Atlanta asking that the Assembly
of 1923 be designated a Prayer As
sembly and that the institutions and
agencies of the Church devote the
current church year to the study of
prayer and to the fostering and pro
moting the spirit and' practice of
prayer throughout our Church.
We recommend that this overture
be answered in the affirmative and
that the Permanent Commltee on the
Sabbath and Family Religion be re
quested to place this matter before
the Church in an effective way.
An overture from the Presbytery
of Savannah asking the Assembly to
request the members of our Church,
who are In a position to flo so, to
protest against any change in the
basis of active membership in the
Young Woman's Christian Association
at their approaching General Conven
tion in Hot Springs.
Your committee recommend the
following answer: We are reliably
informed that the convention has al
ready been held and that the feared
change in the basis of membership
was not made.
Overtures from the Presbyteries of
Mobile and Kanawha asking the As
sembly to rescind the action of the
last Assembly regarding the process
of the presentation of overtures to
the General Assembly.
We recommend that these overtures
be answered in the negative.
An overture from Mr. A. M. Prich
ard, a ruling elder of the First Pres
byterian church, Staunton, Va.
Your committee could not admit
this overture to consideration in view
of the action of the last Assembly
requiring overtures to go before the
lower court before presentation to the
Assembly.
PUBLICATION AND SABBATH
SCHOOL* WORK.
Your Standing Committee on Pub
lication and Sabbath School Work
would respectfully submit the fol
lowing report:
We have received for review the
sixty-first annual report of our Ex
ecutive Committee on these causes;
the minutes of the Executive Commit
tee; the statistical and narrative re
ports on Sabbath School Work sub
mitted by the various Presbyteries, all
of which have been faithfully exam
ined and approved; together with all
overtures which have come into our
hands.
We find in the report, of the Execu
tive Committee a splendid review of
the past twenty years' work, and it
is with joy and profound thanksgiv
ing to God that we witness the growth
and progress which this most impor
tant agency of our beloved Church has
enjoyed under His blessing.
There has been substantial improve
ment and progress in every department
of the work, and we call attention to
the following outstanding features of
the past year's work in this depart
ment:
1. The total sale of books and pe
riodicals amounted to $489,353.
2. In addition to the above, books,
Bibles, tracts, Sunday school periodi
cals, etc., have been contributed Co
pastors, churches and Sunday schools
to the amount of $54,693.
3. The periodical circulation has
grown to the enormous number of
13,694,745.
4. During the year the committee
has printed 50,000 Life and Service
Hymns, 65,000 Shorter Catechisms,
101,140 Introduction to Shorter Cate
chism, 412.890 Rally Day programs,
60,000 Family Altar leaflets, together
with thousands of tracts and booklets
concerning every department of the
Church's work, 1,583 Bibles and 4,
877 Testaments for the recitation of
the Catechisms were awarded, a larger
number than in any year in the past.
5. The total Sunday school enroll
ment is 396,850. an increase of 15,
000.
6. 13,540 Sunday school pupils
joined the church on profession of
faith, over 50 per cent, of the total
number so joining.
7. The total contributions through
our Sabbath schools wero $740,78?,
of which $282,368 were to the be
nevolent causes of the Church.
8. The number of persons engaged
in field work in connection with our
Sabbath School Department la 63, an
increase of 14 over last year.
9. The committee continues its ef
forts to encourage authorship among
our own ministers.
10. The Young People's Societies
of our CliuVcli reported a total mem
bership of 51.692, together with con
tributions to all causes of $74,009.
11. The work among the young
people of our Church has been, pro
moted in a most earnest and effective
way, and there are signs of continued
progress. The employment of the Rev.
Wesley Baker as Field Director of
the whole Church will increase the
efficiency of this department by the
promotion of Sabbath School Insti
tutes and Schools of Methods within
the bounds of our Assembly. The rapid
development of the Young People's
Conference movement, including the
General Conference at Montreat and
Synodlcal Conferences in every Synod
except one, has meant much ^o tlio
spiritual development of our young
people. The Efficiency Charts pub
lished by our committee for every de
partment of our work are acknowl
edged to be the best of their kind in
this country.
Overtures.
No. 1. From the Presbytery of
Paris to print each of the sessional
blanks on paper of different colors.
We recommend that this be referred
to the Committee of Publication with
out comment.
No. 2. In answer to overtures from
the Synods of North Carolina and
Virginia and the Presbytery of Ar
kansas, together with a recommenda
tion referred to us from the Steward
ship Committee's report concerning
certain proposed changes in the print
ing of the Statistical Sessional report
blank, we answer:
Your committee recommends that
no change be made in the statistical
report blanks as now printed, for the
reason that all needs are adequately
provided for in the present form.
No. 3. From the Presbytery of Con
cord regarding changes in statistical
blanks for reporting all money given
to regular Presbyterian institutions
and committees, we recommend that
it be answered in the negative.
No. 4. From Presbytery of East
Hanover to provide a column or place
in the statistical blanks to show the
cost of church building, we recom
mend that it be answered in the nega
tive.
No. 5. From the Synod of Arkan
sas to print churches alphabetically in
the Minutes of the General Assembly,
we recommend that it be answered in
the negative.
No. 7. From the Session of the
First Presbyterian church of Roanoke,
Va., in regard to printing Shorter
Catechism questions in the graded les
sons of the Sabbath school.
That while we feel the great need
of having the Catechism taught in
our Sunday school, and the publica
tion of at least one question weekly
in the graded literature used, yet be
cause of the present prohibitive cost
of publication we recommend that the
overture be answered in the negative.
We would also call their attention to
the answer of the resolution of the
Editorial Advisory Committee of the
?Committee of Publication and Sabbath
Schools.
No. 8. In answer to the Editorial
Advisory Committee of the Committee
on Publication and Sabbath Schools
relating to Uniform and Departmental
(or Group) lessons and lesson helps,
to suggested changes, additions and
enlargements to our Literature.
We recommend the following: In
view of certain aerlous consequences
likely to be involved in any attempt
to bring our Church to the adoption
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