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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1956)
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN Statistical ow Available To Show Growth Of Church iemhership Friday. February 3, 1956 Dr. Landis Says : Increase Greater Than Of Population . " jfey LOUIS CASSELS United Press Correspondent Washington -CU.R) Dr. Ben ion Y. Landis, editor of the Yearbook of American Church--s es, said today there is "abundant statistical proof that total church membership is growing far more rapidly than the over all U. S. population. But he said the much-discussed church boom has been "very uneven" in its impact. Some of the oldest and best-known Protestant denominations have -TMt kept pace in the phenomenal growth of recent years. And a disproportionately large" share of church gains have been regis tered in new suburban areas, while many city and rural con gregations have actually lost members. Top Authority Dr. Landis is widely recog ' nized as the nation's top au J' thority on church statistics. The yearbook w"hich he edits, under the sponsorship of the National Council of Churches, was the source of the figures published last fall showing that U. S. church enrollment had reached an all-time high of 97,500,000, or more than 60 per cent of the population. The accuracy of these figures has been questioned in several quarters. One of the sharpest challenges came from Prof. Win throp S. Hudson of Colgate Rochester Divinity School. He asserted in a recent issue of Christian Century magazine that the reported boom in church membership is "largely an il lusion." Dr. Landis acknowledged in an interview that his yearbook accepts at face value the mem bership figures supplied by vari ous denominations. He conceded that the statistical reporting methods of religious bodies vary in accuracy from "very careful checking" to "outright esti mates." ";- Near 100,000,000 But he said these facts do not mean that the yearbook's total is necessarily too high! On the contrary, he said, it is entirely possible that it is too low, and that U. S. church membership has now passed 100,000,000. ' Dr. Landis cited these factors which, he said, tend to offset any disposition on the part of some ; denominations to report "optimistically" on their enroll ment: ; 1. The figures published in the current 1956 yearbook were, for the most part, based on 1954 membership lists. Spot checks show that there has been sub stantially later growth which is not reflected in the figures. 2. The total did not include two fairly large denominations Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses which have a policy against publishing membership figures. 3. Some denominations have a system of , distributing finan cial quotas among their member churches on the basis of their reported enrollment. This op erates to discourage any pad ding of membership figures. Mora Statistics Moreover, he said, the authen ticity of the church boom is borne out by other statistics. Sunday school enrollment, on which nearly all groups keep week to week nose counts, has risen sharply since 1947 and now totals a record 37,000,000. Outlays' for church construc tion, reported by the federal Departs of Labor and Com merce, jumped from $126,000, 000 in 1947 to $748,000,000 in -1955 and an estimated $850, 000,000 this year. Sales of Bibles and religious' books, reported by publishers, totaled $29,000,000 in 1947 and : $55,000,000 in 1954, the last year for which figures are available. ' Finally, Dr. Landis said, whether or not the church mem bership figures' for any given year are - precisely accurate, there is "no doubt at all" about the general upward trend. 4k a UJfcHtti 'mi hmm ugum DR. PAUL S. WRIGHT Moderator Officers Visit To Be Occasion For Activities Dr. Paul Stuart Wright, Port land, moderator of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the USA, will visit here Thursday, Feb. 9. Three ac tivities, at which he will appear, are planned for that day and will be attended by valley Pres byterians. First will be a Presbyterians Men's luncheon at noon that day at the First Presbyterian church in Medford. A dinner is scheduled for 6 p.m., to be attended by all church officers and friends of Dr. Wright. This event will be held at the Medford hotel. That evening at 8 o'clock the moderator will speak at the Phoenix Presbyterian church. The choir will furnish music and all elders, and ministers will march in the opening proces sional. ' As moderator of the general assembly, Dr. Wright holds the highest" honorary office in . the Fresbyterian church, which has a membership of some 2,658,900 persons. ' . One-Year Term His term of office is for one year and during this term he is serving as chairman of the gen eral council, spiritual and finan cial coordinating body of the church, represents the church at official gatherings and functions, both civic and ecclesiastical; and makes visits to churches, judicatories,.-institutions and regions of the church. He is also responsible for' mak ing appointments to committees of the assembly during his term. Dr. Wright was born of mis sionary parents in Tabriz, Iran. He became pastor of the First Presbyterian church, Portland; in 1941. Presbyterians Set Reception Rites; Events Planned New members will be received by the session at the First Pres byterian ' church at 5 p.m. Sun day. The Rev. John Reynolds, who has been conducting the class, will present them. : At the morning services Dr. D. Kirkland West will speak at both services on the theme, "Are the Ten Commandments out of Date?" At a 7:30 p.m. service, the film, : "Martin Luther," will be shpwn. The film depicts the struggle in the church at the time of the Reformation and the place that Martin Luther played. The public is invited. The High School Westminster fellowship will join .with six other churches in Medford for an Interdenominational Youth rally at the First Methodist church at 6:30 p.m., when Mark Hatfield, Salem, dean of students at Willamette university, and state senator,, will be speaker. A time of fellowship will fol low the services at the YMCA. Music in the morning services will include anthems by the Westminster and Chancel choirs, under the direction of Allen Lehl. The Stars and Stripes fly day and night from a flagpole atop a hill overlooking Deadwood, S.D., by special act of Congress. Forests in Brazil cover about 1,000,000,000 acres. EVANGELIST William L. De- vereaux, Los Angelesj will begin revival meetings at Medford As sembly of God, 1108 West Main st., Sunday at 11 a.m. He will speak at other meetings at the church that day and daily at 7:45 p.m., except Monday and Saturday. Evangelist Devereaux has conducted meetings through out this country and Canada and is a frequent Youth for Christ speaker. Musical groups will pre sent selections at each service. A Sunday school rally will be held, at 9:45 a.m., .when' the speaker' will outline plans for an enlargement program in the school: - ' TWO REARRESTED St. Paul, Minn. (U.R) Two men, cleared of auto theft charges walked out of the police station . Thursday and stole a driverless taxicab. They were rearrested. First Youth Rally Speaker Announced, Program Listed ; Mark Hatfield, Salem; dean of students at Willamette univer sity, and state senator, will be main speaker at th,e first interde nominational youth rally ever to be held in Medford and which will convene Sunday, Feb.; 12 at 6:30 p.m. Scene of the rally will be First Methodist . church.. Young people from . various local churches have planned the rally to promote a better understanding of Christian youths' parts in an ever-changing world. Greg Milnes of the Episcopal Town Deserted After Reports Of Sinking Sehore, India (IIP) This pro vincial town has been deserted by 8,000 of its 10,000-odd resi dents as a result of panicky re ports of recurrent earthquakes and rumors that the area is "sinking." Reports say Sehore was rocked by earthquakes eight times in youth will conGuct the worship service. The Methodist youth choir, augmented by young peo ple from other choirs, will sing. Musical groups - from several churches will participate. Nancy Walstead has been in charge of the musicians. ' ''' A recreational and fellowship period will be held after the rally service at the YMCA build ing, and was planned by Joyce Gregory. Church youth groups will rep resent Medford Friends, First Baptist, Assembly of God, First Presbyterian, St. Mark's Episco pal, ' First Methodist, Zion : Lu theran, First Christian and Phoe nix Presbyterian. High school students of any faith are invited. Advisers are - Mrs. ' George Flanagan an.d the ' Rev. John Reynolds of the First Presbyte rian church, and the Rev. Robert F. Burger, St. Mark's. TRIAL THEFT Bridgeport, Conn. (U.R) A sneak thief stole $41 from Judge James C. Shannon's wallet in his coat hanging in an office closet while the Superior Court judge presided over a .criminal trial. - ' ; Woman Travels 750 Miles For Birth of Fourth Child Duluth, Minn. (U.R) Mrs. Ar thur Madsen, 34, decided she wanted a doctor when her fourth child is born and traveled 150 miles from her Canadian north woods home to reach one. The trip was by snowshoe, snowmobile, dogsled, automobile and bus. ' lJ Mrs. Madsen and her oldest son, Chris 6, left their home on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake Saturday morning in a snowmobile, an automobilepow ered by a half-track. They were unable to continue their trip after crossing the lake because "the dogsled they plan-. rted to hitch a ride on was' lad en with trappers' supplies. So Mrs. Madsen said she and her son built a fire, and waited for her husband, a guide, to show up. The fire was signal for him to come. . ) ; , Her husband, Arthur arrived with a toboggan, which he drag ged, across the , lake ice, and snowshoes." They baggage on the toboggan and set out on snowshoes for the end of the trail three miles away. The last quarter of a mile, Mrs. Madsen and her son rode on a dogsled sent -out by the trappers to meet them.- . ; A weekly mail truck was' to take Mrs. Madsen and her son into Grand Marais, Minn., but failed to arrive because of a' 17 inch snowfall. . . , , ... ' Mrs.' Madsen and Chris then got a lift by automobile from an Indian guide, George Plummer, who took them to a lodge where there' was a telephone. -. . .-" An emergency call sent 'a snowplow . crew., from ' Grand Marais to the lodge to open a path' for : Mrs. . Madsen and her son. It was the next morning when the two ; reached Grand Marais.' They took an afternoon bus.io Duluth, 57 miles away. the past 10 days, but it has been impossible so far to find anyone who actually felt them. No such tremors were registered by seismographs. As many as 2,000 persons per square mile live in the Ganges loaded their valley of India.; ; v- 4 ' PLANT these NOW! SHADE TREES 'Sycamores From 6 to 14 feet - vnmson King Maples From 6 to 8 feet Chinese Elms From 8 to 14 feet White Birch From 6 to 12 feet GARDEN CENTER HURSERY ; (formerly Newhalls) 4631 Pacific Highway South - PHONE 2-7601 Berean Baptists Open New Chapel I Berean Baptists of White City will meet Sunday, Feb. 5, for the first time in their new chapel which is located on Crater Lake highway south of Antelope rd. The redwood edifice has been constructed in less than six months, mostly by volunteer la bor.. The building will serve, as a Sunday school and church unit. A date for dedication has not been announced. Sunday school convenes .at 9.45 ajn., and worship service is at 11 a.m., the pastor, the Rev.' Glenn S. Wade, announced. . Pre-partition India was a little more than one-half the size of the U. S. ' To Receive Rites The Rev. James W. F. Car man, bishop coadj utor designate of- the Episcopal diocese in Orer gon, will receive Holy commun ion Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m., at Trinity church, Portland. The. Right Rev. Henry Knox Sher rilL : presiding bishop, will ad minister the rites. Traditionally, only the1 family of the new bishop and the par ticipating clergy receive at this time. But provision is made, as in the coming ordination of Dean Carman as bishop coadjutor, for services in all Episcopal church es in the diocese at an earlier hour, that morning with special intention for the ' consecration. A new machine now is able to manufacture butter without churning and is said to be high ly satisfactory. YOU CAN'T MISS! Finding just the right kind of in our big display. 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