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.
Best selections now!
t
HERE At Trowbridge & Flynn
kJOWV ANOTHER ECONOMY "BUY'
run mcurunu rMviiLiEd
SIlPIiLyBllI
ESDI
HE
AIM
ELECTRIC
WATER
O PRODUCT OF WORLD'S LARGEST MAKERS OF WATER HEATERS O
' o
Mm
-REPLACE TIH1 AT MB MATE
SEIDELHUBER
BIG TANK
52 Gallon
CAPACITY
5 YEAR GUARANTEE ON
THE TANK
o l YEAR GUARANTEE ON
HEATING ELEMENTS
TWO THERMOSTATS,
TWO HEATING ELEMENTS
FOR QUICK
RECOVERY!
ATELfcNOW!
INKS-
AT
LOW
DOWN
PAYMENT
EASY
TERMS