RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
secretaries, and the latter with 2,310 associations, 127,835 members, and over 169 secretaries. In Great
Britain there are 191 association buildings valued at -
$5,577,600, and in Germany, 154 buildings worth $2,380,000. The general statistics of the remaining foreign field for 1911 may be summarized as follows:
Associ] Mem- | Secre- | Buildations} bers. | taries.| ings. Value. In Praneess ca: 143 5,700) 17 13 $290,000 pear CLO llanideeeester 4 12,019 3 EN lite ceric “ Denmark...... 812] 12,800) 14 16 426,500 EOIN AER on cho 6 514) 15,834) 18 92 438,000 Se TRUSSI Orne eee 13 2,012 i 2 112,000 “© Sweden... .....- 113) 10,890) 21 13 577,000 “* Switzerland.... 519 9,820) 12 10 290,000 “* India-Ceylonirma) see 158) 11,480) 61 23 576,000 “* China-Korea-
Hongkong... 89 9,080} 79 4 258,200 Ser Japan come. 72 6,475} 12 23 281,500 “* South Africa... 8 2,743| 11 3 338,000
“ Australia, New
Zealand, and Tasmania.... 19 9,907} 40 13 824,000
““ South America - and Mexico.. 14 4,058} 28 5 475,000
XI. Young People’s Christian Endeavor Union of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ: A young people’s society of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, organized by a called convention of 200 pastors and young people’s society workers at Dayton, O., June 4-5, 1890. The organization then effected was called the Young People’s Christian Union, and included all young people’s societies, of whatever name, connected with United Brethren churches. Previous to the organization a number of Young People’s Christian Endeavor Societies, Young People’s Christian Associations, and local societies of other names existed, and the ‘Young People’s Christian Union included all these. Constitutions for local Christian Union Societies and Christian Endeavor Societies were provided, leaving to each congregation the choice as to form and name. In addition to the general union, each annual conference is organized as a branch union, there being forty of these. General conventions are held biennially, and branch conventions are held annually. The conventions are mass gatherings, but executive business is transacted by delegates properly constituted by the branch unions and by the local societies. For twenty years the direction of the organization was in the hands of an executive council of seven members, including the president and secretary, three of whom were elected by the General Conference, to which the union reported quadrennially. In 1909 the General Conference placed the management of the Christian Endeavor under a board which has oversight of the Sunday-school, brotherhood, and Young People’s work. Each local society pays annual dues of one dollar, half of which goes to the treasury of the general union and half to the branch union treasuries. The first Sunday in May is observed as “ anniversary day,” when offerings are made to missionary enterprises at home and in foreign fields. These offerings have aided in establishing churches in Los Angeles, Chicago, Porto Rico, and Japan, and schools in Freetown and Shenge, Africa, and mission work among foreigners in America. They are now used in promoting Christian Endeavor work.
Young People’s Societies
At the biennial convention held in June, 1908, the name of the general union was changed to Young People’s Christian Endeavor Union, and all branch unions and local societies were recommended to adopt the Christian Endeavor name, which was done. In 1893 the general conference of the United Brethren Church formally constituted the Young People’s Christian Union as a department of the denomination, and established The Watchword as the organ of the department, electing Rev. H. F. Shupe as editor. This paper is a sixteen-page illustrated weekly, with a circulation of 42,000, published by the United Brethren Publishing House, at Dayton, O. The first president was Prof. J. P. Landis, who served twelve years, when Rev. J. G. Huber was elected to succeed him. The organization numbers: Young People’s Societies, 1,574, with 63,358 members; Junior Societies, 562, with 22,155 members; total, 2,136 societies, with 85,513 members. These societies pay annually to special missionary objects about $10,000. H. F. Suupe.
XII. Young People’s Christian Union of the Universalist Church: A denominational young people’s society organized at Lynn, Mass., Oct. 22, 1889, and incorporated under Massachusetts laws on Mar. 10, 1898, its object being to promote the religious and spiritual life of its members, to train the young people of the church in missionary work, and to prepare them for efficient service in the larger work of the church. Since its organization the union has held twenty-three annual conventions, the last one being held at Portland, Me., in July, 1911. The union has built four churches in various parts of the country, and in addition to paying for the buildings it has assisted materially in paying the salaries of pastors of several churches, reducing the contribution from year to year as the members of the individual organizations have been able to increase their income. In its post-office mission department thousands of pieces of Universalist literature bearing upon all phases of Universalism have been distributed through the agency of the United States mail to people in isolated places throughout the country. In its Christian citizenship work the union has endeavored to train its members to grow up as Christian men and women, loyal to the highest ideals of their country, and examples of the best type of manhood and womanhood. The national union comprises sixteen state unions and 225 local unions, while its total membership is about 7,000. The officers consist of a president, secretary, treasurer, and four others who, with the officers, comprise the executive board, which governs the union between conventions. The state unions hold annual conventions, composed of delegates from the local unions. Financially, the union is in a very good condition, its annual report for the past year showing a satisfactory surplus in every department. Its running expenses, including salaries, supplies, etc., are met by an annual per-capita tax levied upon the state unions on the basis of their membership. The expenses of the mission department are met by receipts from convention pledges, which annually amount into the thousands, and from the two-cents-a-week system, in which every member who is able contributes two cents a week to the
Young People’s Societies