UNITARIANS. 



UNITED BRETHREN. 



691 



U 



UNITARIANS. The National Conference 

 of the Unitarian and other Liberal Christian 

 Churches met in its biennial session at Sara- 

 toga Springs, New York, September 21st. The 

 Hon. E. R. Hoar presided. The Council of 

 the Conference reported that it had saved the 

 Church of the Messiah, in New York City, 

 from a forced sale; had raised $115,000 to en- 

 dow two new professorships in Harvard Di- 

 vinity School; and had secured funds for the 

 Ghanning Memorial Church at Newport, Rhode 

 Island. The report recommended that steps 

 be taken, without infringing on the independ- 

 ence of the churches, to organize the forces 

 of the denomination for united work ; that 

 delegates to the Conference be authorized to 

 pledge the churches for certain amounts ; and 

 that funds be raised for a business building 

 in Boston, to be called the Channing Memo- 

 rial Building. The American Unitarian As- 

 sociation reported that its average annual re- 

 ceipts were $25,000, and that larger contribu- 

 tions were needed to increase its work in 

 America, India, and Hungary ; and recom- 

 mended that $50,000 be raised for the next 

 year. The Western Conference reported that 

 fifty active societies were supplied by thirty- 

 five preachers, and that in the last two years 

 church debts amounting to $95,000 had been 

 paid, and thirteen new churches had been 

 built. Favorable reports were made of the con- 

 dition of the churches in New Orleans, Charles- 

 ton, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Reports 

 were made of the condition of 250 Unitarian 

 Sunday-schools, with 5,000 teachers and 25,000 

 pupils. The Conference recommended that 

 $5,000 be raised for the Sunday-school Associ- 

 ation, and $10,000 for the school at Hampton, 

 Virginia, for colored children ; that an annu- 

 al tax of one dollar be assessed on each pew- 

 holder, for the care of aged and disabled cler- 

 gymen. Delegates were appointed to carry the 

 greetings of the Conference to the next Gen- 

 eral Convention of the Universalists. Pledges 

 of $30,000 were obtained during the meeting 

 of the Conference for the Divinity School at 

 Meadville, Pennsylvania. A report was made 

 from a Committee on "Woman's Associations, 

 which had been appointed at the previous 

 Conference, relating to the organization of a 

 Woman's Auxiliary Conference to promote lo- 

 cal organizations for Christian work, and to 

 bring all such organizations into the Associ- 

 ation, which should hold a biennial business 

 meeting in connection with the National Con- 

 ference. 



UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of the organized churches, 

 and number of ministers and members of this 

 Church, as they are given in the " United 

 Brethren Almanac" for 1881 : 



Number of Sunday-schools, 3,043, with 26,- 

 819 officers and teachers, and 159,141 children ; 

 number of meeting-houses, 2,168 ; of parson- 

 ages, 318. Amount of collections for salaries 

 of ministers, $345,169; for ministerial aid, 

 $2,755; for missions, $41,592; for bishops, 

 $6,225 ; for church-erection, $1,831 ; for 

 church building and expenses, $234,117; for 

 the educational fund, $20,882 ; for ministerial 

 education, $1,244; Sunday-school collections, 

 $45,066 ; collections for the general Sunday- 

 school fund, $1,646; total amount of collec- 

 tions, $700,531. The returns show an increase 

 of 3,039 members from the previous year. 



The bishops of the United Brethren Church 

 are: Rev. J. J. Glossbrenner, Church ville, Vir- 

 ginia ; Rev. Jonathan Weaver, D. D., Dayton, 

 Ohio ; Rev. John Dickson, D. D., Westerville, 

 Ohio ; Rev. Nicholas Castle, Philomath, Ore- 

 gon ; Rev. Milton Wright, D. D., Cedar Rapids, 

 Iowa. The general publishing-house is in 

 Dayton, Ohio. The periodicals include one 



