652 



PKOTESTAETT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



inence to considerations of duty rather than 

 of rights. This led to action by the House of 

 Deputies, with special reference to the large 

 class of laboring men who are separated from 

 the Church, and subject to evil and corrupting 

 influences and dangerous organizations, as well 

 aa with reference to the increase of crime 

 among men in higher positions, in which the 

 House unanimously resolved to enjoin the 

 clergy to urge upon all laymen and women the 

 duty of individual Christian labor with individ- 

 uals ; " to ascertain and provide for the spir- 

 itual wants of neglecters of their souls, by 

 establishing Bible classes and mothers' meet- 

 ings ;" to promote the establishment of brother- 

 hoods and sisterhoods, and other churchly 

 social agencies; and "to provide frequent 



* Numbers reported in 1876. 



and various services to which all shall be freely 

 invited and cordially welcomed." A special 

 committee was appointed to devise means of 

 carrying out the suggestions contained in these 

 resolutions, who made a report recommending 

 a well-directed effort to secure a more widely 

 extended use of lay services in the work of 

 making known the Gospel, and in taking part 

 in those various ministrations of charity and 

 social efforts which look to the supply of moral 

 and intellectual wants, as well as the care of 

 the bodies of men. The existing systems of lay 

 reading and Sunday-schools were not sufficient. 

 A freer use of brotherhoods and sisterhoods, 

 and the provision of guild rooms or halls, were 

 pointed to as agencies which might be employed 

 with advantage. The House called the atten- 

 tion of the clergy and laity to the facts and 

 suggestions of the report, requested the paro- 

 chial clergy to select and appoint from their 

 respective cures, with the consent of the 

 bishop, persons specially adapted to act as 

 catechists and teachers, and recommended to 

 the clergy and parochial authorities to consider 

 " whether existing church buildings cannot be 

 used to a greater extent than now they are for 

 the benefit and blessing of the people, and 

 thrown open at times when not occupied by 

 regular congregations for worship to all who 

 would come in for the worship of God and the 

 hearing of His word." Three amendments to the 

 Constitution of the Church had been proposed 

 by the previous General Convention, and came 

 before the present body for ratification or re- 

 jection. The first provided that, upon the 

 application of the bishops and convention of 1 

 an organized diocese, the General Convention 

 might set off a portion of the diocesan terri- 

 tory as a missionary jurisdiction. This amend- 

 ment was ratified by the House of Deputies, 

 but was non-concurred in by the House of 

 Bishops, on the ground that it was not neces- 

 sary, as the bishops already possessed the 

 power to create missionary districts. The 

 bishops had consented to the submission of the 

 amendment by the previous Convention, be- 

 cause "grave doubts" had been expressed as 

 to whether they possessed the power they 

 claimed ; the debates at the present Conven- 

 tion showed that these doubts had almost en- 

 tirely disappeared, and the bishops accordingly 

 held to their original position. The second 

 proposed amendment provided that the " Gen- 

 eral Convention may by canon arrange and set 

 forth a shortened form of Morning and Even- 

 ing Prayer, to be compiled wholly from the 

 ' Book of Common Prayer.' " The committee 

 to whom it was referred made divided reports 

 npon it, and it was subjected to a full discus- 

 sion, after which it was rejected by a large 

 majority. The subject of providing brief ser- 

 vices for special occasions was afterward 

 referred to the Committee on the Prayer 

 Book, who made a report to the effect that 

 they were of the opinion that such provision 

 could be lawfully made. A canon and rubric 



