Service
A striking feature of the movement is the adoption of the parochial system for the purpose of local work. Each of the associated churches is requested to look after a parish, not of course with any attempt to exclude other churches, but as having a special responsibility for those in that area who are not already connected with some existing church. Throughout the United Kingdom local councils are formed into federations, some fifty in number, which are intermediate between them and the National Council. The local councils do what is possible to prevent overlapping and excessive competition between the churches. They also combine the forces of the local churches for evangelistic and general devotional work, open-air services, efforts on behalf of Sunday observance, and the prevention of gambling. Services are arranged in connection with workhouses, hospitals and other public institutions. Social work of a varied character forms a large part of the operations of the local councils, and the Free Church Girls Guild has a function similar to that of the Anglican Girls' Friendly Society. The National Council engages in missionary work on a large scale, and a considerable number of periodicals, hymn-books for special occasions, and works of different kinds explaining the history and ideals of the Evangelical Free Churches have been published. The churches represented in the National Council had 9,966 ministers, 55,828 local preachers, 407,991 Sunday school teachers, 3,416,377 Sunday scholars, 2,178,221 communicants, and sitting accommodation for 8,555,460 (as of 1911).
A remarkable manifestation of this unprecedented reunion was the fact that a committee of the associated churches prepared and published a catechism expressing the positive and fundamental agreement of all the Evangelical Free Churches on the essential doctrines of Christianity. The catechism represents substantially the creed of not less than 80,000,000 Protestants. It has been widely circulated throughout Great Britain, the British Colonies and the United States of America, and has also been translated into Welsh, French, and Italian.
Read more about this topic: Free Church Federation
Famous quotes containing the word service:
“In the service of Caesar, everything is legitimate.”
—Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)
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