Publication
Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1868.
Physical description
16 p.; 24 cm
Notes
Opening words [p. 3]
The Committee, appointed by the General Assembly of 1866, to confer with a similar Committee of the other Assembly, in regard to the Reunion of the two Branches of the Presbyterian Church; and continued by the Assembly of 1867, with directions and instructions to cooperate with the other Committee in furtherance of the object, and "report to the General Assemblies of 1868 any modification of the terms of Union which might seem desirable to the Joint Committee in view of any new light that may have been received during the year"--would now respectfully report:
That the two Committees again assembled in joint meeting, in the city of Philadelphia, on Wednesday A.M., the 11th of March, 1868, and continued in conference, reviewing the terms of Union, with the further light which they had received, till Saturday afternoon, the 14th, when, having finished the important business with which they were entrusted, they finally adjourned.
. . . [p. 5].: The desirableness of reunion, if it can be consummated on satisfactory terms, is not to be treated and put aside as a blind and imbecile impulse; it is the act and expression of Christian wisdom. The movement, thus inaugurated and advanced, was not made necessary by the condition or prospects of either of the bodies now in conference. Each is thoroughly organized, equipped, and prosperous. Neither needs the accession of the other for its own sake merely. The motives which impel to union are higher and greater than any which pertain to denominational advantage. They relate to the welfare of the whole country, and the kingdom of our Lord in all the earth. On this high ground, chosen for them in the providence of God, by the action of both Assemblies, the two Committees took their stand, inclined in advance, when any concessions were to be made, that the lesser preference should defer to the greater and the stronger.
The Committee, appointed by the General Assembly of 1866, to confer with a similar Committee of the other Assembly, in regard to the Reunion of the two Branches of the Presbyterian Church; and continued by the Assembly of 1867, with directions and instructions to cooperate with the other Committee in furtherance of the object, and "report to the General Assemblies of 1868 any modification of the terms of Union which might seem desirable to the Joint Committee in view of any new light that may have been received during the year"--would now respectfully report:
That the two Committees again assembled in joint meeting, in the city of Philadelphia, on Wednesday A.M., the 11th of March, 1868, and continued in conference, reviewing the terms of Union, with the further light which they had received, till Saturday afternoon, the 14th, when, having finished the important business with which they were entrusted, they finally adjourned.
. . . [p. 5].: The desirableness of reunion, if it can be consummated on satisfactory terms, is not to be treated and put aside as a blind and imbecile impulse; it is the act and expression of Christian wisdom. The movement, thus inaugurated and advanced, was not made necessary by the condition or prospects of either of the bodies now in conference. Each is thoroughly organized, equipped, and prosperous. Neither needs the accession of the other for its own sake merely. The motives which impel to union are higher and greater than any which pertain to denominational advantage. They relate to the welfare of the whole country, and the kingdom of our Lord in all the earth. On this high ground, chosen for them in the providence of God, by the action of both Assemblies, the two Committees took their stand, inclined in advance, when any concessions were to be made, that the lesser preference should defer to the greater and the stronger.