At New Orleans

The Triennial General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, having assembled at New Orleans, having worked one week (TIME, Oct. 19) and another week (TIME, Oct. 23), last week worked again and then adjourned. The chief developments:

Examination for Marriage. A lay deputy, Dr. W. Sinclair Bowen of Washington, D. C., proposed that a board of three to five physicians of high standing be appointed by the Bishop, the health officer and the President of the Medical Association of each community, to certify to the physical and mental health of all persons before their marriage by the Church. He said that such action would reduce the number of divorces, of children born blind, of morons, of criminals.

Budget. An annual budget of $4,212,370 for each of the next three years was approved.

Common Chalice. The House of Bishops took up the use of tha common chalice in the administration of the Communion. Objections to it, on sanitary grounds, have been made in five dioceses, and in the diocese of West Virginia it has been forbidden by law and the Bishop threatened with arrest if it continued.’ The bishops declined to drop the practice, although several bishops have permitted their clergymen to dip the bread in the chalice of wine and give it to communicants to avoid the cup’s passing from lip to lip.

Slogan. The new Presiding Bishop, John Gardner Murray of Maryland, was received by the House of Deputies with acclaim. He proposed a new slogan for the Church: “Pay, Pray and Perform.” Pay off debts, pray to God, perform in accordance with prayer.

Name. A motion to strike out the word “Protestant” before the name of the Episcopal Church on the title page of the Book of Prayer was, after much debate, laid on the table.

Prayer Book Reform. Numerous steps were taken in the process of Prayer Book reform. The “39 Articles of Faith,” adopted by the Church in 1562 to distinguish it from other Protestant Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, were dropped. “Obey” and “with all my worldly goods I thee endow” were dropped from the marriage service. Such expressions as “miserable sinners,” “the vengeance of God,” “the wrath of God” were dropped as medieval. ‘ The proposal to change “the grin of a dog” to “the snarl of a dog” was defeated. The Litany was amended to petition for those who travel “by land and water or by air.” New prayers for state legislatures, law courts, schools and colleges, and social justice were adopted.

1928 Convention. The next meeting place for the Triennial Convention was fixed as Washington, D.C.

Socialism and Radicalism. The House of Bishops rejected a petition from 129 people of 22 dioceses warning the Church against subversive socialistic and radical economic doctrines.

World Court. A memorial was adopted calling for U. S. adhesion to the World Court.

Church Headquarters. A resolution was adopted asking the National Council to take under serious consideration moving the headquarters of the Church from Manhattan to Washington.

Deaths. The death of Bishop Frederick Burgess of Long Island caused the Convention to adjourn business at the hour of his death. Dr. Stires, his successor-elect, Chairman of the House of Deputies, read prayers. Lay delegate William McElroy of New Hampshire was stricken by death at the Convention. Two days later the death of Bishop Edward Melville Parker of New Hampshire was discovered. He had breakfast with Bishop Coadjutor Booth of Vermont one day, and had an appointment to lunch with him but did not appear. That afternoon and the next morning he was missed at the Church meetings. Finally next morning Bishop Booth went to Bishop Parker’s hotel room, and found him dead on the floor with a letter in his hand dated the previous day and addressed to Bishop Booth saying he felt ill and could not meet him at lunch. The cause of death was probably apoplexy. Bishop Booth ran two blocks to where the bishops were meeting and brought others back with him. Bishop Brewster of Maine and Bishop Wise of Kansas carried the body to the bed. Bishop Brewster started a commendatory prayer but broke down; Bishop Wise finished it. The body was removed to Christ Church Cathedral and prayers offered.

Pastoral Letter. The Pastoral Letter read at the conclusion of each convention was prepared by Bishop Manning of New York, Bishop Perry of Rhode Island, and Bishop Gailor of Tennessee. It avoided controversial creedal questions. One oblique attack was made on the favorite doctrine of Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick:

“We would especially warn our people against the superficial and false antithesis, just now often dwelt upon, between the religion of Christ and the religion about Christ. No such differentiation can be made by those who believe in Jesus Christ as God. There is no such antithesis in the New Testament. We need both the religion about Christ and the religion of Christ, and the Church and the Scriptures give us both.”

The letter said likewise:

“We see a widespread revolt against the Christian ideals of morality and purity expressed in much of our literature, advocated openly by some of those whose position gives them hearing and influence, hailed by many as the advent of a fuller freedom and a larger self-expression. . . .

“Let us make it clear that our acceptance of the Christian creed is not a matter of mere assent to intellectual propositions. Our faith is in Christ Himself, which is an infinitely simpler and an infinitely greater thing.”