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::R5931 : page 223::

THE ST. LOUIS CONVENTION

ALTHOUGH the attendance at the St. Louis Convention—June 22-25—was not large, it was an enthusiastic gathering and gave strong evidence of the Master’s blessing. The Apostle’s exhortation, “Be ye filled with the Spirit,” seems to have been quite well realized by those in attendance. The exhibitions of the PHOTODRAMA OF CREATION in the evening were a very happifying feature of the Convention. The pictures and the lectures—the Bible story from Creation to Restoration—seem to have a charm for Bible Students everywhere. Like the charm of God’s Word, they never grow stale.

The Convention attendance varied from three hundred and fifty to six hundred and fifty, aside from the public meeting on the closing night. It was held in the Odeon Theatre and was addressed by the Editor of this journal. The house was crowded to its capacity, twenty-three hundred, and at the same time an overflow meeting of Bible Students was held in the Convention Hall to the number of about six hundred. At the close of both meetings, about 10:30 p.m., Brother Russell came into the Convention Theatre. He was welcomed with the Chautauqua Salute—the waving of handkerchiefs, while the familiar old hymn was sung with zest:

“Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love.”

After a few words of greeting and reference to the Convention and its conclusion and the hope for blessings upon those present and the dear ones at the home towns represented by them, Brother Russell arranged the Love Feast, in which nearly all participated with many manifestions of earnest Christian love and zeal. Thus happily, joyfully, the First General Convention of the season came to an end.

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— July 15, 1916 —