Timeline 1881-1959 of Seven Disciples Ministers
Compiled December 2010 by Edward W. Lollis
(Ames, Campbell, Garrison, Gates, Morrison, Willet and Young),
the Origin of the Christian Century in Chicago, Illinois,
and Campbell Park in Pentwater, Michigan
Please email your comments & questions to geovisual @ comcast.net. Thank you.March 1881 - Drake University is "founded by a maverick Disciples preacher [George T. Carpenter] and a swashbuckling Civil War general [Francis Marion Drake, 1830-1903]... A novel idea: a well-rounded education that included emphasis on sciences and law alongside traditional studies in faith and literature. Under Carpenter, Drake welcomed students of all races and genders – and international students within its first five years. Drake was co-educational from the first day with 60 men and 17 women in its inaugural class." [From Drake University website.]
1884-1891 - "The Christian Oracle was founded by Min. F. M. Kirkham and Gen. F. M. Drake at Des Moines, Ia., in 1884... Its purpose was to serve particularly the churches of that State. For eight years Mr. Kirkham continued as owner and editor. It was moved to Chicago in 1891 an aimed for a larger constituency. [From Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples in Illinois, Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati.] Mrs. Kirkham was the sister of General Drake, after whom Drake University is named. [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 87-89] "The houses [of the Kirkham and Drake families] were built next door (one on 24th Street and one on Kingman Boulevard)" in West Des Moines. [Email from Jennifer James, Drake Neighborhood History Project, December 6, 2010.]
1884 - "The Christian Century emerged from rather humble origins. It started as just another local denominational publication speaking for the Disciples of Christ in Des Moines, Iowa, and surrounding regions. Those connected with its founding chose the name Christian Oracle for the journal and adopted the motto 'Speak as the Oracles of God.' /// True to Disciples beliefs, the first editorial expressed a desire to use the journal to encourage Protestantism 'return to . . . the Apostolic confession of "Jesus the Christ, the son of the Living God" as the only test of fellowship, and bond of union, among those who profess to follow Him.'" However high their initial hopes, the editors had to struggle mightily just to keep publishing on a regular basis. [From Toulouse Mark G. (January 26, 2000), The Origins of the Christian Century, 1884-1914, The Christian Century, pp. 80-83]
1885-1898 - "At the General Christian Convention at Cleveland in 1885 Francis Marion Drake [1830-1903] was elected president and served for the year 1886, during which time he revived the efforts, which had been lagging, for the growth of the church extension movement, of which he was one of the founders, since which time its growth has been phenomenal under the energetic and efficient labors of corresponding secretaries, F. M. Rains and Geo. Muckley. His first contribution of one thousand dollars was used as an advanced payment in the purchase of a tabernacle in Boston for the establishing of the work in that city. He served nine years as president of the Iowa Christian Convention, and upon declining a re-election on account of ill health in 1898, he was by resolution of the convention declared president emeritus." [From Brown, John T., ed. (1904), Churches of Christ.]
1987 - "When I was a few months past eighteen, I left [Portage-La-Prairie, Manitoba] to go to Drake University. I did not think at the the time that I was leaving Canada for good, but as it turned out I have returned to my native land only for visits... One woman asked me how long I had been in [the USA}. I told her six months, and she thought I had learned the American language very quiickly." [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 55-56.]
1889 - "Edward Scribner Ames [1870-1958] is graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, at age 19.
1890-1892 - University of Chicago is "founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890. William Rainey Harper became the university's first president, in 1891, and the first classes were held in 1892." [From Wikipedia website entitled University of Chicago.]
1891 - The Christian Oracle had been published for some years [since 1884] by F. M. Kirkham in Iowa... Thinking that by locating in Chicago, they might appeal to a wider constituency, the [Mr. & Mrs.] Kirkham moved the paper to Chicago. /// Dr. J. H. Garrison bought control of the paper and made his son Arthur editor of the Oracle. [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 87-89]
1891 - "In desperate straits financially, and looking for a way to find more readers, they moved the journal to Chicago in 1891. /// The new location afforded the opportunity to gather fresh support among some prominent, but hardly wealthy, Disciples leaders in the city. Many were associated with the University of Chicago. Included in the group were Herbert Willett and Edward Scribner Ames, who were beginning to establish national reputations in biblical studies and the philosophy of religion respectively. These Chicago Disciples were representative of tile "modernist" inlj)lilse [sic] in American Protestant life. They sought new ways to relate science to religion and reason to faith. /// Willett, the more active writer, applied new scientific and historical methods to the study of the Bible and challenged traditional notions of biblical authority. As one of the journal’s part-time editors, he used the pages of the Christian Oracle to educate readers about developments in biblical scholarship. /// This community of Disciples also shared the prevailing mood characterizing American Protestantism of that time." [From Toulouse Mark G. (January 26, 2000), The Origins of the Christian Century, 1884-1914, The Christian Century, pp. 80-83]
June 1892 - George Alexander Campbell [1869-1943], Luna May Jameson [1869-1940], and Mabel Van Meter [1869-1953] are graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, at age 23. May and Mabel are second cousins. George and May marry at her family's home in Des Moines on December 20, 1892, followed by a pastorate -- arranged by May's parents -- at First Christian Church, Hiawatha, Kansas.
1892-1900 - "Edward Scribner Ames [1870-1958] received a B.D. from Yale University in 1892 [at age 22] and continued to study philosophy there for two more years. [Ed and Mabel Van Meter marry at her family's home near De Sota, Iowa, on July 6, 1893.] Transferring to the University of Chicago for a fellowship during 1894-1895, he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1895 [at age 25], awarded by professors John Dewey and James Tufts. Ames first taught at Butler College, Indianapolis, for three years but soon returned to accept a philosophy position at Chicago in 1900 [at age 30], which he held until his retirement in 1936. [From website of the Pragmatism Cybrary.]
1893 - "Having established church-related colleges throughout the nineteenth century, in 1893 the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ founded a Bible chair at the University of Michigan, which offered college-level Bible classes and spiritual nurture. When separations took place among the churches (resulting in the now-entirely separate bodies called the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ-non instrumental), the independent Christian Church focused on planting Bible colleges across the nation. At least four of these Bible Colleges are located adjacent to state university campuses in order to provide mutual benefits." [From website of the Association of College Ministries (ACM)]
1893-1901 - "The American Christian Missionary Society was the pioneer in the struggle for organized missionary work among the Disciples... [It] has developed a new form of missionary service, and was the first to introduce Bible instruction into state universities. The inauguration and development of this work in its first stages were due to the leadership of C. A. Young and H. L. Willett. The later development has been carried on under the leadership of Geo. P. Coler, W. M. Forrest, and W. C. Payne. The first Bible Chair was established in 1893 at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); the second Chair, in 1899 at the University of Virginia (Charlottsville); the third Chair, in 1900 at the University of Calcutta, India; the fourth Chair, in 1901 at the University of Kansas (Lawrence). The Chairs at Ann Arbor and Charlottsville have been endowed with permanent funds of $25,000 each. These Bible Chairs provide instruction in the English Bible for students in the state universities." [From Gates, Errett (1905), The Disciple of Christ, Chapter 12]
September 11-27, 1893 - First Parliament of the World's Religions, Chicago, Illinois (USA). Concurrent with the World Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair). Attended by 4,000 delegates from all over the World. Organized by Unitarian minister Reverend Jenkin Lloyd Jones [1843-1918]. Addresses included an introduction to Hinduism by Swami Vivekananda [1863-1902] and "The Religious Mission of the Colored Race" by Fannie Barrier Williams [1855-1944], a black member of Jones's Unitarian church in Chicago. Attended by 75-year-old Frederick Douglass [c1818-1895].
1893 - "The idea of the [Disciples Divinity] House originated in 1893 in conversation between Herbert L[ockwood] Willett [1864-1944], who would be named the first dean, and W. D. MacClintock, professor of English at the new University of Chicago. The University's founding president, William Rainey Harper, encouraged the plan and hoped that other religious bodies would follow the Disciples’ example. In June 1894 the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago was chartered. By 1898 Dean Willett was able to report that a group of twenty was 'in residence and at work in the House.' In actuality, there was no building in which these twenty resided and worked, nor would there be one for another thirty years. Before a building was completed, there would be a second dean, W. E. Garrison, and then a third, E. S. Ames [1870-1958], would begin his deanship (1927-1945)... A handsome gothic limestone building was dedicated in 1928... Dean Ames was succeeded by W. Barnett Blakemore [1876-1944, a frequent visitor to Pentwater]..." [From website of the Disciples Divinity House.]
1894 or 1895 - "One day my wife [May], our first child [Rosabel]...and I left Hiawatha, Kansas, for the enchanting city of Chicago. We had attended the World's Fair the year before and had looked upon the buildings of the University of Chicago on the Midway... The Ameses and the Campbells rented a flat together. The Disciples had started a seminary [in Chicago], which they called the Disciples' Divinity House. Dr. H. L. Willet, a friend and former student of Dr. [William Rainey] Harper, the president of the university, had come with him from Yale and was dean of the Disciples' Divinity House. It was this school which led me to Chicago. I first met Dr. Willett in one of the classrooms. He was young, poised, good-looking, and eloquent. Nature had done a good deal for him... In my early days in Chicago, the Disciples made an intensive effort to expand. Originally they had been largely a rural people. With the growing of the cities and the moving of many of the adherents to the cities, several new churches were started in Chicago... While in the University, I preached a year or two for the Douglas Park Church, which has long since ceased to be." [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 78-83 & 222]
1894 - "Hyde Park Church of Disciples of Christ (Fifty-seventh Street and Lexington Avenue) is organized 1894, by H. L. Willett; present membership [in 1915], 200; value of property, $7,000; Bible school began 1894; present enrollment, 100. Prof. W. D. MacClintock was also active in the formation of this church. Meetings were first held in the Masonic Hall on Fifty-seventh Street, east of Washington Avenue, and later in Rosalie Hall. Mr. Errett Gates succeeded Mr. Willett in the pastorate, and during this period the present chapel was built on the lots owned by the Disciples' Divinity House. [From Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples in Illinois 1819-1914, Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, p. 160.]
1896 - "The Campbell Institute is founded in Chicago by 14 'university students and instructors' from Yale, Harvard, and the University of Chicago in order to promote a "riper scholarship" within the Disciples of Christ.' Of the six charter members still alive in 1940, four are connected to Campbell Park in Pentwater, Michigan: Edward Scribner Ames [1870-1958], George Alexander Campbell [1869-1943], Winfred Ernest Garrison [1874-1969], and Herbert Lockwood Willett [1864-1944]."
1898-1910 - George Alexander Campbell becomes pastor of Austin Boulevard Christian Church, Chicago, Illinois. "Twelve years I spent as pastor of the Austin Christian Church, Chicago, going there after finishing my seminary work. The church originated from a Sunday school started by A. Larabee. The first Sunday I preached there was a cold, blustery one. We held services in the Holiness church and, as I remember, we had only thirteen present. Neither the small number nor the superstition connected with thirteen disturbed me. We could not get much smaller. The only way we could go was forward. /// I remember until this day the exhilaration of become pastor of this church, the first the church had had. During the first part of my pastorate, I had editorial work in connection with the Oracle. The small salary I got from this work made it possible for the Austin church to have regular preaching." During his pastorate, a church schism results in this headline in a Chicago newspaper: "Austin Church refuses to accept Rev. G.A. Campbell's resignation by 67 to 35, and twelve deacons quit." GAC's pastorate will last until until he is called to Hannibal, Missouri, in 1910 (or 1911).
1899 - "In 1899, J. H. Garrison purchased the Christian Oracle , and his son, Mr. A[rthur] O. Garrison, became managing editor. For a short time, Min. George A. Campbell was editor." [From Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples in Illinois, Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati.]
1899 - Shortly after being graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree of B.D., I began association with the Christian Oracle in an unplanned and unexpected way... Arthur [Garrison] had a brilliant mind and was a facile writer but he did not continue with the paper long. After Arthur had left Chicago, Dr. [James Harvey] Garrison wired me, asking if I would take charge of the paper until Arthur returned. I was happy to do so, because I was pastor of a small church and was receiving a meager salary. /// A number of young men in Chicago, including E. S. Ames, F. F. Grimm, H. L. Willett, C. A. Young, and myself, became interested in the [Christian Oracle] and bought it from Dr. Garrison. C. A. Young was business manager, and I continued as editor... C. A. Young was a pleasant man to work with and a man of excellent impulses. His wife had put a great deal money into the paper. Mr. Young had filled the Bible chair at Ann Arbor. He had been a lecturer of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions and for a time he had been pastor of a church... Under the new management, it was published at a loss. The Christian Standard and the Christian-Evangelist seemed to be the only national papers the brotherhood demanded. /// At the turn of the century we named the paper the Christian Century. This name was an evidence of wishful thinking and expressive of a fond hope and a confident belief. We thought the twentieth century would be the best of all centuries of the Christian Era and, indeed, of all time. The century so far has been far from Christian with its World War I shaking the world off its foundations and World War II with its blitzkriegs, one following another so rapidly that no man can even guess the extent of their destruction." [From Campbell, George Alexander. (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 87-89]
1899 - "At the turn of the century, Protestants in America were largely hopeful and optimistic. Culture and politics in America reflected the habits and routine of Protestant life in general. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War in 1898, these Disciples believed America stood poised to play a significant role in the Christianization and elevation of the world. In one of the earliest issues of 1899, the editors noted 'a very intimate relation between the advancing influence of Christian nations and the advancement of the Kingdom of God.' Confident of the activity of God in the world, and even more so of their own increasing ability to uncover God’s truth through the application of science and reason, they anticipated an unfolding of ever greater Christian influence in the world. This point of view led to the decision to change the name of the journal. /// Chicago supporters of the journal, according to an editorial published in the last issue of 1899, had long been dissatisfied with the old name because it smacked 'too much of infallibility and heathenism.' In November, editors declared an intention to change the name with these words: 'We believe that the coming century is to witness greater triumphs in Christianity than any previous century has ever witnessed, and that it is to be more truly Christian than any of its predecessors. We wish to signalize this faith by this change in tile name of our paper. The mission of the paper will be to help change this faith into fact.'" [From Toulouse Mark G. (January 26, 2000), The Origins of the Christian Century, 1884-1914, The Christian Century, pp. 80-83]
1899-1900 - "As the nineteenth century passed into the twentieth, the whole Christian world was in a mood of expectant optimism. The press was full of discussion and prediction of the wonders that would take place in the new era which the new century was ushering in. Dr. George A. Campbell, a Chicago pastor, was at that time editor of The Oracle. None of us liked that name. Campbell suggested that this new century must be made a Christian century. He accordingly proposed that The Oracle be re-Christened with that name. His friends... heartily agreed. And so in 1900 it was done. No name could have better symbolized the optimistic outlook of that period." [Charles Clayton Morrison as quoted in Delloff, Linda-Marie (1984), Charles Clayton Morrison: Shaping a Journal’s Identity, Christian Century, January 18, 1984, p. 43. Dr. Delloff is managing editor of The Christian Century.]
1900 - "In 1900, its editor [George Alexander Campbell] proposed to rename it Christian Century in response to the great optimism of many Christians at the turn of the 20th century that 'genuine Christian faith could live in mutual harmony with the modern developments in science, technology, immigration, communication and culture that were already under way.'" [From Wikipedia article entitled The Christian Century]
1900-1907 - "In 1900 the stock of the Oracle Publishing Company was bought by a group of men, headed by Min. Charles A. Young, and the name of the paper changed to The Christian Century. During the next seven years, Mins. J. J. Haley, F. G. Terrell and H. L. Willett edited the paper." [From Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples in Illinois, Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati.]
1900 - Publication of Garrison, Winfred Ernest (1900) The Sources of Alexander Campbell's Theology," Christian Publishing Company, St. Louis. This is Garrison's PhD dissertation. Winfred Ernest Garrison [1874-1969] is a son of James Harvey Garrison [18432-1931].
1900 - Edward Scribner Ames becomes minister of the Hyde Park Christian Church (renamed the University Church of Disciples of Christ) and remains until 1940. His "distinctively liberal and humanistic approach to both theology and ministerial leadership brought him into repeated conflicts with more conservative elements of the denomination. Among the specific doctrinal questions for which Ames is remembered is the humanity of Jesus, the denial of an afterlife, the diminished role of baptism, and open membership."
1900-1902 - "Ames became pastor of the Hyde Park Church, Chicago, in 1900, and shortly after published a sermon entitled, A Personal Confession of Faith. No notice was taken of the sermon until two years after its publication, when, in connection with a sermon advocating "Associate Church Membership," he was denounced by the editors of the [Christian] Standard as a Unitarian and apostate from the accepted teachings of the Disciples, and pronounced unworthy of fellowship among them. The church of which he was pastor was called upon to dismiss him or acknowledge its agreement with his opinions. The church took action in a series of resolutions declaring its loyalty to the doctrinal position of the denomination, and affirming its right to liberty in local church government, as well as in doctrinal matters not involving the essential teachings of Christianity." [From Gates, Errett (1905), The Disciple of Christ.]
Circa 1903 - At one of our church conventions, [C. A. Young, business manager of the Christian Century] remarked to me that he thought the salary of one of us ought to be dispensed with. I agreed with him, suggesting that he might be editor as well as the business manager. /// Being asked whether I would sell my stock, I told him that I would--for what I gave Dr. Garrison for it. (Most of it was not paid for.) Mr. Young agreed to assume the notes I had given Dr. Garrison. So, there and then, he took a checkbook out of his pocket and wrote me a check for $600, the amount that I had actually paid. Thus ended my editorship of the Christian Century." [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 87-89]
1903 - "The major thrust for Open Membership among the Disciples developed in Chicago shortly prior to the turn of the twentieth century. It was part of the Modernist outlook which dominated the University at that time and found a cordial reception in the Disciples Divinity House there. Open Membership was introduced into the Hyde Park Church by Edward Scribner Ames in 1903. The unimmersed were first accepted as 'associate members' of the congregation. Ames held that immersion was a major obstacle to the Disciple goal of Christian unity and contended that simply because immersion was a practice in Biblical times did not mandate that it be followed in our times, especially when 'other forms of baptism have served the same purpose and accomplished the same results, apparently, in the experience of Christian people.' Ames edited The Scroll, the quarterly organ of the Campbell Institute and, beginning with the second issue of this publication, he became a persistent advocate of the practice. /// However, it was C. C. Morrison who became the popular advocate for Open Membership through The Christian Century, of which he was Editor [after 1908]. In a series of essays and editorials, later published in book form as The Meaning of Baptism, Morrison provided the rationale for Open Membership in terms that reflected the Chicago theology." [From Webb, Henry (2000), Baptism, an issue among Disciples, Stone-Campbell Dialogue, Cincinnati Bible College, November 27-28, 2000.
October 1903 - Dr. James Harvey Garrison [1842-1937] of St. Louis makes his first visit to Pentwater, Michigan, "seeking a location for his future summer resort." In 1904 he and Mrs. Garrison will rent a cottage in Oceana Beach. They will decide to "leave [Lake] Macatawa [at Holland, Michigan] to pioneer at a less congested beach."
September 1904 - Dr. Garrison and four other Disciples (W.J. Halleck of Kansas City, T.T. Crittenden, Jr., of Kansas City, J.L. Brandt of St. Louis, and C.A. Young of Chicago) will purchase 40 acres from Oceana Beach and establish Garrison Park between Lake Michigan and Pentwater Lake. In addition to being a Disciples minister, Dr. Garrison is editor the Christian-Evangelist and will publish a weekly column for several summers called 'Pentwater Musings.' In his autobiography, George Alexander Campbell will credit the 'pioneering' of Dr. Garrison for the existence of Campbell Park. (The name of the cottage built by the Garrisons in 1905 is "The Pioneer".) Both inhabited largely by members of he Disciples of Christ, Campbell Park and Garrison Park residents will share many joint beach parties and church meetings in their early years. (Both "parks" continue today, but -- without the ferry or bridge over the channel -- they are separated by many miles of road, and their residents are now barely aware of each other's existence.)
1904 - Publication of Young, Charles Alexander, edited by (1904), Historical Documents Advocating Christian Union, The Century Company, Chicago. Subtitle is "Epoch-Making Statements by Leaders among the Disciples of Christ for the Restoration of the Christianity of the New Testament--its Doctrines, its Ordinances, and its Fruit. Historical Introduction by Charles Alexander Young, Managing Editor of THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY."
Year? - "After I left the [Christian Century], the company expanded and became engaged in an extensive sale of books. When I visited the office, the business seemed to be flourishing......shortly afterwards Mr. Young, finding that he had lost all the money had had put into the paper, left it, greatly disheartened. /// H. L. Willett, Dr. McKenzie, and, others had charge of its editing and publishing, but not for long..." [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 87-89]
1907 - Dr. Edward Scribner Ames "becomes editor of the Campbell Institute's monthly publication, The Scroll." GAC: "Dr. Ames is one of the first philosophers among us. He is full of good humor. His laugh is frequent and contagious. He has been the central figure in the Campbell Institute, and he has been persistent in leading the Disciples to a more scientific approach to religion and to more catholic and tolerant views."
August 6, 1907 - "Campbell Park founders Ames, Bushnell, Campbell, Fawley, Gates, Wakeley, and Willett meet at the City Club in Chicago, agree "that the name of the resort be Campbell Park, agree "that the two elevations [tallest dunes] be named Willett Heights [Tank Hill] and Ames Heights [Tower Hill]," name five streets, and draw lots for eleven building sites of two lakefront lots each. James Harvey Garrison assists in the drawing of lots. The first site (closest to the village of Pentwater) is drawn by Charles Clayton Morrison. The eleven sites are allocated as follows: (11) Rev. Herbert Lockwood WILLETT [1864-1944], (10) Mary Logan COLEMAN [1880-1939], (9) Arno L. ROACH, (8) Carl C. BUSHNELL, (7) Dr. Errett GATES [1870-1951], (6) Rev. George Alexander CAMPBELL [1869-1943], (5) Dr. Edward Scribner AMES [1870-1958], (4) Charles R. WAKELEY, (3) George B. FAWLEY [b.1868], (2) Christopher COLEMAN, (1) Rev. Charles Clayton MORRISON [1874-1966]." [From Lollis, Edward W., History of Campbell Park, Pentwater, & Vicinity, Michigan.]
1908 -"The [Christian Century] did not receive widespread support in its denomination and was sold in a mortgage foreclosure in 1908. It was purchased by Charles Clayton Morrison." [From Wikipedia article entitled The Christian Century]
1908 - "There was a small but reputable paper published in Chicago called The Christian Century. Though avowedly representing the Disciples of Christ, it had never gained a general circulation in the denomination, despite the high respect in which its succession of editors -- four or five within the past decade -- was held. I learned that it was about to suspend publication unless a mortgage of $1,500 was paid off. The holder of this mortgage saw that his only hope of getting his money was to find another editor naïve enough to imagine that he could make a go of it where a succession of editors had failed. This man was employed in the shop where the paper was printed. Evidently to try me out, he asked me to edit the paper temporarily. This I did for several weeks in that summer of 1908. By September, I had become fully intrigued, and when the sheriffs deputy arrived to sell the 'property' on the block I bid $1,500 and became the owner." [Charles Clatyon Morrison as quoted in Delloff, Linda-Marie (1984), Charles Clayton Morrison: Shaping a Journal’s Identity, Christian Century, January 18, 1984, p. 43. Dr. Delloff is managing editor of The Christian Century.]
1908-1913 - "In 1908 the Christian Century was purchased by the New Christian Century Company, a new corporation. Messrs. C. C. Morrison and H. L. Willett became joint editors. At the beginning of 1913, the Disciples Publication Society, a company without capital stock and not for pecuniary profit, was incorporated and purchased the assets of the Century Company. Mr. Morrison is now the sole editor, with Mr. Willett as associate." [From Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples in Illinois, Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati.]
1908-1944 - Charles Clayton Morrison came in as editor and, receiving financial backing from some wealthy men, he put it on is feet and has succeeded with it in a remarkable way. /// The paper still continues under the name of the Christian Century. Dr. Morrison has made of it an interdenominational journal of high standing. He was wise in doing this, for the Disciples did not need three national papers. He has proved himself to be a journalist of first rank. He has endeavored to make the name that Mr. Young and I gave the paper to be a name of truth as applied to the twentieth century. It is a big order, and until brutal totalitarian leaders are suppressed, it will not be wholly successful. [From Campbell, George Alexander (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 87-89]
1909 - Centennial of the Disciples of Christ is celebrated at a Centennial Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (nearest large city to Washington County, Pennsylvania, and Bethany, West Virginia). James Harvey Garrison is keynote speaker. The convention is preceded by a vigorous debate over the issue of "higher criticism of the Bible" and whether or not its leading proponent, Herbert Lockwood Willett, should be allowed to speak. The Christian Century of Chicago strongly supports Willett, and the Christian Standard of Cincinnati strongly opposes him. In the end, Willett is allowed to speak. [A history and description of the Disciples of Christ published for the Centennial Convention is still in the Campbell Cottage at Pentwater, Michigan.]
June 14-23, 1910 - World Missionary Conference, Assembly Hall of the United Free Church of Scotland, Edinburgh (Scotland). Also called the Edinburgh Missionary Conference. Attended by 1,200 representatives of all major Protestant denominations & missionary societies, predominantly from North America & Northern Europe. Seen as both the culmination of 19th century Protestant Christian missions and the formal beginning of the modern Protestant Christian ecumenical movement. Lord Alfred Balfour [1848-1932] of the Church of Scotland was conference president. Conference proceedings were chaired by John R. Mott [1865-1955], an American Methodist layperson & leader of both the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions and the World Student Christian Federation. /// Conference attended by American Disciple Charles Clayton Morrison [1874-1966] who campaigned for what would become the
World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1937. (The WCC was organized in 1948 (see below). In 1949 Morrison and 35 other church leaders proposed the so-called "Greenwich" or "Morrison" plan for a united Protestant church.) Edinburgh conference was also attended by American George Sherwood Eddy [1871-1963], "a young man of wealth who is supporting himself in mission work in India." 
November 9-11, 2010 - Centennial Gathering, Marriott New Orleans Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA). Marked 100th anniversary of the World Mission Conference. Sponsored by Naitonal Council of Churches (NCC) & Church World Service.
1915-1916 - TRUSTEES OF THE DISCIPLES' DIVINITY HOUSE, 1915-16: Professor W. D. MacClintock, Mr. E. M. Bowman, Professor Edward S. Ames, Dr. Hugh T. Morrison (Springfield), Mr. Leon L. Loehr, Mr. Kinter Berkabile, Rev. Peter Ainslie (Baltimore, Md.), Mr. W. S. Trescott, Rev. E. L. Powell (Louisville, Ky.), Mr. W. S. Brannum, Mr. Philip Gray (Detroit, Mich.), Rev. O. F. Jordan (Evanston), Rev. Edgar DeWitt Jones (Bloomington), Mr. Charles R. Wakeley.
1916 - Charles Clayton Morrison [1874-1966] quietly begins to call the Christian Century "undenominational," thus gradually ending its direct affiliation with the Disciples of Christ.
1916 -"Charles Clayton Morrison became a highly influential spokesman for liberal Christianity, advocating higher criticism of the Bible, as well as the Social Gospel, which included concerns about child labor, women's suffrage, racism, war and pacifism, alcoholism and prohibition, environmentalism and many other political and social issues. The magazine was a common target for criticism by fundamentalists during the Fundamentalist - Modernist debate of the early 20th century." [From Wikipedia article entitled The Christian Century]
1920 - Three missionary societies are merged into the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS) whose headquarters is established on the former campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
October 15, 1932 - George Alexander Campbell [1869-1943] is elected President of the International Convention of the Disciples of Christ in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the same convention, Charles Clayton Morrison [1874-1966] is named one of four Disciples members of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, and Edgar DeWitt Jones [1876-1956] -- a frequent visitor to Campbell Park -- is reelected president of the Association for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
1933 - George Alexander Campbell presides over the International Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This the first convention in Pittsburgh since the Centennial Convention in 1909. Afterwards Herbert Lockwood Willett delivers an address at the grave of Archibald McLean in "God's Little Acre," the Campbell Cemetery in Bethany, West Virginia. "Nothing finer was heard in Pittsburgh," according to GAC.
July 1943 - "The Disciples of Christ", a series of three lectures, is given by Edward Scribner Ames [1870-1958] to the annual convention of the Disciples of Christ of Northern California in San Jose. The lectures will be published as a pamphlet (46 pages). His previous works include "The Psychology of Religious Experience," "The Divinity of Christ," "Religion," "Letters to God and the Devil," and "The New Orthodoxy."
August 17, 1943 - Death of George Alexander Campbell [1869-1943] at Argyle, his cottage in Campbell Park, Pentwater, Michigan. An appreciation by his friend Edward Scribner Ames ("He passed away this evening just as the sun set in a glorious glowing sky.") is published in The Scroll of the Campbell Institute. Dr. Campbell served four Disciples churches: First Christian Church, Hiawatha, Kansas [1893-1894]; Austin Boulevard Christian Church, Chicago, Illinois [1895-1910]; First Christian Church, Hannibal, Missouri [1910-1918]; and Union Avenue Christian Church, St. Louis, Missouri [1918-1938].
1944 - Publication of Campbell, George Alexander. (1944), Friends Are My Story: An Autobiography, The Bethany Press, St. Louis, pp. 253, with preface by his daughter Georgia May Campbell Lollis [1901-1991].
1947 - Charles Clayton Morrison [1874-1966] retires after editting the Christian Century for 39 years. He will live 19 years in retirement.
June 29, 1958 - Death of Edward Scribner Ames [1870-1958] in Chicago. His ashes are spread behind Pine Terrace, his cottage in Campbell Park, Pentwater, Michigan. Dr. Ames served one Disciples Church (Hyde Park) and held academic appointments at two universities (Butler and Chicago).
1959 - "Beyond Theology: The Autobiography of Edward Scribner Ames" [1870-1958] is edited by his son Van Meter Ames [1898-1985] and published posthumously by the University of Chicago Press, pp. 233.
