Deaconesses in Europe

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In marked contrast to Dettelsau is the deaconess house at Berne. It is
almost a private institution, having only slight connection with the
State Church. It owes its origin to Sophie Wurdemberger, a member of one
of the old patrician families of Berne. A visit to England made her
acquainted with Elizabeth Fry, with the usual beneficent result of
increased interest and activity in good works. On her return to Berne
she gained the support of a society of women, and through their aid
secured a hospital and deaconess home. It is now fourth in number among
the largest mother-houses, has two hundred and ninety-seven deaconesses,
five affiliated houses, and forty-five different fields of work.

The oldest mother-house in Switzerland is at St. Loup, not far from
Lausanne, standing on one of the beautiful heights of that picturesque
region. It was founded by Pastor Germond in 1841, through the direct
influence of the work at Kaiserswerth. There are now seventy-three
deaconesses, mostly acting as nurses either in private homes or public
institutions.[45]

There is also a large institution at Riehen near Basel, which sends out
two hundred deaconesses. The greater number are of the peasant class,
and are nearly all employed as nurses. The home at Zuerich was at first a
daughter-house of Riehen, but is now an independent institution with
twenty-seven stations. In Austria there is a mother-house at
Gallneukirchen from which sisters are sent forth, four of them working
in as many Vienna parishes. The story of deaconess work in Austria is an
interesting one, and is told by Miss Williams in a recent number of
_The Churchman_, from which the following extracts are taken:

"The Protestants of Gallneukirchen were first formed into an independent
parish in the year 1872, and it is the only one lying between the Danube
and the Bohemian frontier. It is very widely extended, but numbers only
three hundred and eighteen souls, and is so poor that with the greatest
effort it can raise only four hundred florins a year (about one hundred
and sixty dollars) for church and school. With the aid of those
interested in the work a parish-house has been secured, where the pastor
and his wife reside, and in which is the deaconess asylum for the aged,
infirm, and insane of all classes. It has not as yet been possible to
clear off the debt on the purchase. Still the sisters strive in every
way to enlarge their usefulness, so that they now possess extensive
buildings and farms--only partly paid for, it is true--wherein to house
the many afflicted who apply to them for aid. In one building, standing
alone on a hill, they purpose to collect the insane patients, and
suitable additions are now being made to insure their safety and
comfort. In another village, two hours' drive from here, is their
school, where more than sixty boys and girls are taught, fed, and
clothed, in most cases gratuitously, at worst at a nominal charge."

"The sisters are bright and cheerful, and keep their various dwellings
so exquisitely neat and clean, with their white-washed walls adorned
with Scripture texts and pictures. No work, however menial, is beneath
them. I have myself seen one scrubbing the stairs, and in turns they
sleep on a hard straw bed on the floor, ready to rise in the night as
often as a bell summons them to the aid of a suffering invalid or a
refractory lunatic."

There are a few institutions that exist independently of those
represented at the Kaiserswerth General Conference. They stand alone for
various reasons; perhaps they have not met the conditions required of
those which belong to the association. Any house whose administration
rests exclusively either in the hands of a man or a woman is excluded
from the Conference. In every mother-house there represented the
administrative head is twofold, consisting of a gentleman, who, with
rare exceptions, is a clergyman, and a lady who is a deaconess. The
Kaiserswerth authorities regard this joint management as an
indispensable condition.

The rector, as he is usually called, cares for the intellectual and
spiritual instruction of the probationers, conducts public services in
the chapel, and issues the publications and reports of the house.

The oberin, or house-mother, is the direct head of the sisters. She is
responsible for the interior management, regulates the duties of the
sisters, and gives practical instruction. The two are jointly
responsible for the acceptance and dismissal of probationers, for the
assignment of the sisters to different fields of labor, and the kind of
labor required. Every mother-house has its own peculiarities. The
personal characteristics of those who conduct it are naturally impressed
upon the house.

Then, too, the influence of environment is to be reckoned with. The
house may be located in a large city or in a small one; in the country
or in towns. It may be under the influence of a State Church, as in
Germany, or of Christians of all Churches, as at Mildmay. It will share
the characteristics of the race of people from which come its workers.
Doubtless in the Methodist Episcopal Church in America the deaconesses
that eventually become recognized as set apart to special Christian
service, through the training that is provided for them, will be women
who are peculiarly adapted to the needs of that Church, with all the
distinguishing American traits that will prepare them to understand the
people whom they are to serve, and that will give them access to the
hearts of this people.

If the deaconess cause should gain favor with us as it has in Europe,
and should the deaconesses become as established in the social life of
the people as they are there, the effective agencies will be largely
increased that are to deal with the questions that come to the front
whenever, as in great cities, large numbers of people are massed
together.

Deaconess institutions now exist in Switzerland, France, Holland,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Austria, England, and Germany, while
the countries in which these homes have stations are literally too
numerous to mention. Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the countries of
Northern Africa, and of Asia Minor, as well as isolated mission stations
throughout the entire world are now served by deaconesses.

If there were ten times the number of sisters, places could be at once
found for them. It is instructive on this point to read what Pastor
Disselhoff says[46] in the account he gives of the various demands made
upon him, which he has been unable to meet. One of the letters he quotes
was from an English missionary on the Cameron River. "Send us
deaconesses for our hospital," he says. "It was built for European
sailors, especially Germans. We hope and trust to overcome the
superstitions of the natives, and that they too, may come to be healed."
But there were no sisters to send.

A similar call came from Shanghai, but as it was impossible to return a
favorable answer, although the hospital was a Protestant institution,
the Sisters of Mercy were invited in, and given control. From 1870 up to
1886 over two hundred and twenty-seven places at widely remote
distances, such as Madras, New Orleans, Port Said, Rio de Janeiro, and
elsewhere, sent most urgent appeals for Kaiserswerth deaconesses to be
assigned them, but invariably the same answer must be returned: "There
are none to send." Disselhoff closes by saying, "How many open doors has
God given! Whose fault is it that they remain closed?"

[42] Schaefer, _Die Weibliche Diakonie_, vol. i, p. 21.
[43] The details of the deaconess work at Muelhausen are largely
taken from Schaefer's _Die Weibliche Diakonie_, vol. ii.
[44] _Life of Pastor Fliedner_, translated by C. Winckworth, London,
1867, p. 133. "The favor of the great, especially the
condescending kindness of our late Sovereign, he took as a gift
from the King of kings, who allowed his own work to be thus
promoted. He strenuously avoided all personal distinction, and
never wore the order which had been sent him; 'for a servant of
the Church,' he said, 'there should be but one order--the Cross
of the Lord.'"
[45] _Der Armen und Kranken Freund_, August, 1888.
[46] _Denkschrift zur Jubelfeier_, pp. 248, 249.

CHAPTER VIII.

DEACONESSES IN GERMAN METHODISM.

The good results of the work of deaconesses in the other Protestant
bodies of Germany doubtless had their influence upon German Methodism.
As far back as 1868 in Wurtemberg, and later in Frankfort, some
preachers introduced parish deaconesses for the care of the sick; but
well-directed efforts, and unity in management, were lacking.

The existing association was started July 8, 1874, under the title of
"Bethanienverein," or the Bethany Society, through the efforts of
several members of the German Conference, among whom were Rev. G. Weiss,
who, with two deaconesses, initiated the work in Bremen, Rev. Frederick
Eilers, the present inspector, and Rev. G. Hausser, who for several
years was president of the board of direction, and now resides in
America.[47] A further number of ministers showed themselves inclined to
stand by the society, both by their influence and through contributions
taken in their churches, so that in 1876 the first trained deaconesses
were set at work in the city of Frankfort.

As has been said,[48] the little institution in its early days had to
pass through a series of critical experiences, as a young child has to
encounter the series of childhood diseases that assail it; but it
outlived them all, and is now enjoying a vigorous youth. It was but
another illustration of the truth that all beginnings are difficult, and
that successful experience has to be bought by overcoming hinderances
and obstacles.

To-day there is no branch of German Methodism more successfully and
substantially incorporated into the Church life than the deaconess
society, and none that wins greater favor among those outside of
denominational lines.

The first printed report was issued in October, 1884. In this the
inspector says: "Our society is now in three cities, Frankfort, Hamburg,
and Berlin, and our sisters are not able to meet all the demands upon
them for service." At that time there were thirteen deaconesses and
twenty probationers. The last report, issued in July, 1888, shows an
increase in numbers both of deaconesses and their stations. There are
now eighty-nine deaconesses, eleven of whom are probationers, and there
are stations in five places. Besides the ones previously mentioned in
Germany, two additional stations have been started in Switzerland: one
in Zuerich, and one in St. Gall.

Nearly all the Methodist German deaconesses are engaged in caring for
the sick; it is only recently that attempts have been made in some other
directions of charitable endeavor. In the last report we are told that
at Frankfort steps have been taken to reform fallen women. One of the
sisters seems to be especially endowed with tact and ability for this
difficult work. She has already induced twenty-two of these girls to
enter the asylum at Sachsenhausen. The police authorities and city
magistrates have given this same sister access to the women prisoners,
which is a decided favor, coming from German officials. Besides her work
in this particular, she has devoted her remaining time to the care of
the poor and the sick.

Many deaconesses were called upon to go out as nurses in private
families, and, in order to obtain room to accommodate the added number
these services required, it has been necessary to rent an additional
house. There are two clinics in connection with the institution; one for
those suffering from nose, throat, or lung diseases, the other for
diseases of women. In both, the hours of consultation are free, and
attract numerous visitors. Two hundred and forty-six people were
received in the hospital last year, and were cared for in four thousand
one hundred and fifty days of nursing. Spiritual results are also
anticipated from the seed of God's word sown in the hearts of the sick
through daily prayer and Sunday services.

The house at Frankfort is too small for its increasing needs, and a
permanent home of more ample dimensions is greatly to be desired.

In Hamburg the house has been enlarged, and there is now room for
thirty-five sisters; yet still there are more demands made than can be
met. In one month ninety requests were handed in for the aid of the
deaconesses. The city authorities offered them a large lot of land at a
very moderate sum, which is at present used as a garden, and adds much
to the enjoyment of the home.

On the 4th of March, 1888, occurred the anniversary of the founding of
the Hamburg house, at which time six sisters were set apart to their
life calling by a service of consecration. As in all places where our
deaconesses are employed, so also in Hamburg their influence is felt in
the increase of religious life among the families they serve.

In Berlin, again, there is an imperative call for enlarged house
accommodations, and more sisters are needed to meet the requests for
help that are constantly coming to them. As the report expresses it,
"Something must happen!"[49] After six years of activity in Berlin the
deaconesses find themselves well appreciated, and with a broad field of
labor. The city authorities gave them permission to take a house
collection during the months of February and March. One of the German
ministers said, "This is an unusual favor, only granted in exceptional
cases, as when a village is swept away, or there is an inundation, or a
failure of harvests." This collection was no easy task. In the depth of
winter, in rigorous cold and snow the sisters had to climb weary flights
of stairs, in houses four and five stories high, arranged in flats; to
knock at many doors, often meeting with but slight success or a positive
refusal; yet daily they went with fresh courage to their work,
encouraged by the thought that they were toiling not for themselves, but
to serve the needy, "for Jesus' sake." The collection resulted in
obtaining nearly twenty thousand marks, to which has been added the loan
of a larger sum at a small rate of interest, so that there is good
prospect of soon obtaining a permanent home as the property of the
deaconess society.

St. Gall is one of the newer stations, but from the beginning it has
been a work of promise. In this old center of missionary operations,
where Irish missionaries founded one of the most famous monasteries of
mediaeval times, is now to be erected a hospital under the care of
Methodist deaconesses, who have already begun to collect means for this
purpose. In Scheffel's famous story of _Ekkehard_ the only way in which
the Duchess Hadwig could enter the monastery of St. Gall (as there was a
law that no woman should set her foot upon the threshold) was by the
ingenious device of a young monk, who lifted her over in his arms. These
peaceful women of Methodism are finding no obstacle now as did Hadwig of
old; they do not need even figuratively to be lifted over the entering
threshold; they are gladly welcomed, and are introducing a new element
into the life of the old city.

In Zuerich seven deaconesses are at work under the protection, and with
the sympathetic co-operation, of the pastor and the church. I saw
something of the deaconesses and their duties in this place. The
inspector, Rev. Fr. Eilers, came with the first deaconesses and
introduced them to their new field when I was a resident of the city. On
Sunday morning he occupied the pulpit, preaching from Rom. xvi, 1,
commending the deaconesses to the kindness and helpful aid of the
members of the church. I used often to see Sister Myrtha, who was the
head sister, hastening hither and thither on her errands of mercy. In
her plain black dress and round shoulder-cape to match, and broad white
collar and white cap, she was a pleasant and attractive figure. She was
always happy and contented, ready to answer the many questions with
which I plied her in my desire to look through the eyes of a deaconess,
and to obtain her views of the office to which she belonged. She had a
great love for her work, and believed that she was doing service for
Christ in a true missionary field. Her simple uniform was a
distinguishing mark that insured her respect and attention wherever she
went, and she regarded it as a garb of honor that marked her as
belonging to the daughters of the great King. You could not call such a
life an austere or unnatural one. It was too thoroughly filled with
thoughts of love to others to be either morbid or introspective. I
obtained my first favorable impressions of the usefulness of deaconesses
and their importance to the Church from the cheerful, contented labors
of Sister Myrtha and her associates among the poor and sick of
Zuerich--quiet women, of no particular prominence in the social world,
and not learned or accomplished; "_nur einfache Maedchen_" (only simple
maidens, quiet, ordinary women, as we might translate Sister Myrtha's
own phrase), but living "not to be ministered unto, but to minister,"
commending their creed by their deeds, and winning sympathy by the
loving, self-denying spirit that they manifest.

During the last year a house of rest has been opened similar to the
house Salem at Kaiserswerth. This is called by the beautiful name
"_Gottestreue_," or "God's Fidelity." The report says that they have
named it God's Fidelity in recollection of this: "That the Lord has so
faithfully led us and has cared for us in all storms which, especially
at the beginning of the work, threatened to overwhelm it, has watched
over us and upheld us, and has so richly blessed us." The acquisition of
this house came through the work of the sisters. One of them was caring
for an aged widow, whose sympathies were so won that she offered to give
her property, amounting to about ten thousand marks, to the deaconess
society, asking only that she be cared for for the remainder of her
life. This sum enabled the house to be built, and last summer it was
opened for use. It lies upon a mountain, has a pleasant outlook to the
south, and a beautiful view over the valley of the Main and off to the
distant forests. Near at hand is a grove of chestnut trees, and farther
removed are extensive pine forests with pleasant walks. The house is in
the charge of one of the older sisters.

The regulations touching the training and duties of the sisters are
similar to those of Kaiserswerth. Two years of probation are required,
part of which is devoted to practical work under the superintendence of
an older deaconess. The rules of daily life are much the same; a quiet
half hour of prayer and meditation is strongly urged, and the same
freedom in control of personal property and withdrawal from the office
exists. It is pleasant to record that our deaconesses have secured to
themselves such good report for their usefulness that the city officials
in Germany accord to them the free use of steamboats and street-cars;
and the Prussian government does the same for roads that are under State
control.

The Bethany Society of the German Methodists is self-supporting and is
independent of the Conference, save only that the board of direction is
composed of Methodist preachers chosen by the Conference. Each of the
homes at the five stations has also its board of control, made up of the
inspector, the pastor in charge, and the head sister. The inspector is a
member of the Conference, but has no appointment, as his whole time is
devoted to the duty of superintendence. Last year the society took the
further step of deciding that henceforth the deaconesses should not be
sent, as heretofore, to outside hospitals or other institutions to
complete their training, but should be given the advantages they require
at our own homes. Owing to this decision only six probationers can be
received for the coming year, and others who have made application to
enter must wait their turn.

The German Methodist Church, the daughter of American Methodism,
anticipated the parent Church in utilizing the womanly gifts and
services of deaconesses as members of her aggressive forces, and
furnished it a very helpful and stimulating example.

[47] _Jahresbericht des Bethanienvereins_, 1884, Bremen.
[48] _Der Christliche Apologete_, article by Rev. G. Hausser,
September 20, 1888.
[49] _Jahresbericht_, 1888, page 8.

CHAPTER IX.

DEACONESSES IN PARIS.

When in Paris we visited the deaconess establishment on the Rue de
Reuilly, and had the pleasure, ever to be remembered, of seeing the
institution in all its workings under the guidance of Mademoiselle Sara
Monod, the daughter of Adolphe Monod; members of a family that have been
Protestants of the Protestants in the annals of France. We examined with
some degree of thoroughness the different departments, and saw them in
the busy working hours, when the full activities of the great
establishment were in exercise.

In addition to the information and reports then secured I am under
further obligation to Mademoiselle Monod for other material lately
received, among which is a pamphlet entitled _Une Visite a la Maison de
Diaconesses_, by Madame W. Monod, "the worthy daughter of one of the
founders, and the worthy wife of one of the present chaplains of the
institution." I have translated freely from this in the following pages,
as it is pervaded by a tone of intimate knowledge, and nothing can take
the place of the long years of close personal relation that make this
little book so fresh and attractive in its recital.

The institution is situated on the outskirts of the Faubourg St.
Antoine, upon an elevation, where the view in one direction is limited
by Mont St. Genevieve, and on the other embraces a large territory
intersected by the windings of the Seine and by lines of railroad. The
space is thickly dotted by the high chimneys of manufactories and
massive constructions of various forms. A great pile of buildings which
fronts upon the street forms one of the sides of the court within; two
long wings extend at right angles, which seem to have been built at
different intervals of time. That on the right ends with the
penitentiary, or house of correction; the left wing terminates more
modestly at the garden entrance; while farther, at the extreme portion
of the grounds, still to the left, rises the hospital, standing apart
from the rest. The whole establishment, including the gardens, has an
extent of fifty-five hundred square meters.

In the little room at the entrance, where the _concierge_ is usually
found in these French houses, sits one of the sisters, surrounded by
bell-cords and tubes and bells which are constantly in use, bringing
messages to and fro in all directions. A sister is always on duty,
morning, afternoon, and at night when it is necessary, responding with
discreet politeness to the inquiries made. Adjoining are the little
reception rooms, where comers and goers are met, and the consulting-room
of the distinguished oculist, who twice a week gives gratuitously his
valuable services. Then come the office and reception-room of the
chaplain of the house, followed by the little "prophet's chamber,"
occupied by the former directress when she returns upon visits which her
age and poor health render only too infrequent.

What the French call the "_economat_" or business office, next demands
our attention. A dozen registers admirably kept, portfolios of all
kinds, and numberless papers are arranged upon different shelves. The
sister in charge notes in her journal every entrance and every
departure, and all the journeys and leaves of absence of the sisters. In
a safe she has the necessary money for current expenses, the rest being
deposited in the bank. She provides the stores, examines the accounts of
the pharmacy and the kitchen, pays the salaried employees, gives or
sends to each deaconess the modest sum allowed her for personal needs,
and transacts the daily business of the house. She must also every
month hand in three reports--one to the Prefect of Police, another to
the Minister of the Interior, and the third to the Minister of Finance,
giving detailed statistics concerning the age, occupation, and progress
of her _proteges_. "How many know how to read? How many to read and
write? How many to read, write, and cipher? What progress has been made
since the last report?" These are some of the questions she has to
answer; and, meanwhile, if a crowd of little children come in, she turns
from her writing and calculations and plays with them as if she had
nothing else to do.

Let us see where these children come from. Here is the "Salle d'Asile,"
as it is called, with its benches and chairs for the little ones, maps
and historical pictures suspended upon the walls, slates and globes, and
all the belongings of a school-room. The sister who has directed this
school for thirty-five years has seen sons and daughters succeed fathers
and mothers. More than nineteen hundred children have passed through her
hands. With what pride she showed us the copy-books, and pointed out
some particularly good compositions. Hers was no perfunctory task; a
mother could not have displayed greater interest in her children. The
number of pupils varies from one hundred and ten to one hundred and
thirty, a little less than half of them being Catholics. All kinds of
primary instruction are given, including gymnastics, singing, and
marching. Bible stories hold an important place in this elementary
teaching, even those which are sometimes considered to be beyond the
reach of children; for there is nothing in any other book to take their
place. It is useless to add that not only lessons are given, but shoes,
aprons, and garments of all kinds, some of the little ones being clothed
from head to foot by the institution. Every day soup is distributed,
ostensibly to the poor and the ill-nourished, but practically partaken
of by all. Even during the siege of Paris the soup continued to appear.
It gradually became less substantial, it is true, but still it was soup.

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