"Know All Men By These Presents, that
I, Charles W. Smith, one of the Bishops of the
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
under the protection of Almighty God and with a single eye to his glory
by the imposition of my hands and prayer have this day set apart MARTIN P. ELDER
for the ofice of a DEACON in the said Methodist Episcopal Church,
a man who in the judgment of the PUGET SOUND Annual Conference,
is well qualified for that work,
and he is hereby recommended to all whom it may concern
as a proper person to administer the ordinance of
BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, and the BURIAL OF THE DEAD, in the absence of an Elder,
and to Feed the Flock of Christ, so long as his spirit and practice are such as
become the Gospel of Christ, and he continueth to hold fast the
form of sound words, according to the established doctrines of the Gospel.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of my office
this TWELFTH day of SEPTEMBER in the year of our Lord,
one thousand nine hundred and NINE.
Done at Bellingham, Wash., Sept. 12, 1909
Signed: Charles W. Smith