see to it that during the year every church in the conference has
the cause presented and a contribution taken. A committee thus
appointed can write to each church, reminding it of its duty to
make an annual offering to the American Missionary Association
as one of our national societies. Where there are pastors who do
not care to present the cause themselves every year, and where
there are churches that have no pastors, certain brethren can be
requested to prepare a presentation, and by a system of exchanges
secure its delivery in all the churches, so that not one of them
shall be allowed to go a single year uninstructed in regard to
this duty. All that is needed is for some one man to take hold
of this matter with earnestness and place it clearly before the
local conference, and it will be done. Has this language the sound
of authority about it—a flavor of presbyterial or prelatic law?
It is only a sound and a flavor; nothing more. There is nothing
legislative about it. It is simply the churches themselves through
their own chosen representatives in conference devising the most
effective method for carrying out a work in which, by the very
genius of their church polity, they are all equally interested.
The only law that there is about it is the foundation principle on
which they were organized and recognized as churches, and on which
they have established their local conference.
4. There should be an assigned place in every missionary concert
for a paper or a report on some branch of the Association’s
work, prepared by some one previously designated to do it. It is
to be deplored that some churches take little interest in the
missionary concert. It is a mistake, in its effects injurious to
the church as well as to the cause of missions. The missionary
concert by a little care and painstaking can be made one of the
most interesting and profitable meetings that the church holds.
Its influence as an educational power transcends measurement. The
geography, government, history, social life and customs of the
country where missions are located, are more or less brought out
in the consideration of what the missionaries are doing. If our
eyes are only sharp enough to read it the story of missions is rich
in everything that interests the human mind. Romance, tragedy,
heroism, sacrifice, pathos, wit and humor, are all intermingled in
that wonderful story. If our ears are only sensitive enough to hear
them there come appeals from missionary experiences that stir to
their profoundest depths everything that is noble and good within
us. The American Missionary Association is peculiarly affluent in
topic and incident for use in the missionary concert. A summary
of the contents of the current number of the _Missionary_ will
always be in order as a report; while for papers and addresses and
discussions, there is no assignable limit to the topics furnished
by the history and development of the Association and its work.
Its lines reach out in their relations to all the ends of the
earth. In its anti-slavery agitations it joined hands with the
great emancipation advocates of Europe. By its labors in behalf
of the Chinese on the Pacific slope it has become a factor in
the great movement of Christian missions for the evangelization
of Asia. Through its special championship and heroic efforts in
behalf of the negro its records have already become a part of that
which shall be written when the history of redeemed Africa is
completed; and in what it has done for the North American Indian
and is doing; in what it has done for human rights and liberty,
and in defense of a pure Christianity, and is doing, it has become
an integral part of those mighty forces that will one day redeem
America from the dominance of false principles and bring in the
reign of justice, equity and truth throughout the length and
breadth of the land. Within the vast circle surrounding all these
racial questions that this Association touches in its work of the
past and in its outlook for the future there lie subjects and
topics for thought and discussion absolutely inexhaustible! There
is no need of any missionary concert’s being dull or uninteresting,
and certainly there is no need of its being unprofitable while such
a missionary society as this is in the field. It should have a
place and a hearing in every missionary concert.
5. The circulation of the _American Missionary_ should be greatly
increased and the people urged to read it. Among the 436,379
members of the Congregational churches in the country there are
sent every month 19,463 magazines; that is on an average _one_
magazine to twenty-two readers. If this one magazine were passed
round so that all had a chance to read it there are enough of them
to answer the purpose. One subscriber wrote us that she made her
_American Missionary_ to be so much of an Episcopalian, that it
“_kept lent_” all the year round. But the evidence is not very
overwhelming that this _is_ done to any great extent. The evidence
is, however, quite convincing that the magazines are not all read
by their subscribers, and that the waste basket is not altogether
unacquainted with their presence. After Dr. Ellinwood, Secretary
of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, had once made an
earnest appeal for money in the Presbytery, the Moderator, a
distinguished Doctor of Divinity, asked him if he would not confer
a favor on the brethren by printing the facts that he had just
stated in the _Missionary_ magazine next month, adding that he
had been trying for a long time to obtain those figures. “Why,”
responded Dr. Ellinwood “That magazine, for the last two months,
has contained just what I have been telling you to-day.” Missionary
literature is despised. If this despite were shown on the merits
of the case there would be nothing to say, but that is not so. It
is despised without examination and in perfect ignorance of its
contents. Like the Saviour, of the progress of whose kingdom it
tells the story, it is despised and rejected of men. Not on its
merits. There are those who read it, and who read it regularly,
ready to testify to the exceeding value and interest of its matter.
One of the great literary monthlies recently contained an article
in which were assertions bearing upon a question of literature
which two months before were utterly destroyed by statements of
facts that appeared in the _American Missionary_. When historians
undertake to write the history of countries into which missionaries
have gone, they are sure to consult the missionary literature;
and they do not often find it necessary to question either the
accuracy or the value of the information they there obtain. This
prejudice against missionary literature, which in the main is both
unfounded and unjust, ought to be abandoned. Its worth and value
ought to be recognized. Its wide dissemination and reading ought to
be advocated; and that, too, on its merits. If there are reasons
why the _American Missionary_ should be read by one of our church
members, the same reasons hold good why it should be read by all
of them; if there are reasons why it should go into one of our
families, for the same reasons it should go into them all. There
is a wide field here for cultivation. Only one magazine for every
twenty-two readers; only one magazine for every four families
among our constituents, and all of these not read by those who
take them! No wonder there is ignorance among the churches about
our work, and there being ignorance no wonder that there is a lack
of interest and meagreness of contributions! But I hear some one
say: “Our church members will not take the _American Missionary_.
They would not read it were you to give it to them.” Well then,
they are not interested in our work, that is all. They don’t care
whether the gospel is preached to the poor or not; they don’t care
whether illiteracy is allowed to run rampant all over the country
and destroy our free institutions or not; they don’t care whether
justice shall be done to those who have been most cruelly defrauded
or not; they don’t care whether the honor of the nation by meeting
the involved obligations of slavery’s abolition shall be preserved
or not; they don’t care whether the issues of the war for the
maintenance of the Union, secured by sufferings and sacrifices
transcending the power of the human mind to portray, shall be made
secure or not. They don’t care? Then somebody is to blame. They
do care? Then why are they not willing—even eager to read about
the work that has all these sacred objects in view, and is helping
to solve the stupendous problems they contain? They do care. Yes,
I believe it. Their lack of interest in the American Missionary
Association and their unwillingness to read its monthly magazine is
because of their ignorance of its work, and therefore it is that
there is here a wide field, hopeful and promising, for cultivation
by all those who wish to aid in the advancement of the cause.
The reasons assigned for raising the question to which the above
answers have been given are most grave and weighty. They are
significant indications of peril that threatens the cause committed
to our care. Shall we heed the lessons which the signals flash?
* * * * *
Do not forget that this month of December is an excellent time
to increase the number of those who subscribe for THE AMERICAN
MISSIONARY. A word fitly spoken by our friends will secure the
desired result.
* * * * *
BUREAU OF WOMAN’S WORK.
MISS D. E. EMERSON, SECRETARY.
WOMAN’S STATE ORGANIZATIONS.
CO-OPERATING WITH THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.
ME.—Woman’s Aid to A. M. A., Chairman of Committee, Mrs. C. A.
Woodbury, Woodfords, Me.
VT.—Woman’s Aid to A. M. A., Chairman of Committee, Mrs. Henry
Fairbanks, St. Johnsbury, Vt.
CONN.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. S. M.
Hotchkiss, 171 Capitol Ave., Hartford, Conn.
N.Y.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. C. C. Creegan,
Syracuse, N.Y.
OHIO.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. Flora K. Regal,
Oberlin, Ohio.
ILL.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. C. H. Taintor,
151 Washington St., Chicago, Ill.
MICH.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. Mary B. Warren,
Lansing, Mich.
WIS.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. C. Matter,
Brodhead, Wis.
MINN.—Woman’s Home Miss. Society, Secretary, Mrs. H. L. Chase,
2,750 Second Ave., South, Minneapolis, Minn.
IOWA.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Miss Ella E. Marsh,
Grinnell, Iowa.
KANSAS.—Woman’s Home Miss. Society, Secretary, Mrs. Addison
Blanchard, Topeka, Kan.
SOUTH DAKOTA.—Woman’s Home Miss. Union, Secretary, Mrs. W. H.
Thrall, Amour, Dak.
* * * * *
REPORT OF SECRETARY.
In inviting the women of the North, and particularly those of the
Congregational churches to help establish and sustain its missions,
the American Missionary Association has felt that woman’s work in
the churches at home is as important as woman’s work in the mission
field, in order to secure the greatest efficiency, the best results
of the labor expended.
Nor have we been disappointed. As the hearts of those at home have
opened pityingly toward the needs of women suffering from the
effects of oppression, abuse and paganism, right here in our own
country, and the hearts of our missionaries have been burdened with
the same woes, the helping hand has been mutually extended; and it
has been the mission of the Bureau of Woman’s Work to join these
hands in strong and loving ministry.
Our woman’s work in the field can be only briefly referred to here.
It is embodied in the full report which the Association gives of
all its missions. Of the sixteen Normal and graded schools reported
by the Association, seven are in the charge of lady teachers alone.
One of these is a boarding school especially for girls, and is
similar in plan to the Mt. Holyoke and Auburndale schools. But
in all our boarding schools like methods are introduced, indeed
the best that can be culled from Northern experience is put into
practice.
Some slight changes in our plan of work should be noted, as
indicating the new demands upon us in woman’s work. We no longer
select our special missionaries mainly for house-to-house visiting
and Bible reading, but combine this with more effective organized
work. To concentrate effort upon the training of the young for
usefulness, is conceded by all our workers as most essential. This
is well accomplished in our boarding schools, but where we have
only day schools or churches we have felt the need of reaching
the home life more effectually than could be done by a missionary
visitor. We therefore bring the young people to our special
missionary for practical instruction, connecting this with the
Christian training.
Sewing-schools are established in which girls are taught not
merely how to sew well, but how to cut and make garments for
themselves and fathers and brothers. Kitchen-garden has been quite
generally introduced for teaching all kinds of laundry, kitchen and
dining-room work, care of bed-rooms and bedding, polite attention
to guests, with all amenities of home life. Thus a transformation
has been made in many homes through the new life opened up to the
children.
White Shield and White Cross Societies are sustained in the
interests of purity. Missionary societies are formed and the young
people are taught how to manage them. Through these societies the
sympathy and interest of colored and Indian women have been so
moved as to lead to self-denial that would put us to shame, so
eager are they to give to others the light they have received.
Temperance work has a prominent place in all our missions. As
illustrative of the influence exerted in this direction we note one
instance. The principal of our colored school in Jonesboro, Tenn.,
organized her temperance society ten years ago, and for years
it was the only one in the place. Thus the colored people were
organized and ready for action long before the white ladies. Our
Northern missionary bought materials for colors, sat up nights and
lettered the banners, and at the late election in Tennessee took
her school to the polls, nearly every child carrying a suggestive
motto, such as “Protect Our Homes,” “Lead us not into Temptation.”
Through her persistence and energy the white ladies of the Woman’s
Christian Temperance Union joined in the movement. It is true, the
amendment was lost in the State, but in Jonesboro every colored
man except two voted for prohibition. Noble efforts may sometimes
fail—noble lives, never.
But even could our woman’s work in the field be written in minute
detail it would give but an imperfect review of what is undertaken.
You hear of overflowing schools, of many forms of Christian
work, of the numbers added to our churches from ranks in day and
Sunday-schools, but the wrestling prayers of earnest women, the
watchful admonitions, the unremitting toil which has entered into
what we call success, who shall record? Over two hundred such
missionaries the American Missionary Association has upon its
rolls, and it is for these, and that we may add to the number, that
we ask your united support.
We have much to encourage us in the results of the past year.
There has been an earnest reaching out by ladies’ societies,
Sunday-schools and mission bands, for some special work which would
tell for good in direct influence toward the enlightenment of those
in darkness and need, and contributions have been so applied as
to be at once helpful to our treasury and yet assigned to some
specific object interesting to contributors. Christian Endeavor
Societies have begun to come forward with their help. These
societies, which include lads and misses, find a most useful and
attractive work in our Indian Missions. It has been quite a problem
how to win and hold the interest of boys in missions, but we have
found the magic word—Indian—and that if our boys’ thoughts are
given proper direction in the study of Indian history and missions,
they will not fail to be on the right side in their convictions
and eager to help educate an Indian youth, the longer and more
unpronounceable his name the more eager.
Sewing societies have been encouraged to contribute their service
in a way that is valuable to us. Our item of house furnishing alone
is a large one, for in connection with our eighty-nine schools are
about thirty mission homes and boarding halls to be kept supplied
with bedding, table linen, etc., for families of from fifteen
to two hundred and fifty. These needs are indicated in a sewing
leaflet which is sent to those who will assist us to set an example
of good housekeeping where we plant our missions.
The most important help, however, being money contributions from
all these societies, we have sought by our system of missionary
letters to encourage the ladies and young people to annual
contributions. The amounts thus received have varied from $10 to
$100, according to the ability of the church, but every society
thus contributing to the A. M. A. may work for some definite object
and receive the field letters.
To the Woman’s State organizations we offer specific work on
a larger scale. Of such we name the following as co-operating
directly with us: Maine and Vermont each by a “Woman’s Aid to
the A. M. A.” Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, each by a Woman’s Home Missionary
Union, and Minnesota and Kansas by their Woman’s Home Missionary
Societies.
The State organizations have some of them undertaken the support
of a single school, and others of missionaries selected from
different departments of our work. In every State the appeal of
the A. M. A. is made through its Woman’s Bureau to the ladies of
all the churches and to all the ladies of the churches, and the
contributions are in part through the State organizations and in
part direct, all working to the same end.
Other States also, not yet organized, are assisting us in definite
lines, as Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Any society of old or young people, whether Missionary,
Ladies’ Aid, Benevolent Society, Sewing Circle or Christian
Endeavor—whatever involves combined interests and united work—we
cordially welcome to share with us in the grand opportunities of
our field.
In this way the ladies of the Congregational churches are helping
in the support of seventeen of the established missions of the
American Missionary Association—among the colored people, poor
whites, Indians and Chinese, according to their choice.
Public meetings in behalf of missions have been provided with lady
speakers, and in many instances the monthly missionary concerts
of the churches having the American Missionary Association for a
subject, have been furnished with fresh letters from different
parts of the field, thus giving vividness to the facts gathered
from the A. M. A. literature.
We all know that it is not by doing any great thing that the
home is made beautiful and strong, but by the many acts of
thoughtfulness, the light and skillful touches which singly appear
so small, but together and often repeated become essential. So in
our connection with these great mission boards, let us make our
work valuable by our constancy and skill in doing what we can,
giving an aureola to the cause of missions by the well directed
rays of womanly, consecrated service.
* * * * *
A WORD FROM BULGARIA.
“For a long time I have not had an opportunity to read THE AMERICAN
MISSIONARY, and chancing to see it lying on the table at the house
of one of my associates, it instantly awakened a host of memories
of the past when I was a teacher of the Freedmen during the war
of the Rebellion. My interest in the work of the Association has
always been great, and I should have given my life to its service
had I not felt that God called me elsewhere. My prayer is that God
may bless the labors of the faithful missionaries in my own dear
native land more and more abundantly.”
* * * * *
RECEIPTS FOR OCTOBER, 1887.
* * * * *
MAINE, $216.78.
Alfred. Cong. Ch. and Soc. $18.39
Augusta. Miss K. Carpenter’s Sab. Sch. Class,
_for Student Aid, Talladega C._ 5.00
Bangor. First Cong. Ch. and Soc., add’l, to
const. REV. CHARLES H. CUTLER, MRS. HELEN M.
QUIMBY and JOHN F. COLBY L. M’s. 30.00
Castine. Sab. Sch. Class, by Prof. Fred. W.
Foster, _for Student Aid, Tougaloo U._ 1.60
Freeport. First Cong. Ch., 16.94; Rev. Daniel
Lane, 1 17.94
Gorham. “Helping Hand Soc.,” by Miss Mary E.
Tolford 25.00
Gray. Sab. Sch. Classes, by Mrs. Julia Doughty
and sister, _for Selma, Ala._ 3.35
Kennebunk Port. South Cong. Ch. 5.00
Norridgewock. Cong. Ch. and Soc. 33.25
Phillips. Cong. Ch. 4.00
Portland. Williston Ch., 46; Wm. W. Mitchell,
25 71.00
Topsham. Mrs. M. P. Sewall 2.00
——. “An Aged Lady” 0.25
NEW HAMPSHIRE, $257.35.
Bennington. Cong. Ch. 11.17
Boscawen. Mrs. J. McClure, _for Student Aid,
Talladega C._ 1.00
Candia. “A Friend.” 1.00
Epping. Cong. Ch. 2.00
Exeter. S. C. E., First Cong. Ch., _for
Atlanta U._ 4.35
Hanover. Dartmouth College Cong. Ch. 15.00
Hinsdale. Cong. Ch. and Soc. 20.00
Hudson. J. G. Proctor, to const. MRS. J. G.
PROCTOR, L. M. 30.00
Keene. Ira J. Prouty, M.D. 5.00
Nashua. First Cong. Ch. and Soc. 20.00
New Ipswich. Children’s 25th Annual Fair (2 of
which _for Indian M._) 19.32
New Ipswich. Cong. Ch. 3.71
North Hampton. Cong. Ch. and Soc. 23.50
Pelham. Cong. Ch. and Soc. 37.00
Penacook. Sab. Sch. of Cong. Ch. 20.00
Peterboro. Union Evan. Ch. 44.30
VERMONT, $460.20.
Barnet. Ladies, _for McIntosh, Ga._, by Mrs.
Henry Fairbanks 12.52
Burlington. First Ch., 128.05; Third Cong.
Ch., 74.56 203.61
Chester. Cong. Ch. 33.50
East Fairfield. Cong. Ch. 4.35
Enosburg. First Cong. Ch., add’l. 5.00
Fairfield. Cong. Ch. 2.88
Hartford. E. Morris 100.00
Middlebury. Miss E. Starr 5.00
Orange. Cong. Ch. 15.00
Quechee. Ladies, _for McIntosh, Ga._, by Mrs.
E. D. Wild 5.00
Quechee. Mrs. H. Thomas, _for Student Aid,
Talladega C._ 2.00
Rupert. Miss Cora Guild 2.00
Saint Albans. First Cong. Ch., add’l. 1.00
Vergennes. Cong. Ch., 13.38, and Sab. Sch.,
1.62 15.00
Wallingford. Bbl. of C., _for McIntosh, Ga._
Waterbury. Cong. Ch. 5.34
West Brattleboro. Miss Annie L. Grout, Box of
C., 1 _for freight, for McIntosh, Ga._ 1.00
West Randolph. First Cong. Ch. (6 of which
_for McIntosh, Ga._) to const DEA. J. O.
FOWLER L. M. 30.00
Williamstown. Mrs. E. E. Cheney 1.00
Williston. Cong. Ch. 27.00
MASSACHUSETTS, $4,941.44.