Resolved, that the hearty thanks of this Association be extended
to the pastors and members of the Congregational churches, and to
the people of Worcester, for their cordial welcome and generous
hospitality to the many attendants on this the thirty-fifth annual
meeting; in particular to the Plymouth Church and Society for the
use of this elegant house of worship and the convenient rooms
connected with it, and to the pastor, Rev. George W. Phillips,
for his many courteous attentions. This Association also desires
to express its sincere thanks to the large choir, for its aid
in the service of song; to the press, for its full reports of
the exercises, and for the liberality of the railroads which
have reduced the rates of fare over their lines. While deeply
grateful to the various Committees for their great work in making
and executing wise plans for this large gathering, it wishes to
recognize specially the efficient services of the Rev. Chas. W.
Lamson and Samuel R. Heywood, Esq., whose wisdom and executive
ability have greatly contributed to the success of this meeting.
Rev. Geo. W. Phillips, pastor of the church in which the meetings
were held, responded to this resolution in a very felicitous
speech. Among other things he said:
It is evident from the numbers which have been entertained here,
it is evident from the interest which has prevailed in all these
assemblies, that this cause, represented by the American Missionary
Association, has taken its place already fairly side by side
with all the other great missionary organizations and operations
that are under the patronage and direction of our churches. The
Worcester which you visit at this present time is not the Worcester
that was here when this Society was organized. It is not the city
that it was when this Association held its meeting here something
like a score of years ago. From scarcely more than thirty thousand
it has grown to be a city of more than sixty thousand people; and
side by side with its growth in population we are happy to assure
you—and I think you have seen some visible evidence of it—that we
have kept pace with our Christianity, with our church extension.
The best meetings on earth, all meetings on earth, must have their
end; and we are come to the last hour of the last great day of this
American Missionary Association feast. We say our good-byes; we go
hence, each to his church, his community, his home. We shall not
all of us meet on earth again; but it is grateful to think that by
and by there is to be another meeting—a meeting in which we shall
no more plan for the salvation and for the moral purification of
this lost world, in which we shall no more seek to bring men to
acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, because those
great words shall have been realized, “Every knee shall bow and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.”
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