ALABAMA.
REV. W. H. ASH, FLORENCE.
The work in Florence for the last two years has been comparatively a new one. The exodus of the colony from here not only took from the town some of the best citizens, but it robbed our church of its strength, both in a temporal and spiritual sense, leaving behind the weakest spiritually and the poorest financially. My first endeavor was to impress upon the people in their discouraged condition, the necessity of having faith in God.
Since that time the church has grown in religious life and character; members have been added to it such, I hope, as shall be saved.
We have had a revival which served as a great quickening influence, though there were not the number of conversions we had hoped for. Within these two years, we have built a beautiful house of worship, which helps greatly as an attraction to our service; as also does our organ, sent by friends, being the only organ in the colored churches.
The Sunday-school has grown in interest and numbers, and has been able to pay for its lesson papers this year. The school has been built up almost entirely out of new material. My wife and self have taught a day-school in connection with the church-work, which has given strength to the church. Outside of the primary and intermediate classes, we have a class in United States history, one in English composition, and one in algebra. Up to this time forty-six scholars have been enrolled. Last year we began with three scholars, closing with thirty-five. We have had quite a number of applications for boarding scholars, but had no accommodation for such, with the exception of one girl whom we felt almost bound to take. Some of the others found places with difficulty, because they wanted to go to the Congregational school (so-called, while the public is called the Methodist school).
Strange to say, in this community the country people are more able to sustain a “pay-school” than are those in town. But there is a reason for it: wages are very low, and it really takes what is needed for their absolute wants to pay dollar a month, particularly if a family numbers six or seven, which is really the case in my parish. A woman’s wages average from four to five dollars a month. I sigh, and wonder how these poor people ever will rise.
The Christian people who give so liberally, and those who are intrusted with the responsibility of this work, do not know the difficulties and trying circumstances under which Congregationalism has grown, and is growing, in some parts of the South. Past experience has taught that tardiness in the appropriation of ample facilities for the work in some fields has caused the loss of rich results. If those who have gone to Kansas had seen the present condition of the church, I believe it would have been a great check upon their going, although there were other reasons which helped to drive them from the South aside from a lack of proper facilities for the education of their children.
Since the dedication of the church, I have been anxious that our lot should be inclosed, and on April 9th we gave an entertainment whose results surpassed our most sanguine expectations, as we made $64 above expenses.
We have put up a neat fence in front, well painted, which improves the looks of the church, and have ordered lumber for the other sides of the lot, and by next week the whole will be fenced.