BUREAU OF WOMAN’S WORK.
APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY.
It gives us pleasure to announce that in following out the arrangements fore-shadowed in the May “Missionary,” the Executive Committee of the A. M. A. has made choice of Miss D. E. Emerson as Secretary of its Bureau of Woman’s Work. Miss Emerson is well known in the mission fields of the Association, having been a teacher, a lady missionary and also at the New York Office doing service in connection with the correspondence for the Southern work. In the latter position, covering a period of several years, she has had occasion to visit localities occupied by our lady missionaries, and in these and many other ways has gained a very extensive knowledge of the wants and the methods of help needful for the elevation of the colored people. Her ability for her new position has already been tested, and the Association has great confidence in her capacity to meet the requirements of all interested in the great work that lies before her. Correspondence relating to the Bureau should be addressed to Miss D. E. Emerson, at the office of the A. M. A., 56 Reade St., New York.
METHODS OF WORK.
Our Bureau inaugurates no new woman’s missionary society. It is simply a plan for giving more efficiency to the work already in hand. We leave the mode of co-operation on the part of the ladies of the North entirely to themselves, and we can think of no better plan for such co-operation than that given on the next page in the letter of Miss M. E. Smith of Gorham, Me., which describes the methods in use the past year in that State.
Neither are the means for promoting the objects of our Bureau new; they are based on twenty years’ experience and extend to all the branches of home, school and church life. We can aid directly in the elevation of women and children through the varied work of the ladies engaged in our different mission fields. Our method of giving information to the Christian women of the North will be not only by correspondence through the Secretary of the Bureau, but also by direct information from the lady missionaries and teachers, who will attend the meetings of ladies at the conferences, associations, and, as far as practicable, local societies in connection with the churches.
METHOD OF CO-OPERATION.
FROM MISS MARY E. SMITH, MAINE.
In answer to your inquiry as to the mode of collecting, I would say that we have no organization. The ladies talked the matter over and decided that as there are so many organizations already as to be almost bewildering, we would carry on this work with as little “red tape” as possible. At each annual conference a meeting of all ladies interested is held, a report read of the amount collected the past year and a committee of three chosen to carry on the work for the following year. This committee appoints a collector for each conference, and each conference collector engages a collector in each church in her conference. The collectors of the several churches report progress and send money obtained to the conference collector, and she forwards it to the chairman of the State Committee, who keeps the bank account and forwards the money in due time to the A. M. A.
By so simple an arrangement we also save in expense. With the exception of a very slight amount for printing of circulars for distribution through the States, the only expense is that of postage, etc., which being divided among so many is borne by the several collectors and does not take from the sum collected. So far the working of our plan has been, I think, as successful as we could reasonably expect.
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
FROM MRS. HENRY L. CHASE, IOWA.
It is with great satisfaction that I learn that a “Bureau of Woman’s Work” has been organized in connection with the A. M. A. It seems to me that such an organization is not merely a valuable help but a manifest necessity in the effective prosecution of “Woman’s Work for Woman” in the South—a work which lies upon the hearts of very many of the Christian women of the North and which ought to lie upon the consciences of all.
A very limited experience teaches that in every kind of benevolent work information is the root from which interest and action grow. Probably in no other way can the facts which will quicken the interest of the ladies of our churches in work among the Freedpeople be so thoroughly and influentially presented as by means of this Bureau. Specific objects of effort, concerning which details may be furnished, will often win the practical attention of those who are comparatively indifferent to the idea of general needs. And the sanction of the A. M. A. being implied in any appeals made thorough the Bureau for definite objects, will give assurance that our gifts and our labors are to be applied in the wisest way and where the need is most urgent. But perhaps nothing accomplished by this organization will be more gratefully appreciated or more productive of the desired results than the visits of missionaries to the churches which support them, and their statements by word of mouth in regard to the appalling needs and encouraging successes in their various fields. This new branch of work has my warmest good wishes and my earnest prayers for its fullest success.
BRIEF RESPONSES.
Miss A. W. Johnson of North Brookfield, Mass., writes: I am very glad that a “Bureau of Woman’s Work” has been organized, and believe it will open up new avenues for work among our ladies. I respond at once, hoping I can do something to interest them in this direction.
Rev. S. E. Lathrop of Macon, Ga., writes: I rejoice in the new “Bureau of Woman’s Work.” It is a necessary and hopeful acquisition.
BUREAU REPRESENTED IN OHIO.
At the Ohio State Association which convened at Akron, May 8, Dist. Sec. Pike in his address set forth the plans of our Bureau of Woman’s Work, referring especially to the methods proposed for bringing the condition of the colored people more fully before the Christian women of the North. He was accompanied by Miss Rose M. Kinney, who had just returned from her field of labor at McIntosh, Liberty County, Ga., and who, in behalf of our Bureau of Woman’s Work, gave an interesting account of her mission services, which had included that of organizing a Woman’s Missionary Society among the colored women. Miss Kinney also addressed the Woman’s meeting held during the sessions of the Association. Arrangements have been made, as far as practicable, with other States for a like presentation of the varied work carried on by this Association.
In the next and future numbers of the Missionary, the details of the “Bureau of Woman’s Work” will appear in a separate department under the above heading.
The Lord’s Blessed Ones.—A recent visitor to the Teachers’ Home, Storrs School, Atlanta, writes that on his arrival, about nine in the evening, he was met by the lady teachers, who were returning, two by two, from attending cottage prayer meetings in the parish, of which there had been six that night. “Coming in,” he says, “from such work in the lowly homes of a despised people, cheerful and delighted with the meetings, they made a profound impression upon me as the Lord’s blessed ones. If He hasn’t got any mansions up there quite worthy of them He’ll go to work and fix up some especially for their use.”
The readers of the Missionary are not ignorant of the benefactions of Mr. J. J. H. Gregory, of Marblehead, Mass., to this Association. The following extract from a Wilmington paper indicates the appreciation in which he is held not only by the colored people, but also by leading citizens South.
“The reception of Mr. Gregory took place in the Mayor’s office in the City Hall yesterday at noon. There was quite a large attendance of our prominent citizens, including a few colored men, all of whom gave evidence of the esteem entertained for the distinguished visitor and their pleasure at the opportunity thus afforded them of forming the acquaintance of one who has devoted so much of his fortune to the advancement of the educational facilities and interests of Wilmington. Mr. Gregory was introduced to those present by Mayor Hall in a few brief and appropriate remarks, which were responded to by Mr. G. in fitting terms. Short speeches were also delivered by Rev. Drs. Taylor and Wilson, in the order named, and at the conclusion of their remarks, Mayor Hall again spoke, and at more length. The meeting was a very pleasant one, and we have reason to believe that Mr. Gregory was much pleased at the heartiness of his reception.”
The Trustees of the John F. Slater Educational Fund met in New York April 25 and 26. It was voted to appropriate $20,000 during the coming year to such schools as are best fitted to help young colored people to become useful to their race, preference being given to those institutions which furnish industrial education. Over seventy institutions have already reported to Rev. Dr. A. G. Haygood, the Secretary. It is not conclusive from the reports that have reached us that the sum named above is the entire amount that will be applied the coming year for educational purposes, or that the income of the fund will be principally used for industrial education. We believe the plans of the Trustees are as broad as the necessities of the colored people for education in every department. The meeting of the Board was fully attended, and the place made vacant by the death of Wm. E. Dodge was filled by the election of his son. We commend the Trustees for their careful and conscientious endeavors to provide for the uplifting of the colored people and the welfare of the nation.
The average attendance at the 30 conventions of the Co-operative Societies in Connecticut was 136. The number of churches represented was 230, of the 297 in the State. The average attendance of similar meetings in 1872 was 104. On the whole the recent meetings were of marked interest, and of much encouragement to the missionary work done by Congregationalists.
Our Finances.—During the seven months of the fiscal year closing April 30, our receipts from collections and donations have amounted to $109,275.73. The collections and donations for the same months last year were $138,094.35, a decrease of $28,818.62. The legacies for these months last year were $23,447.81, while for this year they have been $42,121.18, an increase of $18,673.37. The total receipts thus far this year in collections, donations and legacies have been $151,396.91 against $161,542.16 for the same period last year, a decrease of $10,145.25. We earnestly urge the friends of this Association to study these figures. Our last annual meeting, in view of the pressing work before us, recommended the increase of our receipts 25 per cent. for the present fiscal year. The added expenses of our Indian work and the pressing calls for enlargement of our school and church work South, make this increase imperative—and especially as the openings before us in these lines of effort are exceedingly auspicious and encouraging. If the increase named is received, we can go forward; if not, we must leave undone what ought to be done. Under these circumstances, we ask individual donors whom God hath blessed with the means and the heart to help, to give special attention to the facts we present, and we also respectfully request pastors to bring before their people our financial necessities, so that during the next five months we may be able to go forward without debt or diminution of work.
The Church Book, Hymns and Tunes, for the Uses of Christian Worship, prepared by Leonard Woolsey Bacon. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Several novelties are presented by this book. The more prominent of these are (1) the typographical arrangement, which allows the hymns to go in without the usual limitations of space, (2) the number of hymns, which is less than half that usually found in books of the kind, (3) a combination of the standard tunes with the best of the English lyrical compositions. We believe there is common sense in Dr. Bacon’s idea that the church will be better served with a smaller number of the choicest hymns. As both the standard and (so called) classical tunes are selected with excellent judgment, we see no reason why the Church Book may not prove a valuable addition to the hymn-and-tune-ology of the day. The typography and binding of the book are of the best.
General Liturgy and Book of Common Prayer, prepared by Prof. Hopkins, is the title of an attractive volume of 137 pages, published by A. S. Barnes & Co. A feature of especial interest is the “Table for Scripture Readings for Divine Service on every Lord’s Day throughout the year,” embracing a period of two years. The volume is tastefully prepared and printed in red and black, thus assisting the eye in selecting the different parts of the service. We believe it will be found helpful in the pulpit, in families and in mission work at home and abroad.
The Home Missionary for May appears with new cover and an addition of eight pages, four of which are devoted to advertisements. The reading matter, embraces a wide range of discussion on the different interests of home missionary work, and as usual was prepared especially for this excellent organ of the Home Missionary Society. It gives evidence of an advance along the line, and will be welcome in its approved appearance among its numerous readers.
The Church Building Quarterly, No. 2, is out, and gives to its readers a hundred pages of excellent reading relating to the interests of the Congregational Union. Plans, specifications and cuts of 26 varieties of church edifices are given with suggestions as to cost, materials, conveniences, title to property and other information of value. Cuts and specifications for three varieties of parsonages are also given. The Quarterly is attractive and we congratulate the brethren who manage the affairs of the Society on their enterprise and success.