Recess was then taken to 7.30 P.M.
THURSDAY EVENING.
The Association was called to order at 7:30 P.M., and prayer was offered by Rev. Thomas Laurie, D.D., of Providence.
The minutes for the day were read and approved, and the Secretary was authorized to complete them at the close of this service and to publish them under the direction of the Executive Committee.
Rev. David O. Mears, D.D., of Massachusetts, addressed the Association, and was followed by Rev. A.J.F. Behrends, D.D., of New York, and the closing address was made by the President.
The following vote of thanks was unanimously passed after appropriate remarks by District Secretary C.J. Ryder.
We approach the conclusion of this Annual Convention of the American Missionary Association with grateful hearts for all the way by which God has led it from the day when it crossed the brook with its staff of testimony to this time of extended influence and usefulness, with humble rejoicing both in the intellectual and spiritual fellowship of this meeting, and also with a special sense of responsibility under the burden of obligation which God has placed upon us by this unprecedented enlargement of our stewardship. We wish to express our devout thanksgiving for the grace of hospitality which has been bestowed in such abounding measure upon the churches of Christ and the good people of this city of Providence, with whose name in its divine significance we are to associate this peculiarly impressive anniversary.
We recall the delightful welcome which greeted us at the opening of these services, only to be impressed with the assurance that this Union Congregational Society and the other churches of the city were not at all forgetful to "entertain strangers." Their love indeed, made us at once to feel at home in their households, and in the midst of their delightful families.
Resolved, That to the local committees, especially the indefatigable Secretary, to the pastors of all the churches, to the choir and leaders of the services of song in the house of the Lord, to the local and metropolitan press for its generous reporting of these meetings to the large congregation outside by its multiform and winged processes, and to the lines of transportation which have made us the recipients of their courtesy, we express our great indebtedness with sincere thanks.
And so, in behalf of the members, officers and missionaries and friends of this great Association, we say once more: We thank you for your generous entertainment and crave for you the recompense for such ministering in the name of our Divine Master.