The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-06-02 00:00:00

FORDING TON BENEFIT SOrIETY.

The annual festival of this flourishing little society
took place on Whit-Tuesday, at for year.. past. We
are pleseed to hear if the steady gniwth of the club,
bin membent and finances. It dees a good work
in a quiet way, and it being admirably adapted to the
circumstances of many of the Fordington working men
we have little doubt as to its being swallowed up by
the larger friendly isocietiee. According to time
honoured custom the proceedings commenced with
Divine service in the parish church, when a imitable
sermon waii preached by the Rev. T. W. Knipe, fonn
these wards--" A Mall that hath friends must sliew
hired!' friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother" (Priv., e. It, v. 2.1). The rev.
gentleman expressed his pleaeure at addassing them,
for it wax an excellent thing to conms:rate the
pleasures of their friendly mating in the Roma ,if
i
God. It was quite certain f they could mot ask (foil's
bleating lat anything in which they were engaged or
anything from which they expected pleasure, that it
must be eviL The can... that bri iught them together
was so thoroufhly Christian in spirit that they did
well to ask told • blessing upon it. They called
eidetica of the ems friendly societies. Than. was
called • benefit club, hut he was quit.' cure no member
it thought they put in inertly for their own benefit,
but to help one ani,ther ; and was not tlie whole
Church .4 the dear Redeemer one gnat frieudly
aisciety ? If they realised their calling in Christ Jesus
and their fellowship with Him they would, as a sure
consequence, grow like their Lord who loved our
human and fallen race and whoa- great love brought
Him into the woeld to die fur sinners and to redeem..
then, to God. There had always been floating in the
minds of men ideas of fellowship and twotherhisel.
In the politiad world they heard a great deal shout
men being brother+ and living together in holy fellow-
ship, but they might depend upon it unless, there wiss
one great bond of union human selfishness would
triumph over this idea of brotherhood. Men would,
and always had.,, when nit under the influence of the
grace. of God's floly Spirit—always had eought their
own interest, and the world had not grown any wiser
or better exeept in so far as it had grown Claistian,
and there could be Do true fellowship which had not
its spring is the blessed hope that we were brothers
and sisters in Christ, with one eternal Father who
loved us in beeves, and one everlasting home whither
we trusted our footsteps were daily tending, and where
we hoped to meet the whole Church of ttod in the glory
of the Church triumphant. Fellowship en,. with
another was an essential part of Christianity, and this
coald not exist in its fullness or really exist at all
sinless it had its root and 'wring in the common love
.4 one Vetiver. The principle .4 societies of this kind
was that a helping one another, that members, by
giving to the eleb • due and properly regulated lay-
about, if God skonld spare them from SICICIIeVI them.
.elves, should have the satisfaction of feeling they were
exercising fellowship and helping one 'mother. lie
reminded them union was st a 4 if they awe
true members of tbe Charch of rut on earth thty
must motion they ewe in 1/16011 with the Father and
the Son,_ and bad fellowship one with another.
Ow Vicar omiductod the serviee, and the Rev. R.
Si. L. Lee read the lessons. Appropriate brew were
minffter the service the church bells rang merry pada.
The annual wish tea in connection with the club
t;ciittaoe subeisqvently in the schoolroom,_ ee
_which w
so exesse—• proof that the Fordingom
Whit-Tuesday tea is as loonier as ever. Most of the
old fries& assisted in a varietor of ways, the result
beisgs very =it (fathering. An excellent tat
was punwided the kindness of VaTitltill friends,
and which were decorated with beautiful
plants kindly lest byMr. S. R. Harris, of the Coniw all
reed llfirminse, eresented • wetly appearance. The
ladies who suppiied or pren ova, trays were the
followuNt• :
Mee. Harris, Mies Miller , Mrs. L. 'Tilley, Rio
Hodges, Kiss Brooke, Mrs. H. &wends- Mrs.
Fisher, Mn. A. Grovels, Miss telecaster, Mimi l'earce,
Gupta, Mn. J. Hunt, him W. Bishop, Mrs.
T. A, Pearce, Mrs. A. Lock, Mrs. H. tine, Miss
Good, Mrs. Hayne by Men Allahr_tree, Mrs. Orchard,
Nlm Northover, Ma. Altardyor, Mrs. C. Miller, Me..
g, Thorns., lees. W. Dixon by Mies Cad, Men B.
opeeeprell, Mr• J. Thome., and Mrs. Woodland.
Tea OVIIT, and grace having been sung, the %rivals
&tinted a short address. He gave them all a hearty
welcome, assuring them it wax a great pleasure to
meet than ones more, He war glad to see such a
raven full, for he could not help thinking that &gather-
ing of that size and that description was a very good
proof AM the interest in their club was not on the
wane, at any rate it was very good proof their Whit.
monde tea was PA popular at. ever. (A1014•11lle He
knew • great raspy looked forward to it—he could tell
*GIS he did • some of them, he believed, looked
forward to it almost front vet Whitsuntide to another.
(Applause.)
Mr. T. A. Pastes (hon. sec.) then read the following
satisfactory report 1—
" 111 presenting to you, as is customary on tia
°minion of the annual celebration of the formation of
the Fordington United Benefit Society, the interim
report of its doings since ow last feetnal, I 'mould
nientivn that, in consequence of Whit-Tuesday falling
rather earlier than last year, the summary of statistics
to be given comprises a period of about eleven months
only. Therefore, although the figure. stated will lie
correct as from lam WhitTueefty till to-day, yet
members will understand that for the ',tarp.es of
eznharison the printed balance-sheets of the society,
up to the filet December in each year, would
fernieh the most satisfactory evidence. However, I
think you will all Admit, from the brief summary
propane. to lay before you, that our society is ptal
advannag on the highroad 1,1 peoperity. mid not
slipping bisetzwards towards insolvency and decay.
Fiat, then, aa regards the numerical strength of air
benefit members, (he backbone, so to say, of our clut,,
Last year I reported that we had 57 members enroll.]
sin our books. 'This year we minter 51), three new
members having joined us and one having died. This
is OD% and • vary significant step in Advance. Slowly,