The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-06-09
Report of the Executive Committee of
SustentatiOn.

Rev. j. Leighton Wilson, ID. D., Secre
tary of Sustentation, then read the report
as follows:
OFFICE OF sUsTENTATION,
May 14th, 1869.
THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE OF sUsTENTATION.
The Committee of Sustentation, in pre-
senting their Third Annual Report, desire
to make grateful mention of the distinguished
and manifold favOrs bestowed upon this i'm,
portant enterprise during the past year by
the great Head of the Church. These ia
vors will be brought to view in the progress
of the report itself, and need not he pre-
sented here for a separate consideration.
The receipts from all sources, for the
eleven months ending the 31st of March,
1869, including s. contributed by Chris
tian friends outside of our own connexion,
and S3,624.26 contributed for the relief cf
disabled ministers and the families of min
listers deceased, amounted to S31, ,7Q3. .50.-
The balance rendered IN the Treasury Re,
port at the close of the last ecclesiastical
wear was employed in the payment of the
second semi-annual instalment, which be-
came due in October. The whole amount
contributed by the churches during the
eleven months under consideration, inclusive
of S3,624 26 given for the Relief Fund, is
$50 ,572 %. The amount contributed for the
same objects in the corresponding months of
the proceeding year was Sl5,925 O8. Tais
shows an increase of more than fifty per
cent. over the receipts of the previous year.
This is an encouraging view of the matter,
and calls for expressions of sincere gratitude
on the part of all who labor and pray for
the welfare of our beloved Church.
1t is equally gratifying to know that there
has been corresponding increase in the
number Of churches that have contributed
TO the general fund, the number contribu-
ting last year being 652 to 439 of the pre-
ceding year. If we take the first three
months of the present current year in COM
parison with the corresponding months of
the preceding year, the disparity is still
greater, there being in the former case four
hundred and forty to two hundred and sixty
in the latter. The increase in the latter
case ought to be ascribed in part, perhaps,
to greater promptness in the churches in
sending forward their offerings, but mainly,
no doubt, to the increased number that have
been brought to cooperate in our schemes
of benevolence. In either case it affords
ground of encouragement. 1t shows that
our people are not only understanding the
principles and obligations of systematic be-
nevolence better, but that they are begin
ing to see the great Importance of concerted
and harmonious action on the part of the
whole Church. In many cases the cOntri-
buttons of the churches have been small,
especially in those portions Of the country
where there has been unusual stringeney in
the money market, but in other cases they
have been as liberal, as could reasonably
be expected in the continued unsettled con-
dition of the country. The regulations
adopted by the last Assembly, requiring all
churches that receive aid from the general
fund to contribute according to their ability
have, no doubt, done good deal to increase
the number of contributing churches. But
the main cause of the Improvement IS un-
doubtedly due to the great pains which
manv of the chairmen of the Presbyterial
Committees have taken to bring all the
churches within their bounds up to the pro-
per standard of Christian hberality. Similar
efforts on the part of all these Presbyterial
Committees would soon make the whole
Church substantial unit in relation to this
GREAT matter. But while there has been
gratifying improvement in the particular
direction under consideration, the humillat-
ing fact must not be overlooked, that at least
one.half of our churches have contributed
nothing at all, either to this or any other
of the schemes of benevOlence authorized
bv the Church. How these delinquent
churches are to be aroused from their leth-
arsy and brought into efficient cooperation
with the rest Of the churches is problem
of great moment, and deserves the earnest
attention of the Assembly. Very great re-
sponsibiIty, according to the leading idea of
the Sustentation scheme, rests upon the
Presbyterial Committees, and, so far as per-
sonal responsibility is concerned, upon the
chairmen of those committees. This IS a
most important and responsible Office there
fore. and PreSbyterieS cannot exercise too
much care in selecting only wise and eff
cient men to discharge its duties.
Important aid has been received from the
Christian women of the Church during the
wear. A circular was addressed to them
last autumn on the general subject, which
met with hearty response from many quar-
ters. Some eighteen or twenty associations
have presented liberal offerings to the cause
of Sustentation, and in one case the munih
cent contribution of $1026 was sent forward
to the treasury. The gratifying feature
about most of these offerings is that they
are the results of the personal industry of
Our women, and have not interferred in ary
way with the ordinary collections of the
churches to which they belong. 1t is conf
IDENTIFY believed that if ministers generally
would take some pains to interest the women
of their charges in our general schemes of
beneyolence, and aid them in forming suita-
bic associations for assisting in sustaining
them, they would soon find that it was net
only one of the most effective means that
could be employed to promote the plety and
zeal of their own churches, but that II
would,in a very short time, double, if not
treble, the dispOsable resources Of the Church
at large.
1t will be noticed that the contributions
from Christian friends outside of our own
connection are small compared with what
thew have been for three or four years past.
This ought not to occasion surprise. For
three consecutive years our friends, eSpe-
cially in Baltimore and Kentucky, stood by
us in our time of sorrow and poverty, and
ministered to our wants with liberal hand.
Their aid was most timely and generous,
and our condition without it would have been
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