The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-10-06
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
MISSIONARY DEBT.

I'VE publish herewith an earnest appeal in behalf
of the Missionary cause by an esteemed brother in
the ministry, who feels th,t he is treadng on the
verge of another world and may not have the oppor
tunity again to plead in behalf of this great
We trust that words written under such circumstances
will be needed. The appeal was addressed to one
of our Secretaries for Foreign Missions
Enclosed send you $40 to aid in paying
the Foreign Mission debt Of our Church.
Though in more strsitened circumstances
this year than ever before, still [ must help
in this thing. deeply sympathize with you
in the perplexity with which you must be
barrassed-already burdened with debt
equal to more than one third of the ordinary
annual contributions of the Church, and
having no certain assurance that the fund;
furnished this year will be more abundant
than those of the last year, you. as Com
mittee, know not whether to hold your pre-.
sent ground or to fall back in the work; with
the debt upon you, and the lights before you,
or rather the darkness that surrounds you,
you dare not advance. Now, though one OF
the least of all the little ones in the whole
Church, and with no authority whatever,
other than the obligation of our people to
Christ, and the nature of the present case,
take the liberty Of proposing plan for your
relief 1t is this that every member in our
whole Church Immediately make an extra
contribution to be applied to the payment Of
this debt, and let this contribution be under.
stood to be token and pledge of the fact
that the giver, if he has not already done so,
will this year contribute twice as much to
Foreign Missions as he did last year. With
such assurances before you, you will feel that
you are on solid ground, and will know just
how to proceed. Without some such assur,
ance, you must still be in perplexity, and
your work must so far be cramped So while
the plan proposed may not be the best that
could be devised, still, if adopted and imme.
diately carried out by all, it will evidently
meet the case. Let it be borne in mind that
poor plan carried out will be better than
none at all. What is now needed is imme
date concert of action. l therefore invite
all to forthwith adopt and carry it out.
call upon our E ]itors to publish and recon-
mend it in their papers-our ministers to
publish and recommend it publicly from the
pulpit, and privately in conversation with
their members-our Elders and Deacons, our
private members, men and women, boys and
girls, each and all, to become canvassers in
this work. Let each make a contribution
himself, and solicit another from some friend
to our cause. The contributions need not be
large, dime or a half dime will do for a
pledge; if one can give dollar, or five dol
lars, or ten, or fifty, or hundred, so much
the better. Let each be sure to give, and
give Immediately. Even dime apiece from
each one of our members would amount to
the round sum of ten thousand dollars
1t ia a shame that this debt should have
been suffered to originate; and greater
shame that our people did not rise as one
man, and wipe it out as soon as they learned
of it's existence; and it will be crying
shame if it is not soon wiped out, and care
taken that no similar debt is suffered to orig,
mate in the future. For certainly if hun
dred thousand Presbyterians, claiming to be
the truest and purest of the whole Presbyte
rian family, inhabiting the garden spot of
the world in time of profound peace and
comparative plenty, wiU not tit would be alb
surd to say can not) furnish eighty thousand
dollars to send pure Presbyterian gospel
to perishing world the case is worse than
bad. If we wiu, let US Immediately assure
our Committee of the fact that it may send
that gospel for US; if we sOil not, let US rend
our banner from its staff, and trample it in
the dust, where in such an event it would
Justly belong, and cease to boast of the
souudness of its orthodoxy, our past testi
mony to the truth, and the present glorious
features of our history. These things are
both great and good. But the better our
religion is, the better is it worth spreading.
This debt with its surroundings, especially
it's continuance, is dark "spot in our feast
of charity" which cuts off all opportunity of
"looking to those things which are behind"
and necessitates our reaching with redoubled
efforts "unto those things which are before"
and pressing toward the mark for the prize
of our high calling.
A FRIEND TO MISSIONS.