The Portland daily press., 1876-01-29
Religions News and Notes.

Rev. Mr.. Underwood, the evangelist, who la
bored in Auburn a few years since, is now con.
Quoting revival services at Park street church,
Boston.
The Congregational church and society of
Gully to become their pastor, and he has &C.
cepted the call. Mr.. McCully has been settled
in Hallowell for several years. He was for
merly settled in st. Stephen.
Rev. Alfred Day, first pastor of the Univer.
salist church at KitterY, who was obliged to
resign Oh account of ill health, is now soiourn.
ing at Mount Royal, Florida, and has SO far
improved as to be able to preach.
The Quarterly Meeting at New Portland has
voted to build parsonage on the land owned
by the Sweet heirs, at that place. provided suf.
ticient funds are secured for that purpose, in
addition to little over $500 already subscribed
including $500 offered by Mr.. Confreth of New
Portland.
Rev. Mr.. Wiggin, who is now laboring with
the Christian church on Cushnoc heights, has
been laboring with good success as an evange-
list, at Skowhegan. The church on Cushnoc
heights will endeavor to secure his labors
among them for some time.
Rev. A. V. Tilton, formerly of Augusta, has
received and accepted call to the pastorate of
the Baptist church in Campton village, N. H. ,
and begins his labors at once.
The new Elm street Universalst church in
Augusta will be completed in a few weeks.
The audience room will be most pleasant and
spacious place of worship
Rev. Mr.. Penney of Augusta has declined
the fiattering call extended him last December
by the Pine street Free Baptist church of Lew
iston, to become their pastor, and will remain
in the parish where he has served acceptably
II years.
The Russian Mennonites are still coming to
the United States, though not in such large
numbers as formerly. Ten families arrived
last month, and % or 80 more families are ex-
pected soon. The most of the party last arriv-
ed have gone to Great Bend, Rash county,
Kansas.
A committee was appointed by the National
Congregational Council in 1874, to ascertain
and report as to the ACCESSIBILITY of continuing
the parish system by which ministers are made
largely dependant for their temporal support
on contributions of those not members. The
committee has issued circular calling on Con-
gregational ministers for information as to the
defects or advantages of the system.
The Waterman objects to the present mode
of "candidating," because it puts ministers in
an undignifed attitude and when minister
already in charge breaches as candidate for
another church, it tends to unsette his old 30
stion, whether he gets the new one or not.
Instead it proposes this plan: "Let the COM
mittee state that their pulpit Is vacant, and
that they are dependent upon supplies: and let
tn EN- simply invite ministers to preach, saying
nothing about the object of the invitation
Ministers who accept the invitation are not
then understood to be necessarily candidates,
which saves their dignity. while the church gets
the advantage of the experiment.
The Kennebec Journal says, at the annual
meeting of the Augusta Young Mems Chris
tian Association, held on Jan. 10th, commit
tee was appointed to consult with several of
the city pastors, to ascertain, if possible, what
was in theiway Of their extending their hearth
est sympathies and support to the. association
in its work. This committee reported, at an
adjourned meeting, that it was the opinion of
the clergy that the association was too much
under the control of the Second Adventists to
undertake to work efficiently with the aSsocia-
ton, as such.
Later. the Journal says the prime reason in
the minds of the ministers why they could not
cooperate in the efforts of the Young Mems
Christian Association in that city was that the
work of the association was fully covered by
the churches.
A review of Methudsm throughout the
world, made from the Wesleyan year book
published in London, gives 3,704, 1913 commune
cants, and about 100000 attendants on the
worship of the denomination, throughout tie
world. In Great Britain the Wesleyans count
1858, 722 members, besides 27,642 on probation;
the Primitive Methodists number 169,720; the
United Methodist Free church, 74,S45; Bible
Christians, 27,768; New Connection, 22,547;
Wesleyan Reform, S147. In connection or afil-
lation with English Methodism stand Ireland
ana tue Irish missions, foreign missions, the
FRENCH conference, the Canadian conference
ana the Australian conferences. The member-
snip OF the Methodist Episcopal church in the
United States is estimated at 10000 the
church North has LOO, 1863 members. including
ministers and probationers.