, 1877-10-21
CoRREsPoNDENcE.
THE FIRST F1.EE-W1LL BAPTIST CHURCH.

U
CHICAGO. Oct. 19.-At meeting OF the
members of the above Society, held on Thurs
day evening last, it was agreed that, in order to
prevent any misapprehcnsion iu the minds Of
the public consequent upon the salc oil the
building under Il mortgage now occupied By
them, full statement of The causes Leading
to sueh sale should be made public
The mortgage uutler which the building and
lot was sold III Friday last was given sumo years
ago bya former Board Of Trustees for loan
OF $500, AMI tho funds were used in building
and furnishing the church, At tue time the
loan was made there was great actiyity in build
ing aud improving the section OF tile city where
the church HOW stands, being on the corner Of
Loo1nis and West Jackson streets, and it was
then believed the church would soon be In the
centre Of i large and popu)ous district. In this
hope, however, US subsequent events proved,
they were mistaken. y very large tract OF de-
slr,ble residence property Immediately west anu
south Of this locality still remains yaclut-the
reason is probably best known to the owners
tncrcof,-and it soon became evident to the meni-
bcrs of the church and congregation thai tue
location Of the church was IN error. aud that
building i'll somc more central and accessible To-
c.a!ity wls in every Way to be desired. Had it
been otherwise, most assuredly the present
building would loug since hare become the
property Of the Saciety :.
Arrangements have been in active progress for
some time looking to morc'.sntrat iorltion for
u church, building better suited to the ueceSSa-
ties of this rapdly-growing Society
Since tho accession Of the Drcsent pastor, the
Rev. y. F. Rayiu, its course has been upward
and onw ard so greatly So that within the last
twelycmouth its conmunicants have Increased
fully one hundred-fo!d Of its former member
ship, while the worshlping congregation has
more than doubled. Under these circumstances,
I1.t
itself, or it's very able and Jealous pastor, or to
its congregation, to be pushed aWly INTO cor
ncr outside ol the more thlckly settled
and norc convenient secllous OF INC
West Side. The members Of the church
and congregation submitted " the undes,rafie-
ness Of tue LEGATION IN to the present tine be-
cause Of their love and affection for their pas
tor, anil their constant desire to be instructed
iu the Gospel under his powerful and elective
preaching, and would submit to still greater in-
convcnieuees for the SAINT end, but, white TINS
Is their feeling, they are convinced that still
greater good eau be done by placing themselves
in position where greater number eau he
reached and ieuetited BY the 1eaching5 that have
been 50 comforting, to them. Ihls, and tii's
only, is the reason twnatcyer may be said to the
contrary WINCH has Induced the Freq wiz Bap-
tist Church Of Chicago to permit tler present
building to be soi,i under the mortgage.
The Society puints with heartfelt thanks to
the Giycr OF all good for the wonderful increase
sccond to none, if not superior to that OF any
church in the city, compared with the former
lnembcrsnip,-tor the CONTINUOUS preaching OF
the Word twice on every Sabbath during tue
entire year, and to the devoted, con-
staut, and large attendance to tnrcc 7cgu ar
praycr-mcetings each week, as well Us during
i daily protractcd meeting tor more than three
months last winter. Never Within the history
OF the Society has it been more prosperous than
ut present, and never within its history have its
,neulbers had grcutcr OCCASION to thank our
Heavenly Father for his wonderful mcrcics to
them in building up His Zion in their midst. In
q more central and accessible location, assisted
by tie earnest aud jealous efforts ut their pas
tor and the devoted workers already in the
church, they confidently look forward in the
near future, with Gods help, 10 still greater
SUCCESS in the coming winter i'll winning souls to
Christ.
For the present the services will he continued
in the building now occupied hr them, On the
corner of Looruis and West Jackson Streets
They do not intend to erect their new church
building until they are enabled to do SO without
iu debt to the amount Of dollar.
AL
THE REV. MIR. HRRFORD'5 WAT OF PAYING
CHCRCI-DEDT5.
To the E,iitur Of The Tribune.
CHICAGO, Oct l6.-Among the agencies to be
employed in relieving the Third Unitarian
Church OF its financial emtarrasstncnts, the