Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-25
Work of the City Mission.

Addresses by Prominent Persons Inter-
 ested i'm the Cause-What Has Been
 Done and What is Needed.
 A meeting of the friends of city missions
 was held in the Third Congregational church
 on Church street last evening. Rev. Dr.
 Dennen presided, and after the usual opening
 religious exercises introduced Rev. MT. Moss
 man, the city missionary, who made an ex-
 tended address showing the scope and work
 of the society during the past year. In pass
 ing he referred to the work of the Society
 for the Prevention of Crime, and made the
 statement that the policemen of late had been
 vieilant and many violations of the Sunday
 law had been prosecuted. In this connection
 he said that ten persons notoriously bad had
 been refused licenses during the past year by
 the county commissioners after being recom-
 mended by the Board of Selectmen- In ad-
 dition to these, nine notoriously bad persons
 had not applied for licenses and their places
 of business had been closed. He thought the officers of the law should be compelled to do this work and not the citizens. He wanted all his strength to look after these poor souls and help raise them up. The speaker paid compliment to the Women's Christian asso- citation, whom he thought were doing noble work The special work of city missions was then referred to, which, he said, was reach ing out after the people who are connected with no church. They were being drawn into the churches one by one. His own per- sonal attention was given to office work one hour each day at 47 Court street, and then
 looking after those who make application for Christian consolation in hours of distress and ! caring for those who have no other persons to care for them, and gradually bringing l them into the church. Some of the members | of the churches are especially adapted to ' this work and they are doing it successfully. | We have work going on all the time all over \ the city Still we need more help. Perhaps we cannot reach all, but cannot we reach the | most of them? There are 10000 people ln this city without the Bible, yet we have vol \ unteers in the field who are distributing Gods | word. Over three hundred persons during | the past year have been brought to religious life or towards it..
 President Porter was introduced and devo \ ted his time to explaining the relation of the | so-calIed advisory board with the churches \ A recent investigation showed that the City Missionary society was not 1n very healthy | condition It seemed that all denominations ! were ready to sustain Rev. MT. Mossman il | his work, and this advisory board came into | existence and resolved to sustain Mir. Mossman | who was then in the field. We think there \ should be a regularly organized city mission \ ary society to do this work. If, as has beer ! stated, there are 5000 souls who are Protes ! tants that are not connected with any church | then it is the duty of the churches to sustain \ 8 mission of this kind. There are sections of the city that we know nothing about ano we should have some one to look after them \ The society seems to be an absolute necessl ty. Then it is very happy thing If Protes \ tant churches can unite ID thls Work, anC | thereby draw more closely to each other. Il is benefcent work and we know that 1t Ii ! necessary in some Christians that they \ should be engaged in active work. The City Missionary or any other society tha Il can bring out the younger members in active work among the poor in body and spirit vii \ be a great blessing to the community al large. Here it is that our spiritual ane Christian work lies, and if we send ten score of active workers into the field the churches are made stronger. Yet how many, very many families are neglected by the churches If the hour of prosperity brings splrltua death and leads to lewdness and open sin ! then every one of us has an obligation to de | liver these souls from death. We are oul brother's keeper in this regard. Again, would say that the mission is conducted, SC | far as we know, in the most complete falr ness, and persons are sought out and direct | ed to churches where they have preference Rev. MT. Williams said this was only the beginning of series of meetings intending I to enlighten the community on the impor ! tance of evangelization work. In closing he said he temporarily occupied the position o1 secretary and treasurer of the advisory board and would be glad to receive any | funds in aid of the work.
 1 Professor Garter said he did not come as the representative of any society or any board
 but he was ready to cooperate with anybody ! who was engaged in extending the gospe l of the Lord Jesus Christ There was 1rreh zion in the city apparent on every side, ano there was need of evangelization work. believe in the ultimate triumph of Chrlst1an1 ! ty, but what is between us and that triumph I do not know. The statistics show that the Catholics are much more faithful in attending | church than the Protestants. It IS also appa
 rent that about 45 per cent of the Protestant' | do not attend church at all. The question If
 how this class are going to be reached.
 have thought that the English Hall plan hac certain advantages. It seems to me of the l greatest importance to get hold of this class 1 in some way They are not all poor men ! but many of them are business men, ano they should be brought into the churches
 If we can get hold of them then they will understand how to reach those who were 1T ] like position with themselves. The end nc man can see, but it will depend upon what we are as Christians.
 The exercises closed with hymn and the !