The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-08-09
In St Johns Presbyterian church in

In St Johns Presbyterian church in
San Francisco, CAL on the 18th of July, the
pastor, DR.. Scott administered the communion
and received ten persons into the church. One
was young Indian girl, and one the youngest
son of the pastor.
Cross Creek The venerable Rev. S. C.
Jennings D. D.. of the Presbytery of Pittsburg,
breaches almost every Sabbath. Lately he Wis.
listed Cross Creek Washington county the home
of his youth where he had been baptized more
than eighty years ago, and where any of his
kindred lie, and preached sermon that was
listened to with the closest attention.
Niobrara, Neb-Less than three years ago
the synodical missionary, looking toward this
frontier town as base for church work in the
north west part of the State, addressed letter
of inquiry to a leading citizen as to the opening
for a Presbyterian missionary, and received
back this characteristic reply: IF ever your
church sends out missionary to the heather
and passes by Niobrara, he will miss the great
opportunity of his life" Stimulated by this
letter, and other information concerning the
prospective Importance of the place, the synodi-
cal missionary spent Sabbath here. He found
fifteen saloons in full blast but no place open
y for the worship of God or the preaching of
Christ. AS the result of this visit, Niobrara be-
came mission field and Rev. George Williams
was secured as missionary. A small church was
soon organized, and arrangements made to erect
a house of worship. Then came a disastrous
fire, laying in ashes number of the leading
business houses. Recovering from this calamity,
there came the terrible Missouri river floods of
1881. A removal of the town to higher ground
became necessity. With genuine western
pluck this removal has been accomplished, and
the new Niobrara stands two miles from the old
site, on a safe and healthful and really beauti-
full location. And here. after these varying
fortunes, in this new town of 500 people, our
Presbyterian church was dedicated on Sunday,
July 2. The synodical missionary was again
present to see what God had wrought in these
three brief eventful years, and to preach the
dedication sermon.-Interior.
Other Churches.
The Tale of Two Cities.-The NJ Y
Times of July 31st demonstrates the fallacy of
its previous conclusions from the decline of Pro-
testant church membership in New York, as
compared with the increase of Roman Catholics.
Taking the City of Brooklyn, it is shown that
the Romanists have gained in percentage during
the last twelve years less than either the Bap-
tist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed, Con-
gregational, Episcopal, Lutheran, Universalist
or Unitarian denominations. This difference is
Justly ascrbed to the fact that Brooklyn is a
receiving reservoir of the middle class" (which
is always the church going population and
New York is steadily losing it.
The Times INDUCES in the gratuitous remark
that " the Dutch Reformed Church alone re.
fuses to develope any tendency except to ex-
tlnction, no matter what the circumstances are
which surround it." Which remark it i'm
mediately proceeds to refute by its own figures
which show that the percentage OF increase in
twenty years has been SO per cent, out of to-
tai increase in population of 10Y per cent.-the
Romanists having 81, and the Epscopalians
103 When we consider the fact that Brooklyn
is very largely recruited from New England.
and that but a small proportion of the increase
from other parts of the world is of Reformed
or Dutch antecedents we may regard this as a
very good showing. And the percentage of
growth throughout the entire country will
prove, not only that the Reformed Church did
not as far back as twenty years" go into
sort of chronic decline" but that it mas grown
far more rapidly than at any previous period of
its history. Christian Hateligencer.