The Cecil Whig., 1886-11-06
ONE MILLION FOR MISSIONS.
Great Work of the Methodist Church.
Growing With Success Campaign of
Noble Christian Effort.

Great Work of the Methodist Church
Growing With Success y Campaign OF
Noble Christian Effort.
Aer York Tribune October 80.
Tomorrow it Is confidently expected
that the satisfactory annou ncement will
be made t, the great Methodist Episco-
pal denomination that into the Golfers of
the church have been poured a million
dollars to be devoted to the purposes of
missions, all raised within the fiscal year
of the Missionary Society. Already the
vast sum has been reached within a few
thousands of dollars and one more morn
ing will probably crown with success the
splendid labors of the men, women and
children to reach the goal set before
them two years ago.
A million year for missions. Every
Jealous worker in the ranks of the
Christian Church knows what a harvest
OF souls the planting of that sum will
yield. Every ardent Methodist and every
friend who has contributed to the end
will be thrilled with pardonable pride
that the church of John Wesley has de-
voted such mighty sum to the spread
ing of the Gospel. None but those who
have been actively engaged in evangelical
work can fully realize the possibilities of
such contribution. but all can imagine
how great the benefit of the work must
be. And the Methodist Church has
reached this high mark only to resolve
to attain still higher standard.
| AN INSPIRING STORY.
The story of the achievement is full of
inspiration for the future. When the
Missionary Society was organized, back
in the first quarter of this century, its
contributions were limited to the hun
dreds. In 1889 the limit of $4,000 was
passed and growing through the years
with but slight backward fluctuations in
1888 the receipts for missions exceeded
three quarters of a million dollars. The
exact figures for the fiscal year ended on
October 81, 1888. were $751;, 489. The
collections for 1884 showed a decline
only s731. 1875 made the aggregate of be-
quests and contributions.
In the autumn of that year Chaplain
Charles c. McCabe, one of the secretaI les
of the Missionary Society, raised the
cry, "A million for MISSIONS and it
found splendid response in the hearts
Of the Methodist people. The necessity
of more generous income had been
sorely felt in the church; aid was refused
from sheer necessity when the impera-
tive need of it was perfectly known.
When the call for round million was
sent forth no member of the church
could deny that the want Was real; but
there was room for doubt whether the
increase could be secured. But the
battle-cry stirred all the deepest depths
of Methodist enthusiasm, and the chur-
ches, the districts, the conferences and
the children have been echoing it's ring
ing tones ever since. In 1885 the income
ran up to 1896, S2S, and when the fiscal
year closes tomorrow the additional sum
of nearly 5000 900 will probably be in the
hands of the Society.
In the front ranks of the workers hav
been Chaplain McCabe, the Rev. DR..
John NJ. Reid and the Rev. DR.. William
Butler, the founder of missions. Travel
ling and speaking at mass meetings and
conferences, these men have stirred the
deepest interest every where and parted
the purses of even the most thrifty
Chaplain McCabe's scheme of action.
which supplemented, or rather led, the
work OF appeal by address, was worthy
of the shrewdest political organizer. He
put an organization into every one of the
l2,0 600 parishes in the denomination, and
strove to reach every individual member
of the church.
CHAPLAIN M'CABE's PLANS.
Studying the income of 1884, DR.. Nc
Cabe found that outside of receipts on
account of bequests. an increase of 54l
per cent would be required to reach the
goal of million year. Including lega
oes, the total increase would only need
to be 33a. per cent, and it was certain that
these could be relied on to fill up any
deficiency in the direct oontriou lions.
But it was the Chaplain's aim to stimu-
late general contributions, for he had in
his minds eye what is now the outcome
of the raising of million dollars from
all sources-a promised campaign for
1887 to make the Methodist appropriation
for missions 81, 900, 600 raised by collec
tions only.
A chart was prepared, three feet by
two. Ga one side were printed maps of
the two hemispheres with the fields of
specially active missionary devotion col
ored in red Appealing quotations from
the Scriptures and terse sentences from
Wesley. David Livingstone, the African
explorer, Emerson aud prominent clergy
men were printed about the maps. On
the other side was list of the church
conferences, with the number of mem
bers and the name of the presiding elder
of each district in each conference.
Against the name of each presiding elder
was placed the actual collections for the
fiscal year, aud next to that column the
allotment to each district for the million
dollar appropriation.
Thus at glance could be seen the ac-
tual gifts of each district aud the sum
that An increase of "a per cent would
require. The charts were issued every
six months, and where the collections in
any district exceeded the quota under
the million dollar apportionment the
sum was printed i'll specially large fig
ures. Thus glance would show in
what district the zeal of the people had
run ahead of their share in the increase
required to attain the million-dollar line.
In a few instances, where individual par
lshes had endured calamity or business
disaster, the apportionment was a special
one. but the rule was to figure out and
ask for an Increase Of "a! per cent over
the income of 1854.
HOW THE WORK WAS CARRIED on.
Broadcast through the country these
charts were sent, coupled with circular
appeals to minister and layman to help
in the undertaking, and set the mach
inery of Christian money-gatherng at
work. They showed how small the ad-