Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1889-08-01

since 1866. Though the number OF
houses of worship has grown only
twenty per cent, the estimated value
OF those now in use is almost four
times the valuation of those in cX-
istcncc when the District was organ
izcd. AT that time there was not Il
really handsome church building i'm
our territory. Indeed, in our largest
towns the houses in which the Meth
odiSt people worShippcd were hardly
respectable, while in many rural
places the buildings used for church
purposes were as primitive and un-
comfortable as can be well imagined.
Now onr country churches are uSu-
ally neat, comfortable and tastily
painted and furnished, while some of
our larger places have stately struc-
lures that command the admiration
Of all bcholdcrS. During these
twenty-five years the District has
expended the handsome sum of S75,-
800 on church buildings and parson-
| ages.
The item OF parsonagcs shows
more encouraging progress than any
other matters thus far mentioned.
When the Grccnvillc District was
set off there was not Il parsonage in
is ,""ri.ory NJ The !;,st AnHi,a1
Conference there were reported to
be in this District eleven parsonagcs
with an aggregate value of $l1,S0O.
TN the matter of the support of
the ministry there has been most
gratifying advance. The pastors in
the District were paid the past year
SS,333.l2. The amount paid TO the
preachers OF the District last year
falls only Il few hundred dollars short
of the whole sum contributed for the
same purpose during the first four
years of the Districts life. During
the first quahrcnninm the four hun
drcd and fifty dollars contributed
annually to the Presiding Elders
support bad to be supplemented
largely from the Domestic Mission.
AIRY treasury. According to last
years minutes there wcrc only four
Districts out OF the ten Districts in
the Annual Conference that paid
their Presiding Elders more than
the present incumbent enjoyed.
Nor is the increase in libcrality
confined to these things. The in
trrcSt cvinccd in the general enter
prlScs OF the church, such rs mis-
Si"nS, foreign and domestic, the sup
port OF the bishops, church cxtcn-
sion, education, &c, may be seen
from the fact that during last year
the District contributed for all pur-
poses, except the support of the
ministry ut home, eleven times as
much money aS it raised during each
of the first four years Of It's separate
existence.
Enough use has been made of
these statistics to vindicatc the de-
claration that the progress of Mctho-
diSm in the Piedmont region, since
the formation of the tirccnvilc Dis
.trict, is matter for high qualification
and profound gratitude to God.
During the nearly twcnty-thrcc
years OF It's existence the Grccnvillc
District has enjoyed the services OF
one hundred and two ilcncrant
preachers, ranging from bcardlcss
lccntialrS to men Of large and va
rird experience and capacity. New
men, from one to eight, have been
introduced To the work every year.
Only two men have remained in the
effective work OF the District rs long
as ten years each; and only one Of
them has spent so many years in the
regular pastoratc. Not one of the
original panel has been in The rcgu-
lar work in the bounds of the Dis
,rict since 1870; and only three Of
the present panel has been in The
i'iH'ih ih'i' iil'll i''ii S''IH III aii.
Without suggesting invidious dis
tinctionS, it will not be denied that
the muster roll of the Piedmont hri-
gadr contains some names as fair
and noble as can be found elsewhere
in our connection; and the influence
"i these men, indcllibly impressed on
happy human hearts, is felt to-day,
and will be felt for veal and JOY
through coming time and blissful
eternity.
The District Conference, the an
nual gathering of representative
men in the District, will meet i'm
Walhalla, July 81, 1880 1t will in
cludc iorty-Six preachers, travelling
and local, and one hundred and one
lay delegates, making Il body Of one
hundred and iorty-scvcn men. Let
us trust that this h' " Of men, rep
rrScnting eighteen pastoral charges,
may be Of mutual benefit to each
other and their assembling bless
ing 60 the town in which they meet,
and thus bring glory to God