The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-01-06

nv throat and later on TO my lungs, and II looked
| as If was doomed s =. s. has cured me, ano
has also cured my little daughter of the sam
| disease MRS. n. RITCHEY, Mackey, Ind
| Treatise on Blood and Skin Diseases malice
free. SWIFT SPECIFIC Co., Atlanta, Ga
and helped us on our way to heaven.
And what changes the five years
have wrought in the spiritual and
physical state! Boys have grown up
and are girding themselves for the
wrestle of life; youths and maidens
have become men and women; the
strong in manhood are beginning to
feel the weight of years /; the old have
descended still further into the valley;
maidens have become wives and
youths have become husbands; wives
have been widowed and husbands
have been left desolate frivolous
natures have been sobered I; characters
have ripened some have grown
in grace and learned more
of God, others, alas, have
fallen away,-the brightness and glow
of their confirmation, have been
dulled by the din and toll of earth,
and all have changed. Not one
of US is to-day precisely what he was
five years ago to-day, and each of us
may well put to our heart this morn
ing the searching question, "How
have | changed ?"
For good or evil ? How have /
been building, for destiny Of happi-
ness or an eternity of shame :?
And there have been changes in the
parOchial state. | need not tell you
the story, you know it well, and for
anything less than your encourage
ment | would not refer to it at all. In
nv behoOt alone, not one item of
what has been accomplished should
be written down. Not one syllable
of the growth or doings Of this parish
has the rector ever written for the
public press. So little indeed, have
we been in the Church papers that it
has been a matter of comment and
inquiry, and am not sorry to have it
so. And / should prefer now to tell
you Of our growth in grace, of increase
in the knowledge of God, that our
hearts are purer, our lives more
consistent, our faith stronger, our
love purer, and our work more noble,
rather than to speak of the alleged
success of the parish, phenomenal and
wonderful, though it has been called.
| became your rector Jan. LIST. 1886.
We worshipped in the hall on yon cor
ner.
The foundations of this building had
been laid and the walls partially erect.
ed. 1t was completed July, 1886, and
duly opened for divine worship by the
Rt. Rev. DIR. Garrett, Bishop of
northern Texas, on Sunday July 18th,
Of that year. On the second Sunday
in advent, Dec, 9TH, 1890, it was
sOlemnly consecrated and set apart
from all worldly and unhallowed uses,
by the Rt. Rev. DIR. Anvil, Bishop
of the new diocese Of west Missouri,
a debt of more than twelve thousand
dollars having been paid in the mean
while. At the beginning of the pres
ent pastorate the membership of the
parish was as follows Families, many
of whom had not been actively ioenti.
fed with the church for some years, 46;
confirmed persons, many of whom
were semi-detached, and who rarely
communed, if at all, &c; the Fparish
register shows, families. 1876; Con-
firmed persons, 463. These have
been reduced by death removal and
lapse as follows Families, 81 Con-
firmed persons, 125; leaving present
total of 159 families and 31S confirmed,
among who are about 254 communi-
cants. A decrease by removal and
death of nearly 100 communicates
within the two years past.
Summarized the account is as fol-
lows: Confirmed persons in parish,
January LIST, 1886, 90 i; added by re-
from January 1st, 1886, to
January 1st, 1890, 90; added by con-
from January 1st, 1886 to
January 1st, 1890, 26S ; making total
of 463. Loss BY death, II |
by lapse from the total number con-
firmed, s; by removal, 1875; present
number of confirmed persons, 31S-
total, 1853: net gain in families, 113 |
in persons confirmed, 222. l remark
for your encouragement that the mum.
Der confirmed -26S-exceeds by 81
the largest number of combinations in
any parish of the diocese of Missouri
during the same period, the large and
influential parishes of St. Louis and |
Kansas City not excepted.
A resume of my official acts shows