The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-06-16
The Proceedings at the Yarmouth
Meeting Yesterday.
RESOURCES AND PROGRESS OF
NEW ENGLAND UNITARIANISM.


Carrolls Essay on Sunday Schools
The Woman's Alliance.
The twenty eighth annual conference
OF the Unitarian churches of Maine be-
gan its business sessions at the Central
church in Yarmouth, yesterday forenoon.
A devotional meeting, led by Rev. 9. E.
Newbert of Augusta, began at 9 a. M,
with the topic, 1.-THE devotion of spirit;
what is it?'' Remarks were made by
Rev. J. L. Marsh of Saco, Rev. Messrs.
Locke of Castine, Porter of Presque Isle
and Kenyon. The latter is one of the
graduates from the Congregational
church at Bangor this year, who was not
assigned to charge as his views did not
conform with those of the Congregation
alists. He will probably enter the Uni
tartan or Universalist denominations,
taking year either at Cambridge or
| Tufts.
George G. Burgess, ESQ.,, of Portland,
was selected for presiding officer. In
taking the chair he referred briefly to
the death during the year of Hon. Han
nibal Hamlin, the president of the con-
ference, and to the resignation of Hon.
Jos. W. Symonds, the vice president.
The report of the secretary, Rev. J. L.
Marsh, being read, the following COM
mittee were appointed to report board
of officers for the ensuing year: Hon. M.
P. Emery of Portland, Mr.. Hall of Ken
nebunk, and Mrs. Hamilton of Saco. As
a committee on resolution on the death
of Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, Messrs. Beach
of Bangor, and Seward of Waterville,
and Mrs. E. G. Jordan of Portland were
appointed.
1t was voted to send a congratulatory
despatch to Rev. G. G. Vinal, former Sec
Rotary of the conference, who was yes
terday being installed at Lebanon, N. II.
Rev. GrindaIl Reynolds of Boston,
secretary of the American Unitarian As
ISOLATION, addressed the conference upon
the missionary and aggressive work of
Unitarianism. This was difficult work
the speaker said, since in the first place
the denomination was only $50 parishes
strong, and secondly, the field is very
broad.
In New England the work most press
ing is the taking care of many of the
struggling parishes which are in danger
OF extinction. Many of these are the
old, historic parishes of the church,
There ic Hanuor tbat until, tb, Iao1s,,o
of the population in some of our towns
there may come moral and intellectual
decline. These places are the nurseries
of our cities and of the West, and they
must be kept up. In the large, growing
towns, now fiourishing from manufactur-
ing, Unitarian churches must be estab-
lished. Brockton's church illustrates
the good that can be done.
Passing from New England to the Mid
die States we find an awakening where
there has been stagnation, and there are
30 or 40 towns where Unitarian churches
might be planted.
In the West there is great field, for
there must be 10 New England people
beyond the Alleganies to one of the Pur-
itan stock in the old home. These sons
of New England must be led with the
old faith of the fathers.
1uO capacity VI UuG American UQlUdr
ian Association to meet this demand was
inadequate, the speaker said. The board
OF directors have decided that the efforts
of the association must be curtailed thir-
ty per cent the coming year for lack of
means. In the first five years most sue
cessful work had been done. Formerly
eight new churches had been formed in
twenty years; but in the last five wears
one hundred and twenty churches had
been founded. In doing this work the
| association has spent $4,000 a year
more than the churches have contributed.
This has been kept up for seven years, in
| the course of which all the legacies but
SO, 900 have been expended This resi-
due must be kept for use as a collateral
to be used in tiding over while the con-
trlbutions are coming in.
TO keep the work up the churches
must give at least 80 per cent more than
they are giving now. Of the $50 or 400
parishes only about 230 contribute. They
might give $250,000 as well as $52, 900.
The speaker thought that Unitarians
everywhere needed to feel, as they do
notfeel, that Unitarianism is good for
the rest OF the world as well as for them
selves. Our people rejoice in the truth
of their religion, but they don't seem to
bllluh Oh III DIS o. GUY sOOA uo-Jl0 IoSU VI
the world. The speaker thought that if,
as his old friend Dorman Eaton had re-
Gently said at Brattleboro, the ladies
would shorten their skirts and subscribe
what they cut off, and the men would
save a little on cigars, the liberal religion
could be carried forth There was also
need of more knowledge of the work of
the association. There was too much
packing away of the annual reports.
More method and promptness were al
so needed in raising and forwarding the
contributions. A thousand dollars of in
terest were spent last year which might
have been saved by more promptness in
forwarding contributions.
In reply to a question Mr.. Reynolds
said he thought that in tle last 10 years
the churches of Maine had made annual
contributions of $500 to 5000 to the asso-
citation, while it has put into the state
from $1,000 to $500 yearly. He thought
that this year Maine churches would re-
ceive about $500 more than they would
give.
Rev. John Carroll Perkins,
of Portland, followed with an essay on the
Sunday school, which he considered the