Connecticut western news., 1892-10-13

members informed of the Kingdom and
 its multifarious needs. That is to say,
 there is reason to suppose that the
 hearts of Congregationalists are larger,
 their work wider, their sense of respon 'sibility greater, their life fuller, their
 praying, Bible studying and giving
 more systematic than ever before in the corporate existence of their churches. Better fifty years of the present than cycle of yesterday.
 All of these alleged losses of the fifty years past, taken rightly, are benefits to
 us. The church, to be sure, is no long CT the social centre 1t once was, but, then, the motives of those who do come are less apt to be biased by other con alterations. Our young men go west: yes, but we are training mp deacons and superintendents for other churches.
 Casting our bread on the waters is not to lose sight of it altogether. Church legacies have been known to come out of these western fortunes. Occasionally there is the return of the native, who comes back to spend his golden age in the old parish. And if none of these things happen, what then? The Master said, ssWhosoever shall lose his life for
 My sake and the gospels, the same shall find it" It is true the pews do
 not bring as much as formerly, but be- yond all question there is more giving,
 broad-minded generosity at that, than
 in the '4Os and '50s Certainly, we have larger number of the semi-pauper ele-
 ment. That's the salvation of usl church would die outright, if 1t ran short of sinners. When you come upon place, as you may in the Litchtield
 Northwest Conference. called Macedonia,
 or Menagerie street, or Bromica, or
 Chicken Hill,. or Bulls Bridge, look
 outi church anglers. '"rhere's fish up
 that stream" That is the reason why
 there are promising missions in Kent and Cornwall, and if you venture to
 doubt it. twenty Kent and Cornish men
 will know the reason why. True also.
 we have great scarcity of men, and bv
 consequence large assortment of girls
 on our hands But what is the result?
 It has led to the revival of apostolic
 days, the days of Dorcas and Lydia, and
 of those women, "which," said Paul,
 ''labored with me in the gospel" to say
 nothing of the four daughters of Philip,
 virgins. which did prophesyl The mis-
 sion of South Kent was manned by
 woman. North Kent ditto. Wetaug
 School is carried on by the sister of Cunningham Geikie. Some of the best
 work in Salisbury is cared for by women. While in point of missionary zeal, the
 women are simply out of our sight In advance, so that it has been seriously proposed that we now organize Mems Boards of Missions. That is to say, the hitherto silent partners have come into an active share in the firm. As that ia nous sign-board read, we have now or hand a "MENs AND WoMENs sibi conscia recti," for whatever good con- science we have today, it is shared by both
 Nor am willing to admit for all the glory of former days, that we have taken backward strides. on the whole. In the fifty years from 40 to go the Cougrega- tional membership fell back precisely two. In the last ten we have gained 1O9 That shows, perhaps. a turn in the tide. But, considering the other elements that have come in, the popula- ton mean while remaining stationary, it is plain that our churches have won a larger proportion from the persons real lv accessible than they did in the past. Not only so, but meanwhile the growth of other denominations among us has
 been made at the expense of Congrega- tionalism. do not say but that 1t Is altogether gain to the Kingdom we love so we'll. The village of Lime Rock
 in the town of Salisbury used to send 8 | delegation to the Congregational church | at the Center, now. with one exception, | every such family attends Trinity Epis- copal church in Lime Rock. So is It elsewhere. The Methodists are now 25 per cent of our population; the Roman Catholics IT per cent; the Episcopalians II; the Bsptists 3; Congregationalism
 has but 38 per cent against all others 62.
 The inference is irresistible that, with the limited constituency left us, the Congregational churches that held 1649 | members in 1890, won them at greater effort than did the same churches win and hold 1851 in 1840. In tbis interval
 two Congregational churches have been
 added to us, and in thirty years the | church property has increased from | S99, ,0OO to over S200 900.