The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-23
CONGREGATIONAL STATE CONFER
ENCE.
The Coming Meeting Will BE of Unusual
Interest.

The coming State conference in Vest
brook, is one of unusual interest to all
Congregationalists. Many important
matters are to be discussed and settled,
foremost among them being the election
of a secretary for the Maine Missionary
Society and the reconstruction OF the
policy of that organization i'll such a
manner as shall make its work more
efficient to the needy fields under its care,
and.kept from the further embarrass-
ment of debt
Many instructive addresses will be made
and noted speakers will be present. Mr..
Ouint, whose name is a synonym for
Characterization, DR.. Kincaid, Seig
Gotterson, Rev. f. j. Marsh, and Drs.
Webb and Smith Bohn both former pas
tors in Maine.
Questions, bearing not only upon the
work of the denomination, but upon ,the
vital topics of the day. questions which
affect our life as communities, and as a
nation, will be discussed also.
"The chief women (of the denomina-
tion). not few" will be there and will
eonduotSthree meetings in the interests
Of missionary work. The Maine Branch
of the Woman's Board of Missions, which
contributes about 5000 year to the cause
of foreign missions, and the Woman's
Maine Missionary Auxiliary and Maine
Woman's Aid to American Missionary
Association contributing about 5000
each the first to mission work in Maine,
the second to the work among the
Negroes, Mountain Whites, Indians and
the Chinese on the Pacific coast This
sum collected by the three societies aver
ages about 60 cents for each female church
not heavy burden. The Maine Board is
the Oldest society, attaining its twenty
second anniversary this year. Its contri-
buttons are more than double those of the
othersstw partly on account OF its great
or age, partly on account of the yastness
of the work of foreign missions, partly
because the Woman's Board of which
tits part, is such a splendidly organized
Institutions hand on the button in the
"Rooms'' in Boston transmits its pres
ence to every auxiliary in the New Eng
land and Middle States. partly be-
cause it is the pioneer among woman's
Societies, and being first of the field secured
the largest constituency.
The Woman's Home Missionary Work of
Maine Is unlike that of very other State,
because, on account of it's great religious
need, 1t has seemed unwise to consolidate
its two Home Missionary societies into a
Woman's Home missionary Union as
found in forty of the states and terri
tories. and SO is the only state having an
organization exclusively, for1the Ework of
the American Missionary Association. The
Woman's Aid was organized fifteen years
ago. and the first year received about
5000 Its.growth has been steady, and
during the last few years the contribu-
lions have averaged neary $4,000.
Five teachers are supported by this
sum. Three among the negroes, one
among the Mountain Whites and one
among the Dakota Indians. But the $1,000
means only about 10 2 cent for each OF
our lady church members. 1t ought to be
much more than that All our great
missionary societies are in debt. Things
have assumed wrong proportions and
must be righted. We hope great things
from the coming State conference.