The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-04-22
MISSION srNpA Y SCHOOLS.

MISSION SUNDAY SCHOOLS.
We find great deal OF interest In the
sixty-fourth annual report Of the board
OF directors OF the Congregational Sunday
School and Publishing Society which was
presented at the annual meeting of that
organization in Boston yesterday by Sec
retsry, the Rev. GEoRoE M. BoyNToN,
d. ID. The Society has thirty-four super
| intendents and missionaries In the various
fields, East, West and South, and the
spirit of these men Is exempliHed in the
words with which one of them ends a
monthly report alt Is rough, hot, dusty
riding among the sage brush, rocks, and
akali plains; but the rancbmeI do it to
hunt up their lost cattle and sheep. Why
should not I?' The results OF their
Iabors are that five hundred and sixty-six
Sunday Schools have been organized dur
| ing the year, nearly one hundred more
than the year before, and this notwith-
standing the discouragements of a hard
year. California in its two districts leads
with 81, Oregon follows with "a, Wash
ington reports AZ, Minnesota 81, Wiscon-
sin 20, and seven other states from 20 to
% each; 1850 different schools have been
aided, with 3501 grants of lesson helps
and papers.
Some OF the experiences of these good
men are picturesquely interesting. For
Instance one of them who worked his way
into the Businesses reports that he passed
on up to the last postotfice where he
found commodious log dance hall He
spoke to an attentive audience of perhaps
twenty-five persons Four young men
and women. who had not been Chris
tians, arose to accept OF the friendship Of
Christ. In speaking to them afterward he
asked why they had not become Chris
tians before. One young man said simply
"We have had no one to tell US OF the
friendship of Jesus" And here is the
story OF a Sunday School superintendent
without a complete Bible:
my first step was At, an isolated settle-
ment Of ranchers who struggle with the rocks
for living. Here q faithful few are rallying
about our Sunday School spent the night
| with tho superintendent. after speaking TO
the people in the schoolhouse, and he had
many curious questions to ask me about Old
Testament history.
"Tbe reason OF this curiosity was, as IL
transpired. that he had no Old Testament. 1t
is no great wonder. thought l. as ] marked
the rags which did duty as bedclothes, and
saw l0year-old boy shufiing around in his
fathers boots like a clumsy cockerol. Here
was this faithful Methodist Christian super
intending our Sunday School. and actually
too poor TO afford = complete copy of the
Word of GodI''
About 1868 miss ion Sunday schools are
reported as under their care by superin-
tendents in twenty-six States. OF these
1864 are in places where there is no other
Christian work of any kind. OF the re-
naming 204 schools about 100 are in large
cities, several Of them among the foreign
born population. The others are IN large
towns where there is no possible lack OF ell
bow room. In $40 of these places there was
no Congregational constituency found,
and in an eqaal number of places, not al
ways the same, there is no decidedly
Congregational constituency TODAY. In
about 500 cases there is no probability that |
Congregational churches viii grow out of !
these paintings.
All this work has cost for the year
something over s6s, 1000, and while the
new year starts with small balance on
hand, the report is made that distin-
guishes nearly every report Of missionary
work during the hard times, that con-
triubtions have not been so liberal as
formerly, while demands have been
greater. The report states that ''less
than 1000 churches have given us any
thing as churches and 121 Of these only as
contributing at a Sunday school service;
for that must be the meaning OF "churcn
and Sunday school," while nearly 5000
Sunday schools have sent their offerings
to our work. The average gift from each
church was s17; from each Sunday school
just half that smount-ss.5o.