The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-03-27
STILL HOLDING OUT
Continued from Fifth Page.)

preachers, and the widows and orphans
of deceased preachers, We ought TO be
stimulated TO still greater earnestness
and activity in the circulation of our
literature. The temporal work of the
church has not been on a very large
scale. We have had about all we could
do in most places TO hold our own, in
| others we are thankful that We have not
been entirely driven from the field, and
in still others we are holding on by our
teeth as about the last resort. Some of
the brethren said to me, perhaps you
had better not serve US a preacher next
year" But the Methodist church never
abandons field as long as there is
place 10 insert tooth or a claw, and so
preachers will be sent to them. Not
withstanding this increasing poverty
and decreasing population we can re-
port some little advancement along even
! this line. Under the stimulus of the
great revival in Kinsley a burdensome
church debt Of $500 has been subscribed
by reliable parties and will be fully liQui
dated by June !. This is a noble work
and will greatly facilitate our usefulness
and progress in that place.
At Burdette a large and beautiful
church edifice was purchased from the
Reformed Presbyterians and is now IN
| dergoing the necessary repairs to con-
vert it into a comfortable home for our
congregation there. This building orig
| iEally cost over s., 900, but with the pur-
( chase price and needed repairs will
! stand our people only in the modest sum
| Of about $500. The transaction speaks
well for both the business mana cement
| OF the young pastor and the devotion
and enterprise of the membership. 1t is
! but just to add that even this small
! cut aid from our noble church extension
! board. May its collections always be
| full. On the Lost Springs work a neat
and comfortable parsonage was erected
at cost of about 5000. The building
! was purchased in the city of Marion
| and is worth three or four times what
/ 1T cost the charge. 1t is to be wished
| that all our charges, devoid of parson-
ages, would take advantage of these
times and provide themselves with
! homes, a a nominal cost, for their pas
| tors. There are now seventeen par
| sonages in the district. Our church at
Mound Ridge was strongly braced and
plaStered entirely anew. Other slight
! improvements We're made in several
/ charges, but not such as to entitle them
/ to special notice. I am sorry to say
! the benevolences will not be reported in
! full. Some of the charges did exceed
! ingly well-better than could have been
anticipated, while others fell short from
% to 80 per cent. l know that the pas
tors did heroic work in this department
and much Of the deficiency will have 10
be charged up to the poverty of the peo-
, pie. have not the statistics at hand
but am of the opinion that the district
will more than hold its own in this re-
! spect. The salaries of some of our
/ preachers will not be paid in full. So
far as have heard the pastors express
| themselves they feel that the people
have done all that could reasonably be
! expected Of them. But my experience
| teaches me that a determined, hard
! working and liberal minded board of
stewards can almost always secure the
salary of the pastor. The health Of
| cur preachers was gloriously preserved
| throughout the year. There was sick
ness in some Of the households, in sever
al Of them prolonged and even serious,
but death was not permitted TO enter
any of their abodes.
/ The spiritual work of the district has
been most gratifying. In my last round
1 found the people everywhere enjoying
a good degree of spiritual life; lookin g
with hopeful eyes for promised harvests
and ready to face with courage the IN
! creasing responsibilities of their pecu-
liar environments. There wac more or
! less revival in all of the appointments
Even where there was no positive addi-
! ton to the membership the religious life
/ of the church was profoundly affected
! and lew elements of power introduced
| On the whole there was considerab BILE
| increase in the membership Of the
church Two of the revivals stood out
in striking proportions Considering
all the circumstances. the one at Kins-
| Law MI 10 w -ha f1fN
| OF the conference. The whole town
was strangely moved Business men
were converted by the score; and men,
1 who, few months ago, had no use for
the church are today Unidentified with
It; enjoying its privileges and actively
prosecuting It's work There were more
! than $50 conversions, and 167 accesions
to the church This is particularly
gratifying from the fact that we had
hard and long struggle TO secure a
| foot-hold IN that frontier post Of the
district
At Marion there were about go con-
versions, with a large addition to the
membership. AS a result of the various
campmeetings and revivals there were
/ upwards of a thousand conversions
throughout the district Thus We close
the records Of the year, giving all the
glory to our God and trusting confident
! ~ 10 His guiding presence in the days to
come. The outlook for the present year
IS more hopeful than for three years
! past. But whether the crops fail or
not. whether hard times go away or re-
main, whether the war cloud that hangs
over thrones and congresses shall
die away in muttering thunders or fall
like a thunderbolt upon the nations. the
grand old Methodist church will keep
steadily on in her predetermined way,
saving souls and adding her splendid
| contribution to the spiritual eleva ito a