The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-14

ers to foreign missions, and encouraged
those who might have grown weary of
| holding the ropes"
Foremost among such missionaries
has been dear Mrs. Montgomery, whose
residence here and two years service as
home secretary kindled anew many
| missionary fires by the boundless en-
| thusiasm and gifted utterance with
| which she impressed upon us one privi-
lege in keeping step with the progress
| of Gods kingdom while we''walked
with Him" in daily service; whose let
tiers have been a service of inspiration
and JOY. Missionary letters have been
always a. strong force in stimulating
| and in forming the societies and to Sc
| cure widespread influence for such
valuable material for meetings, it early
| became necessary for one of our home
| secretaries to assume the care of pro-
viding and circulating copies. First,
| Mrs. Murdoch and later Mrs Fair
child had charge of what grew to be an
onorous task. For some years nearly
all the necessary copying was done by
few willing hands in the New Haven
churches, supplemented by much pains
taking labor by those in charge.
| In 1883 this department was put in
care of special secretary, Miss Pritch-
! ard, under whom our Bureau of Infor-
nation has grown in usefulness and
almost outgrown the capacity of pri-
waite house to provide drawers, trunks
and closets for it's maintenance. One
of the young ladies' societies, the Fair
banks circle, of the Dwight Place
| 40 Of q aUcIn-
| style that the copying might be more
easily done, and later two mimeo-
graphs were bought Miss Pritchard
has spared no time, effort or money to
make the bureau serve the growing
needs of the Branch. BY letters and
personal interviews it's helpfulness has
| been made known. Some societies re-
ceive letters regularly for each meet
| ing. and others letters to circulate. To
every call for information about mis-
sonaries or mission fields from auxil-
| larry, mission circle, or Christian En-
deavor society the bureau gives a re-
Spouse. 1t often takes several days
| and much research to secure from pa
| pers or magazines the knowledge, but
| it is seldom that the desired object is
not attained, even if it requires the
| writing of a special paper.
Our bureau adds to the monthly leaf
| let sent by the Woman's board suita-
BILE leaflets or letters, which are sent
regularly to those societies that wish
them The bureau contains leaflets
| published by all boards, maps, maya
zines, booklets and papers, and its work
has so grown that it is almost impos-
sble for one secretary to meet all its
demands. The continued call for more
| information is the best proof that the
bureau has stimulated a more earnest,
| prayerful study of missions and is the
best reward for it's unwearied though
often wearying service.
Among the organizations that formed
the Branch in it's first year were six
circles of children, showing that there
were at least six women at that time
who realized taht if woman's work
was to mean any thing in the future
the children must be enlisted to heart
and hand interest. Within the first
| five years this number increased to
| ffty-three, and at the end of the first
decade our junior forces were sixty
seven mission circles and four Sunday
schools. The mission circles were under
| the special care OF some one oHlcef
much of the time until the twelfth year,
when the present plan was adopted of
a secretary in each county. the four
secretaries forming a committee, of
which a fifth member, resident in New
Haven, should be chairman.
| In the fifteenth year there were 106
mission circles. From then until the
| twentieth year, the numbers grew
somewhat less, as the rapid growth of
! Christian Endeavor societies absorbed
| the life of some circles. Just here the
Lord put it into the hearts of two such
| loyal daughters of the Woman's
Board and ardent advocates of the
| Christian Endeavor movement as Miss
Hart and Miss Hopson to devise plans
for interesting and enlisting Christian