The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-09
EPISCOPAL BOARD OF MISSIONS.
Annual Meeting Last Evening at st. Paul's
Church.

The annual meeting of the Board of
Missions of the Protestant Episcopal
! church in Maine was held last night at
| st. Paul's church and there assembled a
large gathering of the members of the
parish who were joined by many of the
clergymen who are now in the city in at
tendance upon the regular diocesan con-
vention. Service was held, after which
Right Reverend Bishop Neeley presided
over the special business of the evening.
The report of the secretary Rev. G. T.
Ogden of Woodfords, was made, which re-
ferred to the three meetings of the board
during the past year, and called attention
to the great need of marked and increased
interest in the field of missionary work
and the pressing necessity of instructing
and training children so that in the end
the diocese might have competent body
of carefully disciplined workers. Rev.
Mr.. Sawyer, who is in charge of the
mission in Norway and Auburn spoke of
the special work which had fallen to his
lot during the past seventeen years in the
missionary field, and pointed out that his
work had been easy because in the section
of different mission churches he had never
allowed himself to go beyond the money
on hand and thus avoided the anxiety
which debt and an interest account neces-
sarily entailed. An army that never
went outside its entertainments was al
ways beaten, and SO with Christian
workers, if they always remained behind
their Notifications and failed to seek and
hunt up converts their efforts never would
meet with success. He enjoined rules of
service and of prayer which were dis
tiguishing feature of many of the brother
hoods, like St. Andrews, and urged the
adoption of some method which would
bring even one member within the reach
of the gospel of the Master.
Rev. Mr.. Thomas of Calais followed in
an eloquent and urgent appeal to the
people to realize their great responsible
ties of arousing increased interest in re-
ligious matters not in any spirit of an
tagonism to any creed, for in this state
of ours there were men, by no means bad
men, who had no one to speak to them of
the gospel of Christ. A wave of enthu-
siasm occasionally is allowed to sweep
over them after which they are left alone.
If the church is to grow and claim its
children we must take no backward steps.
A responsibility rests on each and shame
should come to every man and woman
who shirks their duty and fail to reach
the heights of Christian life.
Rev. Mr.. Moody of Rockland said that
the modern idea of the gospel was liable
to be faulty, and the spirit of the Holy
Ghost falls not upon the church, because
in many instances the work is not carried
on according to the fundamental laws
laid down by the Master. Out of $3s, 0oO,-
QUO raised for church work only $500, 900
was allowed for foreign missions and very
few of the people ever read volume re-
lating to missions and some of the clergy
even did not possess..them. $500 . ....s.
Rev. Mr.. Shepard announced that an
offering would then be taken up, not 'for
Greenland's icy mountain or India's coral
strand, but for the good old State Of
Maine. Benediction followed by Bishop
Medley who will today at the general con-
vention address himself to the individual
responsibility which rests ON all the
people of the church in the furtherance of
mission work, so essential to the advance
ment of the Kingdom of Christ.