Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-17
YEARS WORK OF CHURCH BUILDING.
Report of the ConTrcgntionnI Society
presentcd by DIR. Cobb.

Presented by DIR. Cobb.
NEW YORK, Jan. 16.-The forty-fourth
annual report of the board OF trustees OF
the Congregational Church Building society
was presented at the annual meeting of the
society in the Bible house by the secretary,
Rev. l.. II. Cobb, d. ID. 1t showed that
twelve Protestant benevolent societies were
at recent date carrying an Indebtedness
of not less than 81 ,O13 632: that that enor-
nous Indebtedness would have been $743,02O
more had not an unsparing retrenchment
prevented an actual debt of Sl,75S,652 The
denominations reported as sharing this de-
ficiency fellowship are the Presbyterian,
Baptist, the Congregational, the Methodist
Episcopal and the Reformed churches. The
individual sums making this total vary from
$500 10 1929 ,O62. While the Congregational
Church Building society is charged with
$4,000 OF this debt, this society borrows no
money to carry on its work; IL owes a debt
Of good fellowship to its work and not to its
banker. 1t has now, and the same is prac-
tically true from month to month, list OF
fifty applications that ought TO have been
promptly answered, but could not be for
lack of at least S25.000.
Contributions have been received from
mere churches than in any previous year,
264i, and that aid has been voted to thirty
more churches or houses of worship than in
twelve less than in 1895 Aid has been voted
on 40 houses Of worship and on forty-nve
parsonages Fifteen of the houses of wor-
ship are east OF the eastern boundary of
Ohio 125 are west of that boundary, two
Of the paraonages are east and forty-three
are west.
Payments direct from the treasury amount
ing to $71 ,S67 have been made toward ths
completion Of 1l9 houses of worship. The
value Of church property secured by this
outlay of benevolent funds is S235 975.25.
Payments in the form of loans amounting to
sl9, ,995 have been made to forty-five churches
toward the completion of forty-fve parson-
ages. The value OF the parsonage property
secured by his investment is SAP, 4S6. This
brings the number of houses of worship On
the roll up TO 2,775 and the number of par
sonageo TO 561. .s.
Between May I, 1882, and December 81,
1896, the treasurer has received S97,9SS in
the form OF contributions to the
parsonage loan funds He has re
ceived Sl32,522 in the form of par
sonage loans fefunded The purpose
of the board is TO keep both these sums con-
stantly invested in parsonages.
On the 31st Of December, 1896, the church
building loan fund was S3l5.57l. One hun
dred and ten churches have received aid
from this fund In 1896 accounts were closed
on twenty-three houses Of worship and thirty
six parsonages. Adding these figures to those
previously reported we have 457 church ac-
counts closed and 233 parsonage accounts.
The report OF Rev. George A. Hood of Bos-
ton, field secretary of England, stated that
the Congregationalists had organized in the
last ten years 2.37i churches. Though few
OF these can build a meeting house without
the aid of the Church Building society. only
1852 houses Of worship nave been aided to
build by this society in the ten years, or
about one-half the number organized; and In
aiding these the society has kept the appli-
cants waiting one-haf year for lack Of
funds.