The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-03-27
OUR IOWA CHURCHES.
REV. T. E. DorTER, Marshalltown.
CEDAR RAPIDS.

CEDAR RAPIDS.
A good and badly needed lesson in
church finance can be learned from this
church. The management is unique and
successful. Since the present Secretary
has had charge of it's affairs the society
has not incurred any new debts on cur
rent expenses, but on the other hand it
has been steadily paying off debts in
Cured in previous years. The ecclesi-
astical year of this church runs from
May to May. At that time the Secre-
tary is always able to report: "All obli-
cations met in full and small cash
balance on hand" To accomplish this
result systematic work is necessary.
The Secretary issued a circular several
years ago, making an estimate OF the
amount of money necessary to run the
church for the following year, including
every item-salary, janitor, fuel. lights,
interest, etc. This circular stated that
if the amount of the estimate was not
pledged by the beginning of the year,
May LIST, the church would be closed. 1t
was sent to every member and friend
about the 1st Of April. with blank
pledge card and return envelope. The
church was not closed. A similar circu-
lar has been sent out every year since and
the church has not yet been closed. The
circular for this year has just appeared
and is certainly masterpiece in it's line.
We give paragraph:
CUISINES IN RELIGION"
SIT is too often a fact that church obliga-
tions are not met with that promptness and
sacred honor which men admire in pri-
vate affairs, and bills are allowed to drag
along unpaid, and the minister waits for
his salary, and general lack of business
management is apparent Recognizing
this fact, and believing as we do that
there should not only be Religion in
Business, but as well Business in Re-
ligion,' the Trustees of the Universalist
church of Cedar Rapids resolved, several
years ago, that no such stigma should
hang over this church, but that its affairs
should be conducted on cash basis, and
that we would only undertake to have
what we could pay for, and would pay for
all we had; and that, furthermore, no OBJ
legations for current expenses, either act
ual or implied, would be entered into un-
less at the beginning of each year sufficient
pledges could be secured from our people
to provide for the estimated expenses of
the year.
''This principle has been rigidly adhered
to, and while it has necessitated at times
much greater economy in expenditures, so
much so that no further reduction can be
made without closing the church, yet we
have regularly paid for whatever we have
had and will close the year on May 1st of
this year without any floating debts for
current expense"
MEETINGS AT HAVEN.
Rev. T. E. Dotter conducted services
at Haven, seven miles south of Tama,
Sunday, March 2lst. This point is trib-
utary TO Marshalltown, contributing in
members and funds.
MARSHALLTOWN.
The work on the Marshalltown church
is progressing rapidly All things have
been made new upstairs and the work of
excavating the basement is finish ed.
The carpenters will be we'll along with
their work on the basement ere this
paragraph is in type. Wonderful what
people can do when they once set their
heads"
The Sunday-schoOl holds its regular
sessions at private house and the at
tendance is surprisingly large. They