The record-union., 1899-05-12
An Important Movement is on Foot
at New York City,
Looking to a Consolidation Of the preshy-
terrain Congregations.
Annual Meeting Of the American
Bible Society Held at New York
Nearly a Million Copies Of the
Scriptures Distributed Last
Year.


binary movement is on foot looking to
the consolidation of Presbyterian con-
gregations in this city, some of them
among the richest in the United States,
according to the Tribune"
The congregation of the Madison
avenue Presbyterian Church last night
unanimously decided in favor of con-
sehdating with the Phillips Presbyteri-
an Church, the former church to be
Sold On this the Tribune" says:
Conditions which have existed in
the church for some time past have
rendered it imperatively necessary that
there shall be some radical changes
and a general strengthening.
Probably at no time in. it's history in
this city has Presbyterianism been so
unrestful. and perturbed as it is at the
present moment. Internal variances
have depleted the congregations, and
the wherewithal of exist
ence of many churches of this sect in
New York.
Moreover, the constantly increasing
uptown has left the churches
in the lower portion of the city with
sadly depleted financial resources. The
majority of them, in fact, find it hard
to hold on, and it is no secret
that a number of them are laboring
under monetary difficulties of greater
or less degree.
1T was this state of affairs which
led to the Fourth Church invit-
ing the Thirteenth-street Church to join
with it. Should the project fail there is
every likelihood that negotiations will
ha fnr hn h,.i,, of
the Spring street Church and the Thir-
teenth- street Church. The SPRING
street Church is without a pastor.
But a consolidation of much wider
scope and more important possibilities
that is being quietly urged by infuen-
tial Presbyterians Is the combining of
the Madison-square Church, of which
Dr.. Parkhurst is pastor; the Brick
Church, which DR.. Van Dyke will leave
IN the near future to take up the pro-
fessorship he has accepted at Prince
ton, and the Fourth-aEenue Church.
The properties upon which these
churches stand, it is pointed out. are
extremely valuable and could be sold
for sum that would provide for the
building of a great central Presbyteri-
an Church and support branches in
various parts of the city, such as Trim
fty Church is enabled to maintain with
the rich funds it has in it's possession.
The establishment of a great church
movement of this character is being
urged by prominent Presbyterians. for
the reason, as they assert. that it
would tend not only to- lessen the finan-
cial strain of the other downtown
churches, but would give Presbyterian
ism the strength and impetus which it
Is agreed it now stands much in need
Of
That a consolidation of the three
churches will come about some time
perhaps in a short time, is beyond
question. Work has already begun to
that end and it is only a matter of GER
tain conditions as to how long it will
be before it is pushed to completion"
AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY
NEW YORK, May 1.-THE annual
meeting of the American Bible Society
was held to-day at the Bible House.
The eighty-third annual report of the
Board of Managers shows Total re-
ceipts for the living, 500, 267; legacies.
$161, GIL; total receipts, S370,OS4: dis
bursements, 1886, 529. Cash balance
March 81, 1899, $685..
The payment by the society's auxili.
aries for the purchase account amount
ed to 500, O62.39. In addition to this
they RENTED on donation account in
cash $29, $1,000, and besides authorized
a transfer from their credit balance &c
donation account of 81, 624 80.
The invested funds were increased by
legacies and gifts during the year So
100, and the total amount on Nav 81.
1899, was $416652.5S. The income
from these permanent funds for the
past year was $1S,052. 50.
Three new Century presses. the most
perfect of their kind. have been put in
place. They are very rapid and accu-
rate. A rounding and backing machine
and a casemaking machine have also
been purchased. These machines are
capable of turning out 5000 volumes
a day.
The total issues for the year amount
to 1,3SOs92 copies. more than half of
22-were distributed in
other lands. Somewhat more than ORE
half of the books issued during the
year were printed and bound at the
Bible House. Among the new issues
are duodecimo Portuguese Bible. the
Gospels and Acts from the modern YER
sion in Spanish, printed in large type
and attractive FORM and the New Test
ament and Psalms in the language of
the Marshall Islands.
The bible Society Record. issued
for the year POI, 2O7, a monthly average
of 1922.
Instead of thirty or more representa-
tives of the society in the different
States four men have so far been
chosen as field agents
Rev. Thomas H. Law, D. D.. of Snar-
tansburg, S. c., is the field agent for
North Carolina, South Carolina Flori-
da, Georgia and Alabama; Rev. George
D. French of Morristown, Tenn. has
Kentucky, Tennessee. Mississippi and
Louisiana as his field; Rev. John Pear
son, D. D., of Dayton, O., is the repre-
in West Virginia. Ohio and
Michigan, and Rev William r. Hem
derson, D. D., of Chicago has as his
territory Indiana, Illinois and Wiscon-
sin.
In addition to these field agents the
society has two special agents-Rev..
A. E. Cotton and Rev. F. D. Greene.
of Van. Eastern Turkey-rep-