The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-05-31
BURTON MANSFlELD'S PAPER
READ ar THE MEETING OF THE
 CHURCH CLUB.

The Subject was "The Missionary soci-
 ety of tho Diocese of Connccticut,'
 and It was Listened to With Great
 Intcrest By tho Large Number of
 Members Present.
 The paper read by Burton Mans
 field at the regular meeting of the
 Church club Tuesday night in Har-
 monie hall was one of the most inter-
 esting of the nine read that tynight and
 the subject was "The Missionary Soci-
 ety of the Diocese Of Connecticut"
 The paper is as follows:
 In 1908 the annual convention of the
 diocese, which met In New Haven. un-
 dertook to ascertain the bounds of the
 several cures in the diocese, partly
 with view of providing ministrations
 for all the places where parishes had
 been organized and partly to give more
 permanence and regularity to the sup
 port of the rectors. Not one of these
 rectors had a single charge and many
 of them were required to look after the scattered families of the church in towns remote from their residences.
 iFNiC C .WSlG SGNSllly -LlllGG IelIlSllGS UT localities in the diocese and only twen- ty-sx clergymen to supply them; so that several of the feebler churches were almost constantly vacant. Much was done to keep them alive by lay reading and by the circulation of in- structive books and pamphlets; and a voluntary society called a Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowl- edge" was formed in New Haven, on the last day of October, 1898, to publish and circulate, at reduced prices, such useful religious works as would best conduce to the advancement of piety and Christian Knowledge This volun- tary organization served a. good pur- pose at the time but failed to reach the whole wants of the diocese, and the convention, after the death of Bishop Jarvis OS13). initiated movement to organize a missionary society The management of it's affairs and the ap- pointment of missionaries were en- trusted to the standing committee, but it was an unfortunate society, that | barely struggled into existence and then almost died for the want of prop | CT care. For three years 1t accom- plished little or nothing, when, in 1877, movement to revive it was begun, which contemplated uniting the work of diocesan missions and the distribu- tion of religious publications. Bishop Hobart of New York, who filled the interregnum between the death of Bishop Jarvis and the conservation of Bishop Brownell had much to do in, shaping the plan. The voluntary as- Sociation voted to consider themselves dissolved whenever the convention it. self should establish a similar society. This was done in 1878, and the new corporation, which was chartered by the General Assembly, was launched. The name of the voluntary organiza- tion, which was the title of an English society having similar objects. was retained. It's first article of its con- stituion read: "The society shall be called The Protestant Episcopal soci- ety for the Promotion of Christian by employing missionaries ln the several vacant parishes of the diocese, and by the gratuitous dlstri- button of the Bible, the Book of Com mon Prayer and religious tracts"
 Appeals for the work of this soclaty were regularly made, though no uni- form plan for carrying on it's work was adopted. It had many difficulties to contend with and frequent changes in the location of the rural clergy oc- although on the whole the sal tries of the recters throughout the .sic ,ese were better supported than had been the case hitherto. In 1885 Bishop Brownell urged the ,lergy of Connecticut, in referring 10 i he lack of proper interest in the opera ions of the society: ITO come up to he. work with spirit adequate to the urgency of the times" And lie add-