The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-10
WONDERFUL WORK
BY CHURCH WOMEN
Foreign Missionary Society Has
Remarkable History
OPPOSITION STILL EXISTS
More Than 100000 Has Been Col
lected and Expended by This
Organization of Methodist
Church Since War.
BY MRS. A. L. DoWDELL.

BY MRS. A. L. DoWDELL.
Opelika June 9.-(Speeial.)-Be Of
the recent meeting of the Woman's Board
of Foreign Missions of the Methodist
Episcopal church. SOUTH held In Opelika,
Ala, 1t will perhaps be of interest to give
a retrospect of that great organiza ton.
Its success is wonderful, yea, phenomenal,
at It's every milestone. This organization
OF Christian women justly claim the prI-
GRITTY of organized efforts among women
IN the Southern Methodist church.
In fact it can justly claim to be the
mother of the great club movement that
within the last two decades has swept the
land, TO improve, cultivate and broaden
the sphere of women IN the religious and
literary world, That the few Jealous
spirits who suggested and formulated
! this enterprise for women of southern
Methodism to unite in work for missions
were right in their new venture is proved
by the blessing which God has given them
In success.
Organized in 1919.
In 1919 a few noble women In New
York city organized the first society, as
an auxiliary to the Methodist church. for
the purpose of aiding in missionary work
This, however, did not extend beyond the
borders of that state. This society worked
on actively until It gave place to intense
work of self-sacrihce in hospitals and on
hattlefelds during the fratricidal strug-
giles of 1S6l-65.
In 1913 the Ladies China Missionary So
ciety of Baltimore was organized with
the general purpose in view of aiding
the church in the support of missions in
that one foreign field.
Mrs. Anna J.. Davidson, when president
Of the Female Auxiliary of the Foreign
Evangelical society of Baltimore. called
the women OF that city to meet in
Charles street Methodist church and an
organization was there perfected The
meeting was addressed by DR.. DIN, who
had spurred Mrs. Davidson on in her
divine inspiration of ''Womans work for
women"
Eleven years elapsed, during which
time the women of Baltimore did specific
work to aid the mission board of the
church. Through great opposition and
difficulties there was formed in Boston,
Mass, a Woman's Foreign Missionary
society, as a central organization to
which other societies might become aux
iiiary To this the China missionary So
ciety of Baltimore became auxiliary as
the Baltimore branch. The good women
of the M. e. church worked on, and their
faithful sisters of the southern church,
with the same love of humanity and the
same Interpretation of the divine COM
mand, were not slow to receive the inspi-
ration from the efforts of their sisters OF
the north
Peculiar Conditions in South
Peculiar conditions existed In the south.
Her women had been reared in the lap
of luxury, refinement and culture and
with this influence of wealth and ease
the idea prevailed everywhere that wo-
men had but one sphere and that was
within the bounds of her own home or
the limits of her big southern planta-
lions. Reared as she was to shun all
publicity, is womans inactivity in the
church at that period any wonder2
Finally her country was plunged into
war: her sweethearts, husbands and sons
soon buckled on the armor and hurried
off to meet the fore. The southern woman
until then knew nothing of hardships.
She was the tender plant and royal
queen of the home. But the powers Of
endurance nobility. charity and mercy
were potent factors of her nature. and
these combined with her multiplied graces
of character fitted her for the bravest
deeds of sacrifice and her deeds of hero
management when the test came of large
plantations proved her ability for the
highest trusts.
Hospitals. sewing societies and memo
rial associations formed In every commu-
nifty for the purpose of nursing the
wounded, working for the soldiers and
caring for the dead awakened these noble
women to their duty in the church.
Prompted by these thoughts, Mrs e. c.
Dowdel of Auburn, Ala, wrote letter
in 1861 to Bishop James o. Andrew, plead
Ing with him to put the ladies of the
Southern Methodist church to work for
foreign missions. She plead earnestly
that If so much could be accomplished
with the spirit of patriotism. what posi-
bilities were before the women when
working to further the Kingdom of Christ.
With mate timidity Mrs. Dowdell did
not sign her name to this suggestive let
ter to the bishop, but its wonderful i'm
port led Bishop Andrew to soon find the
name of the author, and few days later
the letter was published in full In the
Christian Advocate.
Other absorbing thoughts were at that
time filing the minds and hearts of men
and women. so that such suggestions of
active work for missions We're forced to
abide a time.
Another account is given of when in
1858 Mrs. NJ L. Kelley, wife of Rev. John
Kelley of the Tennessee conference. sug-
gested the first thought of organizing
mission work of individual charges and
bringing them together in a central or
ganization.
First Work Undertaken.
DR. I,ambuth's school in China was the
first work that was undertaken.
We are told as a matter of history that
the people engaged in this work consti-
tuted the first purely foreign missionary
society in the NJ. f. church. south.
The devastations of war followed and
the people of this beautiful southland
were called upon to suffer but in the
~ iarls. tria lie tho :