Norwich bulletin., 1914-03-11
REV. GEORGE T. BERRY
 BEFORE MALL AUXILIARY.
Speaker at Annual Meeting of Norwich Branch - Mrs. Bacon Reelected President.

The annual meeting of the Norwich McAll auxiliary was held Tuesday af- ternoon in the Norwich club. The meeting was in charge of Mrs. L. w Bacon, the president After the sing ing of a hymn. Rev. E. s. Worcester offered prayer. The secretary's report of the last meeting and the work Of the year was read by the secretary, Miss Elizabeth Parker, which was accepted. In her report she referred to the many interesting meetings held during the year and the excellent work of the auxiliary. Mrs. $. H. Howe. the treas urer, gave her report, and it showed that the auxiliary has a balance of S20 in the treasury. and she said that she hoped more would be added to this sum in order that another appropriation could be given to the mission
 As this was an annual meeting the officers for the coming year were elect ed and they were as follows: President, Mrs. Leonard w. Bacon; vice presi- dents, Mrs. J. M. Huntington, Miss M. Louise Sturtevant, Mrs. William Carr; secretary, Miss Elizabeth Parker; treasurer Mrs Samuel H, Howe; ex- ecudve committee, Mrs. Thomas J. Wattles, Mrs, Amos A. Browning, Mrs. Herbert J. Wyckoff. Mrs. Burrill w. Hyde. Mrs. Charles w. Gale, Miss Sara l.. Huntington, Mrs. Richard R. Ora ham, Mrs. George W. Lane.
 Mrs. Bacon thanked the ladies for lHSlT hiiulSSS III At-SlSIlAllS LiCt NC the presidency and she hoped with their good help that they could make the coming year more successful than the past. As the convention of the mission will be held in Buffalo this year it was decided to send Mrs. Bacon as a delegate. wit ha companion of her own choosing.
 After the necessary business was disposed of, Mrs. Bacon introduced the speaker of the afternoon. Rev George
 T. Berry. of New York, and among
 some of the things he said were: The churches of France are falling not only in resources but also in structure. The town council of the different towns will
 not help to rebuild the buildings. In
 one instance it is said that one priest
 gathered together 203 francs to re-
 place a fallen monument There is but
 one Protestant church to each 10000 of the population.
 Of the S6 departments of France, 20 have no Protestant church and A have
 but one each One-tenth of these
 churches are usually pastorless and
 two-t thirds are supported from their denominational central funds.
 Tn proportion to their means the
 evangelical churches of France are un-
 surpassed in gifts. But their gift of personal service and cooperation Gin which they furnish five-sixths of the
 missions working force) is the only
 substantial help they can at present render.
 The speaker compared the resources of France with those of China. saying
 that they were bountifu1 but the money was in the wrong hands. A Christian should take religion seriously and obey the call of God. McAll went to France to obey the will of God. See what the mission is doing now. preaching the gospel to the poor, circulating the Bible, and through the Bible schools,
 training schools and playgrounds striv- ing to win the children to Christ. Re Hgion Is needed very. much in France to preserve the state and the literature
 of that country of today is calling for and Is searching for God The revival in the churches cannot be successful until the old superstitionS are given ! up and the Protestant leaders are try ingto solve this problem with the help of the McAll mission. and it is very essential that the mission have the help of all the churches.
 He then explained the condition of the young people in France, especially the young boys. and said that the mis- sion has changed lots of these boys which they started. The Blue Cross is doing a lot of good and is evangel- ! izing the Balkan states. The work Of the Blue Cross has been doubled in itf temperance work among the men and Is a great help tn the women. In or der to go on with this fine work the organization must have more money for as the work grow the expenses grow. The present budget requires an Income of $g6, 900. Tine challenge ei unoccupied fields calls fer an immedi- ate increase to at least $loo,000 annu-
 ally.
 1 Dr. Berry explained the watercearses i of France and the chapel boats that i are run between villages and the fine work they accomplish through these : boats. In closing Df. Berry said that ! God was with outstretched arms wait ] ing to clasp France to his bosom. Ali ter the talk the ladies enjoyed tea ano l a social hour.