The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-10-14


N, Octobcr ., there occurred an anni-
yersary OF n red letter day In the his
,orv OF Christianity, yet sparsely OBJ
served and almost forgotten In the stress
and storm OF the world upheavat Inc
day marked the i25th anniversary oil the
birth OF modern missionary enort. inc
founding Of the first foreign missionary
society.
In the parlor of the Widow wallis, AZ
Kettcrlng, England. twelve pastors o'
Nortbampton met ON October z. i''s'
and organized the Baptist Society Tor
propagating the Gospel Among the
ueathen. out of this society grew the
,oovement which sent William Carey,
tbe pioneer, as a missionary to lndin.
Carey has been honored as the begin
ne, OF foreign missionary endeavor' inc
twelve Northampton pastors nave not
been forgotten i'm the celebrations when
have Justly honored the movement
which they started And now, l2b years
later. the Widow Wallis Is coming into
q. share OF the glory with the hundreds
80 thousands of women who succeeded
her as leaders of worldwide missionary
society. Women who succeeded her
have been sharing the honor Tor cen
tury and quarter
We can picture the Widow Waihs'
perhaps as jealous In her desire 10
teach all nations" as have heen her sue
oessors. Perhaps she had no missionary
vision after all; perhaps she was one Oh
those servants of God who may be found
in every church. .habitually Offering their
time. sacrificingly Offering their posses
siops and meelxiy Offering themselves to
the small tasks-thc Marthas OF the
household of faith.
The twelve pastors at ketterihs
sought some place to hold their meeting
You arb welcome" said the WIDOW
Wallis. And the meeting was held IN
the Widow Wallis parlour."
Let the spotlight then be focused on
this one phase of the anniversary OF DC
tober .. Let the honors be paid 10 the
Widow Wallis and her sisters OF the sue
ceeding generations, the members OF the
women's missionary societies
The First Missionary Budget.
In his Life of William Carey, DIR.
George Smith tells US that the WIDOWS
parlour was low-roofed" and looked ON
to q back garden" where doubtless the
widow busted herself while the devout
dominies deliberated within. We read
in the official minutes" of the proceed
inCs, that "the following resolutions were
proposed and unanimously agreed TO:
''Desirous of making an effort for the
propagation of the gospel among the
heather, agreeably to what is recon-
meuded in Brother Carex,s Hate publica-
ton on that subject. we whose names APP
pear to the subsequent subscription, do
solemnly agree to act i'm society together
for that purpose.
"As in the present. divided state OF
Christendom it seems that each denomi-
nation, by exerting itself separately, is
most likely to accomplish the great ends
of a mission. il is agreed that the society
be called The Particular CCalvinisticl
Baptist Society for Propagating the Cos
pei Among the Heather.
"As such an undertaking must needs
he attended with expense, we agree inn
mediately to open a subscription for the
above purpose, and to recommend II 10
others.
Every person who shall subscribe ten
shillings and six pence annually shall be
considered member Of the society
We read further that the twelve pas
tors who signed the resolutions sub
scribed a total of thirteen pounds, Two
shillings and six pence as the first for
eign mission fund. Ia the reports of for
oign missionary societies in the United
states and Canada alone last year, the
total income for the year is given as
r,t... of hn nil
in Kettering. with their thirteen pounds
to evangeize the world. was: Attempt
great things for God. Expect great
things from God" Their works have
proved their faith
Beginnings in America.
Women in America were the first fol-
lowers of the Widow Wallis in women's
missionary endeavor. Baptists and Con-
gregationalists combined in 1900 In the
organization of the Boston Female So
ciety for Missionary Purposes. Origin
ally planned to raise the funds for work
among the American Indians. the society
was soon linked TO the work started by
the meeting i'm the Widow Wallis par
lor eight years before, and contributed
TO the support of Carey's work In India.
A year later. In 1901. Congregations!
women founded the Boston Female So
ciety for Promoting the Diffusion Of
Christian Knowledge. Baptist women
in Beverly. Mass. in 1905. established
the Female Mite Society The Congre-
gationalists and Baptists continued as
frontierswomen in missions in America
until 1919. when the Methodists founded
Female Missionary Society Auxiliary
to the Missionary and Bible Society. and
in 1923, when the Presbyterians estab-
lished in New York The Society for the
support Of Heathen Youth.
These organizations. however. were
forerunners of the various women's
boards and auxiliaries which the differ
ent denominations established in later
years. The early societies represented
efforts of local groups of women who
gathered TO sew garments for the child
widows of India. perhaps. or 10 pack
boxes" for the missionaries In the west.
Many were the sacrifices of these women
n1ada in the days of their economical de-