John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brotherPaton, John Gibson
Religion
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brother
Paton, John Gibson
Missionaries -- Vanuatu -- Biography; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
The kind cow-feeder had to inform us—and he did it with much genuine
sorrow—that at a given date he would require the hay-loft, which was our
place of meeting; and as no other suitable house or hall could be got,
the poor people and I feared the extinction of our work. On hearing this
the ostlers and other servants of Menzies, the coach-hirer, who had
extensive premises near our place of meeting, of their own accord asked
and obtained liberty to clear out a hay-loft of theirs that was seldom
in use, and resolved, at their own expense, to erect an outside wooden
stair for the convenience of the people. This becoming known, and being
much talked of, caused great joy in the district, arrested general
attention, and increased the interest of our work. But I saw that,
however generous, it could be at the best only another temporary
arrangement, and that the premises might again at any moment be
required. After prayer I therefore laid the whole case before my good
and great-hearted friend, Thomas Binnie, Esq., Monteith Row, and he,
after inquiring into all the circumstances, secured a good site for a
Mission Hall in a piece of unoccupied ground near our old hay-loft, on
which he proposed to build suitable premises at his own expense. At that
very time, however, a commodious block of buildings, that had been
Church, Schools, Manse, etc., came into the market. Mr. Binnie persuaded
Dr. Symington’s congregation, Great Hamilton Street, in connection with
which my Mission was carried on, to purchase the whole property for
Mission purposes. Its situation at the foot of Green Street gave it a
control of the whole district where my work lay; and so the Church was
given to me in which to conduct all my meetings, while the other halls
were adapted as Schools for poor girls and boys, where they were
educated by a proper master, and were largely supplied with books,
clothing, and even food, by the ladies of the congregation. The
purchasing and using of these buildings for an evangelistic and
educational Mission became a blessing—a very conspicuous blessing—to
that district in the Calton of Glasgow; and the blessing still
perpetuates itself, not only in the old premises, now used for an
Industrial School, but still more in the beautiful and spacious Mission
Halls, erected immediately in front of the old, and consecrated to the
work of the Lord in that poor and crowded and clamant portion of the
city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account