Miss Ellis's MissionSmith, Mary P. Wells (Mary Prudence Wells)
Religion
Miss Ellis's Mission
Smith, Mary P. Wells (Mary Prudence Wells)
Ellis, Sarah, 1835-1885; Home missions -- United States -- Unitarian Church
Well, in distributing "Registers" through the State I have come
across a very interesting, appreciative young man of twenty-one, in
Ravenna, Ohio, and I have reason to think we have created quite a
stir in the little town. Mr. Woodruff, my correspondent, writes a
very good letter, and is quite enthusiastic on the subject of
Unitarianism, and is willing to do missionary work, distributing
widely the documents I send him, and has recommended a young man,
formerly a student of theology, an intelligent, thinking man, who
is much interested in our views. He now works on a farm and teaches
school, in order to gain an education. On Wednesday last we
organized our Women's Auxiliary Conference, at which I read Mr.
Woodruff's letters, and the ladies at once moved that we should
propose Meadville to our young friend, whose name is ----. I am to
write and ask whether he would like to go to the college at
Meadville, and in the mean time am to find out through you the
conditions on which he could be admitted. I should be only too
happy if I prove the means of assisting one young man to the
ministry, and shall feel that all these many years of interest in
the church have not been lost, if we only succeed in doing this
much good. Besides all this other work, I find the ladies are much
in favor of a Circulating Library in the church, so I am going to
found my library soon.
The journal, March 20, shows the indomitable will that ruled the feeble
body:--
Yesterday [Saturday] I was at the church all day to get the library
in order. Was taken with vertigo, and for over an hour and a half
couldn't walk straight. J---- S---- happened to be at the church at
choir-meeting, and brought me home. By bedtime could walk alone,
and to-day have been attending to duties at church. Succeeded in
getting the Library settled to my satisfaction, and was glad there
was no one there. Opened my library March 19. Mr. W----announced me
"Miss Sarah Ellis" in the papers.
_March 28._ Have felt quite encouraged this week by applications
for documents. Have just mailed to Rev. ----, "Statement of
Unitarian Belief in Bible Language." [This applicant is now in a
Unitarian pulpit.]
_April 3._ A beautiful sermon in "Register" to-day--"Life's
Shadows"--by Rev. J. Ll. Jones. [She copies two pages.]
_May 1._ Feel deeply interested in a correspondent we have in
Springfield, ... who confesses himself something of an atheist, and
I am hunting up all the convincing articles upon the subject of God
and Immortality that I can find, and came across a "Unitarian
Review," of June, 1876, which seems to have been written for his
very case.... Hope these will be convincing to the Springfield
Club, which was formed last Sunday, with ten members to begin with.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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