Report of the Cromer Ladies' Bible Association, 1838Cromer Ladies' Bible Association
History
Report of the Cromer Ladies' Bible Association, 1838
Cromer Ladies' Bible Association
Cromer Ladies' Bible Association
WE, the committee of the Ladies’ Bible Association for Cromer and its
neighbourhood, consider it our duty to lay before our subscribers, the
prefixed statement of the condition of our charge; and in doing so, we
think it may be expedient to accompany the same with some extracts from
the slight records which we have kept of our proceedings, since Nov.
1827, when our friend, Mr. J. J. Gurney, now on a christian mission in
America, first called us together.
We may premise that in our note of the first year, (1828,) we find the
need of the society indicated by the fact, that in one outlying district,
a poor woman had lately given three shillings for the tattered remains of
a bible. The announcement of the formation of our association, and of
the facility which it afforded for obtaining bibles, was received with
pleasure throughout the neighbourhood. Many parents were desirous to
avail themselves of the opportunity of providing bibles for their
children, and even some solitary old couples who could not read
themselves subscribed, that they might have a bible in the house for
their neighbours to read to them.
The young people were generally found eager to subscribe. All the girls
(but one) of one school gave their names as soon as the plan was proposed
to them, and several having supplied themselves with bibles, continue as
free subscribers, and take much interest in reading the monthly extracts.
It was pleasant too, to see the desire of children in various places, to
devise a way to earn their own subscriptions. One little girl, who had a
hen, set aside the first chickens for the payment of hers, and an errand
boy volunteered to run some additional miles, to obtain a few pence for
his.
Some interesting particulars of the effect of passages of the word of God
upon individuals, have occasionally been related in conversation with the
collectors. On one of these applying to a young man, the latter said,
that though he had a bible, he would willingly subscribe five shillings
for another, (as a gift we suppose, to some friend,) and he proceeded to
say, that when very young he was very thoughtless, and, for a length of
time, had feared neither God nor man. Being alone one day in his
father’s house, he saw a bible lying on a window seat; he opened it in a
careless manner, and his eye was caught by a verse of awful denunciation
against sinners. He could not bear it, and flung the bible into a corner
of the room, and went out. The words still haunted him, and, on his
return after some time, seeing the bible still on the floor, he picked it
up, and opening it again, observed a passage containing, as he said, “a
promise, a blessed invitation.” His attention was happily attracted, he
read on, and from that time, formed a habit of reading the scriptures,
which has proved, as he thankfully acknowledged, a blessing to his soul.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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