The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 02, February, 1879Various
Religion
The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 02, February, 1879
Various
Congregational churches -- Missions -- Periodicals; Home missions -- Periodicals
Just at this time we are in a state of chaos, waiting for the
holiday merry-makings to be over, that people may settle down to
plans for another year. We hope for a good year in every sense
of the word. As I sit by my stove writing, a substantial Baptist
sister is warming her feet on the hearth and making arrangements
with Miss Milton to hold a neighborhood prayer-meeting at her
house Tuesday morning. I think the missionary work is broadening.
The yellow fever fund you sent is helping to break down barriers.
* * * * *
Generous Giving--Not Dying Out--Help Wanted.
REV. TEMPLE CUTLER, CHATTANOOGA.
During my seven months' absence from home the church managed to
take care of itself with credit both to its zeal and its ability.
Three months of the time it was ministered to by the Rev. G. W.
Moore, a young preacher pursuing his studies at Fisk. Brother
Moore gave himself most heartily to the work while here, and
displayed qualities of mind and heart that give promise of great
usefulness to his race. The church raised for him by its own
contributions $50 per month, besides contributing nearly $50 to
aid yellow fever sufferers in other cities in the early stage
of the epidemic. The total amount of their contributions during
my absence was $211.42. I do not think many of our Northern
churches can show a better record, considering their income. It
amounts to about $3.50 from each resident member. The income of
our membership will not average $150 a year. Let these figures be
compared with those of some of our city churches, and we will
not blush. I sometimes get a little tried with the people when
I see them waste their money on tobacco and a thousand little
extravagances; but I immediately feel rebuked when I compare
their extravagance with that of white people. If white people
gave according to their income as these poor black people do, our
debt would not hang like a millstone around our neck, and the
Home Missionary Society would not still groan over $30,000.
I have heard it stated that the colored people are dying out.
This is not the case among our people. I have been here two
years and a half, and have not been called to attend a funeral
of any member of our church. There have been but three deaths
in the families, and two of them were yellow fever cases during
my absence. Some of our members were sick, but none of them
died. There were many, many cases of yellow fever among the
colored people that were not reported. They held, perhaps, a
superstitious notion--the doctors would say so, at least--that if
they went to the hospital they would surely die; so they doctored
themselves with herbs, and so far as I can learn not one so
treated died.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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