The Association last met in this city, in the spring of 1877. In 1878 and 1879 we met in New Iberia, and in 1880 and 1881 in Terrebonne; so this is our sixth annual meeting without a break, and we are able to report not only continuity of life, but real progress. A little advance in the church work of this Association means more than a far greater advance in our older religious bodies. Here the fight has been, first upon the question, “Have we, as Congregationalists, a right to live in Lousiana?” The denominationalism among the colored people has been, and still is, intense. As the Baptist and Methodist Church once covered this entire Southern field, the Congregationalist is looked upon as a traitor to a holy cause, who has enlisted under a strange and piratical banner. “Who are you, anyhow?” “Where do you come from?” “What strange faith have you picked up now?” are questions which salute our brethren constantly, and which are designed to cover them with confusion and discomfiture. But this battle has been bravely and patiently fought, and the right to exist “established.” There were 31 pastors and delegates present. The reports from the various fields were cheering and hopeful. It has not been a harvest year, though some churches have been refreshed by the gracious visitation of the Holy Spirit, and all have, we hope, felt the quickening of a new life. A revival of wonderful preciousness and power was reported from Central Church, New Orleans, beginning with the “Week of Prayer,” and continuing five weeks, during which time nearly 100 souls were awakened. Brother Clay’s church in Terrebonne has been blessed and strengthened. There have been many hindrances in the year. The floods have caused great suffering among the poor. Cabins have been washed away, crops destroyed, and the plans of labor disarranged. When the laboring class of the colored people suffer, the churches suffer in their resources. Let me summarize the result of our annual meeting. I. From the reports of the churches we find that there have been numerical losses, which, though seemingly serious, are really gains, so far as the purity and vigorous life of the Association is concerned. The Association has not yet laid down the pruning knife, and it may be that more dead branches will be clipped off in the year, without which the tree will be more beautiful and fruitful.