Southold, L. Isl. The Fem. For. Miss. Soc. by the Rev. Lathrop South Reailing, Ms. The Fem Sabbath Soc. for purchasing Bibles for Six scholars in Miss N. Boardman's school, for instructing Indian 5 50 4.00 1 67 --7 17 Springfield, Ms. The Hamden Lodge of Free and accepted Masons, for the translation and distribution of the Scriptures in the languages of the East, The monthly concert, Troy, N. H. Several ladies, by the Rev. E. Rich, 20 00 2.00 Union Village, (Greenwich,) Ñ. Y. by the Rev. L. Parsons, from sev eral individuals, viz. William Mowry, Esq. $20; Moses Cowan, $5, Mrs. E. Cowan, $2; Mr. Vandusen, 83; Dr. C. Martin, $3, J. Somes, $1; D. McFarland, S1; M. McFarland, 50 cts. Lewis Younglove, $2, Vernon, Con. The monthly concert, for the For. Miss. School, 7 09 6 07-18 25 Westfield, Ms. A Society of young ladies, for aiding the Cherokee mis sion, by Mary Jessup, remitted by the Rev. Isaac Knapp, Young ladies, the avails of their labor, by Jerusha Phelps, The monthly concert, for the Cherokee mission, Westport, Ms. Mrs. Basset's mite box, West Springfield, Ms. Dea. John Ashley, by Mr. J. W. Dwight, Williamstown, Ver. Fem. Heath School Soc. for the support of schools Williamstown, Ms. A school and society of misses, for heath. children, by the Rev. Dr. Hyde, Windsor, Ver. Female Charity Soc. by the Rev. Bancroft Fowler, for the ed. of heath. children, A charity box, kept in the Rev. Mr. Fowler's family, Rev. Mr. Chickering, Zanesville, O. An unknown person, by the Rev. Mr. Culbertson, 5 00 The residence of the persons who made the following donations is not known. Jan. 6. From a lady, for the western mission, 11. From Mentoria, 13. A friend of missions, for foreign missions, by the Rev. B. Emerson, 27. 28. A mother, a thank offering on the birth of a son, Total of Donations received in January, $2,521 48. * These donations were omitted in the publication of the list in the Panoplist for June last, p. 374, on account of the absence of the Treasurer. PROPOSAL TO THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST, ON THE SUBJECT oF SENDING THE GOSPEL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. In the address of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which was published in our number for January, 1818, the following sentence introduces the subject of missions to the consideration of the churches. "It seems particularly suitable that every church of Christ should, as a church, do something towards imparting the precious blessings of his Gospel to the perishing heathen." In the pamphlet of Messrs. Hall and Newell, entitled, "The conversion of the World," it is distinctly urged upon churches to take up the business of making provision for the spiritual wants of mankind. In consequence of these suggestions, a considerable number of churches have made some preparations and advances in the good work. Already have donations been received from churches, in their associated capacity, for the education of young men for the ministry, and for the support of missionaries. Is it not time, that all our churches should think seriously on the subject; that after reflection they should act harmoniously; and that their exemplary liberality should, while it adorns their profession, furnish the means of communicating the knowledge of salvation to perishing multitudes. Can it be necessary to argue this point, after all the information and all the motives, with which the Christian world abounds. have been presented to our countrymen in such a variety of forms? Can any of our churches doubt, as to the duty of sending the Gospel to the heathen? Can there be any question in regard to the beauty and loveliness of seeing churches united and harmonious in this cause? Is it possible that exhortation and intreaty should be necessary? Let the Christian retire to his closet, and after a prayer that he may form some just views of the value of the Gospel, let him look abroad upon the heathen world; let him recount his own privileges; and then let him ask what Christ would have him do. It is almost impossible, that the decision of conscience should not impel him to act. But there may be doubts, and hesitations, as to the best manner of bringing forward this new system of operations; and, in supposable cases, much wisdom may be necessary to accomplish the object in the most effectual manner. The church in Goshen, Con have resolved to enter, or rather have already entered, upon this noble design. "They purpose to meet once a year to consult for the glory of Christ, and the enlargement of his empire. At each meeting, they are to designate a sum, which they will, the ensuing year, pour into the Treasury of the Lord; each member to contribute according to his or her ability." This year they have raised fifty dollars, and determined that this new plan shall not diminish their other charities. Each church will judge in regard to the best manner of doing its part, in the great work of combining the efforts of Christians to spread the Gospel. The following thoughts are published, after considerable deliberation, for the purpose of bringing before the mind a number of important particulars, connected with the subject. 1. In the commencement of the business, pains should be taken to impress upon the church the necessity of continued exertions. It is in vain to make a sudden effort, and then let the matter stop. There will be need of missionaries and Bibles till the world shall be evangelized. And it is probable, that the call for these exertions will be greatly increased. All Christians should feel determined not to give up the labor while they live; and with their dying breath to press it upon others. 2. The whole course of proceedings on the subject should be perfectly voluntary; and if some brethren and sisters have not their eyes opened, and their hearts enlarged, at first, patience must be exercised toward them. We may reasonably hope, that, as the cause advances, and their knowledge increases, they will judge and act more wisely. From motives of Christian gentleness and forbearance, as well as from a desire to obtain the co operation of all, no unkind speeches should be made with respect to those, who are not yet prepared to go forward. 3. No act of the church seems necessary, or perhaps desirable, except a general approbation of the design; and a resolve, that it is a privilege as well as a VOL. XV. 12 duty to bear some part in the noblest of all charities. After this general approbation, it should be left to the decision of each individual how much he shall subscribe, or whether he shall subscribe at all. 4. The object should be considered throughout as a missionary object; as furnishing the means for sending the Gospel abroad. These means include the education of pious young men, with a view to increase the number of missionaries, and a provision for the support of missions directly. However proper it may be, that some churches should take vigorously hold of the education of young men, it seems proper that they should always give something to the immediate support and increase of missions. 5. This scheme should not be considered as supplanting, or in any way affecting, the collections at the monthly concert for prayer. These collections should invariably be had. Nor should it be considered as necessary to abandon any other work of charity. We are not to give up one good thing merely for the sake of patronizing another. Not one Christian in a hundred is reduced to that necessity, in this early stage of enlarged and public beneficence. 6. Each person, in fixing the amount of his subscription, should be guided, not by what others have done or are doing; not by what he has himself done hitherto; but by a solemn consideration of the value of the soul, and of what he is able to do in the work of furnishing the means of salvation. He ought not to ask himself what he is able to do for a cause, which he values at a low rate; but what his own conscience, common sense, and the word of God require him to do for his Savior; for a cause, which every Christian ought to value as infinitely superior in its claims to all temporal objects united. He ought to remember, however, that this is not the only form, in which he can promote the same cause; and ought therefore to reserve something for all the other religious charities of the day. 7. The duty of punctuality, in discharging these charitable obligations, should be strongly fixed in the mind. Most persons are culpably deficient in this respect. They subscribe to pay a certain sum annually; but when the year revolves, they forget these engagements; and, unless extraordinary diligence is used to remind them of their duty, they fall into arrears. The mere fact of falling into arrears is sufficient to make their engagements appear a burden, both to themselves and others. Strange, that when seasons return for their benefit; when God sends them the early and the latter rain; when their fields produce abundantly, their flocks increase, and their orchards are loaded with fruit, when their lives are continued and their active labors prolonged, they should so easily forget the claims of the peor, and the perishing, the commands of their Savior and their God. In order to guard against this unhappy propensity, in the business now under consideration, let a time be fixed for the annual payments, and collectors be appointed; and let subscribers be urged to pay rather before the time, than afterwards. The meetings for the monthly concert afford admirable opportunities for giving notice, and for accomplishing the whole design. 8. Though the utmost forbearance should be used with weak brethren, who cannot understand the injunction, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; yet the work should not be permitted to stop out of a mistaken deference to them. All who are convinced of their duty, be their number small or great, should vigorously perform it. SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 26, 1819. GRAHAM SOCIETY, JANUARY THE kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of means. Whilst in past ages, the church of God has been, for the most part, satisfied with reading the command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;" and offering the prayer, "Thy kingdom come;" it is our lot to live in an age when the obligations to Christian beneficence are better understood. We have been taught that "the kingdom of God cometh not by observation;" that the souls which have perished through ignorance, which we might have prevented or removed, will be required at our hands; that Christianity is a common blessing; that all are required to do what they can towards its universal promulgation; and that he who would be acknowledged by his Master, as a faithful steward of the "manifold grace of God," must have disinterestedness enough to make some efficient efforts, some personal sacrifices for the cause of Christ and human happiness. Yes, blessed be God, we are permitted to live in a period of the church when much is doing by many, and when all may do something. And while others are lending their mightier energies to the "help of the Lord;" while the undaunted Missionary is girding up his loins, and, in the face of danger and death, bearing the Gospel of Christ to regions whose inhabitants have never been able to say, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings," we are permitted to lay our offering of love on the altar of Christian charity, and are assured by our gracious Lord, that though it be humble, it shall not therefore be despised. In the great machinery which is put in motion by the liberality of the Christian world at the present day, the minor springs occupy an important place; nor could one of them be spared without deranging and retarding the movements of the whole. If ours are not the most splendid parts, they are not therefore unnecessary; if they appear small in comparison with others, they certainly are not overlooked by Him "who seeth not as man seeth." And while we invite, while we urge those of our friends over whom we have any influence, to join us in our work and "labor of love," we would thankfully recognize the hand of God in the prosperity which has attended our Society the past year. Since our last anniversary, we have received donations from several charitable societies and individuals. We also acknowledge with great satisfaction, the increase of strength we have derived from the acquisition of three Auxiliary Societies. This latter circumstance has been peculiarly encouraging, and we cannot but hope that when the object of our Society is more extensively known, we shall be still further assisted in this way. The present state of the funds with our receipts and disbursements will appear by a reference to the Treasurer's account. Statement of Receipts and Expenditures of the Grabam Society from January 1818 to January 1819. Received from 95 annual Subscribers, do. do. 21 Donors, do. do. the Juvenile Auxiliary Society in Phillips Academy in $138 25 116 50 46 12 $300 87 Paid Directors' Orders, 294 62 Balance remaining in Treasury, 6 25 $300 87 Received from the Blandford Auxiliary Society, articles of clothing valued at, 30 20 From the Braintree and Quincy Auxiliary Society, A reading circle in Amherst, do, 8 75 8 50 22 00 2.00 19 93 Received from the American Education Society, articles for the use of their Beneficiaries, 135 71 Received from Ladies in Pelham, articles of clothing, valued at, 9.00 $246 09 Remaining in the Treasury, articles valued at, Thirty-nine young gentlemen have been aided to the amount of $385 07; a large proportion of them are Beneficiaries of the American Education Society, and nine have entered college. DONATIONS TO THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SOCIETY IN JANUARY 1819 From the Gloucester Female Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, Deborah Farnsworth, Machias, Female Auxiliary Education Society, Beverly, Collected by Mr Aber Morse, in Nantucket $23 50; Falmouth $14 21; Harwich $7 60, Wellfleet $6 00. 51 31 Boston Female Auxiliary Education Society, by Miss L. Battelle, annual subscribers, $160 50, donations $507 88. 668 38 Ladies in Billerica, 15 50 Female Charitable Society in Medway, west parish, 10 00 Miss Harriet Choate, Chebacco, 2.00 Annual subscription of sundry male members of Park-Sreet Church, by Asa Ward, 79 00 122 00 Beverly Female Auxiliary Education Society, 5 40 Female Benevolent Society in Attleboro' 1st parish, Mary Reed, Treasurer, $20; 25 00 From Rev. T. Pomroy's Society, Randolph, 16 00 Hillsboro' County N. H. Bible and Charitable Society, R. Boylston, Treasurer, viz. Contribution in Rev. Mr. Eastman's Society in Methuen, on new year's day, Amherst Female Reading Society, $1 06. Do. avails of a Charity-box, $2 34. Individuals in Rev. Mr. Greenough's Parish in Newton, Females in Bradford Academy, Merrimack Missionary Society, A young Lady of Hardwick, Mrs. Nichols $1. Miss Lucinda Marsh, $1. Female Education Society, Rowley, Berkshire Auxiliary Education Society, Tyringham Auxiliary Education Society, Subscription of a few individuals in Rev. John Keep's parish, Blandford, Springfield Auxiliary Education Society, From annual subscriptions, From the following clergymen, contributed by ladies of their respective societies, to constitute them members for life, the sum of $40 each: viz. Rev. Daniel Huntington, North Bridgwater. Rev. Edward Payson, Portland, Rev. Joshua Huntington, Boston, Rev. Samuel Worcester, Salem, Rev. Asa M'Farland, Concord, N. H. Rev. Abiel Abbot, Beverly, Rev. David Oliphant, Beverly, Rev. Brown Emerson, Salem, Rev. John Emerson, Conway, Rev. Samuel Osgood, Springfield, Rev. Samuel Spring, Newburyport, From the Rev. Jonathan Burr, Boston, Additional donation from Ladies in the Rev. Joshua Huntington's Society, 17 52 576 275 38 60 70 00 1.00 2.00 13 51 229 00 28 00 35 00 58 00 19.00 8. 00 440 00 40.00 6.00 100 00 100 00 $2,248 50 The Treasurer also has received from the Female Cent and Dorcas Societies in Conway articles of clothing to the value of $59 63; and from friends in Putney, Vermont, articles to the value of $135 71. MISSION TO JERUSALEM. IN the course of the last autumn, the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, determined, under the favor of Providence, to send a mission to western Asia, with a view to its ultimate establishment at Jerusalem. Two of the missionaries of the Board, the Rev. Levi Parsons and the Rev. Pliny Fisk were assigned to that service. They are both now employed as agents in making known the objects, and operations of the Board, and in exciting a missionary spirit and receiving donations; Mr. Parsons in the state of New York, and Mr. Fisk in Georgia, and other southern parts of our country. It is intended, that in the spring they shall apply themselves to those studies and pursuits, which will be particularly useful to them in the ir new field. |