p. 15 | Work in New York City by C. H. Edwards

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 6, 1906

Work in New York City

By C. H. Edwards

ONE of the greatest problems which has confronted the brethren of New York City has been that of reaching the great mass of people who have come from the countries of southern Europe. This has been especially true concerning those who speak both the Italian and Spanish languages.

When we consider that there are over thirty-five thousand more Italians in New York City than in the city of Rome itself, we get some idea of the vast work which must be done for that people.

While there are not so many Spanish-speaking people as there are Italians, yet the great problem before us is how to reach them with this message. Figures mean so little that we may be pardoned for using some comparisons. Imagine the following cities in several of our conferences as having never been entered by workers with this great message of mercy: Columbus, Ohio, with its 126,000; Fall River, Mass., with its 104,000; Denver, Colo., with its 134,000; Memphis, Tenn., with its 103,000; Los Angeles, Cal., with its 103,000, and we get a faint idea of the 135,000 Spanish people who have never so much as received a tract in their own mother tongue.

Here these people are found with all the superstition and ignorance which characterizes them in the Old World. Only recently they had a gathering of thousands of their countrymen, and offered the sacrifice of a calf in the streets to one of their patron saints. This ceremony was carried out under the direction of their priests amid a ceremony of pomp and splendor that was truly amazing.

While this dark picture is before us, we are truly grateful for the fact that the dear Lord is watching over the poor, benighted foreigner, and his hand is being outstretched to them also. About three years ago Brother Louis Zecchetto, an educated Italian, embraced the truths of the third angel's message. It was my privilege to be connected with him in tent and hall work for about two years. He became burdened for his own people, and in a self-supporting way began to labor for the Italians. The work so enlarged that it demanded his entire time. This he was unable to give, and the conference was unable financially to support him. We laid the matter before our brethren at the late General Conference, and the Kansas Conference consented to support this brother in his work. At first the work moved slowly, and at times it seemed as if it must be given up as a failure, but the cloud had a silver lining, and last Sabbath, November 17, ten Italians were baptized, and we organized the first Italian Seventh-day Adventist church ever organized in America. It was a blessed day for us all, and we could but exclaim, “What hath God wrought.” There are several others who are waiting for baptism. Circumstances forbade them at this time, but they will soon follow the others.

We believe this will be good news to our brethren in Kansas who have so nobly helped forward this foreign missionary work in Greater New York.

This report would not be complete without a few words concerning those who have embraced the message. One is an educated man. For years he has been in the Methodist ministry. For two or more years he was a missionary for that denomination in Mexico, but they felt the call from New York to be so urgent that he was recalled, and given the pastorate of one of their churches in this city. Upon his acceptance of the truth as held by this people he was at once dismissed from that denomination. He has publicly united with us, and feels burdened to labor for the Spanish people for whom he has previously worked.

We have carefully considered the man, and we are confident that he ought to be connected with the work. We can but believe that the Lord has called him to work among his own people. At this point we feel that we would be remiss in our duty did we not lay this matter

clearly before our people who have been praying for years for the Lord of the harvest to raise up workers for the thousands upon thousands of these poor, benighted people.

We are face to face with the problem of supporting such a worker as this brother. We have repeatedly appealed to the General Conference and to the union conference, and while both are heart and soul with us in this work, they are unable financially to assist us.

We wish it to be distinctly understood that this is not any side issue, and that we have no desire to even appear as being in the least irregular in our work, but we believe that the Lord does not raise up workers to do a work unless he has the means of supporting them. We do not know where the means may be, so we take this way of trying to find out. Here are more Spanish people than there are people in each of the cities mentioned above, and yet not one person to give them the bread of life; and now that the dear Lord raises up a man for the work, and we can not get the money, we believe that the money must be somewhere, and it may be that the Lord will impress some one to donate to this work. If you are impressed to help this work, send any remittance to your conference treasurer, and let the money come in the regular channel. C. H. EDWARDS.