OUR WORK AND WORKERS

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 3, 1898

OUR WORK AND WORKERS.

A CANVASSERS’ institute is appointed for February 17 to March 7, at London, Ontario.

THE addition of six to the church at Chippewa, Mich., is reported by Brother A. R. Sandborn.

A REPORT from the church at Mecosta, Mich., says, “Nearly all the children in our Sabbath-school have made a start to serve the Lord.”

A CHURCH of fifteen members was organized at Watsonville, Cal., January 9. Brethren H. F. Courter, Osborne, and H. H. Dexter officiated.

THE church at Kalamazoo, Mich., recently did a good work by giving a supper to the poor children of the city. Brother Stureman says: “I know this has effected a new experience in our work. The public as well as our church took a lively interest in it.”

BROTHER W. A. SWEANY reports the baptism of four candidates at Albert Lea, Minn., and others awaiting an opportunity. The Scandinavian work there was also prospering under the ministry of Brother E. G. Olsen. The company there will build a new house of worship in the spring.

THE church at St. Charles, Mich., seems to have caught the true spirit of work. A report of the clerk says, “There are calls among the people for readings and prayer-meetings, but we feel that our ministers should be left free to enter new and more extensive fields, and we must do what we can to fill these calls.”

THE Reaper of January 12 says: “We are glad to announce that the work is well under way in Walla Walla, to feed and care for the wants of the suffering. Rooms have been rented and are being fitted up for that work.” We suppose that before this time the good work is under full headway, and enjoying the blessing of God.

BROTHER W. G. BUCKNER, who is laboring in Birmingham, Ala., writes: “I am at present working hard every day in the erection of a house for mission work and for headquarters of the work at this place, where both colored and white people can have an opportunity of finding the truth. It is designed to be operated strictly on the principles laid down in Isaiah 58.”

BROTHER H. F. PHELPS reports to the Worker instances of rescue effort on the part of the church in St. Paul, Minn., which has been doing Good Samaritan work for the past four years. In one family, where the husband could not get work, and the wife had made every effort to secure employment, she had quietly gone without meals in order that husband and son might have what little there was.

BROTHER FRANK R. SHAEFFER rode into Petrolia, Cal., some weeks ago, on a bicycle, arriving on Sunday evening. He did not know any one in the place, but went into the only church in the place. A Methodist minister was to speak, but during the Christian Endeavor meeting which preceded, Brother Shaeffer made a few remarks, after which he was invited by the minister to preach. He did so, and by invitation was asked to continue meetings, which he did for a week, when he was obliged to return to his former field, leaving the Lord to take care of the seed sown.

SISTER VESTA J. FARNSWORTH, on returning to New Zealand from the Australian camp-meetings, writes of a sister at Dunedin, N. Z., “who has been working faithfully in selling the Bible Echo for two or three years. She began with two dozen copies, and has increased to sixty dozen, so she is now selling 720 copies every week. . . . Besides this she has sold, in the past year, 300 copies of our small works, such as ‘His Glorious Appearing,’ ‘Christ our Saviour,’ etc. She also loans tracts to interested

individuals. In addition to this, she is going to take six dozen copies of the Australian Sentinel, and six dozen of the new health journal [which was announced to appear in January]. This sister had not seen one of our ministers for three years, nor did she need to see one, for it was refreshing to the minister to meet such a worker; there was no dearth in her soul.” And so it will be everywhere; where there is faithfulness in distributing the Gospel message, there is the Saviour’s promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” This letter also notes the addition of twelve members to the church at Christchurch, N. Z.

AN important factor in our work is the use we make of the means in our hands. Pertinent to this subject is the following comment by Elder J. H. Durland in Field Echoes: “How much owest thou unto my Lord?” The apostle Paul answers the above question: ‘A stewardship of the Gospel is committed unto me.’ A steward is one put in charge of property belonging to another person, to administer it in accordance with the wishes and commands of the owner. It is not his property, and yet he has everything to do with it. But in so doing he is under the directions, and subject to the wishes, of the proprietor. He is accountable to his lord, and required to make an explicit return of the way in which he has discharged his stewardship.”