Various

“ What we need, and what alone can save us, is a baptism of power from on high. Some of our good friends at the North are in mortal fear of the doctrine of a higher Christian life. If they will come down here, we will show them some of the phases of the lower Christian life, until they will be willing to accept anything that will tend to make Christians holy and love one another. ”

“ How the heart thrills with thankfulness and gladness, and, it may be, with a little pride, when a present worker assures us that some of those pupils in whom we are most interested, and for whom we have long worked and prayed, are growing in true manhood and womanhood, fitting themselves to go out into the harvest field to take up the work that has fallen from the tired hands of their teachers. Of those pupils who are already teachers many are carrying the light and truth received at school into the gross darkness which [166] hangs over their people. ”

“ Especially, why should not the Congregational churches, foremost in arousing the conscience of the North against slavery, and in spurring the Government to smite the system and enfranchise the slave, now come to the front and lead him into the better future?
But if we had not assumed these obligations by forcing upon the negro the condition and duties of an American citizen, he would lay them upon us by all the wrongs he has suffered at our hands ”

“ I believe that the Apostles were right in this, and that we do well to follow in their steps. It may be that we shall have trouble which, under a less democratic régime, we might have escaped; but these troubles, if the hearts that are exercised by them are really renewed, may be made means of grace; while, if there be lurking hypocrisy, it will be, by the same means, brought to light. And, then, the smothered discontent under a system of churchly government in distinction from Christian fellowship, may be more poisonous than even open disputes can be. ”

“ I would say in regard to social recognition, that the principal objection to us workers here is, that we are Northerners. I do not think any class regards it such a terrible disgrace to do something for the elevation of the negroes. Charleston is far in advance of other cities of the South in this respect. It is the only city that I have seen where a real Christian conception, or rather perception, of duty seems to be felt. The city has built some of its finest school buildings for the colored children; in one of which there are 25 white teachers, all Southern born. ”

“ All these things which make up our “abundant recompense” are riches which cannot “take to themselves wings,” but are as enduring as the eternal ages. And who can tell what work for God has branched off and is now spreading over the South, from the little that we, the worn-out ones, have done. ”

“ I don’t propose to say much about the church at present, only this: that we need greatly a revival of pure religion.
Miss Wells, our missionary, is getting into the homes of the people, and we already see the good results of her work. She has organized a Sunday-school in the out-skirts of the city, at which she has secured many more promises than [175] attendants. Still she is working on, and will eventually succeed in her enterprise. The readiness of the colored people to promise is wonderful, but the fulfilment is exceedingly doubtful. ”

“ We do not have to contend, therefore, with the prejudice against a new form of government and worship, as we do in some parts of the South. Besides this, there are Presbyterian churches among the colored people here whose mode of worship is so like ours that the people have been educated into sympathy with our government and worship. Notwithstanding all this, from one cause and another, Plymouth church has had a stormy life, and is now struggling for existence. What will be the outcome of our effort it is not best to predict ”

“ So let the springs among the hills of New England, and the streams which water the prairies of the West, not fear to flow in as aforetime, only with a larger flowing, and we will pledge them that the work to which they are devoted shall go on till the end be reached. ”

“ In the years when I was engaged in the work, pious souls often assured me that I would have my reward in the future, both of this life and that which is to come. I replied: “I get so much reward from day to day as I work, I don’t see how there can be any left for the future.” But I was mistaken; those workers who have been laid aside from active service find that the reward continues after the work is done. ”

“ It is the same which is now urged against Congregationalism in the South. The negro race, we are assured, is too emotional, too ignorant, too easily carried away by every wind of doctrine or of feeling, to be entrusted with self-government.
If you work upon this scheme among converts from heathenism, it is certain that you will find trouble. If you work upon the other, you will find trouble also. No good work in this evil world ever went forward without trouble. But this “Congregational way,” it is supposed by some, opens the door specially wide to all sorts of dissatisfaction and dissension. ”

“ That experience has not at all times been very cheering, but it certainly was inspiring, for we always separated with more of zeal and determination in our hearts to do our part in the great work which we love so well. ”

“ They do not run exactly in parallels of longitude, nor flow exactly south or west. They do not take the shortest courses to the sea; they yield to circumstances, and gracefully circle round the obstacles which they cannot surmount. Somehow, they always reach their destination, and leave a path of life and beauty as they go. You may divert them for a little to serve other than their main uses, but still they flow on unwasted to the larger waters, into which they pour their steady streams.
There are two theories of missionary work, and especially of the work of missionary [163] societies. ”

“ I have long since come to the conclusion that God knows best how to have His work accomplished. If some misconstrue our motives in coming into this work, it is no more than the men in Christ’s day did in regard to his motive. ”

“ The superintendent of mission work, no matter how well schooled he be in the language and literature, the history, philosophy and laws of the people for whom he labors, can never know their heathenism as they know it themselves. ”

“ But it will cost us money to see these buildings built; the oversight, the correspondence, and the co-operation of all sorts will be a drain upon our time and treasury; and when the much needed buildings shall have been erected, the enlarged work to which they lead will increase very considerably the annual expense for which we must provide. Other of these funds are for a new mission field, of which the founding is only an item, but the carrying on from year to year will demand larger resources than the past has ever furnished. ”

“ Again, I am at a great festival, and am there on purpose to protect them from drunkenness and other evils equally bad; so they hand me seven dollars and a half, saying, “You have come a long distance to help us; we cannot give you food as we do these Indians, as you do not eat with us,” (and generally I do not, if I can avoid it) ; “take this money, it will help to pay your board.” Or, again, they carry me nearly a hundred miles free, in order that I may teach them and dedicate a church for them. ”

“ Notwithstanding the house is so open that we have to hold our papers tightly, or put a weight on what we lay down (for the wind always blows there) , yet my school at Cross Roads is increasing in numbers and interest. Last Sabbath the wind was breaking trees and throwing down fences, and twice during our school here burst open the door and blew over benches, so that all said, “You cannot go to Cross Roads; you will get killed by falling branches.” ”

“ It is certainly pleasant to labor in a community where you are not constantly reminded that you are despised by Christian people, and some of them from the North, too, because you are doing what your conscience and every sentiment of our holy religion commends. ”

“ It is gratifying indeed to hear the young people, who from these schools have come on to be teachers and preachers, publicly express their profound appreciation of these godly women who have led them along the path of education and of character. ”

“ He would not let any man preach to his colored church. He was pastor of a white church at the same time, and many of his white congregation would go to hear him at Zion church, but they had to take the gallery. I do not mean to say, by any means, that every thing is pleasant and sweet between the two races, but there are things to commend. The things to be condemned, we hope, will soon pass away, and we shall not have to think of some things which we leave unsaid. ”

“ The first eager, enthusiastic desire for education which followed in the wake of emancipation has been succeeded by a calm, intelligent, determined conviction that the future of the race in America depends upon the thorough education of the people. ”

“ It has been very well said recently: “In America if a man is black, we enslave him; if he is red, we steal his lands and massacre his wife and children; and if he is yellow, we won’t let him come here at all.” ”

“ I saw before me 30 men from 18 to 70 years of age, and as many women. With prayer and song and exhortation the meeting continued till nearly midnight. We could not close it a moment sooner. Eight or ten found peace in believing in Jesus on their knees that night.
I was compelled to return to New Orleans on Tuesday. It was God’s work, and He carried it forward gloriously. About 50 have already joined the church, including the man of whom I have particularly spoken. His confession of Christ in the church was manly and thrilling. I am in almost daily receipt of letters from the young converts. ”

“ A system which invites such suggestions, which encourages the idea that the work is not mine only, but theirs also, which thus nurtures frankness and freedom of utterance, has advantages which no system of constraint and repression can possibly secure. ”

“ American Missionary Association.
We are in receipt of several communications suggesting that we, as an Association, should do something for the relief of the negro emigrants to Kansas. We are compelled to say to this, however, that 1. We cannot divert funds from our overdrawn treasury from the work to which we are pledged and the responsibilities we have definitely assumed. 2. Our legitimate work is with the Freedmen in the South, where our schools and churches are, and where the mass of the people will be for a very long time yet. ”

“ The necessities of those days call for a charitable judgment, but do not justify a continuance of the evil. There is but one sentiment in the Congregational churches of Louisiana on this subject: legal marriage is insisted on in all cases. No exception is allowed on any plea. Said one of our pastors while this discussion was pending, “Individuals living unlawfully can remain members of my church only so long as it takes to call a church meeting to turn them out.” ”

“ The Sunday School Times, in commenting on the fact that eight Chinamen were recently received into a church at Sacramento, asks whether it wouldn’t be a good plan for Congress to pass a law that not more than fifteen Chinese converts should join any Christian church the same Sunday. ”

“ One, which sets out to do one definite thing, and to reach it by the shortest surveyed and graded road; another which seeks an end with no less purpose and persistency, but seeks it with more pliability—does not make the country over to fit its needs. Now, our Association is not a railroad, but a river. It was not made by man to serve one fixed and changeless end. ”

“ In another school, under the care of Rev. Mr. Adams, a colored man, as principal, there are three or four white ladies from some of the most respected families in the South. Several of the colored churches are ministered to by white men. In antebellum days, Dr. Jeredeaux (Presbyterian) had a church of colored people, where the whites had to take the gallery, while the blacks held the pews below. The building was one of the largest in the city and used to be thronged. Since he left, his congregation has become a good deal scattered. He had a singular power over his people. ”

“ By doing it with all our might, thus showing that it interests us; by showing that it is a specific work, placed in the hands of the Christian church by the marked Providence of God; by combining the efforts of women, North and South, for special missionary work; by not only arousing men, but raising money to carry it on to successful completion. ”