Conisborough Wesleyan Foreign Mission

The annual services were held on Sunday and Monday, and were of a very successful character. The usual P. S. A service was combined with a juvenile gathering, the chapel being well filled.

Addresses were delivered by Mr E. Meggitt, of Manchester, and the Rev. J. F. Porteous, Doncaster. Mr Meggitt spoke in a very forcible manner, as to the various methods of raising money for the great cause of foreign missions, strongly recommending the “Blake system” which is one of weekly subscriptions. For 23 years he had been a secretary for juvenile missions, and believe that by encouraging the children in the Christian work they had solved the problem of how to raise the necessary funds.

The juvenile mission collected over £20,000 per annum, the greater part of which was devoted to foreign mission, and balance to home missions. One of the poorest districts in Salford collected £125 per annum, and in the whole of the Manchester district they raised £2100 and the Liverpool district a similar amount.

As they had started a branch of the juvenile missions in Conisborough, he hoped they would do something handsome, at the same time giving various examples of juvenile devotion and love for the work.

The rev F. J. Porteous followed, and in the brief address remark that he would probably have been on some foreign mission field if his wife’s health had not prevented it, he having undergone the necessary college training, and it was also his ambition to serve God in foreign lands; however, as that had been denied him, he would help the cause as much as possible at home. Proceeding, he spoke of the spirit of indifference shown by some churches in this great work, and that of a church that spent £3,000 from a new organ, yet only gave £2 for foreign mission. He hoped that there would be more consistency about their giving than that and not spend £3,000 in “a box of tin whistles,” and £2 for foreign missions. £140 million were spent in drink; 17 million in smoke; 8 million in gate money at football matches and less than 2 million for the whole of foreign missions.

During the services on Sunday the Rev. A. Stoves made special mentions of foreign mission work, and special anthems were also rendered by the choir. At the Monday night meeting there was a large company present, the chair being taken by Mr E. Megg, Manchester.

The secretary, RW Wright, read the financial statements, and in a few well chosen remarks said that he considered the report somewhat of a barometer showing the state of the church, that he considered very good, and as the total contribution for Conisborough was in excess of last year, as also where the collections of the previous day.

There was also a much larger gathering than they had had for some years, and generally, the report was very encouraging. They found from mission reports that drink was their chief hindrance in the work. The total income of the society amounted to £12 757 0s 5d and the total contributed by the Doncaster Oxford place circuit amounted to £109 4s 8d, towards which Conisborough spent £28 16s 4d.

Mr E. Meggitt (Chairman) followed with a lengthy speech, in which he urged the importance of training children in the work, as they were not only the help of the church at home, but also abroad

The Rev. T. Hackett and the Rev. A. Stoves also gave addresses.