of Haverhill, Mass., requesting a missionary to work in the various churches of that city, will be taken up. A salary of six hundred dollars has been pledged for her support. Would it not be well for churches or city missionary societies which are contemplating the support and services of a trained missionary to make application as early as possible, in order that a wise dis. tribution of the talent available may be made? A letter was read from Mr. E. L. Headstrom, of Buffalo, N. Y., stating that a bequest of $500 made by his father would be paid about May 15th. Miss Malmberg, who has been laboring so efficiently as general missionary in Kansas, will spend a few weeks in Chicago, taking a greatly needed rest before going to Kansas City, Kan. Her engage ment there is to continue for three months, and will be carried on in the American churches. Two days of each week, however, will be reserved for work among her own people, the Swedes. Misses Peck and Dysart, who were called from the South on account of the spread of small-pox, are already installed in temporary labors, under the auspices of the Philadelphia Union. Miss Bliss, of Montana, has been released from full service for the Women's Baptist Home Mission Society, and will be employed by the churches of Helena, except a small portion of her time, which has been reserved for visiting Associations and the State Convention. Professor Jensen, of Morgan Park, has consented to lecture before the Scandinavian students in the Training School in their own tongue, thus adding another instructor to a corps already embracing some of the best talent in the denomination, who are giving gratuitous services year after year. It was voted that in pursuing field work in the Black Hole neighborhood, prayer-meetings should be held every week in the homes, except one each month, which should be a general meeting of women and students, held in Pacific Garden Mission, its character to be similar to the instruction given mothers by Miss Harrison upon the development of child nature, and adapted to the intellects receiving it. A letter was read from Mr. Crosby, of Muscogee, Ind. Ter. asking that Miss Quinton be given the privilege of spending a part of each week there, as the need was very great for missionary labor. At a later meeting a letter was presented from Mr. Essex, pleading for the same service, and stating that all missionary work done in that locality was carried on in the country, and none whatever in the town. Mr. Brawley, of Petersburgh, Va., who has been very kind in introducing Miss Garland upon her new field, has written numerous letters concerning her welcome and efficient service. Mr. Lelley, of Lawrence, Kan., expressed great helpfulness in Miss Peterson's labors, and begged that she be given a vacation. At the request of Mrs. Gates, of St. Paul, Mrs. T. K. Gray was appointed as Vice-President's assistant for Minnesota, to have especial charge of children's work. Upon the first Monday in October of each year, a prayer-meeting, consisting of the officers of the Society, members of the Board and students in the Training School, is to be held. And it was voted that all students must pass before the Board within six weeks from the time of their entrance. Miss Burdette, having gone to Washington to represent the Women's Baptist Home Mission Society at the meetings of the Woman's Council, will spend two weeks at the home of her brother, Mr. Robert Burdette, in rest and recuperation. MRS. C. V. L. PETERS. FAMILIAR TALKS WITH THE BRANCHEs of the WOMEN'S BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY. No. I. DEAR SISTERS: It was our privilege, not long ago, to be present at a meeting called especially for the consideration of the work of the Holy Spirit. The truth, plainly and convincingly presented, deeply moved those in attendance, and made us see, as perhaps never before, that the crying need of Christians to-day was not so much great activity, or more faithful service, as the enduement of power by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart. When the request was made that those should rise who, at some time in their lives, had felt the special power of the Spirit resting upon them, a few stood; and when the call was made for those to rise who desired such an experience, the response was general. Then followed a season of prayer, when many, in the utterance of two or three sentences, prayed that they, personally, might be filled with the Spirit, and thus endued with power for service. It was a prayermeeting, in some respects, unlike any we were ever in before, and we said in our heart, Oh! that every Christian in the city were under the influence of this meeting. The same impulse leads us to have this little talk with you, hoping that some dear one who may be mourning over her lack of spiritual power, and longing for the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit day by day and hour by hour, may be helped to see that it is our privilege in all the affairs of life to have perfect guidance, and be so possessed by the Spirit as to have power with men and with God. We all remember the Saviour's farewell instructions to His disciples about tarrying in Jerusalem until endued with power from on high. We have read the passage and heard it quoted perhaps nearly every week of our lives, and yet, is it not true that most of us have passed it by as belonging especially to the apostles, and in nowise to be appropriated by such obscure, common sort of people as ourselves? The apostles were about to take up a strange, untried work, to mark out new paths, and to open up new lines of religious thought and action; they must be taught, step by step, the work they were to do, and so were to wait for the coming of the Heavenly Teacher. Women were with them in that prayermeeting, but, as we have heard little about their work afterward, we have felt that, really, the power fell alone on the apostles, forgetting the promise (Joel 2: 28, 29) that the Spirit should be poured out on daughters as well as sons, on handmaidens as well as servants. But, however we may have viewed this subject in the past, we find ourselves in this day bearing grave responsibilities in the extension of the kingdom of Christ; and how much more did the disciples need power from on high for their work than we do for ours? They were simply going to try to induce men to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is what we are trying to do. They could not do anything in that line until filled with the Spirit. Neither can we. But, my Do we hear some saying: We are not teachers or evangelists, but simply money-raisers, and can we expect a special blessing of the Spirit on such service ? In other words, ours is the very material work of looking after the machinery. sisters, what about the power to run the machinery? Give us the power of the Holy Spirit in the raising of money for any Christly purpose, and, instead of our being obliged to resort to all sorts of worldly devices to secure it, we believe our Treasurers, at the close of the year, could say, as was said to Moses when the people were bringing their offerings for the tabernacle: The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work." Important interests are dependent on the successful management of this machinery. It is not made up of toy wheels that can be turned by the breath of a child. That it may do its work effectively, it must be moved and controlled, not by fitful breezes, but by the resistless, never-failing power whose sources are in the hills of God. And may it not be that our oftdepleted treasuries, both mission and church, are simply and solely the result of our exchange of Divine power for some of our own devising? Acts 1: 14 tells us by what means the Spirit came upon the apostles. They had a prayer-meeting for that special purpose, and prayed till He came. By the same means are we to be endued with power from on high. Pray till it comes. believer receives this power, in just so far will the whole body be blessed. Hence, not one of us, however obscurely we may live, but bears some responsibility concerning the spirituality of the whole body and the conversion of the world. If this be so, let each of us on bended knees personally seek a special anointing of the Holy Spirit, and continue to seek until the blessing comes. "It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." Halbert D. Crawford, Henry W. Geil, FIELD. Wellman, Iowa, No. BAP. 13 5 French in Marlboro, Mass., 5 Third German Church, Philadel Hastings Street German Mission, Chicago, Ill., Germans in Syracuse, N. Y., Germans in Bethany, Ore., Germans in Clinton, Iowa, Germans in Berlin and Danzig, Perhaps the circumstances of some of us may be such that we cannot gather with others to pray. If so, we can go to Him all alone and expect the same blessed answer. It is an individual matter. Into individual hearts the Spirit comes and abides. In answer to the prayer of the one by our side, He may come to her in great power, enriching her in all spiritual gifts, and we have no participation in the blessing because not seeking it as she did. He lifts individual lives, but in just so far as each individual Andrew J. Sturtevant, Napa, Cal., 5887 Feb. 1 Jan. 4 Jan. 11 Feb. 15 Friedrich Reichle, First German Church, Portland, Ore. The following re-appointments were made: Rev. Eusebe Leger, French in Westfield Association, Mass. Moses Robert, French in Hudson and vicinity, Mass. " Nels Erik Nelson, Swedes in Brocton, Mass. 44 F X. Smith, French in Woonsocket, R. I., and vicinity. Thomas Bennet Hughes, Hays City, Kan. G. W Huntley, General Missionary for North Dakota. W. H. Nichols, Oklahoma City, Ok. Ter. George N. Annes, Kent and White River, Wash. Ministerial and Church Record. "The word of God grew and multiplied."--Acts 12:24 ORDINATIONS. PLACE. State Run, Pa., Newton, Ala., Tempe, Ariz., DATE. NAME. DATE. Banksville, Pa., Hollisterville, Pa., P. S. Withers, Lexington, Ky., |