The American Missionary - Volume 43, No. 02, February, 1889

Excerpt

American Missionary Association.

OUR LIST OF GOOD SAMARITANS.

This number of the MISSIONARY contains the annual list of our workers, who go down the Jericho road to care for those who have been wronged, the poor and ignorant, who need the Gospel. Our ministers and teachers are not like the priest and the Levite, who looked upon the poor man and then "passed by on the other side;" nor do they merely pity and utter words of sympathy. They take right hold and help. They "pour in the oil and the wine," and they build the inns—that is, the churches and schoolhouses where they instruct and help the needy ones till they can take care of themselves and help to take care of others—the most genuine kind of assistance.

It must be remembered that this requires expenditure. The oil and the wine, the inn and the constant attendance, call for money. Our constituents, who furnish this, want the work done and well done, and they are willing to pay for it. But sometimes they need to be reminded of the cost. At our last Annual Meeting, the "two pence" which they had during the year put into our hands, counted in American money, amounted to $323,147.22; and they said: "Whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee." We are very careful to watch the receipts and expenditures, and we find that for the three months since the Annual Meeting, we have received from all sources $66,958.43; whereas, the current expenditures for the three months require about $86,000. We give this timely notice that they who commit to us this work may remit to us what is needed.

Let it be understood that the generous gift of that noble friend of the Negro race was not entrusted to us to do the work of the good Samaritans of the Churches. We are not permitted to use it for this. The yearly income of the Daniel Hand Fund is to do the work of Daniel Hand—no more. For this, God will reward him and generations will bless him, but he leaves the churches and individual Christians to carry on their own work as before and to reap the blessings of it. We cannot give the Daniel Hand Fund to the churches. We cannot expend it for the churches. It relieves no one of duty and privilege. It is limited also, to its use. The churches and the schools to which we are already committed call for a great increase in self-denial and benevolence.

Pastors and members of the churches, the work is increasingly great. It enlarges itself. Other denominations are increasing their efforts to meet the pressing emergency. Let it not be said that our churches—the first in the field and the most efficient—are falling behind in the ranks. Let our banner be ever at the front. Let us do our work.

One of our missionaries was recently at the North soliciting aid in sustaining his work. His appeal was repeatedly met by the response: "The Association is rich—it has just had a gift of more than a million of dollars." When he explained that only the interest can be used, and this for educational work only, the reply was: "This interest can be used in payment of appropriations already made for schools, thus releasing just so much for other purposes."

Now this is exactly what cannot be done....