Missions

Missions — marelibri

[Philadelphia - Urban Poverty - Evangelical Missions - Social Reform] Philadelphia City MissionBiblio.com

Philadelphia City Mission Formed March 12 1831. To the Christians of Philadelphia.

1831Best.-Nr. BK0169Philadelphia: William F. Geddes 1831. 2 12 2 pp. Stitched pamphlet measuring 4 ¼ x 7 inches. Good plus with scattered foxing and soiling some wear to edges. An early appeal for organized missionary work among Philadelphia's urban poor issued upon the establishment of the Philadelphia City Mission in March 1831. The organization brought together Christians from several evangelical denominations to reach residents who rarely or never attended church. Its organizers acknowledged that poverty itself could prevent participation in religious life citing "the want of suitable apparel or the want of provision for the poor in our places of worship-into this last reason every Church may do well to inquire." The pamphlet begins by describing the large numbers of people living in Philadelphia and its surrounding districts who remained outside the ordinary reach of the churches: "The most inattentive christian observer must have remarked that there are many persons in the City and Liberties who live in the habitual neglect of the public worship of God and are as destitute of spiritual life as if they were a thousand miles removed from the sound of the Gospel." The Mission proposed to carry religious instruction directly into poorer neighborhoods through home visits prayer meetings the distribution of Bibles and tracts and efforts to increase attendance at Sabbath and infant schools. Its members were to be drawn from different evangelical denominations and required to demonstrate personal piety before undertaking missionary work. An interesting document of Philadelphia's early urban missionary movement particularly for its recognition of the economic and social barriers separating the city's poorer inhabitants from established religious institutions. . William F. Geddes unknown

Auger Down Books · Vereinigte Staaten250,00 $≈ 222,92 €

[Philadelphia - Urban Poverty - Evangelical Missions - Social Reform] Philadelphia City MissionABAA

Philadelphia City Mission Formed March 12 1831. To the Christians of Philadelphia.

Auger Down Books · Vereinigte Staaten250,00 $≈ 222,92 €

[Presbyterianism – Old School-New School Controversy – Foreign Missions] Rice, Reverend John HoltBiblio.com

July 9 1846 Letter from Rev. John Holt Rice to Rev. John Cameron Lowrie Discussing the Presbyterian Church’s Missionary Board Controversy

1846Best.-Nr. List2863New Orleans Louisiana 1846. Single letter three 8 x 10 inch pages. Torn at folds some tears repaired with archival tape; hole at location of seal; otherwise very good to excellent. John Holt Rice 1818–1878 was the son of a Presbyterian minister and nephew of Archibald Alexander founding professor of the Princeton Theological Seminary from which Rice graduated in 1845. When he wrote this letter he was working as a city missionary to the poor in New Orleans. Rice would spend his career ministering around the southern United States before his death from yellow fever. His correspondent is John Cameron Lowrie 1808–1900 a Scottish immigrant fellow Princeton graduate and a missionary in Colonial India. When his health became too precarious to remain abroad Lowrie returned to serve with the Board of Foreign Missions. The subject of missions boards was part of the Old School-New School controversy and schism in the Presbyterian Church particularly over whether missionary work should be primary the Old School view or secondary the New School view to the Church’s work.1 Those holding the latter view were satisfied with the work of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions ABCFM which was not a specifically Presbyterian body. Those of the former view believing that the Church’s missionary board ought to be itself Presbyterian formed the Western Foreign Missionary Society. When the Church’s second schism occurred in 1837 the Western society was renamed the Board of Foreign Missions BFM and headquartered in New York City. In this letter Rev. Rice finds himself in the delicate position of being an Old School supporter of the BFM ministering to Congregationalists and New School-raised supporters of the ABCFM. He writes to Rev. Lowrie requesting that copies of the BFM’s monthly Missionary Chronicle be sent to him in a timely manner as this was “a matter of some importance to us who love our own board of foreign missions”: “You are probably aware that our churches in this city are composed of very heterogeneous materials many of the members are from New England and were brought up in the congregational church and many were connected with New School churches at the north. This causes no difficulty or division All unite very cordially in support of the Old School church but the sympathies of many are with the American Board of Missions. They know nothing about ours and have some little prejudice against us for our separation. It would be very impudent to argue that question with them now or attempt to convince them that our own board ought to be patronised by those connected with one of our churches rather than the American. But I feel certain that if they knew more of our operations they would take an interest in them.” Rice also notes that he is an editor for the New Orleans Protestant newspaper and suggests that Lowrie send “something now and then” to excite “missionary zeal”. Of interest to scholars of Presbyterian history especially the 19th-century Old School-New School schism. 1 Rev. Dr. Michael Parker “175 Years of Presbyterian World Mission” Presbyterian Historical Society archived November 1 2023 at https://web.archive.org/web/20231101183954/http://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/topics-note/history-world-mission. unknown