Center Church annual manuals: 1870 and 1871 · scan page 87

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45
APPENDIX
E.
The Pastoh's Aid Society,
Its OniGIN AND UliGANIZATION.
At the annual meetincf of the First Church of New Haven, Jan.
1),
1870, Mr.
H.
C. Kingsley ollered some remarks in connection
with the usual reports made hy various committees, particularly the
report on the state of relin^ion in the church.
In referring to these reports as indicatinnr a gratifying degree of
prosperity, he remarked,
in substance, that
it
is certainly pleasant
to know that the church
is steadily increasing in numbers and that
its contributions
for benevolent purposes are large.
At the same
time,
it
is important we should
be considerate of the danger of
over-estimating these outward signs of prosperity.
In the church,
numbers
are
not strength, money
is
not power.
The prosperity
that
is
indicated
only by tokens
that are material and external,
is
not such
as
Christ's church
needs.
To be what He designed
it
should
be, an unspeakable
blessing
in
the
world,
it must have a
strong inner
life,
a working spiritual life;
a life that springs from
personal devotion
; from an individual, sincere, loving consecration
to Christ and His service
;
not living for itself alone, but laboring
also for otfiers.
A church
is truly prosperous only in proportion as
it is pervaded by this spirit.
Such a spirit it is eminently important
to stimulate and develope.
To aid
in doing
this. Rev. Dr. Patton
moved that a committee be appointed
to consider what systematic
plan of benevolence might be devised which should enlist the activ-
ities of the church
in
personal
christian
labor.
This motion was
adopted.
A
committee
was
appointed
consisting
of Mr.
H.
C.
Kingsley, Rev. VVm. Patton, D.I).,
Prof. C. S. Lyman, Mr.
Alfred
Walker, and Dr. L. J. Sanford.
5*

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Silent Grounds Collective, Church Burial & Death Records, CH-P008-0087. Center Church annual manuals: 1870 and 1871, printed page not verified, PDF page 87. New Haven (Conn.). First Church of Christ; digitized copy contributed by Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center https://archive.org/details/manualoffirstchu00newh_0/page/n87/mode/1up Accessed September 8, 2026.

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