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Subject: Penn's 1902 history of the Baptist Ladies Missionary Society of Sidney
Date: 8 Dec 2003 14:58:17 -0700

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.

Surnames: Penn, Best, Hanley, Townsend, Wadley, Jacobs, Thompson, Lighthizer, Scanland, Riches, Hills
Classification: Bible

Message Board URL:

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ok.2ADE/3111

Message Board Post:

THE FREMONT COUNTY HERALD. June 19, 1902. "Ladies Missionary Society. By Mrs. A. V. Penn".--I shall certainly not read this little sketch, very imperfectly written, of the work of the Women's Missionary Society of the Sidney Baptist church, with any degree of pride in what we have done in this line of work, but rather with humiliation and shame than so many opportunites have been lost to advance the cause of our matter, that our ears have been so often and much of the time closed to the Macedonean's cry, "Come over and help us."

I presume our church, as a missionary Baptist organization during the first twenty-nine years of its existence, did not wholly disregard its obligations, but upon examining associational minutes and back records so far as I have been able to find them, I do not learn that the missionary work was taken up by the sisters or that there had ever been such an organization as "The Women's Missionary Circle" until the year of 1881, the year that Bro. Best was settled as our pastor. Sometime in the summer of that year Sister Hanley called a meeting of the Sisters of the church at her home and as a result of that meeting there was organized the first Women's Missionary Society of our Sidney Baptist church, with Sister Hanley as president and Miss Nettie Townsend, who has since died in a far off island of the Pacific ocean, whither she had gone in a fond hope of regaining her heath, as secretary.

Only a few of the Sisters were brought to feel an interest in the foreign missions the first year. However, a few of us held regular meetings and at the close of the year sent $18.00 to the foreign fields. Our society grew in interest and number and in 1883, $35 was raised. In 1884 we fell back to $19.50. What caused this falling off in our contirubutions I have been unable to find a record. In 1885 our collections were $19.75.

Sister Hanley continued our president until l886. During the five years of her leadership we held regular meetings most of the time, studying the different countries where our missionaries were working. These meetings were very pleasant, as well as profitable to those who attended and we had sent at the close of five years $121.75 to the foreign mission board.

At this time, deprived of our devoted and patient leader we for two years alllowed our work to stand still, or perhaps I had better say die and I find no record of any meetings held or any money raised for that length of time.

Sister Wadley then took up the work with a few of us, and during the year she was with us we made a contribution of $6.50 to foreign missions. In the year 1889 Sister Jacobs became our president, with Sister Emma Thompson, succeeded by Sister Flora Penn as secretary, and during the years of '89 - '90 and '91, our society although not many in members , held meetings quite regularly at the home of president, taking up a regular course of missionary study, and collected $54.00 for missions.

The removal of Bro. and Sister Jacobs from among us again left us without a leader and I was very much surprised on examining the records to find that I myself had tried in my weakness to fill the ofice of president with my Sister Flora Penn continuing as secretary. I realize what it would mean to a society to change from such a consecrated and competent leadership as Sister Jacobs could give, to one undertaken by myself. However in spite of all discouragements there was collected during the years '92 and '93 to be divided between home and foreign misions $41.42.

I have not been able to find any record of anything accomplished by our circle in the year 1894.

On 1895, our dear Sister Lighthizer became our president and one more spiritual or humble cound not have been found to do the work at that time. She with the assistance of Sister Scanland as secretary, again brought order out of chaos and very interesting meetings were held with tolerable regularity, for three years, with the exception of a time during Bro. Lighthizer's sickness and death when she was called upon to be away from Sidney.

During these three years, our colledtions amounted to $36.38. In the latter part of the year 1898, the Lord sent us our dear Sister Riches, always so faithful and self-sacrificing, abounding in humility and patience. Through her faithful efforts we were enabled to send for home and foreign missions from the time she came among us to March 1901, $83.00.

At this time Sister Riches, on account of failing health was obliged to give up the work as president and was succeeded by Sister Hills who, with all other responsibilities heaped upon her, and amid all discouragements has collected and sent to the board for home and foreign missions $13.50.

During the 21 years since the organization of our society we have had seven different presidents and nine secretaries, and have collected for missions $206.80, an average of $14.60 a year. This summary is of course not perfect owing to the fact that the records were not to be found, for the years ;of 1886, 1887 and 1894.

I feel that we should have accomplished much more than we have, and pray that in fifty years to come not one may be lost in doing something toward spreading the glad tidings of salvation and that the one who shall write a reminiscence to be read at the celebration of the centennial anniversary of this church shall be able to swell the contributions into the "thousands".

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