Report from Atlanta

By Mr. J. C. Bond. For the Trustees

To the members of the Sixteenth Annual Convention of the Y. P. C. U, of the Universalist Church:

Dear Fellow Workers:

The Board of Trustees of the Church at Atlanta, Ga., beg to submit the report of the work done by the Atlanta church for a period covering the past eighteen months. We do this because we have recently amended our local by-laws making; our fiscal year end June 30^th – so that hereafter our church year will begin and end with the year of the National Union.

The total amount of money raised from all sources during that time has been $1,418.38. Our total indebtedness at the present time does not exceed $350.00 and that includes a debt we owe for a fine piano.

Our membership roll, after taking from the list the names of those who have died, and those who have left the city and whose whereabouts are entirely unknown, now stands at ninety-five. Of this number during 1904, forty-five were regular subscribers to the fund for the carrying on the work of the church, the total subscriptions aggregating $500.

For the year 1905, forty-two have signed subscriptions aggregating $600. These figures are exclusive of the subscriptions of the amounts pledged by our different societies, the Sunday school, the Y. P. C. U. and the Woman’s Mission Circle. It can be seen therefore there is a financial gain of one hundred dollars this year over that of 1904. There has been no gain in membership since Dr. McGlauflin left us in February 1904.

The Sunday school is doing good and efficient work, with a membership of nearly fifty, under the splendid leadership of Miss Cawthon and Mrs. Beck, both of whom are faithful, constant, tried and true Universalists. Our Sunday school has a record perhaps equaled by few if any other school. During all the years since its organization it has never taken a vacation, but each Sunday, winter and summer, it has met and has done what it could to bring up our children in the way of the Master, seeking to make Universalists out of every one of them. Yet our Sunday school is very much in need of the kindly care and friendly services of a good pastor.

Our Y. P. C. U., we regret to say, is not now very active. It is not meeting regularly and we have done very little during the past year. This is due in large part to the lack of young people in our church at this time; for while it is true the Y. P. C. U. does not set any age limit on its membership, yet it has been quite difficult in Atlanta to convince our older people that the Y. P. C. U., needs them and that they need the Y. P. C. U. Until a permanent pastor is settled in Atlanta therefore, we do not believe we shall be able to de a great deal of work through the Union.

The Woman’s Mission Circle of our church may be compared to any Circle in the country. A braver band of loyal, devoted, consecrated Christian women is not to be found anywhere. They hold their meetings regularly and have since they organized, which was near the beginning of the movement for a church in Atlanta. They have never failed to be the staunchest and strongest auxiliary we have and the existence of our church today is due, in large measure, to their faithfulness and consecration. They have backed every move we have made in the past and have agreed to furnish the music for the church the ensuing year.

What then is the situation in Atlanta? What are the present conditions and the outlook for the future? We have a church property easily worth fifteen thousands dollars fully paid for, in the most prosperous City in the south; a membership of nearly one hundred, most of whom are as faithful and loyal Universalists as can be found in the whole country. A church without a pastor, yet exceedingly anxious for one. A church that has made mistakes in the past yet hopes to profit by them in the future and go forward, striving to regain what she has lost and to out-do anything she has ever done in the work of the upbuilding the kingdom of our Master.

Source: Onward found in Google Books, Vol. XII, No. 31, August 1 and 8, 1905, Page: 262