prayers rise for those who are privileged to meet together in Christ's name. We believe in the communion of saints.

(5) As to the Topics. What costs little is worth little; and a readymade set of topics, good for all churches and at all times, however excellent, is probably not the best for any church. It is important that there should be a unity, which is real and apparent, in all of the work of the church and pastor. Instead of one topic for the prayer-meeting, another for Sunday services, another for the Sunday-school; it would be better to adopt the Roman motto: "Non multa, sed multum.”

For the past year we have adopted a method for our Friday evening church prayer-meeting which has been every way pleasant and profitable. The meeting begins promptly at 7:30, sometimes with silent prayer, sometimes with hearty singing, followed by the reading in concert or responsively of the chapter in the Bible containing the Sunday-school lesson for the coming Sunday. The topic of the meeting is some particular subject of present, practical importance in the life of the church or its members, selected from the Sunday-school lesson by the pastor and a committee, with a series of three or four pertinent questions of practical value, printed on the church calendar and distributed on the preceding Sunday. There is then a conversazione, under the direction of the pastor, on the topic suggested along the lines of the printed questions, which open the minds to think and the tongues to speak, and other questions are suggested. The result is a free, easy, unrestrained Christian conversation on the important themes of the Christian life. Almost everyone takes part and the time is all too short. Before and after this conversation there is opportunity for prayer, which is definite, brief and to the point.

This meeting closes promptly at the end of fifty minutes, and after an intermission of five minutes is followed by a meeting of the Sundayschool teachers and any others who wish to remain for the close and earnest study of the Sunday-school lesson for the coming Sunday, under the direction of the pastor. The children and older members who desire to get home before nine o'clock, are excused after the prayer-meeting. The Bible-class closes promptly at nine o'clock. The prayer

meeting topic has so stirred the people to think and ask questions that a thirst is created for the Bible-class, for which about two-thirds of the prayer-meeting attendants remain. Thirty-five minutes without preliminaries are spent on Bible study, by question and answer. The Sunday-school teachers who come for the Bible-class come to the prayer-meeting. The attendants at the prayer-meeting, not teachers, remain to study the Bible. Teachers are recruited from the reserve force, and the superintendent finds here his substitutes for Sunday. The service is a unit in its diversity. The prayer-meeting and the Sunday-school, prayer and Bible study, should be closely allied; for almost every revival of religion has begun in the prayer-meeting or the Sundayschool. "The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonicans, in

that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so."

I believe this method of prayer, meditation, conversation, Bible study, has no limit to its power for good. We have not fully learned the power of Christian conversation in a world of wordy small talk. With the multiplicity of books and magazines, we need a prayerful, intelligent, united study of the Bible. Half an hour on Sunday in small classes is not sufficient. The pastor cannot reach the church there. The evenings of the week are so fully occupied it is difficult to get an evening for a normal class. The home has its demands and should be respected and exalted. The prayer-meeting gives the very best opportunity for the exposition of the truth, where pastor and people may be fellow-students.

This meeting may properly be varied once a month by the missionary concert, which ought to find a place in every modern prayer-meeting, with light from the world-wide field, and once in two months by the preparatory lecture by the pastor.

Whatever the method may be, the topics should be carefully selected by the pastor himself, or by a committee from the church, including the pastor; and should have a close relation to the present life and needs of the church. It is not necessary that all churches should have the same subjects. It is necessary that at any cost the church should preserve its individuality, develop its own resources, and think for itself.

And I know not why occasionally church sociables may not be turned into prayer-meetings, or why at the regular prayer-meeting there may not be the breaking of bread together, and a revival of the ancient agapæ. It is a good time for the best kind of family worship, when all the family are together at the table for breakfast or dinner, as Christ and his disciples had their best prayer-meeting in connection with their Passover Supper. The church has been too much inclined to have its sociables, which may be made very helpful for the spiritual life of the church, altogether for eating and drinking and making merry and money; and frequently neglects even the blessing of the bread, in the hurry of the crowd to eat. The church sociable may become the agapæ, or love-feast; and it may lead to enlightened Christian conversation, instead of the church small talk and gossip.

We close with the proposition with which we began, that the church needs today the spirit of prayer and time for prayer; and its members should meet often for praise, prayer and testimony, for united prayer and Christian fellowship, for the breaking of bread together, holding all things, especially their spiritual life, in common.

STATISTICAL TABLES

EXPLANATORY.

The tables which follow comprise:

1. The statistics of the churches, giving the ministers, church membership, additious, removals, baptisms, Sunday schools and families; the statistics of the Young People's Societies; the amounts of benevolences and expenses. These tables, in accordance with the vote of the Association, in 1887, are made to conform to those in the YEAR-BOOK.

2. The Conferences of the Churches, with the names of officers and the times of meeting.

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3. The Associations of Ministers, giving the date of ordination of each minister, the date of membership, the residence and his " employment.” The abbreviations, " P." and "P. C." are explained below. "W. C." means without church; "Prof." means professor; "C. M." church missionary; "Tea." teacher; other abbreviations are self-evident. "W. C.," however, includes many who have retired from active service, and some who are in business.

4. The Ministerial Record, containing lists of ordinations, installations, dismissals, marriages and deaths.

The tables of the first part contain the names of all the Congregational churches in Massachusetts, the towns and cities being arranged alphabetically; churches in each town according to age.

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The column specifying ministers is corrected up to the time of printing. Church members and families are reported as numbered on the morning of Jan. 1. 1901. Admissions, removals, and baptisms cover the year 1900. Absent" are not additional to "males," "females," and "total,” but included in them. "Sunday school" includes total membership of officers, teachers and scholars, Jan. 1, 1901, or when the school is in operation (if not at that date), covering "branch schools" and "mission schools," so far as maintained by the reporting church. "Av." means the average attendance during 1900.

The months and days in the dates of the organization of churches are omitted. They will be found in the publication of 1873, those of churches since organized being given in the "Minutes" of each year. Also the months and days in the dates of ordination and installation of ministers are omitted. The former may be found in the lists of the local Associations, pages 173–193.

"Ordained" denotes the date on which the person was orginally set apart to the ministry by the "laying-on of hands." "Installed" denotes the date of the beginning of his present pastorate.

In accordance with the recommendation of the National Council, pastors installed or recognized by council are marked "p. c."; pastors duly called by their churches and recognized by some "definite act of the

church," but not by council, are marked "p."; others in service are not marked, but in tabular summaries are counted as "supplies."

none," but

Blanks in any column of figures are never equivalent to mean "no report"; but blanks in the column of ministers do mean that the church has no pastor or acting pastor, and the blank is left for the convenience of those who note changes.

All post-office addresses are to be found in the "List of Ministers," and NOT IN THE TABLES.

1865 Prof. Egbert C. Smyth,
1842 Elbert L. Churchill,
1899 Edward W. Nicolls,
1760 Fred. D. Lane,

Name.

79 180 259

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Samuel C. Bushnell, p. c. '79 '90