Woman's Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South

Woman's Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (acronym WMS of the MEC,S) was an American women's organization whose scope included foreign and domestic Christian missionary outreach. Affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, it was organized by General Conference at Atlanta, Georgia, May 1878.

History

In April 1874, largely through the zeal and efforts of Mrs. M. L. Kelley, some of the Methodist women of Nashville, Tennessee, formed themselves into an organization known as a "Bible Mission," with two distinct objects: one to furnish aid and Bible instruction to the poor and destitute of the city, the other to collect and contribute pecuniary aid to foreign missionary fields. In three years, this society secured a home for the poor of the city, founded the Mission Home" for "fallen women", which grew into a large and permanent institution, and contributed US$3,000 for Christian work among the women of China. To this work, Kelley devoted her financial resources, prayers, labor, as well as her child and her grandchild, both of whom spent some time in China. Similar societies were about the same time or soon afterward organized at Warren, Arkansas, in the Broad Street Church in Richmond, Virginia, at Macon, Georgia, Glasgow, Missouri, Louisville, Kentucky, and Franklin, North Carolina. For some years before this, a society of women in New Orleans had been working for the Mexican Mission.

In 1878, there were more than twenty Woman's Missionary Societies in the Southern Methodist Church. These were incorporated into one in May of the same year, and the Woman's Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was organized under a constitution provided by the General Conference of that year, with Mrs. Juliana Hayes, of Baltimore, as first president, and Mrs. D. H. McGavock, of Nashville, Tenn., as corresponding secretary. Miss Lochie Rankin, of Tennessee, was the first representative of the newly formed society.

The society was composed of 34 conference societies. The corresponding secretary of each conference, together with five officers and six managers, constituted the Woman's Board, which was the executive body of the Society. The Home force consisted of: Auxiliary societies 1852, membership 38,203; young people's and children's societies 890, membership 27,263. Total receipts for year ending May 1890, US$75,486.

Abroad, the force was represented (January 1891) by: Missionaries, 32, of whom 14 were in China; assistants, 27; native teachers, 27; boarding-schools, 10; day-schools, 24; pupils, 1,248; hospital, 1.

The value of property held by the Board was US$181.000.

Foreign countries

China

China was the first field entered, in 1878; and the following stations were occupied in the order given: Shanghai, Nantziang, Soochow, and Kahding. Boarding-schools were carried on in all of these cities. There were nine church-members in the Clopton School, Shanghai. The teacher at Soochow reported that her school had read the entire New Testament during one year; and 14 out of a school of 21 were probationers.

At Soochow, Dr. Mildred Philips had charge of a woman's hospital, whose whole cost of building, site, and equipment was US$10,000. It comprised a two-storied home for the medical missionary and others, a dispensary, two wards, and an operating ward, with cheap buildings for servants and kitchen. The hospital was opened in October 1888.

Several schools in the mission were Anglo-Chinese, and two women at Shanghai gave their entire time to teaching in the Anglo-Chinese Chi College for young men.

Work at Kahding was opened by a women of ten years' experience in China, who went, with Chinese assistants only, to make a beginning in that large, walled city. At the end of a year, she had six day-schools with 76 pupils, with five Chinese teachers and a Bible-woman at work.

Latin America

The Society entered Brazil in 1880, and occupied stations at Piracicaba and Rio de Janeiro. They had boarding-schools at both places, with about 100 girls in the former, although only 20 were house-pupils. The latter school received children from two to thirteen years old. A school for young boys in Rio was also under care of this society. The language of all the Brazilian schools was Portuguese.

In 1881, the Society entered Mexico, where it had stations at Nuevo Laredo and Saltillo. The girls' school in the former place enrolled 144, and a boys' school of 39 was self-supporting. The Laredo Band was a missionary society in the church, which contributed from US$40 to US$60 in a year. The school for girls at Saltillo closed its first year in December 1888, having received $282.15 (Mexican) for tuition, which, aside from the missionary's salary, was sufficient to cover expenses. Instruction was given at both stations in day-schools and Sunday schools.

United States

Harrell International Institute, in the Osage Nation, Indian Territory (now Osage County, Oklahoma), was also under care of this Society.

Publications

The Woman's Missionary Advocate was published monthly at Nashville, Tennessee. It was self-supporting, with a circulation of more than 11,000; price, US$.50.

The Society also in 1889 printed and distributed without charge 1,500,000 pages of leaflets.