| |
Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Heritage Sunday
 Miss Donaldina Cameron worked to free Chinese girls from slavery.
In the mid-1800s, tens of thousands of Chinese immigrated to California, first to the San Francisco area because of the 1849 Gold Rush and then moving east in the 1860s to provide labor for railroad expansion. These immigrants, often unskilled laborers working for very little pay, were often greeted with hostility and mistrust by white citizens.
Presbyterian ministers in San Francisco, seeing the immigrants’ spiritual, medical, and educational needs, appealed to the Board of Foreign Missions for assistance. Late in 1852, the Rev. William Speer arrived to open the Presbyterian Mission for Chinese. Speer was well-qualified for the work, having served for four years in Canton, China. His article in the January 1853 Princeton Review encouraged Westerners to embrace the newcomers. Illustrating the types of contributions they could make to American society, Speer wrote: “Wherever their foot has rested, like the fabulous dragon, painted on their imperial standard, they have been the symbol of prosperity.... Let, then, the United States encourage the influx of this people.”
Presbyterian mission to the Chinese continued in California through the work of the Loomises, the Condits, and many others, including Donaldina Cameron, known as Lo Mo (the Mother), who served from 1895 to 1922. Presbyterians continued to serve new immigrant groups as they arrived, building a history of welcome and support for all who came to these shores.
—Staff of the Presbyterian Historical Society
Gracious God, you have asked us to stand up among the believers and serve others. Strengthen us to do the work to which you have called us, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Acts 1:15–17, 21–26
Somebody’s Knocking at Your Door
PH 382, WB 572
Ps. 1
Psalm 1
PPCS 1, PCW 11
1 John 5:9–13
Alleluia, Alleluia! Give Thanks
PH 106
John 17:6–19
One Bread, One Body
LUYH 130
Daily Lectionary
Ps. 93, 150 Ps. 136, 117
Ezek. 3:16–27
Eph. 2:1–10; Matt. 10:24–33, 40–42 |
|
