News
Murray Marshall And Family To Nova Scotia For Mission Meeting And V. B. S. In July
July 12-20 Murray Marshall of Dallas, with his family, is to be in Mill Village, Nova Scotia for a mission meeting and vacation Bible school. The Marshalls plan to drive up the east coast and return along the great lakes. The province of Nova Scotia, at the extreme eastern end of Canada, lies north and east of Maine. There are only two churches of Christ in the province of some 650,000 people (1951). Both are very small. Only one, Mill Village, has a building. The other is at the capital, Halifax, some forty miles away.
In 1815 a pioneer church was established at River John, Nova Scotia. In Hants county (where Mill Village is) the restored church was strong during the mid-1800s especially after the conversion of a Presbyterian preacher who studied "Campbellism" to fight it. In those days the church was stronger, on a per capita basis, than anywhere else in Canada.
But digression wrecked the cause there in the last half of the 19th century. Some forty years later, C. W. Murray from Prince Edward Island came to Manhattan and obeyed the gospel. He moved back to his native Canada, first to Montreal, then to the Maritimes provinces (his home section) and at Halifax, Nova Scotia appealed for help in establishing a congregation.
After a second appeal for help, Brother J. C. Bailey, widely-known Canadian preacher of the gospel, went to Nova Scotia in the summer of 1956; ten were baptized. He returned the next summer, accompanied by a young evangelist, David Lidbury; they baptized two. Brother Lidbury preaches for both the congregations, at Mill Village in the morning and at Halifax (where brethren meet in the Y. W. C. A.) Sunday evenings. Midweek Bible study is held both places, usually in Brother Murray's home in Halifax. About fifteen or twenty meet at each place.
Four members meet in the province of New Brunswick; a fine preacher is ready to move there if support can be raised. A part of it has. Brother Louis Pauls of Ontario is the man; he knows the field and wants to go. If you can help, contact Brother J. C. Bailey, Box 438, Carmen, Manitoba, Canada.
Murray Marshall, Texas gospel preacher, is the local evangelist of the Overton Road church of Christ, Dallas, Texas and has had experience in holding mission meetings in the north, especially in Minnesota, Montana, and Colorado. Brother Marshall grew up at Denison, graduated from A. C. C. and E. N. M. U. (Portales, New Mexico) and is now in his fourth year with Overton Road church. The Dallas Singing Normal, of area-wide interest, will be conducted June 16-27 by the Overton Road Church. They are behind the Marshalls in their missionary trip to Nova Scotia.
Ellis F. Webb, 1019 Prospect St. N. W., New Philadelphia Ohio: "Eight baptisms within the past six weeks, and among them last week a young man and his Catholic wife obeyed the simple gospel of Christ. This young lady (age 19) was told by her own people "never come back" due to her marriage to this fine young man. Brethren let's pray for those who are willing to "leave their homes" and be courageous enough to do as Jesus teaches. (Matt. 10:37) Some of the strongest Christians known to this writer are from "denominational circles," and even though it is "right" and "no other way is right," yet we still should be "thankful for those who will dare to do it," because most of the citizenry of this old "fast moving world" will not leave anything to serve the living and true God . . . . The church is growing everywhere, but God help us never to grow 'too big for the Pattern'."
Frank Driver, 615 Isabella, Sioux City 3, Iowa: "My work with the church here will close September 1, but my plans are to remain here and make my home, and enter other work. There is great need in these hard fields, and I feel I can fill a worthy place in this way. I have planned to do this for many years."