St George's Mission
from the Churchman's
Companion 1860
If
there is one part of Church work more than another which we do hope and
trust will be well supported by all, it is the Penitentiary for the
East of London in connection with the Church Penitentiary Association,
and worked by the Clergy and Sisters of the S. George's Mission. We
need not add one line to their own address which we reprint below, hut
we must express our hearty thankfulness that in the face of the fearful
scenes still enacted in the parish church, and as it were, to confound
this and all other devices of Satan against the Church, GOD'S blessing
on this work has been abundantly poured out, and a harvest of souls are
rescued, and this even in the midst of a
persecution such as had certainly no equal in the annals of our country
for centuries. Long may the prayers and alms of all faithful members of
our Church enable it to prosper.
"The Penitentiary at
Sutton in
Surrey has been blessed in the recovery of many fallen women and girls
in the East of London, especially from the neighbourhood of Ratcliff
Highway, Whitechapel, Wapping, Stepney, &c. Commenced as a
Refuge
in Calvert Street, Old Gravel Lane, in October, 1857, it soon grew into
a Penitentiary, and was moved in July, 1858, to Sutton, where it
increased in numbers from 17 to 30. The house, however, has been found
inconvenient; arranged for so many, and the want of water and smallness
of the laundry has interfered with the washing, and seriously limited
the prospects of support by such work. More suitable premises have
therefore been taken at Hendon, near Hampstead, where it is hoped that
these difficulties will be obviated, and the work make steady progress.
A debt, however, has
been already
incurred of £150, and a farther sum of £600 will be
required for furnishing, alterations, and fitting up the laundry on a
scale suited to meet a large order for work, which has been promised as
soon as it can be undertaken. To raise this sum of £750, the
present appeal is made, that the Institution may start in its new
premises free from all incumbrance.
The crying and flagrant
sin of this
District of London is alas too notorious, abounding in infamous houses,
penny theatres, low public houses, and various dens of wickedness; so
that in a survey of a block of 733 houses, and these not in the worst
locality, made by the East London Association, 27 were found to be
public houses, 13 beer-shops, and 154 brothels.
When, therefore, we
see, in little
more than two years, 130 to 140 poor girls and women rescued from the
very jaws of this death, and of these a large proportion giving good
proof of repentance and a new life, some in respectable service, some
restored to their friends, others in this or other Penitentiaries, we
may surely ask for liberal help towards so truly Christian an object,
that it may not languish or droop for the want of the necessary funds
for its maintenance. And at this time especially, when so much liberal
aid has been given to endeavours for remedying the great Social Evil in
the West End of London, it is well that the wealthy, and
above
all our commercial men,
should be reminded of the still more flagrant evil, which the very
extent of our commerce creates in the neighbourhood of the Docks, and
so assist in all sincere attempts to provide a remedy.
A subjoined extract
from the letter
of an impartial observer, the Rev. W. H. Vernon, Curate of the parish
of Sutton, who has kindly visited the House every week, in order to
assist in the religious instruction of the inmates, will best show how
far this institution deserves the liberal support which it now asks.
The
recent movement will be doubly valuable if it direct the public
attention to the self-denying efforts, and the actual amount of good,
which this work has already effected. In my weekly visits to the House
of Mercy, situated in my parish here, I have been deeply impressed with
the vast importance of the female agency employed for reclaiming this
unhappy class. As far as I have been enabled to judge, everything is so
conducted in the care and treatment of the inmates there, as to
encourage the hope that by the Divine blessing increasing good will
result. Their attention and deportment at the afternoon weekly service,
wherein I feel it a privilege to declare to them the simple truths of
the Gospel of CHRIST, are highly gratifying and full of promise. May it
please GOD to put it into the hearts of the wealthy and influential to
assist liberally in this opening for setting forth GOD'S glory and the
salvation of this hitherto neglected class of our fellow creatures.'
Accordingly, on
Thursday the 21st,
the new house at Hendon was opened in that religious order and spirit,
in which all works for GOD'S honour should be commenced, with Holy
Communion, with prayers and psalms. The Dean of Westminster preached in
most touching and earnest terms on the subject for which the Home is
founded. The Home is a large one, fitted up in the most useful way, and
well adapted for its purpose: work-rooms, class-rooms, laundries,
dormitories, all well ventilated and fitted up. A room has
been fitted up neatly and yet worthily for the Chapel, and was
decorated with flowers and evergreens on the occasion. May this day be
the commencement of many years of prosperity and success to this Home
for their great work of bringing back to GOD'S mercy and favour those
who have so sadly fallen from it.
Donations
towards the special
Fund or Annual Subscriptions, will he thankfully received by Thomas
Charrington, Esq , Ratcliff, E.; by the Secretary, Rev. C.
F. Lowder, 44, Wellclose Square, E.; or to the Account of the
East
London Penitentiary, at Messrs. Barnett, Hoare and Co., 62, Lombard
Street."
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