RELIGIOUS BODIES AT BULUWAYO.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10973, 12 June 1903, Page 6

RELIGIOUS BODIES AT BULUWAYO.

From the '•Eccele&iaslical Reports'' included in the series of documents just issued by the British South Africa Company we take the following interesting statement of religious activity in the Bulawayo district: — "The following denominations and religious bodies are represented ,in the district.- — Church of "England, "Roman Catholic Church, Weslcyan Methodist, ' Congregational Church, Dutch Eeformcd Church, Presbyterian Church, London Mis-, sionary' Society, Brethren in Christ, j Seventh Day Adventists, Jewish Congrega-! tion, and Salvation Army. The Church of England has church buildings for Europeans and natives. In connection with the former there is a i school, for j children. There are four clergy. No sta-, tistics arte' available *with regard to the! parish church of St. John's, but at St. Columba s Church (native) there is an average Sunday attendance of 300, the service being conducted, in the Kaffir language. . Tliere is a Sunday school with an average attendance of 100, and a day and niglit school on week days., with an average attendance of 54. The Government grant to the Church of .England is .£IOO annually. The Eoman Catholic Church has ; a congregation of about 500 Europeans} ■ and 50 natives. There is one church in ! Bulawayo, and a branch mission at Em-, pandem. It is intended to build a' larger ' church in. the immediate future. , There i are a Sunday school and day schools 'for, gii'ls and boys. . The Government grant is ,£IOO, annually. The Wesley^in Method- j i^ts receive a grant of ,£IOO annually. The ' Congregational Church has a church building in course of erection. This body com-, menced its work in November, 1900, and ,has been holding .services temporarily in! the courthouse, where the average- Sunday attendance has been 250, and at the Sunday school 50. . The Dutch Eeformed Church possesses a congregation of abou,t 200 Europeans and 73 natives, the average Sunday ..attendance being. 85. There is a Church building which will hold 220 persons. The Government grant is .£143 15s. The Presbyterian Church has a congregation of about 400, all Europeans. In the absence of a church building, the Sunday services are held at the Stock Exchange Hall, where the attendance is 7 about 250. The Government grant is a mission station fit Hopefountain, a few miles south of Bulawayo. Their work is purely 1 among natives. The 'Brethren in. Christ".- carry on! mission work in the Matoppo Hills, where they have a small church, capable of holding 150 persons. The Seventh Day Adventists , is a small mission carried-. on by American missionaries in the -Bulilima district. There is a church capable of holding-, 200, and schools are maintained at four out-stations." ' ■