State Center Church

(1873-91?) 

The Weekly Pilgrim Jan. 5, 1875 page 3 Vol. 6 No. 1

Respected publishers of the Pilgrim: Please publish something of the satisfaction of the members generally.

  We have, and are still receiving letters from Kansas and Nebraska, asking for aid, and several signed by persons of which we know nothing.  I wish to have it understood that we will not respond to such letters, inasmuch as we received a letter from Nebraska last winter and we made up money, and I Set I according to request, and the next we heard of the man he had started to run away. He was caught and put to jail, of course, but not for anything good he had done. If there are any members in need, which we know there are, I think each one has some brother or sister they are known to, let them write to them and let them intercede for them, and if they are worthy members, they can and may expect their wants to be supplied.

  I also wish the Brotherhood to know that last Fall a year ago, we divided the Iowa River District, our part retained the name, and the other is called the State Center District.  Last Spring we cut off 12 miles on the East, which was attached to Elder Peter Forney’s District, and last Fall we cut off a strip on the North, which took two ministers and quite a number of members. Those were attached to Eld. Henry Strickler’s District, so we have only some sixty members left in the Iowa River District, and the greater part of these are in limited circumstances. I wish this to be understood for this reason: That those who write to me for help will not be disappointed by expecting to receive from us the same amount they might or should if we were all in one District, as we had been three or four years ago.

Eld. John Murray,  Quarry, Iowa