The Opening Gate. 1873-1923 Semicentennial Thoburn Methodist Episcopal Church Calcutta

On the occasion of the anniversary of his first Sabbath in Calcutta while he was meditating on the wonders of the year a messenger brought to him a note containing sixty rupees sent by a poor widow not a member of the church begging him to accept this sum as an offering toward the erection of a new and large church. [...] My decision was made and at the close of the service in the theater that same evening I related the incident and announced that we would forthwith undertake the erection of a buildng large enough t) hold all the people who wished to hear God's word preached.""'9 Nearly two years later on the last day of the year Thoburn dedicated this great church for which the people of his congregation most [...] In 1887 a memorial was sent from the Bengal Conference to the General Conference which led to the establishing by the Church of the order of deaconesses. [...] During my Pastorate the most marked thing along the hue of physical improvement in addition to the building of Thoburn Hall was the rearrangement of the interior of the church the32 building of the platform for and the installation of the pipe organ and the reshaping of the altar. [...] The seamen's work was carried on with the assis-36 Lance of others in the early years of the church with the help of Dr.