“My district” – a snapshot of 19th century evangelistic visitation

From the diary of Sir Michael Connal, evangelical Presbyterian merchant in Glasgow:
“November 6 [1838].—Visited two poor women, as a member of the Stirlingshire Charitable Society ; one a Mrs. Buchanan, a poor object, five children.just out of scarlet fever, three stairs up in a back land in the High Street; dreadful poverty, suffocating smell, rags, [...]

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Parish city missions & class reconciliation

One of the reasons Chalmers advocated territorial city missions was to reunite the classes, particularly by the clergy’s concentrated evangelistic efforts in the slums.  It was ultimately a missionary policy, yet it had distinct advantages for the social fabric.  Here’s an interesting quote that helps illumine Chalmers’ rationale for the parish plan in urban context:
In a provincial [...]

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