nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

RELIEF AND ANNUITY BOARD 459
VIEWING OUR MINISTRY OF RELIEF
WALTER R. ALEXANDER, Associate Executive Secretary
It has been thought by many, and so expressed by some, that eventually
the various annuity plans of the Board will cause the relief roll to diminish;
indeed, well-nigh to disappear. It is quite evident,' however, that that day is
still far in the future. The war and its aftermath, with increased living costs,
is enlarging the relief roll steadily. The total number of beneficiaries hovered
in the vicinity of 1,200 for a number of years. Last year, we reported 1,226.
Today, the total is nearly 1,300.
The above being true, it is very enheartening to see the receipts for this
department increasing so steadily these latter years. In 1942, the total received
was $120,000.00; in 1943, $168,000.00; in 1944, $180,000.00; and in 1945, well
over $223,000.00, of which total $11,000.00 came from the Centennial offering.
Thus, your committee was enabled again last year to enroll all properly attested
applicants, to make numerous increases in grants to those already enrolled, to
send an additional check at the Christmas season to every beneficiary in the sum
of $12.50, and to add materially to the relief reserve fund.
In the report made one year ago to the Board, we forecast an expenditure in
1945 of $157,000.00. We actually disbursed $179,000.00, $22,000.00 beyond
the estimated figure. This was occasioned by the addition of many new names,
together with many increases in grants. However, your committee operated
well within the income, as there was received, in the year 1945, over $223,000.00,
$43,000.00 more than was received in 1944, and $44,000.00 more than was
expended in 1945. Thus, a goodly sum again has been added to the reserve
fund, a sum in excess of $34,000.00.
In view of these increasing demands occasioned by rising living costs, your
committee is pressing, this year, the special offering for relief, authorized by
the Southern Baptist Convention. Such an offering has been sought in recent
years, and with some measure of success. The response, however, has not been
worthy of Southern Baptists, as the participation was by no means general, nor
was it commensurate with the needs of the cause. We must bear in mind that,
even with the more liberal grants to our beneficiaries of the past two years, we
are far behind several of the other great denominations of America in the
measure of aid given by them to their aged and dependent preachers and widows.
Accordingly, therefore, and with the express approval of the Southern Baptist
Convention, a special letter was recently addressed to the pastors of all churches
listed in the Southern Baptist Handbook of 500 members or above. In response
to these letters, some 30,000 special envelopes have already been mailed to
pastors requesting them, and they are being mailed continuously in response to
other requests coming in from day to day. It is confidently believed the special
offering this year will bring a worthy sum.
While we do not hope to receive anything comparable to the sums received
in either the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for foreign missions, or the Annie
Armstrong offering for home missions, we see no reason why this annual offering
for relief should not bring to the Board a most substantial sum year after
year. In this way, we are hoping to increase all our relief grants in this day of
diminishing dollar values, at the same time adding materially to the William
Lunsford Memorial fund, which we purpose to build to $1,000,000.00 in the
immediate future. This fund now as of March 31, 1946, stands at approximately
$370,000.00.