The following are replies received from the Secretaries of some of the Societies to which the Synod gave donations in 1990 and which were read at the Synod in May 1991:—
Trinitarian Bible Society
“As the time of the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland approaches, I write on behalf of the Committee of the Trinitarian Bible Society to express our sincere appreciation of the support received by our Society from the Congregations during the year. We shall be grateful if you will kindly convey to the ministers and representative elders our warmest thanks for their help in this work, and ask them to pass on our thanks to the individual congregations for upholding us with their prayers and generous gifts. We trust that under God’s blessing you will all be favoured with a sense of His presence and guidance during the Synod proceedings.
In the good providence of God, more than 560,000 Bibles and 4,370,000 New Testaments have been distributed during the past year, and we trust that under God’s blessing there will be spiritual fruit where the precious Seed is sown.”
Russian Reformation Foundation
We would like to thank you for the $935.00 contribution from the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
We are very grateful that your Synod has recognised the need for such work to continue and has acted in a most generous way. We thank our God for your support and encouragement.
The Shorter Catechism is now at the typesetter. We plan to print at least 4000 copies. They will be sent immediately to the new Christian school which opened in Moscow this past fall, to be used in their curriculum! We praise God for this great victory and continue to pray for the advancement of His Kingdom there.
Christian Witness to Israel
It was a considerable encouragement to us to receive the kind gift of the Synod towards the work of the Gospel amongst the Jewish people. The interest of the church in Scotland in seeking the lost sheep of the house of Israel has always been a matter for admiration by the church here in England.
It has just been drawn to my attention that the first action of the General Assembly after the Disruption was authorising a collection for Jewish evangelism. That historic perspective is honourably maintained by the Synod and I am sure that the Psalmist’s prayer for those who seek the good of Israel shall be your portion: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122: 6.
Lord’s Day Observance Society, London
Thank you very much indeed for your letter of the 1st June enclosing a most generous gift towards the Society’s ministry as we seek to uphold the sanctity of the Lord’s Day throughout Britain.
I would, once again, ask you to convey my warm appreciation to the Synod for remembering our work in this particular way. I enclose our official receipt with this letter.
The battle for the preservation of the Lord’s Day continues unabated both in the area of trading and entertainment. We do thank Almighty God for the encouragements we have received, especially in the defeat of a further ‘Sunday’ Trading Bill in April of this year. We are also encouraged by the Local Authorities who are now prosecuting illegal traders and we continue to put pressure in this direction.
However, one of our main concerns is the lack of teaching in many of our churches throughout Britain regarding the Lord’s Day. It is so grieving to see standards falling amongst Christian people and this is the reason why we continue to produce literature to bring Biblical teaching to those who are in darkness. We are most thankful for the support that we receive from the friends of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. It has been my privilege to have fellowship with many during the past twelve months. Your faithful support for our work is a great encouragement to us.
Reformation Translation Fellowship
The Reformation Translation Fellowship wishes to express gratitude to the Synod for their continued generosity to the work of translating the literature of the Reformed faith into the language of the Chinese people.
It is hoped that the autobiography of the esteemed Rev. Charles Chao will be published in the United Kingdom during the course of the ensuing year, and it is believed that this book will further stimulate interest and support for the work in this country.
The Fellowship is also intending to reprint the Chinese translation of the Shorter Catechism, which has ever proved of inestimable value in the promulgation of the truth of the Gospel.
With every good wish for the furtherance of the Gospel.