Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / Oct. 13, 1887, edition 1 / Page 1
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J — « . ,« OF III-»Heng : »Ur-Ess- Mi- Dis T^IFT-1-7 a=3aKT, - - • —— ' — BISHOP HOOD ON THE EPIS COPAL district; Sometime ago there were several articles published on this subject. As the advocates of eight districts seem to have gotten through with what they had to say upon the subject, I suppose that n word upon the other side will not be out of place, t will not consider the general want of suit ableness in the districts proposed, but simply remark that one of the districts propose*!by Brother Blackwell would not famish a bishop his travelling ex pense. If wholly dependent upon it, when he got on k he would have to stay,, for- he would not raise money enough on it to get back home. The General Steward ought not to have to take a larger amount from the general fund, sent to him by the conference stewards, to make up the deficiency in Bishops’ travelling exf penses. than he receives from them-as excess of collections. The law /re quires that at the end of six months the Bishops shall pay over to the gen eral steward what ever they have re vived above their expenses; oriftheir expenses have exceeded the amount of their collections, the steward is re quired to pay them the difference. Therefore * district made up in sneh a way that it would net raise the amount it cost a Bi*hop to travel' over it, would simply be a burden to the general fund. It strikes me that such a (Jjgrfgg ought not to bemade. In^ SandjfeMF articles puhlisfiedoia tms^ftbjecLtbe thought conies into my mind that it is remarkable how' confidently men can write on subjects they seem to know but little about. While we are so greatly emharass ed, financially, the districts should be so arranged that in any emergency, -the bishop could raise, on his own dis Iricr, the amount necessary to enable him to go at call. Our travels are not simply to visit ehurches and hold conferences. We are requ ired to meet at some place twice a year. We a.so have joint se sions with other Bishops; College trustees to meet; civil courts and other places to go to, in the inter est of the connection. The districts should therefore be arranged to ac commodate the necessities of the sitha The present districts are the results of months of careful study ; with eve* rything connected, with the subject in full view. Before the present ar-1 :rangeroent was settled > pou it was it cussed in three meetings of the Board ot Bishops, and the arrange ment, nearly as adopted by the Gene ral conference, had the Unanimous endorsement of the Board. It seems to me that the experience of the Bish ops ought to be worth something in a matter about which they ought to know as much as some other people do. ' While I think a few little changes might be made to advantage, yet I don’t hesitate to assert that the general plan ot the districts cannot be improved. I. think the Philadelphia & Baltimore confer ence ought to be in the second district, ami third district might be put in a little better shape, but beyond this you could sot go, to any advantage. It is said that there is a want of districts. The more seeming than real. iSaffcTJ-SS* New York the next, and dinner w Boston. A v district which, ean ** traversed from end to end in ihirtj hours, is certainly not inconvenient .The second district » a little longer but with Michigan aud Canada taker ffrom it and Philadelphia and Haiti more added to iti .it would be about » convenient/for • travel as necessary as fonr of / the Bishops live' betweet its two extre mes, and one a little of to ohe' side.!. To “reach that dhtrist from bis lioroe Bisliop Thdftjpeo* would.have to travel less than twe hundred miles, and either of three others/less than a hundred, and Bwh others: less than op Junes Jives about the middle of it. It seems to me that a more conven ient district coold not be- made Whde the third district might lie’im proved by putting in other Southerh work instead of that which' it now hes ; yet even that might lie worse. Bishop Thompson lives near to the two Northern conferences, and Bishop Jones not very distant, and the other three bishops between the two ex ireinee. Suppose > for instanee you should divide the • third district, and give Bishop Mjooic the northeast .end and Bishop Lomax: the southweft* end. After two amethe travel on tb^dw* .iHfoi Rdmereuce would it make, in returning to their work 1 it* they just changed places ? It would take the same amount of money to get them both hack to their districts, no matter which eittier went to; but in the end* double the amount of money would Be spent,. that . is required, with only one bishop on that district, as now arranged. iten who have pleasant stations in large cities, who can enjoy the com firto of home to , their heart’s content, can have no idee of the pleasure it gives' a bishop to get home occasional ly ; and to have his district so ar ranged that he can go by home, in going from one part of it to the other is no mean privilege. . Tha present arrangement enables us to attend our semi-annual meetings. When each had a district wholly in one section we never all met, except at general conference. It differed but little where the Board met it cost a part of the-Bishops at least $100 for the round trip. < With the present ar rangement we can easily have out meetings and Other appointments so arranged as not to cost half that amount. Most of the Northern and Eastern conferences are held in the spring, four of us go there to hold conferen ces and the other one lives up there, therefore by having our spring meet ing in that section, there is generally but little extra expense. In the au* tumu wc all have work in the South and by having ;«uy Autumn meeting in that section we can all attend il without going a very* great wgy frpra our work. Then there is anothei fact in connection with these meetings which none can appreciate but those who have had the experience. .When we settle up with the Steward at the of six months, we pay .him all the money we bate collected on trav elling expense, and wc have nothing loft to go home with : some times he has nothing to pay us on Salary, if the meeting is a thousand miles from oneV distrjc£ his prospect ft r gloomy. By the present arrange a part of the' worV of cacti not 1$r from the. won get where he .. money. I once made a thousand nailer in going to ingof the Board, but I wi time on my own district n Ijtrge nomber of churches on T. work. When I met the Board I bad $98 ahead,. which I paid to the Steward. Ash took all of this to square accounts, the steward had nothing to pay ns on salary. I pal a thousand miles irons home, and quite as far feogu thelaraer portion bl hoy work. but 1 had a conference near by, jn which I had arranged appoi.it* meots to be filled on my return, and inless than two' cask* after the meet* ing of the Board I had money enough to go to .any part of my \»ork. ^ But there is yet another advantage iu our present arrangement. ' In one section the conferences generally meet in the spring, in the other section they generally meet - hi Autumn. Nine meet inf oue month, and nearly all of them prefer the same day. If a Bishop’s work was all in eft* section his conferences would crowd each other. Teh year* experience on tfie old third district taught me that feur conferences in one month is more than one head ought to be called upon to manage. But even feur or even five conferences' strong along from November ow lie easily mi Under our preseuturraugeiceot i of the Pine November conferences can jgL .'I .rtf aSainSrsii^fll rWfij. mr^TTl. W®®* f■ WW■ Inc ufW ro “ have all those conferences held during that month can be gratified. Then tour of the eastern conferences have all met in one month, without incon venience, under our present arrange ment We have also time between the conferenc. s to visit the churches in each, a little while before the sitting of the conference. Presiding Elders and La* delegates, arc helps in mak ing appointments, but the very bear help the bishop can have is to know fin* himself. And the nearer to the sitting of the annual conference be gets his personal information is the better. Why should we discourage a system which has so many advantages ? Gan any body give us a substitute half so good? I repeat, the present arrangement is the product of thought, pot reck* ' letimess, or iueiperiepce. .V u *It is claimed that some of the Bish ops want more distinction. ,1 will be* lisve this when I hear from them. But suppose some did want less work, would you shave us all down for that reason ? Bishop Lomax and myself are so constituted that we need a large range. Confine us to a field that would not give ns constant employ ment and we would die or go eraxy* It is possible that one additional district might he made to somh ad vantage, but beyond that, it am sure we could not go without crippling cv* erjr oounectioual institution. Nor is it at all probable that the advantages of an additional district would equal 0rM it lj$raony,ttiftfl idi'l.W.lii (Jm*.®*' 1 i ■ 4 ■ v fg. ''■ ‘ J'-i W iWm.?ha^ ft produced* And fhbtoryiS'ihot ly among us than SUNDAY SCHOOL OONVEN* TtON OF THE STATESVILLE *ut>:isrt •'^ippEict.1-'■ * • *a^-r •'rif2'ih.*.ftb -fa: L BY B. F. MARTIN. ■ - • • ' The district Sunday School oonven ion 'JohhVefi \&m »ei 8. M. • B. - Zion church, cuivcned ifc St. town of Rutherford, N. meoing August 10th. . I). .0., was elected MM; H: Haines being coined to tils bed in Liueolnton, q. das.’ lVGaskiH was elected vice ident, itev. Blackwell secretary, Ifev. Martin reporter for the A large number of the elite of R»ift*jrdA»t us at the depot and organizing we ad Thhrsdav. fawned to erbfa 10 o'clock, Dr. Morris ■ regular opening ex Itu mediately after the ,. T. Goskill delivered welcome. It was4 well entertaiuing and schol * i was made ’ by qf 6MbJ,,N.C address. ^ W £s *»r “We meet here this morning,” said be, “not as strangers, but as co-labor ers in the great vineyard of the Lord, to pray, suggest, advise and deter mine the very methods for carrying forward the great work of teaching tbe.ypung.”' He. spoke feelingly of Presiding Elder Hai.tes. The ad <dress was replete with tiseftil and needed suggestions. The delegates read their reports whieh were good, considering the hindering storm and consequent iloodi. At the afternoon session earnest and pathetic prayers were oflbfed for FresidiUg Elder Haines. Rev. .Miles read his paper, “Should we use our own literature exclusively f” He maintained with sound, forcible and earnest argument we-should; -use exclusively our own literature.. The paper was discussed by Revs. Blackwell, WiJUftms and Martin. Min L. G. Flemming, of Moiganton, read an essay; “Benefits of early knowledge.” It hs enough to say prolonged and continued applause followed its conclusion. Rev. A. Ai Williams came ftnih with- his subject, “The duty and relation of Teachers to the Sunday School.” A well arrang ed paper which called out almost eve ry speaker oh the flow. Friday, the convention was called to order by Rev.D. B. Best. Dr. Morris opened the subject, “Why should the class leader attend the Sunday School.’*! Revi GasfcHI, Bros. -Goode, Twltty, and other discussed the sttbjecti: Miss Amanda Yount of Kewtoa fend spar; paper was simply grand,Ond be in the hands the race. ^Revs. Bailey and Beat pre sented the subjects assigned them. MteMturia taper, a little g^i M SL reported, permamnt organize effected m presented by the committee. • • ?•' Among the annual officers elected •was a district Sabbath school superin tendent ; it is hoped by this officer tc make our district more a unit os te ferm and matter as relates 8* 8. liter ature, and to organize and foster S. S. work. Brothei A. L. Mclntire read his paper, “How should we regard the “Staw of Zion ? ” v This paper was discussed at length. We regret the absence of ^ditor Dancy. Resolutions of thanks were read and adopted: “Necessity of more ef ficient Ministers and Teachers/' by 'Roy. Martin, and “Intemperance, its effects and cures/’ was read by Rev. Blackwell. It is said by those who know that1 ihere never was a, more successful convention held in this district. Dr. Morris lectured in the court house Thursday evening on “The Irrepressible Age.’* An appro* ciative audience sprinkled with the races greeted him. It is sufficient to say he lectured. After a pleas* ant stay among Rutherford’s conside rate, generous, and notably hospita ble people,- we adjourned tine die »y evening at 1684$ p, m. laa** mg Dr, Morris to conduct quarterly conference (we have been informed it was a grand success, financial ly and spiritually ; a . holy fire is now burn ing there, and several converted) we; left for home in company with quite a large number of delegates, Saturday morning, .having, enjoyed the most pleasaajk time w? have experienced in the old North State Our next meet ing will be held in Newton, N-C. Despite washouts, destruction of coun ty bridges, and an exceedingly hard year, crowds attended our sessions money was not scarce, and cheerful ness seemed to crown every brow, aac spread its genial rays over every face ANOTHER QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED. , , ul ft. BY C, K. H. The question should the General Conference elect more bishop*, and the kindred but entirely distinct quae Uon uU there need of more Episcopal Districts” has been pretty fully discuss edm these columns. The discussion dia clones still another question which must be settled before either of the ethers can be satk&ctoriy answered. |t is tWs: To what extent % it the duty of a bishop to trayel through his district? On this there seeme to be a wide diversity o| opinion among all ranks of the ohuach, from bishop to lay members. It iattue that die dis cipline states: *‘§e; shall travel if possible, to oveixec the spirituaUnd temporal affiOrav of the churches.’1 But what does this mean? The advo -for an increase of the number of s, believe that die present board $. *m. do not- visit all - of their jrork to the extent need ed. One advoeate for the retention of ithe fitment number, claims duit there the He t .. ■*" ' l fU>.' !Pl’ ‘; , ) are necessary. ■ Ho* tte cootrary »T' *' is the duty of^bUbop.. ?i7/ pan or every circuit andrtalimvi , which is indicated or implied ,‘byuhe>! . won! “entire” before the word district in the passage quoted from the disci^ - lifte, it is equally r present bishops do not toifill thatduty. Xet us decide which of; these two interpretations of the law is correct «*>'*' or at leitn which it is the duty ef the General Conference to adopt* aiad their the questions as to whether we need more bishops or more districts v -if I ! 'U-mv-cj sum %iDREY FOR UUJR FEMALE TEACHER IN AFRICA. : sr.> S f; /isrtf /v ofmTiit: >*ml* < j >7/ ' BV BfSItOI- 8. JONBU, ; * • ■1 •>-!*? «tv. 2 r •i.tv'ii> xi v The arrangement agreed on by the > ishops to further the interest of our work 111 Africa, by soludting the Sab bath school childreu throughsut the connection to contribute their mite toward raising a * ehra annually to compensate our female teacher in thpt , which to indoctrinate out1 youth iiijfo the commendable habit and doty of employing their spare nickksand pen •<’ nils in A Specific channel, directly leading to aid in extending the Mas ter’s kingdom iii the hind of their ( Fore-Fathers. The plan agreed on is for ev£ky Sabbath sdkcol • to raise and contribute to this God-bRseed m For the present ami until the further action of the General Conference, t he Treasurer of the' Ladies Home and Foreign Missionary Society withholds f " the money raised for this purpose sep arate from all other moneys* andsub- %u jeet to the order of the General Miss ion Board. Superintendents or pas tors will forward it to the Secretary Mrs. M. E. Harris, Salisbury, K. C., and she will send it to the Treasurer Mrs. Bishop Thompson. Let no Sab batbscbool be bfaind in this glorious wort. Chattanooga, Tew*., J887. n NOTICE. i an The Goldsboro A. M. E. Ziou dis trict conference and Sunday School convention will; assemble in the beau* tiful thriving town of Greenville, S. C., on the 25th day of Ocfobor, 1887, and continue in session three) days. • The Cist two days will be devoted to ; the business of the conference and the third day to the Sunday School con ation* Revl A, his, members asked for the conference to meet wi^i them ; secondly a majority of the ministers fcvpr meeting at Greenville; thirdly, the^j has been no connectional gathering of any kind there for yean. 11 Ministers wil| come prepared to make settlement for the minutes, also remember the assessments made by tho annual oonference for the church* Cs at Raleigh, and at Kittrcll. Why not let this be the banner district in , all things? for the joy of Zion is our afapMigtih. -Mis V:.;:, , ,t : Rt Rev. Bishop J. P. Thompson, Hon. John C. Haney, and others arei expected to be present and take ipaatut <jr in onr deliberations. ur b Yours for proaspt meeting at ten o’clock am. >;•* • - -if • i»- • J. H. Mattock*. ; mi P.S.: If the water happeastob* low aivWilsoh, gp to Grew *JV :! ; : M*!- v
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 13, 1887, edition 1
1
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