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Africo*American i
“AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii:32.
VOL. LVII.
CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1936
NO. 52
FEDERAL COUNCIL LOOKS FOR SPIRITUAL
ADVANCE
By the Rev. Samuel McCrea Cavert, D. D.
Coming just at the end of the
National Preaching Mission, the
Biennial Meeting of the Fed
eral Council of the Churches of
Christ in America, held in As
bury Park, N. J., December 9
11, reflected a decisive spiritual
advance. The review and ap
praisal of the Mission, which
constituted one of the main fea
tures of the meeting, disclosed
evidences of a revival of vital
religion in many parts of the
country. The Mission has
reached directly about 2,000,000
people, including 25,000 minis
ters, in addition to still greater
numbers touched by the exten
sion program. The results of
the Mission were characterized
in such terms as these by those
who had had the best opportu
nity for observation:
“It has put evangelism back
into the heart of the Christian
movement.”
“It has been the most vivid
demonstration of Christian uni
ty that our generation has seen
—a natural expression of our
oneness in Christ.”
“The ministers of the church
es have been lifted out of a
spirit of defeatism and their
faith and devotion rekindled.”
“The falsity of the division
between the individual and the
social message has been dis
closed; the two emphases have
been proclaimed as parts of one
Gospel embracing the whole of
life.”
“It showed that Protestant
ism is not as divided as is often
alleged, and that it really has a
basic common message.”
Future of the Preaching
Mission
All felt that the Preaching
Mission is not the end but the
beginning of a movement of ad
vance. Hugh T. Kerr, at whose
suggestion The Mission first
came into being, expressed the
desire for going further and
deeper in the teaching of the
Christian message. E. Stanley
Jones felt especially the need
for a mission which would help
both workers and employers to
consider what the Kingdom of
God would mean in our indus
trial life. Muriel Lester made
a plea for a larger participation
of youth in future plans. There
was a consciousness of special
need for a mission to schools,
colleges and universities. The
Federal Council’s Department
of Evangelism was authorized
both to plan a new united mis
sion to such groups as these,
probably in 1938, and meanwhile
to carry the present Preaching
Mission to additional cities be
tween Easter and Pentecost of
1937.
“The State of the Church”
The report of the Committee
on “The State of the Church,”
headed by Albert W. Beaven
and Justin W. Nixon as co
chairmen, laid the foundations
for a clearer conception of the
conditions of spiritual leader
ship today. It diagnosed the
present weakness of the Church
as due in large part to its “en
tanglement” in the life of sec
ular society and the consequent
obscuring of its distinctive wit
ness and standards. The church
es tend to estimate success in
materialistic terms; to rely on
the same kind of motives as
sustain ordinary philanthropies
and lodges, to assimilate to
themselves the assumptions of
the relatively comfortable mid
dle class and so not to realize the
desperate human issues at stake
in the present social situation.
At the same time the Commit
tee on the State of the Church
noted signs of encouragement
in the waning of the merely
humanistic type of thought; in
“the response of the solid core
of the Church’s membership to
the deeper notes of the Gospel,”
as evidenced in the Preaching
Mission; in the revival of inter
est in theology; in the growing
recognition that economics is
subordinate to ethics. The re
port urges repentance for per
sonal and corporate sin and a
conscious effort toward both “a
common faith” and “a common
conscience” in the Church. It
ends with the central emphasis
on the Church as “a world
Christian community,” and
holds that a deeper sense of the
Church as a universal fellowship
in Christ will alone make it
possible to resist an exaggerated
nationalism, to triumph over
other world movements like
communism and fascism, and to
provide a permanent basis for
foreign missions.
The presidential address by
Ivan Lee Holt, the retiring pres
ident of the Council, sounded
the note of advance in church
unity. Taking his point of de
parture from the unity of spirit
which the Preaching Mission
revealed, he declared that Pro
testants today have “far more
unity than we have any agency
to express.” He insisted that
the time has come either to de
velop a much closer federation
than we now have or else to
move on to union. He expressed
the judgment that “Protestant
ism faces reorganization or dis
integration” and that what the
Federal Council had done in the
Preaching Mission gave it “a
more strategic position for lead
ership in this reorganization”
than1 ever before in its history.
The reorganization called for,
Dr. Holt continued, should in
clude a much more effective co
ordination of the several agen
cies for cooperative service in
America, a similar coordination
or union of the various inter
national agencies working to
build up a Christian world com
munity and Christian coopera
tion on a world scale, and the
“exercise of more boldness in
prophetic leadership” in the di
rection of Protestant union.
The report on the chaplaincy
in Army andNavyypresented by
the Department of Research
and Education, recognized both
the duty of the churches to pro
vide a spiritual ministry to the
men and the serious ethical prob
lems which the existing ar
rangements raise. It recom
mended that the Council create
a special commission which, in
conference with Protestant,
Catholic and Jewish leaders,
shall “prepare a plan embodying
such a modification of the status
of the army and navy chaplains
as will make clear that they are
a part of the regular ministry
of the churches rather than of
the armed forces of the nation.”
This proposal was put forward
as in the interest of the chap
lains themselves and as one
which would operate to over
come their “growing sense of
separateness and isolation from
their own churches and from
their brethren in the ministry.”
The study indicated that a sys
tem providing for greater inde
pendence for the chaplains’
corps is practicable and is sup
ported by precedent in certain
other countries.
A panel discussion on con
sumers’ cooperatives, partici
pated in by a group of eight
ministers and laymen, several of
whom had had actual experience
in directing cooperatives,
aroused keen interest.
One of the most arresting ad
dresses was an outline of ways
of increasing church attendance
by the distinguished statistician
Roger W. Babson, who urged a
more alert ministry of the
Church to the whole lif® of
man—spiritual and physical—
and proposed as a practical de
vice that all churches begin to
keep reliable records of attend
ance at all their services.
Other stimulating addresses
were given by Professor Ernest
R. Groves, of the University of
North Carolina, who stressed
the contribution of the pastor
in the counselling of people
who come to him for marriage;
by Bishop Herbert Welch, who
portrayed the situation con
fronting the Christian move
ment in the Orient in the face
of the political crisis; by H.
Louis Henrod, of Geneva, who
interpreted the, world confer
ence on “Church, Community
and State,” to be held in Oxford
next summer. The need for
bringing the leadership and ac
tivity of the women of the
churches into greater srevice to
the Federal Council was pressed
by President Mary E. Wooley of
Mt. Holyoke College. The
Westminster Choir School, un
der the direction of John Fin
ley Williamson, rendered a pro
gram of some of the greatest
music in the heritage of the
Church and ministered to a full
er understanding of the place of
music in worship. A testimon
ial dinner was given in honor of
fivt; secretaries who had served
the Council for approximately
twenty years each: Charles S.
MacFarland, Sidney L. Gulick,
Charles L. Goodell, Roy B.
Guild and Worth M. Tippy.
The noonday periods of wor
ship were built around the gen
eral theme of “The Fellowship
of the Church.” A united fel
lowship was the emphasis made
on the first day by Right Rev
erend JPeter Bryce, Moderator
df the United Church of Cana
da. A universal fellowship was
the keynote of E. Stanley Jones,
of India, on the second day. The
third day’s program centered
around the Church invisible,
when Herbert L. Willett con
ducted a memorial service for
Frank Mason North, S. Parkes
Cadmen and others who had
passed from the Church visible
during the biennium.
Dr. Jones and Dr. Sizoo
New Officers
The new officers of the Coun
cil, succeeding Ivan Lee Holt
and George W. Richards, are:
Edgar DeWitt Jones, minister
of the Central-Wood ward Chris
tian Church of Detroit, who be
comes president for 1937-38,
and Joseph R. Sizoo, minister
of the Collegiate Church of St.
Nicholas (Reformed), New
York, who becomes vice-presi
dent. Rivington D. Lord con
tinues as recording secretary
and Frnak H. Mann as treas
urer.
ONE DAY PREACHING MIS
SION, THIRD DISTRICT OF
CAPE FEAR PRESBYTERY
Saturday, Dec. 5th, a One
Day Preaching Mission was held
in Panthers Ford church, Buie,
N. C., Dr. John H. Hayswood,
pastor. The program was as
follows:
10 A. M., Devotions.
10:30, Message to Young Peo
ple, Rev. R. L. Jeans, S. S. Mis
sionary.
11:15, Message to Sunday
School Teachers, Superintend
ents and Church Officers, Rev.
R. N. Cowan, Red Springs,
and Rev. S. H. Holdman,, Red
Springs.
12 M. The Need of a Spiritual
Awakening In Our Church,
Rev. B. H. Brown, Elizabeth
town.
12:30-1:30, Luncheon.
2:00, A Message to the Mem
bership of the Third District,
Rev. E. J. Gregg, D.D., Fayette
ville.
ihe program was responded
to with but a few exceptions.
Rev. R. L. Jeans in his mes
sage to the young people used
as his theme: “He Counted the
Cost and Paid the Price.”
Rev. R. N. Cowan and S. H.
Holdman made the addresses to
Sunday school teachers and sup
erintendents and church officers.
Luncheon was served in one
of the rooms of the public
school, of which Mr. A. L. Lewis
is principal.
After dinner there was a
popular message to the members
of Third District delivered by
Rev. E. J. Gregg, D. D., pastor
of Haymount church, Fayette
ville. His thoughts were
centered around the theme:
“Loyalty.” It was indeed a fine
message, touching Boards of
our great Church, and lastly,
loyalty to Christ.
Music for the occasion was
furnished by Panthers Ford
choir.
RICHARD C. SCRIVEN.
When God pleads his people’s
cause, he can deal with giants
as with grasshoppers. No man’s
might can secure him against
the Almighty.—Matthew Hen
ry.
SMITH MEMORIAL PRES
BYTERIAN CHURCH,
CROCKETT, TEXAS
By the Rev. L. A. Ellis
On Sunday morning, Decem
ber 13, at 11 o’clock, the pastor,
members and friends of the
Smith- Memorial Presbyterian
church saw a man’s worthy
dream* which had been in the
making over a period of twelve
years, • become a reality. This
man who dreamed was Presi
dent Smith of Mary Allen Jr.
College, and the reality was the
imposing white frame church
recently rebuilt near the college
campus.
In I coming to Mary Allen
thirteen 'years ago, President
Smith immediately observed
that if the little, struggling
Presbyterian church — then
quite some distance across
town-—was to survive it must of
necessity have the cooperation
and backing of its sister insti
tutiosnf Mary Allen Seminary,
which was under the same aus
pices jas the church. It was
thus ?that a worthy dream had
its origin, and with the circling
yearsrDr. Smith’s dream gath
ered f momentum. When the
force! of his cherished hopes
could* no longer be restrained,
the college and community saw
with the coming of the past
fall the frame work of a new
church rising slowly but surely
in their midst. This past Sun
day Hie one who dared dream,
with the pastor, members and
friends of the church, together
with ^he faculty and student
body bf Mary Allen, witnessed
with Reverential hearts the ded
ication of the new church. The
impressive service in its entire
ty was permeated with a spirit
of Christian fellowship and it
is fully believed that all who
were present left feeling that—
of a certainty—they had wor
shipped on hallowed ground.
The following is a program
of the Dedication Service:
Prelude, “Largo”, Handel;
Processional Hymn 82,*"* “Holy,
Holy, Holy”; Invocation, Dr.
B. R. Smith; Doxology; The
Psalter, Selection 6, Psalm 24;
Hymn 61, “Come Thou Al
mighty King”; Remarks, Pas
tor; Spiritual, “Sinner, Please
Don’t Let this Harvest Pass”;
Scripture Lesson; Hymn 374,
“Onward, Christian Soldiers”;
Words of Dedication, Congre
gation (standing); Prayer of
Consecration; Spiritual, “Deep
River,” Burleigh; Offertory,
“Madrigale” Simonetti; Hymn
273, “Spirit of God”; Sermon,
Rev. R. L. Sadberry, St. Paul
Baptist church,. Crockett, Tex
as; Prayer; Anthem, “0 Lord,
How Manifold,” Barnby; An
nouncements; Hymn 345, “Blest
Be the Tie that Binds”; Bene
diction; Postlude, “March in F”,
Barnes.
Because of Dr. Smith’s in
terest in the Smith Memorial
church, and through his per
sonal contact with Northern
friends, the church was the
grateful recipient of a timely
and useful gift of 145 hymnals.
The Stella and Forty Fort
Presbyterian churches, both of
Forty Fort, Pa., of which the
Rev. Harold Keen and the Rev.
J. L. Weisley are pastors, re
spectively, were the donors of
the gift. Lest it be forgotten
—it was through the Rev. Her
bert Ure, Moderator of the
Presbytery of Lackawanna, that
these churches learned of the
needs of our church. To these
ministers and their churches
we are more than thankful.
Dr. Smith and the Rev. Mr.
Ellis attended the Preaching
Mission of the Canadian Synod,
which Mission was held at Cot
ton Plant, Arkansas. To say
that the several days spent
there with fellow ministers,
listening to soul-stirring mes
sages, made our hearts burn
within us, is an inadequate way
of expressing the benefits de
rived therefrom. During the
last day there our beloved Dr.
J. M. Gaston was unable to at
tend the closing sessions due to
a sudden illness from which it
is hoped he has fully recovered.
With the singing of the
hymn “Blest Be the Tie That
(Continued on Page 4)
/
A FEASIBLE RACIAL PROGRAM FOR
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
By Dr. Kelly Miller
Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune
has been appointed by Presi
dent Roosevelt to the National
Youth Administration to repre
sent the interests of the col
ored race in this patriotic
movement. Mrs. Bethune is thej
first colored woman to be ap
pointed to any high Federal
station of nation-wide import.
As president of the Federa
tion of Colored Women’s Clubs
Mrs. Bethune first came to gen
eral public notice. By her work
in this organization she im
pressed herself not only upon
the colored women of the coun
try, but upon the whole race
regardless of sex. Mrs. Be
thune organized a school for
girls at Daytona Beach, Fla.,
which was later consolidated
with the Cookman Institute
which was under the control of
the Methodist Church. The
consolidated school is now
known as the Bethune-Cook
man College over which she
presides. By her indefatiga
ble labor she has brought
to this institution nation-wide
reputation and influence as one
of the outstanding institutions
for the uplift of the colored
race.
As an impressive speaker,
Mrs. Bethune has few equals
and fewer, if any, superiors.
Her style of oratory is simple,
direct, clear, pleasing and per
suasive. Her voice is resilient,
with a melodious cadence which
reminds us of the late J. C.
Price. She never wants for the
right word in the right place
at the right time.
My purpose in this release is
not to eulogize Mrs. Bethune
but to call attention to her
proposition to corral the united
opinion and condense it into a
feasible program to be present
ed to President Roosevelt, so as
to enable him to integrate the
just claims of the race into the
New Deal.
Hitherto we have sought
united action through nation
wide organizations. Frederick
Douglass was the president of
the first movement of this kind
since Emancipation. T. Thom
as Fortune and Bishop Alexan
der Walters projected the Afro
American Council as a sort of
holding committee for political I
and civil rights. William Mon
roe Trotter was the promoter
of the Equal Rights League.
Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois launched
the Pan-African Congress. Kel
ly Miller organized the Negro
Sanhedrin. A year or so ago
John P. Davis, assuming lead
ership of the Negro intelligent
sia, called into existence the
short-lived National Negro
Congress. All of these have
had their day and ceased to be.
The National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People and the Interracial Com
mission are co-racial move
ments under reserved white
control for work in the Negro
field. These bi-racial organi
zations are still living and func
tioning. Although they fall
short of the character and type
of the nation-wide race organi
zation under Negro inception,
inspiration and leadership,
which the race still yearns for,
still it seems that they will
have to do until the real thing
comes along.
Mrs. Bethune does not pro
pose another abortive attempt
at race-wide organization to re
plete the graveyard of those
which have gone before. Her
proposition is of a far simpler
nature. She has written to or
ganziations and individuals
who represent all schools of
thought and shades of opinion
to submit their views as to
what such an aggenda should
contain. These views are to be
consolidated and put into suit
able shape to be presented to
the President. This states
man-like proposal cannot fail
to elicit the hearty support and
enthusiastic cooperation of all
those who believe that the Ne
gro should receive from the
New Deal his just share of the
benefits which it promises to
the forgotten man. We can all
join in this race-wide petition
with greater assurance since
President Roosevelt assures us
that there are to be no forgot
ten races.
Mrs. Bethune is to be con
gratulated in the language of
the old classical maxim: Dux
femina factae (a woman is the
leader of the deed).
SAN DIEGO SEEKS NEGRO
SCHOOL TEACHERS
San Diego, Cal., Dec.—(By
M. L. Brown for ANP)—Re
cently, the N. A. A. C. P., the
Ministerial Alliance, and the
Dennis T. Williams Post No. 10
of the American Legion, have
all held meetings to discuss the
public school situation relative
to the placing of Negro teach
ers in the schools of San Diego.
The N. A. A. C. P. sent a com
mittee to ask the superintend
ent of schools to appoint some
qualified Negro teachers of the
city to teach in the schools.
The committee was told to go
and see if any of the principals
of the schools would be willing
to accept a Negro teacher on
his faculty. Only one of the
principals consented to the
proposition. Some gave an em
phatic “No” for an answer, and
tohers seemed to regard the
idea as being ridiculous.
When the committee return
ed to report their findings, the
Superintendent asked, “Why
do you want Negro teachers in
the schools? Why don’t you
encourage Negroes to go and
do something else?” He also
stated that he would not appoint
a Negro teacher, and the Board
of Education would not en
courage Negroes teaching in the
schools. He gave these reasons
for his attitude: that white
patrons would complain; that
white teachers would not be
willing to share lunch rooms
nor rest rooms with Negro
teachers; and that Negro teach
ers could noffbe admitted to so
cial functions with white teach
ers. He said, “If Negroes want
to put up a fight, it’s all right.”
These are some of the condi
tions in the schools: there are
hundreds of Negro pupils in the
schools; Negro pupils have been
humiliated at times by being
called darkeys; such books as
Black Sambo, showing fche Ne
gro as a ridiculous, disreputable
personage are taught even from
the first grade; Negro pupils
who want to take a teacher’s
course are advised not to do so
as there is nothing a Negro
teacher can do in California.
Only two Negro pupils of
San Diego Public Schools have
finished college here in many
years. The young men who
finish high school have no other
ambition than to enter the
sporting world, and can be found
mostly in the pool halls, and
ball rooms after graduation.
Their minds seem closed to reli
gion, and to worthwhile activ
ties.
SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS
To the Brethren of Atlantic
and Catawba Synods:
In order that you may ar
range your programs for evan
gelistic meetings, if you would
like to have my service, I will
state that my program thus far
is as follows:
The first week in January, at
Camden, S. C., with Rev. Rose
borough; the second week at
Harbison Institute; this week
at Chester with Dr. Manoney.
You may reach me at Sumter,
P. 0. Box 72.
Yours in Christ,
W. E. HOUSTON
Nothing can be made that
will insulate any man from
trouble.