Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / March 18, 1897, edition 1 / Page 1
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OiR.GkA.lSr OF THE AFRIO.A.3>T METHODIST EPISOOPAIj SSIOIST OHUROH ITT AJMERIGA. XXL CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THIRDAY MARCH 18,1897/* NUMBER ll; ZION’S PROGRESS. Succinct Reports From Various Sources As To TI^b Church’s Growth. revivals, Successful pastors, etc. Make sweet music in the presence of Jehovah. ISinging is healthy, cheer ing, soul-revi ving. Heaven is full of music and all nature singingly re joices. 0, for a thousand tongues to siDg the story of the Cross. Rev. S. A. Taylor. —0 Zion is alive here and has her eyes open to every interest. Rev, B. D. Mclyer was our pastor for three yeafs and shewed himself to be a man of God,' and the leading church builder ef the Washington district. He built; three churches while with us. The* people loved him greatly. He is a stirring gospel preacher. Aurora, 27. C. P. W. Guilford. —o— There is general mourning in the Arkansas Conference over the loss by death of Rev. A. J, Coleman. Dr. Walters is doing great good here as a preacher and physician. He or ganized a 5iion church society Jan uary 1, 1897, to be known as “Zion’s Beacon Light.” The officers are Miss Bessie Hughes, president; Miss Lucy Walters, assist secretary; G, W. Bat son, chaplain, and Mrs. Dr, Walters, treasurer. S. A. Leak, Jr. Pine Bluff,, Ark. This is my first year in taking up the “sword of the Spirit” and the “shield of faith” as a minister. I find it hard work, but I am trusting in Jesus. Zion will please pray that I may have rapid success here in Texas. I was sent here from confer ence December 16, 1896, by Bishop Holliday. I have bargained for a } ' .piece of land that will cost $20. I expect to erect a church on it. If any of you brethren have anything to give, please send it t§ me. Hockley, Tex. Rev. Ben Gaston. Zion is on a boom udder Presiding Elder W. I). Smith, B. D., who knows no failure. He preached a strong sermon at our last quarterly confer ence. We are preparing to remodel our church. Elder J. J. Parks at Spring Hill, is moving things before f him. Be is so proud of his little bouncing boy which arrived the oth er night that he named him in honor of our noble Bishop Clinton. Zion i** satisfied with the new and fearless editor of the Star. That “Zion and Bethel controversy” was great. Bethlehem, Ga. Rev. J. J. Lee. Simm’s chapel is one of the bright est churches on the Canton district, and has about the best Sabbath school, and obeys every Connectional call. Rev. Caver has found that the superintendents have collected Con nectional claim, $7 and $8, b\it have failed to send it in because we never get credit for it. We hope the Bish op will use the sifter and give us pure wheat. Brethren, stop muzzling the Connection and give to these dif ferent departments the credit due them. f 0. D. Hill. Canton, Miss. —o— The Jasper A. M. E. Zion church under my charge is prospering. A year ago we only had 15 members; no Sabbath-school. The church was ad vertised for sale for $217. I settled the debt, ceiled the church, and now have 50 members and a Sunday school of 40 scholars. We love Bishop Small. At his conference held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., everything moved like clock- work. Qur four presiding elders arc grand church and race lovers. They and the * bishop will surely build up the North Alabama Conference. Rev. N. R. Rhodes. —o— The North Louisiana Conference ’ with Bishop Jehu Holliday as presid *ing officer convened in November. This conference is coming to the front. Our district is in very good shape. We have a Bishop full of fire. He is a Holy Ghost preacher. We ministers are going to treat him as kindly as we did the other bishops. We had a lovely conference. The Bishop doesn’t believe in a minister working all the year and coming up to the conference Without an increase7 of membership. * Rev. P. L. Wright, reporter. i session of atasi kansas C onference which met recent ly in Gr, idy, Ark., was the grandest session \ eld yet. Bishop Jehu Holli day presided. The Bishop said he did not intend to put his foot on the law of he Church of his choice, but that he intends to hold it up high above ai y person or conference, and that the preacher who failed to take the Staii would be sure to get a dis appointment. There was a great in crease in general fund. Conference will me it next Fall at Morrel, Ark. D. L. Blackwell, reporter. Arha mis. —>0— The 1’ikeville. circuit in Tennessee is flying. We are having success fi nancial! y and spiritually. We have intellig* >nt young ladies and gentle men. bishop G. W. Clinton visited us last! Summer and delivered a no ble ad< Iress on the progress of. the race. 1 There never was a bishop in Pikevil e and Bledsoe country before. His vif it has done great good here. This is the way to build up Zion and lift up ;he people, the bishops coming out int 5 the mountains and valleys, White i .nd black acknowledged that Bishop G. W. Clinton is the grandest preach* r ever heard in Pikeville. Rev. L. D. Donaldson. We f re doing well in our mission ary wo :k. I was elected President of the ’ V. H. and F-. M. Society of the Louisiana Conference in 1889. Then y e only had one society 7 now we hav 3 nine societies with 98 mem bers. At first it was a task to ac quaint them with the work. My report shows that I have raised more money in the last three years than was ra Bed in the first ^four years. At first tb 3 pastors did not take an in terest i n the work. Now they are endear oring to do their duty as the law re< uires. Rev. J. T. Thomas at St. Jar les is a great help to the work. We ne id more pastors lilje him. Pre siding Eider D. J. Adams is a strong prop t< 1 the work. He encourages it. Tali elas, La. S. A. Taylor. The North Arkansas Conference needs strong presiding elders who love Z on and her ministers; presid ing el ders to stir the districts, and to work ior every interest of the Connexion. I regret to say that in readin 3 the Stae I do not see any thing >f the piesiding elders’ reports menti< ned of either district of this Confei ence. Can it be that the pre siding elders are so losing their hold on the people that they cannot show up Zic n in this State ? We Ere bat tling against sin and ignorance. When storming the citadel of caste prejuc ice, I fancy I hear the clarion voice of Bishop Holliday crying, “Forward! to the conflict. Let no man be dismsyed." Rev. J. A. Miner, P. E. Forest City, Ark. -0—■ I h ive been reading the Stab for somet ime. It is first-class. I am a member of the M. E. Church, but if I keep ny mind I will soon be a Zion memter. I heard Rey. R. C. Nash, a gra: id pastor of Sharon circuit, lec ture < n Zion and her representative gien in Canton, Miss., and I said if what he sa^s is true, I shall join Zion. Since then I have been reading the* Stab and have learned so much about her bishops, general officers and instit itions of learning, all ruled and governed by colored men. Zion is the C burch for the colored race. Rev. Nash by request of Prof. Martin and his sc holars, delivered the Emancipa tion ! ddresa on Nejr Year. It was ! histoi ical and brilliant. Zion ought to fee 1 proud of him. Canton, Miss. W. M. Walker., Re v. J. D. Gaither has had a nice revi? al which resulted in 7 conver sions and 13 members added to the churi h. The church is in better con ditio l than it has ever been before. Rev. Gaither is a splendid preacher and t hurch worker. We had a fine love-Feast and quarterly meeting. Rev. R. A. Morrissey, P. E., preached two ixcellent sermons. We paid him his a ssessment in the quarterly con fererce, a thing which has never been done here before.- We raised ,on quarterly meeting $28. Our public sobo< >1 here is in good condition. The avenge, attendance is 190. Miss 3fon dies died December 3r, 1896. The funer al was conducted by the pastor. Minnie Love. Johnson City, Term. - —— o— Bishop Pettey nobly solved the problem When he sent to this church that noble young divine, Rev. G. W. Johnson, formerly of Charlotte, N. C. When he came he found the church greatly in debt and the members dis couraged. Tb ,nk God, he is equal to the task. He is an intelligent, logical preacher. His accomplished wife and sister are blessings to this community. Rev. Johnson has raised and paid more money on the church debts than any of hiB predecessors. He has just closed a successful revival of 20 converts, 30 persons joining the church. The Sunday-school is pros pering, and his wife is the superin tendent. He has organized a Chris tian Endeavor Society and a Bible Reading Club. We want able, mor al, religious men on the Gulf Coast. Elder Johnson is a hustler. . Rev. G. T. Spencer. Scranton, Miss. —o— Rev. A. F. Chapman, our ex-pas tor, who labored diligently for us last year, preached forcefully his last ser mtfii for a# the past year from Mark 16:15. He is a God-called man. Our church is weak, and has been for some time, being bounded on the North by the great M. E., on the East by the 0. M. E., on the South afad West by the Missionary Baptist. They have fougbt and kept us down so long until our ancestors have al most given :up the struggle. There isn’t another Zioif church in ten miles of us. The young ladies are raising money to buy an organ for our Sun day-school. They have in the treas urer about $20 on it. We have in telligent young men and women and a wide-awake Sabbath-school. Al though our. church is weak, yet the members are determined to build up Zion. E. S. H. Onsby. ! Tongaloo University, Pichen, Miss Bishop Holliday is one of Zion’s great fathers, unmeasured in piety, ripe in judgment, great in experience, powerful in sermonizing, pathetic, dignified and intelligent in delivery. He is a natural born Holy Ghost preacher. Zion, regardless to age, elects a man or woman that is suit able to an office, The eighth episco pal district can truly rejoice in shar ing the first honors of having the youngest and the oldest elected bish ops of any denomination to preside over it. When our young hero, Bish op A. Walters, presided over this district it was said there was none like unto him. Since Bishop Holli day has come, the people say, “Be hold Bishop Walters’ equal is here.” Bishop Holliday is not sitting down home but he is sweeping through his district, helping his men to build up Zion. His men in Arkansas love him. The Stab comes regularly and shining full of church news. May it shine brighter and brighter until ev ery home of this grand old Zion shall see its rays. Rev. J. P. Meaeham. —o— It is quite animating to read in the Stab of Zion’s progress in the seve ral sections of the country, which is being accomplished by such able workmen. Zion is not dead here. Rev. W. M. Anderson, our pastor, is doing a great work, and the people love him. He is a good preacher and able to measure arms with either of the pastors of the sister churches, and he has a crowded house of white and colored all the time. Our Presiding Elder, A. G. Keeler, spoke rightly when he said that Rev. Anderson could do all the singing, praying and preaching we wanted. The Baptists have had the sway of this town for quite awhile, but the tide has turned Zionward. He has added six mem bers to the church since New Year. When he took charge we had no Sun day-Bchool. Now we have a flourish ing one with 60 scholars. His wife is right by his Bide., doing her part to make the work a success. We will' come up in General Fund and other Connections!^claims this year. We are proud of Presiding Eldei; Kesler. He is & fine preacher., We hope the bishop will visit us. - It -doth not yet appear what we shall be.; Vr*i" ' ^.Sf$Bya& Superintendent. Louisiana Conference, south of Delhi. At Amite City, Li., Rev. N. N. Nor riB is in charge of Butler’s chapel. He is able, and sleeping everything before him. At necond station, Big Zion, Rev. A. Vinoion is getting along nicely. Rev. T. Henderson at Clai borne circuit is a logical preacher and is building up his circuit. Rev. E. F. Banks is doing well at New Hope. Rev. Dau Lord, a spiritual preacher, is at Zion Hill. Rev. Sandy Thomas, the old battle-axe, is at HomesviUe; Rev. 3. C. Seymour who is bound to succeed is at Areola. Rev. I. PittB is building a new church at Areola. My district is in good condition under the leadership of Bishop Hollidsy. We are proud to have such a man. We welcome to our midst the Rev. N. N. Norris who recently transferred from the North Alabama to. the Louisiana Confer ence. We want to-rally this year on General Funds and other conference claims. Our Sun lay-school work is in good condition We want to lay the corner-stone of Lee’s Institute the fourth Sunday in May. We thank God for our grand old Zion which is a hundr id years old. We admire the Stab. Rev. A. Humbles, P. E. Amite City, Lc. WE ABE BEAU t^TO MEET HIM. The Carr-Hood Normal and Col legiate Institute is in successful op eration here at E orwodd. I enjoyed the “Befhel and Zion -discussion.” Thn gallant Bethel knight and the gallant Zion knight argued ably and well. Henderson is indeed the able;it giant in Bethel; but, Smith, you certainly splintered his lance. Henderson failed to an swer sonle of your questions put fair ly to him and upon which the con troversy dunged. As to the “toalies” in Zion, some of us are ready ;o throw down the gauntlet and meututhe learned Doctor upon any forum in New York. His arguments from Bethel histories and authorities were met by you every time. You proved your points by quotations from Bishops Payne, Tan ner and Arnett; from Lawyer T. Mc Cants Stewart ahd other Bethel headlights. You also proved your points from Zion histories and author ities. You also quoted Bishop Simp son’s history, and the record of the Doctor’s home city—New York. Why does he not adduce the Philadelphia records on the ii corporation ? He says he ce rtainly believes that time will supply the missing link. This is begging the question. No intelligent jury would give a verdict on what time may produce, but upon the evidence ana facts in hand. In this new history which the Editor of the "Christian Recorder wants written, does the Doctor expect it to he pro duced in it ? E ither there is not the necessary balm n Bethel, or Doctor Henderson is unable to properly di agnose and prescribe for the case; hence, the health of Bethel is not re corded. The Doctor is a splendid student of ethics, belles-letters and etiquette, and Bpent his time lectur ing Bishop Wall era and J. W. Smith —the Coeur de .Lion of Zion’s writers —on these topics. Bishop J. W. Hood, D. D.”, Lit. D., who has stamped his impress for good upon hundreds of able men, is Zion’s greatest living leader, and Bishop G. W. Clinton is too noble and unselfish to accept a propitiatory compliment from him at the expense of c ur other bishops. The discussion is th«; greatest since that of Bishop D. A. Puyne and Bishop S. T. Jones. l ev. £. J. Hargrave. Norwood, N. C. MEN / NO THINGS. Mr. Editor Mr. Editor W T. BIDDLE, D. D. r Allow me a little ■g comment on tilings and men. Sabbath-school literature i e hindered because it is kept too lar away from ;his end of the world. Why is it not put in our Book Room so that the. conferences up this way could distribute it among'the church es and make the thing pay its own expenses? -It could he done if a lib eral spirit .was manifested and a greater shown. There is something wrong some where and wu may as well see it now as not. ON HEN. I am greatly disappointed in the writings of many of onr great, bril liant and scholarly correspondents, and at the example that some of oar doctors are giving as by their lavish pse of Billingsgate and Bowery slang. We are told by some that our great writers are educated men; that the general readers of the Stab are not up to a higher staidard of reading ; hence, these gentlemen must fetoop to meet the requirements of the people. I deny and denou iee that assertion, and ask our D. B.'s and fiery writers to leave all such stuff for us old men who know little or nothing of schools. Come, wake up, young men; we old fogies are after you. Our next is upon the eeeming un? Christian-like spirit shown by some of our boasted Christians. While they plead for an exhibition of godli ness and true righteousness they show so little-of it themselves. Where is that Christ-like spirit so much talked of by them? They act as though this godliness consisted in exposing the wrongs and fruits of their weak er brethren. Those brethren forget that they are but men. If ye bite and devour one another, ye shall soon be destroyed one of another. Toltenville, N. Y. BIG WESLEY III PHILADELPHIA. BY REV; JAB. E. RODGERS. “Big Wesley” in Philadelphia is conceded to be the moat popular, ac tive and successful church in our city. With her menhe^ship constantly growing, and her inability to accom modate the vast throngs who crowd to her services, it is no wonder all eyes are turned toward her. Her present popular pastor, Rev. J. S. Caldwell, has proven a wonder to her people. They- did not know when he came to them as to how much ability he possessed. In fact they looked upon his appointment as an experiment. He has been weighed,, but not found wanting. He has added over 250 members to the church since his appointment of last year. His revival, just closed, brought in over 100 convert*. His rallies thus far have exceeded our most sanguine expectations. ' His work and worth to us and Zion- cannot be expressed in words. He is beloved by- all and his advice is constantly sought for. He has made it possible for Zion to success fully establish two churches more in our city if the Connection can give a little help. Ou t own members who cannot be accommodated for lack of room would 'gladly affiliate with our missions, of which we have two, if suitable places could be provided. The missions ai’e over-crowded and the members are. willing to help extend the work, and if our Church Heads could, through church exten sion, loan to each mission two thou sand dollars on i uferest,I assure them that it could be paid in a few years, and that two hundred dollars annual ly would be added to the general fund, from the increased member ship. Over 65C persons communed at the services o 1 last Sunday. Per fect harmony and unity exist between the pastor, officials and members. “God certainly i* with us and in us." Mr. Editor, that supplement of last week is the biggest thing yet in the Centennial v’ork. The Star can not help from giving light as it comes forth from youi brilliant and intel lectual sunshine. The Varick C. E. is a big-thing in our city-. Every de partment of our ohurch is active as a bee-hive, We would be so glad to have our dear Bishop Pettey visit us and pray that his health will soon permit him to s<' do. Madame Flora Batson lately j lined our church, Philadelphia, Pa. . - THE WQRt SPREADING, y CHTJECJ: DEDICATED. Big ^Zion, which was dedicated last Fall by the pastor, Rev. L. D. Workman, is yet alive and-marching on. This.new drarch, which ia vary pretty, is 85xE0, with lights of all of progress. David was exemplify ing the law of progress when he con ceived the idea of the temple at Jeru salem, and Solomon when he executed the plans of his father. The rearing of tall steeples heavenwards in any country is the indication of the ad vance of the nation. It is an object lesson in Christianity which, by these outward signs, shows her wonderful contribution to the march of civilisa tion.” At the close of the sermon they were successful in raising $102, 70 which aided the trustees in paying for their church: Hattie A. Bibb. —o— Our church is moving off lovely again this year. The members have taken on new vigor, and are laying close to their duty. "We are building a parsonage and the pastor will soon be in it. No better board of officers, including stewardesses, can be easily found in Zion. We hope to crown all past records in this- church this year. Not only have the members of the church more interest, but sinners also. To prove this, I shall mention an effort made on their part vary much to the surprise of the pastor. The young people got together and organized themselves into a club and named it “Zion’s Willing Workers club,” electing Brother S. W. Ham ilton, a young local preacher, as their president; Miss Annie Wilson, sec retary ; and Mr. John Warren, treas urer. Their membership continues to grow. Their intention is to beau tify the church and aid the trustees in a general way. May God bless these young people and stir up oth ers. Zion is marching. The “Zion and Bethel" controversy was great and interesting. The General Con ference acted wisely in electing you Editor of the Stab. May you live long and use the sling as you have, and these little fights will only tend to make Zion healthier. Rev. J. M. Cornell. Newcomb, Term. BACKWOOD PHILOSOPHY. BY REV. T. H. MERRIWEATHEB. The fellow who tries to do all the talking is not wise. What we do when no one is near is our true character. Flattery is a pill we all like to take, but we are all not worked. Christ’s vigilant committee was composed of Peter, James and John. If you-want to find out what kind of religion a man has, inquire at his home. In youth we seek pleasure; in middle age, ambition; in old age, wealth. Moblaw is like the spider’s web ; it catches the weak, but the strong fall through. He who takes his lance in hand to butcFer the other fellow may expect to be butchered. The minister wbo says but little on the conference floor is a tongue champion on the street. On the mountain we have the ad* vantage of our brother, but in the fall death hae the victor. There is such a thing as starving the preacher out and driving the| church to the slaughter pen. The people who drink whiskey to drown their troubles make a mistake if they think troubles can't'swim. Some people are like St. Peter when it comes to talking and fighting, but they have newer wept bitterly. There is no use in disguising the fact i, it is a secret congratulation to us to learn that eur successor has not equalled us. When ever our opponent in argu ment shifts from the main to a minor question we may conclude that his position is untenable. “My dear little boy,” said an old man, “throw that nasty cigarrrette away." “What for,” said the little boy; “Soyou can pick it up?" Some of our rich men pay starva tion wages and console themselves 1 little pathfinder takes for his text, “0 wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this.” Earlington, Ky. rnUVING THEORIES. On a reason why the advocates, of certain unsound religious theories gain much favor with many,people is because of their facility in quoting certain passages of' Scripture which seem to clearly favor them. They call this proving-their doctrines-and-prac tices. These advocates dell the peo ple that they will not ask them.' to accept their teachings unless they can • dearly, prove them, from.the Bible. This certainly lojpks fair enough—at least- it- does to those who do not know the diffejenee be 'tweeirmerely quoting certain,tex-ta-pf Scripture 'which contain iWord&.t^at soundi like, those, that are found- in the theories advocated, and the w^a! mean ing of the texts; and especially the • scope of the connections-,. and the general teaching of. the whph Bible. The fact’is, nothing is easier than to- seemingly prove from the Bible every theory, ever concocted hy men and devils. There never was a doctrine of-religion, even the most delusive and damning doctrine e$er promulgated, which has not been* os tensibly proved by the Bible? and yet, in reality, the Bible has never sanctioned t such doctrines. The fanlt has been in men’s selecting such texts, or parts of texts, as suited their purpose, often putting them together ingeniously, so as to make it appear to tlie superficial hearers, the un in structed ones, that the doctrine was really proved by the Bible. In this way thousands of people have been grosaly deceived and misled and morally ruined. And such a thing will continue just so long as people can be found who do not or will not take the Bible as a whole and search for i ts broad, underlying, self tent teachings. We must understand the pervading spirit of the Bible. We must know its fundamental, governing principles, never relying upon any single text to prove any thing, nor any two or three texts, unless they, harmonize with the general tenor of the whole Bible. C. H. Wetherbe. FROM MARYLAND. BY REV. Q. J. HAWKES.* It is very encouraging to me t<x_ hear from the field consecutively. And as I receive my paper every week I look for something from Mary land, but find it not. We are alive over here and doing our best to build up the Church of our choice. When we came te this work jye only found eight members, no. property ing to them, neither house nor We took hold cheerfully aud prayer fully'and the Lord fought our battle. We first purchased one-half acre of lan 1 and paid for it, then purchased a dwelling house, 18x32, and remod elled it which gives us a beautiful church house, We have raised-and pail $70.00 on property for the church in the last 12 months. Let the Church elsewhere know that we are part and parcel. of that great Afro-American Church known as “Zion.”. Asa mission, we are aim ing to come to conference fully pre pared to meet our Connectional clams. The ladies of the church gave- a concert a few nights ago which wan acknowledged by our opponents as superior to anything of this neigh borhood. ; When it was over, " made the pastor a present of $7. for which we were very t Ploase let the public hear from think if the people of tjus communi have the-privilege to read something of their neighborhood in the Star it will actuate them to subscribe for this paper. We are highly pleased with the editorials and you need commenda tion, as you deserve it relative to fho discussion between you and Dr. He nderson, for the manly aud coura geous way in which you met hina on eviry point; also for the neatway in wt ich your paper is turned off. There ar<> not those typographical errors so common in, the Afro-American •a. No man is. ashamed to " Star .A
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 18, 1897, edition 1
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