ORGAN OF THE -A^FRIO-A-UT METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZTEOIST OHUROH IN AMiERIOA.
VOLUME XXL __' CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1897.
NUMBER 35
UNPARDONABLE SIN,
What Is It? Is It Possible To B
Committed In Oar Day?
matt. 12:31, 32—II heb. 12:17.
[Synopsis of a sermon preached ii
Asheville, N. C., by Rev. G. L. White
^M. D.]
You see from the first passage tha
I read that there is a sin against thf
Holy Ghost for which a man is neve:
pardoned. Once having committee
it, he is bound hand and foot foi
the duDgeons of despair. Sermon!
may be preached to him, songs may
be sung to him, prayers may be of
fered in his behalf; but all to no pur
pose. He is a captive for this world
and the world that is to come. Dc
you suppose that there is any one
here to-night who has committed thal
sin?
All sins are against the Holy Ghost
but my text Bpeaks of one especially
What is it? It is very clear to my
own mind that the sin against the
Holy Ghost was the ascribing tht
works of the spirit to the agency of tht
devil in the time of the apostles. In
deed, the Bible distinctly tells us that
In other words, if a man had sighi
given to him, or if another was raised
from the dead, and some one standing
there should say, “.This man got his
sight by Satanic powers, the Holy
Ghost did not do this; Beelzebub ac
complished it,” or, “This man raised
from the dead was raised by Satanic
influence;” the man who said that
dropped dowh under the curse of the
text, and had committed the fatal
sin against the Holy Ghost.
Now I do not think it is possible
in this day to commit that sin. I
think it was possible only in Apostol
ic times. But it is a very terrible
thing to say anything against the Ho
ly Ghost, and it is a marked fact that
our race has been marvelously kept
back from that profanity. You hear
a man swear by the name of the Eter
nal God, and by the name of Jesus
Christ, but you never hear a man
swear by the name of the Holy Ghost.
There are those here to-night who
fear they are guilty of the unpardon
able sin. Have you.such anxiety?
Then I have to tell you positively
that you have not committed that
sin, because the very anxiety is
a result of the movement of the gra
cious Spirit. I can look off upon this
audience and feel that there is salva
tion for all.
But while I have said I do not
think it is possible for us to commit
that particular sin spoken of in the
text, I have by reason of the second
text, to call your attention to the fact
that there are sins which, though they
may be pardoned, are in some re
spects irrevocable; and you can find
no place for repentance, though you
seek it carefully with tears. Esau
had a birthright given him. In old
en times it meant not only temporal
but spiritual blessings. One day
Esau took his birthright a»d traded
it off for something to eat. Oh, the
folly ! But let us not be too severe
upon him, for some of us have com
mitted the same folly. After he had
made the trade he wanted to get if
back. Just as though some of these
business men to-morrow morning
should take all of their notes and
bonds and gov rnment securities
and should go into a restaurant, and
in a fit of recklessness and hungei
throw all those securitiescto the coun
ter and ask for a plate of food, mak
ing that exchange. This was the on<
Esau made. He sold .his birthrigh
for a mess of pottage, and he wai
very sorry about it afterwards; bu
he found no -place for repentance
though he sought it carefully witl
tears.
There is an impression in almos
every man’s mind that some when
in the future there will be a chanci
where he can correct all of his mistake
Live as we may, if we only repent ii
time, God will forgive us, an<
then all will be well as though we ha<
never committed a sin. I will shov
you, to-night, if God will help me
that there is such a thing as unsuc
cessful repentance; that there an
things done wrong that always sta;
wrong; and for them you may seel
some place of repentance, and seek i
carefully, and never find it. Belong
ing to this class of irrevocable sins o
mistakes i» the folly of a misspen
We may look back to ou
days and think how we nog
lected Chemistry, or Geology. We
may be sor y about it all of our days,
' but that doesn’t bring them back.
My brother, they are gone I Gone!
You may le very sorry about it, and
God may forgive you so that you
may at laet reach heaven; but you
will never get over some of these mis
haps that 1 ave come to your souls as
, the result of neglect of early duty.
, You may try to undo it; you cannot
undo it. When you had a boy’s arms
, and a boy’) eyes and a boy’s heart,
, you ought to have attended to those
things. A. man says at fifty years
of age, “I do wish I could get over
these habits of indolence.” When
did you yet them? At twenty or
twenty-fiv i .years of age. You can
not shake ;hem off. They will hang
to you the very day of your death. If
a young man, through a long course
of evil conduct, undermines his phys
ical health, and then repents of it in
after life, the Lord may pardon
him; but that does not bring back
good phys cal condition. The simple
: fact is that men and women take twen
ty years to build up influences that re
quire all i he rest of their life to break
down. T ilk about a man beginning
life when he is twenty-one years of
age; a wcman beginning life when
she is eigh teen years of age. In many
respects that is the time they close
life.
CONFERENCE GLEANINGS.
:jy eev. j. c. coln.
A few dollars privately dropped
into the curses of some of the super
annuated ministers will sweeten
their clos mg days.
Fishing committees abound, but,
they ofte i fail to get their drag nets
into the waters where the big fish
swim.
The Sa tanic Conqueror comes up to
the annual session with the preachers,
and, “Jet us” is the Conqueror’s name.
If the bishop looks grave do not
take it fc r a sign that he means to
send yox. to a grave town where you
will need a coffin and a grave-digger.
If a pr jsiding elder rushes past you
hurriedly when you want just a
word with him, remember the Lord is
always r ;ady- to talk with you.
The wry to have a pleasant con
ference i 3 to sleep in the chamber of
peace, w.th the bosom of Jesus for a
pillow, a nd your head close up to His
heart.
If the bishop, as he comes into the
conference, does not happen to stop
and shake hands ;with you don’t let
the devil make you think that he in
tended to slight you.
The jioil-call is solemn, especially
when th i names of the translated ones
are reac led. How about the general
roll-call? Who^will be there? Shall
you, shallf?
Presiding elders should not prom
ise more than one man, Gold Hill.
He kno vs only one can go there, and
as a rule, he knows who that man
will be.
The f residing elders are the devil’s
scare-crows; they represent them as
having horns, porcupine quills and
iron he* sis to tread offending .preach
ers intc the dupt; but they are clev
er fello vs after all.
A bea iitiful bouquet for the bishop’s
table, nade up of the rose of sharon,
and th< i flowers of meekness, gentle
ness, patience, long-suffering and
brotherly kindness, is beautiful and
rich an d in fragrance.
Seer staries of the benevolences
' should bring an alarm clock to con
1 ferenc*, and set it to go off in half an
' hour from the time they commence
’ speaki lg; then wind up with half an
1 hour of short, sharp, earnest, evan
gelical service.
' Sab ation is the treasury replenish
! er.
* Ha >py is the preacher who when
* asked where he lives can reply: I live
1 on the margin of two great oceans;
^ one tl e great ocean that has been
^ heavii g and rolling since the cre
7 ation; and more than all in full vrew
* of the fathomless ocean of God’s love
so tha t X often sing:
3 Th< u art the sea of love
\ W1 ere all my pleasures roily
c The circle where my passions mourn,
^ Th< t centre of my soul.
’ Yo’kvMe, 8. C.
BisS top G. W. Clinton is a yonng man
but h« is fast going to the top as a leadl
ing e. :pouent.-The Western Index.
.
ilfl
POWER OF THE BALLOT
Let Us Use It To Enforce Equality 0
Opportunity For AH.
AN ABLE AND TIMELY ADDRESS.
[Counselor T. McCants Stewart make!
the oration at the Emancipation Cele
bration at Bath, N. Y.J
In the month of August for over t
half century the people of Western
New York have publicly celebratec
the emancipation of the slave. Th<
custom grew out of Great Britain1!
abolition of slavery in the West In
dies; and Gerritt Smith, Frederick
DouglaBs, Samuel Ringold Ward
Henry Highland Garnet and othei
American anti-slavery leaders used
this celebration to arouse sentiment
in favor of the abolition of slavery it
the United States. Although slaverj
is a dead issue, the people of Bath, Penr
Yan, Ithaca, Rochester, Corning, Can
andaigua and the regions of the State
of Pennsylvania bordering around
these towns still annually gather and
-rejoice with exceeding great joy over
the fact that “freedom is national,”
as Charles Sumner once put it. They
hold the celebration one year at one
town, and the next year at another,
and wherever it is held crowds gath
er there from every neighboring lo
cality. From break of day, when
bells ring, and cannon fire a salute,
there is bustle and go until the stars
sink. The chief feature of the day is
the procession through the streets,
x-^ich are decoratad, to the public
park, where an oration is delivered.
Frederick Douglass, John M. Lang
ston, W. B. Derrick, T. Thomas For
tune, J. C. Price, B. K, Bruce and
other leading men of the race have
furnished the oratory for these cele
brations. Counselor T. McCants
Stewart, the orator of the day, said,
among other things:
“A new question has come upon the
stage of action since the eloquent voice
of Frederick Douglass and Samuel Ring
old Ward sounded in these parts and at
such celebrations as this the battle cry of
freedom. We gather here to-day, and,
despite the new conditions, we shout the
same old battle cry of freedom. We rec
ognize the fact that a conflict is upon us
sterner than the old fight, in which Hen
ry Highland Garnet was a leader. We
are striving for equality of opportunity
in the enjoyment of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. And we are not
without hope in this struggle, because
freedom is spread throughout all the
earth, brushing out of its way, like Ni
agara, fossilized ideas of despotism and
monarchy and scattering new concep
tions of brotherhood and equality. The
sovereignty of the individual, the fact
that no man is naturally entitled to be
called master, but that all men are cre
ated equal in their right to opportunity,
is fast becoming the universal law.
Witness the marvelous change in Europe.
Even Russia’s grasp of its iron rod is
changing, and Great Britain long since
became a practical Republic with its
Prime Minister as president by grace of
the people. While herein our own coun
try citizenship is the symbol of individ
ual sovereignty and the ballot is the
sceptre of his power; so that in the exer
cise of his elective franchise, each Amer
ican is king, illustrating in his person
the only rule by divine right.
“If we win the fight we are now in—
the fight for equal opportunity, oppor
tunity to labor and opportunity to enjoy,
we must use as weapons business and in
dustrial pursuits. We must be
come producers. Wo must stop being
dependents; stop working for salaries
and wages, and become employers; cre
ate something, which other people will
want, and upon which other people will
depend. Then let us use the ballot, and
make it do better work in the future
than in the past. Every race variety un
der the American flag, except Afro
Americans, finds in the ballot a battle
axe, which never fails to destroy the
enemy. Tax beer, and the Germans
overturn the government. Touch the
Catholic Church, and the Irish vote
strikes like a thunder-bolt. Discrimi
nate against the Jew, and every Hebrew
ballot pierces the politician to the very
heart, and he does so no more. But the
Afro-American takes kicks, cuffs, lash
ings from every hand and marches like a
slave to the polls tb reward with re
newed honor and power those who treat
him with scorn and contempt.
“Throughout the nation a wail is go
ing up from among Afro-Ameripans
over the shabby treatment whioh he is
receiving from the present Administra
tion. Editor Fortune of the New York
Age is leading a protest whose echo is
heard throughout the land, and which
will sooner or later take shape in such
form as will startle the politicians* and
i arouse them to tj^e fact that Afro-Amer
ipans have passed out of the period of
complaint into that of action. Why is not
Lyons appointed postmaster at Augusta,
Ga ? Will Crum be named for postmaster
at Charleston, 8. 0. f' Should not Lang,
ston have been nominated for Commis
of the District of Columbia,
pdUHH
•1-.
Bruce sent as Minister to the Soutl
American government ? Why is Colo
> nel Pledger, and why is Colonel Lewis
and why are other deserving Afro
Americans ignored, while their whit<
allies in politics, no abler, no more infln
ential, no more deservirg, have been giv
't en places of honor and emolument in th<
public service ? What public man of oui
race in the great State of New York hai
been honored ? Not one ! Why an
these things true, I ask ? Why have Af
ro-Americans in the President’s owi
State been passed by in the distributioi
of patronage with only a crumb throwi
1 to one of Ohio’s ablest men, who ough
to have declined the job without thanks'
Why has Mayor Strorg of New Tort
City* ignored Afro-Americans entirely
although he owes his place to our vote'
Why are %11 these things true ? The]
are true, because we' have habitnall]
turded the other cheek, when smitten oi
the right. We have cried at electioi
time as we faced thoi e who turned us
down ‘ With all thy faults I love thee still.
“But this thing will end. Aye, yes
the end is near. Wo must strike bact
when struck, no matter who gets hurt
If we should do this, we would teach i
national lesson, we would show what j
mighty weapon the ballot is in oui
hands. We would us; it to enforce jus
tice and equality to our brethren in the
South, and we would loll away the stone
from the mouth of the sepulchre of po
litical degradation in which we now lie.’
The orator then discussed the ques
tion of citizenship in its largest sense
and stirred the patriotism of the en
tire audience by dealing with matters
affecting black and white alike, and
then sketched the results accom
plished by the race since emancipa
tion. He dwelt uj)on the fact that
we are in the country to stay and
that we»must work out our destiny
here. He advocated industrial edu
cation and urged the race to become
producers by engaging in business
pursuits and in farming. He illustrat
ed many of his views with humorous
anecdotes, and kept the vast audience
enthusiastic throughout his address,
which occupied an hour. He ended
by saying :
“We cannot change in 25 years the
conditions of 250 years standing. We
shall come up, felloiir citizens, through
the process of evolution. A change in
our relationship to other races will come
when we get wealth as a class and cul
ture as a class; wheri we come to be a
class of producers; when we come to
represent as a class business and indus
trial forces. Let us never forget, fellow
citizens, that wealth is power, that
knowledge is power j that character is
power, and that we are charged with a
great responsibility so far as it is our du
ty to bring these forces to our aid both
as individuals and as a class. Napoleon
said to his mighty legions, as they stood
in battle array under the pyramids of
Egypt, ‘Forty centuries look down upon
us.’ Moved by the 4ame spirit, Nelson
said to his brave sailors, as they faced
the enemy, ‘Englancj expects every mau
to do his duty/ So to-day, generations
look down upon us, and expect us to do
our duty. Voices shout ‘forward’ at
us out of air and out of sky. They bid us
strive to transmit to generations yet un
born our grand nationality and citizen
ship, so that liberty and equality may be
the last best heritage of our common
brotherhood”.—N»Y. Age.
spead-eagle squall,
BACKWOOD PHILOSPHY.
Truth hates nothing worse than
concealment ; but; if men’s breasts
were made of glaiis the truth -could
not be hidden.
There are some trees like some
nfen they enrich' the earth; others
impoverish. *
The Arab said :1 “If thou canst not
take things by the* head, take them
by the tail," but say : If you can’t
be the bell sheep gallop in the flock.”
We have plenty of ministers in Zion
who can make the
words that “hustl
but our bishops have said in other
if we expect large' churches.
I have heard it said that whoever
will eat the kernel must crack the
nut; but there he s been such a thing
in Zion (and may be now) of eating
the kernel withoi: t knowing whether
there is such a thing as a nut.
Whenever the winds of trouble
whistle around uf, we shquld join in
the whistle; for two whistles make
harmony, * Harmony is a law of
heaven.
The winds are composing a dead
march to be sung this winter, the title
of which is: “Wlierd have you been
all the summer, the winter time is
come and you’ve got no clothes,”
The man who has a chronic debili
ty for lying makes himself the hero
: MAN OP GREAT FAITH.
> The Great Faith And Wise Choice Oi
The Hebrew Lawgiver.
. BISHOP CLINTON’S ELOQUENT SERMON
. Yesterday morning a large and!
ence assembled in Taylor-st Firs!
1 Methodist church and listened wit!
1 great interest and profit to a fervent
and eloquent sermon by Bishop 6
W. Clinton, of the African Methodist
, Episcopal Zion Church. In introduc
■ ing his distinguished guest, Dr. Chas
Edward Locke, the pastor, said that
a few years ago he and the Bishoj
’ were brother pastori in the city oi
Pittsburg, and it afforded him great
pleasure to present the Bishop to the
congregation as his personal friend,
The sermon was a strong presenta
tion of the charactei of Moses, and
bore the marks of the refinement and
scholarship of the earnest preacher.
Following is a transcript of the excel
lent discourse :
The Bishop announced as his topic,
“The Great Faith and Wise Choice oi
Moses,” from the text: Hebrews
11:24-26. He began by saying:
“To strive for a plate of honor and a
position of distinction in a good cause,
or among noble persons, is an endeavor
worthy of the ambit .on of any man.
When such an endeavor brings a man
into the higher favor a:id greater service
of God, and at the same time tends to
promote the happiness of his fellows and
the good of his countr j, it then becomes
a duty. History, bott secular and re
ligious,furnishes the na mes of men whose
• lives and deeds have some down to us
as a heritage and ben ^faction which we
do well to profit bj emulating their
worthy examples. In the beautifully in
teresting chapter from which the text is
taken, the apostle give 3 a list of-worthies
who won their achievements for God and
man by their simple and earnest faith.
In this list, no name stands deservedly
higher and shines w .th more brilliant
luster in the galaxy of religious stars
than the name of M >ses. The Bishop
then gave a graphic account of Moses’
life from the time when he was adopted
by Pharaoh’s daughter until he .visited
his oppressed brethren and started out
from Egypt to the land of Midian.
“Moses’ checkered, eventful and varied
experiences charm our fancy and call
forth our highest admiration. There are
many phases of ffis life upon which I
might talk at length, rat the present oc
casion affords only time to briefly con
sider his great faith and wise choice.
The lust point in this connection that
impresses us is the tint when he makes
his choice. Says th3 text; ‘Whenhe
was come to years, that is when he was
40 years of age,” Acts 7:28. His youth
ful frivolities and unsettled notions were
things of the past. He had not only
reached manhood, but his inexperience
and lack of wisdom had been overcome
by the training whict ho received from
the wisest of the Egyptians, and the ad
vantages offered by Pharaoh’s court.
This was a most opportune period for
him to make a decision which mafts the
turning point in hi:) marvelous career
and forms an important epoch in the his
tory of one of the greatest peoples of the
earth. His example is commended to all
young people whose school life is ended
or who may be cal ed upon to decide
what shall be their future course in life.
His great faith stards out prominently
when we note the things which he sur
rendered in makmg iiis choice.
“1st. He refused (o be called the son
of Pharaoh’s daughter. This refusal not
only deprived him ol the comforts of the
elegant home in vhich he had long
abode, but precluded the possibility of
his attaining to the throne and crown to
which he would have been the legal heir,
since Pharaoh had no son. * * * * To
have remained at court didnot necessarily
prevent him from being pious as some
have argued. We have In Joseph, Dan
iel, Esther and Nehi miah illustrious ex*
amples of persons oo mpying similar posi
tions, whose piety shines forth in re
splendent beauty when oompared with
the profligacy, idolatry and wickedness
of their times. But Moses knew, doubt
less, that he could not accomplish the
great task which ho felt was laid upon
him asnid such environments; Are thSre
not men to-day occupying positions
where their lives aid influences do not
tell for God? If there be such it is foil
time they were giving up and taking a
decided stand for Clirlst. Says the Mas
ter: ‘Whosoever would come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me.’
“2nd. Moses alsi surrendered' the
prospect of vast we iltfl—all the riches of
Egypt. Like the great Apostle Haul, he
counted all things 1 iss that he gain the
greater riohes of Christ. His oonduot
was quite different from that of men
even of ouftown time. The love of mon
ey, which is the ‘root of all evil,’ is deep
imbedded in tb»j hearts of a majority of
mankind. Mdn have compassed hand
and sea, faced datjgmand death, resorted
to ways that are) dark and tricks that
are vain in the g& edy efforts and mad
rush far gain and g (tfd. What an illqs
nof this we 1
in the heedless
re
that men were as eager for the one thing
needful, that good part which cannot be
’ taken away. When we consider what a
deteriorating effect vast wealth and
much power have upon religious lives of
most men we say, well might Moses have
given up all these.
“3rd. He renounced the pleasures
which his position would secure to him.
Happily are theytermed ‘ pleasures of sin.’
’Tis true, there are innocent pleasures
and harmless amusements, but too many
fail to stop at these. Some to whom po
sition will never come and whose pros
pect for vast riches is not sufficient to
make these great snares, yet how often
these same persons are lured into paths
to ruin and go down deeper until the
, victims are cast into outer and irretriev
able darkness.
“Many ask what harm is there in cer
tain things. This is putting the question
wrongly. Rather should we ask, What
good is there in it ? We are taught that
the chief end of man is to glorify God
and enjoy Him forever. The apostle
says whatsoever we do we should do all
to the glory of God. Any pleasure or
amusement which we are called upon to
engage in where we can’t glorify God,
we should refrain from it.
“Men of all times have been beguiled,
bewildered and destroyed by certain
pleasures. Wise Solomon, of Bible fame;
brave Mark Anthony, victorious Alex
ander the Great,1^brilliant Edgar Allen
Poe, and the famous Parnell, and many
lesser lights in past and present times i
have bowed their knees at the altars of
the god of pleasure and gone from
thence to the lowest depths of infamy and
death. To all who are enticed by such
dangers I hold up the example of
Moses.”
The Bishop concluded his discourse
by referring to the hardships which
Moses endured by casting his lot with
the people of Israel, and then referred
in glowing terms to his career as a
great leader, his undying fame thus
acquired the lasting glory which he
gained as a faithful servant of God.
He wound up with a beautiful climax
made by contrasting the fading glory
and perishing character of all that
Moses forsook with the abiding and
ever-increasing beauty of. the things
gained by choosing Christ. He in
vited all to examine the two and
urged upon them to make the choice
made by Moses.—The Portland
Oregonian.
OUR SMALLER COLLEGES.
“There are a few striking facts about
the small American college,” writes Elf
ward W. Bok in the August Ladie»' Home
Journal. “ One striking fact is that sixty
per cent, of the brainiest Americans who
have risen to prominence and success
are graduates of colleges whose names
.are scarcely known outside of their own
States. It is a fact, also, that during the
past ten years the majority of the new
and best methods of learning have ema
nated from the smaller colleges, and have
been adopted later by the larger ones.
Because a college happens to be unknown
two hundred miles from the place of its
location does not always mean that the
college is not worthy of wider repute.
The fact cannot be disputed that the most
direct teaching, and necessarily the
teaching most productive of good results,
is being done in the smaller American
colleges. The names of these colleges
may not be familiar to the majority of
people, but that makes them none the less
worthy places of learning. The larger
colleges are unquestionably good. But
there are smaller colleges just as good,
and, in some respects, better. Some of
the finest educators we have are attached
to the faculties of the smaller institutions
of learning. Young girls or young men
who are being educated at one of the
smaller colleges need never feel that the
fact of the college being a small on s
places them at a disadvantage in compari
son with the friend or companion
who has been sent to a larger and better
known college. It is not the college: it
is the student,”
Rev. C. R. Conrad, our beloved
pastor, is visiting all mission points
on his oircuit. During his turkey
hunt about and around the village of
Turkey, he found several of us Zion
members, who would not leave Zion,
though too far from any other Zion
ohuroh to attend conveniently. We
are very eager to build ar church here
which will make the fifth on the cir
' cuit. God has enabled us, with the help
and encouragement of our beloved
pastor, to frame our new church. We
are also receiving some help from our
friends, white and colored. We mean
to have a new church at Turkey.
Our pastor is a graduate of the Golds
boro State Normal School, and also
at student of Livingstone College, and
is, of a truth, a "living-stone’* in the
conference building. He, by revival
meetings, has increased the member
, ZION IS EXTRAVAGANT.
Suffering I nstitutions—Centennial Hon
ey—No Need of Robes.
P/r REV. W. J. SIDES.
Extravagance, poor institutions,
abusing ministers for non-perform
ance of duties, seem to be the most
potent subjects agitating the minds
of those who desire to see the old
ship of Church sail gloriously over
life’s great ocean.
' I must commend you, Mr. Editor, *
in every action you have taken to
champior. the cause of Zion, but why
don’t you knock the life out of this
monster, extravagance? We are tired
of seeing the money of the Church
collected for the various institutions
of our Church, prodigally spent.
What has become of the Centennial
money? It does seem to me that from
the interest that was stirred up in the
Church, and the excitement that was
displayed in New York last Fall at
the Centennial Celebration, that the
various institutions of the Church
ought net to be in such a critical con
dition; they ought to have something
left besides the eloquent speeches that
were delivered.
All of our institutions were crying
before the Centennial and now they
are still bleating. The institutions
have not been benefited from the re
sults of the Centennial Jubilee. If
they had, there would be less whin
ing in the convention. The situation— ^
is becoming to be very precarious and
morbid i n our Church. There are a
number of men not doing any thing
in the Church and you are knocking
them senseless. .There is a class of
men that spend the money of the
Church injudiciously and they need
pelting. We are going to wait pa
tiently i:o see what has' become of the
Centennial money.
Another extravagance is spending
a whole loj of money uselessly for
episcopal robes. I am informed that ,_
an annual conference appropriat
ed the money collected to print
their minutes to buy an episcopal
robe for the chieftain of their con
ference. Thousands of members are
deprived of the proceedings of this
important assembly and ^one 'man
wears the great robe that actually
cost the taxation of many a hard
day’s tcil to raise the money that the
people thought would be spent di
rectly for the benefit of the Church,
when to their surprise the money is
invested in robes. The time has
come woen we musfspend the money
of (he Church in its entirety judi
ciously, .
I remember one esteemed and
highly honored prelate who was' not
a thousand miles from here on .a sac
ramental occasion, and actually the
people were so cold and excited, so
wonderfully amazed, until it eeemed V*
that the robe knocked all of the-spir- ^
itual life out of the communionists
and the Eucharistic services. We
are to excite the people .to continue ,
a perpetual memory of the death of
Christ until His coming again. How
are we to do this when we encourage x.
a cold, obsolete and ceremonious rite
in the Church? Primeval Method
ists stepped much of their ceremoni
ous de potions in the earlier days of
Methodism. They saw that it was a
failure and it is nonsense and fool
ishness for us to follow the fathers of
Methodism and pick up their failures
to experiment upon in our Church.
I am satisfied with the progress that
Zion has made during the last cen
tury; her triumphs, her successes;
and the stubborn conflicts against'the
strong powers of darkness have as
tounded the very powers of hell it
self. And this suoceas must be ac
credited to the wonderful working of
the Holy Ghost and not to vain show,
prodigal living and ceremonious de
votions. fr
R6v. A. J. Rodgers, Presiding
Elder, held my second quarter May
14th and 15th. We had a glorious
time. ' I have received in church 29
members and have not started my re^
vival yet. I have raised en my work
up to the seoond quarter, $330.26.
We .ht.d a grand rally the 5 th Sunday
in May and raised $30. We intend,
God