Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / Dec. 23, 1897, edition 1 / Page 1
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-R.QA3ST OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZI03ST CHURCH IN AMERICA^ VOLUME XXL CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23,1897. NUMBER 51. BIBLICAL EPISCOPACY. This Dogma Exploded By The Hammer Of Biblical Exposition. ur I!EV. JNO. A. D. T.LOICE. Dear Editor: I take pleasure in con tinuing my article on what is termed Bib lical Episcopacy. During the Apostolic times, the words Episcopos l’resbuteros, and Pohncnos, meaning respectively Bishop, EUlc/ and shepherd, were indeed used interchange ably. not however as synonyms, hut as Representing the same officer under different aspects of his ministry. With this qualification, I agree with the Bish op. That the word Presbuteros bore the same relation to Episcopos as Epis copps does to Apostolos, is an am biguous assertion. The expression savprs of a man who argues in a circle, and may justly be placed in thejeategory of those fallacies which the logicians term “Petitio Principie”—a begging of the question. The New Testament recognizes no distinction between the words Presbute ros: and Episcopos.4 I invite the Bishop to tiake his Greek Testament and review with me that Episcopal address (?) deliv ered by Bishop Paul at Miletus to the elders of Ephesus, Acts 20:17-28. “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church”—“tous prepbuterous.” In flic 28th- verse, the same persons are called overseers or bishops. “Take heed, therefore, unto all thejflock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers (Episcopous) to feed the|church of God, which he hath pur chajsed withhis own blood.” Paul called thcTpi esbuterous” from Ephesus,and in forms them that they were made “Epis copous” over the church of God by the Jloh/ GUoHt. This is so clear, that he who runjs may read and understand. If the Bishop will also turn to Titus 1:5-8, he will see the Apostolic or Biblical use of the: term Episcopos in relation to Pres buteros. Having given general direction , to ordain elders in every city,the Apos v tie hext tells Titus ^hat sort of men to select, for elders. Then in the 7th verse as if purposely to show that an elder audja bishop were precisely the same —church officer, he continues: “For a bish op jepiscopon) must be blameless,’’"etc. Here you see the words are used inter rhajngeably to designate the same church officer. In the opening of the Epistle to the Philippians, the Apostle salutes the bish ops and deacons, making no mention of the presbyters or elders whom he would hat e mentioned, had he not considered them identical with the bishops. Phil. 1:1 The description of a good bishop in [ Tim. 3:1-7, which answers exactly to the requisites of a good elder in Titus 1:5-9 may also prove the parity of these two “ offices.There is an ancient writing recently discovered called the “Didaclie” or “Teachings of the Apos ties,” which throws new light on the early constitution of the Church. It was composed very early in the second cen tury. If the Bishop will turn to it and redd chapter 15, lie might change his be lief that there were three orders in the ministry of the early Church. When translated it reads thus : “Choose for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men meek and n„i avari cious, and true and proved,, for they, too, perform for you the functions of prophets and teacherr. Therefore, dc spise them not, for they are the ones among you honored with the prophets and teachers.” You will see from this, that up to this period, there were only two officers recognized by the Church— bishops aud deacons. The Bishop would have us believe that ini the Primitive Church, it was the ex clusive prerogative of the Apostles or their “divine successors” to ordain men fojr the ministry. He cites for his au thority II Timothy 1:6, and II Timothy 2:2, aud sees in these passages “Biblical Episcopacy without a doubt handed down from Paul to Timothy.” He af firms that Paul in ordaining Timothy a bishop, laid hands on him without a Presbytery, and imparted to him the gift of the Holy Ghost. Is the Bishop acquainted with the science of Herueu cutics V Has he gotten tired in ascer taining the whole facts of Scripture by examining parallel passages and reading the context of seemingly isolated texts? If so, let the Bishop make another effort and read with me II Timothy 1:6, which he cites, in the light of I Timothy 4:14, which he has overlooked. Let us read together, Bishop? “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which 4s in thee by the ' putting on of my ^ hands.” II Timothy 1:6. Now read the text which was overlooked: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying On of the hands of the presbytery.” I Timothy, 4:14. What a revelation ! No doubt it was hidden for ages from the sons of men, but now revealed in these last days to throw to the winds the dog pui of Apostolic Succession. While Paul in his last letter to Tirno . tty omits mentioning the putting on of tihe hands of t re presbytery at his ordi - natipn, he neglects not to remind him of it intis first Epistle. If a compromise would satisfy the Bishop in the applica tion of these two passages, then I will concede that Paul acted in con junction or as part of the presby which set apart Timothy to the IMPERFECT IN work of the ministry. The injunction in I Timothy 5:22, to “Lay hands sud denly on nc man, neither be partaker of other me i’s sins,” if it refers to ordi nation, is alfio suggestive that there were others who ordained suddenly, and thereby sinned, rvhosc example Paul ad monishpd T molhy not to follow. That the C hnrch in Apostolic times re ferred all jcclesiastical difficulties to James, is a mistake. The question on circumcisior recorded in Acts 15, was not referred to James, but to the Apos tles and Eld 2rs. Read Acts 15:2,(>,22,23. Peter who s >oke first, and James who spoke last, verc b»t few of the many who played a conspicuous part on the occasion. The decision which James suggested was reached after much dis putings among the ciders who consid ered it their right to settle the question. See Acts 15: f. While the decision was reached at tlie suggestion or dictation of James, still it was by no means obliga tory on the oart of the elders to accept it, nor on tin part of the Gentiles to re ceive it. If the Bishop will turn to Galatians 2:6-14, he will see Paul’s opinion on the so-called “p-imacy” of Peter, James, and John, ar d how he treated it. Believing t hat the dogma of “Biblical Episcopacy” has been exploded by the hammer of Biblical Exposition, I shall in my next a-tide turn to discuss what is termed “Patristic Episcopacy.” The Bislio ) will notice that I have not yet begun to give an elaborate treatise of the origin of this pernicious dogma, but that I air simply exposing the falsity of the stateir ents, and the fallacy of the arguments p/oduced to sustain it. AtlnntU■ Ct'.y, X. ./ BRITCE-GRITTSMS. “PUNCTUATIC N” 15 V K. TTGRACE TKALL, ESQ.—1). APPLETON & CO., XE1V YORK, PRICE $1.0(1. By the courtesy of the publishers, I have recently come into possession of this book which, upon examination, I tind to be a most valuable help to writ 3rs in that it contains a number of use ful and practical hints that at once ap peal to one’s common sense and that simplify the trt of punctuation. For teach< rs, preachers and writers, t is a veritable treasure-trove. No man L vri'img's'Lotitf 6<? without this valuable j lid. The bo ik contains seventeen diap ers cmbracii g the following subjects:. ‘ ,he comma, t ie semi-colon, the colon, the ] period, questions and exclamations, the \ lash, parenthesis and brackets, apostro- ■ phe, posscssires, and quotation, marks ^ pf reference, elision, etc., division of voids into syllables, compound words, ] ise and uom use of capitals, present En- 1 :>lisli spelling, words ending in able and ble, choice c f forms in spelling, phonetic ] spelling, index. i I especial y commend this splendid work to the housands of Negro students in the scliotr s and colleges of the South md elsewhe e who will, I am sure, find 1 it a most ust ful helper and serviceable ' guide iu the class room as well as a hand briok of reference outside of the cliss room. The author has been at ,lie pains to do his work so thoroughly ind skillfully that those who read him ciitically and carefully will 1 not hesitate to award him high praise , for his iut( lligent and comprehensive analysis of i dry subject. MR. FORTUNE’S DENIAL. In a lettei from Mr. T. Thos. Fortune, of the New York Aye, dated Washing ton, D. C.f Bee. 5j 1897, he writes: “I have rjad your article in the Star and the onl;r criticism I have to make of it is that yo l have made me a champion” of the mixed people, when there was nothing in 1 he Sun article nor in any thing that I ever said or did to earn me that disfepi.tation.” In justice to Mr. Fortune it is proper that I shoul d say that despite his dis avowal of t ie title of champion of the ‘‘mixed people” or “Afro-Americans” so-called—lie is so regarded by that ele ment among us, and while he has not openly posed as a leader of the mixed people, he 1 las been more of an “Afro American” than a Negro. He has sought to p opularize this bastard term and to apply it to all Negroes of mixed blood. He wever, since he disclaims the honor, if honor there be, in being the champion of a class which is striving to get away f om the race, we have but to accept his ienial in simple good faith, and congn tulate him on his great good sense in refusing to be a martyr in a cause whit h had its origin in the cow ardly hear ,s of the discredited offspring ofliccntiois white men of the South, and against whom the bar sinister is raised moie determinedly and vigorous ly than it s against those who prefer to be called Negroes, and to be Negroes. Mr. Fortuie is an. exceedingly level headed "A fro-American” on this sub ject. Albany, N. Y. Some of our country churches are doing as well as some town churches. At the cl jse of our revival last Au gust, held by Rev. Wm. Sutton, P. E., in the absence of the pastor, Rev. R. 0. Moore, who was sick with typhoid fever, G)d blessed us with 58 con versions rnd 41 accessions. It was the greatest revival we have had in several years. Elder Sutton poured hot shot an the devil. N. H. Edwards Snow Hill, N. C. Rev.J.H. ANDERSON, D.D. Greatest Negro Church Statistician— His Star Is Rising. EDITOR OF YEAR BOOK. Rev. James Harvey Anderson was born in Frederick City, Md., Jane! 30, 1848, of ex-slave parents. His early life was sppat upon a farm in the vicinity of his birth place. At the age of 14, he left his home, fol lowing the Federal army into Vir ginia, and the officer, Lieutenant He As a preacher, hi?} discourses are profound, animated and have a fas cinating eloquence; are graphic and impressive, and are given in- a clear, sonorous voice, with the use of choicest diction, grammatical and rhetorical elegance, forming a chain of logical connections, direct line of reason, and a stream of eloquence fiiorn beginning to finish. He.is very imaginative in his preaching—on the order of the late Bishc p J. J. Moore. As a pastor, his career has proved brilliantly successful in the spiritual, REV. J. H. ANDERSON, D.D. being severely wounded at the battle j of Chancellorsville, took him. to his borne, Paterson, N. J., where he at tended public school three months. He then enlisted in Company 6., United States Colored Infantry, serv ing one year and one month, or to the close of the war. Returning to Ids home, he attended j public school for six months, succeed- i ing so rapidly as to advance from the first to fourth reader in that short time. This is all the time he ever spent iji &hool and is consequently designated as a “Belf-made’’ man. He was converted March 4, 1870, and li censed to preach in the A. M. E. Zion Church in Feb., 1871, joined the New York Conference of the same Church in May, 1872, ordained dea con May, 1874, elder, May, 1876, and served important charges in New York City, Providence, Troy, New Haven, Bridgeport, Washington, Pat erson, Harrisburg, Carlisle, Roches ter, Binghamton and Hudson in the New York, New England, Philadel phia and Baltimore, New Jersey and Western New York Conferences. While serving a five years' term in Providence, R. I., he led a politi? cal revolt in Rhode Island which nominated Sprague for Governor in 1882. He (Anderson) was. nomi nated for the State Legislature, but declined the nomination in favor of i ( < his personal friend, Mr. J. H. Banks, who was elected and served two terms. Rev. Anderson was also in strumental in securing the repeal of the in ter-marriage laws of the State, his speech before the Senate being a masterly effort, introducing him into popular favor aside from his noted pulpit ability. He is a noted scribe', having acted as secretary in some capacity in every conference with which he has been connected, and al so in the quadrennial or sessions of the General Conference for four suc cessive terms, and is now the Gener al Statistical Secretary cf the A. M. E. Zion Church and Editor of the Year Book. He is regarded as the leading Negro Church Statistician. His excellent contributions to the va rious periodicals, journals and pamph lets are sought and read by the beet scholars, white and colored, the ar ticles being well studied, clear, pro found and taking, and covering a wide range in the discussion of re ligious, moral, political, scientific and economical questions, matters of gen eral interest and live topics. Hej has few equals as a biographical sketch writer. * 'And adwmistfative sx-ihfttm, A. Walters, J, B. Small and many other of the Church dignitaries reck on him one of t.he ablest divines pro duced by the A. M. E*. Zion Church. Rev. Anderson is the author of the Official Directory of the A. M. E Zion Church, which was pronounced by Mr. Henry K. Carroll, the United States census taker for the Churches and Editor of the New York Inde pendent, to be the best Negro Year Book ever coming in to their office He also is the author .of several im portant Record Books, and is espe cially gifted in the formulation of le gal and church blanks. The author ities of the Church largely rest their confidence in his knowledge, judg ment and statements relative to the history and status of the Church. Physically, he is tali’ and symmetri cal, being well proportioned and of equal mental balance, of strong force and decision of character. Rev. An derson received the honorary title of Doctor of Divinity in May, 1897, from Livingstone College, Salisbury, N. C. His star of possibilities ap pears to be still rising. Coupled with his wonderful natural talents and ability, he is a conutant and close student of books, men and measures. Bishop Hood says lie is one of the shrewdest wire-pullers that goes to the General Conference. Rev.^Anderson belongs to that peculiar class whose singular self-development projects personal eminence and high scholar ship. Rev. B. F. Median Lad a grand re vival some time ago. He is moving things to the front. His people love him. May he live long to preach the word of God. Some time ago I was in Conference with Elder A. J. Rod gers, P. E. lie is like a thunderbolt and quick with powder. His men love him. God bless him. Rev. T. B. McClan. Georgiana, Ga. Elder Gomez is tl e pious example of our Conference, aud a very strong preacher. Elder Cooper is a strong Connectional man, i.pright and true. Elder Peterson is fully capable of do ing business for Zion. First, a pre siding elder should be an all around Christian gentleman. Secondly, he should be a man of le’.ters, able to rep resent us anywhere and everywhere. Thirdly, he ought to be full of the Connectional spirit, not all for self, loving and sympathizing with his brethren. The Stak is brilliant. Pike Hoads, Ala. MINISTERIAL SUCCESS. B i 8 h op r I c—Culture— Goldeu Rule— Mortgaging Churches. A GREAT CHTJRCE: PAPER. [The following Annual Address was delivered by Bishop J. W. Hood, D. D., LL D., before the Central North Caro lina Conference in Heiderson, N. C., Nov. 18, 1897, and ordeied by said con ference to be printed in the Star of Zion.] Beloved Brethren: By the gracious favor of a superintending and All-Wise Providence, we are permitted to come together again, after a se laration for the period of twelve months in which each has had an important charge to keep, and a fearful responsibility resting npon him. The work of the gospel minister is the most important of any committed to mortal care. The immortal poet thus wrote: “They watch for souls, for which the Lord Did heavenly bliss forego, For souls, which must fo ever live In rapture, or in woe.” I fear that too many are not duely impressed with the solemnity of the min isterial calling. Men rvsh into every grade of this work with a thoughtless ness which is truly alarm ng. Many eld ers want to be bishops without any re gard as to what the essential qualifications for office are. Before I was elected Bishop I never opened the subject of my election to any man. A few persons mentioned the matter to me. My an swer to all was that that was a matter in which \I could take no part. That was au office I did not dare seek. My idea was, the office should seek the man. In fact, that is my notion about every of fice. I have filled many offices, but never asked any man to vote for me, except in 1807, after I had been nominated for a delegate to the State Convention. The practice now in vogue of cauvassing for the Episcopal office would have bcerf fa tal to the aspirations of any man in the time that I was made. I am not gener ally a back number. I am not among those who live in the past. In most things I think the Dew ways arc a decided im provement upon the old; but in this mat ter of office-seeking in the Church, I fear the tendency is dangerous. Every deacon wants to be an elder, _ a gtuuv niuuj lujm.-u *1 t*uv wv preachers, and, in nine closes out of ten, there is but little thought as to what the necessary qualifications for the office and work are. This, in some measure, accounts for the failures which confront us every year. We come to conference and arrange the work and make our cal culations as to what may be accom plished during the ensuing year—a few men meet our expectations. They go forth, where others failed, autl succeed. Others who followed them failed, showing plainly that it was not in the situation, but in the man, that the cause of success or failure rest 2d. As before intimated it may have resulted from the fact that the man rushed into the office without a call from abovs; but there are many cases of failure by men who are called, because they are not fully qual ified. There is in many cases a lack of minis terial culture. By this I mean the pecu liar training which fits a man for this particular work. This, among other things, includes the abili;y to preach the word plainly. He must be able to make himself clearly understood by his hear ers. Some men talk right on in such away that you never set the sense of what they are saying. They have no regard for the rules of syntax, that is, sentence-making. The hearer is neither edified nor instructed. In fact he gets nothing out of the discourse at all but noise—harsh noise at lhat. It is not strange that the people soon get tired of such a preacher and are unwilling to support him. The preocher should not only be able to use good plain language, but he should also study to always have something to say that :s worth saying. Before he attempts to preach a sermon to others he should fully understand the subject himself. He should know what he is going to say and Km he is going to say it. This, of course, involves the idea of previous preparation. How can you expect to preach without this? Can you expect God to be continually work ing miracles upon your mind to enable you to preach without thought? He could do it if He choosed, but He is not likely to do it in order to indulge a man who is too lazy to stud}. What else has a minister to do but to prepare to preach? Do you say you have got to look for bread? You are taking the wrong di rection when you leave off study to look for bread. Feed the people with the bread of life and they will feed you. I was a missionary in Nvoa Scotia for three years. I had five members at the start and sixteen at the finish. I do not think they paid me twenty dollars in the three years, but I preached and the mem bers of other churches fed me. If, for any reason, you cannot study, it is ev ident that you have mistaken your call ing. To succeed any afad everywhere, a minister must not onl£ use plain, but al so, beautiful language, harmonious and euphonious. Of course ^his language must be free from gramaartica'iblunders. And yet there who of our ministers at tention to these egai d the most simple Ttere are men who a who-pay no at. t V pa!!! that she tO1 F tent ion to the fact that arc equal to an affirmative, is this that it seems to leged error. The rule agree with its actor, in and case, is overlooked by quently a sentence is begu with a preposition, and, used instead of “so that.” the grammatical errors in course, delivered by men great preachers with high ties, were marked and they would be astonished Now, in many cities and in the congregation persons help noticing these errors go as critics, but their trai has made them sensitive, their interest in the preacli in the reputation of their more they feel ashamed for naturally look about to sec any stranger present who is tect the errors. This, to detracts from the respect minister would otherwise more intelligent part of tiou. A minister who has ways, notwithstanding thes< get along almost anywhere; dition to his grammatical has ways that drive intell from him, he will soon lin wonder why they arc not so over him as the less intelligis will then conceive the id: wickedness in others that cool toward him, and he wi to drive them out of the ch^i ly to himself the ignorant ning i bo vi j; ro negatives So common is as a privi an act must iu nber, person many. Fre und ended *so until” is In fact if all a single dis who pass for sounding ti wn to them, 4nd ashamed, ns thero are who cannot They do not in school The greater cr, or rather church, the him. They if there is likely to de >ome degree, which the held by the is congrega te ry winning defects, can but, if in ad dunders, he gent people ve cause to enthusiastic nt are. He that it is makes them go to work rch and ral thought i! 1 j nd but edge.! less, cater to their prejudices and create a condition which neither he nor any one else can manage. Then, when a portion of the members vote against his return, he thinks the Bishop ought to send him back to complete the work of dividing the church. If he is sent back, and those who wanted him are not able to support, because he an i they have driven a portion of the members away, he is ready then to mortgage the church to pay his salary. I draw no ’ancy sketch tate facts within my own knowl This calls to mind ti e importance of good ministerial behavior. The Apostle Paul called Timothy’s at tention to the importance of knowing must be free from the victs which are common to sinners were it not for the fact of some happenings which are far from being commendable. There is one minister who has been off 1 is own cir cuit this year and last preaching funeral sermons on another min isle r’s charge to the hinderancc of his work, and yet he could not get to the district conference, which was not one-third the distance from him. Going a bundr:d and fifty miles out of his way to priach funeral sermons is not the worst feature of the casej besides this there is s tspicion that another object attracts him. A minister should not only avoid guilt rat he should also avoid the suspicion thereof. He should stay away from the place where unfavorable rumors rise. Tiiere is some thing in human nature which induces man to go where reason di :tatcs that he should not. I have long since ceased to warn a man against a particular place of danger, because I have found too many who seize upon the warning as the in formation they needed to enable them to find that which was impure. I have too much charity to suppose that they in tended to fall into sin, b' it, dare-devil like, they thought they could get near the fire and not get burned. Possibly they might; and yet their garments might smell so strong of file as to leave an unfavorable suspicion. It is far bet ter to shun the appearance of evil. A minister, to be a success, must be agreeable in his manners. Borne seem to try to be as hateful as possible, and yet wonder why they arc not i s popular as others. They charge tho people with meanness for not liking them. They call their hatefulness honesty and straight-forwardness. They speak to people in a dictatorial, ovc: ‘-bearing way They never say, “If you please,” or “ Will you do so and so,” f fit every word is on the order of a rough ter’p command. It does thing to be polite, and yet it pays. A uncouth mas notcost any tbe. habit of how to say want to be and loveable. minister should cultivate politeness, should study ple’asant things. If you loved, you must be loving If you want people to regi.rd your feel ings, you must regard t reirs. If you want to be respected, you must show re spect to others. This accords with the language of the great Veaqher: “Do unto others as ye would i hey should do unto you.” We may exj ect to reap ac cording to our sowing. We are the pat terns. We are to set the standard. If we set it low we cannot < xpect the peo ple to rise above it. As a governor, the pastor who wants to be respected in hi* office-, must respect the rights of otherg. Ifyraso exercise authority as to curtail the rights of a member you do him injustice, lose his respect, and also the resj ect of others A cer who are cognizant of the fact tain minister wanted til mortgage a church to raise some moiay. After he had explained the matter and a motion was made to authorize th 6 mortgage, a brother arose to speak, as he had a per fect right to do; but the fiastor ordered him to sit down and said he could speak [CORTINUSD OH FODfi(TH PAG*.] HARD AT WORK IN ZION Haring Re viral 8, Buying And Remod elling Churches, Etc. ACCEPTABLE MINISTERS. I see that very little is said in the Star concerning Zion generally in California. Zion on the Coast is do ing remarkably well with such mate rial as the Bishop has sent us. Zion, in Hollister, has good attendance. The Sunday-school is growing; the V. C. E. is nice, ^he pastor, Rev. R. Birdswell, is an able and acceptable minister. Miss Mollie Cole, Sec’y. Hollister, Cal. —o— Our church (the Harris) is moving along very nicely both spiritually and temporally. On Thanksgiving night, a very pretty and fashionable wedding took place in the church The floral display was simply hand some. A beautiful arch adorned the altar. At eight o’clock the organ pealed forth its sweet strains and the bridal party swept up the aisle ta the altar. Rev. C. H. Wye stepped forth from the palms and performed the ceremony. The contracting par ties were Miss Rachel Colbert and Mr. Charles Beverly. All happiness to the young couple, (Miss) Florence B. Wye. Harrisburg, Pa. We have, under God, planted Zion in West Philadelphia. My church is Mt. Zion A. M. E. church. We now have a fine building, once occupied by the Presbyterians, located at 57th and Market Streets. My brother, Mr. F. B. Allen, of 1924 Reed Street, gave us a grand organ and Prof. S. S. Randall, of Washington, D. C., is the chorister. Mrs. Emily I. Johnson, of 703 S. Ninth Street, is the organ ist. We have a loyal Temperance Legion of bojs and girls that meets are being converted and added to the church. We have had one long hard struggle and have won, which ~ shows, Brother Smith, that_ every thing comes to him or her who waits. Mr. Editor, you know just who J. E. Allen is. Rev. J. E. Allen. Philadelphia, Pa. We, the members of Shiloh church, of the Point Washington circuit, at Hog Town, thank Bishop Lomax for sending ns Rev. J. C. Bellany. He is a man of God and sticks to the law. He has no pets. He treats all alike and all must abide by the law. No one rules him, and in his preaching he hews to the line. When he came to us last March, he said to the mem bers, “Do you love Grod and Zion? Are yon kw-abiding ? Do you love to hear the truth ?” We all an swered, “Yes.” Our church has had a grand time this year. The mother church, Thomas Chapel, at Point Washington, notwithstanding he has done a goo d work there, has not tak en care of him as it could have done. Some of tiie members bought a brass band and because he told them it was not a Christian step they and their sympathizers got mad and do not visit the church. Preachers of Zion, hew your timbers to the line from ope end to the other. R. D. Davies, Sec’y of church. Point Washington. —o— Zion is being planted here, and that to stay. I came here last De cember ar.d found two strong Baptist churches and 12 Zion members. Onr members, like me, were discouraged, for I only received 75 cents a week to live on until eight months had passed. Then we sought and found a more desirable lot which we bought. We have entered into a regular con • tract with a contractor to furnish ma terial and build a church 30x50x14. We expect a turn-key job by October. We shall furnish Zion a church and the conference can send a man here to furnish members for Zion. We are on the missionary district and have the youngest Presiding Elder in the conference, but he is full of push and is a power in the work. The matured districts dread him. He is a fine preacher. A subscription of $107.50 was made up for this point, but only $31.50 has been received. Of course we have received help otherwise. Brethren, Zion's greatest Bishop keeps hiii eyes on what is going on. Rev. D. A. Kelley. Rocfy Mounts N. C.
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 23, 1897, edition 1
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