Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / April 14, 1898, edition 1 / Page 1
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CHARLOTTE, N. C., igle1 *Si [STIC EPISCOPACY. ern Testimony From Historians To trove Its Validity. BY BKnOP C. C. PETTEY, A. M., D D. “ ' BETTER NO. 1 . iVe have St. Paul in the last public its of his life which the Holy Scrip res'have recorded, (in Timothy and concerned in giving directions to officers in the churches of Ephe And Crete, concerning their superin tendence of those churches, their con trol of the ministers in them; their ordi nation of the clergy; their responsibility for the public service, and discip liDIn other words the churches of Ephe sus and Crete, in St. Paul’s time, were Episcopalian. We find the Apostles ex ercising in tfieir own persons, the super intendence of the churches which they founded, (Phil. 1, and Eph. 1) and of "the clergy, whom they ordained to them; visiting them by themselves, or by their co-adjutors, (Acts 15:30, Acts 19:22, Thess. 3:1,) sending to them pastoral let ters, uttering sentences of excommuni cation, and recalling them, giving direc tions about the public service and dis cipline. In other words, all the church es duriug the Apostles’ lives, were Epis copalian. We find our Lord and Sa viour Jesus Christ, during His abode on earth, exercising in His own person, the superintendence of the church, ordain ing the clergy (of whom He had two or ders under Him,) administering reproo to them, giving directions for the public worship and discipline. The true Head of the Church then exercised visibly and spiritually that chief pastorship or Episcopate, which, since His departure from the world, He has spiritually con tinued to exercise, whence He is still styled the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls; but visibly by His| servants, the Bishops and Apostles o£ the churches^ who will continue it till He the chief Shepherd shall appear. In other words, Church Of Christ, in our Saviour’s ,e was Episcopalian. Our Lord, be His departure from the world, ad iedj these words, not to all the miu had ordained under Himself; [onsisted of, 1st, xYpostles, 2nd, The ' (■ but to the Apostles only: ‘As [her hath sent me, even so send I appoint unto you a kingdom. _ __ ner hath appointed uuto me.’ ‘lam" with you alway,.even uuto the end df the world.’ “Take these passages, 1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11-14, in which St. Paul affirms that Christ ordained divers orders of ministers, the chief of whom were Apos tles, not for a temporary object, or only for a season, but in perpetuity until the completion of the Chris Jan system, ‘For be perfection of the saints, for the work if the ministry, for the edifying of the of Christ, until we all come in .the ity of the faith, and of the knowledge _ the Son of God, unto a perfect maSa, nto the measure of the stature of the [fullness of Christ.’ “How is this ordinance fulfilled by who cast away the Apostolic office' uperfiuous in their scheme of the istry? The Episcopalians have careful to preserve it. Take Heb. where the Apostle speaks of ‘The |ng on of hands, by which men are ejpartstkers of the heavenly gift,’ i. e., r in conformation or ordination, both, as one of ‘the first principles of doctrine of Christ.’ ‘part of foundation’ of the Christian religion it cannot be shown from the Scrip that this means of grace was ever :ised hy any who were not of the ;olic order. But if it be a funda doctrine, it must he of perpetual ,ion, and if it he of perpetual obli then it follows necessarily that mst he always in the Church, of the Apostol'ic order competent XO exerClEU mis umuc. xuun iuc lcoli mony of the inspired records of the church is as harmonious and distinct as that of the uninspired; seeing that from the commencement of our Lord’s ministry, nay if it is of importance to re fer to things under the Mosaic Law* which had ‘a shadow of good things to _ come,’ we may say that t from the ap pointment of Aaron until the closing of the sacred Canon, no Church of God on earth is spoken of in the sacied Scrip tures, which is not Episcopalian; and that from thence down to the eud of the fifteenth century, no Church can he -shown to have existed (as a distinct orthodox denomination) which was not Episcopalian. If the objectors can gl^pw reason for supposing that at any given time, any of the churches through which we trace our orders, were gov erned by those who had not received Episcopal orders, the objection will be worthy of attention.”—Perceval. #***.*• There is yet another historical pre exoeedingly strong against now slight the Apostolic min Sjitry and orders. The unbroken and unquestioning usage of .fifteen hundred years is in itself much. For how could it possibly happen, as Hooker well asks> that all that time, if the existing Episco pacy were wrong, no one church ever discovered the right order or doubted •rightness of the order, which did ex' But the presumption is strength. [ still further when it is added that gradua [ly, and by a manifest after thought, came to make a merit of their own defects, and to defend as right, what a; first they only endured as un avoida fie. “The controversy about Episcopacy, or about orders, was not that .which either originated the Reformation, or even oc casioned', or by which men’s minds weres.ir.ed to urge the Reformation forwaid. It* was a controversy which grew rut of cire lmstances, and was taken up after a tin , in order to main tain a position whicn no reformed com' munitj had sought upon its own mer' its.”— Hadden. Grotius, Blondel, Chamier, Du Mau lin, Cassaubou, Beza, Bucer, Le Clerc, Baxter and Doddridge place the origin of Episcopacy, with Christ and the Apos ties. Grotius says that “To -e-ect the su premacy of one pastor above the rest, is to cons emu the whole ancient Church of folly or even of impiety. The Episco pacy had its commencement in the timeB cf the Apostles. All the fathers withoi t exception testify to this. The testimony of Jerome alone is sufficient. The catalogues of the Bishops, iri Iren aeus, Socrates, Theodoret and others, all of which begin in the Apostolic age, tes tify to this. To refuse- credit in a his torical matter, to so great authorities, and so unanimous among themselves is not the part of any hut an irreverent andstibborn disposition. What the whole Dhurch maintains, and was not instituted by councils, hut was always held, is not with any goood reason be lieved ;o be handed down by any but Apostolic authority.” Beza says “If there be any who reject the whole order of Episcopacy, God forbid that any man of sour d mind should assent to the mad ness of such men.” Calvin in his com mentary on Titus (1:5), admits that there was no such thing as ‘the parity of the ministry. ” Blon iel says, “We do not intend to invalid ite the ancient and Apostolical constitutions of Episcopal pre-eminence, but that wheresoever it has been put down or violated, It ought to be rever ently restored,” Mosheim declares that “The o rder of bishops could not have origins ted at a period considerably more recent than that which gave birth to Christi mity itself.” Hase says, “The Episcopate - was the divinely appointed pillar which sustains the whole ecclesiastical fabric.” Hook-! ir says that ‘‘Oat. .patri irchs issued the whole multitude of Is rael according to the flesh. And accord ing to tlie mystery of heavenly birth our Lord’s Apostles we all acknowledge to be the patriarchs of His whole church. St. lohn therefore beheld sitting about the throne >f God in heaven four and' twen ty Pres jyters, the one half fathers of the aid. the other of tlie new Jerusalem. In which respect the Apostles likewise gave th jmselves the same title, albeit that na ne was not proper, but common unto th mi with others. For of presby- ' ters sortie were greater, some less in power,: and that by our Saviour’s , own lippoin-tment; the great- 1 er, tl ey which received fullness • Df spiritual power; the less, they to : whom less was granted. The Apostles’ peculiar charge was to publish the gos- : pel of Christ unto all nations, and to de liver them His ordinances received by immediite revelation from Himself. Which ireemfncnce excepted, to all oth sr officts and duties incident into their order, i; -was in them to ordain and con secrate whomsoever they thought meet’ even as our Saviour did Himself assign seventy others of Hil own disciples in ferior jresbyters. * * * To these two degrees appointed of our Lord and Sa viour J 3sus Christ, His Apostles soon after ai nexed deacons.” [to bk continued.] NeicSirn, 2f. C. OUR NEW CHURCH. BY REV. J. H. HARDIN. Mr. Editor: After a few months of karc. labor I have about completd our new brick church at a cost of $2,000, Everything is fitted up in first-cl iss style. It has a slate roof, a heater in the basement, and will be lit up with electric lights'. Bishop Pettey assisted by Bishop Walters, Presid ng Elder Eisher, Rev. J. S. Caldwell and others, will dedicate it theforrth Sabbath in this month. We ho oe our Editor can be present. I have also taken up a new work in Doyles town, Pa., and the outlook is favorable. My wife and I engaged in a revival there and added five to the clurch. The people want to build a church there. Neu town, Pa. I came here in August friendless and homeless and with no place to worship in. no members; but having God on my side an d preaching a pure gospel we suc ceeded in carrying to Conference which met in Newbera 20 members and a bor rowed house which can be ours for $175 cash. All who love Zion will please help r le at once. Now is the time to show jour love for Zion—E. F. Rollins, pastor, Scotland Neck, N. C. Rev.MARTINL BLALOCK His Recent Church Work The Crowning Effort Of Ilfs Life. SKETCH OF THE PASTOR. We take pleasure in presenting tp the readers the pictures of Rev. it upon the race. On tlie( 26th of this month (fourth Sanday in September) this church celebrated its fifty-first an niversary and jubilee. The Morning Call gives this inter esting biography* Rev. Martin L. !31alock was born in Fayetteville, Georgia, near Atlanta, Aug. v' rfy REV. MARTIN L. BLALOCK. I A. M. E. ZION CHURCH, PATERSON, If. J. Martin L. Blalock and the handsome :hurch on Godwin Street, near Bridge Street, worth $12,000 which he built ast year in Paterson, N. J. It is iow the leading appointment of the Slew Jersey Conference. The follow ng sketch of the church is clipped rom The Morning Call, the leading laily paper of that city: The history of the church goes hack ;o the time when it was known in this fity as Zion’s society. It was organized into a church in 18 4G, and was incorpor ated in the same year under the name md title of the Colored M. E. Church of Paterson and a branch of the Zion ;hurch in New York City. William i'anner, Cato Geroe and John Kline, Sr.» were the first trustees of the church. In L849 they purchased two lots on the present site of the church, for which ;hcy paid $400. The old meeting house recently torn down stood on these lots ibout forty-five years. In 1894 the pas or and a portion of the congregation lecided to do away with the old build ng and place a $10,000 brick edifice in ts place. They secured the necessary plans and specifications for the work aut finally failed in this undertaking, md the project fell to the ground. In Jctpber, 1895, the ltev. M. L. Blalock, ,he present incumbent, was sent from ;he South. Mr. Blalock straightened aut the defective title to the ground, with the help of Mr. William Penning ;on, and secure a loan from the Paterson B. and L. association for building pur poses. The present edifice is the finest building in the New Jersey Conference jf^his denomination, as it has all the modern improvements. \ The New York Age in its issup of September 1, 1897, speaking of \E1 der Blalock and his church, says: '• He came to this place about two years ago. The church was torn down. The title to the ground they hack controlled for fifty years was found defective. To undertake the task of straightening ont a bad title and then building a fine charch seemed an utter impossibility. Many said that it could not be done. But it was accomplished. The building is considered to be the finest church In the New Jersey Conference of the A.. M. E. Zion Church. It is a blessing to the race in this city to be able to point to such a building as their own. They were very fortunate to get Elder Blalock here to build a temple that reflects cred 4, 1801. He received his first education from the family that owned his mother. When he was about 14 years old he went to school in Atlanta, under control of the A. M. A. of the Congregational Church. In this school there were twelve teachers froin'the North, all ladies. Mr. Blalock felt di’rinely called to the ministry. He united with the M. E. Church in 1879, and was licensed to preach the same year. In 1882 he Was ordained deacon by Bishop Matthew Simpson, at Mario i, Ala. In 1884 he was ordained an elder by Bishop J. P. Thompson, at Canlon.Miss. He attend ed the Gammon Theological Seminary at Atlanta and completed; a four years’ course at that insti .utiofli. The first two year i of hisminHtiy were spent on We tumplca circuit, in t he Central Alabama Confereeco. {Ie aided 150 members' to his church, walking otter 130 miles ev ery month to get to his churches. In 1882 he built the first edifice at Talla hasse. Pla. One year later he with drew from the ministry of tte M. E. Church and united with the African M E. Zion CbuKch, in which he has a broader field for work. At Livingstone, Ala., he Temodeled the church there at a cost of $500, and at Demopolis, Ala., he added 200 membership to the church. At Russellville, Ky.. ho built a fine par sonage worth $1,0(0. The Bishop then sent him to Sau Francisco, Cal., to take charge of the largest church on the Pacific slope. His health failed him there, so he returned East, much to the dissatisfaction of tie congregation. He successfully pastured the 12th Street Church in Louisville, Ky., two years, and w?nt from Lebanon, Ky., to Patersoti where the New York Age says “lie has possibly ac complished the crowning effort of bis life,” and where T/ia Morning Call says “the building and dedication of that church speak well for the fixity of his purpose. Conference will The New Jersey convene in his church the 27th of this month. El ler Blalock, whom we person ally know, is a grand man, full of good cheer, unassuming, kind-heart ed, and honest to the core. There 1 deceit in him. He is trutf ' EVER LOOKUP—HOPE! The Christ Of Calvary The Christ Of Easter—Lesson From Nature. BY MISS ROUNA NICK80N. vvnite iillie8 raise proudly their graceful beads; buds and blossoms break forth, and to the kiss of sun beams the little birds twitter as the golden sun casts l:is first shafts across the sky, and all nature awakes, while fragrance £,nd song fill the air. Easter and Spring have come to us together, and bring to our heart* thoughts of new life and heaven— born hope. Hrw welcome is the time of flowers end song birds, soft breezes and warn sunshine, after the dark, cold hopeless days of Winter and the boisterous winds of March ! Winter seems indeed a time when dreams and hopes and sweet thoughts were inpeded in their flight, and have had to bury themselves deep in the heart to keep warm. Leaden Bkies and chilly fogs, snow, sleet and rain weigh down not only the atmos phere, but prove jfien a check to the spirit and a burden to the thoughts; and it is truer still when the surround ings are gloomy, and every effort of will and mind must be exerted to throw off the sad nfluences. As the days have grown longer and the sky at even-time has begun to blush with mellow lights, and the coming of the biids and flowers has told of the gladness of Spring, my heart has boundel, for it has seemed to me that fresh hopes and sweet whiffs of free air and stray 'beams of golden sunlight would soon be bring ing gladdening induences to hearts I iong oppressed. Easter time ! After he Winter, sweet Spring; after the :ime of frozen brooks and bare, naked ;rees, fresh singing rivulets and budi ling green ! One seems to speak of leath and suffering, the other of life ind victory. Look back at- what ^receded this glad day of hope and ife. The Christ of Easter was also ;he Christ of'Calvury. Think of the lark side of the p cture: the night of igony in Gethsemane, alone, forsak :n, suffering and betrayed; the trial n which the diviae defendant stood irranged before an UDjust judge and jitter enemies, swjrn against falsely nsulted, condemned amid the accla nations of an incensed mob, Christ, he convict, bears His cross up CaL ?ary. Bowed with a grief no one can ?stimate, Christ the Saviour dies in igony, and darkness reigns upon the The greatest darkness often comes aefore the dawo, and bo the dawn of that first Easter, after the awful ;cene of ^Jalverj, brought to the world the brightest dawn of hope that sver could have t ome to man. The Dhrist who looked down on the emp ty grave that coaid not bold Him; the Lord who looked out with love to the dead souls to whom He could bring life; the world's Redeemer; who passed through the golden gates in company with i.he thief whom He jailed to His side in these last mo ments, could indued look back and iay, “0 »Deatb, where is thy sting ! 0 Grave, where is thy victory? The message He sends to sorrowing hearts, the message He would bring to burdened wea -y ones still in the lark; the thought that the songs of birds and sweetness of flowers lilting their heads,to tie Spring sunshine would whisper over and over again to the messenger-winds this Easter-i tide is, "Look up and hope !” To tiny blades of grass pushing their way through the cold ground, the mubeams said, “Look up and hope !” md the more thej looked up the tast er they grew, till the barren browD earth was clothed in their fresh Sp-ing verdure. "Look up and hope,” whispered the wind to the clope-furled buds on the apple trees, and they waited and trusted, and now tjm.j)£re branches are* bare no IonsMM but h me as of snowy wbite nq^r&od blnUiing pink, while busy and hapfy birds rejoice, in the ce of tne blossoms. How ftld that old knotted tree become beautiful, and the'earth so soft ite carpet of green ? Well, was something above worth to,something worth trusting, in those early chilly days-of g. From above came tie tain c ad sweet dew, and cheering, life-giving, and at his toach cold and darkness vanished. So to the bouIb dark and dreary, cold and hopeless, comes the message, '.‘Look up and hope/” and as they look up they find comfort and love, sympa thy and hope, come from above, and better than all, the Son of Right eousness with healing in Hia wings and life in His touch looks down in loving response and transforming power. Sometimes one is tempted to think the night very, very dark, as one looks on the ground, where not an inch of the path can be seen, and into the shadows, so impenetrable that one can see nothing but blackness; UUl WUC7J1 UUC 1UUAO \A^JtC3\.TZa.KAklj Up 1UIU the s*ky above, star after star shines forth, with its message of hope, of in finite might and watchful care. We learn that astronomers have rarely been infidels. The geologist who digs down into the earth, who studies stones and strata, fossils and bones, may become so filled with his theories and dead, dry knowledge, that the instincts of the heart that should turn to the Infinite become petrified, and its mind exalts itself against its Creator and rules out the tender impulses of the heart. The one who studies the stars, who spends his time watching those worlds upon worlds, those suns and moons and flying fiery comets, is not so. He sees the mighty ruling controlling power. He feels the smallness and weakness of human strength. He stands awed before One who is too great to doubt. But what have stars, flowers, and birds to do with hearts I love oppressed? Well I think the stars can speak of hope—strong, true, inspired hope, that lifts us from our hopeless little selves, up, up to God, and they tell us that for us in our dark sky He has himself placed gleams of heavenly light, flowers pure and fragrant being their message of new life—a life that can be pure and beautiful; a life that can not only be lived 'above the stain and cor rupt!011 that would tend to spoil it, but a life that can be lived for oth ers; for no flower blossoms for itself alone. Then do not the songs of birds speak of gladness of heart, of j oy, of victory, such as can come to the soul alone who has been made free by the love of Christ, and filled with the dear spirit which He can spread abroad within it. Sometimes the clouds of past failure and sorrow hang so low and prove so impenetra ble as to make it hard to believe that there is any star shining behind the clouds for them. The past is dead if you will but believe it. Let it die in deed this Easter tide and from its grave let sweet hope arise, pure and fragrant as the flowers from the earth. Past failures, disappointments and sins must not prove the chilly frost that will blight the buds of prbmise; must not blow like the cold chilly winds to shrivel the little wings of sweeter dreams. Rather let them do their work and prove to us the les sons that will make the fature strong er, brighter and better. When we leave the past, we naturally look in to the fature. To some it holds nothing, to others a delusive pros pect, and yet to all it may hold, if they will but see it, a strong gleam or nope. The hope that Christ gives is one so sweet, so lasting, so inspiring, that those who have followed its gleam have found that it pointed as unmis takably to life as the Star of Bethle hem did to the Christ babe’s manger —new, glad, risen life, before which the darkness flies away and tears are lighted with a rainbow glory. Life ! What a wonderlul word that is in counter distinction to the word death, with all its cold, stiff helpless ness and its awful irrevocableness. But as we speak of life other thoughts crowd into my mind. Life, is not given for selfish ends. No flower, no creature, no being, has ever been created or ordained by God to live for itself alone, nor are good gifts given to be enjoyed or shut up with in the heart of the one who receives them. The snow melts, the rain falls, and drop by drop, stream by stream, the living, singing, rippling torrent gains its strength gladly and joyfally. It runa down this mountain side, through the forest, along the meadow, away, away, ever downward and on ward towards the river land ssa. Al — t coanstnuMW vovarwrAoa HEWS FR03 Succinct Reports Indicative 01 Progress Of Zion. THE CHUKCft AT WORK. This gospel minister is like the tide 1 the sea : he is drawn here and ther^ When the world shows itself up for the devil, Christians should show themselves' up for God.—Rev. J. T. Tarbor. —o— Our pastor, who is a baritone singer^ preaches powerful sermons. Rev. M. Jacobs is his name. The musiej the choir is grand. Our church^ packed each service with eager hearej —Wm. B. Berry, Brooklyn, N. Y. The Star of Zoon is the greatest headlight of Zion. Presiding Elder J„ W. Cooper of Union Springs (A.la.) Dis trict is a loyal Christian gentleman. As ministers, let us do onr duty and build up Zion. Bishop Lomax is a grand m*B.~Win. W. Talbot, Troy, Ala. J —o— Jones Chapel Sunday-school, cornef of Lexirgton and Turner Avenues,’' St. Louis, Mo., Brother Ncthan Williams, superintendent, is holding its own. We . have a fine “jt of teachers and scholars. Our Chi! aren’s Day exercises were con ducted on a high literary order. Collec tion, |535—Clara E. Scrange,. Sec’y, St. Louis, Mo. —o— Zion has a grand set of people on Flea Hill circuit. They spare no pains in trying to make it pleasant for the pastor. Gardner Chapel has a noble working -J people. Rev. J. M. Hill, P. E., is a fi man and a gospel preacher. May ti day soon come when Zion wilUKave plenty of men like him.—H. C. Harri son, Flee Hill, R. C. My Presiding Bluer is Dr. F. Killings worth. He is one of Zion’s strong and able preachers and carries all the Con neeticnal claims with him. To know Dr. Killingsworth is to love him. The church at this place is'fnoving on nicely. Now a visit by the Editor will put things on wheels.—H. F. Martin, Vanwyck, S. C. God has blessed and given us freedom. We have but few young men capable of holding up the banner of Zion. Living stone College is answering the world’s call fpr able men. Rally around this College. Let us encourage the old fath ers oil the Church by supporting them financially. Let us stand to the ap pointments the bishop gives us- Our Bishop in our last Conference said if_ minister did not stay at a charge4ie.^ave Ns him tl’iat he w„ould not give him another., \ —Rev. H. J. Davis, B. D., Quintett, Fla. —o— Mr. Editor: You have the eye of an eagle for Zion and I believe you have a philosophical knowledge of the instinct of every one who hits at Zion. Dr. J. M. Henderson struck at Zion'last year but you knocked him into mid-air far the world to look at. When Zion and Beth el were about to unite before they were ready, you showed that it was impractic able and then knocked the life out it. Go; ahead. Doctor, and sling that pen. The bays will see you later on and will put you where they Tput your predeces sor.— 3. E. Darroh, Woodruff, S. C. We arc endeavoring to raise Zion’s standard high. We enjoyed a splendid session of the Arkansas Conference with Rt. Rev. Jehu Holliday who was accom panied with his most estimable wife who rendered him great help. The reports showed some improvements though not as much as they should considering t membership. Ex-P^esiding Elders con and Parker transferred to the North Arkansas Conference- and Revs. E. D. Washington and E. M. Martin were electei presiding elders. They are two giants. Bishop Holliday, the preacher of Zion, preached a great sermon on the Sabbath.—L. A. Duckworth. Our church is financially and spirit ually alive. I was sent from Tuscaloosa where I served as pastor in-’95 and ’96, to this place. God has piloted me and Zion is stretching her wings and soaring higher than any church here. Super in tendent M. Dotson and Misses Ida Hu bert, Mary B. Powells, Emily Moore, Jes sie Thomas, Annie S. Speight, Nannie 8aunders, Minnie Kimble, Mamie Ar rington and Mattie Coleman are makiog a success of the Sabbath-school. In our revival we added 18 members to the church: Rev. H. C. Bknks is our pre siding elder and bis district is in a gos pel blaze. Watch it. A hint is suffici cicntr—Rev. H. J. Starks, Livingstone, Ala. The poorest comes first, the best is re served for the last. We have an np to date Sunday-school of 300 scholars and 31 'competent teachers who never allow their scholars to drink from stagnant pools. The pastor, Rev. P. R. Ander son, manifests as mnch interest in tl)e /' young church as he does in the old cburci. He has formed a Bible class in the school for adult members. We giye a quarterly prize to the officer or teacher f who t rings in the most new scholars. It would pay other Sabbath-schools to do likewise. We are loyal Zionites—even the little children love to work for Zion. Mr. Editor, I am elated to know that your paper is a bright newsy star instead of a flashing meteor, and I hope fortune will soon smile so that we will We a larger paper.—(Miss) Mattie A. Newly, Elizabeth City, N. C.
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 14, 1898, edition 1
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