ORGAN OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH IN AMERICA.
I Volume XXIV.
Charlotte, N. C., Thursday, March 22, 1900.
Number it
IViUTTERINGS OF 1900.
Lightning Flashing And Striking
Here And There,
BY KEY. a. J. WARNER, D. D.
As the General Conference ap
proaches, the Church becomes
more and more interested about
what will be the outcome of the
legislation that will be enacted by
that body; and well we may be,
for there is a great deal more de
pending on the action of the next
General Conference than a care
s less observer may suppose.
There are the great departments
of the Church which must be placed
upon solid basis. Our Church
extension department needs our
earnest consideration, and should
I be firmly established. The law
governing it should be s6 clearly
defined, that no chance will be left
for arbitrary ruling by the Bishops
to cripple the work of the Secre
tary, whoever he may be. For so
long as the Secretary is to be met
at each annual Conference with as
many different rulings as there are
Bishops in the Connection, just so
long will the department be a farce
and a failure
Had the last, General Confer
ence placed this department upon
proper basis, and- the Secretary
been supported in his efforts to
foster and buiid up the depart
9 ment, the Church would not have
been in the dilemma that it is now
concerning that church at Chicago,
but would have had money to have
gone there and bought it without
all of this weeping and wailing.
Your Secretary, too, when he was
traveling, sounded the alarm about
Chicago and Cleveland and at
other places, but little attention
was paid to him. Now as we look
back two or three years we see
the same gentlemen, who ignored
our appeals, camping on the same
ground that we camped on four
years ago.
Unce more I sound tne alarm to
Zion Connection, that if she fails
to place this department upon a
solid basis, and elecjt a Secretary,
and pay him a living salary, and
r remove from around him the em
barrassing rulings of the Bishops,
and allow him to be the actual head
of his department, making him
accountable to the Bishops Meet
ings, and to the General Confer
ence, for his action, you may just
as well do away with the depart
ment altogether. And what I say
of this department is equally true
of the missionary department.
I favor the women having charge
of the W. H. and F. Missionary de
partment; but that department
should be simply an “auxiliary” to
the great Missionary Department
which should be under the absolute
control of the General Secretary of
missions, which Secretary should
be the .head of all missionary work
»so far as the finance is concerned.
And, by the way, there has been
considerable talk about what rec
ognition should be given our
women in the general departments
of the Church. Well, about
all of the missionary work
of the Church has been done by
them, for indeed had it not been
for them, the first hundred years
of our existence as a Church would
have long passed without a mis
sionary society of any kind. Now
since the women have perpetuated
this department of our great
Church from time immemorial,
and our Church knows no male nor
female, why not elect a woman as
General Missionary Secretary, giv
ing her the same salary, and the
same authority that you would a
man under the same circumstances?
I shall not name any lady this
time. Suffice it to say we have
abundant material from which to
select. If I was going to select a
man for the place, I should name
Dr. F. R. White of the Blue Ridge
Conference; but let us give the
gallant Doctor something else, and
let the women have the missionary
department.
Now as to the question of bish
ops, let us now - refer it to the
General Conference, and prepare
to abide by the judgment of the
delegates composing that body, and
the will of an over-ruling provi
dence who has led our Church
through so many battles* I have no
fears, lor the God who wr.s riih f;*o
fathers wiiI %iot 'le ive Hi «hi!
dreu. i»^n.uni4 ‘ treater to -
our Church and to close oc; > me
of the institutions thereof if there
is any more bishops elected, but
God reigns, and the ('hurch is safe.
If God and the Church want any
more bishops, they will be elected,
whether it suits men or not. God
and the Church both know who
their men are, and where they live,
and though Moses be hid in the
bull-rushes, when God wants him,
He will find him. So let us all be
cheerful, and fill well the places
that we now have, and when the
Lord needs us higher, He will call
us; and when he calls, devils must
fear and fly. The bishopric is not
a thing to be handed around to
satisfy the personal ambition of
aspiring men, neither is it a thing
to be given to favorites in pay for
past services, or because he or they
belong to this or that select circle,
but it should be given to men who
are believed to be best fitted to fill
the office to the glory of God and
the good of the Church, regardless
of where he lives, or who he may
be.
Brother delegates, let us go to
General Conference prepared to
uproot all secret and devilish
schemes and diabolical plans that
are being laid by a lot of “would
be dictators” who imagine that
everybody in Zion must do as they
say or be maligned or killed off,
and let us who have ■ built the
churches, suffered and sacrificed,
and are now doing the tangible
work, get together, and do what
ever may seem best for the Church
of our choice.
Charlotte, JV. C.
• ' .1 " Kr'h
C. E. UNIONS NEEDED.
The Charlotte Union Scores An
other Success.
For or race, wit, taste and enthu
siasm, the Charlotte C. E. Union
scores a complete victory and
marks another epoch in its history
“for Christ and the Church.”/ It
would be difficult to surpass it in
any way which suggests gen&Be
Christian enthusiam. . jf
The program was uniquely ar
ranged and appropriately exe
cuted. Bishop A. Walters, D.D.,
delivered the principal address,
while Bishop G. W. Clinton, D.
D., presided with that grace, ease
and adaptability so characteristic
of him. Each local society in the
Union was largely represented.
What Charlotte has done by way
of bringing the young people to
gether in a unanimity of effort in
the furtherance of the blessed
ORGANIZE.
cause of Christ,' other cities and
low ns may do»
Suppose you try it, dear En
deavors? You can’t estimate the
great good that would be accom
plished by bringing the young
people of our repective churches
in a body against sin and thus
train and teach them that more ef
fective service can be rendered
for Christ and more powerful in
fluence can be exerted against the
powers of darkness were more of
our efforts concentrated and aimed
against the enemy of the Church,
and less against each other as fol
lowers of the Lord Jesus. We
can’t afford to set an example for
strife, bickering and contention.
All such is absolutely unnecessary
and detrimental to the advance
ment of the Church of Christ.
We would suggest that where it
is impractible for both races to
form a Union, let all who will
come organize themselves togeth
er for mutual helpfulness and
more aggressive work along spir
itual and evangelistic lines. Such
would be a great help to the sever
al churches composing the Union.
It is hoped that all of the pastors
will take the lead in this matter,
and give the young people every
possible encouragement, for in '
these times of so many diversions 1
and indncements to decoy and en
trap the youqg, the Church can
not afford to remain idle and indif
ferent in this matter.
Organized Christian Endeavor
Union wherever there are three or
more ChristianEndeavor Societies.
SOCIAL TO SAVE.
Mrs. Mary Washington and her
excellent committee deserve spe
cial mention for the splendid ar
rangements to serve the large au
dience * with refreshments after
the exercises were over. All of
local societies contributed some
thing in the line of ice cream,
cake and bananas. Everybody
seemed cheerful and happy, and
went away seemingly thankful
that each had embraced another
opportunity to enjoy a “feast of
reason and a flow of soul” simply
to await the repetition of an event,
which meant so^nnch to both soul
and body. This was one of the
evidences of the fact that there is
a reality in the term “social to
save.” Go thou and do likewise.
On the eve of the nineteenth birth
day of Christian Endeavor, a new En
deavor society was born in Portland,
the Varick society of the African Meth
odist Episcopal Zion (colored) Church,
friis is a thriving society of some twen
ty-eight members, and; the pastor is
looking forward to much help from it.
I’ho padtor, Mr. Singleton, is untiring
in his efforts to unite his people, and we
expect a brilliant future from this baby
society of Portland.
(Miss) A. L. Horrib,
Secretary of the Portland C. E. Union.
We rejoice to know that Rev.
Brother Singleton has succeeded
in organizing a Varick Christian
Endeavor Society, at the place
where the first Christian Endeav
or Society of the World was born.
Good.
WILL YOU BE REPRESENTED ?
Dear Endeavorers: This comes
to you to inform you that we are
arranging to have a sample V. C.
E. badge from every V>. C. E. so
ciety in the Union on exhibition at
the forthcoming General Confer
ence which convenes in Washing
ton, D. C., May next. Please
send us one of your V. C. E.
badges, so that your society may
be represented. If you have no
badges we will be pleased to make
them for you. In order to have
them ready by the time specified,
you will act at once.
Our prices for making ribbon
badges, are as follows: From 10
up to 25, 15 cts, each; 25 to 100,
10 cts each. No order taken for
less than ten.'* Please let us hear
from you at once in regard to the
matter. It is very necessary that
your society be represented by a
badge. Don’t allow your society
to get left.
Yours,
Jesse B. Colbert,
Pres. Y. C. E. Union,
. Charlotte, N. C.
We would say to Mr. F. P. Paulk, of
Union Springs/Ala., who says he is
svell pleased with the 8tar, that we
;ould not give space to the unscriptur
il i*emarks of the local preacher he
jpeaks of. Tell him to subscribe for the
Star and get his pastor to buy him the
necessary books.
Allow me to say that you, Mr. Editor,
lave given our Zion a bright Star in
the last four years. Your editorials
save been versatile, thoughtful, spicy
ind interesting. No one has slept un
ler them. I believe in giving “honor
to whom honor is due.”—Rev. J. C.
Saunders, Luthers Store, Ala.
- —- - n
OLR LORD’S SERMON.
On the Mount Analyzed—Riches
of Qospel Truths. in Them.
BY BISHOP C. R. HARRIS, D. Dv
I must confess, my dear breth
ren and fellow preachers, that I
have invited you to the analysis
of the Sermon—not’so much as a
study in homiletics as to call your
attention to the riches of gospel
truth stored up in this remarkable
discourse, and because I believe if
more of our sermons were based
on these blessed and living truths '
a greater haryest of spiritual and
holy fruitage would result. The
growth of the Church of to-day is
chiefly in numbers and wealth./
A greater need is growth in fcy. ■»
liness and love—a holiness not ■
evidenced only by the lip, of man*
ifested by unctuous ejaculation*,
byt by a godly walk and conver
sation as well as sincere and suit
able utterances of praise. No
where in this Sermon is wealth or
numbers reckoned as desirable or
essentia] to a prosperous church,
but every point is permeated with
an im perati ve delnand for holiness
in heart and life, for humble, pure
loving service to the Ruler, of the
(iospel Kingdom,—the , service
that is well deserved from, a peo
ple redeemed and quickenecPinto ~
spiritual life mid power by his
own mighty Spirit.
Worldiness is sapping the life
out of many churches. Un^bdly
aims and aspirations fo^tprfed in
their methods of management. In
our own Church organ we arc
painfully made to see by a series
of articles how far the Methodist
Churches of to-day differ from tin
holy self-denymg societies of John
Wesley one hundred! and fifty
years ago. Deny as we may the
utility of the “General Rules” we |
dare not cavil at the authority of l
the Sermon on the Mount. And 1
while the one is to be regarded
mainly as hints to a- godly life,
the other is Christ’s exposition of
his own law for his own peoplp.
How poor and feeble is the life
of that church whose maintenance
depends not upon the cheerful
contribution of its members, but
upon cake-walks, lottery chances
in church fairs, and ffnwilling con
tributions begged from non-mem
bers. Hence we see churches in- V
curring obligations which they
cannot discharge and knowingly
violating the rules of the Church.
Salisbury, JV. C.
Bishop Hood of the A. M. E. Zion
Church and Bishop Gaines of the A. m!
E. Church haveuboth recently published
books, which are said to be of a very
high literary standing.—Seattle ( Wash )
Republican.
Bishop Small informed the member
ship of State St. Church that Elder
Tipton had been elected a General Offi
cer of |he Zion Connection, the position
being Treasurer of the Sunday Sch~ 1
Dept. The Board of Bishops kno\
good man and have dohe well in (
election. Tipton is alright.—
{Ala ) Weekly Press.