North Carolina Newspapers

THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AFRICAN METt ODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCh Vol XXVI Charlotte, N. C., Thursday, Harch 12, I9f>3. vo 12 facts versus fiction jhe Maimer Of Man The Bishop Must Be. bt bishop j. w. hood, d. d., ll. d. The third feature in Paul’s splendid picture of the manner of a man a bishop must be, is sober or soberminded, as we have it in the Revised Version. This not only means abstinence from all physical intoxicants and narcotics, which is, of course, included, but it also includes soberness of mind, It seems the possession of well balanced and properly controlled .'acuities; self-possessed; dispas sionate; grave; sedate; serious. Cental sobriety is quite as impor tant as physical. “Of good behavior.” The bish op has access to the best society.. For this, he needs the highest and best gentlemanly and Christian culture. He should be acquainted with the best social etiquette. The most refined and genteel man ners are demanded in good society, arcl are not out of place any where. Even rough people re -pect genuine, genteel refinement. The Bishop should have suffi cient culture to be a gentleman in every avenue of life, and yet unapt himself to every situation into which duty calis him, Like Paul, he should become all things to all men that he may by all means gain some; and yet, always maintain his Christian dignity. He should, by every word, every act, and every expression, make the impression that nothing could induce him to descend to anything low, mean, or impure. In a word, his conduct should be, in every re spect, as becomes the high, sacred, and important position he occu pies. His apparel, his manners and general appearance should be grave and in harmony with his work. vjjvtju to nospiiamy. xne disposition to entertain strangers has always been commended. Tbe disposition to freely entertain is a most commendable virtue. An exhibition of hospitality by the Bishop is commendable, because it has a good effect upon others. It teaches generosity by example, and, possibly, may afford the Bishop an opportunity to reach and save some who could not be reached in any other way. “Apt to Teach.” Taken in con motion with wbat is said in the letter to Titus respecting the teaching of sound doctrine, I think tins means more than what ap pears at a glance. It is not only he teaches, but also what he teaches. Not a driver, but one '■vhp exhibits an interest in those he teaches. One who puts his pu pils at ease while in his presence; 'vho sympathizes with the infirmi ty of the dullest student and leads him up to knowledge so gently that even the bruBed reed is not broken, and the smoking flax is m>i quenched. “Patient.” This means quiet endurance under distress or an noyance; tolerant and tender; tranquil while awaiting results; gentle and yielding. One who doos not exact the extremity of his lights, but is willing to yield somewhat for peace sake. “One that ruleth his own house well.” The fact that the Apostle sets an analogy between the head of a family and the Bishop, indi cates, I think, that his idea of church government was the epis copal form. If the Bishop is to the church wbat the father is to the family, then he is the chief authority. The point, however, that the Apostle emphasizes is, that a man who can not ffoverr. his family and maintain good behavior among his children, cannot govern the church. The lack of order in his family is an evidence that he is not a good governor, and will not make a good presiding officer. The main tenance of quiet, orderly, well regulated, government, in which everything works like a well-reg ulated clock, is the sure wav to have success; and the maintenance of such a government depends up on the chief officer. in our lorm oi government, me Bishop is the officer upon whom succcess depends, A good gov ernor will have order in his con ferences; a poor one, will have confusion. The effect of order or confusion does not end with the close of the conference, but is car ried out among churches. The people catch the spirit of it, and success or failure largely depends upon the spirit infused at the con ference. if the Bishop has the ministers in harmony with his purposes, and enjoys not only their respect 'out veneration and affection, they will go out, not as servants, but as sons of God, mar shalled by their chief, and deter mined to do their best to work up to the plans laid down. If there be a few who are inclined to lag behind, the moving column sweeps on with such irresistable force, that they are carried along with it. To have this degree of success the Bishop must study to find out what is necessary for him to do or not do, in order to maintain com plete harmony between himself and his assistants. He must not be too thin skinned to patiently and lovingly hear a little unkind criticism of himself without flying off the handle. The first thing in government is self-government. A man who can not govern himself, who cannot even stand and quietly take a tongue-lashing for the sake of the success of his work, will never reach the best results. * >!< Dr. Manly wants me to harmon ize conflicting statements. He will remember that I said my memory is not as good as it once was, nevertheless it is easily re freshed. When I made the first statement it was according to my recollec tion, but when he mentioned the |75, I remembered how it came. If he had made his first statement a little fuller, he would have left me nothing to do do but acknowl edge the correction. This Govern ment spends large amounts of money making sounding at sea to find out where the danger points are. That is what l am trying to do for Zion Connection. It may seem like a thankless job, but per haps it may pay in some coming day. Fayetteville, A. C. oo <n cd i> Bishop Harris’ Appointments. March. 11—15 Greensbore, N. 0 Putnam Hall, FJa, Seville. Kissimmee. Homeland. rJarcow, Fla. 29 Lakeland, Fla. 31 Lessbury, Fla. April. 2 EvinstOD, Fla. 5 Cedar Keys, Fla. 7—14 High Spring, S Fla. Annual Conference ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO BISHOP HOOD. BY REV. B. F. WHEELER, D. D. I am under obligation to Bishop Hood for the information given in his last week’s article that the General Conference did in ’72 re pudiate the clause in the apostle’s creed, “he descended inte hell.” This clause has bothered me for twenty-five years. I have noticed, of course, that it was omitted in the creed as printed in our book of discipline. But in talking with many able men in the Church about it, none of them seemed to know anything about its being omitted. uq reading an me records or General Conferences as far back as ’72, I found no mention in any of these records or minutes of its be ing ordered stricken out. I began then to doubt whether the General Conference had ever taken any ac tion at all on it. I did not know exactly whom I could ask. So I included that point with others in an open letter to the Star with the hope that if the one to whom the open letter was addressed could not give the information I sought, some one else who really knew about the matter might volunteer to give the information. Bishop Hood has given the desired infor mation and 1 am satisfied on that point. I thought that the abrogating of a clause of the Apostle’s Creed was a matter too much important to be left in doubt. I think the point I raised was a timely one For, had Bishop died without an swering this question, it would have remained ever a matter of doubt No one else probably could have given the desired informa tion so well as he. On looking over the committee on revision of dis cipline for ’72 I find the following names given in the following or der: J. W. Hood, J. Y. Given, Samuel Sherman, H. J. Thomas,-J. A. Jones, P. A. Lee, Noah Mitch ell, P. Buchanan. Many men are living who were members of that Conference, but no one could be so apt to remember what changes were made in the discipline as the chairman of the revision commit tee, especially when he happens to be a man so painstaking and of such good memory as is character istic of Bishop Hood, Of this committee on revision in ’72 most, if not all, are now dead except Bishop Hood r\„.— a.:, _ w » v.jl ujio tiauoc i-ic ucc^cnucu into hell,” theologians and com mentators have had long, and of ten, bitter discussions for hun dred of years, and when this pro longed polemics were over they found themselves as far from agreement as when they began. Personally, as I said in my open letter, I have long wished that this clause in question did not occur in that otherwise grand old landmark of t h e Church—the Apostle’s Creed. Some of the most flagrant heresies may be traced to this same clause, such as probation af ter death and spiritualism. I do not think its omission does violence to the creed. I think the Church at large, and especially the ministers who have come forward in the Church since ’72 upon whom the expos’tion of tenets of the Church now devolve, feel indebted to Bishop Hood for bhe information he has brought for ward on this important point, and will be further gratified to read his promised article on “Why il was done. ” I am therefore glad I raised the point, but am sorry thal in doing so I should have offended so excellent a man as Dr. Bruce. Auburn, N. Y. Bishop Hood’s Appointments. MARCH. Sunday 10—16 Greerstoro, N. C, Friday, 20 24, Fie* t.Sr- and South 3rd, St., Brooklyn N- Y. W 'dnosday. 25. Nyack, N. Y. Thursday, 26. Tarry town, N. Y. Friday, 27-29, New York. Sunday 29-31, Yonkers, N, Y. APRIL. Wednesday, 1-2, Mamaroneck. Friday. 3-5, New Rochelle. Sunday, 5-7, Port Chester. W?,duesdai, 8*9, Bridgeport, Conn Fr.day 10-16, Boston and Cambridge. Wednesday, 15-16, New Bedfoid. Friday, 17, Attleboro, Mass. Saturday, 18 21, Providence. Weinesdaj . 22*23, Worcester, Mass. Filday, 24-27, Hartford, Conn. Tuesday, 28, Middletown, “ Wednesday, 29, TorriDgton “ Thlirsday, 30, Waterbury. “ MAY. Friday, 1, Derby, Conn. Sabirday, 2-4, New Haven, ‘‘ Wednesday, 6-10, Bridgeport, Conn (New England Annual Conference. Wednesday. May 13-18, Kingston N. Y. (New York Annual Confer ence. Mice! To the pastors, superintendents, tegcbers and scholars: < Take notice, you will be furn ished with a reasonable number oJ Easter programs and punch cards this year free. God wiHing, . shall get them to you four weeks before Easter in order that yoi ms|y have time to practice th< children before Easter Sunday, etc. Don’t get uneasy, your pro grams will get to you on time. J. M. Hill, Mgr. Bishop 6. W. Clinton’s Appointments. MABCn 15th 11 a. m. John Wesley, Wash. D. 0 15 3 p. m. Rockville, Maryland. 16 8 p.m. Warner St., Baltimore, Md. 17 8 p. m. Mt. Olive, Baltimore. “ 18 8 p. m. Lincoln Univ., Pa. 19 8 “ Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa. 20 8 “ J. P. Thompson mem. Phil. 22ud 11 a. m. A 8 p. m., Carlisle, Pa. 23rd 8 p. m. Shippensburg, Pa. 24th 8 “ Gettysburg “ 25th 8 “ Middletown, *‘ Longing. BT MRS. BESSIE C. FONVIELLE. Could I but make your pathway bright ’Twou’d make my burden seem more ’ light; ’Twould thrill me, fill rue with delight Could I but dare. * Could I bat dare to hold thy hand And make you better understand That to me, none in this broad land, Was e’er so fair. * si Could I but, have you!for my wife, I’d be contented all my life; No thorn could prick or petty strife My path ensnare. Go\dsboro, N C. Bolding For Editor. The Washington Bee editor is an gry because Rev. B J. Bolding in a public address at Washington insinu ated that the aforesaid Bee editor was an “a3S.,, The eminent divine hit the nail squarely on the head and we are glad to see that some one has the pluck to use vigorous Anglo-Saxon in the ef fete national capital From now on Dr. B ,lding is our candidate for the ed itorship of the Star of Zion when broth er Smith shall have been called to the bishopric.—Montgomery (Ala ) Negro Pilot. Love betters what is best, Even here below, but more in heaven above.—W ord worth. BRIEF PARAGRAPHS. Concerning Persons and Things. BY REV. J. A. D. BLOICE, D. D. Dear Mr. Editor ^-Permit me to congratulate you on the very able editorials of recent date. They are indeed just and gener ous, and a veritable ‘'well of Eng lish undetiled.” I wish you bet ter things in days to come. The articles of Bishop Hood are indeed timely, and I trust, direc tive of the hopes and aspirations of our brethren in the ministry. The criticisms of Dr. B. F. Wheeler touching the omission of a certain part of the Apostles’ Creed deserves serious reflections. It is a great misfortune for any Church to ignore or repudiate any part of the work done by the Ni cene Fathers. Every sentence of the Creed is pregnant with thought, and is in perfect har-' mony with Scripture. We might with equal graco and reason omit “I believe in the communion of I saints,” as we omit “He descended ; into hell.” All Christendom has not yet reached a unanimous de cision as to what is meant by “the communion of saints;” and yet all Christendom retains this doubtful statement. The general advocacy of a The ological Department is in good order, Unless our ministry is better trained, we will lose many : of our members, especially in the North. 1 We badly need system in Church 1 work. A liturgical service would 1 greatly add to an orderly system of conducting church service, as well as to the cultivation of a higher conception of the aim and purpose of the Christian Church and ministry. It would delight, my soul to see Dr. B. F. Wheeler at the head of the Theological Department. The Kev. Dr. E. D. W. Jones has indeed touched the sympathies of a great many in Zion by reveal ing the Plum Tree Scheme where from all may eat and be filled, ,fcI never saw so young a man with so old a head.” I commend all who desire plums to the grace and mercy of the Plum Tree Scheme, Cambridge, Mass. W. H. and F. M. Report, Amounts received for the W. H. and F. M. S. from September 1, 1902, to March 1st, 1908: W. New York Conference $ 50.U0 Kentucky u 55.00 Missouri “ 22. Oo Blue Ridge “ 111.08 Tennessee “ 24.70 South Carolina “ 49.67 Ohio and Allegheny “ 28.00 Georgia “ 7.95 Oklahoma “ 4.52 Palmetto “ 8.92 Louisiana “ 50.00 Central N. Carolina “ 426 56 Western N. “ “ 82.55 Central Alabama North Alabama California W. Tenn. & Miss. 33.43 70.00 4.00 10.00 North Arkansas “ 5.00 West Alabama North Louisiana Texas Arkansas North Alabama 96.57 13 20 11.05 36.90 45.85 Total W. H. & F. M, $ 1246 95 Total Woman’s Day 457.06 Grand total for 6 months $1704 01 M. E. Harris, Treasurer.