—
iNew York Church
127 Years Old.
And Within Past Decade, Under
Administration of Rev. J. W. Brown,
Has Made Wonderful Progress
And Advancement.
(Continued from last week.)
It is planned that the new building
"will enable Mother Zion to take an
-advanced place in the church life of
4he race. It is not intended that the
^building will be only for periodic use,
dmt a seven-day church,, purveying to
-sail the rational needs of the commun
ity, without regard to social or reli
gious lines. It will be a place for re
ligious instruction and education,
'but it will also be a place for social
iife and recreation for the commun
ity. There will be all modem conven
iences, with ample equipment, includ
ing a community hall, gymnasium,
■‘dining room, kitchen, parlor, library,
jafnd these facilities are to be con
stantly available that a definite and
imperative need in the community
unay be supplied.
The Sunday-school will be amply
.provided for, with rooms for adults
-and children and parlor for the
:young people. Special means will he
provided by which young petople of
the community, male and female,
-unay find it possible, not only to en
-joy the conveniences afforded, but
-to profit by special training along
lines to be developed that will fire
them for broader and more effective
work.
When the new building shall have
T>een completed and in operation, the
present church building will be re
- modelled and turned into a general
■^community house, with far-reaching
ramifications. It will be made four
stories, and will embrace offices for
•all the administrative boards, a spa
cious assembly hall, dormitories, for
the accommodation specially of dig
nitaries and officials of the Connec
tion, and other guests of the church,
and a gymnasium which will be of
the most modern convenience.
A Brief Autobiography.
To review the work accomplished
t)y Mother Zion during the past ten
years is to summarize the accomplish
ments of a man just at the 50 year
milestone, who has spent just twen
ty years In the gospel ministry. The
baby toy, whose work is told above,
was horn July 19, 1872, at Elizabeth
'’City, N. C., and entered Shaw Uni
versity, Raleigh, at the age of 16. In
1893, he had won an A. B. degree,
and after graduation he became at
-once assistant principal of the State
INormal at Fayetteville. (Here he
taught from 1893 to 1900, when he
entered Lincoln University, taking
the theological course. This was fin
ished mi 1903.
The young minister’s first charge
was at South Bethlehem, Pa., where
he stayed two years, finishing a
building which he found in course of
erection and reducing the debt by
a considerable sum. During the year
of 1905, Dr. Brown supplied the Price
.Memorial A. M. E. Zion church at
Atlantic City, and in the fall of that
same year he was sent to Rochester,
N. Y. During an 8-year period, Pas
tor Brown erected a church edifice
costing $25,000 and paid for it. He
bought a church parsonage, and paid
for that, and then bought another
) building to be used as a community
bouse, but which, since he left that
pastorate, has been diverted to in
come-producing purposes instead.
Then in 1913, the late Bishop J.
"W. Hood, presiding over the annual
conference, held that year at Yon
kers, transferred Dr. Brown from
Rochester to New York City, and the
tale of his accomplishment is em
braced in the above running account
of the growth and development of j
Mother Zion church.
Mrs- Brown a True Helpmeet.
Now this story is still incomplete.
Dr. Brown is a man of ability, ener
getic in action, wise in conference,,
but modest and unassuming with it
all. He has accomplished much since
entering the ministry in 1903, and it
is an open ’secret that much of what
he has accomplished has been made
possible by the constant association, '
advice and care he has received from
a helpmeet he won that same year.
For his first act, after graduating
from Lincoln showed his good sense. 1
He got married—and he married a
girl who has proved herself a worthy
cbmpanion and wife.
Miss Martha Hill was born in Alex- 1
andria, Va., and attended the schools
'.... .. . :
of that city. After teaching in the
schools of her (native county, she
went to Philadelphia to live, and
young Brown, a student at Lincoln,
met her'. Immediately after graduat
ing, he succeeded in persuading her
to share his lot. And she has done
much to make it the desirable and
worthwhile accomplishment it has
become. Bishop G. L. Blackwell was
the officiating minister al? their mar
riage .
Mrs. Brown is active in work
for the advancement of the church,
.and her influence extends out far be-,
yond the confines of the local church*
She is at the head of the supply de
partment of the Woman’s Home and
'Foreign Missionary Society of the A.
M. E. Zion Coifnection, having super
vision of thfe task of furnishing food,
clothing, and other supplies to the j
missionaries and their families at
labor in the foreign fields of Africa,
the West Indies and South America.
She is able also to find time for local
activities, being president of the La
dies’ Progressive club of Mother Zion*
a member of the Missionary Society,
a)nd a teacher in the Sunday School.
She is accomplished and possesses
unusual charm and grace of mind.
Her personal popularity is very great
and much of what Dr. Brown has
been able to accomplish is due to the
excellent woman who bears his name,
shares his burdens and enjoys the
fruit of constancy® and faithfulness
to duty.—The New York Age.
FACTS UPON FACTS.—VALUE OF
CHURCH PROPERTY.
3y S. A, Chambers, Cannon Ball.
Church property has two values—
a market value and a connectional
value. The connectional value is two
or three times that of the market
value. In estimating our property we
should place the connectional value
on it. We do not have to pay tax
on church property. Therefore, we
need not fear to put as high a value
on it as we please. Say, for instance,
a piece of property is worth a thous
and dollars on the market, it should
be worth three thousand to the con
nection, and this latter value should
be placed on it. We do not have to
pay tax and we are not expecting to
sell. If we would give our property
the connectional value we would be
rated at twenty-five or thirty million.
Since all churches are striving to
make a bubble this is one way that
we can make one without doing vi
olence to the truth, or offending our
better judgment.
There can be no Impropriety in our
rating our church property according
to what we think it is worth to us.
If we want to sell, then, it would only
be worth the market price, but as
long as we retain it as a place of
worship the connectional value
should be placed on it.
Suppose we rate our property th’.*
year according to this suggestion and
see how it foots up.
Knoxville, Tenn.
NOMINATIONS FOR SPINGARN
, MEDAL CLOSES JUNE 1, 1923.
. Nominations for persons worthy to
,receive the Spingarn Medal must be
i in the hands of the secretary of the
committee on award, Walter F.
White, 70 Fifth Avenue,' New York
City, on or before June 1, 1923, it was
announced today.
. The Medal is awarded annually to j
an American Negro for the highest
achievement during the preceding
year or years in any honorable field
^of human endeavor. All nominations
of candidates for the Medal must
, state fn detail the achievement for
i which the Medal is to be awarded,
and give as full a biographical ac
count as possible of the nominee.
i The committee of award, whose
• decision is final, is composed of:
Bishop John Hurst, chairman; John
• Hope, president of Morehouse Col
lege; Oswald Garrison Villard, Editor
of the Nation; Dorothy Canfield Fish
ier, distinguished novelist; Dr.
James H. Dillard, director of the
Slater and Jeanes Fund; Theodore
i Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of
the Navy; and Dr. W. E. B. Du
Bois, Editor of The Crisis.
The Medal will be presented at the
i Kansas City conference of the Na
tional Association for the Advance-- ,
nient of Colored People, at the ev
ening session of Monday, September
3rd. Ex-Governor Henry J. Allen, of
Kansas; will present the medal.
ILLUMINATIONS —PARAGRAPHIC
, COMMENTS.
By Rev. A. C. Cook.
As far back as the writer' can re
member Zion has never had a more
scholarly and brave editor than now.
Dr. Walls wTas a~ safe pastor, now
he is a safe and sane editor, and will
make an exemplary bishop.
His editorial “A Nabbing and A
Grabbing,’’ was a masterpiece in be
half of Zion Church.
Bishop Clement in his recent arti
cles gave the church some needed in
formation That is just what the
scholarly bishop can do when he
chooses to do so, though we cam not
see how the future of a man can be
fairly forestalled unless we take into
I consideration his past achievements.
What a man has done as pastor or
presiding elder is a sort of a prelude
to what he may do after he is ele
vated to the bishopric.
Dr. E. D. W. Jones has formulat
ed a workable program for Zion
Church, which if put into operation
in 1§24, will mean 100 per cent ex
pansion during the next quadrennium.
He is giving us his preelection-plat
form and his after election policies.
He will be consecrated bishop in
1924 unless God takes him home be
fore May.
Dr. B. G. Shaw put St. Louis on
Zion’s map, and has made the Ter
centenary evangelistic campaign a
reality. Dr. Shaw will be the cyclon
ic bishop. Other churches have them.
Dr. C. C. Alleyne shines through
the Review, and as pastor of our
church at New Rochelle. He too, will
be consecrated bishop in 1924. He
will be our dignified big brother.
Dr. J. H. McMullen shines wher
ever he goes. If service and ability
count for anything, then Dr. McMul
len will be elevated in 1924. Should
Dr. M. D. Lee fail to be himself
again, which would eliminate him as
a candidate for bishop; then South
Carolina could wisely unite on Dr.
McMullen and command his first
year’s service as a bishop. What says
you, South Carolina?
Dr. W. L. Hamblin, of Alabama
fame, comes in for Episcopal consid
eration for Alabama. Alabama feels
the need of close Episcopal supervis
ion . Hamblin is magfnetic and his
(brethren will do their best to elect
•him in 1924. His friends are legion.
Dr. C. J. Steverson, of Tuscaloo
sa, Ala., pastor of Hunter’s chapel,
looms up as a formidable candidate
for secretary of education.
Dr. Steverson has recently served
as an instructor in Stillman Insti
tute, and acting principal of TayLor’s
High School, both of this city. He is
prepared and is deeply interested in
education.
A contrast between the work done
by Dr. J. W. Martin and his prede
cessor, augurs the fact that we
ought to keep a minister at the head
of the department. Steverson is that
man.
Dr. VV. H. Davenport continues to
watch the breakers. His eyes are
on The Star of Zion, should Dr. Walls.,
step up higher. But is willing to cross
bats with Dr. H. T. Medford for
the editorship of the Review. Dr.
Medford now publishes a breezy pe
riodical, the “Zion Methodist,’’ offi
cial organ of Logan Temple and Clin
ton chapel churches, Knoxville, Tenn.
Each of these scholarly gospel dis
pensers has- many friends.
Dr. H. R. Jackson, of southwest
fame, but now of North' Carolina, I
am sure, is willing to serve as our
next connectional auditor. Dr. Jack
son is an experienced teacher, pas
.tor, and presiding elder. Look him
over and consider him favorably for
this position.
Dr. H. H. Jackson is waiting for
1924 so he can move to Philadelphia
to direct the church extension ma
chinery. Has he been elected? No.
iWill he be? Most Zionites say so.
Then why mot. We need him now.
Dr. W. O. Carson and W. M. Rob
inson both of whom are members of
the Pee Dee conference, the former
presiding elder of the Cheraw dis
trict, who is more useful today than
ever before in his career as presid
ing elder; and the late pastor of
White Oak circuit and treasurer of
the conference, will vie with each
other for the1 secretaryship of the
brotherhood and relief department.
Committee reports and resolutions
should follow the reports of general
officers.
This will not hardly be done In
! Xd\)z JJoet’s (Tomer !
Edited By JEAN WILLA HOLMES.
EDITOR’S FOREWORD:—We are
delighted to present to our readers,
this new feature. Mrs. Jean W.
Holmes, formerly of California, now
of Montgomery, Ala., is well known
for her poetry. Her productions have
been published by the Guardian, Balti
more American and a number of other
western papers and have received the
comment of literary critics. Thejy
are pronounced as being true to the
poetic muse, by the ablest authority.
Mrs. Holmes is wife of the Rev.
J. B. Holmes, pastor of Old Ship
Church, and is a woman of high lit
erary attainment and of abundant and
cultivated sentiment. She has been
placed in charge of our poet’s comer
and all that appears there will be
either contributed or selected by her.
With the first presentation this week,
we feel justified in predicting for this
column a long life and an increasing
popularity.
TO THE HILLS.
Oh, glorious hills, that calmly rise
And kiss the bosom of the skies,
Oh, hills, enwrapt in robes of green.
And decked with flowers of radiant
sheen,
Resplendent hills, I love thee!
Thou, lovely clad and scented sweet,
With citadels about thy feet,
With placid lakes and budding trees—
Thy grandeur lifts thee out of these,
And thou art high, exalted!
V [ *‘i ' ' ■'* ;« i H
Ye hills, that s°ar beyond the clouc
And make your Mother—Nature prouc
Are ye not they that skipped like rams
1924. But watch out for the proposal
l to be put in operation with the Gen
eral Conference of 1928.
Our benevolences should be lump
ed together into an assessment and
instead of so many different depart
ments and a surplus of general offi
cers, let us do some blending. The
V. C. E., Brotherhood and Relief
Departments could be placed in one
mans hands. The Brotherhood man
is more of a receiver than a field
man. We need our men on the field to
educate our people.
All money for education, general
special and Livingstone College en
dowment money, should be paid over
to the secretary of education arnd dis
bursed by the board of finance or
education.
The missionary secretary should
handle all missionary money, home
and foreign.
The bishops should never be reliev
ed of financial oversight. We need
their counsel and advice.
Let the bishops go to the General
Conference with a similar spirit to
that which they want the pastors to
go to the annual conference. Let the
Episcopal committee make the as
signments and not the board of bish
ops. Many of us return to our places
against our own desires and best in
terest apparently. Still we go in order
^not to be considered disloyal. *
i exas Has as much right to be plac
ed in the 'hands., of the senior bishop
as New York or New England. Our
bishops should know the church, and
to know it they should go around it.
We should not look upon the far
southwestern, fields as being the plac
es to break men into the bishopric,
if we need any men out there it
should be the most e?periteneed men
on the bench. A weak pastor cannot
make a weak church a strong one.
Neither can an inexperienced bishop
do from the start what an experienced
one can do. The young bishop must
be tutored into his office and by the
time he gets everything well in hands
a quadrennium has passed.
Therefore, eight years for a bishop
on our episcopal district, six years
for a presiding elder on one district
and five years for a pastor on one
charge.
If we should accept some of the
things that are hurled at Zion as con
clusive proof of her weakness and
failure, then Zion Church would be
convicted without a jury trial. These
false picture painters should stop
for a while and meditate.
That frisked away like frightened
lambs
Till man exclaimed: “What ailed
thee”?
Thou hast thy place in mortal dream.
Uplifted, beautiful, serene; #
Beholding thee against the skies,
With haste I mount my thoughts and
rise,
And soar through realms celestial.
1 lift mine eyes unto the Hills
Whence cometh help for all earth’s
ills—
The Hills of Truth, the Hills of God,
Devoid of shape in stone or sod,
But in the heavens eternal.
MOTHER.
1
Out of the bosom of star-decked sky.
Out of the mist of mountains high,
Out of the arms of graceful trees,
Gliding to earth on the gentle breeze,
Was it thus you came?
Down from the crest of flowered hills,
Skipping the foam of flowing rills,
Out of the wonderful songs of bird.
Out of the merriest laughter heard
Did you come to me?
I Out of the beauty of every bloom,
| 0ut of the warmth of the sun at noon,
l Out of the lustre of jewels rare,
Out of the sweetness of nectared air
Came you unto me?
Out of a pure and holy place,
Sheltered by infinite love and grace,
Land where the perfect, alone, have
trod— , t
Out of the throbs of the heart of God
Straight to me you came!
AH of the churches have made mis
takes, but their motives were good.
There are men in the other churches
who think Zion has one of the most
perfect systems in vogue. Some in
our ranks think otherwise. We usu
ally find fault without presenting a
remedy.
Pastors with socialistic tendencies
will train their congregations to think
as they do. Like priest, like people.
If Zion Church is to stand, and she is,
she must place her safest mem in
these strategic places.
(More anon.)
Clio, S. C.
NOTES FROM THE WEST.
(Continued from page 6) *
pupils are transferred to and from
the school in ten auto trucks. The
drivers of these trucks are paTd
$140 per month
The coming of Prof. Rowe, a Hamp
ton trained main, to take charge of the
: manual training department, has add
r ed much to the school, as well as the
church, town and surroundings. He is
one of the best trained and learned
men of the race, a devoted Christian,
and a good churchman.
I Ruth 1:20.
t
I In these two characters we hlave a
pretty fair representation of the peo
ple of today. The w^orld today is made
up of two classes of people—those
who choose wisely and those who
choose unwisely.
There are many Orpahs to day;
there are people who are well wish
I ers of the church, give their means
i to help support the church and seek
the company of the people of God, but
they never leave the world.
v Some, like Orpah, make the right
start, but turn back.
May God Almighty help us all to
make the right choice in this life,
and the life to come.—“Let us pray.’*
\ Luther, Okla.
•Trade increases the wealth an<L
glory of a country; but its real,
strength and stamina are to be looked
for among the cultivators of the
iliand.—Lord Chatham. ti;jfy