} NUMBER SEVENTEEN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, THUfSPAY, APRIL 24, 1924 VOLUME FORTY-EIGHT THINKING THINGS THROUGH. A NEW DAY—THE LIGH1 TURNED ON. By Bishop L. W. Kyles, D. D. My Apology. So absorbed hare 1 been in the arduous duties and’ responsibilities incumbent upon me as the superin* tendent of the Fourth Episcopal Dis trict that I hare felt loath to turn aside from those duties to engage in a discussion of this character. Never theless for the clarity of my position k and to heraten the greats majority to whose convictions I have given ex presion in my Creed, and to reartic ulate the voice of Zion as generally expressed by our most thoughtful men 1 have descended from the mount of privilege to enlarge upon and re state my views. But X have an inher , ent aversion to controversies of this t kind. Yet I fear my silence might be construed either as cowardice or fear, or contempt for those who have attacked my position. I am innocent of the first and am too polite to be guilty of the second. So I wish to assure my brethren that I have en gaged in this discussion with the L kindliest of feeling, devoid of per 7 sonal resentment and prejudice, yet I feel I should respond to the beck onings Of th morning and the call of the new day. * * * * NEW DAY, NEW TASK, NEW METHOD. When one has dispassionately and courageously considered the condi tions and needs of the Church no good reason cah be established for trudging along in the beaten paths and shopworn policies of the past. Why should we bind ourselves inse parably to the thought and the tradi tions of the leadership of other and totally different days; Thoughtful and progressive men and women are sharing in an irresistible personal^ desire to know the facts and needs of j our Church. They want to survey the; old and scrutinise the new with a view of getting their bearings for plans and methods of proceedure which the new conditions demand. In the general survey we may discov er that some of the old plans • and methods born of the genius of men of other days may not fit into the nooks and niches of our day. We may have to discard Saul’s armor al- j though it may be a creation of the genius of our fathers and employ an armor designed by the genius of the men of our day. Thoughtful men re sent the idea of being herded like cat tle. The right of self-determination is the heritage of men in the Church as well as in th state. ^ * * . * •/' SHALL WE MOVE ON.'6r SHALL we remain Static? We are just emerging » most disordered decade of human history. It was a transitional period. It marked the passing of the old and the birth of a new world. During this period civilization was being re born and God was walking miracu lously in the world. In studying the problems which the new day presents the Church should make the move ments of God—discover His footsteps in the affairs of men, employ the most effective methods- for the accomplish ment of the new tasks and move on. It is the faithleses, hopeless individ ual of Church that remains static dur ing these stirring times—who sees no , appeal for larger service in the hap ’ penings of our day, and in whose souls the irresistible urge has not been felt. Men of unyielding faith and indomit £ able hope are apt to see the pointing r of the finger of providence and move F in the direction indicated. With such mene a new survey of the field and a readjustment of things is a natural and necessary consequence. I The disposition to' follow “ancestral r ' : ■■ ■ leadership” and serve the historic idealsi indigenous of our Zionism,” is not a fitting memorial to our fathers, many of whom wrought better thaw they knew. We do not stop the wheels of progress to memorialize our dead. We build monuments to their virtues, we write their heroic deeds in the annals of history and we turn our attention to the ideals of the new day and to the Working out of new methods for the new tasks, so that I the wheels of progress may move on. 1 * * • • DOBS OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM j NEED REVISING. I Does our financial system, which is claimed to be -‘‘essentially a Zion Methodist system** need rhrisiog? It . is evident from the complaints of those in the service of the Church who depend upon it for sustenance that our financial system needs revis ing, and more than “perhaps a little-” The fact that the orderly flow of the funds into the treasury of the Con nection may be obstructed and di verted to purposes for which it was hot collected 'may be assigned as another evidence for the need of a revision. We might just as well face the facts. It might do us good to see the conditions affecting oUr institu tions some times through the eyes of others. We should not be such slaves to our ideas, or 'so deeply in love with our own opinions as to be impervious to reason or dumb to the suggestions of those who have made and are making success in financial ventures. It would be the most pain ful and pathetic folly to reject a good thought simply because we are not tiie first to conceive it. The history of aU human progreess is the his tory of the absorption of the best from whatever, source it -may chance to come whether of savage or brute, of meii or angels, of youth or old (Coutinued to page 4) THE SOUTH CAROLI NA, NORTH CARO LINA AND VIRGINIA DELEGATES MEET. Wednesday, March 26th at 11 A. M-, the delegates of three states to the A. M. E- Zion General Confer ence met at 11 A. M.t at Clinton Chapel, Charlotte, N. C. The delegates represented Virgin ia, North Carolina and South Car olina. These states embrace eleven conferences and the ywere all re presented but. One. Drs. Matthews, Callis and Shaw came from the Phil adelphia ahd Baltimore sector. Dr. H. L. Simons Was temporary chairman and Dr. Wm- Sutton Was elected temporary chairman. The vice-chairmen by states were Dr. Wm. Rdbinson, South Carolina, and Dr. M. D. Smith, Virginia. Dr. S- J. Howie, of the Blue Ridge end Rev. D. C. Crosby, South Car olina, were elcted secretaries. Twelve general officers were pres ent. The following issues were en dorsed: . а. xuitL mere ue twelve juihbuvihu Districts: . ) 2. That an Episcopal District shall | not he changed by thp death of a! bishop, it remain fixed, and that the ( conferences, left without supervision \ by the dpeth of the bishop shall be filled bf the Episcopal Committee. . 3. That the church be divided into contiguous districts and that the ar ranging of these districts be left left with the District Committee. That the adjoining states where there is no Zion work be added to the. dis trict to the end that the Church may cover the whole of America. 4. That the Episcopal Committee be held intact and function through out the quadrenniufn. 5. That five bishops be elected at the forthcoming General Conference. б. That the budget of the general Church be Two hundred.. Twenty Thousand. dollars. 7. That the General Fund be one (Continued to page 5) FOR THE A M. Ef ZION CON NECTION. By Rev. S. . before the he in or Some prefatory n oatlining of this der. (a) As early aa and even previous to the last session of the Connection al Connell this plan ha$been drafted. A few of our general officers and in fluential pastors saw ft and passed very favorably upon it. At Cincinnati theri was quite a little *'atir” about a Financial Plan for our Zion. Ahem! Thereafter “centralifaiion" became the magic word. The writer presents this plan with the fervent hope that it may help to solve (b) Dissatisfaction been voiced again and again with,! our present system; some sought plan is sought which satisfying all concern e (c) The plan at pre any other must necesi of an experimental cha: (d) It is generally the minimum income n our Connection Without, ant heart-aches and h the moderate sum of (e) This plan suggei estimate on an income^ to be gotten from sources: (f) A paying membershj That is a very cons her; we are supposed t©. where between 300,000 members, 160,000 paying dollar m n benevolences.. Total income A Workable come near an y ,000 112.600 3262,000 Disbursements. 12 Bishops’ salary, $4*000 (no travelling allowance).... $ 20,000 10 Bishops’ widows $300 .... 3,000 0 Estate claimants $500.... 3,000 For Education.... .. .. .. 70,000 For Churdh Extension.. .. 40,000 For- Home Missions.. .. .. 15,000 For Foreign Missions.. .. 12;000 For Relief.. .. .. .. .. .. 15,000 For Sunday School Dept.... 3,000 For Christian Endeavor.... 3,000 For Publication House.. .. .. 7.000 Emergency fund.. ,, .. .. 17,500 ’Total disbursements.$256,500 Total income .. .. .. .. ..$262,000 Total Disbursements .... .. $256,500 Balance...... .. .. .. .. 5,500 II. How to Get the Money. This plan offers a centralized Fi nancial department controlling and distributing all Connections! Financ es as follows:-— (1) There shall be a Financial jjtoard comprising the Financial Sec retary. one bishopcthe General Sec retary, one business-- - layman (not holding any general office), one bus iness laywoman (not holding any general office) and two business min isters. (2) The chairman of the Board shall be an A. M. E. Zion minister in good standing. He shall be elected annually. He shall not be a general officer. (3) The Financial Secretary shall hold the office of Secretary-Treasur er. ■, f A \ rrh A ConrofQ rtr oTtoll be elected annually with a salary of not more than $i00 per annum. He shall be paid quarterly and his trav eling expenses to and from the meetings allowed him (5) Any Bishop ov- general officer may attend the meetings of the Board, hut only in an advisory capac ity if he be not a member of the Board. He shall not claim compensa tion for travelling expenses, neither shall the Board voluntarily consider any such expenses.. (6) There shall be an emergency Board comprising the Bishops of the Connection. ' ••• (7) The General Conference of . ' J , ■: ' 1924 shall elect the members of th< Financial Board as outlined by this plan. Hereater, the Board shall elect *. Annually, at their last quarterly meet ing, its members for the ensuing year; provided, however, that whet the last meeting of the year falls near the meeting of the General Con ference ensuing, that General Con ference shall elect the members of the Board for the ensuing year. The Bishops. The Bishops shall take bishops shall take their place on the Board in rotation beginning with the senior bishop .. Bach bishop shall serve one year.. (8) The Board shall meet quarterly during the months of June, Septem ber, December and March, due no tice of the meeting to be sent to all members by the. General Secretary . (9) The Board shall meet in one of the following cities: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D. C., Charlotte, St. Louis and Chica go. (10) Members of the Board shall be re-imbursed their traveling expans es before adjournment but only to and from point for which they can justly claim re-imbursement. . (11) The City of New York shall hereafter be financial headquarters for the Connection. (12) All monies raised for the Con nection whether by conference' as sessments, special collections or through donations shall be forwarded immediately to the Financial Secre tary's office. The Secretary shall im mediately forward receipts for these itbi&B ,to the proper persons. (13) Require all departmental sec retaries except the Financial secre tary to travel more extensively than before visiting churches and com respective departments. All money (Continued to page 5) EXTRACTS FROM IN • TRODUCTORY LEC TURE. By Prof. J. S. N. Trossl Ladies and gentlemen: You are here in training to initiate a new World order, to be spokesmen of that order, and to be its sentinels also. By a new social order I mean a new democracy, the kingdom that is to come, if you please. But to be great citizens of this new order you shall have to understand its genius—its stfuL This for you will not be a dif ficult task if you can realize that the laws which men make, which they embrace or reject are within them selves. The first requisite of the new order, therefore, is that men shall first understand themselves. Your( slogan must be Socratic—‘Know thy self. With this accomplished, you ■ shall be ready to discern, describe, analyse, evaluate, appropriate and as- | similate common notions, opinions and beliefs. What I am saying is) this: That your social education must enable you to discover the reservoirs of human experience and prepare you to rach far into its depths to find the elements that are to make para- j diaaicAl the earth upon which we live. It shall be your task to formulate the ideals of this new Order of which I speak, and to make them articulate , in the lives of men. You may be compelled at times to retrace your steps, you may be compelled to mark time, or to stand still in your efforts to treat the elbsfte elements with: which you deal in the laboratory of human experience, but evolution it self is of such, a nature. There can not be constant progression without occassional retrogression.. In social science as in religion there will always be an element of rays try fpr there is nothing as mysterious as human experience, and yet there is nothing as real—it is the only reality we know./ The world must be remade b^frou:1 r. v- i (Continued to page 5) REVOLUTIONIZING ZION. Letter No. 12. By R. Alxeander Carroll. The man in the trenches is after all, the man upon whom the responsi bility rests, and the ,Chureh rises or falls in proportion to his success or failures; all achievements center hi and around his 'activities, together with the laymen there lies the sum-< mum bonum of the material life of the Church, and the medium through which its spiritual life flows. fh the pastor (Trehchman) is the force of the great wheel around which «U eth er wheels revolve, for through te«, Missions, are formed, congregations are built up, men are saved, and great Churches are erected. Through him the fires of life are, kindled, com munities are renovated and kept ha spiritual, moral and ethical touch with the inner, and outer world and given an opportunity to know the * will of God. It is his voice that is heard above the clan and clatter e£ the City at times when the hilarities of life are gripping manias if there were no God, or life beyond the grave; and assists them < fa chang ing their lives and made worthy citi- , sens for earth and heaven, in the final analysis he is man provided for in the made for the Ministry at eral Conferences. Some consideration wag; the last General Conference from what it should be! Superannuated! Minister iwha 1 ed more than 10 years and 15, receiving r the amov than 20 years and less hundred ($140) and forty dollars; years or more, three hundred ($300) dollars; and with reference to their widows, whatever they can get “One half of the amount coming into the hands of the Corresponding Secre tary shall be allowed for widows and orphans and shall be prorated to them in the months of July and December”* Paragraph 404, which is equivolentto “Whatever they can get.’ For I have known some worthy widows to receive as much as six dollars ($6.00) per year. * 1st. I would suggest that the .entire imount be changed, increased to One luhdred and fifty ($150) dollars; Two lundred and ($250) fifty dollars; four hundred ($400) dollars* ^ bP0* •ed ($600) dollars respectively that le might think something worthy. Bishop Caldwell, our Senior Bishop n connection with the Philadelphia tnd Baltimore Conference set an «* tmple when he pensioned Dr. Curry n his declining age on six hundred lollars. If one Conference can do hat, what about the heart of the Connection when it baets in Indian polis? XUCIC ax c . thoughtful enough to secure homes before they enter the Ministry, which I advise all men to do if they can, and if they cannot, then go at it with faith and stick to it. In order that there might he some certainty of the men on the Mission fields receiving something tangible, for worthy men should be sent to Mission Fields, and given support by the Churrch in or der that good work can be done, i-1; suggest that the . Some Mission—, ary Department be given a chance to develop this side of their work, and that 25 per cent of the money bswMflifc**’ in by the Conference workers pe especially provided for that purpose, and either placed in the hands of the Conference Treasury to be taken out only by Ate Conference direction, or seent to the Brotherhood Secretary with that stipulaion. It is lamentable to think °* ^*0 Widows of Minister;* receiving Six ($6.00) dollars per year, and then nth an accompanied card asking to lolicit other funds to reimburse the (Continued to page 6)