VOLUME FORTY-BIGHT
CHARLOTTH, NORTH CAROUN A, THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1924.
-- - ■ ' .. ' ' 'm.m, ■ " -
NUMBER THIRTY ONE
SHAKING 1HE i
PLUM TREE.
THE GREAT GENERAL CONFER
ENCE AND THE EXCELLENCY
OF THE FINANCIAL PLAN.
By Bishop E. D. W. Jones.
Our recent Quadrennial session
and the excellent Financial Plan,
which is working as the General
Conference commanded, give me
the urge to shake again.
All glory arid praise To Bishop
L. W. Kyles, chaiman of the Finan
cial Board, and to Dr. W. H. Goler,
Financial Secretary for carrying out
to the letter the plan just as it had
adopted by the General Conference.
No one wants* a change because
all are so glad that we have been
redeemed from the embarrassments
of the Old system. Everybody is
gettnig paid their share from wHat
is sent in and those of us not used
to more than we need are happy and
prosperous. /
Dr. S. D. Dvais entertained the
General Conference as it has never
been entertaind before in all the his
tory of our Methodism. It was the
very best up to this hour. He did (
all in his power to make it pleasant
fo'r the delegates and visitors. He
proved conclusively that Zion Church
has pastors who, when permitted to
exercise their privileges, can Come up
to whatever is required. He was not
bothered with meddling.. He-proved
himself equal to the task. He is an
honor to any demnomiriation and will
" ever live in the herats of his breth
ren for his kindness to them and
interest in their welfare.
Bishop P. A. Wallace confies inf or
a share of this praise and commen
dation . ^
off the deatils of the General Con
ference and allowed his pastor whom
he had sent there to 'cope with that
situation, to) locally manage the
whole busniess of the great assem
bly. The pastor assigned^ homes, col
lected for the same, printed badges,
sold them and put the money in his
own pocket which was. right and the
right of' every pastor at annual con
ference as well as to attend to all
these local arrangements. The an
nual conference nor its presiding of
ficer has anything to do with What a
pastor earna legitimately at its ses
sions. Money is collected from the
people for the support of the annu
al conference and the jfinancial com
mittee of the same should allow
without question the pastor funds to
pay the expenses of that conference
and he should not be begrudged Hie
little money he may make by wise
management.
He can never earn too much.
Bishop Wallace carried himself so
well in this particular that Indiana
plead for his return. The' men are
not going to be sincere any more
in asking even for a Bishop's return
who thinAka and acts as if no one
was capable Of handling affairs but
himself.1
The General Conference was nota- j
ble for the manly functioning of all,
committees. The men knew what
they wanted and the fearlessly ex
pressed themselves. Especially was
this true of the Episcopal Committee
who spurned the interference of any
and all groups w% sought to dictate
their duties. They made districts
and assigned Bishops ^and their ac
tion was final. That was as it should
be ahd all know that it will forever
be, thhnk heaven.
The men have been liberated from
all fear and none must'mistake, re
spect for the office of a bishop for
fear of the man. Zion men will never
again squirm under the proddings of
authority. A-Bishop has only to be
himself and not assume powers, and
Zion men will always honor and (re
spect him. At last tjie men know
their rights and know when to apaert
them. F6ur years is a short time
to wait to show that they are-not
cowards but real men; but we have
all learned that enactments at a Zion
General Conference mean obedience
and that & men will have.their day
jRgainst A——— • - ■ - '.
I First Connectionat C ouncil
'im •' ■ ' • ■
of the New Era of Zion Methodism
The last session of the General
Conference of the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church which closed
recently in Indianapolis, Indiana,
was perhaps the most epochal and
eventful in the history of the denom
ination. External as well as internal
interest is largely centered in the
character and equipment of the
elected episcopates as jn those al
ready occupynig the office. The Star,
therefore, takes pleasure in present
ing to its raders a brief pen picture
of the present Board of Bishops
that they might arrive at a fair con
clusion as to the personality, train
ing, traits of character of the men
which the 27th Quadrennial session,
of the General Conference offers to !
tiie world as the exponents ana in
terpreters of her denominational im
pulses in this a very critical period
of our natio'nal existence. It may be
said that about all of our bishops are
fundamentalists in religion.
\ Bishop Josiah Samuel Caldwell,
A. M., D. D., (Livingstone College),
was born in Cabarrus County, N.
C., near Concord in 1861. He enter
ed Liyingsitone College in 1883 where
he was soon recognjped as a spiritual
leader of''men. The eloquent enthu
siasm of the school room prayed
meeting marked his ministry very
early in his career and he was not
long in distinguishing himself as
one of the great pastors and finan
ciers of the Ctturch. He is of the pe
culiar evangelistic type. His singing
is melting and subduing. He wastes
no words. As a precaher he is con
cise, eloquent and powerful. As ah
organizer he is strong. As a finan
cier for twenty four years he has led 1
the hosts. He is firm, intrepid, and
[is gifted with astonishing tuition.
I The traditions of the Church are
, dear to him. He held the position
of Financial Secretory and was
elected to the bishopric in 1904 at
St. Louis, Mo. He is the senior
bishop; His travels in Europe were
a source of inspiration to him.
Bishop Gebrge Lincoln Blackwell,
A. M., D. D., LL. D., (Livingstone
N. C., and received his first train
ing in the common schools of Gran
ville County. He entered the min
istry early and is ajaong the first
graduteis of Iivingpone College.
Before Jiis election tf the bishopric
aT Philadelphia in 19$8 he had pas
tored many of our hugest churches,
had been manager output Publishing
House, Dean of Theology at Living
stone College, twelveilears editor %i
the Sunday School literature, Cor
responding Secretary ? of the Home
Mission and Church5 Extension De
partment, editor of- the Missionary
Seeij. He learned thief art of sermon
building in the Boston University
School of Theology an$' is one of the
ablest and most* scholarly preachers;
in our Zion. During the sixteen
years, ofv his Episcopal experience,
he has been & strbng friend to many,
big brother, disciplinarian of moder'
ate,', but accurate type. He has made
.creditable contributions to” our Zion
literature,, and fills well his exalted
position. His lectures on his travels
abroad are very illuminating.
Bishop Unwood Westinghouse
Kyles, A. M., D. D., (Hampton,
Va.,. Institute, Lincoln University,)
Vas born ijf Virginia forty-eight
years ago,. This dashing genius hag
been, a surprise and revelation to all
yho know him-. He has pastored
j some of our largest churches and was
j the first to bring the Quarterly Re
[ view into national notice. He was
pastor at Big Zion Church, Mobile,
Ala., and Corresponding Secretary
of the Ministerial Relief and Broth
erhood when elevated to ^the bishopric
in 1916 at Louisville, Ky. This fun
damentalist with an open mind is
thoroughly imbued with the spirit^
of self-determination. A skillful and
consummate organizer and a strong
leader of men, he has brought; to the
bishopric a strong body, a strung
mind and./a heart loyal to Methodist
standards. He is resourceful and
methodical. He is possessed of vision
and the physical and mental strength
nancier. He also hag* traveled ex
tensively in Europe. He led'the pro
gresses in the last General Con
frence.
Bishop William Lemuel Lee, D.
D., was born M Mississippi^ and stu-.
died there, 'receiving the degree of
Doctor of Divinity from Livingstone
^College. Sometimes blunt in speech,
yet he is rugged in character, sincere
and honest in convictions. He is a
close student of our holy religion and
is fundamentally wedded to* the doc
trine and truth of Jesus as set forth
in our common Methodism. He came
up from the trenches and is one
of the most original men oh the
bench. He too has pasotred some of
our largest ehurches and was emi
THE BOARD OF BISHOPS.
(Reading from right to' left) ,
Bishops Caldwell, Blackwell, Kyles, Lee, Wood, Wallace, Shaw, Clement,, Alleyne,
Walls, Martin, Jones. V & 4 •
6 7
nently successful. He believes in a
living wage for all pastors and
stressed it in bis conferences. He
detests hypocrisy.
He is appreciably responsive to
friendly attitudes and is large enough
to apologise for an unintentional in
jury or wrong done to the humblest
man. Since his elevation to the bish
opric in 191© at Louisville, Ky., his’
work has covered parts of Louisiana,
Alabama, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Western New York and
New England. He ig the' largest
man'on the bench.. ~
Bishop George ' Clinton Clement,
A. M., D. D., the flaming herald of
the “Qlue Grass Region,” was bom
in the rocky fastnesses of Noi^th
Carolina 52 years ago. He wsa edu
cated at Livingstone College, and is
a jmember off one of the most fa
mous classes of that institution. He
was a keen and incisive debater tfeere,
and his keenness and incisiveness
follow him to this day. He is an
able, piercing, logical gospel preach
er. He loves the gospel. He loves
to preach; He holds infinite possi
bilities for himself and his Church.
He is an author whose books find ac
ceptance beyotad the confines /A our
restricted area. His travels abroad
(Living’stOy
t)iteer of/
set of educated children, one ef Ids
sons, Rufus, being * teacher in the
Theological' Department of liking
stone College. He editdr of The
Star for twelve^ years and for a
brief period manager of the Publi
cation House . He whs sleeted bishop
in 1916 at Louisville, Ky.
THE $25,OC
FOR
By Bishop 6.
The late Bishop Alexander Walters
of sacred Memory, said to the mis*
sion Board in 1910, that the Mis«on
Board T Hi i 1 HT F Tiiili ffiUjft‘
could mot enter the riterhopd of
Boards of Missions as we were not
raising enough mission, money,
warrant it; that w.e could not enter
until we had raised at least $10,000
a year. How cordial and felicitous
would have been his greeting had he
been at the late General Conference
and heard the reports of Or. Mat*
thews, the foreign missionary secre
tary, and Mrs. Smithy the treasurer
of the W. H. and F. M. Society*
when they announced $73*000 for the
quadrennium, just $fteen years later.
And incidentally, may I say, how the
late Annie W. Blackwell would have
smiled to know that the slogan orig
inated • at Knoxville for $50,000 for
the quadrennium, about which she
wrote and spoke so optimistically
before her demise, had bene realised
with about $23,000 to the good
. Encburaged by the astounding
success and inspired at the assigning
of a Bishop to African territory, the
leading missionary workers Almost
spontaneously decided to* put on a
special TWENTY FIVE THOUS-*
AND DOLLAR DRIVE..to meet the
emergencies of our new program for
foreign missions, and the General
Conference gave its approbation at
once.
The details of the Drive, were left
for the Foreign Mission Board end
the Exeutive officers of the W. H.. /
the Drive is launched. Mrs. A. I*.
Anderson, the corresponding Secre- v *
tary, is now broadcasting the plan
pamphlet throughout the Church *
among the women. Dr, Matthews hi '
bringing to bear with his trenchant
4>en a mighty emphasis on the plan
in the columns of the Seer. The
committee on' the John Bryan'Small
medal is speeding up* the mamrfec*
ture of them; the Y Secretary, Miss
Richardson and the Bids* superin
tendent, Mrs. Clinton, are leaving
no stone unturned to stir up their
district officers and local societies.
Not a few- of the vice-presidents are
also getting jbutey. . Bishop C. O.
Alleyne> hag made several profitable
visits and is open for enggaaments.
Revs;. R. El. }and H. E. Peters
visits and is oyen for engagements.
Rev. and Mrs. Peters sustained aw*
juries in an automobile .wreck vtfis
making visits in New England, and
Mrs. Peters had to go to tho h«ipi- ^
tal. The accident, hag ppaefcuredJK^vj&^
activities for the time being.
The Drive is i scheduled to dose
October 16th, and so I want to urge
that every minister throughout the
Church get busy . It is hoped that
every presiding elder will bring the.
importance of the Drive before .each
quarterly cqhferenqp. I need not sug
gest that each of my colleagues trill . .
speed up his forces that they may
act at once. Let each district officer
apportion the amount suggested for
her district to the churches and let
the pastor and the local officers
know at once the amount apportion
ed for' the local church. Please do
this at once. The Drive is on. Once,
twice, three times: Let's go. A pull,
a long pull, a stro/ig pull, a united %
pull, and a poll all together, let us
roll up the Twenty-five Thousand
($25,000) Dollars. "
; President Foreign Mission Board.
Philadelphia, PbV