Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / May 28, 1925, edition 1 / Page 1
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% THE OrfICIAt ORGAN OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CtlliRCH H'' ' < ,_t. VOLUME FORTY-NINE. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1925. it 1 ,'"W..>"|I‘^"' NUMBER TWENTY-TWO. For Youth’s Sake Rot, Vincent 6. toms I wish all Protestant ministers could have listened in at the Young People s Conference in the Poster Congregational Church, Brockton, held last May as part of the Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Congregational Conference. Some thing stimulating and intensively val uable for future application in work with young people would have been shared. There were at least live hundred young people present. They represented live Christian Endeavor societies from about one hundred churches of the State. The eager ness, enthusiasm, and vital intelli gence of the young people in their discussion of church problems were surprizing, indeed almost a revela tion! The evening's discussion dealt with worship, social life, pastoral assis tance, financial support, official posi tion of young people in church organ lations, young people’s meetings, church recreation, and suffrage in church elections. During the dis cussions there was not an idle mo ment; the young people spoke before a crowded house with assurance and amazing ability; practically every suggestion had value. I am still working out ideas planted in my mind by these penetrating and frank young folk! To. me the most valu able. discussion centered, about this question: How many sermons has your pastor preached during the last year bf special interest to young peo ple?1 several answers to tnis question were flattering to some preachers. However, the largest number were like the following: Young lady, “Our pastor preaches good sermons but they are all addressed to the adults and deal exclusively with their prob lems/’ Young man, Our pastor either preaches milk - and - water homilies to the babies or long, sleepy discourses to the older people.” Not specially young lady, “The minister of our church preaches as if he had never heard of ytfung people; if he saw many young people in the pews he would become so flustered that he would .faint/' Very young lady, “Our pastor hands out harangues about politics, social conditions, and theology, but never do we get the water of life for which we are thirst ing.” Another young man, “Oui minister has never preached a ser mon to young people in his life and I do? not believe he could if he wanted to; he makes no effort to preach to our needs, so we do not go to church!' > These are some of the remarks. There were many others equally un complimentary. This was the mow noticable because in practioally all the other discussions the ministers were the recipients of his praise! II may be said that these young people are too critical, too particular; il may be urged that they should have longer patience and keener appre ciation for their hard-working pas tors. But even when the situation it thus naively shaded down, there stil remains this insistent challenge How shall ministers meet this crying need of the young? What shall w< say to our youth who are hungering and thirsting for the gospel that ap plies to them? How shall the pulpii reach the young upon whom the fu ture demands ? If the above discussion is any crl terion, Massachusetts Congregations ministers are making a mighty peto 1 job of the^r preachy to the young Obviously we are talking high dvei thrir leads; we' gre trying to wad ‘"grtot and glorious go*pe£ft* teftew . ' • ... • of simple sermons going straight to hearts. We need to hear Beefeher’s words again: The ambition of constructing great sermons is guilty and foolish in no ordinary degree. I do not believe any man ever made a great sermon who set out to do that thing. Ser mons that are truly great come of themselves. They spring froan sources deeper than vanity or am* bition. We must escape the vanity* of at tempting intellectual triumphs and oratorical marvels. The Master’s method of simple speech: and scintil latirig story has never %een surpass ed. ■ One way by which the minister can sympathetically reach the minds and hearts of his young people is by attendance at their Sunday meeting. By a friendly sharing of the meeting on the same plane as any other mem ber of the young people’s group, he may say and do much which will win the Confidence and loyalty of all. This will go a great distance in pav-' ing the way for what he has to sa$ from the pulpit. Another vital way to reach the young is offered in the regular ser mon. There is always so'me part of any sermon which can be used to in troduce helpful thoughts for them. Only- a paragraph it may be but if it is addressed particularly to young folk they will grasp it eagerly and retain the message tho they forget the rest of the sermon. If the min ister has distilled the whole sermon into simple language which finds ready response in the hearts of old and young, he has achieved even greater power. When we make the sermon simpler, clearer, and more concise we are certain of a real ap peal, not only to the young, but to the adults as well. No sermon can (Continued on Page, 5) Africa Adopts Am. Inter-racial Plan. Special to Star of Zion: The plan of interracial adjustment through conference and cooperation, as worked out in , the JBouth by the Interracial Commission, is being adopted in South Africa also, accord ing to recent visitors from that country. Dr; C. T; Loram, British Commissioner of Native Affairs, has set up such committees in Johannes burg, Capetown, Marianne H3H Durban, Pieter Maritsburg, and oth er centers. These Committees meet monthly, discuss interracial problems and the needs of the natives, and seek to influence' Opinion and legis lation in the interest of needed ad justments. , It is understood that the Southern interracial plah was first brought to the attention of South Africa of ficials three years ago by Dr. Thos. Jesse Jones, o$ New York, who was in Africa making a study of native education for the Phelps-Stokes Fund. General Jan Smuts, at that time British Premier of South Afri ca, is said to have been greatly in terested and to have expressed the i conviction that British welfare work 1 for the natives should be reorganized on the basis of the American plan. ■ Promoters of the interracial move ! ►ment in »the South are gratified to ■ find that it is being observed with I favtfr abroad, as making a ygnif ; I icant contribution to the solution of ■ * race problems aropnd the world. Not many weeks elapse but one or . more distinguished visitors from l South Africa usually educators or . missionary!, call at the headquarters .. of the Commission in the city and r make a study of its principles and I methods. ' J v • | j Atlanta, Ga. HomeandForeigfi Missionary Society, Rev. W. W, Evans Criticism is one of the features of iraman society th*tt make for prog ress. It is the privilege of every independent member of the human family irrespective of position. Xt is the prerogative of the. individual whether he be old or young, high or low, rich or poor; learned or igno rant. Criticism is proper when it is constructive and not destructive. It is only by criticism the world has progressed: nnd it is only by this feature of life that individuals can be made to plumb the line of public opinion. It is different frcrm fault finding. This latter characteristic is so'metimes the result of a carping spirit engendered by discontent and dissatisfaction even without having a just basis for either feeling. In dealing with the question of missionary work the writer is not aware of any scope for sinister mo tives existing, and is actuated only for the welfare of the great Zion Church of which he is proud to be connected. This Church is comprised ‘not oi one individual but of about 500,000 or more. We all know that most of us are ignorant of something or other, and ignorance is no crime. Then most of . us^ are also conceited too; we sometimes think that we are the whole thing and nobody must say aught against our methods, when those methods affect the whole body, forgetting that public men must don the skin of the rhinoceros and hot be easy to give .vent, to our feel ings by ebullitions of rage descend ing to*-personal abuse and insulting language. ' In looking through the columns the Star of Zion we find many minds treading in the same direction rel ative to Home "and Foreign Mission ary activities. Many have seen the defects and weaknesses of our mis sionary system and have given voice to their convictions. In the Star of Zion April 9th 1925 the good Editor Dr. W. H. Davenport, in a well thought put article glimpses the need of a Home Mission Department and in conclud ing says; “We.believe in the devel opment of the Home Mission De partment that jZion trails other de nominations. We also believe that we . reflect.,the- feeling .and senti ment of thd“ men on the field when we -affirm that a department specially designed to >100%:. after .the. strug gling pastors in these struggling fields wHl fill a long felt need land gratify a heartfelt desire.** In relation to the Foreign work that eminent writer and editress of the “World of Women” in the Star of Zion of May 7th, 1925. chimes in with “Even now our souls thrill to the grandiloquent caption “Crusad ing for African Redemption.” It is worthy of all we are or ever can be, $$ all we have or ever may possess. But vision rides in an Aeroplane, Efforts plod along in wooden shoes. When we look our crusading square ly in the face, it becomes like the manipulation of tin soldiers in a sham battle, by unknowing children. Wherein comes the significance if we cannot arrange to give of our ser vices and expenses for a special drive, like the Small Memorial to finance our Chief Crusader. Where lies the skill in having to expend -for running expenses a third of a tund sd sacred? The Associated Charities and the. Salvation Amy and other similar organisations from time to time have very special t» ttl public that every penny contributed (italics mine) will go for the purpost intended. I wonder if the women oi Zion after reading in the Seer of such gross and revolting ignorance I as that told in the story of the “Sala or Sacrifice girl” could not stage a Sacrifice Convocation in which there would be no Pullmans, no taxies, no luxuries, except at per* sonal expense, and then present it to th& great cause* of Missions as # sacrifice “holy and acceptable unto God/” Great thought! I will not say a ‘Daniel come to judgment, but a Portia!* Yes, no Pullmans, no taxies, no big donations; let some of Our brethren use some of their per sonal monies sometimes and some of the pastors lend their churches with out exacting gifts for. themselves and accepting donations for their church es. It is a special drive and every body must try and make a sacrifice. The Church has got to see the need of helping small missions. Some writer some time ago eulo gized Dr. Madison for assisting a small mission station in his city and helping to build up the work. A gOod man! Bishop E. D. W. Jones somet.me ago donated a sum of money from his Conference to help the work in South Carolina. Another example of forethought for Mis sions. In the Missionary Seer the good women and their Presiding El der of the Windsor District, at their tfirst Quarterly Mass Meeting donat ed $3.00 to Robersonville Mission! Charity must first commence at home. Only by these interested at tempts to foster and support mission work at home can the Church suc cessfully build up the work in for eign fields. People are generally more interested in their home circles and home work; and in teaching thenf to support their own missions there is the better opportunity af forded to extend their operations to the work of the foreign field. We have a cornpetent Executive Board of (Continued on Page 5) A Philosophy of Despair. R. B. Eleazer The whole Nordic rage is a false and criminal psychology. Its au thors and promoters are prophets of disaster. They are frightened jin goists mobilizing the white raee for defeat. . Even if-: theiy fundamental facts were jrfgh^. flrty^are wrong iu their interpretation. The . only sensible program ; based, upon their own la boriously marshalled exhibits, would be a program of universal education, cooperation, and understanding among all races. The advanced should attempt to educate the back ward until all peoples stand upon the same platform of intelligent living. That accomplished, they could sit down together and plan unitedly—| instead of the supposedly superior group being (Constantly under the necaiSPity of manufacturing arms and building battleships to keep the sup posedly backward always backward, the ignorant forever ignorant, and the subject forever enslaved. After all, our alleged superiority stretches back merely through a few brief decades. Who knows whether our system is to be the permanent criterion of greatness ? Humility will help us. While carrying ©Ur culture to other peoples of the world, we mighf profitably invite them to bring us their systems of thought and .their methods of social organiza tion and life. By the mingling apd development 6f the two we shaQ probably arrived the true human —-. Science and War, Ret. S. ftMMm, D. D. Many ques^r* ^a£*$rep up in the conferences .Brooklyn Bedford Branch of the-$Ti:''li.. A. are dedi cated by a very proper.dread of im pending war. . '@izen® realize thmt there is not sufficient provision against . this contingency. Should war be again liwmched upon our civilizatioii.. its oqthfeak would probably mean either the collapse of society or its crippled condition for an indefinitely prolonged period. Consequently : I' *a’»* ashed almost weekly about the prospects > for a' permanent peace. Some Of my correspondents blame the church, others the state, still others the va rious political |mitie8. &r>. the present precarious condition/o£ ’ the world. Now and s^fiinvvjWb^iM^ncd' ‘-Ques tioners ask what then of* science are doing to avoid the fatality, of armed conflict. •< . , • Certainly science., has made war ' infinitely more . terrible*. It has | robbed it of romance and reduced it to the reptilgive Business of cold blooded, wholesale destruction of life and property. If has ; expanded/ its areas, so that these include : ,'non j combatant populations ’.of all #gea, iand it has render'ed the entire popn ! tries engaged in, bottle liable tp its devastations. The next plunge into I this suicidal forbfi of so-called settle ment that settles little and unsettitea [ much may he- upon an Unparalleied scale accompanied by terrifically efficient equipment. Naturally the feeling has arisen that since scientific discoverers and inventors have furnished thp equip ment they are under obligation to do their part in p^venjtdhg yr»r. , To them, piijjitapt forces of nations., owe poison gas^ action smi its’ bqmb ings, tanka, tojrpeclctes, high explo sives, and shells that spread disease and death. Jt .would seem reason able, therefore, , that /the sciiiitific mind should enable the people at large to visualize clearly their peril and to reiterate their demands for justice with peace;«ad security. Expectation? of ' tMs Sftrt are the more, reasonable because the modern world it controlled as. never before By scienti^ / •//■<;;, What, then, is more becoming' ter scientists than the pupsaiti of peace? Surely these notable conservators of energy an ^ wjjKng ly enlisted in behalf of their im pairment in any way. Professor William Albert Noyes, of the Uni versity of Illinois, has spent hie saphatie year in Europ# to find the answer to prhat may well be deemed a crucial question. One can not read the results he publishes, in his book on “Building with any marked complacency. Oin the con trary, the Professor’s ‘ conclusions, based as they are upon his personal contacts with hip fdilow-seientists in * NOTHING ^ self. The chain] cause -most *k rranee. ana uermany, are decidedly discouraging to lovers of law and , or er. French scholars and invest!gators are convinced that Germany delib erately began the World War from base and greedy motives. On the other hand, equally distinguished German scholars, such as Processors Willstaetter and Wieland, affirm their belief that France entered the Werld War to recover the provinces and the prestige sbe lost in 1870. (Concluded next week)
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 28, 1925, edition 1
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