AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii, 32.
CHARLOTTE, N. G, THURSDAYS AUGUST 27,1925
VOL. XLVII.
REV. WM. BUTLER
By Rev. R. E. Flickinger
Rev. William Butler, pastor of
the Presbyterian church, who
died of paralysis at 66, on Au
gust 5th at Eagletown, Okla.,
was in his 7th year when free
dom was accorded the family of
his parents in 1866. He learned
to read by a regular attendance
at Sabbath school and by private
study at home. The Bible and
the Shorter Catechism were the
books that first occupied his at
tention in spare moments. As
a natural result he became a
Christian and united with the
church at an early age.
In 1885, at the age of 26, he
was ordained an elder in his
home church at Eagletown that
was visited by its circuit rider
once or twice a month. He was
appointed Bible reader and
leader of the meeting on the al
ternate Sabbaths.
In 1894 he was enrolled by
the Presbytery of Choctaw as a
candidate for the ministry.
Three years later he was li
censed by the Presbytery of Ki
amichi and appointed the Stat
ed Supply of Eagletown and
REV. Wm. BUTLER
Forest churches. His ordina
tion occurred in 1902. Other
neighboring missions that he
developed were Bethany, Mt.
Gilead and Mt. Pleasant.
In 1914 an accident occurred
that made necessary the ampu
tation of his left limb below the
knee. Five years later a second
amputation became necessary.
In September, 1924, he experi
enced paralysis in the mouth
that affected the tongue and
throat. As he recovered from
the amputations he resumed the
pastoral care of the Eagletown
church and Sunday school. With
the exception of two short pe
riods, his pastoral care of the
church and Sunday school cov
ered a period of nearly thirty
years, and included the erection
of a new church building about
seven years ago to replace the
one lost oy nre.
In 1905 when the agricultural
lands were allotted the Indians
in severalty, he was allotted the
farm home and land previously
„ occupied by his parents. Pre
vious to the loss of his limb, he
succeeded better than most of
his neighbors as a farmer; and
his home become an orphanage
for the support of a half-dozen
orphan children. The continu
ance of this undertaking proved
a heavy tax on his meager re
sources.
As a pastor he had two dis
tinct aims: to instruct the peo
ple in the Word, and to win
them to render Christian ser
vice. He thus manifested a tru
ly evangelistic spirit.
Though not tall he was stout
and strong. His attractive man
ner in public address was large
ly due to the use of a natural
chest tone of voice that was
* pleasant to the ear, and an ap
pealing expression of counte
nance. He was one whose face,
when preaching, was bouyantly
illumined with a smile of glad
ness upon the cheek and a spar
kle of delight in the eye.
During a period of eight years
he was a patroh and annual vis
itor of Oak HiU Academy. Ad
vantage was frequently taken of
these visits to hold decision
meetings. Many young people
at these times were glad of the
opportunity to manifest then
decision to make the Bible their
guide and live Christian lives.
The fact that Mr. Butler was
able from youth to old age to
acceptably serve the people of
his home church and communi
ty was a rare accomplishment—
a remarkable experience as a
minister. He is survived by his
wife, Maria, who proved a faith
ful helpmeet.
Rockwell City, Iowa.
SIDELIGHTS
HERE AND THERE.
There always comes to every
one the season of the year when
the call of vacation comes. Au
gust seems to be the month for
it and wherever one may go the
roads are full of cars from “John
Henrys” and up or visa versa,
whichever estimation may be
preferred. We have also caught
the fever of vacation and now
we ar • among the old home
town folks of boyhood days,
shaking hands with old friends
and making new ones. The old
swimming hole is there where
the fellows used to go, but it is
deserted now. The younger gen
eration goes joy riding instead.
Here and there we come across
a “boy” of bygone days and we
live over the doings of our
youth. Then we talked of our
former friends. Many have gone
away; more rest in the old cem
etery down by the river. ’Tis
sad when we come to that phase
of our visit, but 'tis so. Like all
others who visit the “old home
town” of their youth, you have
ing anyway.
We came across an old Biddle
boy down in Goldsboro the other
day who is making good in his
profession. He is physically
prosperous and financially, too,
judging by his surroundings. We
refer to Mr. L. T. Lightner, class
of '06, embalmer and mortician.
Mr. Lightner is popular in the
city and he and Mrs. Lightner
have made many friends since
going there. His place of busi
ness is up-to-date and he is pre
pared to serve the public from
any angle in his line. We often
refer to professional men who
live up to church affiliations af
ter leaving school. Mr. Light
ner, although busy, is intensive
ly active in the religious life of
the community. He inquired of
his classmates and we informed
him as best we knew. Rev. R.
L. Moore rested upon his mind
a great deal. They were class
mates before they came to Bid
dle. Look him up, Moore!
A few days ago we were in
Sanford. We saw our friend and
brother, Rev. J. E. McMillan and
family. Rev. McMillan is suc
ceeding nicely in his work. His
Daily Vacation Bible School
closed successfully with a final
enrollment of 199. That is the
largest enrollment of any that
we have heard of. There may be
larger enrollments elsewhere. It
seems that everywhere this work
has been doing well. We heard
of one place where the principal
of one of our public schools in
the Eastern part of the State
closed the building on a very
succcessful D. V. B. S. His rea
son seems to have been over
anxiety for the care of the build
ing. Perhaps he was justified in
his actions. We do not know.
But the thought which comes to
us is—That the public school
building belongs to the people, is
built by the people’s money and
for any legitimate use, and that
the public ought not to be denied
its use. I am sure that the
school boards would agree to
that, but what is the use when
things are sometimes misrepre
sented by over-zealous princi
pal^ who very often are not in
terested to the smallest degree
17
in the religious life of the chil
dren who come under their con
trol?
Mr. James Hatcher, for many
years the organist of Shiloh
Presbyterian church of Goldsbo
ro, has rendered first class ser
| vice. Mr. Hatcher is a born mu
sician. He has enlarged upon
j this native gift by study and (ex
perience. He is ably assisted by
his own sons, Messrs. Charlie
and Robt. Hatcher. In fact, the
whole Hatcher family, which in
cludes several, are musical. To
gether with these, such faithful
and talented people as Prof. J.
A. Groom and wife, Dr. E. T.
Gordon and others have made
the musical side of Shiloh Pres
byterian church famous in the
Eastern part of North Caroli
na.
Among some of the workers of
the Daily Vacation Bible
School, who have been employed
as specialists, we note by obser
vation and contact that Mrs. Al
ma Harris, of Winston-Salem,
has done creditable work. The
Board made a fine selection in
her. Others have done equally
as well and this by no means de
tracts anything from the work
which they have done.
Dr. I. H. Russell, the Synod
ical Evangelist, operating in the
Western part of Yadkin Presby
tery, and Rev. L. B. West, the
pastor-evangelist, also working
in some oi our fields in the same
section of the same Presbytery,
have done some able preaching.
Both have been enjoyed and
both have done good. Rev. West,
with his scholarly and eloquent
gospei sermons, and Dr. Russell,
with his fiery and spiritual gos
pel sermons, together with his
rugged manner of putting
things before the people, left be
hind them much food for
-thought/ Come again, -brethren.
Dr. Thomas Long, of Johnson
C. Smith University, informs us
of the fact that Columbia is in
teresting as usual with the us
ual amount of hard work. Dr.
Long is one of our able men
who shows his versatility in
many ways. Johnson C. Smith
University and his many friends
are proud of his record and wish
him continued success.
The Western part of North
Carolina had a severe drought
from May until August. Garr
dens have been a novelty in that
section tnis year. We got al
most a handful of beans from
our garden. We called ourselves
lucky because others got none.
The Eastern section got rain a
plenty and has fine gardens and
crops everywhere. Everthing
looks prosperous. Today (Aug.
18) as we write this, we can look
out over a large section and see
cotton with no leaves and tobac
co stalks with not a leaf of to
bacco. This condition has been
brought about by a severe hail
storm last week. The same con
ditions exist for a radius of five
miles. Conditions seem to be
neutralized in the West and
East. Thoughtful men are
thinking more about the power
of God. Unthoughtful men are
cursing the elements and Ithe
weather man.
It is a fine thing to abridge
the evening services these hot
August Sunday evenings, but we
wonder whether it is a good ton
ic for our young people to take
in your service and be dismissed
to go elsewhere. Do not dismiss
them with the words from you,
“to go elsewhere,” for goodness
knows, it is hard enough to hold
them in the Presbyterian church
anyway. That applies to older
ones, too. We used to think that
Presbyterians were immune
from doctrinal diseases and con
tagious epidemics of sectarian
ism which usually break out
heavily at this season of the
year, out they are not. When
they break out on a Presbyteri
an he is incurable, and at once
he evolves (.?) ilito something re
ligious evolution has never been
(Continued oil page 4)
THE SABBATH SCHOOL AND CHRISTIAN EN
FOR CONVENTION OF CATAWBA
PRESBYTERY
By Mrs. HaUie Q. Mayberry
on, nes
of su
more
of her
tality
in the
bath
deavor
annual session of
School and Chris
or Convention of Ca
bytery met with the
Presbyterian church,
C., of which Mr. J.
is pastor, on August
ght sunshine, balmy
’kling waters, Mari
hard by the foot hills
iding mountains, has
risen to the exigency
ibilities in the hospi
good cheer exhibited
rtaining of the Sab
1 and Christian En
vention.
ed by EK IF*. T. Logan. Dr. Lo
gan gave a very interesting talk
about importance of study
mrr fVin MiKta ia nno nf flia
School and Christian Endeavor
Societies were next in order. Of
the forty-five schools on roll re
ports were read from forty-one
schools. The reports were en
couraging and showed consid
erable increase in spiritual ac
tivities and membership.
The President appointed the
following committees:
Committee on Finance: Mes
srs. J. J. Young, J. E. Howell,
J. N. F. Brown.
Committee on Leave of Ab
sence: Messrs. E. F. White, J.
W. Spears, Thos. A. Jenkins and
Mrs. M. J. Alexander.
Committee on Resolutions of
Thanks: Mr. N. M. Potts, Miss
Annie Chresfield, Mr. T. J. Van
Landingham, Miss Louise Alex
ander.
Thursday Evening.
This session opened with a
lively song service conducted
by Mrs. J. M. Pride, director of
music, and the Convention choir
with Mrs. J. R. Dungee, organ
ist. The evening sessions were
held in the beautiful and spa
cious Zion Methodist church.
Welcome Addresses.
A most cordial welcome was
extended us by the pastor, Mr.
J. R. Dungee, on behalf of the
church. Miss Mary G. Thalley,
in her own winning way, wel
comed us on behalf of the
Christian Endeavor Society.
Prof. B. G. Corpening welcomed
us in behalf of the Sunday
School, and Rev. G. W. Griffin,
pastor of the Zion Methodist
church, welcomed^is in behalf of
the sister churches in the city.
After listening to these inspir
ing addresses and seeing the
hospitable spirit we felt at
home, for truly these good peo
ple had our interest at heart.
Response was made by Prof.
I. M. Martin, the Sabbath
School Missionary of Catawba
Presbytery. Mr. Martin, in a
most pleasing manner, ex
pressed the Convention’s appre
ciation of these beautiful and
generous words of /welcome.
Just here, Dr. F. L. Brodie,
who organized the Sunday
School and church work at Ma
rion, made a few remarks, giv
ing some of the history of the
church, and telling of the open
leartedness and cordiality of the :
people. 1
President’s Annual Address, i
Mrs. J. M. Pride, the President
)f the Christian Endeavor, gave
a most enlightening address on
the work of the Christian En
deavor Society, telling of the be
ginning and growth of the Soci
ety. “This Society means service
tor Christ and the Church,” said
Mrs. Pride. “It is one of the
agencies that have done much to
train young people in Christian
service.” She urged the young
people to make the Bible their
Book of rules.
Prof. W. xl. Stinson, Presi
dent of the Sabbath School Con
vention, in his interesting and
thoughtful address, outlined
many steps essential and neces
sary for the intellectual and
spiritual growth of the Sabbath
School./He said: "People as a
whole do not possess the same
enthusiasm. They do not study
the Sunday School and church
as they once studied them. The
work,of the Sabbath School is
not ^Systematized so as to put
everybody to work. So many
of our Christian men and wom
en aSfe not trained -td'tio the
work placed in their hands.
There should be Teacher-Train
ing classes in every Sunday
School for the young people.
The ministers should accept re
sponsibilities, supervise the Sab
bath School and conduct these
classes, thereby helping to
train the people. The Sabbath
School Missionaries should con
duct Sunday School Institutes]
hot only to teach"7 the 'Wdtd trf
God, but to teach the system of
the Sunday School, for if a per
son is trained to do a thing, he
will want to do it.
Friday Morning
Song and prayer service were
conducted by Prof. I. M. Mar
tin, the Sabbath School Mission
ary. An enthusiastic and eager
spirit was manifested by offi
cers, leaders and delegates dur
ing an the sessions.
Bible Study was conducted
by Dr. J. J. Wilson. He read as
the Scripture lesson Eph. 3: 18
35. The lesson was divided in
to two main divisions, viz: 1.
Christ’s love for the Church. 2.
The Church gathered from the
hedges and highways by the
wondrous appeal of God’s Word.
This lesson was especially inter
esting and instructive.
Rev. J. C. Story, pastor of the
Presbyterian church (white), of
Marion, was introduced to the
Convention and accorded a seat
as corresponding member of the
Convention. Rev. Story gave an
interesting address telling of
the work and growth of his
church in the city. He made
special mention of the Young
People’s work. He said they
should be trained for service, for
the future leadership rests in
the younger generation.
Regular Order No. 5, the elec
tion of officers, was next in or
der. All the officers for the year
ending August, 1925, were elect
ed to serve another year. They
are as follows: President, Prof.
W. H. Stinson: First Vice-Pres
ident, Dr. A. W. Foster; Second
Vice-President, Mr. N. M. Potts;
Secretary, Dr. L. J. Melton, (per
manent) ; Assistant! Secretary,
Mrs. Hallie Q. Mayberry;
Treasurer, Dr. G. S. Leeper;
Statistician, Rev. H. Wilson.
Dr. F. T. Logan in an earnest
and impressive speech inducted
these persons into office.
The next feature of the pro
gram was the Departmental
Conferences with Rev. H. Wil
son and Mrs. J. M. Pride, lead
ers. Both meetings were con
ducted together so that all of the
workers could get the advantage
of all the discussions. Questions
and problems that are common
to all departments of the Sun
day School were discussed.
Training is keynote and ob
ject of these Conferences and
they are proving to be very
helpfiu features of the Conven
tion. Some of the discussions
were: “How Would You Get Pu
pils to Come to the Sabbath
School on Time?”This discussion
was led by Mr. W. R. Mayberry.
2. “How Would You Get Pupils
to Study the Sunday School Les
son at Home?” led by Prof. W.
H. Stinson. 3. “How to Interest
Pupils in Missions and General
Benevolence,” led by Rev. L. B.
West 4. “Point Out a Good
Way to Keep Sunday School
Records,” led by Dr. A. W. Fos
ter. 6. What Program Would
You Recommend for the Open
ing and Closing of the Sabbath
School?” This discussion was
led by Miss Annie Chresfield. 7.
“Hdw Would You Deal With an
Unruly Boy or Girl?” led by Mr.
I. M. Martin. 8. “What Should
the Superintendent Do While the
School is Studying the Lesson?”
led by Mrs. J. M. Pride. She al
son conducted a lively discussion
on the Primary Work of the S.
S. and the Christian Endeavor
and Missionary Societies. She
touched upon all the various de
partments of the Sunday School
and the ages of the pupils that
should be in these departments.
Friday Afternoon
This session was called to or
der by the Christian Endeavor
President, Mrs. J. M. Pride, and
constituted with prayer by Prof.
W. H. Stinson.
/
Order No. 7. The Woodland
church was decided upon as the
next place of meeting. ,
Order No. 9.—Election of del
egate to the School of Methods !
and Synodical Convention. Miss
Mary G. Thalley, of the Trinity
church, Marion, was unanimous
ly elected. Mr. N. M. Potts was
berry and Mr. I. M. Martin. Mr.
Mayberry gave an eloquent
talk on this phase of the work.
He said that the S. S. occupies
was discussed by Mr. W. R. May
and wields an influence in the
church we should be proud of.
in developing the Sunday School ?
we should arrange and organize
th various departments of the
Sunday School beginning with
the Cradle Roll. The Superin
tendent should organize and out
line the work of the Sunday
School according to the plan of
the Sunday School Board, giv
ing everybody some work to do.
Decision Day, Rally Day and
other special days should be ob
served in the Sunday School and
every School should hold Work
ers’ Conferences.
Mr. Martin in his masterful
address urged the Sunday
Schools to send all the Children’s
Day offering to the Sunday
School Board. He urged the
schools to use the literature sent
down by the Board. He also
said that each school should have
someone to welcome and keep
the warm and affectionate feel
ing existing in the Sunday
School, known as the hand
shaker. He urged each Sabbath
school to conduct a Daily Vaca
tion Bible School. It is a splen
did training for the children.
They are developed spiritually,
mentally and morally.
A paper, “Consecrated Lead
ership Essential to Ultimate
Success,” was read by Miss An
nie Chresfield. This paper was
full of beautiful and instructive
thoughts. “Leadership,” said
Miss Chresfield, “is the esential
in child play, among young peo
ple, high and low classes, sav
ages as well as civilized people.
Failure is the result of worldly
leadership. The true leader will
meet many hardships, trials and
crosses, but a consecrated lead
er, who is dedicated to God,
will lead on to victory.”
Order No. 6. Ur. Geo. :W.
Leeper, the treasurer, made his
financial report, which was re
ceived and approved.
Order No. 10. New Business.
The Convention requests that
all Superintendents send in their
(Continued on page 4)