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MAT 13,1926
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DR. H. B. TAYLOR ELECTED COMOSSIONER
TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Hte Ability Early Recognized by Washington City Presbytery
History of the Fifteenth Street Chnrch.
By Elder John Edgar Smith
Editor Africo-American Pres
byterian: We are presenting to
the readers of the Africo with
this article the likeness of Rev.
H. B. Taylor, D. D., pastor of
Fifteenth Street Presbyterian
churchy Washington, X). C. It
will be recalled that less than a
year ago Dr. Taylor was called
to the pastorate of this church,
whose organization dates back
to 1841.
Recently unusual honors have
come to Rev. Dr. Taylor in his
election by Washington City
Presbytery as one of the three
ministerial commissioners to the
General Assembly which meets
in Baltimore this month. -In a
field of six nominees Dr. Taylor
ran second. His election is all
the more worthy of note when1
it is recalled that of the forty
churches comprising this Pres
bytery, only three are colored.
ror so years tne ruteentn
Street Presbyterian church has
made itself felt in this commune
ity. On Nov. 21, 1841, in a little
frame schoolhouse located near
the corner of Fourteenth and H
Streets, Northwest, the present
Fifteenth Street Presbyterian
church was organized. The year
Frederick Douglass made his
first speech and started on his
great career Presbyterianism
among men of color in this city
had its beginning. The church
was formally received into Pres
bytery, May~8r 1842. - <&»***&*
This organization of a church
in a schoolhouse is indicative of
the close relationship existing
between the two, even in those
early days. Special literary
training, coupled with Christian
piety, is the first essential re
quired of the Presbyterian min
ister today. Of the 19 charter
members 18 were Presbyterians
when they enrolled in this new
organization. Thus it may be
seen that then, as now, the Fif
teenth Street Presbyterian
church made no attempt to
weaken other churches by draw
ing upon their membership.
Rev. John C. Cook was the
first pastor of the church; Dav
id Carroll, elder; and Charles
Bruce, Alfred Cook, David Car
roll, Clement Talbert and Wil
liam Prator, trustees.
Rev. Mr. Cook served the
church until his death, 13 years
later. During his ministry the
membership increased to 120,
among them being many of
Washington’s most influential
citizens of color.
Membership Increase
In 1857 Rev. Wililam Catts,
of Philadelphia, accepted the
call. During his pastorate nearly
a hundred persons joined the
church.
After his resignation, Rev.
Hiram Revels, afterwards Unit
ed States Senator from Missis
sippi, was elected pastor, but de
clined. An invitation was then
extended to Rev. Benjamin T.
Tanner, of Pittsburgh, to supply
the pulpit, and so satisfactorily
did he do so that on February
28, 1861, he was, by an almost
unanimous vote, elected pastor.
Rev. Mr. Tanner was subse
quently elected a bishop in the
A. M. E. Church.
Jttev. wmiam ts. Jiivans servea
as stated supply, from Novem
ber, 1863, until March, 1864,
when Rev. Henry Highland Gar
nett, of New York City, was
unanimously elected pastor.
During his pastorate here, upon
invitation, he delivered a ser
mon to the House Of Represen
tatives.
Following Rev. Mr. Garnett,
Rev. J. B. Reeve, of Philadelphia,
was unaiiiiwAnflip elected nas
tor* on April 13,gffijfl- He de
clined. <. Rey, J. H. Muse was
then employed as stated supply
for six months, following which,
on February 26,1868, Rev. Hen
ry Highland Garnett was again
elected. He declined and Rev.
J. Sella Martin was chosen in
his place.
Chaplain of Senate
Next came Dr. Sepimus Ques
tih, once chaplain of the Unit
ed States Senate; Rev. J. B.
Reeve, dean of the Theological
Department of Howard Univer
sity; Rev. George Van Deurs,
and Rev. John Brown, a Scotch
man.
The connection of Rev. F. J.
Grimke, D.D., with the church
REV. H. B. TAYLOR, D. D.
began in 1877, while he was yet
a student of Princeton Theologi
cal Seminary* In 1878, before
his graduation, a call was ex
tended nim which was accepted,
and save for three years, 1885
1888, spent in Florida in search
of health, he has continued as
pastor until the present time.
By an amicable arrangement
the burden of the work now
rests upon Rev H. B. Taylor,
D.D., his assistant, a classical
and theological graduate of
Johnson C. Smith University
(formerly Biddle) who is ren
dering very acceptable service.
Dr. Taylor began this active
pastorate of the church in June,
1925.
The church building at the
corner of Fifteenth and R
Streets, Northwest, is valued at
approximately $75,000 and is
free of debt. In addition, the
church owns its own manse
which it bought for cash last
year. The membership now is
approximately 500, and it is sig
nificant oi the present healthy
spiritual condition that 22 chil
dren on a recent Sabbath came
forward to join the church.
REV. S. J. ELLIS TO PUBLISH
BEAUTIFUL LYRICS AND
CLASS ROOM ACCESSO
RIES.
Dear Mr. Editor: It will prob
ably be of interest to the friends,
students and congregations of
the Rev. S. J. Ellis, the able and
versatile minister and Principal
of our field, to hear that he will
soon publish three beautiful ly
rics in sheet music form. It
may truly be said of each of
these songs as has already been
said by noted musicians con
cerning the first one to be com
pleted: “It is a beautiful num
ber and worthy of a place in ev
ery home.” The titles of these
beautiful numbers are “Mother,
She’s The One/’ “The Price of
Love,” and “Jehovah-Jireh.”
The first one is one of the most
beautiful find touching tributes
ever paid to mother. The sec
ond bears a special message, a
(Continued on page 3)
!
(Read at the last Workers’, Confefface, Chester, S. G.)
To my mind this is a very im
portant subject, seeing the con
dition of our churches through
out the country. It is a known
fact that during a revival many
people come into the church, but
very soon they drift away again.
One of the reasons is they come
into a dead church; the reception
is chilly; they are made to feel
that they are not wanted.
The second reason is they see
no gripping program of the
church and nothing appealing is
given them to do. This causes
many pastors to become discour
aged as year after year the
churches seem to be at a stand
still—non-responsive, dead and
ready for the undertaker. I say
many pastors give up hope of
quickening their churches, turn
aside to other endeavors and
treat the churches as side lines,
in doing this they have no mes
sage for the people and while
other churches are crowded with
anxious worshippers theirs are
forsaken and stand as monu
ments of shame.
How may we correct this con
dition ana enlist the devotion of
every member to this cause?
The mission of the church in
the world must be made clear
to every member. Some think
that to become a member of a
church is to build up a society
of “four hundreds” and boast in
the community that they have
the ‘‘cream in town.”J||gseibayi
ing this CoflCe^tiorrofthechurch
shut the dpor against the masses
and demand of every one seek
ing admission not an experi
mental knowledge of Christiani
ty but his social standing in the
community,
It must be clear to the mind
of every member of the church
that the mission of the church
is to give the gospel to the
world regardless of the man’s
color, condition or where he
lives. The man may be a jail
bird, a bandit, a drunkard, or
she may be the worse woman
in the community. Jesus is de
pending on every Christian to
bring the gospel to every out
cast. ,
Every member must know
that the mission of the church
is to establish upon the earth
those principles which will re
sult in the inter-racial, political
and international goodwill of the
world. First of all it is required
that every church member live
up to those principles and prac
tice them in his dealings with
men regardless of their nation
ality.
.Look at tne interracial con
flicts all over the world—race
against race; every race has its
own god, prays to him; but the
God who made of one blood all
men to dwell upon the face of
the earth is yet unknown.
The mission of the church is
to remove selfishness and crime
from the earth. Materialism is
enthroned. The cry is, gold!
gold! Selfishness is a cancer,
eating the souls of men and wo
men. Men are bent upon ad
vancing their own interests re
gardless of the sufferings it
brings upon others. The same
spirit is in the church today.
People have not the time to do
the Lord’s work, and those who
are best prepared feel that
church work is for those people
who have nothing to do. We are
experiencing what Paul meant
when he said, “Demas has for
saken me, having loved this pres
ent world.”
Having shown clearly the
program of the church, the next
thing is to prepare them to car
ry it out. Where shall we be
gin? We must begin where
Christ himself began, when the
program of- man’s redemption
was hagded Him. The Holy
Spirit descended upon Him, He
hit-filled and He in
sisted upon His disciples to have
prepare
uiem we (WK, xn turn the
y
, same
render him fit
to do tjp will of Jesus.
Ety insist tnat tne
it of all be Spirit
from his devotion to
and from the richness
ritual experience cause
it life to be born m the
memoenii
The Spirit exercises a twofold
functional quickening. First, He
acts like a dynamo, generating
in the loul spiritual energy,
thriving the possessed as Jesus
Himself was driven so that his
actions (were no longer his own
but Spifft-directed. This great
dynamt
with
ill urge to fellowship
7 The possessed will
live in spiritual atmosphere,
will haie a consciousness of
ee and fellowship
wiU be real and pleas
wonder writes John,
ich we have seen and
are we unto you that
ye fellowship with us;
our fellowship is with
and with his Son
ist.”
the Fat
t will not only he a
generating spiritual
be as dyna
mite in one’s life. The work of
the dynamite is to blast deep
seated and stubborn objects; ob
jects above the strength of or
dinary man.
Go to Stone Mountain where
the statues of heroes of the
civil strife are carved. There
will you see the dynamite work
ing, blasting solid granite, hurl
ing massive rocks hundreds of
feet. . I say it reverently. The
great dynamite tore up from
the breast of Jesus the spirit of
selfishness. In the three-fold
temptation it was an appeal to
His selfishness to be self-cen
tered, to use the God-given gifts
to forward selfish ends. I say
this was blasted out of His soul
and Jesus returned from His re
tirement where He fought and
won. He returned in the dyna
mo of the Spirit into Galilee
and His fame went before Him
from Dan to Beersheba; and
His public teachings were so im
pressive that they arrested
everyone who heard them and
communities followed Him to
hear the word of life.
me same quic&emug uuiu
ence which came to Jesus came
to His disciples. They were
Spirit-filled men. They went out
in the power of the Spirit; the
great dynamite broke down op
position and wrought so might
ily that thousands became obe
dient to the faith. Is that all?
They were men and women such
as we see walking on the streets
of our cities and in our pews on
Sundays. They lived in a ma
terial age. They were selfish as
we are today. That first great
work of that great dynamite
blasted out of them selfishness.
No man looked at his prosperity
as his own, but to be used for
the brotherhood and the evange
lization of the world. They had
fellowship with God and with
one another: they had one heart
and one purpose They attended
the school of Christ and were
indoctrinated into the principles
of the kingdom; they forsook
not the assembling of themselves
together.
The whole gospel must be
preached. It must be personal,
such as Nathan used when he
looked straight into the eyes ol
King David and said, “Thou art
the man,” bringing conviction
and repentance. This will
to have in the churches con
ed people.
A missionary gospel
also be preached. They
see that the gospel is the
hope of the world. They m
be led into the missionary spiril
by knowing the Home and For
eign fields. To this end the lit
erature of the Home and For
eign fields must be studied in
classes and the activities of the
general Church must be made
familiar.
A satisfying gospel must also
be preached. The gospel is suf
ficient to satisfy the craving of
the soul, to meet all its needs
and to give a certainty of a place
In the home of the blessed. A
man said to me the other day,
‘I know I am heaven bound; hell
was not made for me and it is
Dnly a matter of time when I’ll
put on the golden shoes and walk
the streets of the New Jerusa
That same man seldom
em.
attends church services and
gives nothing for the support
and spread of the gospel.
A social gospel must also be
preached. It Is not enough to
know that the gospel is suited
for the whole world. It is not
enough to be sure of heaven, but
one must be interested in the
remaking of this world and give
a helping hand to the man or wo
man who fell among thieves.
How easy to pass on the other
side!
It must be known that Jesus 1
is depending upon every one of
His followers to better the social
condition of this community^
The poor must have a living
wage; thejr must be properly
housed and have sanitation
ae~;geed a«r
the hill. Naked children must
be clothed and fed; and out
casts sought in the dives of sin
and brought back to the family
circle.
In preaching the whole gospel
each member will find his place
of activity and go about doing
good.
To this end the pastor must
humble himself before God and
confess and repent of his world
ly-mindedness and from the
depth of his soul beseech heav
en in fervent prayer for a Pen
tecostal shower in order that
his charge may see its duty
to the community and the
world at large. When the church
is quickened, men and women
and children off the streets will
be won; for every member will
go preaching Christ in speech,
action and living. There will be
no trouble to raise the church’s
budget; the Boards will no long
er borrow money to do the mem
bers’ work, but money will flow
into the treasury and not very
long the world will be won for
Christ.
BARBER COLLEGE
NEWS
By Myrtle Brodie
On Sunday morning, April the
25th, Rev. Rice preached an un
usually fine sermon t© us from
St. John 21 and the latter claus
es of the 21st and 22iid verses.
He urged each one of us to take
Christ as our guide and follow
Him through life.
The Presbytery of Birming
ham met April 14-18 at the
Mount Calvary Presbyterian
church of which Rev. Rice is
pastor. The teachers and stu
dents received much inspiration
from this Presbytery, for during
our devotional hour each morn
ing, we were favored by inter
esting talks from several of the
ministers.
Those who spoke to us were:
Rev. Henry L Peterson, D. D.,
of Memphis; Rev. D. S. Collier,
Okolona, Miss.; Rev. P. A.
White, D. D., Keeling, Tenn.;
Rev. W. M. Sample, Birming
air B .■<[**&
§*m, and Rev.
West Point, Miss.
’ On Sunday morning during
<W Sunday school hour, Dr. Ba
ker gave quite an interesting
t*llc to toe school. Space will
not allow me to mention all of
visitors, however we shall
keep in mind the wonderful and
helpful talks given by the
friends and members of this
Ptesbytery.
The Program Committee of
East Tennessee Synodical Con
vention and School of Methods
met at Barber College on April
21 to make out a program for
the ensuing year and to malty
plans for the School of Methods.
During this time, Mr. JT. M. Som
erndike and Dr. A. B. McCoy
were with us and gave short
yet helpful talks.
Our chorus rendered for the
Presbytery and also for the
Committee a program, and Mr.
Sorrierndike showed his appreci
ation of the music by treating
the7 chorus and students to ioe
cream, which well repaid tile
chorus for their efforts.
Since the arrival of spring
and her cohorts which have
made the campus a place of
beauty, our vesper services are
held out of doors. The blue
sky, the stars, and the moon
over -us express silently God’s
love and care for us. On a re
cent Evening after several spir
ituals had been Sung by the stu
ients, Miss Mary Doolittle ex
jressed in choice words the beau
;y'of music and told how we
should keep music in our lives
m order to have an all-round
ife.
Several evenings ago the play2
entitled, “Nothing But Love,”
in connection with it the Senior
class of the High School De
partment gave a social. The
evening was spent pleasantly by
all who were present.
During the . month of March,
the Silver Medal Contest, to
which the students had long
Looked forward was held in the
chapel. Each speaker was at
her best, and the judges de
clared that each deserved a
prize, though the medal was
given to Myrtle Brodie. The
contest with the remaining girls
was held a few days later andi
Ida Scott Cooper was the win
ner of this. At present the stu
looked forward, was held in the
Gold Medal Contest which will
be held some time in May. The
speakers in this contest will be
only those who have won the
Silver Medals
The Erathomeus club is hav
ing some most interesting meet
ings now. Several lovely po
ems written by Miss Smith, one
of our advisors, were read at the
last meeting. A better place
for a poet could not be found
than Barber.
Our Y. W. C. A. meetings are
very peppy. Our Dean, Miss
A. Kinniburgh, talked to us at
the last meeting about ‘The
Ideal Girl.”
All that can be heard upon
the campus now is “Commence
ment” which will take place on
May 25th. We are hoping to
end up this term .with great ac
complishments.
The last monthly concert was
given by the chorus Sunday,
April 25th. Special mention
may be made of the following
pieces, “The Heavens Are Tell
ing,” by Haydn, “By the Waters
of Babylon,” by Coleridge-Tay
lor, and a vocal solo, “His Al
mighty Hand,” by Miss Helen
Jones.
The closing exercises of Red
Stone Academy, Lumberton,
will be held May 13th-19th.
Sunday, May 16th, the annual
sermon will be preached by
Rev. P. P. Johnson, of Maxton.
The graduating exercises will
take place Wednesday, May 19,
at which time the annual ad
dress will be delivered by Hr*
C. H. Shute, of Johnson C.,
Smith University,
so ? ■' ' - . i. i'f *, ifMtis-; 3