gttyriwfty !***£*? CHARLOTTE, N. C. VOL. L. ^ ■: SEJWS^ ^^•3r5''-vV> - yijwKpBy?: IgSakjffiBSffi;': .q ;a./?.«()«■■•-,(*,; 4:;. MAKE TOO FREE."—John vfli, SS. •AT, JUNE 7,1928. CJt **?&>$*« COMMENCEMENT AT HAINES INSTITUTE Tuesday evening, May 22, at 8 o’clock, 43 Seniors marched up the aisle of the beautifully decorated chapel to receive di plomas of graduation. The ' commencement address was delivered by Dr. George Cleveland Long, of Chicago. His beautiful tribute to Miss Lucy C. Laney, the founder and pres ent head of Haines, and his ap peal for co-operation of the com munity with what he terms the greatest secondary high school in the country . were forcibly made. The commencement speakers were Martha Whitehead, who spoke on ‘The Tragedy of Ig norance;” James Mason, “The World Opportunity,” and Sadie Green, “A Forward Look.” Each speaker crowned himself and herself with honor by the mas terly way each handled the sub ject. The commencement music was all that could be desired. The friends and patrons of the school recall no commencement when the music was better. By request the hallelujah chorus was sung again commencement night, halving (previously been! sung on baccalaureate Sunday-1 The technique of Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Tutt seemingly radiat ed through the voice of each of the 60 members of the chorus. The following prizes are of fered for proficiency in the va rious branches of study in the high school: The Elsie Johnson Memorial Prize of ten dollars in gold for oratory was awarded Ida Car* - ■ ■ • ...«>•» If"****'.— • The Henrietta McNatt Memo rial Prize of five dollars in gold for oratory was awarded Ruth Plair. The Negro History Prize, a gold medal, was won by Mary Elizabeth Carter. The L. R. Burroughs Prize of two dollars and a half in gold was awarded to Bessie Henry, The Corine Robinson Memori al Prize of five dollars in gold was awarded Sadie Green for the best work in the Department of English. The Parmelle Jefferson Phy siology Prize of two dollars and a half in gold was won by Julius Foster. The N. M. Griggs Scholar ship Prize, a gold medal award ed to the student making the highest average for the year, was won by Ellena Yerby. Senior Honor Roll Sadie Green, scholarship to Atlanta University; James Ma son, scholarship to Lincoln Uni versity; Leola Dugas, scholar ship to Talladega College; Mar tha Whitehead, to Atlanta Uni versity; William Mason, schol arship to Knoxville College; Ruth Plair, scholarship to Tal: ladega College, and Ruby Evelyn McKinney, to Knoxville College. Rev. A. C. Griggs, Treasurer, presented the diplomas. The class of 1919 presented the school a receipt for one payment on the athletic field. The Haines Auxiliary, of which Mrs. Charity Green is Presi dent, made their usual contribU bution to the school. They also secured a contribution of $150 from the city council which helped to meet some of the out standing responsibilities of the institution. The Macon League remem bered us with a tidy sum. TT»iru>« feels especially grateful to those friends for their gift of $100. The Lucy Laney League, of New York City, under the lead ership of Mr. C. C. Davis has given to the school during the scholastic year the sum of $450. There is no work being done anywhere by any similar group to be compared with that of thin League. The greatest opportunity forJ- philanthropic work today is in the direction in which this group of Haines’ friends is leading. The Auxiliary and the League have been Miss Laney’s unfailing friends during her many years of struggle to build for her peo ple a school that stands high in the character and equipment of its teaching force and in the thoroughness of its educational work. The torch thrown to her grad uates has been carried into all the Southern States and into all the States of the Union. Haines school is on Georgia’s accredited list of High Schools —group 1. Tuesday evening the curtain dropped on one of the best commencements ever witnessed at Haines. In spite of the many reverses in finance and the lire, the students rose to the occasion and eclipsed all previous records for closing. Dr. Imes, of New York City, left a lasting impression on the students and friends who were privileged to hear him on Sun day, May 20th- Below is an account of his wonderful mes sage taken from the Augusta Chronicle, one of the leading daily papers of the South v Sermon to Graduating Class at Haines. The baccalaureate sermon de livered by Dr. William Lloyd Imes on last Sunday at Haines Institute has provoked much favorable comment on the part df^itfcams^wfco 4W*r«rfijrtu nate to hear him. The older citizens say that it was the greatest sermon from any angle that has ever been delivered in this city. At any rate he knows the art of graceful expression with clean phrases and no frills. It was just long enough to leave the thoughts with his hearers. The sermon follows: The Higher Versus the Lower Levels of Life. Text: 11 Timothy 4:13, “The cloak, which I left at Troas with Carpus, bring with thee when thou comest, and the books, but especially the parchments.” Life has its lower and its hi gher levels- Commencement day is a good time to think of these levels, and to choose for ever for our part the higher and nobler way. Paul in this ancient letter written to a young com rade in the ministry of Christ, shows unconsciously, but sure ly, how one who has lived for the higher things revealed his character in what might be thought only a chance remark. The Cloak Level. When Paul asked his young friend to bring the cloak which he had unintentionally left at his host’s home, he indicated that even though he was an apostle, and interested in spir itual matters most of all, he had bodily needs. We all need food, and clothing and shelter, and the material comforts of life. But the pathos of human life is found in the multitudes who only live for these material things. They never seem to get above the cloak level. We had rather you would never get this world's material rewards at all, young graduates, than for you to neglect weightier matters. The words of Jesus still hold true, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt.” We honor those who have ma terial possessions if they acquire] them honestly, and use them righteously; but if they stop there, how pitifully poor they are, and how unsatisfying their best achievement must be. - The Boek Level. - - But the- apostle was not only interested to be keptwarm and protected with material well-be ing its illustrated by the cloak. He was a lover of books, and possessed as many of - them' as his limited means would allow; The book may well represent the labor of others which we fortunately share when we read what they have experienced and recorded for our infoma tion and instruction. And this is a higher level than that'of the cloak, for it means the strength of the mind as over against the strength- of the body. Here also, too, many stop content. They are like King James the First, whose learning was great, but who, with it all, was called the wis est fool in Christendom. He, like many others, before and since, lived only on the level of the book. He took his opinion from others. He never thought for himself. Those who go out from this famous institution will honor it more, if they are wise, by carrying out with them a vastly larger equipment than mere books can give. Only to know the contents of books is to ha^e but the shadow of true learning. One who knows all the infor mation of the world apd yet who does not know life itself is absolutely an uneducated per son. With all our hearts, young people, we bid you take from these sacred walls something finer than the things of the book evel. Life will be the bet ter for you if you do more than learn from others. And this is the reason. | | . And what are these higher things? Well, they may be summed up in what Paul meant he had laid emphasis upon the things he wanted most, for he said plainly, “especially the parchments/’ That means, w,e may take it, that if everything else had to be left behind, he would rather have had the parchments than all other pos sessions, And in this he was not only right, but he teaches a magnificent lesson to you and me today. Dear graduates, you are going out to give your best to life, some to pursue study, some to engage actively in work for the busy world. And far above your needs of mate rial welfare, or your possessions that others have achieved for you, will be the things that you create yourselves, the parch ments of your lives. This is what parchments are. They are the things you yourself put your life into, and which you, by your own appreciation and love, cause to come into being for the bless ing of our own life and of the world. We wish you nothing higher than this, that you may produce lives that are like the “parchments” filled with your own noble living and your on ward direction into way of righteousness. May God richly bless you and give you this desire and its ful fillment. Class Roll. Rachel A. Baldwin, Frankie V. Bates, Marion D. Bussey, Willoughby E. Carter, Joe fid die Coke, Willie Mae Davie, Le ola E. Dugas, Lucile M- Evans, George R. Evans, Aliffe I. Ellis, Joseph S. Fisher, Geneva H. Fri erson, Harry G. Gartrell, John D. Gartrell, Russell D. Golding, Frank S. Greene, Arnydia C. Greene, Sajdie Mae Greene, Charles G- Harris, Julian B. Har ris, Nellie M. Hamilton, Eliza beth Johnson, William M. John son, Oscar B. Johnson, Virgil A. Jones, Martinez L. Jones, Lucy F. Lamkin, William J. Mason, James M. Mason, Theodore R. Mathis, Gussie E. McLeod, Eve lyn M- McKinney, Edna R. (Continued on page 3) ’’ Robert Dick Wilson, of Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J. ce of an address deliv at the National Bible Insti arinted from “The Bible m “But we speak the wisdom of God |n a mystery, even the hid den r*—i — dsdom, which God or , before the world unto Which none of the of this world knew: for ey known, they would ve crucified the Lord of But as it is written, th not seen, nor ear neither have entered into of man, the things God hath prepared for it love him.... But God ealed them unto us by for the Spirit search things, yea, the deep thing! of God. For what man knowfth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God khoweth no ifian, but the Spirit of God” (I Corinthians 2: 7, 8, 10, 11). “God, who at Sun thing God’s dry times and m divers manners spake' in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these days spokeiTTmto us by his whom he hath' appoint ed heir of all things", by whom also $e made the worlds (He brews^ 1:1, 2). I d^ not pretend to know any lit all of "myself about of salvation; I do not in the wisdom of .. v that theology, the knowledge of God and His saving and com forting work, must come from God Himself. That is theology. What the wise men of this world think about God is psy chology, or anthropology, or something of that kind. I my self cannot give it the great name “Theo.” I was seventy-two yesterday, and, my friends, through all these long years of study of the Word of God and of other things, I have been led to believe more and more that there are no phil osophers of mere “humanity who have spoken out of their own earthly wisdom, and no found ers of religious systems, that have ever stated just such truths, so comforting and illum inating as I Corinthians 2:7, 8, 10, 11 and Hebrews 1: 1, 2. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Some men seem to be; some Christians so-called, seem to be; but I think it is the hope of the world, the hope of every one of us. Why should we not tell it abroad? I like to tell this hope out of my own experience. Everybody talks of psycholo gy in these days; everybody has a psychology of his own. I do not go to pneurotics for psy chology; I get a knowledge of what I call "common-sense psychology. I try to sink a well into my own mind and experi ence, first Of all, and judge all things. Everybody is more or less insane, and if you want to get a good insane person to in vestigate,. just try yourself first. Then, we all like to talk about our opinions as if they were common sense. There is a com mon law by which we adjudicate in the courts, and there is a common sense by which we ad judicate society. There are the conventions of society and law, and there is such a thing as common sense. Now I have entitled this lec ture “Common Sense and the Bible," because there are some common-sense truths about the Bible, as there are about every other book, and about every so ciety, and everything in life. We are ruled largely by common sense and common-sense opin ions. Some of you may be aware that there is a great historical school that has denominated it self “The School of Common Sense.” One of the fundamental principles^ of this school is that every ancient document is to be taken at fts face value fifst; that is, its own evidence is tfce best there is, and the burden of proof lies upon the person who assails that which it contains. This school holds that every document is supposed to be true, and to tell the truth. The authors are supposed to have been honest men, and what is recorded is presumed to be ac cording to fact, until it is shown by evidence that it is not ac cording to fact, A Common-Sense View of Rove-, lation, Inspiration, and Illum ination. I am going to give this lecture just as if l were going to give ten, and this were the introduc tory lecture. l am going to speak on three points today,- a com mon-sense view of revelation, inspiration, and illuminaitibh. I. Revelation:; My firsb effort as ,a. waiter, was on the theme, “Is a. Supernatural Revelation Necessary?” I got the best works on th,e subject to be found in the Seminary li brary, and read, up on that sub ject, wrote my essay, and I concluded that it was necessary for two great reasons: from the nature of God and from the, na ture of man. As to nature of God, I think this passage in Corinthians makes that r very clear. (I am telling you now why 1 believe. You may have other tffls: First- Episttr to fhe Corih thians, lays down a common sense view in regard to this sub ject. You can all go away believ ing that, if there is a God, ‘‘The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” That seems common sense. Now you may think you know me, but I tell you one thing: if you do, yon know more than I do. I fy,y think I know you, but if I do, I know more than you know yourself. Who knows himself? Who knows the heights of good or the depths of evil in us ? Wait until God casts you off, and you will say, “My God, my. God, why hast thou forsaken me?” God is a person, He has a mind and intellect, He has intelli gence. Even the heathen, like Plato, believe that God had- mind and purpose, that He was the First Cause and Father of us all, as He said. Where he got these ideas, whether he got them from the Jews, I do not know, but he clearly enunciates, a God of intelligence, wisdom and pow er. Now man can g/1 that from his works. You |Han 'learn a great deal from a 1 arson by his works, and perhdt* from the company he keeps, for that is one of! his works. What we want, we feel within our hearts, is to know about God. I do not know how it is with some of. you gray-haired people like myself, but as I get older do I think less of God? Some people are afraid to think of God; do you know that? The human heart cries out for God, and finds no rest until it finds that rest in Him. Now, we want God. I want him, at least, and I am talking about myself, as I told you. 1 always wanted God, and I have been hunting through all the literature of the world to find Him. I studied comparative religion back there in my fourth year at the, Semi nary. 1 studied Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Moham medanism, Parseeism, and all the “isms.’vOf course, I had a three-years' course already in theology, and at the .same time was perusing “The Creeds of Christendom,” by Dr. Sehaff, formerly of Union Seminary, and so I had a pretty you know, of ; the theology of the Church. Revelation Unknown toother. K) Religions. Now a revelation is something people of other religions do- not tiave. Some do not purport to know that there is a God at all: Confueius did not know; Bud dha did away with God; others did nbt pretend that God had spoken to them, they just gave their thoughts about, God. The philosophers , of India, China> Greece and Rome had a great, many things to guess and con jecture about God, apd I tell you . i would not trust them. I never heard of a mere man that I. would trust to know anything 5 (Continued,on page 2). MEETING OFcLE VERE PRESBYTERIAL. The annual meeting of the Le Vere Preisbyterial Missionary Society was held recently at the Leonard Street Presbyterian church, Chattanooga, Tehn. For the first time in the history of the organization, every society within the bounds of the Pres bytery wasr represented, with the result that the attendance was the largest ever. After an inspiring devotional service, led by Mrs. M. F. Bar ber, the President " Mrs., E. M. . Downer,,called fori 'pports from, the vaious fields* These reports showed that marked progress, had ibeen. made during the year. Every society saye one j»aid its full benevolence, quota, fend the Society as a whole paid, more Jhan the amount asked., ivJjJrov v/I tfle UixalllZallDIi $ showed a growth, in member ship also, and the reports indi cate a larger activity in mission study classes and the use of lit erature giving missionary infor mation. It was pleasant to note . the presence of representatives of Light Bearers and, other young people’s organizations. An outstanding feature of the afternoon program was the re port given by Mrs. E* M. Down? er, of the meeting of the Bien nial at San Francisco. It was an impressive message. After reports from the various com mittees were received, the fol lowing officers / were/ chosen to serve the next two,years: President, Mrs. M. F. Barber, Chattanooga, Tenn. Vice-President, Mrs. 0.. C. Wallace, Alcoa, Tenn. Secretary and Treasurer, Mrs. C- L. McDade, Knoxville, Tenn. Corresponding Se&etary, Mrs. N. W. MOore, Chattanooga, - Tenn. Secretary of Literature, Mrs. Mabel Kirksley, Knoxville, Tenn. 'v' Secretary of Missionary Edu cation, Miss Ruth Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. Secretary of Associate Mem bers, Miss Bonnie Leabough, Moryistowh, Tenn. Secretary of Stewardship, Mrs. Octkvia Bone, Knoxville, Tenn., Secretary National Missions, Mrs- Hattie McGhee, Knoxville, Tenn.? Secretary of Y. P.' Council, Mrs. W. W. Young, Chattanoo ga, Tenn. A popular meeting was held in the evening, yrhich was large ly attended. An address was delivered by Mrs. E. M. Down er, who retired as President of the Presbyterial after ten years of splendid service. As a token Of appreciation,, Mrs. Downer was presented with a lovely vase of silver, filled with roses and snap dragopf. A brief but interesting p1$ylf$ ^as given by local talent, after which the meeting adjourned to meet next year in Maryville, Tenn. NINA W. MOORE, r . Corresponding Secretary. -

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view