Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Oct. 11, 1934, edition 1 / Page 1
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VOL. LV. CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1934. THE AFRO'AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN COUNCIL IN SESSION AT THE WASHINGTON STREET CHURCH, READING, FA., OCTOBER 11-14. By Thomas J. B. Harris, Executive Secretary, N. Y. City The Afro-American Presby terian Council of the North and West convened in its for tieth annual session with the people of Reading, Pa., on the above given date. This session was notable in many respects. An ever kind Providence smiled upon us and gave us ideal weather. Reading is the fourth city in size in the State of Pennsylvania and is noted for its various industries. Six different industries are carried on there. For this reason the people of Reading have not suf fered as severely from unem ployment as those in some oth er sections. The feeling between the rac es seems to be very cordial and fraternal and it stands among the few cities in the nation as an example or racial good will and fellowship. It had been 20 years since Council met here and the people of the church and community were eagerly awaiting our coming. Washing ton Street church in among the oldest of our church organiza tions, being 111. years of age, and is a pride to the people who constitute its membership, many of whom can trace their ancestry back to the persons who were the founders of the church. * On the organization of Council the Rev. Wm. Holloa way, J>. D.^ the^ijastor of the dntertaSn&g ' clltircfi*. wa$ chosen as President; Mrs. Lil lian E, Johnson, of St. John’s church, Detroit, Michigan, was selected as temporary clerk, and Mrs. Lucy A. Green, of Princeton, N. J., and Elder George T. Hawkins, of West Chester, Pa., were voted into office as members of the Exec utive Committee. The business of the Council then got under way, and from this point the work of the or ganization moved without a single hitch. Welcome address ee were extended to the body by Donald Palmer, chairman of the. Board of Trustees, for the local church; for the churches of the city by Rev. Matthew Hamlin, of Bethel A. M. E. church; for the Presbytery by j Dr. Harry S. Ecker, pastor of Olivet church, and for the city of Reading by His Honor May or Heber Ermentrout. The Rev. Leslie A. Taylor, of Plainfield,) N. J., responded for the Coun-‘ cil. Evangelism, Church .exten sion, Christian Education, So cial Service, Men’s Work, Wo men’s Work and Stewardship were the. subjects that chal lenged the minds of the dele gates who had assembled for inspiration and new ideas and methods of work. The leaders in the discussions were: Dr, Glasco, Rev. Geo. G. Ashton, Dr. Holloway, Mrs. Hester B. Lee, Dr. Imes, Elder P. Haw kins, Wendell P. Imes, Mrs. A. E. Bennett, Mrs. W. Mae Harris, Mrs. Florence Mabry, and Mrs. George J. Evans. Rev. Fairley reported on the State of the Country, being as sisted by Rev. H. R. Tolliver and Rev. Thomas E. Montouth. Dr. Colbert presented his re port on Statistics which showed that the churches were holding their own and making gains. The report on Necrology, presented by the Executive Secretary showed that two persons had passed since the laet meeting: Mrs. Mary Car roll Glasco, wife of Dr. B. F. Glasco, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and, Mrs. Irvin W. Underhill, Jr., in Cameroun, West Africa, and wife /of our beloved mission ary. * * Two addressee were deliv ered to the group assembled,: the first by Dr. John W. Lee on “Forty Years of the Coun cil and the second by Mrs. M. E. Ritzman, of Albright Col lege, Reading, Pa. The Friday night social feat ure was, as usual, a gala event.; This annual reception to the ministers and delegates serves: ae an occasion for good fellow ship. This joyful session was directed by Dr. Imes, the con genial pastor of St.. James church. We think before many more years this gifted -divine will qualify in the class of Mark Twain. But our good friend Bennett by no. means made a. poor second. Music was furnished by the church orches tra. Council endorsed the Wagner Costgan Anti-Lynching. Bill and commended it to the churches for like action. A con tribution was, made to the N. A. A. C. P. to help further their activities in our interest. The worship services were conducted on a very high lev el. Dr. Colbert, pastor of Grace church, Baltimore, Md., deliv ered the annual sermon at the opening of the Council on ac cpujt of Jj^«feag?ic« of Rev Coteman, of iWlroft,"MTchfgan, the retiring Pfbtf^dhtr Dr. Col bert ppoke; on “The Voiqe of the Trumpet.” Sunday morning the Council worshipped in the Olivet church of which Dr. Ecker is pastor. We were joined in this service of worship by Dr. Ecker and his congregation. Dr. Glasco was -he speaker'for the morn ing service and he rose to the height of the surroundings and in his usual and forceful way spoke to the subject: “What Will Solve the Church’s and the World’s Prob lems?” After a very clear ana lysis of the many things that have been tried unsuccessfully he pointed out that a proper adjustment of man to God was the solvent. At the evening hour we again returned to the same ed ifice augmented by the same congregation and theme com muned together in the final ser vice of the day. The Rev. A. E. Mitchell gave the communion meditation and conducted the distribution of the elements, assisted by Dr. C. B. Allen and Rev, E. A. Bennett and the elders of Washington Street and Olivet churches. Nothing like this had been seen before in Heading, it was tne forecast of a bettef racial understands ing with the Christian Church taking the lead. Dr. and Mrs. Holloway are doing a fine work at Reading. Dr. Holloway has tied up the work of his church to the com munity^ neec|3. Opportunities in civil, educational and politi cal life are being opened and the social application of the gospel is being practiced. Council * expressed its thanks to him and his fine people for every care ! and consideration shown during our brief stay. They were tireless in their ef forts to make us comfortable. As a sidelight we might say: no one seemed happier than Rve. E. A. Mitchell, of Phila delphia, because he had his bride with him. Well, that was (Continued on page 4) ATMOSPHERE HI THE CHURCH SERVICE By Goerge I. Tilton, In The terian Advance After fourteen years of ser vice as organist and choir-mas ter in Evangelical churches, I have had plenty of opportunity to observe the customs of those churches and the effect of those custom# on the church life of the people. Naturally I have formed definite conclusions, feel that the time has come for those who are interested in church life and affairs to speak out in certain terms. One of those conclusions is that, unless the Protestant Church changes her ways in certain instances, she is doomed to ultimate decay. The first thing that must be de stroyed is that enemy of all progress —prejudice. We must cease to shun things because other sects practice them. If a certain course of action is; shown to be beneficial, we should adopt it, regardless of whether or not another sect of which we may not approve is committed to it. In years past the Protestant Church has ig nored beauty and order, larger ly because the Liturgical; churches had beautiful build ings and orderly services. But that sort of thing can not go on. Prejudice has got to give way to reason. To begin with, we must change our conception of the church building itself. In many instances it has been regarded merely as an auditorium where people come together to hear a discourse, ofttimes political, or irrelevant to the worship of Qatt ictuses, entertainments, all sorts of things-are ly held in the church, when it should be set apart as holy ground. The church is conse crated to sacred uses, to things pertaining to the worship of God, and must be kept so. We can not otherwise train youth to have regard for holy things. Let entertainments and lec tures be held elsewhere, but keep the church free from all suggestions of worldliness. Many churches are devoid of anything remotely resembling religious atmosphere. The win dows are either plain or of some homely, inartistic design. “Sto ried” windows of stained glass are more fitting for the church. When a definite scheme of ar chitecture is desired, plain glass has its uses; otherwise let the windows be beautiful and ot such a character as to help the devotions of the people, v The old-style choir loft is an other of the abominations hap pily passing. We may well copy i the Anglican Church in our ar chitectural plans and ideals, a +hree-fold plan—nave, choir and sanctuary. The pulpit the lectern should be on either side of the chancel, v/ith the communion table or altar in the sanctuary. The cathedrals and many parish churches are cru ciform in shape, the transepts forming the arms of the cross, the choir and sanctuary form ing the head. And that brings to my mind another prejudice that many Protestants cannot seem to rid themselves of, that of opposi tion to the display of the cross. Our Saviour died upon the cross, and therefore there is no other symbol (so fitting for the Christian church, and there never will be any other symbol. I. could never understand the prejudice against the cross. It should be in and on every church. Vestments have a great deal to-do with creating an atmos phere conducive to worship. Contrasts in dress are eliminat ed, and the picture presented is solemn and dignified, as befits the church service. I favor the traditional vestments — the black cossack and white cotta. A certain amount of ritual is necessary to any gathering. There must be a definite order and a regular way of doing things, if confusion is to be avoided. Lodges recognize this necessity and there are several beautiful lodge rituals in use. If it >4 necessary and appealing in tneioage room, it is just as mu<fh so in the church. The ser vice, need not be laden with cert nony. Simplicity is always to lii desired. But there must be ; common rule of practice wh< re large numbers of people are brought together. If we kne si for prayer, sit for in stri ction/ and stand for praise, the, ^ritualistic problem will be soli) ed. A ud here the order of service must be considered. Each chupch is a law unto itself inso far |bs its order is concerned,and I f#el that this lack of unifor mity makes for confusion and general lack of interest. If each denomination had its own ordier, the members of each would feel at home in any church of that denomination, no matter where their might be. As it is now, the orcfer is different in each Pres byterian church, in each Meth odist church, in each Baptist and so on. That being the case, an.effort should be made to mdke the services as smooth and logical in order as possible. Iffttie governing bodies of the tis denominations would up and present two or _'rteommended orders yt service for their churches it would help considerably. The processional may have a great deal to do with giving the service a devotional tone. It should be simply done, as any thing suggestive of a “show” or a “stunt” is reprehensible. We go to church to worship God. not to witness a display; there fore everything which is done should conform to the one idea of worship. The music is a great help if properly done and if the right kind of music is used. Happily there has been a great change for the better in the music of the evangelical Protestant Church during the last decade. It is not necessary to use only the very heaviest kind of mu sic all the time, for the people will soon tire of it, and the church will only defeat its pur pose in the matter of elevating the musical taste of the peo ple. But the other extreme, the use of trite and trivial music to even more trite and trivial words should be discarded without hesitation. There is in existence much good music that is devotional, so that there is no excuse for cheapness. The prelude, despite the term, is the first order of the service, and not preliminary to it. It should be played at the time for the opening of the ser vice. It should be of such a character that the tone of the service is set by it. Here again, triviality should be taboo. There is a wealth of good mu sic suitable for preludes, and (there is no reason for using transcriptions of songs nor mu *ic that has secular associa tions. No suggestion of the world should creep into the church service, and the prelude may well set that ideal. Choral responses and choral amens, canticles and antiphons give the service added solemnity. If the doxology is used, the orig inal rhythm, as set out in the new Presbyterial Hymnal, is far more dignified than the (Continued on page 4) BY THE WAY Bp Unde Billie The color of the skin and the texture of the hair have noth ing to do with the capacity ol the mind; but obstacles can de lay the mind in its develop ment. Of all the Southern States that sent Negroes to Congress South Carolina sent more; but ;t was not because South Car olina Negroes had more of the qualities of statesmanship than those of any other Southern State, but because of the ad vantages that came to South Carolina slave Negroes on ac count of a divided attitude re ward the slave by some of the South Carolina slave owners. There was a small group in Charleston County and in the city of Charleston who were owners of large estates and Slaves numbering up into the thousands. Many of these slave owners were very closely relat ed by consanguinity to jquita an innumerable host of their slave chattel. In Charleston, some were sufficiently human to set at liberty many of their colored kinsmen and a number of others who had rendered faithful service. They provided schools for these Negroes; and, of course, this gaVe South Carolina a larger group of Ne groes mor^ intellectually fit! than the other Southern States. In the course of years quite; a large group of Negroes inj and of Charleston became school teachers foy the Negro! race in elementary subjects; aiid the. roosj;,. outstanding was Daniel Alexander Payne,, born in Charleston, February 24th, 1811 (two years after the birth of Abraham Lincoln). His mother and father were London and Martha Payne. In his autobiography, Daniel Alexander Payne says his fath er, who was a class leader in the M. E. church, dedicated him to God before he, Daniel, was born. This young, ambi tious youth worked at the car penter’s trade and studied dur ing the late hours of the night. He: was preparing himgelf to teach his people; and he op ened his first school in a house on Tradd Street in the year 1829 and received three dollars a month for teaching three free children and three slaves. It is said that he studied hard and taught many branches. In 1834, Payne sent two of his boy pupils to the country to find a viper and fetch it to him to be studied in zoology in the class room. The son of the owner of the plantation asked the two Negro pupils their mission; and on being told, the young white man hastened to his father and said to him: “Payne is playing hell in Charleston.” And the next year (1835) , two representatives from Charleston had a bill passed through the legislature of South Carolina, forbidding free Negrods or white people to teach either free or slave Negroes. This forced young Payne, at the age of twenty-four, to leave Charles toh. But he said: “I go, but I shall return;” and in 1865 he did .return and as one of the Bishops of the A. M. E. Church. Daniel Payne was a Negro of high ideals and aspirations; for when he left Charleston in 1835 he went to New York City in quest of an ed ucation that would fit him for a greater work God had for him. Here he met Alexander Crummell, a young colored man. He gave Cnimmel six of his only twelve doHars to help hini (Crumnael) to go to Ox ford College, England. Cnjm mel was graduated from Ox ford and became the first Ne gro Episcopal Rcetor m the United States. Ptfyne was sent to the Ijutheran Seminary m Gettysburg, Pa., from whah he was graduated. He was ad vised by the Lutheran minis ter to connect himsotf with the A. M. E. Church where his op portunities would be better for the development of his pow ers and where he could render greater service to his people. He then conducted a private school in Spruce Street, Phila delphia. In 1852, at the age of for ty-one years (and seventeen years after leaving Charles ton) Payne was elected Bishop o? the A. M. E. Church. In 1856 Payne went to Cin-.' cinnati, onio, wnere ne mar ried a widow with 7 children! At this time Payne was assist ant . Principal and a trustee of Wilberforce, a school that was conducted by the M. E. Con ference of that State, for free Negroes of the North. When the M. E. Conference convened in Cincinnati in 1862, Bishop Payne was there; and this Conference offered to sell Wliberforce to Bishop Payne for tbn ^thousand dollars, the amount they owed on the in stitution. The Bishop did not have , the money. He a^ked for time to" go to the Pittsburgh Conference; but his white M. E. Church brethren asked for “an immediate answer/' The Bishop said: “Let us pray.” *They Td! ktfrit mpray^ri-wwl on rising from his knees the Bishop said: “Without a dollar in my pocket I buy this proper ty in the name of Almighty God and the African Methodist Episcopal Church." He then went to Pittptyurgh, Pa., and got James G. Mitchell and Jas. A Shorter to move- to Wilber force, while he left for Eng land in 1862, where he remained for three years. In 1866 he re turned with seven thousand dollars. On the 14th of April, 1865, a message was received that Abraham Lincoln had been as sassinated, and at the same time that Wilberforce was burned. At this news it is said that Bishop Payne stuck his gold-headed cane in the ashes and said: “It went down in wood, but it will come up in brick," and it did, through the efforts and vision of one of South Carolina’s free Negroes, who left Charlseton because he was not allowed to give his people light; but he went where he could. Daniel Alexander Fayna had no white relatives to stand by him, as quite a number did in Charleston, in financial support as he struggled in the North to rise above the satanic plight that the legislature of South Carolina intended as an ever lasting fixity to hold his people in ignorance. His picture before me today as I write this arti cle, designates him as a man of pure African blood; but he is dead, and there are others, while the spirit of all Charles ton County, that a Negro “plays hell” if he is able to give his people light, yet. abides. The wise are instructed by reason; ordinary minds by ex perience; the stupid by neces sity; and brutes by instinct.— Cicero. Thou art in the end what thou art. Put on wigs with mi’* lions of curls, set thy foot upon all-high rocks. Thou abidest ever—what thou art>-—Johanrt Wolfgang Goethe.
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Oct. 11, 1934, edition 1
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