Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Oct. 18, 1934, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE FIFTY-FOURTH ANNIVERSARY CELE) BRATTON OF BlDDLEVHiE PRESBY TERIAN CHURCH The services in connection with the 54th anniversary of the organisation of the Biddle ville church were brought to a close on Sunday night, October 21st. The celebration began * on Monday night, October 15th. The opening service was in charge of the churches in Ca tawba Presbytery, The Rev. A. H. Prince, the pastor of the wide awake Brooklyn church, presided, and the choir from his church, in their beautiful new robes, rendered the music. The Rev. A. W. Poster, Ph. D., pastor of the Wilson Street church in Shelby, N. C., preached a very timely and im pressive sermon, based on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. The sermon gave a fine setting 1'or the services which were to follow in observing the anni-i versary. On Tuesday night there were reminiscences from the former pastorg of the church. The Rev. Dr. L. B. West was to have pre sided at this service, but was called out of town, so he gave his message to the congrega tion on Monday night. The choir from Seventh Street church rendered the music. We are happy to state that we had messages from all of the for mer pastors who are living. The following is the list of for mer pastors: Dr. H. L. McCro rey, President of Johnson C. Smith University; Rev. T. J. Smith, M. D., who is now a! practicing physician in the Dockery, D. D., pastor of Broad Street church in States ville, N. C.; Rev. A. A. Hector, of Richmond, Va., a member of Southern Virginia Presbytery; Dr C. H. Shute, Dean of the Theological Seminary of John son C. Smith University; Rev. R. L. Moore, minister in charge of Caldwell and Huntersville rural churches; and Rev. L. B. West, D. D., Field Representa tive of the Board of National Missions. All of these former pastors orougnt or sent tneir greetings. It was a delight to sit and hear the different pas tors tell of their experiences in connection with the church. Most especially was the mes sage of President McCrorey rich in its contents. Even though 35 years have passed since he served as pastor he re lated his experiences as if they happened only a few days ago. Not only was he able to recall incidents but the names of the individuals in connection with tne incidents. The church was organized on October 17th, 1880, hence Wednesday night was known as Anniversary Night. The an niversary address was deliv ered by Dr. G. W. Long, Pres ident of Coulter Memorial School, Cheraw, S. C., and the special music was rendered by the famous Coulter Memorial School Quartet. Dr. Long told of some of his early experienc es in connection with Biddle ville Presbyterian church when he was a student at “Old Bid dle" University. He spoke of the past accomplishments of the church, of its present work, and urged the church to take a forward look and in this for ward look endeavor to actually minister to the needs of the people who dwell in the imme diate community and get away from the traditional “Presby terian Exclusiveness." At this same service the Mayor of the city, Mr. A. H. Weam, brought official greetings from the city of Charlotte. We had the pleasure on Thursday night of having the Charlotte Interdenominational Alliance to conduct the ser vice. 11118 was, a very impres sive service. Rev. J. W. Heri tage, D. D., of St. Michael’s Episcopal church, presided. Rev. J. L. Powell, of, the Friendship Baptist church, preached the sermon and the vested choir from his church rendered most excellent music, and the Rev. Dr. B. W. Swain, Presiding Elder of the Char lotte district of the A. M. E. Zion Church, brought official greetings from the Alliance. Friday night the program was in charge of the young peo ple of the church. This pro gram was quite unique, being in the form of a Radio Broad cast. Musical and dramatic tal ent had been selected from the various churches of the city and from Johnson C. Smith University. The program was arranged by Miss Ionia L. Shute, the Director of Young People's Work in the Biddleville church. A reception and social was held in the Church Sunday school room on Saturday night. At this time the members of the church and their friends gathered for a social hour. Games were played, songs were sung and ^ refreshments in abundance were served. The young people of the church di-1 rected these activities. The highwater mark qf the; geMfiatldii 4fce--«av vice on Sunday morfting, Octo-, ber 21st. This was the Annual; Home-Coming Service. The sermon for this occasion was preached by Dr. B. F. Gordon, the Editor of the Sunday School Literature of the A. M. E. Zion Church. Dr. Gordon is an able pulpiteer and his message at this service was convincing and quite appropri ate. The burden of his message was: “Back to the Church, Back to God.” The choir of the Biddleville church rendered excellent music for this occa sion. i All of the gifts and offerings during the week were applied to the Structural Improvement Fund of the Church. The Ses sion and congregation take this opportunity to thank the many friends, both far and near, for the contributions they made to us during this week of celebration. Not only do we thank our friends for their contributions but we thank all who took part in the vari ous services held during the: week. Most especially do we note the beautiful act of the Brooklyn church on the open ing night, when their pas tor, Rev. A. H. Prince, presid ed. Not only were they present with their choir in full force, but a largo number of their p>emtfe^s were present; as a> matter of fact, there were more present from Brooklyn church than from Biddleville itself, and, in keeping with the fine spirit of Brookyn, the church contributed $7.50 in the offer ing that night. We want to say it loud: Brooklyn, We Thank You! Withvthis calendar year the Biddleville church is completing the first year of its ten year objectives, and in Jaunary will enter upon the second year pro gram. The first year called for completing a basement to house the Sunday school and give a, place for holding week day activities. We are happy (Continued on page £) NATIONAL NEGRO NON PARTiZAN LEAGUE ' ! • - - $ . By. Dr. KeUy Milled ' “What hag become of the National Negro Non-Partizan League which sprang up with euch flare of trumpets three years ago?” is a reasonable and expected query. But to male** tile inquiry complete an other query should be yoked with it: “What has become of the once flourishing Negro Re publican League?” The Non-Partizan League was organized in December 1931 under the inspiration and leadership of Congressman Os car DePriest. Its main object was to wean the Negro voter from hig one-sided traditional dependence and point out the wisdom of voting for men, measures and movements best calculated to serve the race and the nation. Overtures were made to Republican and Demo cratic National Committees through their chief representa tives, Senator Simeon Fess, of Ohio, Chairman of the Repub lican National Committee, and Mr. Jouett Shouse, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Democratc National Com mittee. Senator Fess’ response was equivocal and unconvinc ing. Mr. Shouse was more di rect and forthright and prof fered his good offices in bring ing our request to the full com mittee. Political exigencies of an embarrassing character arose in the meantime so tha the matter was never adequate ly presented to either commit tee during the national conven tions. \ When the national campaign DePriest resigned from the Presidency of the League to devote his chief political en ergies to his own Preelection and to the cause of the Repub lican organization. The League was thus bereft of its founder and dynamic leader. I was im pressed into acceptance of the Presidency ad interim. Mr. DePriest left his political chil dren at my doorsteps. As fos ter father I did the best I could. Members of the Executive Committee deserted the move ment and reverted to their first political love. The organi zation was left on my hands with no funds, political experi ence, and no enthusiastic col leagues on the official staff. I carried on as best I, could in the spirit of the aim and ideal of the movement. My efforts were confined wholly to the press. I contributed a weekly column to most of the leading Negro publications on the issues of the campaign. The tenor of my ar ticles led to the support of the Democratic rather than the Republican candidate on the patriotic and race loyal grounds that the Democratic candidate and platform seemed better cal culated to benefit the race and the nation. How influential my preachments were I am unab'e to say. However, the voters act ed in harmony with their prin ciples. It is generally conceded that the colored vote split in two comparable parts in the last election. In the approach ing election it now appears that the larger portion by far will follow the fortunes of the party in power. Roughly speak ing, one would say that those over fifty voted for past glory that was the G. 0. P. Those un der fifty followed the gleam of the new light. Who can quarrel with the older generation for adhering to Hie party which gave the race freedom, citi zenship and the franchise? But the younger issue that gained itg political experience under Taft, Harding, Coolidge and Hoover wjlJ not be guided by the traditions which captivated their ekhire. Since the older half of ttte generation must de crease while the younger half must increase, it is easy to pre dict our racial affiliation of the future. 1 While Hie National Non-Par-, tizan League has ceased to function as an organization, yet the residuum of its impulse still moves forward. The reso lutions adopted setting forth fundamental principles will stand out as perhaps the most important political document which h*s ever been issued from any-organization of col ored men, It stands out as the declaration of political emanci pation. It sets forth the doc trines tlpt must furnish the guiding Jrinciple of political ac tion. Henceforth the Negro must nof look for whatever po litical salvation there may bt in store for him to the Nprth, South, East or West, Republi can or Democratic party, but like the kingdom of heaven his salvation lies within him self. Pa|tizan political divisioi is only (skin deep—never race deep. Relativity of number, constitutes the political dis criminant. Where the Negro’s number*' are small, his politica privileges are unrestricted, bu> where they are large his re strictioifc grows severe. Thi Democrats of the North an every |i$hit as favorable to tht political rights of the race at are th| Republicans of thai section^Qn the other hand, tht ■fia^h|^|i]Rflp^ilicana of tht South (Lily whites, * "aTlf arc just as intolerant as the South em Democrats. If the race gains its constitutional prerog atives under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, it will be through propitiation oi local sentiment, and not by outside compulsion. A politi cally solid minority in a de mocracy not only places itseli in a dangerous position but it a standing menace to the whole people. This applies to the so. id Negro as well as to the solid South. Such are the doctrines laid down by the National Ne gro Non-Partizan League which were valid not only for the campaign for 1932, but equally so for 1934, 1936, and for many a campaign yet tc come. I know that comparisons art odious, but it will heighten one’s appreciation of this or I ganization to contrast it with tne narum-scarum harangues of its then rival, the National Negro Republican \ Lejague. Who among its upholders would not now willingly forget the knuckle close faith in a de cadent party which it tried to inculcate. It would have the Negro place his sole dependence on a prop which has since gi en way. AFRICANS NOT SAVAGES Philadelphia, October —. Speaking here tonight at a mass meeting of 12,000 people which crowded Convention Hall, cele brating the 71st Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclama tion and Negro Progress spon sored by Major R. R. Wright, Cfo*. ‘George Edmund Haynes, Executive Secretary, Depart ment of Race Relations, Feder al Council of Churches, brought “A Message from Native Afri cans to Negro Americans.” He said in part:_“A native woman in South Africa said to me when I was there in 1930, ‘You call us savages. We are no more savages than you *re. We are Bantu,’ a word which means people. “These people of the Bantu Tribes live all over Southern and Central Africa. They say. ‘We have our chiefs and kings and our councils of wise men which make up our government which we had before the white man came. We have our family -organization; we have our re ligious life; we believe that we are men and women; that black people are superior to other people.’ “In Angola, Portuguese West Africa, near the old fortress of San Salvador, where, the Por tuguese fought the Natives, where campaigns and battles raged for two or three genera tions before these people were conquered, and from which slaves were brought to Amer ica, I visited the present chief of one of the Ovimbundu tribes. He is now the vassal of the Portuguese government that controls the country. When I told him about some of the de scendants of his ancestors who 'had been slaves iin America^ but who had become freedmeu a i d were now advancing in ed ucation and wealth; and that we wanted to help them, he looked at me a long time and said, ‘You say that our people in America who have education and wealth want to help their brethren back in Africa? Well, why have they waited so long?’ ” LAY LEADERSHIP IN PRES BYTERIAN CHURCHES. Protestant Churches have been failing to deal adequately with the new situation in American Protestantism that has arisen from _ the develop ment, chiefly in the last half century; *of efforts of lawmen* both men and women, to give leadership in social, moral, and religious activities of these churches, says Dr. Leo. Vaughn Barker, in a book entitled Lay Leadership in Protestant Churches, published October the 15th by Association Press (New York). On the whole the churches have failed to provide or develop the training process es necessary to equip a large number of laymen to share sig nificantly in such leadership. In this book Dr. Barker pre sents the results of an inves tigation of more than eighty churches of all sizes from sev en denominations which he conducted under the auspices of the Department of Re search and Education of the Federal Council of Churches. Dr. F. Ernest Johnson, its Ex ecutive Secretary, who writes the Foreword, states that this is the most thorough study available in the field of Pro testant lay leadershp, and the only study based on objective | facts in regard to a large sup ply of lay leaders in represen- j tative local churches. Dr, Barker holds that lay leadership is implicit in the view of the Protestant Church, and that its continued devel opment is vital if Protestant churches are to meet the tasks that face them in society to day. He reveals a series of facts that show in detail not only where training is needed for lay leadership in the social and religious program of the churches, but also what kinds of training and experience are most likely to develop the leadership that is needed. He shows that probably the most important single means is a vi tal and interesting program fo' youth of high school age, which will intrigue them into sharing responsibilities at this age. He shows also that, contrary to opinion, the more active and more significant leadership of the churches tends to come from the younger adult mem bens. Although participants with some college education are only slightly more active on the average than those without such training, they exhibit a marked superiority as a group in nearly aU the more qualita tive indices of leadership. He shows finally the superiority of lay leaders when they have taken advantage of the special courses, lectures, and supervis ion provided by some church es. Dr. Samuel McCrea Cavert, General Secretary of the Fed eral-Council of Churches, states in this connection that “Dr. Barker’s conclusion as to the necessity for far greater atten tion to the training of laymen for the responsibilities which they should assume is one which the churches will ignore at their peril.” BY THE WAY By Uncle Billie The great events of the world, those that enrich the pages of sacred and profane history, germinat^, spring forth, thrive for long seasons, perhaps for centuries, from evil intentions or sordid mo tives. The motive of the Dutch in the slave traffic with the colonists at Jamestown, Va., 1619, was to incraese the riches of their treasures to the bursting point of their coffers, while the pur chasers were obsessed With a like ambition. There was no stipulation between sellers and buyers as to any advantages to be held out to human chattel that would lead such moveable property to real citizenry or to become an ignorant Christian— it these two te*mS do not con tradict each other. To take in the spirit of obe dience to master as an ever lasting fixity that cultivation of soil and harvesting of pro duction might make this coun try—not a foretaste of glory di vine, but glory divine, was the end of the means; but the mo tive was sordid beyond meas ure. Yet, today this once hu man chattel is allowed to move and sit in Pharaoh’s court and with the privilege of matricu lating in the University of Memphis to be trained in all the sciences of the Egyptians. He is accorded a place among churchmen of the first rank. In many instances his opinion is sought and is valid, even if not desired; but this was neither the intention nor the motive at the beginning. When Joe Jenkin, the En glish aristocrat of Edisto Island, forced South Carolina to take the humiliating step of secession in 1861, in Meeting Street, Charleston, and thus ig jnited the flame of one of the world’s most bitter, Godly | disorganizing conflicts, it was to perpetuate human slave -y in I a Christian, civilized country that won its freedom and left bloody footprints in the snow at Valley Forge, that wrote I freedom in their wake as vic ! tors. But the Southern Confedera cy fell on its own sword: the Union wag patched up in as many colors of opinions as those of Joseph’s coat; while the Negro sang, ‘‘You may have all the world; gimme Jesus;” For he, through s<.me divine in tuition, quickly realised what God had done for him as a , whole race in this country, 1 through the merits of Jesus : Christ. I “But as fqr yqu, ye thought i evil against mP} but God meant it Unto good, to bring it to pass i s it is this day, to save much people alive.” ‘‘He leadeth me.”
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Oct. 18, 1934, edition 1
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