pSSm jTRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.*-Jobs viii VOh. LVL ►AY, MAY 9, 1935, ifnjfcj i LJK \ SB ^B - ^B / ■ r I I IL Ji MKBpI B Bf 1 , [•ii T.a SERMON AT FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF ST, JAMES CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY Preached by Dr. Maitland Bartlett, Stated Cleric, Pres bytery of New York, Sunday, April 28. Text: “Wherefore criest thou to me? Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward." Exodus 14:15. **'%*» , . I am very happy to be here today to bring you the greet ings of .the Presbytery of New York upon your fortieth birtn day. 1 am anxious than tint should be more than a greeting; for while l have not oeen au thorized to do so, I would bring you a message from us all. First, however, let me recall to you something of the his tory of this your own church, l am wondering if there are any here today whose memories go hack to its beginnings. If so, you must be looked upon as fathers and mothers in Israel, and you will remember the work of Dr; Pierce Butler Thompkins, through whose efforts it was effected. Yet even then you had a forerunner in the Shiloh chuich, which, after a some what difficult time, had been dissolved by Presbytery in 1891 There were a few members of that church who could not find church homes elsewhere. They were Presbyterians by inheri tance ‘and Presbyterians they wished to remain. After their meeting place on 26th Street was closed they met in homea( for prayer meetings until at last they were gathered togeth er by Mr., Thompkins, who was a licentiate of this Presbytery and who constituted himself a missionary to this gtoop. ^ _ There was one interesting item that I chanced upon in delving into your history. When tfte Shnoh church was sola a new congregation was being formed on the upper west side known as the Lenox Tresbyte nan church, it is possible, al though the records do not clear ly show this, that some of the proceeds of the sale of Shiloh church, which went to tin. church Extension Committee were used to help in the new enterprise. The Lenox church did not endure for many years and it was finally merged with the congregation of the St. .Nicholas Fresbyterian church, whose building you now own. This is a bit of reconstructed history which I have not been able to verify. The little group which was the remnant left of the old Shi loh church became a united band and they held meetings in the parlor of Mrs. Wm. Lively and formed themselves into a socie ty that held religious services every Sunday and finally rent ed a place known as Odd Fel lows’ Hall, 108 W. 32nd Street, where they held their stated services and carried on their ac tivities. Kev. H. G. Miller preached to them occasionally. After a time Rev. P. Butler Thompkins, a graduate of Lin coln University, and a student in Union Theological Seminary, was invited to their hall to preach for them. They were so pleased with his enthusiasm and his devoted Christian spir it that, they asked him to preach regularly for them. It was not long before he organized the little group into a church 01 eleven memDers. Let us call me roll. They were the founders of this church: Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Wells, Dr. and Mrs. Lively, Mrs. Hattie Morris, Mr. and Mrs. Hallet, Green, Mrs. P. D. Blackwell, Mrs.' Bundy, Mrs. Anna Wells, and Mr. Thomas Thompson. Mr. Thompkins be came their pastor but would not accept a salary. Mrs. Lively gave this newly formed organ ization the name, “The New Presbyterian Church." This was a venture of faith on the part of the pastor With a little group, with no assured salary, he labored unceasingly. The little group increased'from 11 to 44 and was organized as a church of Presbytery on April 26th, 1896. The Committee of organization sent, from Presby tery were Drs. Buchanan and Rossiter and Mr. John McWil liams. In July of that year, up on the recommendation of Pres bytery, the name was changed to “The St. James Presbyterian Church.” In 1898 the group We rejoice with yew in the church history that you have been able to write during these years. While it has been hard for you at times, as we look at you today we realize that it ha& been marked by ever-growing usefulness, and never during these forty years have you been as flourishing as you are today. I dd not say that you are strong er. Strength resides not in num bers. It resides in this—that God is with you. "Apart from me ye can do nothing.” There might have been as much strength in those eleven man bers in whose hearts St. Janies was born as in the host of those who make up your communion, today. But Gpd has been witn| you always. He has widened! your bounds and enlarged youM borders. You are singular^ ST. JAMES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY Dr. Wm. Lloyd Imes, Pastor. moved into a larger hall on West 32nd Street, and set themselves tirelessly to the work of raising a building fund for the purpose of erecting or purchasing a church edifice. Two good friends of the church in those days were Mr. Constant A. Andrews, President -of the United States Savings Bank, and Rev. George Alexander, of the University Place church. How many are there in this city who were be friended by the sainted Dr. Al exander? By the early summei $12,000 had been raised and they pledged themselves to raise $50,000. By the fall of 1901 their fund had grown to $42, 000. Dr. Thompkins’ arduous work had "taxed his strength and in the autumn of 1901 hi* health began to fail. He lin gered during the winter and in the spring he entered into rest He left behind a church that had been firmly established. From the little group of eleven had grown under the guidance of God a church that in Febru ary, 1903, purchased the prop erty of the West 51st Presbyte rian church for $40,000. Here for eleven years you carried on nobly under the pastorate of Dr. C. LeRoy Butler, who more firmly cemented together your organization. In 1911 Dr. Butler was succeeded by Dr. Lawton, who continued as pastor until 1915. But the parish was mov ing from this neighborhood and in 1914 the Church Extension Committee procured a property on 137th Street and upon it built a new church at a cost of $56,509. Your old property was sold for $40,238 and the balance of the cost was borne by the Church Extension Committee. Here you worshipped for thir teen years. For ten years your pastor was Dr. Frank M. Hy der, until in 1925 Dr. Imes, your present pastor, came to vou and has been your able leader for these last ten years. Dlessed in your leadership. Your pastor has taken his place iu the life and work of tne Pres bytery. He has brought you all with him and today we count iSt. James as one ot the pillars of the faith in this vast city oi iN'ew York. While such an anniversary must, be tilled with rejoicing for us all, if will not do to think today only in retrospect. We must think of the future. There lie yet larger things before you. When the children of Israel stood on the shores of the Kea Sea with the hosts of Pharaoh pressing hard upon them God’s message was this: “Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward.” They could do this because of what lay behind. God had been with them through the past days. He would not leave them now when the peril was upon them. I can say to you now, as you stand upon the threshold of another decade of service, that I hear God saying today, “Speak unto the people of St. James that they go for ward.” I have confidence that as you think of the past you will not hesitate. I have no fears for the days to come. There are some reasons for the assurance that 1, perhaps, realize more than you do. l. You come of a race that is characterized by a deep fervor of religious experience. It is a great blessing and a wonderful heritage. You may nor: always be true to it. Always it has marked the history of your people. How often I have cov eted for the men and women of my own race something of this fervor of religious faith which comes to you by inheritance. We have it at times and in cer tain periods, but it does not cling to us as it clings to you. I think this is one of the great contributions which you bring to us in our common task. In (Continued on page 4) SWAPPING THE DEVIL FOR A WITCH i; i ?I V By Dr. KeUy Miller In a recent release I recalled w the colored people, under leadership of the N. A. A. united as they have never e or since, in effective pro against the connrmation Judge John J. Packer, nomi ted by President Hoover as lustice of the Supreme Court, here are two things for which L Hoover's administration was nounced and preeminent — t, his proneness to foster wealth and power, and second, his coolness and indifference to wards the political rights of the colored race. Judge Parser was ipposed to reflect both of these ltudes in the superlative de His outspoken attituck t the constitutional rights Negro aroused the whole PRCe in antagonism against his ^onflrmation.- On the other hana, i m the franchise. The practical efteet of tl.is decision will be to elim inate the Negro from participa tion in the selection of persons to be voted for, under Federal sanction, the same as hitherto prevailed under sheer chicanery, it gives judicial sanction to a sinister procedure. Although this decision was reached by unanimous concurrence of the nine Justices, nevertheless, the fact that Judge Roberts was chosen as mouthpiece indicates that he must have played a lead ing role in advocating and bring ing about this decision. The Negro is certainly no better oil under Justice Roberts than he would have been under Justice Parker. jnow let us see now labor nas been requited by this substitu tion. Justice Roberts, up to the Railroad decision, formed the balance of judgment between the four conservatives and avowed, progressives on the Su preme Bench. He has thrown the weight of his judgment on the side of the progressives pro ducing the famous 5 to 4 de cisions which have upheld Pres ident Roosevelt’s “JNew Deal.” He was universally extolled by the labor and liberal forces. But in the “Pension Act” which is, perhaps^ more oriterional of the “New Deal” than any other is sue that. has been brought to the Supreme Court, Justice Rob erts' judgment turned the scale from the side of labor to that of capital. The decision was still a five to four vote but its tenor is in reverse. The admin istration which had hitherto looked to the Supreme Court as salvator of the “New Deal” stands bewildered as to the at titude of Judge Roberts on oth er measures which may spell the success or doom of its policies. The laboring world stands aghast and is threatening a con stitutional amendment which would make. legislation in its be half proof against the Supreme Bench. On the other hand, cap ital is jubilant and has already mentioned Justice Roberts as a fitting candidate for the Presi dential nomination on the Re publican capitalistic ticket. It would indeed be interest ing if some psychologist could reveal the train of thought and Hoed of feeling now sweeping through the soul of Judge John J. Parker over the discomfiture which his supplanter has pro duced in both camps of those who opposed his confirmation. While it is not proper to con demn or denounce a Judge as to his opinion however detri mentally it may affect one’s own interest for the time being, ne vertheless, it is Kkrd to hold hu man nature in restraint when feelings mid interests are affect ed adversely. The four conser vative Justices who have stood for capitalism must be credited with the same honesty of pur pose as their five confreres who have upheld the opposite view. Justice Roberts is entitled to the same credit for honesty and in tegrity in the Texas Primary decisions and the Railroad Pen sion Act as in the other instanc es when he lined up with Chief Justice Hughes and the three other liberal minded members of the Rench, but he can hardly expect ithe Negro to extoll him ifor the Texas Primary decision road Pension case. All of this hut goes to indi cate how insecure are hopes and expectations which rest upon the basis of a majority vote of nine men, any one of whom may have the deciding say. A five to four decision is a very slender basis for the hopes and expectations of Democracy. In the meantime, Parker and Rob erts will occupy a large place in the musings of the Negro and cf the laboring man. Had Park er been confirmed, would it. have been different? Would it have been worse or would it have been better? President Hoover, the defeated and disappointed exponent of wealth and power, is doubtless contemplative in his Palo Alto isolation and is in dulging in a reminiscent laugh over the discomfiture of the Ne gro and the laboring man who brought about the defeat of hie North Carolina nominee. LATE TO CHURCH By the Rev. Stuart Nye Hutchison, D. D. (From The Presbyterian). People do not go late to the railroad station. Time and tide and the railroad wait for no one. They do not go late to the dent ist It may cost them something They do not go late to weddings. That is an unpardonable breech of good manners. They do not go late to funerals. This also is frowned upon by conventional taste. But they think nothing of going t,o church late and not only missing the best part of the service, but interfering with the service of others. it is not a matter of any con cern to them when they enter. They may walk in during the responses, or the most solemn part of the worship, the reading of the Scripture. Their favorite point of entry is during a hymn or an anthem,, unmindful of the fact, that praide is as holy a part of worship as prayer. We have seen people during the congre gational prayer, when the heads of people are reverently bowed, push past the remonstrating ushers and up to their seats in the front of the church. Such ineverence does not often occur but it is often enough to make us feel that a course in church manners might not go amiss in many of our churches. Let us note in the beginning certain worshippers who are excusable for coming late. One is the mother with little chil dren. I can see one now whom I know. There are four small children in her home. She rises earlier on Sunday than on any other day. When breakfast is over she starts getting them dressed for Sabbath school. By the time the last is washed and bedecked and beribboned, the drst, who has had some idle mo ments on his hands, needs to be washed again. At last they are ready and she gets them to Sab bath school on time. Then sue must see to getting the h tie ones home after Sabbath school, and back to church herself. Is it any w<*rdei she is late some times ? To me tl♦ v order is t\;