North Carolina Newspapers

AND YE SHAM, KNOW THE TRUTH, CHARLOTTE,ft G. VOL. LVL IUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.—/ohn viii:32. p -\tV ABOUT FAIRFIELD SUNDAY SCHOOL CON _ VEN&ON AND SCHOOL OF KfflODS AN EXPLANATION Within recent weeks I have received several inquiries as to why the Sunday School Conven tion and School of Methods of Fairfield Presbytery is not hold ing its coming meeting at Coul ter Memorial Academy, Cheraw, S. C., where it has met for the past three years, and where the Convention at its last meeting voted unanimously to hold its meeting, July 10-13th, 1935. That those inquiring and the public in general might have the situation as far as we know it here at Coulter Academy, I am sending this word of ex planation as a member of the Executive Committee of the Sunday School Convention and School of Methods, also as Prin cipal of Coulter Memorial Acad emy. A meeting of the Executive Committee was called by the President, the Rev. A. S. Powe, at the Sumter Second Presby terian church, Sumter, S. C., ”fMarch 27th, 1935. This meeting was called to arrange the pro gram for the approaching meet ing of the Convention. After the program had been arranged the President spoke at some .length and with much effort and orato ry called attention to the fact that the Convention must exer cise rigid economy and by all means reduce the heavy finan cial burden now resting upon the people of the Sunday schools within the bounds of the Pres bytery. At the close of his re marks a motion was made “To offer the housing committee of > Memorial Academy $1.50 for each delegate for board and lodging from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday after noon.” Heretofore the charge had been $2.00 for the same time. Upon the passage of this motion 1 offered three objec tions, namely: First: That I did not believe that the committee had the au thority to change the rate of the board and lodging when the Convention itself had voted to return to Coulter Academy for the next session under the same conditions under which they had met here for the past three years. Second: That 1 did not be lieve sjthoft the comfmit^ee had the power to move the place of . meeting of the Convention * which had been selected by the unanimous vote of the Conven tion unless extraordinary conr ditions had arisen which made it unwise to hold the meeting at Coulter Academy, the place selected by the Convention it self. No such conditions had or have arisen. Third: I objected to the mo tion on the ground that I did .not believe that the maker and the supporters of the motion represented, as they said they did, a general complaint on the part of the people of the Pres bytery that $2.00 was too much to charge for nine full meals, and lodging for three nights, with plenty of ice water in every building on the grounds. This is what we have furnished at each Conference for the past three years as any one who has attended all of these meetings can testify. Yet these brethren say that the people say that $2.00 is too much for the above. The motion, however, pre vailed and a majority of the committee voted to offer the Housing Committee of Coulter Academy $1.50 for three day’s entertainment. I then and there notified the committee that we could not entertain the Convention ac cording to our standard for the $1.50 per delegate. But we would entertain them for $1.50 each, which heretofore had been col xected from each delegate and designated as “board" and tne dO cents which had been collect ed neretoxore and designated as registration," making a total U ^.00, wmch amount we nave «een receiving for tne past tnree .years from eacn delegate. i he President wrote me twice urging me to take tne conven tion xor tne fi.ov. However, >t nad already givejii tne commit tee my word on that proposition. bince tne committee meeting, v/ii March 27th, 1925, i have not ueen nonned ox any subsequent meeting of the executive Com mittee, yet mere has just come m my desk a copy ox the new program, which announces that the bunnay School convention mid School of Methods will be ueid at Kendall institute, Sum ter, S. C. it seems strange to me that these radical changes could be made without the ex ecutive Committee being called together or consulted, either by .etter or otherwise. 1 am told by me host of the Convention that the President and the Sunday ochool Missionary made the ar rangements with him for this meeting, x am wondering by .viiat authotrity do these breth ren proceed. I am sure no such authority was voted them by -he Committee or the Conven tion. Now let us look at the econ omy: The new program which nas just arrived has the follow ing instructions to delegates, expense items are r - “BaBririlrntiftiiii fift crAtr^i*-**** “Meals and Lodging, $1.50. “Note books, etc., approxi mately, 50 cents. “Each Sabbath school is asked co send 10 cents per capita. “Each Christian Endeavor So ciety is asked to send 10 cents per capita. “Any other organizations re sponding are asked to send 10 cents per capita.” These are the exact quota cions of the financial instruc cions. You will please note that these are the identical financial requirements we have had for the past three years. Now where is the economy? How does this relieve the complaining people “who must be relieved of the financial burden.” Is there more economy in collecting $2.00 from each dele gate at Kendall Institute than there was in collecting the same $2.00 at Coulter Academy? I think it is Dr. Yorke Jones who says that “Motives can never disguise themselves in meth ods.” I am giving rnis explanation to the press, because I wish to assure our friends and enemies, too, if there be any, that Coul ter Memorial Academy has not receded one iota from her known policy of friendship and hospitality which have been her cardinal characteristics for all the years. We want you to know that we asked no more fi nancial consideration for enter taining the Sunday School Con vention and School of Methods this year than we have received each year since the organiza tion of the school features with the Convention three years ago. We have ever been committed to the service of the public in general and the great Presby terian Church, U. S. A., in par ticular, which has given us our being. And, with faith in God, we fear nothing, and are ready to serve. Since I began my ministry 27 years ago I have not missed a single meeting of our Sabbath School Convention, and God willing I shall be at the meeting at Sumter, July 10th. G. W. LONG, Cheraw, s. C, CINCINNATI, (Report made up from the and other sources. > -"-j -J Assembly Daily News A xlE OLDEST AGENCY OF TtfL CHukcu By Dr. H. Bl Master General Secretary Board of (From Report - to the Generaf Assembly.) ' * r"'"~f The outstanding event of the past year so far as the Service tension Bureau Flan was waj cernect was'the crisis whidh afc* veioped in February, 1936* through me introduction Washington of the' t jLewis Bill, providing bfd pensions for the fame “and* of the workers of America, short was the timevbetween introduction of the bill and' proposed’ passage that if as though your^ownBoard ail the other Pension Boards the various Churches were practically heipteas when the existence of the nomic Security * Act Known. . The first concession sec was the exemption of oi . J- —^vT . p-<1 '■ - - Tj« churches from the Unempk> ment Tax of 3 per cent annual pay rpU of eachJ That proposal wag so „ bly unsuited to the position needs of our ministers and sionaries, and would have so expensive, costing our Church a sum which has w estimated to be SS much. $600,000 per year, that the ernment’s committee of < had little if any jdupc grantmg- thrVwflfiat—< Church Pensions’ Conference for exemption therefrom. An organ ization employing less than ten in its staff is not now subject to Unemployment Tax. The Pastor and His Salary What your board sought to emphasize was the fact that the relation of pastor and Church is not that of employer and em ploye, but something totally different. Every statement in our Form of'Government bear ing on this subject makes clear how utterly the pastoral rela tion differs from that Of the or dinary wage relationship. That he may be free from worldly cares and avocations; he is granted a certain allowance. There were certam serious ob jections by our Church to the Government Economic Security Act. It does not make any pro vision for a, disability pension, or a widow’s pension, or pensions for minor orphan children. The Service Pension Finn does pro^ vide all Of these benefits. It is based on themost careful act uarial calculations, which were checked by the experts of one of the great insurance companies. In addition > to all this, the government plan was not and will not be available for any man past 60 or when salary is1 more than $260 amonth.lt will pay no pensions until 1942. In the beginning the cost of the Economic Security Act is relatively .low in terms of dol lars, but hfgh when the protec tion it does not Offer is consid ered. 'Making the Facts Known Under all these circum stances it seemed best, and our duty, to send out a letter giving all the tacts to the ministers of our Church and the treasurers of the local churches. This was done and the response was most hearten ing. Thousands of replies were received, and the general secre tary read every one of them, in cluding the postal cards, person ally and made acknowledgement of every communication thus received. It was the interest , which so many of the brethren took in this matter and the letters they ana their members to congressmen ana sena wmen were largely respon ior the nnai vicory. A Change for the Better 2>o rapiaiy ao events move, ver, tnat tne original c<ew agner bill very soon gave to tne wagner.-iiewis bill. The latter is an iaea — a very mucn form of the first in security Act. it con 1.0 c tne Ameuament asitea o..uicn reufiiuiis oonfer out a "title" or article n i eauo as loilows: The following, however, are tided: Agricultural, ctomes and casual labor; service at in federal dr btate govern its or subdivisions and in ntalities hereof, and "Service performed in the loy of a corporation, com ty chest, fund or founds n, v. organized and operated lusively for religious, chari scientific, literary, or ed ional purposes, no part of net earnings of which mures benefit of any private older or individual." As y indicated this was not £fce amendment suggested by ifye Churches. The new bill is a great im vement in many ways over original bill, and if the endment again proposed by Churches could be incorpor • will probably prove well Orth a trial. * ft should be noted already that your Board did not seek for exemption on the ground of ; traditional separation of Church and State, but only on the ground that our ministers were already protected by their own Church Pension system, which was working satisfacto rily and had stood the test of years. The amendment to the bill offered by our actuary, George A. Huggins, asked only that those ministers be exempt ed who were at least as ade quately protected by the Service Pension Plan as- they would ibe ; under the. Economic Securi ty Act. The desire and the effort was not to exclude from govern ment protection anyone not a 'member of the Service Pension Plan. That was a responsibility your Board felt it dare not as sume. Therefore it could only ask, in the language ot the amend ment, for what was felt to be in the best interest of all those covered by the Service Peiksion Plan. And when the government did finally exclude all Churches from the operation of the Economic Security Act we were told frankly that it did so because the government felt it could trust the Churches to do the right thing, the fair thing, in the matter of protect ing all their ipaid, whole-time workers. There is another fact deserv ing of serious consideration. Under the Economic Security Act there were a large number of workers in the churches — assistants, secretaries, visitors, janitors, etc., — whom the churches would have been forced to protect under the gov ernment compulsory plan. This group lost that opportunity for protection when the Churches were exempted. What now will be their status? From one of the government’s experts came a communication to the effect that it was inconsistent for our churches which have so strong ly urged social legislation to be unwilling to pay moderate con tributions whereby “their jan itors, secretaries' and similar employes—would draw an an nuity when old.” i:- . , . -uat was written in ignorance 4* t^e lact mat your x>u«tru nas du'touy ’ 411 operation au xuiu ins/yea reuaiou riau to Jcover every yarn wnole-ume employe yi our enurenes, auu in wrncu aueauy several nunorea em ployes, not engioie ior me Ser vice reunion riau, are regia teieu. nere again me exemption grauteu by me government aoea uty a neavy weigut on morm leaponsiomty upon bur enuren es ana otner salary-paying rresbyterian organizations, to see mat tins class oi workers is nt least as tony pruectea as cney wouia nave been under tne government Plan. Some Astounding Figures At the close of the fiscal year, that is to say, on March 6l» i.935, the Board was paying me astounding number of 5,711 pensions; 14&6 in the sustenta tion Department; 1,675 in the relief Department; 2,830 under the Service Pension Plan. The amount paid, including the sup port of the Homes and the Min ister’s Cottage at Albuquerque, was $1,944,964. This does not mean there were 5,711 pension ers, but it is a record of whijeh any Church may well be proud. TO CELEBRATE SESQUI CENTENNIAL The 147th General Assembly on Saturday adopted a recom mendation of the General Coun cil reading as follows: “l1. That the General Assem bly of 1935 authorize the Gen eral Council to prepare plans for the celebration of the ses qui-centennial of the General Assembly in 1938. “2. That these plans include, if feasible, a special Memorial Fund to be- sajuMd^m- such, a manner and for such objects as shall be hereafter determined. “3. That it be made the occa sion for the collecting and pub lishing of historical material throughout the bounds of the Assembly, the Stated Clerks of the several judicatories being called upon to lend their full cooperation and assistance to the Department of History in the formulation and execution of this important work. “4. That the Presbyterian Church in the United States be invited to participate, in the earnest desire that these two great branches of Christ’s Church may be brought in clos er fellowship and cooperation* through the realization of their common heritage. “That the whole movement be permeated with an effort to advance the spiritual interests of the Church.” EMPHASIS FOR A NEW YEAR The 1935-36 emphasis for the Presbyterian Church on “Christ in the Life of the Church,” ap proved, by the General Assem bly, calls each Presbyterian church to an examination and evaluation of its entire program. The purpose of this self-study is to discover how all the forces of a church may be more close ly linked together for the most effective united approach to the task of -the whole iCShurch in facing present-day conditions Effort will be to get each organ ization that is a part of the local church to think in terms pf the whole Church as a uni1 having a total program to whict each organization makes a con tribution. In addition to strengtheninj itself by unifying its organize tions and programs, eacl church is asked to set itself tx increase the efficiency of its lay-leadership, thus adding ii large imeasure to its power foi influence toward righteousness . Some of the major question: that will need to be faced art these: What changes or im provements are needed in th< 'methods which the Churcl -- 1 1,1 ■ uses for accomplishing its task, anouia tne eaueauoriai metnuu be recognized increasingly as basic/ Mow may greater .warmth and spiritual vitality oe developed in the Church's program and w the lives of its members V Mow can the local church organize all its forces and resources most effectively lOr its total task/ What qualifi cations and preparation are per cessary for all types of work ers, if their service is to be ,most fruitful'/ • The slogan to be used with this Airiph^is is: “The flhnrch . cresses Qn”; in a day of wide spread change the Church is restudying its program and moving forward. ‘ A PASTOR S MAGAZINE Without debate but with a tew negative Votes, the Assembly adopted the recommendation Of che General Council approving •he plans for publishing for an experimental period" of ten months a pastor’s magazine which, Moderator Vance in formed the commissioners, would in .effect take the place of the discontinued Presbyteri an Magazine. The plans embo dying the report of the Special Jommittee on Periodicals of the Council provided, among other details, that a small, compact periodical be published Weekly for ten months of the year, be mailed frie to pastors to reach them every Monday morning and to contain devotional mat ter and news Of the work and materials of the Boards of the Church. (Continued on page 2) PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR SIGNS EQUAL RIGHTS. BILL Harrisburg, Pa., June —(A. N. P.) -.-Despite tbe pleas of ho tel and restaurant operators throughout the State, Governor Earle, Tuesday, signed the Reynolds Equal Rights Bill, thereby enacting it into a law. The equal rights bill was. in troduced by Representative Hobson Reynolds, Republican of 47th Ward, Philadelphia, one of the five Negro members .of the House, and carries provisions of fines from $100 to $500 and imprisonment for from 30 to 60 days for any restaurant, thea ter, movie house or public insti tution which refuses to serve or otherwise discriminates against any citizen of the State of Penn sylvania on the ground of race or color. Immediately following the in troduction of the bill in the House of Representatives the Pennsylvania Hotel Association got busy and members of the House and Senate were swamped with petitions,, urging the defeat of the bill. The pleas fell on deaf ears and the bill was passed by both bodies, with the support of the Republican and Democratic members. With the passage of the bil1 the efforts of the hotel men and other opponents were directed toward the governor and at the same time pressure was contin ued on the Senators and Repre- s sentatives to such an extent that at the same time the Gov ernor was affixing his signa ture to the bill enacting it into law, both legislative bodies had adopted a resolution recalling the bill. Under the law, howev er, no bill that has been signed by the governor can be recalled. NOTICE To Pastors and Church Ses i iions: » I am now available for evan- * i gelistic Services and Bible Lec t tures, and shall be pleased to ■ serve city as well as rural . churches and schools in any s section of out great Church, i Address: - REV. A. A. HECTOR, ; 314 West Clay Street, Rich i mond, Va.