file Africa - Amerieia
Presbyterian
CONSOLIDATED WITH .
THE SOUTHERN EVANGELIST
««. H. L. MeCBORET, DJ>„ LH>.,
W. B. HILL. IdHm
E*t. a P. FITGHVOSD.
Drotod to tW EdnmtionM, Mate,
ital, Mona- and BaUgfaw Intnrinti
«f our people is tbs 8oofh. and fob.
•iahed at Charlotte, N. C.. wan
Tbarsdar*
TERMS 07 SUBSCRIPTION
•injfle copy one yaar_ILI#
n'fT months ____ , .7»
Three months __
Entered at the Toat^OfSea at Char
otte. N. <5« as. second claw matter
THURSDAY, AUG. 13, 1986.
“BY THE FOOLISHNESS OF
PREACHING”
“The Christian Church would
again bring salvation to the
world and begin to save its own
soul if it had the wisdom and
courage to declare a moratori
um on preaching for a period
of one or two years.”
“For the most part, sermons
today are a very poor edition
of ‘topical’ homiletics, a brand
of religious ‘pep talks,’ sailing
forth for a transitory popular
ity under the guise of being
inspirational. Why can not a
Christian be permitted to go to
church to worship his God with
out always being assaulted by
a barrage from the pulpit? Tru
ly the miracle of the church is
the patience of the laity.”
The above paragraphs are
from The Year Book and Reg
ister of Trinity Episcopal
church, New York, and are sup
posed to have been, written by
the rector Qf that church, the
Rev. Dr. Frederick S. Fleming.
On casual reading one &
shocked at the idea suggested,
but on reflection it does not
seem so bad. The proposal is
i not to suspend religious wor
ship, but to give the preacher
some time off. And in keeping
with this suggestion, Dr. Flem
ing himself has gone abroad.
We would not do away with
church services. In our own ex
perience there is nothing so
helpful on the Sabbath as be
. ginning the day with attend
ance upon religious services.
Of course, we have all heard
sermons #nd other discourses,
too, for that matter,, that not
only showed mental and spirit
ual exhaustion, but were ex
hausting to those who listened.
There was, perhaps, a lack of
time for adequate preparation.
The preacher needs time off
—not for loafing and worthless
story-telling, but for meditation
and prayer, and for physical
and spiritual re-building. The
stories of the lives of many of
the early Christian leaders
show periods of silence—-a get
ting away from routine. Jesus
himself often went “apart,” and
Paul had his years in Arabia.
We would not discontinue reli
gious worship, but we would
diversify it so as to give the
preacher and the congregation,
too, a respite.
TOO RADICAL
(Baltimore Evening Sun)
The Rev. Dr. Frederick S.
Heming, ; rector* ,of Trinity
Episcopal Church, in New York,
suggests a moratorium on
preaching for one or two years.
It would be presumptuous
for The Evening Sun to enter
the lists against the Rev. Dr.
Fleming on any issue concerned
exclusively with theology or
homiletics. With this utterance,
however, he steps out of the
field of his scientific specialty
and into that of social philoso
' phy, where lay opinion may be
as valuable as any; and from
that standpoint we dare chal
lenge him. i
No doubt a great deal of
modem preaching, like a great
deal of newspaper Writing, is
pretty bad, judged by any de
cent standard of craftsmanship.
Nevertheless, there are wide
areas of the country in which
the Sunday morning sermon is
as deeply imbedded in the lives
and consciousness of the people
as the Saturday night bath jahd
neither can be eliminated with
out a great and needless up
heaval.
Dwellers in cities, where a
thousand distractions are clam
oring for attention, tend to for
get how important"the parson’s
weekly discourse may be where
life Is more simply organized
Protestantism, estpeuiajly, Mum
emphasized the sermon to such
an extent that one is at a loss,
to know what the clergy wduld
do wore it abolished; and even
in the Catholic ^Church there
are many priests who, deprived
of the opportunity of preaching,
would be deprived of their prin-i
cipal means of influencing the
life of their time.
If thje Rev. Dr. Fleming had
rtittrfcted himself : to . a* de
mand for better preaching, or
had even called for a long, en
forced vacation for the bad
preachers, it would have been
hard to make out a case in op
position. But when he mentions
the elimination, even temporar
ily, of all preaching, he becomes
dowptfgjht 'fevtohitftmary.. It
just can't be done without up
setting the country.
HOW THEY STOPPED
THE ENGINE
By Rev* G. B. F. HaBock, D J>„
In The Presbyterian
In the early days of railroad
ing, they used to give the en
gines names. Now they are us
ually given numbers. I have a
story for you boys and girls of
The Presbyterian family about
an engine that had a name. I
will tell you the name a little
later. The story is one concern
ing the early days of railroad
ing, and though I can not real
ly vouch for it, Igot it from a
good source an djfrink it relia
ble. But it is an interesting sto
ry anyway, and I think you will
agree with me that it some
valuable suggestions.
One dark night when a rail
way conductor wav taking
three passenger coaches
through to the division point of
his run, he noticed - the head
light of a locomotive back of
his train., Hie immediately in
formed the engineer of the fact,
and both * began wondering
what it might mean. The train
was running at .high speed,
but the headlight in the rear
kept steadily gaining on them.
As there were no lights back
of the headlight, they conclud
ed that it must be an empty en
gine that seemed to be chasing
them. The road twisted along
the banks of a stream in such a
way as to permit ariy one look
ing back to see what was going
on in the rear for a considera
ble distance.
The conductor * ordered the
engineer to put on more steam,
and the engineer pulled the
throttle wide open. Then fol
lowed the wild chase. Pursuer
and pursuing engine grew dim
in the distance. Every one iii
the cars believed that the en
gineer on the pursuing engine
must be crazy.
At last an idea struck the en
gineer. He recalled the fact
that a locomotive can maVr
little progress on greasy rails.
The contents of two large cans
of oil were poured on the tracks
from the rear of the last pas
senger coach. The scheme
worked. Soon the headlight of
the pursuing engine grew dim
in the distance. When it was
safe to do so, the train stopped
and backed up to solve the mys
tery. A peculiar sight met the
eyes of the crew.
One of the finest engines on
the road, called, “The Davy
Crockett,” had broken away
from the hostler up the line and
started down the track on a
voyage of destruction. The oil
poured on the track had baf
fled all the destructive abilities
that the locomotive possessed.
There stood the “Davy Crock
ett,” puffing and snorting and
pawing like a wild Texas steer,
the driving wheels ■ buzzing
around on the greased rails
like a flywheel in a machine
shop, but hardly moving at
all
Not a sign of an engineer
was found and the fireman on
the train that was being chased
mounted the engine and shut it
off. They towed it into town,
and there found a dispatch or
dering them to sidetrack out of
the way of the runaway; but
the oil had saved them.
Well, boys and girls, a little
oil at the right time will save
other things besides engineers.
It can save boys and girls and
men and women. The oil of
kindly speech is one saving
sort, the oil of civility, the oil
of politeness, the oQ of the
“soft answer that turnejth
away wrath/' 1 have heard of a
man who aways carried with
him a little can of oiL He hated
(Contihued on page 8)
OPEN AIR PREACHING; OR Ti
GOSPEL TO THE PEOPI
By Frank C. Shirley
> I returned last week from
Philadelphia where I spent two
weeks assisting Rev. E. A.
Mitchell with anDpen Air Evan
gelistic meeting. Rev. Mr.
•Mitchell is the pastor of the
First - African Presbyterian
jChurch under whose auspices
the service was held. This was
a new venture and experience
for me. It was also new for the
First African Presbyterian
church as this is the first year
they have attempted such a
service. Because the venture
was new I desire to share
some of my impressions of i
with the readers of the Afri
co.
- May I say that while in Phil
adelphia, I stayed at the home
of Rev. and Mrs. Mitchell. My
stay was most pleasant, the
fellowship was excellent. - My
two weeks’ stay in that rare
fied Christian aftmospbiere
much to intensify and deepen
my spiritual life. I take tins, op
portunity to publicly thank
Rev. ana Mrs. Mitchell and
their daughter, Miss Roberta,
for their kind hospitality while
I was thf^e.
} Our meetings were held on a
va.ant lot at the corner of
Ellsworth and §outh 19th Sts.
This is about seven or eight
blocks from {the church. As
there was no tent or other shel
ter, when it rained and when
the weather was damp or cool
the services were held in the
church. On the lot the meetings
ppened promptly 'at 7 P. M., and
closed at 8:20, daylight saving
time. This was necfsssaWy Ibe
cause we had no lights on the
lot. The first part of the service
was given over to singing and
prayers. The singing was led
by Mr. A. J. Hill, a faithful and
loyal member of the First Af
rican church. Our only instru
ment was a cornet, which was
played by Mr. Oscar Petteway,
a student5 in Infest Philadelphia
High School. -
At no time during the meet
ing did we have thronging
crowds. There was a small band
of the members of the jFifrsjt
African church that attended
all of the services. I am under
a lasting debt of gratitude to
this small groupr their deep
spirituality and earnest pray
ers gave me much encourage
ment when the way seemed
dark. There was another small
group from the community
where the meeting.? were held
that attended regularly. They,
too, helped to bear me up. There
was still another group that
made me feel that my efforts
were not in vain. They were
those who lived across the
street from the vacant lot
down the short street 1 acting
into Elsworth. Each evening
there were some who gathered
on their front steps, others
who sat on their back porches,
others leaned out of their win
down, These people took their
places as regularly as we came,
and sat attentively during tne
service; they must have been
interested. Finally, there was
a band of little children that
came trooping out of their
homes each evening. Unlike
ther parents they were not shy
or bashful. They did not know
who we were but they heard
the group singing: “I Love to
Tell the Story,” “WJhat a Friend
We Have in Jesus,” “Jesus Is
,A¥\ the World to Me,” and other
hymns. They heard these
hymns and they knew we were
there to help the community.
They joined heartily in the ser
vice. Their coming was encour
aging, for it confirmed so beau
tifully the teachings of Jesus
about little children.
However, there were some
other experiences that were
not so happy. There were oth
ers who passed by and gave
every evidence of being totally
indifferent* There were others
who passed and expressed
themselves in jest. In the
street almost in front of where
we Vere holding Jthe eerv&ces
a group of young men gathered
to play ball, going on with the
game just as though no service
was being held. And worse still
about fifteen or twenty fee1
away from where we were con
ducting the meeting was a
group of men engaged in bitch
ing quoits (what we know in
the South as pitching horse
shoes.) Not only did these
groups reflect their disrespect
for the services but their utter
contempt for our presence
there. ■
The quoit pitching group gave
us most concern. For three
evenings they carried on their
games right under our. servic
es* Wp carried them heavy on
our hearts, to God. On the 4th
evening at the close of our
meeting the leader of the group
came to us voluntarily and
asked: “Does our pitching dis
turb your service?* That was
our entering wedge. We felt
that God had answered our
prayers. We were able, to speak
directly to the hearts of these
men. They apologized for their
duufeepec# and contempt
ceased, from that day their, dis
turbance of the service.
Those were great experiences
for me on Ellsworth and S.
19th Streets. There I saw a
miniature picture of what is go
ing on all over Philadelphia,
and not only in Philadelphia,
but in every city throughout
our land, both North and South
There are millions of men and
women throughout our nation
just like those “front steps”’
and “back porch”’ listeners.
They have stayed away from
church so long that they do not
know how to go back. They are
ashamed to return. Yet in their
hearts there is a longing, a
hungering and thirsting for the
gospel. They constitute a part
pf the fields that are white al
ready to harvest.
There are other millions of
little children whose hearts ant
minds are wax to receive read
ily the teachings of Jesus and
are like granite to retain those
teachings. All they need is a
chance.
Then there are hundreds of
thousands of youth like those
boys who played ball in the
ing on. The lives of such youth
street while the service was go
are empty; they need to be
filled.
The quoit pitching group
is typical (of men throughout
our land. They have drifted and
sunk so low that they are in
sensible in their disrespect and
contempt 'for things spiritual,
they care not for man nor God
^es, Ellsworth and S. 19th
Streets present, in my judg
ment, a cross section of Phila
delphia, a cross section of prac
tically every city in our nation.
is a “little cosmos,” “a micro
cosm of the macrocosm.”',
Ellsworth and iSj. JL9th Sts.
presented a challenge to'the
First African Presbyterian
church find the church did hot
meet it. All over the nation
ths)t (sarnh (challenge fjs\ being
presentd to the Protestant
.churches and the churches are
not meeting the challenge.
In our closing service, which
was largely attended, we em
phasized this challenge that
now faces the Church through
out our land, and emphasized
the need of men and women
who will be willing to rededi
cate and reconsecrate their
lives to meet this challenge. I
am happy to State that a num
ber of those present so pledged
themselves.
I want to thank Kev. Mr.
Mitchell, the First African
church, and the Summer Evan
gelistic Committee for the op
portunity they have given me
to get this helpful experience.
Jt has greatly deepened my own
spiritual life, and enabled * me
to see mk>re clearly the need.
I am convinced more than ever
that the hour has arrived when
the Protestant Church must re
ally carry the gospel to the peo
ple. “Go out into the highways
and hedges and compel them to
come.” Not by force, but by
love, by sympathy, by taking a
personal and social interest in
those who are out of the fold.
LE VERE PRESBYTERY
The Presbytery of Le Vere
will convene on August 27, in
the Maryville Second Presbyte
rian church, at 7 :30 P. M.
Reports from standing com
mittees will be had at this
meeting. All persons planning
to attend will please notify the
Rev. O. C, Wallace, Alcoa, Ten
nessee.
W. C. HARGRAVE, S. C.
There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casteth out fear*—
I John 4:18. ^
SUMMERING IN THE ADI
BOlTOACKa
By Rath N. Prtmu
I Jw JwLJpIr”—**
Editor, AifWco - American
Presbyterian:
Please allow me space in your
paper to convey to its readers
a few interesting notes about
the Adirondack Mountains, the
great health resort of Northern
New York, which only a limit
ed number of my race have
had the opportunity to see. I
have had five summers of ex
perience with summer camping
in this section, and have found
it very beneficial to health, have
enjoyed many thrills, and
learned many interesting facts,
so I wish to pass them on to
you.
I hear you ask, Who has not
seen a mountain? But have you
studied them, experienced life
among the, harmful and harm
less wild animals? Have you
experienced tha difference in
thP use and fall of the tempera
ture in. just a few hours, or the
difference of a few miles in dis
tance? Have you seen trees
growing upon rocks? I have
seen these and many other ex
citing things which I wish to
relate to you if you are inter
ested. > 41
My first visit to the Adiron
dacks was in 1031. From May
30 to October 1,1 was at Spec
ulator, N. Y. This point is said
to be 6,00* feet above sea lev
el. The small mountain vil
lage is in a valley. I should say
•on the edge of Lake Pleasant.
It is a very beautiful spot, sur
rounded by other mountains,
with the great Mt. Speculator
across the lake, facing in all di
rections. The mountain is spi
der-webbed with many trails for
the benefit of ambitious moun
tain climbers who wish to imr
prove their /physical ,make-up,
or for those who want a thrill
On the top of the mountain is
a lookout. One surely imagines
that she is looking frOm the
100th floor of the Empire Stat
building, using the numerous
mountains for .buildings. It is
certainly a beautiful sight to
gaze out <tfter lomethlrig no*
ntade with "hands.
“tfp here the sun shines clear
er,
Up herft the sky is bluer,
Up here friendship is truer,
And heaven , itself seems near
PIONEERING; AMONG THE
MOUNTAINEBjRS OF KEN
It is indeed a very joyous
task for me to take time off
from the regular routine of du
ties and to speak of our work
among the mountaineers of
Kentucky. v ■
are finding our way in
Christian service. Since I came
out here after commencement
at Smith University the church
has been quite busy gathering
its forces. I am speaking par
ticularly of the work at - Pine
ville and Middlesboro; ;
At first We had a little task
of keeping up a central place
of worship but that has been
straightened out for us through
the generosity of a fine group
of brotherly citizenry. My
reference i? especial -r. to the
city of Middlesboro. The Sunday
school, too, has been thoroughly
organized. Our young people,
too, are showing great interest
in the church work.
It was very thoughtful in the
Rev. A. H. George to pay us a
brief visit on his way from Har
lan, Ky.
Much could be said, but suf
fice it to say that our program
is organized. ■ ■
r With the A. M. . E. and the
A. M. E. Zion dhurch joining
us in a united revival effort
much good has been derived
rom the co-operation.
It is always a pleasure to have
;he visiting field workers and
■epresentatives to come through
he mountains of Kentucky and
iote the efforts being made by
;he Presbyterian church.
We had a combined Sunday
lervice with the A? M. E.
:hurch. Five special visitors
vexe present. Too much can not
>e said of Brother Coles’ family
it PinevUle. He is a blue ribbon
’resbyterian and has been such
or 40 years.
W. V. JOYNER,
Minister on the field.
The official documents of
American history—affirm
md reaffirm that this is a re
igious nation.—U. 8. Supreme
?ourt Decision,
METHODS
The SundnySchoi. Convention
and School of Methods of Mc
Clelland Presbytery met at
Harbison Institute, Irmo, South
Carolina, July 21-24, 1986.
The session opened Tuesday
night with a very large attend -
ance, with tthe largest delega
tion in its history. The enrolli
ment was 66 and a number of
visitors besides.
Our President, lbs. M. V.
Marion, gave a very inspiring
address on “Youth to the Front
and Their Opportunity.” When
she had finished I believe every
one present had derided in his
mind that he was going to use
every opportunity and do a
greater work for the Master.
Wednesday morning we went
about our various classes in ac
cordance with the program aa
outlined. Gcr Jnstrudtorg were
wide awake and tha interest
they manifested ih! their class
rooms made the classes worth
while. There was no time to
vaste for we were busy every
moment
The spirit of - clean sports
manship was exhibited through
out the session. Competition be
tween the colors, “Orange” and
“Red” was very keen and en
thusiasm was at its best The
“Orange” was victorious.
There were several new
features this year: stunt night
and the attached cr<mp of small
girls between the ages or five
and ten and the catechism con
test. This camp addod much to
the interest of the Convention.
The children had a separate
Iprogram from that of the reg
ular schedule. '■ Bible j stories,
songs, games, hikes, picnics,
etc., hnade up their course of
work. The8e children were the
chief sponsors of stunt night
along with the volunteers from
the convention.
Stunt night consisted of a pro
gram of acrobatic stunts, songs,
drills and various forms of
physical culture.
The catechism contest creat
ed much interest among the
young folks. The winners were
Miss Rubie Mae McAdams, of
Anderson, and Mr. Richard
Stenhoase, of Greenville. These
features meant much to the
School of Methods end they
were adopted by the school to
be regular features. i *;*•
- The assembly • 'period
year was one of the most inter
esting of the Convention. The
faculty and its work were:
Mr. E. L. McAdams—Devo
tions. The theme for each day '
was as follows:
1. “Yet Lackest Thou One
Thing.”
2. “Sirs, We Would See Jes
us.”
3. “And Yet Show I Unto You
a More Excellent Why.”
Dr. J. G. Porter and Rev.
B. H. McFadden—Bible Study.
Mr. Calvin M. Young. Jr.,—
The Work of the Church.
Prof. A. P. Butler—Sunday
School Administration.
Miss Lois Brooks—Vacation
School Methods.
Prof. R, W. Boulware—Young
People’s Methods.
Miss Alberta Tucker—Prime- *
ry Methods.
Mrs. M. V. Marion—Presi
dent. •
Rev. A. A. Thompson -Dean
and Director.
Miss Margaret Reese—Direc
tor of Small Girls’ Camp.
—Rev. B. H. McFadden, Spon
sor of Catechism Contest.
We acknowledge the pres
ence of the Revs. E. H. Hunt
and Moses Belton, of Catawba
Presbytery.
We, the School of Methods,
wish to thank one and all for
the support given during the
Convention. WJe were highly
entertained by the Harbison
group.
CALVIN M. YOUNG, Jr.t
Corresponding Secretary.
CATAWBA PRESBYTERY
The Eightieth Stated Session
iOf the Presbytery of Catawba
will convene with the St. Paul
Presbyterian church, eight
miles from Charlotte, N. C.,
Thursday evening, September
jj.0, 7:30 o'clock. Reports from
Standing Committees will be
made.
Persons planning to . remain
over the night will notify the
.Rev. Lee Calvin Alexander,
528. S. Caldwell Street, Char
lotte, N. C.
A. H. PRINCE, Stated Clerk,
Catawba Presbytery.