Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Oct. 1, 1936, edition 1 / Page 2
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Hie Africo - American Presbyterian CONSOLIDATED WITH THE SOUTHERN EVANGELIST *»v. H. L. MeCROREY. DJX, LLA>.. W. E. HILL. A mod ate Editor Dnottd to tho Educational, Mote, rial, Morel end Religion* interest* it our people in the Sooth, end pub ished at Charlotte. N. C.. even Cb under. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION dingle cofry one year_ fix month*_.76 Three month* __ .01 Entered at the Poet Office at Char oite. N. C., a* second class matter THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1936 Friends in North Carolina will note with regret tfce passing of Mrs. Mary Fonvielle Dillard, widow of the late Dr. Clarence Dillard- Her death occurred in Savannah, Ga-, Sept- 28. Elder Wm. Phifer of the Pres byterian church at Huntersville is dead- He magnified the work of the church, and was one of the best known laymen in Ca tawba Presbytery. h—* The Negro, who has been a devotee of the Republican Par ty since the beginning of his career as a voter, seems to be getting away from his first love. At this stage of the cam paign it is hard to tell which one of the two major parties will get the more Negro votes. Even in the South as strange as it may seem, many Negroes will vote Democratic. MISSION PREACHES TO MULTITUDES In “the greatest enterprise that a united Protestantism has ever sent across the country/’ to quote Dr. Joseph A. Vance when addressing a National Preaching Mission session at Detroit, this three month evan gelistic movement has already reached considerably more than 100,000 persons. At mass meet ings in the first eight cities visited, more than twenty vol unteer men and women Chris tian leaders have impressed the urgent need of Christ for to day on audiences ranging from a total attendance of 5,000 in the one-day mission at the first four cities, to 42,000 in the four-day mission at Kansas City. Seminars, ministers’ meetings and luncheons, each attended by hundreds of invited men or wom en prominent in the life of the cities, have been carrying the influence of the Gospel to large numbers of persons both inside and outside the Church. This influence has been further 'ex tended by two-day and one day mission meetings in cities and towns near the larger cities visited by the National Preach ing Mission’s corps of speakers In all the cities a feeling is widespread that the greatest value of this unparalleled co operative preaching of Christ will lie in the eight-day preach ing missions planned to be held during November and Decem ber by each local church in ev ery city, town and village in the land The closing visit of the large group of National Preaching Mission speakers will be in New York December 6-9. NOTICE TO SYNODICAL OFFICERS Dear Co-Workers:—Only a few days remain before the meeting of the Synodical. It is hoped that you will contact you corresponding Presbyterial officers, so that you may be able to make your report accurate and complete. The reports are to be in poster form as hereto fore, so as to give a comparative showing for ’BB-^BB, and ’36- ’37 We suggest this be done, that we may be able -to check on our selves. Thanking you for your very hearty cooperation in our en deavor to serve Him, keeping in mind and practice, our theme: “If I Be His Disciple,” Faithfully yours. R. E. McNAIR. Greensboro, N. C You will note, Atlantic Synod meets on Oct. 29th this year. GOLD MINIMS By Rev. J- Metz Boffins Since the arrival of the Boards’ reports which were made to the last meeting: of the General Assembly the writer has endeavored to read them during leisure time. I have been amply and profitably re paid each time. The reports are veritable gold mines of in-, spiration and information if one will patiently and thoughtfully read their contents. They offer a panorama of the Presbyterian Church at work to the reader. I suspect, however, that the reports of our various Boards are not being read by the min istry and laity| of the Church as they should be, for the rea son that there is displayed an alarming and too widespread ignorance of the program of our great Church. This ignorance is oftimes glaringly manifested in the courts and organizations of the Church. To become horoughly and intelligently ac quainted with its program re quires constant perusal of these sundry reports. The reports record the pro gress and aims of the Pres terian Church in the U- S. A. from year to year. They are gold mines in every sense of the word. It has been my ob servation that the Boards’ re ports are the most carefully kept and unused volume in some of our ministers’ libraries. In fact, I wonder if we really ‘know what it is all about.” The report of the Board of National Missions for this year reads like a romance. It is charmingly written. The titles under which the report is writ ten are in themselves unique ana oi literary cnarm. iney immediately grip the imagina tion- They may be described as literary nuggets of gold. For example, such titles as “Indian Frontiers/’ “Negro Profiles,” “Trails and Footpaths,” “Where Tongues and Traffic Tangle,” “Leaven for The Caribees” and “Feeling The Country’s Pulse-” Beyond a doubt these titles are attractive • They are literary gems. They are packed with human interest stories that quicken the imagination and stir the heart In the foreward to this report are found these concluding words setting forth the goal and lofty-aims of National Missions: “The 1936 report gives an ac count of a year’s results that bring nearer the hope of the Church throughout the country, —a Christian America-” The re port thrillingly tells how Na tional Mission! has gone about this tremendous task of Chris tianizing America, of how it is leavening the whole lump At this writing the work among the Indians is being studied, and in subsequent ar ticles perhaps I shall write con cerning other phases of the Board’s work, paying particular attention to work among Ne groes. The question wnich projected itself in my mind as I read the various chapters of the report was, what is the outstanding1 feature in this type of work, oi what is the most encouraging aspect of this work? With this question in mind I have discov ered many things In recent years the Indian work as carried on by the Board of National Missions has been greatly emphasized. The attention of the entire Church has been turned toward the In dian. The Indian has become in recent years one of the major concerns of our Church’s mis sionary enterprise. Once the In dian work was most discourag ing- Blut now there is a com plete and decided change- This year the Whitman-Spalding anniversary is being celebrated throughout the Church which commemorates a great histori cal event. Reading the report, one is made aware of the spirit of evangelism which seems to have i characterized the National Mis sions program among the In dians. The work of Dr- Dirk Lay among the Indians is par ticularly impressive- Dr- Lay, who ministers to the largest Indian congregation at Sacaton,! Arizona, might well be called a missionary apostle to them- Dr Lay. in the report, tells a truly challenging story that gives an insight into the evangelistic work being carried on among the Indians. It is the story of the conversion of an old Pima Indian- For twenty-five years Dr. Lay had sought to win him to Christ, but only did he succeed this year. Ifi response to Dr. Lay s untiring and repeated ef forts for his salvation the old Indian one day came to Dr. Lay with this marvelous declaration, “I am really ready now and have surrendered to your Christ who is my Saviour, too.” Dur-' ing the examination by the Ses sion he answered all questions by saying “I am ready.” The story is typical. It illustrates the intensive evangelistic work that is being carried on by the Board among the Indians who remained so many years unre sponsive to the call of the Gos pel of Jesus Christ The report closes with these words: “Whether we ar teach ing the Indian children in schools, conducting a program of community service- . . or building up a congregation of Indians and carrying forward the persistent effort to win new converts, the golden thread of evangelism binds them all to gether in a common objective: o establish the Church of Jesus Christ and bring the Indian within the fold-” No wonder, then, that the Indian work is being given such prominence and support in the missionary program of our Church- He is waking up as it were from a long sleep. He is beginning to meet the ringing challenge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit of the old Pima In dian—“I am ready.” Shortly the writer shall dig again into these gold mines of inspiration and information and try to pass the nuggets on THE PRESBYTER!AL SUN DAY SCHOOL CONVENTION AND SCHOOL OF METHODS OF YADKIN PRESBYTERY —WESTERN DISTRICT The Sunday School Convention and School of Methods met in Cameron church, Elmwood, N-C. Aug. 18-23, 1936. On the open ing night the President gave his annual address, subject, “My Duty to My Pastor.” Mr. Wm. A- Cowan has been elected President of our conven tion several times- He has served as Superintendent of his church school for a number of years. His mantle as Superin tendent has fallen on his neph ew who, we hope, will serve as well. The welcome address was de livered by Mr. G- R- Gamer, Superintendent and Clerk of Session of Cameron church. The response was by Rev. C- A Washington. Our Registrar reported 85 persons registered for the dif ferent classes. The members of the faculty were, Missionary Geo- R- Marsh, Director; Mr. Ralph Hall, Dean; Rev. Z. A- Dockery, D. D-; Rev, L- M- Onque, D- D.; Rev. H. N. Sullivan; Rev. C. A- Washing ton; Rev. W- A- Hawkins; Rev. J. P. Johnson; Mrs- Sadie Mur dock; Mrs. S- Morrison; Miss Gleona V- Thomas; Mr. J. H Smith. Registrar. Daily Schedule The daily schedule was as follows: Bible Study, Discus sions, Devotionals, Dinner, Rest Period, Business Session, Recre ation and Games, Supper, Ves pers Wednesday evening, the so cal was conducted by Misses Cora L- Morton, Maggie Knox and Inez Abernathy. Thursday evening there was a popular meeting. There .were ‘wo inspirational addresses: “The Boards of our Church,” Rev. J. P. Johnson, and “Devel oping a Young People’s Pro gram” by our missionary, Mr. Geo. R- Marsh. So many helpful though' were brought out in the last ad dress it was asked that it be published in the Africo so that others may be benefited by it. “Friday evening, two inspir ing addresses were heard: “Youth’s Opportunity” — Mr Ralph Hall, and “Sportsman ship in Everyday Life”—Miss Cleona Thomas. The Catechism contest was conducted by Dr. Z. A- Dockery. The winner of the prize, which was a Bible, is the daugter of Mr. Eddie Cowan, Superintend ent of Oakland church. (Continued on page 3) A REVIEW OF REV. JESSE BELMONT BARBER’S BOOR “A History of the Work of the Presbyterian Church Among Negroes in the United States of America.” By Frank C- Shirley The author of the above named book is a graduate of Lincoln University, College and Seminary. Since graduation he has served as pastor of the Grace Presbyterian church in Seattle, Washington; as Sun day school missionary in Ca tawba Presbytery and in the Synod of East Tennessee (now Blue Ridge), and for the past 'ten years he has been the ag gressive and resourceful pastor of the Leonard St. Presbyterian church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The book under review was the thesis which Mr. Barber submitted on completion of his work leading to the degree of Master of Theology at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York State, which degree was conferred upon him at the last commencement of the Semina ry. The little volume is well writ ten, in choice language- This is to be expected when we re call that Jesse Barber, back in college days, was exhibit “A” in his class in English at Lin coln under that exacting master of English prose, Dr- William Parker Finney. Any one who maiored under him is supposed to know In the book the author sets out to write the history of the Negro in the Presbyterian Church- In this he has follow ed in logical sequence: Presby terian Activities with Respect to the Negro Prior to the Civil War; The Beginnings and De velopment of Organized Work Among Negroes ; The Dawn of a New Leadership; Present-Day Work Among Negroes; Some Conclusions and a Profession of Faith May I say at the outset that he Presbyterian Church in gen eral and its Negro constituency in particular are under a last ing debt of gratitude to Mr. Bar ber for the clear and concise manner in which he has told this most interesting story. The study shows a careful sifting of material^ He h*s separated all the chaff and has given to his readers only the wheat, and :n many instances only the pure “cream of wheat-” This careful and painstaking sifting makes the book all the more valuable This is the first volume that hag come under my observation which sets out to give a con secutive account of the work of he Presbyterian Church among Negroes. In this I think Mr Barber is a pioneer. As I read through the thrilling story the wilder that came to me was: “Why hasn’t this story been told before?” The style of the book is rsar beristic.” Now don't quote me wrong, 11 did not say “barbar isiic.” One who is intimately acquainted with Mr. Barber, (and I have known him for nearly 30 years) and has heard him speak many times or has read any of his writings will readily understand what I mean. May I give several illus trations: On page 11 in sum ming up his comment on the memorable pronouncement of the General Assembly on the question of slavery in 1818 he 3ays “For the Presbyterian Church this was her peak, her loftiest, ablest, and most vigor ous utterance. She spoke then as never before, and, alas, as she never spake again.” On page 14, after telling of the fine contribution which in dividual Presbyterians made voluntarily to educate and Chris tianize the slaves he states: 'Truly as the contrast is con sidered between official Presby terian painful hesitancy of ex pression against slavery and in dividual Presbyterian energetic enterprise for the slaves; when the long procession of silent years marches across the mind, one can quite feelingly say: ‘warmer, greater, more Christ like by far than her head was her heart.’ ” Tn the closing of Chapter 2, after calling attention to the large number of enterprises of the Board that bear the name of their benefactors, the author! concludes: ‘^nd so the Freed men have given no monuments of stone or tablets of bronze, but to their choicest and dearest possessions—their churches and their schools, their sons and their daughters—they have given the names of their friends.” Ex pression similar to the above run all through the book and they make what I call the “Bar beristic style.” I will not rob you of the thrill you will get from reading the volume for your self by giving you a detailed account of the chapters. I o£ly desire to say, if you are a true Presbyterian, once you get into the study it will grip you until you reach the end. In the remaining par agraphs it is my desire to give to the readers of the Africo-. American Presbyterian my crit ical appraisal of Mr. Barber’s volume. 1 thinK 1 am rignt wnen 1 say in this little book Rev. Mr. Barber has unearthed a “gold mine-” I don’t mean to say by that he is to become suddenly rich overnight, like Joe Louis, or spring to sudden fame as Jesse Owens. But I mean the sources which he has tapped have much more rich ore in them and they must be tapped over and over again by him and by others before we can get an enlarged picture of the Negro in the Presbyterian Church. If you will look on page 35 of the volume you will see what I mean Here the author gives a rapid, mountain peak survey from 1870 to 1890. The inquiring mind of the future, having caught a glimpse from a distance of these mountain peaks, will want to know something of their base and body and Mr- Barber or some one must tell more. Then we read two and one half pages of stimulating ma terial about the life of that prince and pioneer, Daniel Jack son Sanders. The Negro Pres byterian that is to be will not be satisfied with two and a half pages about one who demon strated to the world that Ne groes could adequately admin ister the affairs of institutions for higher education of the Ne gro. . On page 51 reference is made to 35 years of service by Dr E. P. Cowan as Secretary of the Freedmen’s Board and Dr. J. M Gaston succeeding him, having rounded out a quarter of a cen tury of service. Two stalwart giants who have stood at the back of the Negro through thick and thin ! Some one must tell that complete story. The little phrase on page 5-1 “Youth Begins to March” will require still another volume, And the reference is to the vast changes that took place in 19ol —what I like to call the “blood less revolution.” That full story is still to be told. me aouve x when I say in this little volume the author has unearthed a “gold mine.” He has done an admirable piece of work in tap ping the rich vein. In this pres ent volume it was not necessary that he should do more- The point I am making is that the mine has been opened, and there is still much more gold in it anc it should be brought out by the author of the present volume oi some person whom he is able to inspire. To me the most significanl statement in the entire bool comes on the last page undei the Chapter “Some Conclusions and a Profession of Faith.’ The statement follows: “Some where along the path from the intrepid vigor with which the work began, along the ‘halcyoi years’ of high adventure anc magnificent daring at the be ginning of the century; ever along the journey 15 years aft er; some time between those days and the present, the Ne gro Presbyterian Group ‘L»os1 the way.’ It lost something oi its bouyancy, its boldness, its enterprise, something of its light and fire. It began to grov stolid and static and satisfied to become critical and content.’ These are the words of s sub-soiler,” a “trail blazer,” oi one who has made a critical study of tho v.hoJvj problem from the inception of the work down to the present- It is the voice of authority and we can not cast it aside lightly. If there ever was a challenge to the Ne gro leadership in the Presby terian Church it is contained in the above statement. The au thor says “some time between those days and the present we ‘lost our way-'" What caused us to lose our way? How can we find our way back? A big, unfin ished task! I want to heartily commend this volume to the readers of the A frico-American Presby terian. It is concise, instructive and stimulating. It should be required as a study in all the schools under the Board. It should be required as a study book for officers and members of all churches afded by the Board. It should be read and di gested by every Negro minister in the Presbyterian Church. As evidence of what I think of the volume, beginning the first Wednesday night in November, it will be introduced as a study book for the officers and mem bers of the Biddleville Presby terian church. There is one suggestion that I would make. I think this would make the book more use ful as a text, especially in the local churches. The suggestion is, that the book be printed in larger type and that it be di vided into eight chapters in stead of five Again expressing my personal appreciation to the author for the work he has done, I recom mend the book most highly to the readers of the Africa BUTLERI MEMORIAL PRES BYTERIAN CHURCH, SA VANNAH, GA. By Mrs. A. S- Leake After an illness of several months, Mrs. Mary E. Dillard died early Friday morning of last week at her residence, 801 W- 37th St. Her death was sorely felt by the many friends she had made since coming here to live about three years ago from Goldsboro, N. C., where she taught for a number of years with her husband, the late Rev. C. Dillard. She was a faithful member of this church, taking part in every activity of the church. Her funeral was held Sunday afternoon at the church. The floral tributes were many. The funeral exercises were conduct ed by the pastor, Rev- C. H. Richmond, assisted by Father J. Henry Brown, of Saint Au gustine church, and Rev- M- A* Fountain of St. Philip’s A- M. E. church. “Does Jesus Care’’ was effectively sung by Mr E. J. Simmons, of St. John Baptist church. The obituary was read by Prof. H. W. Leake; paper from the missionary society by Mrs- A- S. Leake; resolutions from the Sunday school by Mr. James Collier, and from the medical association by Dr- N. M Collier. Mrs. Dillard is survived by three brothers, Rev. P. K* Fonvielle, of Mt. Vernon, N- J.; . Dr. J. E. Fonvielle, of this city, and Mr. Herman F. Fonvielle, of Norfolk, Va.; a niece, Miss Al ma Shearard, of WUson, N. C.; a cousin, Mrs. Dora Whitehead, of Goldsboro, N- C-; two grand nieces, one grand nephew, Lo ralhe, Mary Emma and Nathan iel Arnold, who resided with her. Rev. Richmond was called home to attend the funeral of ; Mrs. Dillard. Rev. A. Pinckney filled the pulpit for us while Rev. Richmond was on his va cation. Rev. Pinckney is a young man full of the Spirit and ; a deep thinker. We enjoyed his messages very much. 1 Miss L- B. Leake and Miss Lucinda Green left for Swains boro some days ago to take up ! their work there as teachers in 1 the high school. ' Mrs- A. Turner left recently Cor Coulter Academy to resume her studies. Master Paul Leake has enter ed Gillespie-Selden Institute at Cordele, Ga Mrs. Edith Prince passed ; away on Saturday, last. Inter ment was at Midway Presby 1 terian Cemetery, Midway, Lib erty Co., Ga The Lord’s Supper will be ob- ■ served rt Smith University church. Sunday imorning, Ocit 11.
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Oct. 1, 1936, edition 1
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