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Quadrennial Address
of the
Bishops of the Colored
Methodist Episcopal Church
to the
Fourteenth Session
of the
General Conference
Held, in Saint Louis, Missouri
May Third. One Thousand
Nine Hundred and Twenty Two
Quadrennial Address
of the
Bishops of the Colored
Methodist Episcopal Church
to the
Fourteenth Session
of the
General Conference
Held, in Saint Louis, Missouri,
May Third, One Thousand
Nine Hundred and Twenty Two
Episcopal Address
TO THE FOURTEENTH GENERAL CONFERENCE OF
THE COLORED METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Dear Brethren:
We, your chief pastors, greet you in the name of "Him that loveth
us, and loosed us from our sins by His blood: and made us to be a
kingdom, to be priests unto God and His Father." "Grace to you
and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We
are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as
it is meet, for your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each
one aboundeth: so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of
God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and
in the afflictions which ye endure."
Even as we begin this Quadrennial Message to you, gathered from
all parts of our land, we are sadly reminded of the exodus, since our
last General Conference, to the other room of the Father's house,
of our great senior Bishop
LUCIOUS HENRY HOLSEY
and
our other beloved colleague,
MONROE FRANKLIN JAMISON.
While we sigh with you for "the touch of the vanished hand and
the sound of the voice that is still" of them, and of the many others
less well known but not less well loved, who have entered into their
Master's joys since our last Quadrennial Meeting, yet we do not
sorrow as those without hope. We rest in the calm assurance that
for them as for us:
"There is no death—
They only truly live
Who pass into the life beyond, and see
This earth is but a school preparative
For larger ministry.
We call them dead,—
But they look back and smile
At our dead living in the bonds of flesh,
And to rejoice that, in so short a while
Our souls will slip the leash.
There is no death
To those whose hearts are set
On higher things than this life doth afford.
How shall their passing leave one least regret
Who go to join their Lord?"
[3]
We are sure that you will arrange services at some time during
this session in suitable memorial of our dear departed comrades.
Racial Retrospect
We greet you today as direct descendants of a people who have
been "the pathway of the centuries, a people of a stupendous past,"
children of a race whose forbears were doing great and marvelous
things before the sires of other races, who now boast so proudly of
their superiority, had tasted of civilization's sweets. We dream
with you of the former greatness of "Ham, and the proud Pharaohs
of Egypt, of the eternal pyramids, standing majestically in the silence
of Egyptian sands, of the hanging gardens of Babylon, of the lost
splendors of Nineveh, of Carthage and Greece and Rome, of
Phoenicea and Syria and the far reaches of Ind." All these won¬
ders of the world black hands helped to build. The beginnings
of all these mighty civilizations and far famed cities the "patient
hands of our ancestors wrought," only that others should receive
the honor and glory, the worship and praise, because they could
not write histories and boast of their greatness. We rejoice with
you that the pick and spade of scientists and scholarly investigators
have uncovered recently at Benin, on the west coast of Africa, evi¬
dences of an ancient civilization of black people, which show that
the Negro had a cultural background equal to the best of the an¬
cient peoples. With you we proudly share in whatever achieve¬
ments the colored peoples of the earth have brought to pass, whether
it be as the founders of the world's great religions, as Confucious
and Gautama and Mohammed; or as builders of eternal monuments
of stone, as the pyramids and the inscrutable sphynx, keeping per¬
petual vigil over the desert sands of Egypt, or of that marvelous jewel
in stone, the Taj Mahal of India. Whether it be as poets and
authors, as Pushkin of Russia, Dumas and Rene Maran, the last
winner of the Goncourt prize, of France and Dunbar and Dubois
of the United Staes, or as musicians and artists like Coleridge Taylor
and Henry O. Tanner. Whether it be as statesmen and great cap¬
tains as Toussaint L'Ouverture and Charles Young, and Robert
Brown Elliot and Frederick Douglas; or, as explorers and pioneers
like Matthew Henson of North Pole fame. Whatever of glory and
fame is theirs is ours also, for we are all colored people.
We greet you as the children of those hardy settlers and pioneers
who came with the earliest Spanish explorers, Cortez and Pizzaro,
to give to the nations of Europe a new world to exploit. Truly
we can boast of being amongst the earliest American settlers; for
we came by the thousands, tho in slave ships, to fell the forests,
drain the swamps, till the fields, reap the harvests, build the cities
and to make the wilderness and solitary places glad, and the deserts
to bloom and blossom as the rose. Our sweat and blood have been
the fertilizer of the soil, our aching hearts and gnarled bodies have
[4]
been the fuel of the fires of this country. Any history of this nation
is incomplete without mentioning the Negro's labors and sufferings,
his bravery and loyalty. He was with the revolutionists at Bunker
Hill, with Perry on the Great Lakes, with Jackson at New Orleans,
with Grant at Forts Pillow and Wagner, with Scott in Mexico, with
Roosevelt at San Juan Hill and with Pershing in the Argonne For¬
est in France. Always and everywhere our escutcheon has been
without stain of cowardice, and our banners have been unsoiled by
the dust of treason and disloyalty. Truly ours is a record of which
any people may well be proud.
Not a White Man's Country
In his wonderfully eloquent Episcopal address to the last general
conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop McDowell
truly said: "This is not a white man's world. The white races
number nearly half of the human family, the yellow, black, brown
and red races, the remainder." We wish to emphasize the fact that
this is not a white man's country, however much it may be reiterated
by politicians and newspapers. The white man came here to escape
religious persecution, to make money and to have freedom from
oppression. He found a red people already in possession—not a white
people, but a red people. We came here against our will, brought
by the white man as slaves. We have done as much as he has to
make this country what it is, both in peace and war. . So by every
argument and right it is as much our country as it is his, for it orig¬
inally belonged to neither of us. We came here about the same time
he came. Therefore, we insist that this is our country as well as his.
We are native born citizens. If this is not our country we have no
country. We claim no other. Old Glory is our flag as well as
his. Our blood has helped to make its stripes crimson as well as the
white man's. Our valor on the battle field has added to its stars
as truly as has his. Wisely and well has it been said by a broad
minded white editor: "We have, it is true, a Negro population. But
the forefathers of the black people were brought here against their
will, and these black people themselves have (no other country and
are, therefore, morally and legally entitled to their residence and citi¬
zenship. Any attempt to expel the Negro population would be not
only illogical but also wicked and cruel. If such a thing were pos¬
sible the expelled Negro would have no land to go to, no home to
seek, no place of refuge. The Negro belongs where he was born and
where he is a useful citizen."
Race Prejudice and Race Superiority
We marvel that, in these days of scientific discoveries and ethno¬
logical research, there should be so many evidences of color prejudice
and so much boasting of racial superiority by those who should know
better. A scholarly African, of more than princely blood, discus¬
sing color prejudice, says: "Speaking in terms of pure psychology
[5]
we can explain color prejudice quite naturally. The presence of some¬
thing that is not like ourselves always produces an emotion. It is
either an emotion of adoration for something not like ourselves but
higher, or an emotion of contempt for what we consider to be lower.
Color prejudice, psychologically, is the emotion of contempt for
something not like yourself. But there is a plane on which all color
prejudice can be transcended. It is the spiritual plane on which
we realize that the thing in which we are not like one another is on
the surface, a matter of external color and culture. It is in the
spiritual realm that prejudice disappears."
It is not in good grace for any race to claim that it despises another
race, not because of its color, but because it has been enslaved, since
history teaches that human slavery is an age-old institution and that
all races at some time in their history have been enslaved by other
and stronger races. Even the now proud Britons were sold in the
slave markets of ancient Rome, and the great Julius Ceasar con¬
temptuously referred to them as "the stupidest and most degraded
of the human race." Concerning the boasted racial superiority of
certain races both science and Holy Writ are against their claims.
Recent science declares that all humanity came up by evolution from
the slime pools of long forgotten eons, and Holy Writ declares:
"Of one blood hath God made all the nations to dwell on the face
of the earth together." The bubble of racial superiority is ruthlessly
blown away by the great English historian, H. G. Wells, in his
epoch making Outlines of History. "Humanity is one," says he,
"race distinctions are superficial and not radical: there is a universal
brotherhood, originating in the universal fatherhood of God. There
is no honor so great, no blessing so supreme, no hope so glorious,
as this that we are the children and heirs of God." This country
would do well to ponder this warning from a distinguished writer of
another nation: "If America does not cast out her devil of class
hate from the midst of her she will again be ravished by the Angel
of Death as in the Civil War. The established peaceful routine of
a country like America is very deceptive. All seems permanently
unshakable. The new refinement, the new politeness and well-lived
culture, the vast commercial organizationsx and press suggest that
no calamity could overtake them. The force that makes for disrup¬
tion and anarchy is generated silently and secretly. It accumulates,
and one day must discharge itself. Its name is resentment and its
first expression is revenge."
Aftermath of the War
We submit that the treatment accorded us as a race in this country
has not been what we had a right to expect in view of our loyalty in
times of danger and our services in times of need. To take only
one of many illustrations. When the great war engulfed our country
we were told to forget the treatment of the past and to "carry on
loyally," and when the war was won we would be given every right
[6]
and privilege which any other citizens enjoyed. We took this prom¬
ise at par value and entered whole heartedly into the business of
making war on our country's enemies. We gave our sons, the
flower of the race. We gave unstintedly of our gold and energy.
We gave these loyally, heartily and patriotically in the hour of our
country's need. Many thousands of our beloved boys "sleep the
sleep that knows no waking" in the graveyards of this country and
beneath the lilies of France and the crimson popies of Flanders;
while their bereaved mothers proudly wear the gold stars upon their
breasts and golden memories of their deeds of valor in their hearts.
To our utter astonishment and dismay our ebon hued warriors, who
marched so gayly away, amidst the plaudits of white and black citi¬
zens, on returning from the battlefields of foreign lands were met,
not with the freedom for which they fought and for which their
more fortunate comrades died, but with sullen looks of suspicion and
dark thoughts and plans to "put them back in their places" of dis¬
crimination, segregation and repression. Truly "Republics are un¬
grateful." To the excuse that this treatment is necessary because
of our brutality and bestiality let the ever eloquent Bishop Quayle
make fitting answer. Says the great orator: "But his enemies say
he is lazy. Let the white race, whose labor he has so long sweat
under, be slow to throw that stone. They say his women lack vir¬
tue. Until the white man becomes a gentleman with helpless woman¬
hood he has diabolically debauched, let that word sink in silence.
They say he is brutal. While white men continue to lynch black men
with inhuman delight, let that accusation wither on the lip. They
say he is a barbarian in his lust and deeds, to which the caustic reply
Civilization has to make is that in the presence of deeds in this mat¬
ter of inhuman warfare, the black man is a saint and deserves can-
nonizing. No brothers, the non-black races will do admirably well
to observe a discreet silence." "If there is any people in all Amer¬
ica who exemplify faith, hope and charity to forgive those who have
wronged them it is the American Negro," is the gracious statement
of United States Senator McCormick of Illinois.
White Christianity Re-Acts to Lawlessness
It may be asked: "What has the white church said and done
amidst all this confusion and strife of the war's aftermath?" for
undoubtedly white Christianity is on trial. We rejoice to say that
the white preachers and leaders of every denomination and sect have
realized their responsibility and spoken out in no uncertain tones.
The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America in a noble
utterance had this to say: "The recent race conflicts of our cities
challenge the attention of the churches of Jesus Christ to their
responsibility respecting an amicable and fair adjustment of race
relations in America. In the fellowship of the Federal Council of
Churches of Christ in America are included 3,989,852 members of
[7]
Negro churches. In speaking therefore at this time for humanity
and justice we voice the mind and conscience of both races. The
present situation is a challenge to the churches, charged with the pro¬
motion of the brotherhood of man, which look upon all men as en¬
titled to a footing of equality of opportunity. This calls for preach¬
ing the duty of economic and community justice for the Negro, thus
securing peace and goodwill between the races. Beyond all else the
present situation calls for confession on the part of Christian men
and women of a failure to live up to the standard of universal
brotherhood as taught by Jesus Christ."
Bishop Mouzon, in a striking sermon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after
the awful rioting which disgraced that city, said: "The mob is wrong.
The mob is always wrong. The mob is a wild beast. In the midst
of the mob, the individual is no longer a man; he is just the horns
or the hoofs, the teeth or the claws of a senseless wild animal; the
morals of the mob are the morals of the jungle. The mob is never
to be defended; it is always to be condemned. Never excuse the
mob; never apologize for the mob. The mob must disappear from
the life of America." A special committee of white women of the
Georgia Committee on Interracial cooperation in its report said:
"We are convinced that if there is any one crime more dangerous
than another, it is that which strikes at the root of, and undermines
constituted authority, breaks all laws and restraints of civilization,
substitutes mob-violence and masked irresponsibility for established
justice, and deprives society of the sense of protection against bar¬
barism. Therefore, we believe that no falser appeal can be made to
southern manhood than that mob-violence is necessary for the pro¬
tection of womanhood, or that the brutal practice of lynching and
burning human beings is an expression of chivalry. We believe that
these methods are no protection to anything or anybody, but that
they jeopardize every right and every security that we possess." And
best of all we are glad to remind you that the House of Representa¬
tives of the United States Congress recently passed by a large ma¬
jority the Dyer bill, aimed to stop lynching in this country. Such
acts and utterances as the above show that white Christianity is
awake and alive to the embarrassment which threatens it as it goes
to the lands of colored peoples preaching the Gospel of Peace and
Goodwill. For the colored peoples of the earth are echoing to the
white embassadors of Jesus Christ the appeal of Philip to the Mas¬
ter, "Show us the Father," rather than tell us about Him. So, trust¬
ing in that God who has ever been with us, we refuse to become dis¬
couraged or bitter under present conditions. Surely the clouds are
breaking, the night is passing, and with high resolve we sing with you:
"It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul."
[8]
Our Racial Progress
We point with profound pride to our progress during the last fifty-
seven years—the most wonderful progress of any race in the annals
of history. Major Moten of Tuskegee, writing to the London
Times, June 14, 1921, gives this summary of our racial progress;
"Our race left the vales of slavery fifty-seven years ago empty
handed. By thrift and energy Negroes operate today 900,000 farms
in the south. They cultivate in the south approximately one hundred
million acres of land, of which fifty-two million are under the control
of Negro farmers. The Negro owns and operates various businesses
to the number of 38,382, not including such lines as barber shops,
shoe shops and black-smith shops. If these were included the number
would easily equal 43,000. He operates thirty-six large insurance
companies and seventy-two banks. The total wealth of the Negro
now approximates $1,000,000,000. Negro illiteracy has been re¬
duced from 90% in 1863 to 20% in 1921. Over two million Negro
children are in public schools. Over 100,000 are in normal schools
and colleges. In 1867 there were 699 colored teachers, in 1920 there
were more than 40,000. In 1866 there were fifteen colleges in the
entire country in which Negroes were admitted. Today there are 500
normal schools and colleges for Negroes with an enrollment of more
than one hundred thousand students. Of this number seventeen
schools are devoted to the training of Negro girls and women ex¬
clusively. Beginning with no property the property now owned by
Negroes for school purposes, secondary and for higher education, is
valued at twenty-five million dollars. There were 300,000 Negroes
in white churches before the Civil war. In 1866 there were 700
Negro churches with six hundred thousand communicants and church
property valued at five hundred thousand dollars. Now there are
forty-three thousand Negro churches with four million eight hundred
thousand communicants, with church property valued at eighty-six
million dollars. Negro churches contribute annually for foreign
missions one hundred thousand dollars, supporting 300 missionaries
and 200 churches in mission fields."
"So we learn our lesson out of love and hatred, out of earnings
and borrowings and lendings, out of wooing and worshipping; out of
travelling and voting, and watching, and caring; out of disgrace and
contempt, comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful laws. Let
him not slur his lesson; let him learn it by heart. Let him endeavor
exactly, bravely, and cheerfully, to solve the problem of life which is
set before him. And this, by punctual action, and not by promise and
dreams. Believing, as in God, in the presence and favor of the
grandest influences, let him deserve that favor, and learn how to
receive and use it, by fidelity also to the lower observances."
[9]
The Great Migration Continues
The wanderlust of mankind is proverbial. The stories of the
migration of tribes and races of mankind fill many pages of history,
ancient and modern; and these migrations have profoundly influenced
the course of history. The ancient Greeks allegorized this tendency
of the human race to venture all for better living conditions in the
immortal story of Jason and his hardy and heroic Argonauts who
went in search of the golden fleece. The history of the growth and
development of this country, from the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers
on the bleak New England shores and the journeyings of Spanish
explorers to the sunny glades of Florida; from the French sailing
down the mighty Mississippi River to the men of Virginia and the
Carolinas, climbing over the mountains to blaze a way for civiliza¬
tion thru the wilderness beyond; from the prairie schooner, rolling
thru the deserts of the hostile west to far away Pikes Peak, and on
to where "the Oregon rolls in silent grandeur," all speak of the call
to men to "follow the gleam" which beckons to freedom, wealth and
happiness. Multiplied millions have emigrated from Europe's op¬
pression and Asia's darkness and poverty to the plenty and freedom
of America and the far isles of the sea. The fingers of hidden gold
have drawn men to snowy Alaska and the frozen North. Why then
should it be a cause of wonder that the Negro should show himself
a real part of the human family by heeding the call to larger oppor¬
tunity, to more freedom of action and thought and to better living
conditions? The Negro has migrated in small numbers for many
years—the more hardy and thoughtful of them. Negroes are to be
found in every state in the Union. But the year 1917 will always
be known in the annals of this country as the beginning of the
Great Migration of Negroes from the south to all parts of the coun¬
try. The great war unbarred gates in factory and foundry in the
North, East and Northwest hitherto closed to the Negro. It opened
avenues of employment to him which had been closed before. And
this opportunity to enter these avenues of employment in these sec¬
tions gave the Negro the chance to refute many slanders and mis¬
representations which had been assiduously circulated concerning his
intelligence, manner of living, and ability to adapt himself to new
conditions and circumstances anywhere and everywhere, as other
races. In a word, the spirit of democracy and freedom, which filled
the souls of all peoples thruout the world, reached the Negro. Let it
be understood forever, that young men and women, who have been
taught to read and think the great thoughts of earth's great mind's,
cannot and will not abide the repressive conditions which their par¬
ents patiently endured. They will seek other and freer climes. This
vast and portentious movement of black folk will not cease as long
as blood flows red and hearts beat bold and free in human breasts;
and the conditions from which they flee continue to exist. No rigors
of climate and no propaganda of a venal press can stem this human
[10]
flood. It is the world-old response to the call of the spirit of liberty
and freedom. The Negro has been "greatly enlarged by the hap¬
penings of the last two years. His discernments have crossed class
lines, and sect lines, and the lines of vocation, and sex lines and
racial lines. He has been pushed in every direction. He has been
stretched by the harsh ripping of imperious circumstances."
The C. M. E. Church Re-Acts to the Migration
Bishop H. M. Dubose of the M. E. Church, South, pleading for
a fuller recognition of the needs of the great Pacific Slope, said in a
recent article in the official organ of his church: "The preponderance
if immigration into the West will not long continue against the
South. The tide has already turned, and our ranks in the West
feel the stimulus of it. The time is at hand when the wealthy and
ambitious men of business in the South, with multitudes of its younger
generations, are looking towards the West, the future seat of empire
and the field of brilliant exploitation. What will happen to South¬
ern Methodism when a third of its membership removes to the
states beyond the Rockies, if it is not there to meet and fold its own ?"
In that appeal he admirably stated the case for the C. M. E. Churcfy
in its re-action to the great migration. We, too, ask in all serious¬
ness what will happen to the C. M. E. Church when more than one-
half of its membership removes from its present dwelling place, its
younger and most aspiring membership, to the North, the East and
the Northwest, if it is not there "to meet and fold its own?" We
must follow our membership wherever it goes or in a few years be
emasculated. We have made a beginning in this direction, thanks
to your wisdom and foresight, but it is only a beginning. We are
well situated and firmly planted in the great cities of Cleveland,
Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; St. Louis, Mo.; New York, N. Y.; Spring¬
field, Mass.; Detroit, Mich.; Washington, D. C.; Philadelphia,
Pa.; Newark, N. J.; Chicago, 111., Milwaukee, Wis.; Kansas City,
Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis, Ind., and other cities of those
sections. Let it be emphasized that no one person may lay claim to
the credit of this splendid forward movement of our Zion. Nor has
the pronoun I any place in the recital of these accomplishments. The
entire College of Bishops and the whole church have been engaged
in this great work; and whatever bishop or bishops have fostered this
work have been merely the agents or representatives of the entire
church. We appeal to you in this General Conference to lay large
plans to care for and consolidate and make permanent what has been
so wisely begun. We urge that you survey this work carefully in
your committees, and wherever necessary let new Conferences be
laid off, carved out of existing Conferences it may be, and that all
vacant territory be covered where our membership has migrated.
We urge that adequate financial provisions be made to carry on this
work in the future. We say with all emphasis that our existence as
[11]
a church largely depends upon what you do in this General Confer¬
ence concerning this all-important work.
The Semi-Centennial of the C. M. E. Church
We felicitate this General Conference on the happy fact that it
will go down into history as the Semi-Centennial General Conference.
A little more than fifty years ago a little company of men of heroic
mould met in Jackson, Tenn., one December day to organize a new
church. They were tired of being held in leading strings and wished
to try to walk alone ecclesiastically. They wanted to try the experi¬
ment of making a church of colored people who, tho but yesterday
slaves, would work and live in the territory which was then owned
and controlled by their former masters, and would seek to harmonize
the two elements, former master and former slave. In that little
band of pioneers were men who were destined to leave their impress
indelibly upon the thought of coming generations. There sat the
eloquent Vanderhorst, soon to be sainted. There was the magnificent
Miles, massive in statue and brain, who was destined to be the St.
Peter of Colored Methodism. There was the stately Lane, ordained
to be the greatest Gospel preacher of the church of all time. There
sat the golden-mouthed Holsey, destined to be the great orator and
writer of the church. There were Isaac Anderson, legislator and
financier, and Job Crouch, and J. W. Lane and R. T. Thirgood
and Richard Samuels and Solon Graham, and others who would
become a part of the history of Colored Methodism. And with this
hardy crew the newly christened ecclesiastical ship set sail upon the
troublous waters for the great and eventful voyage. What a rough
and soul-wearing voyage it was to be! Think you, if these worthies
had known of "the afflictions, necessities, distresses, tumults, journey-
ings often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils in cities, perils in
the wilderness, perils of false brethren, labors and travail, watchings
often, hunger and thirst, fastings often, cold and nakedness," which
would be theirs, as they sought to foster and nourish this tender plant
of God, that they would have undertaken the mighty task? We
venture to say yes; for "There were giants in those days." The
eye grows misty as one looks back upon the bitter sufferings of those
heroes, and the heart grows big as one thinks of the all-conquering
faith of the mighty men who, under God, brought this church of
ours thru those strenuous years. The name they chose for the infant
church was comprehensive and prophetic. "The Colored Methodist
Episcopal Church in America." It only needed to drop "In America"
to link us with the colored peoples of Methodist persuasion in every
clime and land on the globe. It is a name which fits wonderfully
well into the present trend of the times. As we look back into the
past and around us today, and mark the marvelous growth of the
church called "Colored Methodist" we say fervently: "The best of
all God is with us." We began with barely sixty thousand mem¬
bers, a few annual conferences, no schools, a hand-full of unlettered
[12]
preachers, and but little church property. This Semi-Centennial
General Conference finds us with 366,613 members, 3,402 pastors,
2,621 churches, 36 Annual Conferences, 15 schools and colleges and
church property valued at millions of dollars. From being planted
in a few southern states our lines have gone out into all parts of the
country. Our intellectual giants now enter the lists and break
lances and cross swords with the bravest and best of other churches.
Vanderhorst left the infant church for fairer shores almost before
the anchor had been weighed and the voyage begun. The mighty
Miles continued in command until it was evident that the voyage
would be propitious. When he disembarked the future was already
big with promise for his beloved church. The scholarly Beebe re¬
mained with the crew until the storm was blowing over, the skies
clearing and the sea growing calm. The eloquent Holsey journeyed
on until he could say: "With my staff I passed over this Jordan: And
now I am become two companies." The beloved and venerable Lane
still lingers with us, and today we reverently salute him, the last of
the great captains, and pray that it may be many years before "the
black camel kneels at his door" to bear him away from us.
The Church and World Conditions
"The whole world rolls into light,
It is day-break everywhere."
It has been three years since the bugle sounded the armistice in
the great World war. It has been three years since peace was
declared. Since then the world has been like a man who has been
desperately sick with a dangerous fever. The fever has abated, the
crisis has passed, convalescence has begun, but it seems to the watchers
at the bedside that the recovery of the patient is exceedingly slow.
It is well to remember, however, that recovery from serious illness
is always slow in proportion to the gravity of the disorder. In
every part of the world there is still confusion, strife, upheavals,
crime, poverty, sickness, famine and death. Truly the four horsemen
of the Apocalypse are still riding. Our country has not escaped
the general confusion. It seems that humanity has lost its grip
upon itself. There are signs now, however, of returning sanity
and health in the world. Men have learned at last at what a bitter
cost wars are made and are realizing that a war is national murder.
President Harding and Secretary Hughes did a wonderful thing to
usher in the reign of peace and good will when they invited the great
nations of the world to the disarmament conference in Washington
last November. That conference has accomplished much towards
ending war. There the nations decided to scrap battleships, halt
the building of new ones and stop the race for naval supremacy,
which was but the breeding ground for future wars. In that confer¬
ence the nations decided to try the panacea for the ills of humanity
which Jesus of Nazareth brought to mankind, namely, trust and love
[131
and goodwill. We claim that the teachings of the church thru
the centuries, working like leaven, have wrought this change in
the thoughts and minds of the rulers of the people; for are
not the President, his great Secretary of State, and the rulers of
all western countries believers in the teachings of the Man of
Galilee? It was thought, and freely said during the war that
Christianity had broken down. It now appears that it functioned
better than we thought, in that there was given to men the oppor¬
tunity to contrast on a great scale the human way of settling
national disputes, by the arbitrament of the sword, and the divine
way of settling national disputes, by discussion and reason. It
seems that the awful calamities which ensued during the war, and
which have followed the war, have shocked mankind into a relization
that the way of the Prince of Peace is the best way. Many signs
appear to show that the dream of the prophets is not far from
fulfillment when "Nations shall beat their swords into plough¬
shares and their spears into pruning hooks" and the dread god of
war shall be forever dethroned.
What is The Matter With The Church?
This question is often asked by those who bear so much criticism
of and unrest in the church. No one will deny that there is a great
deal of unrest and apparent dissatisfaction with some conditions in
the church today; but a close inspection of the church, its growth
and progress, will reveal that this unrest and criticism are merely
the growing pains of the body of Christ. Statistics show that more
than four million men and women joined the church in the last
five years, or at the rate of two thousand one hundred and seventy-
three per day. The total church membership in this country now
amounts to 45,997,199. There are 233,104 congregations and
200,090 ministers. The net gain for all churches in 1920, the
last year of official statistics, was 712,000. The Methodists made
the greatest gain in their history that year, gaining 237,127. The
total number of all Methodists is now 7,797,991. We are glad to
inform you that our beloved Zion was the only colored Methodist
church to show a net gain, gaining about 14%. All of which
shows that there is nothing the matter with the church despite the
criticisms which come from those who wish for the welfare of
the church, and are impatient for the Bride of Christ to put on her
garment of beauty and shine forth as the sun. Still we must not
cease to watch unto prayer and let God have His way with us
in this General Conference. We will not deny that there is too
much unrest, apparent dissatisfaction and uneasiness in our ranks.
We urge that there may be more of the spirit of Christian brother-
liness in our thinking of and dealings with each other. Let us
realize that there may be aspirations without bitterness, the desire
for promotion without hatred or malice for each other. Let us
resolve in the beautiful sentiments of another that, "We will not
[14]
weaken the church either by unholy criticism or strife or division.
God help us, we will in these days strengthen her, increase her
power, and enrich her life for a new and perfected service in the
world. We will set the church, if we can, on a higher level for
the new generation." For, "In every corner of the world men and
women are thinking urgently of these things, seeking to find The
Way. They will not be satisfied with formalities, however ancient,
nor put off with phrases, however eloquent or entertaining. This
is no time for perfunctory job holding in the places of inspiration
and leadership." The challenge of the world to the church today
is. "Sirs, we would see Jesus."
Through tribulations and distress, they come!
Through perils great and bitterness,
Through persecutions pitiless, they come!
They come by paths the martyrs trod,
They come from underneath the rod,
Climbing, through the darkness up to God, they come!
Out of mighty tribulation,
With a sound of jubilation
They come! they come!
Evangelistic Department
We must seek to keep the flame of missionary zeal blown up
and burning brightly. The revival spirit must not be allowed to
grow dim in our ministry. It will not be amiss for this General
Conference to authorize the establishment of an Evangelistic Depart¬
ment for our church, whereby the men and women who feel called
to that special work may be organized and their efforts co-ordinated
with the proper credentials to conduct revivals wherever they
may be needed. Thus they may exercise their gifts to the glory
of God and the building up of our Zion. We are sure such a
department properly managed, can do great good, and many men and
women in our ranks who are peculiarly gifted in song and exhortation
can be profitably and systematically employed.
A Better Ministry and a Better Paid Ministry
Woe unto that organization, secular or ecclesiastical, whose com¬
petent leadership is constantly decreasing in numbers and efficiency.
Of all organizations the Christian church is the most important to
the welfare of the human race. Therefore, its leadership should
be the best prepared and most efficient of all organizations. The
minister of the colored churches is the recognized leader in all
movements affecting the development and welfare of the race. He
is the leader in everything which affects his church. It is he who
must plan the campaigns for all the forward movements, whether
it be the winning of souls or the supplying of the money for the
maintenance of the organization. He must be abreast with the
[151
times in every sphere of activity, if he is to lead the ever advancing
laity. "A church cannot live without an adequate ministry." We
regret to say that our church does not pay sufficient attention to
the quality of the men who assay to enter our ministry. We do
not seek to have those who enter make adequate preparation to
do the work which a pastor and preacher is called to do in this busy
age. We cannot and must not depend upon the little training our
people may receive in institutions controlled by the state. Truly
has it been said: "The minister today should have the best training in
the social sciences our universities can provide." Bishop Thirkield
says: "Would you release power permanent and prophetic? Would
you project your personal influence far along the years? Would
you send your lines of influence thruout all the earth and have your
word resound to the end of the world? Then put your money in
preparing preachers for Christian leadership."
Another disquieting fact which confronts our church is that the
best fitted young men, by training and experience, are not seeking
admission to our ministerial ranks. Every bishop and cabinet in
our church knows how difficult it is to find suitable preachers to
fill our most important charges. Everywhere the cry comes from
our leading churches: "Send us one of the best men you have."
Where are we to get them to send to these petitioners? These things
are true not only of our church and race but of the white churches.
Says Dr. Robert Kelly, secretary of the Council of Church Boards of
Education, in a recent report: "Few people actually appreciate the
seriousness of the situation. Fully 5000 pulpits were empty in all
parts of the country in 1921, and 500 more will be vacant this
year. There were scarcely 5500 students in all the Protestant
seminaries last year; this would represent the mere graduation total,
while four times that number should be enrolled if our supply would
equal the demand." This is the condition. What is the cause?
Why, we ask in all earnestness, do the best qualified young men of
all races no longer seek admittance to the Christian ministry? In
former days the Christian ministry was considered the pathway to
honor and large usefulness. Why not now? There are many and
varied reasons, which will doubtless occur to the thoughtful among
you, and which we have not time to enumerate in this utterance.
One chief cause of this alraming falling off in ministerial applications
from the best of the young men of all races is the utterly inadequate
remuneration given by the churches to their ministers. While we do
not believe that any man should look for the same financial and
material rewards in the Christian ministry which are obtained in
other callings, yet the Christian minister has a right to expect, after
years of preparation and study for the work of preaching the Gospel
of Jesus Christ and pastoring the Flock of God, that he shall be
placed above want and worry concerning the necessities of life for
himself and his family. He has a right to expect to be treated as
[16]
a worth-while man engaged in the greatest business in the world—
saving and ministering to souls. We call your attention to these
conditions so that you may legislate during this session for the better
support of the preachers, so that we may have better pastors and
preachers. We are sure that our laymen will gladly assist in doing
this, so that the pastors in the future will have more to spend upon
books ,magazines and the like. We likewise suggest that every
one, from pastors to bishops, will use all proper means in future to
reach and bring into the ministry that class of young men of
ability and training who are now reluctant to enter it. While
we may not "lay hands on any man suddenly," yet we may "pray
the Lord of the harvest to send forth more laborers into His vine¬
yard;" and we can help that Lord to answer our own prayers if
we will.
Our Young People and Our Schools
Our young people of today are the leaders of tomorrow. They
are the bishops, presiding elders, pastors and general officers of the
day after tomorrow. Their youthful, carefree faces smile at you in
this audience chamber. They will bend over your shoulders and
whisper to you in every committee room. They will scrutinize every
piece of legislation you enact during this session. They will watch
the writing of every ballot you cast for bishop or general officer.
They will be with you everywhere. It is your high privilege to plan
and legislate for a church which will be theirs in a few short years.
We urge you, therefore, to bear these wonderful young people upon
your hearts, and see to it that large plans are entered into to properly
provide for all of our various schools and colleges. It seems to us
that we are trying to operate too many schools in each state for our
own good, which undertaking makes it burdensome to our people and
hinders us from properly equipping any of them. In this connection
we would call your attention to the inequality of the educational
facilities afforded our people in this country. Although the Negro
constitutes more than 11% of the total population of the country he
receives less than 2% of the billions spent annually for education.
Of the $875,000,000 spent annually for public schools only 1%
is expended for the Negro. So it behooves us as a church to look to
the better financing of our educational institutions, if we are to con¬
tinue to exist as a church. Truly "The youth of a nation are the
trustees of posterity. In America and in the world the church of
Jesus Christ must direct and control the processes by which these
trustees are trained for posterity and for life." We call to your
mind, for further emphasis of this important matter, that it is an his¬
toric fact that the cause of education has ever been the constant care of
the church; and when the torch of learning burned low and was about
to expire in what is called the "Dark Ages"—that thousand year
period between the conquest of Greece and Rome by the northern
barbarians and the Renaissance—it was the church which kept the
[17]
flame burning thru its monasteries and nunneries and its church
schools, some of which developed into now famous universities.
"An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide,
Thru which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old Man," said a fellow pilgrim near,
"You are wasting strength with building here.
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way.
You've passed the chasm deep and wide,
Why build you the bridge at even tide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today,
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm which has been naught to me,
To that fair haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim.
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
A Review of Our Departmental Agencies
(1) The Official Organs
Thomas Jefferson said: "Giving information to the people is the
most certain and the most legimate engine of government. Educate
and inform the whole mass of the people." The Christian Index
has been such an "engine of government" in our church from its
very beginning, and right well has it fulfilled that important function
under its various able and efficient editors. At no time, however,
during its long and honorable history, has it attained to greater pres¬
tige and effectiveness, both within and without our connection, than
it has under its present brilliant and scholarly encumbent. We point
with pride to the editing and management of the other two official
publications of our church, the Western Index and the North Caro¬
lina Index, which latter since the death of the lamented J. C. Stan¬
ton, has been merged with the Methodist Herald and has been issued
from Augusta, Ga.
(2) The Removal of the Publishing Department
The last General Conference ordered the Book House to be moved
to Nashville, Tenn., but many things have prevented these instruc¬
tions from being carried out. The Committee On Locating The
Publishing House has purchased recently a site in Nashville, Tenn.,
and it will doubtless report to you what progress has been made.
[18]
It will be yours to further, legislate upon this important phase of our
church activities. We wish to say with all emphasis that the time
has come when we should have a publishing plant which will worthily
represent our growing Methodism.
(3) The Department of Church Extension
The Church Extension Department, under the present faithful and
loyal and resourceful General Secretary, has been a vital and im¬
portant factor in the growth and development of our church during
the quadrennium just closed. It has been largely thru his aggressive¬
ness and vision that we are so well situated in New York City, St.
Louis and many other places. The splendid headquarters of this
department, purchased largely thru the efforts of your Secretary, are
a credit to the entire connection. We are sure you will listen with
interest to the report of the achievements of this department at the
appointed time. We recommend that you legislate to increase the
income of this department so that it will be able to do more towards
spreading the borders of the church during the next quadrennium.
Forward and ever forward must be our connectional slogan.
(4) Department of Missions
The Methodist preacher who leaves his home and loved ones after
an Annual Conference is over to go "where he is sent," when "where
he is sent" is a raw mission in a strange town or city, without house
of worship or members, is a real hero. When he returns to the An¬
nual Conference, after a year of toil, privation and suffering, bring¬
ing a house of worship, perhaps built with the help of his own hands,
and a membership of faithful souls, he deserves all the praise which
his brethern and the bishop can bestow upon him. But praise and
cheers do not fill empty stomachs, nor clothe the bare bodies of wives
and children. There must be something more substantial provided
for such stalwart warriors who march in the foremost files of the
militant host of God. The Missionary Department is designed to
furnish such help to these mission preachers. It is the duty of the
General Secretary of Missions to be ever on the alert to find out the
needs of the mission preachers and to devise ways and means to make
their lot more comfortable. We are pleased to bear witness to the
increasing usefulness of our Missionary Department during the past
quadrennium. The Secretary of this department in making his
Quadrennial Report to you will doubtless give an accounting of his
stewardship in handling and disbursing to the mission preachers the
$40,000 which the M. E. Church, South, so generously appropriated
from its Centenary Funds for that purpose. It is your privilege and
duty to enlarge the ability of this department to aid the mission
preachers in future by such legislation as will add to its resources.
(5) Department of Education
The educational work of the church has been well and efficiently
carried on under the guidance of the brilliant General Secretary of
Education. Thorough-going and aggressive and forward looking he
[19]
has ably put the needs of our schools and colleges before the various
boards and educational foundations which are entrusted with the
disbursing of funds for the aid of educational institutions.
(6) The Sunday School Department
The last General Conference created a Sunday School Depart¬
ment, and elected as its first General Secretary and editor the
erudite Dr. John Wesley Gilbert. The entire church breathed a
fervent "well done" to the General Conference for its wise selection
and looking forward to a great career for the new department. Alas!
It was not to be. The great physical effort of the gallant Gilbert, in
tramping thru the wilds of Africa in company with the lamented
Bishop Walter R. Lambuth, had proven too great a strain upon
mind and body. After a few months of work Dr. Gilbert collapsed
mentally and physically, and is today a helpless invalid. However,
he has been continued as the official head of this department, in
recognition of his past services, while Dr. J. A. Lester, one of our
ripest laymen, has had the active management of the work. He will
read the report to you showing how well he has carried on since
Dr. Gilbert fell. We cannot do better, in urging the necessity of
your further legislating for the development of this all important
work of instructing our children in the principles of Christianity,
than to quote a part of a recent utterance of the Secretary of the
Board of Sunday Schools of the great Methodist Episcopal Church.
He says. "One is almost bound to believe that even today the majority
of the people called Methodists, including many who occupy places
of influence, have not sensed the fact so emphasized by Jesus that re¬
ligion is to be taught and to be learned; that the church of Christ must
be the church of the long look; that she must major in teaching; that
her productive field must be childhood and youth, where methods of
instruction and training must predominate." We may add in closing
that our church has been greatly embarrassed in the past by using
Sunday School literature which was not primarily intended for our
schools.
(7) The Epworth League Department
We wish to bring to your minds the importance of either abolish¬
ing the Epworth League Department or of putting it on a sounder
basis of operation, of fixing a better salary for the Secretary, and of
providing a better method of paying it. We urge that you elect a
man thoroughly competent to organize, lead and inspire the intelli¬
gent and thoughtful young people of our church to have charge of
this department. The present manner of its operation reflects no
credit upon our growing Methodism.
(8) The Superannuate Department
The Superannuate Department has done well during the last
quadrennium under its present Secretary. It is important that you
further legislate concerning this very important department in order
[20]
to insure its more adequate functioning. The preacher who has
spent his whole life in the ministry of Jesus Christ is unfitted in his
old age for any other calling. If he has done his work well he
deserves well of his church in his old and declining years. One of
the most pathetic sights is to see an old, worn out Methodist preacher,
who has given his best years to God and to others, wandering about
from place to place begging and with no certain dwelling place, a
burden upon his family and his friends. The complaint is frequently
made that the bishops and their dependents are the only ones for
whom adequate provision has been made by the church when they
are old and can no longer actively serve the church. While we
may deny that adequate provision has been made for the inactive
bishops, or the surviving dependents of deceased bishops, yet it must
be acknowledged that some provision has been made for them, while
too little has been made for their equally worthy brethren in the
ranks. We wish to call your attention to the fact that every great
church has launched a vigorous campaign for the better support of the
worn out veterans of the ministry, and millions of dollars have been
pledged for their care. The great M. E. Church has asked for thirty
millions of dollars for its retired veterans, and the chairman of the
department, in his latest report, shows that more than sixteen mil¬
lions of dollars have been collected. We may well ask ourselves
what are we doing to show that we are not unmindful of the labors
of our old preachers and are not ungrateful for their sacrifices and
suffering in helping to build our church.
In this somewhat casual survey of our departmental agencies and
their activities during the past quadrennium, in closing, we wish to
suggest that you take the time to carefully scrutinize the constitution
of each department, eliminating all unnecessary verbiage and phrase¬
ology, which only serve to confuse the meaning, while adding nothing
to the efficiency of the department, and give to the church clearly
worded and easily understood instruments, which can be compre¬
hended and interpreted by all of the preachers and laity—and even
the General Secretaries themselves.
The Laymen of The Church
The laymen help to make up the. rank and file of the church.
They furnish the sinews of war, the finances, for all of the campaigns
in which bishops and pastors engage. Without laymen and lay-
women there can be no church. Our church has long recognized
the importance of the laymen by giving them equal representation in
our General Conference.
In recent years we have raised up a splendidly trained and
equipped group of young men, the product of the best schools in the
land, who can do graceful service anywhere and at any time for
the church. Yet we have lagged behind other bodies of Methodists,
in that we have placed no laymen in any position of trust and re¬
sponsibility in the general church. We advise that this General Con-
[21]
ference set a precedent by electing some of the brilliant men of the
lay rank to some of the general offices which may be fittingly filled
by laymen.
Our Women
Our wonderful women! What shall we say of them? What
tribute shall we bring to them? Ever faithful, all enduring, ever
loyal, truly they are God's best gift to men.
"O woman, in our hours of ease,
Uncertain, coy and hard to please.
As variable as the shade
By the light quivering aspen made.
But when pain and anguish racks the brow
A ministering angel thou."
Women have always been an important and conspicuous element
in Christianity. And well may they be, for Christianity liberated
them from age-long slavery, lifted them from the position of mere
play things of men and gave them their rightful place in the ranks
of civilization. Indeed these opening years of this century have seen
women placed upon equal footing with men in civic and social affairs
in many Christian lands. The mothers of men have been accorded
the right which they first exercised when men are puling infants in
arms, the right to help direct and govern in their affairs. No
women have been more self-sacrificing, loyal and helpful than the
devoted women of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. Our
judgment is that the women of our church are not one whit behind
the women of other churches in training and experience for any
work in the church, whether it be as evangelists and preachers, or
as delegates in the Annual and General Conferences. We suggest
that this General Conference put it beyond cavil, by clarifying the
phraseology of the law governing the requirements of electing Lay
delegates, so that women may be elected as delegates in future to
both the Annual and General Conferences. And it will be well for
this General Conference to assist them in perfecting their connec-
tional organization so that it will function harmoniously in our local
and general work. We recommend that you help them re-arrange
their constitution and by-laws so that there will be no conflict with
any of our laws and customs.
Prohibition
After many years of agitation this country has come to realize the
truth of the old saying: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging,
and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise," and has by con¬
stitutional enactment prohibited the manufacture and sale of the
home-destroying and death-dealing curse of mankind. In spite of
evasion of the prohibition law by criminally minded men and women
is has wrought wonders, in the short time it has been in effect, in
[22]
making homes once miserable happy, emptying jails, closing up sani¬
tariums and hospitals for drunkards, and in restoring will power and
reason to the slaves of the bottle. It is our opinion that prohibition
has been an unmixed blessing to our race and to our country. We
believe prohibition has come to stay, and that the prohibition sentiment
is marching on to world conquest. The great English writer and
publicist, George Bernard Shaw, has come out openly for it in Eng¬
land. Everywhere alchololic drinking is being recognized more and
more as a curse to nations and individuals. When education shall
.have had a time to produce a generation which will not know the
taste of alcohol, men will wonder why it was so long endured as a
necessary evil. We pledge, with you, our church's best effort to
help usher in a saloonless world.
Organic Union
At intervals, for many years, there have been made overtures by
first one and then another of the three great Negro Methodist
Churches looking toward a better understanding and closer co-opera¬
tion. These gestures towards union culminated five years ago in the
appointing of a joint committee from the A. M. E., A. M. E. Z. and
C. M. E. Churches to formulate a plan by which the three churches
could unite. This committee, composed of some of the best minds,
clerical and lay, of the three churches, met at Birmingham, Ala., and
agreed upon a plan which was submitted to our last General Con¬
ference, voted upon and adopted. It was then submitted to the
General Conference of the A. M. E. and A. M. E. Z. Churches
two years later and adopted by them. On its submission to the
Annual Conference of the three churches the plan did not meet with
that general approval which was necessary to consummate the union.
Thus the matter stands at present. The meeting of the Tri-Council
of Bishops recently held in Montgomery, Ala., was a hopeful sign.
At that meeting it was agreed to have a common hymnal and
catechism for the use of the three churches, and a committee was
appointed to compile them. Thus the movement is making progress.
It has been truly observed that, "Our divisions are a mystery to the
outsider and a scandal to ourselves." We think it will take time to
consummate this great movement, that many obstacles must be re¬
moved, and many ecclesiastical wrinkles must be ironed out by dis¬
cussion and conferences before there can be that brotherly understand¬
ing and sympathy between the constituency of the three churches
which is necessary to a perfect and abiding union. We repeat the
movement is making progress. And as Victor Hugo beautifully
says: "Progress marches; it makes the great celestial and human
journey towards the celestial and Divine; it has its halts where it
rallies the straying flock; it has its stations where it meditates in the
presence of some splendid Canaan suddenly unveiling its horizon.
[231
It has its nights when it sleeps." While we wait let us pray un¬
ceasingly :
"Break down the old dividing walls
Of sect, and rivalry, and schism.
And heal the body of thy Christ
With anoint of thy Chrism.
One church, one all-harmonious voice,
One passion for thy High Employ,
One heart of gold without alloys,
One striving for the highest joys,
One Christ, one cross, one only Lord,
One living of the Living World."
The American Bible Society
"The Bible is the sacred book of the Christian religion. It would
be anomalous indeed for one to suppose that he could have an
adequate knowledge of Christianity without a faithful study of the
vast and varied contents of the Bible." The great work of the
American Bible Society is to try to put a Bible in the hands of every
inhabitant of the globe in his own language. Truly this society has
accomplished a marvelous work during the years of its existence.
In its 105 years it has issued 141,729,340 volumes of the Scriptures
in more than 150 languages. Verily its lines have gone out thru
the whole earth. We recommend that you set aside one Sabbath in
the year to be known as Bible Day, on which day suitable exercises
shall be held in every church thruout the connection, a sermon shall
be preached, impressing upon our people, especially the young people,
the duty of giving some moments each day to reading the precious
Book of Books. On this day let a collection be taken for the Amer¬
ican Bible Society, to be reported to the Annual Conferences, and
sent to the society to aid it in its laudible work.
Report From the Ecumenical Delegation
Methodism has been ondress parade before the world recently in
London, England, under the shadow of City Roads Chapel, where
it was born. The Methodist clans gathered from the four quarters
of the earth to hold re-union in Ecumenical Conference, and to learn
what God had wrought by this puissant host called Methodists, in
the furtherance of the Kingdom of His dear Son. It must have
been like rare perfume to the sainted soul of John Wesley to look
down upon his beloved children of the spirit, and see that the six
preachers and four laymen of his first Annual Conference of 1744
had grown to 55,589 preachers, 98,884 local preachers, 10,184,373
members and 100,607 Methodist churches and preaching places thru¬
out the wide world. From all reports our delegation deported itself
well, and ably represented you in that great body. It will be yours
to appoint some time during this season for some of the members of
your delegation to that gathering to make formal report to you.
[24]
We Salute the M. E. Church, South
If the M. E. Church, South had done no more for us than to
found Paine College in Augusta, Ga., and to help maintain Lane
College in Jackson, Tenn., we would have much for which to be
grateful. From these two schools have come the majority of the
best trained and most efficient leaders of our church of both sexes.
But during the recent quadrennium she has generously shared with
us her great Centenary collections, giving more than a quarter of a
million dollars for building and endowments to five of our schools,
and giving a quarter of a million or more to Paine College alone.
And the best of all, these gifts and largesses are given out of her
love for and interest in the race to which we belong, and with no
thought of exercising any control over our affairs in any manner*
She treats her black daughter as a kind and wise mother does her
child who has left the ancestral hall to keep house for herself. She
realizes that the best way in such cases, is to let that daughter live
her own life in her own way, free from interference or dictation.
She is ever ready to advise, if asked, to help when needed, to counsel
when approached; but, until these conditions arise, she knows that
children who have left the old home to keep house for themselves are
best left to manage their affairs as best suits them. We wish to em¬
phasize that these are the relations which exist between these two
churches.
African Missions
Some years ago there came to these shores three native African
boys in search of light and learning. Happily they were brought to
the notice of Bishop R. S. Williams, who sent them to Paine Col¬
lege, Augusta, Ga., where their presence excited much interest and
sympathy. One of them died, one of them is still at Paine College
and one of them, the Rev. Wm. Nyatikiza, after graduation, re¬
turned to his own country and people. Under the guidance and
assistance of Bishop R. A. Carter, and his wife, who lifted collec¬
tions from the different Annual Conferences over which her husband
presided for that work, brother Nyatikiza reports that he has organ¬
ized several C. M. E. congregations in South Africa, and has secured
several native ministers to assist him in his work. He has repeatedly
asked that we send one over there to consolidate the work which
he has begun. Knowing, as we do, the obstinate obstacles placed
in the way of all Negro effort to build up missions in Africa, and
the bitter sufferings of those colored men and women who go to
that far away land as missionaries, we hesitate to encourage you to
undertake so great a task. We wish to say, with all emphasis, that
we are in thorough sympathy with the movement, but we do not see
where we can get the men and money for such an enterprise at this
time, when other older and better equipped churches find it a trying
task to foster the missions which they have projected in that land.
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However, we put the matter before you and pray that God may
guide you to say and do the fitting thing concerning it.
Financial Secretary
Because of the varied duties and responsibilities connected with the
handling of the moneys of the church and the conducting of the
Book House affairs, it seems to your bishops that it will be wise to
separate the two. The business of buying and selling books etc., and
of managing the general organ of the church, should be placed in the
hands of one man. Let him encourage our own authors by bring¬
ing out their writings. Let him have time to keep our preachers and
laity supplied with the best and latest books. Let him publish the re¬
port blanks for the Annual Conferences and send a sufficient supply
to the bishop at the seat of each Annual Conference in ample time
for the use of the Conference. We recommend that the office of
Financial Secretary be created, whose sole business will be to receive
and disburse all connectional moneys. We are convinced that this
action will result in stimulating the purchase and sale of books and
general literature thruout our church, and will add to the financial
resources of the church.
Repeal of The Automatic Retirement Law
At the General Conference which was held in St. Louis, Mo.,
May, 1914, the bishops recommended the passage of a law auto¬
matically retiring bishops at the age of 74. The General Confer¬
ence passed such a law, but changed the age from 74 to 70. We
are now convinced that such a law works a hardship upon the
church, and upon some bishops who may be hale and vigorous at
the age limit which was fixed. We urge therefore that the law be re¬
pealed and that no bishop be retired under that law. We wish to
say that the General Conference has the right to retire a bishop
whenever it decides that there are good and sufficient reasons for
retiring him, whatever his age may be.
Uniform Order of Service
The ancient chronicler of the Jews gives an illuminating view of
Israel's soul uplifting form of worship when he tells how great king
David "spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren,
the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and
cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy . . .
and to celebrate and to thank and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel."
There is no part of the human race so degraded that it has not some
form of worship of the unseen Creator. The higher the measure of
civilization to which a people has attained, the more beautiful and
elaborate their order of worship in honor of the Father of all crea¬
tures. "When one has seen the exaltation of Copt and Arab in re¬
ligion, when one has heard the great choric voice of Russia at church,
the splendid purposeful faith of Tetonic hymns, one knows that a
calm singing of 'Praise to the Holiest' is not the only mode of praise.
There are fifty thousand ways of praising God, and every single one
of them is right." The impelling feature of the services of some of
the great Christian denominations, which attracts multitudes to their
houses of worship is the sonorous and stately order of services, where
musical instruments vie with the glories of the human voice; where
anthem and architecture, chant and deep voiced responsive reading,
all combine to prepare and uplift the soul of the expectant wor¬
shipper for the discourse which follows. Our people are no whit
behind any other people in their love for the stately and beautiful
in divine services. The overflowing crowds in the churches where
such services are conducted attest that fact. But there is a lack of
uniformity in our services. Each pastor seems to have selected the
order of services which suits him best, and in consequence a visiting
bishop or minister is compelled to sit helpless while the pastor and
his congregation go thru their particular order of services. There¬
fore, we think it advisable to urge you to appoint a committee to
arrange a more elaborate and inspiring order of services for morning
and evening worship in our churches. We recommend that you make
it obligatory upon each pastor to use that order in his church, if he
use any.
New Bishops
Our College of Bishops has never been large, and since the last
General Conference our thin ranks have been so depleted by death
that those of us who survive have been greatly burdened trying to
carry on the work, so that the churches should not suffer too much
for lack of episcopal supervision. The trend of the age is towards
working all fields, both in the secular and ecclesiastical world, in¬
tensively rather than extensively. We therefore recommend that
you elect three new bishops to strengthen the College and to assist
in superintending the ever-widening field. May we remind you that
"the episcopacy represents our highest leadership and its influence
should be carefully conserved and protected for the sake of the
church and the kingdom?" We urge that you bear in mind that
those whom you may elect will not function within our church alone,
but will have to play a part on the stage of the world. So none but
the best from every viewpoint should be considered for this high
and exalted office.
Conclusion
And now, in order that you may be more fully imrpessed with
the greatness of your task here, and your opportunity to do some¬
thing which will merit the "well done" of your constituents and of
posterity, permits us to relate you to one of the most momentous
events in the life of one of the greatest servants of God of all times.
After the storm-quake and earth-quake had subsided on Horeb's
top, as Elijah, the Tishbite prophet, wrapped his mantle before his
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face at the mouth of the cave and stood awe-stricken in the pres¬
ence of God, "there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest
thou here, Elijah?" Or, in terms of today, what is your business
here? It was a happy thing that Elijah was able to answer: "I
have been very jealous for Jehova, the God of Hosts." The same
divine voice whispers that heartsearching challenge to each of us
here today, and will continue to whisper it night and day in ever
increasing volume during our stay at this General Conference.
Thrice fortunate for the church will it be if, at the end of the session,
we can answer as Elijah did: "I have been very jealous for Jehovah,
the God of Hosts." Selfish, hasty inconsiderate legislation and vot¬
ing here, may not be remedied after adjournment, and may return
to plague the church for many years hence.
"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who
loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope thru grace,
comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and
word." "Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times
in all ways." Amen.
Isaac Lane (retired).
Robert Simeon Williams.
Elias Cottrell.
Charles Henry Phillips.
Randall Albert Carter.
Nelson Caldwell Cleaves.
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