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BISHOPS OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
BISHOPS OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE
Quadrennial Address
OF THE
Bishops of the A. M. E. Church to the
23d General Conference
Convened at
Norfolk, Virginia, May 4th, 1908
Read by Bishop W. B. Derrick, D.D.
CONTENTS
page
Salutation1 5
Suggestions :
Allen's Memorial 6
A Well-Trained Ministry 7
Help for Young Men in the Ministry 9
Family Altar 9
The Federation of the Evangelical Churches .... 10
State of the Country 11
Retrospection 12
Social Aspect 12
Economic Aspect 13
Morals 14
Education 15
Political Status 17
Hints and Suggestions :
Children 17
Ordinations 17
Expelled Ministers 18
Church Membership 18
Admonition 19
Prayer and Class Meetings 19
Length of Services 20
Manner of Services 20
Uniformity of Services 21
Communion Wine 21
Desecration of the Sabbath 21
Church Vestments 22
Ill-Constructed Churches 22
Intemperance 22
Caution Against Unkind Criticism 23
The Manner of Praying 23
Church Schools 23
Unity . 24
Home Missions 24
Our Foreign Mission Work 25
Women's Mite Society 27
Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society ... 28
Departments :
Department of Publication 28
Missionary Department . 3°
Education 3°
Miscellaneous :
Wilberforce University 3°
Department of Finance 31
Church Extension 31
Sunday School 32
Ministerial Aid Association 32
Young People of Allen's League 33
Periodicals :
"Quarterly Review" 33
" Christian Recorder " 34
"Southern Recorder" 34
" The Voice of Missions " ......... 34
The Unfortunate Disposition Made of Juvenile Offenders
of the Race 35
Special Injunction 35
Class Legislation 36
Necrology 36
Specific Recommendations 37
THE QUADRENNIAL ADDRESS
OF THE
BISHOPS OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH
SALUTATION
Pearly Beloved Brethren in Christ, Greeting:
The God of all grace has been pleased, during the past four years,
to pour out His blessings in a general way on the people of our
denomination in all sections of the Church. We desire that you unite
with us in ascribing humble and fervent thanksgivings to Him from
Whom we have received this transcendent mercy, and from Whom
cometh every good and perfect gift. Suffer us to remind you, dear
brethren, that one of the best and most acceptable expressions of
gratitude to Almighty God for the numerous blessings and unspeak¬
able favors we have received, is to be exceedingly careful not to
abuse them.
As ministers and laymen, our devotion to Christ should be
expressed in the most absolute manner. We should enter more ener¬
getically into His service, should manifest a greater degree of rever¬
ence for the honor of His name, and be more deeply interested in the
extension of His Kingdom upon earth. Our renunciation of the world
should become more apparent and complete asi the years roll by, and
a clear conception of the spirit of self-denial be more strictly held. We
should act with greater resolution and thus be enabled to act with
greater firmness in the cause of our Lord and Master. Our devotion
should increase to a higher pitch than most Christians are willing to
believe is attainable in this life. Our attitude should be as having
no interest to serve, no inclination to gratify, nor any connection to
maintain, but such as are entirely conformable to the nature of our
union with our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Wherever we go let
us breathe the spirit of devotion, and wherever we are familiarly
known let the fervor, the resolution, and the constancy of that devotion
be universally apparent. We should daily feel and act in conformity
to the powerful obligations by which we are bound to the King of
kings, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Our vows of
genuine affection and fidelity should be prayerfully and solemnly
renewed, as occasion offers, both in public and in private. Let this
line of conduct be followed through all the vicissitudes of our Chris¬
tian warfare. We are aware that to reach this stage in our attainment
5
it will call for much patience in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
in labors, in watchings, in fastings, by knowledge, by long-suffering.
But armed by the power of God, and protected by the armor of right¬
eousness, we will conquer every stronghold of sin and put under foot
every prompting of evil.
Time flies. Years of plenty and of scarcity, of peace and of war,
fade and blend with eternity. Our prayer is that we may appreciate
the value of the present hour and the opportunities that God offers,
and may serve our day and generation with faithfulness and diligence,
remembering that soon the night cometh.
The activities of the general Church are divided among various
departments, the heads of which are general officers, through whom
reports have been made to us. We have carefully considered the sug¬
gestions for future endeavor which our brethren have made, and affec¬
tionately ask that you exert your energies to put into effective oper¬
ation such admonition and advice as we—your Fathers in the Redeem¬
er's Church—after prayer and meditation, shall decide to offer in this,
our Quadrennial address, and which commend themselves to your
judgment.
SUGGESTIONS
Allen's Memorial.
It is fitting as we approach the centennial of African Methodism
that the Church should cause to be erected a suitable memorial to the
great organizer, Richard Allen, of precious memory, who may be
truthfully classed as one of the greatest religious characters of his
day and generation. The casual observer, who will give himself the
trouble to make inquiry into the history of the rise and progress of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church in these and in other lands,
and will scan without prejudice its plans of enlarged and disinterested
benevolence, if he be not wholly predetermined to resist and put aside
everything of honest conviction, and to reject the plainest possible
deductions from the strongest possible facts, will find that its founda¬
tions are deeply laid in these great principles of truth and righteous¬
ness which cannot mislead, because they cannot change, and that how¬
ever unworthy at times is the medium of communication which declares
to the world its Divine mission, these great principles will commend
themselves at once to his candid and ingenious mind by reason of
that intrinsic excellence which belongs always to the cause of Him
who declares, "I am the Truth and the Life." The African Metho¬
dist Episcopal Church of the future we may all hope is destined beyond
question to be numbered among the leading instrumentalities of the
coming centuries in the transforming of the world, the darker por-
6
tions especially, to its original, paradisical simplicity and purity.
Occupying lofty ground, surrounded by Gospel truths as she is, she
has largely won the admiration of all the followers of the meek and
lowly Nazarene. At the formation of the organization, Richard Allen
could be heard declaring as her motto, "God our Father, Christ our
Redeemer, man our brother." These words may be said to be inscribed
in golden characters upon her historic chart as we prove them by her
achievements during her century march.
The following are the statistics for the year 1906: Bishops, 12;
General Officers, 10; Presiding Elders, 320; Traveling Elders, 3,306;
Traveling Deacons, 1,109; Licentiates, 1,275; Superannuated Preach¬
ers, 203; Local Elders, 229; Local Deacons, 624; Local Preachers,
8,3775 Exhorters, 6,018; Probationers, 106,273; Lay Members,
800,590; total adherents, including our congregations, approximately
2,000,000. Total support and traveling expenses of the ministry,
received during the year, $1,146,858. Total amount of money raised
for all purposes for the year, $2,738,761.06. Number of annual Con¬
ferences, 68.
The Church Departments are as follows: Educational, Publica¬
tion, Missionary, Sunday School, Financial, Preachers' Aid, Church
Extension, and Allen Endeavor; besides her numerous schools and
colleges.
Witness the harmonious regularity of its constituent parts, the
beautiful order and symmetry of the whole. Her march is never
hindered by the temporary obstructions which are sometimesi thrown
across her path. Her war cry is, "Onward and Upward."
A Well-Trained Ministry.
The rapid numerical growth of our Church and the vast area over
which it is swiftly expanding; the various countries and governments
in which our work is being carried on; the constantly changing social
and economic conditions surrounding those for whom and with whom
we labor, all combine to increase both the number and the gravity of
the questions and the problems which must be confronted and dealt
with in the task of directing her complex and numerous activities.
We stand in the dawn of the twentieth century surrounded by the
blessings which have come to us from the heroic and wise labors of
the departed Fathers, and there opens before us new tasks to be
executed under new conditions. We must give due consideration to
the fact that our ministry must be specially prepared to meet the
demands that will be made upon us by the new generation that is so
rapidly filling our pews. Our schools and colleges and the educational
institutions everywhere open to our youth are each year sending forth
7
multitudes of cultured young men and women, whose advent into our
pews emphasizes the demand for a steadily advancing standard in the
qualifications of our clergy. The future hope of our Church largely
centers upon Payne and Morris Brown Theological Seminaries, as
these two schools should be considered the theological centers from
which goes forth our trained ministry. There is an imperative need
that there be a thorough awakening to this truth.
If proper endeavors are not put forth there is great and impending
danger of the respectability and influence of our Church being seri¬
ously lessened. The constant advancement of culture in the pew ren¬
ders absolutely imperative the demand for equal advancement of cul¬
ture in the pulpit.
We are persuaded that our ministry is so well aware of these
truths that no argument is needed to enforce the admonition to scruti¬
nize with care the candidates for admission to our Conferences and to
insist on a high standard of qualification.
We are constantly receiving applications from our laity for cul¬
tured men. Hundreds of our children are being trained in Wilber-
force, Kittrell, Allen, Morris Brown, Paul Quinn, Shorter, Campbell,
Stringer, Edward Waters, Western University, Payne University, to
say nothing of the public schools. We have a right to expect that
many of these young men and women will become members of our
Communion. Their culture is a fact that must be considered. Payne
and Morris Brown Theological Seminaries, already mentioned, are our
chief means for sustaining the equilibrium between the culture of our
pulpit and of our pew. Our duty is obvious. Our fathers foresaw
the demands of the future and our educational institutions are the
legacies which they have left to us as the palladium of our advance
through the changing years. Let us strive to prove ourselves worthy
of our magnificent inheritance. Common sense and reason warn us
to be astir. Shall we suffer disintegration to begin its deadly work?
All our schools doing theological work must be sustained and main¬
tained at all hazards. To think less:, to say less, is to prove cowards,
to do less, is to reveal incompetency. We are able; are we willing?
Let us so concentrate our endeavors as to put such schools in good
working order, and our reward will soon be a constantly increasing
accession of trained and cultured ministers to our ranks:. Thus, and
thus only, can we advance with success along the pathway of the
coming years.
We are not unmindful of the splendid achievements of our
ministry in the past. The Fathers foresaw what the future would
demand and laid the foundations of the institutions upon which it is
our task to build. Let us continue the well-begun work. Let us
advance with courage along the lines which the Fathers marked out.
8
A crisis is upon us and we call upon you, our dearly beloved brethren,
to stand forth and to acquit yourselves like worthy sons of noble
fathers.
Help for Young Men in the Ministry.
There are numbers of pious youths throughout the Church who
might be serviceable in preaching the Gospel, but through the want
of sufficient financial aid are unable to obtain an education. It should
be the intention, as well as the desire, of the annual Conferences that
the ministers in their respective charges shall seek such, and that they,
being examined and approved by the Conferences, shall be encouraged
to go to some theological seminary, where they shall receive final
training. The expenses of such should be shared by the Conferences
within the bounds of the Episcopal District.
We are of the opinion that there are to be found within the
boundaries of our annual Conferences pious and benevolent persons
who, if properly approached, will make annual contributions for raising
funds for this purpose. This fund should be placed in the hands of a
treasurer appointed by the Conferences, who will return annual
accounts of receipts and expenditures. These students, after complet¬
ing their education and at the end of one year thereafter, after having
received an appointment at the hands of the presiding Bishop, shall
begin to refund to the treasury the expenses of their education, in
such time and manner as the annual Conferences may direct. By this
method the Conferences will always be in possession of a fund to
assist indigent students in completing their education, and they will
be benefited by having an increase of a vigorous and intelligent class
of well-trained ministers.
Family Altar.
Surely God means that there should be an altar in every home.
What can be said of a Christian home without daily prayer? Yet
alas! alas! how sad it is that family prayer is neglected in so many
so-called Christian homes! This growing evil should be checked. In
former days family prayer in Christian homes was a rule. Some
undertake to say that there are many hindrances in the way of family
prayer on account of certain existing circumstances in and around
the home. This is a sad mistake, as nothing should be allowed to inter¬
fere with the heads of the family in the pouring out of their souls'
desire to God, both morning and night. Let the voice of prayer con¬
tinue to ascend from the family altar. The spirit of prayer ought to
be encouraged more than it is. There is a necessity of a copious
effusion of the Holy Spirit in all our homes. When this appertains it
must flow through the entire Church, for in vain are all our efforts
9
until the Spirit be poured from on high. Just as no improvement in
agriculture can render the dew and the rain unnecessary to the growth
of grain, just as no amount of canvas will give speed to the sailing
ship unless the wind blows, so no effort of man, unaided by the Divine
Spirit, can save the home and Church from spiritual death. There
is a loud call at this time on all sides to look away from human instru¬
ments and means—look to God alone. Let us then, during the present
session and the opening of the new quadrennium, go to God, with
Whom is the residue of the Spirit—to Him who has said, "Fear not,
O Jacob, my servant, and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen, for I
will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground. I will pour my spirt upon thy seed, and my blessing upon
thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, and as
willows by the watercourse."
The Federation of the Evangelical Churches.
In that memorable prayer which our Lord addressed to the Father
previous to the consummation of His sufferings, we find this petition
in behalf of His followers: "That they all may be one, as thou Father
art in Me and I in Thee; that they may be one in us, that the world
may know that Thou hast sent Me."
Unhappily, the Church of Christ is at present divided into a
great variety of distinct organizations, from which it results that
instead of marching forward with united front against a common foe,
much of the time and strength of the different denominations are
wasted in opposing each other, and not infrequently has the world
beheld the strange spectacle of different portions of the same Church
opposing each other. Over this state of things the Church has long
had occasion to mourn, and it seems to be time that some systematic
effort should be made to bring into fellowship the different portions
of the household of faith. In our country there now exists five distinct
branches of Colored Methodists, whose viewsi of evangelical truth, as
exhibited in their different standards, are substantially one and the
same, and whose form of government is the same. Could these bodies
be brought more closely together so as to act in concert, it is easy to
see that much more might be accomplished in advancing the interests
of the common faith and in promoting its more universal diffusion,
than is practicable in our present divided state. We consider that the
Church of Christ constitutes one body, of which He is the Divine
Head, and should therefore be so organized as to exhibit to the view
of the world the appearance as well as the reality, of unity.
We have heard, with profound gratitude to Almighty God, of
the spirit of Christian fellowship and Catholic unity, which marked
the inter-Church Conference on Federation which convened in the
10
city of New York, November 15 to 21, 1905. We accord our earnest
approval to both the plan and the object of this Federal Council, and
beg to express our thanks to those of our brethren who were present
and who so wisely represented the interest thought to be peculiar to
our Church and people.
State of the Country.
This government, founded in the Divine ideas of liberty and equal¬
ity, must continue to be the defender and propagator of all that
constitutes true national greatness. The conduct of national affairs
in the main is just, progressive, and tends to secure the highest good
of the country, and there is much which promises the growth and
perpetuity of her institutions. It is also true that there are forces
at work which threaten the overthrow of this great temple of freedom.
We are not pessimistic in our views, and yet we must acknowledge
the existence of gigantic foes of liberty, law, righteousness, and truth.
The political world is not wholly free from false political ideas and
anti-Christian sentiments, corrupt practices and conscienceless legisla¬
tion. Efforts have constantly been made by the legislators of the
country to pass laws which would open the places of drunkenness and
crime on the Lord's Day; likewise discriminating against a certain
class of helpless individuals, debarring them from enjoying certain
rights and privileges to which they are entitled. We enter our vigor¬
ous protest against any legislation that would in any measure deprive
men and women of their ordinary rights. The foes of our Christian
Sabbath are still active in their efforts to abrogate it or to convert
it into a day of merriment and sin. Intemperance, with all the evils
it entails, is on the increase. During the past four years the illegal
butchery of American citizens has taken place, which is not flattering
to our civilization or government, until sometimes we are compelled
to inquire, "Has justice returned to heaven, that mob-law must reign
to execute her behests?" The Church of God must set her seal of
condemnation on all lawlessness, and the taking of life without legal
process, which a righteous government has instituted for the trial of
the guilty. Yet taking a higher view of the situation from the lofty
peaks of the granite hills of New England, paralleling the growth of
the nation, the spirit of truth, religious liberty, righteousness and
patriotism, these are plainly visible in their beneficent workings, ever¬
more leading the Republic on and up to greater heights of moral and
religious elevation. Education rears her temple everywhere. The
Church, vital with the Gospel and Spirit of God, advances in all direc¬
tions. From Christian homes issue moral and religious influences,
which, added to faith in God, render the safety of the nation possible.
This is a Christian nation. Politics must yield to the eternal laws of
r 1
righteousness. The press, untrammeled by party chains, must rise to
a higher plane. Justice must be enthroned in the heart of the nation.
Then she shall advance along the line of national greatness to higher
freedom, purer religion, broader education and a nobler civilization.
Retrospection.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has for its aim the
higher and better development of the youths of the Church and Race.
The only and better way for the educating of a people is to bring, if
possible, before their minds their true condition in the social, moral,
economic, political and intellectual sense, and should we succeed in
impressing the necessity of improving along these lines much would
be accomplished.
Social Aspect.
In all ages and in enlightened countries men have arisen like
beacon lights, and by force of an original genius and a keen percep¬
tion of the various outlooks, they have come to stand as heralds in the
front ranks of the rights and interests of a peculiar people, and of the
progress of mankind in general. Their high and sacred mission has
been to point with prophetic fingers to the coming issues, to share the
practical demands of the times, and to direct and educate by their
commanding eloquence and genius, the public mind in those matters
whereon its material progress seems to depend. The social condition
of a people seems to us to be so intimately connected with their general
progress, exercising, as it does, so sensible an influence upon their
general habits that it may not be out of place here to make brief
inquiry into the social condition of the people with whom we are
classed, the external influences of the past, as well as the present, bear¬
ing thereon, and then see what promises are foreshadowed as to their
future advancement. In order to form a proper and correct judgment
of the present condition of a people, it is clear to us that we are under
the necessity of looking back for a short while, and taking a glimpse
in the past history; for it is only by that means we can follow them
and note the various links in the mighty chain of events which have
met them on their way over the long and dreary spaces, and which
have brought them to their present standing, and we shall then be in
a fair way, if we will, to take the present as guide to the future in
forming a closely accurate estimate of their future condition. It is
universally known that the condition of the Colored people at the dawn
of the Emancipation was not such as favored the cultivation of such
habits and practices as would tend to their rapid enlightenment and
general advancement. We could not justly expect from a people social
practices—practices which lead to their moral improvement and eleva¬
tion—unless their minds be, to a certain extent, cultured; because, in
12
the absence of culture and expansion there is not anything to awaken
and call forth the social feelings, to tell the need of virtuous society,
to give that perfect insight into the principles of mental interest, to
create a true sense of their mental relation and the necessity of knitting
themselves together in the sacred bond of union and fellowship with a
view to the general improvement. If the character of the people of
color has ever been sullied by cunning, treachery, and enmity toward
one another, be it remembered stern necessity naturally begot those
qualities during a state of serfdom, and which only will depart after
a very long interval following the birth of an improved condition. We
will further assert that these qualities so begotten are, to a certain
extent, transmissible to posterity. This is an incontestable fact. In an
uncultivated state of society it is naturally impossible to acquire a
correct idea of the value and benefit of joint efforts and sincere co-oper¬
ation, because there is a certain degree of self-confidence which springs
from enlightenment and which makes mistrust impossible, giving as it
does steadiness of mind and an intelligent understanding of general
improvement. We will readily see the difference between the well-
informed man and the uninformed. On account of the early disadvan¬
tages under which the people of color labored they were, and are
destined to struggle. Yet, let this truth be ever kept in mind, that
there are no victories without conflicts.
As a people we are not as fortunate as the Hebrews, who were
told to take spoils of the Egyptians; nor were we like the serfs of
Russia who, when liberated from bondage, were each given "from
five to twenty-five acres with a house and a bit of orchard attached
to it." By the rigid force of circumstances each wasi compelled to
struggle for himself. But while no acre of ground was allowed us by
those who held us till emancipation, we were favored with the privi¬
lege of the public school system which, notwithstanding its defects,
has proved a blessing the benefits of which cannot be told. Hundreds
of thousands through this plan have had the blindness removed from
their minds, and are prepared to understand the needs of the masses
and the great necessity of encouraging the cultivation of the head,
hand and heart. The sacred law of human progress has already
declared that, although prescribed as a people, they and their posterity
are to rise. Our Anglo-Saxon brethren have risen in obedience to the
same law. "Their early condition," in the language of an eminent
writer, "did not indicate the height and grandeur to which they are
destined to rise, any more than with us."
Economic Aspect.
The very existence and value of any people are involved in their
economic features. We will emphasize that this feature of a people's
character is, to our mind, essential to their existence and to the deter-
13
mination of their comparative value. There is nothing of which we
can conceive that is capable by its harrowing necessities leading to
numerous temptations of so thoroughly lowering a people and bringing
them into utter contempt as the misfortune of poverty; and there is
nothing, in our opinion, which is surer to lead to poverty than the
utter disregard for the laws and principles of economy, domestic or
otherwise, which ought to govern and regulate the use of money—
laws and principles which are, in some degree, natural for every man
to know. It is our candid conviction that the misfortune of poverty
arises in the majority of instances not so much from utter recklessness,
as from want of forethought and due reflection, which must, as a
natural result, lead to waste. There are persons—and not a few—who
do not realize that they have misspent their money until some casual
circumstance has brought them to a sorrowful sense of the fact. This
would have certainly been averted by thought and reflection.
Speaking as we are of the future progress of the race, and conse¬
quently of the Church, we may say this part of our subject touches
the very foundations—the very root and sap of the race's future pros¬
perity and general advancement; for it is evident that unless it increases
sensibly in wealth and property, unless the members of the race
endeavor to recover a good deal of ground which has been lost through
utter indifference to the future condition which awaits them, there is
uncommon difficulty ahead. The many conflicting interests, the army
of foreign competitors, place-seekers and money hunters, whose chief
and burning passion is to become wealthy, and who do not allow any¬
thing to stand in their way in reaching that end—as one eminent writer
puts it—"has made the race of life to become so keen that men are
treading upon one another's heels." The habit of thrift and economy
should be practiced. No other people should be more rigid in this
practice, especially those of them who are in the Church. We would
not have it understood that we mean to say, taking all in all, that we
do not present a strong and healthy front in point of wealth and
intelligence, but we mean to say that we are to share in the govern¬
ment of the State and country as well as of the Church; that we are by
necessity to help in framing the laws and shaping the policy of a wise
administration. But to do this high and sacred duty needs definite
and special qualification which strict economy alone can give.
Morals.
It is said that all men have their failings and that there is no such
thing as moral perfection in this life. This is indeed a melancholy
truth, yet so it is. While yet the honest mind regrets its many imper¬
fections and seeks improvement, the deceitful heart is contented to
take shelter under the impure branches of human infirmities, saying
14
the grossest enormities are but constitutional evils. Perhaps the most
dangerous period of our journey through life, when we are apt to
imbibe such immoral ideas and habits, is in the morning of life when
we first enter upon our career. We please ourselves with the prospect
of many days and soon learn that youth is the time for amusement,
when we fondly hope that we may indulge in a few juvenile follies
and the fashonable vices of the times, then after a while lay them aside
and lead a new life. In this delusion we pass through life every day
more corrupted and more hardened in vice and wrong, until, if we
are spared, we arrive at old age—the time we alloted for our repent¬
ance. But, alas! here we are, still deceived, for at this period, our
appetite for things immoral and impure is stronger than ever; the evil
days are now come, when we say experimentally, "we see no pleasure
in them." Our eyes grow dim, our desires fail, and we have no more
fuel with which to rekindle our good resolution into a flame.
Education.
Standing as we are upon the threshold, gazing upon the sunrise
of the quadrennium which we are soon to welcome, we cannot refrain
from rejoicing. Acquainted as we are with the fact that at the open¬
ing of the nineteeth century, with very few exceptions, the Colored
people, as a mass, were debarred from all educational advantages, yet
in spite of these barriers it is with no small degree of pleasure we note
the praiseworthy progress of the Colored people of the United States
in the education of their children, managing to keep in certain sections
nearly abreast of the whites in the matter of enrollment and attend¬
ance. Its percentage of illiteracy in the Southland is being rapidly
reduced by reason of these facts. More than one hundred and fifty
institutions for the secondary and higher education of the race are now
situated in the former slave States, many supported by the States in
whole or in part, and having over thirty-six thousand in attendance.
Over seventy-five million dollars have been appropriated in the past
twenty years for public schools for colored youth by the Southern
States. Not that this amount has been taken from the taxes of the
whites alone, for it is not to be forgotten that a goodly per cent of
these millions is taken from taxes which the colored people pay.
These facts are presented as the result of a recent inquiry on
the subject by the Bureau of Education. The educational advantages
given the colored children throughout the Southern States are showing
rapidly in reducing the percentage of illiteracy. There, it may be said,
that in i860 the colored race was illiterate; in 1870, more than 85 per
cent of the colored population in the South, ten years of age and over,
could not read or write. In 1880 the percentage of illiterates had been
15
reduced to 75; in 1890, the illiterates comprised about 60 per cent of
the colored population, of ten years of age and over. In some of the
Southern States the percentage is even 50 per cent. It is a noteworthy
fact that the District of Columbia leads in intelligence among its Col¬
ored citizens, the illiteracy being rated at only 35 per cent. Thus we
can see in thirty years, to wit, from i860 to 1890, from 40 to 50 per
cent of the illiteracy of the colored race has disappeared—a complete
refutation of the statement made by the enemies of the race as to its
inability to grapple and master the lower and higher education which
is being taught throughout the schools of the country. In educational
and industrial progress the race has accomplished more during the past
thirty years than it could have achieved for centuries in a different
environment.
Of the one hundred and fifty institutions of learning for the sec¬
ondary and higher education of the race, thirty-two are of the grade
of colleges, seventy-three are classed as normal schools; the remaining
forty-five are secondary or high-school grades.
State aid is extended to thirty-five of the one hundred and fifty,
and eighteen of these are supported wholly by the States in which
they are established. The remaining schools are supported, in whole
or in part, by benevolent societies or tuition fees. In the one hundred
and fifty schools there are one thousand five hundred and forty-nine
teachers—seven hundred and eleven males, and eight hundred and
thirty-eight females. The total number of students is thirty-seven
thousand one hundred and two, of whom one thousand one hundred
and fifty-eight are pursuing collegiate studies. The African Methodist
Episcopal Church, to which we belong, is owning and maintaining
fully fifteen of these institutions, in which the lower and higher
branches are being taught; Wilberforce, Morris Brown, Allen, Paul
Quinn, Kittrell, Western University, Edward Waters, Campbell,
Shorter, Payne High School, Payne Theological Seminary, Wayman
Institute, and Turner Institute are among them. For further informa¬
tion in regard to the schools of the Church, we invite attention to the
report of our Secretary of Education, Prof. Hawkins. In addition
to our thirty-seven thousand one hundred and two students, there are
to be found in the public schools of the land nearly one million Colored
children, who are making advancement in the studies therein pursued.
These facts should encourage our friends and convince our enemies as
to our fitness to enjoy the boon and God-given rights of citizenship,
as much as any of the other peoples who are migrating here, by the
millions each year, where the question of intelligence, industry, and
loyalty are made the test.
16
Political Status.
The political standing of any section of the population of a coun¬
try has so close a bearing on their material progress, and is indeed
of so much consequence in enabling thoughtful and observant persons
to form a proper opinion of the system of government under which
it is their lot to live, that it is not without some essential use here
to ascertain and examine the political status and advise the necessity
of exercising, with the greatest care, the boon of suffrage. Too much
care cannot be manifested in our efforts in assisting the maintenance
of good government. "The worth of a state," says John Stuart Mill,
"is the worth of the individuals composing it; they are the elements
which constitute the state." It is true we were once an empty space
in the political map, but things have changed and we are now citizens
with rights, citizens who recognize the fact that if the material, indus¬
trial, moral, intellectual, and religious condition is of a healthy nature
all the inhabitants are benefited, and if things are contrary, all suffer.
We would advise you to be peaceful and law-abiding citizens, regard¬
less of what may be said as to your passiveness.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Children.
The children of our Church must not be neglected. They should
be requested and urged to attend preaching, thereby preventing them
from growing up in ignorance and sin, as in them are to be found the
germs of the future Church. As such it is our duty to insist that the
parents and guardians have them attend these means of grace regu¬
larly. The Sunday Schools, we are aware, are accomplishing much in
this direction, but the Church must assume her portion of the work
in the moulding and preparing of the minds of the children for the
reception of the truth. It is with regret that we notice the sad fact
that our children, those who attend our Sunday Schools, have not for
years had a Child's Paper suited to their wants and capacities. It is
to be hoped that such laws will be passed as will give unto them such
a publication. For further information we invite attention to the
report of Rev. Dr. W. D. Chapelle.
Ordinations.
It is not among the principles and usages of the African Metho¬
dist Episcopal Church to consider the ordination of ministers by other
churches invalid; on the contrary, the African Methodist Episcopal
Church has always considered the ordination of other churches as valid
in itself, and not to be repeated when those who have received it
17
become members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; nor is it
perceptible that ordination in any of the churches should not be con¬
sidered valid and sustained as such. *But while she can act as has been
stated in regard to ordination, it is ever to secure for her churches
pious and well-informed ministers, and she cannot admit of any usage
or exercise any apparent liberality inconsistent with security in this
essential. Therefore, when ministers come from other denominations^
desiring to unite with us, the Conferences to which the applications
are made shall require all the qualifications, as to piety and educa¬
tion, which are required of candidates of our own faith and order,
and shall insist on all applicants, if admitted, continuing their studies
and preparation until they become conversant with our methods and
government, as required in our Book of Discipline.
Expelled Ministers.
We take no pleasure in deprecating the character of others; we
forbear to say much on this point, yet we hesitate not to affirm that
the habit of recognizing expelled ministers cannot be otherwise than
detrimental to the Church. It is true these men were once a part of
the ministry in the usual way; but it is likewise true that they have
been expelled for gross violation of the laws and regulations of the
Church. The keys of God's visible kingdom are put into the hands
of the Church officers who have power, not only to invest men with
authority, but to suspend, depose and cut off, when sentiment and
conduct are contrary to the Word of God.
Church Membership.
We live in a time when it becomes a duty, peculiarly incumbent,
to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. It will,
however, be remembered that the sacred cause of truth can never be
promoted by angry controversy or railing accusation. It is therefore
with regret that on many occasions, journals published within our
borders have not hesitated to lend their columns to such phases of
discussion as in no way could be promotive of peace. We would
therefore solemnly and prayerfully recommend to you, both the
ministry and laity, to vindicate the truth by sound and temperate dis¬
cussion, seasoned with Divine grace, thus manifesting the sanctifying
and transforming powers over our lives and conversation evinced in
the mind that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Church membership should be sacredly and divinely appreciated
more than it is by a large number claiming to be members of the
household of faith. To be a member of God's family should be pre¬
ferred and esteemed more than to be a member of the royal families
18
of earth. No member of the Church can properly ever cease to be
such but by death, expulsion, or a regular transfer; and must of neces¬
sity continue to be amenable to the Church in which the name is
registered. And no minister has the right to drop from the list of
membership any person, without going through the proper process of
dealing with delinquent members as per Discipline. Therefore, those
who have been absent for a number of years in unknown places are
by no means privileged to have their names erased from the Church's
journal to which they belong, until the appropriate tribunal of the
Church shall call upon them for explanation. Then as such, though
distant, they are held responsible to the Church, and should they ever
be heard from they are to be regularly dealt with as per Discipline.
This should be done so as to impress the binding obligation Church
membership carries with it. Yet great caution ought to be exercised,
mingled with tenderness toward those whose withdrawal from Chris¬
tian fellowship may be occasioned by unavoidable dispensation of
Providence, without any material fault of their own.
Admonition.
This is called an age of improvement; such it may be, but it is
an age of excitement and innovation—an age in which many think
themselves called upon to question and unsettle principles and prac¬
tices which have received the enlightened sanction of centuries; to
vilify and contest the propriety of things held most sacred; to uproot
and destroy the foundation of all reverence and order—social, official,
moral, and religious;—and to keep the mind of the Church in a state
of constant excitement and change. This disposition has not been
without the countenancing of some ministers and professed Christians.
Its effects have been felt. Many of these, instead of lending their
talent, their influence, and their feelings to the great work of saving
sinners, have given them another direction. They have assisted in
attracting the Church and the world to other objects, which have so
effectually engrossed their minds as to exclude the peaceful truths of
the Gospel. If this spirit is allowed to have its sway our goodly
heritage, bequeathed to us by saintly fathers (the spirits of whom are
to-day resting at home with God, enjoying the blessed state of ever¬
lasting tranquillity), will be of short duration. Then it behooves us
to frown down all such spirits and attempts whenever we have an
opportunity, and thereby preserving and perpetuating our traditions.
Prayer and Class Meetings.
These are means of grace that are to be strictly adhered to,
should we desire the Church over which we have the oversight to
19
prosper. A prosperous Church is the Church in which everybody
works, sings, and prays all the year round. As the farmers attend the
farms the entire year, so should we, as believers, if we desire success
to come to our spiritual efforts, be at work all the year round in
building up our spiritual nature; and in so doing the Church will be
strengthened. For what is the Church but a congregation of regen¬
erated spirits—not simply in name but actually so; souls alive and
thirsting after righteousness ? and as such, the more often we congre¬
gate for the purpose of giving expression to our hopes, and sing and
pray, the more we derive untold benefits. The Church or individual
that is indifferent to these essential means of grace is in danger of
spiritual decline.
Length of Services.
The proper length will depend very much upon circumstances. At
present there is a great impatience on account of long services, which
should not be disregarded. In the country where the people ride or
walk some distance and have but one service a day, it may be much
longer than in towns and cities. As to the length of sermons it would
be well for a pastor to let it be understood that he may sometimes
make the sermon short and sometimes long—as the subject demands.
We invite his attention especially to the teaching of discipline.
Manner of Services.
The freedom, simplicity, and spirituality of the New Testament
worship must be maintained among us.
The natural tendency of the human heart to make much of exter¬
nals, while devoid of spirituality, must be by all means resisted. So
far as it lacks devotional feeling on their part, that makes men weary
of informal mode of worship, so far must we beware of yielding. Our
service should be plain and simple in form so as not to encourage .the
people to rest on externals; but full of interest, animation, devoutness,
solemn sweetness, and with a specific, but not elaborate, adaptation to
the occasion. Such should be our worship.
Again, more time should1 be allowed to the reading of the Scrip¬
tures in the congregation. The pastor should lead, with the congre¬
gation standing, while in a calm and distinct manner the lessons are
read in concert. The lack of reverence while the Scriptures are being
read in some of the congregations is to be deplored. The proper selec¬
tion of suitable hymns, before and after the sermon, should be more
practiced throughout the Churches, and this can best be accomplished
by the minister furnishing the choirmaster the hymns which are in
harmony with the discourse to be delivered by him.
20
Too often the good effect of a sermon is killed on account of the
wrong anthem or hymn being sung after it, which is out of harmony
with the discourse.
Uniformity of Services.
There should be more attention given to the service as laid down
in our Liturgy. The disregarding of this plan of worship has caused
much trouble for ministers who are accustomed to conduct the proper
order of worship in their respective charges. We cannot too urgently
insist upon all pastors adhering strictly to the details of which are
given in the Discipline. To attempt, as too many do, an arrangement
altogether different from that presented, is an exhibition of disregard
for law that should not be attempted. Not only in the ordinary
service does this incongruity exist but even in the administration of
the Lord's Supper. The untasty and slovenly manner in which the
sacred elements are ofttimes dispensed naturally robs that service of
reverence and spirituality, thus depriving those who are partakers of
the broken Body and shed Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ of that sense of sanctity which these symbols are intended to
convey.
We would urge it upon the Presiding Elders and pastors to
remedy this lamentable disregard of order, thereby rectifying the
existing incorrectness in conducting our services, and likewise fur¬
nishing a remedy for the lack of reverence and spirituality in the
administration of the Lord's Supper so painfully common.
Communioin Wine.
See that at the Holy Communion not only unfermented wine be
used; but also unleavened bread.
Desecration of the Sabbath.
The growing desecration of the Sabbath in our country should be
speedily arrested and the habit be essentially reformed, or the bless¬
ings of the Sabbath, civil, social, and religious will be lost. As the
work of general reforms belongs to the Church and the ministers of
Jesus, it is the duty of the Church to call attention to the correction
of a firm and efficient discipline to all violations of the Sabbath.
Sunday excursions, by rail or steamboat, baseball playing or picnics,
and social visitations or entertainments on the Sabbath should be
discountenanced.
Excursions, at their best, are extravagant and demoralizing,
especially to a class of weak-minded and helpless individuals who
chiefly depend upon charity for subsistence. Let us by all means
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."
21
Church Vestments.
We view with some concern the seeming tendency to disregard
the simplicity that characterized Methodism in its earlier days.
The wearing of gorgeous robes, and miters; and the free use of
jewelry, and surpliced choirs, cannot take the place of the simple
word of God preached with power, and the serious and devotional
spirit that prevailed in those days when Methodism gained its place
as a potent force in the religious world.
Ill-Constructed Churches.
"Architecture is the art of building according to principles which
are determined, not merely by the ends the edifice is intended to
serve, but by consideration of beauty and harmony." So declared an
eminent architect of France and our own Professor Langford of
Washington, D. C. The proper construction of our houses of
worship should claim our attention more than it does. Oftentimes
money and materials are wasted because no care is taken as to the
manner and style of erecting houses of worship. In building our
Church edifices, though not costly nor commodious, comfort and taste
should not be overlooked. On account of the crudenesses which so
widely prevail among us in the ill-constructed, as well as ill-ventilated
Church buildings, we are drifting into irreverence and carelessness of
worship. It is a long standing custom of Methodism to kneel while
at prayer, but owing to the disregarding of these principles it is a
matter of impossibility, much to the regret of a large class of humble
and devout worshippers who desire to approach the throne of heavenly
grace in the attitude which is in harmony with their Christian belief.
In future more attention ought to be paid, in the building of Churches,
to the proper seating and ventilating.
Intemperance.
This crime has at all times been a curse, and it has often made
lamentable inroads on the Church. We are convinced that it may be op¬
posed more successfully by prevention than by any other way. When
the character of the drunkard is fully formed, the unhappy victim is lost
to those motives which ordinarily influence all other classes of men.
In this state of things nothing but a miracle of Divine grace can effect
his reformation. The certain acknowledged prospect of wrecking his
family, his fortune, his character, and immortal soul, is apparent. To
the ministry comes this warning cry: Once a father, once a husband,
once a man of business, once a teacher, once a minister. Strong drink
has stripped him of all. A husband without a wife, a father without
a child, a business man without a business, a teacher without a scholar,
22
a preacher without a hearer, a Christian, but now forsaken by God
and man; undone! undone!
Caution Against Unkind Criticism.
Under the pretence of serving the cause of good morals, certain
writers often correspond with a class of papers on articles detailing
the most cruel of scandals, affecting persons of respectability belong¬
ing to the race. The stories are often circulated by timid, private,
malicious gossipers and newsmongers who have no regard for the
sanctity of private life. They swallow the unsavory mess as sound
food for imagination; and sometimes some of us as ministers use
these scandals as texts for sermons on the widespread immorality of
the race. Let us discourage that class of persons who delight in
becoming the vehicle wherein this poison is peddled, instead of giving
official sanction to such evils by taking them into the pulpit.
The Manner of Praying.
The prayers are generally made too long. The people cannot
avoid being weary. It would be better to have a greater number of
prayers during the service, and have them shorter—say, three prayers.
The invocation which opens the services, the second one following the
anthem by choir and congregation, then the third following the
sermon. We have listened with impatience, as well as little profit, to
brethren who were requested to deliver the opening prayer at the
beginning of the services, and who undertook to deliver the sermon
instead of offering a prayer; completely forgetting all the proprieties
of ministerial as well as Christian etiquette in their attempt to create
undue excitement among the congregations, who had assembled to be
instructed out of the Word of God.
A close study of the Bible will not only convince us of the great
privilege of prayer, but will also teach us how to pray. The prayer
that is most acceptable to the Throne of Grace is at once a confession
of sin, a pleading for help, an urgent request, a grasping of God, and
a thanksgiving for mercies vouchsafe.
Church Schools.
Amongst the many subjects which will engage your attention at
this session, one of the most important is the plan for the better
maintenance of our schools. The present plan, as far as it has been
in operation, needs your serious consideration. We trust, dear
brethren, that it is not necessary to employ much argument to con¬
vince you that the time has arrived in which some new and vigorous
exertions are indispensable for supporting the institutions of the
Church.
23
Church schools, could such flourish among us, would immediately
act upon the supply of ministers, as it is vain to hope for a stronger
body of leaders, unless we can make our selections from a larger
number of candidates. Our trouble exists in the fact that instead of
the Church encouraging and assisting that class of young men who
are anxious and willing to prepare for the Christian ministry, there
is a disposition to treat the appeals with indifference, while maintain¬
ing schools in which secular knowledge is taught. Secular schools
are now being maintained by the State, and we claim that the Church
schools should be maintained for the purpose of training our future
ministers and teachers. If we leave these young men to struggle for
themselves many of them will be lost to the Church. Our Theological
Seminaries should be maintained at all hazards, as from these must
go well-trained Gospel preachers who must be able to meet the
requirements of the coming century, in which thousands and tens of
thousands of our children are to be brought to Christ. We are not
unmindful of the great work of the ministry of other days, the
amount of good accomplished by the giants of other times, achieve¬
ments which shall stand as a memorial throughout the ages; yet it
behooves us to improve in the continuation of the well-begun work
by the cultivation of stronger and brighter minds, purer and better
lives, thus magnifying the office of the Christian ministry.
Unity.
Nothing can give a safer guarantee for the general and material
progress of a people than unity. We are pleased to state that there
is a rapid growth in this direction. We want no stronger or more
convincing argument than the existence of the vast number of
religious and benevolent societies—these societies taking for their cor¬
nerstones the rocks of Christian love and brotherhood; societies, which,
in their very aim and spirit, cannot but show to the world their true
duty and relation to one another.
MISSIONS
Home Missions.
Try and impress all the members of our Churches to consider them¬
selves as called upon in their several stations to do something—to do
much—for Christ. Millions of our race are still sunk in ignorance
and depravity. Dark and waste places abound even in our most
populous and enlightened communities, and still more in the remote
portions of the Church. Can a single heart be unimpressed or a
single hand idle while such calls for compassion and exertion
abound? No, beloved brethren, no; these obligations, we trust, are
24
too tender not to be felt; these calls too solemn not to be heard. Be
entreated then with one accord to come forward to the help of the
Lord against the mighty. In these hallowed labors let none refuse to
join. It is among the distinguished glories of the commencement of
the Twentieth Century that pious women are more engaged in pro¬
moting evangelical and benevolent objects than in former periods of
the world's history. Let us give them assistance needed that they may
go on with increasing activity in those exertions, so worthy of women
professing godliness and so useful to mankind. Let not even child¬
hood or tender youth be idle. Let every Bible class, every benevolent
society, every employment which brings your beloved members
together be made a medium for conveying to their minds the impera¬
tive need of supporting the great cause of Missions.
Our Foreign Mission Work.
If we earnestly desire the extension of Christ's Kingdom in all
the world, we should work and pray for it. Brethren, it involves no
trifling responsibility to be engaged in the conflict of overturning
Satan's Kingdom and establishing the Kingdom of Jesus on its ruins.
It is not a time to be idle; the God of this world will not give up
His empire without a desperate struggle. Christ calls for great and
united efforts from His people. Every effort which is made by them
He seconds and crowns with abundant success. With confidence we
assert that the Kingdom of Christ "shall stretch from sea to sea, and
from the river to the ends of the earth." Coming generations will see
the day when the heathen are given to Him as His inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. But while we
indulge in this blessed hope and are looking for the glorious appear¬
ing of the Great King, we, as His children, should willingly and
lavishly contribute of our means and influence towards the hastening
of the glorious dawn, when every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess Jesus is Lord of all. It is with no small amount of delight
that we say that the spirit of Missions among us, as a Church, is
finding its way into the hearts of the people, and an increased and
deeper interest, at home and abroad, is manifested. Experience has
developed a few things as to methods which deserve the attention of
all those who are called to any ministration in the Church. Agitation
on this subject is wholesome and always pays at home, whether there
be success abroad or not. It is one of the best means to prevent stag¬
nation and ensure a healthy growth.
Africa is divided into two Missionary fields of operation—West
and South. We are pleased to state that our Missionary operations
in West Africa have moved on during the Quadrennium, slowly and
25
successfully. There are evidences in this portion of our Mission field
of an encouraging nature, that the near future holds a bountiful
harvest. But this cannot be achieved without an increased outlay of
financial support, confronted as we are by other denominations, the
Missionary agencies of which are equipped with trained men and
large supplies of financial support; while, on our part, on account of
the meagreness of our financial status, we are compelled to occupy
almost a third-rate place among the sister denominations, which are
carrying on Missionary enterprises along the coast. If we were in
possession of the necessary financial means to support the energetic,
aggressive, and loyal corps of missionaries which have been operating
in the interests of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, we could
have a flourishing field second to none in Missionary success, because
the African Methodist Episcopal Church as a denomination com¬
mends itself to the inhabitants of that region of Africa, and is preferable
to their religious tastes.
South Africa is known as the Thirteenth Episcopal District. A
grievous misconception of the motives of the African Methodist Epis¬
copal Church in operating Missions in that section of the world caused
the Government to view our Church with suspicion, as disseminators
of disloyal and pernicious doctrines such as would cause disruption
and stir insurrection against the Government, on the part of the
natives.
This charge has given us considerable concern for fully 6 or 7
years, so as to render our efforts unsuccessful to a large degree, yet in
spite of the many obstacles thrown in our way we could not for a
moment believe that the British Government would sanction the hin¬
drances which were thrown in our way, when the motives which
prompted us to undertake the work were understood by them.
For this reason, at Savannah, Ga., in January, 1906, the Bishops'
Council assigned Bishop Derrick to superintend the South African
work, thus succeeding Bishop Smith, and he, Bishop Smith, was as¬
signed to the West African work.
We are pleased to state that Bishop Derrick, who has recently
returned from South Africa, in his report to the Council at Washing¬
ton, D. C., February 10th, gave to us the most encouraging report we
have had from that section of our Church for some time.
He informed us that South Africa is the most promising Mission
field in the A. M. E. Church and should not be abandoned by any
means.
He further recommends the repurchasing of the magnificent Bethel
Institute bought by Bishop Coppin during his administration, the bal¬
ance of the purchase money be paid, thus regaining it and the same
be put in operation for which it was purchased and that he obtain per-
26
mission as Bishop of the work to visit the O. R. C. and Transvaal
Colonies, in which two of the Annual Conferences are located, a privi¬
lege denied his predecessors.
Bishop Derrick will inform the General Conference himself as to
the true condition of the Thirteenth Episcopal District.
The West India Islands, situated as they are in the Caribbean
Sea, are known in our Church polity as the West Indian Conference.
The work in these islands is of slow growth. The cause for this is
to be attributed to the fact that numerous European organizations
which have operated in the islands for almost a century have welded
themselves into the affections of the inhabitants, so as to have them
to believe that organizations of a later day are to be viewed with sus¬
picion as to their ability to instruct and to maintain proper Church
life. For this reason we have been hampered. Again, these European
organizations have had large supplies of Missionary funds with which
to carry on their operations, without appealing directly to the inhabi¬
tants of the community in which they are operating for financial sup¬
port; while we, as a Church, have been compelled for the want of
sufficient financial strength to call upon the congregations which we
have succeeded in gathering, to partly contribute to the maintenance
of the work. This will at once explain the tardiness of our growth as
a Church in that part of the world. Again, it is a physical impossibility
to hold an Annual Conference with the ministers stationed in the respec¬
tive islands, without the outlay of large sums of money for the paying
of their passages to and from the seat of Conference. The amounts
must naturally be drawn from the Missionary treasury—amounts which
could be used to better purpose, accomplishing more good. We would
therefore suggest the idea that these islands be placed under the Mis¬
sionary department, and the ministers amenable to the Bishop having
charge, as Chairman of the Missionary Board, and instead of being
known as the West Indian Conference it shall be known as the West
Indian Mission Field.
Women's Mite Society.
More than thirty-five years ago this Society was launched on the
troubled waters of Missionary efforts. During these years it has
struggled, yet it has made wonderful progress and enjoyed a degree
of prosperity to the delight of all. The ladies of the parent branch
(supported by the Annual Conference Auxiliaries, to whom much
praise belongs, and to God our Father the glory), although, like the
conies, who are considered feeble folk and glean a scanty morsel from
their mountain ledges, yet in the abundance of their joy and their
deep poverty they have abounded in the riches of their liberality until
27
this day. This Society at its formation was organized to operate
Missions in foreign fields especially in the Republic of Hayti; and that
it did good work there could be substantiated beyond doubt by the
saintly spirit of Sister Charles Moesell, who in the morning of her
days accompanied her husband to that Republic, where both success¬
fully labored for a number of years, receiving their support from this
most useful organization. They did not only assist the work in Hayti
and the adjacent islands, but the Home fields were benefited by their
operations. This organization has grown from a sparse membership
until to-day it is numbered by the thousands, with hundreds of societies.
For fully twenty years they have maintained several missionaries on
the West Coast of Africa, in the Sierra Leone Annual Conference,
paying annually twelve hundred dollars to assist in that far-off field.
During the administration of Bishop Coppin in South Africa they
likewise rendered assistance of a tangible nature, which he, then as
Bishop, publicly acknowledged. During the session of this General
Conference, despite the sad death of Mrs. Derrick the President,
those having the management of this organization will be heard from,
when they shall submit a report of their doings for your approval,
and at the same time make plain their methods of operation. We
earnestly commend the noble women to your favorable consideration,
that you may assist in the furnishing of such wholesome laws as
may tend to better management and successful operation for the
future.
Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society.
This organization sprang into existence fully fifteen years ago,
having for its object the assisting of the parent Home Society in
raising funds for the maintenance of Home and Foreign Missionary
efforts. The Women's Mite Society and the Women's Home and
Foreign Missionary Society, having but one object in view—the spread¬
ing of the Redeemer's Kingdom—have operated successfully in certain
sections of the Church. These societies have done untold good for
both the Home and Foreign Missionaries. To these societies scores
of our Home Missionaries owe their physical existence. Too much
praise cannot be accorded this junior organization for its efforts to
develop a section in which it is operating. It will likewise submit
its reports to this body for its approval and encouragement.
DEPARTMENTS
Department of Publication.
This department is the earliest Connectional effort inaugurated
by the Fathers. It has been the most powerful and effective agent in
28
GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
cementing together our scattered societies, and in giving unity and
harmony to the endeavors of the great army of workers. As such it
should receive the hearty support of the entire Church.
The present management has done its best to successfully manipu¬
late the affairs of the Department.
But while the present management deserves the highest commen¬
dation for its very successful effort in keeping the Plant alive, your
attention must be called to a fact that there is a -danger confronting
this Department of Church work. If it is not removed all hope for
future success is gone. There is a long-standing indebtedness which
may be termed a barnacle and which has been eating at the vitals of
the concern. You, the General Conference, alone can destroy it by
appointing a Committee of Investigation, which shall obtain such
information from the officers of the Department as will enable them
to report to you what should be best done for the betterment of the said
Department. For detailed information we invite your attention to the
Publisher's report.
We believe that the Publication Department as a business enter¬
prise, including the circulation of the senior organ of the Church, can
be made a success. But in order to accomplish this, we must ascertain
what the things are that have militated against the success of the
Department and remove the obstacles.
We submit the following suggestions:
First. That some legislation be enacted that will make it impera¬
tively binding upon our ministers to meet their obligations to the Book
Concern. The Disciplinary Question: "What preachers are indebted
to any of the Departments of Church Publications" has failed in its
purpose. The General Manager informs us that $16,000 would meet
the entire indebtedness upon the Concern and that more than $16,000
are on his books against ministers alone. This necessitates the borrow¬
ing of money at a rate of interest that makes it impossible for the
business to prosper.
Second. That the course of study prescribed by the General Con¬
ference shall be kept in stock at the Department and that candidates
for the ministry and those who are admitted be required to obtain
the books and not be permitted to substitute the books by promises.
Third. That when the General Conference decides upon the num¬
ber of Church periodicals that its ministers shall read, it shall become
a part of the business of the annual Conferences to collect the sub¬
scriptions and forward the money.
The traveling expenses of the managers, editors and agents are
about equal to the profits of the business; and when much traveling
and but little business is done, the expenses far exceed the profits.
29
Fourth. That every annual Conference have a book steward who
shall represent that Book Concern, being amenable to the Conference
for the faithful discharge of his duty and that the Conference be
responsible to the Concern for the good received.
We believe that if these suggestions are strictly adhered to and
every minister holding our credentials makes himself active in placing
Disciplines and Hymnals in his congregation and in soliciting sub¬
scribers for our periodicals our publishing business will soon become
a source of revenue to the Connection instead of a weight upon it.
Missionary Department.
Located in the City of New York, it has* been a tower of strength
in attracting the attention of other denominations, as well as convincing
them of our efforts in the world's redemption. It is likewise a fact that
we as a religious organization have been benefited by its contact with
these various religious activities, thus enabling the Secretary of Mis¬
sions to launch out into the great ocean of Missionary efforts. The
report of the Secretary of Missions will be placed in your hands.
Education.
There is no Department of Church work that merits the attention
of the general Church more than the Department of Education. It is
controlled by a Secretary under whom the workings of this Department
have developed, and demonstrates to the nation that the African Metho¬
dist Episcopal Church is abreast of the times in her efforts to thor¬
oughly, as well as correctly, maintain her educational institutions in
which the youths of the Church are taught. We sincerely hope that
whatever defects, if any, discovered in the laws by which this Depart¬
ment is governed, they may be promptly corrected, thus removing all
hindrances which would prevent the successful operation of this, the
chief Department of Church work, and affording that freedom to its
management by which alone success can come.
MISCELLANEOUS
wllberforce university.
It is not saying too much when we say that the most characteristic
work of the Church is that done by the educators; for, whatever our
efforts as a Church may be in extending our borders, we have at least
grasped the fact that we cannot rule or govern ourselves unless we
approach the task with developed minds and trained characters. As
such the whole Church is a debtor to the teachers and professors of
our various institutions of learning, especially Wilberforce, as it is the
30
center from which radiate all of our Connectional schools; and we
are pleased to state that the present management merits our highest
praise.
Department of Finance.
This department, we are thankful to state, regardless of the
stringency of the times in financial circles and the recent political
upheavals with which the country has been confronted, has held its
own in meeting its liabilities with promptness. The present manage¬
ment has successfully manipulated the affairs of said Department,
exhibiting such an efficiency as to have been enabled to have a regular
day when the salaries of the various Church officers are promptly paid,
and greatly aiding the various institutions of learning, thus removing
an embarrassment which has long confronted those who were depen¬
dent upon this fund, and thereby exhibiting a healthy and sound
financial life, which is beyond question an evidence of the wisdom of
our method of financiering. Yet, regardless of this pleasing aspect of
things in connection with the Department, too much caution cannot
be exercised in our attempt to burden the said Department with addi¬
tional claims, likewise with miscellaneous appropriations. There will
be a pressing necessity for increasing energy, as well as promptness,
on the part of the ministers and pastors who have so loyally, ener¬
getically, as well as successfully collected this fund, so that an increase
may be had all aong the line of Church work. This urgent appeal is
a necessity, for as the operations of the Church extend so does the
demand for funds to carry on these operations increase; not that we
ask that each individual give more, but that more individuals give.
We are further pleased to state that each succeeding Quadrennium
indicates the growing popularity of the dollar system throughout the
Church, and we sincerely believe that it will continue until it shall
have reached the point at which the formulators of this most whole¬
some and successful financial system aimed. We beg to state further
that all indebtedness against said department has been removed, and
the very worthy and efficient Secretary comes with a surplus telling us
that the department is free of debt.
Church Extension.
While we are pleased with the management of this Department
on the part of its very efficient Secretary, in the wise distribution of
its funds, to the assisting of indigent Churches, we deprecate the grow¬
ing tendency of a number of our ministers in running their congrega¬
tions into debt by building and remodeling Churches without the slight¬
est hope of meeting the payments as agreed upon, but we expect the
Church Extension Department to furnish funds to liquidate the indebt-
3*
ness. This was not the intention of this Department of Church work,
but, to the contrary, it is the place of last resort for churches when
threatened by, and when unable to meet, bond and mortgage indebted¬
ness, and not to pay for new Church buildings which sometimes are
incomplete. We will therefore urge the revival of the spirit of the
Fathers, who built and paid for Church buildings without outside help,
and so allow the income of this Department to grow and accumulate
to be what was intended of it at first, to wit, the extension of the work
into new fields, and an Emergency or Sinking Fund, so that we may
be in a condition to meet demands which are worthy, as well as urgent,
in the different sections of the Church.
Sunday School.
Twenty-five years have registered their doings on the scroll of time
since the Sunday School Union was launched upon the sea of untried
experience. It was on the nth day of August, 1882, that Bishops
Payne, Wayman, Campbell, Brown, Ward, Dickinson, Cain, and the
Rev. C. S. Smith, now Bishop Smith, in conference at Cape May,
New Jersey, agreed to a plan for the organization of a Sunday School
Union, as an additional auxiliary to the work of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church. The seven Bishops above mentioned have passed
into the great beyond. The then Secretary, and who is now a Bishop,
is the only survivor who took part in the organization. The question
may be asked, "What of the planning of the organization of a Sunday
School Union?" We answer, "It lives and thrives—no longer an
experiment, but a practical reality, and a vital force, a citadel of light,
an inspiration to young African Methodists in all lands and in all
climes." We further say that to the very able and efficient manage¬
ment of its Secretaries, who in their efforts have demonstrated a busi¬
ness capacity, as well as tact, well worthy of emulation, the present
successful condition must be attributed, and it is with pride that we
commend it to the Church everywhere for its support. By thus doing
the concern will be placed upon a more enduring basis, and will stand
in after years as an index finger pointing to the business capacity of the
Church and race.
In conclusion, however, we cannot fail to express the hope that
whatever legislation you may be pleased to enact, the publication of
a paper for the Children of the Church will be made imperative.
Ministerial Aid Association.
This Association, although an experiment, has demonstrated
beyond a doubt that such an organization will be of incalculable value
in assisting to assuage the grief and suffering which so often surround
32
the family and homes of our indigent itinerant preachers, who were
removed by the hand of death—the families of whom scarcely have
in their possession means enough for the purchasing of the spot in
which the grave wherein all that was mortal of their fathers and
husbands was laid. Since the birth of this organization, and especially
during the Quadrennium which is now closing, several occurrences
of this kind have taken place, when through the promptness, as well
as by the wise distribution of its funds on the part of the very
efficient Secretary, provisions were made that the families of the
deceased ones were the recipients of funds enough to give the remains
of their beloved ones decent burial, and with a margin remaining to
assist in other directions. If there is one thing that should concern us
as ministers it is this, that after we have cared for the Church of God
the providing of our households should command our attention. While
it may not be our lot to amass earthly fortunes, it is our duty, as well
as our privilege, to see to it that the ordinary comforts and provisions
of life are obtainable, thereby rendering those who are dependent upon
us comfortable.
Young People of Allen's League.
This Department can be truthfully styled the youngest Depart¬
ment of Church effort. The experiment of four years has but deep¬
ened the conviction that such a Department is needed. We cheer¬
fully commend the same to your careful as well as favorable consid¬
eration in the passing of such laws as will in the future give strength
and impetus to its growth.
The management, through its Secretary, will submit its report
when we hope the Committees having charge of the reports of the
various Church Departments of Connectional interest will with
patience, as well as carefulness, scrutinize their doings so that they
can with certainty do justice to the management of these varied
activities.
PERIODICALS
Quarterly Review.
Twenty-four years ago, in the city of Baltimore, this specimen of
intellectual development made its advent. During these years we have
been fortunate in having as its Editors and Publishers some of the
strongest as well as the most thoughtful minds in the Church. To
this fact we attribute its continuance and the measure of prosperity
which it enjoys. We cheerfully commend it to all students, as well as
readers of first-class reading matter, such as tends to strengthen the
intellect and benefit the mental appetite.
33
The Editor and Publisher will doubtless render his report, which
will furnish the General Conference such information as will
enlighten them in dealing with the subject relating to Church lit¬
erature.
"Christian Recorder."
The Christian Recorder may be safely classed as the oldest religious
journal published by the race and Church, tossed as it has been upon
the troubled seas of journalistic experiment for years, during which
the intellectual and literary finish of its editorials has attracted the
attention of scores of the thoughtful readers within, as well as with¬
out, our Communion. While we delight in stating thjs fact, the
Recorder has disappointed us in its not being able, through its manage¬
ment, to reach the great masses as it ought, who are within our own
Communion, much less outsiders. We should not have less than
100,000 subscribers instead of 6,000, which is a gross reflection upon
our Connectional loyalty. The chief organ of the Connection should
be found in every home within the bounds of the African Methodist
Episcopal Connection. Every minister should feel himself obligated
to see that this is done, as this is the main channel through which the
doings and operations of the Church are made known to the world.
But at its present diminutive circulation very little is known of us as
a Denomination engaged as we are at home and abroad.
"Southern Recorder."
This organ, single-handed, has fought its way, regardless of
poverty, which stubbornly confronted it, until to-day there are evi¬
dences that it is bound to succeed. This is to be attributed to the
indefatigable efforts and aggressive spirit of its Editor and Manager,
who merits the sympathy as well as the commendation of the general
Church, that the said journal may continue to improve until it shall
be able to be compared with the religious journals of the day, and
until the circulation shall reach at least 50,000 of annual subscribers.
The existence of such an organ is an imperative need. The
rapid growth of our Communion demands it. Then, as such, it should
be provided. We suggest that our efforts should be to make these two
organs a success before others are added, or allowed to be added, to the
list of our publications.
The Voice of Missions.
The Voice of Missions, published by the Missionary Department,
reflects great credit upon the Church in general, and its publishers
in particular, for the taste displayed and the completeness evident in
its finish. We take pride in commending it as a suitable journal to
34
be introduced into the families, libraries', and schools of our Church.
We sincerely hope that it may circulate more widely throughout the
Communion.
The Unfortunate Disposition Made of Juvenile Offenders of
the Race.
There is an imperative necessity in calling your attention to a
question which is of vital importance, and demanding our immediate
as well as careful consideration, viz., the methods by which juvenile
offenders are dealt with throughout the Southern States.
Doubtless you are aware that sometimes, for the most trivial
offenses, these young unfortunates are sentenced to long years of
imprisonment—to prison mines and farms—thus throwing these youth¬
ful culprits into contact with inveterate and hardened criminals, and
being associated with them for years, they become recipients of all
the virus and depravity of these vicious criminals. By this, it is to be
seen, that instead of the unfortunate youth being reformed he is
strengthened and encouraged in his wicked course, thereby increasing
the criminal class to the detriment of himself and society. At the
expiration of his sentence the victim gains his freedom and re-enters
life, and instead of being reclaimed from his old habits, thereby weak¬
ening the mob and violent elements that are to be found in the sections,
he becomes a potent factor in committing and in encouraging others to
commit wrong.
A remedy ought to be found for the preventing of these juvenile
wrong-doers from becoming hardened thugs and fiends. We think
the remedy can be successfully found in the establishing of reform
schools where the incorrigible of both sexes shall be committed, to
serve a number of years; during which period they are to be taught
trades and such lessons as would make them acquainted with the vari¬
ous handicrafts of to-day.
The inaugurating of such a system of reform would at once put
a stop to the breeding of criminals, by which class the major portion
of the fiendish crimes are enacted. Again, the prison system of the
South should be changed in dealing with juvenile offenders. When
this is done the well-educated and respected man of color will be
viewed and treated in a different manner by his white brother. It
will then be character, not color, that will decide the question of
odium.
Special Injunction.
Your attention is respectfully called to the imperative necessity
that the several Committees, to which the Church Departments' books
and vouchers are to be given for investigation, will carefully, as well
as patiently, look into the workings of the said Departments, so that
35
they may be able to submit such well-prepared reports as to their
findings as will reflect credit on the management and efficiency of the
several Secretaries who for years have had charge of these several
Departments. We will further enjoin you that the election of officers
to these various Departments, likewise of Bishops, should not take
place until the reports of Committees on these various Church activi¬
ties are submitted, received, and adopted.
Class Legislation.
There is a keen and indescribable disgust lurking within the bosom
of the thoughtful and refined members of the race in this country,
springing from the ostracism to which they are subjected. Of course
there are thousands of Colored people who rarely or never experience
any sense of humiliation growing out of this proscription. Many of
them are naturally obtuse, and hence indifferent, but among those
who have enjoyed the advantages of home life, schools, and colleges;
and are conscious of their powers and culture, which are equal, and
sometimes superior, to that of those who attempt this ostracism, who
in their hearts feel the sting of this injustice, which in all the activi¬
ties and associations of life, discriminates against them on account of
their race and color. This ostracism is inhuman, anti-Christian, and
barbarous, and should be buried—hastily so—in the grave side by side
with that infamous institution, slavery.
Yet, while we believe the Colored man stands more in need of
help than the white, who is better fitted by circumstances to protect
himself, we thank God that there are those of us who, from our youth,
have grown up to that point where we can get in a line with the
Apostle who declared that "God is no respecter of persons." Then,
in the words of the greatest living naval hero of modern times, in the
opening of the battle of the Sea of Japan, we reiterate Admiral Togo's
signal to the fleet: "The destiny of our Empire depends on this action—
you are all expected to do your utmost." So, as ministers and lay¬
men, Christian soldiers in the army of our God, the destiny of the
Christian Empire, the spreading of the Redeemer's Kingdom, the
complete accepting of the declaration, "God our Father, Christ our
Redeemer, and man our brother," depend on us; and we are expected
to do our utmost for the realization of these principles.
Necrology.
Alas! alas! the reaper Death has visited our ranks. October 7,
1906, when the cool breeze of Autumn was passing away, and the cold
North winds were about to blow, at his home at Wilberforce, Ohio,
after a lingering and painful illness, the Right Rev. B. W. Arnett,
D.D., quietly laid his head upon the bosom of his merciful Creator and
36
calmly slept the sleep that knows no awakening. The triumphant
death of this eminently efficient and laborious Bishop, who peacefully
entered into his rest, brings to us the encouraging words: "Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord, and they rest from their labors." He
has escaped from the windy storm and tempest, and has been brought
to his desired haven, wdiere he has a right to the tree of life; and
entering through the gates into the city, stands with everlasting accept¬
ance in the presence of God. This afflicting Providence is severely
felt by the Church, at the separating stroke; and while we feel all
the anguish of an immediate separation from our brother and Bishop,
the irrepressible, thoughtful, aggressive defender of the race and
Church, we look forward with the joyful hope of being united to his
happy spirit, where the pangs of parting can be known no more; where
we shall grow in peace and joy through eternal ages, increasing in
bliss and heavenly glory, where the Lord Himself shall be our Sun and
Crown, and wThere we shall live in God's heavenly Church—the heaven
of heavens, forever and ever.
The House of Bishops pray that you may bear them on your
hearts as we do upon ours, and always meet us in the heart of Jesus,
wrho is the Center of our organization and our common Head. We
bow to Him as when and where we shall meet again; and should it be
that we shall meet in the flesh around His table for the last time to-day,
then farewell, until we shall meet in spirit around His throne, in the
land of eternal morning.
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) We recommend the ordination of three Bishops, two for
the Home work and one for the African Field.
(2) That a historian be elected to complete the unfinished
history of the Church.
(3) That a commission be created for the carrying out of the
suggestion relating to the Allen Memorial.
Amen! Amen!! Amen!!!
We are yours steadfastly in Jesus :
HENRY McNEAL TURNER,
WESLEY JOHN GAINES,
BENJAMIN TUCKER TANNER,
ABRAM GRANT,
BENJAMIN F. LEE,
MOSES BUCKHAM SALTER,
JAMES A. HANDY,
WILLIAM BENJAMIN DERRICK,
EVANS TYREE,
CHARLES SPENCER SMITH,
CORNELIUS T. SHAFFER,
LEVI J. COPPIN.
37