TV 1% 3 Annual address of the Bishop of North Carolina to the Convention of the diocese 1895 XOHiKfiEWBUlIKtKSH Hnteratiij of Nnrii? (fcnlina (Mlerttnit of Warily (EaroHmatta SJjia bonk waa prtBtnUb ho Cp 2.S3 L. d Z& 00034013175 This book must not be taken from the Library building. ■iz 'm ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA CONVENTION OF THE DIOCESE. 1895 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2Q12 with funding from le Library Sen/ices and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of N e. o rg/d etai I s/an n u al add res s ofbQ c h ADDRESS OF THE BISHOP. Brethren of the Clergy and Laity : I bid you all a most hearty welcome to our annual gath- ering, and I most devoutly pray that God may be with us in this, as in all things, and that He may teach us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not meat and drink, but love and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We come not together for mere business and routine, but to look one another in the face, to refresh our spirits by mutual conference, and to gather strength and wisdom, by our communion in the love of God and of our brethren, for the work laid upon us for God and for God's world. Thirty-one years ago our Diocesan Council, driven to the refuge of the mountains by the first blasts of war, met in the little framed church which once occupied this spot. To-day in peace and love we gather in this more spacious and seemly edifice, and we thank God that with all loss and change He mingles the blessedness of growth in power and in knowledge. SUMMARY OF EPISCOPAL VISITATIONS, SERVICES, ETC., FOR THE YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 1895. 1. Ansonville — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 2. Asheville, Trinity Church — Four services; preached twice; con- firmed seven persons. 3. Asheville, St. Matthias's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed twelve persons. 4. Bowman's Bluff, Gethsemane Church — One service; preached once. 5. Brevard, St. Philip's Church — One service; preached once. 6. Bryson City, St. Stephen's Church — Two services; preached once: baptized an infant. 7. Burlington, St. Athanasius's Church — Twoservices; preached twice; confirmed two persons. 8. Candler's, St. Clement's Church — One service; preached once; bap- tized and confirmed an adult. 9. Cashier's Valley, Church of the Good Shepherd — Twoservices; preached twice; confirmed eight persons; consecrated the church. F CO 10. Chapel Hill, Chapel of the Cross — Three services; preached three times; confirmed twelve persons. 11. Charlotte, St. Peter's Church — Nine services; preached five times; confirmed fifteen persons; one funeral. 12. Charlotte, St. Michael's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed eleven persons. 13. Chunn'sCove — One service; preached once; confirmed four persons. 14. Concord, All Saints' Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed three persons. 15. Cullowhee, St. David's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed one person. 16. Cunningham's — One service; preached once; baptized and confirmed an adult. 17. Durham, St. Philip's Church — Two services; preached twice; con- firmed two persons; baptized an infant. 18. Enfield, Church of the Advent — One service; preached once. 19. Flat Rock, St. John's Church — One service; preached once. 20. Franklin, St. Agnes's Church — One service; preached once; baptized an infant. 21. Franklin, St. Cyprian's Chapel — One service; preached once. 22. Gaston, St. Luke's Church — One service; preached once. 23. Germanton, St. Philip's Church — Three services; preached once; bap- tized and confirmed an adult. 24. Goshen, St. Paul's Church — One service; preached once; baptized and confirmed an adult. 25. Grace, Beaver Dam Mission — One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 26. Grace, St. Titus's Chapel — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 27. Greensboro, St. Barnabas's Church — Two services; preached twice; confirmed eight persons. 28. Greensboro, St. Andrew's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed fourteen persons. 29. Halifax, St. Mark's Church— One service; preached once. 30. Haw Creek, Trinity Chapel — One service; preached once. 31. Henderson, Church of the Holy Innocents — Two services; preached once. 32. Henderson County, Calvary Church — Three services; preached twice, confirmed fourteen persons. 33. Henderson County, St. Paul's Church — One service; preached once. 34. Hendersonville, St. James's Church— One service; preached once; confirmed four persons. 35. Hickory, Church of the Ascension — One service; preached once. 36. Rutherford College — One service; preached once. 37. High Point, St. Mary's < hurch— Two services; preached twice; bap- tized and confirmed an adult. 38. High Shoals, St. John's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed three persons. 3 39. Hillsboro, St. Matthew's Church — Four services; preached three times; one funeral. 40. Iredell County, St. James's Church — One service; preached once. 41. Jackson, Church ok Our Saviour — Two services; preached once; baptized an infant. 42. Kittrell, St. James's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 43. Leaksville, Church of the Epiphany — Two services; preached twice; confirmed four persons. 44. Lenoir, St. James's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 45. Lexington, Church of the Redeemer — One service; preached once. 46. Lincolnton, St. Luke's CnuRcn — One service; preached once; con- firmed one person. 47. Lincolnton, St. Cyprian's Chapel — One service; preached once; con- firmed seven persons. 48. Lincoln County, Church of Our Saviour — One service; preached once. 49. Lincoln County, St. Paul's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed five persons. 50. Lincoln County, St. Stephen's Chapel— One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 51. Lincoln and Gaston Mission, Dallas — Three services; preached once; confirmed three persons. 52. Lincoln and Gaston Mission, Gastonia — One service; preached once. 53. Littleton, Church of the Good Shepherd — Three services; preached twice; baptized and confirmed an adult. 54. Louisburg, St. Paul's Church — Two services; preached twice. 55. Louisburg, St. Matthias's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed five persons. 56. Macon County, Highlands, Mission of the Incarnation — One service; preached once; confirmed six persons. 57. Madison, St. John's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 58. Marion, St. John's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed six persons. 59. Mecklenburg County, St. Mark's Church — Two services; preached once. 60. Micadale, St. Mary's Chapel — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 61. Middleburg, Church of the Heavenly Rest — Oneservice; preached once: confirmed two persons. 62. Milton, Christ Church — Two services; preached twice; confirmed five persons. 63. Monroe, St. Paul's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed two persons. 64. Morganton, Grace Church — Two services; preached twice; con- firmed seven persons. 65. Morganton, St. Stephen's Church — One service; preached once: con- firmed four persons. 66. Mount Airy — Two services; preached twice. 67. Nonah, St. John's Church — One service; preached once. 68. Old Fort, St. Gabriel's Church — Two services; preached once; con- firmed four persons. 69. Oxford, St. Stephen's Church— Two services; preached once. 70. Pittsboro, St. Bartholomew's Church — Two services; preached twice. Pittsboro, St. James's Church — One service; preached once. 71. Raleigh, Christ Church— Four services; preached four times; con- firmed thirty-five persons; one funeral. 72. Raleigh, Church of the Good Shepherd — Twenty-one services; preached eight times; confirmed thirty-nine persons; one funeral; one marriage. 73. Raleigh, St. Mary's School Chapel — One service; confirmed ten per- sons. 74. Raleigh, St. Augustine's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed twenty persons. 75. Raleigh, St. Saviour's Chapel — Two services; preached twice; con- firmed six persons. 76. Reidsville, St. Thomas's Church — Two services; preached twice. 77. Ridgeway, Church of the Good Shepherd — One service; preached once. 78. Ringwood, St. Clement's Church — Two services; preached twice; confirmed one person. 79. Rockingham — One service; preached once. 80. Rockwood, Church of the Redeemer — One service; preached once. 81. Laurinburg — One service; preached once. 82. Laurel Hill (Morgan's Factory) — One service; preached once; con- firmed one person. 83. Rockwood, Church of the Redeemer — One service; preached once. 84. Rocky Mount, Church of the Good Shepherd — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 85. Rutherford ton, St. John's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 86. Rowan County, Christ Church— One service; preached once; con- firmed three persons. 87. Rowan County, St. Andrew's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 88. Rowan county, St. Jude's Church— One service; preached once; con- firmed one person. 89. Rowan County, St. Mary's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 90. Rowan County— St. Matthew's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed three persons. 91. Salisbury, St. Luke's Church — Two services; preached twice; con- firmed nine persons; baptized an adult. 92. Salisbury, St. John's Chapel— One service; confirmed sixteen persons. 93. Salisbury, St. Paul's Church — One service; preached once; confirmed four persons. 5 94. Southern Pines — One service; preached once. 95. Pine Bluff— One service; preached once; baptized an infant. 96. Saluda, Church of the Transfiguration — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 97. Sanford — One service; preached once. 98. Scotland Neck, Trinity Church — Two services; preached twice; con- firmed two persons. 99. Shelby, Church of the Redeemer — One service; preached once. 100. Statesville, Trinity Church — One service; preached once. 101. Stovall, St. Peter's Church — One service; preached once. 102. Sylva — One service; preached once. 103. Tillery, Church of the Holy Innocents — One service; pi-eached once; laid corner-stone. 104. Tarboro, Calvary Church — Five services; preached twice; one marriage. 105. Tarboro, St. Luke's Church — One service; preached once. 106. Lawrence, Grace Memorial Chapel — Two services; preached once; laid corner-stone. 107. Tryon, Chapel of the Cross — One service; preached once; confirmed seven persons. 108. Columbus — One service; preached once. 109. Mills Spring — One service; preached once. 110. "Wadesboro, Calvary Church — One service; preached once. 111. "Walnut Cove, Christ Church — One service; preached once, con- firmed five persons; baptized an adult. 112. Warrenton, Emmanuel Church — Five services; preached four times; confirmed seven persons. Warrenton, All Saints' Chapel -One service; preached once; con- firmed two persons. 113. Watauga Mission, St. Luke's Church (Boone) — One service; preached once; confirmed one person; one marriage. 114. Watauga Mission, St. John's Church — One service: preached once. 115. Watauga Mission, Blowing Rock — Two services; preached once; one funeral. ■ 116. Watauga Mission, Elk Park — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 117. Watauga Mission, Elk Cross Roads — One service; preached once; baptized an infant. 118. Watauga Mission, Jefferson — One service; preached once. llf). Watauga Mission, in Ashe County — One service; preached once 120. Waynesville, Grace Church — One service; preached once; confirmed one person. 121. Weldon, Grace Church — Two services; preached twice. 122. W 7 ilkesboro, St. Paul's Church — One service; preached once; con- firmed three persons. 123. Wilkes County, Gwynn's Chapel— One service; preached once. 124. Elkin — One service; preached once; baptized an infant. 125. Williamsboro, St. John's Church — One service; preached once. 6 126. Wilson, St. Timothy's Church — Two services; preached twice; con- firmed two persons. 127. Wilson, St. Mark's Chapel — One service; preached once. 128. Winston, St. Paul's Church — Four services; preached three times; confirmed twenty-one persons. 129. Yadkin Valley, Chapel of Rest — One service; preached once; con- firmed one person. Besides the above I have officiated, in going and return- ing from the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of the South, and in connection with my attend- ance upon the House of Bishops, and upon the Missionary Boards of the Church, a number of times beyond the limits of the Diocese. June 10, 1894, I spent with the Rev. Mr. Jeffery, of Little Neck, Long Island, sometime my assistant in St. Peter's Church, Charlotte; Sunday, July 10th, at Spartanburg, S. C, with my friend the Rev. Theodore D. Brattou. October 11th, at the request of Bishop Paret, I took part in the opening services of the Convention of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, in the Church of the Epiph- any, Washington City; and Sunday, October 21st, I spent in Middletown, Connecticut, and preached in Christ Church, South Middletown. I have not left the Diocese except when in my judgment my duty to the best interests of the Diocese demanded it; and I have remained at home during intervals between visitations which have hardly afforded me leisure for the performance of those duties connected with the administration of the office, quite as necessary as the duty of visiting parishes and missions. I have made my stay in the different parishes so very brief in most cases that I have seldom been able to feel that I fully understood the situation of affairs in the parish and in the field about it; and yet I am pained to report to you that there are sev- eral points which I have not visited at all since my conse- cration. These are mostly very small and inconsiderable chapels and missions, but I am sorry that there should be any such. It will be seen by the foregoing summary that during the year ending April 30th I have visited and officiated in one hundred and twenty-nine congregations or places, an aggregate of two hundred and thirteen times; I have admin- istered the Holy Communion ninety-two times, preached one hundred and seventy-three sermons, made thirty-six addresses, and confirmed four hundred and fifteen persons, within the Diocese. I have also baptized eight adults and nine infants, officiated at live funerals, and married three couples. Friday, August 10th, at Tillery, in Halifax county, I laid the corner-stone of the Chapel of the Holy Innocents, being assisted in the service by the Rev. Walter J. Smith, whose faithful endeavors, aided by the liberality of Mrs. Frieze, of New York, and the North Carolina Lumber Com- pany, of Tillery, have brought the work already nearly to completion. The next day, August 11th, at Lawrence, in Edgecombe county, assisted by the Rev. Walter J. Smith and the Rev. Charles L. Hoffmann, I laid the corner-stone of a chapel to be called "Grace Memorial Chapel," built by a lady of Tarborough in memory of a very beautiful and noble young Christian life taken from this world to a place more meet for it. This hopeful mission at Lawrence, now supplied with a suitable house of worship, has been the work of a few of the faithful laymen and women of Calvary Church, Tarboro. Their zeal and taste have so adorned this most admirable structure that there are few chapels in the Diocese so pleasing and so well adapted for the reverent performance of the public services of the Church. September 2d, the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, I con- secrated the new church recently erected to replace the one destroyed by fire, for the Mission of the Good Shepherd, Cashier's Valley. The Petition for Consecration was read by Mr. David T. Johnson, and the Sentence of Consecra- tion by the Rev. John A. Deal, missionary in charge. I preached the sermon. The Rev. Samuel Rhodes was also present assisting in the service, and the Rev. F. Cecil Bay- liss, of the Diocese of Florida. The chapel had been built largely by means of help rendered by various branches of the Woman's Auxiliary in this and in other Dioceses. On the 7th of September I organized a mission at High- lands, in Macon county, to be known as the "Church of the Incarnation" and appointed the officers of the same, as provided in our diocesan canons. On the 27th of Decem- ber, acting under the same canon, I organized a mission at Murphy, in Cherokee county, to be known as the "Church of the Messiah. ," There have been the following changes in our Clergy-list: 8 We have lost: The Rev. Fenner S. Sticknev, Priest, transferred to Virginia, August 7, 1894. The Rev. John F. Milbank, Priest, transferred to Ohio, October 23, 1894. The Rev. Stewart McQueen, Priest, transferred to East Carolina, Octo- ber 1, 1894. The Rev. Edward P. Green, Priest, transferred to East Carolina, Jan- uary 21, 1895. The Rev. Nathan A. Seagle, Deacon, transferred to New York, Feb- ruary 18, 1895. We have gained: The Rev. George V. Gilreath, ordained Deacon, May 20, 1894. The Rev. Nathan A. Seagle, ordained Deacon, May 20, 1894. The Rev. James B. Avirett, Priest, transferred from Central New York, June 11, 1894. The Rev. Frederick W. Wev, Priest, transferred from Easton, Septem- ber 1, 1894. The Rev. Milnor Jones, Deacon, transferred from Tennessee, Septem- ber 15, 1894. The Rev. Churchill Satterlee, Priest, transferred from Albany, Septem- ber 22, 1894. The Rev. Louis H. Schubert, Priest, transferred from Albany, Feb- ruary 1, 1895. The Rev. Samuel Wilson Moran, Priest, transferred from Milwaukee, March 23, 1895. The Rev. Martin L. Poffenberger, Priest, transferred from Maryland, April 10, 1895. Our present number, therefore, is seventy-one Priests and Deacons, a gain of four over last }^ear. Several whose names appear, however, are not actually residents in the Diocese. The Rev. William S. Barrows has a fellowship in the General Theological Seminary, but desires to retain his canonical connection with this Diocese. I have thought that his case comes within the meaning of the canon allowing non-residence in the case of officers and professors in our general Church institutions. The Rev. Frederick, Towers, the Rev. Edward Benedict and the Rev. Alvin J. Vauderbogart have resigned their parishes, but have not asked for letters dimissory, as they may take other work in the Diocese. The names of the Rev. A. H. Boyle and the Rev. Henry M. Joseph also appear on our list, though neither of them has been in this Diocese for a 9 Dumber of years, nor have they made any report to the ecclesiastical authority, as required by the canon. I am required by the canon to report also that on the twenty- seventh day of March of this current year I suspended from the exercise of his function for the term of one year from that date the Rev. George H. Bell, Presbyter of this Diocese. Since the last Convention I have advanced two Deacons to the Priesthood: the Rev. John W. Barker, ordained in Trinity Church, Asheville, on the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, September 16, 1894, and the Rev. James D. Miller in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, on the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 23d. The fields of labor of the Clergy are the same as last year, with the following changes and modifications: The Rev. Alfred H. Stubbs has resigned the rectorship of St. Barnabas's Church, Greensboro, and has been appointed Warden of Ravenscroft Associate Mission and Training School, with general oversight of the mission stations in Buncombe county and in several neighboring counties. The Rev. Charles C. Quin has resigned the rectorship of Calvary Church, Wadesboro. The Rev. Charles L. Hoffmann has resigned the rector- ship of Calvary Church, Tarboro, and has become Rector of St. Peter's Church, Charlotte. The Rev. William S. Barrows has resigned his work in connection with the Ravenscroft Associate Missions and Training School, and is at present absent from the Diocese, as was mentioned above. The Rev. Charles J. Wingate, in addition to his parish of St. Timothy's, Wilson, has accepted the rectorship of St. Clement's Church, Ringwood, and gives one Sunday each month to this latter parish. The Rev. Frederick Towers has resigned the rectorship of the Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill. The Rev. Fenner S. Stickney has resigned the rectorship of St. Peter's Church, Charlotte, and has been transferred to the Diocese of Virginia. The Rev. John W. Barker has resigned his work as mis- sionary in Macon and Swain counties and has become rec- tor of St. Thomas's Church, Reidsville, and of the Church of the Epiphany, Leaksville. 2 10 The Rev. Edward Benedict has resigned the rectorship of St. Stephen's Church, Oxford. The Rev. Stewart McQueen has resigned the rectorship of St. Philip's Church, Durham, and has been transferred to the Diocese of East Carolina. The Rev. Edw T ard P. Green has resigned the rectorship of Grace Church, Morganton, and has been transferred to the Diocese of East Carolina. The Rev. Alvin J. Vanderbogart has resigned the rector- ship of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rocky Mount. The Rev. Gaston Battle, Deacon, in addition to the mis- sion of St. John's, Battleboro, is also serving in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rocky Mount. The Rev. Hardy H. Phelps, rector of Calvary Church, Henderson county, has at my request assumed charge of St. James's Church, Hendersonville, and St. Paul's Church, Henderson county, with a Deacon under him officiating in those churches. The Rev. John F. Milbank has resigned the rectorship of Emmanuel Church, Warrenton, and has been transferred to the Diocese of Ohio. The Rev. Frederick A. Fetter, Deacon, in addition to High Point and Lexington, has also been serving the mis- sion at Germanton. The Rev. Thomas C. Wetmore, Deacon, has been removed from Lincoln and Gaston missions and has been assigned missionarv work in Henderson county under the Rev. Hardy H.' Phelps. The Rev. George V. Gilreath, Deacon, has been serving St. Saviour's Chapel, of Christ Church parish, Raleigh, and also as assistant to the Rev. Dr. Marshall. The Rev. Frederick W. Wey, Associate Priest of Raven- scroft Mission, has been in charge of the work in Haywood, Jackson, Swain and Cherokee counties. The Rev. Milnor Jones, Deacon, is missionary in Watauga, Ashe and Mitchell counties. The Rev. Churchill Satterlee has become rector of Grace Church, Morganton. The Rev. Louis H. Schubert has become rector of the Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill. The Rev. Samuel Wilson Moran has become rector of Emmanuel Church, Warrenton. 11 The Rev. Martin L. Poffenberger has become rector of Ca 1 v a ry C h u re h , Tarborough . The Rev. Edwin H. Green has accepted the rectorship of St. Barnabas's Church, Greensboro, but I have not yet received his letters dimissory from the Bishop of Southern Virginia. The Rev. George A. Zellers, of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, has since the first of the current year been serving very acceptably in St. Philip's Church, Durham, under a temporary arrangement which I made with the vestry of that parish. William Ashton Thompson, of St. Peter's Church, Char- lotte, was received as a Candidate for Holy Orders April 22, 1895. Samuel A. B. Trott, a colored Candidate for Holy Orders, who had for some years been doing most faithful and laborious service as a teacher and catechist in Moore county, departed this life April — , 1894. Otherwise our list of candidates remains as it stood last year, except that several have been ordained, as has been mentioned here- tofore. Having thus completed the report of my official acts, and given the statistical information required by our general canon, I proceed, as briefly as I can, to present for your consideration some matters which seem to me especially deserving of your careful attention and vigorous action. OUR DIOCESAN MISSIONARY WORK. This is first in place because first in importance. The whole life and hope of the Church in North Carolina are bound up in this work. As the weak and seemingly insig- nificant fibrous roots which spread away furthest from the trunk really gather the nourishment by which the tree u CD %J lives, so shall we in this Diocese grow and strengthen just in the measure that we push our mission enterprises beyond the limits of our larger and stronger parishes. "With our limited means of supporting missionary enter- prises in this Diocese it seems to me that we should care- fully lay out our work, and use our limited means in such a way as to develop as far as possible additional resources from the field worked. With this view I have endeavored during the past year to reorganize the missions in the 12 extreme west. I have placed the Rev. Frederick W. Wey at Waynesville and have placed under his charge the work in Haywood, Jackson (except Cashier's Valley and vicinity), Swain and Cherokee, requiring each congregation served by him to contribute a specific sum, agreed upon by them- selves, towards his support. The Rev. Mr. Deal being deprived of the services of an assistant by the removal of Mr. Barker to Reidsville, I have limited him to the work in Macon county and at Cashier's Valley. Highlands and Cashier's Valley are very inconveniently situated for him, but during the summer season it is hoped that he may have assistance from visiting Clergy. At all these places the work is hopeful, and at Highlands it seems specially important. A large number of visitors resort to it during the summer, and the number of permanent residents is rapidly increasing. That which makes this afield of peculiar interest and importance, however, is the fact that there has been a good deal of activity displayed in that community by the Unitarians, and well-disposed but poorly instructed persons are liable to be drawn away from their faith in Christ by this influence. I was very happy to see there last summer the good effects of Mr. Deal's labors, not only among the visitors, but among the people of the country and the permanent settlers in the village. He is striving most earnestly to build a church there, in which I bespeak for him the good-will and co-operation of all Christian people. In the organization of the mission of the Church of the Incarnation I trust we have made a beginning which shall soon ripen into a strong and influential congregation. I have given much thought and labor to the work of the Ravenscroft Associate Mission and Training School. Hav- ing lost the services of the Rev. Mr. Barrows, I last July nominated to the Board of Fellows the Rev. Alfred H. Stubbs, who was thereupon elected Warden. But I find that, from causes useless to enumerate in this place, the endowment of this institution, which a few years ago yielded a thousand dollars annual revenue for the support of the work, now yields practically nothing. I have had the use of part of the building known as Shoenberger Hall, and for an income only what I could get out of the scanty appropriations of our Diocesan and Domestic Boards. I appointed as Associates of Ravenscroft Mission the Revs. 13 Samuel Rhodes and William P. Rice, Deacons, and fche Rev. Frederick W. Wey, of Waynesville, Priest, Mr. Wey lias special charge of the field already mentioned, while Mr. Rice and Mr. Rhodes act under Mr. Stubbs's more immediate direction. They serve the various chapels in Buncombe county as frequently as it is possible for them to do, and also keep up services at the Hot Springs, at Brevard and at Row- man's Bluff. In connection with these places I have endeav- ored to apply the rule spoken of above, and to require a spe- cific sum to be paid by each congregation towards the support of the services. In the places specified above this effort has been met with a just appreciation by the people, but in many of our missions throughout this region it seems never to have been required of the members of the Church in the several congregations to assume any part of the responsibility for the maintenance of the ministrations of the Church. It is a question whether this policy does not insure the continuance of a condition of helplessness and dependence so long as it is pursued. In another section of the mountain country the zeal of a few of our good women, organizing the children of the Diocese into branches of the Junior Auxiliary, has enabled me to begin what I trust may prove a most important work. Miss Horner, the Diocesan Secretary of the Junior Auxiliary, last summer proposed to become responsible for six hundred dollars a year for the support of a missionary in Watauga county. I at once availed myself of this offer by engaging the Rev. Milnor Jones to proceed to Watauga, and to attempt to revive the old Mission of Valle Crucis. The present owner of the property has offered to give fifteen acres of land including the site of the old mission, and in consideration of this gift I have undertaken to put a build- ing upon the property to be used for the purposes of our mission. Mr. Jones entered upon this work last Septem- ber and has been most faithfully laboring in it ever since. He extends his ministrations into Ashe couuty on the one side and into Mitchell on the other, and ministers to a con- siderable number of Church people scattered over this extensive field. He is endeavoring to establish schools at several points. This is a great opportunity for useful work throughout this section. We have traditions of mission- ary enterprise and of faithful service by saintly men along 14 the banks of the beautiful Watauga and in the sheltered coves of its mountains, which forbid us to forsake this region. I most earnestly appeal to the Churchmen of this Diocese to aid me in sustaining this work. I need five hundred dollars for the building at Valle Crucis, and five hundred dollars for the schools which should be established in different parts of the missionary field. I have dwelt more at length upon the work in this part of the Diocese because it is more purely missionary, and because the necessities of this part of the work will come prominently before the Convention in connection with the proposition which has been made to memorialize the Gen- eral Convention in favor of erecting this portion of the Diocese into a Missionary Jurisdiction. Of this I shall speak presently. I pass on now to the missionary work of the Diocese in the more central and eastern parts. In my judgment it is in pushing our missionary efforts among the people of the central portion of the State that we have the most immediate prospect of growth and development. Here a large proportion of the population is accessible to us, and a large number are by intelligence and education prepared to appreciate those features of our public worship which distinguish us to the popular mind more than those principles of ecclesiastical polity which are the basis of our organization. Another advantage of work in this portion of the Diocese is found in the greater ability of the people to assist in the support of the missionary, so that our mis- sionary funds will go much further in supplying ministers. A fair specimen of this kind of missionary work is found in the field lying along the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railway, where the several small missions combined require only a small stipend from the Missionary Committee to enable them to maintain a minister, and where on all sides are most promising openings for aggressive work. There has been a feeling among some of our people that we ought to do more for the advancement of the Church in the central and eastern parts of the Diocese. An examina- tion of our Journals and the reports which they contain will show that for years past much the greater proportion of our efforts have been expended in the west. At the present time the Convocation of Tarboro receives only two hundred dollars a year of our missionary funds, domestic 15 and diocesan, while few parts of the Diocese offer a more promising field for missionary enterprise. I do not mean to lay down any policy for the Conven- tion. I ask you, my brethren, to take these matters into consideration, and to inform yourselves as to the facts of the case. A resolution was adopted at our last meeting requir- ing the missionaries of the Diocese to make statements in the Convention of their work and its promise of growth. It seems to me that this may be made a most useful feature of our meetings. Whether we make any changes in our canons, in our formal methods of business here, or of parochial machinery, is of small moment, if we do not pro- voke one another to an emulation in zeal and good works. If, by looking at the facts before us, the call for work, and the opportunity, we can stir up ourselves and our people to new diligence and enthusiasm and liberality, we shall make any method and any machinery serve the purpose of the living Spirit within us. THE CONVOCATIONS IN THEIR RELATION TO MISSIONARY WORK. The Convocations of the Diocese were designed to be a part of the missionary machinery of the Diocese. As a matter of fact they have usually had no connection with missionary work. As a consequence they have usually amounted to nothing in the practical life of the Church and Diocese, and therefore the Clergy and Laity have taken but- little interest in them. I am not prepared to say how this state of things is to be changed, but I am persuaded that these local organizations might do a great deal for the crea- tion of a more earnest missionary spirit, and for the further- ance of missionary work. The canons give the Bishop authority to call the Convocations together that he may meet with them when he begins a visitation in the Convocation. I shall avail myself of this power, and I ask all the Clergy to be ready to respond to this call when it comes to them, that we may see if it be not possible to make our Convoca- tions play a more important part in our diocesan life. THE PROPOSED MISSIONARY JURISDICTION. Before the erection of the Diocese of East Carolina, when the difficulty of meeting the demands of the Diocese of 16 North Carolina for episcopal ministrations was becoming every year more apparent, it was a favorite plan of some of our best men to ask the General Convention to set off the western portion of the State as a Missionary Jurisdiction, whose Bishop and missionaries should be supported by our Board of Domestic Missions. A great obstacle in the path at that time was that there was no constitutional authority for such action; and though the necessities of the situation in the case of the immense States of Texas and California had led the General Convention, as it were against its own judgment, to adopt that method in those particular cases, yet the mind and conscience of the Church had not become entirely reconciled to that action; and I believe that our own wise and saintly Bishop was strongly opposed to it. Since that time, however, there has been quite a change in the mind of the Church upon this question, and it is almost certain that the current year will see the final adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of our General Conven- tion expressly authorizing this method of providing for the necessities of our missionary field. If, therefore, we can present a case which will demand this form of relief, doubtless the General Convention will have no difficulty in granting our petition, should the resources of our missionary treasury prove adequate to this demand. I shall not in this place undertake to give the arguments for and against the proposal. It does seem to me that if our general authorities can be persuaded to undertake the burden of this work, and to support a Bishop and mission- aries in this mountain region of our State, it will not onlv be a relief to this Diocese and allow us to give ourselves more effectively to the development of the work in our smaller territon r , but it will give a wonderful impetus to the growth and development of the Church in the region set off. I believe an inspection of my journal for the past year will show that I have given as great a part of my time to the work of visitation as is practicable, and yet I have been able to give to all that great territory, embracing thou- sands of square miles and nearly thirty counties, only about nine weeks. No argument is necessary to show that the work to be clone demands more time than this, and yet there is no reasonable prospect of any Bishop of the Dio- 17 cese of North Carolina, as at present constituted, being able to give, one year with another, more than this proportion of his time to that part of the Diocese. Much, therefore, as we should all regret the separation from our friends and brethren, we must see that the interests of God's Kingdom demand this, if the Church is prepared to undertake the work. As the Church has seen fit to give the Bishop very great control over this matter, I have thought it right that I should suggest to the committee having this matter in hand a line by which the proposed Jurisdiction should be set off from the Diocese. In doing this I have felt that I should not consult my own feelings, but should be willing to set off suffi- cient territory to give the Jurisdiction some strength and importance at the beginning, and also to afford a prospect of organizing as a Diocese at no very distant day. With this view I have suggested for their consideration the east- ernmost line (speaking generally) of the counties of Alle- ghany, Wilkes, and Alexander, from the Virginia line as far as the Catawba river, and then following that river to the South Carolina line ; all west of this to constitute the Missionary Jurisdiction of Asheville. This is, of course, suggested only as a basis for calculation and for the discus- sion of the question, and is subject in all respects to the action of this Convention. The necessary data in the way of statistics of the region proposed to be set off, as also of the remaining portion of the Diocese, with all other facts necessary to a proper understanding and an intelligent dis- cussion of the question by the Convention, will more prop- erly come before you in the report of the committee appointed last year. Our charitable and educational institutions during- the past year have not varied from their usual routine. Ravens- croft Associate Mission has already been spoken of. It is at present without any students, there being no means at m} r command for their support. The Ravenscroft School for boys has been carried on with some success as a day-school since Mr. McDonald's departure last fall. As the Warden of Ravenscroft and his only associate, who lodged in Shoen- berger Hall, occupied only a small portion of the build- 3 18 ing, and as the defective construction and poor materials used already demanded repairs, I thought it wise to acqui- esce in the judgment of the local Fellows, and to rent the hall as a private residence, reserving the library and sufficient accommodation for the Warden and his Deacon associate. By this means needed repairs have been made in the build- ing, and it has been connected with the city water and sew- age S}^stems. In this connection I would call the attention of our Clergy and people to Dr. Murdoch's school for boys at Salisbury. That is as yet only a day-school, but a little co-operation with him might develop it into the so much needed economical boarding school for boys. Our institution for colored youth, St. Augustine's School, Raleigh, continues its good work. Though without many advantages possessed by some other similar institutions, it is a cause of great gratification to know that its work so approves itself in the character and influence of those whom it has trained. I have been very proud to point out to our Bishops, when they have inquired of me, the noble record made by our colored Clergy who are its alumni. I believe they are to-day the most faithful, unassuming, upright, and effective men to be found among our colored Clergy, whether in this Diocese or elsewhere. When I have made this claim for them it has never been disputed. I have been able to effect an important arrangement for the benefit of St. Augustine's with our Colored Commission, whereby it has been recognized as the school recommended by the Com- mission for the preliminary training of young colored men who desire to enter upon the study of theology ; and they have, to aid us in this work, made us a special grant of one thousand dollars, which we have reason to hope will be continued as an annual appropriation. In connection with our diocesan schools I cannot omit to ask your attention to the claims of the University of the South upon us. I know not what to say of it more than I have already urged time and again, but I am satisfied that we are neglecting a very great means of building up the Church in North Carolina when we fail to draw as close as possible the bonds of sympathy and of active co-operation which should unite us with that noble enterprise. 19 The managers of the Thompson Orphanage will in their report to this Convention set forth its work and its necessi- ties. I will only say that it continues its course of useful beneficence under the wise and generous administration of its admirable Superintendent. May I be permitted to add, though personalities should have but little place in such an address, that the Orphanage has suffered a sad loss in the death of the late Baxter H. Moore, one of the Board of Managers. Within a few days past I have had the pleas- ure of consecrating the chapel of the Orphanage by the name of "The Memorial Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin," erected for the Orphanage by the liberality of the Hon. William P. Bynum. I mention this, though it will be included in my next annual address, having taken place May 1st. Looking over the whole field committed to us, I cannot refuse to see many signs of hope and of progress. Most of our strong parishes are growing daily stronger, and many of them are becoming as never before centres of all kinds of Christian activity. Much of this activity at present takes the form of the work of the Brotherhood of St. An- drew, or of the Daughters of the King; but these organi- zations are no ways outside or beside the line of Church work. They are but the present form in which the life and hope of the Church are manifested. And the same promise of growth and power is equally to be seen in almost every missionary field where we are at all coming up to the measure of the responsibility laid upon us. The great dif- ficulty is the difficulty of finding men to do the work. And this is not because of a scarcity of men ; it is because men are not willing to take the work at the price of the hard- ship and uncertainty that they must face. Many of our smaller parishes and missions, even where they are com- bined in such a way as to give a man as much work as he can possibly attend to, are able to raise, with aid from the missionary funds, not more than five or six hundred dol- lars, with, or sometimes without, a house. Xow many of the ablest and noblest of our Clergy know by experience that a man and his wife, and possibly a baby or two, can live on this small salary- But manv men do not believe this, and have no inclination to make the trial. I do not mean to blame them. It is not for me to judge and to 20 condemn. But I say that such are the facts of the situation. We need at this moment men of piety, zeal, and ability, who are willing to give themselves to the work of God and to endure hardships that they may do the work. Thank God we already have such — the Diocese of North Carolina would be in a sad state if we had not! — but we want more of the same kind. I will go a step further and say that we need men who are willing to work without money and without price. AVe shall never be able to do the missionary and educational and charitable work of the Church until men shall again bum with the love which is willing to give up everything for Christ and His Church. Clergymen who have families dependent on them must have a support for their families, but if single men when they enter the min- istry were willing to give themselves up for two or three years for missionary work, receiving only their food and clothing, before entering upon ordinary parochial work, what a power for aggressive work would they thereby put into the hands of the Bishop ! I may be hoping for too much, but I shall not cease to hope for this, and I now set it before the Clergy and Laity of North Carolina as one of the things which our work needs. There are those among us who have declared their purpose of devoting themselves to the Holy Ministry ; there may be others whose heart God is now moving. I say to all such and to all others, that when they come, unburdened by domestic obligations, to serve as God's messengers, I shall hope to see them give at least the first years of their ministry, without price, and to find them willing to prepare for the responsibilities of the Priesthood by enduring hardship as good soldiers. With such material we might then make our associate missions a reality, and have a force at hand for missionary work wdierever they might be most needed. I would venture to ask the Clergy to be a little more careful of the canons of the Diocese in what may seem the routine of their work. I referred last year to the carelessness with which many of our parish Registers are kept. I must now call your attention to the very com- mon neglect of some of our canons. The parochial re- ports show that a large number of the Clergy fail to comply with the canons requiring certain offerings to be taken in 21 their churches. It is quite possible that some of them have neglected to put into operation the system of offerings for Diocesan Missions enacted into a canon by our last Con- vention. Certainly no small number perform the duty of reporting their official action to the Bishop in such a way that the Bishop is at a very great loss to understand the reports. Having mentioned these things I hardly know what else to say about them. We have all of us taken a solemn oath before God and the Church to obey the canons. The ministry which we exercise we received conditioned by that promise. I feel that it is my duty to require from both Clergy and Laity an honest obedience to the laws of the Church. I am entitled to the co-operation and assist- ance of every one of you in this matter. I hereby appeal to each one of you and require your help in this business to the extent of seeing that from this time each one does his part herein. In connection with my visitations I shall hereafter endeavor to look into all such matters. I trust I shall find a ready co-operation on all hands in endeav- oring to bring up all our parishes to the full measure of their duty. If there be useless or vexatious requirements in our canon law let such be abolished, but let us all join heartily in the performance of all duties laid upon us. Our Missionary Clergy I would remind that I issued some months ago a circular-letter to them laying down cer- tain methods of work and a certain scheme of offerings. I am willing to make any modifications in this which may be shown to be desirable, but I must ask them to observe the method therein recommended, except so far as I may modifv or change it. Since November 1, 1894, I have made my residence in Raleigh in the Episcopal Residence provided by the liber- ality and, I think, wisdom of the Diocese. Being in Ral- eigh, I have accepted the offer made me by the rector, wardens and vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd in that city to make use of their parish church as my Cathedral. So far the arrangement is but little more than nominal, as there are no means at my command to carry on any of those practical works which should make the Bishop's Church the centre of diocesan activities. In time, however, we may be able to develop this part of the work. 22 As gratifying evidences of the pious liberality of some of our people, I may mention that the late Mrs. Mary S. Speight, of Christ Church, Raleigh, besides generous lega- cies to the two parishes in Raleigh, gave by her last will and testament one thousand dollars to the missionary work of the Diocese; and within the past few days I have received from one who, as he is living, I shall not take the liberty of naming, a deed for a lot in the suburbs of one of our most important cities, upon which he is erecting a beautiful chapel, to be the centre of missionary work in its vicinity. Fearing to take up too much of the time of the Conven- tion, I close this my second annual address with the earnest prayer that He, who is able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, may, by His H0I3 7 Spirit, guide us into all truth, and enable us to show forth His glory by accomplishing His work and thus hastening the coming of His Kingdom. Jos. Blount Cheshire, Jr.