Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-07
Colored Methodists.

 The Trouble in the sperry Street Bethel |
 Church-A Split i'm the Membsrshtp-
 Two Ministers in Charge-Ome Breaches
 i'm the Church on Patience, the Other i'm the COIOred Masonic Hall on Peace
 What the Bishop and Others Have to
 Say.
 The trouble at the Bethel A. M. E. church on Sperry street, which culminated one week ago by the rejection from the pulpit of Rev. J. B. Stansbury, who had been sent by Bish- op Brown to supply the pulpit until further orders has been source of much loud talk during the past week. The colored people in the vicinity of Webster and Eaton streets have hardly had any other topic of conversa- tion It will be recollected that the trustees of the church, growing impatient at the bish- ops delay in sending them minister, em- pIoyed Rev. Mir. Johnson, of New Jersey. After preaching for short time the bishop sent Rev. Mir. Stansbury and then the trouble commenced.
 The trustees consulted Judge Sheldon and he informed them that they could exclude MT. Stansbury from the pulpit and that gen. tleman was informed that he would not be allowed to preach in the church or to enter it for that purpose.
 MT. Stansbury has following of minor ity of the members and concluded to hire the Masonic Hall in Webster street and preach to them until such time as the matter can be settled by the bishop or other authority. At 1e:30 yesterday morning the door of the Bethel church was closed and locked and no one to be seen in the vicinity but small
 boy. A half hour later the doors were thrown open and Rev. MT. Johnson and the trustees | of the church entered. The minister took
 his place in the pulpit and the trustees took theirs in the vestibule, and at the outer door carefully scrutinized those who entered. To the inquiry of COURIER reporter trustee 1 replied that the church was open and that | the services would proceed as usual. The
 reporter entered and found about twenty
 five people in the church, and before the 1 close of the services the number increased tc | about seventy-fve.
 1 Rev. Mir. Johnson is 8 young man, light ir
 color, with a moustaehe and short side whis kers
 After opening with hymn he read fol
 scripture lessons the 10th Psalm and part of the 10th chapter of Hebrews After fervent prayer the hymn was given out l commencing:
 l s'Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, 1 The clouds ye 50 much dread, l Are big with mery and will break With blessings on your head' 1 There being no one present to start the l tune, the singing was omitted and the min 1 ister gave out his text from Hebrews, 1Ott l chapter, 36th verse: 'For ye have need oi patience, that after ye have done the will of | C.l ~,1E hn TI,s | preacher dwelt upon the fact that whatever | is accomplished in life comes in great meas l ure through patience. He said that patience l built our cities and towns and without il
 nothing was accomplished gin human life. | Continuing he said: Patience built up oul | great fabric of civilization and it is patience 1 that has brought us to the higher conditions | of life. Patience is not an intellectual fac 1 ulty, but is a fixed habit of the soul. Oul ! children want their pleasure to-day, but mature men and women are willing to wait through long series of years until they are able to ac I complish their designs. They do not expect ! fruit to follow at once, but patience is will ing to wait for the fruit time. There is therefore necessity of patience in the Christian life, A man lives right because his
 mind is directed by the grace of God but il takes patience to build up 8 Christian char.
 acter. Are you building up such character 1 and becoming regenerated by the power ot ! | ter we have work to do. We are to be lib- | eral in our Christian views and if we are | fighting among each other we lose our hold | on the Christian life How very careful then | we ought to be in regard to our Christian l character We are our brothers keeper and | we should endeavor to help him along | through the Christian life.
 If you have God with you care not who i is against you. You need not be afraid, the church will establish itself here. care not | how weak you may be, but be sure that you ! have God with you and your success is sure. Let others fight and beat the air, you con- 1 tinue to serve God. say to you don't be I troubled. There is great agitation in your | minds, but say to you break it down this ! morning and let the peace of God rest in l your souls, and you will come out of the fur | mace without the smell of fire upon your gar ments. God grant that you may be staid in ! this hour of conflict, and that you will live g l Christian life and that your conversation will ! be yea and amen.
 | After the sermon it was learned from the \ trustees that they proposed to stand on the platform they had taken, without any regard | to Bishop Brown. They said they had hired Rev. MT. Johnson, that he was g regularly ! ordained member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and they did not propose | to let any other minister or bishop ever | oust him from the pulpit. Rev. MT. John l son ofieiated at the services in the afternoon ana evening.
 AT MASONIC HALL.
 In the afternoon the scribe wended his way to Masonic Hall on Webster street. When he reached there he found the hall cold
 and cheerless, and no one present but the sexton. Soon after two or three women and as many men came in and gathered round the stove. Shortly after Rev. MT. Stansbury came, and before going to his seat the re- porter briefly interviewed him. He said, in Ir kr 11rocfinnc hot Ina fhonnbk if foolish for the trustees of the Bethel church to take the stand they had. He thought that after 8
 while the trouble would blow over, and the church would again be sailing on smooth sea.
 MT. Stansburys attention was called to a letter from Cambridge, Mass, which was published in last Saturdays New York Globe, which is devoted to the interest of the colored people. A paragraph in the let ter referring to MT. s. was as follows:
 "On July 13, 1883, Rev. J. B. Stansbury
 was in our midst as pastor, whither he had
 us until Dec. 25, when he, too, was called away by the same appointing power. Dur ing Brother Stsnsbury's stay with us we have paid him ($175 06) one hundred and seventy five dollars and six cents as salary. During the few months he was with us he has not raised one dollar on the church debt, but has simply or barely kept or defrayed the cur rent expenses of the church."
 In reply to the reporter as to the truth or falsity of the article Mir. Stansbury said:
 q was with the church in Cambridge eix months and received considerably less than the sum named, with which had to pay house rent and support my family.
 'tIt is fact that I did not do anything toward paying the church debt and for this reason found that before was sent there they had purchased lot for church at an expense of $2, GOO. I found also that the lot was held in trust for number of heirs and that clear title could not be obtained to the property and declined to have anything to do with it.
 ''I do not think the charge that barely de- frayed the expenses of the church will be considered as anything against my character