The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1892-10-28
THE A. r. P. SYNOD.
Report of the Meeting Held at
Salem Last Week-Large At
tendance and Great In
terest Throughout.

| Saturday night the Synod of tn,
Associate Reformed Presbyterian
church, which assembled at Salem
on the preceding Thursday, adjourned
This was the third meeting of the su
preme council and court of tina
church at Salem and marks al
epoch in its history that will bt
long remembered and recalled with
pleasure by that congregation.
For several weeks prior to the
: meeting preparations for the Synod
were begun. The house Of worship
was newly painted and other improve
ments made on the church and
grounds. Tuesday the advance guard
of the delegates arrived at Atoka and
were taken to the homes and hearts
of the people. These delegates were
those who had to consult and prepare
the general work for the opening OF
the Synod.
Wednesday a meeting Of the Mis-
sion Board was held and other com
mittee work done.
Thursday morning by 10 o'clock
nearly all the delegates were present
and ready for the work Of the Synod
At l / o'clock Rev. John l.. Hemp
hill, of Nunan, Ga, the retiring
moderator, entered the pulpit and
preached the opening sermon from
! Corinthians fourth chapter and sec
ond verse Moreover, it is required
in stewards that man be found faith
full" 1t was a clear, practical SER
mon, and while addressed more espec-
tally to the ministry, the duty of the
church member generally was pointed
out. At the close of Mr.. Hemphilrs
sermon the Synod was constituted by
prayer Rev j. S. Moffat, of Ches-
ter, S. c., who was elected moderator
at last meeting of the Synod held
at Statesville, n. c., last fall, was
then called to the chair. Mr.. Mofat
is a grandson of Rev. John Wilson,
the first pastor of Salem church,
which he served for about thirty
years, after which he resigned and
went to Arkansas, but still retained
his hold on the esteem and love of his
old congregation. 1t was due in part
to the wishes of the Salem congrega-
ton that Mr. Moffat was made moder-
ator. He made an excellent presid-
ing officer and demonstrated that the
confidence reposed in him by the
Synod was in nowise misplaced. |
Although Mr.. Mofat is one of the
youngest pastors in the Synod and is
modest and unassuming, his talent is
of high order and he already takes
an active part in the councils of his
church. A conscientious, earnest
Christian man, more mature years
will make him a strong power in the
years to come.
The dinner hour arrived by the
time the Synod was fully organized,
and a recess was accordingly taken |
until o'clock in the afternoon. The |
large crowd was invited to the grove
near the church, where tables had |
been erected and were filed with the
delicacies and substantials of the !
season. The invitation to dine was
general, everybody being included;
there were no strangers; all were
treated as brethren and friends and |
fed upon the fat of the land.
The delegation proper consisted of
about sixty five ministers present and |
twenty odd elders. Dr. F. l.. Ewing, |
of this place. and Rev. G. w. Boggs,
of Mason, were present and invited to
sit as corresponding members. These,
however, were not the largest part of
the strangers present. There were
many visitors from all over the Synod |
and especially from the congregation
of the same faith who live near
enough to make attendance on the
meeting easy and inexpensive.
The session Thursday evening was
taken up largely with unfinished bus
mess, supplemented with the hearing
and filing of reports for future action.
The routine work was resumed
Friday morning and continued until
the dinner hour.
Immediately after the moderator
called the house to order in the after
noon session, Rev. Mr.. Wilson, of
Philadelphia, the representative of
the United Presbyterian church, sent
to bear the fraternal greetings from
that church, was introduced and adj
dressed the Synod IN a speech of
about forty-five minutes. Mr.. Wilson
briefly reviewed the history of the
Associate Reformed church, dwelling
on the similarity of the organization to
his own church and the good feeling,
brotherly love and fraternal spirit
that had characterized the two for
several wears. The address was a
model of good taste and was well
received. The moderator replied in
behalf of the Synod in brief speech,
thanking the United Presbyterian
church through its representatives for
the kindly feeling and evidence of its
fraternal love. The Synod at the
close af the moderator's speech went
into a conference on the subject of
union. A committee appointed last
fall to confer with a similar commit
tee appointed by the United Presby
terrain Assembly on the basis of
union was called in and made their
report. This report provoked very
spirited discussion. A motion to
receive and adopt the report of the
committee and overture it to the
Presbyteries for action was lost. On
motion, a special committee was then
appointed 10 report what action should
be taken. A large majority of the
ministers of the Associate Reform
church are in favor of the union per-
-sonaIly, but on the other hand ma
jority of the people are very strongly
opposed to it. This was the opinion
of all who expressed themselves on
the question. The committee reported
in favor of re-eommitting the ques-
ton to the committee, with Instruct
ions on two questions, namely the
testimony of the church on the ques-
ton Of slavery and secret societies.
The Synod adopted the report of the
committee. Several of the delegates
were in favor of abandoning all fur
Their efforts towards union of the
churches-not out of opposition to
the union SO much, but because they
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