The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-03-21

and labor, a place among the workers
where no disbonor will attach to her
labor & place among the writer's and
teachers. among the merchants and men
Of business, and she who has been
grinding her life away at the sewing
machine or sufocatiog 10 school rooms
is to be led forth to stand in the great
ranks of those who are freemen 10 a
free world.
But I am anxious not to be misun-
derstood. Some one is now ready to
say that [ have advocated the appoint.
ment and calling Of women as preachers
of the gospel, and that I have argued
that they should be put wherever man
is put, and sometimes in his place to
his discontinue. But I have not so
argued. I do not find in the Bible any
proof of the fact that a woman was
ever ordained to preach the gospel or
administer the ordinances. lam only
DESTROYS of going as far as the Scrip
lures go. Our methods make Der out
a 6gure-head in religious meetings, and
to this I raise objections. To explain
myself more fully, I will give an
illustration. Some years ago, I was
invited to hold a meeting with one Of
the Baltimore churches. The pastor
was once a Carolinian, raised, as I had
been, to require the women to keep
silent. On our way to the first even
ing service, be asked me if [ had ever
heard women talk in a meeting. I
told him no. He promised that I
should hear it that day. | began to
feel uneasy, and imagined that l could
not preach if such an untoward thing
should take place. But on we went to
the church. The sun had not yet set.
In a little while. the people commenced
to gather, and each woman brought a
little basket. What could this mean?
When about s%eventy-fve had come, the
doors to the rear Of the prayer-meeting
room swung open, aud 10! a supper had
been spread-a church supper at which
the brethren and sisters sat and ate ana
talked This was all new to me. I
had gone to church, but not to supper;
and yet | soon found that that supper
was the means of doing great good. 1t
brought the members together in a
social way, and opened up introduc-
tions which could not easily have been
brought about otherwise. After
a half hours communion in this
way, We filed out into the
lecture room. I had been told the
women were to take part, and | felt
like one about to be initiated into a
secret society. After a hymn and
a prayer or two, the pastor asked if any,
one had a word Of testimony to render
for Jesus. A woman advanced in
years, arose and read some promise
out of the Scriptures concerning Gods
love and care, and said, Il have re-
ceived the ful6lment of that promise
10 my heart this week" Another
sister made a statement concerning
some answer to prayer about her
child. A third recited a stauz from a
hymn, and a dozen more repeated
Scripture verses, and one motherly old
soul led 10 prayer. / was converted.
I had looked on with a critics eye to
6nd out the wrong, and it would have
given me pleasure to be able to show
the pastor the great evil l had dis:
covered. but my eyes and ears had
failed to detect the heresy that [
sought, aud from that day to this, I
have never had the courage to open
my mouth in opposition to testimony
from the women, nor shall | eve teach
that women must keep silence in the
churches.