The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1894-09-13

ALUrHERAN PREACHER.
Church Members Want Rev. j. II
Skies Turned Down.

Perhaps the biggest row in Guilford
county is church tracas.
The case came up Thursday before
Judge Hoke, an Injunction being
prayed by the anti-Sikes faction, re
straining him from preaching ir
| Frieden's Evangelical Lutheran
church in Guilford county, or acting
as pastor, until such time, as the mat
ter could be heard and determined by
jury.
Affidavits were presented by bOtf
sides and the hearing consumed most
of Thursday asternoOn and an houl
Friday morning.
The facts as gathered by the Greens
borO Record are that some time last
spring Rey. j. r. Skies was chosen as
supply preacher-in other words he
was taken on probation.
After this he was elected as pastor
At the meeting of Synod Mr.. Skies
presented himself before that body fol
membership but was rejected. 1t was
not denied, we believe, that up to this
time Frieden's church belonged to the
Synod. Under the rules and regula
tions governing this body no man can
become pastor of church unless he is
member of Synod. Mr.. Skies, having
been rejected, as above stated, by this
body, an effort was made to rouSt him
from the pastorate: but it seems he has
a number of warm admirers in the con.
gregation and they objected. A split
then occurred, there being two factions
Skies and antl-SikeS
Various and sundry meetings were
held, each claiming to be regular and
each accusing the other of being in
the ninnFifU not hQin0 rnOuiQF
Judge HOke decided that nc matter
what Synod said this particular
church could call whomsoever they
pleased. OF course such action would
cause the church so acting to be drop
ped by Synod, but that was matter
for the membership and not for the
court. His Honor added however,
that there was one affidavit introduced
by the plaintiff showing that at a
meeting of the congregation, Skies
had been expelled and a committee
was appointed to notify him and ask
him to get out. He said further, that
unless it could be shown that this
meeting was not properly >tituted
and conducted he should hold that
the defendant Skies must step down
and out.
Time was given the defence to reply
to this and at the opening of court
their aff1daVlt was presented, claim
ing that although this meeting had
been regularly called by the council of
the church, yet at subsequent SER
vice in the church it had been recalled
-postponed-on account of the ex-
cited state of feeling among the peo-
pie; that the plaintiff and his friends,
however, took no notice of this post
ponement, but went ahead and held
the meeting anyway.
After listening to all the aff1davits
His Honor announced that he would
not grant the injuction; that it did
not appear to him that these people
should be deprived OF preaching pend
ing hearing by jury as to who
should be pastor.
The case is a queer Que. Mr.. Skies
wrote a book on the whiskey question
some years ago, in which he took very
decided anti-prohibition grounds,
claiming that its manufacture and
sale was countenanced by the Bible.
Synod decided he was not sound on
this question and so refused him ad-
mission.
The next step, il the contention is
still to go on, will be the airing of the
whole business before jury.