The morning news., 1897-08-29

! had been seriously damaged in the storm
OF 1873. and there was a debt upon 1t of
$500 for repairs.
In the month of May 1896. states Rev.
Smith Bishop II. NJ. Turner. D. D., was
/ appointed bishop of Georgia and Alabama,
ana ne, too, was pleased with my course
| and management of the charge. The
! storm of September last DESTROYED the
| building, which was so highly priced by
members ana ministers of the African
| Methodist Episcopal church. Prior to its
! destruction, bishops and most ministers
1 who visited St. Philip church publicly eX-
/ pressed their regrets concerning the non
/ inviting locality of ST. Philips church, and
hoped foG the time when The church would
! move out to better place. When the
| pulldlng was wrecked we knew not what
was best to do, az we had only met cur
rent expenses of the church and reduced
me old debts from S,50c 70 about g 500, and
had not then one dollar on hand with
| which TO better our distressed condition
! our members were demoralized, hence
| while appea.ed to them to do the best
they could, l also appealed to friends
Wnite and colored, who although dam
4 aged by the storm, sent to us contributions
with very sympathetic letters. We had
rented hall on Duffy street, where dur
ing four months. we thought we had
worked to the satisfaction of all parties
justly interested, and whether we would
! rebuild on the old site or buy and build
success we would achieve during those
-FOUR month, and on whatever the confer
ences might do to hep us. Bishop Tur-
ner knew this, and being satisfied with
our work, wrote me as follows:
IF You cannot get the church we were
looking at so as to have that and the old
site of ST. Philips both, try and get the
lot just above the depot Or # YOU Judge
it better, try and rebuild on the old site.
brought your request for help before the
North Georgia conference; but the dis
bursting committee, I am ashamed to saw.
did nothing"
"The Macon conference gave us s1OO
said Rev. Smith, our church extension
society 5000 and the Georgia conference,
to which we belong returned to us $500
OF the $4ol we collected of the congrega-
ton, and reported there as conference
dollar money. and our friends churches
white and colored gave US about $500 as
our books will show. Hence of all mon
eys raised from the time of the storm to
Jan. !, this year our current expenses
were paid, over seven hundred dollars
were paid on old debts, and on removing 2
debris of our wrecked church building
! leaving a balance of one thousand dol
lars to buy or rebuild on the old site We
found before going to conference that we
could not buy the lot Just above the de-
pot, and move the material of the old
building and build there, as the bishop
advised therefore, We attempted to do
the next thing the bishop advised: Buy
| the Marvin church and move to It, and
then save the old ste-we had no thought
at that time that The bishop meant more
than his letter said, viz: Save the old
site" In accordance with the powers
| vested in the trustees, we bought the
Marvin church and parsonage for Sc, coo,
Bishop Turner having secured $1,000 for
US as loan for ninety days from Rev
NJ. NJ. Moore the financial secretary of
the A. NJ. r. church, which sum we St
Philip church, have paid back to Dr.
Moore
when the bishop presented to the
church the $1,000 as stated above he then
said that we needed two churches, and
ought to have them. But the bishop pro-
posed no plan, neither did he intimate or
suggest any time or way to establish two
| churches out of the distressed and bur-
dened St. Philip church. From what the
bishop had said, however, we felt it our
duty to work to the end that the nearly
$1,000 on the wrecked building, and the $4,-
600 mortgaged on Marvin and the
$1,000 the bishop secured as a loan from Dr.
Moore should be paid this conference year,
while, at the same time we would work
to the end that the bishops wish for two
churches might be rightly and successfully
consummated.
This was our state of mind and purpose
when on the first day of last February we
began our meeting in Marvin church and
we have not yet changed.
1T was about this time that some of my
own brother pastors decided that they
could manage my charge better than
| could and as / did not judge best to act
as they suggested TO me, they began with
a fixed determination to defeat my plans
and make me fail. They wrote to, and con-
fused Bishop Turner, and they talked to
and confused Rev. S. d. Roseborough our
new presiding elder, so much so that he
came to me and said: "The preachers with
whom l have talked except Rev. L. N.
! NJ. Smith, think we will lose at least 200
members If we don't rent Mrs Bakers S
hall and give them a pastor"
Il told him that Rev. T. n. NJ. Smith,
: having served the church the last four
= years, could best advise him if he doubted
my statement that there was nothing like
200 members who would leave US. then
proposed to the presiding elder that if a
roll Of the names Of those who wanted to
remain near the old site was written and
handed to me of more than % members, /
would read the same to the church, and
say 20 all who wished to return that they
! could do so Such a roll was never handed
to me by any one, but instead thereof the
. presiding elder, urged by opposing preach
ers and refractory members of our church,
did rent Mrs. Bakers hall on New street,
) and appointed Rev. Crittenton their pastor
: without the knowledge or consent of st.
, Philips church, which act is contrary to
church.
This act so confused the church that j
saw our total defeat. financially and other
: wise A few weeks from then the district
g conference met and agreed with pastor
e ana congregation that the presiding eld-
r er's act was grong, hence Rev Crittenton
? was withdrawn. Then the bishop was ap-
, pea.ed TO by them in such way tnat he
e iulgrd that we were greatly in the wrong.
I and without hearing from US. he gave de-
] | cisions in favor Of the few disloyal men,
| bers. which were so far from our COM
p mon laws and usages that we fet our
J | :. Ives far more damaged by them than
by the storm which wrecked the material
e building. He sent Rev. w II. Harris,
. whose acts made II 50 necessary for the
e chthch to defend herself by having him
enjoired.
. ''After this the bishop requested me to
v use Rev. Harris as my assistant pastor;
= TO this request ] atcd most hlially and
j ntafulv Uhv l could nOt thus use Rey.