The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-13

by those who affirm that they are the
true Israelites indeed, who follow Mr..
Cooke and Mr. asbury and not Mr. Yves
ley, and by many others as well. Is there
any wonder that the pathway of the
American Church should be set thick
with difficulties, the more dangerous be-
cause they spring of prejudices begotten
of ignorance, And yet, dear friends, we
well pause ever and anon and prayerfully
inquire of ourselves before God how far
and in what way we have by acts of
ours, either passively or actively, deep
pned these prejudices and thus hindered
the growth of the Spouse of Christ, "the
Church our blessed Redeemer saved
with His most precious blood"
Again, Waterman, what of the
night
Perhaps one Of the most perpleXing pro-
bems of the Churchs situation in the
year Of grace, 1897. is her relation to the
colored people. The wise and sanity
Bishop of Central New York in letter
quite recently asks. why is the church
so slow in getting hold of the Negro, or
why is the Negro so slow in getting hold
of the church, This question more
than intimates the great fact of failure.
over the greater part of a half century
has passed. and the facts and figures war
rant the assertion that the growth of the
church among the colOred people is very
far below what one might expect from
the expenditure of so much money. 1t
would be an interesting piece of statistics
to compare the number of baptisms, con-
firmations, marriages and burials with
the number of communicates among the
colored people in the United States south
Of Mason and Divon's line in 1860 with
the church's strength in these particulars
in 1897 When we remember how faith
full such Bishops of the church as Whit
tingham, of Maryland, Meade, of Virgin
ia Atkinson. of North Carolina, Davis,
of South Carolina, Elliott of Georgia,
Cobbs. of Alabama, Green, Of Mississ-
ippi. Polk, of Louisiana, Gregg, of Texas,
Otey. of Tennessee, and Butledge, of
Florida, were to the divine commission,
an integral part of which was and is to
this day, Where there IS neither Greek
nor Jew. circumcision nor uncircumci-
SION barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free,
but Christ is all and in all" Col. 80.
When one calls to mind the fact that
some of these Bishops We're so intent up
on the preaching of the gospel to these
people. these representatives of that pa
triarchal institution, more bitterly a
bused than fully understood, that they,
the Bishops, carefully prepared volumes
of sermons for the use of the lay read
ers employed in the church's work a.
mong the negroes; when we remember
how many and how grievOus the mis-
takes made, and still being made, in this
very field by men educated far away
from and beyond the possibility of a
practical knowledge of these people,
both white and colored, among whom
they are called to labor; when one takes
time to study this veXed and vexatious
problem from the standpoint of intelli-'
gent industry one may not be far wrong
in thinking that the Episcopal church in
1860 was in very truth stronger among
the negroes of the South than at pre-
sent If this be so, what a fearful waste
of time and money! Regarded as rem
nl,- NO may we'll stop aad inquire wheth-
CT the same amount of money expended
upon the work of ''lengthening the cords
and Strengthening the stakes" of paro-
chial work, holding each rector RESPONSE
BILE for this work in his own parish, with
means supplied for meeting the respon-
sibility, would not and will not be fol-
lowed by more satisfactory RESULTS
Surely when one regards these various
difficulties and dangers which beset the
pathway of the church no one, in loyalty
and fidelity can count upon duty as found
in gentle dalliance upon any bank of
roses lit up with the May-day sun.
And yet, dear friends, as no one Of
the seven persons entered with Noah to
save the ark, so no one of us is divinely
commissioned to save the church, rather
has the church been divinely commits
stoned to save us. We entered the church
to be saved and not to save the church
Day by day, emergency by emergency,
danger by danger, mistake by mistake,
in season, out of season, at all times
and in every way, God rules. Jehovah,
Jireh is His name. He will not be let
or hindered in working out his gracious
purposes of salvation with His children.
True wisdom, the highest form of human
happiness, is daily to cultivate the grace
of patient waiting on God, of being still
and knowing who is God. We are some
times Incorporate in expression, and
alas, how often unwise in our counsels,
fallacious in our reasonings, inexact in
our estimates of environments
and erroneous in the forecasts
of the future, but the God of
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, under
the old dispensation, was as incapable of
mistakes as the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, under the new and
better convenant of love and mercy
What is our plain, practical duty, but to
work out by Gods help our own saliva
ton with fear, holy fear of being pre-
sumptuous. and with trembling" lest
we substitute will worship for the divine
oracle, for cit is God that worketh in
us both to will and do of His good pleas
ure,'' for if God be pleased, we in His
Church shall be saved with an everlast-
ing salvation.
Surely our hearts today are saddened
as we look across the ocean and see the
six great European nations sitting idly
by and, from motives of the very basest
nature. allowing their little sister Greece
to be driven to the very wall by Turkey,
the cross, the symbol of the Christian
faith: covered with blood and degrade