The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-07-26
A THIN PARTITION.

pastor of the Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church in Greenwood
to accept a passionate in the South
ern Presbyterian Church, Rev. John
T. Young is reported to have stated
that he regarded the partition wall
between the two churches as a kind
of imaginary wall, and that evidence
of even that is fast passing away.
So far as we are concerned we
have no objection to the departure Of
M. Young. If he feels that there is
more work and more fruitful work
for him to do in another church, to it
he should 60. But MI. Young should
have learned these facts a good
while ago. There are a good many
people who believe that the Associ-
ate Reformed Presbyterian Church
is a separate structure, carrying out
the figure of speech of Mr.. Young,
and they do not look upon it as be-
ing connected with any other struc-
ture by any kind of partition wall
whatever. Acting on that assump-
ton, according to the minutes of the
Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church, the Synod of that
church has gone to the expense
of building a house of worship in
Greenwood and of erecting a par,
sonage, the latter valued at $4,000.
For the past eight years Mr.. Young
has occupied the parsonage and has
received, from the Synod of the
church about $500 per year as a sup
plement'to his salary, the members
of the Synod hoping thereby to build
up a church of their denomination
in Greenwood. 1t is evident, if the
only result has been to cause the
pastor to believe that there is only
a shadow of a wall between these
churches a good deal of time and
money has been wasted. There has
no doubt been good preaching in the
branch of the Southern Presbyterian
Church in Greenwood in that time,
to which the people who attended up
on Mr.. Young's preaching might have
listened without in any way increas
ing the cost to the Southern Presby-
terians. There has therefore, accord
ing to Mr.. Young's view been an
economical waste of assets in the
matter of Presbyterianhm in Green
wood.
1t is not necessary now for us to
say whether we believe with Mr..
Young that a common presbyterian
is almost as good as a member of the
Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church. We however, believe that
there is room for both churches in the
country and that each may do a
great deal of good. We believe the
combined efforts of the two, proper
ly applied, will result in more good
than by bringing the two together.
But. the average man, we believe,
takes the view of the matter which
we hold. He believes as we do,
that it is false economy to build a
new church of the Associate Re-
formed Presbyterian denomination
in a town where there is a Southern
Presbyterian Church, and he thinks
the same way about the building of
a Presbyterian Church where there is
.eady an established church of the
other denomination. Those people
who do not view the matter as we do
may always find it convenient to go
to some nearby church where they
may hold their membership in that
branch of the Presbyterian church
with which they prefer to affiliate.
The truth is that the Associate Re-
formed Presbyterian Church these
latter years has neglected it's educa-
tional institutions and in the effort
to build up the church has wasted
thousands of dollars in establishing
new churches which are nothing more
nor less than pensioners on the
church at large. The time has come
for that church to do better we think.
1t was the first of the Christian
churches in this state to establish a
college. 1t first saw the need for
,J,,,tod mon ond for an educated