Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-09-15
A. NJ. E. Church
Conference Ends
Before Crowd
PFC. Iceland DAVIS
In Italy
BY REV. C. T. R. NELSON
Staff Correspondent

OIaH correspondent
Several hundred people filled the
st. Peter A. M. E. Church, Mime
apolis, last Sunday afternoon and
evening to capacity for the final
meeting of the twenty-fourth ses-
sion of the Northwestern Annual
Conference of the African Metho-
dist Episcopal Church. This ses-
sion of the conference which began
Wednesday morning (see last
weeks edition of this paper) was
presided over by Bishop John A.
Gregg, presiding bishop of the
fourth Episcopal District.
The closing day, Sunday, was a
very busy one for the scores of
ministers, their wives, and the lay
delegates from most of the thirty
three churches of the conference
from Iowa, South Dakota, Mime
sofa and one church in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada, who attended the
five day confab which was one of
the best if not the best in the
history of the conference.
Ora c. Hall, a prominent member
of the st. James Church, st. Paul,
was the superintendent of the con-
ference Sunday School at $50 a. m.
DR.. R. A. Adams, presiding elder
of the Kansas District of the Ne
braska Conference, preached an in
spring ordination sermon at the
morning worship service. DR.. Ross
o. Hopkins of Davenport, Iowa, a
chiropractor, who is pastor of
three churches in the conference,
was ordained a deacon by Bishop
Gregg and Mrs. Matte Ellis, Mrs.
Mary Patrick both members of the
st. James Church, st. Paul; and
Mrs. Ella Gray of Burlington, Iowa,
were consecrated as deaconesses by
the Bishop.
Rev. Benjamin N. Moore, pastor
of the st. James Church, St. Paul,
presided at the musical festival at
3 p. m. Choirs participating in
cluded the Zion Baptist, Minneapo-
lis; st. Peter A. NJ. E. and St.
James of St. Paul. Rev. Boyd
Patrick, the conference director of
Religious Education, presided at
the conference session of the Allen
Christian Endeavor League, which
convened Immediately following the
musical festival. A feature of the
program was the reading of the
prize winning essay of the Bishop
Gregg contest. The winner was
a young woman from Duluth.
Rev. W. E. Churchill, pastor of the
st. Johns A. M. E. Church, Mont
gomery, Alabama, made the princi-
pal address of the program.
Possibly the most touching scene
of the entire session of the confer
ence was enacted when Bishop
Gregg announced while reading the
appointments that DR.. Thomas B.
Stovall had been given a years
leave of absence by his request,
from his duties as presiding elder
of the st. Paul District. DIR. Stovall
has served in this capacity for
twenty-five years and is one of the
great pioneers of the denomination
here in the Northwest. A special
plan was set up by the bishop and
adopted by the conference to see
that this veteran of the gospel will
be provided for during his leave.
Another sad moment came to the
conference when after the read
ing of the very fine set of resolu-
tons by Rev. b. N. Moore, Bishop
Gregg could not refrain from men,
tioning the fact that Eve all miss
Brother Charlie Miller, a sterling
Christian worker, who for years
prepared and read the resolutions"
Rev. Moore was endorsed by the
conference for the post of Execu-
tive Secretary of the Allen Chris
tan Endeavor of the denomination
for 1913.
Rev. Henderson Reddick, for four
years pastor of the Wayman A. M.
E. Church, was given a leave of
absence at his own request and
the Rev. L. P. Ashford was appoint