The Negro Journal of Religion
NUMBER OF BISHOPS TO BE
ELECTED BY THE CENTRAL
JURISDICTIONAL CONFERENCE
(Continued from page 11)
ing it possible for the Negro members of
the church to have such a proportionately large share of episcopal leadership,
in the face of their relatively small
numerical, as well as financial strength
in the church, the majority group showed
a wonderfully fine spirit of brotherhood.
One is reminded again of much the same
sort of situation which obtained at the
General Conference at Des Moines in
1920 when the first two Negro general
superintendents were elected. There
again was the question as to whether the
church would do it grudgingly, or be
generous with its grant of episcopal opportunity.
At Kansas City, as at Des Moines
twenty years ago, the church was magnanimous and made the provision for
the larger number rather than the smaller. It would seem quite shortsighted on
the part of the minority group not to
avail themselves of this gracious and
brotherly attitude. Indeed, it is inconceivable that the delegates to this first
Jurisdictional Conference would fail to
elect the full quota allotted to them.
The other side of this phase of the
matter is that if we do not accept the
provision for four rattier than three
bishops at this time, the door will probably be closed to an increase in our
episcopal leadership for at least another
generation. We certainly owe it to the
young people who are to follow us in the
leadership of the church to keep the
door open for them, even though we ourselves decline to enter.
We have already called attention to
the tremendous territory to be covered
by our episcopal leaders, and the difficulty involved in covering it even with
four episcopal leaders. It is not enough
to; "cover" the territory; it must be
thoroughly cultivated.
Everything in our new economy suggests that the "General Superintend-
en«y" in Methodism is on the way out.
We are on the threshold of what, to
Methodists, is a new type of episcopacy
—although we have been approaching it
in our area system. We are coming to
the diocesan episcopacy where each
bishop knows intimately his area or
diocese. The new type of episcopacy
calls for intensive cultivation as well as
some degree of extensive travel. If we
are wise, we shall not make the physical
burdens our leaders must carry too
heayVf
Still another consideration in the number of episcopal leaders to be chosen is
the recognition of both the difference in
the problems and points of view of the
several sections of the church, and the
need for variety in the talents and equipment of our episcopal leaders themselves.
There is "North" and "South" among
Negroes as well as other groups in the
church. There are the "masses" and
the "intelligentsia." Both groups must
be served, and no one approach is ade-
The final and compelling reason,
however, in the judgment of the writer,
for strengthening the religious leadership among Negroes, is that the church
in. its work among Negroes may be more
effective in its work of helping to bring
in the kingdom of God. We must "go
up and possess the land", as far as helping to evangelize our backward brethren
is concerned, and help to prepare them
for citizenship here and hereafter.
United Methodism, with its unprecedented and unparalleled interracial
connections, has a marvelous opportunity
in this field. The Central Jurisdiction
does not end with the connection of its
325,000 members With the nearly 8,000,-
000 of other Methodists. It is really the
largest connecting link of white and Negro Christians in our country. The
leadership in this Jurisdiction must not
merely be capable, but should be strong
enough to capture the imagination of
the church and the nation by its numbers. Let us not lose this opportunity
to strengthen our religious leadership.
—The Christian Advocate.
NEGRO BUSINESS MEN SHOULD
AID ENUMERATORS
C. C. Spaulding, President of the
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance
Company and of the Mechanics and
Farmers Bank of Durham, N. C, and
former president of the National Negro
Business League, called upon Negro
tradesmen to make the 1940 Business
Census "the finest inventory of its kind
ever taken."
This Census, which started January 2,
includes retail trade, wholesale trade,
the construction business, service establishments, and laundries, theaters and
other places of amusement, and hotels
and tourist camps.
"The colored business men should be
especially happy to assist as much as
possible in the taking of this Census,"
Mr. Spaulding stated. "Much of what
we know today about the status of Negro business is based upon statistics issued by the Census Bureau. There
should be a nation-wide interest in the
facts to be gathered in 1940, as they
will show whether or not we are prog
ressing, and in what direction there is.
room, and hope, for improvement of our
economic condition through the avenues
of trade."
Mr. Spaulding said that there might
be some reluctance on the part of tradesmen to give complete and accurate information about their businesses fearing
possible misuse of same.
"An act of Congress specifically forbids the release of any Census information except in broad statistical form," he
made clear. "The fact that neither the
general public nor other government bureaus, has access to the information on
individual businesses, and the fact that
anyone who does come into contact with
these facts is first sworn to strict secrecy, should relieve any apprehension
on this score."
"Knowing this, tradesmen should have
no hesitancy about filling out the Business Census schedule blanks. Negro
business men especially should welcome
the opportunity, as the completed record
will furnish them with a wealth of information about American business in
general, as well as a clear, concise statement of their own condition."
COPYING  THE   WHOLE  BIBLE
BY HAND
A young Armenian artist and sign
painter, living in Beirut, Syria, has written out the entire Bible in his own hand
in Armenian. He has memorized thousands of verses, has read the Bible
through ten times, doing it once in
twenty four days, and has made a resolution to read it through several times
a year. His working hours are from
7:30 until 7, and he has begun to read
at present for an hour in the morning,
and an hour in the evening. He is
superintendent of the Sunday school of
200, having seven classes of boys and
seven for girls.
At the top of his little house, which
he has owned since it was one tiny room
in size, for many years he had a large
sign of his own make, with ridges of
metal, displaying the word, "Jesus," in
Arabic, English, and Armenian, according to the angle from which one looks.
This sign, and the handwritten, leather
bound Bible, have often led many visitors to his home.
In The Sunday School Times for January 20, this young Armenian Christian
told the story of his remarkable, handwritten Bible. He gives many interesting details, such as the exact time it
took him, the weight of the Bible, and
the total expense, including even the
cost of electric lighting.
—The Sunday School Times..