The Presbyterian of the South : [combining the] Southwestern Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian. [volume], April 18, 1917, Page (315) 3, Image 3

About The Presbyterian of the South : [combining the] Southwestern Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1909-1931

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This was the beginning of the Sabbath
school in this chmrch.
August 1, 1823, it was decidcd that collec
tions should be taken up in church on Sab
baths, to defray the contingent expenses.
In this same record mention, under date
, 1824, is made, that Mr. Andrew White,
of Philadelphia, formerly of this town, has pre
sented the church with a set of Communion
cups.
Until January, 1826, Rehoboth had shared
the pastor's services, and had borne part of
the expense, but at that time the committee
is notified that "Rehoboth can no longer pay
the pastor's salary, and withdraws from the
connection with Snow Hill chur^i and Pitts
Creek."
There is a gap in the pastorate from 3829
until Rev. James Graff came in 1840, but
among the ministers who supplied the pulpit
were Rev. Alexander Campbell and Rev. Cor
nelius Mustard.
Until 1834 there had been a high pulpit in
the church, for the use of the minister, and a
desk below it, where the clerk stood when he
raised the hymns, the pitch of which he got
with a tuning fork, but in this year it was de
cided that "the pulpit in this church is not
such an one, either in its appearance or con
struction, as to impart comfort and conven
ience to the pastor," and a new one was or
dered built.
In 1846 a resolution was adopted to be sent
to the General Assembly then about to convene,
deprecating all discussion of the slavery ques
tion by that body.
As early as 1850 the ladies had a sewing so
ciety, for we note that permission is given
them to repair the church enclosures, and so
we see that they were helpers in the church,
and useful at that time as now. In 1855 the
committee turned some money over to them to
be expended for window shutters.
In 1857 the first parsonage was purchased,
later it was sold and another house was pur
chased, which was sold when another building
was erected in which to worship, and ready
money was needed. The purchaser was an
elder in the church, and when he made his
will it provided that upon the death of his
widow, this house was to revert to the church,
which it did some time later, and was sold ; as a
parsonage commodious and well-built had been
purchased next to the first, on a beautiful
street some distance from the church.
After the resignation of Rev. James J. Graff
as pastor, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Mr.
Munnis and Rev. John Atkinson until Rev.
Benjamin Grigsby McPhail came as pastor in
1850. Mr. McPhail was pastor until 1857,
when his death occurred, and Rev. Elkanah D.
Mackey was called, remaining two years.
His death occurred while he was attending
Presbytery in Princess Anne, and his child
died at the manse within twenty-four hours;
both are buried in the church-yard of the Snow
Hill church, the congregation at Princess Anne
uniting with that of Snow Hill in erecting a
tombstone over the remains.
The same year Rev. William D. Mackey ac
cepted a call to the church, and thus we see
that one brother succeeded the other.
Rev. William Mackey was pastor until 1868,
k serving through the terrible times of the Civil
War.
When the present church was built, the sis
ter of the two brothers, Mackey, Mrs. Jane M.
Kelso, of Baltimore, gave a beautiful pulpit
in their memory.
In the committee's records for 1857, it Is
noted that the ladies gave a supper at which
they made $80, which they gave the commit
tee to pay a bill of $40 for oil, the rest to go
towards repairing the pews.
March 31, 1858, it is recorded that the ladies
raised $25 with which to put pews in the Ses
sion room. At this time it was decided to
build an addition to the parsonage, borrowing
$200 for the purpose.
June 28, 1858, a new burying-ground is men
tioned. An adjoining piece of land to the
church-yard, having been purchased.
WOMAN'S POSITION IN THE CHURCH.
By Rev. E. C. Gordon, D. D.
It is not proposed in this article to criticise
the interesting review of our Orlando Assem
bly's action on this subject by the Rev. W.
M. McPheeters, D. D., as it appears in the Pres
byterian of the South, March 14, 1917. It is
to be hoped that it will direct attention of our
Church officers to this subject, and especially
to the able discussion of it by the Rev. James
I. Vance, D. D., which may be found in the
Minutes of that Assembly, pp. 175 to 179. Dr.
McPheeters' review makes a brief reference
to Dr. Vance's discussion which suggests a
more extended account of it.
The recommendations to the Assembly made
by Dr. Vance are in the following wise and
weighty words:
"1. Women are recognized as ministering
and laboring with the Apostles in the New
Testament Church. The Assembly would en
courage our women to prepare themselves by
special training for such service, and would in
struct sessions to set aside devout and capable
women in their congregations to the ministry of
deaconesses.
"2. While the Scriptures do not authorize
official teaching and preaching by women, they
do not forbid her speaking in the churches."
Special attention is called now to the first
part of the second recommendation: "The
Scriptures do not authorize official teaching and
preaching by women." This statement is
strictly correct. The statements found in the
action of the Assembly of 1880, quoted and
reaffirmed by the Orlando Assembly, to the ef
fect that the Scriptures "clearly prohibit" the
licensure and ordination of women and conse
quently women are excluded from the. office
of Presbyter "by the plain teaching of the
Scriptures," are inaccurate and misleading. No
such plain teaching or prohibition can be found
from Genesis to Revelation. Dr. Vance, of all
the disputants over this subject, seems to have
apprehended and to have sought to place the
Assembly upon one of the fundamental prin
ciples of our Church. It is this: The Church,
as the representative of Christ on earth, is
neither to -believe, nor confess, nor to do any
thing which it is not authorized to do in God's
word. The Orlando Assembly, in the paper it
adopted and in the answer it made to a protest
entered against its action, makes the old mis
take in asserting that the Scriptures forbid
preaching by women. Certainly they do not
authorize, as Dr. Vance asserts, the official
preaching of women, and they do not forbid
every kind of speaking by them in the public
assemblies of the churches.
Dr. Vance supports his assertions by an elab
orate and able review of the Scripture teaching
on this subject. He shows that 1 Tim. 2:11, 12,
has reference "to authority and demeanor, and
has no particular bearing on women's ministry
in the Church. Certainly there is nothing in
the passage to forbid her speaking in public."
Minutes, p. 177. He shows that 1 Cor. 14:34
compared with verse 35 by no fair interpreta
tion, in the light of other Scriptures which he
cites, can be construed as closing the lips of
women in Church assemblies. He also shows
that, if women are forbidden to speak in the
Church under all circumstances, they could not
lawfully teach in our Sunday-schools, nor join
in congregational singing, nor engage in the
responsive reading of the Scriptures; and, I
may add, neither could they praise God nor
preach the gospel in singing alone nor in con
cert with other women. As to "solos," perish
the thought!
The conclusion of the whole matter is con
tained in Dr. Vance's recommendations, which
may be stated more fully in this fashion:
God's word does not authorize the ordina
tion of women to the office of Presbyter, ruling
or teaching. Therefore the Church is not to
ordain them to these offices. The line thus
drawn is not to be crossed, save by our Lord
himself in the grant of miraculous gifts. This
side of that line, Christian women, acting in
their private capacity, may do anything which
God's word does not forbid them to do, and
which does not under the law of love, offend
the sentiments of modesty and propriety pre
vailing in the Christian community in which
they live; and, in the public assemblies of the
churches, they should do nothing which the
church officers do not expressly authorize them
to do. Except as to the Presbyter's office all
this applies to men as well as to women.
St. Louis, Mo.
OUR COUNTRY: IS GOD WITH US OR
AGAINST US?
Sermon by Rev. William R. Henderson, D. D.
2 Chronicles 36 :16 ? Till there was no rem
edy.
These words, so exceedingly solemn in their
import, so appalliug in the intimation they con
vey, are recorded upon a melancholy page in
Judah's history. Prom the king upon his
throne to the humblest subject iniquity and
unrighteousness prevailed. For many years
the kingdom of Judah, with now and then in
tervals in which repentance was exhibited by
the people, was pursuing a sloping, downward
course, the momentum increasing with rapid
pace, until the divine forbearance was finally
exhausted. Some of the sins which finally
brought about the downfall of the kingdom
were idolatry, disregard of the institution of
the Sabbath, refusing to hearken to God 's mes
sengehs and oppression of the poor.
The divine procedure towards the kingdom
pf Judah was not exceptional. History fur
nishes abundant evidence that a similar course
has characterized God's dealings with other
nations. He deals with nations substantially
as He deals with individuals, for nations after
all constitute an aggregation of individuals.
The rise and fall of empires occupy large space
in historic annals. Their wrecks art strewn
along the shores of time. Only within the last
few days the world was startled when the an
nouncement was flashed over the wires that a
once powerful emperor had lost his crown.
And there are ominous mutterings that the
throne of another kingdom may become va
cant in the near future. What next? is the
inquiry which trembles upon the lips of many
thoughtful people. In this time of stress
when turnings and overturnings are occurring
among the nations ; when the flames of war are
wrapping a large part of the earth's surface in
their burning folds; when "distress of na
tions" and fearful forebodings of what a day
may bring forth are stirring myriads of hearts
throughout the world, the question, What next?
is the one which comes to the front.
What of our own land? Is it to be drawn
into this dreadful vortex of distress and
bloodshed, with all the appalling evils which
follow in the wake of war? The fact cannot