An "International Town Well" for Black Churches --
Connecting, Communicating
Inspirational Stories and Sharing Creative Resources for Global Missions.
"Some Motivate to Mobilize. Why not
Mobilize to Motivate?" -- Quote from Rev. Phillip Nelson, SIM
What will be
important a million years from now? Many churches have
caught the vision to reach out with the Gospel message on a
global level. This
web page is designed to serve as an encouragement -- perhaps
even as an international town well for African American
churches -- to see what other churches are doing in missions
around the world. Also we can connect church leaders so that
there can be the sharing of creative missions ideas. Why is
the focus of this site on the
Black Church? Take a look at the 10/40 Window information
below. Please
email
us with any information about the intercultural, global
missions work your church is engaged in. We'll publish it,
along with your contact information (see posts below).
This web page is sponsored by Return To Glory,
which has developed resources (book, film, etc.), viewed
by many as tools for understanding the pain and courage of
African Americans. Feel free to check it out --
Return To Glory: The
Powerful Stirring of the Black Man
WHY THE BLACK CHURCH?
Whenever a church decides to
send a mission team to another country, there is always the question
--
"But why are we sending a mission team to another part of
the world when there
are crack addicts and other dire needs within a square mile of our
own church?"
A
SIMULTANEOUS
VISION?
The answer to that question is found in Acts 1:8 -- "But
you will receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come
upon you: and you will be witnesses unto Me BOTH
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, AND
to the uttermost part of the earth."
The key words are "both" and "and",
indicating a Simultaneous Vision. Every local church
has the Biblical mandate to reach out BOTH locally
and regionally AND internationally. Obedience to
the Biblical mandate has its rewards. The
international outreach impacts the local/regional vision
in unimaginable ways. Many pastors have stated that
sending teams to other countries has helped to purify the message and
the spirit of the church. Here is my (Joel Freeman's)
philosophy
on how a church can develop a global perspective on
missions. It also includes a Bibliography at the bottom
of the page.
Bottom Line. When a team comes
back from a mission trip, their enthusiasm is catching.
It's hard to put into words, but the reported result (at
the local church) is less gossip, less pettiness, less
politics and more of a
passion for the real needs of people within a square
mile of the church. -- "Some like to live
within the sound of a church bell. I'd rather run a
rescue shop within a yard of hell."
C.T.Studd
"I have but one candle of life to burn,
and I would rather burn it out in a land
filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"
-- John Keith Falconer
_______________________________________________________________________
~ Rich History of
African American Involvement in Global Missions ~
William Sheppard
and family
John Marrant: By 1775 he
had preached to the Cherokee, Creek, Housaw and Catawar Indians. George Liele: By 1791 he had developed a
church of 350 in Jamaica. Prince Williams: He established a church in the Bahamas
in 1790 that spawned 164 other Baptist
churches. He pastored from age 70 till his retirement at 104
years. Lott Carey: In 1821, he was the first
African American missionary on record to go to Africa. William Sheppard: In 1821 he went to the
Congo (1200 miles inland), establishing churches, day schools
and homes for children rescued from slavery. His wife did
translation work in the Bakuba language. Dr. Aaron McMillan: In 1929 he went to the Congo,
treating over 80,000 patients and performing over 3000
surgeries. Dr. Michael Johnson: Serving since 1984 in Kenya as a
Medical Missionary. View his strong challenge below...and there are many more wonderful examples of courage
(see bibliography)...
- Historic Hindrances to African
American Involvement in Global Missions -
Slavery. Civil War.
Reconstruction / Fight for Civil Rights / Racial Disturbances.
Mission Boards not Sponsoring Black Missionaries. Jim Crow. Migration of 5.6 Million Blacks to the
North. Great Depression (Blacks Hired Last, Fired First). Recession...
There have been
many reasons why more African Americans have not been historically
involved in world missions. America's Black church has been focused
upon its own quest for liberty and justice.
Currently,
there is an unprecedented interest in global missions in African
American churches. Economic prosperity among African Americans
is at an all-time high. The average teenager on the
streets of Watts, Harlem or DC has more consumer knowledge than
the presidents of most developing nations. What if the next
generation caught the vision for Global Missions? Fields "Black" for the Harvest. For such
a time as this...
Black Christian News Network
By the way, did you know that the largest church in
Europe was started and is pastored by a man of African descent from
Nigeria? Pastor Sunday
Adelaja (Kiev, Ukraine, 25,000+ members, 99.9% White members). Their
web site is linked below...
- 10/40 Window -
The 10/40 Window refers
to the area of the world between latitudes 10 degrees and 40
degrees north of the equator (see map below) covering North
Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Many of the world’s
least-reached people live in this area, most of darker hue of
skin.
The Physical Need in the
10/40 Window . . .
...There are over 400 mega cities (cities with more than 1
million people) in the world today. 300 of these cities lie
within the Window.
...The Window contains the majority of the world's least
evangelized mega cities. Of the top 50 cities on this list,
all 50 cities are in the 10/40 Window.
...More than 97% out the poorest of the poor live in the
Window.
...On average, people living in the 10/40 Window exist on less
than $500 per person per year.
Many
in the "10/40 Window" countries are especially open to African
Americans. The skin color is one less barrier to overcome
when sharing the Gospel. We don't need another
"Evangelical Drive-By". Black churches are catching the vision of
mobilizing short-term mission outreaches to motivate the
church toward long-term involvement in Global Missions. What
is your church doing? We'd love to read and feel your church's passion
for Global Missions...Email
your story. (see below)
The Spiritual Need in the 10/40 Window . . .
...71 % of all Muslims, 98 % of all Hindus, and 68% of all
Buddhists live in the 10/40 Window.
...There are 34 Muslims countries, 7 Buddhist nations, 3
Marxist nations and 2 Hindu countries in the Window.
...There are 55 countries in the world that are considered "Unevangelized."
97% of these are in this Window.
...There are over 1.3 billion people living in the Window who
have little or no chance to hear the gospel.
...In the Window, we find 86% of the people group which are
less than 2% Christian.
...There are 500 people group in the Window that have never
heard the Gospel.
Christianity In
the 10/40 Window . . .
...Only 1.2% of all mission fund go to the Window.
...Only 1% of all Scripture distribution is distributed to
the 10/40 Window.
...Only 3% of all the languages for which the Bible has been
translated are directed toward the Window.
...9 out of the 10 countries where the physical persecution of
Christians is the most severe is in the Window.
...The greatest revival ever on earth is taking place in the
10/40 Window countries of Asia? Every day in communist China
over 25,000 people accept Christ. In India, an estimated
15,000 people are turning to Jesus daily. In the early
eighties there were only 15,000 known Christians in the
Himalayan country of Nepal compared to over 200,000 followers
of Christ today.
"What could be worse
than being born without sight? Being born with sight and
no vision." Helen Keller
Return To Glory The Powerful Stirring of the Black Man
D I D Y O U K N O W ? "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses..." Hebrews 12:1
~ Let's take a look at some of the folks
cheering us on at this moment ~
1581 -- Peter Claver was born. From Verdu in
Catalonia, Spain Claver became known as "Slave of the Blacks" and
"Slave of the Slaves" because of his untiring evangelistic outreach
to those in bondage. A farmer's son, he studied at the University of
Barcelona and, at age 20, became a Jesuit priest. Influenced by
Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, Claver went to South America as a
missionary. He ministered to slaves physically and spiritually when
they arrived in Cartegena, Colombia, converting an estimated
300,000. For 40 years he worked for humane treatment on American
plantations. Claver organized charitable societies among the Spanish
in America similar to those organized in Europe by Vincent de Paul.
Claver said of the slaves, "We must speak to them with our
hands by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips."
Peter Claver died on September 8, 1654 at Cartegena, Colombia -- of
natural causes. 1797 -- Birth of John Day, a "free person of color" who
emigrated to Liberia in 1830 as a participant in the American
Colonization Movement. In 1836 he became a missionary for the
Triennial Convention of the American Baptists. 1823 -- Betsey Stockton, a young black woman in company with
13 white missionaries, was on board a ship rounding the southern tip
of South America. The missionaries were on their way to the Sandwich
Islands (present-day Hawaii). They had left New Haven, Connecticut
in November, sent out by the American Board of Commissioners of
Foreign Missions, an agency at the forefront of American
Protestantism's burgeoning interest in foreign missions. Betsey
Stockton was in the second group of missionaries to go to Hawaii,
the first having arrived two years before. The trip took five months
by sea with no stopovers. Like others on board, Stockton kept a
journal of the voyage and of her first couple of months in Hawaii.
1840 -- George Brown, who established the Heddington mission
station in Liberia, reports organizing a church among the Pessah
people as a result of converting two kings -- Baopgo and Peter along
with 34 of their people after a "God-palaver." 1847 -- African-American Robert Hill had been appointed to
accompany some white missionaries to Africa for the purpose of
assisting them. On December 17, 1846, they had sailed for the coast
of Africa, from Providence, Rhode Island. On this day, February 8,
they arrived in Monrovia, Liberia.
1865 -- Presbyterian minister
Henry Garnet became the first African American to preach a sermon
in the U.S. House of Representatives. Born a slave in Maryland in
1815, Garnet escaped to New England with his father when he was nine
years old. The New York Times reports on this event, "A
Colored Preacher in the Representative Hall" -- "...by
invitation of Rev. Dr. Channing, the Chaplain of the
House. A large crowd of both white and colored auditors were in
attendance, the latter furnishing their own vocal music. This is
the first instance of a colored clergyman preaching at the
Capitol, and occasions much comment in all circles." -->
New York Times, Feb. 13, 1865
King Leopold II
1885 --
In the 1880s, as
the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of
Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory
surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of
the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and
ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while
shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian.
Two
courageous black Americans, George Washington Williams
(Baptist minister, lawyer, member of Ohio Legislature) and
William Sheppard (missionary), risked much to bring evidence of
the Congo atrocities to the outside world.
THE BIBLE: Ask
Harriet Tubman how she was inspired by Bible history in her fight
against slavery. Nat Turner was inspired by Bible history to
launch his rebellion against slavery. Many others were inspired by
Bible history, including: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick
Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Prince Hall, Bob Marley,
Peter Tosh, Dr. John Porter, Gabriel Prosser, George Washington
Carver, Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, Paul Bogle, and countless
others...
"There’s always been a mystery why the
impartial Father of the human race should have permitted the
transportation of so many millions of our fellow creatures to
this country to endure all of the miseries of slavery. Perhaps
his design was that a knowledge of the gospel might be acquired
by some of their descendants in order that they might become
qualified to be messengers of it to the land of their fathers."
-- by
Absalom Jones, the first African American priest in the
Episcopal Church. Jones, who pastored the African Episcopal
Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia made this statement during
a sermon on January 1, 1808 -- the day that marked the end of
the importation of slaves to the United States.
-- 1. -- Boston
Recorder (April 14, 1821) -- Liberia Mission. "Lott Carey,
and Collin Teague, two colored men, preachers, with their families,
sailed from Norfolk in January last, in the brig Nautilus with their
Bibles, and utensils for necessary labor. The Baptist Board supplied
them with many articles of convenience and comfort, and provisions
were supplied by government."
-- Rare February 19,
1829 newspaper, Boston Recorder about the death of
African American missionary, Lott Carey. Title of Article:
News From Liberia. "We learn from a vessel arrived in port
yesterday from Liberia, (the Am. colony on the coast of Africa,)
that a French vessel being cruising off that place in quest of
slaves, the authorities were making preparation to attack her, & in
preparing cartridges for that purpose, fire accidentally
communicated to the ammunition, which exploded. The Gov. (Lott
Carey) with several principal men of the place were killed, & most
of the town was destroyed." -- Another Bristol (England) paper
of the same day gives the account thus: "On the 18th Nov. last,
an expedition was preparing by the American settlers at that place,
to destroy a French slave ship and factory at Digby, a place abut 30
miles distant. when, during the night, the magazine in which they
were making cartridges, blew up, and horrible to relate, Mr Lott
Carey, the Governor, and nine of his people were destroyed...Lott
Carey was aworthy and useful Baptist preacher, himself a
colored man; and when the lamented Ashmun returned to this
country, he left the colony in charge of Carey, as acting Governor.
Dr Randall has gone out to succeed Ashmun; but he could not have
arrived at the time of the disaster."
-- -- BACKGROUND ON LOTT CAREY: Carey was a pioneer
missionary to Africa. Born a slave in Virginia, he was converted to
Christianity while working in Richmond. He purchased his freedom,
became first a lay exhorter and then a licensed Baptist preacher. He
went to Liberia in the 1820s as one of the first American
missionaries to that continent and one of the founders of that
nation.
-- Background on Jehudi Ashmun was an American agent
who headed the Liberian colony from 1822-1828. Jehudi was a native
of Champlain, New York. His wife died shortly after their arrival in
Monrovia in 1822; and he died on August 25, 1828, at the age of 35,
and was buried in New Haven, Connecticut. It was the African
"fever", malaria or yellow fever that killed Ashmun and his wife.
-- "Sabbath
School Teachers' Second Book, Containing a Harmony of the
Four Gospels and Questions on the History, Miracles,
Discourses and Parables of our Lord, With Explanations of
the Most Difficult Parts of the Text." by Rev. J.J.
Matthias. New York: B. Waugh and T. Mason for the Methodist
Episcopal Church, 1832 Hardcover, 3-1/2" x 5-1/4", 234 pp. A
rare Sunday school lesson book from 1832, written by
Reverend J.J. Matthias and published for the Sunday
School Youth Library of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Includes double page map in rear of book of "Countries
mentioned by Moses".
BACKGROUND: Rev. J.J. Matthias was a Methodist
Episcopal minister of the Philadelphia conference, who
served as Governor of Bassa Cove during the 19th
century African colonization. In 1837, the Rev JJ
Matthias, a Superannuated Minister of the Philadelphia
Conference of the M.E. Church, was appointed Governor of the
settlement of Bassa Cove, Liberia by the Colonization
Society, and came to Liberia in the schooner "Charlotte
Harper." In the same vessel, besides the Governor's family,
consisting of Mrs. Matthias and Miss Annesley, Dr. Johnson,
of Kingston, N.Y., came out as physician for the same place;
Dr. S.M.E. Gokeen, missionary physician of the M.E. Church,
and two female teachers, Miss Ann Wilkins and Miss L.A.
Beers. After spending some time at Monrovia, Governor
Matthias and family and Dr. Johnson went down to the Cove,
and were soon settled. Mr. Matthias proved a thoroughgoing,
efficient and successful Governor. The people loved and
esteemed him. Though a minister, and a good and holy man,
yet he organized and kept up a well-trained little regiment
of brave soldiers, reviewed them himself every month, and
such a display and demonstration as they made most
effectually prevented the natives from attempting any
hostilities. There was no war in Governor Matthias's day.
--
2. Eight hard-to-find First Edition copies of
Amanda Smith's Own Story. Published in
1893 by Meyer & Brother, 506 pages, with 26 engraved
illustrations ranging from her work in Liberia and Sierra Leone
to her work in India. An Autobiography - Mrs. Amanda Smith,
The Colored Evangelist. Containing An Account of Her life
Work of Faith and Her Travels in America, England, Ireland,
Scotland, India and Africa As An Independent Missionary. Amanda
Smith was born in 1837. She was a remarkable African American
evangelist and missionary with a love for intercultural,
global
missions. She also opened an orphanage for African-American
girls. Born a slave in Long Green, Md., she grew up in
York County, Pennsylvania, after her father bought the freedom
of most of the family. Smith was educated mainly at home and at
an early age began working as a domestic. An unhappy first
marriage ended with the disappearance of her husband in the
American Civil War. In 1863 she married James Smith and
eventually moved with him to New York City. An experience with
the Holy Spirit in 1868 led to her first tentative attempts at
preaching. Tragically, by 1869 her husband and her children had
died, and she was preaching regularly in African-American
churches in New York and New Jersey. Smith's achievements in
preaching before a White audience at a religious camp meeting in
the summer of 1870 led her to commit herself entirely to
evangelism.
Amanda Smith
She traveled widely over the next eight years, and in 1878
traveled to England, where she spent a year evangelizing at
holiness meetings. From 1879 to 1881 she worked in India, and
after another brief stay in England she sailed to West Africa.
For the next eight years Smith did missionary work in Liberia
and Sierra Leone. Following another sojourn in Great
Britain, she returned to the United States. She preached in
eastern cities and event moving to Chicago. In 1893 Smith
published her autobiography. The proceeds from the book,
together with her savings, the income from a small newspaper she
published, and gifts from others, helped her open home for
African-American orphans in Harvey, Illinois, in 1899.
Eventually she resumed preaching and singing to support the
home. In 1912, when she retired to Florida, the orphanage was
taken over by the state of Illinois and chartered as the Amanda
Smith Industrial School for Girls. She died Feb. 24, 1915 in
Sebring, Fla.; the school was destroyed by fire in 1918.
--3.
Intriguing
letter written by Black female settler in Liberia, 1841
to the founder of first School for the Deaf in America (Gallaudett
University was later named after him)
-- Cover with 2 page letter dated from Cape Palmas,
West Africa, Mt. Vaughan (see image below), Sept. 19, 1841
to Rev. T.H. Gallaudett, Hartford, Conn (founder of
the first School for the Deaf in America -- Gallaudett
University is named after him). The letter
arrived in New York with a postmark of December 10th.
Beautifully penned and signed E.M. Thompson, letter indicates she is serving as
a school teacher to native children and colonist's, with
lively chatter about those sailing to America, continued
information about the natives makes it appear that Miss
Thompson was not originally from West Africa and has
probably come there with colonists, possibly from America.
Postmarked Ship, and New York, Dec. 10, cover is addressed
to her friend, a Reverend in CT. Additional penned
notes on the letter read "E.M. Thompson - a colored woman
who lived some time in Mr. Gallaudett's family & afterward settled in
Liberia & taught school there with good success".
T.H. Gallaudet
Protestant Episcopal Mission,
Cape Palmas, West Africa
-- "It has been some time since I have heard from you.
Mrs. Sigourney, when visiting always mentions your family
but since she went to England I have heard nothing from her.
My self and family are well now but my health has not been
as good as it has been. I began to feel the effects of a
sedentary life and conclude that I shall be obliged to
suspend teaching awhile. I am sill engaged as teacher of the
female department of Mt. Vaughan. Ann schools have
been quite interesting but now many of them are absent,
owing to the influenza or lung fever that has permeated
among us. I have a very interesting set of native girls and
am fully convinced that their focus(?) in learning is far
superior to many of our own colonist children. The number of
our missionaries is much lessoned.
Mr. and Mrs. Payne
(most probably Bishop Daniel A. Payne, 1811-1867) are now
in America. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are about to sail with
Capt. Lawlin. The harvest is still plentiful, but the
laborers are few. The Presbyterian missionaries are pretty
well I believe. Mrs. Altruior (sp?) is about to return to
America. Mr. Wilson and Lady have just returned from a trip
down the coast. In your last letter you wished to know if I
had even seen a deaf and dumb person in this country.
I have not even heard of and when I mentioned it to the
natives they seemed surprised. Since I commenced writing a
large ? ? was brought into the yard. I
should suppose him to be upwards of 50 years old. He was
shot by one of the colonists not far from Mt. Vaughan. He
would be quite a curiosity to you all. I wish your children
could see it. It is now rice season with us. The natives
have cultivated an abundance of rice. The second rainy
season has just commenced which generally lasts about two
months. We have much more dry weather than they have in
Monrovia. I shall be happy to hear from you and family. My
best regards to them. I request an interest in your prayers
that I may be faithful to my charge. Your humble servant, E.
M. Thomson
-- New York
American (March 9, 1836) -- Maryland in Liberia...Letter
extract from Dr. James Hall, Governor of Maryland, delivered
by Capt. Lawlin of the brig, The Susan Elizabeth of
New York. He describes prosperity. "...I may truly say
that every month of our existence witnesses an increase of
energy, industry and contentment among the inhabitants of
our little settlement. I am in readiness for the next
expedition...they might have their land sowed by the 1st of
March..."
-- This is a rare antique engraved
portrait of Rev. Francis Burns, the first African
American missionary bishop of the Methodist Church.
Bishop Burns was
born in Albany, New York, 5 December, 1809; died in Baltimore,
Maryland, 18 April, 1863. New York was still a slave-state
when at five years of age Francis Burns was indentured as a
servant by his parents, who were so poor that they took this
method of reducing expenses. He was converted to Christianity at
the age of fifteen, and soon entered the Lexington Heights
academy and studied for the ministry. He obtained a fair
education, and soon evinced such talent as a leader among his
own people that, after serving as an exhorter and preacher under
the direction of the Methodist church, he was appointed to the
Liberian mission in 1834, and landed in Monrovia on 18
October.
Rev. Francis Burns
Francis Burn's first appointment was as a teacher at Cape Palmas. He
joined the Liberia mission conference in 1838, and from 1840 till
1842 was an assistant on the Bassa circuit. During 1843 and the
early part of 1844 he was engaged at Monrovia, but sailed for
the United States, and was ordained deacon in Brooklyn, New York, 16
June, and, later on the same day, crossed over to New York and was
ordained elder in the Mulberry street church, Bishop Janes
officiating. In the same year he returned to Liberia. The next
session of the conference appointed him presiding elder of the Cape
Palmas district. In 1851, by order of the missionary board, he was
detailed to open an academy at Monrovia and superintend the mission
there. In 1858 he visited the United States and was ordained
missionary bishop at Perry, Wyoming County, New York, Bishops Janes
and Baker officiating. Almost immediately he returned to Africa, and
labored there for five years until his health failed, he returned to
the United States by the advice of a physician, and died shortly
afterward.
This image was published in an American Methodist religious and
literary journal in 1859. It is in excellent condition and shows
Bishop Burns in formal dress, coat and tie. The portrait was
engraved by J.C. Buttre from an ambrotype photograph taken by Mathew
Brady, one of the best-known early American photographers,
celebrated for his portraits of politicians and for his
photographs of the American Civil War. The engraving is accompanied by several pages of text describing
the life and career of Rev. Burns and describing his mission in
Africa. These old prints are renowned for their detail as well
as their historical accuracy.
-- Boston
Recorder (December 16, 1829) -- Long article about the
Mission to Africa, "..proceeded to present a brief
outline of the facts respecting the Colony in Liberia. Its
original design under the patronage of the American
Colonization Society was to locate a settlement of free
blacks from the United States, who should be assisted in
establishing a civil government of their own choice, and
whose influence should be extended to counteract and destroy
the odious traffic in slaves. It was commenced about ten
years since, and although a considerable loss of life has
been sustained by those who have emigrated from our shores,
it has been far less than the mortality in our other new
colonies, and much less than took place in the settlements
in our own country, at James Town in Virginia, and at
Plymouth in Massachusetts. It was in reference to the Colony
in Africa that the lamented young man, Samuel J. Mills,
lost his life about eleven years since; and to him, as
having originated this mission, is the Christian world much
indebted. Amongth (sic) those who fell a sacrifice in this
enterprise was the amiable and judicious Ashmun, who
in giving life and form & system to the polity of Liberia,
has left an imperishable name. His successor, after a short
career, has also deceased. It is, however, hoped, said
Mr. Evarts, that by avoiding the same customs, and
exposure to the climate, which the lessons of
experience had taught to be hazardous, the lives of future
emigrants may be prolonged..."
Protestant Episcopal bishop and
clergy in Liberia in 1895
This photograph is most
probably of Rev.
Alfred Lee Ridgel, A.B. (seated, center), Presiding Elder
of the Liberia Annual Conference African Methodist Episcopal
Church -- with other clergy.
The photo was taken by the American Colonization Society.
The society was founded in 1816 to assist free black people in
emigrating to Africa. Reverend Robert Finley, a
minister from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, thought of the
concept. Finley believed that blacks would never be fully
integrated into American society and that they would only be
able to fulfill their potential as human beings in Africa, the
"land of their fathers". The
missionary zeal of the Americo-Liberians was coupled with
profound disdain for African religions that they labeled
paganism, heathenism, or devil worship. They were also
strongly opposed to Islam. The first constitutions gave
indigenous Liberians the right to vote only on the condition
that they prove they had become Christians and had adopted
Western manners. Today, 40 percent of the Liberian population
are Christian, 40 percent follow traditional religions, and 20
percent are Muslim.
Dr. Freeman
being interviewed on Canadian TV about
The Freeman Institute Black History
collection & the Gallery Project
--4. Scarce copy
of "The New
York Missionary Magazine & Repository of Religious Intelligence"
(1801). Very early published reports of missionary
activity in America. Published by Cornelius Davis, New York City,
1801. The New York Missionary magazine was the first appearance of
Missionary information and reports published in the New Country,
America. This is a bound run of Volume II, the second year, of the
New York Missionary Magazine. Contains all sorts of reports on
missionaries and their works in the Americas and around the world.
Includes reports relating to American Indians, the decaying of
morals in America (this in 1801!), reports on Females and Female
Asylums, the Debate about Sending Missionaries to Africa, and
much more. Original leather covers, 5.5" x 8.5", 480 pages.
--5. Mary Slessor of Calabar: Pioneer Missionary. By W.P.
Livingstone. Published in 1916 (6th Edition) by Hodder & Stoughton
under the auspices of the Women's Foreign Mission Committees of the
United Free Church of Scotland. She was born in Aberdeen.
--6.
Vintage
Postcard...2 Black Female Missionaries:
Reads,
"The likeness of Mrs. Willie Curtis Ragland, returned missionary
to Liberia, West Africa and her co-worker, Miss Beatrice Scott.
Home: 947 Lawyers Lane, Columbus Georgia.
Foreign: Box 6. Bethel H., Cape Palmas, Liberia" -->
Mrs. Willie Curtis Ragland & Miss Beatrice
Scott
--7. Extremely rare
copy of "The Methodist
Magazine", 1798. Printed by Henry Tuckniss, 575 pages. This
magnificent volume covers the entire year of 1798 with original
sermons, experiences, letters, poetry and other religious pieces,
together with instructive and useful extracts from different
authors. There are a number of original sermons and letters by John
Wesley, an article by Thomas Coke and two comprehensive articles
entitled, "A Summary View of the Slave Trade". There is an
overview of the deaths of Charles Wesley, Martha Rugar, John Nelson,
Simon Miller, Bishop Gardner, Ogburn Carman, and John Dickens. There
are interesting letters to and from Bishop Francis Asbury
(first Protestant bishop in North America). Many A.M.E. churches
bear his name.
-- A little background on Francis Asbury: Asbury preached in
every state. In Virginia, he preached often in Loudoun and Fauquier
counties and in the Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont regions. He had
no home. He relied on the hospitality of others. When Asbury was 26,
his ship from England docked at Philadelphia. He wrote in his
journal: "When I came near the American shore, my very heart
melted within me, to think from whence I came, where I was going,
and what I was going about. But I felt my mind open to the people,
and my tongue loosed to speak. I feel that God is here."
Asbury was one of several itinerant preachers in early America,
but what set him apart was his companion, Harry Hosier, a black
man, not a servant but an equal. In May 1781 in Fairfax County,
Asbury preached, followed by Hosier. Asbury wrote of the service in
his journal: "This circumstance was new, and the white people
looked on with attention." Hosier's presence might account for
some African American Methodist churches taking the name Asbury, but
there was another reason. In 1783 -- the year the Colonies received
their liberty from England -- Asbury, in Petersburg, Va., wrote that
he and other ministers 'all agreed in the spirit of African
liberty.' At times Asbury would leave his host if he saw a black
person being mistreated or ask an inhospitable person whether he
could stay in the "Negro quarter." The word "slave" was not in
Asbury's vocabulary. Just before Christmas in 1797, he wrote, "We
should not wondering ask, Where did this or that nation of people
come from? either [American] Indians or Africans." Asbury's work
took him far afield. He crossed the Allegheny mountains sixty times,
often through trackless underbrush. No house provided shelter at
night. His rheumatism, worsened by repeated drenchings and cold
winds, left his feet grotesquely swollen; someone lifted him onto
his horse, his dangling feet unable to get through the stirrups.
Maria
Fearing
Althea
Edmiston
Incapacitated as well by asthma and pleurisy in the last two years
of his life Francis Asbury had to be carried like a child everywhere. When urged
to give up traveling he replied that "Come" had always been
the operative word he used with younger preachers, never "Go."
(some
of this background information is from an article by Eugene Scheel,
Washington Post)
<-- 8. Presbyterian
missionaries from the US to the Belgian Congo in Africa at
the turn of the last century. Maria Fearing is documented as
a leader of the Luebo Station home for girls around 1910, and
Althea Brown Edmiston was in service about 20 years later.
About this time over half of the Presbyterian missionaries to the
Congo were African American and were involved in caring for native
Africans who had been oppressed by the rubber trade.
--9.
An old notice or program about Reverend William W. Colley, an
African American Baptist missionary to Africa -- Founder of the
Colored Baptist Missions in Africa. He served in West
Africa in 1875 as an assistant to W.J. David, a white missionary
from Mississippi. Colley had far-reaching impact. As an example,
Moses Ladejo Stone was ordained into the ministry in the First
Baptist Church, Lagos (originally known as American Baptist
Church) by William W. Colley. In November of 1879, Colley
returned to the United States convinced that many more blacks
should be involved in international missions, especially in
Africa. As he traveled back and forth across the country, Colley
urged black Baptists to take an independent course in mission
work and form their own sending agency. In 1880, Colley was instrumental in the
formation of the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, an African
American organization which sponsored and sent Black
missionaries to Africa; in 1883 he returned to Africa under
their direction. This organization merged with two others in
1895 to form the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc, the
first national organization for African American Baptists. The
notice must have been for a lecture, but no date is given.
Colley traveled widely lecturing to gain support for the African
missions. The address ''Northern Avenue, Barton Heights,
Richmond, Va.'' appears in parentheses at the bottom of the page
- this was likely the address of a church where the lecture was
given. The notice reads as follows: Eight years in the Wilds of
Africa, where he learned to Eat SNAIL SOUP and MONKEY
STEWS...The colored Baptists have supported 13 missionaries in
Africa during the last ten years, by whom hundreds of heathen
have been led to Christ.
William W. Colley
King of Abyssinia &
Emperor of Ethiopia
--10. A carte-de-visite
(CDV) showing an illustration of Theodore or Theodros or
Tewodros II (1818-1868), King of Abyssinia and Emperor of
Ethiopia (reigned 1855-1868). Born in the western province
of Qwara during a period of disunity in Ethiopia, he was called
Kassa and was the son of a minor chief. By military prowess he
made himself master of Wars, whereupon Queen Menen, the mother
of the ruler of Gondor, then the capital, sent an army to crush
him. The expedition failed and Kassa was allowed to marry the
Queen’s grand-daughter, Tewabetch. By 1854 he was the ruler of
Gondor and Amhara, and in 1855 proclaimed himself Tewodros, a
significant choice, as legend said that a sovereign of that name
would rule justly, conquer Islam, and capture Jerusalem.
Tewodros dreamed of reuniting the empire, and restoring its
greatness. He attempted to conquer the different provinces,
crush the nobles, reorganize taxes, and expropriate church
lands, as well as to abolish the slave trade and convert
Muslims to Christianity. He tried to create a paid army
directly loyal to himself to replace the feudal levies who
looted the countryside and obeyed only their own immediate
masters.
He had rifles
smuggled through the Sudan and Massawa, both under hostile Ottoman
rule, obliged Protestant missionaries to cast cannon for him, and
built roads for his artillery. He also sought to develop relations
with Europe, to exchange embassies with foreign powers, and to
import gunsmiths and other craftsmen. He accordingly wrote to Queen
Victoria, but his letter remained unanswered, so he decided to force
the British government to listen by arresting the British envoy and
other Europeans, the provoking the British government in 1867 into
sending an expedition against him. The British advanced rapidly
against his mountain fortress of Magdala. Tewodros, unable to
repulse the invaders, killed himself on 13 April 1868. Produced by
Eugen Lulves of Hanover, identified verso by a backplate.
-- 11. First
Edition copy of the 1858 book, Day Dawn in
Africa or Progress of the Protestant Episcopal
Mission of Cape Palmas, West Africa by Mrs. Anna M. Scott,
New York, 1858. Published by the Protestant Episcopal
Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge,
Astor Place, NY. 312 pages, illustrated.
--12. The
African Repository and Colonial Journal: In March 1825,
the American Colonization Society began a quarterly,
The African Repository and Colonial Journal, edited
by Ralph Randolph Gurley (1797-1872), who headed the
Society until 1844. Conceived as the society's organ, the
journal promoted both colonization and Liberia. Among
the items printed were articles about Africa, letters of
praise, official dispatches stressing the prosperity and
steady growth of the colony, information about emigrants,
and lists of donors. This collection has three issues (February,
March and April, 1838) -- An example of the information
in these journals, "The state of morals in the colonies
is emphatically of a high order. Sabbath-breaking,
drunkenness, profanity, and quarrelling are vices almost
unknown in Liberia. A temperance society formed in 1834
numbered in a few weeks after its organization 500 members,
at the time more than one-fifth of the whole
population...There are eighteen churches on Liberia, viz: at
Monrovia 4, New Georgia 2, Caldwell 2,
Millsburgh 2, Edina 2, Bassa Cove 3,
Marshall 1, Cape Palmas 2. Of these, 8 are
Baptist, 6 Methodist, 3 Presbyterian, and 1
Episcopalian...Seven hundred of the colonists, or one-fifth
of the whole population, are professed Christians, in good
standing with the churches with which they are connected. As
might be expected, where so large a proportion of the people
is pious, the general tone of society is religious...A
monthly newspaper is published in Monrovia. The articles in
this paper afford good testimony of the general intelligence
of the people, and reflect great credit upon the talented
editor, a colored man."
--13. Aggrey
of Africa, a book published in 1929 by the Student
Christian Movement. An account of the life and work of
Christian educationalist, Dr.
James E K Aggrey (1875-1927).
Born at Ahamabu,
Gold Coast (now Ghana).
At age 8, James
entered the Wesleyan Methodist school at Cape Coast.
Exceptional teachers quickly recognized their exceptional
student. He reveled in the books and the accoutrements of
learning. He feasted on knowledge. Every day at school was
an adventure. Every day away was a torment of waiting in
anticipation of more worldly revelations. It was apparent to
all, including James’ mother and father, that he was indeed
a scholar with a penchant for learning that far outstripped
the modest teaching institutions found in the Gold Coast at
the close of the 19th century. Latin and Greek
beckoned, formal English and French called to him,
mathematics and the sciences tantalized him and frustration
enveloped him. Finally, in early 1898 "opportunity knocked"
for James Aggrey. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Bishop John Bryan Small of Barbados, visited the Gold Coast
seeking educationally qualified young men to go to America
for training, men who would ultimately return to the Gold
coast in missionary service. On 10 July, 1898, James Aggrey
set sail on the S. S. Accra for England and thence on to
America. Aggrey settled in Salisbury, North Carolina, to
attend Livingstone College,
an institution
sponsored by the African Methodist Episcopalian Zion Church,
where he graduated with a B.A. 1902.
He excelled in
the classics. Plato, Cicero, Virgil, Homer and others became
his intellectual friends. He excelled at debate. The
writings of Demosthenes and Herodotus were consumed for
relaxation and fun. Astronomy, logic, chemistry, physics and
comparative literature were consumed as soon as they were
offered. Then on to Aeschylus and Tacitus, philosophy,
comparative religions, economics and political science.
Aggrey never met a subject or book that he did not enjoy!
James married an American woman and remained in Salisbury on the
faculty of the College, also taking an active role as a pastor
of rural Amez churches. Later he enrolled at Columbia University
and commenced work for a doctorate.
He traveled
extensively through The Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Nigeria,
Belgian Congo, Angola, South Africa, and other African countries
as a missionary. He
became noted as an
interpreter of Africa to western audiences, and as an advocate
of cooperation between black and white. Through his friendship
with T. Jesse Jones he was invited to become a member of the
Phelps-Stokes Commissions on education in Africa, and toured
Africa in that capacity in 1920 and again in 1924. As the only
African on the commission he attracted immense interest when he
addressed African audiences, and in Britain and the USA he
became equally well-known as an interpreter of Africa to whites.
In late 1924 he returned to his homeland as a senior member of
staff for the newly established Achimota College. But his long
absence from Ghana made for certain difficulties, and his wife
found it impossible to live in Ghana.
Dr. James Aggrey
In
May 1927 he went on leave, intending to write the
dissertation needed to complete the Ph.D., but died suddenly
in New York in July of that year. His life has been used as
an example to African schoolchildren of what they can
achieve through education, and of the necessity for
cooperation between the races.
Some "Aggreyisms":
"I am proud of my color; whoever is not proud of his
color is not fit to live." and "Laughing is the way
to go through life. It is the positive side of Christ's law
of non -resistance." The book is in good condition, the
dust jacket has light soiling as shown and a few small tears
to the top of the dust jacket. Nine illustrations.
-- Also we have a copy of Dr. Aggrey's book
translated into the Thai language, which gives a
sense of how far his influence reached.
--14.
The Life and Work of Jacob
Kenoly,
published in 1912 by the Methodist Book Concern of
Cincinnati, Ohio -- with
10 full-page photos. The 160-page volume was written by C.
C. Smith and was printed for the author. Here is the
inspiring story of African American Jacob Kenoly, a son of slaves who
through a meager education became a preacher and did
missionary work in Liberia. From the Introduction: "The
study the writer has made of the letters and records of
Jacob Kenoly placed in his hands to aid him in the
preparation of this sketch, has blessed his life. He gives
the story to others hoping it will bless them
as it has blessed him!"
Chapter highlights include:
Early Life, School Days at the Southern Christian Institute,
Leaving the Institute and Landing at Monrovia, Liberia,
Locating at Schieffelin, First Building Erected and
Incidents Connected with the Growth of the Work, Jacob
Kenoly's Vision for Liberia, Closing Days and Death,
Characteristics, etc...
--15. Ticket For
The National Ministers' Wives Association (NMWA),
Richmond, Virginia, February 25, 1943. Patron ticket to
performance of "Heaven Bound" a religious drama given at Second
Baptist Church. Sponsored by Group No. 2 of the NMWA. Nice
African American regional item documenting the work of the
international alliance of minister's wives and widows founded by
Elizabeth Coles Bouey in Richmond (1941). The group's aim
was Christian fellowship and the sponsorship of missionary
work in Africa.
"Heaven
Bound"
was first performed in Atlanta's Big Bethel AME Church in 1930.
Fair to good,
printed on card stock, soiled and rubbed edges...
BACKGROUND:
Elizabeth Coles Bouey was a member of many interdenominational and
inter-racial. She was a
missionary, teacher, organizer, speaker, mother, wife and
friend who influenced the lives of countless women and
children. Her friends were a legion. The rich, the poor, the
high and the low all loved her alike. The story of Mrs.
Bouey's career goes back to June 15, 1911, the special night
of her graduation, as valedictorian of her class, from the
Armstrong High School in Richmond, Virginia, when
Elizabeth Coles announced her plan to be a missionary.
She made this early decision because her parents were
missionaries to Africa. She was born in West Africa
and brought to America for education. Early in life she
heard about the many people in Africa who did not have the
opportunity to learn about Jesus and the message he came to
bring. She loved to hear her mother tell of her experiences
in that far away land and she dreamed of the day when she
could return to Africa to help carry on the work. After high
school graduation, Elizabeth studied at the Armstrong Normal
School and prepared to teach. Later she enrolled as the only
female student in the Theological Seminary of Virginia Union
University. Edward H. Bouey, a product of Morehouse
College, was also the son of missionary parents who
had served in Africa. He had dedicated himself to
mission work and desired to go to Africa for work as soon as
he could find a wife with similar desires. He corresponded
with, and soon met, Elizabeth. It seems that their marriage
was "made in heaven", for he proposed to her upon their
first meeting. On his third visit to Richmond they were
married at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, April 28, 1920, and
very soon thereafter set sail for Liberia, West Africa,
as Independent Missionaries. They had ambitious plans to
re-establish the Bendoo Industrial Mission Station, a
place where the parents of the couple had many years before
carried on the work of the Lord. The efforts of Rev. and
Mrs. Bouey at the mission were wonderfully blessed as boys
and girls from many tribes were brought to the station for
Christian Education. Support was generously given the young
couple by family and friends in America, who twice a month
sent boxes of needed supplies from the Coles' home in
Richmond which served as headquarters. For nearly five
years, Rev. and Mrs. Bouey worked at the Bendoo Industrial
Mission. Two of their children were born there, and they
adopted a boy of the Golah Tribe who was a promising
student at the mission. The Boueys returned to America for a
short furlough and then went back to Africa to work under
the Foreign Mission Board of the National Baptist
Convention. This time they built the Carrie Dyer
Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia and in many other ways
strengthened the program of missions in the country. It has
been reported that the Boueys are still remembered in Africa
through the work of their children. One daughter, Elizabeth,
works with the N.E.A. in the program of Educational
Assistance and the U.S. State Department in West Africa. The
two sons have become citizens and are employed in Liberia.
Her work for the ministers' wives began in the fall of 1940,
when, guided by the hand of God, Elizabeth Coles Bouey
issued a call to ministers' wives and ministers' widows for
the purpose of uniting unto one Christian fellowship,
ministers' wives and ministers' widows of the various
religious denominations for greater and more effective
service in kingdom building. Under Mrs. Bouey's seventeen
year term as President, much was accomplished. Ministers'
wives from more than thirty states, the District of
Columbia, West Africa and eight denominations became
affiliated. Mrs. Bouey traveled extensively. Her work and
interest took her to African and European countries. She
was honored in Copenhagen at a Christian World Assembly and
participated in many meetings of the Baptist World Alliance.
After many months of illness, Mrs. Bouey passed away on
February 5, 1957. Her body lay for several days in the
Prayer Room of her home, a room in which she had met God
many times. Death to her was a joyous home-going and she
wanted all of her friends to rejoice, that she had now
entered a richer, more beautiful life. The remains of our
Founder, and those of her husband, now lie side by side in
Woodland Cemetery on a hill overlooking the city of
Richmond, Virginia.
-- 16.
A
rare and interesting cabinet card (CDV) of Samuel Adjar
Crowther which probably dates from around the 1860s. Samuel
(Adjar) Crowther was born December 31st, 1809 in Africa. He was
the first ever African to be ordained by the church
Missionary Society who was consecrated a bishop to the Niger
region of Africa. He had been sold into slavery at the age of
twelve but was rescued by a British Cruiser and was taken to a
mission school where he was baptized. In 1842 he went to Church
Missionary College in London. He later went back to his people
in Africa and worked as a missionary
from 1843 to 1851. He spent the rest of his life in evangelistic
work in Niger. He established churches, elementary schools and
high schools and one college. It was in Niger that he spent the
rest of his life. Hand inscribed in faint ink under picture "Samuel
Adjar Crowther, Bishop of Niger Territory". Buxton
photographer's mark on front and also on back. 4.25" x
6.5".
Samuel Crowther
-- 17.
1st Edition copy of
Sons of Africa by
G.A. Collack, published by the Student Christian Movement,
1928 . Biographical sketches on:
Osai Tutu Kwamina,
Bishop Crowther,
Tshaka the Zulu,
Moshesh,
Khama,
Sir Apolo Kwaga,
J.E. Kwegyir
Aggrey,
and shorter sketches on more.
Last chapter on women and mothers in Africa - a rare
look at women in 1920's Africa.
Hardcover with dustjacket,
247 pages. Vintage
book, 5.25'' x 7.75''. Map
endpapers.
One look at the map names is an
amazing reminder of the how things have changed from a
geo-political perspective.
-- 18. A rare example of early printing, a leaf from St.
Augustine's Opuscula printed in Strassburg in
1491 by Martin Flach. "de
Doctrina Christiana" (On
Christian Doctrine, written in 397) by
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, North Africa (AD 354-430).
This page is listed as number 1950 in Hain, and as number A1221 in Goff, Incunabula in American
Libraries. The literal meaning of the Latin word
incunabulum is "infant’s cradle" and alludes to the fact
that printing at that time was in its infancy. The fact that
a book was printed before 1500 is significant in that its
value is much greater than if it had been printed in 1501 or
later. On handmade paper, this page is in good condition with
minor traces of
aging, soiling or spotting, edge flaws, etc. BACKGROUND:
Augustine was born at Thagaste
(modern Souk-Ahras, Algeria, North Africa), a small
town in the Roman province of Numidia. He received a
classical education that both schooled him in Latin
literature and enabled him to escape from his provincial
upbringing. Trained at Carthage in rhetoric (public
oratory), which was a requisite for a legal or political
career in the Roman empire. Augustine's African homeland
had been part of Rome's empire since the destruction of
Carthage five hundred years before his birth. Carthage had
been rebuilt by Rome as the metropolis of Roman Africa,
wealthy once again but posing no threat. The language of
business and culture throughout Roman Africa was Latin.
Careers for the ambitious, as we shall see, led out of
provincial Africa into the wider Mediterranean world; on the
other hand, wealthy Italian senators maintained vast estates
in Africa which they rarely saw. The dominant religion of
Africa became Christianity -- a religion that violently
opposed the traditions of old Rome but that could not have
spread as it did without the prosperity and unity that Rome
had brought to the ancient world. Roman Africa was a
military backwater. The legions that were kept there to
maintain order and guard against raids by desert nomads were
themselves the gravest threat to peace; but their occasional
rebellions were for the most part short-lived and
inconsequential. The only emperors who ever spent much time
in Africa were the ones who had been born there; by
Augustine's time, decades had passed without an emperor even
thinking of going to Africa. Some distinctly African
character continued to mark life in the province. Some
non-Latin speech, either the aboriginal Berber of the desert
or the derelict Punic the Carthaginians had spoken,
continued to be heard in dark corners. In some of the same
corners, old local pagan cults could still be found.
Augustine became a teacher of rhetoric
in Carthage, in Rome, and finally in Milan, a seat of
imperial government at the time. At Milan, in 386, Augustine
underwent religious conversion. He retired from his public
position, received baptism from Ambrose, the bishop of
Milan, and soon returned to North Africa. In 391, he
was ordained to the priesthood in Hippo Regius (modern
Bone, Algeria); five years later he became bishop. When
Augustine became a Christian clergyman, he found Africa rent
by an ecclesiastical schism that had its roots at least
partly in the truculent sense of difference maintained by
the less-Romanized provincials of up-country Numidia, near
the northern fringes of the Sahara.
-- Tertullian, a lay theologian from Carthage,
North Africa, was perhaps the most important theologian
in the Western Church at the end of the second century.
--
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, North Africa, was a notable theologian
and administrator. His theological focus was on the nature
of the church as an institution. As such, he represents an
important step in the maturing of the Church. As a disciple
of Tertullian, Cyprian preached a rigorous Christianity.
-- 19.
1872 soft cover edition of " Jubilee Songs: As Sung By
The Jubilee Singers of Fisk University ( Nashville,
Tennessee) Under the Auspices of the American Missionary
Association." There is a 2 page preface in this book that
was penned by Theodore F Seward, of Orange, New Jersey. Mr.
Seward basically discusses the Jubilee Singers in his own
words of course. This collection also has four First Edition
copies of the hard cover book about the Jubilee Singers.
--
20. Extremely rare First Edition 1622 copy of "De
Suburbicariis Regionibus et Ecclesiis" (The
Geographic and Ecclesiastic Suburbicarian Dioceses) by
Jacques Sirmond. An intriguing book disputing the power of
the Pope in Rome; published at Paris by Sebastien Cramoisy
in MDCXXII. The term suburbicarius is taken from
Roman public law, the expression regiones or
provinciaesuburbicariae meaning the districts
adjacent to Rome. The present book related to suburbicary
churches under the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff
impugned the opinion of Godefroy and Saumaise, to whom this
book is directly addressed. The text, in an easily readable
Latin, contains some erudite and unusual pieces of
information about the extent of the Papal power on Rome, and
the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. For instance, the
second chapter of the second book, dedicated to the chiefs
and the ecclesiastic personalities of the Church of
Constantinople, is particularly interesting. Another
chapter discusses the Early African Church, which is very
intriguing. The book is whole vellum bound, 17.5 x 11
cm, 7 x 4 1/2 inches, 310 pages + index.
BACKGROUND: Jacques
Sirmond (1559-1651) is one of the greatest scholars
of the seventeenth century. He entered the Society of Jesus
in 1576 and was appointed in 1581 professor of classical
languages in Paris, where he numbered St. Francis de Sales
among his pupils. Called to Rome in 1590, he was for sixteen
years private secretary to the Jesuit superior general,
Aquaviva, devoting his leisure moments during the same
period to the study of the literary and historical treasures
of antiquity. He entertained intimate relations with several
learned men then present at Rome, among them Bellarmine and
particularly Baronius, whom he was helpful in the
composition of the "Annales". In 1608 he returned to Paris,
and in 1637 became confessor to King Louis XIII. His first
literary production appeared in 1610, and from that date
until the end of this life almost every year witnessed the
publication of some new work. The results of his literary
labors are chiefly represented by editions of Greek and
Latin Christian writings.
<-- 21.
One inch silver
medal. The front shows the image of Bishop J.B. Small and
shows dates 1899-1924. The outer edge reads - Gold Coast W.
Africa - Don't Let My African Work Fail. The back reads -
Contributor to AM.E. Zion, W.H. & F.M.S. $25,000 Fund. Also
along the bottom edge is Whitehead & Hoag. Overall condition is
fine. The elderly man we obtained this from told us his uncle
was a salesman for the Whitehead & Hoag Company, of Newark, New
Jersey.
-- 22.
Homer Laughlin 10 inch plate features 6 women from the
African Methodist Episcopal Church. All six were members
of The Women’s Missionary Society. They have been
pictured on this plate. Lucy M. Hughes, Christine S.
Smith, Anne E. Heath, Mary E. Frissell, Wilhelmina Lawrence
and Delores L. Kenney Williams. The plate is trimmed in
gold and is in great condition. From the clothing and hair
these women looked to be involved in this society from the
1940s thru the 1960s.
-- 23. A rare
1905 First edition book,
Daybreak in the Dark Continent, by
Wilson S. Naylor, Beach Professor of Biblical Literature,
Lawrence University, 315 pages. A book written about
Christian missions to Africa, subtitled, "Forward
Missions Study Courses." It includes photos,
illustrations and maps -- including photos of Bishop
Samuel A. Crowther, King Khama and Paul (from
Congo). Published by Women's Presbyterian Board of
Missions of the Northwest, it was prepared for young
people "under the auspices of the Young People's Missionary
Movement", which began circa 1901. Here is a personal word
from the author: "The
chief characteristic of the viewpoint of these pages is
man: Man as he is found in Africa. Everything that does
not have a definite and vital relation to the present-day
African is subordinated or eliminated. Further,
consideration of the African is centered upon his religious
life; what that life is before Christianity affects it; what
it is and may become under the influence of Christianity.
It is religious Africa in the broadest sense that is the
perspective of this little volume."
Appendix A is an extremely interesting chronology of
African History, starting with the First Egyptian
Dynasty. It mentions that "Christianity was probably
introduced into Africa by visitors at Pentecost in 30 A.D."
It goes on to mention that from 150 A.D to 400 A.D there was
"the founding of the Christian College, or Missionary
Training School, at Alexandria; Pantaenus, Origen,
Clement, successive principles. Christianity
flourished in North Africa. At various times Roman
persecutions of African Christians. Period of African
leadership in early Christian church: Tertullian,
Cyprian, Athanasius, Arnobius, Augustine and others.
Introduction of Christianity into Abyssinia and other
sections to the south of Egypt and the Mediterranean coast
lands." It goes on to say that in 522 there was the "extension
of Abyssinian rule over sections of southern Arabia for
purpose of protecting Christians against Jewish
persecutions. Continued for 40 years." It goes on to
recount the Moslem conquest of Egypt and North Africa
(640-1000), era of European awakening to missionary endeavor
(1100 - 1300), Prince Henry traveling throughout the West
Coast of Africa, the Congo River, and the Cape of Good Hope
(1394-1540), Vasco da Gama and more...
-- 24.
1805
Volume of Evangelical Magazine (January - December),
with 1805 coversheet -- London: Printed for T Williams and
Co. Interesting insights into African missionary outreach.
-- 25. October,
1918 -- The Young Christian Worker "Monthly
Magazine for Boys and Girls" (published by the Woman's
Missionary Council of the M.E. Church, South, Nashville. 7"
x 10". Editor: Sara Estelle Haskin) -- A 16-page missionary
magazine illustrated with many photographs. This issue
includes many photos of African-Americans. Articles include:
A Builder of Happiness by L.H. Hammond - Hampton
Institute - about Mrs. Barrett; Writing Poetry
while Running an Elevator - about Paul Laurence
Dunbar -- by Dr. Isaac Fisher; An American's Pictures
in France by Minerva Hunter - about artist Henry O.
Tanner; How Would You Like to Be a Poet? by
M'Henry Cyr - about Phillis Wheatley; and The
Colored Soldier by Rev. W.C. Ellington.
Some of the photos include, with captions: "Young
African-American women at the Bethlehem House";
"African-Americans learning gardening at Paine College in
Georgia"; "Young Men of the Negro Race learning to become
doctors"; and "Young Women learning to teach at a Practice
School"
-- 26. The
American Missionary Magazine. The anti-slavery magazine
in its entirety: 1846--1934, complete! It consists of 15 rolls of
microfilm. This is a rare find. The rolls were created in
1974...quite fresh, in relative terms.
In fact, the rolls are in great condition. This is an excellent
research tool. BACKGROUND:
The American
Missionary Association was a Protestant-based abolitionist group
founded on September 3, 1846. The main purpose of this organization
was to eliminate slavery, to educate African Americans,
to promote racial equality, and to promote Christian values.
Although it initially had the support of numerous Protestant groups,
eventually it became most closely aligned with the Congregational
Churches (now the United Church of Christ). It maintained its
distinct identity until 1999, when a restructuring of the UCC merged
it into the Justice and Witness Ministries division. The
organization started the American Missionary magazine, which
published from 1846 through 1934.
-- Ad Blotter for the American Missionary Association, 1931.
in bold letter: "A Crusade of Brotherhood." It then goes on
to state, "Churches among Negroes, Indians and Puerto Ricans are
aided by the Association with the goal of self-support kept before
the pastor and people to maintain the self-respect of each group and
to develop leadership..."
--
27. A very
interesting collection of eleven American Missionary
Association magazines in excellent condition. Included in
this collection are the following issues: February 1870,
January & February 1871, April - July 1872, February 1874, June
& July 1878, and April 1879. The 4 later issues have blue
covers, the rest have beige covers. The American Missionary
Association was an organization dedicated to bringing the full
and equal privileges of citizenship to the newly freed black
population of America. The Association was incorporated
January 30, 1849. Its' existence continued into the 20th
century. The Association was formed as a protest against other
missionaries of the period. Their stated belief was that
denying the black population the rights of citizenship subverted
the teachings of Jesus, and those who attempted to deny these
rights performed sins against God and man. The AMA promoted
political activity and encouraged a strong anti-slavery
sentiment among its missions. They were very active in
educating Freedmen. They funded the famed Avery Normal
Institute in Charleston.
Their magazine
reported on various conditions in the south, including
their own efforts to educate Freedmen. They also were interested
in the situations encountered by other persecuted groups such as
the American Indian and Chinese immigrants--most issues have
reports on conditions faced by these 2 groups. Most issues
also had at least one international report -- a Persian famine,
a revolt in Madagascar, and several discuss incidents on the
African continent. They had missions in Africa. The 3 later
issues have advertisements. Singer Sewing Machine
advertised in the April 1879 issue. They are in excellent
condition, considering their age. The magazines were originally
mailed to Deacon A. North of Berlin, Connecticut and the mailing
sticker is still on some of them. Alfred North was a Deacon in
Berlin, Connecticut. The Freeman Institute purchased this
collection of magazines from the woman's grandmother who knew
his daughter, Miss Katherine North. These issues were
found in her grandmother's things when they cleaned out her
house.
--
28. A
1858 bound volume of 45 issues of THE MORAVIAN, a weekly
journal of the American Moravian Church -- running from
January 8, 1858 to December 31, 1858, Phila:1858. The issues
contain news of the Church, spiritual thoughts, missionary work
including their work in enabling freed slave to go to Liberia and
found a colony, and news of members. This is a collection of
journals important in the history of the Moravian Church and its
activities in the mid 19th century.
Folio, 14 inch spine, 424pp.
-- 29.
An antique framed
engraving. It is of a membership certification to the Troy
Conference Missionary Society, an auxiliary to the
Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
It is dated June 21st 1852. Signed by Edmund S. Jones (local
pastor of State Street Church in Troy, 1852), President and
Stephen. D. Brown (entered Troy Conference in 1837, transferred
to the NY Conference in 1865, died in 1875), Secretary. The
print depicts a trumpeting angel hovering above a congregation
of African American slaves and Native Americans. The annual Troy
Conference event (7 days) was held that year in Plattsburgh, NY.
This life membership certificate is for Mrs. Sophia Jones,
stating that she paid ten dollars. The top of the certificate
shows some white spotting. The top left corner is clipped and
there is a 1 x 4 inch water stain at the bottom. Measures 19 1/2
x 23 1/2 inches. Very nice antique frame is probably original to
the piece. Some pastors of the Troy Conference were noted
abolitionists (Don Papson and Andrew Witherspoon). George S.
Brown (1801-1880) was an African American missionary to Liberia
six times. A part of the Troy Conference, he founded Sandford's
Ridge UM Church and was a much-sought-after stone mason in the
region.
-- 30.
The Evangelical Magazine, and Missionary
Chronicle, 1816. London: Williams and Co. Stationers' Court.
1816. 530pp.
Engraving of Cupido. African (Hottentot) Evangelist (see
to the right). Illustrations of Scripture which Occurred to Mr.
Campbell in the Course of His Extensive Journeys in Africa
etc. African Commentary on Select Texts of Scripture. (series).
Missions in Russia (Siberia, Moscow Bible Society, Crimea, etc
). The South Seas ( Otaheite, New South Wales, Mr. Crook etc).
African Commentary on Baptism. An Original
Letter by John Newton (its first publication). Extract of
Letter from G Thom of the Cape of Good Hope. The Evil of
Deserting an Acknowledged Pastor for Popular Preachers (some
things just never change!).
Vindication of the
Evangelical Narrative Concerning the Birth of Christ Against the
Impeachment of its Veracity by Mr. Belsham in his Calm Inquiry
into the Scripture Doctrine Concerning the Person of Christ.
Skenandon the Oneida Chief. Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman
in Jamaica to a Friend in London, dated Jan. 5, 1816. Small note
on missions in Barbadoes. Very important report of a
letter from Robert Morrison on the subject of printing the
Chinese New Testament (an historic letter indeed!). Letter from
Mr. Thomsen of Prince of Wales Island (Penang). On the Divinity
of Christ by W. Williams. The African Slave Trade. Letter
from New South Wales ( South Seas ). Offering to Gunga (from
William Carey). Extract of a Letter from Mr Milne of Pulo Penang
( Prince of Wales's Island). Missions in the West Indies.
Baptist Missions in India. How Can We Reconcile the Doctrine of
Election with the Statement which says God is no Respecter of
Persons? by Imus.
The Mongul Tartars.
Into Caffraria extensive letter by J. Read, Missionary to South
Africa). Mission to the Calmucks. Baptist Missions in the Burman
Empire ( Felix Carey etc ). Missions in Jamaica. Very
interesting memoir of Ebenezer Chandler, Immediate Successor to
John Bunyan. A really interesting engraving and article. Mission
to Irkutsk.
Cupido, The "Hottentot"
Evangelist
-- 31.
The Story of Baptist Missions in Foreign Lands: From the Time of
Carey to the Present Date (1885) by Rev. G. Winfred Hervey,
M.A. With an Introduction By Rev. A.H. Burlingham, D. D. St. Louis:
Chancy R. Barns. Contents include: William Carey and the Mission in
Hindustan; Planting the Acorn; The Growth of Carey's Mission;
Debates and Victories; Vicissitudes of Missionary Life; The Work in
England; William Ward and the Printing House at Serampore; Brahma
and the Religion of Hindustan; Hindu Castes and Customs; Strange
Gods and Their Worship; Adoniram Judson in the Palace and in the
Prison; Bruised But Not Forsaken; The Release of Judson and His
Subsequent Career; The Last Days of a Life of Sacrifices; Luther
Rice and His Services at Home and Abroad; The Baptist Triennial
Convention; Lott Carey and the African Mission; The Climate,
Scenery and the Productions of India; The Adventures of Rev. John
Chamberlain; The Re. Dr. Marshman of Serampore; Sir Henry Havelock,
The Christian Soldier; Boardman, The Founder of the Karen Mission;
Mrs. Ann Hasseltine Judson; Mrs. Sarah Boardman Judson; Mrs. Emily
C. Judson; Eugenio Kincaid, The Burman Evangelist; The Rev. Grovers
Comstock and Arracan; Mrs. Sarah Davis Comstock; Mr. Vinton and the
Kemmendine Mission; Mrs. Vinton and the Karens; The Karens of The
Golden Chersonese; Rev. Dr. Francis Mason; Mrs. H.M.G. Mason; Wade,
Binney, Abbott, Beecher and Carpenter; The Two Karen Apostles; The
Rev. Howard Malcolm, D.D. LL.D.; Jones and Dean of Siam; Mission in
Siam and Shanland; The Religions of China; Mission in China; Japan,
It's Religions and Missions; British Missions in Hindustan, Ceylon
and Orissa; The Religions of Africa; Skinner, Crocker and Bowen,
of the African Mission; Missions of the British Baptists in the West
Indies; The Assam and Telugu Missions. The American Baptist and
Free Mission Society; Missions in France, Brittany; and Germany;
Missions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden; Missions in Greece Italy and
Spain; Women's Foreign Mission Societies; Final Inquiries and
Cautions; Appendix; Index. This book has 884 pages and is
Illustrated and Indexed.
-- 32.
An in-depth look at ONE HUNDRED YEARS of CANADIAN METHODIST MISSIONS from 1824 to
1924. The book was written just as the Methodist Church was
about to unite and become the United Church of Canada. This book is
VOLUME 1 a rare find....not only in VERY GOOD CONDITION, but also a
SIGNED 1ST EDITION. Written by Mrs. Frederick C. Stephenson whose
husband was Secretary of the Missionary Society's Young People's
Forward Movement for Missions. There is an INSCRIPTION on the front
endpaper "The Reverend Oliver B. Strapp With Kind Regards from Fred
C. and Anne D. Stephenson, Toronto Oct. 5th, 1925". The publisher
is Ryerson Press, Toronto. The book is in very good condition
measuring 5 1/2" x 8" with 265 clean pages all tight in the
binding. The endpapers are maps showing where there missions
were.....at the front is a map of Canada as much work was done among
the Indian Tribes and at the back the endpapers are a map of the
world showing missions in India, Africa, China and Japan, Trinidad
and South America. The chapters cover the following: The Japan
Mission, The West China Mission, Home Missions, Missions to the
French-Canadians, Missions to the Orientals in Canada, Missions to
New Canadians, Methodism and Great Missionary Movements. This is a
cloth covered Hardcover with light wear at spine ends and corners,
faded title on the spine and a tiny puncture in the fabric on the
cover.
-- 33.
TITLE: The New-York
Missionary Magazine, and Repository of Religious Intelligence,
for the year 1802. Vol. III; & A Discourse On Psalmody; In Which It
Is Clearly Shewn That It Is The Duty Of Christians To Take The
Principal Subjects And Occasions Of Their Psalms, Hymns, And
Spiritual Songs, From The Gospel Of Christ. Fourth Edition, With
Corrections And Additions.
DESCRIPTION: Bound volume of missionary and church reports, news, &
happenings. Letters from Missionaries, Preachers etc. Sermons,
doctrinal teachings. The last part is a discourse on the importance
and necessity of scriptural psalmody and hymnology in our Worship of
God.
AUTHOR: The magazine articles are authored by many various
individuals. The Discourse on Psalmody is authored by
James Latta, A.M., late
minister of the Gospel at Chesnut Level.
PUBLISHER: New York: Cornelius Davis; printed by Vermilye and
Crooker; (The Discourse on Psalmody)-Philadelphia: Printed by
William W. Woodward, 1801 (first published 1794.) EDITION: 1st
for the magazine part, 4th for the Discourse on Psalmody.
FORMAT: Leather. SIZE: 5 1/2" W x 8 1/2" H. # of PAGES: 434, 107.
SOME OF THE ARTICLES: Address to Parents on Educating
Their Children, Account of the Rev. Samuel Pearce, Antinomianism,
Dialogue on Agency of Man's Free Will, Clergyman's Advice to the
Villagers, Cowles on Baptism, Fullers Backslider reviewed, Bishop
Beilby's Sermon, Reflections on First Day of Creation, Reflections
on the 19th Century, Revival of Religion in Cumberland, Character of
God, Council of Clergy in France, Hint To Wealthy Christians,
Intelligence From China, Dialogues on the Turn of the Present Age,
on Importance of Truth, on the connection between Doctrinal,
Experimental and Practical Religion, on the Moral Character of God,
Dan. 10:13 illustrated, Roman Catholic Religion established in
France, Conversion of two Jews, Revival of religion in Kentucky,
Millenarians, An Extract an original sermon of Jonathan Edwards,
LETTERS FROM: France, Rev. James Hall, Rev. Moses Hogue, Rev. Mr.
Eltinge, Rev. Palmer Tennessee, Rev. Milton Kentucky, Rev. Jackson,
Rev. Baxter, Rev. Keith, Rev. William Carey, Mr. Felix Carey,
London Missionary Society, Virginia, Col. Patterson, Dr. King,
India, Rev. Williams Elberfield, Germany, Switzerland.
REPORTS FROM MISSION SOCIETIES AND ARTICLES: London Missionary
Society, Mission to Africa and the East, Edinburgh & Glasgow
Missionary Societies, Missionary Society of Berkshire, Burgher
Associate Synod, Baptist Mission in Bengal, Edinburgh Missionary
Society, New York Missionary Society, Glasgow Missionary Society,
Baptist Mission in India, Missionary Society of Connecticut, Mission
to the South Seas, Missionaries to Otaheite, Presbyterian Church
minutes from General Assembly
-- 34. David Livingstone (1813-1873) letter --
Extremely rare hand written letter (dated 6, July 1865) from
David Livingstone and signed by him
that gives a human glimpse into the life of a man of supreme
commitment to God and to the people of the continent of
Africa. The 4-page letter is to a Mr. William Logan (see
below) thanking him
for a present and relating a story about his great
grandfather who was committed to prison for writing to the
Minister on behalf of a poor woman, but how God showed his
faithfulness! David's mother died on June 18th, 1865.
Perhaps this was a letter to a Mr. Logan thanking him for
the gift of a book by Janet Hamilton. Was it given at his mother's funeral in June?
We don't know, but something stirred the memory of a story
his mother loved to tell. It is a long detailed letter with
excellent content that gives a glimpse into the heart and
mind of David Livingstone other than the ones of him living
in the stark and sometimes dangerous conditions in Africa. It is signed in the inside of page 3,
where Mr. Livingstone went to finish his letter. This is a
very special item! On June 19th David Livingstone had
received a telegram, which stated that his mother had died the day
before. According to William Blaikie's account (pp 355-356), taken
from another letter written by Livingstone, Monday, 19th June --
A telegram came, saying that mother had died the day before. I
started at once for Scotland. No change was observed till within an
hour and a half of her departure.... Seeing the end was near, sister
Agnes said, 'The Saviour has come for you, mother. You can "lippen"
yourself to him?' She replied, 'Oh yes.' Little Anna Mary was help
up to her. She gave her the last look, and said 'Bonnie wee lassie,'
gave a few long inspirations, and all was still, with a look of
reverence on her countenance. She had wished William Logan, a
good Christian man, to lay her head in the grave, if I were not
there. When going away in 1858, she said to me that she would
have liked one of her laddies to lay her head in the grave. It so
happened that I was there to pay the last tribute to a dear good
mother.
-- This letter is from the Russell Aitken collection with
provenance material (letter and bill of sale describing the
item in 1949). Aitken was an artist (sculptor), expert
marksman, big-game hunter and adventure writer whose
substantial philanthropy reflected his passions for art and
sport (died in 2002, 92 years of age). There is a thin piece
of tape to strengthen an inside edge.
-- Ulva, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Ulbha) is an island in the
Scottish Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull. This is
the location of the New Moorland parish and the Hamilton
jail mentioned in the letter below.
Here is the
letter July 6th, 1865 -- 18 days after the death of his
mother): "My
Dear Mr. Logan, Thank you very much for your present
and I assure you that I read Janet Hamilton's book
with very great pleasure and I thank her kindly for
the kind words she uttered in reference to me. ...
tell her that my maternal great grandfather was in New
Moorland parish at a time when but few could use their
views as she can -- and a poor woman who got but
sixpence a month from the parish employed him to write
a petition to the minister for more. This incensed his
reverence so much that he committed my grand father
[Gavin Hunter] to Hamilton Jail. He there imitated
King David among the Philistines and feigned madness.
A sergeant who had his pick of the prisoners to be
drafted as soldiers said to him, "My footman and I
don't believe that you are insane but tell me your
case and...befriend you" He replied that he had a wife
and three children who must starve without his
services and was greatly distressed in mind on their
account. The sergeant gave him three shillings, a
larger sum than he had ever possessed in his life
before, for a common labourer...pay at the time was
put three pence (Scotts...) per diem. The sergeant
then went to his officer and said that one of their
recruits was clearly out of his mind and obtained
permission to dismiss him. Many a prayer there no
doubt ascended on behalf of this soldier...of my great
grandfather...all his kindness was returned unto his
own bosom by Him who put the kindly feelings unto his
heart. I heard this told by my grandfather and lately
by my mother. We go off this afternoon. Many thanks
for your friendship. For the departed now
numbered...all no death for whom we give thanks that
they died in the Lord. David Livingstone"
BACKGROUND:
David's mother
had a great store of family traditions, and, like the mother
of Sir Walter Scott, she retained the power of telling them
with the utmost accuracy to a very old age. In one of
Livingstone's private journals, written in 1864, during his
second visit home, he gives at full length the
above-mentioned story, which some future Macaulay may find
useful as an illustration of the social conditions of
Scotland in the early part of the eighteenth century.
-- The
story recounted in the letter above is corroborated by a
paragraph in "The Personal Life of David Livingstone,
by William G. Blaikie (1880) -- "Mother told me stories of
her youth: they seem to come back to her in her
eighty-second year very vividly. Her grandfather, Gavin
Hunter, could write, while most common people were ignorant
of the art. A poor woman got him to write a petition to the
minister of Shotts parish to augment her monthly allowance
of sixpence, as she could not live on it. He was taken to
Hamilton jail for this, and having a wife and three children
at home, who without him would certainly starve, he thought
of David's feigning madness before the Philistines, and
beslabbered his beard with saliva. All who were found guilty
were sent to the army in America, or the plantations. A
sergeant had compassion on him, and said, 'Tell me, gudeman,
if you are really out of your mind. I'll befriend you.' He
confessed that he only feigned insanity, because he had a
wife and three bairns at home who would starve if he were
sent to the army. 'Dinna say onything mair to ony body,'
said the kind-hearted sergeant. He then said to the
commanding officer, 'They have given us a man clean out of
his mind: I can do nothing with the like o' him,' The
officer went to him and gave him three shillings, saying, 'Tak'
that, gudeman, and gang awa' hame to your wife and weans,
'Ay,' said mother, 'mony a prayer went up for that sergeant,
for my grandfather was an unco godly man. He had never had
so much money in his life before, for his wages were only
threepence a day."
-- Janet Hamilton (mentioned in letter above and was
also known by Mr. Logan) was a nineteenth century Scottish poet.
She was born as Janet Thomson at Carshill, Shotts
parish, Lanarkshire,
12 Oct. 1795, the daughter of a shoemaker.
In her childhood the family moved to Hamilton,
and then to Langloan,
in the parish of Old Monkland, Lanarkshire. Her father at
length settled down in business for himself as a shoemaker,
and John Hamilton, one of his young workmen, married Janet
in 1809. They lived together at Langloan
for about sixty years, and had a family of ten children.
Having learned to read as a girl, Janet Hamilton in her
early years became familiar with the Bible,
with Shakespeare and Milton, with many standard histories,
biographies, and essays, and with the poems of Allan Ramsay,
Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns.
Before she was twenty she had written numerous verses on
religious themes. but family cares prevented further
composition until she was about fifty-four. During her last
eighteen years she was blind, and her husband and her
daughter Marion read to her. She died on 27 Oct. 1873,
having never been ‘more than twenty miles from her
dwelling.’ A memorial fountain has been placed nearly
opposite her cottage. In the letter above, David could have
been referring to either of the following books published by
this time:
Poems and
essays of a miscellaneous character on subjects of general
interest. 1863 Glasgow
Poems of
purpose and sketches in prose of Scottish peasant life and
character in auld lang syne, sketches of local scenes and
characters : with a glossary
1865. Glasgow. (This was probably the book that caused
David to be reminded of his mother's story...)
-- William
Logan (1813-1879 -- recipient of Livingston's letter)
Born near
Hamilton, the son of a weaver, Logan was greatly affected by
seeing a Glasgow missionary die of typhoid. Secular
employment having no charms for him, he went to work with
sufferers of the disease in London and Leeds. From 1840 to
1842 he was in Rochdale, returning to Glasgow where he
attended classes at the university while working as a
missionary. While he was a student at the college he
joined the city mission. His district was in the High
Street, the physical, social, moral, and spiritual condition
of which he found very bad. It taxed all his energies.
Besides conducting regular religious services on Saturday
evenings, he held a meeting for the members of his
Bible-class, at which he taught them music, and gave
lectures on chemistry, with experiments, generally closing
with practical remarks for their daily guidance. His
self-denying work remains to this day. He also spent time in
various prisons, studying the causes of crime, before
undertaking a second spell of missionary work in northern
England. Many a young man and young woman has had cause to
bless William Logan. Mr. Logan's literary work was a labor
of love. He was the author of the "Moral Statistics of
Glasgow;" "Early Heroes of the Temperance Reformation;"
but in editing "Words of Comfort for Bereaved Parents"
he took especial delight. The first few editions contained
about fifty pages; its tenth British edition, 490 pages; its
circulation reaching 25,000 copies. An American edition had
also an extensive sale. Quiet and unobtrusive in manner, yet
with broad sympathies, Mr. Logan was ready to help every
good work. While attentive to business, yet, like a true
disciple, he was constantly going about doing good; and only
to a few was it known how generously he helped and
encouraged the struggling poor. His interest in the arts led
to his erecting a monument to the memory of David Gray, the
Kirkintilloch poet. He was also the constant friend of
Janet Hamilton, the poet of Coatbridge. He not only
showed her all manner of friendly attentions, but did more
perhaps than any one else to bring her into fame, buying her
books largely and sending copies to influential critics and
literary men who might otherwise have failed to notice them.
To him, Janet Hamilton in some measure, owed her
recognition.
If any young
minister was in trouble through charges of heresy, William
Logan was sure to find his way to his side and cheer him
with his sympathy. His "Words of Comfort for Parents
Bereaved of Little Children" - the idea of which was
suggested by the help he obtained from friendly letters when
his girl Sophia was taken from him at the age of five years
- have gone far and wide into houses of mourning and have
been stained by blessed tears they have helped to bring. Mr.
Logan was, in his day, one of Scotland's most zealous
temperance reformers. His last illness was severe and brief.
On 16th September, 1879, he passed into eternity. There were
thousands he had never seen who felt that they had lost a
friend when his death was announced. His resting-place is in
the Glasgow Necropolis. A handsome monument to his memory
was erected a few years since.
--
David
Livingstone and slavery"And if my disclosures
regarding the terrible Ujijian slavery should lead to the
suppression of the East Coast slave trade, I shall regard
that as a greater matter by far than the discovery of all
the Nile sources together" - Livingstone in a letter to
the editor of the New York Herald.
Livingstone's letters, books
and journals did stir up public support for the abolition of
slavery. However he became humiliatingly dependent for
assistance on the very slave-traders whom he wanted to put
out of business. Because he was a poor leader of his peers,
he ended up on his last expedition as an individualist
explorer with servants and porters but no expert support
around him. At the same time he did not use the brutal
methods of maverick explorers such as Stanley
to keep his retinue of porters in line and his supplies
secure. For these reasons from 1867 onwards he accepted help
and hospitality from Mohamad Bogharib and Mohamad bin Saleh
(also known as Mpamari), traders who kept and traded in
slaves, as he recounts in his journals. They in turn
benefited from Livingstone's influence with local people,
which facilitated Mpamari's release from bondage to Mwata
Kazembe.
Livingstone was also furious to discover some of the
replacement porters sent at his request from Ujiji were
slaves.
David Livingstone -- Magic Lantern
slide
-- 35.
Postcard picture
of hundreds of African American students of Wiley College
in Marshall, Texas attending a "chapel" meeting. The postcard had
been sent from Marshall to a Miss Pruitt in New York on September
12, 1922. Exceptional photograph.
-- 36. An 88-page
booklet (1953), Minutes of
the Fifty-Sixth Annual Session of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign
Missions Convention of America and the Woman's Auxiliary Lott Carey
Laymen's League and the YOUNG PEOPLE'S DEPARTMENT - held with the
Enon Baptist Church
/ Baltimore, Md., Sept. 1-4, 1953 - Dr. A.A. Payne, Pastor.
Interesting collectible! It also announces the next convention at
Petersburg, Va. at Zion Baptist Church.
-- 37.
1857 edition (sold by subscription
only). Heroes And Martyrs Of The Modern
Missionary Enterprise
-- A Record Of Their Lives And Labors. Including An Historical
Review Of Earlier Missions. Edited By Lucius E. Smith. With An
Introduction By Rev. William B. Sprague, D.D. "Heroes Of A Christian
Age-Companions Of A Celestial Knighthood." Published By O.W. Potter.
Illustrated By Tissue Guarded Photogravures Blank On The Reverse. This Is Stated On The Dedication
Page In Publishers Ink: To The Living Messengers Of Christ In
Foreign Lands, And To Those Who Sympathize With Them In Their Toils
And Sacrifices, This Volume, A Brief Record Of The Eminent Dead, Who
Have Yielded Up Their Lives, A Sacred Holocaust To The Cause Of
Christian Missions Is Respectfully Dedicated.
9-1/4" Tall In Elaborate
Gilt Stamped Red Cloth Hardcover. Full Gilt Page Edges.508 Pages. Contents:
Dedication Preface Introduction A View OF Earlier Missionary
Enterprises: William Carey,
John Chamberlain, Henry
Martyn, Gordon Hall, Samuel Newell, Henry Watson Fox, Thomas Coke,
Adoniram Judson,
George Dana Boardman, Robert Morrison, William Milne, Walter Macon
Lowrie, David Abeel, Munson And Lyman, Johannes Theodorus Vanderkemp,
Wiliam G. Crocker, Lott Cary
(African American), Melville Beveridge Cox, Pliny Fisk, Levi
Parsons, Asahel Grant, M.D., John Williams, William Richards, Ard
Hoyt, Cyrus Shepard, William Hepburn Hewitson, Grover Smith
Comstock, James Richards.
--
38. Two letters from Africa Inland Mission director (Orson
R. Palmer) and signed by him...postmarked March 1 and April 6,
1915 from Philadelphia, PA. The letters are to a Mr. Louis A.
Garrison from Bath, NY, who was considering coming to Africa as a
missionary. The March 1st letters mention, "we are just now
preparing to build a hospital at Kijabe (Kenya) for our missionaries
when sick and for the treatment of the natives..." The April
6th letter states, "We are just getting under way for a hospital at
Kijabe, money having been sent to the field a few weeks ago to begin
the work."
-- The website of the hospital gives a brief historical overview: "Kijabe
Hospital was founded in 1916 and is run by the Africa Inland Church,
the largest Protestant denomination in Kenya. A 205-bed facility
located an hour north of Nairobi, it has grown to become one of the
most respected Kenyan hospitals offering quality, affordable care to
poor and non-poor alike. In combination with the A.I.C. - CURE
International Children's Hospital of Kenya, next door, the complex
draws individuals from a very wide area, including all parts of
Kenya, Somalia, and occasionally Sudan and Uganda. A large
percentage of patients are traditional Maasai pastoralists. The
hospital is staffed by Kenyans and expatriate missionaries from
Africa Inland Mission or World Medical Mission. At any time, there
may be three or four family practitioners, three general surgeons,
an orthopedist, a pathologist, and an internist. In terms of Kenyan
healthcare providers, there is one surgeon, four medical interns,
six clinical officers (physician assistants), orthopedic and
obstetrician/gynecologist trainees, and family practice residency
program, and additional trainees from around Africa.
The institution is
well-equipped for a rural African church hospital serving the poor.
Facilities include: modern operating theatres, endoscopy, wall
oxygen, reliable generator back-up, intensive care with ventilatory
support, radiography, ultrasound, pathology, chemistry and
hematology analyzers, microbiology, longitudinal medical records, a
well-stocked pharmacy with computerized inventory, and internet
access. The institution faces many challenges. AIDS and tuberculosis
are rampant. Trauma from dangerous working conditions and roads is
prevalent. Most Kenyan women lack access to quality pre-natal care,
leading to often disastrous outcomes. Poor sanitation contributes to
typhoid fever.
Kijabe Hospital endeavors to provide quality care--not just any
care--to an impoverished East African population. Because such care
is expensive, many patients are unable to pay, forcing the hospital
to absorb a large amount of debt. (No patient in need of urgent care
is turned away.) These financial pressures make it difficult to
expand infrastructure and hire Kenyan medical staff. Patients often
cede the title to family land as surety. Kijabe could solve its
financial problems by seizing and selling this land, but such an act
is not consistent with its Christian mission and values. Kijabe Hospital and its
staff strive to make known the love of God for the world shown in
the gift of His son Jesus Christ. Chapel and staff prayer form an
integral part of the pattern of life at Kijabe. Christian social and
personal values are expected and upheld. Patients and their families
are prayed for and with. Those who wish to join the Christian faith
are welcomed."
-- Nursing pin from
Kijabe Hospital.
-- 39.
Extremely rare
First Edition 1888 copy of, "Der Sclavenhandel in Afrika und
seine Greuel, beleuchtet nach den Vorträgen des Cardinals Lavignerie
und Berichten von Missionaren und Forschern." by Walter Helmes.
(German translation of title : The Slave Trade in Africa and its
atrocities, enlightened by the lectures of the Cardinal
Lavignerie and reports of missionaries and researchers).
Writings of the Abolitionist movement at the end of the 19th
century, based on the lectures of Cardinal Lavigerie, accounts of
missionaries and explorers. 8vo. 8.6 x 5.8 inches. 60 pp., 2 leaves
uncut. With frontispiece portrait of Cardinal Lavigerie. Original
printed boards binding.
-- D'ANNAM Louis . Le Grand Apotre De
l'Afrique Au Dix-Neuvieme Siecle Ou Vie De Son Em. Le Cardinal
Lavigerie . (Text in French -- French translation of title:The Great
Apostle of Africa in the Nineteenth Century Life Or His Eminence.
The
Cardinal Lavigerie) Librairie Generale Catholique
et Classique, Lyon, 1899. First edition. Book measures: 8"X5". 269
pages. Including a nice frontis portrait . A scarce title with
chapters on Libanon, Algerie, Turkey, Kabylie, Ouganda, Tunisia,
Slavery and more. Very rare book.
BACKGROUND: Charles Martial Allemand
Lavigerie (31 October 1825–26 November 1892) was a French
cardinal archbishop of Carthage and Algiers and primate of Africa.
He was born at Bayonne, and was educated at St Sulpice, Paris. He
was ordained priest in 1849, and was professor of ecclesiastical
history at the Sorbonne from 1854 to 1856. In 1856 he accepted the
direction of the schools of the East, and was thus for the first
time brought into contact with the Islamic world. Cest lit, he
wrote, que J'ai connu enfin ma vocation. Activity in missionary
work, especially in alleviating the distresses of the victims of the
Druzes, soon brought him prominently into notice; he was made a
chevalier of the Legion of Honor, and in October 1861, shortly after
his return to Europe, was appointed French auditor at Rome. Two
years later he was raised to the see of Nancy, where he remained for
four years, during which the diocese became one of the best
administered in France. While bishop of Nancy he met Marshal
MacMahon, then governor-general of Algeria, who in 1866 offered him
the see of Algiers, just raised to an archbishopric. Lavigerie
landed in Africa on the 11th of May 1868, when the great famine was
already making itself felt, and he began in November to collect the
orphans into villages. The later years of his life were spent in
ardent anti-slavery efforts, and his eloquence moved large
audiences in London, as well as in Paris, Brussels and other parts
of the continent. He hoped, by organizing a fraternity of armed
laymen as pioneers, to restore fertility to the Sahara; but this
community did not succeed, and was dissolved before his death. In
1890 Lavigerie appeared in the new character of a politician, and
arranged with Pope Leo XIII to make an attempt to reconcile the
Roman Catholic church with the republic. He invited the officers of
the Mediterranean squadron to lunch at Algiers, and, practically
renouncing his monarchical sympathies, to which he clung as long as
the comte de Chambord was alive, expressed his support of the
republic, and emphasized it by having the Marseillaise played by a
band of his Pres Blancs. The further steps in this evolution
emanated from the pope, and Lavigerie, whose health now began to
fail, receded comparatively into the background. He died at Algiers
on the 26th of November 1892.
-- a 5 1/2 inch by 4 inch tall Metal Plaque. It says across the top
Souvenir De Carthage. There is a statue in the middle of the
plaque. On the base of it, it says AU Cardinal Lavigerie LA Tunisie
then on the bottom is says Statue DU Cardinal Lavigerie. It
is a goldtoned item and nonmagnetic. It has buildings around in the
background of the statue. In good condition. it has a couple scrape
marks on the back and it looks to be silver and a couple of marks on
the front that also looks silver from maybe corrosion.
-- 40. The
Methodist Magazine for the Year 1813. Being a Continuation of the
Arminian Magazine first published by the Rev. John Wesley. A.M. Published in London in 1814, this 960-page hardbound book
contains much early material that helped shape the Methodist
religion. It also contains: Numerous articles, reports and
church actions that denounce the Roman Catholic religion and
“popery.” One of the most dramatic and descriptive reports about
African slave trading that you will ever read -- An
eyewitness report on the selling of “African negroes.” The
terror and emotional trauma suffered by slaves in these auctions
is minutely describe. The slaves are forced to remove their clothes
and suffer intimate examinations in public—among many shameful
actions. Full text of a historic letter from John Fox to Queen
Elizabeth. Methodist missionary reports from around the
world—including a tale of missionaries shipwrecked. Essays on “The
Works of God,” using as examples the rainbow, fish, spring and
summer, the humming bird, rattle snakes and more. Analysis of many
writings by Jacobus Arminus, the Dutch theologian whose doctrine
heavily influenced John Wesley and the birth of the Methodist
denomination. A remarkable letter from a Methodist preacher in
Philadelphia who reports about a sudden, melodramatic revival of
religion in Rhode Island and other New England states—a revival that
had women fainting and men crying out for salvation! But the two
most historically important themes in this book are the publication
of the full religious freedom act of 1812 by British Parliament, and
the numerous essays and articles about the bitter struggle against
Roman Catholicism.
-- 41. The
Missionary Herald Vol.LXXVII, #1, January, 1882, 1st edition,
soft cover, 48,8 pages, b&w drawings. Contents: Editorial
paragraphs-The new church at Imabari, Japan. Missionaries o the
A.B.C.F.M, Decmber, 188. What becomes of the money? A very
interesting article on "The Position of Islam." The results
of American Mission in Turkey. Khowaja Meekha, of Mosul. The outlook
of the times in reference to the progress of Christianity. Letters
from the missions: Mandura, North China, Japan, Micronesia, West
Central Africa, Spain, eastern Turkey. Notes from the wide field:
Polynesia, China, India, Africa, The Bramo-Somaj. Changes wrought by
the gospel in the Fiji Islands.
-- 42. An extremely
rare first edition book (1730), "An Historical Account of
the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts. Containing their Foundation, Proceedings, and the
Success of their Missionaries in the British Colonies, to the Year
1728," by David Humphreys. Issued
London, 1730 by Joseph Downing. pp. 356, retaining blank endpapers.
Period full leather binding, raised bands, gilt devices in
compartments. Fascinating, unique and very rare early 18th century
survey of religion on the British colonies. Includes
chapters regarding South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
New York, New Jersey, New England, "the Negroe Slaves", the
Iroquois Indians, etc. Includes ornate engraved head & tail
pieces scattered throughout. In Good+, mostly clean condition.
Boards detached, crudely repaired with binding tape, boards rubbed
and scuffed, leather dried and cracked in spots, some light
scattered foxing & soiling throughout the text block. Otherwise
internally and overall the volume remains tight, sound and fairly
well-preserved. De-accessioned from an institution with bookplate,
perforated stamp to title page. Measures 5" W x 8" H. A rare early
18th century book directly discussing the inhabitants of the east
coast of America at this early date. BACKGROUND: The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG)
was founded by royal charter in 1701, the oldest and indeed the only
mission agency formally established by the Church of England,
approved by Convocation, approved and supported by Parliament, its
charter giving all diocesan bishops ex officio membership and
requiring that it report itself annually to the lord chancellor.
While the archbishop of Canterbury and the English, Irish, and Welsh
bishops have been closely involved in the society's work through
most of its first three centuries, the guiding personality in its
foundation was Thomas Bray, a parish priest and the bishop of
London's commissary for Maryland. Two years previously, in 1699, he
was instrumental in setting up a less formally constituted Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), largely concerned with
providing education, books, and libraries for English and American
parishes. SPG's concern was with recruiting and sending
missionaries, clergy, and schoolteachers, and with the associated
funding. A problem relating particularly to the eighteenth-century
part of the history arises from an evangelical missiography that
seems to be obliged to say that nothing of significance happened
before William Carey dawned upon the British mission scene at the
end of the eighteenth century, and that SPG must therefore have been
merely some sort of colonial-church society. Several misconceptions,
theological as well as historical, are wrapped up in this notion.
Suffice it to say by way of example that the precise records
preserved in the SPG missionaries' twice yearly returns, the Notitia
parochialis, make it clear that as many nonwhites, Native
Americans, and Negro slaves were brought to Christian faith in the
early
eighteenth century through the SPG's mission to North America as
were reported a century later by the many evangelical missions from
Britain. At the same time, the work undertaken among the colonists,
laying the foundations of the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., was
certainly seen as a missionary endeavor, what we would now call
re-evangelization. Hence, the title "Three Centuries of Mission,"
not "a century building a colonial church followed by two of
mission." It is a complex story, both as the domestic context and
constitution of the society changed and as missionary ambitions
expanded within and beyond British colonial and imperial regions,
and later, during and after decolonization. The first historical
account was published in 1730, written by the secretary at that
time, David Humphreys, and covering the first three decades,
in the Caribbean in a small way, but chiefly in North America among
native Americans, African slaves, and settlers, and hopeful
that the "mighty English Empire ... should be Christian."
--
Interesting, scarce book: "Two
Hundred Years of the S.P.G.: An Historical Account of the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,
1701-1900 (Based on a Digest of the Society's Records)." By C. F. Pascoe. Published in
London by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 1901.
1429 indexed pages. Illustrated with a fold-out chart, some b&w
photos.
Front and interior hinges split, probably re-glued, delicate. Gilt
on front cover strong. Fraying at spine ends, cover tips. Library
number on spine. Rear exterior hinge starting to split in a couple
of spots. Front end papers missing. Older personal library plate on
front pastedown. Fold-out chart has protruded on top edge, resulting
in some tattering along that edge. One page adjacent to the fold-out
partially pulled from binding.
-- 43.
The Jungle
Doctor Series: By Paul White
- Jungle Doctor & The Whirlwind
- Signed 1st ed
- Jungle Doctor's Case-Book - Signed 1st ed
- Jungle Doctor To The Rescue - Signed 1st ed
- Jungle Doctor's Enemies - Signed 1st ed
- Jungle Doctor Operates - 1st ed 1944
- Jungle Doctor on Safari - Signed 1st 1943
- Jungle Doctor - Signed 1951
- Jungle Doctor's Hippo Happenings - 1st ed
- Jungle Doctor Stings a Scorpion - 1st ed 1955
- Jungle Doctor's Fables - 1st ed 1955
- Jungle Doctor Meets a Lion - Signed 1st ed
- Jungle Doctor Attacks Witchcraft 1st ed 1947
BACKGROUND:
Born in 1910 in Australia, Paul White had Africa in his
blood for as long as he could remember. His father captured his
imagination with stories of his experiences in the Boer War which
left an indelible impression. His father died of meningitis in army
camp in 1915, and Paul was left an only child at five years of age.
But Paul inherited his father's storytelling gift, along with a
mischievous sense of humor. He committed his life to Christ as a
16-year old schoolboy and studied medicine as the next step towards
missionary work in Africa. Paul and his wife, Mary, left Sydney,
with their small son David, for Tanganyika in 1938. He always
thought of this as his life's work but Mary's severe illness forced
their early return to Sydney in 1941. Their daughter, Rosemary, was
born while they were overseas. Within weeks of landing in Sydney,
Paul was invited to begin a weekly radio broadcast which spread
throughout Australia as the Jungle Doctor Broadcasts. The last of
these aired in 1985. The weekly scripts for these programs became
the raw material for the Jungle Doctor hospital stories - a set of
20 books. Paul always said he preferred life to be a 'mixed grill',
and so it was; writing, working as a Rheumatologist, public
speaking, involvement with many Christian organizations, adapting
the stories into multiple forms (comic books, audio cassettes,
filmstrips, radio and television, and much more). The books in part
or whole have been translated into 107 languages! Paul saw that
although his plan to work in Africa for life was turned on its head,
in God's better planning he was able to reach more people by coming
home than by staying in Tanganyika. It was a great joy to meet
people over the years who told him they were on their way overseas
to work in mission because of his books. Paul's wife, Mary, died
after a long illness in 1970. He married Ruth and they had the joy
of working together on many new projects. Paul died in 1992 but the
stories continue to attract an enthusiastic readership of all ages.
-- 44. Rare single-sided test pressing (10" 78rpm) of the
sermon "Scat to the Cat and Suie to the Hog" recorded in
1930 by Rev. J. M. Gates (1885-1941), Master test pressing of
Okeh matrix 480014-A, which is a transfer of matrix 403932-B. It was
issued on Okeh 8844.
Why did
the curiously titled "Scat to the Cat and Suie to the Hog"
get a limited release? Too much comedy and charm to match Okeh's
idea of even a rustic sermon? The main message of the sermon was simply
that people ought not to snap, nark, and claw at one another. BACKGROUND:
The Baptist preacher J. M. Gates was one of the most prolifically
recorded black artists of the early century, with over 200 sides on
wax between the mid-'20s and his death in 1940 (he once recorded 23
titles in a week, at just two sessions). His sermons and musical
numbers appeared on a variety of labels (Victor, Bluebird, Okeh,
Gennett), though Gates often re-recorded his most popular sermons —
"Death's Black Train Is Coming," "Oh Death Where Is Thy
Sting," "Goin' to Die with the Staff in My Hands" — for
multiple labels. Gates ministered at Atlanta's Calvary Church
and first recorded in 1926. Beginning in April, he recorded almost
100 sides by the end of the year. Understandably, his output slowed
slightly during the rest of the late '20s, and the advent of the
Great Depression resulted in a four-year period off records. He
returned in 1934, and recorded about 20 more sides until his death
in 1941. Experts estimate that Gates recorded at least a quarter of
all the sermons that appeared before 1943. Gates is credited with
introducing the gospel music of former blues artist, Thomas A.
Dorsey, into the black gospel market via his crusades. His funeral
drew the largest crowd of any memorial service in the city before
Martin Luther King, Jr.
-- 45. La
Solidarieta Israelitica e i Falascia. First Edition
published in 1907. [translation of title] Israelite Solidarity
and the Falasha. Lecture delivered in the Great Jewish
Synagogue in Florence on the First Day of Passover
by Dr. Samuel Hirsch Margulies.
Firenze (Florence): Galletti e Cassuto, 7 pages. Text is in Italian.
Original lecture pamphlet, bound in marbled boards, with handwritten
label to spine. Stamp to title and last page, wear to extremities,
otherwise in very good condition, internally clean. BACKGROUND: This historically significant lecture given by
the Chief Rabbi of Florence, influential religious figure at the
time and foremost supporter of Falasha Jews, marks the beginning of
Pro-Falasha committees established by Margulies, under the advocacy
of Faitlovitch for the Ethiopian Jewish community. In October 1906,
Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch, who was committed to Beta Israel (Falasha)
research and relief, went to Italy with the intent to gain support
for his campaign. Italian Jews embraced the movement on behalf of
the Falashas. With the help and leadership of the Chief Rabbi of
Florence, Dr. Samuel Margulies, Faitlovitch established in Florence
the first Pro-Falasha Committee. Professor Moise Funzi and Advocate
R. Ottolenghi were also original committee members. This is one of
the earliest lectures since the formation of the committee, and
contains excerpts from Psalms, Exodus, Ruth, etc. The Beta Israel
or Falasha is a group formerly living in Ethiopia
that has a tradition of descent from the lost tribe of Dan.
Tradition states that they are descendants of Solomon and the
queen of Sheba, and for centuries they have maintained
separated, culturally and physically, from their African neighbors.
'Falasha' is Amharic for "Exiles" or "Strangers," a term used by
non-Jewish Ethiopians, though the Jews consider it derogatory. For
centuries the Falasha Jews have been treated as outsiders,
practicing a form of Judaism that appears to predate much of the Old
Testament. They also have a long history of practicing such Jewish
traditions as kashrut, Sabbath and Passover and for this reason
their Jewishness was accepted by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and
the Israeli government in 1975. They emigrated to Israel en masse
during the 1980s and 1990s, as Jews, under the Law of Return, though
some who claim to be Beta Israel still live in Ethiopia. Their
claims were formally accepted by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and
are accordingly generally regarded as Jews. Other terms by which the
community have been known include Kayla and the Hebrew
Habashim, associated with the non-Jewish Habesha people.
Dr. Samuel Hirsch Margulies
(1858-1922), was an Orthodox Rabbi and a scholar. He was born in
Berezhany, western Ukraine (then mainly Polish speaking town with
mixed Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish population in the kingdom of
Galicia of Austro-Hungarian Empire), and studied at the Breslau
Jewish Theological Seminary and at the universities of Breslau and
Leipzig. He was Rabbi in Hamburg, district rabbi of Hesse Nassau,
and in 1890 was appointed chief rabbi of Florence. In 1899 he became
principal of Italy’s only rabbinical seminary, the Collegio
Rabbinico Italiano when it transferred from Rome to Florence.
Margulies was a powerful spiritual force in Italy and trained many
of its religious leaders. He founded and edited Rivista Israelitica,
the learned journal published by the Seminary. His scholarly
publications included an edition of Rabbi Saadiah’s Arabic
translation of the Psalms. Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch (1881-1955), was an Orientalist,
devoted to Beta Israel (Falasha) research and relief work. He made
11 missions to Ethiopia. In 1904 he went to Ethiopia for the first
time and spent 18 months among the Beta Israel, studying their
beliefs and customs. The results were published in his Notes d'un
voyage chez les Falachas (1905). In his view the Beta Israel
were Jews needing help to resist Christian missionary activity,
which threatened their survival as a Jewish community. He promised
them to enlist world Jewry on their behalf and took two young Beta
Israel with him to Europe to be educated as future teachers. Having
failed to win the support of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, he
organized "pro-Falasha" committees in Italy and Germany to raise
funds for Jewish education for the Beta Israel in Abyssinia and
abroad.
-- 46. Much more...
Black Christianity
1619-1895: Christian History Timeline (see below)
Dictionary of African Christian Biography The Dictionary spans twenty centuries of
Christian faith on the African continent,
thus counteracting the notion that Christianity in Africa is little
more than the
religious accretion of 19th and 20th century European influence.
____________________________________________________
--
Click here to review
more of The Freeman Institute Black History Collection.
Short Term Missions Trip Search --
Free
short term missions directory. Their directory is "must see,"
with over 500 short-term mission trips and another 1,300 Christian
volunteer opportunities.
Dictionary of African Christian Biography The Dictionary spans twenty centuries of
Christian faith on the African continent,
thus counteracting the notion that Christianity in Africa is little more
than the
religious accretion of 19th and 20th century European influence.
A Challenge to African
Americans Regarding Global Missions
Dr. Michael Johnson
Dr. Johnson is an African
American surgeon who has been working in Kenya since 1984. The
following is a recent email issuing a strong challenge to his
African American medical colleagues.
"I cannot weep with
you brothers as I have already spent my emotion. While home in the
US for a few weeks, I continued to make appeals to my kinsmen of
the African Diaspora. The responses I get are amazingly
disappointing. The complaints are myriad. Malpractice is too high,
office expenses must be met, no one to cover me. It goes on and
on. Your complaints are real and legitimate.
It is difficult for me to get broke up emotionally over these
issues which confront you my brothers and sisters, as I have
already spent my emotion on the young boys and girls who have no
one to help them swallow their AIDS medicines. They have no one to
treat them for the chronic osteomyelitis, or the chronic otitis
media with the draining pus from their ears.
You see, my list goes on and on too. I cannot weep for you as my
emotions are already spent. I take care of women who cannot find
anyone to perform a simple pap smear and instead come in with
aggressively invasive carcinoma of the cervix, infiltrating both
bowel and bladder, Tuberculosis and malnutrition.
You see in contrast to
the US, where there is one doctor for every 450 people, in Kenya
it is one for 100,000 plus people in most of the country. That one
doctor in Kenya has very little of the technology available to
definitively diagnose and effectively treat most illnesses
encountered. It is most often a 'guessing' game. I care for men
whose prostate cancer is discovered most often after it has
infiltrated beyond any margin for cure and who cannot think of
spending money on something like a PSA or they may not eat that
day. I wish I could say something less
biting. I wish there was some real light at the end of this
tunnel. I just don't see it. I see German, Australian, Korean,
British, Japanese, and American white doctors, nurses and dentists
here. I don't see daughters and sons of Africa serving Africa.
I watch these
dedicated non-African descendant professionals as they care for
wards full of people dying with AIDS, vomiting, diarrhea,
seizures, coma, which are the typical sort of symptoms on ward
rounds where half to often three quarters of a ward of 50-80
people are HIV positive and are dying by the dozens every month.
My emotions is already spent on these non-African doctors have not
come to get rich in Africa, nor to see the beautiful wild life.
They have come to serve people who don't look like, talk like, or
have any history in common with them. I cannot
weep for you as I witness these same professionals go into the
worst slums of the world, with open sewage, homes made of mud and
sticks, rodents and insects passing disease and suffering, just so
they can make life a little better, and dying a little easier.
While home speaking
with my African American professional colleagues, not one of those
with whom I spoke wanted to personally involve, or invest in the
work of relieving the suffering here in Africa. I get equipment
donated, but I have to meet the cost of shipment. I get promises
of visits to help, but only if I can find a way to help meet the
expense of travel. I get a lot of smiles and warm handshakes and a
quick visit to the back door with a pat on the back. I can't even
get a significant gift of money. That is why I say, I cannot weep
with you brothers and sisters as I have already spent my emotion.
You take the time to weep for yourselves. Weep for yourselves as
there will come a day at the end of your own career that you will
really wonder if you should have invested more in relieving the
suffering of which I am speaking.
Weep for yourselves, because the people of this continent don't
have the time to weep with you. They are too busy burying their
own dead. Life expectancy for nine sub-Saharan African countries
is now below 40 years. Infant, maternal and 1st year mortality
statistics show no sign of decline and are rising in many
countries. When I explain to the Africans whom I meet in Sudan,
Congo, Tanzania and Uganda that the African American doctors can't
come because they can't meet their expenses, they really don't
understand that. They can't weep with you, and I must admit,
neither can I. Please get involved. Please invest. Please take
some time to do more than emote over your brothers and sisters
here in Africa. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"
****************************************
Name: Milton Edwards
Contact:
firmf8th@sympatico.ca
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Web Site:
Just amazing to have received word about such an incredible site
and resource page. For years now my wife and I have wondered as to
whether there was an other black group interested in missions and
could never find any real answers. We were asking this question
because 7 years ago the Lord moved my heart to start a non
denominational Christian missions organization that focuses
specifically on the Islands of the Caribbean, understanding their
plight and the lack of interest from the North American churches.
We do not presently have a web site but can be contacted through
the information provided. May the Lord Continue to bless you.
FBCG Mission Trips:
1.Cuba 2.Jamaica 3.Guyana, South America
4.Techiman, Ghana West Africa 5.WaleWale, Kumasi
West Africa 6.South Africa
7.Vietnam/Cambodia 8.Ukraine
We served between 2000-3000 people during our mission trips and
over 100 from FBCG gave their time and to support these trips.
Our focus for the mission trips: a. Share the
gospel b. Teach children and leaders c.
Provide medical and dental supplies
***************************************
Name:
Gertrude Nicholas, Director, African American Mobilization,
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Contact:
(1-866-996-3844) or
getglobal@wycliffe.org
Location:
Web Site:
The most current information is posted on our website --
www.wynet.org/getglobal
GET Global is excited to offer trips to the following locations:
Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Papua New Guinea
If you have any questions or if students have any questions,
please contact GET Global at 1-866-WYnet-GG. As always, The
web is updated as soon as new info comes in, so please give it a
quick glance once in a while. We post the next year's trips as
early as August each year so please keep that in mind as you
recruit college and high school students.
***************************************
Name:
Richard Coleman
- Director of Mobilization and Candidacy, The Mission Society
Contact:
800.478.8963 ext. 9040 or 678.542.9040 --
Richard@themissionsociety.org
Location: 6234
Crooked Creek Rd., Norcross, GA 30092
Web Site: The most current information is posted on our website --
TheMissionSociety.org
***************************************
Name:
Curtis Barber
Contact:
Friends of Africa Mission Ministries Inc.
1914 Southridge Dr. Edgewood, Md. 21040 or e-mail me at
curtisedgew@aol.com
for more information
Location: Shining Star Baptist Church, Middle River, MD
My name is Curtis Barber currently serving as assistant pastor
at Shining Star Baptist Church in Middle River, Md. I am also
currently heading an organization named Friends of Africa
Mission Ministries Inc. We have been during mission work in
Ghana, West Africa since 1997. We incorporated in 2004. We
have been serving in the Ashanti region of Ghana in a place
called Ejura since 1998. As well we have done work in the Cape
Coast region. Each year we take members from various churches
in Baltimore on short term mission trips (two weeks). We serve
among the Muslims there traveling to remote villages
administering to the medical needs of unreached people. As
well we have established churches in many of the villages we
have visited. Some of the churches that have traveled with us
have adopted villages through the Cominad mission
organization. We also work with the local churches there
helping to equip them for evangelism by providing study aids,
Bibles and leadership training and seminars. We have supplied
medical supplies to the local hospital, ministered to schools
in the Ejura district. Last year we secured a contract that
allows the gospel to be preached for two hours every Monday in
the second largest marketplace in Ghana. Each Monday over five
thousand people travel from six different African countries to
sell and trade their wares in this marketplace. As well
representatives from over three hundred villages located in
the Ejura district trade at the marketplace. We also support
the locals by funding their education. Our trip this year will
be from August 3 thru August 19, 2008.
***************************************
Name:
Rev. Dr.
Daniel Diafwila Dia Mbwangi, Ph. D. (Philosophy), Ottawa
University, MA. Theololgy, Saint Paul University, Ottawa; Master
of Sacred Theology, McGill University; MA. Educational Counseling,
Ottawa University. I am a Afro-Canadian pastor and professor
working amongst French Canadian people since 1999. I came to
Canada in 1982. Married to:
Mrs. Helen Diafwila Daughter: Anne-Marie Diafwila, 22,
Assistant lawyer and student in International development, Ottawa
University. Sons : Partick Diafwila, 30 years old this
week, Psychologist and pianist (musician) and Emmanuel
Diafwila, 28 years old, Constable and Pastor, married to Miriam
Diafwila of three: Caleb , 7, Hadassa. 5, and Israel, 2.
Contact:
mission12@sympatico.ca
Location: Church
planter amongst French Canadian and Senior Pastor of the French
International Church of Ottawa, ALLIANCE CHRÉTINNE MISSIONNAIRE DE
LA CAPITA
Web Site:
www.acmcap.com
***************************************
Name: Ted White
My name is Ted White, African-American Pastor, Visionary and
Project Manager of the developing residential community called
the Retreat at New Covenant, Charlotte, North Carolina, less
than five minutes from the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association's Headquarters. We are seeking to attract
missionaries within the United States and across the world to
live among us as we envision a 37-unit Christian Owned
Community, adjacent to a planned 93 acre park, in order to serve
developing neighborhoods and families within inner-city
Charlotte, North Carolina. We request your prayers in this
vision. Below is our website.
Contact: Ted White,
704-492-1819
Tedwhiteeng@aol.com
Location: Charlotte, NC
Web Site:
www.retreatatnewcovenant.com
***************************************
Name:
Richard and Karen Lee along with their
Children, Christian, and Rebecca serve with International Mission
board of the Southern Baptist Convention. They have served in
Tanzania for five years ministering in a placed called Lindi. The
people-group, they work with are called the Wamwera. They are a
tribe that live along the coast of Southern Tanzania and are
Muslim by religion. Because of the mass numbers of people lost in
the religion of Islam, Local church, leaders, together with
Missionaries Started a Radio program called “The Way of
Righteousness” This program airs twice a month and is
beginning to reach into this people. On a weekly basis people are
responding by calling in asking questions and asking for
materials. This ministry has helped Richard and Karen along with
national partners find people ready to receive the Gospel. Another
ministry of the Lee’s is The Hope Center.
The Hope Center grew out of a
desire to Express the Hope that we have in Christ in concrete
ways. This center will focus on Education, Agricultural,
community health, Aids Education, and Bible study... To date
Local believers have begun bible teaching and Aids education
programs.
Contact:
mwera4jesus@yahoo.com
Phone: (619) 933-5508
Location:1217
Sumner Ave. Apartment # 4,
El Cajon California, 92021
Web Site:
the Lee family
***************************************
Name: Renee Ragland Moore
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, My name is Renee Ragland Moore and I have been
saved since 1983. It was privileged to have served in missions
since 1984 (Wycliffe Bible Translators/Nairobi,Kenya) & Youth
for Christ (South Africa). I returned to the USA and was taken
on ministerial staff with a local church until 1998. I
continued in missions (organizing teams, from various churches)
to Mexico City evangelizing the Garbage cities there. Four
trips were made until I realized I was being reassigned to the
Congo. This is the place I am at present and looking for an
opportunity to travel the Congo River Basin and evangelize the
coastal towns/villages/cities. I served 3 yrs. in South Africa
while it was under apartheid and have been part of bringing
thousands to salvation who are there today increasing the
Kingdom of God.
I say all this to encourage you re: my
credentials/credibility and availability to complete the thing
God has put on my heart. Would love to see a school in
Kinshasa for English, art, bible to heal the image of
themselves, strengthen and empower. Please feel free to contact
me if this is something your church would be interested in
proceeding with. I am at your service. Because He Lives, RM
Contact:
thehoneygroup@yahoo.com
or
rmmtaskforce1@yahoo.com
Location
Web Site:
***************************************
Name: William Smith, Lead Pastor The North Buffalo Community Church, SBC was started in 1994.
This body of believers embarked on their first short team mission
church. In 1997 The team of 13 drove from Buffalo NY to New York
city to work with a church and it's ministry called Graffit. This
was a start of something new and exciting for this body of
Christians. It has been 14 years since this church became a
mission minded church. They not only prayed for missions every
week, but they gave thousands of dollars to support missionaries
serving around the world. This church has served the Lord in many
different missionary ways. They have sent teams stateside to GA,
PA, AL, MS, MI, and NY. North Buffalo church also took
international trips during these last 14 years. They have been to
a variety of places including Africa (West/East), East Asia
(China), South America, and South Asia (India). This small mostly
African American Congregation boost a multicultural mix on
Sundays.
Contact: whsmithii@gmail.com
Location: North Buffalo Community Church
Web Site:
www.nbccwny.org
***************************************
Name:
Contact:
Location
Web Site:
***************************************
Name:
Contact:
Location
Web Site:
***************************************
~~~~~~ Black Christianity 1619-1895:
Christian History Timeline ~~~~~~
1619
Twenty slaves of African descent are sold in Jamestown,
Virginia--the first Africans sold on American shores.
1701 The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts (SPG) begins missionary work among Native Americans
and, later, African slaves. Overall, this Anglican organization is
not a success among either group.
1730 John Wesley comes to Georgia with the SPG as a
missionary to the Native Americans and African slaves. When his
missionary efforts prove ineffective, he returns to England.
1739-41 George Whitefield's preaching tour of the colonies
inaugurates the Great Awakening.
1758 The first recorded black congregation organizes on the
plantation of William Byrd, near Mecklenburg, Virginia.
1773 Black Baptists found a church on the plantation of
George Galphin, at Silver Bluff, South Carolina;
1773 Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects Religious
and Moral is published in London.
1775 War breaks out between Great Britain and its 13
American colonies.
1776 Black Baptist churches organize in the Virginia cities
of Williamsburg and Petersburg.
1776 The Declaration of Independence acknowledges "certain
inalienable rights ... life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness."
1780 The Methodist denomination requires all its itinerate
preachers to set their slaves free.
1783 Jarena Lee (1783-185?) is born free in Cape May, New
Jersey. Known for her powerful preaching and missionary work, she
traveled great lengths to do so. In 1827, for instance, she
traveled 2,325 miles and delivered 178 sermons.
1782 George Liele leaves for Jamaica
1783 The Revolutionary War ends September 3.
1784 The first General Conference (the Christmas
Conference) of the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church forbids
its members to own slaves.
1787 Absalom Jones and Richard Allen lead a small group of
Africans out of Philadelphia's St. George Church after being
forced to give their seats to white congregants. (Some scholars
argue this occurred in 1792).
1787 Philadelphia blacks, including Richard Allen and
Absalom Jones, organize the Free African Society as a burial
society and support organization for widows and orphans.
1788 Andrew Bryan, born a slave in 1737, organizes the
first African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia. By 1800 the
church had 700 members. Bryan's mentor was another slave preacher,
George Liele, who had escaped slavery during the Revolutionary
War, settled in Jamaica, and organized the first black Baptist
church in the Caribbean Islands.
1789 The U.S. Constitution declares slaves "three-fifths
persons."
1791 The Bill of Rights passes.
1793 The Fugitive Slave Act allows slaveholders to reclaim
runaway slaves in free states.
1794 Richard Allen purchases a lot at the corner of
Philadelphia's Sixth and Lombard Streets, moves a blacksmith shop
to the site, and invites Bishop Francis Asbury to dedicate it as a
worship center named Bethel Church.
1794 Lemuel Haynes becomes first black to pastor a white
congregation, in Rutland, Vermont.
1794 Absalom Jones helps found and then pastors the African
Episcopalian Church of St. Thomas, the first black Episcopal
church in America.
1801 The Cane Ridge Revival inaugurates the Second Great
Awakening.
1804 The Republic of Haiti is established as result of an
eight-year war between rebelling slaves and France.
1805 Joy Street African Baptist Church organizes in Boston.
1807 The first black Presbyterian church (in New York City)
installs John Gloucester, a former slave, as its founding pastor.
1807 British Parliament abolishes the slave trade; the
United States bans the importation of slaves.
1809 The Abyssinian Baptist Church is founded.
1813 The Union Church of Africans (now called the Union
American Methodist Episcopal Church) breaks with the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Led by Peter Spencer, the new denomination was
concentrated mainly in Delaware and Maryland.
1815 Elders of St. George's Church take the leadership of
Richard Allen's Bethel Church to court, hoping to maintain control
of the operations of the black Methodist congregation. They lost
before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court January 1, 1816.
1816 John Stewart begins missionary work among Ohio's
Wyandot Indians.
1816 The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) organizes
in Philadelphia with Richard Allen consecrated as its first
bishop.
1819 Jarena Lee, one of the premiere female black
preachers, begins her preaching career.
1820 The Missouri Compromise prohibits slavery in all
states north of 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude (except
Missouri).
1822 The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ)
organizes in New York City with James Varick as its first bishop.
1822 The First Colored Presbyterian Church of New York is
founded with Samuel Cornish as pastor.
1822 An insurrection planned by Denmark Vesey, a member of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Charleston, is
discovered in Charleston, South Carolina.
1823 Julia A. J. Foote, the daughter of former slaves from
Schenectady, New York, becomes a powerful preacher within the AMEZ
Church, helping the denomination to be the first black church to
ordain a woman as elder 75 years later.
1827 Samuel Cornish founds Freedom's Journal, the first
black abolitionist newspaper.
1829 David Walker, a freeborn South Carolina African
American, publishes his critical essay against American racism,
Walker's Appeal in Four Articles, Together With a Preamble to the
Colored Citizens of the World, But in Particular and Very
Expressly to Those of the United States of America.
1829 The Catholic religious order Oblates, Sisters of
Providence, organizes to educate "free children of color" in
Baltimore. Sister Mary Elizabeth Lange, a free black, is appointed
as superior general.
1830 James Augustine Healy, the first black Roman Catholic
priest in the United States, is born to an Irish father and a
mulatto slave mother. He and his brothers and sisters rose to
several prominent positions within American Catholicism. Because
of their light complexion they were able to move in the white
world undetected as having African ancestry. Patrick Frances Healy
(1834-1910) was the first black Jesuit, the first black to earn a
doctorate, and the second president of Georgetown University.
Eliza [Sister Mary Magdalen] (1846-1918) was an educator and later
became convent superior of Villa Barlow at St. Albans in Vermont.
She was transferred to the College of Notre Dame as superior on
Staten Island during the last year of his life. Hugh, born in
1832, was also ordained a priest and died in his early 20s.
1830 The American Society of Free Persons of Color for
Improving their Condition in the United States meets at Richard
Allen's Bethel Church in Philadelphia. These conventions, which
were dominated by black ministers, were an attempt by the free
black community to strategize ways to end slavery in America and
to end discrimination by whites in the North.
1831 Nat Turner leads an insurrection in Southampton
Virginia. At least 57 whites are killed before the revolt is put
down.
1831 William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing his
abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator.
1834 Ohio's Providence [Baptist] Association organizes.
1834 Great Britain abolishes slavery throughout the Empire.
1836 [Baptist] Union Association of Ohio is formed.
1837 Amanda Berry Smith (1837-1915) is born in Long Green,
Maryland. After the death of her husband in 1869 she began to
preaching before mixed audiences in the southern Reconstruction
and North. In 1878, Smith was invited England where she ministered
for two years, then went to India for a year. She then spent eight
years of ministry in West Africa, starting in 1881, before she
returned to the United States.
1839 Illinois's Wood River [Baptist] Association is
established.
1842 Sisters of the Holy Family, The Catholic religious
order, is founded by Henriette Delille, a free French mulatto
woman who worked among the poor black citizens of New Orleans.
1843 Black Presbyterian pastor Henry Highland Garnet gives
a fiery "Address to the Slaves," in which he calls for slaves to
rebel.
1843 Isabella Baumfree (1797-1883) changes her name to
Sojourner Truth and begins a career as preacher, abolitionist, and
feminist.
1844 The Methodist Episcopal Church separates over the
issue of slavery, forming North and South branches.
1845 White Baptists split over the issue of slavery. The
northern group, the Northern Baptist Convention, is now called the
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.. The southern branch took
the name of Southern Baptist Convention, claiming an estimated
200,000 black members.
1849 Harriet Tubman (c. 1821-1913) escapes slavery from the
Maryland Eastern Shore. Following the North Star as her guide, she
made some 19 trips into the South, and leading some 300 blacks to
freedom.
1850 Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law makes the
apprehension of blacks, ex-slaves or not, relatively easy.
1853 Representatives from seven states organize the Western
Colored Baptist Convention, which lasted until 1857.
1854 The Presbyterian Church establishes Ashmun Institute
(later renamed Lincoln University) in Pennsylvania to train black
men for missions and ministry.
1854 The Kansas-Nebraska Act declares that the residents of
new territories have the right to decide the slave issue for
themselves.
1856 The Methodist Episcopal Church North establishes
Ohio's Wilberforce University, named for the famous British
abolitionist, to educate blacks. The AME Church, under the
leadership of Bishop Daniel A. Payne, purchased Wilberforce
University in 1863, making it the first college for African
Americans owned and operated by a black organization.
1857 In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court declares
that slaves are property, even when living in a free state, and
that Congress cannot forbid slaveholding.
1859 John Brown leads an unsuccessful raid on Harper's
Ferry, Virginia, hoping to inspire and supply a widespread slave
insurrection.
1860 The Confederate States of America secede.
1861 The Civil War begins.
1863 Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation,
freeing all slaves in rebelling states.
1864 The American Missionary Association sends Sara G.
Stanley, an African American educated at Oberlin college, south to
educate the newly freed slaves. She was one of many blacks and
whites who saw the education of former slaves as their calling.
1865 The Confederate States surrender and the United States
Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolishes slavery
except for convicted criminals.
1867 The Consolidated
American Baptist Missionary Convention organizes with 100,000
members and 200 ministers.
1868 The Fourteenth Amendment establishes citizenship for
African Americans.
1870 The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now the
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) organizes in cooperation
with the Methodist Episcopal Church South. During the
Reconstruction period, the Methodist Episcopal Church South lost
significant numbers of its former slave membership to the AME,
AMEZ, and the Northern Methodists. At its founding, the Southern
Methodists were down to 40,000 freedmen and women.
1870 The Fifteenth Amendment establishes right to vote for
black men.
1886 Led by Rev. William J. Simmons, six hundred delegates
from 17 states organize the American National Baptist Convention.
1895 Three Baptist organizations unite, forming the
National Baptist Convention of the U.S.A., Inc.--the largest
African American denomination in the U.S.