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About The voice. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1946-195? | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1953)
the LAYMEN’S voice George Jones Speaks' To A.M.E. Laymen George “Farmer” Jones is Presi dent of the Fifth District of the AME Church. Following are the main highlights of his program to be presented at the Fifth District Conference to be held in Kansas City, Mo., on May 13, 14, 15, IS, and 17th. Birth: “Our Laymen League Child was born at St. Louis, Mo., at the St. Paul AME Church, on May 3, 1944, prior to the District Delegate Or ganization for general Conference. It was born amidst confusion; its birth was unsanctioned by the Bishop, fearful “Big” Pastors, and some Laymen. It was sanctioned by protesting Laymen" asking for proper representation, and many _ silent Ministers. You elected me president and I fell heir to the * care and growth of this weak and unwanted child. My Work: I have tried to conduct the of-1 fice as your President, in a way to make it secure. I have supported every office and law of the Church, although many are out dated, in which case I have spoken out against such extrava gant conditions that work a hard ship on Laymen as the result of these outdated laws in our dis cipline, and I can also add in passing, some late laws are press ing hard on Layman Equilibrium. I am a Layman, and a good one as you, my fellow-laymen are, and as your head I would be untrue to my trust if I failed to speak l out against increased church tax, and long years of paying unneces-' sary over head tax. There is a demand for stream-lining our Government’s working, and poll-j cies are being established to this; end. Such a policy, we Laymen! must hope and work for in our; church. Unless Laymen, we who1 pay all Church operation bills, wake up, speak up, and shake up, the just cause for myself, Bishop, 1 Laymen’s | § Task 3 It’s the Church’s special kJ function g 0 To uphold the finer things ja I To teach the way of living S From which all that’s noble [o springs. c] “But the minister can’t do it k Single-handed and alone 0 For the laymen of the fj] country g !Are the church’s corner- jo stones. S “When you see a church q] that’s empty Though its doors are open K wide jo 1W It’s not the church that’s g dying It’s the laymen who have g died. ' W '“For it’s not by song or ser- ra S mon jo g That the church’s work is g 0 done jp jj It’s the laymen of the coun- g 3 Who, for God must carry k Q °n.” g yaS^^gSgg5a^gSgSB?SaSg5E52Sg5g525gSg5a Please Ask For (MERGER'S AMBULANCE 2-8543 Umberger’a Martua> y, Inc. i 11 - - -J .* .. Preachers and yes, Laymen, will j stand stalled on the hill of ex | ploitation. Recommenda tions: (1) I recommend that the Lay men League membership of the Fifth District shall con sist of all AME Church members, not ordained to preach. Recognize as pay members, with full rights and non-pay-members with limited rights. (2) I recommend the Officers of the Fifth District League shall be a President, Vice President, A Vice-President from each Conference, a Fi nancial Secretary, a Chap lain, and a Parlimentarian. (3) I recommend the election of officers of the Fifth District League shall be each time the District League metfts in its regular session. (4) I recommend all laws in our constitution in conflict with these recommenda tions, if accepted, are auto matically abolished. The Lay Movement Is Here to Stay The Lay Movement is here to stay. Large numbers do not be lieve so and do not want it so; which is the way of good move ments fare in the beginning. The movement is not an isolated up shoot, but a well studied effort of loyal Laymen. These Laymen respond to all of the aims, de mands and rulings of their church j and because they love it, want to see it flourish and proper. It is not only A.M.E. Laymen, j who are in the movement. There ; is a general move in churches ol jail Protestant denominations, j working to the same end. Gillett Poultry FRESH DRESSED POULTRY QUALITY EGGS Phone 2-2001 528 No. 9th IYour City Light Department On en Letter to All Laymen of the 5th Dist. I’m not trying to cause con-j fusion in the Church, but if all! Laymen don’t wake up and take| a stand, there will be no Church in which to start confusion. My Church, which is located in a small town, is obligated to send almost a thousand dollars in Con ference assessments. I’m not ques tioning the goodness of the cause,' J but how can we improve the qualities of our Church, if the most of the money is to be sent ; away. I don’t think it’s the right of: | our leaders to use this money ex travagantly, we need to throw out some of the old out dated laws and rules and stream-line the j Church as all other organizations are doing, if we are to survive. Since the support and upkeep of the Church depends largely upon The Laymen, then why can’t they have a voice as to the policies and of what use the money is being made of and how much a Church j can afford to pay. It is impossible for a minister 'to serve his members efficiently and capably as he should, because his time is spent in trying to raise money to meet his assessment, thus causing unrest, lagging in terest and ill feeling ' among his members. I don’t think this is fair to either the minister or his mem bers. We, as Laymen, want to do our share, but we also want to do something for our home Church in the bargain. How long can our Churches stand with this type of leadership? We must make the whole organization less of a burden on all. One way of accom I plishing this is to cut down on ex penses wherever possible. If it means less Bishops and more ; work for some, then it must be 1 done for the sake of survival. I don’t think any man should work for nothing, but in the same sense I don’t think anyone should be paid for something that is not I necessary. Making a job for the | sake of a friend is unfair to both the Minister and the Laymen, be cause their efforts pay the salaries I of these unnecessary employees. The Layman is an integral and fundamental part of the Church, I so therefore, he should have a voice as to its policies. The day of “clicks” in the Church should have vanished long ago. But has ! it? We, as Laymen, should tal^e a i firm stand in the support of our Jess Williams Spring Service 2215 O Street Lincoln 8, Nebraska Phone 2-3633 FOR HOME. SCHOOL OR OFFICE USE ROYAL TYPEWRITERS M annul—Electric— Portable A. B. DICK MIMEOGRAPH DUPLICATORS Ontnpietn Duplicate* Snppiine DICTAPHONE CLARY ADDERS SALES—SERVICE—RENTALS Call, Phone or Write NEBRASKA TYPEWRITER CO. 125 No. 11th 2-7285 Open Tkin4i| evening! until » We Give S*H Green Htnmpe Church so as to strengthen its bonds. How can we do this? By: 1— Taking an interest in the Church and making it your business to be well informed; 2— Support your Church fathers (Pastor and Bishop), but when they appear not to be working for the good of the Church, tell them. They will profit by it; 3— Help your board members and Pastor to handle all Church affairs efficiently; 4— Go to Church. Participate in its activities. Every member is a board member, of the Church. Air £our views. 5— See that you have a leader, not a dictator. Let your Min ister be recognized for his qualities as a Minister and not by the amount of money he can raise. Vroice Has New Editor The Voice is under new man agement. I offer my services to you, as your Lay Reporter for all the Fifth District, because I think that all Laymen and the Church should be well informed at all times. I am willing to solicit news as well as edit it, but I do need the help of all Laymen to make this the type of paper that it should be. If it is at all possible, I would like to devote a certain amount of space each week to this Lay Movement, because anything that r~i,; —■— Today^s Thought I Let us be candid and clear on this point. It takes more brains, more good nature, more feminine graciousness to fulfill a woman’s first duty as a homemaker than it does to hold down any publie job. And the rewards are infinitely greater. To be a good cook, a good housekeeper, a good hostess, a good mother is to fulfill woman’* highest ambition. — William T. j Ellis. is a month old is not worth read ing. I would like to keep the Lay men informed as to weekly hap penings so as to be in constant contact with them at all times. To print a paper like this will itake much time and money, and I would have to have reporters from every organization, as it would be humanly impossible for me to cover everything. As a .Layman, you owe it to yourself ; and your Church, to keep all members well informed. I propose that we have some Lay news every week and a com plete Lay Paper once a month. I am willing to give space each week and spend time free of charge to compile and print this jnews, but the monthly edition will have to be financed by you, until at such time that we have enough subscribers to pay for it. As your new editor, I will ! promise nothing that I can’t ful fill. I will do my part for this very worthy cause. Robert Sawyer Editor-Publisher Vine Street Market 2148 Vine Street 2-6583. 2-6584 Free—Fast—Delivery THURSDAY—FRIDAY—SATURDAY ASSORTED JELLY 5,.,*1°° B.B. SALAD DRESSING Q, 49c 10-oz. CATSUP . 3,», 55c PORK & BEANS Nv„A?cCaAMP 2,., 25c ARMOUR’S CLEANER. 3, r23c FRESH GROUND BEEF 39c SHORT RIBS OF BEEF 29c CHOICE BEEF ROAST (GridtA) L„49c
