Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 277, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 November 1915 — FEW CHURCHES DIE THAT WAY [ARTICLE]

FEW CHURCHES DIE THAT WAY

Colored Preacher Unlikely to Bo Called Upon to Fulfill Vow That He Had Made. The follpwlng story comes to us from old Virginia: A devout colored preacher, whose heart was aglow with missionary zeal, gave notice to his congregation that in the evening an offertory would be taken for missions and asked for liberal gifts. A selfish, well-to-do man in the congregation said to him before the service: “Yer gwine to kill dis church es yer goes on sayin’ ’give!’ No church can stan* it Yer gwine ter kill it” After the sermon the colored minister said to the people: "Brother Jones told me 1 was gwine to kill this church if I kep’ a-askin’ fer .o give; but, my brethren, churches doesn't die dat way. Es anybody knows of a church that died 'cause it s bean givin’ too much to de Lord, I’ll be very much obliged es my brother will tell me what church is, for I’se gwine to visit it, and I’ll climb on de walls of dat church, under de light of de moon and cry: ‘Blessed am de dead dat die in de Lord.' ’’—Cleveland Intelligencer.