Church work among the Negroes in the South: The Hale Memorial Sermon No. 2

In Short

Delivered in Chicago in 1907 by the Bishop of East Carolina, this published sermon addresses the "Negro problem" facing the Protestant Episcopal Church in the American South. Robert Strange assesses the post-Reconstruction racial divide, reviewing historical ministry practices from the era of slavery through the early 1900s. He argues that formal structural equality in church governance has failed because of prevailing white prejudice and Black disenfranchisement. To foster authentic Black leadership and spiritual growth, Strange proposes creating separate, fully autonomous missionary jurisdictions led by Black bishops who would participate directly in the national General Convention.

The Story

The text opens with administrative and biographical context regarding the Hale Memorial Sermon series at Western Theological Seminary, established by the bequest of Bishop Charles Reuben Hale to explore vital topics in church work. Bishop Robert Strange then takes the pulpit to address the religious and social condition of the nine million Black Americans living across eleven Southern states. Strange frames his argument around the historical trajectory of Southern race relations, beginning with an overview of religious affiliations. He notes that while the vast majority of Black Southerners belong to Baptist and Methodist denominations, a small minority—roughly nine thousand—belong to the Episcopal Church.

Strange reflects on the antebellum era, characterizing slavery as a harsh institution that nonetheless functioned as a forced missionary vehicle. Before the Civil War, white clergymen ministered to enslaved populations in segregated pews or dedicated afternoon services, while white enslavers provided religious instruction on plantations. Following emancipation, Black Christians largely departed white-dominated congregations to establish independent churches or separate denominations. Although the Episcopal Church attempted to maintain a unified ecclesiastical structure by training Black clergy and granting them seats in diocesan councils, Strange observes that this arrangement proved unsustainable as racial prejudice deepened across the region.

Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Southern dioceses responded to white anxieties by systematically stripping Black Episcopalians of their voting rights and representation. Strange outlines how states like South Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Georgia created separate convocations that relegated Black clergy and laity to inferior positions. He contends that forcing Black members to sit silently in white-dominated councils degrades their manhood and suppresses their capacity for self-determination and spiritual initiative.

Looking toward the future, Strange rejects both racial amalgamation and total deportation as impossible solutions. He predicts that the Black population will divide into an advancing, educated minority and a declining, impoverished majority. To serve this developing Black middle and upper class, Strange argues that the church must abandon its insistence on unified diocesan boundaries. He proposes the establishment of dedicated missionary jurisdictions for Black Episcopalians, governed independently of white Southern bishops. Crucially, Strange advocates appointing Black bishops to lead these jurisdictions, arguing that only a Black leader can fully understand his people's needs, command their respect, and mediate effectively between the races. He concludes with an appeal to the national church to adopt this model at its upcoming General Convention, offering a vision of racial harmony achieved through ecclesiastical separation.

How It Unfolds

The trust is established The text opens with legal extracts from the will of Bishop Charles Reuben Hale, outlining the creation of an annual memorial sermon dedicated to exploring vital branches of church work throughout the global Anglican Communion.

Mapping the Southern field Strange defines the geographic and demographic boundaries of his sermon, surveying eleven Southern states where Black Americans constitute forty percent of the population but remain largely outside the Episcopal Church.

Reflecting on antebellum worship The sermon reviews religious instruction during slavery, contrasting the former system of shared parish buildings and plantation chapels with the post-emancipation migration of Black worshipers into independent churches.

The drift toward institutional separation Strange documents how Southern dioceses gradually restricted Black participation in diocesan councils, replacing integrated governance with subordinate convocations that disenfranchised Black clergy and laity.

Analyzing the social divide Addressing broad social conditions, the preacher rejects deportation and intermarriage, arguing that the Black population is splitting into an improving, educated class and a declining, marginalized majority.

Proposing independent Black jurisdictions To resolve the institutional impasse, Strange outlines a plan to establish separate missionary jurisdictions for Black Episcopalians, granting them direct representation in the church's national General Convention.

Advocating for Black bishops The sermon concludes with a call to consecrate Black bishops to lead these new jurisdictions, insisting that elevated race leaders are uniquely equipped to foster genuine Christian manhood and racial reconciliation.

The People

• Robert Strange: The Bishop of East Carolina and author of the sermon. He seeks to expand the Episcopal Church's reach among Black Southerners by reforming its organizational structure, advocating for missionary jurisdictions that grant Black members real autonomy while operating within prevailing Southern racial boundaries.
• Charles Reuben Hale: The late Bishop Coadjutor of Springfield whose last will and testament endowed the Hale Memorial Sermon series. His estate provides the legal and financial foundation for publishing theological works on underrepresented church problems.
• Hagar ("Mammy"): A Black woman who cared for Strange during his early childhood. Her departure following emancipation illustrates the emotional trauma and racial separation that accompanied the transition from slavery to freedom.
• Booker T. Washington: An influential Black educator and leader cited by Strange to support claims regarding the discipline imparted by labor and the impossibility of resolving racial tension through forced deportation.
• Archdeacon McGuire: A Black archdeacon in Arkansas empowered by his bishop to lead a separate Black convocation, serving as a contemporary example of independent Black ministry within the Episcopal Church.

In Its Own Voice

"I broke out with her in still louder lamentations."

Strange recalls his childhood grief upon learning that his family's beloved Black nanny was leaving them immediately after the Civil War to join the broader migration of freed people.

"The negro cannot work together on equality with the white man; he either assumes an apparent insolence and stubbornness, which the whites will not allow; or he puts on a civility and submission, which strips him of his manhood."

Addressing the reality of Southern white supremacy, Strange explains why nominal equality within white-dominated diocesan councils fails to cultivate genuine leadership among Black clergy.

"We say, 'Remember Frederick Douglass, look at Booker Washington, know that wonderful Presbyterian Missionary, William H. Shepherd, consider the African Methodist Bishops, strong men, leaders of their fellows, against whom no murmur of scandal is raised.'"

The author highlights prominent Black historical and religious figures to persuade his white listeners that Black clergymen possess the character and capability required for the episcopate.

What It's Really About

At its core, this sermon explores how an established, predominantly white institution navigates the rigid racial hierarchy of the Jim Crow South. Strange confronts a fundamental tension: while the Episcopal Church claims a universal, catholic identity, its white leadership refuses to share power with Black members on equal terms. Rather than challenging the broader social order of racial segregation, Strange attempts to work within its constraints. He argues that true spiritual and moral development requires self-governance. By proposing separate missionary jurisdictions under Black leadership, the sermon attempts to reconcile Southern racial prejudice with a paternalistic desire to uplift educated Black citizens, framing structural separation as the only practical path toward dignified Black participation in the church.

Why Read It Today

This text offers a striking, unfiltered window into the mind of a progressive Southern white churchman navigating the height of the Jim Crow era. Readers interested in American religious history, African American studies, and the history of the Episcopal Church will find it an illuminating primary source. It captures the paternalistic logic, racial assumptions, and administrative maneuvering that shaped Southern religious institutions at the turn of the twentieth century.

Reading the sermon requires engaging with period attitudes that are often jarring. Strange unreservedly defends aspects of antebellum slavery as a divine instrument for civilizing African people, employs racial stereotypes regarding Black emotionalism, and explicitly opposes social integration. Yet, alongside these period biases, the text reveals an internal conflict: a white bishop admitting that his own church's discriminatory councils strip Black men of their dignity, while arguing forcefully against white peers who claimed no Black man was fit to serve as a bishop. It stands as a complex historical document showing how systemic racism was rationalized, managed, and selectively challenged within American Christianity.

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<Elicitation label="Examine the outcome of the proposal for Black bishops in the Episcopal Church" query="What was the historical outcome of the movement to create Black missionary jurisdictions and consecrate Black bishops in the Episcopal Church following 1907?"/>

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