COLUMBIA Bulletin of THEOLOGICAL DECATUR, GEORGIA SEMINARY Vol. XL AUGUST, 1947 No. 2 RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Decarur, Ga., under Act of August 24, 1912 PUBLISHED QUARTERLY AT DECATUR, GEORGIA IN MEMORIAM REV. JOSEPH H. DIXON, 1882-1947 MISSION HAVEN THE NEW SESSION IN MEMORIAM REV. JOSEPH H. DIXON, 1882-1947 On Friday, June 20, 1947, Rev. Joseph H. Dixon, a Negro minister who was for almost 27 years a faithful employee of Columbia Seminary, passed to his eternal reward after a brief illness. He had been engaged in the performance of his regular duties until only a few days before his death, and ended his career as he had hoped would be the case, without retirement from active serv- ice. His familiar figure, his cheerful smile, and his un- failing courtesy and kindliness will be sorely missed on the campus, and his passing will bring a sense of per- sonal loss to a host of the alumni of the seminary. Joe was born about twelve miles from Columbia, S. C, on December 1, 1882. He joined the old Free Hope A.M.E. Church on probation when he was 13 years of age, but said that he was not a Christian at that time. He went to school until he was fourteen years of age and had the equivalent of only a seventh grade education. He was a man of real native intelligence, however, and made good use of the schooling which he received. Joe obtained employment with the Seaboard Air Line Rail- way when he was still a boy, working first as a member of an extra force on maintaining the railroad and then as a brakeman. He lost his arm when serving as a brakeman on that railway in an accident near Henderson, N. C, on July 4, 1903. For some time after that he worked on a farm and his conversion occurred in July, 1905. His life prior to this time had not been what it should, according to his own statement that he was a rather "rough" individual. When plowing one day, how- ever, he began to think about his state and to ask him- self the questions: "What am I? What am I doing? What are my hopes beyond the grave?" As he faced these questions, he started praying and his conversion resulted directly from that experience. He immediately began to take an active part in the Free Hope A.M.E. Church, becoming first assistant superintendent and then superintendent of the Sunday School. He was licensed as a local preacher in his church in 1921, and in 1933 he was ordained as a local deacon, which means that he had the privilege of marrying, burying, and baptizing. During recent years he preached on the average of about once a month, often supplying the pulpit of the Antioch A.M.E. Church in Decatur, Ga., to which he belonged. Joe was married to Estelle Thompson on December 28, 1905, and twelve children were born to that union, eight of these being alive at the present time. His wife died during the summer of 1944. Joe's employment at Columbia Seminary began on August 2, 1920, and he served through twenty-seven school terms. He was employed by Dr. H. R. Murchison, who was at that time connected with the faculty of this institution, and he considers the circumstances which led to his connection with the seminary as providential. Prior to that time he had farmed, sold Bibles for a period, and served as a janitor and night watchman at the University of South Carolina. He was a faithful ser- vant of Columbia Seminary under the administrations of Doctors Whaling, Wells, Gillespie, and Richards. Dr. Gillespie thought so highly of him that he arranged for Joe and his family to move from Columbia to Decatur at the time this institution was relocated in the summer of 1927. During most of this time Joe had done as much work with his one arm as most men would be able to do with two. During more recent years he performed his duties with real difficulty because of increasing physical infirmities, but declined all offers of retirement and continued to give his best to the institution which he loved. His faithfulness and dependability were an inspiration to all who knew him, and the late Dr. W. M. McPheeters used often to say that Joe's life was a sermon on using the gifts which one possesses to the fullest measure of his ability. Joe was a true Christian and was a credit to his race. He was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. His humor and his kindly, common sense philosophy were much appreciated by students of the seminary. On various occasions he was invited to preach to students and faculty members at the regular chapel service of the institution. In 1945 the alumni of the seminary presented him with a handsome watch and chain in recognition of the fact that he had then served the school for a quarter of a century, and the administration of the seminary awarded him an appropriately engraved gold medal. The following paragraphs, written by Rev. Alton H. Glasure and published in the bulletin of the First Pres- byterian Church of Marietta, Ga., on June 24, 1945, have now had their fulfillment, and express in a most appro- priate manner the sentiment of many a son of Columbia Seminary : "During many years this faithful colored brother has served our church well. Joe knows all the ministers who have gone out from the seminary for a quarter of a century, and he never forgets a name or face. Joe has only one arm, but he has done more honest service than any other person in a like position I have ever known with two arms. I believe Joe will have a place in heaven along side that of the ministers and faculty members associated with this school of the apostles for two and a half decades. "I have often seen Joe pushing a heavy wheelbarrow across the campus. A cord reached from one handle around his shoulders to the other handle and he bal- anced his load with the one good hand, which he could use with great skill. Joe fired the furnace, mopped the floors, swept the halls, and arranged the furnishings for the administration building. "The quiet and faithful Christian life of Joe has long set a high example for the young men who daily observe his diligence in little things. I have never heard him murmur or complain. He has never used his handicap as an excuse for not doing his duty or performing his daily chores. I have never heard that the wheelbarrow cord around his shoulders was ever uncomfortable or unjust. I am sure that some day in the providence of God Joe will be transferred to that higher campus of theological preparation, and that there he will find his aged and stooped shoulders will be strong and erect; that the arm so long missing will be restored with skill and grace, and that his countenance will shine with a resplendent glory among the saints of the church and in company with the angels and the Lamb of God." PLANS FOR MISSION HAVEN For years it has been the hope of the Directors and the Faculty of Columbia Seminary that a number of apartments for missionaries on furlough might be erected on the campus of the institution. Plans for the con- struction of such apartments were included in the ex- pansion program of the school when it was first brought to Decatur, and a number of small contributions were received for that purpose. These gifts, which total several thousand dollars, have been held on deposit through the years. Up to the present time, however, the urgent need for securing an adequate endowment of the institution has prevented any aggressive campaign to raise the addi- tional funds which are necessary for the provision of suitable apartment buildings. During the past year the Women's Auxiliary in the five synods connected with Columbia Seminary have in- terested themselves in this undertaking and efforts are being made to secure as many gifts as possible for it. It has been decided that the apartments when erected will bear the name, "Mission Haven." Already a wide- spread interest in the idea has been manifested and gen- erous contributions have been made. It is confidently ex- pected that the ladies will complete the program which they have launched, and tlyt under their leadership this dream will at last become a reality. The seminary would express its deep appreciation of what these friends have already accomplished and would commend their program to the generous support of all who are interested in missions. The need for "Mission Haven" is great. Not a year passes but that the institu- tion has requests to provide apartments for missionaries which it cannot meet. Many missionaries would like to live in Decatur while their daughters attend Agnes Scott. Others wish to be near relatives and friends in this sec- tion of the church while taking refresher courses at Columbia Seminary. Their presence here would be a means of inspiration and blessing in the life of the stu- dent body and would deepen the missionary zeal both of that group and of the supporting synods. The mission- aries themselves would be refreshed and strengthened by the opportunity to live and study in these surroundings. It is earnestly hoped that a sufficient amount will be on hand for work on the apartments to begin as soon as the present period of excessively high building costs is ended. ANNOUNCEMENTS CONCERNING THE NEW SESSION Exercises which are scheduled for Tuesday, September 9, at 8:00 p. m. will mark the opening of the 1947-48 session at Columbia Theological Seminary. Dr. John M. Alexander, Director of Radio for the Presbyterian Church, U.S., will deliver the principal address of the evening as the seminary welcomes one of the largest en- tering classes which the institution has ever enrolled. The inaugural addresses of Professor Felix B. Gear and Professor Cecil Thompson, which had originally been scheduled in connection with the opening of the fall quarter, have been postponed and will be delivered at some appropriate period during the year. Students will be expected to register for their respec- tive courses at some time during the day of September 9. Classes will meet according to schedule on the morning of Wednesday, September 10. There will be no changes in the faculty of the semi- nary except for the addition to the teaching force of Rev. Hubert Vance Taylor, Assistant Pastor of the Cen- tral Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, as Instructor in Public Speech. Mr. Taylor holds degrees from Lafayette College and from Columbia Seminary, and is also a graduate of the Westminster Choir College. He is well qualified both by training and by natural gifts for the work to which he has been called.