The Christian Plea is the successor to the Gospel Plea. Financial conditions forced the change from a weekly to a monthly in 1927.
J. B. Lehman explained the change thusly, "On account of financial conditions we were compelled to make the Christian Plea a monthly instead of a weekly. While we regretted the necessity of doing this, we have a very strong feeling that this will prove a blessing in disguise. We have a feeling that if we can make a good monthly after the order of the World Call we will have a paper that will serve us better than the weekly did."
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Christian Plea, January - December 1954 (Volume 43, Number 5 - Volume 44, Number 4)
William K. Fox Sr
Christian Plea, January - December 1954 (Volume 43, Number 5 - Volume 44, Number 4)
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Christian Plea, January - December 1953 (Volume 42, Number 7 - Volume 43, Number 4)
William K. Fox
Christian Plea, January - December 1953 (Volume 42, Number 7 - Volume 43, Number 4)
William Kappen Fox, Sr., becomes editor of the Christian Plea this year, replacing L. L. Dickerson, who is now serving as the President of the National Christian Missionary Convention.
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Christian Plea, January - November 1952 (Volume 41, Number 32 - Volume 42, Number 6)
Lloyd L. Dickerson
Christian Plea, January - November 1952 (Volume 41, Number 32 - Volume 42, Number 6)
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Christian Plea, January - December 1951 (Volume 41 [sic], Numbers 24 - 35)
Lloyd L. Dickerson and D. W. Heath
Christian Plea, January - December 1951 (Volume 41 [sic], Numbers 24 - 35)
The DCHS collections lacks the May issue.
Suggestions on the preacher shortage and training appear on page 2, March issue; page 2, December/January issue.
The thirty-fifth annual National Christian Missionary Convention met in Indianapolis in August.
Page 1 of the November issue has a photograph of the Preston Taylor Memorial Fellowship House on Rookwood Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana, the home for African American students attending Butler University.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1950 (Volume 41 [sic], Numbers 12 - 23)
Lloyd L. Dickerson and D. W. Heath
Christian Plea, January - December 1950 (Volume 41 [sic], Numbers 12 - 23)
The July issue (pages, 1, 3) has the first mention of plans to purchase a home near Butler University for African American students.
B. T. Hunt is elected President of the National Convention, replacing R. H. Davis, pastor of the Indiana Church, Chicago, Illinois. (September issue, page 1.)
An unsubscribed article on the Preacher Shortage notes that the closing of Louisville Christian Bible School, with its emphasis on the enlistment and training of preachers, has contributed to the shortage. (December issue, pages 2, 3.)
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Christian Plea, January - December 1949 (Volume 55, Number 12 - Volume 56, Number 11)
Lloyd L. Dickerson
Christian Plea, January - December 1949 (Volume 55, Number 12 - Volume 56, Number 11)
D. W. Heath, pastor of the Loudon Christian Church, Roanoke, Virginia, is now the Associate Editor of the Christian Plea. (Page 2, December issue.)
In February the Chicago Disciples celebrated the Centennial of Disciples work in Chicago. (April issue, page 1.)
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Christian Plea, January - December 1948 (Volume 55, Numbers 5 - 11)
Lloyd L. Dickerson
Christian Plea, January - December 1948 (Volume 55, Numbers 5 - 11)
The DCHS collection is missing the February and March issues of this year. Perhaps they there were not published during these months because of the transition of editors and the relocation of the publication from Nashville to Columbus, Ohio?
With the January number, Dr. Lloyd Lincoln Dickerson of Columbus, Ohio, replaces Merl R. Eppse as Editor of the Christian Plea.
A new motto appears on the Editorial page, "Right Makes Might," during Dickerson's tenure, replacing "Official Organ of the Negro Disciples of Christ" on the first page.
Dickerson, among other things, in his April editorial, states, "We urgently solicit the cooperation of our white brethren, in order that the Plea will be a "Brotherhood" paper and not a "Negro" paper.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1947 (Volume 54, Number 5 - Volume 55, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1947 (Volume 54, Number 5 - Volume 55, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse continues as Editor.
The March issue reports the death of Mrs. Preston Taylor. The April issue has a complete story on her death.
P. C. Washington of Jarvis Christian College, holds forth on The Necessity of Higher Education among Nego Disciples. (October issue, pages 4, 5.)
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Christian Plea, January - December 1946 (Volume 53, Number 5 - Volume 54, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1946 (Volume 53, Number 5 - Volume 54, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse continues as Editor.
On page 2 of the January issue, D. I. Reid notes two African American periodicals that are not well known: "In 1892 D. R. Wilkins edited the "Christian Soldier." In 1906, R. E. Pearson edited a "Christian Soldier.""
For the Columbia (Tennessee) Riot see pages 1,2 of the March issue.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1945 (Volume 52, Number 5 - Volume 53, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1945 (Volume 52, Number 5 - Volume 53, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse continues as Editor.
S. S. Myers, now President of the National Christian Missionary Convention, works to correct some of the misunderstandings raised by his predecessor W. H. Taylor.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1944 (Volume 51, Number 4 - Volume 52, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1944 (Volume 51, Number 4 - Volume 52, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse continues as Editor.
William Henry "Baltimore" Taylor, in his second year as President of the National Christian Missionary Convention, raises several concerns with the direction the Disciples of Christ are moving. Among his complaints are "Jim Crowism," open membership, and the abandonment of New Testament principles.
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Christian Plea, Volume 50, Number 4 (January 1943) - Volume 51, Number 3 (December 1943)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, Volume 50, Number 4 (January 1943) - Volume 51, Number 3 (December 1943) "Official Organ of the Negro Disciples of Christ"
The January number mentions the death of J. B. Lehman.
Merl R. Eppse is the Editor.
Preston Taylor's foundational address in 1917, The Status and Outlook of the Colored Brotherhood, is reprinted in the March issue on pages 1 - 3, 5.
W. H. Taylor, President of the National Christian Missionary Convention, has numerous articles on the August Convention, held at Columbus, Ohio.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1942 (Volume 49, Number 5 - Volume 50, Number 3)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1942 (Volume 49, Number 5 - Volume 50, Number 3)
A dominant theme in 1942 is vacant pulpits. A list of 152 congregations without preachers appears on the first two pages of the January number.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1941 (Volume 48, Number 4 - Volume 49, Number 4)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1941 (Volume 48, Number 4 - Volume 49, Number 4)
This volume records the announcements about, and the details of, the Silver Jubilee Convention of the National Christian Missionary Convention held August 19 - 25 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Christian Plea, January - December 1940 (Volume 47, Number 39 - Volume 48, Number 3)
Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, January - December 1940 (Volume 47, Number 39 - Volume 48, Number 3)
The June 20 Number (page 1) notes that William K. Fox was denied admittance to the Disciples Divinity House.
The October 20 Number (page 1) reports that Fox has matriculated in the University of Chicago Divinity School.
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Christian Plea, Volume 46 (January - December 1939)
C H. Dickerson and Merl R. Eppse
Christian Plea, Volume 46 (January - December 1939)
With the October 18, 1939, Issue, we note these changes:
Merl R. Eppse replaces C. H. Dickerson as Editor.
The number of pages increases from twelve to sixteen in two of the three remaining issues of the year.
The paper is smaller in size and of higher quality.
Eppse feels the paper needs to be less focused on African American news and issues.
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Christian Plea, Volume 46 (January - December 1938)
C H. Dickerson
Christian Plea, Volume 46 (January - December 1938)
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Christian Plea, Volume 46 (January - December 1937)
C H. Dickerson
Christian Plea, Volume 46 (January - December 1937)
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Christian Plea, Volumes 44 - 45 [sic] (January 1936 - December 1936)
C H. Dickerson
Christian Plea, Volumes 44 - 45 [sic] (January 1936 - December 1936)
The numbering for Volumes in the Christian Plea, at this point, remains inconsistent with traditional numbering, where a Volume represents a year of publication.
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Christian Plea, Volumes 38 - 43 [sic] (October 1934 - December 1935)
C H. Dickerson
Christian Plea, Volumes 38 - 43 [sic] (October 1934 - December 1935)
C. H. Dickerson is the new editor of the Christian Plea, replacing Warren Brown.
The numbering of the volumes and issues for these two years is puzzling. Citations should include the date, as well as the Volume and Issue number. The decision to use Volume 38 (instead of Volume 7) probably points back to the first year the Gospel Plea, the Christian Plea's predecessor, was published, 1895.
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Christian Plea, Volume 6 (October 1933 - August 1934)
Warren Brown
Christian Plea, Volume 6 (October 1933 - August 1934)
The Christian Plea is published semi-monthly in this volume. The DCHS collection only has eleven of the twenty-four issues. The numbering of our issues hints that less than twenty-four issues were published.
Andrew Cailloux Chichon, who has past affiliations with Southern Christian Institute and the Christian Theological and Industrial College in Palestine, Texas, reports on a meeting at Cobden, Illinois. (6.1 (October 1, 1933) 5).
Ira Simon Ashe (1876 - 1971) sends a contribution for the Christian Plea.
"Historical Sketch of Missionary Work" by Mrs. Sarah L. Bostick on pages 6 - 8 of 6.4 (November 15, 1933) covers her work from 1896 to 1933.
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Christian Plea, Volume 5 (May 1932 - July 1933)
Warren Brown
Christian Plea, Volume 5 (May 1932 - July 1933)
Elder R. Brown, Port Gibson, Mississippi, is the first African American minister to receive a pension from the Ministerial Relief fund. (May 1932, page 3.)
The last issue in this volume announces the retirement of Joel Bair Lehman and his wife, Ethey Burlingame, from Southern Christian Institute, after 41 years of service. (July 1933, pages 14, 15.)
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Christian Plea Volume 4 (November 1930 - April 1932)
Prince A. Grey Jr and Warren Brown
Christian Plea Volume 4 (November 1930 - April 1932)
Issue 8 (pages 4 and 5) is a Memorial Issue for Preston Taylor, who passed away on April 13, 1931.
In the September 16 issue, Warren Brown replaces Prince A. Grey as Editor.
Page 80 notes the death of J. W. Smith.
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Christian Plea Volume 3 (October 1929 - October 1930)
Prince A. Grey Jr
Christian Plea Volume 3 (October 1929 - October 1930)
Prince A. Grey, Jr., continues as Editor, a role he assumed in April 1930.
There are 283 pages in this PDF.
Issue 4 (December 1927) 3 notes the death of Elder J. C. Copeland of Crystal River, Florida.
Issue 12 (April 1, 1930) 6 notes the death of Elder Frank C. Cothran from Rockford, Illinois.
Each issue has reports from areas or local congregations.
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Christian Plea Volume 2 (December 1927 - October 1929)
Vance G. Smith
Christian Plea Volume 2 (December 1927 - October 1929)
With Volume 2, the Uniform Lessons and Christian Endeavor pages are removed, resulting in a substantial increase in news from local congregations and more original articles.
New columns are: Department of the Women of the Church, Mrs. Rosa Brown Grubbs, Editor and Department of Church Life, Elder William Alphin, Editor.