The issue of proselytising

Campbell (1989: 160) notes that Coppin used every opportunity to try to sway existing views on the competency of black leaders. In Kimberley he preached on Romans 13 to a large audience and presented a thorough exegesis on the importance to obey civil law. Coppin gave a number of public lectures to audiences that included the respect for white missionaries and government, but it appears as if these efforts met with little success to break down existing perceptions about the competency of black leaders.

5.5 The issue of proselytising

For the purpose of the study it is important to briefly highlight an important discussion Coppin had on board the ship whilst en route to South Africa. The Christian Recorder of 4 April 1901 records Coppin’s first serious dialogue with a

35 Information is available on the reserved files at the Wilberforce University in Ohio, Pensylviania.

36 The bubonic plague, a disease spread by rats that swell the armpits, broke out in South Africa which was a life threatening disease.

37 The Anglo Boer War made it impossible for people to move freely from one Republic to another.

Wesleyan minister. The discussion generally was on church matters and here Coppin was informed that ex-vicar bishop Dwane was made a deacon in the Ethiopian Anglican Church of Cape Town. Coppin was also warned by the Wesleyan minister not to increase the AME Church membership by taking members of well-established missionary churches. Coppin was made aware in no uncertain terms that white missionary churches in South Africa were harsh on proselytism. The Wesleyan minister concluded his speech by reiterating that any mission in South Africa is to the unsaved and to those who did not have a church home and if a person of a well established church was to join another church, it had to be by choice and not by persuasions.

The discussion between Coppin and the Wesleyan minister alerted Coppin to be aware of any proselytism that will not only discredit the AME Church with other missionary churches, but also with the government. Gerdener (1958: 165) remarks that the AME Church never in the past evangelised to gain membership, but rather took over members of well established churches. Gerdener (1958: 165) justifies this view with reference to Bishop Turner who spent six weeks in the country in 1898 and received several thousand members into his Church.

Notwithstanding the fact that Coppin was on the alert for any accusations of this nature, the influx of African Americans made the missionaries believe that the Americans had come to South Africa to sow the seed of dispute. Furthermore, many missionaries held the opinion that the AME Church was not a church, but a rebellious political movement. For the white missionaries Ethiopianism was simply a political organisation under the umbrella of the church (cf Campbell 1989: 155). Coan (1987:

187 - 188) notes that the government acted accordingly. A travel permit to conduct an Annual Conference in Transvaal was denied to Coppin. Even the Orange Free State Conference in Bloemfontein could not be conducted for the same reason.

Campbell (1989: 155 - 156) notes that all South African governments took steps to ensure that the AME church would cease to exist. In Natal AME ministers were deported or turned away from the borders. The British administrators in the former Boer Republics denied AME ministers the pass exemptions available to African ministers in mission churches because of their low educational qualifications. The

Governments of South Africa also denied school grants were and access to church sites. To worsen the situation, AME ministers in the interior of the country operated without supervision as from 1898 - 1907.

In the Cape Colony things went slightly better. The AME Church was officially recognised by the Cape Colony in 1901 and the Secretary of Native Affairs recognised AME ministers as marriage officers in an undated letter written to Coppin by the secretary.³⁸ The Secretary however, went a step further by proclaiming that only an American Bishop can sanction such an application on behalf of the candidate for marriage officers and sent it to the Office of Native Affairs for approval. The same procedure applied to applications for church sites, school grants and discounted rail fares for ministers. However, the bishop was responsible for any misconduct by his subordinates (cf Jacobs 1982: 181).

The treatment meted out to the AME Church by the governments of South Africa alerted Coppin to the practice of proselytising. The evangelistic conditions in South Africa were however conducive to proselytising for the AME Church since many missionary stations operated without any supervision. The AME Church had won over many members, until Coppin seriously warned the church to refrain from proselytising. He even went a step further by announcing that any member found guilty of sheep stealing, would immediately be suspended from the church. The issue of proselytising brought about the first real tension between the Africans and African American leaders (cf Campbell 1989: 161).

Notwithstanding Coppin’s somewhat harsh treatment, AME ministers and lay people started a number of congregations in white missionary fields. It should however be noted that Coppin’s fear for the action of the South African governments was much greater than that of his members.

Makiwana (in Campbell 1989: 162) concurs with other authors that the governments of South Africa were well aware of the fact that the AME Church took their members from other churches rather than from heathendom. AME leaders would generally

38 File no.13.5 of AC Booyse: Letter to Coppin to recognise the AME Church in the Cape Colony.

enter areas after receiving calls from discontented African Christians. However, Makiwana admits that members taken by the AME in that way were in any case without pastoral care for many years. Between 1901 and 1903 AME preachers opened churches and schools in close proximity of European missions. Makiwana further argues that for AME members it was not simply a question of denominational preference, but a crusade to demonstrate that Africans could and should control their own lives. Campbell (1989: 163) records that Henry Reid Ngcayiya, after a reprimand by the bishop, ignored him and established a number of AME Churches throughout the Eastern Cape and Ciskei. He also organised congregations in Oxkraal and Tsitsikama, two of the most densely populated government locations in the Queenstown District. When the government reprimanded Ngcayiya, he simply responded by accusing the government of treading upon the rights of African taxpayers (cf Campbell 1989: 163).