Quote:
Originally Posted by Barb
This is something I've been thinking a lot about this week. It is a thread that probably won't mean much to anyone but me, and maybe those who are from Michigan and know the people of whom I am mentioning here...
Bro. Albert Abbey was pastor and founder of South Flint Tabernacle in Flint, Michigan for many years. During that time, South Flint was one of the largest UPCI churches in this state, as well as one of the most respected.
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This is from pages 11-25 of Pofiles of Pentecostal Preachers, Vol. 1
copyright 183 by Word Aflame Press
Albert Abbey
by Nellie B. Abbey
Albert Abbey was born February 23, 1904, in Carmi,
Illinois. He was the second son of four children—
Flossie, Elmer, Albert and Ollie—born to Elzie and Sarah
Abbey.
Albert Abbey received the Holy Ghost under Brother
B. H. Hite’s ministry where his father was minister in
the church at Cardwell, Missouri. It was there that I first
met Brother Abbey.
A group of girls and I were standing outside after
church talking. Brother Abbey and his friends were talking
in another group. He said, “I think I will ask her if
I can take her out.” He asked me and I said yes. He took
me home from church. It seemed to me he was a fine
Christian young man. So my life was changed from that
day on.
We worked hand-in-hand together for the Lord until
Jesus took him home.
We were married August 20, 1920, at my parents’
home, Mr. and Mrs. W. McGill, in Cardwell, Missouri.
We lived with Brother Abbey’s parents awhile to help
on their farm. He took another job, working in the
woods, cutting timber at 75¢ a cord. He had to walk five
miles every day. He left at daylight, taking his lunch
(cornbread and beans) in a little bucket. He did not
return home until dark—worn out and so tired.
We moved into a little two-room house with only a
straw bed to lie on. His mother gave us a feather mattress
to throw on top of the bed to make it more comfortable.
We still were the happiest couple you ever saw.
We did not have many material things, but we had the
Lord, the greatest thing on earth.
After a few days working at the timber job, we
moved to town into two rooms in an old hotel. Before
long, we returned to my mother’s home. We lived there
until our first baby Dorothy Mae, was born in 1922.
Brother Abbey decided to go to Flint, Michigan, to
look for work. His sister lived there. He found a job with
Chevrolet Motors, and we lived with his sister.
We attended Brother Abernathy’s church, a black
church—the first Apostolic church in Flint, Michigan.
Our second daughter was born, Shirley June. God was
so good to us. He kept His hand on us all the way.
All this time, the Lord was calling Brother Abbey to
the ministry to work for Him. We tried to run from it,
but God chastises the ones He loves.
Brother Abbey decided to go back to Missouri. He
thought he would go into the business of raising chick-
ens instead of preaching.
He purchased three hundred chickens. “Where will
we raise them?” I asked. We were staying with his sister
Ollie. “I’ll make a round fence out of chicken wire in
the back yard,” Brother Abbey decided. We used any old
thing we could find for shelter, boxes and old tubs with
holes cut in the side for the chickens to go in and out.
A bad rain storm came up, and before we could pick the
chickens up, twenty-four drowned. We took some into
the house to dry them on top of the oil stove oven. They
almost cooked while we were trying to save the others.
Although we saved some, we decided to move closer
into town.
We moved with Brother Abbey’s sister to a house
between a railroad and a highway. The chickens we had
left were running all over the place. Meanwhile, construction
workers began to tar the highway. One of them
came to the door and asked, “Are those your chickens?”
“Yes sir,” I answered.
Brother Abbey was not home at the time, so I began
to pull chickens out of the tar and set them in the yard.
They were covered with tar and dead grass.
My husband came home, got a pan of kerosene and
started cleaning tar and grass off them. The kerosene
took all the feathers off, along with the tar and grass,
and the sun blistered the chickens. What a pitiful sight—
chickens running around, naked and as red as tomatoes.
A sight to behold!
We moved again. This time we lived in a better
place. We only had sixteen or seventeen chickens left.
In those days, I never had a washing machine. I washed
outside on a rub-board. I drew water from a well with a
bucket and heated it in an iron kettle. One day, I was
drawing water, and when I raised the bucket there sat a
chicken on the bucket! I don’t know how it got down in
the well, but it seemed to be all right. I sat it down in
the yard and went back to my washing. I looked around;
there were two chickens in my tub of hot water, scalded
to death! “Oh! Sweet Jesus,” I thought. “I find chickens
everywhere.” I finished washing and went in the house
to fix something to eat.
I opened a can of food and threw the can outside
in the yard as we always did. The can hit a chicken
and broke its back. We had only a few out of the three
hundred left. I felt it was the Lord dealing with us
because we should be paying tithes. The Lord knew
our hearts; we truly believed in paying tithes. One time
we did not have anything to pay; then his father gave
us a milk cow. Brother Abbey sold that cow to pay our
tithes.
After everything was over with the chickens—and
what a lesson he learned, the hard way—Brother Abbey
still would not give up to preach. The Lord kept chastening
him.
He got a job working as a mechanic in a garage in
Dexter, Missouri. We still lived with his sister Ollie. We
did not get to go to church because his job required
every day, including Sunday, at the garage.
One night, we heard a fire whistle. We had volunteer
men to help in case of fire. Brother Abbey was one of
these men. He did not know it was the garage where he
worked. When he got there, the garage was on fire. All
his tools and the car with a small utility trailer were all
he saved. His tools were burned beyond repair.
We moved to Sikeston, Missouri, to his father’s farm.
There were twelve of the family living there.
While we were there, our third child, a son, Vernon
Lee was born. We were so happy for him—the only son
we had. God is so good to His people.
After our son was born, Brother Abbey decided he
had better go back to Michigan. After all we had gone
through, he knew he was not in the will of the Lord.
Now he was ready to give his time and work to God.
Thank the Lord for keeping His hand on us! He knew
our hearts’ desire was to work for Him.
Brother Abbey left the children and me in Missouri
when he went to Flint to find work. He was hired back
in the Chevrolet plant. He was chosen out of several
men, so it was God’s will. He even got his little house
back that he had built when he was there before. Then
he sent for us.
The children and I took a train. After a day and night
on the train, I got so tired and worn out that I passed
out. When I came to, they were bathing my face. All
through this I had God’s protecting hand. We moved
into our little house, and I thanked the Lord for it
because we had someplace to take our three children
and our possessions. To me it was a mansion, all three
rooms!
There was an Apostolic church at 2914 Lewis Street
in 1930. At that time there were three ministers there:
Brother Drope, Brother Spooner, and Brother McLaughlin.
Brother Abbey was appointed superintendent of the
Sunday school. He was just starting to preach. He also
had a young people’s class which he taught for over a
year. One day, Brother Abbey was called to a business
meeting at Brother Chiles’ church on Spencers Street.
At this time, I did not have the Holy Ghost although I
had been seeking for ten years. The sisters of the
church took me next door to Brother Chiles’ house
while the meeting was going on. I really did not want to
seek for the Holy Ghost at that time, but the sisters put
pillows on the floor for me to kneel on and told me to
start praying. The Lord filled me with the Holy Ghost.
After the meeting, we went home, and the next night
Brother Chiles called an all-night prayer meeting. I
received the Spirit all over again. I could not speak
English all the way home. Praise God!
The Lord began to anoint Brother Abbey. After a
period of time, Brother Abbey and I, Brother and Sister
Arthur Ackley, Brother and Sister Hubbard and Brother
and Sister McLaughlin left Brother Spooner’s church.
Brother McLaughlin was acquainted with the Lincoln
school officials, so they agreed to let church services be
held in the school. The school officials agreed to furnish
the building rent free and to pay the light bill. Services
began.
One night we were singing and rejoicing when
Brother and Sister Pope came by. Hearing such good
singing, they stopped in (they were coming from a
dance but were hungry for the Lord). Sister Pope went
to the altar with her dancing dress on. She received the
Holy Ghost that night, becoming our first convert.
Brother Pope still attends South Flint Tabernacle, and
Sister Pope has gone on to meet the Lord.
Brother McLaughlin told Brother Abbey one Sunday
morning that he did not feel he was called to carry on
as pastor any longer. He walked over to Brother Abbey
and placed a Bible in his lap and told him he felt the
Lord had called him to be pastor of this church. “May
God keep His hand and anointing on you,” he said. The
church all agreed. From that day, he was pastor.
to be continued in part 2
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