It has been no major service which the present writer rendered in this field. For a number of years the responsibility for editing and publishing Olive Trees rested on him; and on the death of Dr. John H. Pritchard, the same service was assigned to him as one of the associate editors of the Covenanter Witness, to be carried until Synod at its next meeting should choose another editor to succeed Dr. Pritchard.

A church without a paper would be a person without a voice. The early founding fathers who established the Covenanting Church in this and other lands were profound believers in the value of the printed page. Someone with access to the early literature of our church in America should write about those early publications and seek to trace their influence in formulating our testimony and giving voice to those principles of the Bible to emphasize that from which our Church was born and continues to live.

We have a noble heritage. The recollection of many yet living goes back to the days of The Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter, so long and so ably edited by Drs. D. B. Willson and J. W. Sproull; and to the honorable career of Our Banner, among whose editors may be named such ministers as John Boggs, J. C. K. Milligan and David Gregg. For many years these magazines were read with delight and profit in most Covenanter homes. Many of our best and ablest ministers of those days were regular contributors.

To these should be added the Herald of Missions, which later became Olive Trees, founded and so ably edited by Dr. R. M. Sommerville, corresponding secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions. On resigning as corresponding secretary, Dr. Sommerville turned over the magazine to the board to continue its publication. This the board did until in due time it ran its course. Although now merged into the Covenanter Witness, its distinctive purpose is now fulfilled in the monthly missionary number of the Witness.

Shortly after the war between the States, The Christian Statesman was founded and for many years edited and published by Drs. T. P. Stevenson and David McAllister, both of them distinguished for their unusual abilities in their chosen field. Their work has now become almost legendary. Although the Statesman was not a church paper in the strict and technical sense, yet it was founded to proclaim one of our formative principles, and its main support and constituency were always within our church. It still continues to be published as the official organ of the National Reform Association, and with unabated zeal and power it widely proclaims the unique message of the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Ruler of nations, and calls for the acceptance of His will in the wide reach of national sin and international life.

The influence of the Statesman extended in many directions. Sixty years ago when Mr. John W. Pritchard left the employ of The Christian Statesman, its mailing list was one of the chief factors in the successful launching of a new paper, The Christian Nation, a publication designed to serve in a more strictly denominational sphere the needs of our church.

Throughout many years Mr. Pritchard carried the burden of editing and publishing the Nation, and it has a useful and honorable career. When costs mounted higher and higher, the church gave some assistance. But the time came following the death of Mr. Pritchard when the Nation, like others, had to finish its course. Then Synod found it necessary to establish the church’s own paper. Thus the Covenanter Witness was born, and continues in its field of service.

However, looking back across the years, notice should be taken of other papers, which rendered valuable service for longer or shorter periods.

Shortly after the year 1891 Dr. David McAllister founded The Political Dissenter and published it for several years. It stressed with its main emphasis the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ over the nations, and our church’s practical application of that body of truth as illustrated in our position of political dissent. In the course of events The Political Dissenter was taken over by Drs. James Martin and W. M. Glasgow, to be given a new name, The Reformed Presbyterian Standard. It was published for not a few years as a young people’s paper. Mention may be made, also, of the Jewish Messenger, edited and published by Dr. McFeeters to promote our mission to the Jews.

—Findley M. Wilson

Publications of the Covenanter Church which have appeared since 1944 are few in number but great in influence.

The Blue Banner Faith and Life, edited and published solely by the late Dr. J. G. Vos, was “devoted to expounding, defending and applying the system of doctrine set forth in the standards of the Covenanter Church.” The first issue is dated January 1946, and it continued to be published monthly almost without exception until illness forced Dr. Vos to lay down this portion of his ministry in 1979.

The Blue Banner served as a theological journal for clergy as well as laymen. Vos himself wrote the bulk of the material. And the subscription list revealed that the impact of this magazine was felt worldwide.

Other publications of the church centered around the interests of the youth. Three of these are Scrutiny, Goal Post and Cellar Door. They all were published under the auspices of the Board of Christian Education and by the Covenanter Young People’s Union staff.

The magazines served as a forum for presentation of issues affecting youth in the 1960s and early ’70s. They served also as bulletin board and cheerleader for presbytery and national conferences. They kept the young people of the church informed and they promoted a sense of belonging.

By far the most innovative of the three in terms of content and layout was Cellar Door. And it had the shortest life span of only about six or seven issues through a two-year period. But Cellar Door was important to the CYPU. Its editorial staff tried to enliven the interests of Covenanter youth by way of unusual methods combined with articles by respected men and women in the church. The magazine was mimeographed in sometimes four different colors of ink. It was rough, experimental, confusing, but exciting because its editors refused to accept the traditional form and were willing to try something different which was more compatible with the interests of RP youth. A new generation of youth in the church should take note of those old copies of Cellar Door.

—Findley M. Wilson