About Brother McCord
February 24, 1953 Dear Brother Tant:
This letter is being submitted for publication. A church bulletin has just come to me from Brother Hugo McCord, in which he has an article entitled, "I Visited Turley." In this article he shows that he no longer holds the same position relative to church support of private institutions such as schools and orphanages which he taught in articles a year or two ago in the Gospel Advocate. In those articles he contended that it is right to have private institutions receiving support from congregations. In this article in the church bulletin he says that he has changed his position, and he denies the right of churches to contribute to such institutions. I believe him to be right in his position stated in the bulletin; and am happy that he has so turned from error. I shall rejoice even more when he makes his correction as public as was his erroneous teaching; for I believe him to be a brother who will wield great influence in the kingdom of Christ.
In a recent series of articles about church supported institutions in the Guardian I gave several quotations from Brother McCord's former articles in the Advocate. I want the readers of those articles of his and mine to know that he has changed his position; and that those quotations do not now represent his teaching. At the time I wrote the quotations I understood, from a brief conversation with him, that he was in the process of change in the matter; but not knowing the exact degree or manner of change I used his statements feeling that they illustrated the point I was making.
May any harm, that such use by me of his former beliefs has brought to him, be overruled by the good that was done in warning brethren of the dangers in their arguments for, and practices of, causing the churches to attempt to do their work through separate institutions by contributing to their building and support.
Sincerely, in Christ Robert C. Welch