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articles in his effective pulpit ministry. One man who was a member of the Church thirty years ago said that when he united with the Church he was asked whether he believed the articles of faith so far as he understood them, and said he was able to give an affirmative answer to this question because as a matter of fact he did not understand them at all !
In 1903 when the new rules of the Church were adopted no one asked that the articles of faith of 1818 be included in them. Indeed the order of service for the admission of members adopted by the Church in 1895 made no provi- sion for these articles but did include the ancient and finely phrased covenant which had been preserved in the usage of the Second Church from 1670, and which was presumed by Dr. Walker to have been substantially the covenant used by the First Church at its original establishment.
In 1913 the National Council of the Congregational Churches at its meeting in Kansas City adopted as part of the preamble of a constitution for the Council a confession of Christian faith couched in relatively modern terms and given in the spirit of the historic ancient covenants of the Pilgrim and Puritan churches. This Church has had great satisfaction in the use of this confession which may well be noted here. It has a moral quality, a social outlook, a spirit of liberty in the interpretation of scripture and in the intellectual understanding of theological and religious ideas, which render it acceptable to the great body of modern Christians and the Church has been glad to use it as a sym- bol of its allegiance to the common Christian faith. The Church has also been accustomed to use the Apostles Creed occasionally. But in the rules of the Church it is provided that those who are received into its membership are to give assent to the covenant of the Church and to the common
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Christian faith, specifically stating that it may be expressed in the Apostles Creed, in the confession of 1913, or in such other statement of this faith as the candidate may choose to offer and the Church be willing to receive.
Now all this is to say that this Church of Christ gives full liberty on all matters of theological opinion provided there be agreement of moral purpose on the part of its members and congregation. It is concerned not with the forms of theological belief but with moral assent to the ideal of life proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus and with the willing devotion of the individual to that ideal. To be sure there is implied some common agreement upon Christian essentials, though it would be somewhat difficult even for the wisest among us to state precisely what are the essen- tials upon which agreement is implied or assumed. They have sometimes been stated as the moral leadership of Jesus, the fatherhood of God, the spiritual nature of God, the spirituality and the brotherhood of man to be devel- oped and promoted by the fellowship of the church, the reality of sin and the power of love for its remedy, the coming of the reign of God and the gift of eternal life. The average member of this Church lives in the light of these major convictions, but the door of the Church is opened wide for all who will declare themselves Chris- tian and who will make the simple statement, "I believe in the Gospel of Jesus and I am seeking to follow Him and His way."
For many years letters of dismission were granted only to those churches which could be designated as evangelical and were more or less rightly supposed to hold conceptions of Christian faith similar to those held in this Church and only from such churches were letters received. In more re- cent years letters have been granted to any Christian Church
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for which they were desired by any member of this Church, and letters have been received from some fellowships of Christian people that formerly were not classed as evangel- ical. They now have abundant recognition among this people as churches worthy of confidence to which members may be dismissed and from which members may be received. In all this the Church believes it is loyal to the central spirit of the Gospel, " Whosoever will, let him come." Probably as many shades of theological opinion are included in the fellowship of this Church as would be likely to be found in any church of similar size and cordial welcome has been given to them all. This is a symbol of a like tolerance, we trust, in matters of opinion upon social, economic and polit- ical issues. Indeed it is here that the difficulty is more likely to develop in modern times. Theological heresies are not much hunted out now, among New England churches at least, but economic and political heresies have had a good deal of attention. One may be permitted to hope that the freedom of theological opinion which has been achieved in the First Church of Christ in Hartford may continue and that likewise a similar freedom of opinion upon social, eco- nomic and political matters may ever be given to its people. But through all changes may the central loyalty to the growing Gospel of the free spirit of Jesus the Teacher and Leader be ever manifest in this fellowship.
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CHAPTER XII The Gospel - Then and Now
THIS CHURCH is entering upon the three hundredth year of its history. The world in which its life must now be lived is far different from the world in which that life was begun. Through what tremendous changes has our world come during these three hundred years! The primitive period of the first settlement of our valley, the develop- ment of the hard-pressed life of the pioneer communities into the settled order of the early colony; the struggles for the beginnings of educational institutions and of cui- tural opportunities in a life hard beset by physical neces- sities, the periods of emotional stress and strain symbolized by the Great Awakening; the struggle for political inde- pendence and for the establishment of the new national life ; the ebbtide of religious interest that followed upon the Revolution, the religious and moral enthusiasm of the early nineteenth century developing toward the assertion of conscience in denouncing the evil of slavery; the dark cloud of civil strife and its inevitable results in the spiritual attitudes of men, the intensification of human passions that followed upon those years of struggle; the development of industry, the conquest of the national domain, the growth of a nation-wide commerce, the rapid development of edu- cation and science; the high hopes with which the twentieth century was ushered in, the terrible disillusionment of the
Hartford's First Church
World War, the sudden and illusory rise of hope at its close, the present moment with its bitter realization of the losses inflicted upon humanity by the world crisis-mighty are the experiences of the three hundred years that are gone !
Now through all these stages of the life of the people this Church has borne its witness to the Gospel. Can it be true that the Gospel of Jesus has a meaning and a message that can persist in its worth and value through such periods of change? Can it be true that the interests we discern in that Gospel today are true to the heart of its message of three hundred years ago? Can it be true that the Chris- tianity of today is the same as the Christianity of the begin- nings of this Church ?
It is true. God who hath shined in our hearts, giving us knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus, is the God who shone in the hearts of our fathers through those gen- erations that are gone. He is the God who through two thousand years has shone in the hearts of all those who have sought Him by the way of Jesus and He is the same God who, before the coming of Jesus, shone in the hearts of those who did justly and wrought mercy and walked humbly before Him in whatever land or of whatever people they were.
Religion among us is concerned with the development of personality through character. We believe that man can come to his fullest and his highest only as his will is sub- dued to the disciplines of personal holiness and righteous- ness. We are sensitive to the losses suffered by our common life through those failures that are produced by the break- ing down of moral stature, by the weakening of the fiber of character. Our fathers were interested in the process of conversion for retrieving these losses; we are interested in the processes of character education for preventing these losses and for building such character as can renew itself
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Interior of fourth Meeting House
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The Gospel-Then and Now
when it suffers loss, because it is related in a healthy and organic way to the sure purpose of God's good will work- ing in the individual human life. We are learning anew what Jesus meant when He said, "Except ye repent and become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." The practical religion of our churches today is increasingly concerned with the development and guidance of child life and of youth. If the activities of a modern church would seem bewildering to the men and women of three generations ago-even one generation ago-if they would be confused and distracted by the number and vari- ety of the things that are being done in the church of to- day, that is not because the central purpose of the Church has been changed. It is because the Church has learned that the business of conversion can be truly accomplished only when it becomes indeed the real building of character after the pattern that is seen in the life of Jesus. This can be done only by patient and varied and long-continued methods of instruction and guidance. The ideas and ideals of Jesus must be seen in widely varied conditions and de- veloped patiently in practice through long periods of dili- gent discipline. Upon the minds and the hearts of boys and girls, of youths and maidens, through clubs and classes, in societies and conferences, the light that shines from the face of Jesus is shining and it is the same light that shone upon the lives of the fathers as they gathered for their simple worship in their plain Meeting House. The movement of youth as it expresses itself in the church life of today is a movement toward the realization of the highest Chris- tian ideals in the development of personal character.
The life of the Church of today is increasingly con- cerned to understand the meaning of the Christian message as related to the main currents of the world's thought. The
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whole body of Christian thinking is being subjected to a criticism as severe as any to which it has been subjected through its past history. In the face of this criticism earnest Christian thinkers in every land are dedicating themselves to a new appraisal of the Christian values. They are dis- cerning the worth of the Christian ideals for our time and for the future. They are meeting the questing spirit of the times with volumes and articles which are designed to show the possibilities of real Christian faith in the midst of the currents of the world's thought and to preserve for the present and the future the lasting values of the Chris- tian attitude toward life. We rejoice in this quest for truth. It will lead to the feet of Him who said, "I am the truth." It is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus. It is the same light that shone in the hearts of our fathers. Not exclusively from pulpits does the light shine, but from thousands of printed pages as well. It is the same light and it guides to the same goal.
The Christianity of our time is concerned increasingly with the relation of man to man. The earlier emphasis on the social gospel which characterized at least our American Christianity a generation ago, was premature and ineffec- tive. That is not to say that it came too soon, but it is to say that the Church was not ready to receive it and did not know how adequately to use it. The national, racial and internationl problems, political, social and economic, which have been forced upon us as a result of the World War, teach us how desperately the application of the Gospel to society is needed and how vast are the issues that depend upon some adequate application of that Gospel to these great ranges of human life. When we try to discuss in the light of Christian principles, international relationships, na- tional problems which have their inevitable political asso-
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ciation, economic problems and the problems involved in the inter-relationships of nations and peoples, we seem sometimes to be getting far away from the simplicities of the Christian Gospel. But the light that seeks to lead the Church to face these momentous issues streams from the face of Him who went about doing good, and it is the light of the divine purpose of God who is seeking to realize Him- self in all the relationships of human living. Undoubtedly many who are inadequately equipped for the task rush in with attempts to solve these problems. Undoubtedly also the solution of them can never be accomplished by the Church acting in her official capacity. But that the Church should see the problems is inevitable if she is to be true to the vision of her Lord; that she should feel the need of their solution is inevitable if she is to follow Him with compassion along the ways of human life. Let her recog- nize that the ideal of a world of peace and justice, of righteousness and of love, is an ideal which shines out of the words of Jesus, an ideal which comes from the heart of God. It is an ideal which has always hung over the hearts of those who are devoted to the will of God, however little they may have discerned what it means or what is the cost of the process by which it is to be attained. When the first members of this Church were gathered together in an alle- giance to the will of God so far as it was known to them and in a pledge to follow that will in whatsoever way it might become known to them, they had little idea of the range of problems which the fulfillment of such a vow would bring before their children when ten generations had passed. But the light that is now falling upon those children chal- lenging them to address themselves to these problems is the same light that fell upon the fathers as they dedicated themselves to that inclusive purpose.
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The teaching and the preaching of this Church are and will be loyal to the central purposes of the Kingdom of our Lord. Ranging over the fields of the thought of our time, facing its baffling problems, seeking to understand the mean- ing of the old Gospel which is ever new for the new time, which after all has grown directly out of the old time, the Church will continue its ministry of patient teaching and gracious comfort, of prophetic truth and human service, being well assured that the purpose of the living God is being realized through its ministry, and that its people are having part in the hastening of that Kingdom which can be long delayed by the willfulness of men, but which can- not be overcome, and which will prevail in bringing the ministries of the abundant life to each man and to all men.
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Dr. Hawes' Prayer at the close of the second century in Hartford
"And now may the same Almighty and Merciful Being, who for two centuries has guarded and blessed this vine of his own planting, continue to shed down upon it the refreshing dews of his grace, even unto the end of time. Here may the gospel ever be preached in purity and power ; all its holiest influences be felt; its divinest fruits be ex- hibited, and its richest consolations enjoyed. May there be here a perpetuated succession of wise, devoted and success- ful pastors, who shall break the bread of life to a united, affectionate and Christian people. And when the voices of those who now worship here shall be silent in death, may their children and their children's children, to the latest generation, enjoy the presence and behold the glory of God, and ascend, from this place, in growing multitudes, to join heart to heart with the ransomed of the Lord, in the purer and nobler worship of Heaven."
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APPENDIX I Chronology - 1879 - 1932
The Pastorate of George Leon Walker
1879-(February 27) George Leon Walker installed as the four- teenth Minister of the Church.
1883-The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the found- ing of the Church observed in October.
1883-The Leonard Church organ, the gift of Mrs. Lucy S. Church, dedicated at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary.
1883-Nathan H. Allen engaged as organist.
1883-"The Parsonage Circle" formed by the young ladies of the Church for the study of Home Missions.
1885-The hour of Sabbath School changed from three-fifteen in the afternoon to the close of the morning service.
1885-"The Boys Christian Association of the First Church" formed under the leadership of Solon P. Davis.
1886-The Ladies Sewing Society, organized in 1859, became the Ladies Home Missionary Society, auxiliary to the Home Missionary Union of Connecticut. 1887-Membership-572.
1887-The Central Sabbath School Society, the Sunday School of this Church, an independent organization since its founding in 1818, formally adopted by the Church.
1887-The tenth year of the Girls' Mission Circle, an organiza- tion which later became the "Boys and Girls Mission Circle", and was active until 1911, when its work was taken over by the Sunday School.
1887-Death of Mrs. Amelia Whittlesey Brown, for 45 years superintendent of the "infant department" of the Sun- day School.
Chronology
1888-A Christian Endeavor Society organized.
1888-Rev. James W. Bixler appointed assistant to the Minister.
1888-The Parsonage removed from 58 Grove Street to 46 Pros- pect Street.
1889-Rev. Frank R. Shipman succeeded Mr. Bixler as assistant to the Minister.
1891-The Parsonage Circle became the Young Ladies Home Missionary Society, auxiliary to the Home Missionary Union of Connecticut, having been reorganized and enlarged.
1891-An afternoon Vesper Service instituted as an experiment "to counteract the tendency to neglect church going", a service which continued for thirty-seven years.
1892-(July 1) Dr. George Leon Walker resigned and was made Pastor Emeritus, having served the Church thirteen years and four months.
1892-Membership 602.
1892-Rev. Frank R. Shipman resigned as assistant to the Minister. 1892-Rev. Charles H. Williams appointed to take Mr. Ship- man's place, and to act as interim Pastor, in which office he served fourteen months.
1893-John Palmer Gavit appointed superintendent of Warburton Chapel, succeeding Daniel R. Howe, for many years a volunteer worker.
The Pastorate of Charles Marion Lamson
1894-(February 7) Charles Marion Lamson installed as fifteenth Minister of the Church.
1894-90 Buckingham Street purchased as the Parsonage, Dr. Walker having bought the Prospect Street house.
1894-Boys' Christian Association disbanded, and the Girls' Mis- sion Circle reorganized as the "Boys' and Girls' Mis- sion Circle".
1894-A Cradle Roll organized.
1895-The original covenant of this Church, which had been used continuously by the Second Church since its separation in 1670, was again adopted, and the present form for the reception of members instituted.
1895-The Church incorporated under the Laws of the State.
1895-Oscar A. Phelps appointed Superintendent of Warburton Chapel, succeeding John Palmer Gavit.
1896-Eliott F. Talmadge, appointed "Church Helper".
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1896-The D. A. R. began agitation for the widening of Gold Street and the restoration of the Ancient Burying Ground, a project instigated by Dr. Walker. 1897-Christian Endeavor Society reorganized as the First Church Young People's Society, a society which has been re- organized and subdivided several times in the course of the years.
1897-Membership-643.
1898-Parsonage at 90 Buckingham Street sold, and 142 Wash- ington Street bought.
1898-First Church Auxiliary to the Hartford Branch, Woman's Board of Missions, organized as the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.
1899-The work of widening Gold Street and restoring the An- cient Burying Ground completed.
1899-(August 8) Dr. Lamson died suddenly in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, having served the Church five years and six months.
1899-Professor Melancthon W. Jacobus served the Church in the interim between pastorates.
1899-The Foreign Missionary Club, a society of young women for the study of foreign missions, organized.
1900-(March 14) Dr. Walker, Pastor Emeritus, died.
The Pastorate of Rockwell Harmon Potter
1900-(October 3) Rockwell Harmon Potter installed as six- teenth Minister of the Church.
1901-Commemorative Service and unveiling of the tablets in memory of George Leon Walker and Charles Marion Lamson.
1902-Membership-693.
1902-The Knights of King Arthur organized.
1903-The Ecclesiastical Society, the organization established to transact the business of the Church, voted to transfer all its property to the Church as a corporation.
1904-Eliott F. Talmadge resigned as assistant to the Minister.
1904-Oscar A. Phelps appointed "Lay Assistant to the Minister", and Superintendent of the Sunday School.
1905-Mrs. Francis Buell Cooley and her children offered one hundred thousand dollars to the Church for the pur- chase of a site and the erection of a Parish House, in memory of Francis Buell Cooley.
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Chronology
1906-Resignation of Nathan H. Allen as organist and appoint- ment of John Spencer Camp as his successor.
1906-Helen Everton Brown became secretary to the Minister. 1907-Membership-824.
1907-The Church participated in the Chapman Evangelistic Campaign.
1907-Celebration of the two hundred and seventy-fifth anni- versary of the founding of the Church and the one hundredth of the building of the Meeting House.
1907-The "Leonard Church" organ rebuilt and dedicated at the anniversary exercises.
1908-The cornerstone of the new Parish House laid.
1908-"Center Church Men" organized.
1909-"The Council of the Women" organized, consisting of the officers and delegates from the four missionary societies of the women of the Church.
1909-"The Missionary Council" organized, composed of the Committee on Benevolence, and delegates from the women's societies, Center Church Men and the Sun- day School.
1909-The pledge and envelope system of benevolences adopted.
1909-Center Church House, the new Parish House, dedicated and opened for use.
1910-A camp for boys inaugurated at Columbia Lake under the auspices of Center Church Men.
1911-The Church participated in the Men and Religion Forward Movement.
1912-Membership-964.
1912-A missionary exhibition and educational campaign con- ducted by Center Church Men.
1912-People's Sunday Evening Services held in the Meeting House during Lent, under the auspices of Center Church Men, continuing annually for five years.
1913-For the first time in the history of the Church the member- ship reached one thousand.
1914-"Center Church Guild" organized for the business and pro- fessional women of the Church.
1914-Gifts made to Center Church Camp of land and a bunga- low by William A. Sanborn and Frederic C. Atkins. 1914-Helen Everton Brown, secretary to the Minister, ap- pointed to the staff of the Church as secretary to the Church and the Minister.
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1915-The Young Women's Foreign Missionary Club united with the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.
1915-The first Every Member Canvass for the Support and Benevolences of the Church was made.
1916-A Treasurer of Benevolence was appointed to relieve the Treasurer.
1916-The fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of Warburton Chapel and the sixty-sixth of its founding observed. 1917-Membership-1085.
1917-An extensive restoration of the Meeting House accom- plished, including the removal of the paint from the exterior brick walls.
1917-The Minister resumed the use of the Geneva gown in the pulpit.
1918-Carl Mckinley appointed organist following the resigna- tion of John Spencer Camp.
1918-The Church Service Flag for the World War contained one hundred and twenty-eight stars.
1919-"Center Church Women" organized with Home, Foreign and Community Welfare Departments, and all sepa- rate missionary societies, including the Council of the Women, discontinued.
1919-A Lenten School of Missions inaugurated and continued annually.
1920-"The Council of the Church" organized, consisting of the officers of the Church and its organizations.
1921-Alice Lyon Hildebrand appointed financial secretary.
1922-A series of weekly Lenten and Advent devotions in the Meeting House instituted.
1922-Membership-1151.
1922-Stanley Scott appointed Superintendent of the Sunday School to succeed Oscar A. Phelps.
1922-War Memorial Tablet dedicated.
1922-The Parsonage on Washington Street sold and the proceeds invested in a "Parsonage Fund", the income to be paid to the Minister.
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