USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > History of the South Congregational Church, New Haven : from its origin in 1852 till January 1, 1865 > Part 4
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MINISTRY OF DR. STILES.
Associate Stated Supply ; but they all successively declined, although they had severally given us every reason to expect their acceptance of our invitation. In giving such encouragement, they were doubtless sincere, and spake as they meant. But the fact that they were wanted here, made them more highly valued by their people at home, who accordingly rallied around them, increased their salaries, paid up arrearages, and otherwise manifested so much kindness and affection, that their Pastors could not leave then. In announ- cing to his people the third of these successive disap- pointments, Dr. Stiles complimented them on their money-power [they were generally poor] ; remarking that they not only paid a liberal salary to their own minister, but had raised the salaries of three other ministers, and how many more he could not say. In this state of things, Dr. Stiles deeming it of great importance that he should enter upon his new work without further delay, Rev. GURDON W. NOYES, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, who for two or three years had ministered to a church in Portsmouth, Va., and more recently to a church in Cornwall, Vt., was engaged as temporary Supply, commencing his labors on the 2d of April, 1854. This engagement terminated on the 4th of June fol- lowing. On that day, after the forenoon service, the church and congregation tarried, by request of Dr. Stiles, and on motion it was
" Voted, That we cordially approve of the employment of Rev. G. W. Noyes as Associate with Dr. Stiles in the min- istry of this church and congregation."
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MINISTRY OF DR. STILES.
On the 25th of June, in the same year, Mr. Noyes commenced his labors in the new relation. Under this arrangement affairs moved on quietly, without any thing very noticeable to record, (the two ministers cooperating when Dr. Stiles was present, and when he was absent, Mr. Noyes performing all the duties of the ministry,) until Sabbath evening, Nov. 15th, 1857, when Dr. Stiles, finding his whole time and energies required in behalf of the new Society, ten- dered his resignation in full as Stated Supply of the South Church. Whereupon the following preamble and resolutions were presented and adopted :
" Whereas, The Southern Aid Society having extended an earnest request to the Rev. Dr. Stiles, the Stated Pastor of this church and congregation, that he will devote his whole time to the interests of that Society, and learning from Dr. Stiles that it will be in accordance with his views of duty to accede to this request: Therefore,
"Resolved, 1st. That this Church acknowledge the princi- ple to be of sacred obligation, for every servant of God to take that post of duty which will give him the widest sphere of influence.
"2d. That in the request made by the Southern Aid So. ciety for the entire services of Dr. Stiles, we recognize his call to an extensive sphere of Christian labor, which, in the providence of God, he is peculiarly fitted to occupy.
"3d. That while we highly appreciate the services of Dr. Stiles as our Stated Pastor, and he enjoys our unabated confidence and esteem, we do approve of his acceding to the request of the Southern Aid Society, believing it to be a call from our Divine Master, for him to work in another part of His vineyard."
Thus was terminated a connection which to many of his people was fraught with inestimable blessings,
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MINISTRY OF DR. STILES.
and which afforded to thousands not belonging to his immediate congregation, and many of them from dis- tant places, opportunity to hear the words of life and salvation from one of the most remarkable men of the age. And although now a wall of separation is built up between his former people and himself, so that neither he can come to them nor they go to him, yet they have the assurance in their own hearts that such of them as are true believers, will soon meet him in a world where wars and fightings and alienations are known no more.
Dr. Stiles left his people at a most interesting period, when the wave of religious revival which commenced in the Fulton street Prayer Meeting and afterwards spread over a great part of the land, had begun to flow, and had already, in its incipient in- fluences, reached New Haven. The experienced ship- master does not more clearly foresee the coming storm, than Dr. Stiles discerned in advance the signs of those times. Several weeks anterior to the date of his resignation, he remarked to the present writer that he believed we were on the eve of one of the greatest revivals ever known. He alluded to the manifesta- tions of a pervading religious feeling in New York, Newark and other places, and expressed his belief that it was the precursor of events which would make heaven and earth rejoice.
CHAPTER III.
MINISTRY OF REV. MR. NOYES.
On the 29th of November, 1857, the South Church passed the following resolution :
"Resolved, That Rev. G. W. Noyes, late Associate Pastor with Rev. Dr. Stiles, be requested to act as Stated Pastor until we can determine upon more definite arrangements."
December 1st, Mr. Noyes accepted the invitation. Dec. 27th, the following minute was presented by the Committee and adopted by the Church.
" Having been informed that the Ecclesiastical Society recently organized* in connection with this church, have voted to offer Rev. G. W. Noyes a salary of $1350 per annum for his ministerial services, this church do hereby request the Society to unite with them in a common invita- tion to Rev. G. W. Noyes to become their Pastor."
January 1, 1858, Mr. Noyes declined.
January 16th, the Church, in concurrence with the Society, voted to engage his services as Stated Supply until Spring ; which they had previously learned would be agreeable to him. April 10th, 1858, at a meeting of the Church duly warned, and held in the Pastor's study, the call to Mr. Noyes to become their Pastor, was renewed, with a salary of $1500. The
* The Ecclesiastical Society was organized Dec. 5, 1857. See Ap- pendix.
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MINISTRY OF REV. MR. NOYES.
Society concurred. April 18th, Mr. Noyes accepted the invitation. Accordingly, an Ecclesiastical Coun- cil, called by the parties jointly, was held on the 24th of May, in the South Church,-the following churches being represented, viz : Third, North, Col- lege Street, Chapel Street, Howe Street, Centre, Yale College Church, and South Church. Among other papers submitted to the Council, was one from the Fourth Presbytery of New York, certifying to Mr. Noyes' good standing in the church and in the min- istry. The Council having decided that the examin- ation and credentials of Mr. Noyes were satisfactory, proceeded to his installation on the evening of the same day, in the South Church, as follows :
Introductory Services, by Rev. Mr. ATWATER.
Sermon, by Rev. Dr. STILES.
Installing prayer, by Rev. Dr. CLEAVELAND.
Charge to the Pastor, by Rev. Dr. DUTTON.
Right hand of Fellowship, by Rev. Mr. HAMILTON. Address to the People, by Rev. Mr. EUSTIS. Benediction, by the Pastor.
Thus, for the first time since the organization of the church, it was provided with a regularly installed Pastor, technically so called. The winter and spring had been a season of special religious interest in his church and congregation, as well as in other churches of this city and elsewhere throughout the country. It was the season of "the great revival." On the 6th of June, 1858, the fruits of it, so far as the South Church was concerned, were gathered in,-26
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persons being received by profession, and eight by letter. Unfortunately, for nearly a month (including three successive Sabbaths) when the revival was at its height, our minister was absent at the West. The Deacons and other members did what they could to direct inquiring souls to Christ ; but it was felt to be a calamity, that in our time of greatest need, we were left destitute of ministerial aid, except as the pulpit was supplied by neighboring ministers on the Sabbath.
Occasionally, after Mr. Noyes became sole Pastor, Dr. Stiles, whose family still resided in this city, was invited to occupy his former pulpit. It was purely a "labor of love," without any visible motive but a desire to do good, and gratify his old friends in the Church and congregation, to whom his voice was always welcome. His official duties as General Agent of the Southern Aid Society kept him more and more away from the city, and about the close of 1859, one of the members of the South Church, learning that he was about to be absent several months, very innocently suggested to Mr. Noyes the propriety of inviting him to give us a sermon before his departure. The tenor of Mr. Noyes' reply will be gathered from the following letter, dated
NEW HAVEN, Dec. 24, 1859.
Rev. G. W. NOYES,
My dear Sir :- Your favor of the 14th inst. reveals a state of things in our Church and society which is much to be regretted. I have taken a little time to consider it.
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MINISTRY OF REV. MR. NOYES.
The case is this : On the 12th inst. I ventured to sug- gest to you, that as Dr. Stiles was about to leave this part of the country, and to be absent several months, many of his former people would be gratified to hear him preach " at least once," before his departure. You reply in sub- stance, that you " have no personal objections to such an arrangement," but that " many of the people have :" That some have impliedly or indirectly found fault with you for inviting him to preach so often already ; and have said that if it continued, they should have to go elsewhere: That the last time he preached, a number of the choir left, and the remainder tarried reluctantly, as a matter of respect and duty : That others, on coming to the Church and learning that he was in the pulpit, went away elsewhere. In this condition of things you are pleased to ask my opinion as to the course most expedient for you to pursue. I will answer with all frankness, expecting you, after all, and wishing you, to exercise your undoubted right " to invite whomsoever you choose, to occupy your pulpit." But before I proceed, allow me to dispose of two or three preliminaries. And
1. As to the frequency of your inviting Dr. Stiles to preach. According to the best of my recollection and belief, he has preached in our Church but-[Here is a blank in the rough draft from which we copy, but on referring to a relia- ble record, we find that within the previous fifteen months Dr. Stiles had preached in the South Church five sermons ; one of them during Mr. Noyes' absence on his annual vaca- tion, when the pulpit was supplied by the Society's Com- mittee.]
2. Notwithstanding the drawbacks of which you speak, is it not true that even now the audiences are larger when the public are aware that he is to preach, than at other times ?
3. Have not some persons, including some members of the Church, left us, and gone to other Churches, under an impression that he has been discourteously treated.
And what is the demand of the class of persons of whom you speak ? What is the condition on which they will con- sent to remain with us and be quiet ? It is simply this ; that the great and good man who laid the foundation of our
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spiritual edifice in faith and prayer,-such prayer, and such holy wrestlings as I never before heard from the lips of man; who dedicated our sanctuary to Almighty God, Fa- ther, Son and Holy Ghost, and in so doing, on the very first day of his ministrations, sent an arrow of conviction to the heart of an infidel and atheist, which was never ex- tracted until he found joy and peace in believing ; whose eloquent, faithful, pungent words of love and warning aroused the slumbering community around to the interests of the soul and eternity,-filled the house with profoundly attentive audiences, larger on an average, in the afternoon, (when he was expected to preach,) than those of any other sanctuary of our denomination in the city ; who gathered our Church, drew up our Covenant and Confesssion of Faith, instituted or gave tone to our Ladies' Meeting, making it a centre of attraction to the whole neighborhood, and to many ladies in other parts of the city; who was the instrument, in the judgment of charity, of bringing scores of persons to Christ, including many individuals residing out of the city ; who was the means, my dear Sir, of your coming to New Haven and holding the position you now occupy, and who, as the whole congregation can bear witness, treated you with uniform courtesy in all our public assemblies; and who to this day, although officially separated from us by calls to other fields of labor, does still often and earnestly remember us in his prayers, and is ready to serve us, in any way con- sistent with his other duties and our wishes ; I say the class of persons of whom you speak, if I rightly understand their views, require that this holy man, who has done so much for us, shall be deliberately and permanently excluded from the pulpit which he so long and faithfully occupied. The question is not, as I understand it, whether he shall be invited to occupy the pulpit at this time, but at any time. The object seems to be, to fix a stigma upon him-to pro- scribe him; for what reason I do not know. I am not aware that he has done anything to forfeit the confidence of the Church and Society-much less their Christian courtesy. True, he was born South of Mason's and Dixon's line, has written a book, and has been an officer of the Southern Aid Society, whose object is simply and only to dispense the
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Gospel of Christ to ten millions of people, including three and a half millions of slaves, from whom the American Home Missionary Society has withdrawn its aid. But I do not perceive that either of these facts, or all of them together, constitute a just ground of offence to a Christian congregation.
Viewing the matter in this light, I scarcely need add, that I can never be a party to such proscription, either actively or passively. If my own personal gratification were alone involved, I would cheerfully forego that gratifi- cation for the sake of peace. But if peace can be had, only on the condition of sacrificing a great and good man, of whom the world is not worthy, to the moloch of ultra Abolitionism, and of surrendering those noble edifices, that pulpit, and the institutions connected therewith, to the pro- motion of the same proscriptive and malignant spirit, then in my judgment the purchase is too dear, and I prefer to meet the issue as it stands. I well know that as a member of the Church and congregation, I have no more control over the action of either, than has the obscurest of our members. I am willing it should be so. And you will bear me witness that I have never sought to encroach upon the rights of the pulpit. At the same time I have some rights peculiar to myself. I have expended more than $50,000 upon the South Church enterprise, in the erection and fur- nishing of the buildings, and in supporting, in part, the expenses of the establishment for the last seven years. I have never, for a single moment, regretted the expenditure. On the contrary, I am ready to expend $50,000 more, if necessary, to carry out the objects of the enterprise as originally contemplated. What those objects are, you were early apprised; and your acceptance of the station which you now occupy, is proof that, substantially, they met your approbation. What they are, is evidenced by the history of the enterprise thus far, in connection with the fact that down to this day I have never complained of the manner in which they have been carried out. But if a new order of things is to be introduced ; if the mad spirit of ultra Aboli- tionism, which has already divided so many churches, greatly damaged the interests of the slave, and brought our country
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to the brink of ruin, is to be infused into our church and to become dominant in its management,-which I do not be- lieve, though I thus speak,-I have only to say, I shall want the buildings for their original purpose, and my money to sustain the enterprise on that basis.
It is but a few months since Rev. Dr. Bacon, seeing Dr. Stiles in his congregation, came down from the pulpit, and in the most cordial manner invited him to preach,-which he did. Are the South Church and congregation so much more intolerant than Dr. Bacon and his congregation, as the facts stated in your letter would seem to imply ? I doubt it. I should like to see the experiment tried. I believe that a fair expression of the views of our people would show that they are generally conservative, and that the class of persons to whom you allude, are in a lean minority.
From what I have said, you are prepared for my opinion, which is, that such intolerance, discourtesy and ingratitude, towards a faithful soldier of the Cross, as would be exem- plified in his exclusion from our pulpit, for no assigned cause, but, so far as appears, to gratify an unreasonable and cruel prejudice, should not be yielded to,-no, not for an hour. Three or four years ago, a few disaffected persons, of the same class, left us in disgust, and we have had peace ever since. If those who now threaten to leave, unless their wishes are complied with, should do so in fact, the probability is that the church and society will be stronger, happier, safer and better in the end, than by retaining them within its bosom. I know not who they are; I am glad I do not. But whoever they are, however many or however few, I cannot advise an act of palpable injustice and wrong, for the sake of retaining them. Let us protect and honor God's faithful ministers, and he will protect and bless us. As to temporalities I have no fear. And I am sure no spiritual blessing can be expected as the result of proscrip- tion such as is sought to be imposed upon us.
Should you, all things considered, conclude to invite Dr. Stiles into your pulpit once before he goes South, permit me to suggest that a notice of the fact be given in the newspapers. Then any who are unwilling to hear him, can stay away, and thus avoid the indecorum of leaving the
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MINISTRY OF REV. MR. NOYES.
house. As to the choir, or a portion of them, they must do as they think proper. For one, I would rather dispense with singing than yield to such dictation. What is it, in effect, but surrendering the pulpit to their control; or at least, giving them a veto upon the action of the pastor ? I pro- test against such an invasion of his rights.
In conclusion, permit me to say, that at this time espe- cially, any manifest slur upon a good man merely because he is a Southerner by birth, would be most unfortunate in its public bearing ; and occurring in a church which has been generally supposed to be conservative, and is known as such all over the South, would have a very bad effect upon the public mind in that part of the country, which is in an excited and dangerous state. Do let us try to pour a little oil upon the troubled waters, and not let our glorious constellation go down in blood.
I remain with much respect,
Your friend and parishioner,
GERARD HALLOCK.
P. S. I have said nothing to Dr. Stiles about this whole matter. He does not know from me, that any correspond- ence has taken place between us. .
On the receipt of this letter, and after consultation with some of his members, Mr. Noyes concluded to invite Dr. Stiles to preach, as proposed, and did invite him. Public notice was given in the newspapers, and on the 8th of January, 1860, Dr. Stiles preached to a very large and apparently gratified audience. The choir was as full as usual, and no persons left the house, that we are aware of, until the services were concluded. This is the last sermon but one that Dr. Stiles ever preached in the South Church.
The whole period of Mr. Noyes' ministry in con- nection with the South Church, was a little more
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MINISTRY OF REV. MR. NOYES.
than seven years ; or say from April 2, 1854, till June 3, 1861. During the last half of this period, or say from Nov. 15, 1857, till the close of his labors, as above, he had the sole charge of the Church and congregation. Either to accompany or follow such a man ยท as Dr. Stiles, was obviously a difficult under- taking. The wonder is, that Mr. Noyes was able to sustain himself so long and so well as he did, rather than that he finally failed to give satisfaction to a people, who, in the language of one of the other cler- gymen of the city, had been "spoiled by Dr. Stiles ;" meaning, that the South Church people had been so accustomed to hear the powerful preaching .of Dr. Stiles, that no minister of ordinary talents and resources could expect to satisfy them. On the 15th of May, 1861, Mr. Noyes tendered his resignation, as follows :-
To the South Congregational Church, New Haven, Conn. DEAR BRETHREN :-
Learning that a small, yet influential minority among you, have recently become disaffected towards me, so as se- riously to interfere with my comfort and usefulness, I felt it to be my duty to resign my charge; and do herewith re- sign it, to take effect on the 3d of next June; and request you to unite with me in calling an Ecclesiastical Council to meet on that day in said church, at half past 3 o'clock, to dissolve the relation existing between us.
GURDON W. NOYES.
NEW HAVEN, May 15th, 1861.
As usual in such cases, different persons would give different versions of the causes which led to this re-
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MINISTRY OF REV. MR. NOYES.
sult. Perhaps the most impartial statement which can be had at this time, is the Report of the Stand- ing Committee, submitted to the Church at a meet- ing held on the 24th of the same month, to consider the above communication. Said Committee consisted of Charles H. Warner, Dr. John Nicoll, and R. S. Pickett, elected members, and Deacons Minor and Horsfall, together with the Pastor, members ex-officio. Of the five lay members, three belonged to that wing of the Church which has since broken off from the main body, and two of them (Dr. Nicoll and Mr. Pickett) were among the warmest friends Mr. Noyes had in the Church. The Report of that Committee was as follows :-
Explanatory Statement from the Committee of the Church.
"It is well known to most of the members of the Church, that within the past year, and more particularly within the past six months, the attendance on our Sabbath services and the other regular weekly meetings of the Church, has seemed to be graduully diminishing. Notice has been ta- ken of this by the Pastor and the Committee of the Church, and by other members. Conversation on the subject, and inquiry as to its cause, revealed the fact that many mem- bers of the Church and congregation were in the habit of frequently going to the meetings of other churches, and that a considerable number of the regular and constant at- tendants on the meetings of our own Church,-including those upon whose liberality the enterprise has mainly rest- ed for its support,-were strongly impressed with the con- viction that this enterprise could not be carried forward suc- cessfully under the ministrations of our present Pastor. This led to some informal consultations on- the subject, which resulted in a communication of the facts, as they were then understood, to Mr. Noyes, by the Committee of the Church.
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" While it was obviously impossible for Mr. Noyes to continue his labors with satisfaction under such circum- stances, it was felt that a separation, if it must take place, should be made in a manner that would do least injury to our minister's reputation, and to the welfare and peace of the Church. In this point of view, it was considered bet- ter for Mr. Noyes that he should tender his resignation be- fore, rather than after a public meeting for the discussion of the subject. Hence, no public meeting has before been called.
" It was also considered equitable that Mr. Noyes should receive satisfactory pecuniary compensation for the disad- vantage to himself and family of leaving his charge under such circumstances; and arrangements have therefore been made, satisfactory to Mr. N., by which, in case his resigna- tion is accepted, he is to receive a donation of $500."
After some discussion, the following resolution was adopted by the Church, with only five dissentients, including two who did not vote on either side.
" Resolved, That in accordance with the expressed desire of Rev. G. W. Noyes, we hereby accept his resignation as Pastor, while we regret that circumstances have made it appear necessary for him to leave us and sunder the ties of pleasant and profitable intercourse which, for a period of seven years, most of us have enjoyed with him."
The Church also voted to unite with Mr. Noyes in calling an Ecclesiastical Council. Said Council was held in the South Church, June 3d, 1861 ; and com- prised delegates from the Centre, North, Third, Chap- el street, College street, and Yale College Church. The result was embodied in the following Resolu- tions, prepared by Rev. Dr. Dutton, and Rev. Messrs. Eustis and Fisher, which the Council adopted unan- imously :-
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