USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 5 > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75
THE BAPTISTS
The largest single congregation of any fellowship in Mas- sachusetts is the gathering of Baptists and others which crowds Tremont Temple in Boston Sunday after Sunday. Here Dr. J. C. Massee has preached inspiring sermons. An ardent fundamentalist, he has called upon both the funda- mentalists and the modernists in his communion to sink their differences; and, putting the supreme emphasis on the reality of the spiritual life, to devote themselves wholly to evangel- ism. This appeal has had a wide and beneficent influence. Dr. Massee has been a genuine prophet.
This spirit of cooperation has been shown also in the grow- ing importance of the Massachusetts Baptist Convention, which has merged the diverse interests of the church for the common good, and gives especial attention to work in rural communities and among the foreign-born. Great parishes, besides Tremont Temple, are : the Dudley Street Church and the Clarendon Street Church in Boston; the First Churches in Springfield and Fall River; and the Churches in Malden and West Somerville. Dr. A. J. Gordon's books have had a gracious message for thousands of readers.
The centre of the work of the Baptists in Massachusetts is Ford Hall on Beacon Hill, hard by the State House. It serves all sorts of purposes, chief among them being the Ford Hall Forum, begun in 1908, led by George W. Coleman, and supported by the Boston Baptist Social Union through the Daniel Sharp Ford fund. In 1928 the support of this useful adventure was thrown upon the larger community. Here men of conviction and varied points of view have for years presented their views, challenging and answering ques- tions from the eager audience. The Ford Hall Forum has
461
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
been the pioneer of such forums throughout the country, and President Coolidge called the institution "a vital influence in Boston and a good example for other communities."
Perhaps the highest fruit of Baptist devotion is the great School of Theology in Newton Centre. Here George Edwin Horr was a teacher from 1903; in 1908 he became president, and has brought the School fully up to university standard, so winning an alliance with Harvard. When he resigned his distinguished office in 1925, it was given into the capable hands of Dr. Everett C. Herrick, under whom the school pursues its upward course. Altogether the Baptists have made an impressive contribution to the religious life of Massa- chusetts in the last forty years.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
In 1889 the Rt. Rev. Benjamin H. Paddock was bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, which then included the whole Commonwealth. He was a faithful and skilful ad- ministrator and the Episcopal Church had grown under his leadership. For two decades the inspiration of the dio- cese, as indeed of the whole Church, was the rector of Trinity Church in Boston, Phillips Brooks. The whole com- munity, especially the youth of Harvard College, looked up to him as a great spiritual genius and leader. Every church he visited, as well as Trinity Church, was thronged when he preached, and his influence for good was beyond estimate.
In 1891, after the death of Bishop Paddock, Phillips Brooks was elected to succeed him. What he had done for a parish, he now did for the whole Commonwealth. His tall and mas- sive form, his beautiful face, and his swift and eloquent utter- ance became the possession of the community. The Diocesan House was opened on Joy Street, and the diocese, which had steadily grown under Bishop Paddock, became, under Bishop Brooks, an institution conscious of its large possibili- ties. Phillips Brooks gave himself untiringly to the work, till sudden death came to him in 1893.
The Rev. William Lawrence, dean of the Episcopal Theo- logical School, succeeded Brooks as Bishop. This school was then at one of the peaks in its history. Dr. A. V. G. Allen,
462
RELIGIOUS FORCES
the professor of church history, brought out during this period his Life of Jonathan Edwards, Christian Institutions, and The Life of Phillips Brooks. He stood as a teacher and lecturer on the same high level that Brooks occupied as a preacher. Dr. Henry S. Nash was also a spiritual genius and an inspiring teacher. His Genesis of the Social Conscience is his best book and was written at this time. Dr. George Hodges came from Calvary Church, Pittsburgh, to succeed Dr. Lawrence as dean, and to write many volumes which had wide reading and influence. Dr. Edward S. Drown, Dean Henry B. Washburn, and Rev. Angus Dun, are among the teachers who have made this school deservedly famous throughout the Church and have made it a school for the aspirants to leadership in the whole country and not merely for Massachusetts.
In 1901 the Diocese of Massachusetts was divided, all lying west of the eastern boundary of Worcester County (except Southborough) being formed into a new diocese, called West- ern Massachusetts, the eastern section retaining the old title, the Diocese of Massachusetts. The first bishop of this new diocese was the rector of All Saints' Church, Worcester, Dr. A. H. Vinton, who was succeeded in 1911 by Rev. T. F. Davies.
THE EPISCOPAL CLERGY
In 1904 the General Convention of the Episcopal Church met in Boston, bringing not only bishops and deputies from all parts of the nation and the mission field, but also Dr. Ran- dall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Percival, Bishop of Hereford, and Dr. Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon. This was the first visit of an archbishop of Canter- bury to America.
In 1912, by taking advantage of a large bequest of the Misses Walker, a cathedral became possible in Boston, and St. Paul's Church gave up its parochial status and became the cathedral of the diocese. The first dean was Dr. E. S. Rousmaniere, whose genius as an administrator and as a spiritual leader carried the influence of the cathedral far beyond the. bounds of New England. He was succeeded in 1926 by Dr. P. F. Sturges. Situated in the heart of the rapid
Courtesy of the Halliday Historic Photograph Co. TRINITY CHURCH, BOSTON
C.C. S. P.S
Courtesy of the Christian Science Publishing Co.
THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, IN BOSTON
463
THE UNITARIANS
transit system of metropolitan Boston, its many services on both Sundays and weekdays are thronged by people of all classes and kinds.
In 1913, Bishop Lawrence wished to give himself to inter- ests of the general church, and a suffragan bishop was elected for Massachusetts, Rev. S. G. Babcock, with special charge of the missionary work of the diocese. Bishop Lawrence then achieved for the Church a pension fund for the support of retired clergy, the fund now amounting to $18,000,000; each parish pays a premium upon its rector's life, so that the fund will be adequate indefinitely. Bishop Lawrence also led, in 1923, in raising an additional endowment of a million dollars for the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge. Mean- time, under his devoted leadership, the diocese has grown in every way, both materially and spiritually. In 1922 the Rev. Charles L. Slattery, Rector of Grace Church, in New York, was elected bishop coadjutor; and on the resignation of Dr. Lawrence in 1927, Dr. Slattery became bishop of Massachu- setts.
During this period the great parishes of Massachusetts have been guided by such men as Dr. Leighton Parks and Dr. Elwood Worcester at Emmanuel Church, Boston; Dr. E. W. Donald, Dr. Alexander Mann, and Rev. H. K. Sherrill at Trinity Church, Boston; Dr. W. B. Frisbee and Dr. W. H. van Allen at the Church of the Advent, Boston; Rev. J. C. Brooks (a brother of Phillips Brooks) and Dr. W. Austin Smith at Christ Church, Springfield; and Rev. H. W. Hobson at All Saints' Church, Worcester.
Four church schools for boys have been established within Massachusetts: Groton, under Dr. Endicott Peabody during this whole period; St. Mark's in Southborough, under W. E. Peck and Dr. W. G. Thayer; Brooks School in North An- dover, under F. A. Ashburn; and Lenox School at Lenox, under Rev. Gardner Monks. All these schools are open to boys out of the whole nation and in return serve the nation through able and faithful alumni.
THE UNITARIANS
The leading Unitarian in 1889 was, without doubt, Edward Everett Hale. Picturesque, tall, stooping, with long hair,
464
RELIGIOUS FORCES
with wide-brimmed hat, he was a familiar figure on the Bos- ton streets. His power as a preacher was somewhat dimin- ished by his versatility. He would often enter the pulpit with seven or eight volumes, from which he would quote. He wrote amusing and instructive stories ; he founded benefi- cent movements ; and, in general, his energies were far flung. He knew that he lost much by his scattering fire; but an in- creasing number of friendly readers followed his counsels, and there is no measuring of the good he did and the in- spiration which came from him.
King's Chapel, an ancient and beautiful building, formerly a parish of the Church of England, has continued through these forty years to use a prayer book, very much revised, and yet to remain a Unitarian Church. It has had in this period distinguished and able ministers, Dr. Foote, Dr. Brown, and Dr. Speight. Lately it has been maintaining week-day services at noon, at which sermons are preached by clergy from many communions, including the Church of England. An English clergyman, picking up a prayer book, said, "Our Prayer Book has been watered; hasn't it?" "Oh, no," the minister of King's Chapel answered, "only washed."
Brooke Herford, an Englishman, was, in the early part of this period, the loved pastor of the Arlington Street Church in Boston, and a preacher at Harvard. Devout and earnest, his sermons made a wide appeal. A Harvard student, now Bishop Roots of Hankow in China, moved again and again by his preaching at Appleton Chapel, went to call on him at Wadsworth House, and said: "Dr. Herford, you are not really a Unitarian, are you? You seem to be thoroughly orthodox." Whereupon the preacher stood up before the youth and said emphatically, "Young man, I am a Unitarian from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet." The youth laughed and was not convinced : he still believed that his hero had the same loyalties as himself. Another pastor of the Arlington Street Church and preacher at Harvard was Paul Revere Frothingham. Full of kindness, happy, he drew to him many friends. He was an enthusiastic believer in the League of Nations.
465
THE EDUCATORS
THE EDUCATORS
The old First Church in Cambridge has been distinguished by the pastorates of Francis Greenwood Peabody and Samuel McChord Crothers. Dr. Peabody later devoted himself wholly to Harvard as Plummer Professor and as chairman of the Board of Preachers. His books-especially, Jesus Christ and Christian Character, Jesus Christ and the Social Question, and Mornings in the College Chapel-have had a wide influ- ence; and his last book, Reminiscences of Present-Day Saints, by which he commemorates those who have influenced him, tells modestly the achievements of his own career.
Among other notable Massachusetts Unitarians whose lives extended into this period, are Dr. Andrew P. Pea- body, Plummer Professor Emeritus, long the "Grand Old Man" of Harvard College and a familiar figure in the Har- vard Yard; his white hair and benign face were symbols of the reverent and noble character within the man, and the students gave him admiration and love. Professor Charles C. Everett was a profound philosopher, long a teacher in the Harvard Divinity School. For many years, till his death in 1928, Dr. Crothers was the pastor of the old First Church, preaching inspiring sermons, and writing books of whimsical humour and of genial wisdom, which carried his message of sanity and good cheer out to the edges of the world.
The most conspicuous Unitarian not only of Massachusetts but of the country was President Charles William Eliot of Harvard. Long after he resigned his office as president of the university, he continued to write on all kinds of subjects, including religious themes. His son, Dr. Samuel A. Eliot, was for most of this period president of the Unitarian Associa- tion, a national organization whose seat is in the Unitarian House, Boston. In 1927 the dignified old brownstone build- ing at Beacon and Bowdoin Streets was sold, and the associa- tion removed to still more stately quarters in a house on the State House grounds, built especially for their needs. Dr. Eliot in 1927 succeeded Dr. Frothingham as pastor of the Arlington Street Church, and the Rev. Louis C. Cornish suc- ceeded Dr. Eliot as president of the Unitarian Association.
During the last forty years, the religious education of Uni- tarian children has advanced along modern lines of general
466
RELIGIOUS FORCES
education. In public worship there has been marked enrich- ment both in the music and in the architecture of the build- ings. While some Unitarian Churches have shown a tendency towards extreme liberalism, the tendency of the Massachusetts Churches has been in general towards a more positive and spiritual interpretation of life, with deeper effort to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
One of the most effective influences for the whole Church is the sending out week by week of what is known as "The Wayside Pulpit"-striking sentences, boldly printed, posted on bulletin boards of many churches throughout the country. These are compiled by a Unitarian minister of Boston, the Rev. Henry Hallam Saunderson. The Unitarian churches have been effective power houses for good citizenship, sound edu- cation, and practical benevolence. Many of the leaders of the Commonwealth in all that is most honourable and most loving have been and are devout members of the Unitarian Church.
THE UNIVERSALISTS
In the period covered by this volume the Universalists have largely changed the emphasis in their teaching and preaching. Massachusetts has been the stronghold of the denomination. What is known as the "larger hope," by which men said, "God is love and eventually will save all men," is now the cherished hope of most Christians, whatever logic may compel them to think. So the distinctive mission of Universalists seems to have been accomplished; and these people are giving them- selves to practical work, such as the Franklin Square House, founded by Dr. G. L. Perin, where one thousand working girls live.
Feeling the need of a "platform," the Boston Ministers' Meeting substituted for the famous Winchester Profession of Belief, the following five principles: "The Universal Father- hood of God; The Spiritual Authority and Leadership of His Son, Jesus Christ; The Trustworthiness of the Bible as Con- taining a Revelation from God; The Certainty of Just Retri- bution for Sin; The Final Harmony of all Souls with God." These principles were adopted by the Universalist General Convention, in Boston, in 1899.
467
CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS
The recognized leader of the Universalists was Dr. Alonzo Ames Miner, who died in 1895. To his large parish in Boston he added for a time the responsibility for the administration of Tufts College. Other notable leaders and preachers have been Dr. James Pullman, of Lynn; Dr. G. W. Bicknell, of Cambridge; Dr. Gunnison, of Worcester; Dr. Conklin, of Canton; Dr. Stephen H. Roblin, of Boston; Dr. Clarence E. Rice, of Springfield; and Dr. John Smith Lowe, general superintendent of the Universalist General Convention.
The most important general educational institution of the denomination is Tufts College, founded by Universalists, though frequented by students of all denominations. The presidents of Tufts College in this time have been Dr. E. H. Capen, Dr. Herman L. Bumpus and Dr. J. A. Cousens. The last-named guides the college today and is a strong adminis- trator and a trusted friend of youth. Other leaders of the col- lege have been Dean McCollester of the Crane Divinity School, Dr. F. O. Hall, and Dr. C. R. Skinner.
The Christian Leader is the official paper of Universalists, and has won a high place in church journalism under the editorship of Dr. G. H. Emerson, Dr. F. A. Bisbee, and Dr. van Schaick. Dr. Marshall, manager of the Universalist Publishing House, is one of the founders of the forum movement, and is known throughout the country for his good works.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS
The most important event in the advancing history of Christian Science from 1889 to 1928 occurred in 1892, when Mrs. Eddy reorganized the Boston congregation and founded the Mother Church, called the First Church of Christ Scien- tist. This Boston church is the central body of all Christian Science, its administrative government being supreme throughout the denomination. All other Christian Science Churches are therefore organized as its branches.
Since the death in 1910 of Mary Baker G. Eddy, the founder of this remarkable movement, Mrs. Eddy has prac- tically been canonized by her large following of disciples, and her famous book, Science and Health, is held by them in devout regard as second only to the Bible itself as a rule of faith and doctrine.
468
RELIGIOUS FORCES
The central body is responsible for publishing the author- ized literature of the movement, bringing out, since 1889, the first editions and final revisions of Mrs. Eddy's books : includ- ing Retrospection and Introspection; Christ and Christmas; Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures; Unity of Good, and Poems. It has also established and published in many languages The Christian Science Quarterly, which con- tains the citations from the Bible, and the Christian Science text books which are read in all the churches each Sunday; and The Christian Science Sentinel is published weekly. The Christian Science Monitor is published by a board represent- ing the church, but does not assume to be the organ of the denomination. It is a truly international daily newspaper, a model of admirably arranged news of the world, clean and interesting, without propaganda.
In 1906 the Mother Church was enlarged by an addition seating five thousand people. Its dome is a landmark in Boston. The impressive group of buildings devoted to Chris- tian Science occupies a triangle bounded by three streets. Forty-eight branch churches have been established in Massa- chusetts.
The present officers of the Mother Church are Dr. F. C. Colby, president, and Mrs. A. M. Knott, and Messrs. J. A. Neal, E. A. Merritt, W. R. Rathvon, and G. W. Adams, as directors. The "Readers" are Judge S. W. Greene and Miss M. E. Whitcomb. Mr. Ezra Palmer is clerk and Mr. E. L. Ripley is the treasurer. Mr. W. J. Abbot is the editor of The Christian Science Monitor. The whole government of the Christian Science Church is devoted and efficient, and many people bear witness to the awakening of new hope and the discovery of a life of prayer.
THE SWEDENBORGIANS
The chief item of interest in the history of the Church of the New Jerusalem in these forty years is the removal of the Theological School from Boston to Cambridge in 1889. In its conspicuous location, opposite Harvard University on Quincy Street, with its beautiful Gothic chapel and with its other buildings, it has been increasingly useful. Its courses
469
THE SWEDENBORGIANS
of study are supplemented by special courses in the univer- sity. Its students come from all parts of the world, from Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Eng- land, Scotland, France, and recently from Japan.
Upon its removal to Cambridge, Dr. J. F. Wright became dean. He organized a religious society of Cambridge people and became their minister, leading their worship in the chapel of the school. The Rev. William L. Worcester, grandson of the first president, who became president in 1908, and minis- ter of the Cambridge Society in 1911, has continued to main- tain pleasant and useful relations with the community. Asso- ciated with him as principal of the school is the Rev. William F. Wunsch.
In 1894 the New Jerusalem Magazine, which had been established in 1827 by the Massachusetts Association, was changed from a monthly to a quarterly under the title of the New Church Review, in order to have more space for ex- tended and weighty articles. The Rev. Theodore F. Wright the Rev. William H. Mayhew, the Rev. Henry Clinton Hay, and the Rev. Lewis F. Hite have successively been its editors. A New Church book shop, reading room, and publishing house is maintained in Boston, next door to the Boston church. This organization carries on the publicity work of the Rotch Trustees, and arranged for a complete edition of Swedenborg's theological works in 1907.
In 1906 the Neighbourhood House Association was formed, the purpose of which is "to maintain centers of Christian in- fluence by means of Settlement Houses, Kindergartens, Day Nurseries, District Nursing, and Dispensaries." A location for the first center was sought where such activities did not already exist, and was found among the homes of the poor in Lynn. An old house was purchased, to which was after- wards added a large hall, and Mrs. Grace W. Gregg became the settlement worker. Now 1200 children come every week to the classes in dressmaking, millinery, basketry, and other industrial training, including a good kindergarten.
The largest church of this communion in the Common- wealth is on Bowdoin Street in Boston. It is 110 years old, and has had but three pastors. Since 1889, Rev. James Reed and Rev. Henry Clinton Hay have been the pastors. Mr.
470
RELIGIOUS FORCES
Reed was a classmate and friend of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Phillips Brooks in the Boston Latin School and in Harvard College : after graduation from college, they began teaching together in the Boston Latin School.
THE PRESBYTERIANS
The Presbyterian Church has never gained the strength in Massachusetts which it exhibits in many other parts of the country. Presbyterians moving into Massachusetts from Scotland and from New York and States farther to the west- ward have ordinarily become affiliated with some strong Con- gregational parish of their neighbourhood. In like manner Congregationalists from New England frequently, on mov- ing into Pennsylvania and the West, have attached themselves to the strong Presbyterian Churches there. The difference of ecclesiastical polity does not worry the layman; and he likes to be identified with a hearty and reverent service which seems very much like the worship to which he has been ac- customed.
The leaders of Presbyterianism say that this tendency of their members on coming to Massachusetts to become Con- gregationalists still persists; and it is reckoned that from eight to ten thousand original Presbyterians in Boston never enter a Presbyterian church. The outstanding event in the period since 1889 was the organization of the Synod of New England in 1913. This divided New England into four pres- byteries : Boston, Newburyport, Providence, and Connecticut Valley. The parts of these presbyteries in Massachusetts have been guided by able and earnest men such as Dr. Robert Watson and Rev. J. A. McClelland of Boston; Rev. C. A. Fisher of Worcester; Dr. A. M. Paterson of Newburyport; Rev. T. R. Turner of Quincy; Rev. R. W. Anderson of New Bedford; and Dr. John Alison of Holyoke. Thus the sturdy integrity of Scotch character is maintained in the Presby- terians of Massachusetts.
THE SALVATION ARMY
The past forty years have witnessed the development of the Salvation Army as a world-wide organization for the
471
THE ROMAN CATHOLICS
salvation of neglected elements of human life. Its progress in Boston and other Massachusetts cities is typical of its work in every civilized land. In the first years its main activ- ity was an intense evangelism, largely on street corners. Astonishing conversions were wrought among people who had been the despair of the Churches. Gradually the Army developed its educational and disciplinary work. Men who had been converted needed the means of physical cleanliness and other decencies of living, including proper housing, em- ployment, and medical service.
In Massachusetts, the work centered for many years around one strong personality, Colonel William A. MacIntyre. Mem- bers of Colonel MacIntyre's family became rich; with similar gifts he devoted himself to building up the Salvation Army, and so gained for tens of thousands a better and hap- pier life. The Army has acquired valuable property, both in the cities and in the country, providing workshops, schools, places of worship, hospitals, and fresh-air homes.
Meantime, while gaining in property, the Army has main- tained its evangelistic fire. Though less conspicuous on the streets, holding fewer parades and fewer meetings in public squares with drums and tambourines, it seeks as intensely as in former years the fallen and the lost. The shrewd, practical methods of recent years are still guided by intense evangelism ; and the constructive work of the Salvation Army is done by the powerful incentive of religious consecration.
THE ROMAN CATHOLICS
The Roman Catholic Church has made a notable advance in the last generation. Immigrants from Ireland, French Can- ada, and Latin Europe and their descendants account for most of the growth. Many of our industrial cities show the influence of this immigration, and even the smaller places, once strongholds of Puritanism, are now the homes of strong Roman Catholic congregations. Some of these congregations are composed of people who know little or no English, and are guided by priests of their own race and language. Gradu- ally these people learn to speak the language of their adopted country, and so become more closely adjusted to American life.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.