USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Danvers > Exercises in celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Church, Congregational, Danvers, Massachusetts: October 8th to 15th, 1922; with an address at the centennial of the Sunday School, November 17th, 1918 > Part 2
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The Committee on Sabbath Observance counted itself for- tunate in obtaining Rev. Austin Rice, D. D., pastor of the Congregational Church in Wakefield, Mass. to preach the anniversary sermon. Dr. Rice is a son of Rev. Charles B. Rice, D. D., for thirty-one years pastor of the First Church. He was born in the old parsonage and grew to manhood in Danvers. The following account of the sermon was given in the Salem Evening News, the summary of the sermon being from the hand of Dr. Rice himself.
ANNIVERSARY SERMON BY REV. AUSTIN RICE, D. D.
Dr. Rice took for his text Hebrews 12:1-2, "Wherefore seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
He answered the question, "How may we run the Chris- tian race; how today bear our witness to this sublime faith?" and showed how this church, at this great commemorative anniversary, might proclaim and advance the faith. He spoke without notes, except when quoting others, and in gesture and in other ways brought back to many the picture of his honored father. He was closely followed during the half hour which he occupied in expounding the fundamentals of the Christian faith as he saw them.
He said in part :
"The Christian faith has been proclaimed in this place for 250 years. During that long span of time the Author and Supreme Witness to the faith which bears His name has been present in this church. During these many years men and women and youth in each successive generation have given their glad witness to their faith in Christ. They have run the race which was set before them. They have been more than conquerors through Him that loved them. They have received the crown of eternal life.
"In this world there actually exists the Christian faith. There is a belief in God and His character and purposes which is distinctively Christian. This is a genuine force. It has built in this neighborhood and almost upon this exact spot
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of ground six meeting houses. It has reared in other parts of the town other temples. It has brought into the service of Jesus thousands of disciples. It has in some real degree leavened the whole community with the free New Testament ideals of democracy and brotherhood. It has brought forth large fruit in Christlike characters. It was and is a living power.
"'Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith,' so our text declares Christ to be the first and supreme example and witness to the faith. His life bore clear marks of an origin above the earthly and the transitory. The source of His character was not in what is low or perishable. In Him was life and the light of men. To try to picture Jesus of Nazareth would be an impossible task. But the story of the Gospels and Epistles and the witness of the risen Lord dwelling in the hearts of His disciples bear convincing testimony to the matchless fact of human experience which is faith in God. In Jesus we behold the light of the knowl- edge of the glory of God.
"Bethlehem, Galilee, the sermon on the mount, the parables, the Lord's supper, the wonderful works of healing and deeds of compassion, Calvary and Easter, all speak to us of the Savior, whose power, felt then, is still present today, even as it was in the days of those brave pioneers who founded this church.
"'Christ, above all glory seated ! King triumphant, strong to save!'
"The heart of the Christian religion is sincere, childlike love for Jesus. Its main principles are known to all. God is our Father. The soul of this universe is not in the last analysis matter or force, but intelligence, goodness and love. Men are now mere things, specks of dust or animals, but are in part divine, and can grow to be like Jesus. God has a kingdom of justice and brotherhood in which He asks our co-operation. Finally men are designed of God for a larger life beyond the present.
"The Christian faith stands in glorious and supreme con- trast with other and cheaper standards of action.
"Christianity challenges the soul against the easy-going, shallow optimism of the times. It lifts its voice against the
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smooth, superficial ideas of duty and right which are so prevalent. How many people say, if not in words, yet in deeds: 'Life is easy! Life is not a warfare. There is no such thing as evil or sin. Everything will come out all right.'
"In startling contrast to this mushy, jellyfish standard of character were the Pilgrims and Puritans. Granted that sometimes they were too austere and gloomy, nevertheless, there was something tonic, noble and invigorating in their stern and lofty ideals of duty and of personal responsibility to Almighty God.
"Longfellow expressed the Christian standard when he read to his college classmates his poem: 'Life is real! Life is earnest !'
"Rev. John D. Jones, one of the Congregational leaders of England, says, 'Life according to the Bible is not a barrack square parade; it is a fierce campaign. Military figures abound in the Bible; just because life is a struggle, a wrestle, a battle.'
"Is not Dr. Jones right? And if we are really aspiring toward a noble character and not idly content to drift, do we not find need both for the mighty challenge and the mighty power which the Christian faith sets before us, when it bids us run our race, looking unto Jesus who endured the cross ?
"Against the pessimism and paganism of the hour Chris- tianity is our only hope. Every one is discussing 'intelli- gence tests.' A man might have a new light upon his spir- itual standards if he submitted to such a test as this. What are your habitual reactions toward life? Do they express themselves in sentences like this? 'Every man has his price. Everybody is corrupt. Human nature never changes. We shall always have wars. Prohibition robs me of my liberty.' Or suppose a man is accustomed to speak of other races, like the Negro and the Japanese, in terms of scorn. If such is the case, then the man should rate himself as a cynic, a pessi- mist, a pagan. His grade of spiritual vision is that of a moron.
"Christianity always stands for the hopeful and ideal views of life. Several years ago a prominent Catholic layman of Massachusetts, addressing a club of Congregational pastors,
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made an carnest plea for better understanding and co-opera- tion between the two great branches of the Christian faith. He spoke of the influences and forces in Boston, which did not revere the cross, and which did reckon life in terms of money. Just because all Christians had this common bond of loyalty to Christ, to the cross and to the ideal instead of to the material, this able layman felt we should all work with mutual understanding and harmony.
"""We sometimes ask about a man's religious faith,' so a Congregational army chaplain remarked not long ago, 'Is he a Hebrew? a Catholic?' and when the reply is 'No,' we assume that he must be a Protestant. But he may not be a man of Protestant faith at all. He may actually be a pagan. It would be fairer all round to call him a pagan.
"Now against the pressure of practical paganism, which lives for self, for excitement, for pleasure seeking, for money grabbing, against all this tremendous appeal, Jesus set the standard of the divine ideal and the divine command. Man shall not live by bread alone. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily.'
"How may we run the Christian race ? We must lay aside every weight of discouragement. We must answer the pessi- mism and agnosticism of the times by the matchless logic of a Christ-filled character." Mr. Rice quoted G. Stanley Hall's recent article on the possible power of religion as a creative force, capable of saving the world, but of the sorrowful testi- mony of Dr. Hall concerning his failure to see evident signs of a reawakened Christian altruism.
"According to a thoughtful teacher of philosophy in New York city people were looking for the evidence of a Christian God, not perhaps so much in cosmic arguments or abstract reasoning, however important, but they wanted to see the signs of a growing kingdom of righteousness, industrial jus- tice and peace, which should manifest to them the power of a vital faith having its source in God."
"This honored and loved church has a character and a history of its own. This church has fought the good fight
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and has kept the faith. To how many of you this church is precious beyond all power of words to describe. It has been to you a sacred and beautiful inheritance. It is a house of God. For multitudes whom you have loved it has already proved the gate of heaven. I dare not attempt to speak of the thoughts and memories which crowd into my heart and which I know are thronging your hearts at this hallowed moment.
"Here has been our home. Here my father preached for more than 30 years. In this church and in this town he was a member and citizen for 50 years. Just half a century ago he gave the historical address, and the task into which he put so much of interest and affection will be carried on this afternoon with joy and with power in the noble address which we are to hear from your pastor, even as he has been leading you with such courage and such large hearted faith during these momentous years of world war and of arduous recon- struction.
"If I were to speak of my own family and of what the church has meant to us it would be simply to represent what this church means to you all. A few, a very few of you go back in memory to the days of the strong preaching and leadership of Dr. Braman, even earlier than the last celebra- tion of 1872. And throughout all that time this church has been a sacred spot. Here the children have been dedicated to God in holy baptism. Here boys and girls have been trained in the word of God. And what glad, grateful rec- ollections rise before us as we think of the faces of super- intendents and teachers in the Sunday School. Here we learned to know Jesus. Here we humbly and lovingly acknowledged Him as our Savior. Can we ever forget that day? Here we received the bread and cup from the Lord.
"To many of you this place is sacred because here you be- gan your married life and found the blessing of God in your new home. From this place you received words of immortal comfort when bereavement and death shadowed your life.
"Throughout the years this church has been loyal in sacri- fice. Calamity and fire have but spurred it to new sacrifices. It has been loyal to education, to freedom of the union, to the great missionary enterprises, and to the causes of justice
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and of peace. Without it this neighborhood would have been poor indeed. Because of it and of the faith which has shone in life and in its members we give thanks to God.
"Let us who have such a precious heritage hold nothing back from our Lord. Let us confess Him, serve Him and run the race set before us. The Lord's Supper and such a commemorative anniversary like the armistice celebration is a memorial and a dedication. May the uplift of this com- munion and of this animating celebration help really and genuinely to lift our lives toward God, and in the faith of Christ enable us to share in lifting the world nearer to that ideal for which He gave himself upon the cross."
SUNDAY SCHOOL SERVICE
The Anniversary service of the Sunday School, designed especially to give the younger people a sense of the great things of which they were recipients, was held in the church hall at noon, in charge of Superintendent William Richmond. Addresses in keeping with the day were made by former Superintendents William Siner and F. H. Nowers, and by Miss Mabel E. Emerson, a servant of the American Mission- ary Association.
The time immediately succeeding the services of the morn- ing was marked by the greetings of old friends and the re- newal of old fellowships. Arrangements had been made for entertaining visitors in the homes of First Church people. But, while this was done, the committee found it had little to do in bringing hosts and guests together. The ties of former years extended down to the present. Visitors were laid hold of by old-time friends and carried away to the continuing fellowship of the homes.
HISTORICAL SERVICE
While the plan for the day was being discussed in commit- tee, fear was expressed that three services, one of which, the Historical Service, was bound to be of unusual length, would overtax the strength and possibly the interest of the people. To this the reply had been that the day as projected
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would not require a greater expenditure than the Sabbath of the olden time, and as an old-time church we might be justified in giving the people a sample of what their fathers regularly went through. The attendance of the afternoon disclosed the present generation as "good sports," a very satisfactory number braving the certainty of a long address. Many guests were present from other churches of the Essex South Association, to all of which invitations had been sent, who had been prevented by their own services from attend- ing in the morning.
Rev. Elliott O. Foster, who led in the devotional service, is a son of the First Church and now pastor in Athol, Mass.
At the close of the address, which consumed an hour and three quarters in its delivery, portions being omitted at that, Mr. House presented to the church a portrait of Rev. C. B. Rice given by the Rice family. This was followed by an appropriate and beautiful prayer by Rev. Arthur J. Covell, Dr. Rice's successor as secretary of the Board of Pastoral Supply.
The singing of "Jerusalem, My Glorious Home," by the choir brought the service to an impressive and fitting end.
After the address a simple lunch was served in the church dining room to guests who had come from a distance, and who wished to remain for the service of the evening, by the team of the Ladies' Benevolent Society of which Mrs. Clar- ence W. Wentworth was chairman. A large number shared the ample provision.
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THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE, 1673 - 1701
HISTORICAL ADDRESS
Two hundred and fifty years in the life of a church! An immense field to cover; the more so that that life has been in so large part and for so long a time the life of the whole community; that too lived in times filled with great move- ments and significant events. Who is sufficient for this thing within the limit imposed by the conditions of this hour?
But happily my task is not so great as might appear. Much of the sound has almade haan an wall answered as to preclude
HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY REV. ALBERT VIRGIL HOUSE
now Danvers, 1877. But the work of Dr. nice was more than an address. The speech delivered was amplified until it be- came a treatise, as accurate and as nearly complete as insight and industry could make it. This is in the hands of many of our people and accessible to all. Consequently I need not go into detail as regards the period covered by Dr. Rice. Yet still I find myself held by the fascination of that first two hundred years. I cannot leave them entirely out of account nor ought I. There are the beginnings of our parish life. There are the sources of the streams which have watered the garden of the Lord and, to a considerable extent, the broad life-giving currents of the streams themselves. We must give our thought to that period, if not in the way of narra- tive, at least for purposes of analysis, if we are to under- stand in any measure the historic genius of this church and the estate in which it finds itself today.
Let it be recognized that analysis must rest in some meas- ure upon statement of fact. My purpose involves of necessity a review of the main outlines of our church's history. I am
THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE, 1673 - 1701
HISTORICAL ADDRESS
Two hundred and fifty years in the life of a church! An immense field to cover; the more so that that life has been in so large part and for so long a time the life of the whole community; that too lived in times filled with great move- ments and significant events. Who is sufficient for this thing within the limit imposed by the conditions of this hour ?
But happily my task is not so great as might appear. Much of the ground has already been so well covered as to preclude the necessity of a detailed survey. Because of important events in the earlier years of the community the attention of the world has been fixed upon that portion of our history and the story told with great fullness. Moreover the people of Danvers have taken an intelligent and fruitful interest in their annals as a whole and many articles and publications have been issued bringing out their salient features. Of all the works available, the one most in point, viewed in the light of this observance, is the "History of the First Parish in Danvers" from the hand of Rev. Charles B. Rice. The basis of this was the so-called Historical Address, given at the Bi- Centennial of the "beginning of preaching in Salem Village," now Danvers, 1872. But the work of Dr. Rice was more than an address. The speech delivered was amplified until it be- came a treatise, as accurate and as nearly complete as insight and industry could make it. This is in the hands of many of our people and accessible to all. Consequently I need not go into detail as regards the period covered by Dr. Rice. Yet still I find myself held by the fascination of that first two hundred years. I cannot leave them entirely out of account nor ought I. There are the beginnings of our parish life. There are the sources of the streams which have watered the garden of the Lord and, to a considerable extent, the broad life-giving currents of the streams themselves. We must give our thought to that period, if not in the way of narra- tive, at least for purposes of analysis, if we are to under- stand in any measure the historic genius of this church and the estate in which it finds itself today.
Let it be recognized that analysis must rest in some meas- ure upon statement of fact. My purpose involves of necessity a review of the main outlines of our church's history. I am
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the more ready to include this in my treatment for the fact that many of our younger people and others recently coming among us have not had these matters brought to their atten- tion. Possibly also some of the older members of the parish have permitted the facts to lie buried in the archives and will welcome a recital of them. Then too there is the large con- tingent of those to whom the great story has long been familiar who will rejoice to think once more for a time of the absorbing past.
Danvers was fortunate in the quality of her first settlers. They were Puritans who came with Endicott to Salem in 1628 or shortly thereafter. By the lowest estimate the Salem colony was composed of men of a highly adventurous spirit. Though some may have sought these shores for considera- tions of personal advancement in goods and prestige, the fact remains that they were actuated by a spirit of daring and enterprise calculated to be immensely serviceable in opening the new land and building its institutions. Moreover, the governing motive of the movement hither was one of religious idealism. The organizers of the colony and to a good degree its members were one with the revered Pilgrims of Plymouth in the dominance of the religious purpose. While their scheme of a theocracy-a state governed by the clergy, recipi- ents and executors of the divine will-miscarried, owing to ineradicable elements in human nature with which they failed to reckon, the fact of the presence of such a motive reveals with convincing clearness the high spiritual intent of the Puritan movement in America. The Danvers pioneers were part and parcel of this movement and shared to the full its spirit of initiative and lofty faith.
In yet another way the early impress was of an unusually favorable character. The Salem colony, it will be remen- bered, included a large contingent of men of wealth and education. To men of this sort, who had the means for opening roads, building bridges, and bringing the soil under cultivation, were issued large grants of land in the districts adjoining the site of the infant colony. But that is not all. Sturdy yeomen, fitted by energy and intelligence to play a great part. in pioneer upbuilding, were, even though without financial means, settled upon the land side by side with the
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men of wealth. So, as C. W. Upham says, "A population of a superior order was led out into the forest."
As if with purpose to distinguish the town we love the first grant of land within what is now Danvers was made to no less a person than Governor John Endicott, 1632. His estate consisted of three hundred acres on the Cow-house, now known as the Waters, River. Shortly grants were issued to Bishop, Weston, Putnam, Hathorne, Rea, Hutchinson, Swinerton, and others, the names of some of whom abide with us to this day. The increase of homes in the wilderness soon brought with it the necessity of setting apart the dis- trict by some formal designation. As the region was included within the limits of Salem what more natural than that it should come to be known as "Salem Farms" or simply "The Farms" and the inhabitants as "the farmers." This fitting appellation was at first the popular one though the name had to contend from the start with the more sounding title, "Salem Village." Eventually the term Village gained the day and as "Salem Village" the district is known in history. The territory so named included what is now Danvers, with the exception of certain portions in the region of Danvers- port, embracing also parts of Beverly and Peabody and prac- tically all of Middleton. The formal establishment of the limits of the Village came as a result of a petition by "the farmers" to be set off for parish purposes from the mother town. The inhabitants had all along been associated with the church in Salem and in 1670, owing to distance, prayed for permission to set up a church of their own. They were very frank in the wording of their request, declaring that unless they could have a church they would become "worse than the heathen around them." Denied at first, because of the disinclination of the Salem church to part with so large a portion of its constituency, they finally gained their object by act of the General Court, 1672. The matter of the exact date is of interest. The order reads "At a general court held in Boston Sth of October, 1672-In answer," etc. Fifty years ago the two hundredth anniversary was observed on October 8th. Dr. Rice in his address, speaking of the en- abling act, said-"This is the event we commemorate. As this date is given in the old style the time was really Octo-
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ber the 18th. and if it had occurred to us seasonably that might have been the better day for our observance." But discoveries by Dr. Rice made after the plates of his history had been finished revealed the fact that the date, Oct. Sth. was intended to indicate merely the day of the assembling of the General Court and that as a matter of fact the act granting the petition of the farmers was passed Oct. 16th. Consequently we should by rights have deferred our celebra- tion till the 26th of this month. And yet we have not made a fatal mistake. For even though we lack eighteen days of our full two hundred and fifty years, we are yet exactly fifty years from the notable celebration of 1872. This morning Dr. Austin Rice was preaching to us fifty years to the very hour from the giving of the historical address on that occa- sion by his distinguished father. This continuity is worth preserving.
The farmers lost no time in acting upon the permission granted by the General Court. November 11th (old style) a parish organization was effected, rates laid for the support of preaching and a minister chosen. The following month steps were taken for the erection of a meeting house. It will be seen from all this that we are not amiss in dating our church life from 1672 rather than 1689, the year of the formal organiza- tion of the church. Though the inhabitants of Salem Village in those earliest years enjoyed the privilege of parish organ- ization only, their membership still resting in the church at Salem, they were to all intents a people set apart, having their own house of worship, resident pastor, and separate religious life.
The meeting house voted as aforesaid was "34 foot in length, 28 foot broad, and 16 foot between the joints," mak- ing a building of smaller bulk than our present parsonage. It was located an eighth of a mile to the east of the present church building on the north side of the road a few feet be- yond where now stands the house of Mr. Arthur W. Carr.
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