USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > History of the First Universalist Church in Somerville, Mass., illustrated : a souvenir of the fiftieth anniversary, celebrated February 15-21, 1904 > Part 4
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
Darwin and his co-laborers sought truth, making the mistake at first of thinking that matter and the facts of matter were all that were real. The leaders of to-day seek money and the power money can give, making the still more serious error of thinking that money, which may purchase freedom from the consequences of out- raged social laws, can likewise placate the everlasting laws of God.
And yet in this commercial intoxication, signs are not wanting to show that the higher faith is still present and vigorous, and that a reaction of righteousness is already setting in. The spirit of unity is invading almost every communion ; all pulpits more and more are placing the emphasis of religion upon the same changeless essentials of faith ; as never before spiritual things are magnified ; and there is less that is artificial, less of make-believe in the whole Christian church. The vast fortunes annually given for the noblest social purposes, the growing liber- ality of the sects, the vigorous and confident efforts being made to establish peace and good will between in- dustrial interests and between nations-all of these are indicative of the vitality, the virility, and the power of that force that we call religion.
It has been a great and good half-century ; all in all, the world has not seen its like before. As never before the cause of real religion has triumphed gloriously; it has come forth from all opposition more powerful than ever. Man is a religious being; faith in God and good is inevitable; the forms, the creeds, and the churches of religion may be utterly destroyed, but for faith and re- ligion themselves there is no death. The history of these . years since the fathers first met together to form this so- ciety shows that neither wars, nor the wisdom of this world, nor the love of gain and gold can destroy man's interest in the deepest things of life, in God, in duty, and in destiny. "So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed."
REV. GEORGE H. EMERSON, D. D.
George Homer Emerson, D. D., was born in Rox- bury, Mass., September 3, 1822, and died in Salem, Mass., March 24, 1898. His early educational advan- tages in the schools were limited, but he was a quick and accurate observer of human nature, and marked out for himself a line of study of books that resulted in his becoming one of the best-informed men of his time. The religious atmosphere of the home of his childhood was permeated with the most rigid Baptist ideas, but whatever impression these made on his mind was easily dissipated when, as a young clerk in a hardware store in Lowell, Mass., he began to attend on the preaching of Rev. Abel C. Thomas, then pastor of one of the Univer- salist churches in that new and stirring town. He was soon converted to Universalism, and was persuaded by his pastor that he ought to prepare for the ministry. His special studies were under the direction of Mr. Thomas. He was ordained at Laporte, O., in the sum- mer of 1843.
With his residence first in Cleveland, and afterwards at Dayton, he preached in various parts of Ohio and Kentucky, until 1849, when he moved to Massachusetts. While in Ohio, he edited, in 1845, the Ohio Universalist . and Literary Companion, which was, in 1846, merged in the Western Evangelist, published in Buffalo, N. Y. As the agent of the Massachusetts Universalist Home Mis- sionary Society, he preached in various parts of that state, organizing, and being for several years pastor of the church in Somerville, where for nine years he was also superintendent of the public schools.
From 1858 to 1864 he edited the Universalist Quar- terly. From November, 1862, to May, 1864, he was as-' sociated with Sylvanus Cobb, D. D., in editing the
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
Trumpet and Christian Freeman. The name of the paper was changed to the Universalist in 1864, and Dr. Emerson was sole editor until 1867, when he moved to New York, where he edited the Christian Leader until 1872.
At the same time he was pastor at Huntington. Re- turning to Boston in April, 1872, he resumed his connec- tion with the Universalist, and was its editor, under its various names of the Universalist, the Christian Leader, and the Universalist Leader, until his death. He was the author of several books, and contributed many arti- cles to the Quarterly. As a speaker he was in great de- mand at conventions and denominational gatherings of every kind. He had a large acquaintance among the clergy and laity of the Universalist Church, and was es- teemed by all as a friend. In recognition of his eminent abilities, St. Lawrence University conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1871. The denomination met with an irreparable loss when Dr. Emerson passed away, in his seventy-sixth year .- In part from the Universalist Register, 1899.
REV. DAVID CLARK
Rev. David Clark, the second pastor of the church, was born in 1832, and came to our society at the age of twenty-seven. His ministry with us began in 1859, and continued but two years, being the shortest pastorate in the society's history. He came to us direct from college, and gained much experience in this, his first field of labor, which was of help in his after lifework in the Christian ministry. He died in 1898.
: i
1
REV GEO. VIBBERT
Rev. BENJ. RUSS
REV. DAVID CLARK G
REV.GEO. H.
ERSON. D.O.
ME
REV.W.S.RALPH
Rev CHAS. A SKINNER (
REV. L.M.POWERS
FORMER PASTORS
REV. BENJAMIN K. RUSS
Benjamin Kimball Russ, born in Salem, N. H., Janu- ary 17, 1834, died in Gorham, N. H., November 6, 1896. Mr. Russ was a member of the class of 1860, Tufts Col- lege, and began to preach some time in 1861, and was ordained in 1862. Rev. Dr. Leonard, dean of Tufts Divinity School, who knew Mr. Russ all through his col .. lege days, says of him : "All through his college course he was interested in theological questions. He heard a greater number of preachers than any one I ever knew. They were his study and theological school."
His first pastorate was at Somerville, Mass., where he remained about twelve years. Not long after leaving Somerville, he was stricken with paralysis, and was an invalid several years. In 1889 he went to Gorham, N. H., where he soon had another shock, but had par- tially recovered from its effects, and was a faithful pastor and helpful preacher, serving the parish without a stipu- lated salary, and taking only such pecuniary assistance as came as a free-will offering. He had a sensitive nature, and was averse to putting himself forward for notice or praise. His work was faithfully done, and he bound those who waited on his ministering, both the aged and the young, by the strongest and most loving ties to himself. A great lover of children, he was de- votedly loved by them. Death came to him in the way in which he had at one time said he desired to have it come, when he was alone, and unaccompanied by a painful struggle. A born preacher and a faithful pastor, he still lives in many hearts that loved him .- Taken from the Universalist Register for 1897,
REV. GEORGE H. VIBBERT
Rev. George H. Vibbert, who was pastor of the church from January 1, 1874, to July, 1877, was born in Chicopee October 4, 1837, and was ordained in West- field, O., in 1859. Before coming to Somerville, he had preached in Ohio, Lansing, Mich., Rockport, and East Boston.
Rev. Mr. Vibbert was extremely popular among the young people, and is remembered as a man of fine tastes and sensibilities. In the issue of the Somerville Journal of March 24, 1877, it was said: "This is the only church of the denomination in the city; hence the attendants come from all parts. There is considerable interest in the meetings, particularly among the young people, who are a large part of the society. The society is noted for the festive occasions which it celebrates, always taking pains to observe them with considerable spirit."
REV. W. S. RALPH
We regret that we have not the facts at hand for an extended notice of this former pastor of our church. He came to Cross-street ten years after his ordination in December, 1877, and served faithfully for two years and a half. At present he is settled over the Universalist Church in Osage, Ia.
REV. CHARLES A. SKINNER
A favorite pastor of the church, who served in that capacity for ten years, was Rev. Charles A. Skinner.
He was born in Brownville, Jefferson county, N. Y., on April 19, 1824, but before he was a year old his parents moved to Langdon, N. H., and then shortly afterward to Cavendish, Vt., and Mr. Skinner never saw his birthplace again until he was called there to his first pastorate many years later.
When he was still a mere boy, he left home and went to live at his grandfather's home in Westmoreland, near Keene, N. H., where he worked on the farm for four and a half years; and working on a farm then didn't mean running a mowing machine and a power churn. It · meant hard, back-breaking work; and from it Mr. Skin- ner got the splendid physique that distinguishes him to- day in his eightieth year.
After the farming life, he went back to Vermont, where he worked in a factory, and then went back to school. First at the Black River Academy in Ludlow, then at the Lebanon Liberal Institute, Lebanon, N. H., and last in the Clinton Liberal Institute, Clinton, N. Y., he sup- plemented the common school and theological training which his minister-father had given him, and emerged ready to preach.
His first charge was at Dexter, in Brownville, his na- tive place, as has been said. He worked there several years, and found there his wife, Cornelia Bartholomew, whom he married in 1850. For fifteen years he was pas- tor of the First Universalist Church of Cambridge. In 1867 he accepted a call to Hartford, Conn., where he
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
preached ten years. Later, for four years, he occupied a pulpit in Melrose, from which he came to Somerville. During his ten years' service in this city he was recog- nized as one of the ablest clergymen of Somerville, His retirement from this pulpit, his last charge, was a matter of regret. He still retains the affection of a host of friends in this city, and is frequently called upon to act in his ministerial capacity at occasions of prominence.
Rev. Mr. Skinner resides in Cambridge, and in June, 1903, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his first ser- vice in the First Universalist Church of that city.
REV. L. M. POWERS
Rev. L. M. Powers, who was the successful pastor of the church from 1892 to 1898, was born in Bethel, Me., March 21, 1864. He was educated in the schools of his native town, and, at the age of fourteen, he decided to enter college. He attended Gould's Academy at Bethel, and after graduating, he entered the Wesleyan Academy at Kent's Hill, Me., with the idea of becoming a Methodist minister. He read the works of Channing and Emerson, and became deeply interested. Early in life he heard Rev. Henry Blanchard preach, and the ser- mon proved to be the turning point in Mr. Powers' career. He decided to become a member of the Uni- versalist Church and a preacher of its doctrines.
He entered Tufts Theological School and took the regular two-years' course, devoting his time to hard study. Lacking the necessary funds to complete his education, he taught school for the purpose of securing money, and a year later obtained a position as city editor of the Atlantic City Times, of Atlantic City, N. J. He returned to Tufts in 1888 and finished his course, gradu- . ating with honors in 1890. He was at once called to pastorates at Mansfield and Foxboro, from which he came to Somerville. Rev. Mr. Powers resigned his pas- torate in this city to accept a call to Grace Church, Buf- falo.
i.
REV. H. D. MAXWELL
The present pastor of the church, Rev. Mr. Maxwell, was born at Moore's Mills, N. B., thirty-two years ago. He received his earlier education in the public schools of his native town. He entered the Divinity School at Tufts College in September, 1889, and graduated in the class of 1893. During the summer of 1892 Mr. Maxwell preached at Leeds Centre and Keene's Corner, Me., and in the summer of 1893 he preached at Addison, Harring- ton, and Cherryfield, Me., which was one of Rev. L. M. Powers' old summer circuits. In the fall of 1893 he re- ceived calls to Universalist churches in New Britain, Conn., and Hyannis, but declined both.
In January, 1894, Mr. Maxwell accepted a call to the pastorate of the Universalist Church in Brattleboro, Vt., where he remained until 1899. He also had charge of the Universalist Churches at Vernon and Guilford, Vt., during the five years. In 1896 he received a call from the Universalist Church in Brookline, but declined it. In February, 1897, he was married to Miss Sara Love, of St. Stephen, N. B., and they have several children.
Rev. Mr. Maxwell is one of Somerville's ablest preachers, his sermons giving evidence of profound thought. He possesses, also, in a marked degree the orator's power in delivery. In his pastoral work he is also highly esteemed.
1
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH (Supplementary.)
BY ARTHUR W. GLINES
Eleven months elapsed between the time that Mr. Skinner left us and Mr. Powers came. In that long, weary period the parish went through an inquisitorial ex- perience of occasional candidates and numerous supplies. We listened to a superannuated clergyman one Sunday, with his "seventhlies" and "eighthlies," his "lastly," and his "word to close"; to a young theological student the next Sunday, who gave us vivid descriptions of the Holy Land-which he had never visited-and interlarded his discourse with real Hebrew and Greek quotations. Another day we would have a college professor, with his one sermon, which he had preached until the manuscript was dog-eared, full of details-everything minutely ex- plained-so that the members of the congregation had no use for brains ; they only needed ears and strength of will to keep awake.
Needless to record, during this martyrdom the congre- gations dwindled until only the faithful few remained. In fact, all parish activities were affected by this lethargy.
On the advent of Mr. Powers, the reaction was sudden, and to some seemed sensational; it was but the turn of the tide, which, having reached its lowest ebb, began once more to rise to its flood.
Rev. L. M. Powers was preaching in Foxboro, Mass., when our parish called him to its pastorate, April 11, 1892. He accepted in a letter dated April 20, and preached his first sermon as pastor June 5 of the same year. He was officially installed October 9.
A young man of exceptional ability, full of ideas and enthusiasm, his pastorate was a notable one. Numerous
NILES
F. W. MARDEN
R.Y.GIFFORD, TREASURER
H.M HAVEN CLERK.
JOHN F. MILLS S CHAIRMAN
I.H.WILEY
D.W. SANBORN
THE PARISH COMMITTEE - 1904
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
organizations were formed under his direction, the most prominent of which was the Men's Club. In fact, every age and both sexes were amply provided for, and the church soon became a social settlement, with suppers, entertainments, and lectures galore.
The religious side was not neglected, however, as on Easter Sunday, 1893, twenty-nine individuals joined the church, and every Easter thereafter saw many more new recruits added.
Lecture courses were conspicuous during these years, as Mr. Powers believed in that form of entertainment, and had faith in their money-raising qualities. Illus- trated lectures of travel, lectures on the Bible, lectures by city officials, etc., were all more or less successful.
At the annual meeting in March, 1894, the parish, on Mr. Powers' initiative, appointed a committee to inves- tigate the advisability, cost, etc., of building a hall on the lot in the rear of the church for the social purposes of the society and its auxiliaries. On May 14 this con- mittee reported, and the parish voted to build. The hall was completed and opened November 23, 1894, and in less than two years it was paid for.
But what a strenuous time! In the spring of 1895, and again in the fall of the same year, we held five-night fairs-two in one year, while previous to that time we had had but one in two years. The usual entertainments and other money-making schemes, which are the pre- liminaries of all fairs, were worked to the fullest extent, until the church became known, with good reason, as the "Every Night Church."
Physically and financially, the demands on the mem- bers of the society were never heavier, but calls for con- tributions to outside philanthropies were often made, and always cheerfully met. Nor did the parish ever fail to respond to any new work to which Mr. Powers called it. In all its history probably, notwithstanding, no period was more prosperous, or the society in a more
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FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
flourishing and thoroughly alive condition. It proved conclusively that work, and plenty of it, is good for a church, as it is for an individual.
By delivering the Memorial Day oration before the Grand Army in 1893, Mr. Powers came prominently be- fore the whole city. He, also, by inviting the Odd Fel- lows, the Bicycle Club, and other organizations to attend the Sunday morning services at various times, brought many into touch with our church who had never been interested in it before.
Two notable publications were issued during Mr. Powers' administration: The Harvester, a paper pub- lished in connection with the fair of 1893, contained his- torical sketches of the church and all the organizations connected therewith, and in the 1897 Harvester the first directory of the parish was printed. Both of these papers were of great value to the parish, and are espe- cially valuable as historical documents.
In 1897 Mr. Powers preached the annual sermon be- fore the Universalist Sabbath School Union.
Deacon George W. Ireland died in the fall of 1895, and in his will was found a bequest to the parish of $1,000, which bequest it was Mr. Powers' privilege to announce.
Lenten services were held nightly during the week next preceding Easter, 1897, and although new to our church, they were well attended.
Augustus Hodgman, the parish treasurer, died sud- denly in the church in February, 1898. His death caused a vacancy in the ranks of the faithful workers which was hard to fill, and it is but just his name should appear in this history of the church.
At Mr. Powers' suggestion, the church members adopted the individual communion cups in 1898. The Men's Club was also started during the same year. But '98 will be chiefly remembered as the year in which the
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
old debt was raised, and the parish was able to realize that freedom was to be a reality, and no longer a dream, of the future. On Sunday morning, March 19, Mr. Powers called for individual pledges to pay the debt. His plan was for quarter-yearly payments, to continue over a term of three years. About $8,500 was pledged that morning, sufficient to take care of the principal and interest up to the end of the three-year period.
At the close of his sermon on the first Sunday in Oc- tober, 1898, Mr. Powers read his resignation. It came without warning. The people could hardly believe their ears. Every effort was made to have him re-consider, but to no avail. Even when the unanimous votes of every organization connected with the society, testified to by the signatures of their respective officers, engrossed on parchment, were sent to Mr. Powers, he declined to change his previous determination, so, reluctantly, the parish accepted his resignation, to take effect December 1, 1898.
On the last Sunday in November, the day Mr. Powers would have preached his farewell sermon, no service was held, owing to a storm of blizzard proportions, which kept all but a few of the bravest at home. This is the only time, in the history of the church, so far as can be learned, that a regular morning service was omitted. Naturally a disappointment to Mr. Powers and all the parish, it was, perhaps, best, for, at a reception given the next night, the farewells were more appropriately said.
The parish, profiting by its previous experience, did not allow a long time to elapse before securing a new pastor. In less than two months from the time Mr. Powers left, Rev. H. D. Maxwell was called.
Mr. Maxwell, who at the time was pastor of the Uni- versalist Church in Brattleboro, Vt., had, by request of the parish committee, preached at two morning services. Both days were stormy, and small congregations greeted
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FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
him, but when the parish meeting was held, on January 16, 1899, Mr. Maxwell's name led all the rest on the in- formal ballot, and he was at once unanimously elected to the pastorate. He began his labors in Somerville the first Sunday in March, 1899.
During the first two years of the new pastorate, the debt pledges were loyally paid by our people. On the evening of April 16, 1901, thirty years from the time the mortgage was placed on the church building, Stephen W. Fuller, who signed the original note as parish treas- urer, had the honor of burning the ancient document in the presence of a large gathering of parish members. This event aroused the people, and since that time the parish has steadily grown stronger, until to-day it pays its bills from its regular income, and has no debts of any kind.
Some of the minor organizations have been given up, and the strength of the parish centred on the strongest and most necessary, like the Sunday School, the Sewing Circle, and the Men's Club. The Mission Circle, a new society, formed by Mr. Maxwell's request, has made a place for itself in the parish, and is doing good work along philanthropic lines.
Mr. Maxwell has made a feature of special Sundays. Many new people have become interested in the church by being invited to attend on Friends' Sunday, Men's Sunday, Old Home Sunday, Young People's Sunday, ·
or Family Reunion Sunday.
He inaugurated our present system of combining all special collections into the Easter offering. Now all calls for charity, convention quotas, etc., are made at Easter, and the people give, in a lump sum, what for- merly they contributed in small installments on various Sundays during the year. Thus they are saved the annoyance of special pleas and importunate pleaders.
Our present system of pew rentals-a weekly contribu- tion on the free-will offering plan-was also introduced
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
through Mr. Maxwell's efforts. We have, by this new arrangement, succeeded in raising sufficient money to pay our regular expenses, without the necessity of fairs or other extraneous schemes which have heretofore been necessary features of our financial system.
The Gleaner, which for a number of years had been issued as a bi-weekly parish newspaper, was, with the consent of the parish, changed to a weekly by Mr. Max- well, and entered as second-class matter at the post-office. Every one interested in the church could, by this means, be reached each week, and the news and announcements of Sunday services, entertainments, suppers, and other church activities placed in their hands. This change was of inestimable value to the society, and did much to fill the pews with new and valuable recruits, besides stimulating the former workers to renewed activities.
One of the largest offerings ever received in the church was on May 26, 1901, when Rev. G. L. Perin, D. D., preached in the interest of the twentieth century fund. The collection for this work amounted to $1,200.
In 1901 Mr. Maxwell urged the advantage of having a "Carnival Week" to interest the young people, adver- tise the church, and, incidentally, to add something to the treasury. An operatic melange, consisting of songs, fancy dances, etc., was given for five nights, and for a first attempt passed off very well. In 1903 a second at- tempt was made. This time the week was devoted to a series of gatherings, which, by their variety, insured pleasure and profit to all.
To briefly mention the week's programme: A parish reception was held on Monday evening, March 2; a grand concert Wednesday night; on Friday an old- fashioned costume supper and entertainment; and on Sunday a special service, with augmented choir, instru- mental music, and other special features. Religiously, socially, and financially, this was an unparalleled success.
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FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
The present church year, beginning in September, 1903, has been a red-letter one in the annals of the parish. The people have again reached the point where work, and lots of it. has no terrors for them.
During the summer of 1903 the interior of the church was thoroughly renovated, and when, on September 22, the Massachusetts Universalist Convention convened within its walls, our people had the satisfaction of wel- coming these visitors from all over the state to a church home of which they might well feel proud. For four days the convention was cared for, and the delegates fed and entertained in the way that Cross-street knows so well how to entertain.
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