USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Leicester > History of the Second Congregational church and society in Leicester, Massachusetts > Part 10
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" On Sept. 12, 1886, a service of Ordination and installa- tion was held. At the desire of both the Society and Mr. Johonnot, no Advisory Council was called; but an ordain- ing sermon was preached, and a charge given by the Rev. Calvin Stebbins, of the Church of the Unity, Worcester ; and a Right hand of Fellowship extended by the Rev. Sam- uel Hamlet of Brookfield. It was the intention of the Society and Mr. Johonnot that this service should constitute a regular ordination. "
(Signed) R. F. JOHONNOT.
Memoranda from Minister's Book, written by Mr. Johonnot.
"LEICESTER, MASS., Dec. 26, 1886.
" To-day-Sunday-being the Sunday nearest Christmas, an observance of the Lord's Supper was held in this Church,
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being the first observance of this ordinance regularly held in the church for about twenty years.
"July 30, 1888. We have held a Communion Service three times each year, which has been attended by nearly every active member of the Society, on Christmas, Easter, and the last Sunday before the August vacation."
In this connection a brief note by Rev. Samuel May, is found on page 85 of the Minister's Book.
"The Communion Service, as from the first, was observed once in every two months. Deacon Dwight Bisco having Charge of the Communion plate as long as he lived, and exactly discharging his duty in connection with the rite,-as in all other things, it may be said.
"When the Rev. E. Finley was settled, he declined to ad- minister the rite of the Lord's Supper, and it was suffered to lapse for the time, to the expressed regret of the members.
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" Rev. D. H. Montgomery, who was pastor for eight years, objected to the use of the bread and wine, though glad to observe a special service of Commemoration of Jesus Christ. This he did, preparing a form of responsive service for the purpose, which was printed and used.
" Rev. Samuel B. Weston did not observe the rite. Rev. L. G. Wilson did not observe it, but was understood to have no personal objection to so doing."
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There is recorded also an informal observance of the Communion at the home of Mrs. Harriet Flint, oldest surviv- ing church member, on July 25, 1886, the members of her own household, and several neighbors, making nine persons in all, participating. The Rev. Dr. J. F. Moors, of Green- field, officiated.
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RECORD OF MARRIAGES. MINISTER'S BOOK.
During pastorate of Rev. Rodney F. Johonnot.
1887. June 16. At Worcester. Henry Bisco of Leicester and Moselle Olmstead, of Worcester. 1888. May 1. At Leicester. Harry E. Sargent of Leicester and Annie L. Trask, of Leicester.
GEORGE WRIGHT BUCKLEY,
was born May 26, 1850, at Battle Creek, Michigan. Upon his graduation from the public schools of that city, he entered the State University, where he studied for three years, and after an interval of some years spent in journalism, pursued his studies for a time at Harvard University.
For five years Mr. Buckley edited and published the Battle Creek Tribune as an independent newspaper, devoting much energy to the political and social status of the negroes at the South, and made in 1880 an extended trip through the Southern States, for the purpose of careful investigation and comprehensive study of their condition and prospects.
His first active work in the ministry was as pastor of the Universalist Church at Monroe, Michigan, which charge he resigned after two years' service.
Mr. Buckley writes :- " In the autumn of 1890 I accep- ted a call to the Second Congregational Church in Leicester, in the life of which the high-souled and generous-hearted Rev. Samuel May was at that time especially active. The very pleaseant and harmonious relation of the minister and his
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wife to a refined and sympathetic community was unexpect- edly terminated within a year by an urgent call to my native town to take charge of my father's affairs during protracted illness."
Mr. Buckley subsequently organized, and for five years ministered to, a Unitarian Society at Sturgis, Michigan, when the death of his father, in 1895, recalled him to Battle Creek, where, aside from a sojourn in Europe, in 1899, he has con- tinued to reside, dividing his time between business activities and literature, and occasionally preaching when a pulpit supply is needed.
Beside contributions to various magazines, Mr. Buckley is the author of a book entitled " The Wit and Wisdom of Jesus."
JAMES H. WEST,
was born in Melrose, Mass., January 13, 1856, third son of John and Elizabeth (Bainard) West. His parents came to America from Warwickshire in England on their wedding journey, and being greatly pleased with Boston they con- tinued there, or in its immediate vicinity, for the remainder of their lives.
Mr. West writes with filial tenderness of his mother, who but recently passed away in her eighty-eighth year, a member of the Orthodox Congregational Church, yet deeply sympa- thetic in her son's wider horizon of belief and hope, and find- ing great enjoyment in the writings of Dr. James Freeman Clarke, John White Chadwick, Charles Gordon Ames, and other Unitarian authors.
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Mr. West began to write for the press in boyhood and ac- quired a practical knowledge of the printer's art.
He entered the Divinity School of Tufts College in 1878, supplying various pulpits in Massachusetts towns while pur- suing his studies, chiefly of Universalist Societies.
He was ordained in Illinois, in 1883, at the annual meet- ing of the Western Unitarian Conference, and was settled at Geneva, Ill., almost immediately after. In this year also occurred Mr. West's marriage to Miss Cora Jeannette Liver- more, of Spencer, Massachusetts.
Mr. West preached in Geneva for four years, when called to Duluth, Iowa, where he remained for one year.
When invited to Leicester, in 1891, Mr. West was con- nected with publishing interests in Boston ; and though he occupied most acceptably the pulpit of the Second Congrega- tional Church in Leicester until 1893, continued to pursue his work in Boston meanwhile. A published memorial of his pastorate in Leicester, entitled Sermon of Two Happy Years, has a preface written by the Rev. Samuel May.
Mr. West is a member of the Tufts College Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, and during Commencement week of 1906 delivered the annual poem before that fraternity.
For three elective periods of four years each he has been a director of the Free Religious Association of America.
His first published work was a volume of poems while still in college. This was followed by "Uplifts in Heart and Will." . In 1888 he issued at Duluth a volume of religious essays, "The Complete Life," and in this year also appeared the first issues of his Free Religious Magazine, " The New Ideal," which was afterward transferred to Boston. A volume of
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sermons entitled "In Love with Love," appeared in 1894, and his latest work, a volume of poems, 1905, bears the title, "The Ninth Paradise."
Mr. West is still engaged-1908-in the publishing of unsectarian and untheological literature, many prominent Unitarian writers being therein represented,
REV. NATHANAEL SEAVER,
a native of Boston, whose family connection includes many well known Boston names, is descended from founders of Boston and Dorchester, upon the one side, and of Plymouth and Salem, upon the other.
He began the study of Theology at the Meadville Theo- logical School, Pennsylvania, and subsequently entered the Divinity School, Cambridge, from which he was graduated in 1864, and was shortly after appointed hospital visitor on the United States Sanitary Commission, the Civil War being then in progress, and the all-absorbing interest. He proceeded to Winchester, Virginia, where he was temporarily superin- tendent of the work of the Commission in that locality, re- maining for a time near Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek; and incidentally enjoyed the inestimable privilege of saluting General Philip Sheridan, as he started on his famous ride.
Mr. Seaver was ordained in Walpole, N. H., in 1865.
In November, 1868, he founded the Unitarian Church in Davenport, Iowa, and remained there for five years, when he returned to Massachusetts; his pastorates to the year 1892, being successively at Dorchester, Melrose, Scituate and Templeton. For a time he had charge of the two parishes in Millbury and Leicester, assuming the pastorate of the Second
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Congregational Church and Society in Leicester in 1894, where he remained for six years, beloved of all.
His latest settlement, at Pittsfield, was interrupted in 1904 by the death of a connection of his family, since which time he has resided in the cheerful home reserved for his declining years in Scituate, with his wife and daughter. The duration of Mr. Seaver's active and useful ministry was exactly forty years.
RECORD OF BAPTISMS. MINISTER'S BOOK. During pastorate of Rev. Nathanael Seaver.
CHILDREN'S SUNDAY.
July, 1894.
Henry Ray, Children of Henry L. and
Gertrude, Gertrude Ray Watson. Son of Frank and
Walton
Minnie Walton Marsh.
James Philip Son of J. Sidney and Kate Cowles Whittemore.
CHILDREN'S SUNDAY. July, 1895.
Russell Son of Dr. Frederic H. and Ida Whitford Gifford.
RECORD OF DEATHS. MINISTER'S BOOK.
During pastorate of Rev. Nathanael Seaver.
1895. June 13.
Mrs. Sarah Russell May, wife of Rev. Samuel May, died
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at Scarboro, Maine, Prout's Neck, at the summer home of her daughter, Miss Elizabeth Goddard May.
Funeral service at the Church of the Disciples, in Boston, Rev. Charles G. Ames officiating, assisted by Rev. Christo- pher R. Eliot and Rev. Nathanael Seaver.
Cremation and interment at Forest Hills.
" She has come to her coronation," said Mr. Ames. 1898.
Mrs. Lucy B. Sargent, Rupert, in Philadelphia, Pa.
Dec. 28. William Whittemore.
N. Seaver.
1897. April 2.
Mrs. M. E. Henshaw Edmunds.
Service at the church, April 5. N. Seaver.
May 21. At Leicester Inn, Ernest Bernard Cheno- weth, of Boston, Harvard '88, son of Col. Bernard Peel, and Caroline Van D. Chenoweth.
Service in the church, May 24, Bishop Alexander H. Vinton, officiating, assisted by Rev. Nathanael Seaver and Rev. F. H. Claren. The Rev. Samuel May was present.
Interment in Rural cemetery, Worcester.
1899. June 24.
Mary E. Joslyn, daughter of J. E. and Sarah A. Whitte- more Joslyn.
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Funeral service, June 26, at residence of her aunt, Mrs. Gilmore, conducted by Mr. Seaver, Mr. May making an ad- dress which was afterward printed and distributed among Miss Joslyn's friends.
Rev. Samuel May appeared in public upon but one other
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occasion thereafter : - on Children's Sunday, July 30, when he spoke briefly.
November 24. Rev. Samuel May. Services at the house and church Nov. 26, Rev. Nathanael Seaver officiating, assisted by Rev. Austin S. Garver, and Rev. George Wm. Kent of Worcester.
On Nov. 27, service at the Church of the Disciples in Boston, Rev. Charles G. Ames officiating, assisted by Rev. Christopher R. Eliot, Rev. Nathanael Seaver and Mr. Wil- liam Lloyd Garrison.
Cremation and interment at Forest Hills.
ARTEMAS LAWRENCE DAY.
At a meeting of the Second Congregational Society, duly called by warrant on November 18, 1901, to confer and take action on the ordination of Mr. Artemas Lawrence Day, the Prudential Committee, viz. ; Mr. William F. Whittemore, Mr. Arthur F. Estabrook, Mrs. J. Sydney Whittemore, Mr. Upham, Mr. Henry Bisco, Mrs. H. E. Sargent, Miss May, were appointed in due form, a committee to meet Mr. Day and confer with him in the matter.
The Rev. Artemas Lawrence Day was graduated from Meadville Divinity School in 1901, and at the time of his call to Leicester was taking a post-graduate course at Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, his time devoted to Leicester having been from Friday through Sunday of each week, since the preceding October.
Friday evening, January 24, was appointed for the Ordi- nation Service.
The Council was held in the Parish House at 7.25 o'clock.
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Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D., President of the American Uni- tarian Association, elected moderator. Rev. William L. Walsh, of Brookfield, clerk. Prayer was offered by Dr. Eliot.
There were present, beside Mr. Day and Mr. William F. Whittemore representing the parish, Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D., Pres. A. U. Association; Rev. Louis G. Wilson, of Hopedale, with delegates; Rev. F. L. Phalen, Church of the Unity, Worcester, with delegates; Rev. Arthur L. Weath- erly, South Unitarian Church, Worcester, with delegates; Rev. William L. Walsh, of Brookfield, with delegates; Mr. Clark and Mr. Birks, classmates of Mr. Day in the Harvard Divinity School, and visitors from this parish.
Council adjourned at 7.40 P. M., after which the pro- gramme of Ordination Services was carried out as arranged. Voluntary,
Invocation, Rev. Arthur L. Weatherly.
Anthem, " How Beautiful upon the Mountains."
Scripture, Rev. Arthur L. Weatherly.
Hymn,
" O God, Thy Children Gathered Here."
Ordaining Prayer, Rev. F. L. Phalen. Response. Trio, Mr. J. Sidney Whittemore, Miss Susan E.
Knight, Mrs. Oliver M. Nash.
Sermon,
Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D.
Duet, " Peace to this Dwelling." Rev. William L. Walsh.
Charge to the People,
Anthem,
" O Light, whose Beams Illumine All."
Charge to the Minister, Rev. Louis G. Wilson.
Right Hand of Fellowship, Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D.
Hymn, " How Beautiful, said He, of Old." Benediction, Rev. Artemas Lawrence Day.
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When Mr. Day was called elsewhere and closed his brief pastorate in Leicester, the thanks of the Society for his un- selfish and devoted service to its interests were voted, and duly extended.
Mr. Day possessed in an unusual degree the happy gift of winning and holding the love and confidence of children ; a gift of incalculable value to a man who would devote himself to the ministry.
GEORGE EDGAR HATHAWAY,
was born in Providence, R. I., in 1871. When he was ten years of age his parents removed to New Bedford, Mass., where he received his earlier education.
His preparation for college was had at East Greenwich, R. I. Mr. Hathaway was graduated in due course from Brown University, and from the Harvard Divinity School in June, 1904.
He immediately followed Mr. Day, and for fifteen months, while still a student at the Divinity School, preached most acceptably from the Unitarian pulpit in Leicester.
The Rev. George Edgar Hathaway was ordained to the ministry and installed as pastor of the Second Congregational Church and Society in Leicester, Massachusetts, July 21, 1904.
Mr. Hathaway resigned his pastorate November 12, 1905, in order to assume elsewhere duties which seemed to him more urgent, and straightway took his leave, to the sincere regret of an admiring and already attached congregation. Not the least among Mr. Hathaway's admirable qualities is his fervent patriotism.
CHAPTER VII.
THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY. DEDICATION OF THE PARISH HOUSE. ADDRESSES BY REV. SAMUEL MAY.
Treasured among the historical data appertaining to this parish, are the notes of an address delivered by the Rev. Samuel May on July 9, 1871, at the celebration of the Thirty-Seventh Anniversary of the gathering of the Church.
After reading the covenant and the ten names of those who signed it, which appear in Chapter V, Mr. May said in part :
" We had framed this Covenant on that adopted by the Second Church in Worcester, of which the Rev. Dr. Aaron Bancroft was then senior pastor; one clause in it being added by me.
"And Dr. Bancroft himself was present with us that day, presided at our meeting, and gave us the pledge of the Fel- lowship of the Churches.
" His venerable figure, serene face, slightly tremulous voice, and silvery flowing hair come vividly before me now, as they will before others here, then present.
" It was always a most welcome circumstance when from time to time he could visit our little congregation, and give us his sage and sound instruction, and his living presence ; which was itself a benediction.
" He lived five years after we became a Church.
" You will observe that the Covenant imposed no Creed ; at least we intended it should not, and supposed it did not.
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" But I am aware that even its broad and comprehensive acknowledgment of the relation borne by the Founder of Christianity, by Jesus of Nazareth, to the Infinite God on the one hand, to mankind on the other, would to some seem, at this day, a stringent and oppressive creed ; and a fetter upon the freedom of thought and of faith; and that the recognition of the Scriptures would, to such, seem as nar- rowing, and limiting the field from which Eternal Truth is to be drawn.
" I will not say there is no ground for such a criticism ; but I do say no such restriction was intended by us in the adoption of that Covenant.
At that day there was not the faintest ripple of modern Radicalism in the religious thought, and speech, of the Uni- tarian, or Liberal Christian, body.
" We were striving, earnestly and diligently striving, I assure you, my younger brothers and sisters, for a right to stand on Christian ground, and speak our deep convictions of those great Truths of Nature and Revelation concerning God, and Man ; concerning Life, Death, and the Spiritual world, which had come to bless us.
" We held them as our dear right, as a most precious possession, as taking away the darkness and the veil from the character of God and from the Future Destiny of Man ; and we meant to plant ourselves on a broad basis of Faith in all truth, and of good will and mutual helpfulness to all men ; where all might come and breathe the free air of Christian liberty, and of the soul's progressive life.
" Our frequent word was that sublime saying of the Pastor John Robinson, at Leyden, Holland, where he was giving
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his farewell charge and blessing to the Pilgrim Band then embarking for this distant and unknown land :
" ' I believe there is more light yet to break forth from the Word of God. So I charge you to follow me no further than you have seen me follow Christ. Some men, ' he added, ' stop with Luther, and some with Calvin, as if these had reached the very goal of all possible attainment; but even they saw not all things.'
" That was the attitude we held, the spirit we endeavored to inculcate and to cherish.
" With such exceptions and such failures as are insepara- ble from human weakness, I can say with truth, I think, that the Church and Society here have been reasonably, and for the most part, true to this great principle of freedom, a principle which we, thirty-seven years ago, recognized ex- plicitly in one article of the Covenant.
"Our Covenant, then, was not a Creed, but Articles of Fellowship agreed upon for mutual help and support, wherein we meant to (1) indicate the great foundation principles upon which we established ourselves, and by which we.hoped to act ; and (2) to recognize the individual rights in religious inquiry, and utterance, of each one of our number.
" During the whole time of my ministry, which continued twelve years, the Church constantly and regularly held once in two months their Communion season ; having the table here before me spread with a pure white cloth, and a few plain but handsome silver cups and plates set upon it, con- taining the bread and the wine which became to us the visible symbols,-not of any mysterious flesh and blood change wrought in Jesus the Saviour, or in us, or in any one, -but
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simply of the Last Supper which Jesus ate with his disciples before he suffered death.
" Our service was always one of remembrance of Christ. We took his own words, 'Do this in remembrance of me, ' and we sought to be wholly and implicitly guided by them ; for in all our range of reading and hearing, in all our knowl- edge of history, and in all the deepest experiences and thoughts of our souls, we could find no human being, no teacher, no friend of our souls, so well worthy to be remem- bered, and kept in the freshest and greenest memory, as Jesus, who had won for himself the name of God's best be- loved Son, and whose whole life was so grandly and nobly and beautifully given, to the end that all men might be brought into the same relation, of Sons of God.
" These Communion seasons were always welcome; highly prized by our members generally.
" I do not know why I should not say universally. They were good and refreshing seasons, and some of our members have been deeply pained to have them discontinued.
"You may ask, 'Why have they been discontinued? Surely there must have been a reason, or reasons, for it. What are they?'
" To which inquiry, I must say, that whatever the reasons are, I do not know them. I will frankly say to you all, that for one, I regret their discontinuance.
" It is not so much the spreading of the table with the bread and the wine that I desire. Indeed, I should prefer, for myself, to dispense with the actual preparation of those emblems. I do not deem them indispensable, the wine usually offered was, in my opinion, a very objectionable article, and
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totally unlike that which Jesus had used; but, what is of more consequence, I do not think that the use of these visible emblems is in the least necessary, and I know-if I can know anything-that the heart of Jesus would say, ' Use them, or use them not, as your own love to me, to my brethren and to my Father may direct you. If they are any help to you, use them ; if not, omit them. Only hold fast to that inward appreciation of the Truth and Love of God which the service aims to promote, and promote its growth by all means in your power. The end is vital and indispensable, the means are wholly with you.'
"So, friends, I would have due and somewhat regular sea- sons observed of the Communion Service. Leaving the special method to be determined from time to time.
I would recommend that we all, coming together with hearts of love to God and to one another, to the dear Jesus, ' lover of our souls,' and to all other great and faithful friends and teachers of our race, should renew and hold, from time to time, our Communion of Remembrance.
" While I was the minister of this Church and Society, it was always an object near to my heart to have all the Society become also of the Church, and unite with us in the Com- munion Service, for I felt it was very good, helpful, and pleasant so to do.
" I was not as successful in doing this as I had hoped to be. Difficulties presented themselves. There was a preva- lent misunderstanding concerning the service, to which I must admit that certain words of the Apostle Paul in their literal interpretation, and most obvious meaning, did cer- tainly lend some support. This was one hindrance ; but I
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never could find one word of His, who had said, 'Do this in remembrance of me, ' which would give any support to those ideas of the observance.
"And Saint Paul's words are susceptible of-require in- deed-a very different, and a very sensible construction. Saint Paul, we may well call him, without any superstition ; for so large and generous a soul as his never conceived of laying a snare for the souls of those, for whose full and per- fect union with Jesus the Anointed Son and His divine Father, he devoted a life of such generous toil and prayer, and faith, as the world has never since seen equalled. *
" Still, though no crowds joined us, we did have a steadily growing number of excellent men and women, old, middle- aged, and young, join us.
" But I must speak here of one who, although not a mem- ber of this Church by any formal act of union with us, was to all intents and purposes a fellow-member; one of the most devout, exemplary and active, one of the most loved and honored of our number, Miss Laura Flint.
" She had joined the Episcopal Church at Clappville, sev- eral years previous, her desire to make a profession of her Christian faith finding no welcome, or opportunity of being gratified, in the Church here in which she had been born and reared.
"At that time the Church in Clappville gave her hospitable admission, without demanding from her any subscription to theological doctrines which her whole nature rejected. Her grateful feeling to the Episcopal Church prevented her from ever dissolving the connection she had been allowed to form there. But in all spiritual things she was wholly with us,
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in the new Church we had formed, and so continued, an active and true participant, as long as she lived." *
Mr. May here mentioned names of members, living and dead, which arose to memory, beginning with Mr. Joshua Clapp, and ending with Julia M. Clapp, wife of Dr. Joseph Pynchon, of Springfield, which are here omitted, since they again appear in a later address by Mr. May.
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