USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > Jubilee of the South Congregational Church : November the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth, nineteen hundred > Part 9
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
I know no place where one can lay down what we sometimes call the "burden of life"-but which we might better term the joyous labor of life-with more satisfaction than at the steps of the church, having fulfilled with those about us the labor which fell upon us collectively, having borne forward with one spirit and with comprehensive power this mission work of the kingdom of heaven. I know of no place where the young man, who de- sires something beyond his own prosperity, whose heart goes forth with aspirations and love toward the world, of no place where he can gather up for himself duties more fruitful, more
126
Book of the Jubilee.
promising, more rich in their reaction on his own heart, more powerful in their action on the hearts of men, than at the doors of a Christian church. In these fifty years before you wc trust that young men and women will be found to complete, and more than complete, the prayers and labors of those who are now with us. Thus there shall be an eternal inheritance moving forward toward the kingdom of heaven, whose history we shall gladly trace century by century as the purposes and the grace of God fulfill themselves.
PHINEAS
L. PAGE
HENRY PURCHES
WELCOME
SPRAGUEW HOWARD
DANIEL DAY. $815 - 1883
1800 - 1887
ADDRESS
BY MR. ROBERT W. ADAM.
I was much pleased at the kind invitation of your pastor to take a share, even a's an outsider, in these anniversary exercises. I had the feeling, however, that more is expected of me, from my years and from my long residence in this town, more of rem- iniscence, more perhaps of instruction than I am able to give. Age does not always bring wisdom with it, nor can the memory al- ways be trusted to bring forth accurate recollections.
At the time of the. formation of this church and parish I was a new comer in Pittsfield, of course very little acquainted with the affairs of the town, but very soon I learned of the move- ment towards the formation of another parish and another church. I came here as a student in the office of Rockwell & Colt. Mr. Rockwell, since Judge Rockwell, was then a member of congress. Mr. Colt, since then Judge Colt, was an active member of the bar, an influential citizen, earnest and forward in all public affairs. Their office was the natural resort of men of prominence in the town and there I soon saw gathered from time to time such men as Dr. Humphrey, Lemuel Pomeroy, Solomon L. Russell, George W. Campbell, Wellington H. Tyler, William M. Walker and Calvin Martin, all men active in the affairs of the town, all prominent citizens. There, in their meetings, the affairs of church and state were generally discussed, and promi- nent among those talks was the necessity for a new parish and church. It was very evident that the old church had outgrown
128
Book of the Jubilee.
itself. There was too much work for a pastor, there was not room enough for the congregation. To obtain a seat in the church was a difficult matter. In 1847, I think it was, I was here boarding at a house on North street, the site of which is now occupied by one of our large brick blocks. My sisters, then day scholars in Mr. Tyler's Institute, were boarding with me. We naturally wished for seats in the church. It was some time be- fore we were able to obtain them, and finally, through the kind- ness of Deacon James H. Dunham, one of your leading men, we were taken into his seat and accommodated there until my sis- ters became boarding pupils in the Institute.
Various plans were formed and discussed. The idea was that of building a new and larger church edifice; but there still re- mained the enlarged work for the pastor. There was the idea, instead of having an entirely separate church, of having a branch church, both of which should be under one administra- tion. That was found to be impracticable. Finally it was resolved that a new church and parish should be instituted. The ques- tion then was, "Who should go?" The church was perfectly unit- ed. The history of the church, in general, is too full of schisms and separations and secessions and quarrels to make it altogether pleasant reading; but here there was perfect harmony; pastor and people were united; the people themselves were of one mind and one heart; nothing in the way of division was here. This church was founded in love. The history of the church has been most beautifully presented to you by Mr. Peirson. I think we all have occasion to thank him for the very interesting and thor- ough manner in which he has presented and brought out the his- tory. The church was organized. It is sometimes spoken of as a daughter of the mother church. In one sense it is. I prefer to think of it, however, as a sister. Instead of thinking of it as a daughter, going forth to make a new home and originating a
129
Book of the Jubilee.
new family, I prefer to think of it as a sister remaining in the old home, under the same broad roof, working with the same purposes, equal in all things.
Not long ago I was riding from the railway station in the town of Princeton up to the village on the slope of Mount Wach- usett. A gentleman in the carriage pointed out a tree, not very far removed from the roadside, a tree beautiful in its form, with gracefully rounded trunk, broad spreading branches, inviting the wayfarer to stop and rest beneath its shelter. A closer look, how- ever, showed that that tree was made up of two. The foliage on the one side was the maple, on the other side, at the top, of a different species. There was a slight distinction in the foliage on close inspection. I think of these two churches as one tree, grow- ing up together, inviting the weary passer to the shelter of its shade, its trunk well rounded and graceful, ever pointing heav- enward.
I remember well the burning of the first edifice on this site. It was a splendid, and yet a sad sight. I believe it was the night following the close of the meeting of the American Board. The town had been full of strangers. There had been rejoicing and well wishing, but that was followed by a sad sight. The flames, starting from the old lecture room, which stood a little to the north, soon enveloped the building almost completely and every- thing was in ruins. It was discouraging. It was sad. I believe that the northwest corner of the wall of the basement was so little injured that it was not found necessary to take that down. I think I am correct and that it now stands as it was originally laid. All the rest had to be built over. I remember, among other things that night, the efforts of Dr., Todd, who, by the way, was one of the best and most practical firemen Pittsfield ever had. How, thoroughly drenched from head to foot, he stood on a lad- der, reaching up to the roof of the house then occupied by Mr.
130
Book of the Jubilee.
Thomas Strong, now owned by Mrs. Campbell. It was in great danger of taking fire from the heat of the lecture room, and he stood there, working earnestly and effectually for the saving of that building.
I remember another experience in the history of this church; how your parents (turning to Mr. Peirson) at the close of the regular service one day came forward here and were united in marriage. I wonder if it is all sentiment, or if the recognition, on their part, that here they commenced their long and happy unit- ed life, was not ever a stimulus to them in the labor and service which they so freely gave to this church. I did not know Mr. Peirson very well then. Not long after I came to know him in- timately. We were associated in the difficult, perplexing and thankless office, for some years, of assessing the taxes of this town, and there I came to know his sound, wise judgment, his honesty of purpose, his earnest desire to do right and justly by every one. My acquaintance with Mr. Peirson was further con- tinued when he became one of the trustees of the bank with which I was connected. There he was my trusted friend, my wise counsellor, ever ready and ever able to give me all the assist- ance I needed.
I recall the memory of another of your saints, if I may so call them, Deacon Daniel Day. For fifteen years he and I were together associated, meeting each other daily, our intercourse always pleasant. I found in him a faithful assistant and a wise counsellor. He was a profound reader, a deep thinker, a thor- oughly cultivated man, not caring to put himself forward, rather retiring than otherwise. There was in him a power which was to be admired.
Another one of your number whom I well knew was Mrs. Fenn, an earnest, active worker, with the good of the church and the good of the community always at heart. During our
131
Book of the Jubilee.
Civil War that woman accomplished as much for her country as any soldier on the field. Many of us who can remember the re- turn of the 49th regiment to town, will recall Mrs. Fenn with her corps of nurses in the temporary hospital which she had fitted up to receive the weary and the sick soldiers and send them strengthened to their homes.
It is men and women such as these that strengthen the church, that go to give vitality to a community. I speak only of those whom I have well known. There are scores of others whose names are precious in your memory to whom I will not refer.
Last Sabbath evening, reaching my home, I took up last week's number of the Outlook which lay on the table. I happen- ed to open to an article byDr. Griffis on the Exposition in Paris. The first paragraph of that article is a free translation of the Latin motto of the city of Paris, "Mid storms they wrestle nor ever sink." I thought at once of that story which I had just heard from Mr. Peirson, of the trials which this church and par- ish had gone through, the storms with which they had wrestled, and they were many. You have been tried as by fire, the light- nings have made their marks and the winds of heaven have vis- ited you all too roughly, but these disasters have only served to strengthen your activity and nerve your courage and bring out the active, practical sympathy of the community. You stand now, at the close of your first fifty years, a prosperous church. I have had, within the last week, the pleasure of executing the in- strument which has removed every incumbrance in the way of debt from your church. Your numbers are increasing, your spiritual life is flourishing. God's blessing is evidently upon you, and that the coming fifty years, and all the years to come, may still witness you growing in your godlike work of bringing multitudes into the light is the fervent prayer of every lover of the good.
-
مـ
ADDRESS
BY MR. WILLIAM B. RICE.
I purposed, at the suggestion of another, to speak of persons connected with this church, particularly of some of the deacons who have gone up higher, but our friend, the Rev. Mr. Carru- thers, last Sunday evening, and Mr. Adam, at this time, have portrayed the men spoken of so truthfully, so completely, in terms so appreciative, that nothing more needs to be said of them. I certainly shall not try to retouch their finished work with my unpractised pencil. One would expect such men to be quiet, or- derly, law-abiding citizens. Such they were. But the Fugitive Slave Law, enacted about two months before the organization of this church, aroused their righteous indignation; they not only did not obey the law, but, in positive terms, denounced its pro- visions and advised disobedience.
The underground railroad, unchartered by the state but sanc- tioned by the Sermon on the Mount, did a thriving business here. The house of one of our deacons served as a station, the deacon acting as agent, assisted by friends and neighbors who acted as conductors and looked after the comfort and safety of their passengers. The station was on North street, a little north of the First Baptist Church.
I am reminded here of an experience of my own which took place just after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law. Of course the passage of such a law gave rise to frequent heated dis- cussions. I had a discussion, (I don't know that I was heated)
134
Book of the Jubilee.
with one of my neighbors, a deacon in a Congregational Church in the adjoining state of Connecticut. There was in the church of which he was a deacon a very respectable colored man, the sober, industrious father of a fine family, as respectable as any of his white neighbors. As an illustration of my feeling in regard to the slave law I said to this good deacon (I have no doubt of his goodness), "If Sam Smith (this colored brother) was a fugitive from slavery and I knew that a United States marshal was on his way to arrest him and carry him back to slavery, I would go to him, apprise him of his danger and do all in my power to assist in his escape." "You would do a very mean thing," said the deacon. Now that was not the sentiment of that man alone; the North was full of just such men. Obe- dience to law was preached-a good doctrine. Obey the higher powers. "The powers that be are ordained of God." Good doc- trine; no doubt about that. Others sounded a different note. The Independent conducted by Dr. Joseph P. Thompson of the Tabernacle, Dr. Leonard Bacon of New Haven, and Dr. Rich- ard S. Storrs of Brooklyn, advised resistance to the law, and in token of their respect for law, to submit to the penalty for its violation,-$1000 fine and six months imprisonment. But times change, and men change with them. American slavery has passed away and laws to sanction and maintain it would now be regarded very much as is the doctrine of the divine right of kings to rule.
We heard last evening, in the address by Dr. Harris, that there have been advances in theology; and there have been ad- vances, too, in the realm of material things. During the last one hundred years, changes have taken place in this world of ours which it is difficult for the younger people to realize, and by 'younger' I mean from sixty down. In the year 1800 the
135
Book of the Jubilee.
streets of no single city in all the world were lighted by gas or anything else. In the last years of the previous century steam had been used in a rude way for pumping water out of mines. Early in the present century, by means of greatly improved en- gines, it was applied to driving machinery and to locomotive purposes. Steam vessels, large and small, ply on every ocean, lake and navigable river. All the railroads of the world are the product of the last seventy years, a period of time well with- in the memory of many persons now living. Then came in 1837 Daguerre's discovery of a process for making pictures by means of sunlight. In 1844 the electric telegraph was put in successful op- eration between Baltimore and Washington and the first message sent over it. Compare the slowness of communication just before that with the swiftness with which last week's election tidings were gathered and announced all over the land. About the same time the use of anaesthetics in surgery was discovered. In 1859 the oil fields were opened. About 1866 the Atlantic cable was successfully laid and opened. In 1875 or 1876 came the tele- phone, that wonderful instrument for quick communication. Then followed the subjection of electricity to the uses of man for the purposes of locomotion, driving of machinery, and illu- mination. I have mentioned only some of the more important of the discoveries and inventions of the last one hundred years. What times are these in which we live! Let us not forget that increase of opportunity and privilege enhances responsibility.
I am reminded by the sermon of our pastor Sunday morning of some lines which I first saw in 1856, during the Fremont cam- paign, written by Dr. Holland, our western Massachusetts poet, with special reference to the great question of the day, just as freedom and slavery were about to engage in their death grapple. They were headed
136
Book of the Jubilee.
WANTED.
"God give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor, men who will not lie; Men who can stand before a demagogue And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking! Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty and in private thinking." (So far, the kind of men wanted. Now, why wanted?) "For while the rabble with their thumb-worm creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps."
Such, I think, are the kind of men our pastor had in mind. We stand near the close of the nineteenth and about to step over the threshold of the twentieth century, and what shall we write upon our banner? Truth, righteousness, love. Let the young men and the old men of this church, and those of all our churches, Protestant and Catholic, and men who belong to no church, range themselves under Christ's leadership and go for- ward. I end, as did our pastor on Sunday morning: Let us give ourselves to the splendid work of making men.
THE REVEREND CHARLES H. HAMLIN
E
ADDRESS
BY THE REVEREND C. H. HAMLIN.
Pastor, Sisters, and Friends: It is a great delight to look once more into your faces. I had one of the surprises of my life to-day, As I went into one of the barber shops of this town for my morning's shave, the barber spoke to me as "Father Hamlin." I felt my years in no youthful degree.
I want to congratulate you to-night on the possession of the unprecedented, abnormal and unnatural ecclesiastical sensation, freedom from debt. How does it feel? I hope you enjoy it. Long may it stay with you. Now this freedom from debt might be a very tame and unworthy thing if it meant inefficient equip- ment to extend the gospel. On the other hand, when this free- dom from debt means the best equipment to extend the gospel that you ever had, a cheer for the freedom from debt. Not only does it mean the best building, what they call the best plant, but this building and this plant, as it came from the tools of the carpenter and the brains of the architect, would not be the building and the plant you have, were it not that it spoke of the sacrifices that you have been willing to make for it and are willing to make for it. Besides these outward walls, there is the inward devotion and loyalty of your hearts, developed in the past and the present and a pledge for the future. The whole fifty years give nothing except as they stand for the present and the future Of what good are all the past dividends of old national banks? They are matters of no fur- ther interest. The quotation of their stock and the value of
138
Book of the Jubilee.
their property depends upon the dividends that are yet to be. What is it that this church has done ? Nothing except as it is a pledge of what it is yet to do. "Things won are done. Life's joy is in the doing." That, I believe, comes out of one of the plays of Shakespeare, which we sometimes question whether he ever wrote. Well, if Shakespeare didn't write them, who else did ?
I want to congratulate you on the opportunity you have for the future, but I also want to join with you in returning thanks for what you have already done on the momentum of the past, which gives the pledge of success in the future. You have erected a structure suitable for public worship, you have im- proved your music, and these things are good; but the greatest thing that this church has ever done is the humanity it has de- veloped.
My parents had hopes that I would become a minister of Christ, but I told my father, "If I do study theology, I don't know whether I can believe it enough to preach it." He said, "If you don't and can't believe it, I will not ask you to preach it, but, as a graduate of a college, I think it worth your time to take one special year to find out whether you can believe it." I went for one year, under the instruction of your first pastor, and, in spite of all the doubts which had come to me, after some- thing like six months in the Seminary, things began to look less unreasonable than they did.
Everything President Harris said in his estimation of your first pastor was entirely true, but, if I were to describe him, there is one word I should use which President Harris did not use, and that is the word "candor." I know no man more courteous to opponents. He was absolutely just and absolutely fair. I have known men with candor who equalled him, but I never knew another man who surpassed him for candor.
1
139
Book of the Jubilee.
Deacon Rice would not say anything about the deacons. I could not be satisfied if I should leave this place without testi- mony to the board of deacons, not only the deacons of this church, but of every church I have ever met. At the time I entered the ministry, now twenty-five years ago, it was common to sneer at deacons, and to speak of them as the men who stood in the way as stumbling blocks in the progress of the church, and especially to progress suggested by younger ministers. All the deacons I have ever met have given me liberty to go ahead. Make your mistakes, as every man must who does anything, and you shall be forgiven for the mistake, but you can never be for- given for the mistake of inaction. I want to acknowledge the courtesy and the encouragement which I had from the deacons of this church, in the liberty of action, under heavy responsibility, for they took me when I was young and they were all older men than I. They were willing to give me liberty of action.
When I came to this church, for the first time in my life I met a Yankee humorist who was a deacon, and I thank God that I met him in that capacity. There had been some disarrangement, because of funeral services and the contribution bags could not be found. One of the deacons said to me in a low voice, "I have no doubt those contribution bags are somewhere." I re- covered my features and from that day to this I have blessed the American humorist whom I met in the office of a church deacon.
So much for your first pastor; so much for the board of dea- cons; but, beyond the pastor and beyond the deacons have been the rank and file of this church. You will all remember Deacon Peirson, his faithfulness and his wisdom in the finances. You will always remember Deacon Day. There was in this parish a certain woman, a wife, mother and grandmother, and whenever your deacons and your pastor were overcome with their respon-
140
Book of the Jubilee.
sibilities, they called upon that mother in Israel and went home uplifted and glad. She was a representative of the strength in faith of the rank and file of this South Church. God bless you now and evermore.
REMARKS
BY MR. A. A. FOBES.
Eighteen months ago there were in existence three papers that were obnoxious to the members of the South Church. These papers, while innocent in themselves, were the source of much anxiety. Two of these papers represented notes for $400 each and the third was a mortgage for $3,800, representing a total indebtedness of $4,600 and an annual yearly interest of $230. At the annual parish meeting in the spring of 1899 it was decided to call a special meeting of the church, the congre- gation and the parish, for the purpose of raising money for pay- ing off the two notes. At the special meeting several hundred dollars were raised and a committee was appointed for the pur- pose of raising the rest. This committee consisted of Miss F. I. Dunham, Miss Mary E. Porter, Mrs. James Denny, Jr., Mr. A. A. Fobes, Mr. H. W. Myers.
After the committee had organized we received a request from the committee who had the arrangement of this Jubilee in charge, that we should assume the responsibility of raising the whole debt of $4,600. This seemed a very heavy burden at that time, but, with God's help and with your help, the debt has been paid.
Our plan was simple. It was to bring home to every member of the congregation the need of paying his or her fair share of the debt. For those who were not able to pay their share in one sum, we have had the weekly envelope system, and we believe
142
Book of the Jubilee.
that nearly everyone has contributed something. We have also had the substantial aid of the different organizations of the church; from the Ladies' Society, from the Sunday School, from the Christian Endeavor and the Junior Endeavor Society, and now, in the name of the committee, I wish to thank all those who have co-operated with us in this work of raising the debt, especially the collectors who have assisted, some of whom have volunteered their services.
Mr. Chairman of the Prudential Committee, in the name of our committee and the members of the South Church, I present the last of those obnoxious papers, the mortgage.
CHARLES BRANDON BOYNTON, D. D. 1806 -- 1883
MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH.
SAMUEL HARRIS, D. D. L.L. D., born in Machias, Maine, June the fourteenth, 1814, was graduated Bowdoin college 1833, Andover Seminary 1838. Ordained Conway, Massachusetts, December, the twenty-second, 1841. Installed Pittsfield, March the twelfth, 1851. Dismissed August the thirteenth, 1855. Professor of Systematic Theology Bangor Seminary 1855-1867; president Bowdoin college 1867-1871; professor Systematic Theology, Yale Divinity school 1871-1896, and emeritus professor afterwards. Williams college gave the honorary D. D. in 1855 and Bowdoin L. L. D. in 1871. Publish- ed "The Philosophic Basis of Theism" in 1890, "The Self-reve- lation of God," 1891, "God Creator and Lord of All," 1896. Died of pneumonia June the twenty-fifth, 1899, aged eighty-five years and ten days.
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.