USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > Origin and annals of "The Old south," First Presbyterian church and parish, in Newburyport, Mass., 1746-1896 > Part 6
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God prosper and bless you in so doing.
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PRAHA A DWATOGRAPH BY J. W. AND C. J. G. WINDER. IN THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH, APRIL 7 AND 8, 1896.
Q
THE
ANNIVERSARY PROCEEDINGS
WITH THE
Program. Addresses and Correspondence.
Previous to the time fixed for the celebration of our one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, an invita- tion was publicly given to every congregation in the city. as well as to every man, woman and child in our own parish. to attend all the exercises. A more formal invitation was sent to the ministers, the city officials, absent members of our church, and individ- uals known to have a claim on us for this mark of respect on account of their having descended from former pastors, or from families noted for services done in our society. The invitation was as follows:
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ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
"The Old South."
MDCCNLVI.
MDCCCXCVI.
Greeting in the Name of the Lord.
The Firft Prefbyterian Church, in Newburyport, Maffa- chufetts, completed its organization, April 7th, 1746; and this Church and Society will celebrate, April 7 and 8, 1896, the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniverfary of that event.
You are heartily invited to be prefent on that occafion ; or, if unable to attend, to fend fome meffage of congratulation.
There will be hiftorical addreffes, a collation, and other attractive features, of which more definite notice will be given prefently.
All who love the "Old South Church" will be heartily welcomed.
Yours faithfully,
HORACE C. HOVEY, Paftor. JOHN T. BROWN, Chairman of General Committee. WILLIAM E. CHASE, Chairman of Committee on Invitation.
WILLIAM BINLEY, Clerk of the Church.
ALVAH W. LEAVITT, Clerk of the Parifh.
PRENTISS H. REED, Clerk of General Committee.
Newburyport, Mafs., March 12, 1896.
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
THE GATHERING.
In response to this invitation, and at the ringing of the old bell cast by Paul Revere, the meeting house was crowded at every service with members of the congregation, friends from other churches, and stran- gers who took a passing interest in proceedings of such an unusual nature. Those who crossed the vestibule and entered the open doors of the main audience room, saw, first of all, the decorated pulpit, with its floral display; on either side aloft were shields in blue and gold bearing the dates, 1746 and 1896; and swinging gracefully from shield to shield was an elegant gilded chain of exactly one hundred and fifty links, each link being designed to be ulti- mately the frame of an interior view of the historic scene. The idea of a golden chain emblematic of the stretch of years between the two dates originated with Mrs. John W. Winder. It was made by Mr. and Mrs. Winder and Messrs. John M. Bailey and Lucius H. Greely. Various plans were discussed and given up as impracticable, and it was finally decided to make it of wood and gild it. Each of the one hundred and fifty links is in two pieces and the whole length is ninety-four feet. At the right of the pulpit, between it and the cenotaph, was
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ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
the veiled tablet whose uncovering was to be an in- portant feature of the day. The window space at the left was filled with a mass of evergreens. Be- neath the gallery and near the cenotaph was the laurel crowned oil painting of the Rev. George Whitefield, the founder of this church, which had been kindly loaned for the occasion by the American Congregational Association of Boston, through its librarian, Rev. W. H. Cobb, D. D. On an ample plat- form at the left of the pulpit were the portraits of the former pastors of the Old South Church, each on its own easel, and all grouped amid a forest of palms and Easter lilies. Over the main door from the cor- ridor was a beautiful scroll bearing the motto, " Blest Be the Tie that Binds," lettered on a white back- ground with a yellow border. Festoons of ever- greens ran along the front of the galleries, the win- dows were draped by flags, and other decorations helped to give the whole sanctuary a most charming appearance. This work was done under the direction of Mr. John M. Bailey, the chairman of the commit- tee on decoration, with the efficient aid of Lucius Il. Greely, Charles W. Jacoby, Mrs. J. W. Winder. Mrs. W. A. Johnson, Mrs. W. E. Chase. Mrs. E. M. Rund- lett and others. The ushering was done under the direction of the Christian Endeavor Society, who had
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their hands full in seating so many guests. To each person was given a copy of the program which was as follows:
"THE OLD SOUTH"
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, OF NEWBURYPORT, MASS. REV. HORACE C. HOVEY, D. D., PASTOR.
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. APRIL 7 AND 8, 1896.
Program for Tuesday, April 7, 1896.
MISS ELIZABETH C. ADAMS, Soprano. MISS MAY DAVOL, Contralto.
DR. GEORGE E. L. NOYES, Tenor. MR. WILLIAM E. CHASE, Bass. MRS. ISADORA FLANDERS, Organist.
AFTERNOON SERVICE, 2.30 O'CLOCK.
Organ Prelude in F.
Gounod
Doxology.
Lord's Prayer.
Te Deum, Hymn 203, "O God, we Praise Thee and
Confess," Patrick
Psalm 96, Read by Rev. Samuel Shaw.
Prayer, .
Rev. W. C. Richardson, of St. Paul's Church.
Anthem, " This is the Day,"
A. R. Gaul
Address of welcome,
John T. Brown, Esq., Chairman of General Committee.
Response,
Rev. Daniel T. Fiske, D. D., of the Belleville Church.
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ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Memorial Tablet (gift of John T. Brown, Esq.)
Presented by George F. Stone, Esq., of Chicago. Acceptance of the Memorial Tablet, for the Society by the Pastor.
Anthem, " Come to Our Hearts and Abide," J. C. Macy Greetings from "Mother Churches :"
First Church of Newbury, by Rev. F. W. Sanborn. First Religious Society of Newburyport, by Rev. S. C. Beane, D. D.
Old Church of Londonderry, N. H., by Rev. S. F. French. Messages from the absent, Read by Mr. Wm. E. Chase.
Poem by Mrs. Elizabeth K. Haskell,
Read by Mrs. David Foss. Hymn, 964, "O God, Our Help in Ages Past,"
Benediction. Isaac Watts
Organ Postlude, "Alla Marcia," Guilmant
EVENING SERVICE, 7.30 O'CLOCK.
Organ Prelude, Grand Offertoire in G, Loretz
Anthem, " Praise Ye the Father," Gounod
Psalm 84, . Read by Rev. A. W. Hitchcock.
Singing, " Over the Mountain Wave." Hon. George Lunt Prayer, By Rev. John R. Thurston, of Whitinsville. Solo, "Our Risen King."
Miss Adams. A. F. Loud
Historical Address, " The Glory of the Fathers,"
By Rev. Horace C. Hovey, D. D., Pastor.
Hymn, 1060, "O God, beneath Thy guiding hand,"
Leonard Bacon
Benediction, .
Rev. A. G. Vermilye, D. D.
Organ Postlude, " Festival March." Leybach
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Program for Wednesday, April 8. 1896.
AFTERNOON SERVICE, 2.30 O'CLOCK.
Organ Prelude, " Andantino," Barnby
Anthem, "The Lord is my Shepherd," .
H. Smart
Ephesians, First Chapter, Read by Rev. C. E. Lord, D.D. Prayer, By Rev. Louis A. Pope, of the Baptist Church.
Greetings from " Daughter Churches :"
Second Presbyterian, by Rev. T. James Macfaddin.
Fourth Congregational, by Rev. Myron O. Patton.
Whitefield Congregational. by Rev. John H. Reid. Anthem, "The Heavenly Mansions." J. C. Macy
Poem by Rev. W. R. Cochrane, D. D., of Antrim, N. II.
Messages from the Absent, read by Mr. William Binley.
Greeting from the Y. M. C. A., By Sec. W. B. Porter.
Greeting from the Y. P. S. C. E., By Rev. C. P. Mills.
Hymn, 518, "Onward Christian Soldiers," S. Baring- Gould
Benediction.
Organ Postlude in C. Merkel
Banquet in the Chapel, 5 o'clock.
Rev. Peter M. MacDonald, D. D., of Boston, presiding. Divine blessing invoked by Rev. Luther H. Angier, D. D., of Boston.
Impromptu speeches by guests.
EVENING SERVICE, 7.30 O'CLOCK.
Organ Prelude, " Elevation in F," Roeckel Miss Ella M. Johnson.
Anthem, "Blessing, Honor, Glory and Power," Arr. from Lambilotte
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Salutation from the Old Church of Hempstead, L. I.,
(252 years old.)
Prayer, .
By Rev. John W. Dodge.
Solo, "My Hope is in the Everlasting," . J. Stainer
Miss Adams.
" Pastoral Reminiscences,"
By Rev. Ashbel G. Vermilye, D. D., of Englewood, N. J. Hymn, 824, " Blest be the Tie that Binds," .J. Fawcett Benediction
By the Pastor.
Organ Postlude, " March de Procession," Batiste
This program was carried out, to the letter, with the exception that the venerable Dr. Angier, of Bos- ton, was detained from coming by reason of illness, and that Dr. Vermilye offered the prayer on Tuesday evening, instead of Rev. John R. Thurston, who reciprocated by supplementing the " pastoral remi- niscences" on Wednesday evening with some of his own recollections of Oldtown, together with an eloquent off-hand eulogy on the career of the Old South Church.
The address of welcome by John T. Brown, Esquire, the chairman of the General Committee, was heartfelt and appropriate, and was as follows:
MR. BROWN'S ADDRESS.
It is my privilege by action of this congregation, (I fully appreciate the courtesy, and couple it with a very pleasant duty). to welcome all to the old meeting house today. Those from a
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distance, I welcome to the city, to our homes, to our hearts, ex. tending a hearty welcome home. To those who from varied causes have found other church homes, to the pastors and con- gregations of this city and its neighborhood, with whom our re- lations are so happy, I speak the joy and gratitude of this old church for your presence. Welcome all, to the place where our fathers worshipped, to the seats they occupied, and may the memories awakened by the occasion be those of much enjoy- ment. While saddened thoughts come to us of the loved ones missing from these scenes, who have entered into rest, may we see the brightness of the silver tinge to the clouds enveloping their memories. In behalf of this people, I wish for them, and myself, to express to you all, sincere and earnest thanks for your presence with us today, thus indicating your interest in all these former things. When at the close of these anniversary exer- cises, we return to our homes, may this renewal of our own, and our ancestral ties, and the thought that we have considered these days of old, the years of former times, be a memory of happiness until we hear the voices of the angels, bidding us welcome to the house of many mansions.
Rev. Daniel T. Fiske, D. D., senior pastor of the Belleville Church, responded for the sister churches and the congregation, speaking as follows:
DR. FISKE'S RESPONSE.
Mr. Chairman and Dear Friends of the Old South Church :
It gives me great pleasure to be with you on this interesting anniversary, and I am happy to feel that I am included in that cordial and graceful welcome extended by your representative,
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my friend, Mr. Brown. And in the name of all these churches of our city, I heartily reciprocate, Sir, the kindly sentiments you have expressed, and I salute this ancient church on this, her one hundred and fiftieth birthday anniversary. Long may she live, blessing and being blessed.
One hundred and fifty years seems a long or a short period, according to the kind of measuring rod applied to it. When I reflect that my own life, young as I am, covers more than half of that period, and when I further reflect, that my pastorate in this city covers nearly one-third of it, I conclude that this church is after all, not so very old. My relations with it have been somewhat intimate, and of the pleasantest kind. They date from the day of my ordination when your beloved and honored pastor, Rev. Dr. Jonathan F. Stearns, gave me, in be- half of the ordaining council, the right hand of fellowship, which he did so gracefully, so cordially, in words so choice and so kind, with a spirit so christian and winsome that my heart went out to him at once, and then and there began a friendship which grew apace and was strengthened by his many subsequent acts of kindness, by my frequent visits to his home and by de- lightful christian intercourse with himself and his cultured wife, with their bright little children about them, one of whom became the distinguished, and now lamented, professor of theology in Bangor Theological Seminary. Dr. Stearns so endeared him- self to me that I verily believe I mourned his departure from our city two years later, as much as did his own people.
You have had seven pastors since Dr. Stearns, and I have known them all very well, and my pulpit exchanges with them have been frequent and pleasant, and further you have been pleased to honor me with an invitation to take part in the in-
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stallation services of every one of them or nearly every one of them. I have also been privileged to number among my per- sonal friends not a few of the lay-members of this church; too many of whom, alas, are missing today.
This church has had an interesting history, which it does not belong to me to rehearse. I wish simply, with your leave, to speak of one feature of the church, viz: its denominational catholicity. It is called a Presbyterian Church, and such it is ; but its founder, that prince of preachers, George Whitefield, was an Episcopalian, who, early in life, by association with the Wesleys, became surcharged with the spirit of Methodism, so that in his own person he seemed to link this church to those two great denominations. Then, the material of the church, at the outset, was drawn from two Congregational churches, and was good Congregational stuff. And, indeed, for about three years after its organization this church was virtually a Congre- gational church, and would doubtless have always remained such, but for the unjust territorial parish laws then in force. Moreover, its first pastor came to it from a Congregational church, and some of his successors were by birth and training Congregationalists. And thus some of the different ingredients of these three sects, a little of the stateliness of Episcopacy, a little of the fervor of Methodism, and a little of the liberty of Congregationalism, seem to have been shaken up together, and lo, the result ! an orderly, earnest, liberal type of Presbyterianism.
And in this church and its history we have an illustration of the comparatively small importance of mere church polity. Who ever thinks of the Old South, first and chiefly, as a Pres- byterian church. Enough that it is a true christian church ; whatever else it is, matters little. It is and always has been, in
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living sympathy with the other christian churches of this city and vicinity, one with them in faith, love and devotion to a common Lord and Master. And this is what is wanted here and everywhere, more interdenominational sympathy, courtesy, fellowship and co-operation.
We have of late heard much about "organic church union," and the abolition of all sects and the "re-union of Christendom" in one vast centralized ecclesiastical organization. This seems to me but a pleasant dream. I do not believe its realization either possible or desirable. What we do want is "unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace." This, and only this, I believe was what our Saviour had in mind when he prayed for those who were, and were to be his disciples, "That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us."
Certainly I shall be content when that prayer is so fully an- swered, that christians of every name, while retaining if they wish, their denominational peculiarities, shall be one in spirit. one in charity, one in zeal, moving forward together as one army of the Lord under the one uplifted banner of the cross to the conquest of the world for Christ.
In conclusion allow me to congratulate this church upon a history that for a century and a half has been illumined with so many tokens of the divine favor, and to express the hope that for another century and a half it may stand here a solid bulwark against every incoming tide of error and wickedness, a mighty power that makes for righteousness, yea, a living embodiment of that gospel which is the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth. While conserving all the good of the past may it with outstretched and eager hands be ready to seize hold
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of the greater good of the future, and be more than ever a leader in all aggressive movements, for the moral and religious welfare of our city, of our country, of the whole world.
Hon. George F. Stone, of Chicago, a great-great grandson of Rev. Jonathan Parsons, in a brilliant and exceedingly interesting manner addressed the pastor and people of the First Presbyterian church and society, presenting to them, as the gift of John T. Brown, Esquire, the elaborate and costly memorial tablet bearing the names of all the pastors. He spoke as follows:
MR. STONE'S ADDRESS.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen :
A community unmindful of its benefactors is ignoble. A patriotic and christian people make glad, public and grateful recognition of those who in an important sense have contributed to the public welfare. Newburyport has always taken a just pride in an illustrious ancestry, and has honored her sons and her daughters, who in varied departments have reflected honor upon her fair name. Throughout the civilized world memorials may be seen on every hand of those who have conferred signal benefits upon society.
We are gathered here today to present a tablet upon which are inscribed, not the names of soldiers, or statesmen, or jurists ; nor of those who have founded great libraries or endowed insti- tutions of learning; nor of those who have built railroads,
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ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
eminently worthy as these all are of high public regard, but of those who have built up individual and national character during one hundred and fifty eventful years; who have cheered, com- forted and sustained human hearts in the trying vicissitudes of life's experiences ; of those who in this consecrated place have preached the everlasting gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and who have faithfully and eloquently proclaimed " that kingdom which is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost ;" whose prayers, labors and example through successive generations, have become incorporated into our national life ; who exalted piety and fostered education; whose lofty ideals of Christian living permeated and inspired the pregnant years in which they lived ; who unfalteringly held up the banner of the cross and enjoined the highest duties of citizenship; whose presence was as the "All's Well !" breaking upon the midnight air and as the dawning of the morning to hearts weary and sick and sad who thought the night would never end; whose graces of manner and of spirit were wronght into human lives and transmitted unto generation after generation ; whose patriotism was a part of their piety and whose piety was a part of their patriotism.
"Noble were they and true, Of cultured thought, with ceremony sweet, refinement pure,
.\ type which through all hazards must endure And into various circumstance be wrought."
Standing in this historic city, bathed in the memories of colonial and revolutionary times, and within this sacred edifice whose walls have echoed to the learning and eloquence of White-
*Louisa Parsons Hopkins.
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
field, Parsons, Murray and Dana; of Williams, Proudfit and Stearns; of Vermilye, Richardson and Durfee; of Newell, Wallace, Sinclair and Hovey, the touch of the vanished hand I can almost feel. I seem to hear their voices still breaking in sweetness upon the air. Thank God, of that goodly and scholarly company Drs. Vermilye and Hovey are with us to- day. Surely they must experience that comfort described by Cicero, in a letter to his friend Atticus, " that the recollection of past good actions yields an unspeakable comfort to the soul."
To form any adequate idea of the value of their lives, of their nobility and fidelity, we must consider, though briefly, the great epochs in the history of our country embraced in this one hun- dred and fifty years. First: The colonial period, when the foundations of the Republic, under God, were being laid deep in eternal and unchangeable principles, in God's sovereignty and man's accountability. It was a crude period, trying, tumult- uous, prayerful, momentous ; yet it was a glorious period out of which was born a great and liberty-loving nation, whose his- tory is that of the development of the best civilization and the highest type of citizenship. Then came the revolutionary period when throughout the corridors of that heroic time sounded in clarion notes the patriotic, lofty, defiant and inspiring words of Adams, Hancock and Otis ; of Putnam and of Warren ; when the light of Paul Revere's lantern flashed from the church belfry throughout the great Commonwealth; when Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill thrilled the nations of the earth with the sublime declaration that "all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Following, was the great anti-slavery agitation, when
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Phillips, Sumner and your own Garrison undauntedly flung their impassioned appeals for emancipation into the ears of their countrymen ; when Whittier, Lowell and Longfellow sung ; when the profound learning and graces of speech of Webster, Everett and your gifted Cushing gave to New England a classic renown; when under the magnetic leadership of Horace Mann and of Agassiz, knowle ge became fascinating and ed- ucation received a new impulse. Now were ushered in the bloody years of that wickedest rebellion that ever stained the annals of history-wickedest because against the most benef- icent government ever instituted ; now was handed down to posterity amid the carnage of contending hosts the unimpaired and glorious heritage of the fathers. Now your own sons. holding up the glorious ensign of the Republic, marched amid the storms of war to the defense of that unstained though bat- tle-scarred banner-worthy descendants of an heroic ancestry, whose blood and the blood of whose kindred has been poured out on many a field of glory, shedding an imperishable lustre upon our country's historic page !
"Ah me! how cherished and how blest
Their martyr rest !"
Such were the times in which these men wrought. Surely it is meet that we preserve their names and their memories. Honor to that thoughtful and patriotic citizen whose generosity has caused their names to be inscribed upon yonder tablet.
Mr. Chairman, a three-fold obligation rests upon us ; the past, the present and the future hold us responsible for the priceless heritage so gloriously bequeathed.
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"While the generations fall asleep,
Sow the good seed ye reap.
Build on the old foundations firm and sure
The virtues that endure ;
Revere the ancient rule
Of church and school ;
Lift the proud pile by each well-tempered tool ;
And though to vast expansions grown,
Integrity be still the corner-stone --
Honor and purity alone
Rear its proportions true,
While faith shall round the dome Up to the spheric blue.
Their strong-winged Hope shall fly
Through widening arcs of love's refulgent sky.
In that grand temple all our growing race
Shall gather face to face
In their eternal home,- For Thou, O Lord, hast been our dwelling-place."
The names of the pastors who presided over this society from the date of its foundation in the year of our Lord 1746, are as follows: Jonathan Parsons, John Murray, Daniel Dana, Samuel P. Williams, John Proudfit, Jonathan F. Stearns, Ashbel G. Vermilye, Richard H. Richardson, Charles S. Durfee, William W. Newell, Jr., Charles C. Wallace, Brevard D. Sinclair, Horace C. Hovey.
I now have the honor and the pleasure, on behalf of your fellow citizen, a devoted member of this congregation, Mr. John T. Brown, to present to the First Presbyterian Society of Newburyport the marble tablet bearing the names of these men
*Louisa Parsons Hopkins.
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of faith, servants of the Most High, " who walked worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called," the memory of whose lives shall be cherished among the sacred possessions of this church, of this society and of this community.
As the speaker delivered the concluding paragraph of his address, Mr. Harold L. Brown, a nephew of the donor, drew the retaining cord that held the veil. and the memorial tablet was disclosed to the admir- ing gaze of the audience. This noble mural tablet is thirteen feet in height, and six feet in width, of white Italian marble, and bears on its face the names of the thirteen pastors with the dates of their terms of service. The names are cut in old English style, and with the years are in gold leaf. The tablet has a border all around it of Tennessee marble in harmony with the frescoed colors of the audience room. The whole is set in a rich gold frame, and is surmounted by a cap cut in relief, with an urn in the centre, from which scrolls reach out to the sides of the setting. The stonework was done by F. G. Cummings & Co., of Haverhill, and it is probably one of the largest mural tablets in the country.
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