USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Semi-centennial manual, Winthrop Church (Charlestown), Boston, Mass.; with historical sketch and list of members from Jan. 9, 1833, to Jan. 9, 1883 > Part 8
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* Mr. Adams was mayor of Charlestown in 1854. A characteristic incident is told of him at the time of a disastrous gale, when Minot Ledge Lighthouse was de- stroyed and much damage done in the vicinity of Boston. The Winthrop Church steeple on Green Street was in great danger, and ropes were drawn across the street to prevent passing. Mr. Adams daringly took a lantern, and, with the car. penter, Mr. A. Brown, at great risk mounted the tower to see if a catastrophe could be prevented.
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' He was a friend whose society gladdened the days of my early ministry, and the hope of meeting him again brightens my anticipation of heaven.' Rev. Mr. Buddington was at that time pistor of the First Parish Church, and watched with solicitude the failing powers of his friend.
"' Although,' he says, 'the congregation and officers of the [Winthrop] church neither expected nor desired from him the amount of labor to which they had been used (in Mr. Crosby's time), yet, however sincere and honorable a people may be in such promises, it is not always possible to avoid the pressure inseparably connected with the ministry of a large and intelligent congregation '; and so in 1847, this scholarly and devout pastor resigned his place, and died regretted by all in 1854."
This church was not insensible to the manifold excellences of his character.
In a letter, written Aug. 13, 1855, Dea. Mackintire writes : " As a man, he was as amiable and lovely by nature as any one with whom it was ever my privilege to be acquainted. His preaching and public services were always interesting and instructive, and often exceedingly touching and affective. His manners were dignified and graceful, his style chaste and beautiful, and instruction from his lips, if it could not be said to come like a rushing torrent sweeping the surface, came in the more acceptable form of ' the dew and the gentle rain,' penetrating and fertilizing all within its influence." And that he was a man of ability we know from the fact that before his death he was offered, but declined, a professorship in Hamilton College.
It was during Mr. Humphrey's pastorate that the Bethesda Church enterprise was started.
This movement to establish a third Orthodox Congrega- tional church in Charlestown was organized into a society Feb. 10, 1847. It was deemed necessary, inasmuch as a large class of people on the hill was not located within easy distance of any church. At that time the population of Charlestown was about 15,000 souls. Twenty-six members of Winthrop Church were dismissed to aid the new colony. Rev. Jesse Guernsey was settled over them June 10, 1847.
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He was their first and only pastor. The movement was not successful, owing to the lack of pecuniary ability to build a house of worship ; and when the new building was erected on Green Street in 1849, the Bethesda Church disbanded, and Ebenezer Ford and thirty-nine others were received May 4 to the Winthrop communion.
The successor of Mr. Humphrey was Rev. Benjamin Tap- pan, Jr., who was installed Oct. 4, 1848, and who remained in charge of the church eight years and ten months. Before Mr. Tappan came the project of a new meeting-house to supersede the structure on Union Street, which the congre- gation had outgrown, was matured. The corner-stone of the present edifice was laid May 31, 1848, Dea. Mackin- tire delivering an appropriate address, and Rev. Mr. Bud- dington, of the First Parish Church, offering prayer.
The undertaking was of such magnitude, in considera- tion of the ability of the society, that it was only because of its necessity and importance that it was conceived and carried out. The need of repairs, limited size and inferior location of the house on Union Street, and the rapid in- crease of population in the northerly portions of Charlestown, urged the society to provide better accommodations. Twenty thousand dollars were at once subscribed, and the building committee, aiming " to build a house that would be com- modious, creditable to the society, and ornamental to the city," had the great joy of seeing the new edifice dedicated March 4, 1849, free from debt, in less than ten months from the laying of the corner-stone. The old building on Union Street was sold with the land for $7,000, and the cost of land, building, organ, and furnishing of the new church was $38,781.33, all of which was provided for, leaving pews valued at $5,000 in the hands of the society.
" The pews were mostly sold to those who furnished the means for building the house, and, with the exception of such as were occupied by their own families, were given up to the control of the society, to be let at the regular tax, the owners waiving the right to charge interest on the invest- ment."
At the dedication, the new pastor, Rev. Mr. Tappan,
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preached from the suitable text (Haggai ii. 9), " The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts : and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts " ; and the joy of the people was well ex- pressed by Wm. Tufts, the clerk of this church, in recording the occasion as " a precious, indeed a glorious, meeting."
The last meeting in the house on Union Street was held "with impressive and appropriate services," March 11, 1849, and the first meeting in the new edifice on Green Street, March 18, 1849.
Then followed a period of unexampled prosperity, both of an external and a spiritual sort. The house was new ; its location was central and easy of access ; the pew rents were low and within reach of the humblest; the Bethesda enter- prise was abandoned, and a large number of persons trans- ferred their membership to the Winthrop Church.
Two hundred and seventy-two persons were admitted to the church during Mr. Tappan's pastorate,-one hundred and twenty on profession and one hundred and fifty-two by letter. The Sunday school, under the superintendence of George Hyde and Alfred Skilton (for two years), was very large, and the " evidences of the Divine Presence and blessing were deeply affecting and encouraging." At this time, and for years, the choir was almost wholly composed of church members.
After a long and faithful service, Mr. Tappan was dis- missed at his own request, Aug. 10, 1857, and became pastor of the Congregational Church in Norridgewock, Maine, where he now resides, having been its beloved and honored minister for the past twenty-five years. Winthrop Church was then for two years without a pastor ; but dur- ing the interval there was no lack of interest or energetic labor. Forty-five persons became members of the church, thirty of them on profession of their faith, showing that the responsibilities of carrying on the work of the gospel were faithfully met.
The benevolent contributions during this period were more than $3,coo per annum.
The church and society then called to the pastorate Rev.
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Abbott E. Kittredge, who was, at the time, a theological student at Andover. He accepted the position (a very try- ing one for a young man) with much hesitation, and was installed Sept. 14, 1859 ; but the success which under God attended his three years of active labor with this church, proved the wisdom of the choice.
Having the hearty co-operation of such officers as Deacons Mackintire, Bowers, Doane, and Whitney, and many able co-workers, some of whom are still members, the prosperity of the church continued as before.
Large congregations revealed the acceptable character of his public services in the community. The Sabbath school overflowed the rooms set apart for it. The young people es- pecially listened with avidity, and in three years the church was strengthened by the addition of one hundred and forty- five new members, eighty of whom united by profession.
In the early part of the year 1862 the society showed its appreciation of his efforts by giving him, on account of his impaired health, a vacation of fifteen months, for travel in Europe. The Rev. S. R. Dennen was engaged to supply the pulpit during his absence, - a very happy arrangement, which proved instrumental in bringing forty-eight more members into the church, thirty-two of whom were on profession of their faith.
Mr. Kittredge's health not being fully restored, his resig- nation was finally accepted, and he was dismissed on his re- turn from Europe, Dec. 2, 1863. His subsequent success as a minister in New York, and Chicago where he now has a church of 2,000 members, indicates the zeal and ability with which he served the first congregation to which he was called.
The benevolent contributions of this church in 1861, the second year of his pastorate, reached the large sum of $4,790. The missionary work in Charlestown among the poor was fos- tered at this time. In 1858 the sole charge of the mission in Winthrop Hall, at the Neck, had been assumed by this church, and the work was ardently prosecuted.
The year that followed the dismission of Mr. Kittredge was saddened by the death (Feb. 3, 1864) of Dea. E. P. Mack- intire. A commemorative discourse by Rev. Mr. Tappan, his
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former pastor, sums up the services of this valuable disciple in a single sentence of the text: " We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence, and the full assurance of hope unto the end." (Heb. vi. 11.) A year before his death he said to Rev. Mr. Dennen (whose remarks at his funeral were eminently appropriate), " There are only two things I care to live for, - my children and the Winthrop Church" " To him," said Mr. Dennen, " this church owes much of the prosperity it enjoyed. A pillar has fallen from this temple of Christ."
The church had also met with heavy losses by the death of many faithful men and women, who with Dea. Mackin- tire, had given it their love and their labor.
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William Tufts, clerk of the church for more than twenty- three years, S. Putnam Skilton Dr. Hayes, " Father " Gam- mell, George Alfred Skilton, Andrew K. Hunt, and many more names are mentioned in Mr. Tappan's discourse, as worthy to be held in tender remembrance by this church forever.
And yet the church continued to be strong and active, so that when Rev. J. E. Rankin was installed as the fifth pastor, Dec. 1, 1864, he found a united and efficient body ready to join him in renewed efforts for the growth and prosperity of the society.
His pastorate of nearly five years was blessed in its re- sults. One hundred and thirteen persons united with the church on profession, and seventy-eight by letter.
The spirit which he brought to his work is well illustrated by a few sentences which I may be permitted to quote from his sermon on the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill in 1865.
Commemorating the deeds of the fathers, he eloquently condensed his subject into these expressions, "The heroism of the Revolution gave us a country. The heroism of our own times has redeemed and perpetuated it. We need the same heroism in the Christian church."
Mr. Rankin was called in 1869 to take charge of a new and important enterprise in Washington, D. C. The First Congregational Church of that city, needing a strong man,
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selected him for the work. He is still the acceptable pastor of that growing church. He was dismissed from the Winthrop Church, Oct. 20, 1869, and another interval of two years and six months elapsed, during which the church was without a pastor.
When the present pastor was installed, May 2, 1872, he found however, a vigorous and united society ready and eager to co-operate with him. Several new measures had already been perfected, such as the giving-up of the sermon on Sunday afternoons when the Lord's Supper was celebrated, and the introduction of an improved hymn-book (Songs of the Sanctuary).
A large sum was soon spent upon improvements of the church edifice : the pulpit was remodelled, tablets placed in the alcove, and a pastor's room provided for his convenience. In 1880 the church was thoroughly repaired and the audi- ence-room decorated.
During the ten years and eight months so far in this pas- torate, this church has been deprived by death of valuable members long identified with it. Two - Andrew Ellison and Mrs. Hester Wright - reached the extreme limit of ninety- eight years ; and one, Jeremy Wilson, an original member, died at ninety-four.
In 1873, Nathan A. Tufts, one of the founders, and Dea. Alfred Whitney, devoted to good works, passed away. Then followed, in 1874, the death of Miss Betsy Putnam ; in 1876, that of Mrs. Mary K. Flint; and in, 1880, Miss Sarah C. Kettell died, all three having been original members. The jives of these faithful women had been like "trees planted in the courts of our God." In 1876, Mr. William Carleton died, leaving behind him the memory of a beneficence as unostentatious as it was large-handed and free. In 1877, Dr. H. C. Bickford, the beloved physician, removed to Woburn, and died in 1878. In 1880, the loss of Dea James Adams seemed like the displacement of the keystone of an arch. In 1882, Seth Goldsmith finished his faithful course. But the Lord has graciously left us a few of the founders of this church, and several others whose religious history is the history of the Winthrop Church almost from its formation.
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Therefore, notwithstanding these losses by death, and the removal during this period of more than sixty of our families from Charlestown, together with a recent remarkable exodus of our young people to other places, we have held our own in membership, and I trust in faith. During this pastorate this church has contributed over $40,000 to purely benevolent and religious objects, besides expending on repairs and decorations of this edifice about $15,000. The number of additions to the church has been two hundred and twenty-two, of whom one hundred and nineteen united on profession and one hundred and three by letter, so that we have now a membership of four hundred and sixty-two, after deducting the losses by dismissions and deaths.
To sum up then, the special characteristics of this church, by which its individuality as an organization is determined, it is evident,
First, that the Winthrop Church has aimed, above all other results, to be a spiritual power. The prayerful spirit of its founders, the seasons of special religious interest, some of which I have chronicled, the number of admissions by pro- fession to this church (701),-more than one half of the whole list,-and especially the consistent lives of those who have been prominent in its history, attest this purpose. When thirty in 1875 united by profession, and forty-two in 1877, many of them young, it was the fruit of the same spirit which characterized the labors of the earlier years.
Never has this church forgotten that the reason for its es- tablishment was the building up of the walls of Zion by the conversion of sinners to God and by the spiritual enlarge- ment of believers.
Notwithstanding the attacks of modern unbelief and the various forms of popular dissent from the faith of the fathers, this church has stood true in its allegiance to the views which its founders cherished, of man's need of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and of salvation by the atoning blood of Christ alone. It has never weakened the old doctrinal basis on which its founders planted here the standard of the cross.
From time to time slight changes of phrastology have been made in the form of the covenant. As published in the
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Manual of 1849, some sentences were omitted from the con- cluding address to candidates as needlessly harsh and com- minatory. Also in the revision of the creed, made in 1879, under the eye of such men as Dea. James Adams and other conservative brethren of this church, there was a slight alter- ation of its form.
Its substance, however, as adopted by this church and now printed in the semi-centennial Manual, has not been altered or diminished in any essential particular. Our creed-state- ment has now a greater simplicity of expression on some points, a less explicit declaration of unimportant matters, bu', as a basis of spiritual consecration to the work for which this church was founded, we believe it would receive the hearty sanction of the most careful framers of the first instrument, could any such reappear among us in the flesh.
Let us then, as we cherish the history of the spiritual fruit- age of this church in the past, and as we desire that the " beauty of the Lord" may be upon us in the future, keep ever true to the grand aim of those who laid in prayer and hope the foundations of the structure.
In their own phrase, that "the cause of Evangelical piety may be promoted," they denied themselves in order to found this church upon the rock. Let us, who now stand upon its battlements and rear new towers, see to it that none of the firm principles at its base be undermined, bringing the whole fabric into peril of possible destruction.
Again, the Winthrop Church has always shown a progres- sive spirit, in harmony with the maintenance of essential truth. In its polity, its government, its benevolent con- tributions, its missionary spirit, its Sabbath-school work, - of which others will speak in full,* - its loyalty to the country, and in all the management of its pecuniary affairs, it has been abreast of the times.
The character of its succession of leaders, both pastors and laymen, is a proof of this progressive spirit. Its record will bear the most searching scrutiny in this respect. In its church government, while its policy has been scripturally
* See Historical Sketch in Manual.
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firm, its measures have been always charitable, conciliatory, and kind. If its strict interpretation of the doctrine of a change of heart and its general carefulness in admitting candidates have sometimes kept its number of members " healthfully low," if it has never called in the aid of " Evangelists," be- lieving that God blesses the most, the faithful use of the ordinary means of grace, it has at least been saved from much open scandal and internal dissension, and, conse- quently, it has done a quiet but most effective work. The comparatively few cases of discipline on its records show great charity and toleration towards delinquent members.
While Sabbath-breaking, profanity, falsehood, loose con- duct, and the use of' "false weights and measures " have been dealt with, in the case of incorrigible offenders, even to the extent of public excommunication from church member- ship, after much expostulation and entreaty, yet in cases where members, without intentional discourtesy or immoral conduct, have joined other churches holding widely differing doctrinal views, this church has simply erased their names from the roll and notified them of its action.
Even when two members joined the sect of so-called " Spiritualists" without even giving notice of their intention to do so, their names were quietly dropped, as no longer members of the Winthrop Church.
Dec. 9, 1834, the church voted that doubts on " Infant Baptism " be no bar to admission to membership.
Possibly the spirit of the present age is too easy in its dis- cipline of delinquents, but we rejoice that even at a time (1840) when this church considered a single attendance at the theatre by a young lady, "under sudden and strong temptation," a disciplinary offence, it dealt very tenderly with such of its members as honestly embraced what it deemed to be harmful error.
And as in church government, so in all matters touching the national welfare, this church has stood among the fore- most. Its declared sentiments concerning the temperance reform are embodied in its 9th By-Law. It stood firmly for the abolition of slavery, without yielding to the fanaticism of the abolition movement ; and, during the civil war, the part
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its sons took in the actual conflict, and the labors of its daughters in aid of the Christian Commission, as well as its pulpit utterances in behalf of the Union, attest its loyalty to the country.
In the fall of 1862, Sereno D. Gammell, Henry Tappan, Frank Titus, and Lyman Randall enlisted for nine months.
Those who served longer (three years or more) were S. Put- nam Skilton (in a light battery), Wm. Spaulding, Sereno D. Gammell (lieutentnat of heavy artillery), and Capt. Albert Gammell, who went through seventeen or eighteen battles with the Army of the Potomac but did not survive the war. Others may have served whose names we have not learned. Rev. Mr. Kittredge issued a circular letter to the young men of the church who were in the service, full of encourage- ment and comfort, which was highly appreciated. An extract from " Resolutions,"* adopted by the church Sept. 12, 1862, in response to a request from Sereno D. Gammell for approval of his course, shows the animus of the times.
If then the Winthrop Church has been true to the aim of its founders in seeking spiritual fruit by the aid of God's spirit, and in carrying out a progressive policy, there is evidence that it has not failed to manifest works of char- ity also, in agreement with its professions of love for the cause of Christ. In the very first year of its formation as a church it organized a "Benevolent Association," for
* Extract from " Resolutions" of Winthrop Church, Sept. 12, 1862:
" A letter having been received to-night, through the Church Committee, from Brother Sereno D. Gimmell, informing us that, for reasons mentioned in his letter, he had felt it to be his duty to relinquish his studies for the present; and to enlist in the service of his country, and asking our approval of his course, it is therefore
" Resolved, That we appreciate very highly th feelings and sentiments ex- pressed in his letter in relation to the fearful struggle that is now going on in our country, and his duty to engage in it ; and while we regret most deeply the neces- sity that requires him to leave his studies, and to engage in the business of war, we canot but approve his decision, and we honor the noble spirit of Christian patriotism that has prompted him, with many others of our young men, to make such sacrifices for the maintenance of the government under which we live, and we assure him and them of our warmest sympathy and our most earnest prayers, while they are absent from us.
" Attest :
GEO. E. MACKINTIRE, Clerk."
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the purpose of " managing the collections for benevolent objects within the church." This association, with a presi- dent, treasurer, and directors, existed till 1850, when the reg- ular church officers took charge of the work.
Over a thousand dollars (including a large donation to Lane Seminary, Ohio) were reported by the treasurer in his first annual returns. It was not a large or a rich member- ship, but its contributions continued steadily to increase, until in 1840 the amount rose to $1,741.
In 1842 over $2,000 were raised for purely benevolent purposes, and in 1851 the amount swelled to $3,357. In 1854 it was $4,351, including a gift to Franklin Street Church, Somerville, of $650, in aid of that new enterprise. In 1865 the collections aggregated $5,772, the largest sum ever contributed in a single year by this church.
(It must be remembered in this connection that a single individual, Wm. Carleton, for seventeen years - from 1850 to 1867 - gave annually $1,000 to the American Board.) The weekly-offering system was adopted in 1874, and $4,900 was the grand total of all collections and gifts for that year .* In 1881, $5,373 were contributed, including $1,500 subscribed by members of Winthrop Society to the Charlestown Young Men's Christian Association.
The aggregate of all benevolent contributions by this church and congregation for purely benevolent objects, dur- ing the half-century, is $155,488. The Ladies' Sewing Society has also sent to missionaries many gifts of clothing and household goods.
Now, when we consider that this society has built two meeting-houses, one in Union Street at a cost of $14 000, and our present edifice, costing in round numbers $40,000 ; also that it has expended in repairs, alterations, and decora- tions nearly $16,000 during the past eleven years alone, we may be truly thankful that God has given this people the will and the ability to do what they have done.
* The Children's Missionary Society, called " The Winthrop Helpers," paid to the Woman's Board in 1879, 1880, and 1881, $350. The Woman's Missionary Suelery, $208 since 1879.
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We cannot boast of any wonderful liberality, for we might have done more ; but we are grateful that the sum total has been no less, - God forbid that it ever shall diminish, - for this church began with a true missionary spirit, fostered by the zeal and labor of its first pastor, so that at home and abroad it has scattered wide its benefactions. Sending forth many trained disciples to be efficient helpers in all the neighboring churches, it has never begrudged pecuniary assistance, when needed in addition to its gift of men and women. It has aided schools, seminaries, and colleges at home and abroad. Carleton College, in Minnesota, owes its successful founda- tion to a gift of $50,000 from one of our members, whose name it bears ; and another member of the congregation, by a gift of $10,000, helped to build " Willis Hill," of the sime institution .* Doane College, Nebraska, also sprang from the fostering care of one of our deacons, and, in grateful remem- brance of his efforts and munificent donations, it took his name. Charlestown has always been the "mother of colleges." "Harvard," "Tufts," " Carleton," and " Doane " bear to-day the names of her sons. Iowa College also received $1,830 from various individuals of this church during the thirteen years between 1843 and 1856. A number of other institutions have been assisted from time to time, among which are Hamp- ton College, Virginia ; Robert College of Constantinople, and the college of Central Turkey.
And as it has always been the aim of this church to uphold the dignity of the worship and ordinances of the sanctuary, to this end it has always encouraged and often assisted its young men in obtaining an education for the min- istry. Well has it been repaid in the two instances I may perhaps be allowed to mention here, of help granted to Rev. Sereno D. Gammell, now pastor in Lynn, and to Rev. Andrew J. Rogers, who died May 6, 1876, after doing good service for the Master in Concord, Mass., and Biddeford, Me. (Among other young men of this church who have entered the ministry were Henry Crosby Weston, son of David B. Weston, who was settled in Sharon, Mass., until his health
* Miss Susan Willis, afterwards Mrs. Wm. Carleton.
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failed, and John W. Birchmore, a clergyman of the Episco- pal Church at Hyde Park, and the author of a work entitled " Prophecy and History." John Doane is now studying at Oberlin, Ohio.)
This church has also constantly paid towards the support of a city missionary, and since 1858 has had sole charge of a flourishing mission school at the Neck. In 1861, $830 were subscribed by individuals to secure a hall for this mis- sion. Winthrop Church has always responded liberally to calls for succor to the poor and the needy. Sufferers by fire or epidemic have received from it donations from time to time.
These benefactions are a part of our history, as is also the generous pecuniary treatment of the ministers of this church, when circumstances have called for gifts not stipulated " in the bond." Thus Mr. Humphrey was granted six months' extra salary from the date of his retirement from the pasto- rate. Mr. Tappan received the same token of good-will for the five months following the dissolution of his pastoral relationship.
When Mr. Kittredge went abroad for his health, $1,coo per annum and the supply of his pulpit were voted to him, and although he declined the latter when he found himself unable to resume his duties permanently, the church insisted on paying the amount as agreed. The monumental stones over Mr. Grosby's grave and over that of " Father " Gam- mell attest the same spirit.
There has also been a most judicious management of all financial matters connected with this church and society. From the formation of the church, it has always had experienced business men among its leaders. It has had professional men, and a large number of teachers, but its officers have been most prominent in mercantile life. Many hive been distinguished by positions of trust in civil and political affairs, especially while Charlestown was a city by itself. The banking interests both of Boston and Charlestown have always been largely represented here.
Thus it has been ready for any financial emergency. It has foreseen danger and provided against it. In 1875, this
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church and society, by an act of the Legislature, authorized its deacons to hold as trustees all property represented by Winthrop Church, "in order to secure it to the Evangelical faith." This object has been substantially accomplished.
And so we stand to-day, a society, as free from all debt as when, thirty-four years ago, the building committee offered this edifice " almost as a free gift to this community."
On Sunday morning, May 7, 1882, after a sermon by the present pastor, this congregation celebrated the tenth anni- versary of his settlement, by subscribing to pay the last debt on the church of $5,000. Eleven persons paid one half of it, nineteen, a quarter more, and one hundred and forty-two persons the balance. By prudence and generosity thus hap- pily blended, the credit of Winthrop Church has always been perfectly good, even in the hardest of "hard times." To God's kind providence must also be attributed the preserva- tion of our church edifice, both when on a midwinter night, during a storm in 1869, it was seriously damaged by fire, and when in 1880 several decayed timbers supporting the north tower were discovered in season to avert what might have been a fearful disaster.
And now, in closing this historical sketch of fifty years, need I remind you of the responsibilities which such a blessed inheritance lays upon our shoulders ? We ought to be, with our advantages, even better than our fathers.
We have to-day upon our roll the living names of one third of all the members who have ever been connected with this church .* We represent in resident and active member- ship at least one quarter of this great company of 1,396 communicants ; not a remnant, but a generation of disciples, in a community that has increased from 9,000 to 35,000 souls.
The very name we bear is a priceless legacy. The name of Winthrop, the patronymic of both this and our honored and venerable parent church, has always been an inspiration. Not only our great "cloud of witnesses," but the memory of
* Two hundred and forty-one persons have died, 649 have been dismissed, and 43 names have been erased from the roll, leaving 463. Of these about 350 are resident and active members.
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our godly and chivalric first governor, who planted the earliest church this side the river, calls upon us to pray and labor that the work of God's hand may be still more gloriously established upon the generations yet to come.
The silver baptismal font, presented to this church in 1833 by a descendant of Winthrop,* and this Bible, given us in 1849 by another t no less honored son of him whose name we bear, are tokens of God's favor, and should ever be cher- ished as mementos of the faith and the ordinances com- mitted to our trust.
From our "day of small things" God has made this church prominent among the churches. Its gradual in- crease has been a token of real prosperity. Its seasons of temporary depression and its times of refreshing have come 'alike from God. Its popularity (which occasionally may have tested its spirituality) has not unduly exalted it; neither have its thinner ranks caused it to doubt the good- ness of the Lord.
Amid all its changes, devoted men and women have prayed and labored for its advancement and for a fresh har- vesting of souls. Let us then, with due solemnity and joy, commit the destiny of our beloved church to Him who thus far hath led us on, pledging ourselves anew in cheerful con- secration.
We are not to seal up this history of fifty years as the monks of mediæval days shut up the bones and ashes of the saints and martyrs in musty oaken chests, to hide them away as superstitious relics for future generations of wor- shippers, forgetful of their living power. Rather let us gather about this record as the chosen people surrounded the Ark of the Covenant, and girded themselves for its de- fence and speedy advance.
Where the battle raged most fiercely, there the precious symbol (containing the two tables of the law, the pot of manna, and the rod that budded) was brought to kindle braver devotion and more glorious hope. Whether it pre-
* Lieut .- Gov. Thos. L. Winthrop.
t Hon. Robert C. Winthrop.
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ceded the camp on its march or stood in the holy of holies, it served to remind Israel of Jehovah's past deliverances and their own present duties. Above it, the mercy seat, shad- owed by the wings of cherubim, pledged to those that kept the law the fulfilment of the promises.
And so to us to-day (enshrining as we do the " beauty of the Lord our God " within the finished and imperishable history of half a century), let the wondrous story bring fresh courage. Let us bring it forth in days to come when tempted to despair of further conquest. Let it be present in all our future seasons of rejoicing, and let us leave it to those that shall come after us, that God's marvellous work may appear unto his servants and his glory to their children.
Then shall the "beauty of the Lord" continue to be upon 'us, and he will establish the work of our hands upon us ; and we shall hear and obey his voice (as his ancient people heard it), bidding us " Go forward," " Be not slack to possess the land ! "
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