USA > New Jersey > Union County > Plainfield > Centenary, First Baptist Church, Plainfield, New Jersey, 1818-1918, November 24th, 25th, 1918 > Part 4
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
22
The philosophy of the eighteenth century had ended in a cold and mechanical deism, basing the evi- dence of God's existence on the presence of apparent design in nat- ural phenomena. As the mechan- ism of a watch, according to Paley's argument, proved the existence of a watchmaker, so the contrivances of the universe, and especially of the human body, proved the existence of a creative intelligence; but this was not supposed to prove that the Creator was any further interested in the ingenious mechanisms he had designed.
Bishop Butler, in his famous "An- alogy," undertook to show that the facts of the natural world suggested the probability of a supernatural revelation; but, after all, this was only a probability. But it was an- swered, what if the natural world is a self-existent system, eternally reproducing its constituent forms by the shifting of its unknown and incalculable kaleidoscopic powers of indefinite transformation?
The test seemed to lie in biology. Charles Darwin's "Origin of Spe- cies" and "The Descent of Man," followed by Herbert Spencer's "Syn- thetic Philosophy," which traced the transformation of the homogeneous to the heterogeneous, to be followed by disintegration, and perhaps eventually by a new cycle of devel- opment, certainly did not seem to solve the chief problems of theol- ogy . It is true that Spencer left to speculative thought an unsolved problem of the "Unknowable," which Dean Mansel thought was a sufficient basis for a theology; but the agnostics regarded the matter differently, not unnaturally asking how a positive system could be erected on a foundation of ignor- ance?
But all this never in the least troubled my father. Never having depended upon a theological system ' for his religious faith, it was in no way affected by the toppling and fall of these mental structures. He simply opened his Bible and preached a sermon from the text,
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"; and he knew it was true, for he had had the vis- ion! Such a vision as has come to "certain of your own poets"t and has found expression in these lines:
God's universe is one. He is its Soul. He vitalizes, guides, informs the
whole.
Matter exists not as a lifeless thing; But, full of sentience and obedience, spring
Suns, worlds and song-birds to make glad acclaim
Of unity of life in One Great Name. In essence all is Spirit. Every clod Attests its link and loyalty to God. Attraction, gravitation, are but words
Hollow of meaning when the thought affords
No just relation to the Primal Force; No hint of union to the Central Source .*
It was often my privilege when, on vacations, I came home from col- lege, to discuss with him these great subjects; but where others wavered his faith was always serene and unfaltering. If geology proved that the earth was older than had generally been believed, this might be disastrous to Archbishop Usher's system of chronology, but it did not in any way affect the spiritual truth of the Bible. If man's bodily organism was the product of a long organic development, one could not conclude from this that it was any the less the result of a creative pur- pose, or that the human soul was not created in God's image.
Then came what was called the "Higher Criticism." This seemed to many, a fatal assault upon the very citadel of faith. But who had ever had the right to pretend that divine truth could be transmitted in written form except in the terms of man's experience, and through the avenues of human instrumental- ity? Had not St. Luke himself told us in what historical spirit he had gathered up and set in order the substance of the Gospel? The facts on which any intelligent account of the origin of the Scriptures rested
¡Acts 17-28. * Survivals. L. V. F. Randolph.
might be misconceived, or a dull imagination might have formed crude images of some fancied pro- cess of inspiration; but what had all that to do with the spiritual reali- ties revealed through the experience of prophets and apostles ?
They told what they saw and felt, and our experience confirms the truth of what they wrote regarding the things of the spirit, which are the only things that count.
In all this it was the preacher, not the theologian, who spoke; for the preacher is a channel of per- sonal conviction, while theology is a realm of philosophical discussion. Dominie Hill never professed to 'be a theologian in any technical sense. In honor of his labors and attainments, in 1852, Madison Uni- versity conferred upon him the de- gree of Master of Arts. If preach- ing is an art, then he was a master of at least one art. But his em- barrassment at this distinction was so marked, that, although some of his friends thought he should be made a Doctor of Divinity, they were never sufficiently encouraged to carry the proposal into execution. There was, I fear, at the bottom of this modesty a certain pride that was unwilling to stoop to vanity; for more than once I heard him say, "Henry Ward Beecher is not a Doc- tor of Divinity, and is unwilling to be one. He prefers to be only a preacher."
I think he really thought that to be a preacher of Christ was the highest earthly honor, or at least the most real one. His great solici- tude was not as to what the schools said, or even what the Church said, but what the "New Testament" said. And he loved to quench his thirst at the fountain. When he was eighty years old, I wanted to make him a Christmas present, and . I tried to find out what would please him best. I discovered that what he most desired was an au- thoritative text of the "Greek Tes- tament" in very large type; and this was sent him, to his great de- light.
Believing implicitly in the power of the Gospel to save mankind, he
thought it was intended to save them now, in this world, and not merely for the next. It has been generally held by the Christian Min- istry in America, that, although re- ligion is not a State institution, Christianity is an essential part of the life of the country, and that its government should be guided in all its relations by its principles. As a rule, mere party politics have been avoided in the pulpit; but in the great national crisis, where moral questions were involved, the influ- ence of the Christian Ministry has been immense. In the days of the contest over slavery, and in the War for the Union, congregations were not infrequently divided; but the pulpit was not silent. I recall how earnestly my father, for example, not only voted for Abraham Lin- coln, but publicly prayed for and openly defended his aims and his policies. Throughout the more than sixty years of his public ministry, continued almost uninterruptedly
until his death, on February 3, 1887, at the age of eighty-four, he belonged to that valiant army of fearless soldiers of the cross, that by its teaching and its influence, fostered by perfect religious liber- ty, has made possible that other American army which, at the call of humanity, has sprung into existence almost as if by magic, and is now standing guard over the fate of Europe and the World.
In saying this I would not be misunderstood. I have spoken in the concrete, because this centen- nial anniversary naturally recalls specific memories. It is this Church
and the former pastors of this Church that are in our thoughts in this hour; but it is, perhaps, not un- fitting to recall what such centres of Christian life and influence mean for our country. In making clear that meaning, we claim for this Church and for its representatives no ex- ceptional importance. But the oc- casion may permit us to express the conviction, that, speaking generally, without the teaching of Christ and his ministry, the recent, or, must I say, the present, battle for civili- zation would not and could not have
24
been fought. Without that teach- ing, it is doubtful if this nation, actuated by no mercenary motive, would have constituted without a. murmur of dissent, equipped, sus- tained, and transported across the ocean the force which, in co-opera- tion with nations that have suffer- ed much more terribly than our- selves, has brought to humiliation and defeat the revival of pagan pur- poses and barbaric practices that has menaced the very existence of civilization. We may truly say, that the Red Cross, which has in- spired the most stupendous achieve- ment of human charity that has ever existed in the world, is Christ's
cross; and that, by the side of the strictly military action which with- out an unselfish devotion to duty would not have been possible, the world has never known armies so supported and strengthened, in the camp and in the field, as the Ameri- can army has been by the Christian Associations that have contributed to its health, its courage, and its morale. And in the peace that is to follow, and the organization for the maintenance of justice among the nations that we hope for and ex- pect, we may look for another tri- umph of the spirit and the law of Christ.
"One Generation Shall Praise Thy Works to Another." Psalm 145:4
WOMAN'S WORK
THE STORY OF THE CENTURY
Prepared by Mrs. B. J. Shreve
Presented in three periods by Mrs. B. J. Shreve, 1818-1868; Mrs. Charles H. Smith, 1868-1893; Mrs. F. K. Anderson, 1893-1918
A hundred years of common life, Of common hopes and fears,
Of daily tasks, with pleasure rife, Commingled smiles and tears.
A century at work with God! Inspired with motives pure, Co-workers with the Power divine Wrought deeds that shall endure.
In the "historical twilight" of a century ago, we see dimly the twenty-three women, who, with eleven men, formed the nucleus of the church society whose centennial is celebrated at this time. Nine of the twenty-three women bore the name of Randolph.
As far as we know, there is no record of woman's work in the church during the pastorates of the Rev. Jacob F. Randolph and the Rev. Daniel T. Hill. We find the record that in 1819 a chorister was appointed to lead the singing in the
church, and we may be sure that the twenty-three women did their part in singing the songs of Zion.
The church records also state that in 1830 the Rev. Daniel T. Hill, in spite of much opposition, succeeded in establishing a Sunday School with forty members, mainly adults.' From her natural genius for Sun- day School work, we judge that the. women and girls of that early church were members of the experi- mental school. Doubtless, too, they took an active part in the manage- ment of Donation parties when the salary of the minister was $250 per annum. To them also would natur- ally fall the care of baptismal robes, linen and communion service, and later the making of cushions and carpets when the times warranted . such luxuries. Of their earnest prayers, broad sympathies and kindly ministrations there can be no question, for to the elderly church
25
women of that period was given the title, "Mothers of Israel."
The writer of this sketch was born in 1839, the year that the Rev. Simeon Drake commenced his pas- torate of the church. In those days of large families, limited domestic service and strict church-going no- tions, children were taken to re- ligious services at an early age. I remember the old church with its high-backed pews and closed doors fastened with a button where for years, I have little recollection ex- cept of dressing my fingers with my handkerchief and the ribbons of my bonnet strings and envying the minister his ability to take a glass of water whenever he desired.
Of the communion service I have a vivid recollection. My parents had me remain to this service, probably to keep me out of mis- chief, but no memory of the old church stands out like that of the communion service once' in three months. Following the preparatory service on Saturday afternoon, at which time candidates for church membership were baptized in the brook in the rear of the church, the simple service became to a child's mind a most impressive ceremonial. Mr. Drake always broke the bread and guided the minds of his audi- once with allusions to the signifi- cance of the service and the bless- ings to be derived from its observ- ance. When the ( plates were re- turned by the deacons, they were never empty, and Mr. Drake always said, "There is bread enough and to spare." As a child, I learned to watch for this expression, and it be- came in later years, when I was not numbered with the childrenof God, a sentence full of accusation. It showed me that I had not availed myself of a privilege that was mine, and more than any other influence led me to wish to be a sharer with God's people in the gifts of divine grace.
During the early years of Mr. Drake's ministry, the women of the church formed themselves into an organization called "The Female Prayer Meeting," which gathered at
the homes of the members. The women also sewed for the poor of the church and community and called themselves "The Dorcas So- ciety."
Unity of thought that has devel- oped in modern times in the federa- tion of Christian work must have inspired the formation of the "Fe- male Union , Prayer Meeting" where prayer services were held in the
homes of the various denominations.
Records are lost of the Grande Ligne Missionary Society ,a band of the younger women of the church, who met one day of each month to sew for this mission started in 1837 among French Canadians. This or-
ganization was semi-social, the
members being entertained with supper at the home of the hostess, and the brethren coming in the evening.
Previous to the organization of this church, the Christian world had been thrilled with the words and deeds Thomas Cary and Adoniram Judson who went to Bur- ma as missionaries when the Bap- tist denomination had as yet no Foreign Missionary Society. Many said these men were in advance of their times, but God knew and we know that they were in obedience to God's command, they were simp- ly "keeping step with the music of God's providence." Mr. Drake was a man of broad enough mind and clear enough vision to grasp the significance of world-wide missions and a missionary society was organ- ized in this church in 1850. A monthly concert of prayer was con- ducted once a month, when the Sunday evening service was devot- ed to reading from the Missionary Magazine and prayers were offered by the laymen of the congregation for the success of missions.
Interest in missions was also stimulated at this time by the pres- ence in t church of the Rev. James Haswell and family. Mr. Haswell was a missionary from Bur- ma, whose furlough was spent in a. home just below this church. Through his influence, a Mite So- ciety for missions was established in
26
the Sunday School in 1854. His daughter, Julia Haswell, afterwards the wife of Rev. Dr. Vinton of Bur- ma is well remembered as a school- mate under the instruction of Mrs. Martin Giles, at her home, corner of Cherry and Second Sts., the site of the Plainfield Trust Co. today. She spent her life in honored ser- vice as a missionary in Burma, but mayhap, she did a child's service in the village church as it then was.
Mrs. Drake, the wife of the pas- tor, is pleasantly recalled as a dain- ty little lady, city-bred, who did not hesitate to admit that when she married Mr. Drake he was a busi- ness man, with good prospects and she never expected to be a minister's wife. However, her loyalty to God and her husband made her a cheer- ful sharer in his burdens and a faithful friend and helper in the activities of the church. She sur- vived her husband twelve years, liv- ing with her daughter, Mrs. Samuel T. Varian, of East Front St. The last and youngest of six children, Mrs. Varian passed away last May at her home in East Orange, aged 82 years.
The Civil War in 1861 effected a great change in the status of the women of America. The thinking woman was encouraged to a fuller expression of her thoughts by word and pen and a broader participa- tion in the activities of the church and the community. Her endeavors in sanitary measures and her relief of the sick and wounded of her
country's fighting armies were gratefully accepted and heartily ap- plauded. We recall the Sanitary Fair in New York City ,to which some members of this church were delegates. It was held in the Crys- tal Palace, built for the World's Fair in 1853.
A copy of the Plainfield Union, October 21, 1862, contains a para- graph from the secretary of the Ladies' Union Patriotic Association acknowledging the receipt of a let- ter from the U. S. Sanitary Commis- sion, telling of the safe arrival of five boxes of hospital supplies sent by the First and Second Presbyter-
ian. Methodist Episcopal, and First, Second and Union Baptist Church- es of this town. With the cordial thanks of the commission was the following appeal: "We are very much in need of underclothing of every description. Woolen gar-
ments are preferred. Knitted wool- en socks are very desirable. Dried
apples are also asked for. It takes a vast supply to fill all the demands made upon us by the different hos- pitals, but we know our kind friends will not fail us.' '
The meetings of this association are chronicled in a diary still ex- tant, where are records of scraping lint and making garments for the soldiers one afternoon and evening of each week. The evening meet- ings were attended by the patriotic 'clergy, as well as the laity.
The main channel of benevolence at this time is told by a woman just outside of this city, who was so- licited to contribute to the Sanitary Fair. Her reply was, in a kind of hopeless way, "I never give nothin' to nobody. I always leave it to him," indicating with a nod of her head, her husband in an adjoining field.
With purity of aim and honesty of endeavor, which characterized good women of this period, they were worthy of the praise given to Mary, "She hath done what she could," but the day was dawning when it would be said as truly, "She hath done what she thought she could not do."
When in 1862, the Rev. Simeon J. Drake, a man dearly loved and greatly honored, was laid to rest, there came to us as pastor, the Rev. David J. Yerkes, who gave to the woman's work of the church his full appreciation, his sympathizing co-operation and his inspirational advice. His wife, Mrs. Yerkes, was like Priscilla, "a true helper in Christ Jesus," accepting the duties of a pastor's wife with a fidelity that won for her the love and esteem of a large congregation, during a long life. Of the woman's work for the following quarter of a century, who so well fitted to tell the story
27
as Mrs. Charles H. Smith, a daugh- ter of Dr. and Mrs. Yerkes, herself a sharer in this woman's work?
1868-WOMAN'S WORK-1893
Memory has chronicled many hap- py events connected with the coming of my parents into this church and community in 1863, when I was a child. Uniform kindness marked our reception and to the women of the church especially, we are in- debted for thoughtful consideration, during my father's pastorate of more than forty years.
At the beginning of this quarter of a century, woman's work in the church was willing-hearted but desultory and less effective than when organized effort for Christian work and influence came into 'being.
Mrs. William White and Mrs. Evan Jones will be recalled by old- er members of the church for their solicitude for Myassah and Yaba, two Korean boys, educated by this church, to whom they gave mother- ly care during the boys' vacations. Mrs. White also looked after their clothing during the years of their college student life.
In 1873, the call for help from the Woman's Foreign Missionary So- ciety with headquarters at Boston, re-echoed from missionaries on the foreign field, resulted in the organi- zation of a Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society by the women of the Second Baptist Church and this church. The officers elected were: President, Mrs. William C. Butler; vice-presidents, Mrs. T. K. Howlett, wife of the pastor of the Second Baptist Church, and Mrs. D. J. Yerkes; recording secretary, Mrs. B. J. Shreve; corresponding secretary, Mrs. T. F. French; treasurer, Mrs. E. W. Runyon. Of the officers elected that day, it can be said they had staying power at least. Mrs. Butler, president, held that office, with rare ability, until her death, a period of nearly twenty-one years, Mr. Yerkes, vice-president, retained the office until her death, over for-
ty years. The Society never knew during its existence of forty-one years but one secretary, Mrs.
Shreve. Of the Executive Board appointed at that time, Mrs. David J. Boice served in that capacity dur- ing her life time, thirty-four years, and of the collectors appointed at that time, Mrs. Alexander Thorn and Miss Clara Yerkes, now Mrs. Charles H. Smith, have served con- secutively until the present time. Others who joined us later and gave long time and faithful service were Mrs. S. T. Wilson, Mrs. Frank H. Biglow, who was a member of the . Executive Board for twenty-seven years, and Mrs. Anna 'M. Rhees who served as vice-president and man- ager for fifteen years while a resi- dent of this city. Mrs. A. W. John- son and Miss Anna White were made honorary collectors in recog- nition of long and faithful service. Mrs. Butler was succeeded in the presidency by her daughter, Miss Linda D. Butler, Mrs. Reuben Knox, Mrs. J. A. Chambliss and Mrs. Mar- tin I. Cooley.
Besides the regular contribu- tions to this society, special gifts have been made for memorials, life memberships and thank offerings. Many of these have been devoted to special work abroad and some of these annual gifts have been kept up to the present time. A notable one was the annual gift for eight years of $100 by Charles K. Fran- cis, while a resident of this city, in niemory of his mother, Hannah Cauldwell Francis, a pioneer in mis- sionary work.
This church has also been a shar- er with other missionary circles in the state, in the education of young women for the foreign field, most of them becoming medical mission- aries. The seal of God's approval has been set on this work in the ser- vice of women like Dr. Ida Faye Levering, who for nearly thirty years has honored God and Woman- hood in her life and labors in In- dia. Others are Miss Mary Faye of India, Miss Minnie Carpenter of Japan, Miss Rachel Davis, Miss Julia Shinn, now Mrs. Wallace St. John
28
.
of Rangoon, Burma, Dr. Alice Smith Baker of China, Dr. Margaret War- low, Dr. Anna Degenring and Dr. Maud Kinnaman of Nellore, India.
In 1885, the women of the Park 'Ave. Church organized a society of their own membership. While we missed them as comrades and fellow helpers, they are to be congratulat-
ed on their faithful service and the great results they have achieved in their own church.
The Woman's Home Missionary Society was organized in 1878, af- ter a visit from Mrs. Krause of Chi- cago, who was a guest at my fath- er's house and who reluctantly oc- cupied the pulpit one Sunday morn- ing. She made a strong appeal to Baptist women to organize a society in aid of missionaries in this coun- try, to befriend the immigrants and to bring Christ into the homes of our own land. Her appeal met with a hearty response and a society was organized from the women of the Park Ave. Baptist Church and this church. The first board of officers elected was: President, Mrs. E. J. Chaffee; vice-presidents, Mrs. D. J. Yerkes and Mrs. Joseph Stock- bridge; secretary, Miss Lib'bie Hein- inger, now Mrs. Lebbeus Manning; treasurer, Mrs. Anna
M. Rhees. Succeeding presidents were Mrs. Heman L. White, Mrs. Robert Low- ry and Mrs. D. J. Yerkes, who ac- cepted the office in 1882 and held it for twenty-four years when she was made honorary president and was succeeded by Mrs. Reuben Knox. She was still president when the missionary societies were con- solidated in 1914.
The names of the members of the Home and Foreign Missionary So- cieties have always been the same and the methods of the two socie- ties have been in parallel lines in many of their features. The Home Society, like the Foreign, has re- ceived special gifts for life member- ships, memorials, thank offerings and now Conquest Bonds. These gifts have been devoted to special work in the West and among the Indians and Mexicans. They also have aided in the education of
young women for missionary work, and in 1908 contributed $300 for a room in the new building of the Training School at Chicago. They have also raised $500 for the erec- tion of a church in Mixcoac, Mexico.
In addition to these gifts, the women of the Home Society have met at stated periods to sew for needy schools and ministers' fami- lies in the South, West and city missions in New York. Many valu- able boxes and barrels of clothing have been sent to Alaska, the South, West and Mexico, and whole fami- lies have been fitted out with cloth- ing to relieve need and suffering. In 1894 the late Dr. Morehouse re- marked to members of this church, "Do you think I have travelled over the western fields and slept in the homes of needy missionaries with- out knowing something of the lux- ury of the Plainfield bedding?"
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.