USA > New Jersey > Memorial of the centennial of the organization of the church in the state of New Jersey > Part 5
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But Time is God's own angel bright, T' unseal men's holden eyes, To undeceive the honest heart, Dispel all phantasies. Who would have trod thee in the miry street,
Their children come to worship at thy feet.
All blessed be the memory Of Croes, glad to endure,
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Who sought with tears, the scattered sheep, O'er mountain and o'er moor. Teacher and priest and bishop, all in one, Till resting with the saints, to hear " Well done."
All blessed be the memory Of Doane, so brave, so strong, Who lifted up the cross on high, And sang the triumph song. " Right Onward " through the ancient paths he trod ; And other Churches caught the fire of God.
All blessed be the memory Of Odenheimer, mild,
Learned, so full of sympathy, So pure and undefiled, Who melted brothers' hearts to one accord, And unified the body of the Lord.
Sweet Mother, since you crossed the sea With only staff in hand,
Thy God hath blessed thee more and more, Made thee a double band. Two hundred spires now rise to kiss the sky, And teach men faith and love and purity.
All glory be to God on high, For this inheritance, so fair ;
And may we still increase and grow And still the good seed bear, Till sin and wrong and hate shall be no more, From Sussex hills to Cape May's sounding shore.
Mr. James Parker, of Perth Amboy, read the following on "The Work of the Laity in the Organization of the Church after the Revolution."
" At a meeting of clergy and laity held in this city, May 11th, 1784, the only laymen present were John Stevens, Richard Stevens, John Dennis, Colonel John Forman, Colonel Hoyt, and James Parker, all Jerseymen.
That meeting called another to be held in New York, October 6th, 1784. At the latter, New Jersey was represented by John De Hart, one of the best lawyers of the day, who
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had been a member of the Continental Congress in the years '74, '75, and part of '76, and John Chetwood, of 'St. John's,' Elizabethtown ; and Samuel Spraggs, of 'St. Andrews,' Mount Holly.
"It was there resolved that there should be a General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States, to be organized upon principles, the fourth of which was-' That the said Church shall maintain the doctrines of the Gospel, as now held by the Church of England, and shall adhere to the Liturgy of the said Church, as far as shall be consistent with the American Revolution, and the Constitutions of the re- spective States.'
" That principle has proved to be the safeguard and cement of our whole Church system ; it expresses the truth which enables us to reach back through the ages, both in mat- ters of doctrine and worship, even to our Lord Himself ; and to claim our rightful inheritance as a branch of His 'Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.'
" It would naturally have fallen to the lawyers of that body to draw up the declaration of principles ; and the double use of the word 'said ' (a lawyer's, not a clergyman's word), indicates that a lawyer did draw it. It is a model of terse- ness, not a word too many or one too few ; and, from original papers in my possession, and from after events, I am satisfied that John De Hart was the author of this fourth article.
" According to the recommendation of that meeting, the first Convention of the Church in this State (whose Centennial we are now keeping), met in this city, July 6th, 1785. It seems only to have listened to a sermon from the rector of ' St. Peters,' Perth Amboy ; and to have appointed Deputies to the General Convention to be held at Philadelphia. These Deputies were clothed with power 'to accede, on the part of the Church in New Jersey, to the fundamental principles pub- lished by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, held in New York, October 6th and 7th, 1784 ; and to adopt such measures as the said General Convention may deem necessary, for the utility of the said Church, not repug- nant to the aforesaid fundamental principles.'
" The General Convention met September 27th, 1785, and its proceedings caused great feeling in the Church gener- ally, and particularly in this State. The bitterness engendered by the war was still at its height, and there was a very ex- tended feeling, even within the Church, that, in order to make
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the Church popular, the Book of Common Prayer should be changed to a far greater extent than was proposed by the Gen- eral Convention of October, 1784 ; and this feeling was strong enough to secure the adoption by the Convention of May, 1785, of what is known as 'The Proposed Book ; ' which latter was almost entirely the work of the Reverend Drs. Will- iam White and William Smith.
" When that book was published it caused much anxiety ; and when the Convention of this State mnet at Perth Amboy, May 16th, 1786, it at once became the subject of an animated discussion.
" It will have been noted how careful the first Conven- tion of New Jersey had been to instruct its Deputies that the fundamental principles set forth in the above quoted article fourth, should govern and control the changes to be made in the Liturgy.
" After full discussion, the changes made necessary by the new political conditions, were unanimously approved, and it was ' Resolved, That the address of the Convention to the Right Reverend, the Archbishops and Bishops in England, is very agreeable to this Convention.' In this, the hundredth year after it was written, it would greatly benefit us all, to read that address carefully again. It was drawn by Bishop White, and a more tender appeal, and touching ' of the mystic chords of memory ' never before, and but once since (when Abraham Lincoln made it at the close of another great war between brethren), fell from pen or lips of mortal man.
" The other proposed changes were not approved ; and a committee consisting of Rev. Abraham Beach and four lay- men-viz., John De Hart, James Parker, Matthias Halsted, and Henry Waddel, was appointed to ' draft a Memorial to the General Convention to be held in Philadelphia the ensuing month, specifying the reasons which induced the Convention to disapprove the proposed alterations in the Book of Com- mon Prayer.'
"Mr. Parker, from the committee, reported the next morning a Memorial, which was not approved, and a second committee-viz., Messrs. De Hart, Parker and Halsted (all laymen), was instructed to prepare a new Memorial, to ' effect the purpose of that negatived.'
" The committee on the next day presented the new Memorial, which was 'read by paragraphs, debated, agreed
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to, and ordered to be transcribed and signed by the President,' and sent.
" This paper produced such important effects, that I may be pardoned for quoting largely from it.
" After stating their approval of the changes made neces- sary by the new political relations, the Memorial proceeds : ' Your memorialists did not ratify, but disapproved of the other parts of the proceedings of the said late General Con- vention. Your memorialists do not question the right of every national or independent Church to make such alterations, from time to time, in the mode of its public worship, as, upon mature consideration, may be found expedient ; but they doubt the right of any order or orders of men in an Episcopal Church without a bishop, to make any alterations not war- ranted by immediate necessity ; especially such as not only go to the mode of its worship, but also to its doctrines. And they are very apprehensive that, until alterations can be made consistent with the customs of the Primitive Church, and with the rules of the Church of England, from which it is our boast to have descended, a ratification of them would cause great uneasiness in the minds of many members of the Church, and, in great probability, cause dissensions and schisms. Your memorialists, having an anxious desire of cementing, perpetuating, and extending the union so happily begun in the Church, with all deference and submission, humbly re- quest and entreat the General Convention now soon to meet, that they will revise the proceedings of the said late Conven- tion, and remove every cause that may have excited any jealousy or fear, that the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has any intention or desire essentially to depart either in doctrine or discipline from the Church of England ; but, on the contrary, to convince the world that it is their wish and intention to maintain the doctrines of the Gospel as now held by the Church of England, and to adhere to the Liturgy of the said Church, as far as may be consistent with the American Revolution, and the Constitutions of the respective States : thereby removing every obstacle in the way of obtaining the consecration of such, and so many per- sons to the Episcopal character, as shall render our ecclesiastical government complete, and secure to the Episcopalians in America and to their descendants a succession of that neces- sary order.'
" Bishop White, in his 'Memoirs,' imputes the author-
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ship of this Memorial to the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bradbury Chan- dler ; but that distinguished Divine was not a member of the Convention, and it will be remembered that the committee which prepared it was composed exclusively of laymen ; and the following extracts from a correspondence which has lately come into my hands, will, I think, satisfy any one that Dr. Chandler had nothing to do with its composition ; but that James Parker or John De Hart wrote it, or that it was their joint production.
" In this State the Memorial created great excitement. It and its authors were at once attacked, and all sorts of motives were imputed to them. On May 25th, Rev. Uzal Ogden, and Patrick Dennis (who had been the only two rep- resentatives from this State in the General Convention which had adopted the ' Proposed Book '), united in a long letter to the Rev. Dr. White, in which the Memorial and its authors were attacked in strong terms. I have here a copy of this letter. Mr. Ogden says, 'The rejection of the proposed alterations in the Prayer-book was so disagreeable to some members of the Convention that it occasioned them to with- draw from it.' June 23d, Rev. Abraham Beach wrote to Mr. Parker, 'Mr. Ogden is very confident the Jersey members to the General Convention will not be received, on account of their audacity in daring to hesitate with respect to the new Prayer-book. He means not to go for Jersey, but wishes, I believe, to be chosen for New York. Four of the lay dele- gates for New Jersey must absolutely attend. The Conven- tion will otherwise think they are ashamed of what they have done.' June 6th, Mr. Parker replied to Mr. Beach, 'I wanted a copy of the Memorial, to remove some prejudices that were imbibed by some persons of consequence in the Legislature at New Brunswick, from a false representation of my conduct at the Convention. They even went so far as to say that I opposed all alterations in the Liturgy ; and that John De Hart, myself, and others that were principally op- posed to the proceedings of the Convention at Philadelphia, were under Dr. Chandler's direction, and tools to him. Those of the General Convention who were either opposed to those measures, or came inadvertently into them, cannot but be pleased at our opposition ; and the proceedings of those who had any design in what is done, if any such there be, ought to be counteracted. No, sir, let us set out right, and we may possibly continue so ; but if these things are admit-
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ted, or even passed over from a false delicacy, or any other motive, farewell the Episcopal Church of America.'
"To John De Hart, his friend and coadjutor in the good work then in progress, Mr. Parker wrote June 11th :
"' I have not heard a word from you since we kicked up such a dust at the Convention ; and although what we did there has had a considerable influence on the politics of the State, and has principally operated against me, I never was better pleased with any transaction of my life, especially as I find it is esteemed of much more consequence than I thought it at the time ; and I must confess it is very flattering to me to think that the measures we adopted are likely to answer all the purposes we proposed, and are to be followed by the Con- vention at New York. Can you conceive that the little that was said in our Convention, about the 4th of July, could be the foundation of a report that I had absolutely refused the observance of that day, and that this should be made use of as an argument against the alternate meeting of the Legislat- ure at Burlington and Perth Amboy, and for fixing it at New Brunswick ; and can you conceive that the idle story of Dr. Chandler's influencing the opposition of our Convention to the proceedings of the General Convention, should reach so far as to become the chit-chat of the public tables at Prince- ton and New Brunswick ? And now, my friend, since we have gone on so far, so well together, let me entreat you to accompany me to the Convention at Philadelphia, where there will be much to be done to secure the good effects of what seems to be in so promising a way. I trust you will, and in this hope remain,
" ' Yours, etc., "''JAMES PARKER.'
" To the readers of the Church history of that day, the Rev. Dr. Chandler is, of course, well known, but to others it may be proper to say that, while he was one of the purest and best men of his time, he was very unpopular because of his political views. Not a word was ever breathed against his personal or religious character. He had fought for the Church in the col- onies all his life ; but he was a devoted Loyalist, and when he came back from England, and attempted to officiate in his old church (St. John's, Elizabeth), the grandfathers of our peace- ful friends, ex-Chancellor Williamson and Mr. W. W. Thomas
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(who represent that parish here to-day), interfered and escorted their old rector to the door.
"The action of the laymen in the Convention of New Jersey emboldened others in other States, and there came to the next General Convention such a voice of remonstrance against the 'Proposed Book,' that no further effort was made in its behalf ; and, by common consent, it went into obscurity, and remained thereafter as much a literary curios- ity as Dr. Johnson's 'Taxation without Representation no Tyranny,' until the so-called 'Reformed Episcopalians ' ex- humed it a few years ago, and tried in vain to put life into it.
" What I have read shows, I think, that to the laymen of New Jersey we largely owe the first efforts to bring the Church in the United States into national unity ; the call of the first General Convention and the measures it adopted, and the pres- ervation of the integrity of the Book of Common Prayer.
"In those days, courage and a strong will to do the right were required to face the unpopularity and suspicion which all who stood up for the Church were sure to encounter.
" The work then begun has spread its influences over a whole continent, then almost unknown.
" Laymen of New Jersey, see ye to it that, should danger and unpopularity menace the Church of your day, ye are as sturdy in her defence as those few but resolute laymen of New Jersey were a hundred years ago."
The Rev. B. Franklin, D.D., Rector of Christ Church, Shrewsbury, owing to the lateness of the hour declined to speak, but by unanimous request consented to do so at the Annual Convention the next day, when he said :
" The Church of America in the future is the subject which inspires my thought. Not a new Church to be evolved out of some abstract energy of goodness and truth, implanted as a germ within and evolving as a force from without Chris- tianized souls ; but the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church of all the past, of all the Christian ages ! The current of mod- ern thought is propelled by the too common idea that there is such a thing as a self-existent abstract energy of goodness and truth. This energy is supposed to lie at the spring of all
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progress, and to have in itself power to evolve its own organ- izations ; or to change wholly, or in any particular, whatever organizations may have descended through, or arisen at any period in the long past. We believe not in the existence of any such abstract energy.
" The philosophic basis of Christianity (and we grant the necessity of a philosophic basis for every system of belief), is the primary fact of all, being the universal axiom and the one starting-point of thought, PERSONAL EXISTENCE. ' Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hatlı sent me unto you ; and they shall say to me, What is His name ? what shall I say unto them ? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you ' (Ex. 3 : 13, 14).
" Here Christianity takes its stand. It antagonizes mod- ern thought at the very beginning, by denying its 'axiom,' and claiming that I AM is the true and only real basis of thought and being. And yet Christianity is no enemy to human progress. It has the deepest sympathy for modern progress. It is abreast the age, even in this America, which is placed in the van of modern progress. We look forward with exulting hope to the evolution of the Church in America. We would gladly call her The American Church. By ' The Church' we mean that definite, historic "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,' which was put into form by ' the Word of God ; ' which was and is vivified by ' The Lord, and Giver of Life,' whose philosophic basis is The Personal Existence, which was, is, and ever will be, because her founda- tion and support is the source of all being and the preserver of all evolving energy, the One, Great, I AM.
" Here we stand in the Church. Here we are to uphold and set her forth as the Household of God, with doors wide open for the inflow of men and women and little children in this great, progressive, American nation. We believe in America. We believe that she has a definite work to do' in the advancement of mankind. We are not blind to her faults. Especially do we feel the force of her pride, her self-confi - dence, even of her vanity, of her disposition to reject all authority, and of her growing self-will. Let her enemies dwell on her faults, and lash her with their cunning carica- tures and bitter satire. They may do her good. But we are
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not her enemies. We see this people, as a people beloved of God. We see noble and godlike characteristics in them. ' God who so loved the world that He gave His Only Begot- ten Son,' has given that Son to America ; and it is the mission of the Church-our mission now, my brethren-to hold up ' the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world ' (St. John 1 : 9), in order that we may show to this people the way into the Household of God.
"It is not only a household, it is ' the Ark of God ; ' the Ark destined, it may be, 'to ride the sea of fire.' We know not what shall be the specific fortunes of the American Church. Would God that she might gather in all this people, with their children and their children's children ; but we know not who will hear, we know not who will forbear. Let no definite ex- pectation of results cloud our faith, or clog our hopes. The Church in the past has ever been the 'Little Flock ' (St. Luke 12 : 32). This is a great mystery. It tries our faith even to think of it. 'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ !' (Rev. 11 : 15). We read this as prophecy. We also read history. Believing the prophecy, we bow our heads in trustful faith. Reading and making history, we wait. We must not wait, however, in idleness, nor should we go forth to our work presumptu- ously, much less impatiently. God knows, we do not, what His honor demandeth, and what men's souls require. We may not count up our gains, nor dwell unduly on signs and marks of progress. The Great Consummation includes too many and too intricate items for us to compute as we go. Leave statistics for delvers in rubbish. Let us start on the strong foundations of true ideas. They will be found living stones as well. They are the solid and permanent things in upbuilding progress. God ! Christ ! the Church, which is His Body ! These are ideas, but oh, what reality, strength, energy, and power are in them ! Whatever results we may see or think we see, they have nothing to do with our faith. Even though the American Church be and continue to be ' the Little Flock,' this we know she is the flock of which Jesus is the shepherd.
" While, however, adhering to the historic, organic Church, which cometh down from Jesus-the risen God-Man -in unbroken succession along the ages ; let us keep our eyes wide open to recognize Him, in all who show the presence of His Spirit, and let our hearts rejoice in any manifestation of -
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the love which is of Him. Let us be churchmen not with the spirit of exclusiveness, but of inclusiveness. We believe and are assured that sound philosophy, true doctrine, and pure religion are enshrined in their completeness, in the American Church. She is intrusted to us. We do not own her. She owns us. We should be as large as she is, or rather we should pray and strive so to be enlarged, that while we stay in her and go not out, we may earnestly sympathize with and rejoice in any good, any truth, any love, and any devotion, that may anywhere, at any time, shoot up amid the darkness of this fast departing night of ' the mystery of iniquity.'
" Our philosophic and theologic position is a definite one. It is comprehensive because it is Catholic, so large that it may include all ' men of good will,' so complete that it can em- brace or rather ingraft the whole body, soul, and spirit of every ' man of good will,' providing ample means for personal development inwardly and outwardly, while, at the same time, the band of unity is spread around whatever multitudes may come in with us, knowing that God is with us.
" The Church of Christ is the appointed teacher of His truth to all nations. The American Church is appointed- just as truly appointed as if the voice of her Lord sounded now audibly in her ears, and in those of all people-to pro- claim His truth to this nation. She has no more right to for- bid any who promulgate truth, than had the disciples whom Jesus rebuked. We can afford to rejoice, and ought to thank God, with the apostle that, 'notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence or truth, Christ is preached ' (Phil. 1 :18).
The truth, in its didactic form, is, however, only part of the trust committed to the Church. She is, in very con- stitution, the living, organic Body of the indwelling Christ. He yet, alone, is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost ' (St. John 1 : 33). 'The Giver of Life ' bestoweth life in sacra- ment. Her High Priest is ever presenting the offering of the one Sacrifice. Priests, under Him, make the memorial. He feeds His people now with the ' true bread from heaven ' (St. John 6 : 32), which the Father giveth. Doctrine, discipline, and worship are the threefold strands of unity. Truth ! The Body, living, organic, one in past, present and future ! The spirit of love, rising devoutly to God in both private and com- mon prayer or praise, and going out through all that is human, with largest, sweetest, tenderest charity !
4
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" Glorious, indeed, is our heritage, brethren. Let us cling to it, with a loyalty that shall stand the stress of this magnificent, but, I fear, ungodly era. Great is the trust com- mitted to us. Let us take it from God's hand, and discharge it, as they who count all things loss, if they may but win Christ. Some of us have had long experience in the progress of the American Church. Will you bear with me, who am one of the oldest priests among you, if I descend a little to personalities ? For rather more than two fifths of the century I have worked and waited in the priestly office. All that time, two strong emotions have been driving whatever energy I possess. Love of Country and love of the Church, have both been strong forces within me. They are yet, and now, as ever, they work together in reciprocal harmony. Nothing, I verily believe, could be better for America, than that the American Church go forward, throughout all her wide bor- ders, and everywhere gather the people into the family of God. Nor, as I humbly think, has any nation, in any era, presented an equal field for the spread of ' the faith once for all delivered to the saints ' (St. Jude 3). I utter no prophecy as to the specific aspect of the coming victory of the Faith. That victory is sure. Men are to win it. You, especially, my younger brethren in the priesthood, are to bear the brunt of the coming strife. My personal experience verifies the Divine word, ' I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name's sake.' Look not, therefore, for apparent success ! Be not dismayed by apparent failure ! Lift up your hearts ! Though the time may be long, of this be assured, when all shall be over, then, REST.".
At 5 P.M. another large congregation assembled in Christ Church, where Evening Prayer was sung by the Rev. H. H. Oberly, M.A. ; the Rev. E. B. Joyce, S.T.B., reading the Lessons. About fifty vested choristers aided in this service. The processional was Heywood's, "Forth to the Fight, ye Ransomed," the special Psalms 65, 66 and 67, were sung to Gregorian tones, the anthem was Calkins's, "Rejoice in the Lord, Ye Righteous," the retrocessional, Smart's "Light's abode, celestial Salem."
The music at all the services was marked by great pre- cision, both in time and tune ; the organist playing his accom-
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paniments with taste and skill. More general or hearty sing- ing on the part of congregations is seldom if ever heard.
The next day, at the Annual Convention of the Diocese of New Jersey, held in the same place, a committee was ap- pointed to prepare for publication an extended account of these proceedings, which is accordingly submitted.
GEORGE MORGAN HILLS, Chairman. 1
1
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