USA > New York > New York City > A history of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the city of New York > Part 26
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The officers of the church, also, had, on their part, made a miscalculation. They had assured them- selves of Mr. Bevan's success in his London pastorate, but they had not sufficiently considered whether he could so far adapt himself to the materially different conditions of the Brick Church as to achieve there a work equally successful. Perhaps they thought that to succeed as a non-Conformist among the middle class people of London, and even among the work- ingmen of that city, was so much more difficult than the problem presented by a prominent and well-es- tablished Presbyterian Church in New York, that no anxiety on that score need be felt. But, after all, the problem of every church is peculiar to itself, and a man, very successful in his own appropriate sphere, may be seriously handicapped when he is moved out of it.
We are thus warned from the outset of the diffi- culties which Mr. Bevan was called upon to face.
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But in spite of them he made a vigorous beginning. The spirit and result of his work during the first two or three years cannot be better described than in his own words, quoted from two pastoral letters which he issued to the congregation in December, 1878, and November, 1879.
"The revolution of another year," he says in the earlier of these epistles, "has brought us to the second anniversary of the day when your pastor first took his place in the pulpit of your church, and it seems fitting that once again I should address you with words of affectionate greeting, grateful retro- spect, and joyous forecasting. . The increase of familiarity has only added to my respect and affection for those who welcomed me with kindness and have never for an instant ceased to extend that sympathy and evince that hearty regard which, next to the blessing of God, are a minister's chief support.
"Another year of labor amongst you has added also to the strength of the church. We are steadily advancing in consolidation and stability. The flut- ter of novelty has passed away but only to leave a deeper interest and sense of obligation in the hearts of all associated in our communion. The scattered congregation has been regathered, and a large num- ber of new friends have been added, not only to the attendance upon public worship, but to the regular seat-holders in the congregation, and to the mem- bership of the church .* We had to wait long for the reorganization of our congregation after the summer
* In 1878, fifty-three members were added to the church, thirty-two of these joined at the Brick Church proper, seven by confession and twenty- five by letter. The rest were additions to the congregation at the mission. The figures for 1877 had been slightly larger, similarly[distributed.
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and autumn vacation; but when it came the increase in numbers was so marked, and the growth was so evidently a solid one, that our hearts have been greatly cheered and encouraged.
"There is one aspect of the growth of the church which I am very anxious to bring before you, and that is, the addition to our numbers of those who make profession of their faith, and are thus not only incre- ments of our community, but gains to the whole Church of Jesus Christ. These, I know, are often the direct effects of a powerful and convincing ministry, and for some that have been thus impressed, I am deeply thankful to him whose grace and power are alone sufficient to affect the changes; but in this work the preaching of the pastor is not alone sufficient; there must be also the prayer of the people. Breth- ren, I beseech you, pray for me and for my min- istry.
"The various spheres of our common activity have been well sustained, and, in some cases greatly en- larged. Our mission work is seriously in need of helpers, and the school only requires teachers, to be filled to its utmost capacity.
"The labors of the ladies of the congregation have been unremitting in behalf of the poor, and the Employment Society, while increasing in the number of those whom it can aid, is able to sustain its efforts only by the continued and increased generosity and activity of the members of the church. . .
"One of our chief causes of satisfaction has been the interest taken amongst the children, in our Sun- day-school and in the Children's Society. There has been a remarkable revival and quickening of atten-
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tion. A church in the position of ours must grow chiefly along the lines of its families, and we have, therefore, been greatly encouraged by the healthful energy of the institutions belonging to the children.
"There is one point which I desire to press home upon your attention, namely, the services of the church upon the week-days. May I beg of you not to neglect these opportunities of assembling in the house of God for instruction and for prayer ? To me, these services are the most refreshing of any that we hold. To those who wish to hear the preacher when most living and instructive, I would venture to say, hear him on Wednesday nights; but especially I beg for a larger attendance at the prayer-meeting on Saturday evenings. That is, I believe, a peculiar source of strength for the entire church. Were it fully and warmly sustained by a people pressing in to prayer, the revival which we desire would not be long delayed.
"One other special point of importance demands our attention. After several experiments, and after much deliberation, we have determined that the sec- ond Sunday service of our church shall be in the afternoon, to be held regularly and without break. May I not beg the fullest attendance of the congre- gation upon that occasion ? The universal dwindling of the second service of the Lord's Day is not a healthy sign of modern church life. Let it at least not be known amongst us. . .. If a congregation be not in its place, why should the minister be found in his pulpit ? These shall be the only notes not altogether cheerful in my words to you, and even these I will close with the expression of the hope of a regular and
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large afternoon congregation, in which hope I be- seech you not to disappoint me."
The rest of the letter being of a more general and discursive character need not be quoted here, but two or three topics already referred to in the earlier part of it deserve further notice. The attention given to the children of the church was certainly a happy feature of Mr. Bevan's ministry. The present writer well remembers the children's service held from time to time on Sunday afternoons, when all the arrange- ments were designed to make the boys and girls feel that the service distinctly belonged to them. Par- ticularly important, if depth and permanence of im- pression are to be regarded as indications, was the fact that even the taking up of the collection was at that service entrusted to the children. It was, it is true, a somewhat awful moment to boys of eight or ten, when they must pass from end to end of that in- terminable Brick Church aisle, while the possibility of passing by some man or woman, hidden away at the inner end of a pew, added a further cause of dread to the exercise; but the boys liked it, and, what is more important, it gave them a feeling of per- sonal participation in the life of the church which helped to root them there for later life .*
These services were connected with the work of the Children's Society, whose organization in Dr. Murray's time has been already described, and whose quickened interest Mr. Bevan mentioned with grati- tude in the letter that has been quoted. The collec- tions at these services, for which the boys "passed the plate," were for the replenishing of the society's
* These children's services had been started in the time of Dr. Murray.
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treasury. Another means used for the same pur- pose was the holding of an occasional fair for the sale of those "fancy and useful articles" which church members are asked to contribute in the morning and buy back in the afternoon.
From these sources considerable sums of money were realized, and used, not only for the regular work which the society had from the beginning under- taken among the poor children connected with the mission, but also for the furthering of special enter- prises of a character in harmony with the society's general purpose. Thus in one year the object was stated as "The Children's Convalescent Country Home," in another as "The Sanitary Home for Sick Children." Mr. Bevan was especially anxious that the Brick Church should start a home of its own in the country, to which the sick children in its charge might be sent for rest and refreshment. But although a beginning of the collection of the necessary funds was made, the plan could not then be carried out; and one reason for this was a period of decline into which the Children's Society entered not long after the time at present under consideration. The causes for this decadence and the happy result to which it ultimately led, will be described in the next chapter.
In connection with the Children's Society, it will be appropriate to speak of another organization in which Mr. Bevan took a special interest. When he came, he found no society for the young men of the church, for the "Association," which came into ex- istence in Dr. Hoge's time had meanwhile disap- peared. Mr. Bevan had not been in New York three months when he brought about the organization of a
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"Young Men's Society," he himself accepting the responsibility of being its first president The ses- sion took occasion to express their special satisfac- tion at the launching of this enterprise and their "hope that it will prove an effective agency in devel- oping Christian fellowship and promoting Christian activity in the church and congregation." And, in- deed, the social gayeties which this society intro- duced into the church life in the year 1877 must have been astonishing to people of the older genera- tion. In April, in May, and again in November en- graved invitations from the young men requested the pleasure of the church's company (including the young women) at an evening reception in the church parlors "from 8} to 10}." How long this society continued we do not know, but the sudden ceasing of all allusion to it makes us fear that it soon perished.
The matter of the second Sunday service, to which reference was made in the pastoral letter already quoted, had evidently been discussed at considerable length, and indeed it was not settled to the satisfac- tion of every one till a still later date. The officers of the church seem to have been very emphatically in favor of the old afternoon service, but the pastor and perhaps some of the congregation were so anx- ious to have the hour changed to the evening, that they returned several times to the discussion. They succeeded in obtaining permission to try their plan for brief intervals, but the original hour was always soon restored. A further reference to the same sub- ject will be found in a second letter, issued in the year 1879, which may now be quoted.
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"The welcome accorded to my previous communi- cation," Mr. Bevan says in his introduction, "has determined me not to break through the custom so pleasantly begun." Then after referring to the "serious family anxiety" by which the year had been marked (an accident to Mrs. Bevan from whose effects she suffered, with great patience, for many years), he takes up the affairs of the church. "Labor," he says, "has been unbroken. Increase, steady and marked, has attended the church's history, and we are permitted to commence the duties of a new sea- son with promise of still greater achievement and growth. The successful endeavor to deal with the debt which our community had incurred has been a cause of much cheer and congratulation. All have been interested, while to some, whose generous gifts and unceasing energy have combined to render the often ungracious work of debt-raising assured and pleasant, my best felicitations and esteem are due. It is thus that we would blend our thankfulness to God and our recognition of those whom he has in- spired with affection and zeal. That kindness which greeted a stranger grows into the confidence and re- gard which attend the friend and pastor."
We may interrupt the course of the letter at this point to say that the paying off of the church's debt at this time was, indeed, a most happy incident. Partly the purchase of the parsonage and partly still earlier obligations from the days of the double pastorate, had forced the trustees to borrow some $49,000. But now, under the leadership of Governor Morgan, who was always found in the forefront of the church's work, almost the whole of this amount
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was raised, a tremendous relief to the treasury, which had all it could do to meet current expenses.
But to return to the letter. "I invite the younger members of the congregation," Mr. Bevan continues "to give us all the aid they can in our mission work. This is our practical and aggressive duty. Its social influence will be found pleasant as well as strength- ening to all our interests, while nothing but the lack of helpers prevents the limitless increase of the good we can thus accomplish. I shall, therefore, cordially welcome any who may attach themselves to either our Sunday-school or our mission-school work. To the former send your children, to the latter let the young men and women of the church give themselves with complete consecration.
"Amongst the growing interests of our church are the Sunday afternoon service and the service of Wednesday evening. In respect of the former it is well known that your pastor would personally prefer an evening meeting. But many friends are averse to change, and unless it prove necessary, for a while at least, we shall continue with all fidelity the afternoon service. But this fact is a strong argument for a good regular attendance. The second service of the church is that which may generally be expected to prove the chief opportunity for the ingathering of those who are outside her pale. But meagre attend- ance will render inaffective the most earnest pleas, the most convincing argument. Give your minister the aid of your steady, unbroken, enthusiastic presence at this service. The Sunday afternoon, under any circumstances, is a difficult time for public discourse. The difficulty becomes almost insuperable when the
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preacher is greeted by the empty places of those upon whom he ought to lean for sympathy and support. Many more, also, ought to be present at the week- night service. It is hoped that the course of sermons upon the Book of Revelation, which has been com- menced, will sustain and increase the interest which has already been kindled. An hour snatched from the home circle or social pleasures, and spent in the house of God, and in attendance upon his word, cannot fail to result in confirming life's strength, and heightening its enjoyments. When the church is open for service its members ought surely to be present there. . . .
"The most careless observer of our church cannot fail to notice not only an increase in the external signs of church life, but also a stirring of the deeper elements of faith and character amongst us. The sea- son of prayer lately observed resulted in a deepening of conviction and a quickening of earnestness. I have no great faith in sudden, temporary so-called revivals, but I long for a greater decision of Christian character. I yearn for the signs of changed hearts, and kindled spiritual sentiments. I solemnly summon to profession of faith those who so long have held back and are disciples only in secret. I pray for the conversion of sinners and the decisive choice of the wavering, the careless, the indifferent. . .. Once again, therefore, I cast myself upon the sympathy and prayers of the people, thanking all for unremit- ting personal kindness. Looking forward with much joyful expectation to the promise of work and results therefrom which seem to lie in the future, lifting up to God the voice of praise, and solemnly re-
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consecrating myself to your service in the Lord, whilst I claim from you a similar renewal of your vows, I remain, my dear friends,
"Your affectionate pastor."
The two letters that have been quoted carry us but a little more than half-way through Mr. Bevan's pastorate, for he remained in New York over two years more; but no later pastoral letter has come down to us, if, indeed, the custom of issuing one each year was continued. The records of the church, moreover, give us for this period little more than the bare out- lines, so that it will not be possible to follow in detail the history of those later years.
Yet to this one exception must be made. The con- tinued prosperity and growth of the mission is fully recorded, and demands our attention. The Sunday- school, of which Mr. Daniel J. Holden was superin- tendent, he having succeeded Mr. Parsons in 1877, could hardly have been more prosperous. Mr. Holden gave his whole heart to the work and the many who love to remember him know how much that meant. Seldom have there been united in one man so much strength and sweetness. "The sound- ness of his judgment" on the one hand, and "the pe- culiarly genial and lovable qualities of his nature," on the other, "visibly irradiated, as it was, by the spirit of a true disciple of Christ," * made him one of those rare personalities under whose influence any good and wise work is bound to prosper. t
* From resolutions by the board of trustees at the time of his death.
t In 1880 there was in the school an enrolment of 650 scholars; aver- age attendance, 450; number of officers and teachers, 52.
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Mr. Lampe was now on his second decade as pas- tor at the mission, and in numbers his congregation was fast overtaking that of the Brick Church itself, * while, under the wise leadership of the Brick Church session, it was being prepared as rapidly as possible for an independent existence. Especially a decided advance had been made toward self-support. In January, 1878, the people of the mission requested that they might be allowed to put in an organ at their own expense, and at the same time steps were taken toward placing upon their shoulders some definite share of the responsibility for their church's support. Later in the same year the cost of the music was se- lected as an appropriate portion of the expenses to be borne by the Thirty-fifth Street congregation, and it was voted by the session that "for the purpose of encouraging the mission to meet the responsibility, the church aid for music at the mission be for the present withdrawn." In 1879, in addition to a gen- eral invitation to contribute to the support of the church, the special proposal was made that the people of the mission provide for an increase of $500 in their pastor's salary. Thus, little by little, the spirit of independence and the habit of self-support were being encouraged.
In April, 1882, Dr. + Bevan offered his resignation.# He had been called to the new Congregational
* In the official reports, the members of the two congregations were, of course, given together in one figure. More than a third of the members received during Dr. Bevan's pastorate worshipped at the mission.
t He received the degree of D.D. in 1880.
# His intention to return to London had been made public several weeks earlier, as will be seen from the dates of an interview and a letter quoted in the earlier portion of this chapter, page 361, note.
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Church in Highbury Quadrant, London, and, as he said in the meeting of the Brick Church at which his resignation was accepted, he regarded as a compelling summons this invitation to go "back to the field of his former labors." The truth was, no doubt, that his return to England seemed to him like the regain- ing of his freedom. In some important respects, as has been already said, he had not found in New York the opportunity he had anticipated, the oppor- tunity for whose sake he had abandoned the evident advantages of work among his own countrymen; and the thought of taking up again his life in London could not but be welcome to him.
He left behind him many warm friends. In 1885 and again in 1886, he was invited to revisit America for the special purpose of preaching in the Brick Church during a whole or a part of the summer, but his duties at home prevented his acceptance. In 1891, however, he did visit New York and occupied his old pulpit at that time. He had then moved once more from London, and had found in Melbourne, Australia, a most congenial field of service. Of his great success there his former parishioners heard with joy.
CHAPTER XXI
REJUVENATED: 1882-1893
"Moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies."-Ecclesiastes, 12 : 9-11.
"Our church is not like an ancient sign-post which the weather is wearing to decay; nor like a graven image which can neither hear, nor speak, nor grow, but like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Its roots run down deep into the past. Its trunk rises strong and unbroken in the present. And, please God, it shall still lift its head to greet the future, putting forth new buds and blossoms with every season."-HENRY VAN DYKE, "An Historic Church," 1893. p. 6.
A T the same meeting at which Dr. Bevan's resignation was accepted a committee of twenty-seven * was appointed "to take meas- ures for filling the vacancy." This was in April, 1882. Almost at once the name of Henry J. van Dyke, Jr., minister of the United Congregational Church of Newport, R. I., was mentioned. Governor Morgan, the chairman of the committee, who knew him and his work, and thought him "a very fine young man," believed, nevertheless, that he ought not to be asked to leave the charge which he then held;
* The names of these men, who made up a large part of the strength of the church at this time, are here given: Gov. Edwin D. Morgan, Chair- man, George de Forest Lord, Frederick W. Downer, Benjamin F. Dun- ning, Ezra M. Kingsley, John E. Parsons, Frederick Billings, Isaac N. Phelps, John G. Adams, M.D., Ronald M. Buchanan, Hamilton Odell, Caldwell R. Blakeman, Daniel J. Holden, Daniel Parish, Jr., Robert Watts, M.D., William B. Isham, Shepherd Knapp, Edward W. Davis, John G. Davis, Charles G. Harmer, George W. Comstock, William D. Barbour, Nathan C. Ely, John Campbell, John A. Gilbert (John Q. ? ) Clark, Walter Squires.
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but happily at about this time there came rumors that Mr. van Dyke was considering a call to London. If Newport was to lose him in any case, Governor Morgan was very clear that the place for him was the Brick Church, and in this the rest of the committee, after the matter had been given the most thorough consideration, heartily agreed. On September 20th, the congregation addressed to Mr. van Dyke a unani- mous call.
The pastor elect was not quite thirty years of age, having been born in Germantown, Penn., on Nov- ember 10th, 1852. Not long after his birth, his father, Dr. Henry J. van Dyke, the eminent Presby- terian clergyman, began his long pastorate in Brook- lyn, and there the son grew up and received his ele- mentary education.
Of these early years and of the chief companion- ship they brought to him, his daughter writes pleas- antly in her sketch of his life. * "From the first," she says, "his relationship with his father was a par- ticularly beautiful one, for besides the natural trust and reverence, there grew up the closest kind of a friendship. It was as comrades that they went off for their day's holiday, escaping from the city and its flag pavements and brownstone fronts, and getting out into the fresh country air, to walk through the woods and watch the leaves turn red and gold and brown and drop to the ground, or to skate in winter, or to listen to the song of the first returning bluebird in the spring. It was under the wise and tender guidance of his father that the boy's instinctive love of nature grew and developed."
* "The Van Dyke Book," p. 159.
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In 1869 he entered Princeton and four years later graduated, after showing in a conclusive manner his ability as an orator and as a student of literature. His theological training was acquired in Princeton Seminary (1874-1877), and in Germany, at the Uni- versity of Berlin (1878). Upon his return to America, he was ordained and entered upon his ministerial work as pastor of the church in Newport, where it was soon evident to all, including certain distin- guished Americans, who in the summer season be- came his parishioners, that he was destined to do an important work as a minister of Christ. It was in Newport that Governor Morgan knew him and marked him as a rising man.
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