USA > New York > New York City > A history of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the city of New York > Part 32
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THE BRICK CHURCH
graph, he entered two years later, into closer relations with it than ever before. *
Mr. Holden was succeeded in the superintendency by Mr. Fulton McMahon, whose "diligent and faith- ful attention to the discharge of the duties of that office" was gratefully acknowledged, when he re- signed in 1897. Mr. Herbert Parsons, who next held this office, carried forward with great success the work which had been inaugurated by his father.
Reference was made in an earlier chapter to the beginnings of social and industrial work in connec- tion with the Thirty-fifth Street organization. The sewing-school had flourished through all these years and accomplished an incalculable amount of good; and from time to time, other enterprises of a similar nature had been carried on with more or less suc- cess. Special mention must be made of the Boys' Club, which "may trace its origin back as far as 1885, when, through the interested activity of Miss Kinnie t
* Mr. Holden's devotion to all the interests connected with the Brick Church is described in the following minute from the session records, passed in November, 1897. "The transfer of his membership to Christ Church by Mr. Daniel J. Holden makes suitable from the session something more than the more formal action which is required. Mr. Holden was brought up in the church: his identification with it has continued during his whole life: his father was a useful and honored member of the session before Mr. Holden's birth. From the time that Mr. Holden's age permitted he has, as teacher and subsequently as superintendent of the branch school, as member of the board of trustees, as an elder and as clerk of session, given to the work of the church an amount of service, the value of which is incalculable. It is because of his belief that he can be of better service by becoming a member of Christ Church, that Mr. Holden makes the sacri- fice of breaking up his old associations, of leaving positions which were most congenial to him, and of going among the people who, largely through his instrumentality, have identified themselves with what, for so many years, was the Brick Church Mission." Mr. Holden died on June 21st, 1903.
Miss Margaret E. Kinnie, who is still one of the faithful workers at Christ Church.
MURRAY KINDERGARTEN AND THE LINCOLN CADETS, CHRIST CHURCH
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UNION AND AFFILIATION
a small company of boys was gathered for purposes of amusement and instruction on Thursday and Friday evenings. This group of boys was later organized into the Lincoln Cadets and became the nucleus about which the more extensive activities [of later years] have developed." * It happened that at this juncture, the Brick Church had for the first time called into service an assistant minister, to lighten somewhat the heavy burden which Dr. van Dyke was carrying alone. The Rev. James M. Farr, Jr., had entered upon his duties in January, 1897, and at once he began to interest himself in the work among the boys at Christ Church, a fact dis- tinctly prophetic, as the future proved.
In the fall of 1897, at Mr. Farr's request, a few hundred dollars were secured from Brick Church people for the purpose of providing permanent head- quarters for the Boys' Club, and although nothing better could at that time be accomplished than the renting and fitting up of rooms in the basement of No. 262 West Thirty-fifth Street, this may, neverthe- less, be regarded as the definite beginning of the larger social and industrial work which grew up so speedily thereafter.
The next steps in the development may be given in Mr. Farr's words: "In the same winter of 1897, the Girls' Club, which had been organized the pre- ceding winter by Miss E. W. Hatfield, secured rooms in the house 222 West Thirty-fifth Street. The fol- lowing fall, in response to an appeal by Dr. van Dyke for better quarters for the Boys' and Girls' clubs, Mr. D. H. McAlpin presented and remodelled the
* "The Story of the Christ Church Work," pp. 26 f.
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house 224 West Thirty-fifth Street, in memory of his son Randolph. The success which attended the opening of the Church House was immediate. Boys' Clubs, Girls' Clubs, McAlpin Society, Van Dyke Club, kitchen garden, cooking classes, were soon crowded to their utmost capacity." * It was evident already that this was but the beginning of a very much greater work, to which God had been leading the people of the Brick Church through many years.
It will have been apparent that the church at the centre, on the brow of Murray Hill, from which had come forth the money and the men necessary for accomplishing the work already described in this chapter, must have been in a most vigorous condi- tion. It would, in truth, be hard to overstate the prosperity which she was enjoying under Dr. van Dyke's remarkable leadership. And best of all, it was not the prosperity of ease, but the prosperity of active and generous enterprise.
In the matter of sharing the wider benevolences of the Church at large, for example, the Brick Church was, in the year 1896-1897, the largest contributor in the denomination to the work of the boards, and a year later Dr. van Dyke was able to report that the total contributions of the church were twice as much as in the year preceding, being "the largest sum given for Christian work by any Presbyterian church in America, and probably in the world."
The attendance at the church services was another indication of success. "On many Sunday mornings,"
* "The Story of the Christ Church Work," pp. 27 f.
HENRY VAN DYKE
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UNION AND AFFILIATION
it was reported in 1898, "it has been impossible to accommodate the congregations seeking admittance," and this in spite of the fact that one hundred new sittings had been added in the gallery for the spe- cial accommodation of the many young men who regularly attended. One important element in the attractiveness of the Brick Church for young men at this time was the Sunday morning Bible class con- ducted by Mr. Theron G. Strong, and another was the spirit of work which more and more was taking possession of the membership. The gospel of service was constantly heard from the Brick Church pulpit. "No able-bodied Christian man," said Dr. van Dyke, "has a right to be merely a passenger in the church."*
That Dr. van Dyke should ever go away to any other field was not allowed to be so much as men- tioned, though more than once, when his health failed, as it did from time to time, or when his suc- cesses in literature proved that there was distin- guished service awaiting him in that field also, the fear of his departure was in many hearts.
He could have no doubt that his people were de- voted to him. Every opportunity was taken to ex- press the affection with which he was regarded. The celebration of his fifteenth anniversary as pas- tor was made notable by the dedication of a new organ in the church as well as by a gift to himself. The announcement of his call to the chair of English Literature in Johns Hopkins, in January, 1899, was made the occasion of such strong expressions of the church's gratitude to him and dependence upon him, that he could not mistake their significance.
* Pastoral Letter in "Year Book for 1898-1899," p. 6.
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But, although he was persuaded to decline the Johns Hopkins call, there were several different reasons, each in itself weighty, by which he was forced to regard his withdrawal from New York as most advisable, if not imperative, so that when later in 1899, he was called to the newly created Murray chair of English Literature in his own university, Princeton, he felt compelled to accept, and this time his determination was inexorable.
There was, however, one last service which he would render to his church before he said good-bye. He would remain at the helm until his successor had been found and was ready to begin his work. At length, in January, 1900, he could say, "The man whom you have chosen as your pastor has said that he is willing to come to you."
Dr. van Dyke had been pastor of the Brick Church for seventeen years, "the work of a third of a life- time," as he himself said. He had rendered a re- markable service; he had endeared himself to all his people; he had left the impress of his thought and his faith, not only on the Brick Church, but on the great city in which it stood. "In the succession of pastors of the Brick Church"-with these words the congregation closed their affectionate address of fare- well -"there have been noble names, men who were notable in doing the work of the church. To not one does it owe more than to Henry van Dyke." The truth was that the Brick Church of the closing nineteenth century, the church which then held an acknowledged place among the half-dozen leading churches of America, was almost wholly the product of his distinguished ministry.
PRESENT INTERIOR OF THE BRICK CHURCH Showing choir gallery as enlarged in 1898
CHAPTER XXIV A GOLDEN YEAR: 1900-1901
"That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." -- Ephesians 3 : 17-19.
"It seems something of a paradox, but nothing has made me feel so much at home in New York as going away. So many people have written me notes or spoken to me-telling me this or that, of some sermon or letter or little 'confab' that had meant something to them-that I have suddenly felt that I really be- longed to you, and found my heart quickening at the thought of coming back home." -MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK, "Letters from Egypt and Palestine," p. 1.
I ACCEPT as from God and for God the call which you have sent me." When these words from the Rev. Dr. Maltbie Davenport Bab- cock were received in the middle of November, 1899, the people of the Brick Church, with their pastor, who had stood by the ship until a new helmsman should be found, knew that they were accepting a great sacrifice from the man who was coming to them. Yet because of their belief in the unpar- alleled importance of the work to which they called him, they had not hesitated to urge upon him his removal from the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore to the Brick Church in New York; and he, on his part, when once the path of duty was clear to him, did not stop because it de- manded sacrifice.
One of his intimate friends, to whom he went for counsel, * has shared with us the knowledge of what
* Dr. Charles Cuthbert Hall.
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THE BRICK CHURCH
the step cost and how nobly it was taken. Dr. Bab- cock "told me," he says, "how the very roots of his life had taken hold of the Baltimore work and the Baltimore people, and I asked him if that was any reason why, at God's bidding, these roots should not be torn up, that he might come to a place that needed him more. I shall never forget how he took that thought; it seemed to appeal to the heroic elements in his great nature. . . . It was like a veritable tear- ing asunder of his heart, for him to leave that be- loved life in Baltimore, yet so much more did he love Christ than any comfort or luxury of human friend- ship that he seemed to rejoice in his own sufferings, and to be glad that he could test by pain the reality of his devotion to the pure will of God." *
Dr. Babcock's early life had not been marked by unusual events. Born in Syracuse, N. Y., on August 3d, 1858, he "was reared in a home fragrant with Christian influence and in close touch with the life and work of the church. His mother was a woman of unusual strength and beauty of character, whom the son resembled in both face and spirit." +
In 1879 he graduated from Syracuse University, and three years later from Auburn Theological Sem- inary. Those who knew him during these days of preparation were fond of telling in later years of the place of leadership which was instinctively accorded him by his fellow-students. "He was then regard- ed," we are told, "as the most brilliant and versatile man of his class-one of those fortunate fellows who can do almost anything equally well, from playing on
* "Brick Church Year Book," 1901-1902, p. 146.
+ "Year Book," 1901-1902, p. 149.
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A GOLDEN YEAR
a flute to debating a difficult problem of statecraft or gracing a fashionable drawing-room." *
His first pastorate, of five years' duration, was in the First Presbyterian Church of Lockport, N. Y., from which, in 1887, he was called to succeed Dr. Frank W. Gunsaulus in the Brown Memorial Church of Baltimore. Long before the twelve years of his second pastorate were ended, it had been recognized that he was one of the strongest and noblest Chris- tian personalities in the American ministry. Churches in many different cities would have been glad to draw him to them, and Baltimore rejoiced in the possession of him. "His work there," said one of his friends, f "was eminently blessed of God. He followed a line of brilliant preachers, but he equalled them in his hold upon this congregation and the en- tire community. He attracted to himself more than ordinary affection. He won all hearts by his enthu- siasm, his noble manliness, his devotion to his work, his broad sympathies, his fine friendliness. His preaching was intensely earnest, filled with life and spiritual power, practical and modern, vivacious and varied in style, and full of Christ. He gathered around him a large company of men and women to whom he imparted his own warm spirit." }
When his departure from Baltimore was deter- mined, the newspapers spoke of it as "a public calamity," and of him as "a man we cannot spare." Not in any formal sense, but literally, his going was felt as a universal personal loss. A street-car con-
* "Brown Memorial Monthly," May, 1900, p. 112.
t Dr. George T. Purves.
į "Brown Memorial Monthly," June, 1901, p. 181.
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ductor had exclaimed to one of his parishioners when a previous call was pending: "You miss him! Why, I'd miss him. This whole city would miss him!" *
There could be no doubt that in 1899, when Dr. Babcock was called to the Brick Church, he had a remarkable career behind him; but it was character- istic of him that with this he was very little con- cerned. We are told that, when asked for an outline of his earlier life for publication in the Brick Church Year Book on the eve of his arrival, he replied, "Do let the sketch go. Let's face the future and see if we can make a little history." The words sound like him. Certainly it was to the future rather than the past that he was looking, as he entered upon his new work. Old victories and regrets for old joys now abandoned were alike left behind him, and he gave himself to his ministry in New York with an enthu- siasm, and a fulness of joy in the very effort of it, that could not be mistaken.
His first day in the Brick Church was Sunday, January 14th, 1900. According to custom it was the day when, in place of the usual sermon, the report of the year from the two affiliated churches was given by the Covenant and Christ Church pas- tors, preparatory to taking up the usual offering for that double work. Dr. Babcock, therefore, had but to introduce the subject and make the brief applica- tion at the close; he was dealing, moreover, with a complex work to which he was still almost a stran- ger; yet at once every one at the service that morning
* From the "Evangelist," quoted in "Year Book," 1899-1900, p. 12. t He was not installed until February 27th.
E
MALTBIE D. BABCOCK
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A GOLDEN YEAR
knew that there was a strong hand at the helm, and that the Brick Church, whose prosperity in recent years had seemed almost too good to last, might hope to sail ahead on her course without so much as slowing down.
Even the strangers who had come to the church that day out of curiosity, or because deputed to report the new preacher in the next day's newspapers, were plainly made aware that they were in the pres- ence of a power. It was not so much what he said that impressed the congregation, as the man himself, his personality, whose influence made an instan- taneous impression. The "Tribune" thus described him on Monday morning: "He is a tall, slender, and well built man, with sharp features that are clean cut and attractive. . . . He has a habit of throwing his shoulders back that gives an air of manly frankness to what he says. .. . Although of youthful appear- ance"-he was but forty-one years old-"he bore himself with a natural dignity and confidence that made him master of the situation at once." This is manifestly the witness of one who was recording a first impression, and it deals chiefly with externals, but even through this crude medium, one is able to feel the beginning of Dr. Babcock's deep impression upon the New York public.
A week later the reporter was saying of the new pastor's second Sunday-morning service in the Brick Church, "Probably no person who heard the sermon yesterday could have told afterward without looking at his watch whether the sermon was long or short"; and his characterization of the preacher's method, if not altogether adequate, was certainly suggestive:
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THE BRICK CHURCH
"Dr. Babcock preached in little whirlwinds," he said. "He took up one thought after another, wound it up in a whirl of apt words, and sent it spin- ning at the congregation." A letter from a member of the Brick Church recording the impression made by this same sermon, said, "He is a rapid talker- no notes of any kind-full of anecdotes and illus- trations, and changes rapidly from wit to serious- ness."
It was evident at once, as these informal observa- tions indicate, that Dr. Babcock would not lack for hearers, but it was soon evident, also, that his hold upon his audience was not due to any mere attrac- tiveness of method nor even to the charm of his per- sonality alone. There could be no doubt, as the weeks went by, that people came to hear him because his message satisfied the hunger of their hearts, be- cause he gave them new strength and purpose, be- cause he brought them into real touch with God. This was the final and universal testimony of those to whom he ministered: "Above all," they said, ". .. he was a preacher of the gospel, an ambas- sador of Christ. This was his only ambition and it satisfied him. .. . What a preacher he was! How his strength and his talents all combined to make him a great and commanding figure in the pulpit! His manner and method were peculiarly his own, but men who crowded * to hear him went away with new
* Not only at the Sunday-morning service, but in the afternoons as well the church was too small to hold the congregation. The Wednesday even- ing meetings taxed the capacity of the lecture-room to the utmost. The peculiar charm of the week-day meetings was their more informal and per- sonal character. It was said that Dr. Babcock "believes in making the Wednesday evening prayer-meeting an occasion for exchange of confi-
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A GOLDEN YEAR
conceptions of his Master, moved to higher stand- ards of living.'
One is tempted to linger over the reports of those sermons and services in the spring and fall of 1900; they came from so many different sources, and are so cheering in their evidence that the true message of Jesus Christ will find out and satisfy all that is best in our common human nature. At least a few frag- ments from the report of a stranger, who happened in at a service one Sunday in February, may be quoted, because they say of Dr. Babcock what every one was feeling. "If it had not been for the unusual forcefulness of his sermon," says this visitor, "I think the dominant impression I should have carried away would have been that of his remarkable power in prayer. 'Reality' more than any other word char- acterizes it." The truth of this judgment will be confirmed by all who had opportunity to know the facts; and hardly less significant is this other refer- ence, to his manner of giving the announcements: "There was an unusual number of notices that morn- ing, but Dr. Babcock was more than equal to them, injecting a touch of humor into a function which often is tedious." Nor was it humor only that made that weekly notice-giving a memorable part of the Sunday services. There was a note of summons in Dr. Babcock's way of asking for a gift of money or for personal service, that stirred and compelled his hearers like the Master's "Follow me." "The ser-
dences with his congregation." He then shared with his people many of his pastoral experiences, so far as was possible without revealing the iden- tity of the individuals concerned.
* " Year Book," 1901-1902, p. 140.
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mon reached at last," continues the report of this February service, "Dr. Babcock sprang forward with the eagerness of a race horse"; and then follows an outline of what the writer describes as the most tender, logical, and powerful presentation of "the real gospel of Jesus" that he had ever heard.
But perhaps the best expression of the significance of Dr. Babcock's preaching was a single sentence spoken by a member of the Brick Church congrega- tion: "To hear one of his sermons is to assume a great responsibility."
Back of the preacher was the man. The message had true Christian power because it was spoken by a Christian. No one who knew him had any doubt of that. "His religious life was so real, so positive, so vital, so spiritual, that to be in his presence for only a few minutes was to receive a benediction as from the heavens. His intimacy with Jesus Christ
was ever apparent. . . . He walked and talked with God." ¡ And to this testimony of his friends it may be added that the blessing of his own life was im- parted freely to others, because he walked and talked with his fellow-men with the same sincerity and simple-heartedness. "Genial and buoyant of tem- perament, always aglow with sunshine and scintil- lating with humor, optimistic, sympathetic, appre- ciative of others' work or efforts, and charitable toward the faults or weaknesses of those less gifted than himself; never patronizing or high-minded, never self-centred or self-conscious-it was an in- spiration to be in his company, and one always left
* "Year Book," 1900-1901, p. 4.
t Tribute of "Chi Alpha," "Year Book," 1901-1902, p. 148.
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it spiritually regaled and strengthened." * "He had," said one of his friends, "the sprightliness of a boy with the maturity of a man. He was full of humor and fond of healthy play, yet retained the spiritual temper of a servant of God. He had also an artist's soul. Music was a passion with him; song and poetry a delight. . . . His enthusiasm was contagious. . . His genuineness of character, his sincerity and nat- uralness, made him peculiarly lovable to those who knew him." + He was, as was said of him at the General Assembly in Philadelphia a few days after the news of his death had been received, "a David for sweet song, a Paul for fiery zeal, an Apol- los for eloquence, a Jonathan for friendship, and a John for heavenly spirit." ¿
If it were to be supposed that his preaching was the chief part of his work, a very imperfect conception would be formed of his ministry. The wonder was, when he found time to prepare his sermons, among the thronging duties that filled his days and the de- mands upon his personal sympathy which he always regarded as having precedence over everything else. How large that personal service was will never be known in this world, but the instances of it that have been told by all sorts and conditions of people, in his church and out of it, friends and strangers, old and young, people in need of almost every conceivable sort of help, of mind, body, and estate, can leave no doubt that his ministry to individuals would alone have pro- vided more than enough work for any ordinary man.
* "Year Book," 1901-1902, p. 148.
't "Brown Memorial Monthly," June, 1901, p. 182.
į "Year Book," 1901-1902, p. 139.
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A slip of paper, found after his death in an old parish directory of the Brick Church, from which he had apparently been copying, preserves for us, in the form of hasty memoranda, in his own hand-writing, the record of one day's occupations No doubt it was a day more crowded than was usual, else he would not have thus recorded it, yet with the excep- tion of a few items, it might have been duplicated by many another. The following is a transcript of this fragment of autobiography :
Orange-Bible.
6.50, Shower bath-exercise.
7.30, Quiet time.
7.45, Breakfast.
8.15, Prayer and music. Call on church work.
8.45, Study-30 letters till
10.00, Study on sermons.
11.00, Funeral.
11.30, Photo sitting.
12.00, Study-sermon (sitting to artist).
1.00, Lunch-company.
2.00, Nap.
2.30, Six interviews.
3.15, Dictation, writing and study on three different themes, shaping for Sunday.
4.00, Dress for engagement [?].
4.15, Calls.
5.00, Wedding.
5.30-6.00, Calls.
6.00-6.40, Study, prayer-meeting.
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A GOLDEN YEAR
6.45, -* Dinner.
7.30, Study half-hour. 8.00, Prayer-meeting.
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