USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > Manual, catalogue and history of the Lafayette St. Presbyterian Church of Buffalo, N.Y. > Part 13
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LAFAYETTE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
pense with artistic singing tlian some Churches can, for its hymns are always read." Indeed there are many hymns, such as,
" Again the Lord of life and light Awakes the kindling ray ; "
Or, Or,
" Great God ! how infinite art Thou !"
"Mighty God ! while angels bless Thee, May a mortal lisp Thy name,"
Which I have often said I would rather hear read by that pastor than sung by any choir.
One more quality in the model minister I name. He should be a man eminent for broad, impartial sympathies. Remembering that Christ tasted death for every man, he should love man as man, and labor for him with generous zeal, whatever his condition in life. The light the preacher holds forth should be not like the locomotive lamp, with patent reflectors sending its rays on its own path alone, but rather like the blazing beacon, lifted high over the stormy waves, amid rocks and shoals, and shedding its kind illumination alike on all.
It is a satisfaction to remember that these requisites for ministerial success are within the reach of all; and the large influence in the ministry of some men of unusual natural talent, is probably more the result of these simple qualities, than of the fine powers with which they are endowed.
But while we give thanks to God to-night for a successful ministry, no one will be more ready than our pastor to declare that a ministry can accomplish little without a Church. In God's plan the mothers in Israel, as well as the pastors and teachers, have their place, and it is not given us now to know whether the prominent Chris- tian, or the obscure one, is most useful in the eye of God. And when that hour shall come to which we have been thrust forward in our sadder thoughts to-day, when the sickle shall drop from the nerveless hand of this now stalwart reaper, and a weeping Church shall gather here to commemorate a ministry closed, when this pastor shall have entered into the society of the redeemed on high, and those lines of influence which are hidden now shall be unveiled to sight, then will he turn to one and another of those dear saints who have gone to glory from this Church- many whose names we recall with tearful tenderness to-day-or to some of those who shall hereafter be gathered home from his people, and with overflowing gratitude shall say, "Now, I see that it was by your unceasing prayers in my behalf, by your mighty prevailing faith in God, that his gracious favor through all those years descended on my labors as a minister of His Word."
Let no one think, because our pastor rejoices in the good these twenty-five years have brought, that his chief thought is how much has been done by himself.
You remember when the disciples returned again with joy to Christ, saying, ". Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name," that Jesus replied, while acknowledging the mighty deeds they had wrought, "Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you." Did he mean to rebuke the natural joy of the Christian at the conquests of the Kingdom of God? Place the emphasis right, and the meaning is clear : " Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you." Anyone else whom God might have chosen and qualified, could have done the work as well ; perhaps many with more fidelity and zeal. Special gifts
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bring special obligations. But the Saviour then taught them there is one thing in which his ministers may freely rejoice without danger of spiritual pride ; there is a joy they may have safely, for they have it in common with the humblest dis- ciple. "Rather rejoice," said Jesus, " because your names are written in heaven." How blessed then, the fact, that there is not one of us here of all these fellow- laborers in the Sabbath School and the Church, of all these, too, who long have heard the sweet invitations of the gospel from this pastor's lips, but unhappily have heard them as yet in vain-not one who may not even now be partaker of his joy, and have each in his own heart, that deep, pure rejoicing which is his chief pos- session to-night; the rejoicing with humble thanksgivings to sovereign and almighty grace, that his name is written in heaven.
We were told by our pastor this morning that this anniversary is a day of solemn stillness to him. The weary treadmill of labor, he tells us, which has paused not for the past twenty-five years, to-day has seemed to turn slower on its axis, and at length the great wheel has stopped, its deafening din has ceased, and in the hush and pause this patient toiler here, wipes his moistened brow, and looks about him for an hour, awaiting till the morrow, when the resounding revolutions shall again begin.
And to me, in the stillness of this solemn day, there seems to come ethereal voices speaking to our hearts. There are sounds, we are told, so rapid in their vibrations, like the chirping of the cricket, as to be inaudible to some ; and it is said, were our ears attuned to those finer vibrations with which the trembling air is unceasingly filled, we might, perhaps, hear these flowers sweetly hymning the praise of Him who made them forms of beauty and ministers of grace; nay, the music of the spheres, even, might come floating down to us, enrapturing our souls and lifting them into harmony with God. I remember, a few years ago, our good friend Edward Bristol, of this Church, came over from Boston one night to our prayer-meeting, and after it, took my arm and walked up to my home. At the door I paused, and standing in the darkness under the open sky, I said, " What do you hear?" He listened, and then for the first time in his life, there fell upon his ears the hoarse murmur of the distant sea-the dull, subdued roar of the rest- less ocean, as its mighty billows, one after another, rolled in unceasingly on the craggy shore. "Friend Plumb," said he, with a tightened grasp upon my arm, "is that the sea? I never heard such an awful sound before. Oh," he added, "what must be the feeling of the dying soul, when the sound of the great ocean of eternity first breaks upon its startled ear !"
My friends, the voices to which our souls are now awake, are sounding to us, it seems to me, from that far-off shore. They are voices of admonition and warning, not only, but of encouragement and hope. Let each one interpret them for himself, that their utterance be not in vain. In the years to come may there be many who shall here join the ranks of Christian laborers, many who shall enter the ministry of the word, and who shall hereafter turn to him who shall have been to them, as to us, the minister of God, and say to him, as we do now, " Oh, dear and honored pastor ; oh, noble, dauntless leader, may we follow thee as thou hast followed Christ."
The Rev. Joseph Backus, of Thomaston, was the last to address the congregation. He said :
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LAFAYETTE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
REMARKS OF THE REV. JOSEPH BACKUS.
I am glad to hear myself called one of the young ministers. So much for being found in good company. Our pastor, as we still delight to call him, styles himself to-day, "a bit of a Bishop." I suppose it is due to the inexperience and verdancy of our youth as regards such a title, that we involuntary exclaim, "if this is only a ยท bit of a Bishop, I wonder what a whole one must be ?"
I cannot tell you, my friends, the joy I feel at the privilege of being present with you this evening. There are secrets of the inner life that you cannot tell if you try ; emotions so mysterious and sacred, as wholly to baffle the power of words to express them. Such are the impossibilities that confront me upon this occasion.
I came to this city a mere boy, just out of college, to find my first experience of responsible life. There was not an individual in the city on whose face I had ever looked. Thus cast upon the fortunes of life without friends or patronage, the gravest questions of success soon arose before me. How different was real life from student life. To pass from a four year's shelter beneath the watch and care of teachers, into the exposures of a bustling city, without claim of friendly sym- pathy or kindly assistance, is a great and eventful change. To me, the experi- ences of such a change, stand associated with this goodly city. Even if it were possible to do it, I must not stay to tell of the heart sinkings, the loneliness, the fears of failure, the distressing doubts, which at that time darkened my early life. The world seemed more than a match for my bravest endeavors, while the gay and busy life around me, so unconscious of my wants, seemed only to deepen my sense of the dark fortunes upon which I was cast.
In these youthful trials I was looking for a Sabbath home. At different times I attended most of the Evangelical churches in the city, and always, I think, with a sincere and conscientious desire to find that spiritual refreshing which constitutes the true Sabbath rest. Several of the larger and more influential Churches were named to me as the natural resort of one whose success depended so much upon wealth and patronage, but for some reason or other I failed to find a home in any of them. One Sabbath afternoon, by some happy accident, I found myself upon Lafayette street. I believe this Church had never been named to me before, and I rather claim the honor of being one of its early discoverers. The congregation, that afternoon, might have been seated in almost any parlor without crowding it. But I felt comforted and quickened by the earnest words of the youthful pastor, whom I began to love then, and have loved as a brother ever since. In the prayer- meetings I found such friends as I most needed-Christian friends. I soon became engaged in Church and Sabbath School work, and found the cheering influences of Christian brotherhood rapidly brightening my life. In addition to this new impulse of hope the spirit of God came down, awakened new purposes, opened in my mind new and larger expectations of faith, gave a new view of Divine Provi- dence ; in a word, wrought a silent, but most comforting victory over the world, through Christ. I shall never forget that change in my religious life. I associate it with all that gives value to life, and in all the after scenes of life, remember it as the dear pledge of God's renewed revelation of himself to my soul. If I have found any comfort of faith ; if I have been able to preach Christ with any benefit to my fellow-men ; ever been able to exert any influence for good, I owe it, under God, more to the instrumentality of this Church and its pastor, than to any other.
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One incident I may be allowed to mention here. During the time to which I allude, I discovered a new passage of Scripture, which I have carried close to my breast ever since. It is in the Gospel of Matthew, vi. 19-34. I say new passage, for no new manuscript brought out from its hidden tomb of convent or old library ever has a sweeter fragrance of new discovery than this, about that time, had to me. Its lessons of trust in God, I had never fairly learned before. They have been an unfailing resource of spiritual good to me ever since. I never read it without think- ing of Buffalo, and especially of this Church. I sat down this morning in my room and my Bible would not open to any other place. I read it over with tears of joy. It set me back twenty-two years in life. It brought 1848 and 1870 together in loving fellowship and holiest congratulation. It is my privilege once more to read these words of Christ in this city of a Sabbath day. It is like reading the 17th of Acts, sitting upon Mars Hill, in Athens, or any other Scripture story on the spot where it was enacted. It is as if God had said : "I told you this twenty years ago, haven't you found it true ?" And I could say, "Yes, Lord, I bear my fullest testi- mony to-day to Thy great goodness and unfailing fidelity."
But we are invited this evening to say a word as to our views and experience in the Gospel ministry. I hasten then, to say, first, that I love it. I say it emphatic- ally and deliberately. Many of my classmates are business men. They are mak- ing fine successes in their line, and I delight to honor them as men of influence and usefulness. You have one of them in this city (to whose hospitality, by the way, I would like to recommend this audience). Still, I am free to say, that I would not exchange the privilege of preaching Christ for the most flattering pros- perity of any or all of them. To live in the hope of administering comfort in the name of Christ ; to put men in a better way of living ; to watch the improvement of the individual or the family under the influence of the truth ; to stand by my fellow-mortals in the great exigencies of their being, and point them to heaven, is the work of all others I best love. And especially to preach the gospel to the poor. This is another lesson from the 6th of Matthew. Jesus loves the poor, and speaks his sweetest words to them. "To the poor the Gospel is preached." It is the more pleasant to speak of this, because this Church so fully recognizes this obliga- tion, and in so doing furnishes such decisive proof of being in the line of true Apos- tolic descent. This work of preaching the Gospel to the poor, fairly involves the idea of individual effort-of lay preaching-active usefulness on the part of the Church, For without this, the Gospel idea of preaching can never be realized. My heart, therefore, warms with a new affection for this Church, as I see it so thor- oughly grasping the idea of a true Evangelism as to carry the Gospel, through its members, to those who do not come to hear it. This is indeed the life of piety, and the life of a Church. Nothing will so soon kill a Church as a certain kind of respectability and eloquent preaching.
Patience, too, is a good thing in our work ; let us learn to labor and to wait ; let us not be in a hurry. God works slowly. Too much haste brings swift defeat to the best intentions. Truth will prevail ; we can afford to wait for it. It is a good attainment to be able to watch with composure the conflicts of good and evil, and even to suffer temporary defeat without alarm ; to be "cast down," without being " destroyed." Let us calmly wait for the silent triumph of principles without mul- tiplying rules for the details of conduct. Let us be thankful if we can see good
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LAFAYETTE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
results of our toil, and also be thankful if we cannot ; in either case being assured that the word of God never returns void.
But our time is passing. These reflections have to me an additional interest from this anniversary occasion. We stand upon an eminence, and all around is hushed and subdued, like a sunset scene. The bustle of the busy day subsides. The throngs of life are disappearing, and many a path is deserted. The voices around us have partially ceased, but we hear mysterious voices from the land of silence. A holy presence seems to assert itself, and our own voices fall to a whis- per. The still splendors of declining day overpower us. And yet it is not a sad hour. For out of the falling fortunes of the day, there springs a golden promise pointing to the other side of the night, and giving us an earnest of the morning. So, my friends, in taking our leave of the quarter century past, we sink into no desponding mood. The past disappears, but it leaves a brightness behind it. We have, moreover, a good hope that the morning cometh, the rising of a better day that knows no decline, no fluctuation of fortune, no bitter changes. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord."
At the conclusion of the address, Dr. Heacock indulged in a few feeling remarks, a hymn was sung, the benediction was pronounced by Dr. Clarke, and the exercises closed.
The following letter, just received, finds an appropriate place here, the writer having been converted under the preaching of our pastor, though never connected with us as a member. The letter tells the story :
730 FOURTH ST., S. E., WASHINGTON, D. C., June 1, 1876.
Rev. G. W. HEACOCK, D. D.
My Dear Doctor: Yours of May 30th, is just received. Very glad to know that you do not forget to " reckon me among those dating the beginning of their reli- gious life in connection with " your Church. I shall never forget the very precious meetings in your Church which welcomed a returning prodigal, and certainly retain a very warm place in my heart for yourself, who, under God, led me to Christ. I do not recall the exact date-think it was in the spring of '52-but it was when H. E. Baker was converted. [March 14, 1853.]
I joined the Second Baptist Church of Cleveland, being an Express messenger from C. to B. I pursued my studies at Madison University, Hamilton, N. Y., from '54 to '59 ; settled at Youngstown, O., in January, 1860 ; no Church there at the time. The organization and my ordination both occurred at the same time, June 20, 1860. Resigned July I, 1872, leaving a Church of three hundred members and a fine brick house of worship.
Settled with the Second Church, Washington, D. C., October I, 1872. God has given me a fair measure of success here, and I am still endeavoring to "hold the fort."
I rejoice in the grand good work the Lord has accomplished by you, and trust you have many years and joyous harvests yet before you in connection with your dear people. Should you visit this city, I trust you will not pass me by ; a hearty welcome awaits you. Please send me one of your anniversary sermons when published.
Very truly yours,
W. M. INGERSOLL.
[We have been unable to obtain anything from Rev. David F. Stuart.]
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[B.]
THE FAREWELL AND WELCOME,
GIVEN TO THE REV. GROSVENOR W. HEACOCK, D. D., BY HIS PEOPLE, AUGUST 3IST-AND DECEMBER 13TH, 1869.
INTRODUCTION.
In the month of August, 1869, the Rev. Grosvenor W. Heacock, D. D., pastor of the Lafayette Street Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, N. Y., received an invitation from the members of the Howard Church, San Francisco, California, to supply its pulpit for the coming three months. Their own pastor, the Rev. Henry M. Scudder, D. D., had been offered a vacation for that period.
Doctor Heacock having laid the matter before his Church, a meeting was called, for the purpose of taking action thereupon, at the close of the morning service, on Sunday, August 29th. Henry Childs, Esq., was chosen to preside. The object of the meeting having been stated, Edward Bristol, Esq., made an appropriate and feeling speech, after which formal permission was given to Doctor Heacock to supply the pulpit of the Howard Church, as requested.
THE FAREWELL.
On the evening of the thirty-first of August, the members of Doctor Heacock's Church and congregation assembled in the chapel, for the purpose of taking leave of their beloved pastor, he having decided to start for California on the following day. The exercises were introduced by interesting remarks from the Rev. Doctor Ball, of the Niagara Square Baptist Church, who had just returned from a visit to California. The Rev. Wolcott Calkins, of the North Church, offered prayer, commending pastor and people unto Him in whose protection, alone, we can feel secure.
Anson G. Chester then stated that, while the proper formalities incident to the temporary separation of the pastor from his flock had been duly accomplished on the previous Sabbath, it had seemed to many of the brethren that some written expression of the feelings which they experienced in parting with their beloved shepherd and friend was due, alike, to him and them. He had, therefore, prepared, and asked permission to read, the farewell letter which follows :
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LAFAYETTE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Beloved Pastor :
Called, in the providence of God, to say farewell to you for a season, we desire to give expression to the emotions which possess our hearts in this parting hour.
In the voice which has spoken to you from the margin of the Pacific, we recog- nize diviner accents than human lips have power to utter. We believe that there is some special and appointed work for you to perform during your brief sojourn in the far-off city to which you have been so suddenly and unexpectedly summoned. It is this conviction that underlies our consent to a separation which, were we to consult our merely selfish inclinations and preferences, we could heartily wish to avoid.
We ask you, as you go from us, to bear with you the assurance that at no time since you commenced your long and most acceptable ministry among us have you been dearer to our hearts than now ; that our appreciation of the value of your devoted and unceasing efforts in behalf of this Church and people was never broader, or more loving, than it is to-night ; that we are abundantly and thankfully satisfied with him who for so many years has sustained towards us the complex and exalted relation of teacher, pastor and friend, and that we want and ask no other.
We pledge ourselves that, while you are gone from us, we will seek to maintain a spirit of perfect harmony and fellowship ; that we will strive after fidelity in the performance of every Christian duty ; that our feet shall not be kept from the sanc- tuary, upon the Sabbath, save through the interposition of inexorable obstacles ; and that no common hindrances shall prevent us from attending the appointed . meetings of the week. When others shall speak to us in your stead, we will think of you ; and when we assemble ourselves together for the purpose of calling on the name of our common Lord in prayer, you shall be remembered in your every neces- sity and interest.
Those who are so dear to you shall be very dear to us in your long absence, and we promise that we will, as far as in us lies, contribute to their comfort and happiness.
We earnestly pray that the God and Father of us all will give His angels charge over you as you journey to the land whose bosom teems with hidden treasure ; that your surroundings in your temporary home may be all that your heart could wish ; that the Master will be pleased munificently to bless you in the special work to which He invites you ; and that, when it is performed, you may be restored to your family and your people, invigorated in body, replenished in energy, and laden with useful and generous experience. Our reluctance at parting with you is tempered by our anticipations of the unaffected delight with which we shall welcome you back, to engage with us, again, in His service who is to you and to us the beginning and the end of desire.
And now, shepherd ever watchful, and friend most true and tender, we commend you, with our love and prayers, into His safe and gentle custody who guardeth and keepeth Israel. May He defend and succor you and yours and us until we all may meet again, and forevermore. And may He unite us all, at last, in His gracious presence, where, alone, there is fullness of joy.
The reading concluded, Seth Clark, Esq., moved that the letter be adopted as the expression of the Church in reference to the temporary withdrawal of the pastor,
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asking those to rise who favored the proposition. Whereupon, the members of the Church unanimously arose, thus attesting their approval of the sentiments of the letter.
Doctor Heacock made a very tender and touching response, after which the con- gregation united in singing the hymn commencing, "Blest be the tie that binds." A benediction was then pronounced by Doctor Heacock, and those present crowded around him to bid him Godspeed on his journey to the golden land.
On the following day Doctor Heacock took his departure for California.
THE WELCOME.
On Monday, December 13th, Doctor Heacock returned to his home and his people. In anticipation of his return, a meeting of the Church and congregation was held, a fortnight before, and the following committee appointed to make arrangements for his formal reception :
Mrs. SELIM SEARS,
Mr. H. H. HALE,
Mrs. JOHN S. TROWBRIDGE,
Mr. W. M. KNIGHT,
Mrs. S. N. LAWRENCE, Mr. J. W. CHATMAN,
Mrs. JOHN J. MAGLAUCHLIN,
Mr. GEO. L. SQUIER,
Mrs. WM. H. ADAMS,
Mr. ANSON G. CHESTER.
The arrangements for the reception were duly completed, and it was announced . to take place in the church at 8 o'clock, on the evening above named. We here quote from a report of the exercises which appeared in the Buffalo Express of December 14th :
" The church had been beautifully decorated for the occasion, the chief ornaments, next to the rows of fresh, eager, girlish faces, being the other flowers handsomely arranged in vases and baskets and wreaths about the desk, and an evergreen motto above the pulpit bearing the words 'WELCOME HOME !' Fern, China-asters, tube- roses, fuchsias, the red monthly rose and the white camelia, with pendent sprays of ivy, combined to make a show of June in the heart of December, typical of the affections that are fostered by the tender warmth of Christian culture in the cold natural heart of earth.
"Eight was the hour set for the Doctor's appearance, and the densely packed audience began to exhibit signs of impatience, and the little ones, particularly, to stretch their necks and wonder when he would come. At last, 'Sweet Home' pealed from the organ, and there was a sudden hum and flutter next the doors, which quickly spread to the very corners of the church. Then there was a sudden rising of the dark mass and a breaking out of white hands and handkerchiefs, energetically waving and beckoning enthusiastic welcomes to the tall, dark-bearded man, who struggled up the aisle against a very barricade of proffered hands which threatened to shake all his manly and assured composure out of him."
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