USA > New York > Our diocese : a study of the history and work of the Church in the Diocese of Central New York > Part 5
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In addition to the thousands of foreigners in our con- gested centers, there are thousands of others in the villages and country districts of the Diocese. Religiously and in- dustriously these latter form as great a problem as the former-indeed the rural foreigner is as great a menace to the stability of the church and state as is the city-bred
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foreigner, perhaps greater. This latter fact both Federal and State governments realize and as a result of their studies are carrying on a definite program to arouse the nation to a
HOLY CROSS CHURCH, UTICA
realization of the absolute necessity of Americanizing every foreigner coming to, or born in, our land.
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The church will never do her part in the great work of Americanizing and Christianizing the foreign-born until she realizes the fact that foreigners have souls, that they are precious in God's sight and that they are brothers-as much sons of the mother church as we are. As Archdeacon Stuck said, " If we want to help, we must beware of exclu- siveness and cultivate a real friendliness of spirit." We must welcome the foreign-born to all our churches or they will not consent to a welcome in any of our churches. Moreover, the church must evidence her love for the foreign- born in definite social service-week after week, month after month, in every conceivable way-in church, in politics and in society.
CHAPTER VII
MISSIONARY PROBLEMS (continued)
Missions to Deaf-Mutes. Turning from the general state- ments of the missionary work of the Church in the diocese as outlined in the preceding chapter, we come to the efforts to minister to special groups of people, whether they live in the city or the country. One of the finest, albeit the most quiet of these, is that carried on among the deaf -- a work so quiet that it is almost unknown. The pioneer in this country was the Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, a young hearing clergyman of the church who, in 1850 organized a Bible class for the deaf in old St. Stephen's church on Broome St., New York City. Two years later, he inaugurated regular church services for the deaf, the service being ren- dered entirely in the sign language. The work grew rapidly and in 1872 the Church Mission for Deaf-Mutes was founded and is now maintained as an integral part of the mission work of the Church. The original object of that society was to look after the spiritual welfare of the deaf in the entire country and Dr. Gallaudet and another young hearing clergyman, who had learned the sign language, founded missions in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Albany and in a few cities of New England.
The work has developed until there are now thirteen clergymen of the Church working in different parts of the United States, one in New England, one in New York and vicinity, one in Philadelphia and vicinity, and one in Western Pennsylvania. Eight others are scattered through the country farther West and South, but it is evident that there are vast areas where the Church has no one to look after the spiritual welfare of these " children of silence."
It is also obvious that most of the men at work in the vineyard have large fields to cover-some too large for
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OUR DIOCESE
effective work. More intensive work is desirable, but it is difficult to find the additional men needed, particularly so as the requirements are hard. There is a tendency to lessen the canonical requirements in order to get more men for the deaf-mute work, but this must not be overdone. The majority of the deaf clergy are college-trained men ; this does not imply that a'college education is necessary, but the responsibilities are so varied and the work so exacting that "all-around " men are required. Neither is it neces- sary that a man be deaf in order to minister to the deaf. Doctors Gallaudet and Chamberlain were both hearing men, and the advent of earnest, well-educated hearing men into the field would be welcomed. Like Messrs. Hefflon, in New England, and Webb, in Los Angeles, they could learn the sign language and do efficient work in the vineyard.
In our own diocese, the Rev. H. C. Merrill is the priest- in-charge for work among the deaf though he has also the same spiritual oversight in the dioceses of Albany and Western New York. His entire field has a geographical area of about 43,600 square miles. By a rough estimate, there are 3,000 deaf people in this territory, with about 1,000 of whom the missionary is more or less closely in touch. There are now twenty places where services are held, but other places are visited as circumstances permit. The mission stations of this diocese are as follows : Auburn, Binghamton, Elmira, Oneida, Rome, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown.
The work here, as well as in New York City, was started by the Rev. Dr. Gallaudet, who visited various cities from time to time. Considerable work was also done by the Rev. Mr. Berry of Geneva and the Rev. Edward P. Hart, of Rochester, hearing clergymen with a fairly good knowledge of the sign language. About 1890 a young deaf man in Western New York, Charles Orvis Dantzer, after several years' work as a lay-reader, was ordained to the sacred
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ministry and labored as missionary to the deaf in what now comprise the Dioceses of Central and Western New York. A few years later, the Rev. Harry Van Allen was ordained and took up the work in the Dioceses of Albany and Ver- mont. About 1905 the Rev. Mr. Dantzer was called to Philadelphia, and the Rev. Mr. Van Allen succeeded him in Central New York (giving up Vermont) and the Rev. Mr. Smielau, now missionary to the deaf in Central and Western Pennsylvania, added Western New York to his field. This arrangement continued until 1916, when Mr. Van Allen took over the work in Western New York. In April, 1919, Mr. Van Allen died and the present missionary came here from his former field in Washington and the Virginias. (In passing, it might be remarked that four of the eight deceased clergy who ministered to the deaf, Mr. Van Allen being one of them, died of heart-failure, an indication of the strenuousness of the work. )
The field is large and the work is missionary, involving a considerable amount of traveling. During 1921 our mis- sionary officiated at 94 services in the Diocese of Central New York, 56 in the Diocese of Albany, and 46 in the Diocese of Western New York, besides ten elsewhere, a total of 206 services. This may not appear to be such a large number, when compared with the work of a busy parish priest, but takes on a new significance when the amount of traveling involved (19,600 miles in 1921) is considered.
Too high praise cannot be given to the patient, and con- secrated labors of Mr. Merrill. Cut off by his physical misfortune from usual associations, he maintains apparently a cheerful courage that nothing can dampen. He has no such reward for his labors as other clergy see, in large confirmation classes, in growing parishes, in increased re- sponsibilities but he continues from year to year giving the services of the Church, her sacraments and consolations to
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these scattered sheep. May God use him as an example to all those whom He has sent to labor in his vineyard.
Mission to the Indians. The present Onondaga Reserva- tion has always been Indian land. It is part of the territory belonging to the Confederacy of the Six Nations, which the Indians claim was first formed through the efforts of Hiya- wantha, or Hiawatha, whose legend in more popular form has its setting in the Dakotas. And to this day there reside on the Reservation descendents of the Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras. These are divided into clans with a chief for each, or twenty-four in all, elected
INDIAN HOMES ON RESERVATION
by the women and holding office for life. The Reservation embraces a square of land about 5 miles each way, through which runs an important turnpike skirting the rolling hills to the southwest. There are about eight hundred Indians on the Reservation at the present time.
The religion of the original Indians was of course pagan, a survival of which continues at the present time in modified form. Its influence centers about the Council House in the Indian Village, where most of the pagan rites and ceremo- nies are held. The religion is a strange intermixture of
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some of the elements of Christianity and ancient Judiastic conceptions, and it received additional inipetus from a re- markable Indian known as "Handsome Lake" among whose chief tenents was a worship of one "Great Spirit " and a belief that the gates of heaven close at twelve noon, after which time prayers are not of much avail. This is a survival of the Jesuit teaching of the Mass as the important service of the day.
The first efforts at Christianizing the Indians are shrouded in considerable doubt. As noted above traces of Christian teaching show in the pagan or Handsome Lake religion. The first known missionaries however were French Jesuits who appear to have worked under the auspices of the Hurons. The first mission was named St. Jean Baptiste and in 1655 the first adult baptism took place. The work came to an untimely end by the massacre of the French colony in 1669 and at present practically no traces of their labors can be found.
The next missionary attempt was made by the Church of England. In 1712 the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts sent William Andrews to the Six Nations. Although the Iroquois chiefs had been asking for missionaries for twelve years and in 1710 had been presented to Queen Anne, the mission failed ; Mr. Andrews returned to England with the discouraging message that "Pagans they were and pagans they must remain." A few years later Queen Anne presented both the Mohawks and the Onondagas with solid silver Communion Sets, the one given to the former being still in use, but the latter's, as they had no missionary, was taken to St. Peter's Church, Albany, where it can still be seen.
In 1868 the late Bishop Huntington, who labored through- out his life for the spiritual and political benefit of the Indians, sent the Rev. J. P. Foster to undertake the first organized missionary work among the Onondagas. In 1870
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OUR DIOCESE
the present Church of the Good Shepherd, a commodious building of gothic style, was consecrated by Bishop Hunt- ington, and the Rev. John A. Bowman took charge of the work. Later it was taken over by the Rev. Mr. Cameron and Miss Julia Remington ("Sister Julia " as the Indians affectionately called her) who labored long and earnestly for their welfare. Others carried on the work and in 1876 the Rev. William S. Hayward was appointed Missionary, and, in addition to starting a Church School, compiled a gram- mar of the Onondaga tongue. The Indian dialects are still spoken by the older Indians, and by some of the young in family life, although English is becoming the language of everyday use. Mr. Hayward's successor, the Rev. John Scott, was in charge from 1877 to 1897, when the Rev. William Doane Manross, or "Father Manross" as he was affectionately known among the Indians, took charge. He organized the Church School anew, provided manual train- ing for the boys and domestic science for the girls. He also introduced the Sybil Carter Lace Class, a continuation of which still exists although out of connection with the Church. He also gave the Indians an object lesson in the Golden Rule by having them make a Thanksgiving Day offering to the Hospital of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse, then a Church institution.
The Rev. Mr. Hayward returned in 1900 and remained for ten years. After his departure the Indians petitioned for the return of Father Manross who was recalled and re- mained until his death in 1912. During his stay he was the first to require marriage licences and death certificates of the Onondagas. Through his efforts a hall near the church was leased for a parish house and for the general good of the Reservation. During this time the head chief of the Iroquois (an Onondaga Indian) declared in council that the Episcopal Church must be the Indian religion of the future. Father Manross' successor was the Rev. Henry Gibbs who remained until 1919.
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MISSIONARY PROBLEMS
In the spring of 1920 this originally flourishing work was in sad condition. The various church societies had dis- banded, the young people had drifted away, several of the leading families had lapsed and services were held irregu- larly in a sadly run down property. Various other causes contributing, the work was at a complete standstill. Plans however were made for its revival and in April 1920 Mrs. Martha Manross, widow of the Rev. William Manross was called to take charge of the temporalities and social work on the Reservation, and two months later the Rev. James F. Root was entrusted with the spiritual oversight, in con- nection with the Church in East Syracuse. Mrs. Manross as Social Worker took up her residence in the Mission House and within a very short time had organized a Sunday School, a troop of Boy Scouts, reorganized the Woman's Guild, and formed a branch of the Junior Auxiliary. Under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Root services were re- sumed regularly and continue at 4 p. m. on Sundays with the Holy Communion on the second Sunday in each month at 9:30 in the morning. With this start the congregations rapidly increased and many baptisms both infant and adult took place. Confirmation classes were prepared and pre- sented to Bishop Fiske at the times of his visitation. The Mission House is now the recognized center for the Board of Health and the State Physician in relation to Indian work.
Visitors are always welcome to the Church of the Good Shepherd and are usually impressed when they realize that most of the furnishings were made by the Indians them- selves, and others. The present beautiful Rood Screen is a labor of love on the part of an Indian man ; the white altar hangings, rich with beadwork, was made by loving Indian hands, as were the pulpit and choir stalls. The beautiful white altar is the work of Father Manross, as is also the little altar in the little chapel, the Indians giving the money for the
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OUR DIOCESE
purchase of the candlesticks. The Altar Cross is alsoa memo- rial. At the present time the church property is one of the beauty spots of the Reservation with its well-trimmed lawns and shrubbery. From the bell-tower of the church has gone forth many glad ringings of joy and many sad tollings of death. The church is veritably the shrine of the Indians there. Its bell, which can be heard all over the valley is the Church messenger for joy or woe, and the ever-open doors of the Mission House promise welfare for the body in the way of garments, medical supplies and help for the sick and needy. Much of this is made possible by the generosity of interested people of the diocese whose hearts are touched by conditions, and who feel it their duty to assist.
At the present time there are on the Reservation, besides our church, a Methodist Episcopal conventicle and a Wes- leyan Methodist meeting-house. There is also a State School adjacent to the Methodist establishment which is open to the young of the Reservation. Most of the Social Service work however centers around our Mission House where much activity is carried on. There is a "sociable " once a month ; there is always a Thanksgiving Dinner for the people of the parish ; a Christmas Tree ; a Fourth of July picnic ; and a Parish Picnic at some point outside the Reservation. We have a large Church School, a very faithful young people's choir ; a branch of the Woman's Auxiliary ; a troop of Boy Scouts who on Thanksgiving and Christmas carry baskets of food to the sick and shut-ins of the Reservation-Christian or pagan; a branch of the Camp Fire Girls ; a troop of Girl Scouts ; an Agricultural Club of young men ; and a cooking class. Supervised dances are also held in the Hall which in large measure counteracts the attractions of dance-halls of the city.
Much might be said with regard to the moral situation on the Reservation, particularly among the young people. Partly because of differing standards and partly by bad ex-
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ample among the whites, the family relationships are in many instances sadly muddled. The characteristics of the Indian are well known ; sincerity, extreme reserve, stoicism in pain or misfortune, and, once having given it, loyalty in friendship. These characteristics both help and hinder our work among them. And the fact that advantage has been taken of other characteristics by unscrupulous white people has contributed to all sorts of social vices. The proximity to city life renders the Reservation a resort for those who prey upon youth, and the once pure Indian strain is now mixed in many cases with the worst white element. Infidelity unfortunately is common, and other vices learned from contact with the whites are prevalent. For the most part there is desperate poverty on the Reservation-one case being that of a woman who was unable to buy soap for the laundry work by which she eked out a scanty living, and another family who were found sleeping on the bare floor with nothing to cover them but rag carpets. The effects of all this upon the homes can be easily imagined. The various temptations that assail our modern youth are in large measure offset in them by inherent training, cul- ture, education and environment, but with the Indian these things are very thinly spread due to lack of opportunity ; and by nature they consequently fall the more easily as victims to the things which civilization calls sordid. To those who are in contact with the actual situation the only hope for the future seems to lie with the proper training of the young folk. The Diocese should realize its responsi- bility to these boys and girls, and young men and women. There is a great lack of cultural or refining advantages, and about the only things that contribute to inspiring their better selves are the School and the churches. Rightly named is the Church of the Good Shepherd, ministering in His Name to Christ's Indian sheep. The Church is re- sponsible for much that is good on the Reservation. The
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OUR DIOCESE
successful "Pilgrimage" of 1921 to the Reservation was an object-lesson in what is going on out there, and the fact that the Indians are turning more and more to the church- pagan chiefs even sending their children to the church school-goes to show what can be done in the way of en- lightenment and moral uplift among the Indians at the Onondaga Reservation by the Church, as she realizes her responsibility to this red flock of Christ, and expresses herself accordingly.
Mission Work among the Negroes. The largest of these special groups scattered throughout the diocese, in country, village, and city, is the negro. To the church at large the problem of the negro is of course paramount in the Southern states. But even in our diocese, so remote from their old homes, there are several thousand negroes, most of whom are without church affiliation. Their own churches, both Methodist and Baptist, offer their privileges to all colored people. But there are many who have already been baptized into the church and for whom therefore the church is responsible.
The church has carried on work among the negroes of ยท America from the time they were brought to our shores as slaves until this present time. She has baptised, confirmed, married and buried them ; she has ordained them to her ministry ; built schools and hospitals among them and erected many churches for them.
And yet in no field, speaking nationally, has the church seemed to show "such uncertainty of touch, hesitating judgment, and faltering effort" as in her endeavor to minister to the colored people of America.
And all in spite of the need the negroes have of the church. Negroes have souls-and are eligible to the soul saving grace of the church as much as any other race. They are capable of producing great characters and great character. Booker T. Washington, Paul Laurence Dunbar and innumerable but unknown "Mammies" are illustra-
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tions of this latter fact. Moreover, like every great social element, they constitute a mighty problem nationally, and should be served and saved by the church for patriotic reasons as well as religious.
Realizing the above, the duty incumbent upon every member of God's church to do everything possible to " teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost " and the infinite privileges of missionary work, Rev. Herbert G. Coddington, D.D., Rector of Grace Church, Syracuse, determined in 1887 to begin church work among the negroes of the city in which his parish and ministry lay.
At that time there were about a thousand negroes living in Syracuse, some twenty of whom were either actually or nominally connected with the church. Services were held in the home of Mr. L. C. Leonard for over a year when St. Paul's Church generously invited the new mission to wor- ship in its chapel. This the people of St. Philips did for over two years. In the year 1901-a memorable year-the mission, aided very largely by the Woman's Aid Society, purchased the house and lot at 209 Almond Street. In that same year the house was converted into a chapel and the church was incorporated. Articles of Incorporation were made out under the old Free Church law with a board of seven trustees. In 1918 the lot adjacent to the original site was purchased and adequate ground space provided for a church worthy of the opportunity.
The new St. Philip's Church began, in the spring of 1920, actual materilization with the appointment of what was called an Interchurch Committee, i. e., a committee made up of representatives of all the parishes in Syracuse which was to secure plans and prosecute the construction of a new church. A contract for building the proposed church was signed by the Chairman of the Interchurch Committee, Mr. C. C. Marvel of St. Mark's Church, Syracuse, the con-
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OUR DIOCESE
gregation began worshipping temporarily again in St. Paul's Chapel, and the old house-church was torn down-all in the month of August, 1921. The corner stone was laid by Bishop Fiske on October 16, and the new building was used for the first time for a Confirmation Service on January 29, 1922. Services commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the mission were held in July, 1922.
We cannot mention in detail the method of financing such a big project but moneys were received from numerous sources. The Nation Wide Campaign Fund afforded the largest single item with the churches of Syracuse coming a close second. The two Bishops gave generously ; the Diocesan organizations contributed various amounts, the largest coming from the Woman's Auxiliary. In propor- tion to their means, St. Philip's gave more than any other group or individual. Approximately $14,000 had been received when the church was completed.
St. Philip's stands, under God, a monument to Dr. Cod- dington's vision, to the faithfulness of the people of St. Philip's, to Bishop Fiske's persistence, to Rev. W. S. Mckay's pleadings, to Mr. C. C. Marvel's faith, to the nation- wide campaign-without which the building would not have been dreamed of-to the splendid generosity of Syracuse parishes and to the generosity of good church friends throughout the Diocese.
St. Philips will do all she can to maintain her own ex- penses and will do much toward reducing the debt which remained on the building when it was completed. But the nation-wide campaign, Syracuse parishes, Diocesan Organi- zations aud friends throughout the Diocese will provide some of the funds necessary for support in the coming years and will help materially to reduce the debt.
St. Philip's will be a permanent and vital force for good in the Diocese because in the first place there is a real need for St. Philip's. There are three protestant churches in
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Syracuse, but one or two of them are weak and do not carry on an aggressive work and there are twelve hundred people to minister to. In addition to the actual numbers to be cared for, there are poverty and ignorance as well-all a real challenge to the church.
'In the second place, St. Philip's is self-respecting and energetic. It was the people of St. Philip's who bought the original house and lot at 209 Almond St .; they bought the adjacent lot in 1918, paid the mortgage on the same, put twelve hundred dollars into the building before it was dedi- cated and are working con- stantly, holding fairs, sales, etc., in addition to giving of their means to reduce the debt and maintain themselves. In the third place, St. Philip's is do- ing a splendid work spiritually. Definite statistics as to services, church school membership, etc., ST. PHILLIP'S CHURCH can be secured from the Dioce- san Journal. These do not tell the whole story, however. For besides the services that are being held, St. Philip's maintains men's and boy's and women's and girl's club's of all kinds-carrying on a practical social service work. At the services on Easter day, 1922, there were one hundred and five present at the 5:00 A. M. celebration of the Holy Communion, one hundred and twenty at the 11:00 A. M. service and one hundred and sixty-eight at the Vesper ser- vice at 7:30 P. M. When asked why they didn't have service at 4:00 A. M. instead of 5:00, the Rector said they would " next time."
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