The gospel messenger, Diocese of Central New York, Part 20

Author:
Publication date: 1905-1908
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : Diocese of Central New York
Number of Pages: 708

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3 .- Sunday, Evening, Bainbridge.

4 .- Monday, A. M., Harpursville; Evening, Windsor.

5 .- Tuesday, Guilford, New Berlin.

7 .- Thursday, Paris Hill.

10 .- Trinity Sunday-Ordination.

12 and 13 .- Diocesan Convention, Syracuse. 13 .- Wednesday, Evening, Calvary, Syracuse.

ANNUAL CONVENTION.

The Thirty-eighth Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central New York will meet in Trinity Church, Syracuse, on Tuesday, the 12th of June, 1906, at 4:30 o'clock P. M. By order of the Bishop, JAMES K. PARKER,

Secretary of the Convention.

Waterville, N. Y., April 20th, 1906.

EASTER GREETING.

The GOSPEL MESSENGER goes out with a cordial Easter greeting to each one of its readers, trusting that they all have found comfort and hope in the blessed teaching of the season. Indeed, the MESSENGER'S name makes it peculiarly appropriate that it should emphasize the Easter lesson, in view of the pre-eminence of the Resurrec- tion in the "Gospel," as shown by St. Paul. "I declare unto you, brethren," he says, "the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ve stand. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," and then he goes on to tell how often and by whom the risen Lord was seen after His resurrection. Both of the great fundamental hopes of the human heart find their assurance in that gospel- the hope of pardon and deliverance from sin, and the hope of rising again and deliverance from the power of death. And observe, too, the source of this Gospel. St. Paul had "received" it; the Corinthians had "received" it. They did not discover it, nor reason it out-it came to them as a revelation, and they received it. Happy shall we be if we receive it, too, as it has been given to us in the Scriptures and the Creeds, and do not deprive it of all its beautiful and helpful meaning by attempt-

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

ing to make it square with our experience in the affairs of every day life. It is true that we have never seen any one who was dead and buried come forth alive again from the tomb, but there is no better at- tested fact of history than that Jesus Christ did so come forth, and that fact is the keystone of His Gospel.

SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION.

The religion of our Lord Jesus Christ is unquestionably a spiritual religion. Its chief purpose is the moral and spiritual regeneration of mankind. It seeks to with- draw the affections of men from things on the earth, and to fix them on things above; to impress upon the minds of men that "the things which are seen are temporal, but that the things which are not seen are eternal." But at the same time it is not so nunnatural, nor so unphilosophical, as to ignore the fact that man has a body as well as a soul, and that his nature is only com- plete in the union of the two. So far as we know anything about man, his body is the instrument and agent of his spirit, and both his virtues and his faults find their expression through the body. The seeing eve, the speaking tongue, the hearing ear, are the means by which he receives the knowledge of God, as they are likewise the means by which he is tempted to sin. The Gospel of Christ, therefore, did not ignore the bodily part of man's nature in its renewing and improving work. Indeed, it shows the completeness of God's redeem- ing work that it took shape in the Incarna- tion of the Divine, that is to say, that the Son of God took to Himself a human body as well as a human soul, and thus sancti- fied and glorified our nature in its entirety. This is the fundamental fact of the Gospel, that "the Word, which was in the begin- ning with God, which is God, was made flesh and direll among us," as it is ex- pressed in Scripture ; or as it is formulated in the Creed, "the Only begotten Son of God came down from heaven, and was in- carnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man." Now what do we mean by "spiritually interpreting"

this fact ? Is it that the Son of God di not come in the flesh, but that He wh was called Christ wa's only an appearance a phantasm ? That is a very ancient idea and was put forth even in apostolic day by those who were known as Gnostics o Docetists-but the trouble with it is tha St. John declared that if any man said that, he was "antichrist." "Beloved," h says, "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God-every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Chris is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of antichrist," &c. Evidently the Beloved Disciple thought that "the Church would commit suicide," if it were to permit any such interpretation.

And when we come to the point of spiritually interpreting the Virgin Birth of Christ, we confess that we do not under- stand what is meant by it. Jesus was either born of a Virgin or He was not, and to "interpret" it into a contradiction of the fact is mere self-stultification. If in- terpretation means contradiction, what is the use of the original statement ? Must there not be a weakening and benumbing of the moral sense by persisting in such affirmation ? Surely, some other manner of expressing the thing that is believed would be far more edifying. The antiquity of an article of the Creed is a matter of no consequence, if the physical fact which it expresses is false.

It is a mistake to suppose that any article of the Creed has ever admitted of an interpretation, which denies the state- ments of Scripture on which it is founded. With regard to the resurrection of our human bodies, for example, it may be that some men think differently from others a's to the nature of the resurrection body ; it may be that in early days many had a very carnal idea about it; but the fact remains that the Creed still affirms that the body is to rise again, not the soul which was never buried; and that St. Paul him- self has told us that "it is raised a spiritual body," changed from that which is buried, and every Minister of this Church who officiates at a burial, declares at the solemn

THE GOSPEL

oment of committing the body to the round, that "the earth and the sea shall ive up their dead, and the corruptible dies of those who sleep in Him shall be hanged, and made like unto His own lorious Body, according to the mighty orking whereby He is able to subdue all nings unto Himself." If a man who uses lese words does not interpret them as meaning what they say, it is not a matter f much consequence to other people.

but when we come to the Resurrection of ur Lord Himself, it is a very different ling, for after all, the whole system epends upon that. "If Christ be not ised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in our sins," is what the Apostle says about ; and no one can pretend that St. Paul meant to teach that it was Christ's Soul at was "raised." Souls do not die when hey depart from the body-souls are not uried in the ground-souls do not rise gain. That there is such a thing as iritual resurrection we all acknowledge, f course. "Buried with Christ in bap- sm, we are raised with Him unto newness- f life," but that is not what St. Paul is lking about when he says that "Christ risen from the dead." Our Lord knew o sin, consequently it was not necessary or Him to rise to newness of life. In ort, the Resurrection of Christ was nothing at all if it was not the coming orth of His Body from Joseph's tomb, alive forevermore," a physical as well as spiritual fact, which no interpretation in do anything with except to affirm or deny.

And the Church that admits of the nial of that cardinal fact by her ithorized teachers, is the Church that mmits suicide. One may find the proof that in the corpses of dead sects, which ve denied the faith and now lie strown ong the shores of Time. There is no casion to fear for the continued existence : the Church which holds forth the pure Tord of God, in the sacred Scriptures of e Old and New Testaments, accepting ose Scriptures as they are, and not re- eting as interpolations the passages that not suit our preconceived notions-the

MESSENGER.

Church that speaks the truth in love and earnestly contends for the faith once for all delivered to the saints-the Church which stands faithfully and fearlessly on the Rock on which the Lord originally built His Church-"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

Many of the dangers and evil effects of so-called "spiritual interpretation" of Holy Scripture are already quite apparent among those who have resorted to it in matters not directly concerning the faith, but such as concern the polity of the Church and the use of the Sacraments. The division of Christendom into a multi- tude of sects, than which nothing in the world so hinders the work of Christ among men, is the result of this principle, ignor- ing, as it does the idea of the Unity of the Body of Christ, and evaporating the or- ganic structure of it as a matter of ne consequence. The article of the Creed concerning the holy Catholic Church and all the passages of Scripture which up- hold it, are interpreted in such a way as to make it appear that Christ had nothing to do with the structure of the Church, and that it is wholly a spiritual and invisible thing that is intended. Consequently it is supposed that every man or woman who has a vision, a doctrine, an interpretation. has as much right to get up a Church as Christ had, and that the new one is of the same value and authority as the old, per- haps more.

In like manner the interpretation of the passages of the New Testament that refer to the Sacraments is so entirely spiritual: that it has become a matter of indifference with some ministers whether they make use of them at all or not; and if they do undertake to administer them they make no pretense of confoming to the institution of the Lord Himself and of the Apostles. In many instances wine is not used in the Holy Communion, but some substitute for it such as may be convenient. And as for Baptism, the very meaning of which word is "washing," and necessarily implies tho application of water in greater or less quantity, it has become so spiritualized

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

that among those who profess to be pedo- baptists, i. e., baptizers of children, many children are not baptized now-a-days, and of those that are supposed to be baptized, sometimes no one knows whether the water comes in contact with their persons, and sometimes water is not even ostensibly used at all. We know of such instances as the following: Six or eight boys from ten to twelve years of age stood up before the minister, and he simply put the ends of his fingers in the water and sprinkled it towards them all at once, thereby intend- ing to baptize them in a bunch. Again, a minister, called to baptize a sick child, actually stood outside the door of the room and said a prayer, not even having the child in sight, and as for water-well, that was interpreted spiritually !

Now, we do not wish to say anything severe about anybody, but it is certainly time to caution the Clergy as to this matter of Baptism. People are applying con- stantly to them for Confirmation, whose baptism they have not themselves ad- ministered, and concerning which the applicants may be very uncertain. It behoves them, therefore, to be a's parti- cular as possible with regard to the matter. It is not commonly considered in the Church that the minister of baptism must necessarily be an ordained man; but it is essential that water be applied to the person, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and if there is not pretty confident assurance that this has been done, then it is much better to have hypothetical baptism before presenting candidates for Confirmation. In that way every requirement will be complied with, and every scruple or objection carefully avoided.

GENERAL NEWS.

Arrangements have been made by which a course of lectures for the Clergy will be given at the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, N. Y., beginning on the afternoon of Monday, June 25th, and continuing until Saturday noon, June 30th.

The purpose of the course is :

giving out in parochial work the stimula tion which comes from personal contac with men of scholarly minds.

2. To furnish material for the clerg. to work over themselves by giving them : point of departure for future study.

3. To bring the brethren from differen sections of the country into touch with one another in subjects of mutual interest

The lecturers are: The Rt. Rev. A. C A. Hall, Bishop of Vermont; the Rev Henry Sylvester Nash, Cambridge Theo logical Seminary; the Rev. A. S. Lloyd General Secretary of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society; the Very Rev. William M. Groton, Dean of the Philadelphia Divinity School; the Rev A. V. G. Allen, Cambridge Theologica School; the Rev. C. C. Edmunds, Grac Church, Newark, N. J .; the Rev. S. C Hughson, O. H. C .; and others.

By the courtesy of the Bishop of Albany and the authorities of St. Agnes School the ample school building and ground will be used for the lectures, for board and lodging and for recreation. For further information apply to Canon Schlueter, the Deanery, Albany, N. Y. Cheques 01 money orders should be made payable to the Rev. Edward Schlueter, Treasurer.

The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Wistar Morris D.D., the aged Bishop of Oregon, died in Portland, Ore., on April 7th. He was born May 30th, 1819, and consequently was only two days younger than Bishop Huntington, and having been consecrated on December 3rd, 1868, he entered the episcopate about four months earlier than he. A Coadjutor was elected to assist him. two years ago, but he declined, and so the venerable man went on to the enc without assistance. At first he had charge of both Oregon and Washington territory as a Missionary Bishop, then Washington became a separate jurisdiction in 1880. and in 1889 Oregon became a diocese, and Washington was divided into two Mission- ary Districts called Olympia and Spokane. So that now there are three Bishops over the territory which Bishop Morris origin-

1. To afford those who are constantly ally had alone.

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

The whole world sympathizes with Cali- fornia in its terrible affliction of earth- quake and fire, and people are generously pouring out their money to aid the sufferers in - their immediate temporal necessities. We shall have to show our sympathy in the same way with the Bishops and Rectors of Churches in the rebuilding of the structures that have been destroyed and other ecclesiastical losses. The Treasurer of the Board of Missions in New York has kindly offered to receive and forward any gift that may be sent through the Bishops of California and Sacramento for such things as may be expected of them in the present distress.

DIOCESAN ITEMS.

Mr. William G. Harvey, of whose kind offer of service we made mention Jast. month, has been appointed by the Bishop, with consent of. the Diocesan Committee in charge of the Missionary Thank Offer- ing, to solicit contributions for that object.

It will be remembered that the Central Committee of the M. T. O. devised a "plan" for raising money for it, a full account of which was given in the GOSPEL MESSENGER more than a year ago. That plan involved an enrolling of the names of all the men in the Church, in what is to be called the "muster roll," to be kept at the Missions House in New York, and that a personal appeal should be made to each man to give to the Thank Offering. Notices of this were also sent to each of the Clergy, requesting them to put it into operation in their parishes. So far as wo have heard, but few of them have acted upon this request, and some have objected to the. "plan," and seem to be unwilling to have it carried out in their congrega- tions. We are very sorry for this, because the objections do not appeal to us as being particularly valid; but it is not necessary that the Diocese should make no Thank Offering on that account. It is certainly better that Central New York should be represented among the contributors at Richmond .in 1907, than that her name

should be missing on such a great occasion, and whether it is gotten in one way or another, we earnestly trust that the men of the Diocese will not send their repre- sentatives to that General Convention without an offering of some sort. We com- mend Mr. Harvey, therefore, to the kind attention of the Clergymen and the lay- men to whom he shall appeal, confidently believing that they will not let the authori- ties of the Diocese hang their heads in shame, when the roll is called at the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Church on American shores.

Encouraging reports have come to us from various quarters concerning the services, communions and offerings on Easter Day. Several of the Clergy have said that their offerings were the largest they have ever had in their respective parishes, and in one case, as will be seen in the Parochial Notes, the total was over $16,000 for the debt on the Church. All this is no more than ought to be expected, we suppose, considering the remarkable prosperity of the country, from which the Church certainly ought to profit.

The following telegram was received by the Bishop on Saturday, April 21st, and immediately sent to the papers for publica- tion in Utica and Syracuse. It is not too late for it to be observed by any in the Diocese, who wish to contribute to the .restoration of ruined Churches in Cali- fornia, or any other needs that the Bishops may have:

New York, N. Y., April 20. 190€. Rev. C. T. Olmsted.

159 Park Avenue, Utica, N. Y .:

In addition to subscriptions through regularly authorized channels the Board of Missions will gladly receive and forward as may be desig- nated to the Bishops of California and Sacra- mento such contributions as may be sent to be disbursed under their direction for special cases of need in this appalling calamity.

George C. Thomas. Treasurer, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York City.

THE GOSPEL

MESSENGER.

PAROCHIAL NOTES.

We take the following from The Bing- hamton Press of Easter Monday :

TRINITY CHURCH FREE OF DEBT.

Mortgage of $16,210 is Paid Off To-day.

From subscriptions and donations paid at yesterday's services at

Trinity Memorial Church the entire Church debt, amounting to $16,210, was paid off to-day and the church is now free from debt.

The officials have been planning for this result since January 1st. The age of the parish is but 20 years, and the present Church build- ing has

been built only nine years. The Church now has a property worth about $100,000 free from debt.

It is expected that the Church will be consecrated on Whitsunday, June 3d. Our congratulations are extended to the Rector, vestry and congregation of Trinity Church on this result of their hard and faithful labors.

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CAPE VINCENT .- The Rev. Chas. Noves Tyndell, Rector. We have already called attention to the fact that a new organ was soon to be placed in this Church, and we are glad to learn from the following account that it has now been acomplished. The Cape Vincent Eagle of April 12th, has this notice :

"On Sunday last, Palm Sunday, the new pipe organ, recently built for St. John's Church, was formally dedicated and used for the first time in public worship. The organ is one of the finest obtainable, being the most improved type of tubular-pneumatic organ built by the Estey Organ Co. It is a handsome instru- ment, the exposed pipes being finished in gold-leaf and the case-work and accessories of quarter-sawed oak, goldenwaxed finish.

Perhaps nothing shows so fully what organized effort and real zeal can accom- . plish, as the securing of the funds for this organ. The entire amount needed was subscribed, the matter considered and the contract signed in less than three months from the time Mr. Tyndell first put the matter before the vestry. And now not only the people of St. John's, but the townspeople, may be proud of the posses- sion of so fine an instrument."

CHRIST CHURCH, GUILFORD .- The Rev. G. G. Perrine, Rector. Notwithstanding an unusual amount of sickness, to say noth- ing of the weather, the Easter services were well attended and the offering liberal.

The Lenten and Easter Offerings, in- cluding those of the Sunday School, amounted to $93.38. This enabled the parish to meet its apportionment for General Missions, $43.38: From Sunday School for General Missions, $10.00; Gift to Bishop Brewer, $10.00; Gift to Rector and Organist, $30.00.

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, ITHACA .- The Rev. W. Herbert Hutchinson, Rector. A beautiful pulpit in black walnut and brass, designed by J. and R. Lamb, of New York, in memory of the late Rector of St. John's Church, the Rev. Stephen H. Synnott, D.D., was unveiled by the present incumbent, the Rev. W. Herbert Hutchinson, at the five o'clock service on Easter Even with the follow- ing ceremony :

"We unveil this pulpit to the memory of a good man and a faithful minister of Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

This was followed by an appropriate prayer, and the grace of our Lord," &c.

The Easter Offering at St. Mark's Church, Syracuse, was $1,100.

At Grace Church, Elmira, the Easter Offering was $1,986. The Rector asks triumphantly, "was not that glorious for our poor people ?" The new Church in this parish is nearly completed, and will be opened, God willing, by the Bishop, on the second of June.

All Saints' Church, Syracuse, had tivo hundred and seventy-four communicants on Easter day, and the offering was over $450. On Low Sunday the people gave $32 to be sent to the Bishops in California through the Treasurer of the Board of Missions.

THE GOSPEL

WOMEN'S AUXILIARY NOTES.

The annual meeting of the Central New York Branch .of the Woman's Auxiliary will be held at Auburn on May 16th and 17th.

Wednesday, May 16th, in St. Peter's Church, Rev. Dr. John Brainard, Rector. The order of services is as follows :

7:30 a. m .- Celebration of the Holy Communion.

10:30 a. m .- Litany and Holy Com- munion, with sermon by the Rev. William H. Hutchinson, of the St. John's Church, Ithaca.

12 m .- Meeting of officers. 1 p. m .- Luncheon.

2 :30 p. m .- Business meeting. Address of welcome by the Rector or the Rev. Wm. B. Clarke, Dean of the District.

7:30 p. m .- Missionary meeting with addresses by the Rev. Isaac Dooman, of Japan, and Miss Julia Emery.

Delegates from the Senior branches will please address Mrs. Edward White, 1 Bostwick Place, Auburn, as early as possible, stating on what train they will arrive and how long they can remain. There will be the usual informal meeting of officers who arrive Tuesday evening, at he home of Miss Anna Wadsworth, 186 Genesee Street, at eight o'clock.

LOUISE C. IRISH, Diocesan President.

The annual meeting of the Central New York Branch of the Junior Auxiliary will e held at Auburn, Thursday, May the 17th, in St. John's Church, Rev. R. M. Church, Rector. The order of services is as follows :

7 a. m .- The Holy Communion.

9.30 .- Officers' meeting of the Juniors ind the Little Helpers.

10:30 .- Morning Prayer with address y the Rector.

12:30 .- Luncheon.

2 p. m .- Business meeting with reports. 3:45 .- Missionary Rally with an address by the Rev. Isaac Dooman, of Japan.

Delegates from the Junior branches will lease address Miss Anna Wadsworth, 186

MESSENGER.

Genesee Street, Auburn, stating as early as posible, by what train they will arrive and how long they will remain.

IDA F. CATTON, Diocesan Supt.

The Clergy of the Diocese are respect- fully requested to read the above notices, omitting details, to their congregations on two Sundays preceding the meetings, Mav 6th and 13th, so that as many as possible may be informed.

-X- -

OBITUARIES.

Our sympathies go out very strongly to the Rev. Dr. Osgood E. Herrick, of Water- town, in the recent loss of his wife, with whom he had lived more than fifty years. Mrs. Herrick had been a sufferer from rheumatism for a long time, and was fre- quently very much disabled by it. Recently. however, she had been able to get about the house, and occasionally went out, and her friends had reason to hope that she might be spared to them for some years to come. But on Wednesday, April 4th, she was stricken down suddenly with a shock of paralysis, became unconscious the next day, and died on Friday evening, April 6th. The funeral was from St. Paul's Church on Monday, the 9th, and was con- ducted by the Bishop of the Diocese, assisted by the Rev. Mr. Shaw, and the Rev. Mr. Saphore, Rector of the Church. Dr. and Mrs. Herrick have lived in Water- town since 1890, when he retired from duty as Chaplain in the United States Army.

We also regret to record the death of Miss Minnie F. Palmer, of Utica, who was buried from her mother's residenec on Tuesday after Easter, April 17th. Miss Palmer was a Churchwoman with strong convictions, and also with a strong sense of duty to the Church as well as at home. She was actively engaged for years in the Ladies' Volunteer Choir and also in the Altar Society of Grace Church, and at the same time she was a most devoted daughter, always giving a great deal of loving care

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The gospel messenger, Diocese of Central New York, Part 20

Author: Publication date: 1905-1908 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : Diocese of Central New York Number of Pages: 708

Author:
Publication date: 1905-1908
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : Diocese of Central New York
Number of Pages: 708