The gospel messenger, Diocese of Central New York, Part 29

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


USA > New York > The gospel messenger, Diocese of Central New York > Part 29


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It is a significant thing, therefore, to have at the beginning of the morning service such earnest, stirring words as


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these of the Psalmist-"O come, let us sing unto the lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation-O come let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of Him !" Let there be sermon or no sermon, and if a sermon, let it be eloquent or dull, here is the purpose of coming plainly and unequivocally set forth. God is our Maker, we are His people and the sheep of His hand; in Him we find our perfect joy, to Him we owe our hearts' best love ; and when we assemble as a congregation in His House it is for the purpose of expressing to Him our appreciation of these facts and of giving to Him the honor due unto His Name, with the best member that we have. This is the lesson of the Venite exultemus Domino.


-X-


PAROCHIAL NOTES.


After many legal requirements and technicalities, rendered necessary by the decadence of the parish of St. John's, Clay- ville, the old Church has at length been disposed of for $1,600, and the money is now in hand for the erection of a small building more suitable to the needs of the little handful of people that are left to assemble in it. A lot has been secured, plans adopted, a contract made, and the work is now in progress. The expectation is that the Chapel will be ready for use by December 1st. The Rev. Geo. H. Edgar is now in charge of this mission, with those at Chadwicks and Bridgewater.


The Rev. James Winslow Clarke, Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Utica, preached a special sermon on the first Sunday in September, being the tenth anniversay of his connection with that parish. The old building has been moved on to the lot in the rear, and a new Church is now in process of erection, the corner stone of which it is proposed to lay on October 7th.


ALL SAINTS' CHURCH, SYRACUSE .- A special confirmation service was held at


All Saints' Church, Syracuse, on Monday, the 10th of September, when eight persons received the Apostolic Rite. This class was the last work of the Rev. David C. Huntington, who was Rector of All Saints' for several years, before leaving for his new field of labor in Indiana. Although the appointment had to be made during the week of the State fair, yet the attendance was encouraging. The Right Rev. the Bishop spoke from the words of St. Luke's Gospel, "That thou mightiest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed."


A


farewell reception was tendered


by the parishioners to the Rector on Wednesday evening, September 19th. About three hundred parish- ioners and friends, including the clergy of the city, gathered to wish him farewell and God-speed in his new field of labor. Mr. Huntington was presented with a beautiful gold watch and chain, a gold signet ring, a suit case and a purse of gold. While Rector of All Saints' he has endeared himself to a host of friends, both in and out of the Church. Mr. Huntington assumed the rectorship of Richmond, Indiana, and began there on the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.


ONONDAGA CASTLE, INDIAN MISSION .-- The Rev. W. S. Hayward, Missionary. The Rev. J. H. Stirling, Rector of Christ Church, Jordan, excanged with the Mis- sionary on August 27th, and baptized an Indian infant, descendant of Cornplanter. On September 7th and 9th, the Rev. W. L. Hayward, B. D., of Philadelphia, Pa., assisted his father, preaching three times, addressing the Sunday School and cele- brating the Holy Communion. The Mis- sionary has received a birthday present of a fald stool, the handiwork of the Indian who made the Rood Screen, and like that a churchly exhibition of the dexterous use of the pocket knife.


TRINITY, FAYETTEVILLE. The Rev. Ernest Melville, Rector .- A full choral service with a special musical programme


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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.


was celebrated at Trinity Church, Fayette- ville, the Rev. E. Melville, Rector, on the evening of the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. The Church was well filled with members of the different denominations in Fayetteville as well as communicants of the parish. Quite a number were present from Syracuse. The music was under the charge of Mrs. Melville, the Rector's wife, who deserves much credit for her untiring effort on behalf of good singing, as well as other good works in the parish. The musical numbers were sung after the ser- mon. The Rev. Ivan M. Merlinjones, D. D., intoned the office and preached.


CHRIST CHURCHI, GUILFORD .- The Rev. G. G. Perrine, Rector. This Church has been greatly benefited and enriched in the way of gifts presented during the past years as memorials of friends who have gone before.


The latest gift of this kind is a beauti- ful altar rail of antique oak with brass standards, presented by the family as a memorial of the late Mrs. Lucia A. Clark.


CALVARY CHURCH, UTICA. The Rev. Edward H. Coley, Rector .- By the will of the late Miss Katherine Jones of this parish, the sum of $2,000 was left for its use, as was the residuary estate. The Rector of the Parish was also generously remembered. The subscription to the parish debt has been completed and $3,750 has been paid. The remaining $2,000 will be paid about January 1, 1907. Dur- ing the summer the Parish House has been put in thorough order, a large room has taken the place of several small ones on the second floor, and the kitchen has been enlarged and fitted with new plumbing throughout. This last improvement was the gift of a liberal parishioner.


The Rev. D. D. Waugh, who for five vears has been Assistant Minister at Grace Church, Utica, has accepted a call to the rectorship of Trinity Church, Collinsville, Connecticut, and expects to leave for his new work some time in the latter part of this month.


CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE CON- SECRATION OF TRINITY CHURCH, UTICA. The Rev. John R. Harding, Pastor .- On the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 30th, Trinity Church, Utica, celebrated the centenial anniversary of its consecration. The services of the day were, 8 a. m., Holy Communion ; 11 a. m., Morning Prayer, Sermon and Holy Com- munion ; 7:30 p. m., Evening Prayer and Historical Address. Right Rev. Charles T. Olmsted, S. T. D., was the preacher and celebrant at 11 a. m., and in the even- ing the Rector, Rev. John R. Harding, made the address. Large congregations testified their interest in this historic Church, and united in thanking the Giver of All for His blessings upon the parish during the century since its consecration.


There was special music both morning and evening, two of the chants having been written by the choir leader, Mr. I. T. Daniel, and dedicated by him to Bishop Olmsted and the Rector.


The Church building and entire paroch- ial plant, consisting of Church, Rectory and Parish House, have been thoroughly renovated during the past four months. The actual anniversary of the consecration was earlier, but for various reasons the services were delayed until the 30th. It was on September 7th, 1806, that the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore set apart this edifice to the worship of Almighty God. ordained the Rev. Amos T. Baldwin, and confirmed eighteen persons.


The Churchman's Magazine, a religious monthly printed in New Haven early in the nineteenth century, has in its issue of September, 1806, the following notice of this event, "Thus we see and cannot but be impressed with gratitude and admiration at the sight; places of publie worship rapidly increasing with our increasing population and prosperity in the very heart of our country, which but a few vears still was a rude and howling wilder- ness." Such words sound strange to a citizen of the Empire State to-day. This parish was founded in 1798 by Rev. Phil- ander Chase, then a deacon, afterwards the pioneer Bishop of Ohio and Illinois.


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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.


The centenial of this foundation was observed in June, 1898, in connection with the meeting of the Diocesan Convention, and the Seventy-fifth anniversary of the consecration was held in 1881.


The list of Rectors is, Rev. Jonathan Judd, 1804-1806 ; Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, 1807-1818; Rev. Henry M. Shaw, 1819- 1821; Rev. Henry Anthon, 1821-1829; Rev. Benjamin Dorr, 1829-1835; Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal, 1836-1857; Rev. Samuel Hanson Coxe, 1857-1877 ; Rev. Charles H. Gardner, 1878-1886; Rev. William D. Maxon, 18.87-1894; Rev. John R. Harding, 1894. In this Church August 22 and 23, 1838, was held the Special Convention of the Old New York . Diocese, at which the first division was made forming the Diocese of Western New York.


Here also on November 10, 1868, con- vened another Special Convention to divide the territory of Western New York, carving out of it the present Diocese of C'entral New York.


The building, yet well preserved, is a typical Colonial Church with pointed windows and side galleries. The interior has been somewhat changed during the century bringing it into keeping with modren ideas, but in most particulars it retains all the characteristics of its first erection in 1804. The mother parish of L'tica, it is now in a down town location, but holds its own to a marked degree, ministering to a congregation scattered over the entire city. With the exception of St. Paul's Parish, Paris Hill, it is the oldest in the Diocese of Central New York.


-X-


DIOCESAN ITEMS.


On Friday afternoon, September 28th, at the call of the Bishop, the Board of Managers of Diocesan Missions met at Grace Church, Utica. The special pur- pose of the meeting was the appointment of an Archdeacon of the Diocese, in accord- ance with the amendment to Canon X, adopted at the last Convention. That amendment is contained in paragraph 1


of Section III, and reads as follows: "At the next meeting of the Board of Managers after the Convention of this Diocese held in June, 1906, or as soon thereafter as convenient, and every succeeding fourth year, an Archdeacon shall be appointed by the Bishop, with the advice and consent of the Board of Managers. He shall be in Priest's Orders, and shall hold his office for four years, unless his incumbency be terminated sooner by resignation or other- wise."


After the routine business of the Board was concluded, the Bishop announced that he had decided to appoint, "with the advice and consent of the Board, the Rev. William Cooke, Rector of St. John's Church, Whitesboro, and Dean of the Second Missionary District of f this Diocese.


The Bishop said that he had given much thought to the subject, had carefully con- sidered it on all sides, and had reached his decision for the following reasons: 1st, Mr. Cooke's familiarity with the Diocese and with its missionary work in every part. He was ordained by Bishop Hunt- ington twenty-five years ago, and has served in the northern, central and south- western parts of the Diocese; and having been for several years the Assistant Sec- retary of the Convention, helping the Sec- retary in all the statistics and in making out the Journal, he has acquired a knowl- edge of the whole field which is possible only to a few. 2nd-His Missionary spirit and enterprise, which have been manifested in the several parishes or mis- sions in which he has worked, and espec- ially in the office of Dean of the Second District. He is afraid of no labor which the work seems to require, and is always ready to go and to do when the call comes. 3rd-His discretion and personal accept- ability. Mr. Cooke has been well tried in these ways, and is known to be a man of modesty, courtesy and tact, who will not act rashly, nor rudely, nor make himself disagreeable by personal assertion.


The Bishop also announced that he had raised by subscription very nearly the


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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.


whole salary of the Archdeacon for the first year, about half the amount being al- ready paid in and deposited in the bank for the purpose, thus enabling the Mission- ary Board to devote all the offerings during the year to the filling up of the treasury and the meeting of other obligations.


On motion of the Rev. Dr. Wilson, seconded by several of the Deans, the appointment of the Rev. William Cooke as Archdeacon was unanimously ratified by the Board of Managers.


The office of Dean in the Second District being made vacant by the appointment of the Archdeacon, the Bishop, in accordance with the Canon, has appointed the Rev. Edward H. Coley, Rector of Calvary Church, Utica, to that position. It will be remembered that Mr. Coley was elected Dean in 1900, and was compelled by sick- ness to resign in 1902, when the Rev. Mr. Cooke was appointed in his place. Now, Mr. Coley's health being entirely restored, he is willing to serve out his full time.


The Sunday Schools of the various parishes of Syracuse, resumed their ses- sions after the summer vacation on the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, with excellent attendance.


ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, SYRACUSE.


(Subject of Illustration.)


When the work of opening the Erie Canal was begun in 1817, the site of the present city of Syracuse was a cedar swamp. Among the first settlers were three families who were communicants of the Church. At their invitation the Rev. Lucius Smith came from Auburn in Dec- ember, 1821, and officiated in the parlor of the Syracuse House. This was the first Church service held in Syracuse.


During the two following years, clergy from neigboring towns officiated a few times, and in October, 1824, a parish was organized, although not legally, and steps were taken toward the building of a Church edifice.


The following autumn saw the first St. Paul's Church erected on the site of the old


Granger Block and regular services started in connection with the parish at Onondaga Hill. It wa's not till May 22nd, 1826, however, that St. Paul's parish was legally organized at a meeting held in the district school-house on Church Street. The Rev. John McCarthy presided and the follow- ing officers were elected: John Dunford and Samuel Wright, Wardens; Amos P. Granger, Archy Kasson, James Mann, Matthew W. Davis, Mather Williams, Barent Filkins, Othniel HI. Williston and Jabez Hawley, Vestrymen.


Early in the next year the Rev. William Barlow became the first resident mission- ary. On September 19th, the Church was consecrated by Bishop Hobart. For a time the work prospered, but in the autumn of the next year the parish was left without a minister.


The next twelve years were marked by debts, discouragements and failure. Fre- quently the mission was without a clergy- man. At one time a year and a half elapsed with hardly a service. From 1830 to 1840 ten different men were placed in charge. Under the last of these, the Rev. John B. Gallagher, there was so marked a growth in interest and attendance that when the Rev. Henry Gregory of Homer. . N. Y., was called to be Rector of the parish in November, 1840, plans were already under way for a larger and more substan- tial building. On the second of July. 1841, the corner stone of a new stone Church was laid on the lot at Warren and Fayette Streets, the site of the present Post Office; and one year later, July 5th, this second Church was consecrated by Bishop De Lancey.


The next six years were marked by a wonderful growth and general prosperity. The Church was open more frequently for the observance of Holy days. The Com- municant Roll more than doubled. A flourishing parochial school was opened and conducted under the direet supervis- ion of the Rector. For two years an assistant minister was employed.


In 1848, a Free Chapel was erected in the old Fourth Ward, and on August 17th,


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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.


Dr. Gregory resigned the rectorship of St. Paul's, and became Rector of this new St. James.


On December 1st, the Rev. William Bliss Ashley became Rector. Under his leadership the work of the parish steadily increased. The Church building was en- larged and many improvements made. In 1853, a house and lot were presented by Mr. Horace White for a rectory. Two years later a Mission Chapel was built in the Fifth Ward of the city to meet the needs caused by rapid growth in that sec- tion. On November 24th, 1855, this was consecrated by Bishop DeLancey, by the name of Trinity Church.


On the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Ashley in 1857, the Rev. George Morgan Hills was called to the rectorship from Trinity Church, Watertown, N. Y. He entered on his duties May 3rd. During that year the financial affairs of the parish were put on a better basis and a floating indebtedness of over $1,600.00 was paid. In 1858, a more churchly chancel was added and fitted with new furniture.


Though the fourteen years of Dr, Hill's connection with the parish were trying ones in the national life and in the finan- cial world, under his wise administration the work of the Church steadily increased. Perhaps the most marked growth was in the Sunday School, which from a member- ship of 65 grew to over 260. The services were multiplied and the spiritual life of the parish deepened.


The following excerpts from the records of the Church for 1866, give a glimpse of conditions at that time.


"March 11th, Mid-Lent Sunday, 8 a.m., early celebration of the Holy Communion for the first time in St. Paul's; the Right Rev. Bishop Cox being the celebrant. About 130 communicated. At 103 a. m., the Bishop preached, and confirmed fifty- eight persons."


"Easter Day. Early service 7 a. m.,


first held in Syracuse, with Easter Saluta- tion and Paschal Benediction. A large attendance. At 3 p. m., Plain Song Litany, first sung in Syracuse, followed by Catechism, and an address to the Sunday School."


In August, 1870, Dr. Hills resigned to go to St. Mary's Church, Burlington, N. J., having "the good report of all men and of the truth itself."


The Rev. Simon Greenleaf Fuller was next called to the parish, but when he had served scarcely two years sudden death brought his promising career to a close.


January 19th, 1873, the Rev. Henry R. Lockwood began the longest and in many ways the most notable rectorship in the history of St. Paul's Church.


Under his leadership the present stone edifice was built and opened on the 13th of December, 1885, as the Cathedral Church of the Diocese. In a few years, however, with the development of full cathedral systems elsewhere in our country that title was found to stand for so little reality that it was deemed inexpedient to hand the misnomer down to posterity.


During the thirty-three years of Dr. Lockwood's ministry here, St. Paul's stood a power for righteousness in Syra- cuse, and the surrounding community. With the rapid growth of the city, he saw his Church become a "down town" parish. Alone and unaided until the last two years of his rectorship, he cared for a large and widely scattered congregation. The num- ber of communicants increased from 400 to 600 under these adverse conditions. Over $250,000 was given for objects out- side the parish. On September 20th, of last year, when it seemed as if he soon could enjoy the fruits of his labors, death called him to a well-earned rest.


By the earnest efforts of his devoted parishioners, the longstanding debt of $31,000 was paid last Easter, and on October 11th, St. Paul's Church will be consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese.


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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.


(Continued from last issue.) THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON ECCLESIASTI- CAL DISCIPLINE.


BY REV. W. H. CASEY. ILLEGAL PRACTICES WITHIN THE CHURCH.


In dealing with the very large number of illegal practices more or less common in the Church, the Commissioners have been no less thorough, and, be it noted, no less at one with each other. It is probable that this remarkable unanimity results mainly from the clearness of those principles which have guided their deliberations and helped to reveal both the source of their disorders and the road to a remedy. The- oretically, the Church of England stands committed to a rigid standard laid down by Acts of Parliament remote in date from the present time and from present circum- stances. The Commissioners franķly accept the fact that this rigid,. standard never can be, and never ought to be, rigidly enforced. Their first need then was to which classify the numerous deviations range all the way from the customary use of hymns and addresses of Bishops at Confirmation Services to the ceremony of Benediction and the cult of the Sacred Heart. On what principle was the classi- fication to be made ? With the wisdom which was to be expected from them and a firm determination, once and for all, to have done with the worn out notion that ceremonies as a rule "mean nothing, they decided in favor of the "principle of sig- nificance." Of course some of these devia- tions from the standard have varied greatly in their causes, their natures and their importance. Some, while they have a doctrinal significance, illustrate truths which the English Church has definitely received to hold. Some signify doctrines not expressly set forth in the Church's formularies, yet admitted by a large pro- portion of her members and by many of her greatest divines to be not inconsistent with the main body of her teaching; such doctrines, in fact, are not essentially ob- jectionable, but they have hitherto received no definite sanction. For some such varia- tions "which may reasonably be regarded


as significant of teaching legally declared not to be contrary to or repugnant to the Articles and formularies of the Church of England," the Commissioners would like to make room, "though only," under con- ditions of efficient regulation and with careful regard for the opinions and feel- ings of congregations. But where the "thing signfied" is contrary to Anglican beliefs they propose that no quarter should be given. These practices must cease or prosecution must follow.


These deviations the Commissioners have divided into two groups which they call respectively,


(1) Breaches non-significant of doc- trine, and


(2) Breaches significant of doctrine.


In group No. 1 they include all those illegal practices (whether acts or defaults) which do not appear to have any signific- ance beyond that which belongs to them as showing a disregard for the exact require- ments of the law, that is to say, all those deviations from the legal standard in the services, ceremonies and ornaments used in public worship (A) which have been adopted on the ground of convenience, (B) which have resulted from negligence or inadvertence; and (C) which have become connnon for reasons less easy to define.


In group No. 2 they include all those illegal practices which either from their nature, from historical association, or, from some other cause, appear to have a significance beyond that which the prac- tices in themselves possess.


The distinction which is constituted by the significance of some illegal practices and the non-significance of others they hold to be a very real distinction to which great regard should be had, although, say they. it cannot always be drawn with precision. It is necessary, therefore, in their judg- ment to recognize an area of uncertainty -a disputable zone-between the two groups, the significant and the non-signi- ficant. But the main components of these two groups, and the real contrast between them, are nevertheless clear and important.


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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.


THE NON-SIGNIFICANT BREACHES.


These are subdivided into three classes : (A) Practices adopted on the ground of convenience, amongst them may be be mentioned the omission of the two longer exhortations in the Communion Service.


The saying of the words of administra- tion at the Holy Communion to a row of communicants instead of to each individ- nal.


The saying of the first part only of the words of administration to each communi- cant.


The performance of special services con- taining prayers not taken from the Prayer Book and including special collects, epistles, and gospels, e. g. services for harvest festivals, et cetera.


(B) Practices which have resulted from negligence or inadvertence-e. g., the omission of daily service and the non- observance of Holy days.


(C) Practices which have become com- mon-e. g., the omission in whole or part of the Ante-Communion Service, and particularly in the case of Evening Com- munions which are common in many dioceses.


It is worthy of note in passing that the Commissioners do not condemn Evening Communions.


(To be continued.) -X-


SOME REASONS WHY I AM A CHURCHMAN.


(A paper read by Mr. John Larcombe, of Emmanuel Church, Adams. N. Y., at the meeting of the Jefferson County As- sembly of the Brotherhood of S. Andrew.


I am a Churchman, not from mere feel- ings which are easily changed, nor from any motives of worldly interest of con- venience, but on firm principles, being clearly and strongly convinced, by reasons founded on the Holy Scriptures, that I ought to be a Churchman, believing, in- deed, that it is not too much to say that it is even necessary to my salvation that I should be a Churchman.


I am a Churchman in the first and chief place on account of the Divine origin and institution of the Church. For I read in the New Testament that our Lord and only




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