USA > New York > New York City > The history of the Broadway tabernacle church, from its organization in 1840 to the close of 1900, including factors influencing its formation > Part 19
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
By 1886 the Cheerful Workers became known as the Young Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society, and, by the time it was made a component part of the Society for Women's Work, more than $17,000 had been contributed to foreign missions by its means. At that date, 1893, it became an auxiliary so- ciety of the New York Branch of the Woman's Board of Mis- sions. It has contributed to a great variety of objects, to Mr. Hume's work in India, to the home for missionary children in Auburndale, Mass., to medical work of the Woman's Board, and to many schools. Contributions have averaged $700 an- nually. Since 1895 Mrs. Chas. E. Mitchell, with her warm enthusiasm, has led the department, has laid the foundation of a missionary library, has encouraged more generous giving by suggesting objects in which givers can take a personal inter- est, alluring the members to more devoted service and leading the way.
LOCAL CHARITIES AND INSTITUTIONS.
This department, of which Mrs. Cephas Brainerd, Jr., has been chairman for several years, includes the Bethany Sew- ing School, Helping Hand, Kindergarten, which have already been reported, and the Bethany Kitchen Garden, also the In- stitutional Committee by means of which the work of a num- ber of valuable city institutions, such as the Young Women's Christian Association and Home for the Friendless, are pre- sented to the society by accredited workers who have their several interests at heart. The fourth department of the So- ciety for Women's Work, is known as
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHURCH AID.
It was, when the last year-book was issued, under the care of Mrs. R. A. Dorman, and it is made up of two committees : Entertainment, Mrs. J. B. Mellick, chairman ; and Hospital- ity, Mrs. William H. Thomson. Upon the efficient work of these two committees the social, friendly spirit of the church largely depends. Afternoon teas, receptions, dinners, or luncheons for conferences, are the responsibility of the Enter-
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tainment Committee, while the privilege of welcoming strang- ers, caring for the sick or sorrowing in a friendly way, and visiting them, is enjoyed by the Hospitality Committee.
THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR was formed Sunday evening, October 1, 1893, with fifteen members. Before the close of the year its membership had increased to forty, with an average attendance of forty-five. When the church was without a pastor the membership de- creased, but in 1899 it reported an average attendance of sixty- six. January 1, 1901, its active membership was thirty-five, and its contributions $50. Its president is Mr. J. R. Ellen- wood.
THE FLOWER COMMITTEE.
This committee of ladies was also first appointed in 1893. Its duty is not only to decorate the church on festivals and special occasions, but to provide each Sunday for the Lord's house a floral offering that may afterward carry the kindly greetings of the church to some who have been provi- dentially debarred from attending its services. The chairman of the committee is Miss Anna C. Benedict.
THE YOUNG WOMAN'S CLUB
is one of the youngest enterprises of the society, organized by Dr. Jefferson, in December, 1899, to foster a spirit of friendliness and sociability among young women of the congregation. It has held ten meetings in the course of a year, and has discussed social and literary topics. Its mem- bership in December, 1900, was forty. Its two presidents have been Mrs. Franklin H. Warner and Miss Anna C. Mel- lick.
LADIES' CHRISTIAN UNION PRAYER-MEETING.
Imperfect and meagre as this sketch of the activities of the Broadway Tabernacle Church must of necessity be, it would be incorrect to leave unnoticed the prayer-meeting under the
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
direction of the Ladies' Christian Union that has been held in the chapel at eleven o'clock each Wednesday forenoon for nearly forty years. This meeting was founded by Mrs. Mar- shall O. Roberts, a warm personal friend of Dr. Thompson, as patriotic as himself, through whose kindly hand President Lincoln sent to Dr. Thompson as a token of regard and appre- ciation his own favorite gold-headed cane. Mrs. Roberts was from 1870 until her death, five years later, a member of the Tabernacle Church.
It was during the great revival of 1857, while the Young Men's Christian Association was holding daily prayer-meet- ings, that Mrs. Caroline D. Roberts and her friend, the late Mrs. Charles Abernethy, felt that there should also be a union meeting for Christian women. They called upon many pas- tors and arranged for several meetings of the sort. These were held in the Church of the Puritans on Union Square, in the old New York University, in the Home for the Friendless, and other places. From that circle of praying women came the formation of the Ladies' Christian Union in 1858, of which Mrs. Roberts was the leading spirit. By the request of Dr. Thompson, a ladies' prayer-meeting was started by Mrs. Roberts in the parlors of the church very soon after the new Tabernacle was occupied. It was at first a small meeting; at times not half a dozen were present, but though often discouraged she persevered with sweet willingness. Mean- time Mrs. Deuel, another worker in the Ladies' Christian Union, assisted by Mrs. Roberts, held another union prayer- meeting in her parlors in Bond Street. The ladies who at- tended it generally belonged to the same association, of which Mrs. Roberts was first directress. When Mrs. Deuel married Governor Wright, of Indiana, who was appointed United States Minister to the Court of Berlin, her house was closed, and Mrs. Roberts invited the ladies who had frequented the meeting there to unite with those who met at the Broad- way Tabernacle. Thus, in 1864, there was formed what has been known as the Tabernacle Meeting of the Ladies' Chris- tian Union.
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This union meeting became of such deep and wide-spread interest, in 1866, that it was held daily, Sunday excepted, for three months following the Week of Prayer, which the Union always observed by daily meetings. The attendance over- flowed the two parlors upstairs, and the meetings were trans- ferred to the chapel, which was often filled to standing-room. In religious influence Mrs. Roberts was for years the greatest power among women in New York City. Dr. Thompson wrote :
" For myself-I always felt that the pulpit could rest on this prayer- meeting as a background of moral support."
One of the first calls for a large public meeting of prayer, issued by Mrs. Roberts and her associates, was to mothers of sons who, as members of the gallant Seventh Regiment, had just left New York at the outbreak of the civil war for their country's defence. The mothers came in crowds, and the mighty meeting was led by Mrs. Roberts. One of her last acts was to form a "Prayer Band," which had as many as 1,500 names recorded. The nobly sustained Young Women's Christian Association of this city was evolved from the Ladies' Christian Union, organized by Mrs. Roberts, that has sustained, these many years, the Ladies' Prayer-Meeting at the Tabernacle.
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CHAPTER X.
THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY .*
THE celebration of the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Broadway Tabernacle did not mark with exactness the completion of sixty years. The church was organized July 30, 1840. But what church could celebrate an anniversary in New York City in July? Times have altered, and the habits of New Yorkers have undergone such radical transformation as to render a midsummer celebration impossible. The church was or- ganized by council September 3d, but our September is dif- ferent from that of sixty years ago. No church can hold a festival when its members are scattered over half a continent, and that is the condition of the Tabernacle in the opening week of each September. It was, therefore, decided to organize the celebration around the sixtieth annual meeting of the church.
The celebration began January 16th and closed the follow- ing Wednesday evening, and throughout the week, though the weather was cold, the enthusiasm could not be chilled. The only unfortunate condition of the entire week was the prevalence of the grippe. Thousands of cases were reported in the city, and a number of Tabernacle men and women were prevented by it from attending the celebration.
When the chapel was thrown open on Wednesday evening of the sixteenth every seat was soon occupied, and the few late comers were obliged to stand. The meeting was one devoted to reminiscences. Only men with gray hair were allowed to speak. The first speaker was Deacon Charles Whittemore, who has been a member of the church for forty years. His sub-
* This account of the celebration of the Sixtieth Anniversary is condensed from the Broadway Tabernacle Tidings, for February, 1901.
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REV. CHARLES E. JEFFERSON, D.D. Present Pastor, Called 1898
THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY
ject was "The Old Tabernacle." He was followed by Dea- con William B. Holmes, of Montclair. Mr. Holmes, along with his brother Samuel, joined the Tabernacle in December, 1853, and on removing in 1870 to Montclair, N. J., had been one of the pioneers in the organization of the First Congrega- tional Church in that town, of which Dr. Amory H. Bradford has been the first and only pastor. Deacon Holmes's subject was " Memories of Early Times." The next speaker was Dea- con Richard A. Dorman, who joined the church while he was yet a boy in 1852. In church membership he is the oldest male member of the church. His subject was "The Early Pastors." He was followed by Deacon John H. Washburn, a member of the church since 1865. His subject was "The Old Strug- gles and Victories." The fifth speaker was Dr. William H. Thomson, who united with the church in 1861. He spoke of " The Old Friends." All these five papers were carefully pre- pared, and, while dealing in large measure with the same char- acters and events, were widely different in treatment, and held the closest attention of the large and sympathetic audience. The last speech of the evening was not down on the programme, but was not surpassed in interest and impressiveness by any that had preceded it. It was given by Dr. Thomas S. Hast- ings, ex-President of Union Theological Seminary, for many years an admirer of the church and acquainted with its his- tory, at one time an attendant at its services, a close compan- ion of Dr. Taylor, and the dear friend of many members of the church.
This meeting, designed to bring former things to mind, was specially enjoyed by the older people, but it held the youngest in delighted attention. Many of those who have joined the church in recent days had never known the glories of its golden history, and had never realized the richness of the in- heritance into which they had entered.
A description of the meeting would not be complete with- out reference to the elaborate and tasteful decorations. On entering the door one scarcely realized that he was looking at a room with which he had been familiar for many years.
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The walls were almost completely hidden by flags of all sizes worked into tasteful patterns and combinations, while the pul- pit was a garden of palms. It was the design of the commit- tee to whom the work of decoration had been entrusted to suggest to every mind and heart the part which the church had played in one of the crises of our national history, and the effect produced was the very one designed. All through the celebration one breathed the spirit of patriotism, and wher- ever the eye might wander it was certain to fall upon a flag.
Two evenings later the great Reception was given. The primary purpose of a reception was to bring together not only the present members of the church, but the former mem- bers also, and likewise members of the general congrega- tion. This was all the more necessary as the celebration was to close with a dinner to which, owing to the scant accom- modation of the parlors, only present members of the church could be admitted. Special invitations were mailed to every Congregational church in Greater New York. Along with this invitation the pastor sent a personal letter to every Congrega- tional pastor in Greater New York, emphasizing the cordiality of the invitation and requesting that there might be from his church a goodly delegation of Congregationalists to rejoice with the mother church in her great festivities. It was pos- sible by a diligent study of the city directory to locate about two hundred former members who have joined other churches in this part of the world, and to each of these an invitation was mailed.
The parlors were in holiday array for the Reception. The walls were covered with portraits and photographs of men illustrious in Tabernacle history, and wherever there was a space not occupied by a picture it was covered by a flag. The orchestra was in its place, filling all the room with music, and the tables in the corner were piled with good things to eat. The pastor and his wife, the deacons and their wives, the trus- tees and their wives formed a line across the north end of the parlor, ready to meet their guests. To the regret of all, the health of Mrs. William M. Taylor would not allow her to be
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present, and one of her daughters, Mrs. Maitland, with her hus- band, took her place. For three hours the guests came and went incessantly. Three hospitality committees had been ap- pointed; the first a committee of twelve young women, the second of twelve young men, the third of twelve young mar- ried couples, the idea being to bring to the front the younger life of the church, that the guests might see that the Taber- nacle has not only a past but a future. Also in addition to these three committees there was a corps of twelve ushers. For all these there was a busy evening. Every square foot of space was occupied, but the crowd was not too great for com- fort.
After nearly two hours of conversation, the chairman of the committee, Dr. Fisher, called on Dr. W. J. Peck, for many years the pastor of an independent church in Corona but still a member of the church, to speak for non-resident mem- bers. After him the chairman called upon Mr. Charles Stewart Smith and Mr. James Talcott to speak a few words on be- half of former members of the church. These speeches were followed with the closest interest. Dr. Frank E. Ramsdell, the new pastor of the Pilgrim Church in Harlem, was then intro- duced to give the greeting from Congregational churches in Manhattan and the Bronx. The last speaker of the evening was Dr. T. B. McLeod, pastor of Clinton Avenue Church in Brooklyn, who brought warm greetings from sister churches across the East River. There were many churches represented, and after living an evening in an atmosphere so warm and bracing it was easy to believe that Congregational fellowship is indeed a vital and substantial reality.
Sunday was the great day of the feast. The programme em- braced a sermon in the morning, by the pastor, in the afternoon a Sunday-school celebration with interesting features, in the evening a Christian Endeavor meeting with historic papers, and at eight o'clock a Fellowship Meeting with addresses by five distinguished clergymen representing as many branches of the Christian Church. Sunday arrived bright and cold.
The auditorium was a picture worth seeing. A member of
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
the church, wishing nothing to be left undone to make the celebration complete, had sent to the decorating committee a check so generous that they were able to provide the most artistic adornment. All around the church the flags extended, and what a dream of beauty the old organ was! Its sober pipes had blossomed out in flags even to the roof. Through the civil war it was the custom to drape the organ with flags, and so every flag on that morning called back to many minds the days when Dr. J. P. Thompson thundered against slavery and rallied the fainting city to new loyalty to the Union.
On an occasion so august it was felt that every ministerial officer of our great national missionary societies, residing in New York or vicinity, ought to participate in the services. They were accordingly invited and accepted the invitation.
The hymns were those sung forty-one years before at the dedication of the church. The words of the anthem were writ- ten for the occasion by the pastor, and the music by the organist of the church, Mr. Hawley. The sermon by the pastor was not so long as that of Professor Edwards A. Park at the dedi- cation of the church in 1859, which was two hours in length. The pastor gave an extended history covering sixty years, and did it in sixty-three minutes.
The Bible School celebration at 3.30 in the afternoon had for its most striking feature the singing by members of the Bethany school. Under the able leadership of Mr. Hayden the school has become a choral society, and the musical programme furnished by the school at Christmas is one of the great features of the Bethany year. When it became known that the Bethany children were coming, a generous woman of the Tabernacle promptly placed at their disposal a number of Fifth Avenue omnibuses. The programme was carried out as printed.
Notwithstanding the fulness of the afternoon there was a good attendance at Dr. Thomson's Bible class at five o'clock, and at seven the chapel was well filled when the Christian En- deavor celebration was opened by its president, Mr. Ellenwood.
But it may be questioned whether the great meeting of the
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day was not the Fellowship Meeting held in the auditorium at eight o'clock. The world is hungry for Christian unity, and every manifestation of it is greeted with enthusiasm and thanksgiving by the large number of Christians who are pray- ing for a better day. For the Tabernacle to have celebrated an anniversary without inviting any of her neighbors would have been an act contrary to the entire trend of her spiritual his- tory. The men who were invited were strong men, finely rep- resentative of the branches of the Christian church from which they came. Foremost in the list was Dr. Henry A. Stimson, former pastor of the Tabernacle, and now pastor of the Man- hattan Congregational Church on the West Side. He was followed by Dr. Marvin R. Vincent, professor in the Union Theological Seminary, a dear friend of Dr. Taylor, represent- ing the Presbyterian Church. Next came Dr. David H. Greer, rector of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, and the well known Baptist minister Dr. Edward Judson, of the Judson Memorial Church. The last speaker of the evening was Dr. J. M. Buckley, Methodist, editor of the New York Christian Advocate.
After the great meetings of Sunday there was rest for a day. On Tuesday morning at 10.30, women of the church came together to listen to five historical papers in which were set forth the labors of the Society for Women's Work. On Tuesday evening the Denominational Meeting was held. In celebrating the history of the local church it was necessary to dwell upon the history of the denomination, and to forecast its career in the century to come. As a recognition of this larger fellowship, six Congregational ministers were asked to take part in the services: Rev. William T. Williams, pastor of the Welsh Church; Rev. William H. Kephart, of the North Congregational Church; Dr. F. B. Makepeace, of the Trinity Congregational Church, and the Rev. H. M. Brown, pastor of the Christ Congregational Church, all of New York. The theme of the evening was Congregationalism, past, present, and future. Dr. Amory H. Bradford, Montclair, spoke on " The Congregationalism of Yesterday." General O. O. Howard,
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
formerly a member of the Tabernacle, spoke on " The Congre- gationalism of To-day." Dr. Josiah Strong on "The Con- gregationalism of To-morrow." The addresses were highly appreciated by all present.
All the meetings thus far outlined were full of inspiration, but the celebration reached its climax Wednesday evening in the Church Dinner. It was an evening never to be forgotten by any one who was present. Twenty tables were set, each accommodating ten persons. There were flowers and music and a bountiful repast, and much delightful conversation, but the feature of the occasion was the after-dinner speaking. It was all by members of the Tabernacle, all of them laymen. The celebration began with the reminiscences of laymen, and it was fitly closed by the prophecies of laymen. The speakers were ten in number. There were only two toasts to which they were asked to speak: "The Tabernacle of the Past " and " The Tabernacle of the Future." The first subject was as- signed to two trustees and three deacons: Messrs. Bliss, Wash- burn, Hubbard, Warner, and Houghton. The prophets were Messrs. Gaylord, Hayden, Simpson, Bates, and Hamlin. It would be impossible to say which were more inspiring, the his- torians, or the prophets who alternated with them. Even the historians became at times prophetic, and the prophets saw such visions and dreamed such dreams that it was impossible for any one to doubt that the future will be in every way as rich and glorious as the past. It was almost midnight when the voice of the last of the prophets died on the air, and the pastor rose to request that one stanza of "Blest be the tie that binds " be sung. Thrilled with joy and love the church instinctively burst into song.
It was with prayer and benediction by the pastor that the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Broadway Tab- ernacle was closed.
This narrative would not be complete without a paragraph concerning the Church Exhibit. A church, like an individual, leaves evidences of its activity across the years, and it is in- spiring now and then for a church to gather up its achieve-
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ments, to see so far as it is possible to see such things, just what it has accomplished. It was proposed, therefore, when first the idea of the celebration was mooted, to gather the photo- graphs of the ministers and officers of the church, the pam- phlets and books written and published by members of the church, and that on charts there be presented to the eye not only the men and women whom the church has contributed to religious work, but also the money which it has poured into the coffers of philanthropic and missionary enterprises. All that was planned was carried out. The exhibit was an un- qualified success. Paintings and engravings and photographs were brought together in numbers sufficient to cover large areas of the two sides of the parlors. Books and pamphlets and papers were collected sufficient in number to fill several large glass cases. Charts were prepared exhibiting the names of the church's most distinguished workmen in the vineyard of the Lord, and on other charts the whole story of its benevo- lences was shown in such a way as to catch the eye and thrill the heart. It is needless to say that the exhibit in every de- partment was far from complete. The committee worked with indefatigable industry, but many months of constant labor would have been necessary to ascertain all the facts and gather together all the material which might rightly claim a place in such an exhibition. The lists of workers who are or have been members of this church, though not complete, are sug- gestive. Here they are :
MINISTERS.
William Adamson, Elijah C. Baldwin, Walter M. Barrows, D.D., Hubbard Beebe, Allen Page Bissell, Joel Blackmer, Charles P. Blanchard, Professor Charles R. Bliss, S. Bourne, Professor Francis Brown, D.D., Amzi Camp, A. Huntington Clapp, D.D., L. Henry Cobb, D.D., Samuel Colcord, William Henry Colton, Julius L. Danner, David D. Davis, John P. De Merritt, Myron Samuel Dudley, Richard C. Dunn, Ephraem Menachem Epstein, David Fitch, Daniel W. Fox, Edward W. Gilman, D.D., Richard Gidman, Joseph F. Gaylord, Franklin
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
A. Gaylord, Luther Halsey Gulick, Sidney L. Gulick, Charles L. Hall, Joshua B. Hall, R. L. Hall, Chauncey L. Hamlin, Henry R. Harris, Joseph Harris, Robert W. Haskins, L. Smith Hobart, Joseph D. Hull, George Jackson, Edwin John- son, D.D., John Kershaw, Daniel Lancaster, Philo F. Leaven, William E. Locke, John D. Long, Payson W. Lyman, Ben- jamin N. Martin, D.D., Alexander S. McLeod, William C. Merritt, Edward C. Merriam, Benjamin F. Millerd, Ray Palmer, D.D., William J. Peck, Absalom Peters, D.D., Edward N. Pomeroy, Theodore S. Pond, Charles H. Pratt, Edward Pratt, Edward A. Rand, Adoniram Judson Rich, Frank Rus- sell, D.D., John A. Seymour, R. Bayard Snowden, John C. Taylor, William H. Teel, Stefano L. Testa, William H. Thomas, James B. Thompson, Thomas G. Thurston, George P. Tindall, Henry B. Underwood, Rufus S. Underwood, Charles Van Norden, James H. Warren, Charles C. Watson, Mosely H. Williams, William Henry Wolcott.
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