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 6
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It is not because this trial of Mr. Lewis Tappan is a cause célèbre that it has been here introduced, but because it was this action of the session that brought Mr. David Hale to the point of denouncing the injustice of the Presbyterian dis- cipline as by them administered. Mr. Tappan himself here passes out of our history, though it should be recorded of him that he was actively concerned with the founding, in 1846, of one of the noblest of our Congregational benevolences, the American Missionary Association of which he was the first treasurer; he was also one of the Amistad Committee of Three appointed in 1839 and merged later into the Union Missionary Society (1841) which, in turn, united with the American Missionary Association upon its organization.
The story of Mr. Hale's action in the affairs of Mr. Tap- pan is finely told by Dr. Joseph P. Thompson in his " Memoir of David Hale." * Mr. Hale was not an Abolitionist; he had very little sympathy with Mr. Tappan's anti-slavery doctrines ; nor was he on very friendly terms with him; but he was a stout defender of the democracy of the Church and of liberty of speech; and he felt the injustice of the session's action. As the articles of agreement between the united churches allowed for occasional meetings of the whole church for busi- ness, Mr. Hale had a church meeting called, by public notice, " for the prayerful consideration of a case of discipline." This meeting was held January 21, 1839. He engaged his own reporter from the Journal of Commerce to be present, in order to take notes of the proceedings. After some discus- sion the church voted that the reporter might remain. Mr.
* Joseph P. Thompson, Memoir of David Hale, pp. 64-91.
4I
HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
Hale addressed the meeting, giving a review of the case pre- paratory to the offering of a resolution that three rules be added to the Permanent Rules of the church. These three rules provided that any member of the church should have a right to appeal from a decision of the session not only by way of the presbytery and synod to the General Assembly, but to the whole body of his brethren of the church; that there should be, at regular intervals, meetings in which any mem- ber of the church could introduce such propositions as he thought fit, and provision made for the calling of other such meetings when deemed necessary by church members; and that the records of the church should be kept by an appointed clerk and be open to all.
There was much discussion during the progress of Mr. Hale's address, and many interruptions. In view of his propo- sitions he and his supporters were accused of fraud in agree- ing that the church should unite with the presbytery while striving, thus openly, to introduce Congregational practices. Mr. Hale made a vigorous defence, as he had not gone be- yond the stipulation to which the churches had agreed on uniting. In the records of the Third Presbytery of New York, N. S., Vol. I., p. 408, where an account of the union of the two churches is given, this proviso in regard to such principles of the Congregational order being engrafted as should be approved by the united churches is not entered, and brethren of the session openly declared that they had never intended to comply with it. When the question was put, a viva voce vote was taken, and the moderator, Mr. Parker, declared the vote to be in the negative, ignoring all calls for a count, and the meeting adjourned.
The records of this meeting were issued by Mr. Hale as a broadside under the title " Facts and Reasonings on Church Government," and widely distributed. Some months later a second issue of "Facts and Reasonings " was published by him, giving some of the proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the church, April 1, 1839, and criticising the action the session had taken in the case of Mr. Tappan after the Gen-
42
DAVID HALE Trustee 1840-1841, 1844-1849
THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
eral Assembly had sustained his appeal. In this sheet he states that about sixty members of the church had left under deep feelings of injury, that the large number of colored peo- ple which once filled a whole section of the house had with- drawn, the trustees having refused them leases of pews ex- cept on condition that if they allowed a white person to sit with them but once, the lease should be forfeited; their chil- dren were disobliged in Sabbath-school and their feelings ungenerously wounded; the Sunday-school had dwindled, the church was running behind in meeting its indebtedness at the rate of $3,000 annually, the principal mortgage was in course of foreclosure, and a decree of sale actually issued. The Sab- bath evening lecture, the glory of the Tabernacle from Mr. Finney's day, "the great centre of its popularity, its useful- ness, its support, its success," established by order of the church immediately after the house was built, had been sup- pressed by the pastor, without authority, in order to drive the public into taking sittings. Mr. Hale further stated that the session had first claimed that the church had no right to control their proceedings, and, at the Annual Meeting, that they had no right to discuss them, and he proclaimed liberty as follows:
" I love liberty in the churches. It is the bond of union and the spring of energy. I love it in all my fellow-men. I love it in myself and I mean to keep it. I was born free and I mean to die free. I received liberty, civil and religious, from my parents. I intend to leave it, if I can, to my children. I contributed largely to the state of things which enabled this usurpation to be set up over us, and I do not intend to rest until I have fairly and fully thrown on you the responsibility of maintaining your rights or giving them up."
The following is an extract from a letter written by Mr. Hale to his son during this troublous period : *
" We have very good preaching at the Tabernacle and in religious privileges are very happy, though I am having no small controversy with our pastor and elders in consequence of their ultra-Presbyterian measures, which have been quite tyrannical. I hope you will be an advocate everywhere of self-government on the part of the people,
* Joseph P. Thompson, Memoir of David Hale, p. 94.
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
of democracy, of Congregationalism and the government of the people everywhere in church and state. Rich men will oppress, and a love of power and domination is too deeply fixed in us to be extirpated en- tirely by all the grace we get in the world." *
Dr. Thompson gives a carefully studied account of Mr. Hale's relation to the Tabernacle Church, at this time, and of the influences that made him a pronounced Congregationalist. He says :
" The effect of this discussion on the mind of Mr. Hale was to increase his jealousy of official prerogatives in a church, and his love for the free ecclesiastical institutions of New England. He began to study more attentively the Word of God with reference to the rudi- mental principles of church polity therein contained. Thus the provi- dence of God was preparing him to be, as it were, the parent of a new movement in the religious affairs of New York, and in the midst of ecclesiastical systems so long established here as to claim a sort of prescriptive right to the soil, to introduce successfully that simple and efficient system of church polity which has existed in New England from its first settlement, which is believed to have been substantially the system of the primitive churches, and which best secures Christian liberty and best develops Christian character. For such a movement there was needed a leader who could confront jealousy and bear the opposition even of brethren, who should be able to defend the cause he had espoused, one who could go forward, if need be, alone and in face of a virtual excommunication from Christian fellowship, to do what he felt to be important for the interests of truth and of Christ's kingdom." t
But the unrest continued, and clouds thickened around the church. Mr. Green's mortgage was foreclosed and the Taber- nacle advertised to be sold at auction. The elders and trus- tees did all in their power to keep the building in the hands of the church. A committee was appointed from other Presby- terian churches to devise some plan by which the Tabernacle could be kept for Christian uses. It was understood that both the Catholics and the Universalists were desirous of buy- ing it. Dr. Thompson continues :
" Meanwhile Mr. Hale had resolved in the last resort to buy the Tabernacle himself. He announced this intention to the trustees, re-
* Joseph P. Thompson, Memoir of David Hale, p. 94.
t Ibid., pp. 95, 96.
44
THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
questing to be notified whenever their own plans were finally abandoned. The committee from other churches, believing it impossible to ex- tricate the Tabernacle Church from its embarrassments, approved Mr. Hale's plan and recommended him to make the purchase."
In Dr. Thompson's historical discourse preached April 26, 1857,* we read that just before the day of sale, four or five gentlemen met in a salesroom over the office of the Journal of Commerce, to devise some mode of preserving the Tabernacle for religious uses. They sat in the twilight upon tea-chests scattered about the room, and conferred awhile about the course to be taken, and then knelt together to ask God's guidance and blessing. Mr. David Hale, over whose office the meeting was held and who had called it together, offered to buy the building on his own responsibility if these his friends would aid him in raising funds for cash payments. In the heat of spiritual fervor, but not without deliberation, was the sacrifice made that gave this church its being. En- dorsed and substantially aided by his friends, Mr. Hale bought the Tabernacle property at a chancery sale, July 2, 1840, for $34,363.74, a little more than half its original cost.
" On the evening of the day of the purchase, at a very full meeting of the Tabernacle Church (which then consisted of five or six hun- dred members), Mr. Hale informed them that he had bought the house for their benefit and that of the Christian public, and invited as many of the members as might be so disposed to unite with him in forming, in the Tabernacle, a Congregational church after the pattern of the primitive churches and the churches of New England. The officers of the church were unfavorable to this movement, and the result was that the members dispersed in various directions and the church became extinct." t
It is on record, later, that this church applied to the Third Presbytery of New York (New School) to be dismissed to the care of the Second Presbytery (Old School), but there is no record of its having been received into the Second Presbytery.
" Rev. Mr. Parker preached in the Tabernacle on the following Sab- bath, and on Monday evening, July 6th, the last meeting was held in * The Last Sabbath in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, 1857.
+ Joseph P. Thompson, Memoir of David Hale, p. 98.
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
the lecture-room of the building. Notwithstanding the recommenda- tion of the officers of the church, that the members should unite with other Presbyterian churches, and the public declaration that 'not ten respectable families in New York would attend a Congregational church,' at the close of the meeting some thirty or forty brethren remained to take measures for organizing such a church, and having conversed together upon the importance of the step they proposed to take, they kneeled down and prayed, commending themselves and the church about to be formed to the guidance and care of God. A com- mittee was then appointed to take measures for the formation of a Congregational church [consisting of Messrs. David Hale, Lucius Field and Marcus Hurd]. The movement was entered into with much spirit; several brethren from other churches joined in it, and after having agreed upon some permanent principles of government, articles of faith, a covenant and a form of admission, the persons whose evidences of piety had been made mutually satisfactory upon examination en- tered into covenant with each other, and with God, and constituted themselves a church of the Lord Jesus Christ under the name of Broad- way Tabernacle Church. The articles of faith, form of admission and covenant were substantially those of Park Street Church, Boston. . .
" To meet the obligations which he had assumed in the purchase of the Tabernacle, Mr. Hale was obliged to borrow immediately between nine and ten thousand dollars. His private resources at that time were limited, and the receipts of the Journal of Commerce were absorbed in the payment of its debts. 'Money was worth two per cent. a month, and property and credit were at the lowest ebb.' It was in such circum- stances that Mr. Hale bought the Tabernacle, not as a matter of specu- lation-although he might have made several thousand dollars out of the transaction-but for the public good. He shouldered a burden which Christians of ample fortune would not touch with their little finger. The foresight with which he planned this purchase, the energy with which he put his plans in execution, the zeal and patience and self-denial with which he labored through evil report to secure an important public benefit, evinced a great and noble mind. He risked all his resources and all his credit upon this one enterprise, for the sake not of gain but of good. He made the venture in faith, and God prospered him. When he bought the Tabernacle he had but little un- incumbered property. It was necessary for him to negotiate a loan of $9,533.82, which according to the terms of sale was to be paid in cash, the balance being payable by his own notes or bond to be liquidated by quarter yearly payments of $1,250, with interest on the principal sum. In this he was assisted by several gentlemen of high commercial standing and Christian character; among whom were Messrs. Erastus C. Benedict, James Boerman, James Brown, Benjamin F. Butler, Will-
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THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
iam W. Chester, William B. Crosby, Henry Grinnell, Robert T. Haines, Jacob Little, Sidney E. Morse, Christopher R. Robert and A. R. Wet- more. The following recommendation was given by three of the gentle- men above-named, who were appointed by a meeting called for the purpose, to 'confer with Mr. Hale in regard to raising the money wanted.' After stating the terms of the loan they say,
"' The undersigned, believing it to be very important that the Taber- nacle should be placed in such a position that it may be used when wanted by the various benevolent societies of the day and for other moral and religious purposes, deem it but just and reasonable that Mr. Hale should be aided in this laudable object by the Christian public, and trust he will receive aid, to the extent asked.
"' Wm. W. Chester, "' R. T. Haines, "' C. R. Robert.'
" These gentlemen did not agree with Mr. Hale in his views of Con- gregationalism, but they appreciated his motives in purchasing the Tabernacle, and had confidence in his integrity. With this aid Mr. Hale felt sure that he could make the building pay for itself by public uses." *
The church which had been formed on July 6th was pub- licly installed by an ecclesiastical council on September 3, 1840. The Council was composed of the following persons :
From the Congregational Church in Philadelphia, Rev. John Todd.
From the First Congregational Church in New Haven, Rev. Leonard Bacon and Deacon Nathan Whiting.
From the Spring Street Presbyterian Church, Rev. William Patton, D.D., and Dr. Alonzo S. Ball.
From the Mercer Street Presbyterian Church, Rev. Thomas H. Skinner, D.D.
From the New York Congregational Church, Rev. George R. Haswell and Deacon Munson Lockwood.
From the Providence Chapel Church, New York, Rev. Jo- seph Harrison and Deacon Dagraw.
From the Mission Church, New York, Rev. Peter Lock- wood and Deacon Joseph Harris.
From the High Street Church, Providence, R. I., Deacon Samuel Billings.
* Joseph P. Thompson, Memoir of David Hale, pp. 97, 98, 99, 100.
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
Rev. John Marsh and Rev. George Bush of New York.
Mr. David Hale and Mr. Marcus Hurd appeared before the Council in behalf of certain Christian brethren who wished to unite in Christian order and laid before the Council the Con- fession of Faith and form of Covenant. The certificates of the following persons from evangelical churches were handed in and found satisfactory :
Mr. David Hale,
Mrs. Lucy S. Hale,
Mrs. Lydia Hale,
Mr. John S. Savery,
Mr. Richard Hale,
Mr. Benjamin Waterbury,
Mr. Samuel Pitts,
Mr. Isaac E. Smith,
Mrs. Rhoda P. Pitts,
Mr. George Williams,
Mr. Samuel C. Hills,
Mr. Hervey F. Lombard,
Mr. Abel K. Thompson,
Mr. Charles G. Weight,
Mr. Israel Minor,
Miss Harriet Barry, Miss Jaquline Barry,
Mrs. Charlotte L. Minor,
Mr. Jacob Brinkerhoff,
Miss Lavinia Quackenboss,
Mrs. Mary G. Brinkerhoff,
Mr. George Dryden,
Mr. Silas C. Smith,
Mrs. Barbary Dryden,
Mrs. Mary Smith,
Miss Ann Hicks,
Mr. David I. Huntington,
Miss Catharine Alexander,
Mrs. Emily S. Huntington,
Miss Harriet S. Chamberlain,
Mr. David Bourne,
Mr. Stephen Pritchard,
Mrs. Mary Gray,
Mr. Asa K. Allen,
Mr. Francis N. Shaw,
Mr. William M. Ray,
Mr. Charles Roberts,
Mrs. Susannah Orr,
Mr. Martin Uhler,
Miss Elizabeth A. Wicks,
Mr. Augustus Hustace,
Mr. J. W. Fellows,
Mrs. Mary A. Fellows,
Mrs. Charlotte Crawford,
Mrs. Catherine Potter,
Mr. Alfred W. Smith, Mr. Leonard Crocker,
Mrs. Penelope Crocker,
Mr. William G. West,
Mr. Orange A. Smith,
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Miss Elva James,
Mrs. Eliza H. Bacon,
Miss Cordelia Halsey,
Mrs. Sarah Probasco,
Mr. Hezekiah Whitney, Miss Rachel B. Sickles,
Mr. Marcus Hurd,
Mrs. Fanny Hurd,
THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
Mr. John C. Cass, Mrs. Susan W. Cass,
Mrs. Rebecca J. Parker,
Mr. Alexander Patrick,
Mr. William G. Lambert,
Mrs. Louisa Patrick,
Mr. Asa Parker,
Mr. John W. Crane,
Mr. James E. P. Dean.
Articles for the regulation of the church were presented and approved. The sermon was preached by Mr. Bacon, the charge given by Mr. Todd, and the right hand of fellowship by Dr. Patton.
On September 14th the church elected Brothers Samuel Pitts, John C. Cass, William G. Lambert, and Israel Minor to be deacons.
The first meeting of the society was held in the lecture- room of Broadway Tabernacle, October 20, 1840, for organi- zation. Dr. Marcus Hurd was made chairman, Mr. A. K. Thompson, secretary, and six trustees were elected-Messrs. David Hale and Alonzo Calkins for one year; John C. Cass and William A. Coit for two years; Albert Woodruff and F. S. Grant for three years. The incorporation of the society was recorded in the office of Register of the City and County of New York, in Liber II. of Religious Incorporations, page 42, January 4, 1841, at 12 M.
Thus the present organization of the Broadway Tabernacle Church and Society was successfully launched.
Mr. Hale's account of these transactions, written to his son, is as follows:
" I look upon the purchase of the Tabernacle as an era in religious policy in all the country south of New England. We shall go for pure Congregationalism in all its simplicity. The story of the matter was on this wise. The Tabernacle was advertised for sale under a decree of the Chancellor on the 2d of July. Nine days before the time the rulers called the people together and disclosed to them the desperate state of their affairs. Mr. Parker had just before announced his resignation. At this meeting it was proposed to call Dr. Beecher, and the elders thought if the church would raise a large subscription, and call Dr. Beecher they could get help for the money. I said I did not think much of such expedients as calling Dr. Beecher, much as I should approve of
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
him as pastor, that time was precious, and I thought I could tell how the house could be saved. I thought Congregationalism could save it. They went on with calling Dr. Beecher, &c., and called meetings of Presbytery, until three days before the sale, when a committee of Pres- byterian elders called on me to know my plan. I disclosed my pecuniary means and plan of operations. The result was that they reported that it was inexpedient to attempt to extricate the old concern, but that I had better buy the house. I saw Mr. Green, the mortgage on whose claim the house was to be sold, on the next day after the committee called on me, made the arrangements I wished, and the next day after that bought the house at auction. I paid about $20,000 by my own notes, and $9,500 in cash. The cash was most of it loaned by Presby- terians for five years. The old church were astounded at the movement, and although compelled to praise what I had done in the highest terms, they were still so angry that they have left no stone unturned to do the new enterprise mischief. We have, however, been wonderfully prospered. Elder P. [itts] stands with us boldly, and is as happy as a prince in the new attitude of affairs. We are strong, however, with first-rate men for all posts, a capital choir, led by Mr. Andrews of the Academy of Music, and, above all, strong in the Lord, I trust. The course of the brethren is right. They start with prayer, and go on with firm and humble steps. Our pulpit has been well supplied for a month now since we separated.
" The events of Providence have wonderfully favored us. I did not dream of bringing in Congregationalism with the help of Presbyterians, but so it is, and it is most wonderful. It fills me with joy and gratitude to see what God has wrought. May the movement be greatly to His praise. Our church is not yet formed, but will be probably in a few days. I sent you in a bundle of papers, yesterday, a report of the Com- mittee on Covenant, Rules, &c. We are all wide awake and extremely happy." *
* Joseph P. Thompson, Memoir of David Hale, pp. 97, 98.
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CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST PASTORATE.
THE terms upon which Mr. Hale offered the use of the Tabernacle to the newly organized church were most generous. Dr. Thompson's intimate knowledge of both Mr. Hale and the church gives weight to his statement in regard to this agreement. He says :
" Mr. Hale's connection with the Tabernacle was widely misunder- stood and misrepresented. What he did for the glory of God and the promotion of Christian truth, liberty, activity and love, was imputed to the most narrow and selfish motives. Having bought the house entirely on his own responsibility at a time when his pecuniary re- sources were limited, and having given on account of the purchase his own notes to a large amount, he was obliged to open the house more freely to public uses in order that the income from these lettings might pay the interest on loans and mortgages, ground-rent, and other current expenses, in all exceeding four thousand dollars. In so doing Mr. Hale sometimes allowed the Tabernacle to be used for purposes which were disapproved by the church and the Christian community, and as neither the extent of his obligations, nor his agreement to surrender the prop- erty to the church at cost, were generally known, the impression went abroad that he rented the building for the sake of gain, and was de- riving a handsome income from worldly amusements. This greatly scandalized some good people, and furnished his political and personal enemies with an inexhaustible fund of satire and abuse. All this he bore good-naturedly, knowing that in due time the whole matter would be understood. He had some peculiar notions as to the purposes for which such a building as the Tabernacle should be used, but he was ever ready to regard the wishes of his brethren in the church, even when he had entire control of the building. For several years he had the sole management of the building, renting it as he had opportunity for public purposes, and transacting all the business pertaining thereto, -for none of which services did he ever receive a single cent for his own benefit. As soon as the new church was organized, Mr. Hale leased the Tabernacle to the ecclesiastical society or congregation for
5I
HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH 1
ten years at an annual rent of one thousand dollars. By the terms of this lease the congregation were to have the exclusive use of the audi- ence-chamber on the Sabbath, and of the lecture-room and other apart- ments during the week, and to receive all the revenue from pew-rents and collections, defraying their own expenses,-Mr. Hale reserving the right to let the building for miscellaneous purposes during the week, and engaging to meet all the expenses of the property. It was further stipulated, that at any time within the ten years, the Broadway Taber- nacle Society might purchase the property at cost, interest included, and that the net income of the building in the interim should constitute a sinking fund for such purpose. Thus Mr. Hale voluntarily put it out of his power ever to realize one dollar from what might have proved a most lucrative investment. He bought the Tabernacle at his own risk, intending that the property by its earnings should, as it were, redeem itself for the perpetual use and benefit of a Congregational church. An act so disinterested is hardly credited by a selfish world. Some sinister motive is ever suspected by those who know not what it is to forego self-interest for the glory of God." *
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