USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 37
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not getting along very well, but, thank the Lord, none of the others are doing any better," and in the face of similar conditions a Methodist church at Gomer recently went in a body to the Congregationalists, and by uniting the churches doubled their advantages and halved their dif- ficulties.
An old account says: "In the early history of the Allen County churches the circuit rider had large parishes ; he was a welcome guest in the log cabin homes, and in the log schoolhouses where he preached the gospel to the people who came from miles around to hear him; now the same gospel is preached in beautiful, commodious and modern churches." Theologians and sacred historians say of the religious denomi- nations that had their beginning in history have not made the growth
WHEN CHURCHES HAD SPIRES INSTEAD OF PIPE ORGANS
in numbers that has been true of churches of later origin; and yet the earlier churches stood for definite conviction ; the church of Mayflower origin was the earliest in United States history, and yet many churches have outstripped it in numerical development. "Train up a child in the way it should go," and it is a truism that the man or woman who had church training in childhood seldom strays so far that he does not in time return to it.
The man with a distinctive message always has an audience; when God calls a man to preach He calls the people to hear him; some may not agree with the oft-reiterated assertion, but quite as often the fault lies in the pulpit as in the pew. The minister who said Firstly, Amen; Secondly, Amen ; Thirdly, Amen, had condensed his sermon more than the average minister. The short sermon has its claim on the pewholder in most churches. It is commonly understood that Dr. J. J. Muir, chap- lain of the United States Senate, was invited to fill the position because
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of the uniform brevity of his prayers ; his first prayer before that august body contained forty-nine words, and it is supposed to forecast the later prayers, Doctor Muir being expected to "boil -down" everything. While the gospel of love is the keynote today, and no one is frightened into heaven, the theology of the past was total depravity in expounding man's accountability to God. The old-time religion embraced principles that many who sing that song, dream not of today. The viewpoint of all theological leaders changes, and the accepted conditions of the past are in the distance today.
The business men of America recognize religion as the only solution of the political, commercial and industrial problems; America's future demands a spirit of service; the church is a body of believers associated in the work of Christ; it is only a matter of accommodation that the place in which they meet is called a church; it may be a public or a private place; the pioneers met in the homes; no matter what the place as long as it is a powerhouse of spiritual energy. Aye, the American civilization of today owes its existence to the white steeples surmounting the churches of other years; there were bells in the steeples calling the populace to worship; these structures, and the praying people assembled in them, prepared the foundation on which all commercial structures and great industries rest today; religion must be found side by side with industry in order to secure the peace of the world. Since the brother- hood of man begins with the manhood of the brother, the early church was on the highway to better things.
There was a time when the work of the church was practically all done by the women, but the brotherhoods came along and relieved them -the Father and Son movement, the Elder Brother-all have combined to change conditions. Men are today taking advantage of the social and educational opportunities offered in the Brotherhood meetings, and some of the former brothers-in-law to the church are becoming identified with it themselves. In a Lima church this placard was on the wall at a Brotherhood meeting :
Happy New Year, all of you-wonder why the old church grew- You, you and you must keep comin'-yes, we'll keep the women sewin'.
The dollar a plate service added to the exchequer-the women had a social evening, and the men listened to a travelogue worth the money. The Brotherhood dinner has largely supplanted the donation party, it one time being the custom for all to meet at the parsonage with a pound of something useful to the minister-the pound party of the past.
While the Interchurch World movement was unable to secure data in Allen County except from the rural churches, the survey everywhere demonstrated conclusively the utter impossibility of uniting the different denominations on any definite evangelistic basis, since the ministers are multiplied who hesitated about giving out statistical information. The decadence of the rural church has long been a problem in society, and the city minister knows the depressing influence of an auditorium filled with empty pews. While there are fewer abandoned churches in Allen than in some other counties, there are changed community centers. In view of the situation the National, State and County Religious Survey was planned, and through it people are learning of the under and over- churches communities. Persons with undimmed recollection of the hazy past, remember with regret that men and women who appeared in their best raiment when some of the now little used churches were dedicated to the worship of Almighty God have moved into other parts of the
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mortal heritage, or sleep in the church yards and do not know of the seeming desecration.
The men of affairs in every community are interested in the moral welfare, and they have respect for the church even though their names may not be on its roster. It is leaders rather than drivers the world needs today. It needs men with their feet on the ground even though their heads are in the clouds. The dreamers always have opened the way for material things, and idealism still precedes realism in the church as in the rest of the world. The survey has shown the overlapped church parish both in town and country, the majority of people in the towns passing other churches to reach their own, and since only about 25 per cent of the population attends church there are something like 17,000 communicants in Allen County. With a 75 per cent non-church going population, the missionary slogan, "Go ye into all the world," may be changed to Allen County alone. There are some who advocate home missions.
While the Fort Amanda church effort was prehistoric as far as the Allen County of today is concerned, it would seem that the Methodists were first in Lima. The cornerstone at Trinity indicates as much; the whole story is told in imperishable stone; in 1829 there was a mission; in 1832 there was a church organization; in 1835 there was a mission house, and in 1852 there was a church; in 1872 there was a second church, and in 1910 the present magnificent edifice. While the Allen County circuit rider was once the Apostle of Methodism, Trinity is now said to be the seventh largest Methodist Church in the world; its home missionary society of 800 members is said to be the largest similar organization in the world. There is a membership of 2,000, and the church is active in all of its departments.
It is said that the Rev. Jesse Prior of St. Marys was the Methodist Episcopal circuit rider when the first marriage was celebrated in Lima, and that he performed the ceremony in 1833-the Saxon-Jones nuptials. There are divergent accounts of the organization of Trinity, one writer saying that in 1833 John Alexander and James Finney, missionaries from St. Marys, visited the community and established the church. It seems that Patrick G. Goode had organized a Sunday school two years earlier. The church at Market and Union streets has long ago been converted to other uses, although the framework still stands there. The parsonage of Trinity at Market and Elizabeth is still intact, and it is said that when the church had stood for thirty-five years the walls had been so well built it was difficult to raze it. The congregation needed a larger edifice in which to worship, and it was planned to remove farther from the business center, the site of the Lima Club being under consideration. However, it was not on the market and a site was chosen only one square from the old one. The present edifice was dedicated on March 17, 1912, and it is one of the most attractive pulpits in Methodism. The centenary apportionment to Trinity was $78,000, but being a missionary church committed to the Lima habit, it overreached its apportionment and raised $123,000, thus holding its place in the denomination at large. Other Methodist churches in Lima are: Grace, Epworth and Second Street, all doing excellent work in their respective commnities. The Methodist Episcopal Church is also found in the rural community. There are Methodist churches in Bluffton, Delphos and Spencerville. The Rev. J. M. Mills, who is assistant minister at Trinity, is the one Methodist Episcopal minister whose permanent home is in Allen County.
While the Presbyterians are at least contemporary with the Metho- dists, the Market Street Presbyterian Church having been organized
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August 24, 1833, by the Rev. James Cunningham and the Rev. Thomas Clark, there are also other churches: Olivet in Lima, and churches in Bluffton, Delphos and Gomer. In the beginning the Presbyterians had their differences, and their difficulties, but today they are committed to a program of evangelization and are progressive, holding their own with other denominations. When the Market Street Presbyterian Church was organized it had fourteen charter members, and in 1879 it began the construction of its present church edifice, completing and dedicating it one year later. Cornerstone information is public property, but not all building committees have seen fit to furnish it.
The Baptists were early, and in the first half century about all the denominations were planted in Allen County that are here today-1870 being considered the semi-centennial in local history. In 1854 came Zion's Evangelical Lutheran Church with its preliminary missionary service, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church began its missionary existence in 1870, although it was not chartered until ten years later. The German Reformed Mission was established in 1865, the minister riding on horse- back from Riley Creek to conduct the service. Calvary Reformed Church was organized in 1894, in Lima. The Wayne Street Church of Christ was organized December 2, 1869, and the South Side Church of Christ, March 2, 1897, and this denomination is represented in other Allen County communities. As a denomination it has made rapid growth.
As early as 1870, there were occasional Episcopalian church services in Lima, and in 1873 there was a mission. In 1874, a lot was secured and in 1878 a church was built on it. In 1920, this church was rebuilt and its windows present some interesting studies in art. There are both liberal and radical branches of the United Brethren Church, the difference arising within the last generation over secret societies. There are Chris- tian churches in Lima, Delphos, Spencerville, West Cairo, Lafayette, Harrod and Westminster with enough rural charges to bring the number up to fourteen. The Rev. G. R. Mell is the one permanent Allen County minister in this denomination. There are Methodist Protestant churches in Westminster and other communities. When the Mennonites first located in Allen County they began holding preaching services in the homes, those deemed best fitted becoming the ministers. Usually three different persons had turns in the preaching service. This denomination centers at Bluffton. The Lima Congregational Church was established March 18, 1887, and there had long been a Welsh Congregational Church at Gomer.
The Catholic Church is elsewhere mentioned since it was early, and has a strong foothold in the community. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Lima received its charter August 20, 1898, opening with twenty-one adherents. The C. S. Brice homestead was dedicated to its use November 5, 1916; the tenets of this church are the same as the mother church in Boston. Temple Beth Israel, the Jewish Synagogue in Lima, was erected in 1914 the Jewish year 5674 and over the door is this inscription : "Mine House of Prayer for All Peoples." It is said there are Spiritualists, Swedenborgians and other religious cults, and there have been meetings held in tents-different religionists finding expression of themselves through different instrumentalities. The story is told of the boy who crawled under the side of a tent thinking he was gaining admittance to the circus, but when he found himself in a religious meeting he lost all interest in it.
The Salvation Army is recognized by evangelical churches, and for a quarter of a century it has been active in Lima. In May, 1919, the whole community co-operated in a financial drive, securing $30,000 for
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
the army, and the Kibbey homestead was purchased and a memorial hall is to be built there. The community leader was A. W. Wheatley in secur- ing the money. Ensign and Mrs. G. E. Purdum were then in charge of the local army. The Salvation Army distinguished itself through its doughnut service in the World war, and Lima has always been liberal in its support of the work in the local field. A personal story comes from Westminster, that Mrs. Rebecca Creps one time built and sustained an English Reformed Church there. She and her husband. Alexander Creps, had prospered in the community. When he died he left her with plenty, and this church was her monument to him. She was a devout woman, and she assumed all operating expenses-minister's salary and janitor service. When the church was struck by a cyclone, the com- munity never rebuilt it.
In the annals of the Welsh community is the statement that in 1838, when Rev. B. W. Chidlaw of Paddys Run first preached in the Welsh tongue to the people of the settlement in the home of James Nicholas, the pulpit was improvised from clapboards. In 1913, when the community was reviewing its seventy-five years of church history, the Rev. William Surdival of the Welsh Congregational Church at Gomer, said: "The fathers have labored and sacrificed that their descendents might have the benefit, so be careful how you build," and among the permanent Welsh ministers were: Revs. Michael Martz, Henry Morris, A. R. Brebbs, John W. Thomas and David Jones. There have been Presbyterian, Congre- gational, Christian, Methodist and Baptist church spires in the com- munity. The organ was introduced into the first Welsh church in 1857, and the congregation was divided in sentiment about it. The first log church among the Welsh was built in 1841, and an old account says of it : "The building was not large and the architecture was not grand, and the interior furnishings were not elaborate, but it was larger and better than any of the cabins of the pioneers who built it."
The Welsh are a religious people; and they were not long satisfied without a church in the community. The first one was the Calvanistic Congregational Church at Cambria, and James Nicholas donated one acre of land for it. It was a hewed log house with clapboard roof, and the seats were made from logs split in halves; there were wooden pins for the legs and while the seats were substantial they were neither ornamental nor comfortable. The pulpit of lumber encased the preacher, and while a tall man could see over it the short man was hidden in it. When a minister short of stature was engaged to fill the pulpit a thick plank was laid in the bottom of it. The communion service consisted of a brown earthen jug with two tin cups made flaring and without handles for the pulpit wine; there were two queensware plates for the bread. The indi- vidual communion service was then a long time in the future. The baptismal font was an ordinary earthen table bowl. Instead of lockers or wardrobe service, wooden pegs were driven in the walls for the hats, shawls and overcoats. The checking service was unknown in the Welsh community.
While the Welsh were given to Sabbath observance, it is related that David Morgan, who was a strict Sabbatarian, was coming out of the meadow one day with a load of hay when he noticed vehicles about the church; as soon as he gained the road with his load, church was dis- missed and he led the procession highly mortified about it, while the rest of the community enjoyed it. It was not a case of an ox in the ditch, since Mr. Morgan had simply failed to consult the almanac. The story is told of a Lima woman who recently dressed for church attendance, notwithstanding the protest from her family, and a neighbor was con-
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sulted before she was convinced that it was Saturday. She was not a Seventh-Day Adventist, but was wrong in her calculations.
The common cup in church communion service is not much used in Allen County since the Thomas Individual Cup Communion Service is on the market. It is a Lima enterprise, the service being designed by Rev. J. G. Thomas, M. D., whose combined experience as pastor and physician suggested it. The design of the pattern emphasizes the quiet dignity of a beautiful communion service. This was the first individual cup service to receive letters patent in the United States, and the dis- cussion arising from it has hastened the abolishment of the public drink- ing fountain. Numerous sanitary reforms have followed in the wake of the individual communion service; its inventor had noticed a communi- cant with a diseased mouth condition, and at once recognized the need of it. The Thomas Communion Service is now used in 40,000 churches, and the demand for it has placed Lima on the map of the church world. It is a dignified aid to the spiritual participation in the most intimate form of the holy church sacrament. It suggests reverent meditation- communion in the fullest spiritual sense without thought of contagion, and there are trays or cabinets as are desired for the use of the service. Cupholders may be attached to the backs of the pews, or the cups may be returned to the outer circles in the service.
Just as there is a changed theology there are changed methods in church service; a local writer has said: "Now that Billy Sunday has been here and shown us our shortcomings," and then she indicated that peo- ple would go on in about the same way; some had taken a stand for better things. While Lima is not a wide open town, some of its citizens are not strictly in favor of the Blue Laws with reference to Sabbath. observance. A local judge said: "I don't interpret the Bible, saying 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,' as meaning that people are to sit around in idleness all day. There are men who work every day except Sunday ; if they can have no pleasure on that day, they have no pleasure at all." A local minister was quoted as saying: "In Lima the large majority of church members attend theaters on Sunday," but in another city where a minister had explained the lack of church attendance by saying the church members were at the theaters on Saturday night, a newspaper tested the matter by telephone, finding that less than 10 per cent among fifty random calls were at the theaters.
It was Billy Sunday who said the dancing church member was an abomination to the Lord, but there seems to be conscientious backsliders in every community. While the theaters do not shut down on account of weather conditions, some of the churches are closed on Sunday nights, and the members are free to follow their own inclinations. The churches have vacation periods while the theaters are open all of the time. The enriched church service is a successful way of counteracting the attrac- tions of the theaters. "The new songs and the good old songs add to the meeting all that perfume adds to the flower; some songs like gathered rose leaves are permanently sweet ; but most songs like most flowers lose their perfume when they grow old," and yet some of the lofty old hymns of the church seem to withstand the tests. Some one described the enriched service as "Interesting, spectacular and gripping, and they don't have a moment to say their prayers," and such an experience seems to defeat the purpose of the enriched service. The pipe organ has sup- planted the church spire in many instances, and there is no lack of music in Allen County churches.
While some pray others pay, and the church is not without its prob- lems today. While Martha of old was worn with much serving, it was
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
said that Mary had chosen the better part, and men and women will always have different understandings of things. There have been intel- lectual and spiritual changes in the passing years, and denominational lines are not so severely drawn in Allen County today. The twentieth century has witnessed many changes, and churches co-operate today which once were separated by hatred and bitterness. It is a stock story that when a city church choir was singing "Will there be any stars in my crown?" the answering refrain from the choir across the street rang out, "No, not one; no, not one," but local church fellowship has been demonstrated frequently. The nation-wide religious survey has revealed the fact that church members are more prosperous than men outside of the churches, and while "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof,"
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ST. MATTHEWS CHURCH SUBSCRIPTION, OCTOBER 1, 1844
in the Allen County churches are very many men and women who are conscientious in their giving-who bring tithes into the storehouse; one- tenth of everything is consecrated to Christian purposes.
The budget system is proving satisfactory in Allen County churches, many giving on the first day of the week as the Lord has prospered them, and it is urged: "The life of a church is vitally related to the fre- quency of its public preaching service." While the cost of living has increased, the minister's salary has been increased in some instances, and the every-member-canvas insures the support of the ministry. The community center occupied by but one religious denomination simplifies conditions, and it is said the stove is the only warm religious thing in some of the multiplied churches of today. While the church bell is still heard, the modern church does not have the steeple adapted to it. There is still a religious sentiment in connection with the steeple and the church bell in it, and whether or not they admit it most people have religion-
Vol. I-19,
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will at least defend the religion of their ancestors; since people have automobiles they "go and go and go," while the church bell says : "Come, come, come," and one student of the church-going problem exclaimed : "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy," is an economic impossi- bility as long as there are Saturday night band concerts, and the stores in all the towns remain open until the "wee small hours." He had arrived at the conclusion that the business men shared the responsibility for Sabbath desecration.
Lima grocers seem to have outgrown the late Saturday night habit, and 9 o'clock finds some of the stores in darkness ; as long ago as when delivery horses were used by grocers, there was agitation of the Sabbath observance question ; the argument was advanced that late Saturday night buying was a hardship to the grocers, their clerks, the delivery boys and the horses that were driven late into the night. The Sunday dinner entails hardships upon the housewives, and the Sabbath observance agitators hark back to the customs of the forefathers who stopped business on Saturday afternoon in order to properly prepare themselves physically, mentally and spiritually for the next day's religious service. There are special church days-go to church Sundays, Mothers' days, Fathers' days and Children's days and many strenuous efforts are made to attract all of the people into the churches; while "the very looks of some of the pioneer ministers would frighten sinners from the errors of their ways," the gospel messenger is not necessarily a forbidding looking character.
The church in any community is an asset-the real-estate dealer's hobby, the price of land always being advanced because of it. While the choir is recognized as the war department in many churches, music is admitted as a feature to increase church attendance. While those who want back seats must come early, the future gives promise of the shifting pulpit in order that the minister may meet them half way when they stray into the service. While "Jesus paid it all" is a popular song, there is something left for the individual to do when the church becomes the efficient center of the community. God and one are called a majority, and "Where two or three are gathered together" there is established a community of interests.
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