USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Youngstown > History of St. John's Episcopal Church, Youngstown, Ohio : with part of the history of St. James Church, Boardman, the pioneer parish of Ohio > Part 4
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Dedication of the New Church.
Although the Church was not quite complete in all its details, it was thought best to arrange for its formal opening on Sunday,
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May 22, 1898. The weather the day before had been rainy, with a severe hail storm in the evening, but Sunday came with clear sky and fresh, pure atmosphere, to help us appreciate more fully the beauty and glory of the occasion.
Early Communion services were held at 8 o'clock in the morn- ing, at which time over one hundred communicants availed them- selves of the sacrament which was administered by Rev. Mr. Frazer. Among those who participated was our Bishop, who, in civilian dress, came and took his seat with the congregation.
The regular dedication exercises took place at 10:30 A. M., and were conducted by the Rector, The Rev. A. L. Frazer, Jr., who, after the close of the morning prayer, presented a class of sev- enty-one persons to the Bishop for confirmation. This was one of the largest, if not the largest, class ever confirmed in the Dio- cese. After confirmation the Church was formally dedicated by our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. William A. Leonard, D. D., in an excel- lent address, which was reverently listened to by an audience of nearly one thousand people. At this service the following musical program was rendered : -
Prelude-Offertoire in D Minor Edward Batiste Communion in G Major . Edward Batiste
("Pilgrim's Song of Hope.")
Processional-" Ancient of Days " Jeffries
Venite-Chant No. 2 .
Te Deum-In G
Benedictus-Chant No. 97
James Knox
Hymn-No. 345
Hymn-No. 369
Anthem-" Praise ye the Father " Gounod
Retrocessional-" Jesus Meek and Gentle "
HI. De.K. Rider
Postlude-Wedding March . Mendelssohn (From " Midsummer Night's Dream.") .
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon a special service was held by the Sunday Schools of St. John's and St. James, which was very well attended by young and old.
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Mrs. Julia Bedell.
Mrs. Mary Goodhue Maxwell.
Two Well Remembered Friends of St. John's Church.
In the evening a special choral service was given, at which time Bishop Leonard and Rev. Frazer addressed the Sir Knights of St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar, who were in attend- ance in full uniform. Nearly nine hundred persons were at this service, which was the first full choral service ever had in our Parish. Mr. Frazer had thought it pleasant to hold services dur- ing the week, and to that end invited all former Rectors and Assistants to officiate each one evening, commencing on Monday, the 23rd. Previous engagements and illness prevented the accept- ance of the invitation by all but Revs. Avery and Claiborne, who were able to be present and address us, the former on Monday and the latter on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday evening our neighbor, The Rev. A. A. Abbott, of Christ Church, Warren, Ohio, favored us with an address. All of the services were well attended.
Gifts and Memorials.
One of the first, perhaps the first, gift to the new Parish was the Baptismal Font from the wife of Bishop Bedell. She wrote October 21, 1863, as follows : -
"GENTLEMEN OF THE VESTRY: - I hoped to have presented to St. John's Church, Youngstown, on this day of its consecration, a small, simple, white marble font. Circumstances have prevented its being ready on time, but the sculptor promises to send it to you next month. I trust that all who receive from it the waters of baptism will have their names written in the "Lamb's Book of Life. Respectfully,
JULIA BEDELL."
In 1874 Mrs. H. O. Bonnell gave the brass altar cross as a memorial of her father, A. G. Botsford.
Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Bonnell gave the brass offertory basins.
Two brass altar vases were given in 1880 by Mr. Thomas G. Botsford, of Louisville, Kentucky.
When the old Church was remodeled in 1880, Mrs. Grace Arrel, in addition to her subscription, defrayed most of the cost
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of the Sunday School room. Her sister, Miss Sallie Tod, gave the pews for the Church. A brass chandelier for the chancel was given by Mrs. Samuel Maxwell, the mother of the Rector. The fresco work was the contribution of the Rector and his wife. The altar, pulpit, prayer desk, and credence shelf were the gifts of the different Sunday School classes and a few parishioners. The silver Communion Service was given in 1890 by a few parishion- ers, two pieces being memorials, viz. : - The patten, by Mr. J. M. Reno, in memory of his mother, Mrs. Rachel Pentland Reno, and the chalice, by Mrs. Emiline Morris, in memory of her hus- band, Joseph Morris.
Mr. H. O. Bonnell gave the beautiful window, copied from the celebrated painting, "The Light of the World," by Holman Hunt. This window, which has been removed to the new Church, was a memorial to his little son, Henry Scott Bonnell, and Eliza Lynn Botsford, his wife's mother.
Most of the above gifts are still in use in the new Church. Only those gifts that are permanent, or have some special interest, have been noticed.
Gifts to New Church.
Mrs. Mary Julia Botsford Bonnell, desiring to give a memorial to her husband, engaged the services of Architect William Halsey Wood to design an altar and reredos. He gave his best efforts to the order, which was never completed, as he lay very ill when his assistant, Mr. Henry Baechlin, handed him the finished crayon sketch. Mr. Wood had, however, before his death, sent it on to Mrs. Bonnell for approval. Mrs. Bonnell employed Mr. Henry Baechlin to complete the design and make detail drawings, which he did with rare artistic skill. He also designed the pulpit and credence table, which are all in beautiful creamy white caen stone. The inscription on the altar and reredos is as follows: - "In loving memory of Henry O. Bonnell, 1839-1893."
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Mrs. Bonnell also gave the furnishings for the altar.
The credence table was given by Mrs. Bonnell in memory of her brother, Jared Kirtland Botsford, United States Navy, who died in 1864.
Mrs. Bonnell gave the pulpit in memory of her father, Archi- bald Grant Botsford, who died in 1870, and her brothers, John Edward Botsford (died 1888) and Thomas Grant Botsford (died 1882).
The two gargoyles over the main entrance to the vestibule are gifts of Miss Ethel Ysabel Bonnell, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Bonnell.
The stained glass window in the south transept, next to that of Mr. Bonnell's, is the gift of Mrs. Olive S. Botsford, of Poland, Ohio, and is in memory of her husband, Thomas Grant Botsford, 1839-1882.
The widow and children of James Rudge gave to his memory a stained glass window, placed in the south aisle of the nave.
Mrs. Sophia Manning, in memory of her husband, Henry Man- ning, Jr., gave an entire new set of books for Church service in the new Church, consisting of Bible, prayer books and hymnals for litany desk, lectern, altar, etc.
Trigg Brothers presented the Church with the beautiful mar- ble bowl which is a part of the new baptismal font.
The hymn cards and new rack were given by the " Willing Workers," the girl's society.
Through the united efforts of the ladies comprising the dif- ferent Church societies, enough money was raised to pay for the altar rail, marble rood screen, marble floor in the chancel, the steps to the chancel, and steps and foundation for altar and reredos. They also purchased cushions for the seats.
These societies are "The Ladies' Aid," "Daughters of the King," and one that gave a series of "Four O'clock Teas."
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Baptisms, Marriages, Etc.
The first baptism on the records of St. John's Parish was that of Henry Manning, son of John and Anna Sophia Manning, June 3, 1860, by Rev. A. T. McMurphy.
The first baptism in the Church on Wood street was an adult, Mr. Henry Onions, by Rev. Wyllys Hall, May 18, 1862:
The first baptism in the Church on Wiek avenue was on Sat- urday, May 21, 1898, the recipient being an adult, Miss Mary Natalie Wiek, daughter of George D. and Mary Chamberlain Wick.
The first confirmation class in the Parish was by Bishop Bedell, on May 26, 1861. Rev. A. T. MeMurphy presented the candidates, who were Mrs. Francis Harris, Emma Lewis and Fanny (Harris) Johnson. They had been baptized in the Church of England.
The first marriage on the Parish records was that of James Mackey to Mary Helen Ruggles, on Thursday, October 30, 1862, by Rev. Wyllys Hall, at the residence of Dr. Henry Manning.
The first burial in the Parish was Mrs. Emily S. Arms, wife of Freeman O. Arms, on June 12, 1861, by Rev. Mr. McMurphy. The first from the Church was that of Senior Warden Francis Reno, in 1864, by Rev. C. S. Abbott.
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1
Rev. A. T. McMurphy, Former Rector "St. James," Boardman, Ohio.
Rev. C. S. Abbott, Former Rector "Christ Church," Warren, Ohio.
Two of the Organizers of St. John's Parish.
Letter from the Rev. C. S. Abbott.
ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF ST. JOHN'S PARISH.
BELLEVILLE, ESSEX Co., N. J., FEB. 8, 1898.
MY DEAR SIR :- Enclosed is the photograph you requested. I did not know I had one.
I will give, as you requested, a few items concerning the organ- ization of Saint John's, as my private journal and memory will permit. There may be nothing, however, but what you already know. My impression is that by the Bishop's appointment, the Rev. Mr. McMurphy, Rector of the Parishes of Boardman and Canfield, was, nominally at least, in charge of the work. Being somewhat of , a retiring disposition, and rather avoiding than seeking prominence for himself, partly by his action and partly because of railroad com- munication with Warren, I was practically as much in charge as he was, and, in some respects, perhaps more so. My impression is, that the first service out of which the organization of the Parish took place was held by myself. At odd intervals in former years, clergymen had been invited, by friends or former parishioners, to visit them and hold service. But there was no thought, so far as I know, from these ministrations, of any permanent work as their result. I held service and preached, on the afternoon of Trinity Sunday, June 19, 1859. The Methodist Church was kindly loaned to us for the service. I may have held service before this date, but I have no recollection of it; at any rate, this was the beginning of the Church movement. It was understood that this was a positive effort looking to permanence, and from this time on the work was not allowed to cease. I would say here that the work was an as- sured success from the start. The Youngstown people, both Church- men and others, felt this way, and it must be added here, as a testimony of the Christian character and good feeling of our friends
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who do not walk with us, that there was no jealousy manifested. and, although they knew that the organization of an Episcopal Church meant to them a loss of some valuable members of their congregations, they loaned us willingly their Churches to thus take away a part of their strength. After a few Sundays, for some rea- son which I do not remember, our services commencing in the Methodist, were held in the Presbyterian Church.
On Thursday night, July 7, Mr. McMurphy and myself took the incipient steps towards organizing the Parish. The meeting was held in a small frame building, session room, I think it was called, on the grounds of and belonging to the Presbyterian Church. The Youngstown paper, the name of which I cannot recall, published the following notice of this meeting: -
"EPISCOPAL CHURCH MOVEMENT.
" A meeting of persons friendly to the Protestant Epis- copal Church was held Thursday evening (7th inst.), at which it was resolved to organize a Parish in this place. The Canons of the Church require the signatures of twenty persons favorable thereto before a Parish can be formed. We understand the committee for that purpose has ob- tained more than the requisite number. An organization would doubtless be advantageous in furthering the inter- ests of the Church here, as at present it is the proper business of no person to look after them, except in an individual capacity. An invitation was extended to Rev. Messrs. McMurphy and Abbott to preach here as often as practicable. These gentlemen, being present, announced that they would preach and conduct services once in two weeks, Rev. Mr. McMurphy on the first Sunday, and Rev. Mr. Abbott on the third Sunday of every month until further notice. A committee was appointed to take into consideration the practicability of providing a place for worship. There was a general desire expressed for some place exclusively their own, though a universal expression of gratitude was manifested towards other Churches for past favors in this way. The meeting ad- journed subject to call, which will probably be announced next Sunday. Rev. Mr. Abbott will preach next Sunday at the Methodist Episcopal Church at 3 P. M."
This arrangement lasted until Rev. Wyllys Hall became Rector. On Tuesday, November 29, Bishop Bedell visited Youngstown, 1 accompanying him. On Friday, December 9, the organization of the Parish was completed, at a meeting at which I was present and presided. I do not know if your present Church is on the site of
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the first one. It was a beautiful location on the top of the hill, on the edge of a very pretty tract of woodland, which I suppose you have spoiled by removing the trees, opening streets, and build- ing houses. The plan selected for the Church was at the suggestion of Mr. Jewell, being that of a wooden building planned by the Architect Upjohn, which was located at Sodus Point, Western New York, his former home, I believe. Like all adoptions of a building designed for one locality, erected in a different locality, and without consulting the architect as to alterations, and withal built of dif- ferent material, it was of course architecturally deficient. However, you all know what it was, and its defects in a Churchly point of view, both inside and outside. Nevertheless I do not propose to criticize; it looked very neat and tasty, and we all were pleased at having a settled habitation and home. It is with great pleasure I recall the dear old friends who welcomed me to their homes with open hearts. I can see them all now, although most of them, I presume, are in Paradise, while those who are on earth must be as greatly changed as I am myself. One of the blessings of the future will be resuming old friendships and loves, taking up the threads of life .where death had broken them. We laid foundations in faith, we saw the, building in hope. We have lived long enough to know that the foundations were well and wisely laid, and that the build- ing is advancing to its completion.
I do not suppose but few of your congregation know anything about me. I send most hearty congratulations on the completion of your new Church. I invoke for you the highest blessings of God's grace. Generation after generation passes away, but all form but one body. One enters into the labors of another, but, after all, the work and its results are the joint product of all. As God has been with you in the past, so may He be with you for all time.
Faithfully your friend,
C. S. ABBOTT.
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Sermon on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1898.
BY OUR RECTOR, ABNER L. FRAZER, JR.
"Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was cruci- fled. He is not here, for He is risen." -ST. MATT., 28: 5-6.
Y Es, the glad news is borne down through the centuries, "He is risen." Our King has proved Himself the rightful sov- ereign. He rules all things. The last enemy of man has been vanquished. Death no longer reigns supreme, no longer does he hold in thrall the people of the earth. His reign has been broken, for the Death Conquerer has come, and has proved Ilis everlasting victory. The history of the life of Christ upon earth closes with a miracle as great as that of its beginning. It may be said that the one casts light upon the other. If He was what the Gospel represents Him, He must have been born of a pure virgin, without sin, and He must have risen from the dead. If the story of His birth be true, we can believe the resurrection ; if that of His resurrection be true, we can believe that of His birth. The resurrection is the keystone of the arch. In His life upon earth we start with the incarnation. He was born of a virgin, the arch is reared and ends with the ascension, and the keystone is the resurrection. This arch, beautiful in its symmetry,
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rears itself proudly and grandly, finished and capped with the resurrection. This is the entrance into the Holy of Holies, this is the way of life, this it is which beautifies and adorns the Christian Church, the very center and being of the Church, that which holds the building in its perfectness and gives it grandeur and perfection. To us of the congregation there is a beautiful significance in the Easter Day. Our new life is begun. We have longed, and waited, and hoped, but the day has come at last. The sun of righteousness has shown with brilliant light, full of life and activity, in the dawning of a brighter day. How much alike are those two great days in the world's history, Christmas and Easter day. Each one speaks of life, new life. Each has its lesson of growth, activity, and development. Each is ushered in with glad refrain from Heaven, with God's good news to man. For at each, God's ministering angels convey to man the glorious tidings of good things. On Christmas it is the angels that say to men, "Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy ; " and at Easter angelic messengers say, "Fear not, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen." The Christmas message comes to a waiting and expectant world, lying in sin and desiring a Savior. The Easter message comes to a despondent people, who had looked for great things, but had been disappointed in their hopes, despondent, doubting, almost desperate. Gloom and dark despair filled the hearts of the little band which had companied with Jesus for three years. The dark clouds of death had settled as a pall, on that Friday many centuries ago, on the hearts and minds of the Disciples and friends of Jesus. Their activities had ceased, their growth had stopped suddenly. Like the Winter blast upon the vegetation of the earth life had ceased its energizing force, a benumbing cold had taken hold upon the heart and mind, death had come. But it was not to hold its reign so long that ener- gizing life could not come back. The three short days, so long
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to those who waited, had not utterly killed all life. The Sun of life had only to cast his first full beams upon the nature of men's hearts to bring back life, and to startle the world into newer and greater activities and growth. The news that Jesus lives was as startling to the Disciples as to us. It was too good to be true. They could not understand it, even after they had been with Him, and had seen the many wonderful works He per- formed. It was marvelous, in their eyes. They had witnessed His death, and had known of His burial; their hearts had gone down into the grave with Him. They had not the heart to fab- ricate any theory, nor would they have had the boldness or the means to foist upon the suspicious Jews, who, no doubt, were watching every movement, both at the tomb where Jesus lay and the Disciples themselves. Then, too, we must remember that the Roman soldiery was on the side of the Jewish authorities, and not with the Disciples. So that any theory started by the ad- herents of Jesus, which was not true, would have met with instant denial, and with such repressive measures as to have stopped the work of the Disciples once and forever. Men loved life in those days as they do now, and men today do not give up life for false ideas. One great fault with those who stumble at this marvelous work of God is that they do not grant unto the men of those days the feelings and dispositions which are common to man. They are not willing to project themselves back in their minds to those days; they are not willing to give the men of those days the credit they themselves would desire under like circum- stances. To realize the feeling of the Disciples of our Lord at the time of the resurrection, we must put ourselves back in their place. We must in our minds enact the great scenes of Good Friday. We must recall their hopes, as they mounted up at each progressive step in the active life of Christ, and then we must see those hopes dashed to the ground by the death. upon the Cross. We must recall that these men had been under the
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moral and spiritual instruction of Jesus, who is the Truth, and who would not countenance lying, deception and hypocrisy. How can we even for a moment accept any other hypothesis than the truth, that the Disciples believed the resurrection, and that their belief was founded upon fact ? Then, too, God sends His own message by His own appointed messenger, an angel. This was the most unique, the grandest, episode in the life of humanity. All its surroundings were necessarily strange, but it was only the fulfillment of all that had been said regarding the Messiah in the Old Testament, and is the only natural outcome of all that belonged to Him who is the Resurrection and the Life. If Jesus is God, then death could not hold Him. If we believe He had power to give life to others, then surely He has power to give life unto Himself. It is not as though this was unforseen by Him, for many times during his ministry he spake of it to the Apostles. The most significant of these sayings, and that of which He was accused by the Jews, was, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." And St. John, writing long after the resurrection, says, " But he spake of the temple of His body." The message of the angel is full of the deepest and most significant meaning. It conveys to us who are following the life of Christ the lessons of comfort and hope, but also those of activity, growth, and development. Where there is life there is not only hope, but activity and growth. And the Christian Church, with its enormous influence, is today the greatest proof of the resurrection of Christ, for, as we have said, the resurrec- tion is that which finishes and holds the great temple of God to- gether, the building not made with hands eternal in the Heavens. St. Paul's great argument on the resurrection is mos+ pointed : - "Now if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain; yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not." The
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resurrection was the sum and substance of the preaching of the Apostles. This was the center out from which radiated the great thought of Christian life. If this were not true, then the mes- sage was vain, empty, a mere assortment of words and phrases without a soul; a doctrine which, if it could be called a doctrine, was devoid of all that entitled it to. command the attention of human beings. As the resurrection is life out of death, so the Christian influences are giving life to palsied and dead impulses. We have only to compare the energy in morals and spiritual life today, with those of some centuries ago, to see the activities of the Christian Church. The writer of "Gesta Christi" uses the following words : - " There are certain practices, principles, and ideals, now the richest inheritance of the race, that have been implanted, or stimulated, or supported, by Christianity. They are such as these: Regard for the personality of the weakest and poorest; respect for woman; the absolute duty of each mem- ber of the fortunate classes to raise up the unfortunate; human- ity to the child, the prisoner, the stranger, the needy, and even the truth; unceasing opposition to all forms of cruelty, oppression, and slavery ; the duty of personal purity, and the sacredness of marriage; the necessity of temperance; the obligation of a more equitable division of the profits of labor, and of greater co-opera- tion between the employer and employed; the right of every human being to have the utmost opportunity of developing his faculties, and of all persons to enjoy equal political and social privileges; . the principle that the injury of one nation is the injury of all, and the expediency and duty of unrestricted trade and intercession between all countries; and finally, and princi- pally, a profound opposition to war, a determination to limit its evils when existing, and to prevent its arising by means of inter- national arbitration." These words convey to us, in some meas- ure, the great work accomplished by the Christian Church as it has advanced the ideas of energizing life and growth, which are
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founded and depend upon the resurrection of our Lord and Mas- ter, Jesus Christ. The work of Christ was not finished after His death; rather it was just begun; and this is the great lesson of hope for us who remain. Death does not end all; rather it opens the way to better and greater work. God teaches us this lesson in Nature. At this season of the year all Nature is alive. Its greatest activities come in the Spring, after the rest in Winter's grasp. The trees and shrubs send their sap into the fartherest twig to give them life and growth. The seeds swell and burst in preparation for their greater work of usefulness and beauty. And so the soul, after death, prepares for its greater work of useful- ness and beauty, the very beauty of holiness and service. But what was true of our Lord after the resurrection, and of Nature as it wakes at Spring, and of the soul in its rehabilitation at the great day of resurrection, is equally true of the Church, corpor- ately and individually. The Church must rise out of its lassitude and inertness into greater effort. Each year, each day, brings it greater growth and its higher duties. There are more souls to be saved, better lives to live, more work to be done in arousing con- science, more influence to be exerted in moral and spiritual direc- tions. The world is not as it should be, and can be; much more of the spirit of the Master can be used by the world. God's will is not yet done on earth, as it is in Heaven. For all these rea- sons the resurrected life and energy must be instilled into the world by the Church, and this is to be done by the efforts of the individual. Man must assume the life energy of the Risen Christ. The angel messengers say to us this day, "Fear not, for I know ye seek Jesus, which was crucified." He is not in the grave of death; death hath no power to hold Him, for Hle is risen, and man can return the thrilling answer, "Yes, He is risen, indeed." My heart burns within me as I feel His risen life urging me on to greater effort, to larger spiritual growth, to more activity. And we have a double reason to rejoice on this glad
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