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 6
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promise of the Lord Himself. And that onward gaze to each should show the latter glory to be greater than anything the Fathers dreamed of; a glory filling the Church and the nation, bringing contentment to united Christians of every name, the harmonious dwelling together of brethren; this the "peace that passeth understanding." And, finally and briefly, what we have anticipated for this Parish, and the greater communion of which it is an integral part, must be announced and held in larger con- cept for Christianity itself. As the atmosphere pervades all earth spaces, so must the vital power of the Son of God, the world's Redeemer, relate itself to humanity. And as the sun, arising in darkness, rides the meridian in glorious, all-suffusing brightness, and sets in the splendor of his glad accomplishment, so do the inspired words assure us that the Sun of Righteousness shall lift up His healing wings upon all nations, and enfold them beneficently, and warm them into appreciative responsive life, and only cease His endeavors when, at the last, the world kindreds shall bend their allegiance unto their Lord and King. That fact does not seem possible now. Again are we beset with the impulse to reckon by figures; we make our poor and petty little calculations, and estimates, and comparisons; we think of the ratio and pro- portion of Christian adherents, to heathendom, and to the vast armies of indifferentists, and the myriads who have eyes and yet see not, and we are dismayed and wonder if, "when the Son of Man shall come, He will find faith on the earth." And we show our own lack of faith by such misgivings. "With God all things are possible," and He who hath wrought will still work, for He hath sworn by Himself, and that oath cannot fail. And He hath said, " I will fill this house with glory "; "I will subdne nations under me, and peoples beneath my feet "; "The latter glory of this house, of my Kingdom, of my power, shall be greater than the former, greater than hath yet been imagined," and " I will give peace, saith the Lord." And how irrational we are, too, in
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our methods of deduction. We do not make an a priori argu- ment about Christianity; we forget the past; we omit from cal- culation the triumphs hitherto; we do not recall that in four centuries the imperial Eagles passed beneath the shadow of the Cross, and that the crucified Lord became the conqueror of Cæsar. We do not seem to see that the civilization we luxuriate in, the comforts, and liberties, and privileges of life, our reasonable gov- ernments, our extended commerce, our whole modus vivendi, would not- nay, could not- have been, without Christ. The entire philosophy of life is revolutionized, or better, is leavened, by Christianity; and that which is most hopeful for the nations today, is the wider and still wider spreading range of the silent, yet all effective, force of Christianity. Today, that is not toler- able in any department of experience which is lacking in Chris- tianity. Art, education, law, traffic, literature, philanthrophy, philosophy, culture, and even war, each, if accorded place among peoples of intelligence, must bear the impress of Christ's touch, in which Christian nations are the masters of the world, and even treaties are not accomplished, of a ranking standard save with such distant races as at last come suppliant to the terms of the Lord. Yes, we are lacking in faith, as well as in hope, if we hesitate to doubt that God can, by His mighty power, and if he wills, "convert a nation in a day," for when His light shall emit its penetrating shafts as at Pentecost, the convincing and convicting results will follow, and the thousands that hear shall meekly and gladly accept the voice of the Son of God. Antici- pation is the keynote of the right-minded disciple, and absolute confidence in the success of the armies of the Lord of hosts must be the inspiration of our patriotism, for, says one of the wisest Christian thinkers of our century, "Skepticism is uniformly pessimistic. Faith alone soars and exalts. To the man who is doubtful about this religion, who looks upon it with either critical incredulity or the frigid complacence of an outside amateur, the
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world almost always grows daily darker. To the missionary laborer in far lands, mastering with difficulty unknown tongues, surrounded by unfamiliar arts and dusky faces, toiling for years to make a few souls know something of Him who taught in Pal- estine, the future is as certain as if he touched it; and that future, to his exulting expectation, is to be as radiant with glory as the sky over Calvary was heavy with gloom; as resplendent with lovely celestial lights as to his imagination, if you hold that the faculty chiefly concerned, was the mount of the Lord's supreme ascension. He expects long toil and many disasters, incarnadined seas, dreary wildernesses, battles with giants, and spasms of fear in the heart of the Church. But he looks as surely as he looks for the sunrise, after nights of tempest and lingering dawn, for the ultimate illumination of the world by faith. And however full of din and dissonance the history of mankind has seemed hitherto, seems even today, he anticipates already the harmonies to be in it; as under the guidance of Him of Galilee, it draws toward its predestined close, not sentimental or idyllic, but epic and heroic.
Let this mind and mood be in each one of us, as we look for- ward confidently to the ultimate issues. Let this undiverted appreciation of the presence of the true Light in the world since the day of Jesus Christ's incarnation, the Light that cannot fail, that fills the Church, and that will irradiate and transfigure uni- versal humanity, let this thought animate us. And as we work in the Parish, in the Church, in the great religious life every- where and anywhere, let us catch some reflections from the bourne to which we lovingly hasten; when Heaven shall open its gates to earth's thronging multitudes, and hope will cease in the Chris- tian's heart because the goal is reached, and faith will fade away forever because the hour of realization is attained, since the future is merged at last into eternity, as we reach "the Temple and City without foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
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Part of Sermon of Rev. F. B. Avery, Of Painesville, Ohio, Former Rector of St. John's.
DELIVERED MONDAY EVENING, MAY 23, 1898.
NE year ago it was my blessed privilege to be with you at the laying of the corner-stone of this noble house of wor- ship, which is to be the future home of God's elect people in St. John's Parish, we hope and pray, for many years to come. As we attended the deconsecration services of old St. John's structure, it seemed for a moment like a funeral service. But as we proceeded to the site of the future house, which was to be so much larger, more beautiful, and better fitted for the new life and growth of this parochial family, it seemed like the putting on of the resurrection body which we are to assume hereafter, so much more glorious than our present poor tabernacles of clay. Old St. John's is not dead, however; it has only changed its old tabernacle. structure for a new and more imposing habitation, as we read the people of Israel did in the days of David, after they had used the tabernacle, as you have the old Parish Church, for nearly forty years. Then David selected a place for the new temple on the holy hill in Jerusalem, for he had determined in his heart that a new structure should be erected more worthy of God's people, who had outgrown their house of worship, as Bishop Bedell once told you, "You had outgrown the old Parish Church
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General Interior View of St. John's Church.
as a boy his clothing." But David was not permitted to ereet the more permanent structure for which he had prayed and made great preparation, but his son Solomon religiously carried out his father's designs. And this we see so frequently today in the ad- ministration of Christ's Church; as St. Paul aptly puts it, "Paul may plant, Apollos water; God giveth the increase in order that no flesh may glory in His presence." Under the planting of the Rev. Wyllys Hall, and by the watering of the Rev. Samuel Max- well (who has since entered into the rest of the faithful stewards of God's ministers), we find the beginning of the co-laboring of God's servants, who, whether in the flesh or out of the flesh, rejoice today with our dear brother, your faithful pastor, whom I congratulate with all my heart, with joy unspeakable, for the splendid consummation of his indefatigable labors. "The hopes and fears of all the years are not with thee tonight," and I thank you personally for the privilege of being here to bid you one and all the dear people .godspeed.
In this parochial family, permit me for a moment to live with you in the past,- with those, only a few of whom need I men- tion by name, who departed this life during the past ten years. One of the founders of this Parish, and always thereafter a de- voted adherent, though not a communicant, was the ever generous supporter, Morris T. Jewell. He never failed to be present at the Easter Monday election, and to see that a good Vestry was elected, even if he cast the whole ballot himself. Evidently it was always done by your unanimous consent, and you had great con- fidence in his good judgment. He exercised a jealous care over the temporalities of the Parish, even to the boundary lines of what he considered the original lot. At last he made full pro- fession of his secret faith in the Church of Christ, of which he had ever claimed that he was not worthy to be called a member. And having received the Holy Baptism, God called him from the Church militant to the Church triumphant.
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Not many years later his faithful wife followed him. Mrs. Jewell had been ever valiant for the teachings of the Church as she conceived them, and those who differed with her could not but believe in her deep sincerity and conscientious adherence to her Churchly views. She loved the mission work, and her Easter offering for this purpose, eighteen years ago, was the first received as a seed planted in good soil, afterwards bearing much fruit in the labors and generous gifts of all who did well their part in the years following.
We make loving mention of the saintly Rachel Reno, whose most hospitable home was like a family altar to every one of the former Rectors of St. John's Parish. It mattered not how close was the relationship with one Rector, his successor was as warmly welcomed and adopted, and as loyally supported as a son in the faith. "The King is dead; long live the King," seemed to be the loyal maxim of her household, whether it be Wyllys Hall, Samuel Maxwell, or their successors. She was a most queenly woman, of gentle dignity, of the good old-fashioned grace and be- nignity. My brother, I could ask for you no greater personal blessing than to have known and loved her as some of us have, who still cherish her memory as a rich legacy.
Old Lady Harris, as we used to call her, was a veritable " Mother in Israel," living to a great age. Her simple faith and trust in God was an inspiration to each and all of the pastors who have ministered in this Church from its organization to this day. Her children and children's children numbered, even a de- cade ago, over one hundred souls. She was ever looking with eager eyes to the home beyond, and she sometimes said, in time of illness, "Do not send for the minister, for all of them hereto- fore have come to see me, and their prayers were heard and I've gotten well each time, and now I have lived longer than I ought and want to go home." With her own hands, at the age of four score and six, she made a patched bed quilt and sold it, the
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amount received being sufficient to pay for the chancel rail for St. Mary's Chapel, at which she knelt on the feast of the Presen- tation of Christ in the Temple, and was the first in that Chapel to receive the Holy Communion. Like mother like daughter, can we thus speak of her daughter, Mrs. Edmonds; so patient under many a trial, many a sorrow.
Akin in spirit, and in a quiet, yet very fine, adherence to true, clear standards of Christian rectitude, was that humble, devout and beloved woman, Mary Howard.
Henry O. Bonnell was a typical American Churchman. He believed in God as his loving Father, "who does not willingly afffiet nor grieve the children of men." He believed in Jesus as a personal Savior, and he believed in the visible Church of Christ with her sacraments as the outward visible sign and means of grace ordained by Christ Himself. He loved the quiet week day service, which he regularly attended, and which was to him that
"Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, Which calls me from a world of care, And bids me at my Father's throne Make all my wants and wishes known.
" In seasons of distress and grief My soul has often found relief, And oft escaped the tempter's snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer."
He also took an active interest in St. James', Springdale. Al- though we could not persuade him to teach a Sunday School class, he used to assist in any humble way possible, whether it was to wash the hands and faces of little children and then to place them in some class, or to assist in amusing them in his own winsome ways. He was devoted to the Mission of St. James ; it was at his suggestion that the field was looked over and the blessed work begun, the lot being donated by another on what was called " Bottle Hill," and re-christened Springdale. There
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was no department of St. John's Parish activities that did not feel the impress of his helpful hand. We can not forget his un- assuming, almost bashful, manner of suggesting methods and means, approval or disapproval. If he differed with his brethren, he did it frankly and in the spirit of a courteous Christian gentleman.
In closing this necrology, permit me to speak of your late Junior Warden, James Rudge. He is the first to leave us of that noble coterie by the name of James, all of whom have been to the old Parish, and are still, pillars in the Church. We give thanks for their good examples, and rejoice that so many others remain to do true and laudable service as loyal soldiers in the Church militant for the Captain of our Salvation. Mr. Rudge was not one who snuffed the breeze of battle from afar, but he was a faithful soldier of Christ, working righteousness in the humblest things of life, in the little details, as careful as though they were great issues. You always knew where to expect him, and you always found him where you expected so to do. He was a sturdy, conscientious, old-fashioned, English Churchman; quiet and unassuming, yet firm and positive in his conscientious con- victions. He did his part well, but if he could not enthuse over new methods and the aggressive undertakings of others, he did not willingly oppose, and was ever glad to rejoice in the progress made by his neighbors, either in business or Church affairs. He loved the ways of Zion, and was ever thoughtful for her highest prosperity.
And what shall I say more, said the Apostle, for time would fail me to tell of many of this household of faith taken in the past few years to be ever in the presence of God and His Christ and their blessed angels, and with their loved ones gone before. Godly fathers, sainted mothers, holy innocents carried by the angels to the arms of the tender Shepherd, who, when here on earth, said, "of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." There, too,
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are your noble husbands, who have fought the good fight of faith. Your brothers, your sons and daughters, -faithful and true, what- ever their mistakes, -leaving us many virtues to emulate. They have entered the gates of Paradise, delivered from the burdens of the flesh, and are in joy and felicity. This is an All Saints day to us, beloved, - an All Souls day. "Tell me," says a bereaved heart, " that I shall stand face to face with the sainted dead, and, whenever it may be, shall I not desire to be ready, and to meet them with clear eye and spirit unabashed ? Shall I not feel that to forget them were a mark of a nature base and infidel ? That under whatever pleasant shelter I may rest, and over what- ever wastes I may wander as a wayfarer in life, I must bear their image next to my heart, like the exile of old flying with his household gods hidden in his mantle's secret folds ?"
Yea, more, beloved, we believe that they are still interested and engaged in the same moral and spiritual work so dear to our hearts. More, we have fellowship with them, and from the pres- ence of Christ they look upon these varied scenes of our human experiences, and are a thousand times nearer to us during this temporary physical separation than when they lived with us.
" We live together years and years, and leave unsounded still,
Each other's springs of hopes and fears, each other's depths of will We live together day by day, and some chance look or tone
Lights up with instantaneous ray an inner world unknown."
"Thank God," said the saintly Wordsworth, " while death may separate bodies it can not separate souls." The great Ori- gen, living in sub-Apostolic times, records the precious faith of the early Church, which did not teach us to pray to the departed Saints. But he wrote these words: - " It will not be out of place to say that all the Saints have departed this life, still retaining
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their love for those who are in the world, concerning themselves for their salvation, and aiding them by their prayers and media- tion with God."
This is but the interpretation of the beloved St. John's words, who, in the Revelation, tells us that he saw in Paradise the mul- titudes who had come up out of great tribulation, in their midst the Shepherd of Israel, who carries the lambs in His bosom, and calls His own by name and feeds them. God doth wipe away all tears from their eyes. And the angel of God offers from his golden censer the incense of praise to purify the prayers of all Saints. Thus Heaven and earth one communion make. In this ascension tide we see our blessed Lord, having led captivity cap- tive, opening the gates of Paradise to our longing, expectant eyes. "The Heaven of heavens can not contain thee; how much less this house which I have builded." Yea, more,-"Lift up your hearts." "We lift them up unto the Lord," is your anti- phon. "Therefore, with angels and arch-angels and all the company of Heaven we laud and magnify Thy glorious name; evermore praising Thee, and saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; glory be to Thee, O Lord, Most High. Amen." Beloved, ye are come to the spirits of just men made perfect.
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Interior of St. John's Church, Wick Avenue. The Chancel.
Synopsis of the Sermon of Rev. Robert R. Claiborne, Of St. Luke's Church, Kalamazoo, Former Rector of St. John's, Youngstown.
DELIVERED TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 24, 1898.
A S MR. CLAIBORNE did not write his sermon, we are unable to give it exactly in his words, and necessarily can only sum- marize it. He took, for his theme, lessons drawn from the ascension of our Lord, his text being St. Luke, twenty-fourth chapter, fiftieth verse : -
" And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them."
He said in part as follows : -
"To the disciples who witnessed it, it furnished a fresh ex- perience of bereavement. They stood in speechless agony beside His cross, and heard His words of anguish, which must have seemed to them the death wail of their fondest hopes. Yet this had not the same elements of grief as that former sorrow, and time and experience contributed to make it what it was intended to be, and really was, a revelation of inexplicable comfort. And so it is to us if we receive it aright."
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After drawing the various lessons of the ascension, the speaker congratulated the congregation on the erection of this magnificent building, which they would consecrate to the service of God. Consecrated, also, by their toil and tears, the consummation of the hopes and prayers of all, through a series of years. It gave him great pleasure to take part in these opening services, which added another note to the joy of ascension tide.
" But," he continued, " all true and deep joy is tinged with sorrow. A Chinese picture has no depth, because it has no shade. Tonight our joy is shadowed by the absence of those dear ones whose prayers and labors mingle with our own, and I can but. believe that they rejoice with us, as they and we but one com- munion make. It would tax my emotions beyond control did I attempt to speak of them in detail. Even now their faces stand out before me, and the familiar voice is still audible, so being dead they still speak. It may seem strange that while we are celebrating the final triumph of the Prince of Peace, our country should resound with the clash of arms. While we look with horror on the ravages and desolation of war, - better, far better, than a rotten, corrupt, mammon-loving peace,- a thousand battles shaking a hundred thrones. We may lament the need of war, but let us believe that out of it righteousness will emerge with healing in its wings. No birth, no advance in civilization, noth- ing worth anything, has ever been accomplished without pain and suffering. Every individual and every nation, every century and every generation, has had its Calvary from which flows streams of beneficence and peace. What we enjoy today is not the result of a "survival of the fittest," but sprung out of the sacrifice of the best. The Civil War settled questions which could have been settled permanently in no other way, and today you will find but few men who would reverse that decision. It decided that this land of freedom is a nation, and not a federation of States from which any State may retire of its own will and motion. When
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the bugle sounded, the slumbering embers of patriotism that filled the breasts of a citizen soldiery, the strength of every nation, leaped into flame, and there is no North, no South, no East and no West, and the flag of glory waves from Maine to the Gulf, and from ocean to ocean. Blue and gray both encamp beneath its shadow, and the pure southern blood of Bagley is a sacrament of eternal union between North and South. We should felicitate ourselves on the fact that now, as in another erisis of the nation's story, we have for chief magistrate a man who fears God and believes that He manifests Himself in the great movements of history, overruling and controling the destinies of nations as well as individuals. He exhausted all the resources of diplomacy but in vain, for Spain never relinquished any evil without compulsion. Her stagnation and despotic desolation is only equaled by the tideless harbor of Havana, which contains the filth of three cen- turies. Four hundred years ago she was in the foremost place of nations, first or second only to Italy in art, first in war, and first in the men that she produced; but one by one, by reason of cruelty, injustice and misrule, the gems have fallen from her crown, until now the greatest of them all, the "Pearl of .the Antilles," must be lost, and Cuba, the queen of the Indies, will float the flag of the free."
At this point the speaker decried the use of the battle-cry, " Remember the Maine," inasmuch as it was not a war for ven- geance, but for humanity's sake and the uplifting of our brothers.
" God grant that this land of ours may never learn to look stolidly and indifferently, without a blow, at the suffering of the helpless and the agony of the oppressed. May she never tamely abdicate her place in the vanguard of the world's righteous progress."
" Waft the blessed tidings across the deep blue sea,
Let Columbia tell the nations that Cuba shall be free."
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Biographical.
T WOULD not be possible to mention by name the many who have helped to make St. John's Parish what it is today, nor would it be fair to single out a few of the present noble men and women, who are striving to maintain the good name of the Church, and exploit their endeavors, but it has seemed right that some of the first Vestrymen and founders of the Parish should be noticed by brief biographical sketches. Even these few will serve to show that the individuals who were instrumental in the making of the Parish were men of sterling worth, and of whom any community might well be proud.
Francis Reno.
Francis Reno, born March 25, 1802, was Senior Warden of St. John's Church, Youngstown, Ohio, from its organization till his death, September 3, 1864. He was by profession a civil engineer, and was one of the principal engineers on the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, assisted in the surveys and location of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, the Pittsburg and Eric Rail- road, and many other public works. He assisted in organizing and building Christ Church, New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and Trinity Church, Rochester, Pennsylvania, where he spent his early life; also St. John's Church, Youngstown, Ohio. He descended from a long line of Churchmen. In a list of Vestrymen - period
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