USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Memorials of Christ Church, Philadelphia : two sermons preached in said church, April 27, and May 4, 1862 : one the 135th anniversary of laying the corner-stone of the present building, the other the 25th anniversary of the rector's institution > Part 1
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Memoriala of
Ciist Church.
Library
of the
Bishop of Vermont.
Accession No.
2129
Shelf No
460-4737
GEO. C. SHATTUCK.
GEN
Gb. Shattuck M. A. with the author's kind regards, Jany 28th, 186 .?
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01845 7074
GC 974.802 P53DOA
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/memorialsofchris00dorr
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MEMORIALS
OF
CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA.
TWO SERMONS
PREACHED IN SAID CHURCH, APRIL 27, AND MAY 4, 1862.
ONE THE 135TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF THE PRESENT BUILDING :
THE OTHER THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RECTOR'S INSTITUTION.
BY BENJAMIN DORR, D. D., RECTOR.
PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE VESTRY.
PHILADELPHIA : COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 JAYNE STREET. 1862.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by BENJAMIN DORR, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
SERMON
PREACHED SUNDAY APRIL 27, 1862.
ISAIAH LXIV. 11.
"OUR HOLY AND OUR BEAUTIFUL HOUSE, WHERE OUR FATHERS PRAISED THEE."
THIS day, my friends, is a memorable day in the annals of Christ Church. On the twenty-seventh day of April, one thousand seven hundred and twenty- seven, there was a large assembly of citizens on this ground, and among them many of the most prominent men of that day.
The Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, the Mayor and Recorder of the city of Philadelphia, the Rector, Wardens, and Vestrymen of Christ Church, with many others, had gathered here to lay, with becoming solemnity, the corner-stone of a building to be devoted to the worship and service of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
The structure thus begun in faith and hope, with fervent prayer, and perseveringly carried on, through many discouragements and difficulties, until the head-
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stone thereof was brought forth with shouting, is this holy and beautiful house, in which we are now assem- bled, and where our fathers and our fathers' fathers for several generations have worshipped.
It is well, brethren, at such a time as this, the one hundred and thirty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of our beloved church, to look over its past history, to call to mind and to recount the great things which God hath done for our fathers and for us, that our hearts may be filled with love, and gratitude, and · praise.
The Jews were commanded to keep God's mercies and loving-kindnesses ever in remembrance; neither to forget them themselves, nor to suffer their posterity to forget them. As the Psalmist beautifully expresses it: "He commanded our forefathers to teach their children; that their posterity might know it, and the children which were yet unborn; to the intent that when they came up, they might show their children the same; that they might put their trust in God; and not to forget the works of God, but to keep his commandments." And this they did habitually, from year to year; so that every Israelite could say, as we Christians ought to be able to say: "O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them."
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The history of this church is so connected with many of the most important events that have taken place in our country, which are alike interesting to the patriot and the Christian, that we should be with- out excuse if we did not now call them to remem- brance.
When the corner stone of the present Christ Church was laid, the old building, of the same name, had been standing here for more than thirty-one years. It remained about nine or ten years longer, and public service was continued in it until the new one was so far finished that it could be used for worship. The second church being much larger than the first, it was so constructed as to inclose the old building. When the walls and roof of the new structure were completed, the old church was taken down, and temporary seats provided for the congrega- tion, until pews could be built and the whole interior finished, according to the original plan. It is there- fore literally true, that a building known as Christ Church has stood on this spot for one hundred and sixty-six years.
The first movement towards introducing the min- istry and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this city, was made in 1695. A number of Eng- lish emigrants met together for that purpose, appointed a vestry, and purchased a lot of ground one hundred
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feet front on Second Street. They subsequently bought an adjoining lot forty feet wide, which gave them a front of one hundred and forty feet, by one hundred and thirty-two feet in depth. The deed of the first purchase declares that it is intended "for a church and cemetery, or churchyard, and the church and other premises are to be perpetually appropriated and used for the public worship of God, and for the better instruction of the people inhabiting Philadel- phia, in the true Christian religion as it is professed in the church of England and established by the laws of said realm, and to no other use whatsoever."
This was a great undertaking in those days, and required a large measure of faith and zeal and perse- verance to accomplish it. The city was in its infancy, having been founded only thirteen years before; the population at the time was not more than two or three thousand; the country around was comparatively a wilderness, with only a few English and Welsh settlements, widely scattered and difficult of access. There was no minister in the province to aid and encourage the effort, nor could one be obtained with- out sending for him to England. Yet within a year the church was finished, and a zealous and faithful pastor, the Rev. Mr. Clayton, was sent out by the Bishop of London to take charge of it. On his arrival here he found a congregation of about fifty
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persons, which was increased, by the divine blessing on his labors, to seven hundred, in the space of two years. He was then suddenly called away by death to his rest and his reward.
His successor was the Rev. Evan Evans, who came out in the year 1700, with a license from the Bishop of London, as the minister of Christ Church. He received an annuity of fifty pounds sterling from King William the Third, who also allowed thirty pounds per annum for the maintenance of a school- master for the children of the congregation. Both these annuities were renewed by Queen Anne, but it does not appear on the records how long they were continued.
Mr. Evans, immediately on his arrival, entered on the duties of his particular charge with zeal and energy, and at the same time undertook an extraordi- nary amount of missionary labor. He visited settle- ments twenty, thirty, fifty miles distant; preached, baptized, and administered the holy communion, wherever he found persons willing to receive him. Like a good shepherd, he sought out the scattered sheep in the wilderness. He encouraged neighboring members of the church to meet together and hold religious services for mutual encouragement and in- struction. He organized many congregations, and visited them frequently, without neglecting any duties
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at home. His congregation in Philadelphia rapidly increased, and it was his successful labors here, which made him so acceptable and useful abroad. Those who visited the city from a distance, and heard him, carried home a good report, and thus prepared others to welcome him among them.
Yet for four years he had no fellow laborer. And, brethren, we can hardly conceive the patience and faith which were necessary to sustain a pastor in his work, who had no clerical brother within a hundred miles of him, and who was separated from his bishop by the broad Atlantic.
When the first missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel came out in 1702, on a tour of inspection through the colonies, he found only a single church between New York and Maryland, and that was the one in which Mr. Evans ministered. But within two years of that time, four additional churches were erected in the neighboring settlements. through Mr. Evans's instrumentality.
In 1707, domestic duties called him home to Eng- land for a time, and while in London he addressed a memorial* to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, stating what his labors had been, and what
* See this interesting memorial in full, in "Hawkin's History of the Missions of the Church of England," pp. 108-114.
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their success, and strongly urging that a bishop should be sent over for the colonies.
In this memorial he names the following places which he often visited: Chichester, Chester, Maiden- head, where he baptized nineteen children at one time, Chester, or Upland, Evesham in West Jersey, Mont- gomery, Radnor, and Oxford. "All which," he says, " though equally fatiguing and expensive, I frequently went to, and preached in, being by all means deter- mined to lose none of those whom I had gained, but rather add to them, till the society otherwise provide for them. Montgomery and Radnor had the most considerable share in my labors, where I preached in Welsh once a fortnight for four years."
He states that he had baptized in Philadelphia, and the above named places, eight hundred adults and children. On his return to his parish in 1709, he continued to visit, as before, the neighboring set- tlements, and on one occasion baptized "a whole family of Quakers, to the number of fifteen."
Mr. Evans again visited England in 1715, at which time he received the honorary degree of doctor of divinity from one of the English universities ; a proof of the estimation in which he was held at home.
He returned the year following, and undertook the charge of the vacant mission of Oxford and Radnor, in connection with his own church; but the duties
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were too arduous, by reason of his age and infirmi- ties, and he resigned his cure, to accept a less labori- ous one offered him by the Governor of Maryland, where he died in 1721. The society in England bore this testimony to his character, " that he had been a faithful missionary, and had proved a great instru- ment towards settling religion and the church of England in those wild parts."
But while due praise is awarded to Dr. Evans, we must not forget that his predecessor, Mr. Clayton, labored, though not so long, yet with equal zeal and success, during his brief ministry of two or three years. Least of all should we forget, that it was a small band of faithful laymen, who, unaided and alone, before the arrival of any minister, organized themselves into a congregation, by electing wardens and vestrymen, and built this church, the first in the province, and therefore the mother of all the churches here.
The subsequent history of this parish shows that there has ever been a body of earnest, active, intelli- gent laymen connected with it, who had not only its prosperity at heart, but who were equally zealous for the welfare of the church universal. And when God moves the hearts of such laymen to co-operate with a faithful pastor, the prosperity of the parish is certain, for God's blessing is upon it. Nor can any one, who
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carefully studies its history, fail to perceive, that the divine favor has been signally displayed towards this church, from the beginning.
Among the most active and influential members of the congregation, was Sir William Keith, the Go- vernor of Pennsylvania, from 1717 to 1726. He was a member of vestry, a regular attendant on their meetings, and was unanimously chosen chairman, on the resignation of Dr. Evans. In 1718, Gov. Keith built, at a considerable cost, a spacious pew in front of the chancel, "to be appropriated," as the record states, " in all time to come, for the conveniency and use of the governor and his family, for the time being;" for which he volunteered to pay a yearly rent of five pounds.
All his successors in the administration of the pro- vince, Governor Gordon, who laid the corner-stone of the present building, Sir George Thomas, the Hon. James Hamilton, and the Hon. John Penn, were active members and liberal benefactors of Christ Church.
Among other efforts, in which laymen were promi- nent, which had reference to the permanent pros- perity of the church at large, was an earnest and respectful petition to the archbishops and bishops of the church of England, setting forth the many and great inconveniences which arose from not having
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the episcopacy established here, and praying that some means might be devised for their redress. This petition, dated June 2, 1718, was drawn up by Dr. Evans and the Rev. John Talbot, and signed by the wardens, "in the name and by order of the vestry of Christ Church Philadelphia." In April following, 1719, the Rev. Mr. Talbot, who was temporarily officiating here, laid before the vestry another address to the archbishops and bishops, again urging the im- portance of having a resident bishop in the colonies. This was signed by Gov. Keith, chairman, the war- dens and vestrymen, and by Mr. Talbot.
It is not known what influence these memorials had on the minds of the bishops to whom they were addressed. We only know that no effectual remedy was provided for the grievances complained of.
The wardens and vestrymen continued, from time to time, to hold correspondence with the Bishop of London, their diocesan, on the affairs of the church, whenever they needed his counsel or aid. The letters which passed between them show mutual respect and affection, and an earnest wish on both sides, to pro- mote the best interests of the church. One of these from the Bishop of London, Dr. Edmund Gibson, dated Oct. 19, 1738, breathes throughout a truly catholic, Christian spirit, every way worthy of a chief pastor of the folds committed to him by the great
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Shepherd. Another letter of his, dated March 29, 1742, conveying to vestry the information that he had licensed the Rev. Dr. Jenney to be their minis- ter, closes thus: "I have nothing in view but the peace and welfare of your church, and earnestly re- commending it to you all to pursue the same good end, I pray for the divine blessing upon you and your proceedings, and remain, Your assured friend,
EDMUND LONDON."
In their reply to this, which is dated November 8, 1742, and signed by the wardens and sixteen vestry- men, they say: "We, the church wardens and vestry- men of Christ Church in Philadelphia, beg leave to return to your lordship our grateful acknowledgments for your fatherly care and regard for us, in approving and sending over the Reverend Dr. Robert Jenney to the cure of this church; a person so exceedingly well qualified for so great a trust. And we have well grounded hopes, that by his wise conduct and pious labors, we shall continue to promote that peace and unanimity, recommended to us by your lordship's most affectionate letter, which we heartily thank your lordship for.
"It appears to be the zealous inclination of every member of our numerous congregation to recommend themselves to your lordship's favor, by a behavior
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becoming true members of a Christian church. And the more effectually to support and improve the happy peace and unanimity in our church, we have that humble confidence in your lordship's known goodness, that your lordship will continue to us in the person of Dr. Jenney, those usual favors of your lordship's fatherly advice and assistance, which your lordship has always shown to his predecessors here. Your lordship's most dutiful sons and servants."
In these and other letters, which passed between the bishop and the vestry, the originals of which are in the archives of the church, we cannot but admire the prudent, pious, and fatherly care manifested on his part for this distant congregation, and the uniform respect and affection expressed on their part, for their venerable diocesan, and their dutiful deference to his advice and authority.
We have seen how instrumental this church was in planting other churches in the neighboring settle- ments, and in extending over them such nursing care and protection as was needful. For sixty-six years after its organization, this was the only episcopal congregation, and theirs was the only church edifice, belonging to our communion, in Philadelphia; al- though the population of the city had increased to about eighteen thousand. The old church had been twice enlarged, and then gave place to a much larger
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and more commodious one, yet that, in time, was filled, and there were many applicants for sittings who could not be accommodated here. The vestry therefore resolved, in June, 1758, that it was quite time to build another. They appointed a treasurer and a building committee, composed of the most influential men of the congregation, and the work was undertaken in good earnest. The whole matter was "under the management of the minister, church wardens, and vestry of Christ Church, for the time being." The new church, named St. Peter's, was opened for divine service in September, 1761; and from that time, until the building of a third church, the two were known as the united churches of Christ Church and St. Peter's, under one rector with assist- ant ministers, and one vestry. In 1809, St. James's Church was built in like manner as St. Peter's, by the same corporation, and the three were thereafter known, until their separation, as the united churches of Christ Church, St. Peter's and St. James's.
We turn now to the most eventful period in our national history, the American revolution.
Bishop White tells us, in his memoirs of the American church, " that when the revolutionary war began, there were not more than about eighty paro- chial clergymen of the church of England, to the northward and eastward of Maryland; and those
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clergymen derived the greater part of their subsist- ence from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts; with the exception of those resident in the towns of Boston and Newport, and the cities of New York and Philadelphia; there being no episcopal congregations out of those towns and cities, held to be of ability to support clergymen of themselves." "The clergy in the province of Penn- sylvania," he says, " exclusive of those in the city of Philadelphia, were never more than six in number, all of whom were missionaries, receiving salaries from England. The parochial clergy of the city were four."
All the income of missionaries from the society in England being cut off by the war, many of them were obliged to abandon their cures ; their churches were closed, and their flocks scattered. Very few, indeed, of the parochial clergymen remained through the whole of the war.
The first Continental Congress met in this city, Monday, September 5, 1774; and the day after, on motion of Mr. Samuel Adams, the Rev. Mr. Duché, an assistant minister of Christ Church, was desired to open the Congress the next morning with religious service, which he did by reading the thirty-fifth Psalm, together with prayers from the Liturgy. The Psalm, which is one appointed for that day of the
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month, was so strikingly appropriate, that John Adams said, " I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning."
The following year Congress again met in Phila- delphia, and during their session they recommended Thursday the 20th of July, 1775, to be observed as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, and invited Mr. Duché to preach on the morning of that day. All the members of Congress, John Hancock being President, and Charles Thomson Secretary, went in a body from the State House, their place of meeting, to Christ Church, to attend the services.
What a noble band of patriots was then assembled within these walls! And what a glorious day was that for our country's cause, when her statesmen and rulers, with one consent, came up to this sanctuary, to bow themselves before the King of Kings, and humbly implore his guidance, protection and bless- ing! Blessed indeed are the people who have the Lord for their God !
The next year, 1776, on the day when the Declara- tion of Independence was announced, a meeting of vestry was called at the house of the rector, the Rev. Mr. Duché, when it was resolved that it "would be proper to omit those petitions in the Liturgy wherein 2
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the King of Great Britain is prayed for; and the rector and assistant ministers of the united churches are requested, in the name of the vestry and their constituents, to omit such petitions as are above men- tioned."
It is a fact worthy of note, that among the most distinguished of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, three were pew-holders in Christ Church, for many years ; Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, and Francis Hopkinson.
Mr. Hopkinson was baptized in this church Nov. 12, 1737; his father, Thomas Hopkinson, being at that time a pew-holder here. He was secretary of the vestry in 1763; and in April of the following year, the vestry unanimously tendered him their thankful acknowledgments, for "taking great and constant pains in instructing the children of the united congregations in the art of Psalmody," and requested him to continue his kind services.
In 1770 he was the Rector's warden; and on the minutes of the vestry, December 10th of that year, is this striking record: "Mr. Church-warden Hopkinson having been so obliging as to perform on the organ at Christ Church, during the absence of Mr. Bremner, the late organist, the vestry unanimously requested of him a continuance of this kind office, until an organist should be appointed, or as long as it should be con-
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venient and agreeable to himself. Mr. Hopkinson cheerfully granted this request."
It is not often that we hear of a church-warden, who is both able and willing to play the organ for a congregation, and teach their children sacred music. Less than six years after this, the musician and poet, the distinguished jurist, honorable judge, devoted pa- triot, and devout Christian, affixed his name to that ever-memorable document, which declared these United Colonies free and independent States. He died May 9, 1791, in the fifty-fifth year of his age, and was buried in Christ Church ground.
I have recently discovered, from the church records, that another prominent man of the Revolution, the Hon. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, the first presi- dent of the American Congress, who died suddenly in this city, of apoplexy, October 22, 1775, was interred in the same ground; but I am not aware that any stone marks his grave.
And here, though not strictly in its chronological place, I would introduce the venerated name of Wil- liam Tilghman, former Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, a member of this church, and for fourteen years "the chosen warden of his venerable friend and pastor, Bishop White." He died April 30, 1827. His re- mains lie in the burial-place on Arch and Fifth Streets.
Shortly after his decease, the vestry place upon re-
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cord in their minutes, that they " unite with the rec- tor in deploring the loss of so valuable a member of their body, who had taken a deep interest in all the concerns of the united churches, and had been atten- tive to all the duties resting on him, and to all the services committed to him in the stations which he occupied."
The following touching tribute to his memory is from an eulogium by one who knew him intimately, and who was every way qualified to appreciate his merits.
" The private life of this eminent man, was the re- flection of an unclouded mind, and of a conscience void of offence; and such external vicissitudes as marked it, did but ripen his virtues for their appro- priate scene hereafter. The praise of his public career, is that it has been barren of those incidents which arrest the attention, by agitating the passions of man- kind. If it has grown into an unquestioned truth, that the poorest annals belong to those epochs which have been the richest in virtue and happiness, it may well be admitted that the best judge for the people, is he who imperceptibly maintains them in their rights, and leaves few striking events for biography.
" His course does not exhibit the magnificent variety of the ocean, sometimes uplifted to the skies, at others retiring into its darkest caves,-at one moment gay
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with the ensigns of power and wealth, and at another strewing its shores with the melancholy fragments of shipwreck ;- but it is the equal current of a majestic river, which safely bears upon its bosom the riches of the land, and reads its history in the smiling cities and villages, that are reflected from its unvarying surface.
" Such is the praise of the late Chief Justice Tilgh- man. He merited, by his public works and by his private virtues, the respect and affection of his coun- trymen; and the best wish for his country and his office is, that his mantle may have fallen upon his successor."*
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