USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > Harrisburg > Centennial memorial, English Presbyterian congregation, Harrisburg, Pa. > Part 9
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For several years the music of the church has been led by a volunteer choir, which gives its services without com- pensation, with great heartiness, regularity and universal acceptance.
For several years the Pastor has conducted during eight months of the year a weekly Bible class for the careful and systematic study of the Scripture. This class is attended by a small number of ladies and gentlemen who are de- voted to the work. It may properly be regarded as one of the organizations of the church.
It thus appears that the church is well organized for the prosecution of a large variety of work and for the preserva- tion of its many interests.
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III. Calvary Chapel.
In 1888, as a result of Sunday-school work carried on for many years in the neighborhood of Lochiel by the members of this church, there was erected a beautiful stone chapel, corner of South Cameron and Sycamore streets, and there was organized within it Calvary Chapel Sunday-school. This work has steadily grown from year to year. The school has outgrown its quarters, and a comfortable and attractive room has been fitted up in the basement during this past year for the use of a primary department, com- posed of the younger scholars. Since June 1st, 1891, the work has been in the more immediate charge of the Rev. David M. Skilling, who with conscientious fidelity, untiring devotion and great efficiency has carried forward the interests of this portion of the congregation. It is now a well-organized congregation in everything but the name. There are two preaching services, a Sunday-school and a Christian Endeavor meeting every Lord's day. During the week a Junior Christian Endeavor Society, a Ladies' Sewing Society, a Ladies Missionary Society, a Young Men's Association, a number of mission bands and Sunday- school class organizations hold their respective meetings. It is most gratifying to note also that there have been many conversions as the result of this work. The con- tributions of the Chapel congregation and the Sunday- school, together with the help of one or two friends of the work, defray the whole expense of the same, besides making generous contribution to missionary and benevolent causes. During the past year a free reading and social room has been established in the basement, and is
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CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHAPEL, CAMERON AND SYCAMORE STREETS. ERECTED 1887-88.
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open every night in the week for all who may come. Reading matter and games are provided in abundance. There is a gratifying attendance on the part of the men, old and young, from that portion of the city. We are much encouraged by the results of the experiment. Our affection for this work and interest in its prosperity is most sincere and unflagging.
IV. Official Boards.
The Session is the oldest of the Boards, its life being coter- minous with that of the church. It was constituted Feb- ruary 16th, 1794, by the election of three elders. It now has five elders, all of whom have been elected, as were their predecessors, for life. Of these five, three, Elders McCarrell, McCauley and Miller, were ordained to this office April 15th, 1877, and two, Elders Harvey and Spicer, were ordained March 20th, 1887. As pastor of the church, being thrown into constant and most intimate relations with these brethren, I desire to bear testimony to their unvarying loyalty, fidelity and zeal in all the interests of the congre- gation in which God and the people have made them over- seers. It is an unwritten law of the Session that no action is taken unless it is unanimous action. The venerated Alexander Sloan, who served as a member of the Session from 1834 to 1890, was in the habit of saying that he never had been present at any meeting of the Session which was marred by unpleasant disagreement between the members of that body. The same can be said up to the present time. I never have met a body of men who have been more care- ful to respect the judgment and protect the feelings of their associates, while, at the same time, being most free and inde-
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pendent in their thought and utterance. All of the num- erous activities and grave responsibilities of this congrega- tion have been committed to their charge, and they per- form their duties with commendable fidelity and distin- guished ability.
The youngest official Board of the church is the Board of Deacons, which was first constituted by the ordination of seven deacons on the 20th of March, 1887. The Board is clected according to the rotary system, and as the term of each class has expired the members of that class have been successively re-elected, so that the Board has the same mem- bers now as at the beginning, with a single exception. In 1889 the serious illness of Mr. John K. Tomlinson, one of the original members, forbade his re-election, and Mr. David Fleming, Jr., was chosen in his stead, and still is a member of the Board. This Board has charge of the poor of the church. They are the almoners of the charity of the congregation. They are most discreet and faithful in the discharge of their duties, and have come to be an indis- pensable part of our organization.
The first Board of Trustees, under the civil charter of the church, was elected in 1819. Prior to this there were trustees, though the congregation had no corporate exist- ence. By the charter the temporal affairs of the church and its property are in the care of this board, composed of seven gentlemen from the congregation. The fact that we have such a large and valuable plant in the heart of the city, complete in all its appointments and in the best repair, that we have a beautiful and eligibly located manse for the use of the minister, that all of the financial obligations of
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the congregation are met fully and promptly, is abundant evidence of the ability and devotion of these servants of the church. Mention ought to be made of the fact that the Trustees, with the consent and under the direction of the congregation, during the past year purchased one of the most desirable building sites in the city, No. 127 State street, and erected thereon a most substantial, commodious, convenient and attractive residence for the minister. While the expense incurred by this has not been entirely met, yet it is safe to say that had not the city and country been suddenly and unexpectedly overtaken by financial distress after the building operations had been begun, the whole amount would have been provided for before this time. It is equally safe to say that the balance yet to be raised can, in the near future, be casily secured.
V. Services and Meetings.
As a matter of record on this occasion it is probably worth while to mention the various services that are held in connection with our church work. The Lord's Supper is administered four times each year, on the first Lord's day in each calendar quarter. For many years there has not been a Sacramental occasion at which there have not been some additions to our membership. The communi- cants of the church are uniformally regular in their attend- ance upon this ordinace.
The sacrament of Baptism is administered statedly on the days following cach Communion service, and on Children's Day in June, and at such other times as may suit the con- venience of the parents. Parents are, with rare exception, faithful in presenting their children for this ordinance.
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There are two preaching services, at 10.30 a. m. and 7.30 p. m., respectively. Sunday-school at 1.30 o'clock, and Christian Endeavor meeting at 6.45 each Lord's day. Junior Christian Endeavor and Cottage prayermeet- ing on each Monday, with a monthly Session meeting on the second Monday of each month. On Wednesday even- ing the lecture and prayermeeting, and following it the teachers' meeting for the study of the Sunday-school lesson, are regularly held. Friday evening is devoted to the pas- tor's Bible class. In addition to these services there are a multitude of meetings of different organizations and for various purposes held every week. It is entirely safe to say that during ten months of the year the meetings held in connection with the church will average in all about twenty- five a week.
For several years the congregation has been in the habit of observing with appropriate services, Children's Day, the second Sunday in June, appointed by the General Assem- bly. This day is now generally observed throughout the Christian world. We were one of the first congregations to inaugurate the custom.
During the Civil War there was held on one occasion a morning prayermeeting at six o'clock on the Fourth of July to consider the nation's interests and to pray for its welfare This prayermeeting has been held uninterruptedly ever since and is well attended being participated in by our citizens irrespective of church connection.
It has been the custom from time immemorial for this church to assemble on the annual Thanksgiving Day appointed by the President of the United States and the
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Governor of the Commonwealth for services appropriate to the occasion.
Other services are held as occasion may arise, the church being responsive to all proper calls to worship and service.
J'I. Spiritual Condition.
It is probable that the spiritual condition of the congre- gation will never be satisfactory. It is to be hoped that we will never reach such a point in our growth in grace as to be content with our attainments. May we ever have a hun- gering and thirsting after righteousness. There is much in the spiritual condition of the church to call for humiliation, and confession and prayer. Many hearts in Zion are bur- dened with the desire for a higher life for their beloved church. May the number of these who thus long for the most excellent things of God largely increase, and may their fervent prayers receive from our Heavenly Father speedy and gracious answer in the quickening of His own people, and the conversion of those who know Him not.
Nevertheless, we must not forget that active, earnest ser- viee for the Master, and true zeal in advancing Ilis king- dom are evidences of spiritual life. I cannot but believe that the large and varied activities of this congregation, its zeal for a pure gospel in the mouth of its ministers, for the honor of God's name in this community and the spread of the glorious kingdom throughout the world, its efforts for the relief of the poor and for the maintenance of all the varied agencies of the church, are the product of true spirit- ual power. The large contributions which it makes, aggregat- ing, now and for a number of years past, $20,000 per annum for the support of the gospel here and elsewhere, for benevo-
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lent and charitable undertakings of various kinds, is an evidence of the presence with us of the indwelling Spirit of God. That the fruit of the Spirit may be more and more largely manifested among us, that we may be rich in every good work, that we may grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, is the fervent prayer of our hearts.
In closing, permit me to say a word to the other churches-our mother church and our children. To you my brother, the Pastor of Paxtang Church, the grandmother of us all, who, notwithstanding her venerable age, is renewing her youth and coming into the possession of an increasing inheritance, hearty greeting. We entertain for you true filial affection. Paxtang will always be dear to Market Square. Much of the blood of that venerable church still contributes to the life and power of this congregation. Never will we forget our debt and obligation to you, nor cease to cherish your interest as our own.
To you, my brother, the representative of the Pine Street Church, the eldest of those that have gone from us, on behalf of this church I extend the most cordial welcome to the enjoyments of this occasion. From the very first of your existence as a separate organization you have shared with us, share and share alike, the responsibility and honor of our denomination in the city. We rejoice in your magnificent usefulness and your increasing honor. We are more closely identified in interest, and purpose, and labors than ever before. I know that I voice the feeling's of my people when I say, it is our earnest desire that this union in affection and activity may increase with our years.
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We cannot forget that an elder and others from this congregation were instrumental in starting the movement out of which has grown the Elder Street Presbyterian Church. Your conservative and substantial work among the colored people of this city is gratifying to all the friends of your race and church. We welcome you to- night.
The large fields, the increasing prosperity, the acquisition of new and beautiful houses of worship which characterize the Covenant and Westminster Presbyterian Churches fill our hearts with gratitude. We welcome you.
The Olivet Presbyterian Church, the youngest of us all, is nobly resisting and successfully overcoming the perils of infancy, and undoubtedly has for itself an important and growing field in the eastern part of the city. Our heartiest greetings to the infant of months.
Dear brethren, we are not unmindful that a considerable portion of the life blood of this church has gone to advance your interests and we rejoice in it. We rejoice in your growth. Together with you we magnify the importance of your fields, and we bid you God speed in all your blessed work.
This is a happy family. We are united in heart, in interest, in purpose. We have no rivalries and no conflicts. The interest of one is the interest of all. Our Master has committed to us the work of our denomination in this city. It is a work of commanding importance. As one man we undertake the task. In speaking for myself and for these people, whose minister I am, my last and my most impor- tant word is this, our fervent desire and prayer is that this
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occasion may emphasize our unity and strengthen its bonds.
The PRESIDENT OF THE EVENING. In 1858 an earnest and devoted band of christian men and women went out from this church and organized the Pine Street Church. At the time it was a great trial to the pastor and to the co- pastor, Dr. De Witt and Dr. Robinson. It was a great trial to the good people of this church. What the Lord was then doing they knew not. But as we look back over the past history, it seems to me that we can know as we behold the great and good work which has been done by that church. As I call to mind to-night the relation that these two churches sustained to myself and to each other in the work undertaken from year to year, I can bear delighted testimony that to my knowledge they have stood shoulder to shoulder and labored heart to heart and hand to hand in the aggres- sive work for a kindred faith in this city. We shall hear from Pine Street through Prof. Jacob, F. Seiler, who from the time of its organization has been its honored Sunday-school Superintendent, and from a date shortly after its organiza- tion has been a ruling elder in that church.
ADDRESS BY. JACOB F. SEILER, Ph. D.
On the 22nd of May of the year 1858, a committee of the Carlisle Presbytery met in Harrisburg to organize a new church. At this date there were in existence in the borough two societies holding to the Presbyterian faith and polity, viz: the English Presbyterian, and a congregation of colored people now known as the Elder Street Church. Sometime in the preceding March the first-mentioned congregation had lost their church edifice by a destructive
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PINE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. ERECTED 1859-60.
Address by Jacob F. Seiler, Ph. D. 149
fire. At this juncture a portion of the congregation, believing that the interests of Presbyterianism and religion in general would be promoted, requested the Carlisle Presbytery to grant them a distinct and separate organiza- tion ; forty-two persons bearing certificates of good and regular standing from the English Presbyterian Church, and eight others bearing similar certificates from other churches, were organized into a Presbyterian Church, according to the directions of the General Assembly. They then elected as ruling elders: Messrs Francis Weyth, H. Murray Graydon and James McCormick, Jr. On February 1, 1859, the church was incorporated by aet of the Legisla- ture under the name of the Presbyterian Church of Harris- burg. The original trustees named in the charter were: Messrs James McCormick, A. B. Warford, Charles C. Rawn, E. M. Pollock, A. Boyd Hamilton, Joseph Casey and J. Donald Cameron.
Of the fifty who presented certificates on May 22d, the following persons are still in active membership: Mrs. Francis P. Rawn, Mrs. Sarah C. Wyeth, Mrs. Elizabeth E. Sharp, Mrs. Sarah E. Forster, Mrs. Isabella II. Hamilton, Mr. J. W. Simonton, Mrs. Sarah K. Simonton, Mr. 11. M. Graydon, Mr. James McCormick and myself.
On June 6th a Sabbath-school was organized with three officers, eleven teachers and forty-two scholars. Of the fourteen teachers and officers present at the formation of the Sunday-school the survivers are : Mrs. Wyeth, Mrs. Rawn, Judge Simonton, James McCormick and the writer. An extract from the first narrative of the State of religion in the church is the statement, that " of the seven persons
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admitted to church membership, six are from the Sunday- school."
On May 12th, 1859, the corner-stone of the church edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Robert Watts (now of Belfast), and Rev. S. T. Lowrie, of Alexandria, Va. Mr. H. M. Graydon read a statement of the steps which led to the formation of the church. Rev. A. D. Mitchell, of Paxtang, and Rev. George Morris, of Silver Spring, assisted in the devotional exer- cises. The stone was laid to its place by the Rev. A. G. Simonton. The church site was the same as that of the present with somewhat less extension on Third street. On the previous January the lecture-room was sufficiently fur- nished for temporary occupation. In August of the same year work was resumed, and that portion of the church building was completed and occupied on November 19th.
On the 22d of July, 1860, a little over two years after the organization, the congregation dedicated the church edifice to the worship of God. It was a day of joy, and an occa- sion of public interest. Several churches in the city closed their houses of worship so that their members could partici- pate in the services. The Rev. P. D. Gurley, D. D., of Washington city, and Rev. N. C. Burt, D. D., of Baltimore, preached on the occasion. Meanwhile from the date of organization to January 5, 1860, a period of eighteen months, the congregation had occupied four different places for various meetings: the lecture-room of the German Re- formed Church, the lecture-room of the Baptist Church- Pine and Second, the hall of the Senate, and the hall of the House of Representatives. With the completion of the
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church building fairly in view, it was time to call a perma- nent pastor. Heretofore the congregation had been served uninterruptedly by temporary supplies. The spiritual over- sight of the church had meanwhile devolved largely upon the elders; of the fifty-three admitted to membership, eigh- teen were added on confession. This responsibility, along with the labor of procuring and providing for supplies and the conduct of week day meetings, though a labor of love, was none the less a labor. Therefore, both they and the congregation heartily welcomed our first Pastor, the Rev. W. C. Cattell, who had been unanimously called March 3, 1860, and installed September the 22d. The two great events in the church's history for the year 1860-the calling of a pastor and the dedication of the building-were the occasion of much thanksgiving and congratulation, and it was a providential appointment that the congregation had so strengthened itself to meet the excitements and strains of the Civil War. Our town was turned into an armed camp. As many as ten thousand soldiers wearing the blue were posted in the then famous Camp Curtin, and threat- ened to swallow up every other interest. The tramp of men and the beat of drums ceased neither weck day nor Sunday. Third street then as now was the great highway. The ex- citement was intense. On Sabbath morning, June 28, 1863, Dr. Cattell preached to a congregation of twelve persons. The evening services were omitted. More than onee during the progress of this bloody war the female teachers and older scholars went from the Sabbath-school to assist in the various hospitals or to prepare for wants that could not wait for next day. Neither were our men idle or indifferent
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to the voice of patriotism. For at the call of country, ac- cording to the statistics prepared by the superintendent for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pine Street Church, forty-nine (49) members of the Sunday-school had served in the army and navy during the Civil War. The closing words of the report for the Sabbath-school covering the year 1864 are the following: " Eight deaths are recorded, among them those of Corporal John C. Lane and William Smith, of the Fifty-fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and of the same company. Smith died in hospital and Lane's death was hastened by grief over the loss of his comrade." Old people will recall the anxieties and hopes, with all the varying sensations, which characterized those trying times to State and Church. But notwithstanding these distracting scenes, the Session in its narrative of the state of religion presented April 13, 1863, say : "Our Sab- bath and weekly services have been well attended, and our Sabbath-school has been largely increased. The sum of our contributions to benevolent objects, we are happy to say, is fifty per cent. larger than last year, and three times as great as the year before. We have welcomed into our number sixteen persons." "On July 19, 1863," the record further says, " Jacob F. Seiler was ordained to the eldership." The Board of Elders remained unchanged until May 22d, 1887, when the number was increased to six, by the ordination of Francis Jordan and Daniel W. Cox. After a period of three years and two months, Dr. Cattell tendered his resignation, much to the regret of the congregation, and preached his farewell sermon November 29, 1863. He had accepted the presidency of Lafayette College. On November 15, 1864,
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Rev. Samuel S. Mitchell, a licentiate of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, was ordained and installed Pastor of the Pine Street Church, and so continued for four years and three months, when he resigned to accept a call to the New York Avenue Church, of Washington city. The third pastor was Addison K. Strong. He was installed on the 14th of June, 1870. Dr. Strong continued in the pastoral office for three years and eight months, when, having accepted a call from Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was released by the Presby- tery February 12, 1874. Once more the church was without a pastor.
The membership of the church kept steadily growing under the care and oversight of our rather numerous pastors. Upon the resignation of Dr. Strong the net membership was three hundred and twenty-four. But the Sabbath-school had at the same time increased to a total of eight hundred and twenty-one. From 1872 to 1875 the great question was to provide accommodation for its increasing members. Prior to 1570 the Seventh Street- now Covenant-had been organized by volunteers from Pine Street. Later, about the year 1872, many of our most useful and best trained co-laborers took part in founding the Westminster Sabbath-school. Notwithstanding this spirit of colonization, the rooms were so crowded that from 1872 to 1875 the urgent question was, how to provide for our growing numbers. An effort which had originated with the Primary department met with liberal response ; yet these contributions would have secured but a fraction of the bare ground. This was the prospect as the Sabbath- schools were holding their fifteenth anniversary, when the
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problem was solved by the generosity of a single family. The superintendent then made the gratifying announce- ment that Messrs. J. Donald Cameron, Henry McCormick and James McCormick would purchase ground adjoining the property, and Mrs. Eliza McCormick and Mrs. Mary Cameron would ereet the buildings thereupon. The erec- tion and equipment of this stately and substantial building cost $41,600. How far this thoughtful liberality was justi- fied may be learned from the then existing and subsequent facts. Year by year the church had gathered from the Sabbath-school. Out of the eight hundred and seventy-five additions to the membership of the church during these thirty years, seven hundred of the accessions had been from the Sabbath-school. Total membership of Sabbath- schools 1,927.
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