USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Centennial volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, PA., 1784-1884 > Part 10
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caused by labors among the poor and suffering families of the children of the Kensington School.
The planting and care of Mission Schools was the principal object in the formation of the Pittsburgh Sabbath School Union, in 1817, sustained by the two Presbyterian churches and the Methodist. This association had under its care, in 1823, when the population of these cities was perhaps not above a tenth of what it is now, the surprising number of twenty-one schools, with two thousand scholars and three hundred and twenty teachers on their rolls. In 1825, the First Presbyterian Church organized an independent association, which, in 1832, sustained twelve schools, having one thousand two hundred and twelve scholars, nineteen superintendents, and a hundred and three teachers. This organization continued its work, though latterly with de- creasing interest, for twenty-six years.
It is not difficult to trace the origin of several of the Presby- terian churches of the city and its vicinity to these Mission Schools. And as each new effort prospered, it in turn assisted to furnish workers for more destitute fields. Thus the old church was far from performing the whole of the grand work deseribed. The daughters sometimes excelled the mother in real sacrifices and toils. And to all the other Presbyterian churches full and hearty praise must be rendered for the willing and zealous labors of their members in these missionary enterprises and for the noble fruits which have sprung from them.
5. The influence of these Christian efforts upon the city and its increasing population, through this hundred years, has been very great. No human mind can estimate the effect of a sound religious faith and morality and zeal, upon all the commercial, and political and social, and humane and educational and ecclesi- astical spirit and institutions and operations, of a rapidly growing community in the New World. All Pittsburgh, and all the regions where its commercial communications extend, and its sons and daughters emigrate, owes a large debt to this church and the churches which have sprung from it.
The various nationalities of this manufacturing community have shared the benefit. Many cases would illustrate the extent of it. Let us mention three German boys out of our prin- cipal school. One of them is now at the head of a bank in the city, a prosperous manufacturer and an able counsellor and intel-
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ligent and generous supporter of his own branch of the Christian church and of numerous public enterprises. Another is the earnest and respected superintendent of one of the largest Pres- byterian churches in the city of New York. Another is a useful missionary in the empire of Brazil.
The literature of the schools has been a benefit to the public, circulating, as it has done, through a multitude of families, by papers and tracts and the books of libraries, adapted not alone to juvenile readers, but also to young men and women and to maturer minds. Missoinary and expository lectures have been given at times. During one year two professors of the Theo- logical Seminary in Allegheny, lectured in alternate weeks at the teachers' meetings.
6. The various branches of the general work of the Presby- terian Church in the country have been aided by contributions from the Sabbath Schools. Children have been supported in Missionary Schools in heathen fields, and among the freedmen of the South. The eloquent Christian Brahmin, Sheshadri, belong- ing to the Scotch Free Church mission in India, received the gifts of some of the children for a time. Mr. Scovel's Bible class carried Daoud Kurban, now an assistant in the Syrian Mission, through four years of his preparatory study at the college in Beyrout. Occasional help has been given to home missionary and Sabbath School claims.
7. The personal relations to our Sabbath Schools of those who have gone forth to foreign and home missionary fields, who have rendered important services to the cause of education in various directions, who have become pastors of churches, or who deserve honor as benefactors by means of their pecuniary con- tributions to religious and humane and educational objects, would itself be a theme sufficient for a most interesting address or paper. We can but touch upon it briefly.
If we cast our eyes upon the foreign work of the Presbyterian Church, we see at its head Dr. John C. Lowrie, who was super- intendent of two of the Mission Schools-that on the hill to the east, called the Arthursville school, and that on Coal Hill, now Mt. Washington. He was licensed in this church, June 6, 1832, and sent as the pioneer of our missions to India, in 1833. Wells Bushnell, one of the two pioneers of the North American Indian work of the Western Foreign Missionary and
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Foreign Board, was converted under Dr. Herron's preaching, and he married the daughter of John Hannen, long an elder here and in the Allegheny church : while Joseph Kerr, the other pioneer, married Mary Ann Caldwell, Mr. Hannen's step-daughter. All these were connected in various ways with the schools. James Wilson, long missionary in Lodiana, Allahabad and Agra, was superintendent of the Arthursville school. Albert O. Johnson, one of the missionaries murdered at Cawnpore during the terrible Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, was a member of this church while in the Seminary, and was a sharer in its work. John Cloud, the martyr in Africa, and two or three other early missionaries, probably were teachers. Of those who have labored in China, Dr. A. P. Happer was associated with the First Church ; William Speer was scholar, teacher and superintendent in the home school in 1844, and also a teacher in the Kensington school ; and Cornelia Brackenridge, who became Mrs. Speer, was scholar and teacher in the home school. Annie K. Davis, daughter of an elder, is aiding in the wonderful work now in progress in Japan. John Rea, brought up from childhood in the church, has been our representative in the great mission fields of Wash- ington Territory and California.
Many of the students of the Theological Seminary who have since then been honored in pastoral and educational labors, have been members of the church, or attendants upon its ordinances. Dr. Rich- ard Lea, of Lawrenceville, grew up in the church and its Sabbath School, and was a teacher and superintendent. The Rev. Dr. Alex- ander B. Brown, President of Jefferson College; Dr. Aaron Wil- liams, professor in the same institution ; Dr. Thomas H. Robinson, recently elected a professor in the Western Theological Seminary ; Dr. James W. Wightman, late President of the College at Bowling Green, Ky., now in the Steubenville Female Seminary ; Mrs. Samuel J. Beatty, of the Seminary for the Freedmen at Char- lotte, North Carolina ; Mrs. Cooper, formerly Miss Skinner, whose husband is laboring in a Western missionary field, and others, have been Sabbath School workers. And we might add a list of honored pastors of churches, and of pastors' wives, names familiar to all-Comingo, MeKaig, Robinson, Miller, MeKibbin, and others-some now in heaven, some yet on earth, who have been sharers in the toils and recompenses of serving in this part of the vineyard.
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It sorely grieves us to mention but these names and scant details in respect to a branch of our subject which is capable of affording so much which would be of deep and abiding interest, and help to illustrate the history of the influence of the church and its Sabbath Schools upon the best and highest interests of religion and of mankind.
And yet this would still be but a partial view of the subject. It would be opening but one of the lines of illustration of which it is capable, were we to notice the lives of some who have been scholars in these Sabbath School classes, whose large-hearted con- secration of life and property and pecuniary means for religious and philanthropic and educational and scientific purposes have justly made their names beloved and honored in wide regions, some of them throughout the nation and foreign lands.
8. The equipments for work have gone on co-extensively with that which God opened before the church in behalf of the children under its care. The little germ in the Session room behind the church, in 1813, outgrew its accommodations. In 1826, it was settled comfortably in the quarters on Sixth avenue; which was one of the first buildings in the country, some claim it was the first, specially erceted and furnished with reference to Sabbath School uses. The several thousand dollars thus spent was a very large expenditure for the time, in a line of church work whose importance was yet little comprehended. Large improvements were made in 1840, in the same direction.
Of recent years the thoughts of the membership have been directed more and more towards the nature of the influence which this church is to exert for the future upon this city and its population. Its history from the beginning, its rela- tions to the general spiritual interests of the region, the disper- sion of many of its families into other sanctuaries in the suburban districts, and the wants of a great number of children and young persons of both sexes, whom the excite- ments and temptations of the present age are powerfully estranging from the religion of the Bible, the observance of the Sabbath, and the restraints of even common morality, all have manifested the importance of enlarged efficiency in its im- mediate Sabbath School work. This work has gradually been made more systematic and complete. The Infant School had
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been begun in 1830. In 1871, the more advanced of the young people were added to the previous Bible class of the pastor, and three departments were established, the "senior," the "intermedi- ate " and the "infant." But where shall accommodations be found for the expanding work and its still broader aspirations ?
It was a joyful day when, on February 11th, 1881, after several years of delays caused by legal difficulties, now finally removed, an assembly of this people joined by friends from other churches dedicated to labors for "the glory of God and the highest good of men," the spacious and complete and beautiful edifice which had been reared at an expense of nearly twenty-seven thousand dollars on the church ground. It was, indeed, as the earnest pastor, by whose faith and prayers and labors chiefly this noble effort had attained success, then declared, a time when " God made them rejoice with great joy, and the wives also and the children rejoiced." Oh, that this church may never forget the spirit and ends of that dedication ; and the solenm declaration that this house was now set apart for the performance, by men and women, of those varied aets of spiritual instruction and Christian charity by which they best imitate the earthly life of Jesus Christ. There may many of the poor be taught the gospel, the broken- hearted be healed, the captives in the chains of vice and intem- perance be delivered, multitudes of the spiritually blind recover their sight, and of those bruised of Satan be set at liberty. And Oh, that abundant and royal gifts of salvation bestowed here from on high, may prove that the time in which we live and act is the dawn of the promised time which the servants of God have long waited for, "the acceptable year of the Lord."
III. Another date remains upon our programme for this hour-1984.
We have considered the wondrous gifts with which God equipped us a century ago for the work which he committed to our fathers. We have glanced at foundations of good which we have been enabled by His grace to lay here during this first century of the history of this church and of Christianity in this part of the land. What are the promises and duties of the future ? What shall we say to the children who are with us to-day ? What shall we say to those who must carry on the work which will be commemorated when the next occasion like the present,
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a swift century from this time, will call together another audience within these walls ?
Come, let us cast our eyes forward for a moment over the century to come. Oh, what a century this will be ! The crown- ing century of this dispensation ! The harvest time of the world ! It has been barren winter, toiling and hoping seed-time, prepara- tion and endurance, until now. But the time of the harvest has come. We see a thousand signs of promise in God's word, and in the condition of the church and of the world, that this coming century will bring much more of blessing to the cause of Christ on earth, and to the race of man universally, than all of the thousands of years of the world's history hitherto. The marriage of the church, the wife of the Lamb, the joyful ac- knowledgment and honor of her who has long sat in the dust as a captive and slave, draws near. Jesus will be crowned with many crowns the "Lord of all." The Bible is full of promises and prophecies of the glory and joy of this final day of salvation, this triumphant acceptable year of the Lord when all His enemies shall bow before Him and offer gifts at His feet.
Oh, "tell it to the generation following !" Tell it earnestly at once to all, wherever you ean, that they may come at once to Jesus, and hasten to kiss Him in submission and obedience, lest in this day of conquest and judgment of His enemies He break them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Oh, that none of you may perish from the way. But above all, tell it to the young, "to the gener- ation following." Come, children-even those of you who are but a few years old, some of whom perhaps will live until this last century of this final thousand years of the church militant shall be almost finished-come, children, give your hearts, give your lives, give your all, to the ever-blessed Jesus, to Him as your Saviour and your King. Love Him as you ought, and serve Him as you ought, with all your soul and all your might. He only is worthy to receive all you can bestow upon Him. Let us all begin to use the vast wealth of the gifts of nature which God has be- stowed upon this region, and to employ all the immense power and influence of our manufactures and our trade and agencies of good or of evil, for the temporal and spiritual good of our fellow immortal beings and for the honor of God, in a measure far beyond that which our fathers have done in their days of feeble- ness and conflict. From this day let there be a new era of love,
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and devotion, and self-sacrifice, in all ways and in all things, for Christ and His Kingdom.
Oh, that Pittsburgh may become in truth, a " city of our God ;" that the church here and in the region about us, may be a "mountain of His holiness." Let each man, and woman, and child, do all he or she can for good all round you, and to help to bring all these cities, this commonwealth and this nation, and to lead all the nations of the world, to learn of Christ, the great Saviour and the great King. Let us send forth from this church, and those surrounding us, men and women and gifts of good of every kind, which shall spread abroad in this and all lands, and make this city, like Jerusalem of old, "a joy of the whole earth."
After the admirable address and singing came greetings from other schools, first among them that from the Third Presbyterian Church. It was a pleasant feature of the occasion that this greeting was conveyed by the highly esteemed elder of that church, Mr. Daniel Bushnell, who had united with the First Church in the revival of 1827-8, and had been one of those upon whom the hand of Dy. Herron was laid in 1832, when he indicated to some of the most valuable members, that the time had come to form another church, and that they ought to go forth to the work.
The greeting of Mr. Bushnell was brief, but hearty. He re- ferred touchingly to the revival in which he was brought to Christ, and certified to its great influence in the church circles and over the city in general. The great changes for the better in Sabbath School facilities were mentioned. He spoke of the many good men and women who had worshiped then and since in the old First Church. He alluded to the formation of the Third Church, as done in perfect good feeling, and with the design of extending the Redeemer's Kingdom: Closing, he ex- pressed the most earnest wishes for the continued prosperity and usefulness of the First Church.
Rev. Mr. Hill, pastor of the Minersville Church, followed. The Minersville Sabbath School was the seventh one that was a organized and supported by the First Church. Although the school is now fifty years old, it is not so large as it might be.
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But he was glad that in this day the good old mother and her beautiful children had not forgotten them ; it will encourage them to go on and accomplish still greater things. Fifty years ago they had to dig up the thorns and thistles at Minersville before the good seed could be sown. The first time attention was attracted to the place was in 1826. At that time it was the custom to drink much whiskey at social gatherings. A corn husking took place at Minersville, the neighbors had gathered in, and as a result of the whiskey there was a fight and a murder. When the news was brought to the city an effort was made to establish a mission at Minersville. It proved a failure. Four years later another effort was made, and after a while a lot was found and a church built. On the lot was a black thorn tree, which Mr. John Herron, the donor of the property, stipulated should remain as a memorial of what the community was before it was leavened by the gospel. Although the congregation of the church is not large now, they have a Sabbath School larger in proportion than the church membership. Some people who attend down-town churches, let their children attend the Minersville Sabbath School. There are some Germans who care nothing for religion themselves, who nevertheless desire their children to get religious instruction, and permit their children to attend the Sabbath School.
Rev. Mr. McKibbin, of the Second Church, was introduced, and said :
"It is a vastly encouraging thing to think of all the difficulties that this church has had to contend with-difficulties compared with which those we have now are only child's play. It is en- couraging to remember these difficulties, because it shows what can be accomplished in spite of them. There is one characteristic thing that ought to be imitated and perpetuated-how many of the old members of the church have been associated with the Sabbath School and assisted in it ! If the older people can't get interested in the Sabbath School, then there is something the matter with the older people. The Sabbath School is a spiritual power in the church; it has repaid back to the church every dollar that was spent in its behalf. It is a pleasant thing to stand here and feel that I have something invested in this work. For our school, I
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bid you God speed ; and if we can't get ahead of you, and can't keep up with you, we will be close behind you, and if you'stop I give you warning that we will pass you."
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Superintendent Laughlin made a few remarks, urging the school to go on with the same power and the same willingness in the future that they have shown in the past.
The singing of a verse of a hymn, and the benediction by the Rev. Dr. Cowan, closed the exercises for the afternoon.
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SABBATH EVENING.
Other Presbyterian Churches adjourned their services, and the people came in throngs to the old centre.
The Commercial Gazette of the next morning said : So great was the crowd that attended the evening service, that hundreds of people were turned away unable even to get within the doors. Pews were uncomfortably crowded. Two rows of chairs were placed in every aisle, and hundreds of people stood all evening in the passage ways and in the gallery. Two thousand people is a reasonable estimate for the size of the congregation. In the pulpit were the Rev. Messrs. Kellogg, Scovel, Paxton, Allison, Cowan and Mckibbin. At 7.30 the exercises were opened by an organ voluntary. Mrs. Chas. C. Mellor sang Gounod's beau- tiful solo, "There is a Green Hill Far Away," and the choir rendered the anthem, "O, Saving Victim." The sermon of the evening was delivered by Rev. Wm. M. Paxton, D. D., of New York, formerly pastor of the First Church of Pittsburgh. As the well-remembered pastor advanced to the sacred desk to begin his discourse a respectful silence gathered over the auditorium. For fully a minute he stood surveying the upturned faces. The quiet deepened into impressiveness. Then, before announcing his text he said, slowly and solemnly :
*
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DR. PAXTON'S SERMON.
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This church is one hundred years old. This simple fact is significant. It shows the enduring power of God's word, and the perpetual youth of the gospel. You listen to it with as much freshness this day as when it was first uttered upon this spot one hundred years ago. Truly, "the word of the Lord endureth forever."
Under these circumstances it seems to me that the message which comes to us this night reverberating along the echoes of the century is that contained in the first chapter of First Corinthians and eighteenth verse :
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness ; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
You have doubtless often observed the different impressions which men get of an object from the different standpoints from which it is viewed. Looking at the rising moon, for example, from our position upon the northern side of the equator, the outside curve of its orb, before it is full, is towards the right. But when it is seen from a position south of the equator, the outside curve is towards the left. And yet it is the same moon.
Such are also the different aspects which moral objects present, owing to the different points of observation from which they are regarded. The Apostle presents us such a contrast in the text- the same object looking so differently and producing such oppo- site effects upon different classes of persons. The one object which they both contemplate is the cross of Christ as held up in- the preaching of the gospel. To the one class it appears as foolishness, to the other it is the power of God ; and the differ-
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ence of impression indicates the different points of observation from which they form their opinions. The one sees the cross from the standpoint of a lost, perishing man, the other from the standpoint of a saved believer.
"The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness ; but to us who are saved it is the power of God."
Hence in this text we have :
I. The object presented to our view-the cross of Christ.
II. The estimate which we form of it-to some it is foolish- ness, to some it is the power of God.
III. The standpoint which this estimate indicates-that of the lost or the saved.
I. The object presented to our view in the gospel-the cross. Literally, the cross was the wooden instrument of torture and death upon which our Lord was crucified. To the Jew and the heathen it conveyed the idea of shame and infamy ; but in our minds it is associated with everything that is beautiful in virtue, attractive in benevolence, sacred in religion, and sublime in self-sacrifice. It is the token of heaven's love, the emblem of the loftiest heroism, the symbol of our faith, the sign of our Passover rescue from sin and death, and the pledge of eternal salvation. The character of Him who died upon the cross surrounds it with a halo of glory. The principles which it embodied and expressed live in the heart of the world and destine the cross to a perpetual renown. The bless- ings which it brings us are so precious, and its results in the world's history so great, as to embalm it in our dearest memories and encircle it with the chaplet of immortality. He who hung upon it was for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor. The cross was the stepping-stone to the throne. It con- verted the malefactor into the monarch, and the crown of thorns into a diadem of glory. Hence the cross has a wondrous mean- ing that it will take the history of all time to tell, and the sweep of all eternity to celebrate. Constantine inscribed it upon his banners, and the Roman legions followed it as the sign of victory. Art adopts it as its most sacred symbol. Science exhibits its image and superscription. Piety consecrates it as the symbol of its devotion. Taste imitates its form in gold and precious stones, and makes it the adornment of beauty and grace. Progress adopts it as the watchword of its advance. Poetry gilds with it
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