USA > Pennsylvania > History of the Church of the brethren of the Eastern district of Pennsylvania > Part 13
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The children of the neighborhood became greatly attached to the Mission and no less to Brother and Sister Croft, and they flocked together every Sunday to learn God's word and absorb, unconsciously, the Christian influence of the Mission. In a short time, seven rooms of the house were filled with classes and household furniture had to be sold in order to provide room for the school.
Besides the Sunday-school, other branches of work were soon started. The mid-week Prayer Meeting was started for the older boys and girls. A Mother's Meeting was also organized. Thus the influence of the Mission began to touch the homes directly.
It was discovered that many mothers were anxious to attend religious service but could not on account of home duties. This called the Home Department into existence. The home visitation in this work revealed the fact that the mothers were kept from church on account of having to care for small children; hence the Cradle Roll was or- ganized. These two departments have been constant feed- ing agencies of the main Sunday-school.
One of the greatest problems was that of drink. Beer and other drinks of similar nature were used freely in the homes. It was clear that the first task was to save the children and young people from this awful curse. To do this the Loyal Temperance Legion was organized in 1905. During the lifetime of the Legion 205 boys and girls have taken the pledge against the use of drink, tobacco and pro- fanity. The influence of this little society has been exceed- ingly wholesome. A number of our young men who have never joined the Church are free from the habit of drink and tobacco.
Up to this time there had been no regular preaching serv- ice. The " good seed " had been sown quietly and left to do its work under the influence of the Spirit. On October 6, 1906, the first regular preaching service was held. Charles C. Ellis, now a professor at Juniata College, conducted the first service. He continued to help in the work for several successive weeks and occasionally he preached during his stay at the University of Pennsylvania. Preachers were
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secured week by week as they could be found. An effort was made to secure consecrated and spiritual men who loved children and young people. For four years ministers were supplied in this way. During this time C. C. Ellis, of the Church of the Brethren, G. B. M. Clouser, of the Baptist Church, and C. D. Rischel, of the Church of God, were the principal preachers, but in all, about forty different men were engaged.
In 1907, three years after the work had been started, twenty-five had been baptized into the Church. The Home Department numbered fifty and the Cradle Roll twenty-five, while the Sunday-school enrollment had reached two hun- dred with an average attendance of ninety-five. The school needed more room. Every available corner of the old build- ing had been utilized. The neighborhood was not much built up and afforded no larger building than the one in which the school was then housed. Appeals for help to our own people were futile. But the Crofts had been looking ahead. They expected God to bless their work with results. One by one they had purchased three lots side by side at the corner of Willard Street and Kensington Avenue. This gave them a plot of ground 57 by 103 ft. But the hope of a new building seemed Utopian. They did not have the means. Their business was small and profits meager and uncertain. The little congregation made it a matter of much prayer. Finally a business man of some means, acquainted with Brother and Sister Croft, learned of their hopes and anxieties with reference to the work and agreed to loan money for the erection of a new building. This was interpreted as an answer to prayer.
After much careful and economical planning, the contract was let for an $11,000 building. The corner stone was laid on November 17, 1907. Elder J. T. Myers presided, Charles A. Bame and Martin G. Brumbaugh delivered the main addresses. G. B. M. Clouser, President of the Philadelphia Bible College, and M. C. Swigart, of the Germantown Church, were present and took part in the service. The building was pushed rapidly but cautiously in regard to ex- pense. It was planned with reference to the peculiar needs
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of the work and is entirely removed from ordinary church architecture both inside and out. It is a plain substantial brick building 38 by 76 ft. The main floor has four rooms : The Auditorium, seating about 200 people; the primary and Prayer-meeting room, and two class rooms in which Brother and Sister Croft have lived in order to reduce their expenses. The basement is ten feet deep and has a heater room, two dressing rooms and a large room securely cemented and equipped with swings, sliding-boards, see-saws, etc., where the children are allowed to play and are thus kept off the streets. Special attention was given to the arrangement and location of windows with reference to light and ventilation. The floors are of hard wood and stained; only the aisles are carpeted. These precautions were taken in order that the building might be cheerful and sanitary. In order to reduce the extreme heat of summer, three large electric fans have been installed which add greatly to the comfort of the build- ing and tend to maintain the attendance of church and Sun- day-school. In the basement, however, the heaters are run summer and winter in order to make it comfortable for the classes which meet there.
On February 20, 1908, the school moved into the new building. With more room, it began to grow rapidly and with this increase came new and difficult problems. Teach- ers were needed, efficient officers were hard to get, and a Pastor seemed almost imperative, but the congregation was poor and could not begin to carry the added expense of a Pastor. But in spite of these things the work grew. It grew marvelously. At the close of the fiscal year of 1910 the average attendance of the Sunday-school had reached 186; there had been 80 baptisms, and the average attendance of the Junior and Loyal Temperance Legion Society was about 75. The other departments had grown propor- tionally.
At this point we must turn aside to account for the rapid growth of the Mission. The thing to be emphasized first is hard work. Brother and Sister Croft are persistent workers. Bethany Mission is their only child and they have given her their undivided attention. Sister Croft has
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been a real mother to the children of the Mission, a light in numbers of homes, and a power for righteousness in the community. Few can realize the stress under which she has labored. In ill health and against the advice of physi- cians, she stood by the work and never once slacked in her efforts. Brother Croft has worked for the Mission as few men work for their families. He and Mrs. Croft donated the ground on which the building was erected, borrowed the money which went into the new building, paid the interest, the coal, water, electric and gas bills, and have been re- sponsible for the janitor work. They have not spared them- selves, either in work or expenditure, to make Bethany Mis- sion a comfortable place of worship. Back of this labor and sacrifice there has been an ardent love for souls which has made the work joyful and sweet.
The method of work has been a very potent factor in the growth of the Mission. The most effective work has been done in the homes and by house to house visitation. Special effort has been made to keep in close touch with every scholar. Books are kept with the accuracy of any business firm and definite and concise reports given annually. The support of the work is by free will contributions. The spirituality of the membership is not imperiled and the sense. of the obligation to support the Master's work willingly and. cheerfully is not stifled by church festivals, bazaars and similar functions. The keynote of the work has been evangelism. Rarely has a sermon been preached along with which an invitation has not been given to the unsaved to accept Christ.
Finally, Bethany Mission has met a real community need. This is indispensable to the growth of any institution. Numbers of people in the community did not attend public worship anywhere because they were "just ordinary work- ing people," as they put it, and had a feeling that the larger churches were too cold and formal for them. Bethany Mis- sion, with its free, home-like atmosphere, has always endeav- ored to provide a congenial place of worship for all classes. It has attempted to be not only the working man's Church but every man's Church.
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Previous to the location of the Mission here there was no agency in the immediate neighborhood to comfort and coun- sel homes in times of distress, and domestic irregularIty. There was no voice that cried out in the wilderness of sin against the saloon, the lewd show, gambling parlors and dens of vice. But the Mission workers have opposed these things in no uncertain sound. It has proven its right to the con- fidence and support of the community by supplying a vital religious need. These three factors explain, in the main, the rapid growth and development of the work of the Brethren in this section of the City.
Now let us turn to the further developments of the Mis- sion. It was during the summer of 1910 that the member- ship decided to call a Pastor. The writer of this article was chosen and took up the work in September, 1910, the Church granting the privilege of attending school at Crozer Theological Seminary, and at the University of Pennsyl- vania. In December of the same year we were organized into a regular congregation. Elders A. L. Grater, J. T. Myers, and J. B. Shisler, conducted the organization which resulted in J. T. Myers being chosen as our Elder and S. B. Croft, Robert G. Jones, and Harvey D. Morton, as deacons. Owing to the inability of the Church to assume the debt on the building, the election of Trustees did not occur until July 1912, at which time the building was transferred to the Church subject to a mortgage of about $8,000. The Trus- tees, as elected, were William E. Gotwals, President; S. B. Croft, Secretary and Treasurer; Julia Croft, William An- geny and Alexander Dunn.
The present status of the Mission may be gleaned from the 1913 report. The Sunday-school, with Sister Croft as Superintendent, has an enrollment of 481, with an average attendance of 261. The school is divided into three sec- tions and has a total of 30 classes including the primary de- partment which is under the supervision of Sister Myra George. The Home Department is under the direction of Sister Lillian Young and has a membership of 90. Sister Jennie Healey is superintending the Cradle Roll and has 72 infants under her care. The Young People's Prayer-
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meeting is definitely organized with Brother Herbert Taylor as President. There are about 40 on the roll and they have contributed $50 annually to the Building fund for the last two years besides other benevolences. The Sisters' Aid So- ciety has been doing splendid work under the leadership of Sister Sallie B. Schnell of the First Church. They have just presented to the building fund a check for $100 and have contributed $26.00 to the general funds during the year, besides a contribution to foreign missions. The Junior and Loyal Temperance Legion has maintained an average at- tendance of 64 for the year and is doing a splendid work for the children of the neighborhood. Our Teacher-Train- ing Class has ten prospective graduates for this coming October (1913). The mid-week Prayer Meeting, and two separate organizations for young men and young women, constitute the remaining activities of our work. The sum total of baptisms since the work started is 187.
The paramount need of the work at this time is a larger building. The Sunday-school attendance has exceeded three hundred several times during the past year and the Church at these times is taxed to its utmost capacity. All space has been utilized from basement to pulpit. There are hundreds of children in the community who ought to be in Sunday- school but the Brethren cannot hope to do much for them without a church large enough to accommodate them. The congregation here is poor but liberal with their meager earn- ings towards the Lord's work. Last year the contributions to the Building Fund amounted to about $1,100 and the running expenses for the year were about $1,600. The Trustees are beginning a campaign to raise $30,000 to en- large the building. This is a big undertaking for a con- gregation so poor and small, but something must be done to save these neglected souls, and we feel that there are those in the Brotherhood sufficiently interested in the Kingdom of Christ to help in this great work.
Bethany Mission will stand as a life-long monument to the devotion and self-sacrifice of Brother and Sister Croft, and scores of men and women will point to this plain little Church as a saving factor in their lives.
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I think I could not close this sketch better than to quote from a letter written to me by G. B. M. Clouser, of the Bap- tist denomination, who did a large part of the preaching during the first years of the Mission.
" PEMBERTON, N. J. " June 18, 1913.
" Dear Mr. Bowman,-
. . It was my privilege to be associated with Mr. and Mrs. Croft from the inception of the work in Kensington, and to watch its growth with keen interest under their patient persever- ing efforts. . .. The audience that I preached to gave me the impression that it was a semi-barbarous community, with moral standards very low, home training and restraint conspicuously absent, parents and children utterly destitute of religious in- struction, while the saloon was doing its deadly work-drag- ging down the home and the tone of the locality, degrading and damning the souls of fathers and brothers.
" The planting of the mission seemed to work a mighty change among the people, and a change in every important sense,-physically, morally, and spiritually. A new light was seen, and a new life imparted to lives of little promise, but time has proved them to be of sterling worth. I have never in all my ministry witnessed such a change wrought in a similar com- munity in so short a time and one of such permanent char- acter. This is to be attributed to the policy of the Mission, and the nature of the ministry fulfilled in the homes of the people by Mrs. Croft. ... The Mission was planted at the psycho- logical moment ; it met a great need in the community and re- mains as a monument to the consecration of two souls who had a vision of service, and followed it.
"Yours Very Sincerely, "G. B. M. CLOUSER." PAUL H. BOWMAN.
UPPER DUBLIN CHURCH, AMBLER, PA.
CHAPTER III.
UPPER DUBLIN CHURCH.
The history of the Upper Dublin Church begins with 1840. In this year Bro. John Reiff gave land for a church and free burial ground; and he was likely the chief mover in having the house erected. He was the father of Sisters Anna M. Brunner and Amanda R. Kratz. The deed is dated September 14, 1840. The lot contained ninety-five perches of land. It was deeded to the following trustees : Wm. Jones, John W. Price, John Sperry, Henry Sperry, John H. Umstad, George Price, Joseph Pennypacker and Wm. Price. It was designated that the lot shall be and for- ever remain a free burying ground.
The meeting house itself was erected in 1840. It is a substantial stone structure, in size about 27 × 36 ft. (See illustration. )
Upper Dublin is recognized as an offspring of the Ger- mantown Church, is her youngest child. John W. Price, of Fitzwatertown, is regarded as the first minister in charge although the oversight seemed vested in him, John Umstad and Jacob Reiner conjointly, though this must have been subsequent to 1840, for at that date Jacob Reiner was not yet a preacher, and he would not be given immediate oversight after his election. In other words Germantown, Green Tree (then hardly recognized as a separate congre- gation yet) and Indian Creek were interested in the forma- tion of the new congregation.
John U. Slingluff was about the only preacher who was called from rank and file of the membership to proclaim the Gospel. He represented the church in the District Meetings of 1867, 1868, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1875. He later moved to Kansas.
An attempt was made October 28, 1893, to elect a minister from the membership; but the effort resulted in no choice.
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Edwin Kirk who frequently represented the church at District Meeting, from 1870 to 1875, preached for the mem- bers at Upper Dublin. In 1876 the delegates from Upper Dublin were "rejected on account of being members of a secret society." From this time the name of Edwin Kirk is not found in the minutes. The minutes of the congre- gation in 1875 state that there was trouble with secret societies.
It was a common thing in the early days for members from adjoining congregations to go to Upper Dublin to worship. It seems this custom was more general then than now, likely because each local congregation now has serv- ices every Sunday. In the diary of Abel Fitzwater of Lumberville, near Phoenixville we find this entry, "May II (1845) G. D. Price and John Francis preached at Upper Dublin." John Francis, who lived at Shannonville, had at this time regular appointments at Upper Dublin.
The following have been deacons in the Upper Dublin Church :
I. William Jones, born July 7, 1802 ; died March 18, 1862.
2. Henry Sperry, born January 8, 1791 ; died July 5, 1859.
3. Henry Slingluff, born January 1, 1799; died February II, 1881.
4. John D. Gamble, died December 7, 1888; aged 65 years. 5. George Allen, died December 31, 1891, in 84th year. He succeeded Gamble.
William Slingluff was an active deacon. We find him occupying the chair in the council of August 29, 1885.
Casper Slingluff and Howard Ellis were elected deacons August 28, 1886. J. Z. Gottwals was the elder present.
Richard Rayman and John S. Schreiber elected deacons January 25, 1902.
In the minutes of 1902 we read : " Bro. William H. Sling- luff one of our Deacons who was always at his place and gave his attention to all matters of interest to the church was called to his home beyond on the eighth of February 1902."
At the beginning we have seen who were the original trustees. February 28, 1885, we find that John D. Jones was elected a trustee in place of Charles Smith resigned.
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George D. Price, the one surviving trustee, conveyed the property to George Allen, Charles Smith and Wm. H. Sling- luff on August 26, 1879. On the death of George Allen, Henry J. Walton was elected trustee, August 27, 1892.
Friend Henry G. Slingluff was elected a trustee, August 30, 1902. John S. Schreiber was elected to the same office, August 22, 1903.
The first secretary of the church on record at Upper Dub- lin was J. Howard Ellis, who was elected February 27, 1875. He was a school teacher. February 28, 1885, he resigned and Henry J. Walton was elected in his place. August 27, 1898, Helen Schreiber was elected secretary. She filled the office till August 12, 1908, when Sister Amanda R. Kratz was elected.
We find that J. Howard Ellis was treasurer up to Febru- ary 23, 1901, when Bro. John S. Schreiber was called to fill the position. Who cared for the funds before Bro. Ellis we have not learned.
The Oversight of the Church.
We have seen that in the early days of the Upper Dublin Congregation she was looked after by Brethren John Price, John Umstad and Jacob Reiner. John U. Slingluff was a resident preacher here until about 1875, when he moved west. Whether or not he had the oversight we cannot at this writing state, but he likely had the principal care of the congregation.
In 1885 Israel Poulson from Amwell, N. J., was received as a minister in the second degree. He had been previously elder in charge of the Amwell congregation. We find him in the chair at Upper Dublin, in the council of February 28, 1885, or some months before his certificate was received, which was on August 29 of the same year. He was recog- nized rather as the pastor.
Elder Jacob Z. Gottwals was in charge in 1886, and con- tinued to moderate the councils till March 10, 1888. About this time the Upper Dublin Church seems to have turned to the District Meeting to look after her affairs. For in
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1889 Jacob Connor, a member of the District Mission Board, was appointed to see to the welfare of Upper Dublin. In the District Meeting Minutes of this year we have the following :
"Brother Jacob Conner reports that he, Brother J. T. Myers and others, visited the Upper Dublin Church and gave them meetings every two week during the year, or nearly so, and find that the great need of the Church there in connection with Germantown, should be supplied with a resident minister, and until that is done, the work there is not likely to prosper."- D. M. Minutes, p. 85.
In the next year's minutes, (1890) we find "Brother Jacob Connor reports that he visited the Upper Dublin church in their semi-annual council and preached for them occasionally. As Brother Connor will not further be charged with the care of the Church, he asks that their wants be considered without delay." -D. M. Minutes, p. 92.
The minutes of District Meeting continue to tell the story. We read of 1891 :
" Brother George Bucher was charged to provide during the year that the Upper Dublin Church be supplied with minis- terial service. Several appointments failed to be supplied by ministers appointed on account of sickness and rain. At one appointment the minister was present, but there were only two hearers. He reports that this church has warm hearted mem- bers who apparently pray for the welfare of Zion, but they are in need of proper and careful instruction by the proper parties on such subjects as the non-conformed principles of the Gospel, and the church visit which latter they seem to have lost sight of." -- D. M. Minutes, p. 95.
It would be in place to state here that Bro. Connor, dur- ing the two years he had charge, got Bro. E. A. Orr of Philadelphia to come up to Upper Dublin every two weeks to preach, and that he also had had Bro. J. B. Brumbaugh of Huntingdon who was attending Crozier Theological Seminary at Chester, to supply the pulpit for a time. At the council of February 13, 1889, during Bro. Connor's oversight, a committee was appointed to see how much could be raised to support a resident preacher. These were about
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the first practical steps at Upper Dublin toward a regular pastorate.
We find in one of the councils held by Bro. Bucher that he had taken Elder Frank Cassel of Hatfield along, and also had Bro. Connor "present for friendly counsel."
The District Meeting Minutes fail to tell us anything about the work at Upper Dublin for the next year; but in 1893 we have :
" Elder H. E. Light was placed in charge of the Upper Dublin Church, and he, by the aid of F. P. Cassel, J. H. Price and others held meetings every Sunday until December, after that they had preaching every two weeks. Three council meetings were held, also one love-feast. The meetings of late have been increasing and some more interest manifested than formerly. Since Dec. 4th they paid all the expenses of all the ministers. They have dispensed with the basket collection and the benedic- tion. Two of the members have died during the year."-Dis- trict Meeting Minutes, p. 108.
February 15, 1893, the congregation decided to make an appeal to the Mission Board for help to support a minister. This appeal was likely to the District Mission Board.
There was something doing at Upper Dublin during the year of 1893-94. For the minutes of 1894 give us a new name in the representation from Upper Dublin-B. F. Kit- tinger. The minutes of this year have the following report :
"Upper Dublin was placed in charge of H. E. Light, and he, by the aid of F. P. Cassel, J. H. Price, and others, held meet- ings every two weeks during the year. Three council meetings were held. The pastoral visit was made by H. E. Light.
" At the love feast an election was held for a minister which resulted in a failure. The meetings were somewhat better at- tended than the year before. Upper Dublin paid all the expenses of the regular appointments, quite recently, through the Home Mission Board, or influence of a part of it. Brother Kittinger, of Marsh Creek Church, Southern Pennsylvania, moved to Upper Dublin. He is a minister in the second degree and was duly installed, and received in his office by the Church in the presence of Elder H. E. Light."-D. M. Minutes, p. 116.
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In the light of the foregoing facts it is quite evident that to the administration of Elder H. E. Light is due the credit of putting the Upper Dublin Church on her feet, which fact is further emphasized by developments of the follow- ing year.
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