USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > Historical manual of the Central Congregational Church, Providence, R.I. 1852-1902 > Part 3
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I remember that in talking with Doctor Harris, before I came to Providence, I inquired as to the attendance on and interest in the prayer meetings of the Central Church. He replied pithily and suggestively that those meetings were an end rather than a means. During my term of office an at- tempt was made by two or three prominent persons in the church, without consulting others, to reduce the chilling and disintegrating effect produced by the few who came to the Thursday evening meeting being scattered about in all parts of the large vestry. Iron rods were put in place, connecting some of the pillars, on which rods red curtains attached to rings were hung, so that a limited portion of the room was partitioned off for the attendants on the Thursday evening service.
I well remember the astonishment depicted on the faces of most of the people, as they entered the vestry on the first evening when this new device was adopted. As I now recall the matter the expedient served its purpose fairly well, in spite of the criticisms which were numerou's and natural.
EDWARD CALDWELL MOORE.
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I am glad that under the changed conditions to which you have now become accustomed, there is no longer need to resort to such devices. "They have their day, and cease to be." Indeed, speaking comprehensively, it may be literally said, " The former things are passed away ; behold, all things are made new." A new location, centrally situated ; a new and imposing church edifice; a new, beautiful, well-appointed chapel ; a greatly enlarged constituency ; a new life and a new outlook for the church. The only new thing that can occa- sion you regret is the new minister whom you must soon seek and find.
I congratulate you on your present well-merited prosperity, and my cordial wish is that it may be continually augmenting as the years pass.
ADDRESS BY REV. EDWARD C. MOORE.
Pastor 1889 to 1902.
I HAVE been asked to write for this meeting a brief his- tory of the Central Church since I became its pastor. I appreciate the reasons for this request. This is deemed to have been a period of interesting changes in the life of the church. It is felt that I possess beyond most others the in- formation requisite. But it is not easy for a man to write the story of his own administration. We have lived through these things together, and need only to have them called to mind. You will not deny me the pleasure of paying tribute to some of the men and women with whom I have served. I shall try to write in a matter of fact way. But it would be ludicrous that I should speak always in the third person.
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The charm of such a recital is often in little things. It will be remembered that the paper is written to be read in our own circle.
On the 28th of October, 1888, your present minister, who was then the pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, in Yonkers, N. Y., preached, for the first time in the pulpit of the Central Congregational Church, in Providence. That pulpit had been vacant since the resignation of the Rev. Charles W. Huntington, D. D., February 7th, 1888.
The 28th of October was a very rainy day, and your pastor that was to be, preached in the old church on Benefit street, what seems to him now to have been rather a grim sermon to rather a small audience. The Sunday school, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and the Young People's Society immediately thereafter, in the old vestry, made me welcome. In the even- ing I was taken by Mr. Francis W. Carpenter to conduct the service in the " Beane Barn," off Butler avenue. In this place an occasional service had been held under the auspices of the Central Church, in the interest of the work at the Blackstone Park Sunday school. This work, some little time before, had been placed under the care of the Central Church.
On the 12th of November you were pleased to extend a call to me to become your pastor and teacher. On the 16th, a committee of gentlemen from the church and society, all of whom have been my earnest supporters and devoted friends, and most of whom are with us still, visited me in my home in Yonkers. On the 19th I wrote accepting the call. I was dismissed from my old charge by the Presbytery on the roth of December, and my service terminated with the 31st of that same month. I was installed here by council convened on January 4th, 1889, and preached my first sermon in this new relation on the Communion Sunday, January 6th.
I cannot forget the kindness with which the council con-
BLACKSTONE PARK CHAPEL, ISS9-1892.
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doned my fault in not bringing an elaborate written statement of faith. I stand now somewhat aghast at my own audacity, which was appreciated, probably, by all at that time, except myself. I simply gave, in the most candid manner, the view which I hold to-day as to the attitude of a living man to all past statements of faith, and offered to answer as I could all questions that might be asked. The friendship then inau- gurated with the representatives of the churches of this State has ripened into one of the strongest and most helpful relations of my life.
I spoke on the Thursday evening following from the text "And being in the way the Lord led me." But it was a humiliating thing for me to be obliged to ask, at that meeting, for leave of absence for a month, because I was too unwell to go on. By the roth of February I was back in your pulpit.
Meantime the little building for the Blackstone Park Chapel, at the corner of Wayland avenue and Angell street, which had been erected by the generosity mainly of members of this church and society, with gifts of those who liad been inter- ested in the Sunday school work there, had been nearly con- pleted. The building, designed by Mr. Franklin J. Sawtelle, fitted and furnished, was ready for dedication on the evening of February 22d, 1889. It fell to me to conduct the service and preach the sermon. Thus it happened that one of my very earliest acts, after taking up my work among you, was to inaugurate this new stage of an enterprise which was to have more to do with the whole future history of the Central Church than any of us at that day could have imagined.
As early as 1885 certain residents of the eastern portion of the second ward had felt the need of Sunday school privilege for their own children and the children of the growing neigh- borhood. These persons were of various denominations, but from the very first they were animated by a spirit of unity 5
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and cordial co-operation. On the whole, the Central Church was more largely represented than any other single church. A meeting was held at the home of Mrs. James M. Campbell, 238 Waterman street, Tuesday, November 10th, 1885, to consider the situation. Of this meeting the Rev. Mr. Huntington, pas- tor of the Central Church, was chairman, and Mr. Arthur W. Fairchild, then a member of the Beneficent Church, the sec- retary. The " Beane Barn " was soon after rented and put in order for use. Mr. Benjamin W. Gallup was chosen superin- tendent of the school, Mr. George B. Gaylord, secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Appleton P. Williams, librarian. Miss Rowena Campbell gathered the women of the neighborhood into a sewing society. Already, on December 6th, 1885, it was decided to begin to hold a regular Friday evening meet- ing in this place.
January 17th, 1886, a name was given to the enterprise, the " Blackstone Park Union Sunday school," and Mr. Arthur W. Fairchild, Mrs. Sylvester Allen, Mrs. Sylvanus Tingley, and Mr. Benjamin W. Gallup were appointed a committee for the general management of the work. A little less than two years later, namely, on October 2, 1887, it was unanimously resolved to ask the Central Congregational Church to take charge of the enterprise, " with a view to more active, and we trust more successful, prosecution of the work in this vicinity." The Central Church most gladly assumed the responsibility, and on October 13tl1, 1887, Deacon Thomas B. Stockwell was chosen superintendent of the school, and Mr. Fairchild, secre- tary and treasurer. December 25th, 1887, Christmas exercises were held, for which Miss Amelia DeF. Lockwood provided the entertainment, and Mr. Charles L. Thomas gave an ad- dress. On March 11th, 1888, the Christian Endeavor Society was formed. Mr. Benjamin W. Gallup, Mr. Frederick E. Stockwell, Mr. William W. Goff, Miss Nellie R. Fairchild, and
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Mr. Appleton P. Williams being the committee on organization. At about this time a Sunday evening service began to be held, sometimes a preaching service, and at other times a prayer meeting, the Young People's Society being responsible for the Friday evening meeting. Already plans for the new building for the chapel were under way. But from December 9th, 1888, until February 3d, 1889, the sessions were held in the house of Prof. Greene, on the corner of Butler avenue and South Angell street, the " Barn " meantime being required for use by its owners.
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The dedication of the chapel followed, as I said, off Febru- ary 22d, and almost from the first the school, in its new and attractive quarters, seemed to appeal to the whole neighbor- hood. Before many months it was as large as the school of the church on Benefit street. It drew both teachers and scholars from homes of many denominations, and into the work a great deal of neighborhood loyalty went. The Sun- day evening service was a still more striking illustration of the spirit of Christian union. For about a year I preached there every other Sunday evening, and thereafter every Sunday evening, no second service being at that time held at the Central Church. On November 11th, 1889, and there- after, this work was regularly reported to the annual meeting of the Central Church as part of our care and responsibility.
But it was a situation which could not last. For we really had two Sunday schools, two Young People's Societies, two week meetings, and two places for our Sunday services. Socials were held and all the festivals of the church were observed in both places. The pastoral work was most deli- cate and extensive. For there were not a few of the people who, because of the long distance from any organized church, had ceased to attend church altogether. But the sense of identification with the Central Church grew rather than
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diminished. And when, in 1892, after the opening of the Memorial Chapel on Diman place, on Easter Day of that year, all these phases of work were united, it was as if a hope cherished quite as ardently by the people of the Blackstone Park Chapel as by those of the Central Church had been at last fulfilled. But this happy issue was still three years in advance of the point which we have reached in our narrative. The work which I assumed at the Blackstone Park Chapel almost in the first days of my arrival here was not taken up so much with any clear idea of its bearing upon what, by and by, became our plan, as simply because it was a good work manifestly waiting to be done.
So far as my memoranda show, the spring of 1889 must have been spent largely in getting acquainted with the con- gregation and its problems, and with the various charities and philanthropic bodies with which this church co-operates. The ist of January, 1890, we appointed Mr. Frederic H. Fuller clerk of the standing committee of the church, and began to keep accurate record of all discussions and votes upon mat- ters which ever came before the committee. Since that time Mr. Fuller's book is an invaluable record of the most inti- mate life, and of the least as well as the greatest transactions, of the church.
But already, before my first year, 1889, was out, the prob- lem had begun to loom upon us which was, in some sense, to comprehend or be tributary to all other problems of my administration here. From the first, I became aware that there were those in the church who felt that the life and use- fulness of the church would never be assured until its place of worship should be removed up the hill and put somewhere near the middle of the high plateau, between the two rivers, which seems marked out in nature as the most desirable resi- dence portion of the city. Some of the men had held this
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conviction for years. Before I had been here six months I was myself entirely convinced that their judgment was cor- rect. A little map which I made showed that the actual center of the congregation was to the eastward of the corner of Hope and Angell streets, in a region which, by the laying of a new street railway, was being rapidly opened, and in which there was no organized church at all. We had been steadily losing for years what constituency we ever had on the West side of the city, and no one could view thoughtfully the work which we were prosecuting on the eastern edge of our parish without seeing that, while it was a great help, as things stood, it would be an almost fatal thing to have that part of our own congregation which had gathered about the Blackstone Park Chapel become the nucleus of a new church. I said as little as possible on the subject, realizing that I had been here too short a time for my opinion to have weight. If I should tell the truth, I said little also because I dreaded the task. But when questioned by the gentlemen, I did indeed express with confidence the opinions above given, and promised to do everything in my power to enable the church to enter into what seemed to be so great an opportunity. The discussion must have begun almost immediately after my return from the vacation of the summer of ISS9, for by December 17th matters had progressed so far that a called meeting of the society was held in the small room in the old vestry, at which I was asked, among others, to make a state- ment of the situation. I have the manuscript of the address which then was made. At that meeting a committee consist- ing of Mr. Francis W. Carpenter, Mr. John W. Danielson, Mr. Frederic Fuller, Mr. Frederick C. Sayles, and Mr. Fred- eric Talbot were appointed to recommend a site for a new church. At a special meeting of the society, January 27tli, 1890, they reported in favor of the lot on the corner of Angell
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street and Diman place, on which this church now stands, and the report was accepted. At that same time the pastor was requested to call a general meeting of the church and congre- gation on Monday evening, February 3d, 1890, for the pur- pose of learning the wishes of the people. There was a large and enthusiastic attendance at this meeting. Many addresses were made, and I repeated the statement of reasons which I had made to the society at an earlier date. A standing vote was taken to ascertain whether it was the wish of the people to proceed in the matter. There was not a vote in the negative.
On the next evening, February 4th, an adjourned meeting of the society was held to take measures to carry out the wish of the church, and the five gentlemen named above were appointed " a committee with power to raise money to pay for the lot, the church, and the chapel to be built thereon, and to procure plans for said church and chapel with estimates of cost." Thus, in one week less than a year from the time when I actually began my work among you, the decision was taken and the movement well under way.
Some things stand out vividly in my memory. Among them none is more salient than this,-the willingness of those to whom the old building was through sacred associations inexpressibly dear, to put all that behind them, and to judge the whole question in the light of highest expediency, with reference to the life and service of the new generation. And through all the pain which the long execution of this plan for removal must have cost them, these people never flinched or said a word. They were among the most constant counselors and generous givers to the cause.
One other thing is recalled to me out of these early stages of our effort. It is the fact that every vote and every paper of importance to the enterprise, both then and thereafter, until his death in 1897, was drawn by that distinguished lawyer,
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Mr. Thomas C. Greene, who thus rendered one more service of great value to the church which he loved.
The piece of ground, corner of Angell street and Diman place, was bought in March, 1890, and Messrs. Carrére & Hastings, of New York, were chosen architects and ordered to prepare plans. Mr. Franklin J. Sawtelle was chosen super- vising and constructing architect here.
I think it was the original thought of many that the build- ing should be in the Gothic style and in stone. It brought disappointment to some when it was realized that a Gothic building in stone, of the size which we required and of the architectural effectiveness and beauty which we desired, would cost a sum of money far beyond that which we felt justified in planning to expend.
On the other hand, it had been a thought of Mr. Hastings and of my own, for many years, since our student days, that there was no style of architecture so suggestive and fitting for a Protestant church as that of the Renaissance. As the rise of Protestantism itself was allied with the rediscovery of certain elements of Greek thought and the application of these to the Roman Church of the middle age, so the use of pure Greek ornamentation upon the massive vault and arches of the Romanesque order seemed to express precisely the same idea. And it will be remembered that buildings of precisely this sort were characteristically produced at the end of the Renais- sance and in the time of the Reformation.
For ecclesiastical purposes pure Renaissance buildings have thus far in this country been rare, but I think that few persons can view this one without feeling that it has great dignity and repose. Its construction of yellow brick and terra cotta, with the tile roof, which in the end has been coppered, lias proved, on the whole. satisfactory. For a sum of money not greater than that which is often expended by city churches, a true
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architectural effect of great worthiness has been produced. Certainly the interior has proved itself eminently adapted to the service of worship. The place itself is the greatest aid to the spirit of devotion.
More than a year was expended in the perfection of these plans ; and in the result, all the thought and care and study which were given even to minute details seem more than justified. It was in April and May, 1891, that contracts began to be framed and the first subscription of money toward the cost of the building taken. In July, 1891, the ground for the chapel was broken. The foundations of the church were also laid that same summer.
In the meantime certain other things affecting the worship of the church had been considered. That admirable hymn and tune book which is in use among us, the "Hymns of the Faith," was adopted by vote of the church November 11th, 1889. The book had had a precursor in a little collection made for the special use of this church by two of the three editors of the "Hymns of the Faith," the Rev. George Harris, who was then the pastor of this church, and Mr. Edward K. Glezen, who was then, and long after, the organist and leader of the choir. Through this book we have entered, even the children among us, into much that is noblest in the sacred poetry and music of all ages. Much that is full of meaning for us in our worship would not have been possible for us without such a book.
November 9th, 1891, at the annual meeting of the church, the present order of morning service was formally adopted. That order represented the study of two full years, and it has never been changed from that day to this. It has approved itself to our feeling. It has shown itself flexible enough to be adapted to various occasions. It is stable enough to give to those who worship that sense of sacred habit and familiar-
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ity which means so much. The order of topics is taken boldly from the great historic order of worship in the Western churches. But wide liberty is left in the selection of the various parts from Sunday to Sunday. There can be no doubt that our non-liturgical churches, failing to realize that the baldness of their service is no part of their Protestantism, have left their ministry without support and their people without training in the expression of religious feeling. Their service, with hope of being more immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost, has thus often, meantime, become a prey to mere individual eccentricity. And all the while the ele- ments of that support and training lay before us in liturgies which are not the private property of sects but the heritage of all the Christian ages. Our churches have therefore suf- fered greatly in an age which has regained the sound sense that that which is holy is not necessarily without beauty.
At that same time, November 9th, 1891, it was voted that the offerings should be taken by the deacons or ushers in the usual way, and the gifts of the congregation thus be made a part of the worship. The "Harris System" of benevolence cards had been in use since 1879 in this church. Indeed, it had originated in this church. But the cards and envelopes had been placed in boxes at the doors of the church as wor- shipers went in and out. The new plan, beside that it made for the offering a place in our worship, proved incidentally a source of revenue through cash contributions to the general fund for benevolent work.
October 12, 1890, the calendar of weekly appointments at the church began to be printed. Until that time notices liad been read from the pulpit. The expansion of our work made this impracticable. The care and publication of the calendar, at first in the hands of Deacon Frederic H. Fuller, passed ultimately into those of Mr. James C. Kimball, who had been
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elected clerk of the church in November, 1890. Its success is largely due to his care.
In the winter of 1891 I delivered a course of sixteen lec- tures, on the New Testament, in the old vestry. They were given on Saturday afternoons, and were largely attended. They were the first of many series of lectures, on one theme and another, sometimes on Sundays and sometimes on week days, which we have been able from this church to offer.
In December, 1890, the church and society granted me the assistance of a lady visitor for the work of the Sunday school and chapel, in the person of Miss Emily F. Anthony, who served us faithfully until her marriage in November, 1891.
Already, on January 1, 1891, I find an entry in the secre- tary's book that the committee authorized me to find out from Mr. Zephaniah Williams what was needed in the work among the Portuguese in the southern portion of this city, and in December, 1891, there is a record that we assumed half the costs of the work among the Portuguese, renting the hall at 28 (110W 44) Transit street, furnishing it for the pur- pose of the work, and taking Mr. Manuel R. Martin regularly into our employ as missionary among his people. The other half of the support of the work was to be provided, through Mr. Williams, from friends in the Union Congregational Church. Thus there comes upon our horizon the second bit of missionary endeavor with which we have been so closely and so happily identified.
Seven or eight years before this time of which I speak, there began to come to Providence sailors of mixed race and Portuguese tongue from the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. They were brought to this New England coast by returning whalers. They remained as 'longshoremen, and ultimately as laborers in many crafts. Among them was one, Manuel R. Martin, who had been a ship's mate, had been converted in a
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hospital in Australia, was now in charge of the stevedores on the dock, and had the interest of his people much at heart. He gathered them in his rooms and spent for them his sav- ings. He was helped in these earlier stages of his work by Miss Nancy Marsh of our church, who had a class of these men at the Sailors' Bethel. He was aided, by and by, by Mr. Williams, who, as the agent of the steamship company, was the employer of Mr. Martin and of many of the men. He sought aid also from Mr. Frederic H. Fuller and myself, and we often spoke in these services in Mr. Martin's room.
On January 2d, 1892, we assumed all care of the Portu- guese Mission, now well under way in the hall on Transit street. Mr. Williams himself, sometime after, became a member of the Central Church, and later a deacon in it. When Mr. Martin and some of his men wished to confess their faith, they were gladly admitted to the membership of this church. Before this time women and children had begun to arrive from the islands, and the colony began to assume a permanent character. The people of this mission, as they have drawn out the sympathy and helpfulness of our church, so have they constituted also a most loyal part of its con- stituency. Mr. James W. Day, Mr. W. K. Logee, Mr. Ells- worth Torrey, Mr. Robert W. Burbank, and Mr. Seeber Edwards have served in the superintendency of the school. We have claimed the faithful service of many teachers in the school. The nature of the work was such that it could never effectively be done in large classes. The work of the in- dustrial school for women began, under the care of Mrs. Benjamin Buffum, as far back as November, 1892. Mrs. Buffum continued, in this work until her death in 1895. It has been continued under the care of Mrs. Franklin J. Saw- telle and Mrs. Frederic H. Fuller. A night school for men and a kindergarten have followed. I held a service there with
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