Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-12-06
TWENTY-FIFTHA ANNIVERSARY.
A Charming Reception rendered Rev.
DIR. 1. ;. X. AxsOn-PresentatiOn of an
Elegant Testimonial - Beautiful Ad-
draes of CoIonaI nIunsfaad

A Charming Reception rendered Rev.
DIR. L. 5. X. AxsOn-PresentatiOn of an
Elegant Testimonial Beautiful Adj
dress of Colonel O1mstead.
Twenty-Five years ago yesterday Rev.
DIR. l. :. X. Arson entered the pulpit of
the Independent Presbyterian Church,
and the congregation, who are de-
votedly attached to him, determined to
honor the occasion by rendering him a
reception. The ladies entered actively
and ZealOusly into the work, and hand
sOmely decorated the lecture room in
which the reception was to take place.
On the walls were suspended letters of
gilt resting on ivy leaves, forming the
words "Our Dear whilst over the en-
trance, in large letters Of evergreen, was
the word pastor" above which were the
figures s'l857-1S62" and Twenty fifth An
niyersary;" the whole forming a sentence,
''Our dear Pastor-Twenty-fift Anniver-
sary-1S57-1SS2.' The appearance of the
room was thus rendered very attractive.
The lecture room was thrown open at 8
O'Clock. and the members of the cOngrega-
ton and invited guests began to arrive in
numbers. Among those present were
Rev. T. NJ. Boyd, of the First Presbyterian
Church. Rev. Thomas Boone, OF Christ
Church. Rev. DIR. W. :. Bowman, Of the
Lutheran Church, Rev. Richard Webb, Of
the Seamen's Bethel, and others. At half
past eight O'Clock the choir sang hymn
which was the first hymn sung in the
church after DR.. Arson assumed charge
as pastor.
I Rev. DR.. Bowman followed with a fer
/ vent thanksgiving prayer, at the close of
I which Col. Charles H. Olmstead stepped
/ forward and addressed DR.. Arson in the
4 following bpautifIll language:
/ ReUerend and HOnOred Pastor: Our
gathering tonight is an event of no Ordi-
nary interest: it marks an important era,
! not only in our church history, but also in
/ the individual history Of every one of us.
! This day completes the twenty-tifth year
I of your ministry over this people, and it
/ is meet that we should come together to
/ give expression to the deep feelings that
the occasion MISUNDERSTANDING of graft
tude to the Father of all mercies, and of
/ unwavering affection for yourself
Twenty-Five years! What memories are
evoked as our minds run back over that
/ period of time-some sad, some joyous !;
! all Of them tender as they relate to your
self. and through them all the golden
thread of love without break in its con-
tinuity.
/ Who can enumerate the ties that have
. grown between your heart and ours in all
these long years, binding us together in a
bond over which death itself shall have no
1 powerY To which of us are you not united
/ BY some special cause of endearment,
known perhaps only to ourselves and to
God?
See around YOU! Here are young men
and maidens upon whose infant heads you
once sprinkled the waters of baptism
here are those of maturer years, to whom
, YOU have ever been the sure friend, the
wise councillor and kind elder brother;
Ie,tr,
/ frightened and whose faith you have
helped to make stronger in dark hours
when the world has seemed dark and
drearv to them; here the little children,
sweet blossoms, who love you as their
1 father: and here too, perhaps-whO can
say that it is not sO?-that "'cloud of wit
nesses," unseen yet Outnumbering us all
the glOritied spirits of dear ones, whose
faltering footsteps as they entered the dark
valley were cheered by blessed words OF
comfort from your lips, pointing them to
the "dear country" where hope becomes
fruitiOn.
All have come to say, ''God bless you,''
. and to bear testimony to your faithful
ministry as a servant of Christ. We are
none of us, alas! what we should be. Too
often we mourn over wrong thoughts,
wrong words and wrong deeds. Yet with
each of us there is the deep consciousness
that when we have erred the fault has
been ours alone, that the Waterman upon
our tower has not slumbered, but has been
true to his vows. For a quarter of a cen
fury YOU have broken unto us the bread OF
life, preaching the pure doctrines of the
Word and ever holding before us the Cross
of Christ. As we think Of all these things,
how could we do otherwise than ask you
to meet us here, in this spot, hallOwed as
it is by so many sacred associations:
In every age the wish has been uni
versal to mark the prOfOunder emotions
of the heart by some material token
something upon which the eye can after
wards rest and bring to the mind the
image of what has moved us. Now. such
tokens are mementOes of the past, and,
again, they are pledges for the future.
Illustrations of this desire we see on every
hand. So. too, we read, when Jacob arose
from that stony couch where God had
been with him. and from whence he had
seen that wOndrous ladder with the
angels ascending and descending, he
raised a pillar to mark the spot, as a
memorial, that ever afterwards as his
feet might wander thither the simple stone
should once more bring the bright vision
before him. So when the waters of Jor-
dan parted, and the mighty host of Israel
passed over to their Inheritance, Joshua,
by Gods expressed command, took twelve
stones from the rivers bed and set them
up as a memorial for the people and for
their children after them. of their fathers
loving care and guidance. So when God
himself set His bow in the cloud as a
cOrendnt token of his pledge to the world
We, too, dear Doctor, share this feeling
and have therefore each brought a little
stone to commemorate and mark this
happy day. In the name of your grateful
people, and acting by their request, | beg
your acceptance of this token of their love.
Accept it as a memorial Of the honest
affection that has bound us together in the
past and as covenant token on our part
of undiminished love and trust in the
future.
Beloved pastor, may your remaining
years be peaceful and happy; may care
and anxiety have no place in your heart:
may you 90 on to the end serving God III
the sacred desk from whence we have sc
long listened to ''the old old story ut
tered by your lips; and when you leave
us, may it only be to hear the welcome
Enter thou inte the JOY of thy Lord"
At the close his remarks he presented
DIR. Arson in the name and in behalf of
the congregation, with an elegant gold
watch, bearing the following inscription
on the inside case:
Our Pastor,
l. ;. X. Arson,
XIV years.
Savannah. December, 1882.