Morning journal and courier., 1882-06-19
yOnrual an0 Gonrier.
Mons:ay Morning. June 19, 1882.
Interesting Exercises.

interesting Exercises.
 Laying of the Corner Stone of the A. Nj. |
 E. Bethel Church on sperry street-Ad-
 dresses by Bishop Brown, Rev. Dr |
 Buck, Rev. MT. Chambers, John G |
 North nd Hon. James Ga1Is gher.
 The exercises of laying the corner stone of the new African Methodist Episcopal church occurred yesterday afternoon, the exercises commencing at 4:30 o'clock There was @ large attendance of white and colored people present, estimated to be at least. two thou sand. Camp chairs were provided for large number of those present. The exer- cises were opened by Bishop Brown, who gave out the hymn commencing:
 Great is the Lord our God,
 And let his praise be great.
 Following the Bishop offered prayer, and then read from the ritual the address preced- ing the laying of corner stone, and followed 1t with brief address of encouragement to the congregation in the work they had con- mencsd. He urged the congregation not to go too fast and not to get in debt too much, but to build a good church and to proceed just as fast as they could get money to pro- ceed with. While they were not building for colored or white men, they were building a church to save men whether black or white The motto of the republic is, ''In union there is strength" I ask you to be united in your work.
 Rev. Dr. c. H. Buck was next introduced by Bishop Brown. He said he was glad to be there and pay part of the debt that he owed to the colored man. He said that he believed that white heart was all that was required by the Almighty. He believed in the erection of churches if they were needed. I am glad said the speaker, that this enterprise has been commenced and I,hope 1t will go forward to successful con-
 pletion. I believe the Lord wants us to
 build good churches and when we keep with-
 in our means we may build just as good churches as we please. When we do this the churches are honored by God and honored by the people. We ought to give the best we have to the Lord. The churches we build are silent witnesses to Christianity. We need churches where Christianity shall be preached or our country has future be fore it that is not gratifying to look upon It is mighty force upon the people, I am glad to see church going up because it tells us that Christianity is not failure. The churches going up tell there is a power some where I urge you friends to go forward in your work and may the Lord give you strength Be not weary in we'll doing and may thousands here be converted to the re lgion of Jesus Christ
 On the conclusion of Mir. Bucks remarks the hymn 'Let your lower lights be burning was sung.
 An address by Rev. Arthur Chambers, pas tor of the church, followed as follows: When boy learned two things that I do not wish to unlearn to day. The first was this-that Christian civilization found its bulwark in North America amid the rugged hills of New England The second was this that great soul lowered over this classic cline and turned its impulses to the music l of helpfulness and magnificent benefactions
 When roaming through the States of the South have seen superbly built structures, and have been told that they were New Eng, lands offerings upon the altar of human de- velopment in the interest of the late slave. ! have whispered prayer that I should be cast by the current of events upon the hos pltable coast of so grand 8 section. was sure that those generous hearts and homes l that have nodded American sentiment and | fashioned society upon these shores and en- forced their ideas by pen and sword into every corner of this mighty continent, and farther whose love for humanity were pro- l verbal, whether represented by the Mongo- Ian, Malay, African or Indian, would SAfO lAtOs fhAI CurlSGlau DT6aCQ6r, a cordial welcome, respect my manhood and encourage my ambition to glorify God and elevate my humble race. I thought that that glowing civilization whose rays are felt and seen in so many distant homes would shine with dazzling brillianey when the source thereof was reached. In short, I thought l that that Christian philanthropy which built and maintained noble institutions of learning and fine churches for the colored people of 1 the South would be equally hospitabfe to the representatives of the same race who were | living in the midst of opulence luxury and learning. When reached this city in March, 1SS1,- my disappointment may be easier i'm agined than described when I found New l Haven behind, so far as churches go for col ored Christians, many of the cities had wis tied in the South. What was the cause? ! Was it possible that that sweet sentiment of ! our religion and all religions which encour | ages the dedication to Deity of the first | fruits of a nations greatness was dormant or dead ln New England or were they appalled, | by the magnitude of an undertaking so praiseworthy by the fear of generous aid | from their fortunate white brothers? To solve the problem we tore away the old | frame that stood quarter of a century 1 upon this spot, which was bought when black ! men were bought and sold like sheep By our sainted dead who saw through glass l darkiy the dawn of 6 golden era when such wallis as these for the praise of God should be reared by the despised sons of Ham. Just here l digress to say: It cannot be known | until the great judgment how many days and | nights of profound dejection are experienced by young colorsd minister who feels that ] warm glow of holy desire firing every emo ! tion and tendril of his soul to do 8 deed of | grandeur and glory for God and humanity, ! when he is confronted with obstacles un- dreamed of by the young white professional | of any calling. This edifce will cost near 1 $20,000. We have not raised S2, GOO of that l amount. We tore down the old church be-
 cause no one would give us a dollar to build | a new one while it was standing, and further l number of good white friends promised l liberal aid so soon as they saw we were in earnest about rebuilding. I hope they are convinced to day, or will be by the time I 1 call upon them. I shall call soon, and will state that I alone will solicit aid for this church after to-day. desire to publicly ac- | knowledge the cordial friendship of Gov. ernor Bigelow, who very kindly consented to be our treasurer, and who will receive any donations for that any of our friends
 wish to make. I also take occason to thank
 Mayor Robertson, Hon. N. D. Sperry, Gen | eral Ford, ex-Governor English, General Merwln, Captain J. H. Wilkins Drs Good sell, Buck and many other leading citizens for words and acts of encouragement and
 helpfulness. In conclusion beg to say that
 
 Son of God be proclaimed unto the people Our fathers and mothers shall here dedicate their children to the Almighty. Our young
 men shall here be joined in holy wedlock,
 and we shall chant the funeral dirge of our
 loved ones whom death shall claim as his
 own. We shall here learn our duty to our
 Maker and to man, The path of virtue will
 be so illuminated by the services of this
 house that powerful moralizing influence
 will be felt issuing forth therefrom by all the
 people.
 In conclusion the speaker said Who will
 aid then in our efforts to develop our
 moral and religious natures? Will New Ha-
 ven regard with indifference the heroic strug- gle of her humble colored poor to ennoble themselves and prove worthy fellow citizens of her lofty types of man and womanhood? Shall this house stand forth as monument of her love of the Christian blacks within her borders or as an evidence of her disinter- estedness in their welfare? What language l can best be used to touch some great heart
 and have it respond to our appeal by mag
 nifcent gift? We use the Bible declaration for the purpose and close by saying ''He tLat hath pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord.'
 After Mir. Chambers address collectors
 passed through the audience and received
 such contributions as the audience were