The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-06-24
DR.. DURYEA'S REVIEW.
Twenty-Five Years the Pas
tor of the Lafayette
Reformed Church.
HE SKETCHES HIS LONG LABORs.
Services in Other Churches---
Knights Of Pythias at Cente-
nary.

The twenty fifth anniversary of the pas
torate of the Rev. DIR. William r. Duryea,
of the Lafayette Reformed Church, was
celebrated yesterday. The church was
elegantly decorated with flowers. and the
pulpit was profusely ornamented with
them. The music was excellent, and at
the close of the services the ladies of the
congregation presented their pastor with
a beautiful pulpit gown.
DR.. Duryea took for his texts, First
Corinthians, iv., 1:-'Let man 50 ac-
count of us as ministers of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God" Said
he:-"This arouses the question as to the
place and use of ministers. It distin-
guishes them from lawyers and physi-
clans, for the ministry is not a profession
voluntarily assumed for earthly support;
it depends on a divine call. This is op-
posed to the popular idea. The text shows
the true office of the ministry"
Dr. Duryea said that the first point he
desired to make was that the minister is
a servant of Christ and that the original
Greek word used means IAN agent under
directions" 1t was applied as we would
now apply it to constable in low court.
1t means one under the orders of Jesus
Christ. The pastor claimed that all the
glory of the minister lies in his faithful
ness, and not in the size of a congrega-
tion. His second point was, that minis
ter is q steward of the mysteries of God
and in that capacity acts like modern
trustee.
THE PASTORS LIFE STORY.
DR. Duryea then informed the congre-
cation that last year he had given his
tory of the church. and that as this cele-
bration was to great extent purely per-
sonal he would, with the indulgence of
the congregation, speak of himself.
Il graduated at an early age from Rut-
gers College," said he, "and entered the
law Office of the late Frederick T. Freling-
huysen, but the death of sister caused
me to change my ideas, and determined
to study for the ministry studied three
years in the New Brunswick Seminary,
and passed eighteen months in Europe
and the Holy Land to complete my edu-
cation. .taa
/ received my license to preach in 1851,
and year later became Chaplain of the
First Kentucky Union Regiment, but
after few months, sickness compelled
me to resign. In 1868 / had charge of a
mission church near Williamsburgh, and
the following year was called to the
Lafayette Reformed Church, Just organ
lied, where have since been, period of
twenty-nine years.
RECORD OF GOOD WORK.
''Of the first congregation many have
died. have had twenty-five years of al
most unbroken health, and have been alb
sent from my pulpit but six times except
during the months vacation | take each
year. 1 have preached $500 formal SER
mons, beside my weekly lectures, and
more than one-third of them have been
fully written out. / have received $50
communicates, baptized 295 persons, off
ciated at 143 marriages and 3A funerals.
When first took charge of the church we
had 115 teachers and scholars; now we
have 800 on the rolls. The first year the
congregation raised 81, ,565 and gave 500
for charity; last year &, 900 was raised and
81, 200 given in charity.
I'm treatment of the pastor the con-
gregation has been constant in kindness
and generosity and no cloud of any kind
has ever arisen between us. My great
aim has been to preach spiritual prin-
ciples. By my temperament and educa-
tion I have been unable to take up the
more sensational topics of the day, for /
fail to understand how preachers
should run the State. I have my
own views ON tariff reform, on the saloon
question, and on the general needs of Jer-
sey City, and I will give them to anyone
on personal application"
In the last part Of his discourse Dr. Dur
yea urged the need of seeing ones own
shortcomings, and the value of personal
faith in Jesus Christ.