St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-11-27
FIFTY YEARS.
The Conversational Church at ST. Johns
bury East Observes its Fiftieth Ami

| bury East Observes its Fiffieth Ami
versary.
The church at st. Johnsbury
| East was organized on November 25.
1910, and on Tuesday last the little
church observed its fiftieth annivers-
ary in a way that did great credit to
members. The illness of the pastor
Rev. Mr.. Adams, as well as the tenn
porary illness of several leaders in
church did not discourage the rest in
their attempt to fittingly observe the
halfcenturv's existence of the third
Congregational church in st. Johns
bury.
The exercises began in the forenoon
by scripture reading and prayer by
Rev. Mr.. Phelps of West Concord.
Then followed the reading of letters
from absent members Here is what
Miss Charlotte Morrill, of Brooklyn,
| N. Y, wrote:
| cannot permit this semi-centennial
anniversary to pass without my word of
| greeting. Wherever | am | must always
remember the little church that stands
hard by ''the house where | was born,
| the church in which | received the sacred
rite of baptism, the church where the
burial service was read over my beloved
father. OF the twenty original members
l claim kinship with eight. 1t would i'll
become me to extol them, but | read their
names with pride, believing that their
''own works praise them i'll the gates"
OF the four who are still with us, two are
bound to me by tenderest ties. The
stress of life has carried me away from
the old moorings. 1t is only in the inter
| ludes that my ear catches an echo from
the church in the valley behind the noun
| tains,-but | do hear it. In the busy
| haunts of men l have heard again Mr..
| Humphreys voice. In the clatter of
| Broadway have gone again to prayer
meeting i'll the old vestry, and sat beside
friends who have been III Heaven these
many summers. Below the heat and
pressure and strain of our living today,
lies buried the precious influence wrought
| into the fOunda tiOnS of our Christian cx
perience, and we recognize it there what
ever goes on at the surface. | do not
forget to be grateful to God that He
called into being the 3rd Congregational
church of st. Johnsbury. Its teaching
| has gone into the warp and woof of our
lives, into our thinking and purposes.
| Though deep and dark shadows fall over
your path today | beg you to hear the
| Masters voice as it says unto you:
Fear not, little flock; for it is your
| Fathers good pleasure to give you the
kingdom
With best wishes for your peace and
prosperity, and with an affection which
increases as the years roll by, remain
Very sincerely yours,
CHARLOTTE MORRILL,.
Brooklyn, N. Y, Nov. 20, 1890.
Mrs E. J. Humphrey of Northfeld,
Mass, wife of the former pastor,
wrote:
thank you for placing me in support
with yourself and our church on its 5Oth
anniversary. | rejoice with YOU in the
many whom the Lord has brought home
to himself. Pastor and people, that
| great crowd of witnesses, who now bid
| you lay aside every weight and with pa
tience run the race, looking to Jesus.
| rejoice with you in those now laboring
with so much energy and selfdenial to
keep the light of the Lord still shining in
your midst, rejoice in the truly mission
ary work he gives you to do. l rejoice
in the joyful trust of those still passing
through the refining furnace. | rejoice
with YOU in those who have gone from
| you to shed light and love wherever they
may be. | rejoice that so many of them
occupy positions where hundreds and
thousands shall see the light Of the Lord
reflected from them as from a mirror.
Surely such a history as that of this
church, may well lead us all to thank
God and take courage.
Mrs. E. F. Case of Hubbardston,
Mass, wife Of the first pastor of the
church, wrote:
How well | remember the time when
| first saw my new home. Cold and
tired, with kind of shrinking dread as
to how | might be received in my new
|
| halted before the gate and were met by
good DR.. Worcester, who welcomed both
! by a hearty handshake and welcome
| home Then as entered the house ali
my fears vanished as one after another
| of the good sisters met and seemed to
| take me to their very hearts, and the
affection then manifested was never with
drawn while | remained with you.
l felt very sad when | read of the burn
ing of that dear old parsonage. 1t re-
called the great struggle in building, our
life over the store that winter while
waiting for home; then the pleasure of
| going into it as our home. 1t was a
pretty and pleasant house and hoped it
| might be our home for many years but
in four short years the state of my hus-
| bands health made change of employ
ment necessary and our home was bro
| ken up. | have lived in several different
| places ana naQ a peasant nome III all,
but no change has ever been so sorrow
| full to me as the one that tore me away
from my first home. | am glad you are
| to have memorial services to mark the
fiftieth anniversary of the formation of
your church. If it were not so far from
| here, or if l were not so old, / think
should be with you at this time
Letters were also read from Mrs.
McCurdv of Andover, Mass, Mrs.
M. F. Winch of Grants Pass, Ore,
and others:
Ellery Potter then read from the
church records concerning the estab-
lishment of the church The hour of
noon had arrived and the 10 or more
present were invited down stairs
where a bountiful collation. was
served by the ladies.
In the afternoon Mrs. Nathaniel
Lee gave a historical paper, and an
excellent paper was also read by
Mrs. Calvin Morrill,. These histori-
cal papers will be printed in other
columns next week. The exercises
closed with an encouraging address
by Rev Mr.. Phelps Too much
praise cannot be given the ladies for
their success in the affair
The third Congregational church
was organized with 20 members.
Five of these are now living, Mrs.
Nathaniel Lee, Mrs. Quartus Sever