The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-10-19
BERGEN'S new Church
Corner Stone of the South
Reformed's New Build
ing Laid.
DISTINGUISHED CLERGYMEN PRESENT
Pastor Grant Presented with
Silver Trowel - Eloquent
Addresses and Fine
Music.

The cornerstone Of the new edifice ol
The South Bergen Reformed Church was
laid yesterday afternoon in the presence
of large concourse of laymen and clergy
men OF various denominations.
The congregation and Sunday school of
the church met in the old building. and
forming into procession, marched with
banner flying to the site of the new
building, at Bergen and Boyd avenues.
The clergymen who occupied seats on ths
improvlsed platform were:-The Rev. w.
E. Grant, pastor of the church; the Reys.
DR.. Duryea. of Rutgers College; 7. j.
Komers. of Lafayette; Gotlieb Andreal.
ST. Johns Evangelican Church; DR..
Waters, Vice-President of the General
Synod of the Reformed Church of Amer
lea; John Atkinson, of West Side Metho-
dist Church; Henry M. Cox, of New
York; Isaac Brokaw, of Freehold: David
Mitchell, of the Scotch Presbyterian
Church; Paul D. Van Cleef, Presidents
Gowan, of Union Hill.
MANY CLERGYNEN PRESENT.
There were also on the platform Messrk
ID. v. Bergen, chairman; n. S, Long.
Tunis Van Dervere, S. M. Craig. w. Call
vim, George Mulcox, William Dunn,
OeoAEo W. aiheL anu T. ". van W1nkIes
the Building Committee of the Church
and W. H. Beach. President of the Board
or Trustees of the West Side Methodist
Church.
The services began with prayer by the
Rev. Isaac Brokaw, who was the hrst
pastor of the church, after which the
hymn Holy. Holy, Holy Lord God ALI
mighty" was sung The Rev. John
Atkinson read the scriptures. Mr.. Ber-
gen then made short address to the pas
tor, in which he congratulated Mr. Grant
upon the work he had done in bringing
about the commencement of the new
building, and begged him to accept g
silver trowet as memento of the ecea.
sion. The trowel is made of silver with
an elaborately en- ngraved ivory handle,
and bears this tnscription:-"Rey.W w, D.
Grant, South Bergen Church, October IS,
1882: " Mr.. Grant accepted the trowel and
the brass box was placed in position in
the stone.
CONTENTS OF THE BOX.
The box contained copy of THE JER-
sEY CITY NEWS. another Jersey City and
some New York newspapers, records,
papers and other documents relating to
the history of the church and the new
building. Thea block of highly poll
lshed granite was lowered over the box,
and Mr.. Grant tapping it three times
dedicated it to the uses of the church in
the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Ghost.
Ths congregation repeated the Apostles
creed standing and sang the hymn
Christ Our Cornerstone. The Rev
Isaac McGowan offered PRAYER and the
Rev. DIR. Waters spoke. He congratu-
lated the church members upon the great
event in their history, and said he har no
fears for the future of the church. He
dwelt upon the significance of the corner
stone which he said typiAed the Reforma-
ton which began by Luther and
1t further signified the foundation Of the
church and OF hope and liberty.
Mr.. w. II. Beach spoke next. He de-
clared that the new church would be q
power aesthetically, as it would be a
thing OF beauty, and that it would be a
power ethically, because in it men would
be taught to be temperate, boys to be
patriotic and girls to be good housewives.
Better far than these, it will be power
spiritually. He then referred to the
aid which the South Bergen church had
given the West Side church when it came
out there and started in what WAS little
more than cow pasture, and assured the
members that they could call on the West
Side people for anything they had, with a
single exception: the big mortgage
which the West Side church was now en-
gagged in trying to throttle.
THE CHURCH A PROGRESSIVE ONE
DR.. Duryea. the next speaker said he was
not going to indulge in "reminiscences as
some of the gray headed men before him
had done. "reminiscences betrayed age,
and he wanted to look to the future
rather than back to the past. That
church was a progressive one, aRd it's
members had arrived at the last stage of
progress. he believed that there was
nothing ike church in a com munity.
1t diffused light and truth he declared,
and compared it to q great light house
warning people from dangerous rocks
and shoals.
Three things were necessary in church
building which should always be
put into practice and they were;
enthusiasm. assurance of faith and
self-sacriflce for God. If these doc
trines were put into practice the church
would avoid putting over their new edi-
flee that gigantic cupola: an extinguish-
ing mortgage, and they would be able to
dedicate the new edifice to the joy and
service of Almighty God Other lad-
dresses were made by the Rev. Dr. Nc
Lean, Secretary of the Bible Society of
the Reformed Church, and the Revs,
Paul D. Van Cleef and David Mitchell,