Milford chronicle., 1892-04-08

long, to you and your children after you
and Anything you see contrary to this you
may pat down to the confirmed habit
which sonqe people have got of misrepre-
senting this church, and they cannot stop.
When / came to Brooklyn l came to a
small church and a big Indebtedness. We
bave now this, the largest Protestant
church in America, and financially as a
congregation we are worth, over and be-
yond all indebtedness considerably more
than $4,000.
Ihave preached here twenty-three years,
and l expect, if my life and health are con-
tinued, to preach here twenty-three years
longer. although We win all do well to re-
member that our breath is in our nostrils,
and any hour we may be called to give an
account of our stewardship. All we ask
for the future is that you do your best,
contributing all you can to the support Of
our institutions. Our best days are yet to
come; our greatest revivals of religion, and
our mightiest outpourings of the Holy
Ghost. We have got through the Red sea
and stand today on the other bank clapping
the cymbals of victory.
Do YOU wonder that last Sabbath asked
YOU in the midst of the service to rise and
sing WIN JublieAe INV 'A'o A--7
Doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise him, all creatures here below,
Praise him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Yes, twenty-three years have passed since
came to live in Brooklyn, and they have
been to me eventful years. It was a pros
trated church to which came, a church so
i Z. far
controversies which it would be useless to
rehearse it was well nigh extinct, and fora
long while it had been without pastor.
But nineteen members could be mustered
to sign a call for my coming.
AS a committee was putting that call
before me in an upper room in my house
in Philadelphia, there We're two other com
mittees on similar errands from other
churches in other rooms, whom my wife
was entertaining and keeping apart from
unhappy collision. The auditorium OF the
BROOKLYN church to which / came detied
all the laws Of acoustics; the church had
steeple that was the derisiOn of the town,
and high box pulpit which shut IN the
preacher as though he were dangerous to
be let loose, or it acted as a barricade that
was unnecessary to keep back the people,
for they were so few that minister OF
ordinary muscle could have kept back all
who were there.
MY first Sabbath in Brooklyn srrlas sad
day, for l did not realize no. reosf.h1e
church was down until then, a
evening of that day my own 49,
through whose pocket entered thin waste
try, died, and the tidings of his ues, owl
reached me at o'clock in the evening,
and was to preach at half past Z. But from
that day the blessing of God was on US, and
in three months we began the enlarge
ment of the building. Before the close OF
that year We resolved to construct the
first Tabernacle 1t was to be a temporary
structure, and therefore we called it a
Tabernacle instead of Temple. What
should be the style Of architecture was the
immediate question. l had always Thought
that tho amphitheatrieal shape would be
appropriate fora church.
Two distinguished architects were EN-
ployed, and after much lowering over de-
signs they announced to MS that such
building was impossible for religious pur-
poses, as it would not be churehly, and
would subject themselves and US to ruin
GUS criticism; in other words, they were
not ready for a revolution in church archi-
lecture. Utterly disheartened rs to my
favorite style of architecture, l said to the
trustees, Build anything you please, and
| must be satisfied" But one morning
young architect appeared at my rouse anu
asked if we bad yet selected plan Tor our
church l said, NO, and what we want
we cannot get. "What style of buil"inS
do you wart:" he asked. And taking ont
a lead pencil and letter envelope from
MY pocket, in less tlan minute by few
cilrycd lines | indicated in the rough
what we wanted. But" l said' odd
architects tell us it can't be done, and
there is no use in your trying" lie sad;
Il can do it, How long can L have to make
out the plaEs?" said, This evening at
S o'clocl, everything iG to be decided"
TWO CHURCHES AND no MONEY.
AZ O'Clock Of that evening the
architect presented his plans, and the bids
of BURGER and rlaSon were presented, and
in FIVE minutes alter the plans were pre-
scented tl:Oy were unanimously adopted
So that would hot Ee in the way OF the
trustees during the work went to Europe,
and wien got lack the church was well
ni.-h done. But icre CAME IN q staggering
hindrance. We expected to pay for the
new church by the s;iiS Of the old building
The old one Lad been sold, but just At the
time we must have the money tie par
e!.asers backed out and we had two
churches and no money.
By the help Of God and the indomitable
and UNPARALLELED energy OF our trustees
Qiere and there one Of them present today
but the most in better world, we eot the
building ready for conservation, ana on
Sent. p. 1870 morning and evening dedi-
1ta1l in q q
moon the children. with sweet and multi
tndinous voices, consecrated the place to
God. Twenty thousand dollars were raised
that day to pay floating debt, In tie
morning old DR.. Stephen II. Tying, the
Glory of the Episcopal church and the
Chrvsostom of the American pulpit,
Reached a sermon which fingered in its
gracious effects as long as the building
stood lie read enough out of the Episco
nal Draver book to keep himself from being
reprimanded by his bishop for preaching az
a Episcopal service; and we, although
belonging To another denomination re
suonded with heartiness, as though we
were used to the liturgy, Good Lord' oe-
liver us!"
During the short time we occupied that
building we had constant downpour OF
religious awakening AAoeahhN' Ae' LII
lion years in heaven Will have no power to
lim my memory Of the glorious times we
Ind in that first Tabernacle, which, because
NJ It's invasion Of the usual style Of church
architecture, was called by some "fai-
mage's Hippodrome by others, Church
of the Holy Circus" and by other mirth-
full nomenclature But it was a building
perfect for acoustics, and stood long enough
to have its imitationin all the large cities
of America and to completely revolution
ize church architecture. People saw that
it was the common sense way OF seating
an audience.
Instead Of putting them in an angular
church. where each one chiefly saw the
back part of somebody else's head, the
audience were arranged in semieircle' 50
that they could see one another's faces, and
tue auditorium was a great family circle
seated around a fireplace, which was the
pulpit. IL was an iron structure, and we
supposed Greproof, but the insurance com
panies looked az it, and after We had gone
TOO far to stop in it's construction they de-
clined to insurei except for mere nothing,
-.Fs 1 l1E4f