The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-04-08

hotniIB, IN OtueT WoIus, III auuitiun W
serving this church gratuitously for two
years, let it have $4,000 for building
purposes. Why is 1t that people could
not do us justice and say that all our
| financial struggle as church came
| from doing what Peter, in my text, alb
surdly proposed to do, but which, in
the inscrutable providence of God, we
were compelled to do-build three taber-
nacles.
Now, feel better that this is off my
mind. The rest Of my sermon will be
spun out Of hosannahs. announce to
you this day that we are at last, as a
church, In smooth waters. Arrange.
ments have been made by which our
financial difficulties are now fully AID
satisfactorily adjusted. Our income
will exceed our outgo, and Brooklyn
Tabernacle will be yours and belong to
you and your children after you, and
anything you see contrary to this you
may put down to the confirmed habit
which some people have got of misreprea
senting this church and they cannot STOP
When | came to Brooklyn | came to d
small church and big Indebtedness
We have now this, the largest Protestant
church in America, and financially as
congregation we are worth, over and be-
You'd all Indebtedness, considerably more
than $3.50, 900,
| have preached here twenty-three
years, and | expect, if my life and health
are continued, to preach here twenty
three years longer, although we will all
do we'll to remember that our breath is
in our nostrils, and any hour we may be
called to give an account of our stew
ardship. All we ask for the future is
that you do your best, contributing all
you can to the support of our institu-
tions. 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 with jubilant voice the
long meter 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 l came to live in Brooklyn, and
they have been to me eventful years. 1t
was Frustrated church to which |
came, a church so fiat down it could
dropno further. Through controversies
which it would be useless to rehearse it
,,.rh
while it had been without a pastor. But
nineteen members could be mustered to
sign call for my coming. AS COM
mittee was putting that call before me
in an upper room in my house in Phila-
delphia, there were two other committees
on similar errands from other churches
In other rooms, whom my wife was en-
tertaining and keeping apart from I'M
happy collision.
The auditorium of the Brooklyn
church to which | came defed all the
laws of acoustics; the church had a
steeple that was the derision of the
town, and a high box pulpit which shut
in the preacher as though he were dam
gerous 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 was sad day,
for did not realize how far the church
was down until then, and on the evening
of that day my own brother through
whose pocket l entered the ministry,
no 1F
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 enlargement of the building. Before
the close Of that year we resolved to
construct the first Tabernacle. It was
to be temporary structure, and, there
fore, we called it tabernacle instead
of temple. What should be the style
of architecture was the immediate ques-
ton. had always thought that the
amphitheatrical shape would be appro-
pirate for church. Two distinguished
architects were employed, and after
much lowering over designs, they an
nounced to us that such building was
impossible for religious purposes, as it
would not be churchly, and would sub
ject themselves and us to ruinous criti-
cism; in other words, they were not
ready for revolution in church archi-
lecture.
Utterly disheartened as to my favorite
style of architecture, said to the trus-
tees, Build anything you please and
must be satisfied" But one morning a
young architect appeared at my house
and asked if we had yet selected plan
for our church. l said, mo, and what
we want we cannot get" "What style
of building do you wantT' he asked.
And taking out lead pencil and let
ter envelope from my pocket, in less than
a minute, by few curved lines, l indi-
Gated in the rough what we wanted.
But" said, "old architects tell us it
can't be done, and there is no use in your
trying" He said: 81 can do it. How
long can have to make out the plans?"
said. "This evening at o'clock every
thing is to be decided"
At 8 o'clock of that evening the
architect presented his plans and the
bids of builder and mason were pre-
sented, and in five minutes after the
plans were presented they were unani-
mously adopted. So that l would not
be in the way of the trustees during the
work went to Europe, and when got
back the church was well nigh done.
But here came in a staggering him
drance. We expected to pay for the
new church ny the sale of the old build
ing. The old one had been sold, but
just at the time we must have the
money the purchasers backed out, and
we had two churches and no money.
By the help of God and the indomit-
able and unparalleled energy of our
trustees (here and there one of them
present today, but the most in better
world), we got the building ready for
conservation, and on Sept 25, 1870,
morning and evening dedicatory serv-
ices were held, and in the afternoon the
! children with sweet and multitudinous
voices consecrated the place to God.
Twenty thousand dollars were raised
hat ox b. Ill IT, ~