The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-09
COMMEMORATIVE SERVICES
Continued from Third Page)

managed not only the affairs of the society," but the business of the church also. In 1868 the rule relating to voting was changed by striking out the word male and since that time it has read as follows: "All questions shall be de- cided by majority of votes given by members not under eighteen years of age, In 1887 deaconesses were elected by the church. Then two things, the right of women to vote and the right to hold office. and the two facts to which attention is now called.
 The history of the church may be briefly summed up, Tn the siXty-four years of its history this church has had five pastors regularly installed. These are Revs. Henry G. Ludlow, Edward Strong, Orpheus T, Lanphear James w. Hubbell and the present pastor, In the first six years of its history it had several supplies, among whom were Worters Warren, Austin Putnam and Professor N. w. Taylor, and later in it's history Revs. William Patton and Hen ry s. Kelsey, whose ministry extended beyond six years.
 The deacons have been as follows: Amos Townsend Everard Benjamin, Samuel H. Hemingway, Timothy Dwight, Lucius K. Dow, William Iris bic, Abel c. Chamberlin, Luther Brown, Anson Moody, Andrew w. DeForest, Nathan w. Merwin, Oliver w. Tread well, Eastman s. Minor, Ruel P. Cowles, Henry A. Darlington, Charles A, Shel- don Edward Bryan, Joseph Woods, Hi ram A. Gray, Sidney B. Oviatt, Henry F. Peek, Alfred w. Weld, Charles F.. Beckley, Henry A. Warner, A, Wilson Holmes. Virgil M. Dow,
 The deaconesses since 1887 have been: Mrs. Luman Cowles, Mrs. Samuel Lloyd, Mrs. Joseph Woods, Mrs, Carlos Smith Mrs. Harriet Riley, Mrs. s. B. Oviatt
 The ecclesiastical society which was organized in 1885, sixty years ago, has built three edifices and sold two of them. The records of the society do not show the cost of either of the first two buildings, nor the amount for which the first one was sold. The society be- gan business sixty years ago, practical ly without capital. It has maintained the preaching of the gospel ever since, and it's present assets in property and money amount to about $50000.
 The first benevolent contribution of the church to missionary purposes was given in 1S40 to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; and the second contribution was to home missions and was given few months later. The amount has not been preserved. The records have pre- served the amounts contributed for about fifty years and the total sum giv- en in that time to charity and the mis- sionary work of the church is $89497, to which must be added several con- tributions of the present year not yet reported, and which will increase the sum to upwards of $90,000.
 For a church which started with twelve members and a society which started with no capital and which has always been self-supporting and has never contained many rich men, to have struggled into life and recognition in the first half of it's history, and to have stood in the midst of an ebbing tide of population with the stream flowing away from it for the last half of it's his tory, this is at least a creditable record. For sixty years this church and society has maintained the preaching of the gospel, has accumulated some $50,OOO worth of property and money, and has contributed to charity and missions, eX- elusive of what may have been given in the first dozen years of its history, some $90000. With this record in the past, certainly this church ought to take heart of grace for the future. In this Building there have been received into the church on confession of faith 603 persons, and there have been re- ceived by letter 757 persons, total of 1,360 There have been received into this church since it's organization-that l is, since the first members signed the constitution, 963 persons by confession and 1063 by letter, making a total of | 2,026. The accessions by confession of faith have averaged a little more than fifteen a year. Not all of these have proven true, but the number who have back-slidden may well be offset by good
 done and conversions made of such as became members of other churches. Two members of this church have | been ordained to the office of the min
 istry, the Rev. George w. Benjamin l deceased, and the Rev. Charles E. Up. 1 son, now pastor of the Plymouth church | in the town of Milford. Two members
 of this church are serving on the for
 eign mission field, Willis c. Noble, M
 D., and Mrs Bessie Smith Ewing, wife of Rev. Charles Ewing. Both pr. Noblt
 and Mrs. Ewing are in the North China
 mission.
 1 Such is the record of sixty years, bu
 it is not the history of the church. WhC I can paint the sunlight which givetf
 life, or picture the air by which we live
 Who can write the history of a human heart or the history of a church O. l Christ?
 In the vision of the heavenly city St | John saw no temple, but the churof
 was there It is the church and not tht l temple in which it worships, which i 1 eternal We now leave this temple O 1 worship, and the external things of thu 1 church, such as names and members l have been recorded. But who can write l it's history? The faith, the love, the de votion, the patience. the travail ovel sin and for the souls of men, the pre- 1 vailing prayer which accomplishe! much, are all unwritten. The self-ds I nial, the sympathy, the service, the sac 1 rifice Of life itself-these are unrecord ! ed 0n1v fha rec0rdino angels non rar