The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-06-06
YEARS OF GROWTH.
Wayne Street Reformed
Church Celebrated It's
Half Century
Yesterday.

ne UIIletu anniversary Va thC oSoA]o
ton of the Wayne Street Reformed
Church was celebrated yesterday morn
ing. A large number of former members
of the church were present, and the ser
vices partook of the nature of a jubilee
An address was made by the Rev. Dr.
Paul D.. Van Cleef, pastor emeritus, and
the pastor, the Rev. Robert K. Van Wick,
gave a historical sketch of the church.
The church was formed in the township
of Van Worst on January 2S, 1876. The
westerly boundary of Jersey City at that
time was Grove street, and the northerly
boundary Newark avenue. The church
society consisted of twenty-five communi-
Giants, who had worshipped in the Dutch
Reformed churches of Bergen and Harsh
mus. The first pastor was the Rev. Will
lam ]. r. Taylor, whose father was pas
for Of the Bergen church. Three lots in
Wayne street and $1,000 were given py
Cornelius Van Worst, the conversions
was laid on August "a, 1915, n the
church was dedicated on May Is, lS4S. IL
then had a membership of seventy fam
lilies II forty-eight communicates. Inc
pastor resigned in October. 1S49, and the
Rev. Dr.. r. d. Van Cleef, who had charge
Of a church at Coxsackie, Ny, was m
stalled on December 81, lSf9 he CON
tinued as pastor until April $. 1896, When
he was maze PASTOR 6iicIiluS-
Robert K. Wick was appointed assistant
pastor in 1898 and pastor on May ;, 1895;
In his sketch Mr.. Wick said that the
church had since It's institution feeeaVea
SsmlO00 for the support of the church,
benevolences and missions. He tod OF
the pleasant relations that mad aiWays
existed between his predecessor ana MN
self, and banked DR.. Van Cleef Tor ms
In the evening Mr.. Wick preached a
sermon on Gladstone. He began by say
Fl want to talk to you tonight about
the Grand Old Man, a Christian who sue
eeeded, being led to It BY a lelter Wmlen
Of this city. In this letter. ne remlndsa
me Of the doubt some people seemed 70
think labored under last WINTER apout
the impossibilities of ones being a sue
cessful business man and az the Sans
time a conscientious Christian Glad
stone was, he wrote. not mercy q ino ~
man. but a religious man. a devout pc
lever in the Christian faith. A man
who had implicit trust IN 600 ana ~
Jesus Christ, and yet VINO succeeaeu 80
recognized by all peoples, OF all creeIs,
10 be the most important man on tne
planet. In nfiuense sc, i IN p sneeess n
II agree with the gentleman. Glau-
stones life should settle for centuries 70
come all doubt on the matter. Glad.
well. Al Elton. where he went when ne
was eleven years of age, he persisted IN
being an unostentatiously pious stuaent:
which he was willing to defend with MS
fsis if necessary. 1 have no sympathy
with the spirit Of the boy who carries q
chip upon his shoulder. Nevertheless, l
would have him spirited enough to use
his Strength in the defence of right pria-
ciples If necessary. Muscular Christian
not likely to. Gladstone's manliness does
not count against him, and so when we
hear OF his desire to enter the ChuTcn We
prised to hear that he was not allowed %
do SO. What a preacher he would ave
made But his father would have y
| otherwise, and so into politics he went
Ellis success in politics makes one re-
gret that honest men did not engage in
the political profession and Keep out the
| nscrupulous, who assume to control &c.
Eneaking Of him Disraeli said. That
Young man has no future before him.
The lew was mistaken. Others, however,
might have said the same thing. Glad
| stone began life as a Conservative. He
sHe was the hope of the hard, u~nbending
| Tories of his early days. But ne
changed Changed from a Tory to "a
| Liberal Conservative. From a Liberal
Conservative to a Wing, from a Wing TO
| a Liberal and from a Liberal to a Radical.
His conscientiousness was so marked in
| all his doings that some people were dis
posed to call him a crank. He unselflShfy
wrought for the good OF humanity, taxing
no account of the cost. In Naples, where
| he went In search of recreation, he closed
| his eyes to Vesuvius. and Pompeii. and
| Hereulaneum, and the blue grottoes of
| Capri. and devoted himself to the political
prisoners of that then unfortunate city.
HE saw that the Irish people were
compelled to support a church into which
the majority could not be any means be
persuaded to go, n though 1T was an
unpopular thing to do, and politically dan
lgerous, he said: That isn't fair to the
Irish people, and he disestablished it. He
saw his own great nation reach out to
take an infant state by the throat and
throttle 1t, and though in the minds of a
| great many 1t was an almost reasonable
thing to say and do, he said: That isn't
right; the Boer has the right to live
alone and unmolested.' He called off the
angry nation and the flag of the Trans
vaai floats unsullied over the republic to-
night, because Of Gladstpne's sense of
right and his unsefish generosity.
HE was d good man, and If you ask
me how he was so good a man / QUIZ
ltell YOU that it was by having the spirit
of God IN him. God Is the explanation of
all good work. He opened the windows of
his soul and let God in. He himself says
that the influence of Goo and Christ were
more potent in developing his character
than that of his parents, and urged all to
INITIATE Gladstone"
NORTH JERSEYS MEETING.