The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-19

q uras 49,, il--i I'ii'uH service to the church
l~s+ba ailaue by p. A. Goodnow ana Mrs.
Aft ne ne u Goodnow. Three DAYS
s[iC-r TINS, the first communion took
place. At that time the membere iI u,
~ lhe church was just 200. From This
ohue on, during nearly two wears the
/ GI'uLGh held largely attended meetings
"a -nechanlcS Hall, and instituted the
-" 80 ~ HnId-Week meetings. which We're
he!u IN one Of the office rooms of fbn
t p,u.Iulhg, and afterward in other Joca-
liUns about the city.
although the church was in so fJour-
i S;ai a condition, it was with no LITTLE
r,n,Iaely that 1t obtained a permanent
.TSs Turing the first two years.
en- en- supply committee kept the pulpit
49, every sunday, but the need of a
w. - ~ me church began TO be felt
lt'Uls ana more deeply. The first three
ciefgFmen TO whom a call was extend
"a Gechned on the ground that a. hail
~ NAich tG hold services was not
81 eii lTedole TO them, and it was not I'M
III the church formally decided to buiId
d chufch edifice, that if was possible
70 secure a pastor of the stanp that
tl!g coASregati desired On Oct. 18Th
10 can was extended to Rev. Geo
w. Philips Of Columbus 0. This call
! was accepted or the condition of the
puiIdlnS Of the church home. The
! chufch also built a parsonage located
on william street, at cost of $500
Rev. Mr.. Philips was installed Dec
| TO- l6I, His pastorate was one of the
! most successful in the history of anv
kohurch in Worcester. He was a man Of
are talent and comprehension Of the
I redI ministerial mission. Durfrg his
ministry the-present church edifice was
erected, The choice of the location of
the CHURCH was avery difficult problem
70 solve The growth of the city had
peen towards the south end and all the
congregational churches were north of
tne center of populaJtion.aA large por-
tion OF the people of the new church
ueslfed TO have site in the southern
portion OF the city chosen, but there
We're also very many who favored the
northern section.
Ihe final vote on the matter took
pIaee April Is, 1872. when the advocates
Oh the present site were victorious bv
only one vote. The result of the selec-
tlon was that those who lived on the
southerly portion of the city voted to
Withdraw from Plymouth church and
found another church in their section
OF the city, and out of this determine
ton the present Piedmont church arose.
me partition of the church was made.
however, With only the most amicable
FEELINGS on both sides and the best of
relations have existed between the two
parishes ever since
The building of the new church edi
flee was matter. of great effort on the
part of the society but every obstacle
was overcome and the building was
accomplished in much shorter time
than the most sanguine of the mem
bers of the parish had dared to hope for.
Ihe corner stone of the church was laid
on April 26, 1873, and the chapel which
was used as a place of Worship until
the completion of the church was dedi-
Gated on April 10, 1874. The chapel will
hold 800 persons
The church building was dedicated
Thursday April 10Th, 1875. It is of
granite and Of stately proportions, with
a spire entirely of granite, over 1870
feet in height. The total cost of the
building, with all the improvements
that have been made upon it, has been
Sl5O00O. The main auditorium of the
church will seat more than 1850 people.
Among the special features of the
church are a chime Of ten bells. the
largest of which weighs over 5000
pounds, and a very fine organ. one of
the best in the city, both of which were
the gifts of e. A. Goodnow, the former
given in memory of Mrs. Catherine B.
Goodnow, and the latter in memory of
Mr.. GoodnoW'S son. The cost of these
two munificent donations was more
than $1,000. The debt of the church
was very heavy one, but it has been
manfully met and raised by the mem
bers of the church. The pastor and
people alike made very considerable
personal sacrifices for this purpose.
April 4. 1886, after a pastorate of
lV TX j
as pastor, and for nearly eleven months
the church was without q spiritual
head. April Z, 1887, Rev. Charles Wads-
worth of Philadelphia was installed. He
remained only one year, when he re-
signed to accept a call to San Francisco.
but the resignation was not accepted bv
the council, and Mr.. Wadsworth recon-
sidered it.
During the ensuing summer the main
auditorium was renovated at a cost of
over $4,000. Mr.. Wadsworth resigned
on account of the state of his health
one year later, and relinquished his pas
torate Oct 81, 1889.
On July 80, 1890, a unanimous call was
extended to the present pastor. Rev.
Archibald McCullagh The call was
accepted, and~Dr McCullagh was in
stalled Dec. 5th of the same year. Since
that time, the progress of the church
has been steady and unfailing. The
activities of the church have increased
in number and power, as have the
spiritual and financial forces. The
membership of the church is now
among the largest in the city, and has
aggregated during the history of the
church more than 1900.
Among the various societies of the
church, of which there are a large
number, the Ladies' Benevolent Socie-
ty is perhaps the most influential and
far-reaching in its sphere Of activity
1t was organized october 9th, 1859 and
has included in its membership nearly
all the ladies of the church. During
the many years of its existence it has
distributed for the behvdt Of worthy
objects of charity and for the removal
of the debt on the church, more than
$50, 600.
The history of the foundation of the
Sunday school has already been given,
and oft there is no need to make eX-
tended mention, further than to say
that it is conducted on the broadcast
and most progressive lines and has
membership and can boast of an en-
thusiastic spirit second to none in
Worcester Its principal feature is the
methods oe teaching which
characterize it.
The church has mad a Young Peo-
pies society almost from it's very be-
ginning, certainly many years before
the inception of the Christian Endeavor
Society, as it exists today. the young
people of Plymouth Church are very
in their work for the
church and the parish is fortunate in
having ameng its members some Of the
most popular and Influential young
people of the city.
The missionary work of the church
is very extended and valuable both to
the parish, the. community at large
and to the missionary cause the world