The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-20
Ten Years Pastor of the FirSt Presby-
 terfan Church.

Sunday marked the tenth anniversary
 of the Rev. F. A. M. Brown, D. D., as pastor. of the First Presbyterian church and the day was made memorable in | the history of the church by the preach | ing of a special anniversary sermon. 1 The young organization had not been
 without mistakes Every few are) so
 that when he came there were only | about twenty-five members actually on
 the ground, though there twas a large
 body of Presbyterians in the city The Sunday school numbered twelve that
 first Sunday, but the enterprise had | been founded in prayer and though the discouragements were multiplied in the
 early years of it's history, the work has certainly had the blessing of God upon 1 it, for not only has the church mem- | bership grown until it is upwards of 250 actually on the ground and Sunday school of over 100 but this blessing is also seen in the development of trained and intelligent workers and the crea- tion of a spiritual atmosphere so that
 the church is now everywhere recogniz- ed as one of the working forces for good in the city.
 The installation sermon was preached by the late Rev. John Hall, D. D., of New York city, who was always great ly interested in the welfare of this
 church. It was noted by the pastor
 that there had been very few deaths
 within the membership of the church
 during the ten years. The first sermon
 he preached was from the text where
 the church of God is called the pillar
 and ground of Truth The text Sunday
 was the one in Deuteronomy where it
 says "Ye have not passed this way
 heretofore" The pastor recognized the
 cooperation of the officers, the choir,
 and the entire membership in the result
 attained thus far, and urged the entire
 church to redouble their efforts in the
 years to come.
 There had been no disposition to make the growth of the work other than steady and uniform as shown by the fact that the average net gain in membership for each of the ten years had been thirty-three, and that the benevolences of the church had increas- ed in very gratifying manner The de- sign had never been to build the church up at the expense of others and with very few exceptions the entire mem bership are those who were Presbyter- | ians by lifelong training and who nat | urally seek a home in the church of | their fathers.
 The membership of the church, anX ious to take some notice of such an an | niversary attended in large numbers | a reception given for the pastor and | his family by the Ladies Aid society | at the chapel last Wednesday evening. This was very enjoyable affair. The young peoples room was very taste fully furnished by those who had the matter in charge and the reception proper was held in this room. Then the members gathered in the chapel and a social hour was spent, after which re- were served and some speaking followed The occasion was one of special interest and marked an important decade in the history of this church.
 The above would seem to indicate that this church is in good condition and it is understood that their proper ty so centrally located is entirely free from debt, and that there is something In hand toward the new building which they hope to erect before long.