The Washington times., 1901-10-21
IN MEMORY OF DEAD PASTOR
Proposition to Rename the First
Presbyterian Church.
To Perpetunte DIR. Sunderlnnd's Ser
vices - Memorial Meeting Held
Many Distinguished Ministers Eu-
IOEize the Deceased Clergyman.

Al mammoth mass meeting held at
! o'clock yesterday afternoon at the First
| Presbyterian Church in remembrance of
the Rev. Dr. Sunderland, pastor of the
church for nearly half a century, a proc
| lamation was read by the present pastor
the Rev Donald {. Mcleod. advocating
a change in the name of the church to
the Sunderland Memorial Church The
! change viii be made in the event that the
debt of SiS,O9O now existing shall be can
| celcd committee composed of the
pastor. DIR. Mcleod; a Z. L. Leckie
| President of the congregation. and
Tn odore F. Sargent. President of the
Board of Trustees, was named to pro-
coed with the work The proclamation,
, read after the service, is as follows:
There is a strong sentiment among the
/ closest friends of DIR. Sunderland that his
long. seif-sacriicing, and efficient service
to the church and community deserves
| that his memory be perpetuated in a more
substantial way than the generous, affec-
tionate sentiment expressed in a memorial
| service
The Memorial Committee. recognizing
| this sentiment. has responded to it, and
| proposes the following plan:
This church is known TO the public
| generally not so much as the First Pres
/ byterian Church as it is as DR.. Sunder-
| lands church.
| I'VE propose, therefore, that, with the
! consent of the congregation and Presby
| terry, the name of the church be changed
/ to the Sunderland Memorial Presbyterian
| Church. and. to ensure that this be a
/ lasting memorial, that the present mort
gage indebtedness of the church be re-
| moved as a condition precedent to this
change.
We believe We owe this to DR.. Sunder-
| land, and, moreover, that in this way the
future interests Of the church he loved so
well can be best conserved. Looking back
upon his earnest desire and heroic efforts
to relieve this burden, which he regarded
such hindrance to the prosperity of the
church, we are confident this effort would
meet his enthusiastic approval
We heartily invite the many friends Of
Dr. Sunderland and his dear old church
to cooperate with US in realizing this
project 4 committee has been appointed
for the carrying out of this plan, and any
one wishing to assist by advice or
contribution can confer with the mem
bers of the committee at any future time.
we are glad to announce that We have
already received several substantial
pledges to this end.
1T is proposed that no portion of the
debt be removed by funds received for
this purpose unless the whole amount OF
SIS 900 is fully provided"
The service yesterday afternoon com
memorated the memory of DR.. Sunder-
land. whose death occurred at Catskill,
y. Y, on June 50, 1891. The Rev. Wallace
Radcliffe, pastor of the New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church, presided. The serv-
ice was opened with the Funeral March,
Chopin, followed by an anthem Dy the
choir.
DR.. Mcleod, pastor, made the intro
ductcry address, paying tribute to the
memory Of DR.. Sunderland. He said Of
the deceased that, like Shakespeare. Soc
rates. and the great minds of the world
Dr. Sunderland belongs to the entire peo-
.His virtues. his graces, his talents
overhowed our bounds, said the speaker
and poured upon the Presbyterian
Church. making him conspicuous fig-
Ure in his time. Ills love for this church
was such as to pass understanding. His
personality, his memory, IS me brightest
Jewel in the crown of this historic church,
and this afternoon We take occasion TO
pay our tribute to his immortal memory.
Dr. Mel. .eod then read letters from hfN.
J. J. Muir, pastor of the street Bap-
tist Church; Rev. Teunis 5. Hamiin, pas
tor of the Church of the Covenant; ".
c. AleNander, pastor Of the West street
Presbyterian Church, expressing regrets
at then inability to attend tce services.
DR.. Radcliffe was then introduced, and
said:
1T is well that we should pay our trib-
ute to DIR. Sunderland. He lives in
blessed influence, and remember the
grasp Of his hand as he welcomed me 10
Washington years ago. / know that there
are many here today whose hearts thri
with the memory Of his eloquence.
This great gathering today is an in
dication OF his power in the ministry Of
Jesus Christ. we admire his herCism,
ana we viii keep in memory the fact
that he was a manly man, true minister
of Christ
DR.. Wilson followed with the invocation,
in which he thanked Almighty God for
the great influence for good which had
been given to Or. Sunderland to WELD.
spiration not only to the church and the
city, but the entire country. Or. Sunder-
lands favOrite hymn, How Great
Foundation, was then sung by the en-
tire congregation.
Rev. DR.. Thomas Chalmers Easton, pas
tor Of the Eastern Presbyterian Church.
conducted the Scripture reading.
The high dttalumentS OF Dr. sunderland
as a scholar were presented in the address
OF the Rev. George y. Luccock, pastor OF
the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church.
1T is often said that the Washington
Presbytery is noted for its fellowship,
said Dr. Luccock, and TO no one more |
than DR. Sunderland is this due. The |
real foundation Of any ministry Is, OF |
course. scholarship, and in the best sense |
Dr. Sunderland was a scholar, He had |
a good training in college, which gave |
him consulting knowledge. He had we'll |
trained mind. which was not simply a |
storehouse of knowledge. lie had good |
knowledge. He had all the readt- |
ness Of mind Of a quick, court-practicing !
lawyer.
could read the Rible a s few others could. |
From his lips the Scriptures came fresh |
Mrs. THOMAS c. Noyes, the soprano |
soloist rendered "Open the Gates of the |
Rar1sdell. pastor Of the North Presbyte-
rian Church spoke He discussed the |
qualities of DR.. Sunderland as pastor.
= '.Iu 1888 % he said, Il heard DIR. Sunder-
land for the first time, but l did not know
what a genial gentleman he was until |
met him personally later. After the rec
ord Of that first sermon in my diary, is
the word eloquent but eloquence alone
was not his greatest charm. He was not
one of the old stiltcd ministers of former
days nor was he like some ministers OF |
today, aggressive. He was in a class
I'm 1893. at the General Assembly held |
in the New York Avenue Church, he |
reached forward, grasped Dr Johnson |
going TO the devil DR.. johnson turned
around and said i don't care il l do
tell this to show that he was often i'm
pulsive.
"He visited the homes Of the members
IF his congregation and the people loved
him. Whenever he came back to this
church he knew that he had following,
know of no minister whom ] love as ]
10 DR. Sunderland. but / would not have
l!m back. for he has gone to his home"
The Rev. Il. Dewitt Talmage was then
Introduced. He spoke Of DR.. Sunderland
IS an ''all around man" He said: