The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-30

The Members of the First Baptist
Church and Parish,
Lyman F. Gordon, Clerk of the
Church,
E. c. Gilman. Clerk of the Parish.
My Dear Brethren
On Dec. s, l visited the Wood
ward Avenue Baptist Church, De
troit, Mich, to take an outing and
preach for a Sunday
At the close of the days SER
vices, l was surprised to find that
the church was ready to call me
to be it's pastor, the pulpit commit
tee informing me that it had al
ready unanimously taken action,
agreeing to recommend me to the
church as pastor The church eX-
tended a unanimous call, Wednes-
day, Dec. IS, 1901,
The Woodward Avenue Church
presents an unusually inviting
field, having a magnificent meeting
house, with audience room seating
about 1900 persons, a great mem
bership of over 1000 and a larger
following still among the people of
the city.
If there had been nothing to con-
slider but what the church in De-
troit presented, I might have chos-
en- at once. 1t appeared to me that
with almost any other church at
home, or any other people, I could
have decided on the spot. My
heart, however, held me to my
work and my people here. For we
have worked earnestly together,
and sincerely endeavoring to solve
our common problems. The roots
@p e. ~, hn
soil of your lives and hearts, and
have often been watered with tears
and prayers that were mutual.
In love anG out of honor to you.
I determinedly withheld judgment
until you had opportunity to say
anything which was in your hearts
to say to me. Your officers of the
church and parish, whom you
highly regard and follow, very gra-
ciously, on the evening of Monday,
Dec. 16, made formal offer to sup
ply funds for an assistant PASTOR
as an expression of their desire that
I should not listen to the call of the
Detroit church. This offer though
deeply appreciated, was not long
considered, because l did not be-
lieve that our work on this field
would justify the extra expense,
anu DtCduSt Lett dDle W 90 al
that the present opportunity offered
as possible and feasible.
The same evening, an informal
offer was made to adopt a more
progressive policy in the work Of
the church, looking to the erection
of a new house Of worship in a new
location: and the same evening Of
fers of subscriptions, to make this
policy practical, were made by
small body of men present. So far
as those proffers of contributions
are concerned, allow me to say that
I did not feel that l was worthy
to be the occasion of them: but I
hailed them as the pledge of a new
purpose, born in the heart of the
church.
Monday evening, Dec. 90, in a
publicly called meeting of the
church, this action, referring to a
new meeting house in a new loca-
ton, was made your action as a
church, with almost absolute unan-
unity; not as contingent upon my
staying with you but as a necessi-
ty for the church under any condi-
lions. This is wholly according to
my request. as / have neither been
vain enough 20 wish that 1t might
be made to depend upon my action,
nor faithless enough toward God to
imagine that it could not be done
without my presence and leader
ship l deVoutly trust that this
will continue to be your spirit and
purpose and will be carried out to