Evening star., 1902-01-18

DIR. A. W. Pitzer.
echoes of angry passions were still heard.
The declaration made at Pittsburg in May,
1860. by the general assembly of the Pres
byterian Church tNorth) was still outstand-
ing and unrevoked. namely-"Ministers Of
the rebel states should not be admitted into
the preSbyterleS, or in any way recognized
as as ambassadors OF the cross of Christ, until
they give satisfactory evidence of their re-
pentance Of the sin of treason; and pri-
vate members of the church in southern
states should not be admitted to the COM
munion CT the church until they give evil
deree of repentance for their sin and re-
nounce their error
Coming to Washington at the time he did
as representative from the Southern
Presbyterian Church. DR.. PitZer and the
little company which gathered about him
were surrounded with many difficulties and
embarrassments. The southern people as
result of the war were wrecked in for
tune, and the southern church had not
money with which tC build up or sustain
young churches: and hence the little con-
gregation at Washington was left to it's
own resources. Not one of its number
his ability, and soon building fund" for
a house of worship was under way. Many
who had not money brought from what
was left of their former prOSperitv jewelry
silver plate and pictures and gave to the
building fund. One lady whose husband
in ante-bellum days had been a represen-
tatiXe IN Congress from one of the southern
states and VINO in her travels abroad had
acquired at Florence Italy. small Ma
donna by Correggio, brought her offering
to the church, and the Madonna" was
added to the building fund. The picture
had been valued at Florence at Sl0,91 A
northern gentleman NIevi 2. Morton of
New York. afterward governor of his state
and Vice President of the United States)
learning of the Incident at once offered for
the picture a price that was acceptable to
the infant church. -
known in its early days as the Rebel
Church, clerks in the government depart
ments were wont 10 avoid it lest they
should be supposed to be affiliated with
persons tainted with sentiments of distoy-
atty to the government. Indeed chan
lain in the United States navy had declared
in signed communication in local paper
that Congress ought to suppress the nest
of rebel sympa hiZers who had organized
themselves into a church. So fast how
ever, did the little congregation and it's
pastor grow in the esteem of the public
that membership in the church, originally
regarded a cause for dismissal from the
government service, soon ceased to be a
matter of distrust and later on a clerk in
one OF the departments who had filed
charges for dismissal against IL fellow
clerk. basirS them upon the fact that the
person complained of was a member of the
Rebel Church" was given by the head of
the office twenty-four hours time within
which to hand in as he might prefer either
ms own resignation or a suitable apology
10 the clerk against whom he had made
complaint. -E- - !
Not always, however, even In the begin
nlnS, did the little church of southern
planting encounter Indifference or coidness
al northern hands. One of the first per
sons to greet DIR. PitZer on his arrival in
the city was General Thomas Ewing of
Ohio, who had served in the Union army
and who, at the close of the war, had
opened a law office in Washington Their
acquaintance ran back to Leayenworth
Kan, whittier the young lawyer from Ohio,
with his bride, had gone in search of his
fortune before the outburst of the war
Mrs. Ewing had become member of the
church which DR.. Pitzer had organized a t
LeaTenworth. and the last sermon preached
iii the Leavenworth church by Dr. Pitzer
had been from the text blessed are the
peacemakers." and now the Union general.
reaching back of the years of war and
bloodshed that had separated them grasped
the hand of his friend. and former pastor
OF his wife. and bade him welcome to the
capital city on the mission which had
brought MIN from his southern land
Ihough himself member of the Roman
CathoEc Church, General Ewing procured
the hall for the little company to Worship
In, and stood sponsor for the first year s
rent.
II was not long before the church roll
came TO bear the names of persons Union
and confederate alike, the uniform, whether
blue or gray, making no difference there.
A hero of the Monitor, who after the
l&HouS encounter Win the Merrimac at
Hampton Roads stood with unabated labor
for thirty-siX hours at his pumps in the
hold of the vessel in water above his waist
end who by Congress was given honorable
retirement and pension, has been a men,
Der OF the church for fourteen years A
gentleman from Massachusetts, who served
in the Union army throughout the civil
war. has been a ruling elder in the church
for twenty-three years. Another elder is a
gentleman from South Carolina whose
ha 81 la
OF the confederacy; and thus in the session
of the church, as in its lay membership,
was early TO be seen the blending and fus-
ing of elements gathered from sources at
one time hostile and diverse. Indeed, in
the matter of restoring harmonious rela-
tons between the parts Of the Presbyterian
church. rent in twain by the war between
the states, the Central Church has always
occupied advanced ground
hen the general assembly In 1873, in
session at Baltimore, revoked the Pittsburg
declaration of 1s6o, and declared instead,
I'VE have confidence In the Christian char
acter of our brethren of the SOUTH" the
first official response to this Baltimore dec
laration was by the session of the Central
Church in an overture made by II to the
presbytery OF which it Is a member tthe
Chesapeake presbytery). And 1t was Dr.
Pitzer in the general assembly of the South
ern Presbyterian Church at Atlanta in 1882
who introduced the resolution to re-estab-
lish fraternal relations with the Preshvte-
rian Church North -
One of the things which has distinguished
the Central Church in it's history of thirty
four years Is its manner of raising revenue
There are no pew rents and no subscription
lists; no fairs and no festivals The whole
support OF the church has been the free-
will Offering of the people. and yet the ex-
penses and obligations of the church OF
every kind have always been met the very
day they were due. A prime prineipie has
been to avoid debt in church affairs as a
deadly pestilence. December /, 1871. the
church bought its lot. 60x1A5 feet, at I'd and
streets northwest: January Ie. 1878 IL
dedicated its chapel. built on the north