The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-10-20

Retrospect of Events of Successful
Notwithstanding RecountIng of
Memorable Places in Church History
The Rev. DR.. Smyth preached his
twentieth anniversary sermon yester-
day morning at Center church. There
was a large congregation. The text
was: Romans i, u: THAT I with you
may be comforted in you each of us by
the others faith, both yours and mine"
An abstract follows: After a brief
Introduction referring to the length of
his pastorate and to the fact that the
church had had but twelve pastors in
the 263 years of it's history, and to his
own call to a lifelong work, DR.. Smyth
remarked that it was a time of theo-
logical storm when he came, and the
storm center seemed to be over when
the ecclesiastical council convened for
his installation. That controversy is
now happily forgotten; l would not
care to remove the dust from the rec
ords of it; it is matter of Christian
congratulation that in the short period
vel@y, which threatened to divide our
| churches. has passed into oblivion; in
our denomination we have won peace
with liberty and ours is now the obli-
cation to use, and not to abuse our lib
erty Our first thought as we look back
through the years is of those who are
gone. Yet Christian memory should be
sunny house opened to the dawn.
| The Christian man is not to be as
the traveller through the East who wan
ders from tomb to tomb of the kings
| and prophets until the earth seems to
be one gloomy burial place of the glory
which is gone He comes at Jerusalem
on the side of Mt Calvary to an open
sepulchre, and hears in the spirit
voice saying THE best life is not here;
1t goes before you into the future. Not
from the shadow of death, but from the
| land of the living all our saints salute
us" OF the seventeen officers of this
church and society who gave me their
support when l came. only four now
are living OF the members Of the
church since then 256 have died, and
others, devout men and women, who
upheld the church, and many little
children. Dr.. Snyth paid eulogy to
their characters and lives.
OF the present membership of the
! church over one half have been receiv-
ed during my pastorate. The book of
Acts is noteworthy for the absence of
religious statistics from it. The apos-
ties did not count their fruits; but in
view of the frequent and cheap re-
proach often in some quarters cast up
on the church and reputable citizens as
useless drones, one fact may be men
toned; the amount of benevolences
which have been reported as given by
members of this church during these
years is in round numbers $525,00O. l
can easily, from personal knowledge of
donations made to hospitals, colleges
and institutions, and various benevo-
lences at home and abroad, count over
half million more, and God only
knows how much more still, besides
that million is the sum of the benevo-
lences during these twenty years Of
men and women who have worshipped
here. Our benevolences and activities
have been self sacrificing; we have
given our means and our members to
other churches; perhaps we have
thought too little of our own upbuild-
ing, and expansion. One thing, how
ever, when necessary we did quickly
for ourselves. A debt which had been
begun years ago, and allowed to accu-
mulate until it amounted to $4,000, we
cleared off in few moments on Sum-
day morning in 1888; so that we cele-
brated that year our 250th anniversary
without debt and with honor.
DR.. Smyth proceeded to mention some
things for which this church has stood
and will stand:
lit has kept the vital elements of
it's faith. He quoted from his own
creed before his council when he was
installed two sentences which he said
he would still confess and which had
been the spirit of his ministry. Il
would avoid over-belief as 1 would es-
cape unbelief," and, changing now but
a single word, accept as marking my
spiritual ancestry the historic creeds of
the church, and in that line of evangel-
ical descent I am not ashamed to
stand; holding, however, my inherited
beliefs in the responsibilities Of Chris
tan liberty. subject always to correc-
ton and expansion, praying ever for
the teachable spirit, and hoping that in
the humility of true theological science
I may keep the faith of the Christian
ages, and in the love of whatsoever
things are true, in the unity of the
Spirit with all honest thinkers,
would press on toward the full and
final revelation of the kingdom of God.
| 2-This church has upheld the
prophetic office of preaching. 1t has
always held it's pulpit in honor: and it
has maintained the liberty Of it's pull
pit Herein I may bear good witness of
the church. The remark is sometimes
made that the pulpit of our weather.
churches is in bondage to capitalism in
the pews. But never in all these years
has there been brought to me one word
of unreasonable interference or improp-
err abridgement of the liberty of this
pulpit from any responsible member of
this church. I remember that in the
| third year of my pastorate I have been
meeting in this city, and in return I
had invited them to this church to list
en- to discussion of labor problems.
! For three successive Sundays I turned
aside from the ordinary ministry, and
| discussed such subjects as the claims of
labor, and the use and abuse of capital,
and social helps; and a labor paper,
| ing men to go and hear my closing dis