Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-06-13
OLD SW6DES, PHILADELPHIA
The Church wm Celebrate Ils e06ih An
niveranrx Next sunday.


niversary Next sunday.
Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia,
which was built two years after the
local church of the same name, will
celebrate its 206th anniversary next
Sunday. The 2OSth anniversary Of
Old Swedes Church, Wilmington, was
celebrated last Sunday.
Some Wilmington people will attend
the celebration in Philadelphia next
Sunday.
Rev. Snyder B. Symes, rector Of the
old church, will preach the morning
sermon and at 4 p. m. Rev. Fleming
James, Phi. D., of st. AIMS Mission,
West Philadelphia, will preach an his
torical sermon in which he will rever-
emily touch on the time, 206 years ago,
when Rev. Mr.. Ruchman sent for bis
, brother missionary, Rev. Eric Bjorck,
of the even older church at Christiana,
to preach the dedicatory sermon and
when Gloria Del was considered one OF
the finest edifices in the town.
Gloria Dei (Old Swedes, Philadel-
phia), was erected in June, 100, on a
plot of ground belonging to a wealthy
Swedish settler, Sven Swenson. Nine
teen years after the church g erection
twenty-five acres were bought for nine
teen pounds for the purpose of erect
ing parsonage and, in addition to
these before mentioned acres, the
church owned ninety-six acres on the
Schuylkill. Unfortunately, however,
the early church authorities lost all
grants and deeds and the church
missed its chance Of being one Of the
wealthiest in the country.
lt was built as a necessary out
growth of that sentiment for American
| colonization which animated the great
Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus.
The colonists sent out by this King,
| the first settlers of the Delaware,
were provided for spiritually after
some years by the sending out of three
missionaries TO America. One of the
three, a man named Rudman, was the
first pastor of the Gloria Del and it
was largely due TO his efforts that the
/ 400 pounds necessary for its building
was raised. Between 100 and l7s6 ten
Swedish ministers occupied the pulpit,
the last of whom was Rev. Nicholas
| Collins.
OF him it is inscribed in the stone
tablet which is erected to his memory
on the wall of the church's interior
that be was "the last of the long line
of missionaries sent over by the
mother church Of Sweden to break the
bread of life on these distant shores.
The first ten ministers of Gloria De
were members of the Swedish National
Church, which, though Lutheran il
doctrine, was Episcopal in government
But after Rev. M. Collins, the church.
original purpose having been outgrowr
because of the diving out Of Swedish
tongue and Swedish customs in this
country, the congregation elected Z
minister of the Church of England
and of this faith it has been for ovei
hundred years. Owing, however, t,
the fact that the Rev. Synder Symes
the present rector, has filled the pul
pit for thirty-eight years and that hi
| predecessor also served the church fol
over thirty years, but four Episcopa
rectors have been called to Glorii
Del in these years
Although the exterior of the churcl
is just as it was when erected, tn
interior has been remodeled severa
times. Even the gorgeous pipe orgal
with its gilded pipes cannot take ava
the quaint hints of former days iron
this edifice, beside which Independence
Hall and other landmarks look sophis
ticated.