The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-14

amidst the general concern
OF life some attention to re-
ligious institutions is duty
equally obligatory. as all our
national privileges are the greatest ON
earth. and certainly Heaven Is pecu
liarly mindful of us. But God is not
so bounteous to us without some cor
responding requisition. OF the abund-
ance He bestews on us. He requires as
q reasonable service. that part should
be devoted to His church. Montgomery
Is becoming conspicuous for its ad
vantages. and is already respectable
for its size and its population. Some
of it's inhabitants are professors of the
religion of Christ, and all are doubt
less friendly to its Announcements; yet
there is not house of worship among
us.
Every friend to good order among
us cannot but be sensible that the
claims of the rising generation, and
the welfare of the present, require a
house of worship in Montgomery. 1t
is not intended that the church to be
clusively to any denomination of Chris
tlans, but open to all orthodox min
listers of the Gospel.
The selection of the site and other
general regulations. with regard to the
establishment of the church, shall be
done by majority of the subscribers,
when sufficient amount shall have
been subscribed"
House of Worship Advocated.
Among the names appended to this
paper were some of the most prom-
nent men of that time in Montgomery
and in the State. men representing all
protestant denominations and the fore
fathers of many of the most promi
nent members of the several church
denominations of Montgomery of today.
A meeting of a large number of the
subscribers was held July 10. 1923.
when william Sayre, n. T.. Benson, T..
d. Washburn, William Graham, Will
liam Cook. G. r. Brown and Henry
Goldthwaite were elected trustees.
William Sayre. Gardiner 4. Brown and
Clement c. Billingslea were appointed
a committee to contract for the building
of the church. The agents of the Ala
bama Company" gave permission to
erect the church on the lot ON which
the Court Street Methodist Church now
stands, and later. in March, 1892. the
Alabama Company sold at auction
all the lots which 1t owned in that
part of the town including the lot on
which the church was builded. This
was one of the most serious troubles
encountered by the handful of Metho-
dist at that time, for they had spent all
their available money in the furnish
Ing of the church and. were without
means to purchase the lot. The mem
beers of the church did not feel that
they could call upon members of the
other denominations for help. because
| Of the fact that they. too. were strug-
Cling with church buildings.
The ground on which the church
stood was sacred to the Methodist peo-
pie of Montgomery and 1t was with
heavy hearts that they ended the
auction sale, but to their qualification
they found that, at least, Il friend had
bought the lot and when later the
purchaser, Gen. John Scott, decided the
| lot to be used forever as Il church lot
their joy and qualification knew no
| bounds.
Prior TO the time when the Alabama
Company" sold the lot and during the
first years after the erection of the
little church, when as a union church,
all denominations of the protestant
faith worshipped there, 1T came to
pass that the majority Of the original
subscribers decided to rclinquish the
church to the Methodists II they
| would finish the building and put into
1t the necessary furniture. For some
reason the Methodists did not take ad-
vantage of the offer at that time and
the Baptist and Presbyterians occu-
! pied the church jointly for several
years. when in the year 1880. deridinE
| to build q church each the original
| church fell again into the hands of the