Norwich bulletin., 1915-11-22
GIVEN FORMER PASTOR 5 PORTRAIT
Broadway Cgnoergatonal Church Received Picture of Rev. John P. Prepared by One of His Daughters, Art Department Head at Rockford College -Reminis- cences Given at Presentation.

the fact that MT. Leayens was the first
 child baptized by Dr. GtlIfver when he
 was the pastor and to the inprobabin-
 ty that the minister Of those early
 this child would some day make an
 address on an occasion like this.
 Deacon Leavens said that it was in
 the church which stood on Main street
 where the Methodist church stands
 now that he was baptized. The
 church was burned in 1854 and for
 a while after that the congregation
 met in the town hall He recalled a
 little brown cottage with an apple or
 chard around it that stood on the pres
 ent site of the Broadway church and
 he referred to the impression that
 had been made upon him by one ser-
 mon that Dr. Gulliver preached to the children upon the text There are foui
 wise, the comics, the ant, the spider and the bee.
 Ii later years MT. Leavens said he
 heard many rcusing sermons from Dr. Guliver, who was grand and force ful man when aronsed. and one of tne greatest and most magnetic persons he had ever met. He spoke of one sermon in particular which was de- lfvered the Sunday after the assas- sination of President Lincoln. On the Saturday that the news came here men seemed paralyzed by 1t and but little business was done that day. The front of the church had been draped in 1 black and Dr. Gulliver preached from the text, Woe unto the world because of offenses: for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe unto him by whom they come. It was a sermon that took away the paralysis that had seized upon the community and show | ed us that although Lincoln had gone there was work yet to be done by us. Our Continuing Indebtedness.
 General William A. Aiken was pres
 ented to speak upon Our Continuing Indebtedness. He acknowledged the | deep dept of gratitude he felt to- | wards Dr. Gulliver because he was tho i clergyman who married him. Dr. Gull liver, he said, was a man whose veins were full of good red blood and when you get a man with that red blood and
 red haid as well, you get a man of power and force. He was intensely patriotic and entered with vigor in | to the spirit of the war. He was a | man of pronounced views and of
 pronounced utterance and his ser | mons were those of power so much so | that on one occasion General Aiken ! recalled that an old lady who belonged
 to another church, but happened to Do | in the congregation this Sunday, gave
 audible expression of her commenda- | tion of the utterances of pr. Gullivar ! in the words, Servant of God. we'll done"
 i It was no doubt considerably through | the influence of this patriotic pastor | that Norwich made such a good record among the cities of the state in the | Civil war. for none had better record. | General Aiken spoke of three other | points which he said revealed the power of this man in the community. | than whom none had so much inn
 pressed himself upon the community l in similar period of time. One of | these was his belief in education for everybody, for through his fire and en- I thusiasm pockets were opened for | the establishment of the Norwich Free Academy upon a firm foundation. An l other of these attributes was the | moral courage which was an example | of be sure you are right and then SC ahead. Whatever he believed, he | championed strongly and was intensely | earnest in supporting by his utter l ances- Lastly, he had a splendid zeal in the work of the Lord and was earn | est in bringing souls to Christ.
 The formal exercises were broueh ] tos 8 close with prayer by Superin- | tendent Cary and the balance of the
 hour was taken up with the closing ex- ercises of the school.