The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-07-10
CENTURY OF CHURCH LIFE.
Continued from Page ~

DOnOr ana dHcCllOn TO InOSe WHO
formed this church, said Mr.. Miles, and
then look ahead to see what demands
are made upon us if we are to be wor-
thy followers.
The rose bush beside the cellar hole
where ParsOn Wells lived on Asylum
hill blooms every year, and from this
Mr.. Miles pointed out that the fra
GRANGE of the men and women who
grew up in the church goes on and on.
The men of the early days accom-
plished things together, but they kept
the individual flavor that most of us
lose. The preacher said that Brattle-
boro had not kept its neighborliness
that characterized it few decades
ago and in this respect it had fallen
behind many other places. This is Il
heritage that we ought to restore, he
said.
There is a call today for Il recon-
struction of our idea as to what man
owes his country. Our country is look
ing with favor upon the plan to seek
settlement of our difficulties by media
ton The church must lead in the de
vclopment of this kind of patriotism.
Man 5 religion begins when he finds
that God is Il part of himself. AS many
as are led by the spirit of God, they
are the sons of God. We should bring
ourselves under the great impulse that
moved the men and women of a cen
fury ago. We do not find the mean
ing of this centennial unless we do
that.
Jesus Christ founded this church
The building is one monument to what
he has done, and the marker is an
other. At this communion service W.
snould look past all the memorials TO
Christ himself
For closing hymn the following
written by the pastor, Rev. Richard
II. Clapp, was sung to the tune, Duke
Street:
o God, whose grace and power be
nign
Enfold our brief and Swallowed days,
All power i'll heaven and earth is
Thine,
And in Thy hand are ali our ways.
Thou was orr fathers God; the dim
Stern forest spaces, which they won
For home and freedom, heard Thy
name.
They rest in Thee. Their work is
done.
Swift fleets the century; all the land
/ blossoms in beauty. wealth and peace;
Gift Of their toll of mind and hand;
Their heart 5 desire; their dream s
increase.
Grant rs the faith that made them
great
. \ soul by time and chance unawcd,
\ stcadfast will, a hope elate,
That we. like them may rest in God
The Church in Retrospect.
| Last evening the services of the cen
tcnuarv closed with a historical adj
| dress by Walter \. Gilbert. covering
more especially the material side of the
/ church 5 history. The choir rendered
an old-timc anthem, Mrs. w. II. Bond
/ sang a solo and Rev. DR.. Martin offered
! prayer. \ good sized and attentive
/ audience was present.
/ The speaker mentioned the lax ec
Ecl csastical conditions which existed III
/ the West Brattlcboro church, from
which the Centre church sprung, fol
| which reason when il was decided t.
organize a church here il was decided
! that the society would be more ortho
dox than the church and so the society
was given preference i'll the matter OF
calling a minister.
He read four pages from the rccoro
| book Of Arson Barber, the first churci
! clerk, which pages are in the hand
writing of Rev. William Wells the first
minister. and mentions the first minister
/ i'm Brattlcboro, Rev. Abner Reeve, whC
came here III 1910, and the first meet
! ing-housc in town. which stood OF
Meeting House hill Rev. Mr.. Well.
succeeded Rev. Mr. Reeve, coming here
i'm 1874 to settle on Il farm. He wa'
an EngliShman and preached 20 year,
for the Congregational church i'll Yves
Brattleboro, then the only clrIrch il
town.
Rev. Mr.. Wells had been preaching
occasionally IN the schoolhouSe IN thi
village, now the Chase street school
which formerly stood on the common
Finding the task Of mnistering to tn,
whole town too much for his health h
gave up preaching in March. lSI4. I'm
mediately the people III this part of tn
town engaged him to preach for then
alone. He began the first Sunday i
April and on the Goth of that mont
I
society was formed. The societ
bought land of Grindal r. Ellis whic
comprised practically all of the prescn
village common, being four acres in e>
tent, and built church or the sit
which was marked last week. Til
church was not finished so that il coul
be occupied until December, lsl5, an
was not dedicated until August ,,
1916.
The church was organized July
1916, and the first communion scrvic
was held two days later, July I. Fou
teen members withdrew from the Yves
Brattleboro church to form the organ
zation, and on the 18th four more uni
ed. Mr.. Wells returned to England
April, 1878, to visit, and died here
i December. 1927, at the age of So.
The building faced south and had
much shorter stceple than now. also
/ bell and clock. but not the ones no
1 in use. The pews were straight, wit
/ doors at the ends. For some time thel
1 was no method of heating the churc
| except by footstoves. There was re
1 frescoing on the wall back of the pu