fhe American Presbyterian
.GENESEE EVANGELIST.
A BNLIDIODS AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER,
lir PHI 11(723.1!8T OP THI.
•
Oonstitutional Presbyterian Church,
4+I7BLISHED EVERY THURSDAY.
4T, THE PRESBYTERIAN HOUSE
13114 Chestnut Street, (2d StpFy.
Bev. YOHN W. MEARS, EditorECnd Publisher
REVIVALS FOR THE MASSES
_ "The world can neveribe 'converted
in a general dearth of .Revivals, nor' by
occasional and-limited reVivals. Noth
ing - short of general; 'powerful and Con
tinued revivals' will ever 'do, the work."
" The theory that the_ world can. be
saved by , occasional :conversions and
gradual additions to the 'dhurcheis i is
little better. than an apology for - relig-.
ions—or rather irreligious—indifference.
Thepoprilation of the globe is nOW esti=
mated at thie thousand millions.; 'ln what
year, of our Lordwill - theY all be 'eon
verted at that, rate of prOgress 7 Arith
metic
. cannot tell; 'prophecy does, not
tell. indeed it rcannot be told, for the
= plan involves a sheer impossibility.
That gradual theory:then:lutist be
uni
versally eploded, IteviVals of far
More than PenteeoStal PoWer are
pen Sable, and . must expected and
.squght for with an ardent _faith by all
the Sacramental host. . Apostolic 4*
must reanimate the entire ministry, and
the. bhurchea inust everywhere be 'bap
tiz ed•Vith the [Sprit Tro 'On high:"*' -
These two `extracts present thought
worthy to be laid' o heart by , tWohurch..
They forcibly'suggest the vastness of
our-work and the•utter disproportion,of
results yet attained to the end in view.
They remind us that have . yet. a,
world to Conquer for ohrist. While
Christian institutions and organizations
c_oroikancl the respect. of the world's best
While the ehurdh . holda a; leading
poSition.amoni all agencies degigned to
act on the lives and conduct of men,
and s : while' Christian nations are the
most powerful by. farin the world, yet'
the work of' converting 'individual men'
to Christ and-of 'saving perishing souls,'
has made alrnost appreciable pre
.
gress, among the rnasses . ' mankind.,
To 'Say
, nothing of heathen, of lloham
Medaia and of Roman Catholic Countries.'
which constitute -twelve : thirteenths of
the 'entire population of the globe:1-10w
_ .
very . •smallis.the-proertion of true be
lieverit in `that fragmentary portiOn less
7,1
than 'thin- limutired_ r talliarts, of theimman.
fardity ainong Which - tile savi
trines of the Gospel are taught 1 How
imperfect is the. evangelization of the
most favoured Protestant country; how
many. are the spiritual, iwastes :of . , the
oldest settlid portions.cif our :own land,
of New England, New York, Permsyl. =
vania ; how dark with irreligion and
vice and ignorance are the masses in our
cities ; what thousands within sight
and sound of the regular services; of our
sanctuaries, are as. ignorant of Christ
and his salvation is the heathen tribes
of Central Africa 1 Yea ; , what .
large'
portion of every congregation and Sab
bath. sehool and social eircle'remains un
reached, by the saving influences of the
Gospel 1
We are often cheered- and gladdened
by 'mews. of snecessin "various fields of
labour; periOds . of graciOna'and
abun
dant, refreshingvisit individual churches;
sometimes whole countries with all bran
chesaf the Church and all classes of- , 50.,'
ciety are powerfully' affected by the
'word and-Spirit, multittides are brought
to Christ., They fly 'fidi doves to their
- windows. Our
: hearts swell with 'high
anticipation; we write " - VIOTOICe on
.Atrar banners and we feel as if marching
at once to the millenial triumph. But
after the excitement has subsided, and
- we clearly weigh results, we do indeed
rightly claim that progress has' been
znade ; close at hand it appearS great,
but ; compared with the yet. ;unaffected
multitudes it is but as a stone; cut from
quarry,-while the vast and solid moun
tain still lifts its, unshaken summit and.
lbarS Way of the Lord. The - work is
yet to .be .done,. It. confronts us with its
dark probleMs still. .The proportion of
true ,helievers the , world is not per
ceptibly greater; in fact we may vies,
tion whether; during the closing periods,
of the labouri Of the Apostles and their
immediate associates,- the actual preporl
Von ea' the truly convertedife,s not far
,greath• than it is now. 'PrOpOrtionably,-
the church: of the regenerate. Seems
tually.to have retrograded in numbers
in the last fifteeen hundred or sixteen
...
hundred years.
And is , it gaining now? Does it hold
its own ? Are COnVOeSiOna in nominally
Christian countries at all equal to the
numerical increase of population? In
this land and age of unprecedented
*From Tracts•publiiMeel by the American Revival As
sociation, Boston, 1803.
4. Prof Eichorn in Childs' National Almanac, 1864, p
zak
: .: :4_,.•m.itt.i . c . 4..:5 T ,_,.. - .. -...7:0,.. - 1;-:,i T.i. , : l',:ot:i0,11. -
New
,Serie, Vol. I, No. '61..
worldly activity, is not the church:be
ing outstripped in the raCe.; is not.her
,
work accumulating; are not the neglec
ters groWing on her hands are not the
opening. ; of, new territory, the scattering
of enterprising and covetous populations
into unevangelized regions, the 'change
:from civil to 'military life on the part of
hundreds of thou Sands of our Johntry;
men, theAhronging of - iast'binlations,
beyond our Church acoommodations,
and mostly ignorant' and needy, into.
our cities creating an accumulation of
spiritual necessities surpasSing the evan
zeal, the wisdom, and the abili
ties of the Church, as: at present' devel
oped, to deal with them ?
There are indeed many hopeful Agns
in the Church to-day. , The revival of
five or six years ago breathed a pßirit of
, expectancy • into the, hearts of all2:her
true children. , It left them standing on
tiptoerlooking for the feet so b'eautifur
upon the mountains, bringing glad' tid-'
ings'of 'good to Zion. ° lt: enlarged the:
views = of all, and Made - It clearer
ever - to the Church at' large that with ,
infinite facility and by the - simplest of
instrumentalities a , Whole:community---
a whole people—could be simultaneously
and-. deeply interested in : the salVation'
of the.qeul. The plans-of the 'dhnich:
have been. 'enlarged. In 'all dehoMipai
tionEi numerous and great 'encumbrances
have been removed, and abdndant means
for carrying forward and extending'the,
work of the Char& have been furnished,.
by the unprecedented bounty of her.
t3'6110:1 Who,. have consecrated their wealth
to the Ma'ster's service: And -we''Write
for and to a,brancli of the Church which'
is alive to its resp - onsihilities, and
glows; - with - actiyity and' with, hope,
which pats its hand with art,,chergy, and,
a liberality it has hover befoie Shown, to
the work.
BUt the PiesbyterroX- Church of this
country, which, in the twenty years
„fromlBl,o to 1830 increased thirty
tiiCasandrie one : htindred' and eighty
thousand, .or six fold; in the, following
thirty yearsor, indeed up to thnpresent
tinie.lianbtit a little more than doubled
TvEr - i.usithers--the increase being about
2.33 per cent, scarcely equal. .tee in
crease of the population of the country
in the same time. And to come down
to our own work-as a denomination dur
ing the year reported to the last General
Assembly, we find our true spiritual atti
tude given by such. statistics as the fol
lowing ; of 1110 churches reporting to
their Presbyteries, three hundred ' and
eighty-six had no additions Whatever on
profession, , five hundred and sixty,-one
.
received less than ten each, and only one,
hundred and sixty-three received more
than ten daringthe year.- r, Four churches,
two of theni in the -single city of Ro-
Chester, received one - tenth of the num
ber of additions oniirofession.*
What prospect do these figures hold
out that the masses of our people, or
that the proportion of them to bereache4
by our branch of -the church, will . ever
be brought to Christ ? What hope of
ever meeting and overcoming the - in
difference, worldliness, ungodliness and
unbelief of -;enr Christian countries is
furnished by the ordinary operation&
of the church,carried on at about the
same rate in all its branches?
What Christian man and minister can
content himself that his own parish keeps
pace with, and yet does not gain largely
. •
upon, the growing
_community of uncon
verted men around it-what member of
any branch of Christ's church can con
gratulate himself on what he calls its
pregress, At: the kingdom of Satan
and of this world is making equal or
even greater progress, keeping the
church as far from her final conquests.as
ever? What devout, Obi that breathes
forth in daily aspiration as, the burden
of its- life, the prayer Thy kingdom
come, but must feel that its accomplish
ment tarries,—but must sigh to' think,
that at present rates, the consummation
*lar statistics may be gathered from otherisources .
A Tract of the American Revival Association already
quoted, has the "From the 'statistical.repork
of the American CoagregationalOrthodox charches for
1862, it appears that out of theleurteen hundred and
eighty churches. of:New. Brigland; seven hundred and
thirty-eight, or more than one half, had note Single colt
version; oradditiOnby profession, during the year 7 One
hundred and eighty-two other. churches had `but one
conversion each. And only sixty-six churches had as
many as ten each." This is much worse than 'the
statistics above giVen: It is probable that Churehee not
reporting are included in the total of those, receiving no
additions, which gives a rather worse appearance to the,
figures than they deserve. But we were not prePared
for the declaration of the writer, that " the results for the
last four years . do not greatly vary from these numbers."
From statistics within our reach we are inclined to con
sider the statement erroneous.
,PHILADEIE 4 P4I4,:, TLIU4SDAY, ' , DECEMBER . 2g` '1864.
. .
is apparently as far off as ever? That
heart stirred with'sorrowing sympathy
and burning with strong - desire for the,
salvation ; of perishing souls, but must .
look with consternation upon the
reiults of the regular work of-the church,
- and must suffer new pangs itt the thought
of • the successive generations that shall
go down almost bodily to destruction;
unless the whole plan and rate ,of our
work are revolutionized by almightt
power? • ,
In one NVord,. we need:those larger
measures of theilibly•Spirit's;influence
which are called revivals: We need them
in, greater freiigncy and efficiency than
as yet experienced. *e as much aiiany
thing need to feel our need, oil. them.
'We need to, he conscious Of Abe grave
facts of.the ohurchjssositiOn among the
substantially unallecterbunleavened "As
ses of men. "We need to he'arousedlroni
our cOntented `selfgratul4Ory condition,
and lieifectly idle to
Of' the ' "World's conversion' 'nu
the resultof our ordinary modes of act
ing and settled ; rates of progresli. We
need to feel humbled, t in dustbefore
this_ great' problem bf hinnan corruption
andimpenitenm f and' -to cry out, ,In de
spairlof ofiriblids; that 04,H01y Spirit.
Will take - the `Vaud, and by
glorious;` iiniu:ecedentett displays of his
own converting power and grace, sub
due the world to Christ:
Either this must be done, or the world
4nustroll on through indefinite ages un
subdued' in its rebellion; countless gen
efations must pass away unpardoned, to
lie down in eVerlasting fire ; the , church:
itself must's ink by contparison into`an
insignificant speck, a'niere island amid
a boundless world of sin,, raging con
:stantly around,its shorei and forbidding
its advance into,the anconquer.ectSithonk
leSs, waters. ; ir t, „
t' • ,
A iminber of years 'ago our 'brethren
in the Northwest commenced an , effort to
establish an institution - under the above
name, on a magnificent scale, and in'
• • nectidn with our church. A beauti- -
ful site•Waa - selectid — Pri the - shore of the
lake, about twenty miles North of Chi=
cago, since known a's Lake Forest. An
. -
Academy was started—Ahe ' .pioneer
school, to be followed liy a Female Sem
inary of the first' class, a College4and a
Theological Seminary. The turn of
the times in 18157 - carried "by the board"
Borne, of the most engaged friends of the
project and gave it a lull &inn:Which:it .
seems . now about to awaken.'- The
Academy has been maintained, and a
beautiful town has grown up around, it:
The spacious grounds originally de
Signed for the various ...departments of
the University have been L preserveir;
the times are kindlier, and Once - nipre
the word is forward - 1 A fund 000,000
has 'been . " - .' contributed,' the irdome of
whichfis deVited- to the support of a
Financial age,lft and an earnest effort
to fulfil the hopes - of the past respecting
this importantr enterprise,-will now be
made.
UNION,THEOLOGIM S EMINARY.
Our New York brethren have' com
.
menced, and will, carry through,, a noble
effort—the adding of One Hundred and
fifty thousand Dollars 'tici the endow-
Ment of the I:rnidn Seminary. Dr. Hat
field has consented to give his personal,
services' to 'the work, and that means
accc.?mplishm.ent. The endowment is
greatly: needed. The salaries of the .
Prokessors'are now eked out by contri
butions year by'year—a 'resort alike
uncertain and vexatious, and the' Semi-,
. ,
nary has bt meagre ability to render the
aid greatly needed by students in strai
tenednircumstances.-. gThis is an wrong,
and the time has'come for 'making it
right We shall rejoice to 'See - this - in
stitution well lifted out of its embar
rassments, and we shall be twice glad
to see it brqught into organic ec:c
tion with the church. • ,
THE SECOND UNI,T.ED PuBsTITTERIAN
Cl:mum—The Christian Instructor re
ports an addition of eighteen members
to this church, On' the'llth
adds :—" In — this season' a general
..worldliness and a- low state of religious
interest, ; it' is encouraging to see God
remembering his heritage, and. giving
tokens of reviving his work. Is it not
a time for reviving to be everywhere
sought?"
THE•'LIND' UNIVERSITY.
Evangelist, No. 970.
DEDICATION OF TABOR CH.URCH.
On - 5 Thursday night, -
December_ 15th, the ser- -
vices of the dedication of
this church
~ were held..
Not Withstanding the in=
clemency of the weather,
a very 'largo audience
was.presept and the ser
vices were of a deeply
interestingi Character.—
Rev. L. Pratt read the
history of the enterprise
which reached i4s culmi
nating point on this oc
more than. , all the dwell
ings of Japob: The dis
course-
,Was - extempore,
caSion, and,so cheering well-plann'ed, yet simple,
was the document to the full of pradtibal thought
"friends of• -the Redeemer, and ~admirably adapted
to those who have stood to the The
. • ,
appalledbefore the great dedicatory prayer was
problem of-city evangeli- offered by Reverend Mr.
'4ation and to those in- Barnes. The pastor and
terested in the Inissiona- - _-=- Rev. Messrs. McLeod,
ry work t ' dertaken by t: —.:l - :::-`: -. : • Taylor, Mears and Mal-
Calvary ' 0 urch, as well --._=,---,---,.-:- 4, lery also took part in the
as to the lends of Taborservices. Die' style of
itself, th t we freely
fi r
_— , .
Talior 'Chuich is the
early English—"simple, neat and appropriate." It is on the - cruciform or -transept plan
.with, 'a tower on one front angle, surmounted by a spire. The front measures 51.6, the
depth i 590.8, the transverse dimension through transept is 78.6. -The. ceiling i is a pointed
arch; and decorated with moulded ribs. The height to spring of ,arch, 16 ft; to apex,,3s.
Capable of seating 800 persons. _ .
REV; "MR. PRATT'S HISTORICAL
SKETCH•
[Mr. Pratt was formerly Chairman of the
Missionary Committee of Calvary Church.]
.
The traveller climbing the mountain stops
for a, me - merit as he reaches some projecting
point or clearing on its 'side.; casts his eye
back over i the way he has "just corrie ;.traces
the path ; recounts the difficulties he has
met at the various stages of the ascent;; looks
out upon the enlarged prospect ; takes breath
and then braces himself for the loftier heights
he, now,see.s more distinctly before him. .So
it may be well for Ta,bor`church to-night, and
at just this point in the exercises of the
evening'—'before the sermon which will Point
out new 'responsibilities and duties, and-the
-pray,er- which will formally dedicate-, this
house of God, a starting point for new labors
"patise'a Moment and look baek over
the Way the toTd lies led them and thus seek
strength and encouragement to enter -Upon
;their new and enlarged_ scene of labor. Thus,
at the end , of the fort,ieth year of their jour
neYings, just beficire entering Canaan, did the
children of Tsraei'stop and' lo'ok back while
IMoses - recounted their history from the'time
_of) leaving-Egypt: Thus did the JeWs when
Solomon .dedicated, the - temple, and thus
again,When 'the ' wails of the temple were
rebuilt Ezra andlgehemlah, wheri they enter
.ed into a new ctivena r nt to . serve the God of
their
_fathers. - •
. We have not far to look ,back; and, this
historical, willbut touch upon the chief
pointa,pf interestin the growth of this church.
"''The first date that ,challenges our atten
tion
,is March Bth,; 1857,„when a Sunday
School was - opened under the direction of,
the Philadelphia Sunday School AssoCiation
in a small house on Monroe Street, between.
17th and' 18th Streets—that was the com
mencement• of , the enterprise which is now
Tabor Churckand whose church building we
meet to-night to dedicate. At that time, it
was estimated that more than thirty thous
and children - in. PhiladelPhia were destitute
of Sabbath school instruction ; and, although
there was a large population in this sec
tion,
there was no Sunday School South of
Lembard, West of Broad Street:
This school at its commencement num
bered twenty-three scholars with four teach-: 1
ers. The next Sunday, March 15th, classes,
were formed and the school was called 'Tabor:
Ts e twenty-three scholars were the nu
s.
el 'of the present.church;: that name, the ,
in ription on the 'banner under which they.
4ve marched and by which they have gath
erled into'their ranks. ' ..
'The' next month - (April 15th;1857)"
the
Missionary`Association of Calvary Church, .
enceuraged,by , the blessing which had crown
their efforts in the Northern part of the
"city, which had resulted, in the establishment
of an independent church in n little more
,
- than one year alter -the Opening of a Mission
Sunday. School—l refer, to: the Olivet Presby
terian Church, whose ,rie* church building
waits hut a little for dedibation after this ser
vice - has been Completed - for' Tabor—took
this sehbol under. its charge.. Anticipating
its: growth, the Asgociation began at once to
make arrangements to provide it with a suit
able building. Before, however, hese could
'be perfected, the school had 'Outgrown its
two - small'roorns in Monroe street, and was
compelled (in May) to remove to larger ones,
at the corner of. 17th and Catharine Streets.
Here, in a few weeks, the ntimber of scholars
increased to eighty-one.
'At the close of July (July 20th, 1857) a lot
at- the corner rof 17th and Fitzwater Sts.,
having been given for , that purpose by a
member of Calvary Church—John A. Brown,
Esq.',. ground was broken for the erection of
a 'Chapel 33 by 70 feet, for the better accorn ,
, odation of the school and for other religious
meetings. This neat and attractive building
so well known in all this section as "The
`Tabor 'Chdpel" was erected in about three
months, at a cost, including the lot, of about
mien thousand five hundred dollars. Nov.
16th, when- the first story was finished and
furxtished, it was dedicated and the Sunday
School removed to it; one hundred and forty
fiie 'scholars being present the first Sunday
'in'tlie new' building. At once the growth
was greatly stimulated, so, much so that be
fore the end of the first year the scholars
numbered'- three hundred and twenty-four.
Early in 1858 it was found necessary to com
plete the: second' story room to , furnish a
plade for the infant classes., From that time
forward,, the Sunday,_ :School has been a
marked feature in' this enterprise—usually
numberingletween three and 'four hundred
,---as large ,as the rooms would well accomo
date,
,or as could be supplied with compe
tent ;teachers. It was under the,manage
-meta 'of lliEr7J." S. Cummings, to whose effi
cient' and-- persevering efforts much of its
1 prosperity is -to be attributed. 'He contin
ued, its . Superintendent from the corn
„inencernerit till April 1863, when he'became
engaged in a new school iii the Northern
section of the city. Since his resignation
this school.has been in charge of one of the
elders of the church. - The most ' striking
peculiarity of this school was its persistent
- and steady growth. It would not stay any
where- it Was 'put. Monroe St. could not
hold .it; Catharine St. was - no better;' and
when once in the diiii , esw'would not stay.
in the room: built for it r it lela.mOrecl for•
more room and would not be satisfied till it
had possession of the whole hOuse. The
Missionary Assodiation could not keep pace'
with it, but was hurried on from every
scheme of preparation to other 'and larger
ones. It seemed at times as if those twenty=
three children that we had. begun to proyide
for, would becbine a host all cuing for room..
Then .soon after the completion of the
chapel, it became evident that'a larger work
was to beput into the hands of the Associa
tion. The chapel was opened for preaching
Sunday evenings and for other religious- Bar
:Arms during the week, and it was at once
proved that a congregation could, be easily
and speedily gathered—for the most part of
those who werenot in thepractiee of attend
ing church statedly elsewhere. , Here was a
people ready for the - gospel, and it must be
given to them. Provision.was' accordingly
made for the support of an evangelist, who
should preach regularly in the chapel, visit
from house to; house, arid work for the spiri
tual good Of the people in this section. We
were led by a good Providence to engage the
Rev. George Van Dew's, a recent graduate
Of Auburn Theological Seminary, then stated.
supply in the - Presbyterian church at Jasper,
N.' Y., to undertake the Tiork.''•And here I
may 'remark, that if there: are churches . de
sirous to emulate the example of Calvary in
this respect, there are still portions of our
city` in which no Sunday-schools or churches
are established, and it is possible that, if our
own county cannot furnish a suitable man
to undertake a new mission, it ,may be that
Denmark can supply another Van Deurs.
May " the Lord of the harvest - send forth
-more" .such "laborers into his °harvest!"
Mr. Vari Deurs commenced preaching here
about the middle of July 1858, and through
his unwearied and faithful labors a large
Congregation was soon brought together ;
and the spirit began his reforming work in'
this neighborhood'and his converting power
in the, hearts of the congregation. It was
found necessary immediately to make pro
vision for receiving those who desired to
connect themselves with God's 'People. At
first, as no -church Was established here or
expected soon _to be, organized, those who
presented themselves were received by Cal
vary Church with these Wbo joined that
church from its "own:congregation. After
wards, wherythe number frem Tabor greatly
increased, the, session of `Calvary chiirch met
at the chapel, received candidates for -ad
mission to the church there, and celebrated
the communion there 'alSo.-
In Deceinber , 1858 i the = first , under the
ministry of Mr. Van Deurs were added to
' the church, though others' before that had
'gone from: the Sunday-school to" join, neigh
boring churches. ' From that.time onward
till the present, not one cominunion-seiiiian
has passed without. bringing additions to the
Church. Then three--of which number. Alfa
_
present sexton of this church was one—
game ; since then, never_ less than three
have presented themselves, while the aye - 1Y
age number has been thirteen for each com- .
munion. The largest number, at any one
'time, *as in May (13th) 1860; and February
(10th) 1861—when, at each of these dates,
the number was thirty-five. There were
thus admitted to Calvary .church two hun
dred and forty three persons—two hundred'
and thirty-six of whom were by profession,
and seven by letter from other churches.
After four years of steady increaseas a mere
dependency of another church, the congre
gation began to need more room, and the
church an organization,of its own ; for that
which had been commenced a Sunclay-schoot
had grown to • a great enterprise with its
school, its regular congregation and a large
body of church. 3members, and now: this
must in turn grow into a church. All past
arrangements were too limited for the accu
mulations those twenty-three children had
g athered as they advanced The whole
chapel, with its two stories, was now, too,
small I Then one who is foremost in such
good deeds for our chnrches, impressed with .
the, importance of providing for the 'increas
ing wants of this church and neighborhood, -
purchased the lot on which this house stands,
and with great liberality pledged the amount
of money requisite to erect this building-
This gift is so well known that I need hardly
say,"that the donor was M. W. Baldwin Esq.
May this ,building long stand as a testimonial
in to. his it 1 beneficence, and he long live to rejoice
-- •
With the prospect of a larger place of wor
'ship, steps were at once taken for the organi4
zation • of the Ohurch—marking the third
important stage in the, history of Tabor : the
first, the Sunday-school ; second, the gathering
of the people under an Evangelist—this last,
the organization of the church, with its pastor
and board of elders and deacons. This, last
stage was reached'April . 23d 1863, when that
part of Calvary church' worshiping at the
chapel was organized under the name of the
".Tabor Presbyterian church of. Philadel
phia," by, a commission from the 3d Premy
tery of Philadelphia—Consisting of Rev. Drs.
Jenkins and Patton, Rev:G. Van Deurs and
Elder M. W. Baldwin: Two hundred and
yield the space necessary
to give it entire. The
ability: with which the
author haS done his work
will commend it to all
onfteaders.
• Rev. Wolcott Calkins,
pastor of Calvary Church;
preached the sermon,
frOna Ps `s7 :2, The Lord
loveth the' ates of Zion
M S
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thirteen appeared at that time and were
formally constituted a separate and distinct
church, and Messrs.. Archibald McElroy and
John B. A. Allen were chosen and ordained
Ruling Elders, and James Patterson, Charles
F. Leslie and George Rainey,Deacons. Since
that time seventy-one new members have
been , added to the church, and •three add.i
tionalDeacons chosen and ordained—Messrs.
John Kane, Thomas Gamon and Thomas
Stephenson. -
The whole number who have joined the.
church, either Calvary from Tabor Mission,
or Tabor since its separate existence, is three
hundred and eleven—all but twenty-six on
confession of faith. Some, at various times,
have preferred to connect themselves with
•churchei of other denominations—their
number : cannot be accurately: estimated.
The present membership—deducting those
who have been dismissed to other churches
and those who have died—is two hundred
and kixty-one. Truly, the pastor, contrast
ing his commencement at the chapel six
years ago with the assembly this evening,
can take up the song of thanksgiving of the
patriarch Jacob—" With my staff I passed
;OW tbi , 4! Jordan ; and now I am become
two bands."-- -
May.lsth, 1863. groundwas broken for the
erection of ;this building, and on the 2d. day
of July the corner stone was laid by Miss
Cecilia Baldwin, and appropriate addresses
~delivered'by Rev. Drs. Bainerd ',and March,
,a,nd pov.:Messrs. Barnes and adver. That
day-will be remembered by those who par
ticipated in the ceremonies of that occasion,
as, one of the dark. days of the Republic. It
was the day before the final battle . of Gettys
burg ; when our own State was polluted by
thepresence and touch of rebels; when ru
mors of disaster filled the air and made the
heart sick ; when hastening fugitives were
'Coming to tell exaggerated and alarming
tales' of the near approach of the country's
enemies. It will be remembered how difft
cult.it was on that day to speak with hope
fulness of the work undertaken here, and
that doubt was even expressed that the buil
ding thus commenced would ever be coin
pleted. The allusion was on every One's
'tongue and its force felt by every heart—
" the building of the walls of Jerusalem was
even in troublous times!'
Now how 'changed ! Those clouds have
broken and drifted away, and, though war
still rage Sin the land, our homes and sanctu
aries are safe—and this building has without
interruption reached completion and now
stands a temple beautiful in design, harmo
tuous in its proportions ; commodious, and
:well adapted for all the purposes of public
worship. Most fittingly did we enter it sing
ing : "Praise God from whom all blessings
flow "—who heard the prayers addressed to
Him in, the day of darkness on the spot
where the temple is "now built for Trig name—
arid "has maintained our cause."
The.pastor of this church, '
congratulate
on the successful completion of this place of
worship, and for all that is encouraging in
the circumstances with which it is now en
tered. Six years of patient labor is in review
to-night ! I caaanot. add anything to the tes
timony of those years and the approbation
that the Head of the church has set upon
you in them! Let me enumerate again in
one. .direction the .fruits of those years. I
.stop not to speak of those changes every
where visible in all this section of the city;
of the temporal prosperity which has sprung
up wherever your steps have passed ; of im
proved homes; of - refined manners ; of in
creased self-respect and self-reliance ; we
cannot tell of the number of heartvou have
gladdened; of the many and grievous bur
dens you have taken away or made light ; or
:of the number whose feet have by you been
turned from the way of destruction into the
way of life- r :we know not the number ; and
We count not thOse whose sickness you have
relieved and whOse death-bed you have com
forted. Goa has kept a record of all these—
NO only know that you have
N been indefati
gable in all these labors, and that they have
been a cause of wonder and of gratitude to
all who have knoWn of them. But we speak
only of the increase of the visible Church of
Christ during those years. Let the years
tell their tale :
In 1859, 61 were added to the Church of
'Christ throuEth your fidelity; in 1860, 89 ; in
1861; 47 ; in 1862, 27'; in 1863, 53 • in 1864,
32. May the years to come be as fruitful !
And I rejoice with you, friends of Tabor,
in that Which is past and in the present !
There are some - memOries of scenes in the
'chapel which- will never escape you. That
'spot is , hallowed ground. Those walls are
-vocal with praise and thanksgiving. There
you: consecrated yourselves .t,2 'God. There
you celebrated the feast of ?lid Redeemer's
dying love; There you gave your children
to the Lord in baptism. And there God
blessed you. His spirit was with you, and
now as You leave the tabernacle and bring
the ark of the covenant to the temple, and
lift up your voices, saying : " For Eels good,
for-His mercy endureth forever"—may the
Spirit come with you, and this house be fill
ed, as was the temple at its dedication,
"with a cloud and the glory of the Lord fill
'the house of God."
But we can wait no longer; it is time this
review come to a close—you have rested a
moment to look back; and now encouraged
and strengthened by all that is past, it is
time for you to look out upon the work be
fore you in the present and the future.
Here are harder tasks, wider fields to be
passed over, steeper cliffs to be climbed—a
wide prospect opens on every side of " Ta
bor !". Here is room for greater growth,
room for increased faithfulness, room for
richer blessings 1 True,-some who toiled up
the ascent with you have fallen by the, way;
their tasks are done and they have gime to
their reward ; but by the spirit's flight they
have reached, the top of the mount and now
stand to beckon you thither and to cheer
you by the way. We bid you then "Go for
ward.' A cloud of witnesses encompasses you
-" the Lord will go before you ;" and the God
of Israel will be your rearward"—" In the ,
name of the Lord set up your banner," let
Tabor be inscribed upon it, and let Tabor
continue'to be to you as Mount Tabor is to
the dwellers in the Holy Land—majestic.
beautiful, the delight of your eyes and the
joy of your hearts. The Rabbinic tradition
says that, " the temple ought of right to
haVe been built upon Tabor, it is so beauti
ful, but that it was required by an express
revelation to be erected on Mount Moriah"—
let this Tabor be near to heaven and God de
light to dwell in it
"But will God in very deed dwell with
[CONCLIIOION ON PAGE 404.]