Mir ~Ittcricau 7r,estiltritin New Series, Vol. V, No. 48. Strictly in Advance $2.50, Otherwise $3. City Delivery 20ots, to be paid at this Office. goritantollghtian. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER, 26, 1868. ENLARGEMENT OF THE .EDITORIAL CORPS Among the measures designed to increase the ME •ienoy and attractiveness of our paper at this time, our readers will welcome the new arrangement by which a large and distinguished corps of writers is added to the Editorial Department. As the designation of these brethren has Stet the cordial approval of the Pastors' Association of this city, they will be known as TILE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE. Their contributions will be generally accompanied with the initials of the writers. Their names are as follows : Rev. Z. X. Humphrey, D.D., Pastor of Calvary Church. Bev. Herrick Johnson, D.D., Pastor of the First Church. Raw. Dan/. March. D.D., Pastor of Clinton. St. Church. Bev. Peter 'Stryker, D.D., Pastair of N. Broad St. Church. Rev. George F. Whinell, D.D., Pastor of Green Alit Church. Wm.: E. E. Adaine, D. D., Prof. In Lincoln lUni- Versity. Rev. Samuel W. Duffield, Special Cor rapoudent. Mr. Robert E. Thompson will oontinue to" , sost. as Editor of the News Department. Correspondents in every Presbytery . and Sy nod will promptly furnish us with fresh items of news from their respective fields. GREAT CiIIIRCHES. It is, in our view, but a narrow and short-sight ed economy, which would condemn the erection of great and costly structures for the worship of the living God. When such buildings are the free-will offerings of an intelligent and pious peo ple, like the Tabernacle in the. Wilderness, they are noble monuments of zeal and devotion. The greatest structures of Christendom, the vast piles that rear their towers and domes high above all the 'dwellings of men, and that awe and thrill the visitor with the majesty of their proportions and the splendor of their decorations in stone and canvas, in tomb and altar, as the fruits of royal bounty, or of ecelesistical 'machinery akin" to ty-- . ranny and extortion, cannot win upon our judg ment or moral sense as they do upon our esthetic feeling. It is when some Protestant voluntary community freety consecrates its wealth to this form of religious service, and with generous hand and glowing heart, unites to raise a great temple to Jehovah, that we can chronicle the completion of the work with unmingled joy. If the successors of Romulus and Remus had been content, like them, to dwell in reed-thatched cottages on the Palatine Hill, then the worship of the gods would have been conducted in similar lowly structures, and no magnificent array of marble temples would have crowned the eminen ces of the Eternal City; if the children of Israel had forever dwelt in tents, then the Ark would have remained unsheltered save by curtains. It was the natural no leas than gracious impuleoof David, when he sat in his house of cedar, to build a house for the Lord to dwell in. Jew and hea then alike sought to embody their highest archi tectural ideas and their utmost mechanical strength and skill in their places of worship.' We know of nothing in the genius of Christianity which chocks or condemns this instinct; which would not seeit rather consecrated.arkd raised to high place in the active tendencies of the re newed man. Great churches are the ever visible, ever wit nessing monuments and memorials of the power of the religious sentiment in man. Through the avenues of our outward senses, they summon our thoughts from the earthly things to which the associations of other buildings bind us. As our eyes glance upward along their lofty spires, even without a separate sot of our intellect we are borne upwards and heavenwards, as' by the sight of a mountain peak. We love to see great old chiturches lingering among the busy haunts of men. When they disappear, the last ray of l eht goes out ofsome men's lives. Their caves are no longer even a crevice to show them where the light lies. Great churches are the material centres of of great influence. In !hem are the pulpits of sanctified genius., They are a call for great gifts and graces in 4he ministry. They are a stimulus to the noblest ainbition that can stir the breaSt of the. servant of lestis. They promise an ample field for the largest and best disciplined powers. l[ere shall gather the throng of worshippers. This shall be the home and the scene of activity of the powerful and the wealthy, who can devise liberal things for God. From this gte'e.t cetitre . shall go forth an army of workers in Sabbath sohools and in mission enterprises, to the'aiirkest and deePest haunts of sin in the great city. ' Here, when the breath of the Spirit blows, min shall boW "tbeir heads as the trees in a great forest.' 'Here; 'in these - numerous households, shall be, f?unded a long line of messengers of God, iihose Ydei, ih i pd ff red I John AWeir with the preparation of ,the Gospel of peace, shall mark their own and every other continent with blessing. Here, every good cause shall find a powerful ,ally, and consecrated wealth shall flow in no shallow tide through every channel of Chris- . tian beneficence. Here are the seeds of new churches of the living God, the promise of new colonies that shall go 'forth dowered by no nig gard parent for their, work, not only with wealth, but with the. large and hopefal spirit which gave them birth. Here theitspirit of. Christian activity and enterprise may find free scope and develope itself to the measure of the fullness of Christ, il lustrating on the grandest scale, how the whole body, fitly joined:together and compacted by that which every, joint supplied; maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.: , Every reader Can think of some such church as we have been describing, withas building of' ample proportions filling .the eye; with its great audience chamber and its vast congregation; with its capaciouslecture room and.: Sabbath Bawd room, and its wealth of tender and hallowed as sociations era its riVers . of 'Christian beneficenae flowing forth as from Paradise, ,and compassing the whole land. The First Church on Washing ton Square in this city, with its noble proportions, its generous breadth of rootn, =its simple Doric grandeur, is one of these hi t stkorid centres of influ ence. By our s i de ; as we wrips, sits a young man,: the thirtieth, minister sent forth from another of these great churches—the mother of ten others in our city. If the First Reformed Church, (Dr. Wylie's) were to call the roll' of all the living members, who have gone out TrOmler during the half-century of her existence, and had power to summon them back to the fold ? . it would leave, many a.wide gap in the rolls and among the elder-, ships of our city churches. , One hundred thou sapd dollars a, year :go . forth,. : in - . yell directed charities, from -Madison ~ S quare Church New, .York. La Fayette Avenue .Church, Brooklyn,- with its myster.roll twelve hundred ,alcd thoroughly ` organized -mission and moral reform work is• almost, a Civitas Dei, a city of God ono . . . .. We rejoice to-day.to clitonicic i the completion; ..., of the bitong.outimrd 41yolli ,of another of tlifrgifiar• ohnrattnii t -, ch# F Acii,rftisd. burgh. , We recognise the structure', as..nuem-' bodiment not only ofliflutt the ehureknoNiis, but of the eminence in zeal, liberality, enterprise and efficiency that shall continue to mark its course in the future. . COLLECTION FOR THE FREEDMEN. The Permanent Committee on Home Missions have at last, after five years of delay, commenced work in earnest for the Freedmen. Although we consider: their past, inaction just matter of surprise and grief, we do not intend so much to complain, as to stir, up the churches to avail theihselves of the Committee as `the legitimate and trust r worthy,channel of effort, in this, portant field. ..It'doeS, indeed, seem as, if in the order of Providence 'the field is only Now . be . coming open and practicable for steady effort, We knot only needed the victories of General Grant in the field, but also the, popular endorse ment of those victories by. his election to the presidency, before we could,reap their fruits and freely enjoy the rights of travel, residence, and citizenship in every part of our country. The Committee in their circular, , reeently is sued, mention the fact that proposals for co-ope ration were made to them by the Committee on Freedmen of the other branch, in accordance with instruations from their General Asembly. We quote : " After much correspondence and personal conference occupying necessarily several weeks, the proposition was respectfully declined, and measures were taken for an immediate prosecu tion of the work devolveditpon the Committee of Home Missions. - ' "Just then the Fre4en's Aid Comtnissidn of Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, .and Western Virginia, made overtures, by a deputa tion, for a transfer to us of the field occupied by them for several years. After due considera tions these proposals were accepted, and thus a favorable opening secured, for which we are now seeking suitable teachers. g 4 The Committee have pressed forward as rapidly as the circumstances of the case admit ted, endeavoring to fulfil the just expectations of the churches. They have secured the services of an intelligent and experienced ! young man of color, highly recommended, to proceed to the Valley of the Shenandoah, Va., and plant schools in. the Most promising localities. Ile finds the field unoccupied and very inviting. A correspondence has been 'instituted with ,thc Freedmen's Bureau at Washington City„, and, waives repeived of their hearty; and:effeetivCs.7 operation. The General Superintendent of Schools 15ju1y69 PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1868. writes to the Chairman of the Coinniittee : 'Tom mand our services here to an extent the' aw will allow. The field is large and ripe, and open everywhere.' The Superintendent of Editeittion says':' ' "'We' need SOOi 40' celored male teacher - 8 1 '1hr schodls in lower Maryland, where we lia*P'a 'strong Catholic influence to contend with.'`lie colored people with our help have bought laid twbuild good 'school-houses, which can aliel: l be Used fo 'churches: In many places all the land they halve is the school-house lot. They also agree to pay the board•of -the teacher, and the incidin tals of the school. I hope you win give us2o Christian young men immediately.' rt.' "The-whole 'of 'East Tennessee is also o n, and the ' people are looking to us for help. T -h -ers have already been coinmissioned fee a pailsif the field, and are now'on their "way. The* reau Superintendent of , Education for -ten nessee,transmiteu , list of 28 schools, with;l.lie names of. teachershttachedi now in , -the : eniploy of the BureaU, , hut soon. to be discontinued, Ind asks us to take these scheols tinder our care,*d either employ theie teachers, or send out otba, adding these emphatic words : 'These little eltil dren, who are about to be deprived of scliriel privileges, will rise up.und , bless you for cording to their relief at this opportune moment; ilttd inaY , God add `his blessing.' At Vlorence'lnd Stevenson, Ala.,• and at Charleston aril. Ober .parti3Of South Carolina, we are urged to;, stiOil ourselves of fairorable openings. The , wkele .broad-land; in fact is before us. All'the aghzi cies now e't work,.to meet the eager expectation of the emancipated, are too few, and utterly insidfi cient.". .. . lf , ,The wants of .the committee are stated as fol lows .1-,YIVe need at this., moment, a ' large corps : of well quatifted Ticechers, , n4ale and female, .white and coloredespecitilly.• colored : _Fifth-, at khe least,' whom lye. are "ready to employ at the usual rates of compensation., `: 'Who will go for us ?' Let them make immediate, application at this of - flee. 'Colored PrSachers. are 'also needed, to be 'sent at once to'fields'wlrere they can be Usefully employed:' t their .resent their;Credal:l.oe, a :ibfitijkii . The present is iher lests settsotr for' ceininencing• work 'at the South. No time should be lost. Not less do we want Money—much of it—Fifty Thoutnd' dol lars to begin with." , They recommend that `collections be taken up on Thanksgiving day, or on the Sabbath immedi ately following. We are'glad to observe from a stirring letter from Rev. F. A. Noble in the Evangelist, that a meeting in behalf of this ob ject was to be held in the new building of the Third Church, Pittsburgh, on last Sabbath even ing. Mr. Noble says : " Dr. Bitten g er, formerly of Cleveland, now of Sewickley, enry Highland Garnet, Presi lent of • Avery College, and Major-General How ard, whose location and mission everybody knows, have accepted invitations to be present and ad dress the people. Thue at the very out-set do we hope to identify - ourinew building with this great and precious cause. Indeed our desire is to bring every stone and timber of. this vast and costly and beautiful edifice into sympathy with all, of whatever class or clime, for whom Christ died. Meantime, Whatever be the, issue of this meeting which is in contemplation, the Commit tee can draw on us for one thousand dollars, over and above our regular contributions to Home Missions ; have already been authorized to pledge the above amount from the Third Chnreli of Pittsburgh to this specific object. r hoPe we may be able to do better.' That.we shall do cer tainly." SENTIMENT ON REUNION. The following, from the Stated Clerk of the Harrisburg -Presbytery,' Ret.-- Dr. Wing, in re gard to the sentiment of that 'body on the present status of the Reunion question, will be read With interest acid satisfaction by Many of our readers : The WeitUres froni` the General; Assembly on 'Reunion' Jere disscusSed at the late 'meefing"-but not finally. acted hpoti. All "seem , inalineds to fa vor Reunion, o*,,equal and 'honorable terms, and will, doubtless, adopt with cordiality .the propositions:of the Assembly. Oar ardor, how ever; has' been much abated by the'confused ac tion of our Old School brethren. Even those among them who are most favorable to Union ap pear to clemapdit on the understanding proposed by their .last Assembly, which . withdraws the doctrinal concession, and retains the 'right, and even the necessity, of ministerial examination in the -Presbyteries. On this'arrangement,-even in the reunited Church, these PreSbyteiies which shall be coniposed inainly of Old Soho elements, will feel not, otpy pern!itted i but bound by their former rule, to examine every minister yvho -ap plies to them for adnilisibe. In other Presby teries such a rule will' be resisted, and what guarantee' have We against ionfusion and' strife ? wail g ritsh. b,lindly ,union a nion with- two otirely dilferen constructions J O, the duty, of Presbyteries;iin such an important mattes ? lEEE ll} , z t ; :-~`~:_ - _ -- iiiJr4 '4 lAI OP illtivele) Otiltts) ;) 414 e 4 This church was organized in 1833, by the Presbytery of Ohio, at the request of nine individuals resident in Pittsburgh. In June of that year the Rev. David 11. Riddle, D. D., was called to be its pastor. He was in stalled January 15th, 1834. March 19th, 1857, Dr. Riddle was dismissed at his own request, to take another charge. Oct. Ist, 1857, the Rev. Henry Kendall was chosen pastor, entered upon the duties shortly after, and was installed in July following. In November, 1861, he was dismissed to accept the Secretaryship of the General Assembly's Home Missionary Committee. The Rev. Herrick Johnson was next called to the pasto rate, entered upon the duties in November, 1862, and was installed January 11, 1863. Towards the_plose of last year he resigned and became the successor of the Rev. Albert Barnes, at Philadelphia. within a few weeks thereafter, the Rev. P. A. Noble, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was called to the pastorate, and almost imme diately commenced his labors. The first edifice erected by the church was situated at the corner of Third and Ferry streets, and was dedi cated in August, 1834. In October, 1863, this building was totally destroyed by fire. Immediately measures were taken to secure a temporary place of worship, which resulted in renting Mozart Hall, on Seventh street. when a subscription was secured sufficient to warrant the movement, and proposals were received for a plan for a.church building. The plan finally adopted was that offered by Messrs. Sloan & Hutton, architects, of Philadelphia. This building is situated at the corner of Sixth Street and Cherry Alley. The lot is 120 feet on Sixth Street by 240 on the Alley. The extreme dimensions of the edifice, measuring from outside to outside of but tresses, are 103 feet in front, and 197 feet in depth. The exterior height, from the floor to the ridge of the roof, is 85feet. The main floor comprises Vestibule, Audience Room, Lecture Room, Pastor's Study, Church Parlor, and.all the appurtenances ofa first-class modern establishment. The Vestibule is of irregular shape, measuring thir teen feet by ninety. The Audience Room, measuring on the floor, is ninety-one feet six inehes in length by seventy feet in width. The Gallery is horse-shoe shaped, covering , but a small portion of the.floor, and,run ning back over the Vestibule, and will seat two hundred and fifty persons. The Organ is located behind the desk. The interior length of the Audience Room, measuring from the back of the Gallery to the back of the Organ, is oneliundred and twenty feet., The rear of the,llllllin . floor contains the Pastor's Study, the Lecture Room, the Church Parlor,,the halls leading thereto, besides various o ces. This part contains the only second story, which is conveniently di into five rooms for Bible Class and Sunday Schools. - • • . The building is in the Norman style of architecture, and is constructed entirely .or 4 ..Freeport, stone, finely dressed throughout, and elabofately ornamented in many portion& Tbd interior finish of the main Audience -Room is - executed entirely with black walnut. The windows are of -stained.glass, with the colors and devices tastefully selected. The large window in front, opening upon the. Gallery, and throwing a mellow lustre over the whole interior, is a master-piece. , • ' The Peivs are divided into three blocks, by four aisles ; 152 Pews on the ground door, and 58 in the'Gal lery, furnishing accommodations for 1,800. . Thirty-six argand burners, placed in the ceiling, behind discs of ground. glass, of two feet diameter, with metallic reflectors, furnish the requisite light for evening services. " ' •' . The Organ is eleven. feet deep, twenty wide, and thirty-three high. It has thirty-nine draw stops, of which thirty-one are speaking ,stops, and run through. AMare made available by mechanical contrivances. Messrs. Hook; of B e oSton, have mbodled'in this instrument various imProvementS; which, With ihe best materials and tbe most skillful workmanship; give it rank second to none in the State, except in size. The Audience Room , is warmed . by a low , pressure steam cylinder boiler, twenty feet. ong and thirty-two chei in diameter, which is located the basement under the front Vestiig,le. The steam is .distributed eight clusters of 4', Gould & Vining!Nßadiators,' ) of sixteen pieces each,-plo'ed in the basemeptunder the cor= ridors, witkadjusable registers ' o'admit the heat . . Eight cold-air registers aredistributed in differentparts of the floor, "tor draVing the cold air downwards, so as to form a constant'eirculation in. the building. The rear building is warmed by the same apparatus, regulated and distriliuted by flues and registera in the walls, ,and so arranged that either or both.storins can be warmed, as may be,deshred. , • , • The cost of the building, as, far as it hai progressed, including the lot of ground on which it stands, is $240,000. The spire has been completed only to the belfry, and it is - estimated' that $40;000 will be required to 'finish it The cost of the organ was $9,000. So that the property, as it now stands, hasoost $249,0.00, and when finished will staud ,tlte church in $289,000. 'The building is threughout 'symmetrical and harmt,n ment to the city, and a monument to the good taste, eat to which it belongs. N. T. Blakesley.---At it special meeting of, the Presbytery of Cleveland and'Portage;' held 'in At water, Mr.-Newton T. Blakesley, a hcentiate ofthe Presbytery of Hamilton was received under the care of Presbytery. The chuich at Atwater, having requested Pres4tery to Ordain Mr. Blakesley as an .evangelist, Presbytery ( proceeded to his examina tion, which which was well sustained. The exer cises of 'the ordinitid o ri were as folloWs : Reading of the Scrijitures , •bY Rev. N., Cobb; Prayer by Rev. A, Y. TattleASermon, ;by Rev. Jamul Shaw, D.D., Prayer after sermon by, Rev, Maxwell' (O. B.) ; con stitutional questions' and 'ordaining by President 'Hitchcock ; charge, to sthe 'evangelist by Rev. D. W. Shttrts,• or Cleveland.; betiedietiOn„by Rev, N. T: t iNkestei. .• . • • .4. .1., Genesee Evangelist, No. 1175. , 0 ...,- ::7 ~ - L .& ---.--, r-- - -;s: •> .. 01 rz.------ -----x.--- - - - - - --i\ .__V___-_, 0 , ,1 i i rr--'-..----.1:---t-------------i----s i) eil ;,-.4--7-z----.7-,:-----•:.1-------s7 • - ----- •_! • - --,-- r - ._---- A .--1 , S 1 Vi --L ' -- t -:-' l 'o'q , the w-- -- -- r . ~,, ...,..,. ..1 i l 4 it ..,. - I V 1 • . , ,: :, •'; i ---:: i 4 ' 2-1 .4 ; 1,4 , -.-,. P 4.4_, I lII ' OH 111....,. .... L'...;` , ...: ~,' ........ . ~,. ..., •5.. , t 4 4 : , atr• ous, and presents a majestic appearance. It is an orni erprisd and liborality•of the Church and. congregatio!a Robert F. ititiolaren. was ordained Nov. 10th, to the work of the ,Gospel ministry, by Maumee . 'Presbytery; and %stalled as pastor of the church of Maumee:City...The sermon , was by Rev.. William W..Williarns, from .1 Tim:Charge to the pastor by his venerable father,. the. Rev. William Maclaren, D.D of:-the Sebond Presbytery of New York( United _Presbyterian). Charge to the people by Rev. 11.enq 31.13 a -con. Maumee church starts out under this neWarrangement'with much to en courage. They have recently spent several hundred : dollars m kkiPrOvemeets.upqn their ,holiest of wor ship. , Rev. lavaigston Willard. of Marshall, has renioYettoHiiitpiette, Niat. IMMIMIZI J Koine & 'Foreign miss. $2.00. Address :-1334 Chestnut Street MEII
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