^ t^;<4««C^y«. 12:3. your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matt. 5 : 16. Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innu- merable company of angels. — Heb. 12 :22. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowl- edge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. —Eph. 3:19. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto sal- vation to every one that be- lieveth. — Rom. i : 16. Therefore with joy shall In the last day, that great ye draw water out of the day of the feast, Jesus stood wells of salvation. and cried, saying. If any man — /fffi. 60:18. thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. —JohnT.'iT. 14 HISTORY OF THE The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage. —Psa. i6 : 6. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. EpA. 1 : 3. And all thy children shall And if children, then be taught of the Lord ; and heirs ; heirs of God, and great shall be the peace of joint heirs with Christ, thy children. — Isa. 54 : 13. — Jiont. 8:17. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. — Psa. 144 : 1 2. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom. — Isa. 40 : 1 1. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. —2 Cor. 6:18. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. — Mark 10: 16. Thou wilt keep him in Peace I leave with you, perfect peace, whose mind my peace I give unto you : is stayed on thee ; because not as the world giveth, give he trusteth in thee. I unto you. —John 14 : 27. — Isa. 26 : 3. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 15 Oh how great is thy good- ness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee ; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee be- fore the sons of men. — Psa. 31 . 19. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? — Psa. 116: 12. Ho, every one that thirst- eth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. — Isa. 55 : i. But as it is written. Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. — I Cor, 2 : 9. Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had com- passion on thee. — Mark 5:19. And the Spirit and the bride say. Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. — Rev. 22 : 17. Hymn, — " Wonderful Words of Life'' Sing them over again to me. Wonderful words of Life, Let me more of their beauty see. Wonderful words of Life. Words of life and beauty. Teach me faith and duty ; Beautiful words, wonderful words. Wonderful words of Life. l6 HISTORY OF THE Sweetly echo the gospel call, Wonderful words of Life, Offer pardon and peace to all. Wonderful words of Life. Jesus, only Saviour, Sanctify forever. Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of Life. Pastor. I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation : lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart ; I have declared thy faithfulness. For I determined not to know an3rthing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? For ye are our glory and joy. Schools {rising). How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! Infant Class. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : Schools. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : Olivet School. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. \y All. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Hymn,— T'^^ Children's Greeting.— h. K. W. Greetings now we bring thee, On this Easter day. Day of joy and gladness, Brightening all the way ; Day of Christ triumphant, In whose name ye stand. In whose name are gathered This loyal, household band. Chorus. — Greetings now we bring thee. On this Easter day, Day of joy and gladness. Brightening all the way. We, the children's children. Gladly raise this song, Praying God in mercy That thy days prolong ; Praying Him to grant thee. When thy crown is won, Jewels of His setting — Welcome words, " well done." Cho. — Greetings now we bring thee. 1 8 HISTORY or THE We, the children's children. For thy welfare pray ; Ours to reap the harvest, Sown along the way ; God give faith and wisdom, Plenitude of gfrace, To keep unquenched the fire, Kindled in this place. Cho. — Greetings now we bring thee. Courage, faithful Pastor ! Though the years have sped, Though a host of loved ones From thy side have fled. Not in vain the labor Of these years shall be, God himself keeps record In e-ter-ni-ty. Cho. — Greetings now we bring thee. Introductory Address,— Z*. W. Mc Williams, Sup't of Church School. Salutations to the Pastor, — Schools will rise. Sup't. The brethren which are with me, g^eet you. Schools. Mercy unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Sup't. The whole church saluteth you. Schools and Congregation. Grace be with you ; mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. I9 Sup t. O man, greatly beloved, fear not ; peace be unto thee. Schools. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Address, — Mr. Ralph Wells. Hymn,— In/ani Class. The sweetest words I have ever read Are the loving words that the Saviour said : " Suffer the children to come to me." Who would ever thought of this but He ? Chorus. — " Suffer the children to come to me," " Suffer the children to come to me "; I am as glad as glad can be ; Those very words were meant for me. I wonder what I should ever do. If the Saviour had only called a few ; Taking the old, and the wise and great ; Oh, I am so glad I need not wait. Cho. — Suffer the children to come to me, etc. Address, — Mr. John Wanamaker. Hymn, — Come, We that Love the Lord. Come, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known. Join in a song with sweet accord. And thus surround the throne. 20 HISTORY OF THE Chorus. — We're marching to Zion, Beautiful, beautiful Zion, We're marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God. Let those refuse to sing Who never knew our God ; But children of the heavenly King, May speak their joys abroad. Cho. — We're marching to Zion, etc. Address, — By the Pastor. Hymn,—" Our Sabbath Home."—E.. V. H. " Like doves to their windows " the glad children come, To meet with rejoicing in our Sabbath home, And plight with our Pastor, so faithful and tnie. At this Silver Wedding our promise anew. Home, home, sweet, sweet home, With gladness the children now gather at home. United in heart and united in hand ; Both sorrow and gladness have strengthened the band ; Sweet counsel together, with prayer and with praise. And blessings unnumbered have crowned our days. Home, home, sweet, sweet home. One household of faith we would worship at home. We think of the absent, for sweet is the tie, With those whom the blood of the Saviour makes nigh. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 21 We yearn for the dear ones, for those gone above, Who sing the " old story " of Christ and his love. Home, home, sweet, sweet home, Who, going before us, are gathered at home. Though soon we be sundered by land and by tide. Our hearts will still follow our shepherd and guide. And pray the dear Father who sees from above, To watch, and protect, and return him in love ; Home, home, sweet, sweet home. May his waiting people soon welcome him home. Benediction. Pastor. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. All. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. MONDAY EVENING, April 6th. A reception to the pastor and a social re-union of the congregation will be held in the Church and the Church parlors. All the present and former members of the con- gregation are expected to be present without special cards of invitation. The doors on Oxford Street will be open at seven o'clock. The exercises in the Church will commence at half-past eight o'clock. Mr. William W. Wickes will preside. 22 HISTORY OF THE Opening Prayer,— Jf^w. Thomas A. Nelson. Addresses, Mr. John N. Beach, Rev. Richard S. Starrs, D.D., Hon. Seth Low, Rev. Charles S. Robinson, D.D. The following musical selections will be rendered : Quartet, Costa. Duet, . . "Quis est homo," . . Rossini. Miss A.M. Whitacre, Soprano. Mr. C. H. Thompson, Tenor. Miss E. Wilkinson, Contralto. Mr. M. H. Burch, Bass. Mr. John H. Brewer, Organist. INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC DURING THE EVENING. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 23 SABBATH MORNING SERVICE. A brighter day never dawned than the Easter Sabbath of 1885. A crowd of auditors poured into Lafayette Avenue Church, filling every pew, and overflowing the aisles. The pulpit could scarcely be seen, for the thicket of blossoming tube-roses and calla-lilies which surrounded it. A broad band of flowers, of every hue, lined the front of the gal- leries ; and along the walls were stars of palm- leaves. On the front of the organ-gallery, behind the Pastor's head, were the figures " 1860-1885," worked in white immortelles on a crimson ground. In the pulpit were seated the Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander Hodge, of Princeton Seminary (a class- mate of Dr. Cuyler), and his friend. Rev. Henry Upson, of New Preston, Connecticut. The lesson of Scripture was read by Mr. Upson, and the Pastor made the opening prayer. The vast audience joined in singing the majestic hymn, "In the Cross of Christ I glory." While the collection was being taken up, the choir chanted "How lovely are the messengers who preach the Gospel of Peace." After this an Easter hymn was sung. Dr. Cuyler then rose, and delivered, with much emotion; the following 24 HISTORY OF THE HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. " So built we the wall ; for the people had a mind to work." — Neh. iv. 6. Of all the two-and-fifty Sabbaths of the year, the Easter Sabbath is the keystone and the crown ; the glorious event it commemo- rates is the keystone of the arch of Gospel- truth. For if Christ be not risen from the dead, our faith is vain. This morning God's sanctuaries are fragrant with vernal flowers and vocal with exultant praise. The Easter carols, circling with the sun and "keeping company with the hours," belt the round earth with a bright bracelet of Hallelujahs to the risen King. Let all that is within us praise and bless His holy name ! It has been my custom, as you know, to present on Easter Sabbath the faith-confirm- ing facts and the soul-kindling truths connect- ed with the resurrection of our Lord, But this day is a peculiar one in our calendar. It erects a landmark in our history as a church. This morning the Lafayette Avenue house- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 25 hold of Christ flings open wide her doors and welcomes all her dear children home : for this is our day of Jubilee. As I look over this vast assemblage, my mind wanders back to another Easter Sabbath twenty-five years ago, and to a very different congregation. The 8th of April, i860, was a sunless day ; a raw northeaster swept among the scattered houses on this hill, and the low- ering clouds rained heavily. Through the driving Storm a faithful band of about two hundred and fifty souls made their way to the small, plain, dingy chapel which then stood on the corner of DeKalb and Carlton Avenues. The building had once been a mission outpost, and had been occupied for a time by the Park Congregational Church. The congregation whose call I had accepted, and before whom I preached on that Easter Sabbath, was then known as the " Park Presbyterian." It had been organized just three years before with forty-eight members, two-thirds of whom were women. Twenty-two others were added at the first communion season, swelling the number 26 HISTORY OF THE to seventy. Of those seventy persons who sat down together at that first commemoration of the Saviour's atoning love, only the follow- ing names still remain on our church-roll : Mrs. Ann Mumford, William Mumford, Julia Collins, Dr. James Stewart, Mrs. Pamelia Hop- kins, Mrs. Mary H. Waite, Mrs, Eleanor J. Thompson, and Mrs. Mary C. Reeves. All the others have either removed to various locali- ties or have " fallen on sleep." That young " Park Presbyterian Church " had experienced peculiar vicissitudes. It had been organized on the 9th of July, 1857 ; and during the first fifteen imonths of its existence, its pulpit was occupied by my brilliant and beloved brother. Dr. Roswell D. Hitchcock, then a Professor, and now the President of the " Union Theological Seminary." Having piloted the new-built craft out into the open sea, he surrendered the helm to the Rev. Ly- man Whiting, D.D., of Portsmouth, a man of fine gifts and scholarship, who held the tiller very doubtingly for just six months. A finan- cial gale was raging; the discouraged com- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 27 mander espied a dark lea-shore not far away, and his counsel practically was that "those who could swim, should cast themselves into the sea and get to land." Several of the crew made signals to a stout Congregationalist " three-decker " close at hand, and were taken on board. The gallant remnant of the crew nailed their true-blue Presbyterian colors to the mast, and determined to sink or swim with the ship. There was an ugly debt very near the rudder, through which the storm-struck vessel leaked badly ; but brave hearts worked at the pumps, and kept her afloat. The same Eye that watched the little bark of the dis- ciples through the gale on Galilee, was watch- ing over her ; the Lord " had need " of her. Every Christian, every church, every moral enterprise is immortal until their work is done. Such was the crippled and hazardous condi- tion of the young Park Presbyterian Church, when in February, i860, they gave me an unan- im.ous call to become their pastor. I was then the pastor of the old Market Street Refoi'med 28 HISTORY OF THE Dutch Church, in New York City, and I promptly declined the invitation. A few weeks later, the Market Street people began to falter in regard to their project of planting their edifice in the new and growing part of the city. So I came over here one day on a reconnaissance. This region of Brooklyn I remembered having once seen in my student days, when the farmers were working in their fields around old " Fort Greene," and on the spot we occupy to-day. I found this same region very partially built up, with the popu- lation so scattered that there seemed to be no field for another church. But a brief study of the locality convinced me that in a few years this would be the centre of Brooklyn. I sent for the Committee of the Park Church and told them that if they would purchase the plot of ground on the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Oxford Street, and pay for it in a fort- night, and then pledge themselves to build on it a plain edifice that would hold 2,000 people, I would accept their call. I did not dream that they would assume such a load ; " but LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 29 they staggered not at the promise through unbelief." In ten days the land was bought and paid for ; and on the next Sabbath morn- ing, while the Easter bells were ringing under the dark, stormy sky, I came over and faced for the first time the brave founders of Lafay- ette Avenue Church. They were men and women who had the courage of their convic- tions. My first text was the keynote of my ministry : " I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ, and Him cruci- fied." When my tongue ceases from the music of that heavenly message, may death cleave it to the roof of my mouth ! At the time of my installation as pastor of this church (April 24, i860), there were one hundred and forty members on the roll. The Ruling Elders were N. W. Burtis, Edward A. Lambert, Dr. Caleb Hill, William Churchill, Dr. Harrison Teller, and Josiah Widnell. The Deacons were John Rhodes, Milo Root, Ralph Hunt, and J. A. Dudley. The Trustees were E. A. Lambert, N. W. Burtis, L. D. Simons, Rufus Crook, William A. Doohttle, 30 HISTORY OF THE Albion Higgins, Vernon Thompson, Thomas E. Hastings, and John G. Voorhees. Of these seventeen church officers only six survive. To this corps of officers Capt. Robert Murray was soon added ; but he also has entered the haven of eternal rest. During that spring and summer the congre- gation increased so rapidly that in the autumn of i860 it was found necessary to commence the erection of this edifice. It required some faith to set about such an undertaking in those troublous times, when the storm-signals were flying with wild portent of a national hurri- cane. We broke ground here during the week after Abraham Lincoln's election to his high place of peril and of glory. Five months afterward, when the walls of this building were scarcely above ground, the startling re- port of a cannon shook the land from sea to sea ! " And then we saw from Sumter's wall The star-flag of the Union fall, And armed hosts were pressing on The broken lines of Washington." LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 31 Every other public edifice in this city, then in process of erection, was brought to a stand ; but we pushed forward the work, and like Nehemiah's builders, with the trowel in one hand and a weapon in the other. To raise funds for the structure required faith and self- denial, and in this labor of love woman's five fingers were busy and helpful. One brave or- phan girl gave from her hard earnings as a public school teacher, a sum so large that it inspired other gifts which turned the scale and ensured the completion of the structure. Justly may this pulpit vindicate woman's place and woman's province in the cause of Christ and humanity, for without woman's help this pulpit might never have been erected. On the 1 6th of March, 1862, the sanctuary of the Lafayette Avenue Church (for such was the ecclesiastical name which was then as- sumed), was dedicated to the worship of Al- mighty God, and to the proclamation of His Word. From its tower floated that day the banner of our country ; on its pulpit was lifted the banner of the Cross — God helping us, 32 HISTORY OF THE neither banner shall ever come down ! A hap- py and a holy day was that on which we en- tered these courts of the living God. We were in the midst of a blessed revival, and on the first Sabbath here sixty new converts were add- ed to our fellowship. " So built we the wall, for the people had a mind to work." It is a suggestive fact that the first year of this church's history was the year of the most remarkable and widespread revivals this coun- try ever saw. Its new edifice was dedicated during another outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And the most marked event that followed the closing of the Civil War, was the glorious re- vival of 1866. It commenced on the 8th of January, during the "Week of Prayer," and for several months our devotional meetings were thronged on almost every evening of the week. The Divine Spirit was present as a kindling flame of fire. The work was carried forward entirely by the pastor and the church, " for the people had a mind to work." As the result of that most precious outpouring of the Holy Spirit, three hundred and twenty persons LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 33 were added to our membership, of whom about one hundred were heads of households. The communion seasons of that year were like the encampment of Israel at Elim beneath the palm trees, and beside the overflowing wells of water. As a thank-ofifering to God for this rich blessing, a Memorial Mission School was established in Warren Street (now Prospect Place), which was soon organized into the present " Memorial Presbyterian Church," which is to-day under the vigorous ministry of the Rev. Thomas A. Nelson, one of the most prosperous churches in Brooklyn, and num- bering nearly 500 members. The present " Fort Greene Presbyterian Church " also grew out of one of our mission schools, which was started in 1861 by Mr. William W. Wickes, the senior elder of this church. Under his efficient superintendence the school increased so rapidly that the present commodious chapel in Cumberland Street, near Myrtle Avenue, was erected for its use in 1871. Mr. Dwight L. Moody held a series of remarkable revival meetings there immediately 34 HISTORY OF THE prior to his first evangelistic tour in Great Britain. The increase of the congregation seemed to demand the formation of a separate church, and accordingly one was organized by one hundred and twelve members of Lafayette Avenue Church, and the colony took the name of the " Fort Greene Presbyterian Church." The beautiful chapel — reared at the cost of $42,000 — was presented to that church, and is now occupied by them. The mission chapel in Rochester Avenue, reared mainly by the contributions of our people, is now the sanctu- ary of a Congregational church. During the winter of 1867 a conference of gentlemen was held in yonder study which resulted in the in- ception of the present prosperous " Classon Avenue Presbyterian Church." We contribu- ted one-half of its three boards of officers and a large portion of its original membership. To-day we " exchange signals " of cordial fra- ternity with these various churches, and wish them all God-speed in their heaven-appointed work. Having done so much for evangelical church extension in Brooklyn, have we yet LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 35 done enough ? Verily nay / We might have done more in the past, and vastly more yet remains ta be done if Lafayette Avenue Church comes up to the measure of its duty towards the neglected masses of this vast, swarming city. About $70,000 have been contributed by you during these years to the noble society of " City Missions." Shall we be satisfied with this ? By no means : for let us be assured that the largest church will die of congestion as soon as it ceases to send off its life-blood into new channels of Christian activity. The limits of this brief hour forbid me, dear friends and flock, from narrating the whole story of the last twenty-five happy years ; it may be written out soon in another and more enduring form. But it is pertinent to enquire, if the Lafayette Avenue Church has ever ac- complished any solid results in the service of God, how have these results been reached ? By what rules has our spiritual architecture been fashioned, and by what line and plummet have the walls been reared ? I answer that first 36 HISTORY OF THE of all we have kept out of the quagmire of modern doubts, and away from the quicksands of modern theologies, and have built upon that immovable foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. That adamantine Rock of ages we have found to be the solid basis of the only- doctrines worth preaching, and the only life worth living. Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord is the source, the centre, and the sum of all our theology. Before the eyes of thousands in this sanctuary, the Cross of the bleeding, dying Saviour of sinners has always stood, not needing, thank God ! to be propped up by human argument, but only to be pointed at ! Reverently be it said that if our spiritual walls have remained firm, it was because they have been cemented by the atoning blood. And if the time should ever come when this pulpit shall utter a syllable of treason to the perfect divinity of Jesus Christ and the perfect su- premacy of His Cross, may the lightnings of God's indignation shiver it, and may the con- suming fires lay this noble edifice in ashes. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 37 Holding firmly to the Headship of Christ, we have held with equal firmness to the divine inspiration of the infallible Word of God. No malaria of modern doubt has ever invaded yonder study, or ever been permitted to poi- son the atmosphere of this house. Nor has your pastor ever wasted one precious moment in defending God's Word, It has been well likened to that " rock which a ship-of-war fired at all night — taking it for an enemy — but could not provoke it to answer, nor succeed in sink- ing it." Be assured, my dear friends, that God will take care of His own Book, if we only take care to preach it and to practice it. The Bible is our sole rule of faith ; but in shaping our formulas of doctrine, we have ad- hered pretty closely to the pattern set by the wise men of the Westminster Assembly. We are Presbyterians, loyal to our standards. Yet I am confident that the admirers of John Wesley have always felt quite as much at home here, as have the admirers of John Owen the Congregationalist, or John Bunyan the Bap- tist, or the admirers of John Knox and John 38 HISTORY OF THE Calvin. All these " beloved Johns " pasture here together like the flocks of Jacob and La- ban, In fact, nobody quarrels in Lafayette Avenue Church. But while we have held tenaciously to the ancient Pauline theology, we have tried to be hospitable to new ideas. Our motto has been New progress in the old paths of revealed Truth, and new applications of an unchanged Gospel to the varying demands of society and the age. The late Gerrit Smith once said to me, " You seem to be trying to build modern re- forms on the old Bible theology." He was right. We know no other foundation on which to base all moral reforms and all hopes of human progress. Accordingly this pulpit stood for human rights and the emancipation of the slave on the great Scriptural principles of human brotherhood and a common immor- tality. It has vindicated woman""s right to con- secrate her persuasive voice as well as her busy fingers to the service of her Master — just as in olden times Anna, Priscilla, Dorcas, and the LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 39 daughters of Philip employed their tongues and hands. To lay upon woman the burdens of the ballot, the jury-box, and the legislative hall, we hold to be wrong, because God has given her a wider empire outside of politics. This pulpit has always defended the communi- ty of interests between capital and labor, on the basis of the " Golden Rule." It has de- nounced corruption in politics, extravagance in social life, and knaveries in trade, under whatever coat of veneer or varnish. This pul- pit has always stoutly advocated the duty of total abstinence from intoxicants, both on the ground of God's laws written on the body, and the law of love to the weak as written in the New Testament. With those twin curses, the decanter and the dram-shop, we have kept no quarter. In short, by co-operating with all wholesome reforms and benevolent enterprises and the grand work of Missions, at home and abroad, we have aimed to keep abreast with the times, and with the majestic marchings of God's Providence towards the full redemption of the race. " Come, Lord Jesus, come quick- 40 HISTORY OF THE ly ! " has been the prayer to whose chime every forward step has been taken. Secondly, it has always been a favorite idea with us that a church is not a loose aggrega- tion of stones, however large or lofty, but a solid cemented structure, standing four-square to all the winds of heaven. To build such a structure requires the patient handling of every individual stone that goes into the wall. Personal contact with souls, personal effort for souls, is the only secret of spiritual suc- cess. As far as the minister is concerned, this demands the most constant, unintermitted pas- toral labor. My own established rule has been, first, to try to know everybody in the congre- gation ; and secondly, never to allow a single day to pass without more or less personal visi- tation. The Bible and books in the morning and door-plates in the afternoon, make a good curriculum for a pastor's day. To carry out thoroughly a system of personal oversight — to visit every household, to stand by every sick and dying bed, to put one's self into sympathy with every troubled brain and aching heart, is LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 41 a process that strains the nerves and swallows up the time. I discovered long ago that I could not delve deeply in the mines of pro- found scholarship or roam in the fields of ele- gant literature (much as I love it), and yet be a faithful pastor too. So I made my choice, and I think that eternity will show that I " chose the better part." Perhaps one reason why the spiritual walls of Lafayette Avenue Church have stood firm for a quarter of a cen- tury amid all the shiftings of population and surgings of sensationalism, is this — that the wall has been built " by the day." Then, too, in the next place, the "people have had a mind to work." Not everybody, of course ; for there are drones in everv hive. But a vast amount of systematic, honest, ef- fective labor for Christ and for the welfare of this city has been wrought by the members of this church. We have furnished many of the most active propellers of City Missions and the Young Men's Christian Association, the Children's Aid Society, the Brooklyn Asy- lums, Nurseries, and charitable " Homes," and 42 HISTORY OF THE scores of other beneficent institutions. In the cause of Temperance, in the promotion of Home and Foreign Missions, and in benevo- lent agencies for the poor and neglected, the women of the flock have wrought untiringly. The principle of entrusting all the devotional meetings in the church to the management of our officers and members (instead of being as- sumed by the pastor) has tended to develop personal piety and personal activity. The two strong arms of the church have always been its Sabbath-school and its Young People's Association, Our Sabbath-school is under great obligations to Mr. Joseph Fahys for the enlargement of its hall, and to the ven- erable Mr. Thomas Harward for the endow- ment of its library. During these twenty-five years over 5,000 children and youth have been enrolled in its classes, and of this number 606 have been received into membership with this church alone (from the school), on confession of their faith in Christ Jesus. Never has the spiritual pulse of that school beat more strongly than it beats to-day ; never has it LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 43 been more richly blessed. And I should do violence to your feelings as well as to my own, if I failed to acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe and which only eternity can repay to its beloved Superintendent, Daniel W. Mc Williams. If I have been reinforced on the one side by the noble corps of Sunday-school teachers, I have been equally seconded on the other hand by the Young People's Association. This has been our " Light Brigade " — armed with Bible-weapons, and organized for the work of winning souls, and developing be- ginners in the Christian life. Their training- school is the Monday evening meeting, which has never been omitted except for a few weeks during twenty-four years. Several similar associations in this country have been modelled after it. Upon its muster-roll have been over 2,000 names. Of this number ten have entered the sacred ministry, and one of them is bearing nobly the banner of the Cross in China. As we make our annual contribu- tion to-day to our " Olivet Mission," let me 44 HISTORY OF THE gratefully record the good work wrought there during the last thirteen years. If their field is not large, it has been thoroughly tilled and has yielded a rich harvest. To tabulate the results of the past five-and- twenty years is not easy ; for the deepest and the most enduring part of all labors for immortal souls will only be unfolded when the " books are opened" before the judgment-seat of Christ. The following figures tell a part of the story : During my present pastorate I have preached to you about 2,300 discourses, and have delivered over 1,000 public addresses in behalf of the temperance reform and of Sabbath-schools, Young Men's Christian As- sociations and kindred enterprises for human welfare. I have officiated at 570 marriages, and baptized 802 children. The total num- ber received into the membership of this church during this time has been 3,610. Of this number 1,566 have united by confession of their faith in Jesus Christ, The number of members now on our church register is 2,012. Of these a considerable number are LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 45 non-resident, but have never asked for formal dismissions to other churches. O my beloved people, how you have sweet- ened these years with words and deeds of un- faltering affection, and with kind forbearance towards my impulsive infirmities ! Never have you wounded me with a single sharp syllable, and never have you tried to padlock my lips from uttering the fullest convictions of my conscience. My poorest sermons you have forgiven ; the best you have not forgotten. You knew that I loved you, and " love en- dureth all things." There are hundreds in this congregation who have grown up here from infancy, and never knew any other spiritual home. Into your dwellings you have welcomed me when the wedding-torch was lighted ; and often when the candle was gone out, and the atmosphere was shadowed by the death-angel's wing, when the cradle had given place to the coffin, or the arm-chairs of dear old father and mother became empty, then we went into the cloud together and sought to see " no man save Jesus only." If I have 46 HISTORY OF THE gone to you in times of trouble, so have you come to me. When once, and again, and yet again, our Heavenly Father " smote the four corners of my house " with bitter bereave- ments, your sympathy was inexpressibly sweet to aching hearts ; it has kept the roses bloom- ing above the mould. Verily, verily, God might have given you a hundred abler and more cultured "ministers, but God never gave to any minister a kinder, truer, nobler flock. "The Lord recompense your works of love, and a full reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings we have come to trust ! " Such is a very brief review of the past quar- ter of a century in which we have been build- ing church walls together — " the people hav- ing a mind to work." A fuller history will ere long be prepared for preservation. But suffer me, dear friends, before I close, to al- lude to a few personalities which the familiar freedom of this happy hour may redeem from the imputation of immodesty. To-day completes forty years of ray public LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 47 ministry. As I remember all the way which the Lord our God hath led me through these forty years, I am ready to exclaim, " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His bene- fits ! " What have these been ? First of all I thank Him for a godly parentage ; and that the earliest link in love's warm chain is yet unbroken by the lapse of fourscore years and three. Heaven bless all faithful mothers ! Secondly, I rejoice that a peculiar providence turned my footsteps away from the profession of my immediate ancestors into the ministry of salvation. No throne was ever built that comes within ten leagues of the pulpit which lifts up Christ crucified. In preparing for my life-work I count it a sovereign mercy that I spent my student-days in Princeton, at a time when the splendid scientific fame of Joseph Henry hung over the college like a radiant star, and when the Theological Seminary was under the guidance of those two wise masters of divinity, Archibald Alexander and Charles Hodge (whose honored son and heir sits now beside me). Both those mighty men being 48 HISTORY OF THE dead, yet speak from a thousand pulpits in the logical forms of the truths they taught us. If their theology is old, so is the law that guides "Arcturus with its suns," so is the granite that underlies the continents. None but a theology that came out of eternity can carry you and me safely through eternity ! Another personal mercy I would gratefully acknowledge has been the enjoyment of un- broken health. In forty years I have never lost but two Sabbaths from sickness, and then the ailment was but for a few hours. If any minister who believes in using wines or alco- holics for " his stomach's sake," can show a cleaner bill of health, he is welcome to pro- duce it. One hour of sleep is worth a gross of tonics. I have always held that the only two bodily functions a pastor needs are lungs and legs — the functions to talk with on Sun- day and to walk with during the week from house to house. In your pastor's case, the talking and the walking have been " renewed day by day." There is still another sweet mercy which I LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 49 fear that Paul himself did not possess, and which has been vouchsafed to me in that true heart that has never faltered, and that gentle footstep that has never wearied in the path- way of love for two and thirty years. From how many mistakes and hasty indiscretions her quick sagacity has kept me, you can never know. If you have any tribute of thanks for any good which I have done you, do not offer it to me ; carry it down to yonder home, of which she has been the light and the joy, and lay it at her unselfish feet. Have all the labors of a busy life been lim- ited to the pulpit and the platform ? No. I have sought a thousand-fold wider congrega- tion through the press. A consecrated type may be as useful as a consecrated tongue. Ac- cordingly I have always made it a rule never to allow a week to pass without contributing at least one article to some leading religious journal. These articles have been mainly drawn from personal experience, and aimed at the average popular mind. Of these I have published about twenty-seven hundred ; many i so HISTORY OF THE have been reprinted across the ocean (one press in London alone has reissued over ten millions of copies), and many have been trans- lated into various languages and come back to me in unknown tongues. At a rough estimate, over one hundred millions of copies of them have been printed and scattered around the globe. I have prepared about fifty tracts for the National Temperance Society, the Ameri- can Tract Society, and the Presbyterian Board of Publication. Of the ten volumes which I have published, two have trickled from my pen in tears — one when a little crib was emp- tied, and the other when a lovely face and a lovelier character had vanished from our home, leaving an aching void that never, never can be filled. If these modest books have guided some souls to Jesus, if they have brought com- fort to the sorrowing, relief to the over-loaded, or new strength to the feeble and the faint, then has my labor of love found its best re- ward. Such, my fellow-workers, has been my man- ner of life during these eventful forty years. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 5 1 Amid the magnificent marchings of human progress, what are the poor scratchings of a single pen, or the feeble utterances of a single tongue ? Nothing ! nothing, except to show that God can use the weak things as well as the mighty in His blessed service. To-day your pastor stands at a very solemn juncture in his journey. A quarter of a century ended in this pulpit, and forty years of a public min- istry concluded, all remind me that more of my life lies behind me than is yet untrodden. How much water there may be left in that in- visible cistern of life from which we draw each day, and can not stop drawing, God only knows. This do I know full well, that the water is running low. I only ask that the unseen fountain may be kept sweet and pure by the grace of Christ Jesus. I only ask to live just as long as God has any work for me to do, and not one day — no ! not one moment — longer, I only ask that among the last ob- jects which my failing vision shall behold may be yonder spire that salutes the rising sun, and pilots us to our Sabbath-home ! And 52 HISTORY OF THE when the day's work for Christ is over, give me a narrow bed among the people whom I love out in yonder Greenwood, city of the sleepers, and let me help to " break ground " for them on the resurrection morn. All hail that seraphic Easter-dawn ! Amid its tran- scendent wonders, no eye shall turn to seek for pastor or parent, for prophet or priest, for the great Psalmist with his harp of praise, or the great Apostle with his tongue of flame ; we shall all see " no man save Jesus only ! " The brow that crimsoned with the crown of thorns shall then be lustrous with the diadem of an imperial glory. As here on earth we were determined to know nothing save Jesus and Him crucified, there we shall rejoice to know nothing and no one save Jesus Christ and Him glorified ! After the discourse — which was listened to with deep attention — Doctor Hodge offered a fervent prayer of thanksgiving ; and the whole assembly arose and joined in singing the familiar hymn : " Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love, The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above." LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 53 SABBATH-SCHOOL SERVICES. At three o'clock in the afternoon the Sabbath- schools connected with the church and with Olivet Mission Chapel held their Jubilee services ; and the Lafayette Avenue edifice was again thronged to the doors. The young people, with the children of the "infant department," sang the various hymns and joined in the responsive exercises with great enthu- siasm. Mr. Horace B. GrifEng made the opening prayer and Mr. Daniel W. McWilliams delivered the following introductory address. Invocation — H. B. Griffing, Superintendent Olivet Mission. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we invoke Thy presence and Thy blessing upon this oc- casion, of such great interest to the pastor and people of this church. Thou art a cove- nant-keeping God, ever showing mercy to those with their whole heart in Thy fear and in Thy love. The Heaven of Heavens can not contain Thee, yet we praise Thy name that Thou dost delight to dwell in the hearts 54 HISTORY OF THE of those that love Thee. We are here to-day, not to glorify man, but to glorify Thee, who hast given such power to men that they may be co-workers with Thee. We come to com- mend Thy blessing upon each and all, as we are gathered here together upon this interest- ing occasion, in honor of one whom we de- light to call our pastor. Unite all this people in holy bonds. And v/e thank Thee for the influence and teaching which has brought glorious fruits for Thee, and we are gathered here to-day as parents and children and chil- dren's children, to do honor and to show our love and our appreciation of Thy glorious work in the history of this church. We come to Thee with our hearts full of praise and thanksgiving for all Thy mercies to us dur- ing these twenty-five years of earnest work and earnest labor for Thee. We do thank Thee that Thou hast enabled him who is our pastor to sow and to reap, and to pre- pare and build for eternity. We thank Thee to-day from our hearts for the mother of this son, who was early consecrated to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 55 Thee and to the ministry of Thy Word, and we pray Thee that Thy richest and choicest blessings may rest upon her. We do thank Thee for the work she has done during these fourscore years in helping others to prepare to proclaim Thy Word and in giving the Word of God to those earnestly laboring in Thy ministry among the people ; and we do praise Thee to-day for our pastor and all of his faithfulness to us during these twenty-five years of earnest labor and of faithful service to Thee and to us. We do pray Thee, dear Father in Heaven, that we may get inspira- tion on this occasion that shall go with us many days and strengthen us for earnest labor and earnest service for Thee. We come to Thee and ask Thy blessing upon each one of us, upon parents, children, and children's chil- dren. We come to ask Thee to bless those who are teachers in the great work of the Sabbath-school, to ask Thee to bless those who are scholars and to bless all those en- gaged in the work. We ask Thy blessing upon those who have come here to-day to S6 HISTORY OF THE speak to us. We thank Thee for the encour- agement we have heard from their lips, en- couragement to labor, and pray, and to do for Thee ; and we pray Thee to bless the Word as it is spoken from their lips this afternoon. We do thank Thee that Thou hast given us so richly of Thy blessing during all these years, and that there are so many that can raise their Ebenezer stone to-day and say from their hearts, " Hallelujah, Thine is the praise," and who can rejoice when they think of the time when they heard from the lips of him who speaks the Word in this pulpit, words of consolation and of truth. We thank Thee for the Gospel. We thank Thee for the consolation proclaimed there through Je- sus Christ, our Lord. We do pray that all the exercises of this afternoon may be to Thy glory and to our good. God bless us abun- dantly, more abundantly than we can ask. We ask this all in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 57 Scripture Readings, — All standing. Sup't. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord ; praise Him, O ye servants of the Lord. Schools. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Sup't. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name ; for it is pleasant. Schools. Both young men, and maidens ; old men, and children : Sup't. Let them praise the name of the Lord : for his name alone is excellent ; his glory is above the earth and heaven. Schools. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High : Sup't. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem ; praise thy God, O Zion. Schools, For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; he hath blessed thy children -within thee. Sup't. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteous- ness unto children's children. Schools. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. Sup't. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts ; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Schools. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion : bless the Lord, O my soul. All. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. 1* 58 HISTORY OF THE Praise God, from whom all blessings flow : Praise Him, all creatures here below : Praise Him above, ye heavenly host : Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. RESPONSIVE. Voices of the Old. Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. — Isa. 60: 1. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and ever- lasting joy upon their heads. — Isa. 35 : 10. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. —Isa. 51:3. Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. — Isa. 12:3. Echoes of the New. Let your light so shine be- fore men, that they may see your good works, and glori- fy your Father which is in heaven. — Matt. 5 : i6. Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heaven- ly Jerusalem, and to an in- numerable company of an- gels. — Heb. 12 : 22. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowl- edge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. —Eph. 3 : 19. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. — Rom. i : 16 LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 59 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. — Isa. 60: 18. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage. —Psa. 16:6. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children. — Isa. 54 : 13. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones pol- ished after the similitude of a palace. — Psa. 144: 12. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. — John 7 : 37. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. —Eph. 1 : 3. And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. — Rom. 8 : 17. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. —2 Cor. 6:18. He shall feed his flock like I am the good shepherd, a shepherd : he shall gather and know my sheep, and am the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom. — Isa. 40:11. known of mine. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. — Mark 10 : 16. 6o HISTORY OF THE Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee ; because he trusteth in thee. — Isa. 26 : 3. Oh how great is thy good- ness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee ; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee be- fore the sons of men. — Psa. 31 : 19. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me ? — Psa. 116:12. Ho. every one that thirst- eth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. — Isa. 55: i. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give 1 unto you. — John 14 : 27. But as it is written. Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. — I Cor. 2 : 9. Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had com- passion on thee. — Mark s : 19. And the Spirit and the bride say. Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. — Rev. 22:17. Hymn — " Wonderful Words of Life." Sing them over again to me, Wonderful words of Life, Let me more of their beauty see, Wonderful words of Life. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 6 1 Words of life and beauty, Teach me faith and duty ; Beautiful words, wonderful words. Wonderful words of Life. Sweetly echo the gospel call, Wonderful words of Life, Offer pardon and peace to all. Wonderful words of Life. Jesus, only Saviour, Sanctify forever, Beautiful words, wonderful words. Wonderful words of Life. Pastor. I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation : lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? For ye are our glory and joy. Schools (rising). How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! Infant Class. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : 62 HISTORY OF THE Schools. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : Olivet School. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. All. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Hymn, — The Children's Greeting. — A. W. K. Greetings now we bring thee. On this Easter day. Day of joy and gladness. Brightening all the way ; Day of Christ triumphant, In whose name ye stand. In whose name are gathered This loyal, household band. Chorus. — Greetings now we bring thee. On this Easter day. Day of joy and gladness. Brightening all the way. We, the children's children. Gladly raise this song. Praying God in mercy That thy days prolong ; Praying Him to grant thee. When thy crown is won. Jewels of His setting — Welcome words, " well done." Cho. — Greetings now we bring thee. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 63 We the children's children, For thy welfare pray ; Ours to reap the harvest, Sown along the way ; God give faith and wisdom. Plenitude of grace. To keep unquenched the fire Kindled in this place. Cho. — Greetings now we bring thee. Courage, faithful Pastor ! Though the years have sped, Though a host of loved ones From thy side have fled. Not in vain the labor Of these years shall be, God himself keeps record In e-ter-ni-ty. Cho. — Greetings now we bring thee. Introductory Address. D. W. Mc Williams, Sup't Church School. It is a new thing for these two Sabbath- schools to displace the Bible lesson and during this hour to have services of another character. These are unusual arrangements for us to-day. Olivet Mission is with us, for the first time in 64 HISTORY OF THE many years. " They of the land of Sinim," as the prophet Isaiah calls them, take part with us in this joyful service. We may say that the loving heart of our pastor has reached down into the very nurseries of the congrega- tion and has brought before us the infant class. Two of the busiest men on this continent, on whom are depending some of the most inter- esting fields, Mr. Ralph Wells and Mr. John Wanamaker, have come and signify by their presence the importance of this occasion. Lafayette Avenue Church might have had a pastor whose twenty-fifth anniversary could have been celebrated without any special ser- vice of its Sabbath-schools ; but such is not our case, for surely there is no man who has more power to reach the family and the home than has our devoted and beloved pastor. And we render to-day a heart service of thanksgiv- ing and praise to Almighty God for the dear pastor whom He has given this church during the last twenty-five years. Think for a moment what are clustered here to-day. This is a family gathering. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 65 What is the family ? It is the oldest institu- tion in the world ; it is the foundation of so- ciety. And what came next in the order of time ? After the family, the holy Sabbath was instituted. And what came next ? The altar of worship and for sacrifice, with the head of the household as the priestly intercessor. And what came next ? The Word of God, revealed to men. The altar by and by became the tab- ernacle in the wilderness, around which all the families encamped ; and then the temple at Jerusalem, to which all the families came up for sacrifice and worship. The family ; the Sabbath ; the altar ; the Word of God ; and these Divine institutions meet this Christian pastor in this service to-day. Verily, verily, it is an appropriate service for this Easter. Twenty-five years ago the hearts' desire of the people residing on this hill might have been expressed in four lines with which the saintly McCheynepicturedgrand old Scotland : " Give us the man of God, the truth to preach. The house of God within convenient reach. Give these, then give the Spirit's gentle shower. And oft our garden will be all in flower." 66 HISTORY OF THE That Easter morning, twenty-five years ago, the man of God came ; and that picture be- gan to be fulfilled. We know that he came to preach the truth. Why, if any one said that Dr. Cuyler did not preach the truth no one would believe him. Every one knows it would be out of character for him to preach anything else. He came to preach the truth ; then what next? Then "the house of God within convenient reach," And just as surely as these walls are built of stone and brick and mortar, so true is it that this spiritual church is built out of the brain and heart of our lov- ing pastor. A Boston pastor said once to another minister : " Brooklyn would be a para- dise for ministers if it were not for Dr. Cuy- ler." We all understand what he meant. A New York pastor said to a Brooklyn man, " Who is your pastor ? " " Dr. Cuyler," was the reply. "Ah, Dr. Cuyler, he has a very long arm." We know what he meant. "A long arm ? " Yes, a very long arm that touches human hearts, • extends into the home and reaches all over this continent. Here is a LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH, 67 letter received day before yesterday from a personal friend. It is only one instance out of perhaps thousands ; because I do not be- lieve that our Master will ever reveal to Dr. Cuyler all the good he has done. No mortal man could stand such revelation. Here is a letter from a lady residing some distance from here. One day a sorrow came to her house- hold such as seldom comes to a family, and her home was desolate. Her husband, a prominent man in the community, had lost his reason and had sent her a letter from a distant place, that he would never return and that she should forget him. It seemed to her that her reason would reel. But there was a weekly visitor, the religious paper, which came into the household. The 3d of July, 1884, is the date of the paper, and this is the article : " Wait and See, by Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler." "Wait and see," she said. "That is God's word to me. God bless the man." Her faith took hold within the veil, and she said, " I will wait and see ; my Heavenly Father must have something good for me." That article 68 HISTORY OF THE held and fastened her to the throne. She waited for months, and saw one morning the husband and father coming back to the re- united household. This is what she writes : "If all whom Dr. Cuyler has blessed and benefited could be with you on Easter day, it would be more than mortal man could stand." From the nature of the case, this must be true. But I must be brief, as this is a mere intro- ductory address. These twenty-five years have produced rich fruit in the Sabbath-schools as well as in the church. Many have been brought to Christ. Many have developed into useful and matured Christian workers. In seeking to save others Dr. Cuyler has not spared himself. He has put his whole heart into the work of winning other hearts to Jesus. We have had in Dr. Cuyler an earnest, faithful preacher and ex- pounder of the truth, a most devoted and un- tiring pastor, a wise counsellor, a safe guide, a loving friend, and a most tender and sympa- thetic consoler in time of sorrow and bereave- LAFAVETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 69 ment, — a man who has illustrated practical piety in this community by his life as well as oy his words. And now it seems to me that in the words of holy writ scholars and con- gregation want to present their salutations to our dear pastor. The schools will please arise. Salutations to the Pastor. Sup't. The brethren which are with me, greet you. Schools. Mercy unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Sup't. The whole church saluteth you. Schools and Congregation. Grace be with you ; mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Sup't. O man, greatly beloved, fear not ; peace be unto thee. Schools. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. McWilliams, in introducing Mr. Wells, said : " I am not going to introduce Mr. Ralph Wells to a Sunday-school audience in the City of Brooklyn. I love to do honor to the man who stood once with a noble consecrated band on a vacant lot, from the front of which he could have thrown a biscuit into forty grog-shops; and there built Grace Mission Chapel" 70 history of the Address of Mr. Ralph Wells. It was a very, a very kind providence that made Anniversary Day come on Easter Sab- bath. It makes it sweeter and more touch- ing as we look to-day from this pulpit into the empty tomb from which has come the risen Christ. I stand to-day to address this great audience, feeling that I am greatly privileged in being New York's representative on this occasion, to bring congratulations to you on this happy Anniversary. I realize that I have before me all the hosts of the Sunday-school, including the infantry, for the little ones are here to-day. It has always been my plan, and I am sure it has been yours as teachers of the Word, to keep back something and not to tell all you know ; but to leave part for the pupils to find out for themselves. I shall do this to-day. I am going to paint a little picture here with my finger. I am not going to mention any names and will not tell who it is I am paint- ing. If I paint it correctly, you will all be LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 7 1 able to tell who it is ; and if I do not, it is my fault. I will try to make the picture so cor- rect that even the infantry will know whom I mean. Let me see what a portrait I can paint. I want the little ones to follow me because I have something in that box, not a Jack-in-a- box, but something that will interest them. When we look at the portrait of our dear Redeemer in the good Book, the more we study it, the larger, the grander, and wider it grows, heights and depths are discovered which we never dreamed of before when we began the study of it. We sometimes feel that we can never be like Him, — that He is too holy. He is too great and we can never reach our ideal. That is the way we some- times feel. When we read the life of Paul and the Apostles who followed our Lord, we feel that this is a little more possible for us to follow ; but they seem far away. Sometimes our Heavenly Father comes to us and He gives us a man in our midst, one that we can see, one that we can hear, and one whose teachings we can feel. As we look about us 72 HISTORY OF THE and see such men in the world, we are in- spired and are aided in trying to follow Christ. I wish to paint the portrait of such a man. I will begin by giving a sketch of the whole figure first. I have a very dear friend in India, his name is Bowen, George Bowen. He has been a missionary there for many years. I can feel the grasp of his hand yet in mine, many years ago. Some one asked a poor Hindoo, who knew Mr. Bowen, " What kind of a man is Mr. Bowen?" The poor Hindoo gave this answer, " He is like the man he tells us about." So my picture is also like the man he tells us about. But I want to put in a lit- tle touch here and a little touch there to fill out the character. The first is, that my portrait is that of a man of good cheer, — a cheerful Christian. I know some Christians that are real good men, but they are not cheerful Christians. When you meet a man like my portrait you feel comfortable and happy. Years ago when I first started out to follow Christ, some of us LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 73 in New York wanted to start a young men's Christian association. There were no such associations here, so two of us went across the water and looked into the English Asso- ciations. When we came back, we held our first meetings. Dr. Howard Crosby was the President of the Association. I remember that we did not want to run in debt for the carpet, so we clubbed together and bought one. I think Mr. Stewart allowed us ten dollars on account, which is one of the pleas- ant memories which I have of Mr, Stewart. Many of the good ministers in town said, " Pooh, pooh, all you want is the church. We do not want the young men going out of the church. It is a very foolish thing for them to do." But we looked up to this pic- ture and the good man said, " I am with you, every time. I am with you. There is one thing I value more than my church, — it is Christ and His glory. Whenever you want help, come to me. I am with you." That was the kind of a man he was. Let me put in another touch. I like a man 4 74 HISTORY OF THE who has a heart, — a man whose heart you can feel as you hold his hand. Now, dear friends, let us look to this picture and see if we have got that element in his character. Ah, yes, he has a sympathizing face. Such men are only cradled in the storms of life. If a man is go- ing to sympathize and feel compassion for others, it is necessary that he should have been through trials ; if he is going to heal wounded spirits, he must have been through the fire. I was once in the northern part of this State, staying for a week ; and while there I heard that an old friend, a lady, had lost two lovely daughters. They had lately been con- verted to God, and when they were converted, I was with them. Some friends said, " You are the one to speak to her." I said, I have not seen her for a long time, and I do not think I can do her any good. But they said. You must go ; so I went, dear friends. She came down like a marble statue and sat upon a sofa. I will never forget the expression of that woman's face. I spoke of one and an- other passage of the Word of God. I said to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 7$ her that the Lord felt for her and sympathized with her ; that as Jesus had taken her daughters for Himself, so had He taken them to Him- self ; that they were His children. She did not speak a word. She sat there like a statue. Finally she asked me one question, which will add another touch to my picture. It was this, " Have you ever lost a child ?" I said, " No." She said, " Send me some one who has." So it is with us all. If I want to stand by a little empty crib and heal the wounded spirits of the parents, I must have stood beside the empty crib of my own child. Let us look on my picture. You can see it is the face of a man who has seen trouble and who knows how to feel tender sympathy for those in trouble. It is a kind and sympathizing face. You know it is harder to paint a hand than it is to paint a face. I tried to make one once on my blackboard for a Sunday-school class, and one of the children said it looked like a crow's foot. However, I will try to paint the hand of my picture. It holds a pen. Ah, yes, my picture holds a pen. Here are 76 HISTORY OF THE some of the things that that hand wrote. "Stray Arrows," "Heart-Life," and "The Empty Crib." I have not got the Evangel- ist. But I know you all take it. The Evan- gelist, words that burn, that fire the heart and inspire the mind. Yes, the hand holds a pen, and every word of that pen has brought com- fort and inspiration to somebody during more than a quarter of a century of labor. These words have spread everywhere. They have flown to the ends of the earth, bearing comfort to many hearts. Let me put another touch to the picture. When General Garfield was inaugurated — if this was a Sunday-school, I would ask a question ; but as it is not, and I am up here in the pulpit, I will not — as he stood there on the steps of the Capitol before the assembled nation, I am told, that he stepped down and walked across and put his arms around an old lady's neck and kissed her. Blessed President Garfield. Here as I see this picture, I see that the portrait is sit- ting at an aged lady's feet, aged with a crown of glory on her head. He sits there with a LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 7/ look of love in his face. This is in the pic- ture. I think of this picture when I think of filial love. Here is a picture. I hold it in my hand. I took it out of my album before I came here. It is the picture of the man whom I am trying to paint. I will not tell you his name. You may not be able' to see it, all of you ; but some of you can see from the way in which he wears his hair who it is. It would not do for me to stop just here. I always keep the best of the wine for the last of the feast ; and I have not touched upon the most important of all the features of my pic- ture. Here it is. It is written upon his fore- head — an ambassador of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, an ambassador. He never for- gets it. Never mind where you see him, he does not ever forget the dignity that is becom- ing to an ambassador of Jesus Christ. There is a kind of description of him in the Holy Word. Let me give it to you. You will find it in the twentieth chapter of the book of Acts. After you read it you will perhaps then surely know who this picture is. In this 78 HISTORY OF THE chapter I read what the Apostle Paul said to the church officers when they came to him before he went to Jerusalem : " Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all sea- sons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews." Let me look at my picture. Yes, he says that. "Serving the Lord with all hu- mility of mind." Yes, that is there. " With many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews." That does not belong to my picture altogether. There have been tears and temptations, but there has been no lying in wait of the Jews here. Is this true ? "I have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Has that been the teaching of this pulpit ? Yes, it has. " Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 79 declare unto you all the counsel of God." Ah, that is so. I would not want to appear be- fore God after such preaching from the Lafay- ette Avenue Church, unsaved. I call upon you to cheer your pastor in his work. Cheer him with this response, "As for me and my house, we will follow the Lord." Oh, what cheer you can give him by doing so. How his heart would rejoice. One little word more for some of the young ones. I have a little box in my hand that I think you will be able to see. Please tell me what this is that I hold in my hand. (School, "A butterfly.") Yes, a butterfly. Can you tell me what this is ? I do not suppose you can. That is the case out of which that but- terfly came. That butterfly was once a little brown worm that might have been crawling on a cabbage-leaf perhaps. When it thought that it had lived its little life long enough, the little worm drew himself up a little. First, he drew in a leg, and then another, and then drew himself all up. Then out of the body came a little brown beeswax substance and 8d HISTORY OF THE sealed him tight. If you had seen him then fastened to an old rail, you would have thought it was a little piece of dirt, and not stopped to look at it. One day a warm spring rain came and the warm sun. If you had happened to be watching then, you would have seen a little crack upon it. Then you would have seen a little head begin to peep out. Then a little pair of wings. Then in a little while you would have seen this beautiful butterfly flying from flower to flower. This is Easter Sunday. What your pastor wants is this : He wants you to come out of the shell. He does not want you to have wings, for children do not have wings ; they belong to angels, or at least people say so ; but he wants you to come out of the shell and enter upon the life in the Lord. What your pastor wants is that'you little ones enter the fold of Christ, who said, " Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." Cheer your pastor by doing this. Cheer him now. I remember once of reading about a fireman. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 8 1 He was climbing a ladder to save a woman. He had her in his arms, and was bringing her down. The smoke rolled around him, and he became faint and exhausted. The load seemed too heavy. He was almost overcome by the smoke and the flame, and he began to reel, reel, reel. Someone said, " Cheer him." And they-'gave three hearty cheers. The fireman heard them, and with a mighty effort he re- covered himself and brought the woman safely down. So you must cheer your pastor. Some believe in not cheering a man while he lives ; they wait until he dies and then cheer him. Do not do this with your pastor. Cheer him now. And may God grant him twenty-five years more of earnest successful work for the dear Lord Jesus. Hymn, — Infant Class. The sweetest words I have ever read Are the loving words that the Saviour said : " Suffer the children to come to me." Who would ever thought of this but He ? Chorus. — "Suffer the children to come to me," " Suffer the children to come to me "; I am as glad as glad can be ; Those very words were meant for me. 4* 82 HISTORY OF THE I wonder what I should ever do, If the Saviour had only called a few ; Taking the old, and the wise and great ; Oh, I am so glad I need not wait. Cho. — Suffer the children to come to me, etc. Mr. McWilliams introduced the next speaker as follows : These are very sacred names represented by the superintendents who are with us to-day : " Olivet," " Grace," and " Bethany." Among the most precious words in the Bible are these : " And he led them as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them." That was forty days after Easter, when the Saviour ascended on high. We have with us to-day Mr. John Wana- maker, of Philadelphia, Superintendent of Bethany, over which the hands of the Master seem ever to be lifted in blessing, and where our pastor's friend is doing most wonderful work for Christ. He will now speak to us. Mr. John Wanamaker's Address. When I was a little fellow, I remember taking a basket, and going to a neighboring farm for some pears of a kind that my father liked very much. I got my basket full and started for home, and on ray way I met a boy LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 83 bigger than myself, who begged for some of the pears. Possibly it was a very reasonable request ; but as my basket was so little, I wanted all I had for my father, and so I said, " No, you can get some where I got these." He said, " No, I want some of yours." He was the biggest boy of the two, and began to help himself, and I could not prevent him. He took one after another, and I saw my treasures rapidly disappearing. I became so enraged that I took what I had left and threw them at him as fast as I could. Moral — When we lose our tempers we pretty nearly always lose our pears. I have not thought of that boyhood incident for a long time, but Mr. Wells is the big fellow that meets me to- day and empties ray basket again. He took one pear after another, and did not even leave President Garfield in my basket. When I sat here this morning and saw Dr. Cuyler with his eyes ever and anon wandering over the part of the church where I sat, and resting on a little pew near me, I caught the meaning of it by the kisses he sent over the 84 HISTORY OF THE heads of the people to that little mother of his who has all these years sat in that same spot praying over what she could not hear. I am not here like Mr. Wells to represent New York, nor can I make bold to represent Phil- adelphia. In the twenty-six years that I have been superintendent of one school, I have never until to-day left it for a single Sabbath to deliver anniversary addresses to other schools. But this is an extraordinary oc- casion, and it is my duty as well as my delight to come over from Philadelphia to stand beside the man to-day who has had so much to do with the work of my life. Some men are greater than one church, greater than a city, larger than a continent. As the Washing- ton Monument rises high above all the mighty shafts of imperishable marble, so your pastor mounts up among American pastors of the present century as the king and chieftain of them all. If it were proper for the dear minister to send those kisses to his little mother, and for the new President that memorable day to put LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 8$ first his arms about the neck of mother Gar- field, surely we have some right to bring kisses of affection and wreaths of love to crown the man whose blessings we have had for a quar- ter of a century. From this pulpit all these years an influence has gone out, reaching farther than your Brooklyn Bridge from its city to city. It has swung over to Philadelphia, and passed on beyond the AUeghanies until the shores of distant seas felt the power of one earnest, con- secrated life. The electric current has sped it on from continent to continent until the wide world has felt the beneficence and blessing of the ministry of Lafayette Avenue Church. This beautiful anniversary shall fail in its best influence if it does not inspire you and me to build our lives by the same measure. Dr. Cuyler's life sometimes seems to me like a great cathedral full of melody, singing of hope, singing wonderful words of life, of cheer and comfort. Then sometimes I won- der if he has a magician's ken to know my needs, and write the little book or send the 86 HISTORY OF THE Evangelist to tell me something, the very thing I want to help me on. Some months ago there came a man across my track who placed on a common table some bars of black rock, said to have come from Killarney, and then with a little hammer he began to strike them and they began to sing. I can not tell when I ever heard sweeter mu- sic than that. " Home, Sweet Home " and " Auld Lang Syne " floated out through the great building from those bits of rock, and filled it with exquisite melody ; so it seems that Dr. Cuyler all these days, with the hammer of God's Word has been striking the black rock of human hearts, and set them to singing, to make an ever-widening melody through this dark world of sin and sorrow. The fine address and portrait-painting of Mr. Wells set me to thinking of a gentleman who was seeking in a strange town for a friend whose address he was not able to give. He encountered a boy, to whom he described his friend's looks. The boy shook his head and said he did not know such a person. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 8/ "Well," said the gentleman, "you do not know where my friend lives ; but I can tell you where a friend lives that loves you and cares for you." The good man then told him of Je- sus, and bade him good-bye. Soon after the boy came running, and said, " Mister, I guess I know the man you want ; he lives just over yonder. I think he must be your friend, 'cause he talks just like you and is a Christian." He knew from something in the man's tones and manner that he must be a Christian, and sent him along to the man the town called a Chris- tian. So when Mr. Wells was painting, we quickly caught the figure. May I try to put a stroke on the splendid picture ? Let me add to it a line for the good work of sermons in shoes as well as pen-work. If the story of this church could only be put on canvas and carried up and down this country ; — if it could be placed up before the building in which blasphemous infidels are ad- vertised to lecture, it would be difficult ever to get an audience. Before the rugged facts of one man's holy. 88 HISTORY OF THE earnest life none could stand to speak lightly of the power of God. Let the truth of such Gospel lives be clearly brought to the minds of men, it will defeat all that infidel lecturing can do. Your superintendent has stated that you are omitting the International Lesson of the day ; but most assuredly you are having one that must remind you of the Scripture of the day. When you think of Paul's company setting sail long ago, you will think of the apostle of Lafayette Avenue starting out twenty-five years ago. When you think of the storms that fell upon Paul, you will think of the bat- tles your pastor has been in — battles against intemperance, against infidelity, false doctrine, and worldliness. That same angel of the Lord that stood by Paul has stood by your pastor and all the ship's company here. Let the little man stand up and answer if that is not the truth. Yea, this very morning there must have been troops of angels standing about his pulpit, and in these aisles and galler- ies, where pastor and people worshipped God. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 89 In the great galleries of Munich there is a picture that, when you first see it, seems only a blur ; closer examination makes it appear to be clouds ; but, standing in the right light, you find it to be a picture of faces, faces of children or of angels, from side to side, from top to bottom — hosts of angels. So all along down the life of this little man there are faces that to-day crowd forward to our sight, and we all say, " See, — these are the angels of God that encamp round about him ! " Let each one ask now. What has been the one purpose of this life ? What has he la- bored for ? There is but one answer, and it is : To bring you all to Christ. When the Senators were debating at Wash- ington on the bill to retire Gen. Grant, for whom a whole nation prays on this Easter Sabbath, Senator Hoar is reported to have said, " If it were necessary to pass this bill, I would be willing to go through this city on my knees from one end of it to the other." Through all these years this good man has gone upon his knees that he might gain for 90 HISTORY OF THE you the blessings of God for your hearts and homes. How he has wrestled with God for this old church ship and its great cargo ! Who is there here who does not feel to-day that many of us may have been spared by the prayers of this godly man ? May it not be that God has given to him the lives of all in the ship ? Did not God bless the house of Potiphar for Joseph's sake? Was not the city where Daniel lived blessed and pros- pered for his sake ? Is not Brooklyn to-day most blessed for the man whose life has been so prayerful and beautiful ? Will you suffer me on this day, so solemn and yet so glad, to exhort you all in Paul's words to "abide in the ship," stay in the place of blessing and with the people of God. Hold fast to the old Bible and its simplest truths. A young Englishman, going off to New Orleans, was asked by his mother if he had packed everything for the journey. He said, " I think I have." She said, " Have you got your Bible?" "No," was the reply, "I do LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 91 not need any Bible ; I have Shakespeare, and that is all I need." The mother said, " Here, my son, take your mother's Bible." But he hurried away, saying, "I do not want any Bible." A few weeks later, word was re- ceived that he had reached New Orleans in safety ; but that, unaccustomed to the cli- mate, he had taken a fever, and was ill among strangers. With no particular interest in him, they watched by his bed, and now and then would hear him say, " Mother's Bible ! mother's Bible! mother's Bible ! " Little did they know what was meant by the dying man as he tossed from side by side, saying, " Mother's Bible ! " Ah, dear friends, in this day of rush and hurry and excitement and castle-building, it may be that we are building without mother's Bible ; but to me it seems, as we see the in- laid altars of this church and the beautiful life-building of the man who has wrought so faithfully here, that each of us will say and feel, "Give us more Bible, That same old Bible that has made this one life so effective shall make my life strong and fruitful too." 92 HISTORY OF THE When Mr. Wells last visited Philadelphia, a few months ago, the angel of the Lord stood by him ; and though he may not know this, I may tell him now, that since that 8th of January a great revival has gone on ; 480 persons have their names written down at Bethany as inquiring the way of life. What a blessed turn to this anniversary, what a magnificent crown to this memorial time, if some of you out of this school should come up and say, " Pastor, I have heard the words of the good man that drew the picture, and I believe that Christ is my Saviour. I give my heart to your Lord and Christ. Put me down in the ship's company. . Let me sail with you in the great ship of God to the har- bor of joy and peace." Why not, dear friends ? Come along, and your old pastor's eyes will shine brighter and his old heart be happier than if you filled this whole church with gold for him. A captain of one of the great ships coming into port at Liverpool, walked up to the steamer office to put in his report. When LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 93 out three or four days, they lost a man over- board. He told how the boat was lowered and every effort made to save the man, and of how the screw must have struck him and sent him to the bottom of the sea. That was a sad story for the captain to tell that he had come in with one man less than his roster called for. Are you going to allow the cap- tain that sails this ship to come into port and stand before the Master Captain and say, " There is one lost who was given to me — one for whom I prayed and labored. I lowered the boat, I sounded the trumpet ; but it was of no avail ? " God forbid ! but may it be that every one on board to-day shall " bide in the ship," and come to the port of peace and haven of rest. And unto Him that hath loved us and redeemed us be the glory, for ever and ever. Hymn,— "Come, We that Love the Lord." Come, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known ; Join in a song with sweet accord. And thus surround the throne. 94 HISTORY OF THE Chorus. — We're marching to Zion, Beautiful, beautiful Zion, We're marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God. Let those refuse to sing Who never knew our God ; But children of the heavenly King May speak their joys abroad. Chorus. — We're marching to Zion, etc. Address of Dr. Cuyler, Dear friends, all this is to me very much like a dream. I have not known myself, certainly not for the last hour or two. I do not know the man Mr. Wells talked about. That man is not I. I am ashamed to-day, not of Christ, not of that book, or not of my office as a minister ; but as I look over the forty years of my life employed in the ministry, I am ashamed that I have not come up to that fair picture that my beloved heart-brother painted. No three men could have stood here with me to-day whose presence would have given LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 95 me more pleasure than I have felt in having Brother McWilliams, Brother Wells, and Brother Wanamaker here with me. Brother McWilliams, if David's love for Jonathan was greater than mine for you, I pity them. Brother Wells, from the time we worked to- gether in New York thirty-three years ago, has been a representative man in Sabbath- school work. As for Brother John from Philadelphia, who has turned away from two thousand pupils to come here to-day, I thank him from my heart of hearts. Children, do you know that the best thing connected with this anniversary is the Sabbath- school meeting ? Letters have followed letters from all parts of the world. I have not had time to read them yet ; but I will when I get time. Some of them will be read here in good time ; but none of them have given me so much pleasure as this meeting. My boys and girls, I tell .you that you have got hold of my heart-strings to-day. Twenty-five years ago the Sabbath-school was a mere handful com- pared to this. Some of the pupils have grown 96 HISTORY OF THE up, and are now connected with this church, I baptized a babe before this altar, soon after I came here. I married her since and bap- tized two of her children before this pulpit. That makes me feel as if I was getting old. Some of these children are now scattered over the world. Some of them have gone to Cali- fornia. When I was in Utah, a young man came up and said, " Dr. Cuyler, I was once in your Sunday-school in Brooklyn. I am now teaching a mission-school up in Brigham Canon, where there are fifty bottles to one Bible. I came down here to see my old pastor." Another one met me in California ; and took me by the hand, and said, " When did you see father and mother in Brooklyn?" and then broke down and could say no more. That young man is Out in California at work. Lafayette Avenue Sunday-school has its repre- sentatives all over the world. When I was young, I thought I would be a lawyer. My father was a lawyer, my grand- father was a lawyer, and my father-in-law that was to be, was a lawyer. When I was five LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 97 years old, my grandfather said to my mother, " I will give you two libraries ; one of them is for Theodore when he wants it." My mother then said that I was to be a minister. "Well," said my grandfather, "Theodore will never want that library, for I have no books there for ministers." A little incident in early life determined me to be a minister. I have often passed the spot when riding along Cayuga Lake, where at five o'clock one afternoon, I determined to devote my life to the preaching of God's Word. I always take off my hat and thank God that I so decided ; just as Paul praised God when he went back to that spot where he met the Lord. When I look back over all these years, I feel that I might have done more for Christ ; but I thank God that I have lived to preach Christ, and have lived to lead some young hearts to Jesus. I have thought that to-day would be a good time for me to die ; and after to-morrow's ex- ercises are over, I may feel that it is a good time to die, right on this deep wave of kind, affectionate reunion. Die, die, no. I do not 5 98 HISTORY OF THE wish to die. If I can save one soul more, I pray that God will spare me to do it. I only ask to be allowed to live long enough to save the last soul that I can ever reach before he goes down. Then let God take me home. If there is a young man here to-day, debating what profession he will select for his life-work, I have just one word to say to that young man. Ask God how you can do the most good, and how you can glorify Him and save souls ; and if you become an earnest, Christ- loving minister, you would not change places with the foremost lawyer of the land, the rich- est merchant, or the President of the United States. I have said these few words with an aching head, and preached this morning under a strong nervous agitation ; and I hesitated whether to rise and say a word to you this afternoon or not. So oppressed have I been with all the sweet mercies that God has poured upon me on this blessed Sabbath, that I have felt like sitting down like a little child and crying. If it is so sweet to serve our Maker in this poor LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 99 and imperfect fashion, what will it be to serve Him in heaven ? Good-afternoon, dear children, I love you ; and I want you to love me, and above all, I want you to love that dear Saviour that died for you and me. If from this day on, this church and this Sabbath-school shall grow stronger in the work for Christ, I shall feel that these beautiful services have been some- thing more than words of kindness and affec- tion for your pastor, and have been sacred ser- vices for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Hymn,—" Our Sabbath Home."—E. V. H. " Like doves to their windows " the glad children come, To meet with rejoicing in our Sabbath home. And plight with our Pastor, so faithful and true. At this Silver Wedding our promise anew. Home, home, sweet, sweet home. With gladness the children now gather at home. United in heart and united in hand ; Both sorrow and gladness have strengtjiened the band ; Sweet counsel together, with prayer and with praise. And blessings unnumbered have crowned our days. Home, home, sweet, sweet home, One household of faith we would worship at home. 100 HISTORY OF THE We think of the absent, for sweet is the tiS, With those whom the blood of the Saviour makes nigh. We yearn for the dear ones, for those gone above, Wh6 sing the " old story " of Christ and His love. Home, home, sweet, sweet home. Who, going before us, are gathered at home. Though soon we be sundered by land and by tide. Our hearts will still follow our shepherd and guide. And pray the dear Father who sees from above. To watch, and protect, and return him in love ; Home, home, sweet, sweet home, May his waiting people soon welcome him home. Benediction. Pastor. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy : All, To the only-wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. At the evening service in the church, Professor A. Alexander Hodge delivered a masterly discourse on the Resurrection of Christ and the Heavenly Home of His people. The joyful services of this memo- rable Easter Sabbath concluded with the singing of " All hail the power of Jesus' name. Let angels prostrate fall ; Bring forth the royal diadem. And crown Him Lord of all ! " LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 10 1 THE REUNION ON MONDAY EVENING— April 6th. The same clear skies and vernal atmosphere which made the Sabbath so bright and balmy lent their favoring influences to the Reunion on Monday even- ing. The lecture-room and the social-parlors of the church were thrown into one large reception-hall, and the walls were adorned with rich and rare paint- ings kindly loaned from several private galleries. One of the daily journals of the city — the Brooklyn Eagle — gives the following report of the exercises during the first hour of the evening : The Rev. Dr. Theodore Ledyard Cuyler stood in the lecture-room of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church and shook hands for over an hour with a stream of friends who flowed by him. He was in the lecture-room with his back to a wall, against which rose a bank of white azalias that reached above his head. Flanking the azalias were tall, graceful calla-lilies, and over all shot up the green palm branches. Over the doors of the room were I02 HISTORY OF THE Stars of palm. The pillars were entwined with smilax, and along the walls were hung pieces of ancient armor — shields and swords and breastplates and spears, all typifying doubtless the weapons Dr. Cuyler has employed in his fights with the enemy of souls. One of the decorations appeared to be somewhat unique. It was a spade with a bunch of ribbons tied to it and the figures " 1 860-1 885 " branded upon its handle. It was the spade with which ground was broken for the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in the year first men- tioned. The occasion was a reception to Dr. Cuyler by the members of his church, being the last incident of the great jubilee by which his con- gregation has been celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his coming among them. By the Doctor's side, smiling and looking more like a bride than a lady who had been married more than thirty years, was his faithful wife. She was clad in white silk surah, and her youthful appearance was remarkable. She looked even happier than he, and both looked LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 103 happier, if that were possible, than the people who were about them. On every side the Doctor saw how strongly his old friends from far and near had mustered. There were Dr. McCosh, the President of Princeton; Rev. Dr. R S. Storrs, a Congregational brother, and after them a train of notables so long that only a few can be mentioned : Mayor Low, Judge Reynolds, Colonel John Y. Culyer and Mrs. Culyer, Rev. Dr. S. Irenseus Prime, Judge Birdseye, ex-Judge Morris and daughters, W. W. Goodrich, Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Hough- taling, Samuel Morris, Secretary of the Brook- lyn Sunday-school Union ; Rev. F. H. Mar- ling, of New York ; Edwin P. Ide, Peter Car- ter, of New York ; Mr, and Mrs. H. A. Rich- ardson, C. D. Wood, Mr. and Mrs. Curran Dinsmore, George V. Brower, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Snedeker, Mr, and Mrs, S. T. Dau- chy, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Stevens, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Snow, Mr. S. E. Warner, editor of the Christian at Work; Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Wing, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fahys, Mr. and Mrs, George L, Pease, Mr. 104 HISTORY OF THE and Mrs. F. W. Jessup, Rev. Dr. Field, of the New York Evangelist ; Andrew Smith, Henry C. Bowen, Rev. Dr. B. B. Tyler, of New York; Rev, Dr. Hathaway, of Jersey City; wife and daughter ; Rev. Dr. Charles S. Rob- inson, of New York Memorial Presbyterian Church ; Mr. John N. Steams, Correspond- ing Secretary of the National Temperance Society; Rev. Dr. Ludlow, of First Place Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn; Rev. Dr. Nelson, of Memorial Church, Brooklyn ; Rev. Augustus Prichard, of Dutchess County ; Rev. Dr. Young, Rev. Dr. Dey, Rev. Dr. Schaff, the famous translator of Scripture ; A. D. Matthews, Robert Collier, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Packard, Hon. Darwin R. James, A. A. Smith, Rev. D. Stuart Dodge, of New York; Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, of Central Congregational Church, Brooklyn ; Rev. Howard Crosby, of New York ; Mr. Edward C. Seymour, Principal of the Academic De- partment of the Polytechnic Institute; Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Fish, Hon. A. P. Higgins, Rev. Frank Chaffee, Rev. Dr. J. Wells, Rev. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. I05 Dr. Bowden, Mr. William J. Coombs, Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Porter, Mr. Barlow Stevens, Mr. and Mrs. John R. Dayton, Mr. Clinton Rossiter, Presi- dent of the Young People's Association, and wife; Counselor Henry Sanger Snow, Dr. Harrison Teller, Colonel William Everdell, and Grenville Perrin. Mr. W. R. Hough- taling, a son of Mr. D. H. Houghtaling, and the subject of Dr. Cuyler's first baptism in Lafayette Avenue Church, was present with his wife. Two of the three young men of the congregation who called upon Dr. Cuyler over twenty-five years ago at his Market Street study — Mr. Henry Mumford and Mr. John E. Miller — were present to congratulate him. The third of these, Mr. Frank H. Knapp, is also living, but at present is out of the city. These gentlemen, although strangers, with one exception, to him, will never forget the warm and hearty reception given them by Dr. Cuy- ler on that occasion, and how overjoyed they were to hear from his lips expressions which indicated that he regarded this call as the first 5* I06 HISTORY OF THE Step in the direction of a formal call to this (to him) new field of labor, of which he said he had remotely heard as a promising one, while the only hope they had on entering his study was to get him to preach a few times for them. After the hand-shakings and the greetings were over, the people from the parlors flowed into the church and overflowed its seats, and listened with eager attention and exuberantly manifested interest to addresses and instru- mental music and songs till eleven o'clock had slipped by. The songs were classic selections, well rendered by Miss Alice Maude Whitacre, soprano ; Miss Emma Wilkinson, contralto ; Mr. Charles H. Thompson, tenor; and Mr. Mark H. Burch, bass, Mr. John H. Brewer, organist, played the accompaniments. Mr. William W. Wickes took the chair shortly before nine o'clock, and no time was wasted in preliminaries. lafaVette avenue church. 107 EXERCISES ON MONDAY EVEN- ING— April 6, 1885. Mr. William W. Wickes presided over the meeting, and called upon Reverend Thomas A. Nelson to lead in prayer. Prayer of Rev. Mr. Nelson. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, it is fitting that we should come at the beginning of these pleasant services and recognize Thy sympathy in the joy of the hour. We feel as we come to-night to pay honor to our brother that we should put our hearts in sympathy with Thine own, which has richly manifested toward him Thy divine faith and blessing. We thank Thee that Thou hast seen fit in Thy providence to spare him during these long years of usefulness, and that Thou hast given him some of Thy divine power, without which his ministry must have failed. We thank Thee for these long years of useful and successful service, in which he has been per- I08 HISTORY OF THE mitted to honor Thee, and has been an instru- ment in Thy hand to help and to bring salva- tion to many souls. We thank Thee that during his ministry, he has preached the Gos- pel with no uncertain sound. We thank Thee that Thou hast enabled him to warn men from the evil of their ways, and hast enabled him to speak words of comfort, of inspiration, and of hope day after day. We thank Thee that his ministry has been a ministry of comfort, a min- istry of inspiration, and a ministry of hope. We thank Thee that many through the words he has spoken have been brought out of dark- ness into light, from the bondage of sin into the glorious liberty of the children of God. We thank Thee that he has been permitted after these long years to celebrate the twenty- fifth anniversary of his pastorate ; and as we join our hearts with his in giving thanksgiving and praise unto Thee, who art the source of that joy in which we share at this time, we would recognize the fact that without Thy aid and without Thy blessing, all anniversaries must come to naught ; and we would recognize LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. IO9 that the fact that he has labored continuously with so much success is a manifestation of the favor of Almighty God. We thank Thee for this testimony to men that Thou hast given of Thy favor toward this faithful ministry. We pray Thee, Almighty God, that these years which have gone by may be suggestive of the success and blessing which Thou wilt grant him in the years to come. Grant that he may be supported by Thee, and enabled for many years yet to speak words full of life and power and comfort. We thank Thee that Thou hast dealt so kindly with him. We thank Thee that Thou hast effectually prepared him for the work. We bless Thee even for the dispensations of Thy providence sent upon him from time to time, which have made him at all times able to sym- pathize in that anguish which comes sooner or later to all human hearts. We thank Thee that he has come out of the fire of these expe- riences full of sympathy for those that sorrow ; and able to speak words of light and power. We thank Thee not only for his ministry in this church and in this city ; but that he has no HISTORY OF THE been enabled to reach many unknown and unregistered hearts to whom he has brought the word of life and inspiration through the printed page. We thank Thee that the words spoken from this pulpit and the words which have dropped from his pen have gone out through all parts of the world, in the great cities and quiet nooks of the country, not only of this land, but of all Christian lands, adminis- tering consolation, power, and strength. We ask Thee, Almighty God, to join in the services of this hour, and that Thy richest blessings may be upon us all. Make it an occasion of comfort and joy to him in whose honor we gather here. Grant him peace and happiness in his family, and may his ministry in the fu- ture, as it has been in the past, be blessed by Thee ; and that he may be made an instru- ment in Thy hands for the salvation of souls. And when at last his work is done, we pray Thee that Thou wilt grant unto him and us membership in the Church of God on high, where with that vast multitude of the redeemed, we may join in ascribing honor, dominion, pow- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. Ill er, and glory, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. Unto Father, Son, and Spirit we will give all praise in the world without end. Amen. Mr. Wickes then read the following letters, selected from the large number received by Dr. Cuyler : [Telegram.'] "Philadelphia, i p.m., Monday. " To Rev. T. L. Cuyler : " The Ministers' Association of Philadelphia, at their meeting this morning, by a unanimous and hearty vote, recognizing the jubilee which your church holds to-night, directed me to convey to you their affectionate congratulations. The breth- ren rejoice and give thanks with your people and with your friends in all the churches for your long, honored, and useful ministry. "William G. Cattell." "Union Theological Seminary, ''April I, 1885. " My dear Dr. Cuyler : " Probably not very many of your present congre- gation belonged to it in the early days of my tem- 112 HISTORY OF THE porary service there. But identity does not depend upon individual members. Lafayette Avenue Church is a kind of imperishable personality, which I now beg to salute most fervently. Were it possible, I should certainly be present on an occasion of so much interest to you all. " I congratulate you, my brother, on these five and twenty years of a ministry so earnest, so diver- sified, and so fruitful. Few men have harvested so many sheaves, few men are so sincerely loved and trusted by those whose love and trust are always so dearly bought. The longer one lives and works in a world like this, the less he cares to be admired, and the more he cares to be confided in. God bless you on and on ! " Yours very truly, "RoswELL D. Hitchcock." After some instrumental music, Mr. John N. Beach, on behalf of the church, delivered the following address : Address of Mr. John N. Beach. When the order of exercises for this even- ing's reception was first under discussion, and the question arose, " Of what shall the exercises LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 113 of the evening consist ? " one of the committee suggested that, true to the innate and undying instincts of the American people, provision must of necessity be made for speech-making ; and to me, sir, has been delegated the very pleasing duty of briefly addressing you at this time, and a real pleasure it is, my pastor,— only marred by a consciousness of my inability to perform aright the part assigned to me. You are to-night, sir, surrounded by your people, by your brother clergymen, by your friends and by your neighbors, who are here to extend to you a very cordial greeting and hand-shaking upon this, the twenty-fifth anni- versary of your pastorate of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, of Brooklyn. And while we congratulate you that it hath pleased the great Head of the Church to grant unto you this long and successful pastorate, that for a quarter of a century you have been permitted to go in and out before this people and proclaim to them the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ, and that this is still your priv- ilege — while, sir, we do thus heartily congrat- 114 HISTORY OF THE ulate you, we feel that we, your people, are the rather to be congratulated that we are permitted to enjoy your faithful ministry, that we are favored with your kind, loving admo- nitions, with your valuable counsel and advice, that from time to time we may welcome you to our homes and our hearthstones, and there share with you the cherished delights of social intercourse. When trouble has invaded our homes, when sickness has been there — ay, when the crape has been upon the door, in token of the heart-rending sorrow within, with what profound gratitude do we to-night recall your words and deeds of tender, loving sym- pathy, and the fidelity with which you have been wont to point us to the God of all con- solation, in whose faithful service you do ever so truly delight. And not only are we, your people, to be congratulated, but this whole city of Brooklyn, that here it has been your lot to live and labor ; and it is eminently fit- ting that His Honor, the Mayor of the city, should favor this occasion with his presence and eloquent voice, which you are soon to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. II5 hear, and thus evince his appreciation of your life-work in our midst. Honored sir, I am persuaded there is not a ward, there is hardly a block, I had almost said there is hardly a home in Brooklyn, this city, over which you are called to preside, that is not the better to- night for the godly precepts and the godly ex- ample of him in whose honor we are here as- sembled. And this goodly city of Brooklyn by no means defines his influence. Go where you may, throughout the length and breadth of this land, cross the seas into foreign lands, enter any city, village, or hamlet, yea, visit many a humble home upon the mountain-side or in the lowly valley, and there you will find have preceded you the winged words of wise counsel and of earnest Christian exhortation, as they have gone forth from his prolific pen. It is with downright honest pride that we re- call the fact that there is not a living preacher in this country, or any other, who has contrib- uted so liberally to the religious press as this our own beloved pastor. It is to you, sir, a subject for sincere congratulation that the Il6 HISTORY OF THE number of copies of your articles, as issued from the press of this country and Europe, will aggregate not less than one hundred mil- lions. Says London's great preacher, Mr. Spurgeon, in a review of your writings, " For sentences that strike and stick, for gems that gleam and glow, for thoughts that thrill, com- mend us to our American friend. Dr. Cuyler." And now, sir, as you have rounded the twenty- fifth anniversary of your pastorate here, and as you are about to enter upon a well-earned respite from its wonted cares and responsibili- ties, as we shall soon speak to you our farewell words, and you may set sail for foreign climes, wherever you go, be assured there will go with you the prayers, the best wishes of a loving, loyal, united people, together with the fervent hope that you may in due time be restored to us rejoicing in health and vigor and refitted for your labors of love among us. In a little time after you shall have left us will recur the annual migration of our people — some to so- journ at the seaside, some to flee to the mountains, some may join you in foreign LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. II7 lands, others will tarry here ; but we trust that when come the early autumnal days, we may all have been spared to return hither to enjoy anew the endearing relations of pastor and people. May Heaven's richest blessings rest upon and abide with you and with yours ; may you long live to enjoy the work to which you have given your life, to which, indeed, you were in your very infancy dedicated by your venerable mother, and in which you have won so honorable a place. And by and by, when the feet grow weary, when the eyes grow dim, and the evening shadows gather about you, there will come to you, my pastor, that glorious message, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ; for I was an hungered and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Mr. Wickes introduced the Hon. Seth Low, as fol- lows : I need hardly introduce to you one whose face is Il8 HISTORY OF THE SO familiar to you, and whose administration of our city is so able as that of our Chief Magistrate, His Honor, Mayor Low. Mayor Low's Address. Ladies and gentlemen, friends and WELL-WISHERS OF Dr. CuYLER AND OF MrS. CuYLER : — I am glad to be with you on this happy occasion. Will you pardon me if I try to enter into the spirit of the occasion by tell- ing you a personal incident. When I was first elected Mayor of Brooklyn, I received a letter in a handwriting that has since become familiar to me — the handwriting of Dr. Cuy- ler, whom up to that time I had never met personally. He asked if he might venture upon the privilege of an, old man addressing a young one in order to give a piece of advice. The words containing this advice were these : "Never be afraid, Mr. Mayor, of offending individuals — no matter what you do, you must offend some; but be very careful that you never offend the common sense of the com- munity at large." If Dr. Cuyler has been LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 19 preaching such doctrine as that for twenty- five years in this Lafayette Avenue Church, I do not wonder that this church and this pul- pit have been such a source of power. I never got better advice than that from any public man, not even from the politicians. I read in the paper this morning that twenty-five years ago, when Dr. Cuyler was considering the call extended to him by this congregation to come to Brooklyn, he came over here and surveyed the ground, and he made up his mind that this was the centre, or to be the centre, of a great population. I do not mean to imply, far be it from me, that it seems a wonderful thing to the select men who live in this part of the town in these days that Dr. Cuyler should have such faith in the future of this neighbor- hood ; but you must remember that he looked with the eye of an outsider, and that in order to get here he had to come by the way of Brooklyn Heights. Yet I do believe, how- ever, that that sagacity that convinced him that this would be the centre of Brooklyn has been among the elements that have made him 120 HISTORY OF THE SO useful a man in the city at large, not to speak of this congregation only, because as it has been well said by others to-night, the in- fluence of Dr. Cuyler is not limited by the walls of this church or by this congregation. It is fitting that the Mayor should be here to say that the whole community, that the whole city is better, and that the population is more liberal because he has dwelt and spoken in our midst. I doubt whether Dr. Cuyler, in his prophetic vision, conceived that the centre of population should be even beyond this spot. I doubt whether his prophetic soul, in this vision!, saw large numbers of our population hanging like grapes in a bunch, on the end of a street-car, as most of you have witnessed night and morning. If he did, I would like him to preach upon this text. I think you will recog- nize, it as the only purely municipal text of Scripture, " There shall be no complaining in our streets." If I might be allowed to say a word for my friend, the Commissioner of Public Works, I might ask him to read the LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 121 text, as follows : " There shall be no com- plaining about our streets." As I think of the old-fashioned methods of transportation, upon which, up to this time, our people have de- pended, it will encourage you to know that to-day, on this anniversary day, the Mayor of your city took the first ride in an elevated steam-car in the city of Brooklyn that any Mayor has had the privilege of doing. And inasmuch as Dr. Cuyler's coming here, twenty- five years ago, was the commencement of a new era then, so I trust this anniversary day may mark the commencement of a new era of public progress in our city. I think that Dr. Cuyler's faith in the future of this city has been a great element in his usefulness as a citizen. Some people, all the time, are finding fault with things as they are, and yet never doing anything to remedy them. But such was not the case with Dr. Cuyler — the faith that brought him here caused him to help us work for the good of our city. This spirit makes a good citizen of any man, whether he is a layman or a minister. We want more 122 HISTORY OF THE men of that spirit in Brooklyn. Dr. Cuyler, it seems to me, has always had this power when his pen has written or his tongue has spoken — the power behind the words of a sin- cere, honest, and genuine man. It is the only power that I know of that will take words to the ends of the world. I like to think that in the old day when this church was built and this country was in peril, from the roof of this church the flag of our country went up upon the unfinished tower and stayed there until the church was built and until the war was ended. I like a Christianity that can ally it- self with love of country. I like a love of country that finds its best expression in Chris- tian devotion. This power and this love of country has been one of the strong elements in Dr. Cuyler's ministry among us. This whole city is your debtor, and has been for many years. Now, Dr. Cuyler, will you allow me, sir, as one who feels himself personally your debtor, to congratulate you and Mrs. Cuyler on the happy events of this day.! I congratulate you that you can look backward LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 123 over SO long a life of successful work. And particularly to congratulate you that you have found a home in the hearts of the whole peo- ple of Brooklyn. Mr. Wickes then read the following extracts from letters to Dr. Cuyler. "23 Beacon Street, Boston, April j,, 1885. " Dear Dr. Cuyler : "I hope you will accept, on your twenty- fifth an- niversary, a word of reverent and extremely earnest congratulation from one who has for many years been indebted to your public writing on reforms for so much of instruction and inspiration that in a large number of particulars he has been your pupil. " Most respectfully and truly yours, "Joseph Cook." "Danvers, Mass., 3d, 24th, 1885. " W. W. Goodrich : " Dear Friend: — I would have been glad to have put into verse an expression of my loving regard for Theodore L. Cuyler, but I find it difficult at this time to do justice to him or to myself. 124 HISTORY OF THE "I must not, however, let this opportunity pass without saying, that few of his own church can feel a heartier sympathy or a warmer attachment to Dr. Cuyler than myself. I have known him for many years, and have found him always on the right side of every question affecting human welfare, an out- spoken friend of Liberty and Temperance — a man of decided convictions, but tolerant of everything but sin and meanness — in one word, a Christian gentleman. I suppose that he and I might differ in some of our views, but if I can not endorse his creed I can cheerfully endorse him. I am glad, amid the congratulations that will reach him, to add my own heartfelt wishes for his health and happiness. " Thy friend, "John G. Whittier." " Newark, N. J., April 3, 1885. " My dear and honored Brother : " Our personal acquaintance does not cover the whole period of your ministry in Brooklyn, but my recollection of your face and voice and manner goes beyond it. I heard you first (I do not remember the year) in an anniversary address in the old Broadway Tabernacle. I fell in love with you there. The passion has been growing ever since. I was then struck with the youthful freshness and beauty of LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 2$ your person and manner, and with the Christian simplicity and earnestness of your words. Since that time I have followed you in all your rich and varied life-work, whether in the pulpit, on the plat- form, or through the press. I have appreciated the intellectual activity and power, and equally the never flagging spiritual fervor which you have car- ried into all departments of Christian work. Your faith and courage proved equal to all occasions ; your life in private and in your official work has been so healthful and so true to Christ, that it has won you friendship and confidence everywhere, and has made your name a household word all over your own and other English-speaking lands. It is surely worth the while to have lived and labored and even suffered to accomplish all this. God bless you, my beloved brother, and give you to fill up gloriously, in faith and patience, the full measure of earthly labor assigned you. Then the translation and the ' joy of your Lord.' " Now and always very faithfully yours, " Ray Palmer." " Chicago, April 4, 1885. " My DEAR Dr. Cuyler : " I trust I am not too late to fling my congratula- tions into the midst of the silver shower that is to 126 HISTORY OF THE be your tribute on Monday evening. You have preached God's blessed truth right royally and loy- ally through all these years. The entire church has come to feel that no uncertain sound would ever come from the Lafayette Avenue pulpit while T. L. C. thundered and reasoned and pleaded and prayed. God bless you, dear old friend. May this silver an- niversary be a blessed experience and a precious memory ! May the silver hairs be an increasingly beautiful ' crown of glory '! May the silver speech win many more victories yet for the Lord Jesus Christ ! May the silver trumpet ring out long for God and Truth ! And when the silver cord is loosed and you at last leave Lafayette Avenue Church militant, to go to the ' land that is fairer than day,' and there meet those who constitute Lafayette Ave- nue Church triumphant, oh, what a welcome will be given you ! " Yours in toil and love, " Herrick Johnson." Duet, — Misses Whitacre and Wilkinson. Mr. Wickes thus presented the next speaker : — I wish, though it is unnecessary, to introduce to you him who was my own pastor more than twenty-five years ago, previous to my removal to this portion of the city. His ministry in one church in this city has extended over a larger number of years than LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 12/ that of Dr. Cuyler. I am sure that you desire to have his testimony. Rev. Dr. Storrs. (Great applause.) Address of Dr. R. S. Storrs. You must not take this out of my time. I am heartily glad to be able to be with you, my dear friends, this evening. It is not only a great pleasure, but a great honor to receive an invitation from you to so pleasant a gather- ing, I have a reminiscence that goes back of the twenty-five years which close this evening. I think it must have been in the early summer of 1847, that I first met our honored and be- loved friend, your pastor. It was in this city at the house of a kinswoman of his then living on Willoughby Street. He was located at that time in Jersey, perhaps at Burlington. He was six months younger than I was. I had been settled a year and a half. I was married and had a child who was the joy of my life ; he was but little more than a moiety of a man, a bachelor, but I think with hopes, desires, and designs in the same direction. So I took a kind of fatherly interest in him. I remember 128 HISTORY OF THE perfectly his lithe and active figure, his ani- mated face, and his power of fervent and per- spicuous expression of thought ; and his en- thusiasm in his work and his anticipation of success in it. I said to rriyself at the time (and I remember it as if it were but yesterday), here is a man who will be prominent, useful, and influential in the community, if his life continues. After that I had not the pleasure of meeting him personally for a number of years, until as Dr. Palmer has said of himself, I heard him in the old Broadway Tabernacle, which at that time was the scene of some of the most stirring and animated discourses ever heard on any rostrum in this country. I heard him there in several speeches, in all of which there was much of pathos, humor, and elo- quence in utterance, and fine and powerful thought, which swept the audience with it to the end. And my first impression was only deepened and revived. It was so far revived that I strongly urged him to come and be- come the pastor of a Congregational church in Brooklyn, using personal persuasion to that LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 29 end, which I have never done except in one or two cases. He did not assent to the prop- osition, thinking, I suppose, that God had something better in store for him, which ap- peared when he came to this Lafayette Ave- nue Church. How fast time flies in the occupied life of any man ! Almost exactly half the lifetime of this city has passed since Dr. Cuyler came here. I think Dr. Van Dyke was the only Presbyterian pastor then here who is still here in this part of town. Dr. Bethune had gone the year before. Many of the ministers living here at that time have removed or ceased active labors or have died. I think I can remember some of them. Dr. Cutler of St. Ann's, Dr. Taylor of St. Luke's, and Dr. Elmendorff" have died, and others whose names I do not recollect. Dr. Robinson, Dr. Bart- lett. Dr. French, and I do not know how many others, are still active and useful in the work of the ministry, but have removed to other places. There is one face and one figure which comes before my mind as I stand here to-night, 6* 130 HISTORY OF THE who would surely have been present here on this occasion, if he had been living still, — one of whose elevated and tender eloquence none of us need to be reminded. As I recollect it I feel that I can not replace, and that I hardly dare to follow it. I need not say that I refer to that beloved and honored and eminent preacher, one of the noblest men that ever lived, who hated wickedness and loved right- eousness as intensely as any man could, who went from the cross to the crown, from the fire of earth to the heaven above when he had almost completed his twenty-five years of min- istry here, more than five years ago, — Rev. Dr. Budington. His long work here side by side wiih Dr. Cuyler bred no jealousy between them. His life was constant and true. There is to me a benediction in the thought of him to-night. Twenty-five years ! I think it has been a wise contentedness on the part of Dr. Cuyler to remain here. I think it has shown wisdom on your part to keep him here, the wisdom at any rate of knowing a good thing when you LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. I3I have it. You have known enough to make hay while the sun shone. You knew enough not to try to stop the stream turning the mill- wheels and carrying the water of life into your houses. I remember a friend of mine, for whose shrewdness I had great respect, who once went into a warehouse and asked if they had any fine tea. " Yes, sir," said the merchant, " there is some of the best tea that ever comes to this country. There is no better article to be found on this continent. It is the best to be found." " Very well," said my friend ; " you may sell me some. I am not particular ; the best that is to be had anywhere is always good enough for me." I think you showed that wisdom. You knew when you had the best, and had no desire to have any one else. That is a wisdom that congregations do not always have, so I compliment you upon it, and I congratulate you. I am sure also that Dr. Cuyler has shown wisdom in tarrying here. I have great respect for permanence in the ministry. I have been brought up on that idea. I like to see permanence in the ministry. I do not like to 132 HISTORY OF THE see ministers changing from congregation to congregation. I think the limit should be about eight years at least. (I do not make this exception on account of Dr. Robinson's being here, as he perhaps did the right thing when he went to another field of labor.) I notice ministers getting tired and wearied, and thinking it is time to make a change when they have been in charge of a congregation for two or three years. Such ministers gen- erally remind me of what was said of a Scotch minister (Dr. McCosh being here I feel at lib- erty to tell a Scotch story). One Sabbath a woman came into the kirk a little late. Now in the kirk, a man's text is called a " groun." The good woman came late, as I have said, and the minister had commenced his ser- mon. Accordingly she asked another woman, " Where's his groun ?" " His groun," replied the neighbor ; " he lost that an hour ago, an' he's been swimming ever since." I have seen a great many ministers who reminded me of that story. They have been swimming around from place to place, and many of them have LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 33 had hard work to keep afloat I think our brother has been right in trying to keep the same ground, and I think you have been wise in keeping him here, I never heard of any quarrels in this church. Very likely there have been some Hills of Difficulty, though I have never heard of any ; but I am certain from what I know of Dr. Cuyler that there has been no Slough of Despond where he has been ; and I think I may say that you are to-night on one of the lower peaks of the Delectable mountains, from which you can look backward and forward and round about. I rejoice in his continued ministry. I think it is an element of power in the church and a source of influ- ence in the community. He has had a per- manent position in one of the very best parts of Brooklyn ; I do not know but what it is the best part, always excepting Brooklyn Heights, with which no other part of Brooklyn ever undertakes to be compared. I do not quite agree with Dr. Cuyler in his idea that this is to be or is the centre of Brooklyn. I think the centre is to be about Lake Ronkonkoma ; 134 HISTORY OF THE and the Long Island Railway is to be a street railroad. Shelter Island is to be the last out- lying ward of Brooklyn. In fact, half of my parish are there in the summer-time anyway. However, he came as near as any man with merely human foresight could at that time. Dr. Cuyler has drawn his congregation from the great homogeneous population, from all classes of the population, which makes always the true strength of the church. He has, more- over, been drawing from all the congregations of Brooklyn. As your presiding officer has said. Dr. Cuyler took him from my congrega- tion, and so with a number of others. And what is more peculiar is that they never want to come back, and they always think they did a good thing. They seem to like the new min- ister and the new church better than the old one. They have rather given me the impres- sion that their judgment has greatly deterio- rated in the change. Still, as their Christian activity seemed to be maintained, I never quar- relled with a little lapse of judgment of that sort. This permanence in the ministry not LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 35 only gives additional influence in society, but it also gives greater weight in all reforms and in all moral enterprises. It adds to the per- sonal force of the individual man. Dr. Cuyler has been enabled by his permanent ministry here to carry conviction to the minds of many whom he would otherwise have never reached, and to carry to them the consolation, truth, and promised hope of the Gospel of Christ. How the years have rolled on ! I remem- ber very distinctly the sense of great age which I felt when a man bigger than I brought me a babe to be baptized, and as he was present- ing the child it flashed across my mind that when the father was baptized I had taken him in my arms and baptized him. It seemed to me that I was grandfather to the whole com- munity. That, I am sorry to say, was ten years ago. There is a certain power in permanence in the ministry which can not be transferred by Dr. Cuyler to any one else. You can not lay the mantle of Dr. Cuyler on the shoulder ol any other man who may come after him, and 136 HISTORY OF THE he can not transfer it to any other field of labor. It belongs to him in the ministry of this church. Then also by reason of this long residence, he has the recognized rights of a permanent citizen. If a man who has been here only two or three years speaks on public affairs, he hardly gets a chance to be heard. He is looked upon as an outsider, and his views are weighed accordingly. But a man who has lived here for twenty-five years, who has labored here for the good of the commu- nity, is able to exercise a weighty influence in civic and public affairs. This power comes from permanence in the ministry, added, of course, to the vigor and spirit which accom- pany that permanent residence, and make it effective. The newspaper articles which have added so much to Dr. Cuyler's fame have been drawn largely from a long pastoral experience. I have done some newspaper work, and know how difficult it is to do it. And I appreciate what Dr. Cuyler has done in this work. A great many of his articles have been repub- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 37 lished, and have found their way to the ends of the earth, and have been translated into foreign tongues. I have seen some of his arti- cles pasted in a scrap-book that came into my possession. A member of my church died some years ago, and I found in her work-basket three or four articles by Dr. Cuyler, pinned together. They had been carefully read and meditated and prayed over. The material for these articles has been derived from long pas- toral experience. A conception of the Gospel, a practical conception of the Gospel as a di- vine message, interest in the individual spirits to which that message is to come, and familiar- ity with the varying modes of life of the men to which that message is to come, — out of these spring the life of the article. Their power has been generated from long pastoral experience. I have no hesitation in saying that the influence exerted by these articles has been greater than that which has sprung from the work done in this pulpit. While from the pulpit Dr. Cuyler has been able to reach a limited number, his words by means of these 138 HISTORY OF THE articles have gone all over the earth. I think we may congratulate him, and you as well, on the permanence of his ministry here. I can not but think of the marvellous changes which have taken place since the year i860. They read like a chapter in a romance. We were then under the Presidency of Mr. Buchan- an. Lincoln's name was just mentioned as a candidate for the Presidency. The Civil War was not contemplated by anybody as possible. Slavery was established in the seat of the gov- ernment at the capital. It seemed an interest too vast to be successfully attacked, and as in- capable of being overthrown by discussion or law as the capitol was of being upset and over- turned by the force of the wind. We had no railroad from this part of the continent to the Pacific coast. San Francisco seemed to be be- yond the seas. Though we had a telegraph line on the land, we had no line under the sea, for although one had been attempted to be laid in 1858, it gasped and sputtered a few in- articulate sentences, and then died. It was not believed at that time that any such line would LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 39 work successfully. During this time, the popu- lation of this country has wonderfully increased ; and the wealth of the country has increased still more wonderfully. The Civil War has come and gone. Emancipation has loosed the last chain from the limb and hand of the slave ; and the country stands magnified and made honorable before the eyes of the world. The war terminated through the magnificent leader- ship of that magnificent silent general, who is now battling with death over there on the other side of the river. There is one enemy to which every man must yield ; but if it were within the possibility of human power to con- quer him, that strong and indomitable will which rimmed the rebel capital with a chain t)f fire and crushed the rebel hosts, giving lib- erty and peace to this country, would hold death itself at bay. This very city has multi- plied threefold in population and more than that in wealth, since this ministry began. All over Europe, think of the changes. Germany unified. France a republic instead of an em- pire, needing but the gospel of truth to make 140 HISTORY OF THE that republic secure. Italy unified and free from the Alps of France to the pines of Cala- bria, no longer under the control of what Mrs. Partington called the " Pope's vacuum." When she was asked what was the Pope's Vatican, she replied that " the Pope's vacuum was the place where the Pope kept his bull." And the whole world to-day is open to the power and progress of the Gospel as it has never been be- fore. There is much in this which is imposing and impressive. During this time, our brother has been preaching the same Gospel from the first hour until this. He never had any need to substitute another for it, any more than he had to substitute a new sunshine for the one that God has given us, or a new atmosphere for the one we have now. During this time he has been tarrying in the land of truth, and has been proclaiming the message of love and peace to all that he could reach. Mr. Evarts once told me the following story about himself. When he was going to deliver the anniversary address at the Centennial at Philadelphia, somebody said to him, " Mr. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 141 Evarts, you spoke three days in such a case and you spoke a week in such a case. Have you any idea how long you will speak in Phila- delphia ? " " No," said he, " not exactly. There is no limitation of time, except that it is understood between the committee and my- self that I will get through before the next Centennial Anniversary." So I am sure to get through before the next twenty-fifth anni- versary here. I only want to say a word or two more. The permanent unity of the Gospel in its in- fluence. I like to think of that. There is only one man in the world, only one person in the world who is able to make a whole community to think and feel as he does. A mayor of a city can in some degree ; but the minister is the only man who, through many successive years of faithful service, can mould a whole community in the likeness of his mind and spirit It is a greater work than that which Alexander commanded to be done when he ordered one of his generals to carve with his sword a monument to him out of Mount 142 HISTORY OF THE Athos. And this work is done only through a long, permanent, faithful ministry. We hardly recognize its effects day by day ; but its influ- ence upon society remains as long as society exists and as long as the community continues. I like to think of the influence which this church has exerted upon the community. I like to think of the influence which has been exerted by Dr. Cuyler during his long ministry here. You have done a magnificent work in building this church and putting this pastor into this pulpit, who, by his preaching of God's truth, and by his life, has moulded this society in his own likeness, and thus contributed largely to the prosperity and happiness of the whole community around us. What a majes- tic work that of the minister is ! Some men look upon it with indifference or disdain, — they prefer secular employment, law, or politics, or business, anything rather than the work of a minister ; yet, what other employment or work is there that makes a man the centre of greater influences, that makes a desire for secular ad- vancement impossible, than being the head of LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH, 1 43 a great congregation, whose happiness he shares and whose sufferings he soothes ? What a mag- nificent work it is to be the instrument of God in promoting human welfare ! What a magnif- icent work from which one can look back with happiness and joy ! Dear friends, with all my heart I congratu- late you on what you have done, and on the faithful service you have had, and on the fruit it has borne. My brother, I congratulate you on what God has enabled you to do and be- come since we shook hands together in 1847. God bless you now and ever henceforth until the full reward is open in His presence ! At the conclusion of the address, Dr. Cuyler arose and announced the fact that President McCosh, of Princeton, who was on the platform, intended to leave; and called upon the audience to give "a hearty round of cheers for President James McCosh of dear old Princeton." The church quartet, consisting of Miss Alice Maude Whitacre, soprano ; Miss Emma Wilkinson, con- tralto ; Mr. Charles H. Thompson, tenor ; and Mr. Mark H. Burch, bass, sang a selection, accompanied by Mr. John H. Brewer, organist. 144 HISTORY OF THE The next speaker was introduced by Mr. Wickes, as follows : Twenty-five years ago Dr. Robinson was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in this city. When we erected this building where we are now and when we needed outside help, Dr. Rob- inson was one of two men who furnished us with material financial aid, — the other was Mr. William E. Dodge. I will say to Dr. Robinson, that it was an excellent investment. I think he need not be asked to speak to us this evening. (Applause.) Address of Dr. C. S. Robinson. If I did not know, dear friends, that you had asked me here to-night for a purpose, and that purpose that I should speak to you, I should not be brave enough to trespass even for a moment upon your generosity at this late hour, — the more so as I am crushed just now between the primus homo of Brooklyn and the primus homo of the Lafayette Avenue Church who is to come after me ; but I did not come here for nothing. I am the embodi- ment of a memory just now. Dr. Cuyler and I started here together in Brooklyn twenty- five years ago. I saw Dr. Cuyler for the first LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 145 time about thirty years ago, when I, " a youth to fortune and to, fame unknown," came down to attend the funeral of one of my church in Troy, Clarkson Crosby. The funeral was held in the church of which Dr. Cuyler was then pastor, over among the old Crosby relation- ship ; and so one of my elders and I came down to be present uninvited and unknown ; but that little man, whom I saw for the first time, was kind enough to welcome even a stranger that he had never seen or never heard of up to that time. By and by I came first in i860 down to Brooklyn Heights, Dr. Storrs' paradise. Dr. Storrs was already lo- cated there right near me. I was very kind to him ; and he was very kind to me, at a time when his kindness went a great way. Then Dr. Cuyler came and started away off here in the " lots." Then the war came next and that was the next great event. I came number one, and he came number two, and the war came number three. We could not understand how this church was built during the next year. The war was here threatening our coun- 7 146 HISTORY OF THE try and all plans were upset. We found out afterward that there were enterprise and busi- ness ability enough in the kind and sympathiz- ing mind of the leader of this people to get money abroad, so that when gold went up, so did the building. Calmly and quietly, nobody explained anything, but all kept on doing the work. Dr. Cuyler has had his trials since he came here to Brooklyn. He will tell you that probably when he speaks to you. But I think we can say that he never made any fuss in his ministry. He did his work quietly and well. Some people there are who have spent a long ministry in moulding men and women ; some of them have spent a long ministry in making sermons and constructing them ; and some men have spent a long ministry in converting souls and giving God the glory ; and some men have spent a ministry in making removals and in making a fuss. Dr. Cuyler has been occupied in making men and women converts to Christ, and all the other good things have been added unto him according to the prom- ise. And so you came one after another, and LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 147 one of the largest churches in Brooklyn was built up around that single working force which repeated itself in making a church and in leading many souls to Christ. I believe the history of this church is simply the result of battling on that line. It has been difficult for any minister to sustain himself for twenty-five years in one place. It has been more difficult during the last twenty-five years than ever be- fore in the history of the United States. It has been harder during the last ten years to work and succeed in the ministry than during any other ten years in the history of this land. We have had to pick our way. We have had to contend wfth the power of the press, not against it always ; but I mean that the press has usurped some of the old weapons of power which used to be wielded by the ministry alone. We have had to contend with worldli- ness and the growth of materialistic views on all subjects, especially in these great cities. We have had to contend with the war at the begin- ning of this period, and the dissolution and de- moralization which came afterward. It has 148 HISTORY OF THE been very difficult for any one to sustain him- self for twenty-five years in the ministry. Dur- ing that time churches have risen and some have fallen. Men have come and men have gone. On Brooklyn Heights when I was here, I was pastor of a little group of people. Dr. Bethune was one of the strong Christian hearts around me ; but during my eight years of ministry here, the source of all that was helpful and comforting to me was to be found in the two voices, one of which has spoken and the other of which is to speak to-night. The purpose for which I am here to-night is to oflFer congratulations to our dear friend ; but I think it is more simply to be honored by an invitation from my old friend, so that when he is at his height, he would have his old friend come and sit beside him. He is the only man that calls me " Brother Charles" in letters and "Charlie" when he meets me. His mother once said to me, " You are my other son "; and his wife once called me, " Theodore's friend "; and I am here in Theodore's triumphs because he cared enough for me to ask me here. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 149 The one peculiarity about Dr. Cuyler's min- istry has been that he has driven at everybody and attacked right and left during these twenty- five years, and never had a fuss once. Tell me, I say, if you can, one other minister in Brooklyn who has been here for ten, fifteen, or twenty-five years, who has not had at some time the fiercest quarrels on his hands and the hardest foes to fight. I never heard an unkind word spoken of Dr. Cuyler during my life, even from those who disagreed with him. Ministers have their trials and troubles ; and yet many of our people stand by us through everything. Ministers forget. A minister once asked a woman, " How is your little child }■ " " Why," said she, " you buried her three months ago." He was broken-hearted. How could he forget such a thing ? If you had been a minister three months you would ask how could he remember. All you have to do is to throw yourself on the mercy of the people. I knew a minister that forgot a funeral once. There was no help for it. He would not have done it for his life. They were all waiting at ISO HISTORY OF THE the house when he came. The next day, with tears in his eyes, he called on the family, and said in candor, " I forgot it." The lady said, " I know you did, for I knew you would not forsake us." That was all she said. Yes, there are times when the people stand by us. And there was never a people that stood by a man so devotedly as this people have stood by Dr. Cuyler during these twenty-five years. There never was a word that came to me from Dr. Cuyler's congregation about anything that he ever did or said. I presume that he has had his trials. I have no doubt that he has said the wrong thing to the wrong person. But he had the hearts of the people with him and it always turned out right. He reached the peo- ple in their homes. I remember once that a gentleman came over here to live, who said he would not attend Dr. Cuyler's church. As he was walking along the street one day, he saw Dr. Cuyler standing on the corner chirruping to a little baby sitting in a window. That decided him in favor of Dr. Cuyler and his church. So probably many of the troubles in LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 151 this church have been smoothed over by the same kindly, hearty manner. I have got through my talk. You see it was a very simple errand on which I came. I have had some pretty hard times since I left here. I did not go away from Brooklyn of my own free will ; but I love the church where I am now. But Brooklyn was the only home I ever loved or cared for. Those that I care for most personally, live here. Dur- ing these years that I have wrestled and fought, there has been one voice that has kept ringing on the air, sending me encouragement and hope. I have a letter from him, in which he says : " Brother Charles, if you get a church of that size it will be all you want to take care of, because it is almost as big as mine." Dur- ing all my work he has encouraged me and aided me. And if I am ever called upon be- fore he dies to surrender my life and if it needs be told of me, I would rather his voice would tell it than any other. If I am ever wrong, I would rather he should tell me than any one else. And if I have ever done a fine thing, I 152 HISTORY OF THE would rather he knew it than anybody else. And if he has ever a greater triumph than this, I hope he will ask his old friend to come and stand by him, and allow me to say simply as I do now, — I am glad, and God bless you ! Mr. Wickes introduced Dr. Cuyler as follows : Now I introduce to you our Pastor. He has been waiting for an introduction. Address of Dr. Cuyler. Good friends and neighbors, if there is a man in all Mayor Low's dominions that is happier than your pastor is to-night, bring him along ; I would like to compare notes with him. I am as full to-night as the water- pots of Cana of Galilee, full to the brim ; not of a speech, however. If I was called upon to deliver an address to either of these beloved friends, I think I could wax eloquent over them. You are only in your freshman year yet. Mayor Low. Somebody, somewhere else, is going to say to you : " Come up higher," if there is anything higher than the LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 53 mayoralty of Brooklyn. I think I could have been inspired as I have listened to the dear friend who combines the eloquence of Burke with the memory of Macaulay — Dr. Richard S. Storrs. I have felt my heart go out to this brother, whom I never meet without say- ing, " Brother Charlie, how are you ? " I could wax eloquent over Mayor Low, Dr. Storrs, or Dr. Robinson. I was affected also by the speech made by my beloved elder, who, although a merchant, is a better elocutionist than many ministers. Dear friends, I have brought with me into this pulpit to-night this little weapon [hold- ing in his hand a spade marked i860, the handle of which was covered with a knot of red, white, and blue ribbons] which first broke the sod for the Lafayette Avenue Church. My practice has been in all my preaching and writing to call a spade a spade. This is a spade. What is the history of it? i860 is inscribed on it. A week after the election of Abraham Lincoln, right on yonder vacant lot I put my little foot on that spade and drove 7* 154 HISTORY OF THE it into the ground. With it I broke the ground for the Lafayette Avenue Church. This is one of the founders of this church. One of the members of the church, Mr. Stephen Reeves, took the spade and has kept it for twenty-five years. When the old flag that floated on the top of this church during the war came down, it was taken by my old friend Captain Murray. He put it away in his house, where it was eaten by moths. Otherwise I suppose it would have been here to-night. This spade recalls an interview I once had with Thomas Carlyle. He said in his broad Scotch way : " Your name is Cuy- ler. That is a Dutch name, and signifies a digger." " Yes," I said, " a Cuyler is a mole. He delves in the ground." This is the sort of instrument that I have kept in my hand all these years. I have endeavored to put the spiritual spade in week after week and year after year. Now two or three off-hand words in regard to my life-labors. The work which I have done for temperance has been alluded to. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 155 That began when I was about twenty years old, in the city of Glasgow, where I made my first public speech. It was in the old Town Hall of that city. Father Matthew was on the platform beside me, and when I had fin- ished my speech the great apostle of temper- ance from Ireland — the greatest tower of strength that temperance has found in this century — clasped me to him, boy that I was, and kissed me. And that kiss from that grandest temperance reformer has been a benediction to me in all my work. To-night John B. Gough's letter came to me brimful of life, the blessed fellow. I like to think of the forty years that he and I have pulled on together side by side. I want to say that if I had not been a minister there is no work which would have given me more pleasure than in going out up and down the length and breadth of this land fighting against these monstrous curses, the decanter and dram- shop. How came I to be a minister ? I just es- caped the bar. All my ancestors were law- 156 HISTORY OF THE yers. My grandfather was a lawyer, my father was a lawyer, and my father-in-law, that was to be, was a lawyer, I had about made up my mind to enter the office of William M. Meredith in Philadelphia. Soon after I came back from Europe, where I went when a young man, I visited Ludlowville on Lake Cayuga, to visit an uncle. While there I was asked to go to a prayer-meeting. While abroad I had gotten out of the spiritual at- mosphere ; but I was glad to go to this meet- ing. It was at the house of Benjamin Joy, where about thirty persons were gathered. Presently Captain Joy said, " Theodore, you had better say something." I spoke about five minutes. Afterward one young lady came up and thanked me for what I had said ; and a young man also came, and I talked to him about Christ, and he told me I had done him some good. As I drove home that after- noon along the lake, when I got to a certain point this thought flashed across my mind : "If five minutes did a little good, why not preach all the time?" That five minutes LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 57 changed my whole life. That five minutes turned me from the bar into the pulpit, and started me in the path where I stand to-day, and I thank God for it. I look back over forty years of ministry, first at Kingston, Pa., supplying the place of an absent pastor six months ; then three years at Burlington ; then three and a half years at Trenton, where I found one of the greatest blessings of my life. I often think I would like to put a marble tablet in the brick pavement of the street be- side my house, for there, in the providence of God, my eyes fell for the first time upon a face that has brought me only sunshine. From Trenton I came to New York, and then to Lafayette Avenue Church and you. God bless you, my noble flock ! I'll match you against any other congregation from the Pine- Tree State to the Palmettos. God bless you, brother ministers and neighbors on the Hill. I thank you for your greeting. I thank the people of Brooklyn for doing so much to make me happy. Forty years — forty years from to-night — a 158 HISTORY OF THE heap of dust in Greenwood ! Forty years from to-night I trust 1 may not only have a glimpse, but a good look at the King in His beauty. If I meet any of you there, or any of those from Scandinavia, or the plains of the West or North or South, who have read my words and come to Christ through me, oh what a reward ! And when I go to my grave and lie there on Fountain Hill, I only ask to be remem- bered if I have led some hearts to Jesus. If you write any inscription above me, write just these words: "Theodore L. Cuyler, the founder of Lafayette Avenue Church," and put under it, " Remember the words I spake unto you while I was yet with you." Good- night ! God bless you all ! Among the large number of letters received by the Committee of Invitation, or by the Pastor, the following have been selected for publication. The limits prescribed for this memorial volume forbid the insertion of many others, which are equally hearty and sympathetic in their tone and expression : LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 159 From Rev. Dr. T. De Witt Talmage. "Brooklyn, April 6, 1885. " To the Committee on Dr. Cuyler's Anniversary : " Holding a pulpit with unimpaired power for twenty-five years implies great talent as well as consecration, and upon that achievement Dr. Cuy- ler is congratulated. Always on the side of relig- ion and the best interests of humanity, he has the admiration of all who know him. After all his la- bors he seems as fresh as thirty years ago when I first met him. I hope to have the pleasure of work- ing side by side with him for many years in the great harvest-field. " Regretting that an engagement hinders my at- tending the reception to-night, " I am yours, etc., " T. De Witt Talmage." From John B. Gough. " Dear Dr. Cuyler : " With all my heart I send you my best love and congratulations that God has given you such won- derful success the past quarter century in your pres- ent church. " I remember you so well at Princeton in your preparation for your great life-work, afterward in l6o HISTORY OF THE Burlington, Trenton, and Market Street, New York, during your earlier ministry as a minister of Christ, and for forty years my true and faithful personal friend. God bless you and your dear people ! May He more abundantly bestow upon you and yours His richest blessings ; and give you more abundant success. " May your crown of rejoicing be glittering with stars ! "John B. Gough. "April A, 1885." From Rev. Dr. Lyman Whiting. " South Williamstown, Mass., " April z, 1885. " Dear Bro. Cuyler : " Have you any room in hand or heart for just one more brother's ' Well done ! good and faithful ' ? What grace of God in and through the twenty-five years ! What throngs of souls glorify God in you ! Amid the unnumbered words of gratulation and cheer, how you will thank and praise Christ Jesus 'by whom and for whom' these years have been possessed. " Brother C, your generous soul can believe that about twenty-six years ago there were tears in the eyes looking from the 'Park Presbyterian' pulpit which are as lenses now, — revealing the work then LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. l6l begun in magnitudes not then foreseen, and now all aglow in rainbow beauty. Glory to God and to the Lamb ! " Very sincerely yours in brotherly love, " Lyman Whiting." From Robert Carter, Esq., New York. " New York, March 26, 1885. " Dear Bro. Cuyler : " I heartily congratulate you on your twenty-fifth anniversary of your work in Brooklyn. How gra- cious our dear Lord has been to you and to multi- tudes through your instrumentality. I presume more than two thousand five hundred have been admitted to the visible church under your care dur- ing that period. What a sight in the great day when you stand before the throne and say, ' Here am I and the children whom Thou hast given me ! ' To myself personally, you have been a brother be- loved — most beloved. I often think of the words of the great apostle, ' I thank my God on every re- membrance of thee.' " I am very sorry that I can not be present at the meeting of your friends on Monday next. My dear wife and I are drawing near to the end of our pil- grimage, and are compelled to keep quiet at home. 1 62 HISTORY OF THE but I can not forbear to express to you my warm attachment to you and yours. The Lord bless you and keep you now and evermore. " Your affectionate friend, " Robert Carter." From Prof. W. G. T. Shedd, D.D., New York. " 148 East 38TH Street, " New York, April 6, 1885. " Dear Dr. Cuyler : " I have received an invitation to attend the re- ception to be tendered to yourself and Mrs. Cuyler on Monday evening next. " It would give me the greatest pleasure to be present on that interesting occasion, in company with your friends, — but the state of my health for- bids. But there is no one of all the great number of your friends who will congratulate you more sincerely and warmly than I do, on the completion of a quarter of a century of faithful and successful evangelical labor for our Lord and Master. " May He long spare you to do still more of the same work in the same spirit ! " Yours fraternally, "W. G. T. Shedd. " Rev. T. L. Cuyler, D.D." LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 63 Fro7n Rev. Dr. Henry C. Potter, Assistant Bishop of Diocese of New York. " 96 Fourth Avenue, " New York, Mar. 30, 1885. " Dear Mrs. Cuyler : " It is pleasant to see that you are associated with the Doctor in the approaching commemoration of April 6th, and as he will have more letters than he can read, I venture to express to you my regret that engagements already made will prevent our accept- ing the invitation to the reception to be held on that day. " I need not tell you how heartily we send to you both our greetings and congratulations, and how cordially we wish for Dr. Cuyler and yourself con- tinued health and usefulness in a field in which your mutual labors have been so fruitful. " I am, dear Mrs. Cuyler, for myself and Mrs. Potter, " Very faithfully yours, "H. C. Potter." From Hon. Horatio Seymour, Ex-Governor of New York. " Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, D.D. : "My dear Sir : — I received an invitation to attend the reception given to Mrs. Cuyler and yourself by l64 HISTORY OF THE the Lafayette Avenue Church on the twenty-fifth anniversary of your pastorate. I have been confined to my house for several months ; and at the time I received the invitation I was unable to acknowledge it. I congratulate you upon this most pleasant tes- timonial of regard on the part of your congregation. On the last day of this month I shall be seventy-five years old : in addition to the weight of years, my health is poor and I am quite worn out. I am living on a farm in the outskirts of Utica, where I shall be happy to see you and Mrs. Cuyler. I enjoy country life, and do not make it burdensome. " I am, truly yours, " Horatio Seymour." Frqm Rev. Dr. George L. Prentiss, New York. " 57 East 6ist Street, " New York, April 5, 1885. " Dear Dr. Cuyler : " I shall not be able to be with you to-morrow evening, but I send you my heartiest congratula- tions. It will be a memorable occasion to you and to your dear wife and to your people — an occasion full to overflowing of precious, grateful, and hal- lowed memories. May the Lord Himself, who has been to you and to them the joy and strength LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 165 of all these five and twenty years, make it bright with His presence. " I first heard you preach at Saratoga Springs nearly thirty years ago, and in a letter to my wife, written at the time, expressed my delight in listen- ing to a 'true Gospel sermon.' How many such sermons you have preached since then ! And how little you know, or ever will know in this world, all the good they have done ; what souls they have cheered and blessed, or won for Christ ! " May your life be spared yet many years that you may continue to preach, as aforetime, true Gos- pel sermons ! " God bless you and your whole flock. " Ever faithfully and affectionately yours, " Geo. L. Prentiss." From Rev. Dr. Jesse B. Thomas, Brooklyn. " My dear Brother : " Accept the belated congratulation — all the riper by delay — of myself and wife on your twenty-fifth anniversary. We meant to be there ; but my mala- rial 'brake' hugged the wheels too closely at the hour and we did not get off. " It is a comfort in this nebulous, mucilaginous, and phantasmagoric age to look at ' Lafayette Ave- l66 HISTORY OF THE nue,' and be sure that the foundations have not slipped or settled ; nor the light that is in them ' become darkness.' ' Stand fast, Craig Ellachie ! ' God bless you, and keep you on the 'Captain's deck ' for many a long year. " Faithfully and afEectionately yours, "J. B. Thomas." From Rev. Dr. Abbott E. Kittredge, Chicago. " Chicago, April 3, 1885. " My dear Bro, Cuyler : " I send to you the most cordial greetings and most sincere wishes of the Third Presbyterian Church of this city, and in their wreath of congratulations I place my own deep love for you. Had it only been possible, we would all have been with you, two thousand strong, to unite our praises and prayers with your own large family circle, but I fear that your building would not have been able to hold us, and then the provisions of the banquet might have given out, for we should most certainly have wished to break bread with you. It must be a very happy thought to you, my dear brother, that outside of the Lafayette Avenue Church, you have a vast congre- gation all over this land and in other lands, to whom by your writings you have spoken week by week, and who have been quickened in spiritual life, en- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 67 couraged to more earnest labor, developed into a richer fruitfulness, and comforted in hours of trial by your messages brought to them from the loving heart of the Father. My prayer is that for many years your bow may abide in strength, and that, carried on the Shepherd's shoulders even down to old age, you may continue to feed the flock of God, and win thousands of precious souls into the king- dom of Christ. " With loving wishes and prayers, " Yours faithfully, "Abbott E. Kittredge." From Prof. Samuel M. Hopkins^ D.D., Auburn Theological Seminary. "Auburn Theological Seminary, "March 30, 1885. " Rev. Dr. Cuyler : "My dear Brother and Friend : — I had noticed with great interest your approaching quarter-century an- niversary, and am now favored with an invitation to be present on the occasion. Would I could do so, and could join with the multitudes of those, both lay and clerical, who admire and love you, and who will flock to offer Mrs. Cuyler and yourself their felicitations and blessings, on the day appointed. It must be certainly twenty-five years or more since l68 HISTORY OF THE I first saw and heard you in the old ' Crystal Pal- ace,' flaming in your early enthusiasm for the cause of Temperance, and by your side the ' great show- man,' who has continued your constant friend and fellow-worker ever since. And now I see you after all this lapse of time, with your natural force un- abated, with the same enthusiasm for every noble idea and every good cause, with the same inexhaust- ible fertility of mind and resources, — and crowned with the benedictions, not only of one congregation and one church, but of the whole community. You know well of the happy circumstances that have brought us two in these latter years into relations of warmer friendship. May God bless them all to us — all our joys — «11 our sorrows : and long keep you active in His service, an ornament of our Church and of our Christianity — the centre of thousands of loving hearts. " I remain, my dear friend, " Most cordially yours, etc., " Samuel M. Hopkins." From Prof. John T. Duffield, D.D., Princeton College. " Princeton, N. J., April 4, 1883. " My dear Bro. Cuyler : " 1 regret exceedingly that special and unavoid- able duties on Monday and Tuesday will prevent LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 69 my acceptance of the kind invitation to the Ebenezer meeting in your church on Monday evening. I send by letter — which it would have given me pleasure to present in person — my cordial congratulations on your abundant and abundantly blessed labors in the Master's service. Your career is a notable illustration of the fulfilment of the promise of one's college days. The most distinguished member of the distinguished Class of '41, when in College ' attained to the first three ' in scholarship, and as a writer and speaker via& facile princeps. " May many years be added to your honored and useful life, and to the end may your ' bow abide in strength.' " With kindest regards and most hearty congratu- lations to Mother Cuyler, and to your good wife and family, " I am, yours fraternally, "John T. Duffield." From Rev. Dr. Charles Hawley, First Presbyterian Church, Auburn, N. Y. "Auburn, N. Y., April 3, 1885. " Dear Dr. Cuyler : "As congratulations are pouring in upon you from near and far, I beg you will accept mine that come to you from a full heart. Indeed, Auburn 8 I70 HISTORY OF THE wishes you joy in rounding out twenty-five years of such grand service as marks your Brooklyn pastor- ate, while your own Cayuga is proud to number you among her honored sons. " Need I say what a large place you keep in the heart of the Old First Church, and how glad we are that ties of kindred, as well as of memory, be- times draw you hither. " Would that I could be with you at the reception Monday evening, if only to look in on the glad scene which commemorates the long and blessed pastor- ate. What a burden of happiness will be laid upon your heart. It is an added joy that your gracious mother lives to see the day and share it with you. Fortunate indeed, dear brother, to have done service so conspicuous and gifted, and then be permitted to lay it all down at the feet of the ' One Master, even Christ.' " Your brother in Christ, " Charles Hawley." From Rev. Dr. Alexander MacLaren, Manchester, Eng. " My dear Dr. Cuyler : " I have to thank you very much for the report of the services commemorating your long and honored pastorate. Most heartily do I add my congratula- tions and good wishes. I read your anniversary LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 171 sermon with much interest, and not without some self-castigation ; for our dates are nearly parallel, and my forty years will soon be complete. " I beat you in the number of sermons preached, but in nothing else. I have never been able to do much pastoral work. ' There are diversities of oper- ations '; but I can heartily admire from afar your power of going among people, and reaching their hearts for Christ's sake — just as I admire the (to me) equally unattainable power of composing an Oratorio, of which I could not put together four notes. " May God give you many more years of happy service, and fulfil in you the promise which I love to quote in the rough music of the good old Scotch Psalms (which I hope you American Presbyterians have not ' sold for the mess ' of a hymn-book, but have kept them as well as introduced that) — " ' And in old age when others fade, They fruit still forth shall bring ! ' " I am, dear Doctor, yours faithfully, "Alexander MacLaren.' From William E. Dodge, Jr., New York. " 282 Madison Ave., " New York, Aj^ril 2, 1885. " My dear Dr. Cuyler : " I sincerely regret I can not be present at the re- ception on Monday evening next to join with the 172 HISTORY OF THE friends who love you so warmly, in their tribute of respect and affection. " I congratulate you and your church in the long and delightful relation of pastor and people,— so unusual in its length, so grand and fruitful in results. " I thank God for the earnestness, steadiness of purpose, and rare good sense which have made your name and work so precious to us all. " The only shadow I have in writing is the thought, my dear father is not here to tell you, as he has often told me, how much he loved and honored you. " May you be spared in health and strength to round out the golden wedding with your church. " I am, my dear Dr. Cuyler, " Most sincerely yours, " W. E. Dodge, Jr. " Rev. Dr. T. L. Cuyler." From Rev. Newman Hatl, LL.B., London, Eng. " Beloved Brother Theodore : " We were greatly interested in the narrative of your Jubilee as reported in the papers. No one ever received more emphatic testimony of affection- ate respect from a congregation ; and none ever de- served it more. My only regret is that you did not let me know in time to add my little tribute. As LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 73 we work on, week by week, we often feel how little wc are doing ; yet when you can add up the total of twenty-five years as in your historical sermon — how much cause there is for gratitude to God in having been able to do so much amid so many inter- ruptions. What a list you have given of sermons, articles, members, etc. It is a wonder that you are so well with so much work. How your dear face will gladden many hearts in the Old Country when you come to us ! But chief of all, the occupants of your ' Ivy House ' home — and of " Your ever-loving brother, " Newman Hall." From Rev. Dr. Charles E. Robinson, First Presbyterian Church, Rochester. " Rochester, N. Y., April 4, 1885. " Gentlemen of Committee : " I thank you for the thoughtfulness to invite me to attend the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dr. Cuy- ler's pastorate over the Lafayette Avenue Church. I regret that I can not be present to share in the general rejoicing, and to pay, with you, my tribute of praise to our blessed Lord, for what He has done for the world, through the ministry of your pastor. It would be a grand enough work for a lifetime, to 174 HISTORY OF THE build up such a church, as from its inception to the present has been under his care. But Dr. Cuyler has sent the radii of his marvellous intellectual vitality, and of his consecrated Christian spirit, through all Christendom. Prayer will ascend from every land for God's blessing on your gathering. The mystic chords that bind all Christian hearts together will thrill with the salutations and mes- sages of love to him. Among many other marked characteristics of his honored and exceptionally successful ministry, I hold it by no means insig- nificant that through it. Evangelical Christianity is seen to be the true fountain of genuine reforms. He has forged those hammers, with which he has struck such mighty blows against the liquor traffic and for the Union, in the white-heat of a holy love for Christ. "All honor to him who will joyfully lay all honor down at Jesus' feet. "Again thanking you for your invitation to be present, " I am, very truly, etc., " Charles E. Robinson." From Hon. George S. Batcheller, Judge in the Inter- national Tribunal, Cairo, Egypt. " Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler : "My dear and venerated Friend : — I have read with great interest the newspaper accounts of the appro- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 75 priate testimonial of your congregation and friends on the occasion of your 'Silver Wedding.' I can not allow the memorable event to pass — though so far away — without offering my own most cordial congratulations to you and Mrs. Cuyler. I assure you, that I count it a great privilege to be numbered among your host of friends. May your useful days be extended to the period of your Golden anniver- sary ; and after that we will ' pension ' you, and send you over here to Egypt to note for our instruction the wonderful changes of the century. " I remain, your sincere friend, " Geo. S. Batcheller. " International Tribunal, "Cairo, May 12, 1885." J^rom Hon. A. H. Moncur, Lord-Provost of Dundee, Scotland. " My dear Dr. Cuyler : " Need I say to you that I have read with the deepest interest the account of the meetings held in your honor in connection with the twenty-fifth anniversary of your ministry in the Lafayette Ave- nue Church ? With all your other friends, I join in congratulating you on having been privileged to do so much good work for the Master. Also that you 176 HISTORY OF THE have the prospect of still engaging in your loved labors with vigor for many years to come. God grant that it may be so ! The Church and the world need such men — the men who can preach the Gospel without any 'ifs' or 'buts' or mental reservations ; and who are not afraid to speak out in regard to the drink as well as in regard to doubts of God's word. Your Jubilee services will not only cheer you to raise an 'Ebenezer' — but like Paul, you will more than ever ' thank God and take cour- age.' May you long live to speak as powerfully for the Truth as you have hitherto done ! My house is at your service when you visit old Dundee. " Yours very sincerely, "A. H. MoNCUR." '^ From Rev. Dr. J. R. Miller, Philadelphia. "April 2, 1885. " My dear Dr. Cuyler : " I can not allow your anniversary to pass without sending you a word of loving thanks for the bits of green grass the faithful shepherd at Lafayette Ave- nue has gathered for one of his flock. I am one of the outside sheep, but I have fed many a time, never- theless, at your hand. After my first year in the seminary I was for three years in the army, in the U. S. Christian Commission. There I learned to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 77 read your articles in the Independent, Evangelist, and the other papers, and found such good picking that, ever since, I read everything I see from your pen. It was in 1863 that I first began to feed at your hand, that was twenty years since. So I can almost claim to have been one of your first members at Lafayette Avenue. I join, therefore, most heartily in the congratulations of the multitude of friends that will speak or send to you their greetings on this happy occasion. I thank God that He has spared you to reach this landmark in your pastor- ate. I thank Him that you have been permitted to exert such a wide influence in the land and in all Christian lands, by your pen. " As I go on in life, I learn that the only things really worth living for and toiling are to attain Christ-likeness ourselves and to help others to live better. You have done noble service for others by helping them to live truer, nobler, sweeter lives. Your words have comforted the sorrowing, helped the tempted to be strong, lifted the stumbling feet over rough places, turned perplexed souls toward the clear-shining star, quickened the indolent into energy and the despairing into hope, inspired good men and women everywhere with desires for greater usefulness, and — best of all — pointed hundreds of lost ones to the Lamb of God. "You will never know till you reach home, and 8* 1/8 HISTORY OF THE the Master tells you, how much good you have done by your pen alone, in that larger congregation out- side your church walls, that by this means are priv- ileged to share your ministry and learn the good things which your heart has to utter. This part of your audience is silent while you speak, but is never- theless profited ; some day, too, you will hear the words of acknowledgment and gratitude which these thousands shall have to speak. " I am strongly tempted to run over to Brooklyn Saturday night, and be one of the Sunday throng ; it would be a rare pleasure, but as I can not possibly do this, I write to you from a full and loving heart these lines. " May you long be spared to feed your flock, to lead them into the green pastures and beside the still waters, to feed the kids beside the shepherds' tent, and to throw bits over the low fence for us hungry sheep outside. " With sincere affection, I sign myself " One of your parishioners, "J. R. Miller." From Rev. Dr. Adam McClelland, Professor in Du- buque Theological Seminary, Iowa. " Dubuque, Iowa, A^ril 6, 1885. " My dear Dr. Cuyler : " Permit me from a full heart to add my congratu- lations to those that now arise from a host of your LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. I79 friends in both hemispheres, yes, and in both worlds; for doubtless dear departed ones that still cherish memories of their beloved earthly shepherd are in accord with the grateful joyousness which reached its climax in your church yesterday. Never was a Hebrew mother led to a more appropriate name for her first-born than was Mrs. Cuyler when she named her son Theodore. Truly you have been a gift from God, not only to her, but also to the entire Church of Christ. Were a rechristening in order on such festivities as those of yesterday, your venerable parent might well have added to the mu- sical Greek appellation the significant ' Jedidiah ' of the Hebrew tongue ; for to an unusual degree your entire life, and especially your ministry, prove you to be the beloved of Jehovah. Herein is found the primal cause of the peace, prosperity, and abundant fruitfulness of your pastorate, as well as of the Christian virtues that have shone in your character. Of one of these I must speak, because I believe that this more than any other single quality has been under God the secret of your success. I mean your Christ-like kindness of heart. " It is the fervent prayer of my wife and children that many blessed years may be yet granted you with your beloved flock, and that your hand may long continue to be that of a ready writer. I can not better express my own desires concerning you. l8o HISTORY OF THE than in the earnest wish that in you may be fully realized and illustrated the beautiful figure of the Lord's stately palm-tree (Ps. 92 : 12), and which the Scotch version has with quaintness and force ren- dered thus : ' And in old age when others fade The fruit still forth shall bring ; He shall be fat and full of sap, And aye be flourishing.' " I am, dear Doctor, most truly yours, "A McClelland." From Mrs. M. G. H., a former Parishioner. " My dear old Pastor : " The Brooklyn papers of Monday and Tuesday were read by us with delight ; but not without long- ing nor with dry eyes. I could see and hear each action and word of yours as L read the paper for us. Your revered name is a household charm ; and our home has been founded and grown up on the principles of your pious teachings, and we have never forgotten any of them. With the help of our Heavenly Father we never will. Just think ! you could never preach one sermon that I heard during those seven years, that I would not remember ! I listened in reverence and love ; and have tried to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. l8l live as you taught us. Our love for you will never cease here or hereafter. I know you have hundreds of letters and friends like us ; and I know you will read mine too, or I would not have written- it. " With grateful affection, your friend, "M. G. H. " Sag Harbor, L. I., " April S, 1885." From Rev. Dr. George F. Pentecost, Brooklyn. " My dear and venerable young Brother : " It was a grief to me not to be at your Jubilee last Monday evening ; but I was in cast-iron bonds to another engagement. But among them all there was not one more sincerely proud of you than was I. For years you have been an inspiration and a spur to me. May God give you a long and blessed pull ' on the home-stretch,' and bring you in under the line a victor and a prize-winner. " Yours evermore, "Geo. F. Pentecost. " Philippians 3 : 13, 14." In addition to these letters, the following brief messages ■were sent, by telegraph or otherwise. " Rochester, N. Y. " Heartiest congratulations to the King, who by his incomparable work has made his pulpit a throne ! 1 82 HISTORY OF THE May the past be a prophecy of the greater glory of the future. May it be long before Heaven comes to claim its own ! God save the Pastor of Lafayette Avenue Church ! "James B. Shaw, "Pastor of Brick Presbyterian Church." " Windsor Hotel, N. Y., "April 6, 1885. " Rev. Dr. Cuyler : " I regret that prior engagements deprive me of the pleasure of attending the reception to-night. Please accept my best wishes for long-continued health, life, and usefulness. " Alonzo B. Cornell, " £x-Governor of New York." "Clifton Springs, April f^, 1885. "Dr. T. L. Cuyler: "Warmest Christian congratulations on your quarter-century anniversary. You have comforted many of God's children by your ' Light on Dark Clouds.' See Luke, 19th chapter, 13th verse, last clause. " Geogre H. Stuart, " of Philadelphia." LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 183 After the exercises in the church many of the guests adjourned to the church-parlors, where an- other hour was spent in exchanging greetings with former members of the church and with the pastor. Thus terminated a joyful Jubilee, which from its inception to its close was not marred with a single untoward incident. The thanks of both the con- gregation and of the pastor are due to the efficient Committees who so skillfully planned and success- fully carried out the Festival. 1 84 HISTORY OF THE HISTORICAL SKETCH AND METH- ODS OF CHURCH WORK. BY THE PASTOR. Although my personal connection with Lafayette Avenue Cliurch dates from April, i860, it is proper that I should narrate some of the leading facts in its experience previous to that time. The project of forming a new Presbyterian church in this part of the city probably originated with Mr, Edward A. Lambert, the ex-Mayor of Brooklyn, and at that time an active member of the " South Presbyterian Church," then under the pastoral charge of Rev, Dr. Samuel Spear, The divi- sion of the Presbyterian denomination into " Old " and " New Schools " still existed, and there was already an " Old School " church which worshipped in an unfinished edifice on the corner of Greene and Clermont Avenues. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. iSj The building is now owned by the Protestant Episcopal " Church of the Messiah." Mr. Lambert invited several gentlemen to meet at his residence on Clinton Avenue on the evening of May i6, 1857, to consult to- gether in reference to the formation of a church which should be under the care of the " New School " Pres'bytery of Brooklyn. Some of these gentlemen were associated with him in Dr. Spear's congregation. The meet- ing was held, and after prayer and deliberation, it was resolved, "that in the Providence of God the time has now arrived when it is not only desirable but expedient that a Presby- terian church should be organized in the Eleventh Ward to be connected with the Presbytery of Brooklyn." A committee was appointed to take the necessary steps to fur- ther the object contemplated in the resolution. A public meeting was accordingly called for the 1 6th of June. It was held in a small brick chapel then standing on the corner of Carlton and DeKalb Avenues. The chapel had been originally built for a mission station, 1 86 HISTORY OF THE and for some time had been occupied by the " Park Congregational Church," under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Batcheller. At the meeting on the i6th of June it was unani- mously resolved to organize a Presbyterian church ; and arrangements were also made to purchase the brick chapel from our Congrega- tional brethren, who soon after disbanded their church organization. Trustees were elected at that meeting, and the name chosen for the new organization was the " Park Pres- byterian Church." At an adjourned meeting on the 29th of June, they adopted the follow- ing CONSTITUTION. 1. The constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America is hereby adopted as the constitution of this church. 2. Every member in good and regular standing shall be entitled to vote at all elections for officers of the church. 3. The Session of this church shall be composed of three or more ruling Elders, to be divided into three classes. The first class shall hold office for one year, the second for two years, and the third for LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 8/ three years from the first election ; and at every subsequent election one class of elders shall be elected for three years. Elders shall continue to be members of the Session until their places are filled by a new election, and the same individuals may be re-elected as often as their terms of service expire. 4. Any ordained elder who has once been a mem- ber of the Session, may be invited to sit as a corre- sponding member. 5. There shall be three or more deacons, to be divided into three classes, and to be elected at the same time, for the same term, and in the same man- ner as in the case of ruling elders. 6. The annual meeting of the church for the elec- tion of officers shall be held on the second Wednes- day in January in each year, when the annual re- ports of the Session and of the Board of Deacons shall be presented. 7. Candidates for admission to this church on con- fession of their faith, shall be publicly propounded at least one week previous to their admission, unless the Session in special cases, by an unanimous vote, shall waive for the time being the operation of this rule. 8. The Lord's Supper shall be administered once in every two months, at such time as the Session shall appoint. 1 88 HISTORY OF THE A petition was presented to the Presbytery of Brooklyn, asking them to hold a special meeting to organize the new church according to the rules and usages of our denomination. The Presbytery convened on the ninth of July, 1857, in the Carlton Avenue Chapel, and duly constituted the Park Presbyterian Church. Forty-eight persons — sixteen males and thirty-two females — were enrolled as its original members. They were : Harrison Teller, Mrs. Ann E. Teller, Sarah Teller, Zil- pah Teller, John Rhodes, Mrs. Eliza Rhodes, Thomas C. Dodd, Mrs. Ann E. Dodd, Mrs. Wealthy Cowl, Mrs. Jane A. B. Smith, Mrs. Theresa Smith, Mrs. Mary C. B. Bate, Lo- renzo D. Simons, Mrs. Lydia A. Simons, Charles J. Ketcham, Mrs. Harriet A. Ketch- am, John E. Smith, Elvira White, Anna Maria Havens, Abby T. Havens, Julia Col- lins, Roxana C. Moore, Mrs. Angelina E. Trumbull, Eliza A. Trumbull, Lansing E. Hopkins, Mrs. Pamelia Hopkins, Mary E. Hopkins, Mrs. Huldah J. Packard, George W. Corwin, Mrs. Pamelia Corwin, Joseph D. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 1 89 West, Mrs. Harriet J. West, Mrs. Ann Mum- ford, William Mumford, Mary A. Mumford, Elizabeth Tibbetts, James W, Wheeler, Jo- siah Widnell, Mrs. Emily Widnell, Ralph Hunt, Albert S. Waite, Mrs. Mary H. Waite, Mary Ann Gardner, Nathanael W. Burtis, Mrs. Zeruah A. C. Burtis, Mary Bartlett, Vernon Thompson, and Mrs. Eleanor J. Thompson. The first Elders of the church were Messrs. Nathanael W. Burtis, Josiah Widnell, and Dr. Harrison Teller. The first Deacons were John Rhodes and Ralph Hunt. The Trustees were Messrs. Edward A. Lambert, N. W. Burtis, Lorenzo D. Simons, Vernon Thomp- son, Charles J. Ketcham, and John G. Voor- hees. Soon after its organization, the young church invited Professor Roswell D. Hitch- cock, of the Union Theological Seminary in New York, to supply its pulpit. His elo- quent and edifying discourses immediately attracted such congregations that the small brick chapel could not contain them. A igO HISTORV OF THE wooden addition to the building was erected on the end toward DeKalb Avenue, and this enlarged edifice was soon filled to overflowing. Externally it was such an unsightly structure that the Rev. Dr. C once said to me : " I can not tell what is the handsomest church building I have ever seen, but your Carlton Avenue chapel is certainly the homeliest." Its interior, however, was very cosy and inviting, and when " Uncle " John Smith, the original sexton, had lighted and garnished it, he took an honest pride in its cheerful appearance. It held between seven and eight hundred audi- tors. During Professor Hitchcock's brief but powerful ministry, the great " Revival of 1858" was in progress over the whole land, and the young Park church shared in its rich spiritual blessings. As his duties in the Theo- logical Seminary required the Professor's en- tire attention, he withdrew from the Park church pulpit in January, 1859. He recom- mended to the church that they should call the Rev, Lyman Whiting, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the pastoral charge. Dr. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. iQi Whiting accepted the call and came on, and occupied the pulpit for about six months ; but he was never installed as pastor. Some of the causes of my excellent brother's dis- couragement I have alluded to in my " His- torical Discourse." A perusal of his hearty letter of congratulation sent to our Jubilee gathering will reveal what manner of bright, genial, and original man he is. His brief but faithful labors terminated in August, 1859, Then came five dreary months of vacant pulpit and embarrassed finances which would have exhausted the courage of a less brave and resolute body of earnest Christians. A proposal was made to them to " consolidate " with the Old School Presbyterian church on Greene Avenue ; but the proposal was de- clined. (The Greene Avenue Church itself was long ago disbanded.) How much the young church owed, in those dark days, to the indefatigable energy and hopeful spirit of Mrs. John Rhodes, can never be fully appreciated. This venerable woman was as immovable as the " Green Mountains " of her native Ver- 192 HISTORY OF THE mont, and she exhorted her associates never to surrender as long as the imperilled enter- prise could be kept afloat. During that period of pastorless discourage- ment, three young members of the church, Messrs, Henry Mumford, John E. Miller, and Frank H. Knapp, came over to call on me in New York. I was then the pastor of the Market Street Reformed (Dutch) Church, and Mr. Knapp had once been one of my parishioners. They inquired whether I would be willing to preach for the " Park " a sermon or two ; but being very busy, and never having heard of the existence of such a church, I declined their request, and soon forgot it. On the evening of February 7, i860, the Park church held a meeting to consider the condition of things, and to devise some measures of relief. A Trustee — the late Mr. Vernon Thompson — proposed that a call be extended to me to become the pastor of the church. The propo- sition received an unanimous vote ; but hardly a person in the house supposed that it would ever receive any serious attention. A name LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. I93 seemed to be needed as a " belaying pin " to coil the last rope around ; and my own was the most convenient for the purpose. When Mr. N. W. Burtis brought me the notification of the call, I gave him about the same answer that I had given to the three young brethren a few days before. I sent my official acknowl- edgment and declinature of the call, which Mr, Lambert put in his pocket, and carried there for several weeks lest the public an- nouncement of it should still further dis- hearten the church in its effort to provide for the payment of an impending debt. When I called on Mr. Lambert at his store, toward the end of March, I found that my reply was still in his possession, and had never been re- ported to the " Park " congregation. During that interview, I told him that if he would bring over some of the leading representa- tives of his church, I had an offer to propose to them. It is not necessary to repeat the re^ suit, as I have narrated it already in my Anni- versary Discourse, I may add, however, as a curious fact, that when I came over with my 9 194 HISTORY OF THE wife to explore this region of Brooklyn, and we were strolling through the solitudes of Vanderbilt Avenue, she remarked : " This is certainly a quiet and pleasant region to reside in, but as it is your business to preach the Gospel, I do not see where the people are to make a congregation." Within two years from that time Lafayette Avenue Church edi- fice was erected and scores of new houses were filled by the incoming tide of occupants. Had my decision been delayed even one month longer, the ground on which our church now stands would have been sold by its owner, Mr. Underbill, for the erection of private residences. My installation as pas- tor of the " Park Church " took place on the evening of Tuesday, April 24th. In No- vember of that year ground was broken for the new building on Lafayette Avenue. It was completed by the i6th of March, 1862, and the Rev. Dr. Asa D. Smith, of New York (afterward President of Dartmouth Col- lege), delivered the discourse at the service of dedication. Professor Hitchcock preached in LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 19S the evening, and the Rev. Dr. Charles S. Robinson, of Brooklyn, who had rendered to us much valuable assistance, conducted the devotional services. The situation of our new sanctuary has proved to be a happy one ; its acoustics are faultless, and the subsequent ad- ditions of the Sunday-school Hall and the beautiful social parlors have greatly enlarged its capacities and facilities for usefulness. When it was erected the building was regarded as a model both for commodiousness and for cheapness. So moderate was the price of real estate in this neighborhood that the land cost only $12,000, and the edifice itself was built for only $42,000 ! It was modelled in its interior after Plymouth Church (Rev. H. W. Beecher's), and seats the same number of people. Messrs. Grimshaw and Morrill were the architects. Two strong attractions drew me toward the infant enterprise on this hill. One was a de- sire to labor for the upbuilding of a new church in a new and growing region of a large city. The other was a sympathy with the 196 HISTORY OF THE tone and the spirit of the Park church, as far as I had been able to study them, and with their progressive purposes and methods. Their newly-launched craft — to use a nautical simile — was well-built, well-rigged, had stood rough weather bravely, and had no barnacles of bad precedents and practices adhering to it. A new church can make its own precedents. Among the excellent features of the church which had just invited me was the adoption of what is known as the rotation method in the election of all its officers. If the term principle is a wise one when applied to the secular office of a Trustee, it is equally wise when applied to the spiritual office of an Elder. An efficient Elder can be re-elected at the ex- piration of his term of active service ; an in- efficient one can be quietly dropped. Those who have served for several years, and wish to make room for others to come in and share the honors and the burthens of the office, have the opportunity to withdraw voluntarily at the expiration of their term. In this way the eldership and deaconship become fresh run- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. I97 ning streams, and not stationary pools with danger of sluggishness and stagnation. Dur- ing these twenty-five years no less than thirty- two brethren have held the office of Ruling Elder ; the membership of the Board has en- tirely changed within that time. Over forty persons have held the office of Deacon, and nearly as many have served as Trustees. This system of rotation has thus afforded a wide scope for utilizing the spiritual gifts and work- ing talents of our membership. The follow- ing is a list of the officers of the church since its organization in 1857 : RULING ELDERS. N. W. BuRTis, Wm. S. Alexander, josiah widnell, gilbert h. white, Dr. Harrison Teller, T. M. Spelman, Edward A. Lambert, Henry A. Richardson. Dr. Caleb Hill, James Robinson, William Churchill, William Mumford, Parsons C. Hastings, Geo. W. Edelman, William W. Wickes, Daniel W. Fish, Gurdon Burchard, John K. Vanslyke, Henry Mills, D. W. McWilliams, William Charters, Michael Snow, Jarvis Carman, H. B. Griffing, 198 HISTORY OF THE Ira Edward Thurber, Charles B. Pearson, Edgar C. Patterson, Edward C. Seymour, Dr. V. Morse, Henry C. Brown, John N. Beach, Coll. J. Turner. John Rhodes, Ralph Hunt, MiLO Root, J. A. Brain ARD, A. Ferdinand Cross, Thos. T. Barr, Theodore Ross, Caleb V. Smith, A. G. Vancleve, Thomas C. Dodd, Joseph A. Dudley, Jarvis Carman, William Mumford, Gilbert H. White, Charles E. Tuthill, D. Kellogg Baker, Deforest E. Plant, John Mitchell, Hiram B. Jackson, H. B. Griffing, Coleman Benedict, DEACONS. Wm. C. Prankard, d. w. mcwilliams, Joseph Fahys, Nicholas Degroot, George D. Kimber, Samuel Brush, Wm. a. Brush, Jas. H. Boynton, Dr. F. W. Dolbeare, Edgar Forman, James Matthews, R. Cowperthwaite, William B. See, E. Henry Boardman, George W. Edelman, Charles H. Hobart, Geo. H. Titus, John D. Fish, Benjamin Stephens, Samuel T. Dauchy, William T. Whitmore, Robert W. Patterson. Edward R. Chapel. TRUSTEES. Nathanael W. Burtis, Rufus Crook, E. A. Lambert, Lorenzo D. Simons, LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 199 Charles J. Ketcham, T. E. Hastings, Wm. a. Doolittle, Vernon Thompson, Albion P. Higgins, John G. Voorhees, George W. Kendall, Robert Murray, Barlow Stevens, Stephen N. Reeves, Benson Van Vliet, Samuel Duncan, Benjamin F. Metcalf, Luke T. Merrill, John M. Wardwell, BiRDSEYE BlAKEMAN, Michael Snow, CURRAN DiNSMORE, p. W. Gallaudet, T. M. Delaney, Henry L. Bardwell, Zadock M. Bacon, Edward L. Kalbfleisch, Alvah Oatman, Chester M. Foster, David H. Houghtaling, Zadocic H. Jarman, Wm. W. Goodrich, Valentine Snedeker, Dr. William Jarvie, George L. Pease, Thos. T. Barr, Joseph Fahys, W. S. SiLLCOX. A cardinal principle in this church from its earliest day has been that the weekly devo- tional meetings should be under the charge of the lay-oflficers of the congregation. The Monday evening meetings are conducted by the members of the Young People's Associ- ation. The Friday evening meetings, and all the general prayer-meetings of the congrega- tion have always been led by the Elders, in alphabetical order. Usually, the topic for the 200 HISTORY OF THE evening is chosen by the leader, and announced from the pulpit on the previous Sabbath. The meetings are thrown open for all who are present to participate. This method has in- sured a wider freedom, a more family-like familiarity of spiritual intercourse, and also the development of personal gifts and graces. It is better to risk an occasional disturbing moth in the candle of public devotion than it is to surround the candle with a screen of restric- tions. We have always regarded the prayer- meetings as the spiritual thermometer of the church ; they have often overtaxed the capac- ity of our lecture-room, and during this past year have shown no diminution of numbers and interest. To popularize and to spiritualize the gatherings for prayer, are among the most vital problems in the management of every evangelical church. They should never de- generate into either a dormitory or a debating society. Another cardinal principle with us has ever been to enlist the members of the church as widely as possible in religious and benevolent LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 201 activities. I have found it expedient to con- fine myself chiefly to the duties of the pulpit and the pastorate with the co-operation of the Board of Elders — and leaving the oversight of the financial affairs to the Board of Trus- tees, the care of the poor to the Deacons and the Ladies' Benevolent Society — the manage- ment of the Sabbath-school to its Superintend- ent and teachers — the arrangements for our musical services to the appropriate commit- tee, and the operations of the various benevo- lent societies to the control of their respective officers. Too many hands "on the wheel" are apt to run any vessel aground. I hold that it is the province of the pastor to supervise the whole work of his church, but never to relieve any officer or member from his or her entire personal responsibility. No pastor has ever been more cordially seconded by the hearty and united co-operation of his flock. A serious dissension has never occurred during a quarter of a century. In those chapters of this volume which are devoted to the Sabbath-schools and Mission- 9* 202 HISTORY OF THE schools and to the Young People's Associ- ation, will be found the history of their useful labors. But in many other departments of usefulness, our members have found an outlet for their zeal in the service of Christ. Some of these now occur to me. The late Thomas D. Williams — who had once been licensed to preach as an Evangelist, and who had been an Elder in Dr. Rockwell's church — was for several years engaged as the religious teacher and guide of the sailors in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He endeared himself to hundreds of these sons of the sea, and led many of them to the Saviour. Brother Williams possessed the consecrated spirit of Harlan Page. He wore out his life in hard work, and passed away — honored and lamented — to his rest in 1882. For several years our faithful Elder, Mr. Gurdon Burchard, devoted his entire time to visitation of the flock and to various labors among the poor and the afflicted as my lay- helper. Our venerated Deacon, the late Milo Root, performed the same services during two LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 203 or three years in the early days of the church. In the management of the Brooklyn City Missionary Society, Messrs. William W. Wickes, Alfred H. Porter, and D. W. Mc- Williams have taken a prominent official part. Mr. Michael Snow has found a field for his activity in the presidency of the " Children's Aid Society and Newsboys' Lodging-House." To the untiring efforts of Mr. McWilliams, more than to any other man, Brooklyn is in- debted for the splendid new edifice of the " Young Men's Christian Association." El- der Charles B. Pearson was for many years the Superintendent of the Sabbath-school in the " Orphan Asylum," and Mr. John R. Day- ton was the moving spirit in " Our Mission " once located in Adelphi Street. Miss Kate Waterbury, the daughter of the beloved Dr. J. L. Waterbury, is now the missionary of the Ladies' Benevolent Society — engaged in visi- tation of the poor ; and Mrs. Louise J. Cuddy has voluntarily devoted her unselfish ener- gies to the poverty-stricken and destitute in the neighborhood of Hamilton Ferry. The 204 HISTORY OF THE " Women's Christian Temperance Union " of Brooklyn owes its origin to a meeting held in this church several years ago ; and Mrs. Hiram Jackson, Mrs. H. B. Griffing, Mrs. Samuel Brush, and others of our ladies are among its most untiring supporters. To the late Mrs. William Alexander — whose name is still fragrant among us as ointment poured forth, and to Mrs. D. W. Fish— the " Marin- er's Family Asylum," on Staten Island, has been indebted for no small share of its pros- perity. The labors of Mr. Alonzo A. Plant and his associates resulted in the erection of the Rochester Avenue Chapel, which is now occupied by a Congregational church. Dor- cas's needle is well employed by the Young Ladies' " Cuyler Mission-Band." To this list might be added the " honorable women not a few," who are giving their time and services to the furtherance of the " Orphan Asylum," " Home for Incurables," " Brooklyn Nursery," " Chinese S. School Union," "Train- ing School for Nurses," " The Helping Hand," "Old Ladies' Home," the "Home for Aged LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 205 Men," and several other kindred institutions of charity. The influence of a church is to be measured not merely by what is done within its own doors, but also by what is done by its members in the community, and for the pro- motion of Christ's kingdom. Among the aggressive movements in which our church has borne an active part, is the Temperance Reform, Near the close of the civil war, I narrated, at one of the Friday evening prayer-meetings, some pathetic inci- dents connected with a lamentable case of drunkenness in one of our families. A propo- sition was made to organize a Church Tem- perance Society. Such a society was formed, and for a year or two it held its meetings in the lecture-room. When Mr. Alfred A. Rob- bins — who had inherited from his father an enthusiastic zeal in this cause — was elected to the presidency of the Society, he arranged for the holding of a great mass meeting in the main church-edifice. The Mayor of the city was invited ; an attractive band of singers secured ; Dr. Charles Jewett, of Connecticut, 206 HISTORY OF THE was announced among the speakers, and the church was filled to overflowing. The pledge of total abstinence from all intoxicants was circulated, and a large number of signatures was obtained. Since that evening, the " La- fayette Avenue Temperance Society " has had nearly twenty years of successful activity, and has wrought a wide and enduring influence. Among the eminent men and women who have addressed its crowded gatherings may be named John B. Gough, William E. Dodge, Rev. Dr. John Hall, Dr. Jewett, Hon. Neal Dow, Horace Greeley, Mr. P. T. Barnum, Henry Ward Beecher, Miss Sarah F. Smiley, Miss Frances Willard, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Mary Hunt, Col. Bain, John Taylor of London, Dr. Talmage, Dr. H. M. Scudder, Edward Carswell, Thomas Whitaker, Rev. Dr. J. O. Peck, and Rev. Dr. Pentecost. The Hon. Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the United States, came on from Washington purposely to address our Society ; and the Hon. William A. Buckingham, the veteran " War Gover- nor" of Connecticut, also left his official LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 20/ duties to appear on our platform. My be- loved British brother, the Rev. Newman Hall, delivered powerful addresses for us during each of his three visits to America. The chief aim of the Society has been to educate the hearts and consciences of old and young in opposition both to the drinking usages and the deadly snares of the dram-shops. The efforts of this Society did much toward pio- neering the way for the great spiritual awaken- ing in 1866. Its presidency has been held by Mr. A. A. Robbins, Mr. E. A. Lambert, Mr. Michael Snow, Mr. H. B. Griffing, Dr. Fol- lett, and Mr. Edgar Forman. From its infancy Lafayette Avenue Church has been blessed with frequent and precious revivals. It was under one of these gracious showers of divine influence that we removed into the new church-building in March, 1862. Another season of quickening was enjoyed in 1864. But the most remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit which we have ever ex- perienced, and one of the most remarkable ever known in Brooklyn, occurred in Jan- 208 HISTORY OF THE uary, 1866. It commenced on the first even- ing of the "Week of Prayer" (January 8th), when, in spite of the most intense severity of cold, a large number of the young peo- ple of the church gathered at the house of the pastor. Morning and evening services were held each day. On Friday evening of that week, amid a crowd of worshippers, Mr. Rufus Crook, Mr. D. K. Baker, and some others, arose and requested the prayers of God's people for their conversion. The as- sembly was deeply moved — and that service was the beginning of a genuine Pentecost. For several successive weeks services were held every evening ; meetings for young ladies and for young lads were held on sev- eral afternoons ; the social meetings on Mon- day evenings required two large houses to accommodate them. After each service a meeting for inquirers was held in the pastor's study. Seventy young men — nearly all new converts — were crowded into that room on a single evening. As the good work had begun among our own people, so it was carried on LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 209 by them until the harvest was gathered in. With the exception of a single evening lec- ture by the late Dr. Joel Parker, no aid was sought from without. Our own people, quick- ened by the Holy Spirit, spake with their own tongues, and like God's people at the rebuild- ing of Jerusalem, " had a mind to work." At the communion-season in March, about one hundred and forty souls were received into the fellowship of the church — in the presence of such a thronged assembly that hundreds were unable to find admission to the vestibule. The communion-season in May witnessed a similar scene of holy joy. The number of new members enrolled during that season of spiritual harvest amounted to three hundred and thirty — of whom about one hundred were heads of families. On the morning set apart for the baptism of infants, about fifty children were presented to receive that ordinance. As I have already stated in my anniversary discourse, a mission-school was started in Warren Street (now Prospect Place) as one of the fruits of that revival ; and the 210 HISTORY OF THE church into which it grew was named the "Memorial Presbyterian Church." Next to this work of grace, in extent and power, was the revival which began in Jan- uary, 1872, The new and commodious "Cal- vary Chapel " (now occupied by the "Fort Greene Presbyterian Church ") had recently been opened. Mr. Dwight L. Moody was taken by his friend, Mr. McWilliams, to see the building, and after admiring it, he re- marked, " What a nice place this would be to hold some Gospel-meetings." The suggestion was adopted, and Mr. Moody commenced with a prayer-rneeting of about a dozen peo- ple. Looking upon him one evening, I said, " This is slow work, Brother Moody." " Yes," he replied, " but if you want to kindle a fire, you whittle off a few shavings and light them ; when they get agoing you can pile on the wood. I am trying to get a few souls well kindled first." In that remark he showed the sagacity which enabled him during that very year -to start the flame which spread over Great Britain. It was during those early LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 211 meetings in Calvary Chapel that one of our ladies remarked to him, " Mr. Moody, we have plenty of good preaching ; but I wish that you would give us some talks explanatory of Bible passages." This suggested to him the prep- aration of those "Bible-readings" on "Faith," " Love," etc., which have since become so fa- mous on both sides of the Atlantic. They were first prepared for a score or two of audi- tors in that chapel. The fire which our brother so laboriously kindled soon spread through the chapel con- gregation and thence into the parent church. About one hundred and fifty members were received as the fruits of this revival. On one Sabbath evening Mr. Moody occupied my pulpit and rather astonished some of my good people by closing the service with pronounc- ing the benediction. As he had not then become recognized as a preacher, but was re- garded as a layman, this exercise of a minis- terial prerogative excited some criticism. They little dreamed that within a year he would ac- quire a fame second only to Mr. Spurgeon as 212 HISTORY OF THE a herald of the Word of life. Let me add here, that during all the many seasons of awakening and of ingathering of souls, it has been our custom to rely upon the blessings which God might vouchsafe to the labors of the pastor, the Sabbath-school teachers, and our own people ; the only assistance we have ever sought from without was the visit of Brother Moody in 1872, and the co-operation of my beloved neighbor. Dr. Pentecost (pastor of the Tompkins Avenue Church), during the spring of 1883, and again for a few evenings last winter. There is a wide field in this world for skilful and useful Evangelists, but we have always held that it should be both the duty and the delight of every church to sow their own seed, and to reap their own harvest. One method of systematic effort for the conversion of souls we have found very useful. It has been to invite the officers of the church and the Sabbath -school superintendent to meet me in my study. We have then gone over the list of unconverted persons in the congre- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 213 gation, discussed their several cases, and as- signed to such as were ready to undertake it, the pleasant duty of calling upon or writing an affectionate letter to such person as they would select. These personal appeals have been blessed in many cases to the conversion of the impenitent, or to the recovery of back- sliders. In this connection let me pay a de- served tribute to Mr. Samuel Jones (formerly of Wilton, Conn.), a manly and eloquent young lawyer, who was peculiarly efficient in this line of personal effort. The perseverance and fidelity which he displayed in dealing with an avowed sceptic was rewarded with the con- version of the man ; although he often said to him, " Friend Jones, you had better give me up as a hard case, and spend your time on a more hopeful subject." The untimely death of this earnest Christian lawyer — on Christ- mas-day, 1873 — was one of the sorest bereave- ments our church has ever suffered. The dy- ing message of our Brother Jones — " Sing at my funeral the words ' Blest be the tie that binds ' " — will always be associated in the 214 HISTORY OF THE memories of many of us with that beautiful hymn. There are others in our congregation who are as zealous in personal exertions for the eternal welfare of souls as he was ; but as his modest, manly lips are silent in the dust, the record of his brief and bright career among us ought not to be forgotten. I have already spoken of two of the features or methods of Lafayette Avenue Church, which had much influence in deciding me to accept its invitation to the pastorate. The one is its application of the principle of rota- tion in the tenure of office — thus removing the evils and dangers of a life-tenure, and keep- ing the office-bearers under a closer sense of responsibility to the people. Presbyterianism will be only returning to its precedents in the days of stout John Knox, when it re-estab- lishes the rule of a fixed term of office, and the possibility of rotation therein as the uni- versal rule in its form of government. A second excellent feature is that of entrusting the devotional services of the church — during the week — to the direction of the elders and LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH, ^IJ the voluntary participation of the entire flock. A third usage let me also name as sound in principle and excellent in its influence. I re- fer to our method of receiving candidates into our church-fellowship. In some churches all that is required of the candidate is to appear before the Session, an- swer satisfactorily such questions as may be propounded to him, and then have his name read from the pulpit. (If he has never been baptized, he of course must receive that ordi- nance before the congregation.) When I was received into the church — at Princeton, N. J. — I had a brief interview with the pastor and three or four elders ; my name was announced at the preparatory lecture, and that was the sum-total of ceremony connected with one of the most momentous steps of my life. We acknowledge that the vote of the Session is the decisive act which admits the candidate into the privileges of church-membership. Nor do we require any vote of approval by the whole church, as is the rule of Congrega- tionalist and Independent churches. The 2l6 HISTORY OF THE word " propound," which appears in our Con- stitution, is intended merely as an equivalent (though not the most happy one) for the pub- lic announcement of a candidate's name from the pulpit. Holding that the approval of the Session is the prime essential to membership, we yet believe that the confession of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to be made in the face of the whole assembled church and congregation. It ought certainly to be accompanied by as much external and solemn ceremony as the rite of marriage or the rite of baptism. It can not be made too impressive. Our custom is to require every applicant for membership ±o appear before the Session for examination. If the applicant is approved, his or her name is read out before the congre- gation on the Sabbath before the communion or at the preparatory service. On the com- munion Sabbath the candidates are called before the pulpit, and the following brief sum- mary of essential and evangelical Articles of Faith is read to them, with the accompanying solemn "Covenant": LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 217 CONFESSION OF FAITH. I. You believe, that there is only one living and true God — The Creator, the Preserver, and Gov- ernor of the universe — existing in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; infinite in every perfection, and the only proper object of re- ligious worship. II. You believe, that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and constitute the only infallible rule of faith and practice. III. You believe, that all men, since the fall of Adam, remaining unchanged by grace, are utterly destitute of holiness, and voluntarily corrupt ; and that, unless renewed by the regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit, they will continue in a state of condemnation, as the enemies of God. IV. You believe, that Jesus Christ, by His suffer- ings and death, has made an atonement for the sins of the whole world. V. You believe, that God, in the plenitude of His mercy, has offered salvation in the Gospel to every creature, upon the terms of repentance for sin, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. VI. You believe, that there is no way of justifica- tion for the sinner except through Jesus Christ; and that all true believers are justified in, and so united 10 2l8 HISTORY OF THE to Him, that they, being secured in their obedience by the Divine promise, will never perish, but will "be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." VII. You believe, that the members of Christ's Church are under the most solemn obligations, not only to abstain from every sin, but on all suitable occasions to discountenance and oppose it in others; and to exhibit an undeviating example of entire consecration of heart and life to the will and service of God. VIII. You believe, that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are Sacraments to be observed in the Church unto the end of time; that the proper subjects of the former are believers and their children, of the latter only the hopeful subjects of renewing grace. IX. You believe in the resurrection of the dead; also, that God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ; and that the righteous shall inherit eternal life, while the wicked shall go away into everlasting pun- ishment. These things you prof ess to believe. COVENANT. With this public profession of your faith, you now present yourself {or yourselves^ to enter into Covenant with God and this Church, LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 219 In the presence of God, His holy angels, and this assembly, you avouch the Lord Jehovah to he your God — the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour — and the Holy Spirit to he your Sanctifier, Comforter, and Guide. Renouncing the world, the flesh and the devil, you do unreservedly consecrate yourself (or yourselves) and all that you possess, to the service of Jesus Christ, promising a cheerful obedience to all His commandments, in the sanctuary, the family, the closet, and all the relations of life. You covenant with God and this Church, to walk with us in all the ordinances and institutions of the Gospel ; to discountenance all evil reports; to pro- mote brotherly love and unity; to recommend the religion of Christ by a well-ordered life and godly conversation; to sanctify the Lord's day; to attend upon the public worship of the Sanctuary, and also the stated and occasional meetings of the Church as you may have opportunity; to submit to the gov- ernment and discipline of Christ as administered in this Church; and to discharge all those duties by which God may be glorified, and the religion of the Bible promoted among men. You thus covenant. [The ordinance of Baptism will be here administered to those who have ttot previously received it, the candidates kneel- ing sitccessively for the purpose, after which they will be ad- dressed as follows ;] 220 HISTORY OF THE Beloved — Wherever you go, and whatever you do, remember that these vows will remain upon you. You can never again be as you have been; hereafter the eyes of the world will be fixed upon you. Let your conversation' be as becometh the Gospel of Christ, and you will be a credit and comfort to His Church; if you act otherwise 3'^ou will be to us a grief of heart, and a stumbling-block in the way of truth. May you seek and find grace to enable you to keep these public and solemn vows, and " may the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do His will, work- ing in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." COVENANT OF THOSE RECEIVED ON CERTIFICATE. Having heretofore professed your faith in Christ, and received the ordinance of Baptism, you now present yourself [or yourselves) to renew your solemn vows to God, and transfer your covenant relations to this church. You do here signify your assent to the Articles of Faith, and your acceptance of the Covenant adopted by this church, and solemnly LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 221 promise a strict adherence and obedience to all its requirements. [Here the members of the Church will rise, and stand dur- ing the reading of the following covenant ;] In consequence of these, your professions and en- gagements, we, the officers and members of this church, do now publicly and affectionately acknowl- edge you as members with us in the family of Jesus. In the name of the Master, we welcome you, and de- clare you entitled to all the privileges of this Church. We greet you as brethren and friends, to a fellow- ship with us in the labors and blessings, in the trials and rewards of the Gospel, promising to love you as fellow-heirs of the grace that hath redeemed us; to watch over you, to pray for you, and in all things to seek your edification and growth in grace, so long as ycm shall continue your connection with us. This we do, imploring of the great Shepherd of Israel, our Lord and Redeemer, that both you and we may have wisdom and grace to be faithful in His cove- nant, and to glorify Him, with the holiness which becomes His house, forever. Amen. Admission into the privileges of church membership is too often regarded as the chief end to be aimed at, instead of being regarded 222 HISTORY OF THE as only an initial step in the Christian life. We therefore urge upon all converts the duty of immediately engaging in the devo- tional services and spiritual activities of the church. We have found the social prayer- meeting — held on Monday evening in private houses — to be an excellent training-school for beginners. Scores of our most active mem- bers have opened their lips for the first time in prayer or public addresses in that famiHar and informal gathering. Unless a new convert begins at once to take part in devotional meetings he is apt to remain tongue-tied for life. To pray, and to " speak in meeting " are not the sum of Christian duty ; but it is equally true that to " neglect the gift " of ut- terance for Christ, or not to develop it, is both a loss to the individual and to the church. How to get many hundreds of members into some lines of active work and how to keep them at it, is a problem that I do not profess to have completely solved. The most that I have been enabled, under God, to ac- complish has been to set the example of dili- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 223 gence, and to urge every follower of Christ to taste for themselves the luxury of doing good. Exhortations to Christian work, and the methods of performing it, are often presented from the pulpit ; to this I am accustomed to add personal appeals to individuals to under- take this, that, or the other line of benevolent labor. Much depends on the maintaining of a warm glowing atmosphere of devotion to the Master ; and this, in turn, depends on the gracious presence of the Holy Spirit in pulpit and in pew, in prayer-meeting, in Sunday- school, and that fountain-head of all life, the home. As to the methods of raising money for re- ligious and benevolent purposes, we have usu- ally adopted that of presenting each specific object before the congregation for a general contribution. In the month of January, for example, the cause of Foreign Missions is presented by a discourse prepared for that pur- pose. The discourse and appeal are followed by the " collection." For each month of the year some leading enterprise of Christian be- 224 HISTORY OF THE nevolence is designated in our church manual. I do not always deliver a special discourse for the object ; but often content myself with a brief statement of its claims before the collec- tion is taken. The " envelope system " is used by our "Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society," and with much success. Many churches are accustomed to make a gen- eral contribution by envelopes on every Lord's day, and then to divide the proceeds among different objects. We have hitherto preferred to place each religious and benevolent enter- prise "on its own merits," and to contribute to that alone on the designated day. The amount of money given by our people into the treasury of the Master during the last twenty-five years can not be accurately ascer- tained. The collections made at our church services have amounted to about $350,000. Regular collections are taken up for the Boards of the Presbyterian Church (with one or two exceptions), for Brooklyn City Missions, for the City Bible Society, for the Seamen's Friend Society, for Mission School Work, LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 225 and for the National Temperance Society. In addition to these, special objects of various kinds are from time to time presented for con- tributions. Of the careful and sagacious manner in which our efficient Board of Trustees have managed the financial affairs of Lafayette Avenue Church I can not speak in too hearty commendation. Many other things con- nected with the experiences of the quarter of a century now closed it would be pleasant to narrate ; but the limitations prescribed for this volume, and the lack of time before my de- parture for Europe, both forbid. This His- torical Sketch has been written as an appen- dix to the Discourse delivered on the late Anniversary Sabbath. I lay down my pen with heartfelt gratitude to God for His mani- fold mercies, and to my dear flock for their lovingkindness — commending them to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build them up more and more, and to give them an inheritance among all those which are sanctified. 226 HISTORY OF THE THE SABBATH-SCHOOL. c: By D. W. FiSHr The Sabbath-school of the Park Presby- terian Church was organized in 1857, with a membership of about seventy. Mr. L. D. Simons was its superintendent until the be- ginning of the yeiar 1 860, when in April Rev. T. L. Cuyler, D.D., accepted a call to become the pastor of this church, the Sabbath-school numbering at that time one hundred and ninety-two teachers and pupils. During this period of twenty-five years something dver five thousand names of children and youth have been entered upon the register of the school, and of this riumber more than six hun- dred have united with our own church on pro- fession of their faith in Christ as their Saviour. The following are the names of those who have served in the principal offices of the school from i860 to 1885 inclusive : LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 227 Superintendents. William Churchill, Jr., LiNN^fflus C. Hill, Francis W. Holbrook, Edward A. Lambert, Jacob L. Gossler, A. G. Van Cleve, Dan'l W. McWilliams. Secretaries. Willoughby Powell, Chas. E. Tuthill, William Jarvie, Jr., Chas. W. Tarbell, E. P. Freeman, Edgar Forman, Nicholas De Groot, James H. Boynton, Edward R. Chapel. Treasurers. Gilbert H. White, Thos. T. Barr, Jacob L. Gossler, Ira E. Thurbur, William Chartres, Caleb V. Smith. Librarians. J. A. Brainard, John N. Sayre, Jr., Dan'l N. Lasher, Edgar Forman, Rich'd Huestis, Fred'k C. Bardwell, Fred'k H. Wing, A. N. Jung. March 23, 1862, the school held its first session in the new church, which had just been completed and dedicated, the name hav- ing been changed from Park Presbyterian to Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. This was a year of special blessing. The school rapidly increased its membership to more than five hundred, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit were apparent in 228 HISTORY OF THE the conversion of many precious souls, who at once engaged in active, faithful service for the Master. No year has passed without some conver- sions in our school, and while there have been constant accessions to the church, and a steady spiritual growth, as well as in numbers, there have been seasons of special refreshing and ingathering, and notably that of 1866. This was a year of jubilee, an era in the history, both of our church and Sabbath-school. That God hears and answers prayer, that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, was wonderfully verified in the outpouring of His Spirit. God's people were quickened, and many souls, both of adults and youth, were converted. Family altars were erected in many households where the voice of prayer had never before been heard, and parents and children rejoiced together in a new-found Saviour, and to-day many of them are most earnest and efficient workers in the church and in the Sabbath-school. This revival commenced with the week of LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 229 prayer and continued for several months. During this time special meetings of the church, and Sabbath afternoon prayer-meetings in connection with the Sabbath-school were held ; also special meetings were conducted in the Cumberland Street Mission, which was under the care of our church. These, with personal visitations, in co-operation with the Holy Spirit, all contributed to the glorious result. During this year of 1866 there were three hundred and thirty-five admissions to the church, two hundred and thirty -eight of which were on confession of their faith in Christ, and of these, ninety -eight were from the Sabbath - school, and thirty -four from the Cumberland Street Mission. Well could it have been said : " Behold what God hath wrought." For the eleven years last past the school has been under the judicious and efficient manage- ment of its present beloved and honored super- intendent, Mr. D. W. McWilliams, with the exception of little more than one year, when he was obliged to retire on account of ill- 230 HISTORY OF THE health. During these years, from May, 1874, tp. May,. 1885, inclusive, three hundred and twenty-five members of our Sabbath-school made public profession of their faith in Christ, and were admitted into full communion with the church. The year 1881 was another memorable one in the history of our Sabbath-school. The increasing growth of the school in num- bers had for some time rendered our rooms too small and inconvenient, and larger rooms and better accommodations were greatly needed in order to accomplish the best results. But these could not be had without purchas- ing some adjacent property, which would en- tail a heavy expense, and the thought could not be entertained. But He who orders all things, put it into the heart of a worthy mem- ber and official of our church, Mr. Joseph Fahys, to offer the generous sum of five thou- sand dollars toward the estirnated cost of thirty thousand dollars, provided the re- mainder should be raised. This generosity and example inspired the superintendent and LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 23 1 the officers of the church to action, and they determined, like Israel in Nehemiah's time, " to arise and build." An earnest appeal was made to the congregation, and the requisite amount was soon subscribed, of which amount the Sabbath-school pledged two thousand dol- lars. The work was promptly begun and completed, so that on Christmas day, 1881, the school took possession of their present beautiful and commodious hall that will ac- commodate twelve hundred scholars. The dedication services took place the same day, and the Rev. Geo. F. Pentecost, Rev. J. S. Chadwick, Rev. Thos. B. McLeod, and the pastor, Dr. Cuyler, took part in the services, and made interesting and appropriate ad- dresses. Officers for the year 1885. D. W. McWiLLiAMS, Superintendent. Jacob L. Gossler, ■] Edgar Forman, \ Assistant Superintendents. William B. See, J Mrs.RubieIngersoll, Superintendent Infant Dept. Edward R. Chapel, Secretary. Caleb V. Smith, Treasurer. A. N. Jung, Librarian. 232 HISTORY OF THE Clinton L. Rossiter, " Geo. E. Fahys, Geo. M. Boardman, Assistant Librarians. WM. H. TUTHILI,, Walter A. Forman, LiNN^us C. Hill, Chorister. Geo. H. Beiser, Pianist. The Infant Class. There is no department of the Sabbath- school of greater importance and interest than the infant class or department, and it should receive the most careful and earnest attention. Early impressions and early habits are the strongest and most enduring, and in a large degree give direction and character to the sub- sequent life of the child. This department of the school, which con- venes in the lecture-room of the church, and at present numbers eight teachers and three hundred pupils, was reorganized in 1867, eighteen years ago, with twenty-five pupils, and placed under the direct supervision of Mrs. Ruble IngersoU, who from that time to the present has devoted her best energies and LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 233 her earnest prayers to this most important charge committed to her. By her wise, ten- der, and motherly devotion, assisted by a band of faithful Christian helpers, the class has grown to its present size, and is kept full ; the places of those who from time to time are promoted to the higher grades, being filled with new scholars. The impressions and teachings that the young children receive in this department are not soon, if ever, forgotten. Many at an early age, some even before leaving this department, give the most satisfactory evidence of a gen- uine Christian experience, and scores who have gone from this to the upper department, have, under the instruction of faithful teachers, become earnest and active Christians. Two excellent teachers in the school at the present time came from this infant department. It may also be said that a missionary spirit pervades this department to an unusual degree. It has done much seed-sowing, which has al- ready yielded rich harvests. Their contribu- tion annually to the general collection of the 234 HISTORY OF THE whole school, and which is mostly devoted to missionary purposes, averages about one hun- dred and fifty dollars. But besides this they make an extra contribution of twenty-five dollars to some special and worthy object. To illustrate, — six years ago a missionary frorn the West, in addressing a few words to this class said, that twenty-five dollars would build a log church in the pine woods of Michigan, since the men would draw, hew, and pile the logs gratuitously, and the twenty-five dollars would buy the glass, nails, etc., needful to complete the building. The money was soon raised, and the log church was built, and to- day a good, substantial frame church stands on the same spot, sustaining a flourishing Sab- bath-school, and regular Sabbath services, as the outgrowth of this donation. At different times this extra collection of twenty-five dollars has been sent to the Rev. Mr. Paxton, the well-known superintendent of the work in Texas and the Southwest, un- der the direction of the American Sunday- School Union. Recently in acknowledging LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 23 S the receipt of such a remittance, he stated that with one of these donations he had or- ganized a Sabbath-school in a new and prom- ising town. Revivals followed, and three churches and two schools had grown out of that one school, formed by the aid of their contribution. This collection has sometimes been applied in other directions. For exam- ple, twenty-five dollars was sent to Italy ; twenty-five dollars given to the Brooklyn Nursery, etc. While planting Sabbath-schools costs com- paratively little money, the results or fruits of this form of Christian benevolence can never be fully estimated in this world. Its influence is not limited by time. A log church built, or a ten-dollar library furnished in accordance with the Divine command, " Cast thy bread upon the waters," is sure to bring the result or fulfilment of the promise, " Thou shalt find it after many days." The Missionary Association. The Sabbath-school is of the first import- ance also, as a missionary agency of the church, 236 HISTORY OF THE not only as a means of reaching those outside the pale of the church and of the community, but the destitute and neglected in our imme- diate neighborhood, and within reach of our own homes and churches. And since this mission work is distinct, having methods and agencies peculiarly its own, every Sabbath- school, when practicable, should resolve itself into a missionary society or association, its object being to plant new schools in destitute places, and to assist those already planted ; in cities, to establish and support mission schools in destitute outlying districts, where there are few. if any. Sabbath and religious privileges ; to gather into the home school those in the immediate neighborhood who have not yet become members ; and to contribute to some of the many worthy objects of Christian be- nevolence, at home and abroad. Our Sabbath-school, almost from its organ- ization formed itself into a Missionary Associ- ation, and on December 7, 1884, held its twenty-second anniversary. The officers of the Association are a presi- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 237 dent, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. The superintendent and first assistant-superin- tendent of the Sabbath-school are, ex officio, the president and vice-president of the Associ- ation. Officers for the Year 1885. D. W. McWiLLiAMS, President. Jacob L. Gossler, Vice-President. E. P. Bancroft, Secretary. W. T. Whitmore, Treasurer. At the quarterly meetings of this Associ- ation, besides the opening and closing exer- cises, extracts are read from letters received from missionaries toward whose support it has contributed, brief addresses are made, and cer- tificates to life members distributed. The annual meeting or anniversary of the Associ- ation is held in the church, in December, and is usually an occasion of much interest, and productive of good. Not only does the entire school attend, but the parents and the congre- gation generally are present. The general appearance and deportment of the school, the singing, addresses, and other exercises, pre- 238 HISTORY OF THE pared especially for the occasion, together with the annual report, which contains much more than is of local interest, all these make a salu- tary impression upon all present, and give a new impulse to the work of the Association. The annual contributions of this Associ- ation vary from fifteen hundred dollars up- ward, and since the data necessary to give the total amount contributed since its formation can not be obtained, we give the full report for a single year (1882), which will illustrate the ordinary methods of raising money, and how appropriated : Dr. Dec. I, 1881. To Balance on hand $2536 Nov., 1882. Collections from Classes dur- ing the YEAR 1,811 43 Gift from our Librarians 1000 Special gift from Teachers of Infant Department to organize new Sab- bath-schools 25 00 Gift from children of BROOKLYN Orphan Asylum towards Organ for Rev. A. A. Fulton, China. . 8 02 Other collections during the year.. 134 31 $2,014 12 lafayette avenue church. 239 Cr. By Contributions as follows : American Sunday-School Union : Towards the support of Thomas Lain, Missionary in Arkansas and Texas $150 00 Towards the support of Rev. James Thomas Sailes, Missionary of this Church in Louisiana 100 00 — $250 00 Brooklyn City Mission and Tract Society 100 00 Chapel on Ellery Street, Brooklyn, under the care of Rev. Geo. F. Pentecost, (cost to erect about $12,000) 600 00 Foreign Missions, through Presbyterian Board 250 00 Hampton Institute, Virginia, towards edu- cation of B. W. Tucker, a native African. 100 00 Home Missions, through Presbyterian Board, of which $250 was to pay one-half the cost of windows in new Mission Building at Fort Sitka, Alaska. 500 00 Mount Olivet Mission Sabbath-School, Brooklyn 20 00 N. Y. State S. S. Association, Missionary. . . 20 00 Organ, and freight thereon, sent to Rev. A. A. Fulton, China (formerly a teacher in this School) ; of this amount $8.02 was contrib- uted by Children op Brooklyn Or- phan Asylum, through Mr. C.B. Pearson 32 16 Sabbath^School Missionary in Dutchess County, James L. Phillips 50 00 Certificates, frames and Banner. . . , . ._ 67 S° Balance to new year 24 46 $2,014 12 240 HISTORY QF THE In 1879 the Association voted three hundred dollars to enable Rev. Henry H. Jessup, of Beirut, to publish in the Arabic language, to be added to their Sabbath-school library, and for general circulation, the " King's Highway," an interesting volume, by the Rev. Richard Newton, D.D., on the Ten Commandments. In 1880, one hundred dollars was given to- ward the support of the girls' school at Tri- poli, Syria. Thus, it will be seen that our gifts are made to a great variety of needy and worthy objects, at home and abroad. The Association received the following re- ports of work done the same year by two of the Sunday-school missionaries, toward whose support it contributed, showing a very large return for a small investment. Report of Thomas Lain, Missionary in Arkansas and Texas, of American Sunday-School Union, this Sunday- school contributing. Schools Organized in 1882 43 Containing Teachers 187 " Scholars 2,159 Old Schools aided ; 4 LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 24I Containing Teachers 20 " Scholars 126 Addresses delivered 106 Bibles distributed 129 Testaments distributed 195 Families visited 443 Report of Rev. James Thomas Sailes, Missionary of American Sunday-School Union in Louisiana, sup- ported by this Church, the Sabbath-school contributing. Schools Organized during year ending October, 1882. 32 Containing Teachers 125 " Scholars 1,387 Old Schools visited and aided 17 Containing Teachers 67 " Scholars 693 Families visited 340 Bibles distributed 1 50 Testaments distributed 200 Addresses delivered 52 Sermons preached 1 16 Miles travelled 4.389 "The Schools have increased, since organization, in teachers and scholars from 35 to no per cent." The call for missionary labor was never greater or more urgent, nor the opportunities for such service more ample than at the pres- II 242 HISTORY OF THE ent time. And the Sabbath-school, as a mis- sionary agency, is comparatively inexpensive. How many schools there are in our cities and large towns that might each support, at least, one missionary. And how many new schools might such a missionary plant in a single year, as shown by the preceding reports; and how many hundreds of the ignorant, the destitute, and the perishing might be brought into them, instructed and saved. To the man, woman, or child who loves the Master can there be a more blessed privilege, and a more imperative duty, than to contribute by personal effort, or by other means as the Lord shall prosper, or open the way, to the furtherance of this great and glorious cause. The Cuyler Mission Band. A few years since, some of the female teachers and young ladies of the Sabbath- school formed the "Cuyler Mission Band." Its object was to create and to promote a missionary spirit, and to aid mission work, by the dissemination of missionary intelligence. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 243 by contributions, and in other ways. The desired results have, in a measure, been real-- ized. The attendance at their meetings has increased, and the cause of missions has been aided in various ways. For a time the Band supported a Bible-reader in Mexico, whose work was greatly blessed. At present it is supporting a missionary among the Indians in the West. It is also prosecuting some home work in the city of Brooklyn, Its meetings are held semi-monthly, on week-day after- noons. At each meeting a Bible subject and a mission subject are the themes for consider- ation. The Library. Next to the choice of a superintendent, not a more important subject presents itself for the consideration of the Sabbath-school than the selection of books for its library. When, as at the present day, such a multiplic- ity of books — and of good books, too-^are being published, there can be no good excuse for a hasty and careless selection of much that 244 HISTORY or THE is mere trash, if not worse. We can not stop here to give rules for the selection of books, but this duty should be entrusted to the best judgment, the soundest mind, and the purest taste that the congregation and Sabbath- school contain. The child that takes the book home not only reads it, but it is read by other members of the family, and thus an immense number of volumes is devoured, so to speak, every week. The silent but certain influence ex- erted upon the mind, heart, and life of the reader is beyond computation. An appetite once formed for reading, like that for food, or for drink, will take no denial, but will de- vour indiscriminately whatever is set before it, healthy food and poison alike, only so it satisfies hunger. How important, then, that only good books, such as will interest and in- struct, and lead to the formation of good habits and the growth of right principles, be put into the hands of the child. Our school sustains a library of from twelve to fifteen hundred volumes of carefully se- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 245 lected, well-read books. The librarian is a business man, who has adopted a system for the care, arrangement, and distribution of the books well-nigh perfect. The exchanges are made in the shortest time, and with the least confusion possible, and no book can stray away without his being able to trace it. The venerable Mr. Thomas Harward, a member of our church, ninety-four years old, and who still occupies his seat in church nearly every Sabbath, recently endowed our library, by a most generous gift of one thousand dol- lars, the income from which is to be expended from time to time for new books to replenish the library. When new books are added, the old ones displaced are donated to mission schools, and to other worthy institutions. Teachers' Meetings. The teachers' meeting, when properly con- ducted, is a powerful auxiliary to the Sabbath- school. No school can be well sustained without its weekly gatherings for conference and prayer, as well as for the study of the 246 HISTORY OF THE lesson. Our teachers' meetings are held on Saturday evenings, and are conducted by the superintendent or some one whom he may appoint. After the devotional exercises at the opening, the remaining time is mostly spent in the study of the lesson for the com- ing Sabbath. There is the same freedom on the part of every teacher, as with the leader to impart information, or to suggest a thought, and thus by a free expression of views each one may and ought to contribute something of interest to the whole class. An hour spent at the teachers' meeting, if wisely conducted, will help a teacher more in the preparation for the Sunday's work than two or three hours spent in solitary study. And so by a free interchange and comparison of views at these meetings, we may often gather up hints and ideas that we should never get by any amount of study alone. These weekly meetings for the study of the Word are also a great social and religious privilege. In communing with each other our hearts are warmed, our consciences quick- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 247 ened, our courage renewed, and our love for the work increased. The ties of Christian fellowship are made stronger as we become better acquainted with each other, and we are enabled to work together more harmoniously and more efficiently in the great trust com- mitted to us. It is to be regretted that so many of the teachers of the Sabbath-school do not better appreciate the benefits of these meetings, and contribute to their success, at least by their attendance. Bible Classes, etc. Connected with the school are several Bible classes of adults and of young people, of both sexes, which contribute much to the spiritual growth and religious interests of the church. The aim or endeavor is to retain in the school as long as possible those who once have be- come members, believing that the influence of their presence and example is a power for good upon the younger members of the school, and, believing also that Christians, at 248 HISTORY OF THE least, should be engaged in some Sabbath work and Bible study until some good reason exists for omitting it. The sessions of our school are held in the afternoon, from half-past two to four o'clock, and during the winter months are followed by a brief prayer-meeting of from twenty to thirty minutes. These prayer-meetings, by the help of the Holy Spirit, have been productive of great good in the quickening of Christian teachers and pupils, and in leading many young hearts to accept Jesus as their Saviour. The " Uniform Lesson Series " were adopt- ed for use in our school on their first appear- ance, and have been continued ever since. They have created a great deal of interest in Bible study. The May Anniversaries. These anniversaries are occasions of great interest and enjoyment to our school, both to teachers and scholars. The day is generally observed by all Sabbath-schools of this city, and in the " Western District " alone not less LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 249 than fifty thousand teachers and scholars, Ht- erally " an army with banners," formed into divisions of eight or ten schools each, turn out, and marching to the sound of martial music, gather at different points assigned them, and after singing the anniversary hymns and listening to brief and appropriate ad- dresses, each school partakes of refreshments it has provided, and engage in sports and rec- reations until time for their dismissal. Our school is accustomed to spend the day in Prospect Park, where usually are gathered not less than ten thousand members of schools, and nearly or quite as many more parents and friends to witness the gay and joyous scene. Our own school rears a large tent under which to serve refreshments, and to gather in case of a storm. Teachers and scholars spend the day pleasantly together on the lawns and under the trees, engaging in games, recreation, and social intercourse, and in good season return to the church and are dismissed to their homes, pleased and benefited by the day's enjoyments. II* 250 HISTORY OF THE These occasions not only afford a day of pleasure and of entertainment, but an oppor- tunity for teacher and scholar to become more intimately acquainted with each other, and with the members of the whole school. Our Mission Schools. In the spring of 1861, a mission school of nearly one hundred and twenty was established near the junction of Fulton and DeKalb Ave- nues, under the supervision of. Mr. T. M. Spel- man. Subsequently this school was consoli- dated with the Cumberland Street Mission, and the entire charge and support given to Lafayette Avenue Church. Under the faith- ful and efficient management of Mr. W. W. Wickes, an elder in the church, and who was the superintendent for ten years, the growth of the school was so rapid that in 1871 the large and beautiful chapel, located in Cum- berland Street, near Myrtle Avenue, was built and named Calvary Chapel, in which the school held its sessions, and stated preaching, LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 251 and other religious services were regularly- supported. The continued increase of the congregation and of the Sabbath-school seemed to require the formation of a church. Con- sequently in February, 1873, the Presbytery organized the present " Fort Greene Presby- terian Church," and early in 1874 the Lafay- ette Avenue Church dissolved its relations to, and withdrew its support from, this new church and its Sabbath-school. In September, 1866, a mission was organ- ized by our church in Warren Street, near Prospect Park, as a thank-offering to God for the remarkable outpouring of His Spirit upon our church and Sabbath-school. In Novem- ber following, the school, with a membership of two hundred, took possession of a large and suitable building which had been provided for their use, and in which stated preaching on the Sabbath, and evening services during the week, were held. The following year (1867) this mission was organized into a church, and named the " Memorial Presbyte- rian Church." With a steady growth in num- 252 HISTORY OF THE bers and in strength, the society recently- erected on the corner of Sixth Avenue and St John's Place a beautiful and commodious church edifice and an adjoining chapel, with a membership of nearly five hundred in the church, and over six hundred and fifty in the Sabbath-school. In the year 1874 the " Border Mission," located on Bergen Street, near Sixth Avenue, transferred their property to the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. The name was changed from " Border Mission " to "Olivet Chapel." The school at that time numbered but sixty-five teachers and pupils. Mr. Horace B. Griflfing, an elder of the church, has been, and still is, the faithful and devoted superintendent of the school, and by his earnest and prayerful efforts the school has had a steady and healthful growth, and the field, though small, has been abundant in spiritual fruit. At the end of the first year the membership was doubled, and there had been twelve con- versions. At the close of the second year LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 253 there had been one hundred and eighty en- rolled, and thirty conversions; twenty-one of whom united with our church on confession of their faith in Christ. During these eleven years there have been one hundred conversions in this mission, and the teachers and the pupils have contributed two thousand dollars for mission work. The present membership is about two hundred and fifty, which is a large number for the locality. A weekly prayer-meeting has been sustained during the whole time, and God has wonderfully blessed Olivet Chapel Mission in the study of the Word, and in the conversion of souls. It can truly be said that here " seed-time and harvest " have quickly followed each other. Conclusion. The Sabbath-school, through its infant de- partment, its Bible classes, its teachers' meet- ings, its visitation of families, its benevolent and missionary agencies, and its systematic study of the Scriptures, opens up to the Christian Church a field of labor in which 254 HISTORY OF THE every man, woman, and child may find some- thing to do. It is an all-pervading agency through which the Christian pastor can mul- tiply tenfold his power to reach the masses, and to carry on his great work of saving souls. No other agency unites in itself so many ele- ments of good and of usefulness as the Sabbath- school, and no nobler work can occupy our attention. The number, and the power exerted for good, of those who have gone forth out of our Sabbath-school and church the past twenty- five years, eternity alone can reveal. They are scattered up and down the earth ; some have become pillars in society ; some, leaders and workers in churches and in Sabbath- schools ; others are engaged in mission fields or in benevolent work of some kind, honoring and serving the Master. Of those who have been connected with our school, five have entered the ministry, viz.: Augustus B. Prichard, Herbert Lord, John S. Touzeau, Charles Freeman, and T. Chal- mers Potter. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 255 As we review these years that have past, truly can we say, " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us," and " Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name, O Lord, be all the glory." 256 HISTORY OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S ASSOCIATION. By a. a. Plant. This active and progressive Association of young people is the outgrowth of the Young People's Prayer- Meeting, which was organ- ized September 24, i860. Directly after Dr. Cuyler commenced his pastorate of Park Pres- byterian Church (DeKalb Avenue, corner Carlton Avenue), the young people of the church expressed a wish to organize a Young People's Prayer-Meeting, and to meet in pri- vate houses. The pastor suggested it would be better to defer the organization of such a meeting until the Fall of the year, when our people would be returning from their summer vacations. Monday evening, September 24, i860, the first meeting was held at Dr. Cuy- ler's house, 144 South Oxford Street, Dr. Cuyler leading the meeting. Forty were pres- ent. It was decided to hold these meetings LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 257 in the private houses of the members of our church and congregation, which met with the hearty approval of the officers of the church. The notice for the Young People's Prayer- Meeting became a regular notice from the pulpit morning and evening of each Sabbath, and continues to be regularly announced to this day. Up to October 8, 1861, there never had been any one specially appointed to take charge of these meetings, and as the meeting was growing in importance and influence the young people felt that some one should be regularly appointed from their number at the beginning of each year, to take charge. So one was appointed to secure houses, appoint lead- ers, prepare pulpit notices, and see that the camp-stools were provided. The Trustees, rec- ognizing the valuable work the young people were inaugurating, kindly consented to defray all expenses of delivering the camp-stools at the houses and returning the same to the church, they employing the sexton for such service. The hearty co-operation of the officers and 258 HISTORY OF THE members of the church greatly encouraged those who were interested at the commence- ment, and has been a source of great satisfac- tion since. The young people have had the cordial support and hearty co-operation of the pastor, who has always manifested a keen in- terest for the welfare of the young of his con- gregation. From time to time it has been suggested that we hold our meetings in the lecture-room of the church ; this proposition has always met with a small minority. The advantages of meeting in private houses are many. The pastor endeavors to be present — if not for the whole evening, a part of it, and generally the last part, which gives him an op- portunity of visiting thirty-five to forty families during the year, and at the close of this meet- ing there is given a half hour of social inter- course ; this gives the pastor an opportunity to meet with the young members of his church, and an opportunity to the young people to meet their pastor socially. Then there is an air of comfort in going in- to a private house, in houses beautifully fur- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 259 nished, where good taste and refinement abound, where works of art can be admired. The heads of the household are pleased to see their house crowded with young and happy peo- ple, and no prayer meets with a more hearty Amen than "May the Lord bless those who have so kindly opened their doors to us." Those who open their houses take as much pleasure in having their works of art and adornment ad- mired, as those who love to feast their eyes on these treasures ; besides there is greater free- dom in taking part in the exercises, and it fur- nishes an opportunity for new members to get better acquainted, also to invite neighbors in. The main object of this meeting has never been lost sight of ; the young people want this meeting to themselves, they organize it for themselves, and so long as it continues in pri- vate houses they will have it to themselves, and will be able to carry out the original ob- ject of the meeting— that was and is, to look after the interests of the young as they come into the church, to invite them to attend these meetings and take part in them, to present the 260 HISTORY OF THE claims of Christ, and point them the way of salvation, and to that end, labor with all zeal. It would be difficult to enumerate the number who have found Christ through the influence of this meeting. God has blessed it from the start, and there has never been a year when the blessing of God has not been made mani- fest, and given abundant evidence of His Divine approval. Another feature of this work must not be lost sight of in this brief history of this Association. In the Presby- terian Church it is the custom for the pastor and Elders to lead the meeting; but these meetings are conducted by the young men, and until quite recently it was the custom for the leader to select his own portion of Scripture ; this leading of meetings and taking part in the exercises, either in prayer or remarks, has proved a good training-school to a great many. From this Young People's Prayer- Meeting have been chosen members who have been elected to fill the offices of Elders, Dea- cons, and Trustees of our church, and also of churches elsewhere. At the outset it was very LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 261 apparent that this meeting would meet with much favor with the young and prove a valu- able auxiliary to the church. It was under- stood then, and it is understood now, that the burden of carrying on this meeting rested en- tirely with the young people, and not with the officers of the church and older members ; the young people were and are always glad to have a visit from them, but not to take up the time ; but give it to the young, have the exercises confined to them, and let them feel the responsibility. No one was expected to take part to "fill up the time." If one had nothing to say it was better to say nothing ; but if any one had anything to say he was expected to speak, and given every oppor- tunity. It was resolved to hold this meeting, rain or shine, hot or cold, every week through the year ; it was commonly called the " Mon- day night meeting." The attendance has been down to four in number, on stormy nights, but the meeting was held, and the services continued from eight to nine. The young peo- ple are always delighted when the pastor's face 262 HISTORY OF THE appears at the door, who always has a timely word. A few years after the organization was formed, the cultivation of the social element was deemed quite essential, so it was determined to have half an hour for social intercourse after each meeting ; this has proved very pleasant and profitable. It has been the purpose and wish that no one should come into the meet- ing and go away a stranger. All the young people are welcome, and the members feel obliged if any one will make it known if there is a stranger in the room. The following order of exercises was adopted and still con- tinues in use : 8.00. Open promptly. 8.03. Singing. 8.06. Prayer by Leader. 8.09. Singing. 8.14. Scripture Reading. 8.17. Prayer. 8.20. Singing. Prayer and Remarks, no one to occupy more than five minutes' time. 8.40. Requests. 9.00. Close promptly with singing. Notice of next meet- ing. Benediction. Thirty minutes for social intercourse. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 263 Promptness is absolutely indispensable to secure the success of these meetings. In every case the meeting should be opened at precisely eight o'clock, and closed promptly at nine o'clock, and if there are striking clocks in the house they should be regulated to correspond with standard time, and the leader's watch the same. Five minutes' delay in opening or closing is detrimental to the best interests of all, for those who come late must remember the majority in the room were there before eight o'clock, and one hour is quite long enough to sit on a camp-stool in a crowded house. We are glad to record that the opening and closing of these meetings has been prompt and punctual. We are cer- tain that one of the causes of this noble meeting's existence to-day, and the power it has exerted for good, and the powerful influ- ence it has had in assisting in building up the church and stimulating the piety of the young and promoting such a vast amount of social element, has been on account of its prompt action and strict adherence to rules laid down 264 HISTORY OF THE for its guidance. We have never had to use a bell to remind any young man that he was exceeding the time allowed ; but the common sense of all our members has served to remind them that the rule applied to therq. Our pastor has set an example, as his remarks are always brief and right to the point. At cer- tain seasons of the year, January to April, and September to December, houses are secured in a circle near the church, and often- times the largest houses to be had. In March and April, 1866, it was found necessary to occupy two houses near each other for a single meeting, and for several weeks the at- tendance reached 350 to 375. At these meet- ings a very large number were converted to Christ, and joined in with the 260 who united with the church at that time. Other months the meetings are held farther away from the church, reaching families who are pleased to give the young people a welcome to their homes and hearts. It has been the custom of the young people to hold their anniversary prayer-meeting at the home of LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 265 our pastor, on the Monday evening nearest September 24th. On this occasion, the one having charge of the meetings makes the fol- lowing report : 1 . Number of meetings held during the year. 2. Smallest meeting. 3. Largest meeting. 4. Average for the year. 5. Pastor met with us — times. 6. Left town or moved to other parts of the city. 7. Active members on the roll. 8. New voices. 9. Converted during the year. 10. Added to the church on confession. In 1863 the pastor requested that the young people should hold their meeting at his house on the first Monday evening of the new year, but for the past few years this meeting has been held in the lecture-room, — it being the first meeting of the week of prayer, In connection with the Monday night meeting (i 863-1 864), the young people held a prayer- meeting at quarter before seven, in the pastor's study, and sometimes the interest was so great the lecture-room had to be used, and at 12 266 HISTORY OF THE times it was full, and much good resulted from it. Meetings at this time were held also at the Cumberland Street Mission. Septem- ber 25, 1865, the young people celebrated their fourth anniversary at the new house of our pastor, 136 South Oxford Street (now 1 76). Being the first time it had been opened to the people, the usual report was read, after which Dr. Cuyler stated how he was called from New York to Brooklyn, and what had transpired since, referring to the change from Park Presbyterian Church to the new La- fayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. After the benediction Dr. Cuyler invited all present to remain and feel perfectly at home in his new house. After a general introduction and cordial greeting of friends, a shake of the pastor's hand, looking about his house up and down stairs, the large assemblage dispersed, satisfied that our pastor had no better house or more comfortable surroundings than he was entitled to, and all wished him much hap- piness in his new home under the " Catalpa." During the six years of the Young People's LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 267 Prayer-Meeting the meetings were, largely attended, sometimes reaching in number from 300 to 375, and following are the names of those who took an active part and acted as leaders of the Young People's Prayer-Meet- ing during the period from September 24, i860, to November 6, 1867, out of which grew the Young People's Association. 1860- CuYLER, Rev. Theo. L., D.D. Carman, William C. Downs, James H. goldthwaite, charles e. Green, James. Hanson, Frederick G. Hill, Linn^us C. horton, s. a. Jones, Henry A. Knapp, Francis H. MiNizEK, James H. Added in i Alzamora, Juan. Hadden, William. HOUGHTALING, DaVID H. Jayne, George A. Sammis, John S. Smith, John E. 1 861. Miller, John E. MuMFORD, Charles. MuMFORD, Henry. MuMFORD, William. Plant, Alonzo A. Plant, Deforest E. Prankard, William C. Reynolds, James E. Stiles, Henry R., M.D. Thompson, Henry H. Williams, Charles J. 861-1862. Jones, William Bidkar. Metcalf, Benjamin F. Page, W. Harlan. Powell, Willoughby. Stockwell, Henry B. Warner, George W. 268 HISTORY or THE Added in 1 862-1 863. Bloom, Richard H. Sammis, Theodore A. COE, Henry L. Sullivan, Eugene W. LosEY, William A. Shotwell, William B. Plant, Luzerne W. Towne, Charles E. ROBBiNS, Alfred A. White, Gilbert H. Wheeler, Billings, Jr. Added in 1 863-1 864. Benedict, Coleman. Paterson, Robert W. Mills, Henry. Tarbell, Charles W. Whitney, Thomas E. Added in 1864-1865. Bacon, Zadock M. Hart, James H. Carman, Alonzo F. Leonard, Thomas W. Farrand, Albert S. Stephens, Clarence. HiCKOK, DeLoss. Tredick, Charles. Webb, James R. Added in 1 865-1 866. Bodine, a. Stanton. Jarvie, William, Jr. Baker, D. Kellogg. Lasher, Daniel N. Bancroft, George. Lord, Daniel M. Dunning, Charles J. Mast, John B. Finger, Gilbert H. Morton, John S. FosDicK, Edward H. Nickerson, Richard E. Griffing, Horace B. Robbins, Louis L. Hayden, Charles B. Slate, Oliver W. HoLBROOK, Francis W. Walbridge, Olin G. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 269 Added in 1 866-1 867. Brainard, John A. Bell, Warren P. DoLBEARE, Frederick W. Hyde, J. Sterling. HoLCOMB, Chester. Hendrickson, Edward A. Hunt, Charles P. Knowlton, Stephen, Jr. Moore, Hazen W. McQueston, William G. Simons, Lorenzo D. Tucker, Joseph A., Jr. Out of this company of 89 the following have died : Downs, James H. Dunning, Charles J. Farrand, Albert S. Hanson, Frederick G. HiCKOK, DeLoss. Horton, S. a. Jayne, George A. Knowlton, Stephen, Jr. Lasher, Daniel N. Moore, Hazen W. Plant, Deforest E. Prankard, William C. Forty-eight have been dismissed to other churches, and 29 are still members of our church. In 1866 there was a manifest desire on the part of several active members to form an association, believing that a more extensive work could be done under systematic or- ganization. While it was acknowledged by all that the Young People's Prayer- Meeting had done a most excellent work, and were doing 270 HISTORY OF THE it, it was thought by this organization a gen- eral Christian work could be done more effect- ively and give to a larger number a greater re- sponsibility. This seemed to meet with general favor, as all were disposed to adopt any measure which promised to further pror mote the interest in the cause of our Master. Consequently, pursuant to a call, a meeting of the young people was held in the lecture- room on Friday evening, November i, 1867, after the prayer-meeting, to take into consid- eration the matter of organizing a Young Peo- ple's Association in our church for the purpose of extending the work already inaugurated by the Young People's Prayer-Meeting, and for the purpose of stimulating the piety of the young people and to promote a more social ele- ment among all the young people of our church and congregation. A committee was appointed to draft a Constitution for the pro- motion of such an organization. On Wednes- day evening, November 6, 1867, an adjourned meeting was held in the lecture-room, and af- ter the adoption of the Constitution, a presi- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 2/1 dent, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer were elected. An adjourned meeting was held after the Friday night prayer-meeting, Nov. 8, 1867, to take into consideration the incorporation of the Young People's Prayer-Meeting. From this time the Young People's Prayer-Meeting has been under the direction of the Devotional Committee of the Young People's Associa- tion. At this meeting the president an- nounced the first standing committees as fol- lows : Devotional and Visiting. Sunday-school. Temperance. Finance. Membership. Public Meetings. Fifty-four signatures to the Constitution were obtained during the evening, the pream- ble of which is : "We, the subscribers, desirous of stimulating the piety of the young people of our church to more earnest and consecrated effort in the service of our Redeemer, and to promote a more social element among all the young people 272 HISTORY OF THE of our congregation, do hereby agree to labor together for this end." It will be borne in mind that the first year of this Association was experimental. It was recommended that the annual dues should be $1.00 for gentlemen and fifty cents for ladies. This, however, was abandoned, and the annual dues or fees were abolished altogether. To carry on this work, and to support these standing committees, it was necessary to have funds in the treasury. How to get them there became the question of the hour. During these early days of the Association the monthly meeting for business was held on Tuesday evenings. After the transaction of business an essay or paper was read and after- ward discussed by members. Afterward a half-hour social intercourse was held, closing with the long-metre Doxology. Thus, in this early history we find much importance attached to the social element, and from that time to the present it has lived side by side with the devotional, and by this harmony of action we have been able to LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 273 carry out the object of this beloved Associa- tion. March 5, 1868, four months after organiz- ing in accordance with a revision of the Con- stitution, which provides for a Board of Man- agers, five members were elected, to constitute this Board, afterward to be regularly elected at the annual meeting together with the presi- dent, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. After the president has appointed the stand- ing committees, and they have been approved of by the five elected Managers, the standing committees and elected officers constitute a Board of Managers, and have power to make their own by-laws. The Board of Managers have the control and management of the affairs and property of the Association. The reason of delegating this power to a Board of Managers was to avoid the necessity of transacting business at their public meetings other than the election of officers and members. With this revision of the Constitution the young people felt that they were well organ- 274 HISTORY OF THE ized and ready for work. The church was sys- tematically canvassed, being divided up into thirty-two sections, it being the purpose that no young person should be left uninvited to attend the meetings. The work was done thoroughly, and a good result was obtained. A large number became interested. Circulars were issued to inform the public of the nature of the work. The same earnest spirit continued that stimu- lated those from the beginning. It was a de- termination to press the claims of Christ, to labor to promote the cause of our Re^ deemer among men, and with it we had the earnest, prayerful, and cordial support of our pastor ; and the young people recognized in him, early in his pastorate, a safe leader and a friend to the young people. The secret of the success of this Association is due in a great part to the pastor's hearty support, and never losing sight of the chief object, honoring Christ and laboring to save souls. Many ways were suggested to raise money. While we are taught that the love of it is the LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 275 root of all evil, we felt the supply of it was all-needfol. We had lectures and Bunyan's Tableau, which yielded $170.50. During this time the Young People's Prayer-Meeting, under the management of the Devotional Committee, was doing its usual work. This meeting has always been recognized as the motive-power. Take it away and all power would be gone. Sept. 18, 1872, Dr. Cuyler gave a lecture ; The net proceeds were $274.65. We had four picnics during the period from 1867 to 1872 ; taking a boat up the Hudson. The net result was a loss of $240, and the saddest feature was the drowning of Master Remsen Rhodes in 1872, and since then a proposition for a picnic has not met with general favor. In the early part of 1872 there was a disposi- tion to extend the work. A proposition was made to establish a mission Sunday-school in connection with the Association. The Border Mission at that time needed assistance, and for several weeks the matter was agitated, finally resulting in an appropriation of $150 276 HISTORY OF THE from the Young People's Association. At about this time there were two smaller- Associa- tions springing up in the church. It became apparent that the Young People's Association were taking upon themselves unnecessary re- sponsibility and care of outside matters, and entering into labors that did not necessarily belong to them. Thus having departed from the specific object as defined in the preamble to the Constitution, and losing sight of the special work it was organized for, it was not at all surprising that the young people found themselves embarrassed in 1874, they having too many irons in the fire. The question of the hour was either to dis- band or to reorganize. March 4, 1874, new officers were elected and the Constitution was revised ; four articles, seven sections, and six committees were stricken out, which made the management less cumbersome. The original preamble was adopted unanimously, and the specific object as defined was strictly adhered to, knowing no other work than stimulating the piety of the young people of our church, LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 277 and the promoting of a social element among all the young people of our congregation, and from that day to the present there has been a oneness of purpose, and all efforts have been concentrated in the Association. A Fair was held December i, 2, 3, and 4, 1874, which realized to the Association the sum of $1,1 10.63. From this new start all the old members renewed their vigor, and new members came in full of hope, and the year 1874 marks a starting-point for more aggres- sive and concentrated work than ever before. The social element sprung into new life, and all seemed anxious to promote this feature of our Association. The Seventh Anniversary of the Associ- ation was celebrated on the evening of March 23, 1875, in the lecture and Sabbath-school rooms. The lecture-room was transformed into an art gallery ; rare paintings and engrav- ings were loaned by our friends, the aggregate value of which was not far from $50,000. Combined with art were music and flowers, and an acceptable repast was enjoyed by all. 278 HISTORY OF THE Short addresses were delivered by Rev. Dr. Cuyler, General Stewart L. Woodford, Rev. Charles Hall Everest, and others. The prayer-meeting was fully attended and much interest was manifested. The half hour of social intercourse was largely attended, the conversation more general, and the grip of the hand more cordial. It was no longer a theory, but a fact : the young people had made up their minds like him of old, " This one thing I do." The monthly entertainments became full of interest and pleasure, at this time — all artists volunteering their services. The tract distribution increased largely, and, as in the early history, the officers of the church did all in their power to aid us. The Eighth Anniversary was celebrated on the evening of March 28, 1876 ; the lecture- room was again transformed into a drawing- room, and the Sunday-school into a supper- room. This manner of celebrating our Anni- versary was a decided change. It had been customary to hold the exercises in the church, where addresses were the order of the evening LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 279 and the reading of the president's annual re- port ; but in order to promote the social ele- ment, it was thought best to have our exer- cises to partake of the character of a reception. Invitations were sent to members of our As- sociation, officers of the church and their wives, all persons who loaned pictures to dec- orate the room, all who aided and contributed, to our fair officers of kindred associations, and those who voluntarily aided us professionally at our entertainments. Large numbers were added to our membership, and the Associ- ation grew in popular favor. The total at- tendance at the Young People's Prayer-Meet- ing for 1874 and 1875 was 4,715. The larg- est number at any one meeting was 300, and the smallest, 15. After the Anniversary had been celebrated, and the young people made to realize how many friends they had, they were stimulated to greater efforts. The Prayer-Meeting con- tinued to be the place where hundreds of young people assembled to meet their Saviour, pas- tor, and friends. Following the reception 28o HISTORY OF THE came the Fifteenth Anniversary of our pastor. The young people, as usual, contributed their part, and making it a pleasant occasion for one they love so much. They provided the flowers, and made the decorations and floral inscription — 1 860-1 875, The attendance of the Prayer-Meetings was, total 4,080. Larg- est meeting 260, smallest 15. Met in private houses 44 times ; pastor met with us 30 times. The Tract distribution was a work many en- tered into most heartily. Total amount of tracts and papers distributed 33,676, Bibles 6, and Testaments 8. Messrs. Moody and Sankey had returned from Europe, where they had been doing such a marvellous work, and opened the campaign in the United States October, 1875, at the Rink in Brooklyn, and the Young People's Association furnished a large number of ush- ers. An amendment to the Constitution was adopted providing for annual dues, — $1.00 for gentlemen and fifty cents for ladies. It was found that the Relief Committee LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 281 could do nothing practically but to relieve im- mediate want. If a family was found to be in distress — out of coal or bread — an appro- priation of $2.50 was made to provide the ne- cessities, and the case reported. If a member of our church, it was to be reported to the proper officers of the church ; if not, then to the city authorities. The Ninth Anniversary was celebrated on the evening of the 27th of March, 1877. The decorations of the lecture-room in which the reception was held were novel and elaborate, and the attendance of the members and in- vited guests was highly gratifying, and unex- pectedly large on account of the severe storm which raged all day. One of the pleasant features of the occasion was the exhibition of the new and elegant Steinway concert grand piano purchased jointly by the Association and Sunday-school. The collation was elegant and refreshing. The year was remarkable for its great tem- poral and spiritual prosperity. The object of the Association, as described in the pre- 282 HISTORY OF THE amble of its Constitution, was successfully carried out. Like the two preceding years, the one purpose was uppermost in the hearts of all to carry out practically the funda- mental principles of our organization. Never in the history of our Association have the meetings been so largely attended, never has so large a number risen for prayer, or ex- pressed a willingness to converse on the sub- ject of their soul's best interests. The young people again decorated the church and pulpit on the occasion of the pastor's Sixteenth Anniversary. Dr. Cuyler had just returned from the South. On the pulpit was placed the following note from the Young People's Association : " Beloved Pastor : This Floral Tribute is from your flock ; from hearts which love you and your work. We extend to you a cordial welcome, and to-day thank God for return- ing you in safety, and with improved health, prepared to stand before us again on this the i6th Anniversary of your connection with this church, and the 30th of your useful ministry." On Easter Sabbath the young people again decorated the pulpit with flowers, carnations, LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 283 pinks, smilax, and a floral design " Christ the Lord is risen to-day." Our membership had reached more than 500, 1 24 members having been added to the roll during the year; 88 active ; 33 associate ; 3 honorary. The Young People's Prayer- Meeting has been largely attended and full of interest. Total attendance, 5,027; largest meeting, 300 ; smallest, 7 ; pastor met with us 32 times. The meeting in charge of the Young People at 7 o'clock in the pastor's study every Sabbath evening was continued with much blessing. The Tract Committee distributed tracts, papers, etc., 53,715 ; Bibles, 7 ; Testaments, 6. The Tenth Anniversary was celebrated on Wednesday evening, April 3, 1878. It was observed in a different manner. A grand concert was given in the church. The recep- tions previously given in the lecture and Sab- bath-school rooms had proved very pleasant and successful ; but as we had been obliged to restrict the attendance to members of the Association and a few invited guests, it was 284 HISTORY OF THE thought best to change our manner of cele- brating this happy annual event this yean The whole church edifice was thrown open, — the lecture-room for a reception-room, and the Sabbath-school room for a supper-room. Two thousand cards of invitation were issued and a very fine musical programme was pro- vided, which has seldom, if ever, been equalled in Brooklyn. The artists were Mrs. Marie Louise Swift, soprano; Mrs. Florence Rice- Knox, contralto (her second appearance in Brooklyn since her return from Europe), and Miss Rilla E. Bronson, contralto ; Mr. H. R. Romeyn, tenor ; Mr. F. Remmertz, baritone; Miss Ida L. WooUey, elocutionist; Mr. S. N. Penfield, pianist. As usual, the President's Annual Report was read. This pleasant en- tertainment and the sea of appreciative faces and good-cheer stimulated the young people on to greater efforts. Another Fair was held December 5th, 6th, and 7th, being so arranged as not to interfere with the regular Friday night prayer-meeting. The net result was $1,300. Following this Fair came the Grand LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 285 Loan Exhibition. The Fair Committee, in providing side attractions and acting upon the suggestion of the good wife of our pastor, arranged to hold in connection with, and at the same time of, our Fair an exhibition of decorative art, principally of women's work. The interest in this department so grew, and the exhibition promised to be so fine and ex- tensive, that it was deemed best to make it a separate affair. The result proved the wisdom of this course, for when the " Loan Collec- tion " was opened for exhibition on the even- ing of Tuesday, December i8, 1877, the lecture-room was filled with fine paintings, bronzes, and statuary ; the Sunday-school with articles curious and antique ; while the Study was crowded to repletion with articles rare and beautiful, fashioned by women's hands. In the church, which was decorated with rare exotics, was stationed Bernstein's orchestra, which discoursed sweet music to many listeners. Altogether it was one of the finest displays of art and antiquities ever seen in this city. 286 HISTORY OF THE The exhibition was kept open afternoon and evening until Christmas night, and was visited by about 4,000 persons. The expenses ($936.10) were necessarily heavy, but were equalled by the receipts. It was hoped, how- ever, that the display would do something to cultivate and elevate the taste for the beauti- ful, something to encourage and stimulate some to devote a portion, at least, af their leisure time to art work, whether it be with the needle, with the pencil, or with the chisel. The Young People's Association was greatly indebted for the artistic success of the ex- hibition to the willing hands and generous hearts of many of our church people who were not immediately identified with our As- sociation. Sixty-five to seventy were added to the roll of membership. The annual dues were de- creased one-half, making for gentlemen 50 cents, and ladies 25 cents. The Young People's Prayer-Meeting and the Tract Committee continued the good work as usual, and at the end of ten years LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 287 since the Young People's Association was organized we find ourselves united, and a cash balance in the treasury of $1,797.03. Sixty- tract distributors have been earnestly at work distributing 33,913 foreign and English tracts and papers. Bibles and Testaments, besides 8,000 temperance tracts, were distributed on the day before New-Year, some of which were written by our pastor. The Eleventh Anniversary was celebrated April 2, 1879, by a reception similar to those previously held in the lecture and Sabbath- school room ; the room tastefully decorated with a fountain in the centre of the room which lent an additional charm, together with cages suspended about the room with sweet- singing birds who kept up an incessant war- bling, Conterno's Parlor Orchestra furnished delightful music, and Dr. Cuyler again, in a short address, assured all present of his cordial sympathy with the work of the Association, and thanked the young people for the hearty support they had given him in his labors. Since the last revision of our membership roll 288 HISTORY OF THE the following are the names of members who have died : Mrs. Jane Floyd, Mr. H. Stanton Gkiffing, " Mary E. Kneeland, " J. B. Hutchinson, Miss Emma J. Bacon, " Thomas B. Goble, " Carrie R. Brainard, " G. H. Goin, " Ella F. Holbrook, " Samuel T. Jones, " E. M. Stevens, " Harry Jamison, " Mary E. Tooker, " De Forest E. Plant, Mr. GuRDON BuRCHARD, Jr., " Charles S. Waller. Fifty-two Young People's Prayer-Meetings have been held : 45 in private houses, lecture- room 3 times, and pastor's study 4. Total, 3,324. Largest meeting 332, smallest 18. Eighty-one have taken part in the devotional exercises, either by prayer or remarks. Our pastor has been with us 32 times. Entertain- ments have been given the first Wednesday evening in each month, with the exception of July, August, September, and January. The interest continues, and the Association seems more alive than ever. Ninety have been added to the roll of membership. Each year we have had printed and circu- LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 289 lated 350 to 750 copies of a manual of 20 to 25 pages, containing the President's An- nual Report, Constitution and By-Laws of the Board of Managers, Officers and Standing Committees, and other matters of interest con- cerning the Association. The numbers of those of neighboring churches who have ap- plied for copies of this book have been con- stantly on the increase. This is not confined to our city or State, but from distant parts of the country. We hear from those who have used our manual to aid them, and several recog- nizing its value as an assistant in such com- munities, have sent to us copies of their own, while they have taken ours as a guide. We have to add to the list of those who have been removed from us by death : Mrs. Marie A. See, Mr. Nicholas De Groot, " E. H. BoARDMAN, " A. M. Davenport, Miss Louise L. Cuyler, " I. R. Ditmars, " Mary C. Scott, " G. Irving Henshaw, " Angie Rowley, " Woodhull Ketchum, Gen. Silas Casey, " Jeremiah Vanderbilt Mr. Fred. E. Cleveland, " Henry M. Stone, " Fred, Calkins. " G. Frank Seymour. 13 ago HISTORY OF THE The following persons, who have been act- ive in the Association, have entered the min- istry of the Gospel : Richard E. Field, A. A. Fulton, Charles J. Young, Herbert Lord, Augustus B. Prichard, John Touzeau, T. Chalmers Potter, H. H. Henry, Charles Freeman. Amidst death, which has carried- off so many of our members, and many prominent ministers of the Gospel, our faithful pastor has been spared, thanks be to God, to preach the Word as he finds it revealed in the Book of books, and an example of most extraor- dinary health and indefatigable perseverance and industry. Our success from the start, now twenty-five years, is very largely due to his hearty co-operation and sympathy in our work, and the recognition by the members of our Association of our pastor as our leader and spiritual teacher. Without entering into any further detail, the foregoing will serve to illustrate the man- ner of working, and give some idea of- the LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 29 1 blessed results of this admirable Association, which was never more prosperous than at the present time. The same results have followed each year, and the manner of conducting the work has been unchanged. Our member- ship now is 811, and the Association was never more active, and at no time in its history were there so many young men taking an active part. Out of the nine officers, in- cluding the president elected at our last an- nual meeting, six have been born since the organization, and are children of the church. The Twelfth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Anniversaries were celebrated in a similar manner, — that of a reception in the lecture-room and Sabbath-school room. The Thirteenth Anniversary was omitted on account of the desire of the people to meet our pastor prior to his departure for an ex- tended tour to the Holy Land. Our Associa- tion therefore took the initiative to arrange a farewell reception which should take the place of our anniversary celebration. We received the hearty co-operation of the officers of the 292 HISTORY OF THE church and Sabbath-school, and a delightful reunion was had on the evening of March 23, 1881. The observance of the Seventeenth An- niversary, which was to have taken place Wednesday evening, April i, 1885, was dis- pensed with on account of the celebration of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of Dr. Cuyler's pastorate, which occurred Sunday and Mon- day, April 5th and 6th. A committee was appointed from the Young People's Associa- tion to co-operate with committees from the Boards of Elders, Deacons, and Trustees and congregation, constituting a committee of ar- rangements. The details of this celebration will be found in another part of this book. Following will be found the Preamble and Constitution of the Association and By-Laws of the Board of Managers, and the list of offi- cers from the beginning to the present time. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 293 CONSTITUTION. PREAMBLE. We, the subscribers, desirous of stimulating the piety of the young people of our church to more earnest and consecrated effort in the service of our Redeemer, and to promote a more social element among all of the young people of our congregation, do hereby agree to labor together for this end and to adopt for our guide the following CONSTITUTION. ARTICLE I. Section i. The name of this Society shall be the Young People's Association of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. Sec. 2. The object of this Society shall be the development of Christian character and activity in its members, and the improvement of the spiritual, intellectual, and social condition of our young peo- ple, by the ways and means to be hereinafter desig- nated. article II. Sec. I. The membership of this Association shall consist of four classes, viz. : active, associate, life, and honorary members. 294 HISTORY OF THE Sec. 2. Any person between the ages of fifteen (is) and forty-five (45) years, in good standing as a member of our church, may become an active mem- ber, and as such entitled to all the privileges of the Association. Sec. 3. Any person of good moral character may become an associate member, and as such entitled to all the privileges of the Association, except that of holding office. Sec. 4. Honorary Members may be constituted such by vote of the Association, at any regular meeting, upon recommendation by the Board of Managers. ARTICLE III. Sec. I. All propositions for membership shall be made to the Board of Managers, and such persons may be elected at a regular meeting of the Associa- tion. Sec. 2. Persons having been elected by the Asso- ciation may become members thereof by paying the membership fee. Sec. 3. Persons who shall be elected during the last three months of the year and shall pay the membership fee, may have their annual dues for the following year remitted. Sec. 4. The annual dues of members shall be fifty cents for gentlemen and twenty-five cents for ladies. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 295 A Life Membership may be secured upon the pay- ment of ten dollars, for which a certificate shall be issued, signed by the President and Secretary, and such certificate shall not be transferable under any circumstances. Sec. 5. The money derived from the above sources shall constitute a fund, to be known as the " Life Membership Fund," to be invested as directed by the Board of Managers, the income from which may be devoted to the uses of the Association ; but the principal sum or any part thereof shall not be expended, except by a resolution introduced at a regular meeting of the Board of Managers, of which notice shall have been given in writing at least one month prior thereto ; and the votes of three-fourths (f ) of the members present shall be necessary to the passage of such resolution. Sec. 6. Members who shall not have paid their annual dues will be debarred the privilege of voting for officers at the annual meeting. And those who shall not have paid their dues for a period of two years, will no longer be considered members. Sec. 7. The Treasurer shall notify all members in arrears of that fact, previous to the annual meeting. ARTICLE IV. Sec. I. It shall be the duty of the active members of the Association to promote fraternal feeling and 296 HISTORY OF THE social intercourse among its members ; to visit them in sickness, to surround them with religious influ- ences, to interest them in the meetings of the Asso- ciation, and to induce them to take part in its efforts for doing good. Special attention shall also be given to searching out young people who come among us as strangers, and to assist them in form- ing suitable acquaintances. ARTICLE V. Sec. I. The officers of this Association shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five (5) Managers, who shall be elected by ballot at the annual meeting, and who, together with the members of the Standing Committees, shall consti- tute a Board of Managers. Sec. 2. The President shall preside at all meet- ings of the Association, call such special meetings as he may deem expedient, and prepare the annual report of the Society's operations. Sec. 3. The Vice-President, in the absence of the President, shall perform all the duties of the office. Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Association shall keep a record of its proceedings, and have charge of all documents belonging to the Association. Sec 5. The Treasurer shall take charge of all the moneys of the Association, keep a true and cor- rect account of the same, be prepared to report the LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 297 condition of the treasury at any regular meeting of the Board of Managers, and to disburse moneys only as directed by the Board, and make a full report at the annual meeting. He shall deposit all funds over $50 in some responsible Bank. Sec. 6. The Board of Managers shall have the control and management of all the affairs and prop- erty of the Association, and make their own By- Laws. Sec. 7. All contracts entered into by the Board of Managers shall be made so as to expire on or before the end of the Association year. ARTICLE VI. Sec. I. There shall be the following Standing Committees of the Association, which shall be ap- pointed by the President immediately after the annual meeting, and approved by the elected Board of Managers. Sec. 2. A Devotional and Visiting Committee of at least three gentlemen and three ladies, who shall have charge of all devotional meetings, and visit the sick, or such as request counsel or advice. Sec. 3. A Temperance Committee, consisting of at least two gentlemen and two ladies, who shall endeavor to promote the cause of Temperance in our midst. Sec. 4. An Entertainment Committee, of at least 13* 298 HISTORY OF THE three members, who shall provide all social, literary, or musical entertainments. Sec. 5. A Tract Distributing Committee, who shall have charge of, and perform all duties con- nected with tract distribution. Sec. 6. A Relief Committee, consisting of at least three gentlemen and three ladies, who shall inves- tigate all cases requiring relief which shall be brought to the notice of the Association, as occur- ring within our tract district or in our Church or Sabbath-school fields of labor, but not to the poor generally of our city. And any pecuniary assistance this committee may deem it wise to render under the direction of the Board of Managers, must be solely to relieve immediate want. Sec. 7. A Property Committee, who shall make and keep an inventory of and care for the property of the Association, and be prepared to report its location and condition, at any regular meeting of the Board of Managers. Sec. 8. A Floral Committee, consisting of at least three members, who shall supply the pulpit of our church with flowers each Sabbath, from funds to be collected by them for that purpose only. The amount collected shall be reported to the Treasurer and included in his annual report. Sec. 9. The President shall be ex officio member of all Standing Committees. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 299 ARTICLE VII. Sec. I. There shall be a regular meeting of this Association on the first Wednesday of each month, and special meetings may be called by the Presi- dent, at the written request of five (5) members. Sec 2. The annual meeting of the Association shall be held on the first Wednesday in March, at which the annual report shall be read, and officers elected for the ensuing year ; a majority of the votes cast being necessary to a choice. Sec. 3. The anniversary of this Association shall be held on the first Wednesday in April. Sec. 4. Nine members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Association when business is to be transacted. article VIII. Sec. I. All vacancies occurring in the Board of Managers may be filled by the President, with the approval of the Board ; if by any reason the office of President shall become vacant, the same can only be filled by election at a regular meeting of the Association, of which one month's notice shall have been given previously. article IX. Sec. I. The provisions of this Constitution, by which none but active members can hold office, may 300 HISTORY OF THE never be annulled, and no amendment shall be made which, if made, would allow these said provisions to be annulled; with these exceptions, this Constitu- tion may be amended by a two-third vote at any regular meeting of the Association, provided notice in writing of the substance of the proposed amend- ment shall be given at a regular meeting, at least one month previous. BY-LAWS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. I. The regular meeting of the Board shall be held on the last Tuesday of each month. II. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President, at the request of five members, which request must be made in writing, stating the object of such meeting. III. The Secretary of the Association shall notify the members of the Board of all meetings, and in case of special meetings, state the object thereof. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 30I IV. The Treasurer of the Association shall present to the Board a monthly statement of its finances. V. No proposition for the disbursement of moneys shall be entertained except at the regular meetings of the Board. VI. Seven members shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the Board for the transaction of busi- ness, but three or more shall constitute a quorum for the purpose only of adjournment to a future date, notice of which may be given at any meeting of the Church or Association. VII. The regular order of business at all meetings of the Board shall be as follows : 1. Prayer. 2. Reading Minutes. 3. Reports of Standing Committees. 4. Reports of Special Committees. 5. Communications and Bills. 6. Unfinished Business. 7. New Business. 302 HISTORY OF THE VIII. Each Standing Committee shall meet as often as once a month, and report to the Board at each reg- ular meeting. IX. Reports of all Committees shall be in writing. X. All resolutions shall be submitted in writing. XI. These By-Laws may be amended only by a two- third vote of the Board at a regular meeting, notice of which having been given in writing at least one month previous. YOUNG PEOPLE'S ASSOCIATION. Officers, 1867-1885. Elected November (>, 1867. President— VfiLLiAM Jarvie, Jr. Vice-President— Lavis L. Robbins. Secretary— CnxvcLTSS Tredick, * Charles E. Tuthill. Treasurer— Dasi^i. M. Lord, *John N. Sayre, Jr. Elected Managers — James L. Harlem, Daniel N. Lash- er, Francis W. Holbrook, Henry L. Bardwell, LiNNiEUS C. Hill. * Elected to fill vacancies caused by resignation. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 303 Elected November ^, 1868. President — Charles E. Tuthill. Vice-President — Daniel N. Lasher. Secretary — Francis W. Holbrook, *Charles Tredick, * George W. Powell. Treasurer— En-WA-RD A. Hendrickson. Elected Matiagers — Henry L. Penfield, Zadock M. Bacon, Henry L. Bardwell, John N. Sayre, Jr., William H. Woodward. Elected October 5, 1869. President— Francis W. Holbrook. Vice-President— Henry L. Bardwell. Secretary— WiLUAM Jarvie, Jr. Treasurer— John N. Sayre, Jr. Elected Manag-ers— Charles E. Tuthill, James Mat- thews, William Mumford, Daniel N. Lasher, Edward A. Hendrickson. Elected October 5, 1870. President— Daniel N. Lasher. Vice-President — Edward A. Hendrickson. Secretary — Edgar Forman. Treasurer— '^iLLiAU Jarvie, Jr. Elected Managers— VJiLLiAU Mumford, John N. Sayre, Jr., James Matthews, Edwin B. Husted, Fred- erick A. SCOVILLE. Elected October 10, 1871. President— William Jarvie, Jr. Vice-President— Charles D. Baker, * F. T. Glover. 304 HISTORY OF THE Secretary— EnGXR. Forman, Treasurer— ]ame,s Matthews. Elected Mana^-ers-H^NKV L. Bardwell, Edwin B. HusTED, Edward J. Whitney, Zadock M. Bacon, F. T. Glover. Elected October 3, 1872. President— EnoAK Forman. Vice-President — Edward W. Seymour. Secretary— Joseph F. Pike. Treasurer— H^nviY Sillcocks. Elected Managers — Daniel N. Lasher, William Jarvie, Jr., a. Stanton Bodine, Enoch L. Frost, Thos. Martin. Elected October i, 1873. (From Oct. i, 1873, to March 4, 1874.) President^AvGVSTVS W. King. Vice-President— Nicholas De Groot. Secretary— Lovis F. Jackson. Treasurer— ]0KiJ N. Sayre, Jr. Elected Managers — Francis W. Holbrook, Daniel N. Lasher, Henry L. Bardwell, William Mum- ford, William Jarvie, Jr. Elected March 4, 1874. President— A.1.ONZO A. Plant. Vice-President— NicnohAS De Groot. Secretary— Geokgm H. Martin. Treasurer— ] AMES Matthews, * Henry J. Howlett. Elected Managers — Daniel N. Lasher, Francis W. Holbrook, William Jarvie, Jr., Edgar Forman, Geo. a. Olney. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 305 Elected March 4, 1875. President— Klo^zo A. Plant. Vice-President— FKA.T!iCis W. Holbrook. Secretary — George H. Martin, * Frederick E. Cleve- land. Treasurer — Henry J. Howlett. Elected Managers— FviKVicis'SN . Holbrook, Wm. Jarvie, Jr., Henry L. Bardwell, William B. See, Alex- ander McNaughton. Elected March i, 1876. President — Alonzo A. Plant. Vice-President-AVGVSTVS B. Prichard. Secretary — Frederick E. Cleveland. Treasurer — Henry J. Howlett. Elected Managers — Henry S. Snow, Daniel N. Lasher, William Jarvie, Jr., George H. Martin, Fran- cis W. Holbrook. Elected March 7, 1877. President— Yvi^HERiCYi E. Cleveland. Vice-Presidents— G^oviG^ H. Martin, * Grenville Perrin. Secretary— H^NKV S. Snow. Treasurer— HzNKY J. Howlett. Elected Managers — Alonzo A. Plant, Francis W. Holbrook, Edgar Forman, William Jarvie, Jr., Caleb V. Smith. 306 HISTORY OF THE Elected March 6, 1878. President— KhO^zo A. Plant. Vice-President — Grenville Perrin. Secretary — Sylvester E. Bergen. Treasurer— HYXivci J. Howlett. Elected Manag-ers— William Jarvie, Jr., Francis W. HoLBROOK, Charles E. Tuthill, Edgar Forman, Frederick E. Cleveland. Elected March 5, 1879. President— QKexiV\\x.-s. Perrin. Vice-President— Henry S. Snow, Secretary — Edward P. Smith. Treasurer — Caleb V. Smith. Elected Managers — William H. Cook, Leviness War- dell, Henry A. Wilson, Frederick E. Cleve- land, W. Ten Broeck S. Imlay. Elected March 3, 1880. PrwiVfew/— Grenville Perrin. Vice-President — Henry S. Snow. Secretary — H. B. Follett. Treasurer — Caleb V. Smith. Elected Managers— Fkeverick E. Cleveland, Wm. Jarvie, Jr., Francis W. Holbrook, Henry J. Howlett, Edward L. Snow. Elected March 2, 1881. President— Grknville Perrin. Vice-President— HEi^RY S. Snow. Secretary— Clinton L. Rossiter. LAFAYETTE AVENUE CHURCH. 307 Treasurer — Edward L. Snow. Elected Managers— John R. Dayton, Edward P. Smith, Henry B. Follett, William Jarvie, Jr., S. Bailey Parker. Elected March i, 1882. President— 1A.^-SVN Sanger Snow. Vice-President — Edward P. Smith., Secretary — Clinton L. Rossiter. Treasurer — Edward L. Snow. Elected Managers — Grenville Perrin, Wm. Jarvie, Jr., Sylvester E. Bergen, Henry B. Follett, John R. Dayton. Elected March 7, 1883. President— Jowts R. Dayton. Vice-President— 'ExtVlAKD P. Smith. Secretary — William H. Tuthill. Treasurer— Theo. L. Cuyler, Jr. Elected Managers— H^iJKY S. Snow, John C. Van Cleaf, Wm. Jarvie, Jr., Grenville Perrin, Geo. E. Fahys. Elected March 5, 1884. President— \OYLN R. Dayton. Vice-President— CUNTON L. RossiTER. Secretary— Wu. H. Tuthill. Treasurer— ^HKO. L. Cuyler, Jr. Elected Managers— G'RS.NViL.UE Perrin, Geo. E. Fahys, Edward P. Smith, Wm. F. Smith, Henry D. Plant. 308 HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE AVE. CHURCH. Elected March ^, 1885. President. CLINTON L. ROSSITER, 134 Berkeley Place. Vice-President. HENRY A. STROHMEYER, 490 Vanderbilt Avenue. Secretary.. HENRY D. PLANT. 80 Downing Street. Treasurer. GEORGE M. BOARDMAN, 24 St. James Place. Elected Managers. JOHN R. DAYTON, GRENVILLE PERRIN, WILLIAM H. TUTHILL, THEO. L. CtJYLER, JR., GEORGE E. FAHYS. March, 1885. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 530 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. *A, L. O. E. Library. 50 vols., l6mo, in a neat wooden case, net . $28.00 *' All these stories have the charm and pure Christian character which have made the name of A. L. O. E. dear to thousands of homes." — Lutheran* ARNOT, Rev. "William. On the Parables. i2mo 1.75 Church in the House ; or. Lessons on the Acts of the Apos- tles. i2mo 1.50 " For teachers who are taking a class through this book, this, volume will prove most instructive." — Sottthtrn Churckntan. ** The extreme beauty and elevated spirituality of these pages should win for them a wide reception among all Christian people. We know of no religious writ- ings which better bear repeated perusal." — S. S. Times. BERNARD, T. D. 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