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THE UNIVERSITY

OF ILLINOIS

LIBRARY 285.1

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The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below.

Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

MAR 2 9 19^5

L161 — O-1096

THE im'm OF -m

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

A>(^

LS-— — 1860 ^****i;i^(/ic

GOLDEN (1^

CH I C AGO

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MAY FIRST TO EIGHTH

NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TEN

Editors' Note

This volume is intended to preserve for the church the historical material collected for the celebration of its Golden Jubilee. The collection of facts and their organization for presentation involved an amount of time and labor that deserves more recognition than a single hearing. Such material soon vanishes unless it is put into permanent form ever}- generation, and this volume is a fitting sup- plement to the one that records the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary.

The history of a great organization should he a cherished memory and an inspiration. The memorj' bids us to appreciate those who have wrought and to whom we owe a rich inheritance. The inspira- tion bids us to emulate their labors and to pass on to those who follow a still richer inheritance.

It has been impossible to record all of the interesting things said, especially in those addresses that were more or less informal, but it is hoped that the principal facts have been secured, and that the hearty and loyal spirit of the Golden Juliilee has been preserved in this book.

To all members and friends of the church to whom this volume comes, may it prove not only a pleasant reminder of a notable cele- bration, but also an abiding stimulus to Christian activity.

HeXRV H. REI.FIELn

, Editors John 'SI. Coulter

Introductory

The week of the Golden Jubilee Celebration was an unin- terrupted series of successful meetings. The response in interest and attendance was remarkable.

In 18S5 (April 2G-'29). during- the pastorate of Rev. Ed- \vard C. Ray, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church was celebrated, and a memorial volume was published.

Another twenty-five years brought the church to its Golden Jubilee, and a celebration was planned, of which the present volume is intended to be a permanent record. The following committees were appointed:

644759

Golden Jubilee Committees

Henry V. Freeman John A. Cole Henry H. Belfield

John M. Coulter Walter C. Nelson Henry H. Belfield John F. Gilchrist

George C. Lazear Charles W. Bird

General

Walter C. Nelson Charles ^V. Bird George C. Lazear

Historical

Miss Elizabeth S. Stewart Mrs. J. B. Williamson Miss Mary E. Remmer

Program

Rev. Joseph A. Vance.

A. E. Coleman James A. Ostrom O. M. Powers

Robert Stuart John A. Cole Frederick R. Angell

Arthur H. Rugg Thos. G. McCulloh

John M. Coulter F. F. Bosworth George M. Bard

Charles W. Bird

James A. Ostrom

Rev. Howard D. French

Edward P. Skene i^'harles F. L.owoth

Publicity

Tliomas Madill S. S. Dorwart

Music

Mis. l>inald Mcintosh Mrs. H. H. Sessions

Welland F. Sargent Edward E. Hill William F. Cameron T. M. Bates H. E. R. Wood

Reception

Cliarles H. Sagar Thomas J. Hair Mrs. R. F. Cummings Miss Caroline F. Smith Mrs. Hamilton Bogue

W. F. Cameron Wm. H. McSurely John T. Richards

Mrs. J. F. Gilchrist Miss Grace Coulter Mrs. E. L. Beatie Mrs. J. M. Coulter Mrs. ,1 B. Williamson

Rev. Howard D. French Samuel Fulton Beatty Miss Mary Reed

Banquet

A. Miller Belfield Fred A. Fielder \V. P. MacKenzie

Ladles' Societies

Mrs. A. V. Powell Mrs. R. F. Cummings Mrs. W. F. Sargent Mrs. W. C. Brown

Bible School

Ralph H. Rice George Fairweather

Young People's Society

Miss Eloise Lockhart

Donald Mcintosh

Miss Madeline E. Lave

Artluir V. Lee, Jr. William F. Fielder W. T. McCoy

The above invitation was sent to all the present members of the congregation, to all former members whose addresses could be obtained, to former pastors, to pastors of the city, and to other interested friends.

H

12

Program for Week

SUNDAY, MAY FIRST

10:30 a. ni. Historical Address Mr. John A. Cole Special Music 3:30 p. m. Neighborhood Fellowship Meeting Short Addresses by Rev. John R. Grosser, D. D.

Kenwood Evangelical Church Rev. Charles Bayard Mitchell, D. D.

St. James M. E. Church Rev. Herman Page, D. D.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church Rev. Frank D. Sheets, D. D.

McCabe Memorial Church Rev. Nathaniel Butler, D. D.

University of Chicago Special Music — Choi-al Club 7:00 p. m. Young People's Society

"What the past holds for our young people' Short Address — Edward T. Lazear

MONDAY. MAY SECOND

8:00 p. m. Young People's Social Evening Given by Young People's Society Young Women's Bible Class Reed Bible Class Preparatory Bible Class Mr. McCulloh's Class Men's Bible Class

TUESDAY, MAY THIRD

3:00 p. m. Reception for Ladies

Under the auspices of Women's Societies of the Church

6:00 p. m. Men's Banquet

Chicago Beach Hotel

Judge Henry V. Freeman, Presiding Short Addresses by Rev. Galusha A. Anderson, D. D. Rev. Hubert C. Herring, D. D. Maj. James H. Cole Mr. Hamilton B. Bogue Prof. John M. Coulter, Ph. D. Rev. Joseph A. Vance, D. D., Pastor War Songs written by past members of this congregation

13

WEDNESDAY, MAY FOURTH

8:00 p. m. Communion Service Officiating

Rev. Hubert C. Herring, D. D. Rev. C. Harmon Johnson

FRIDAY, MAY SIXTH THE ANNIVERSARY DATE

8:00 p. m. Congregational Gathering

Under auspices of the Women's Societies of the Church Historical Address with Stereopticon

Mrs. J. F. Gilchrist Five minute informal talks by former Pastors and Old Members Music Refreshments

SATURDAY, MAY SEVENTH

4:00 p. m. The Bible School

Address illustrated with Stereopticon Refreshments

SUNDAY, MAY EIGHTH

10:30 a. m. "The Chunh for the Future"

Rev. Joseph A. Vance, D. D., Pastor Special Music? 3:30 p. m. Fellowship Meeting Addresses by Rev. Jas. G. K. McClure, D. D.

Pres. McCormick Theological Seminary Rev. Bdw. H. Curtis, D. D.

Woodlawn Park Presbyterian Cliurch Rev. James Frothingham, D. D.

Stated Clerk, Chicago Presbytery Rev. W. H. Wray Boyle, D. D.

Pastor, I>ake Forest Presbyterian Church Rev. Edgar P. Hill, D. D.

Supt. Church Extension, Presbytery of Chicago Special Music by Choral Club 7:00 p. m. Young People's Society

"What the future may hold for our young people "

14

REV. CHARLES F. BEACH 1 862-1864

REV. BRADFORD Y. AVERELU

1 865-1 86V

REV. DAVID S. JOHNSON, D. D. 1 867-1880

REV. E. C. RAY, D. D. 1881-1887

REV. HUBERT C. HERRING, D. D. 1894-1898

REV. JOSEPH A. VANCE, D. D. PRESENT PASTOR 1899-

Sunday, May First

At tile morning st-rvit-t'. in charge of the Pastor, in addition to the ordinary ijrograni. there was specitd music by the choir, and tlie prayer was offered by Rev. Galusha Anderson, D. D., who may al- most be numbered among tlie former pastors on account of liis repeated ministry to tlie church.

The address of the morning was delivered by Mr. John A. Cole, the senior member of the session.

Historical Address

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of this Church, the Rev. David S. Johnson, D. D., preached an historical sermon. He selected as his text these words from Ezra 5:16: "And since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished." These words, so aptly chosen, are appropri- ate for us on this fiftieth anniversary day. 'Tn building and not yet finished" must ever be the condition of a living church, for growth is the law of its life.

Today with great thankfulness and rejoicing we look back together over the full half-century of years during which this Church of Christ has been so graciously directed. There are those present with us this morning who were members of the little group who on the sixth of May, 1860, organized the First Presbyterian Church of Hyde Park. As they recall that oc- casion, how strange must seem the changes which these years have wrought in Chicago, which then had but one-twentieth of its present population, and in Hyde Park, then an almost unbroken prairie !

One of our beloved members, Mrs. Hibbard, writes in this way of those days: "Fifty years ago Hyde Park was a clus- ter of scattered houses, less than a score, dropped down among the oak trees. There was no store, no postofiice, no market, and a single passenger car on the Illinois Central, three times a day, was the only connection with the city except Purcell's ox-cart, which served as an express to bring from the city barrels of tlour and groceries. The one sidewalk, a board walk on Lake Avenue, was fringed wath ferns and violets, wild flowers and strawberries."

We of today may well revere the memory of the men who stood firmly for the Christian Church when this great com- mercial city was young. To Presbyterians belongs the honor of having been first to hold religious services on the site of

29

Chicago, and to the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago that of leading the glorious company of Christian churches now established in this great metropolis.

The Hyde Park Church as first organized consisted of six- teen members, eight men and eight women. Eight of these came by letter from Presbyterian churches, five from Congre- gational churches, and three joined on profession. While all were, so far as we know, of New England stock, they repre- sented the three great constituent classes from which the membership of this church has since been mainly built up, namely, the New England Congregational, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, and the French Huguenot.

At this organization two elders were elected, Hassan A. Hopkins and George W. Bowman. The latter remained a year only and is now living in California, but the former served the Church for thirty years.

Years of struggle followed this small beginning. Nour- ished by the Presbytery of Chicago, and especially indebted to Rev. Wm. H. Spencer of Westminster Church, it was two years before the Rev. Charles F. Beach was called, in March, 1862, to become its Stated Supply. At this time a Board of Trustees was elected, and to them was deeded the chapel with the lot at the corner of Lake Ave. and 53rd St. Of this chapel Mrs. Hibbard writes as follows: "The little white chapel was built by Mr. Paul Cornell, and stood in a grove of oak trees near the present site of the Hyde Park Bank, stand- ing back from the street, which was merely a sandy country road. There was no janitor or other official, and the building was kept in order by the faithful care of families living near. At that time there were nearly as many families belonging to the Episcopal Church as to the Presbyterian, and by a friendly agreement the church was occupied in the morning by the Presbyterians and in the afternoon by the Episcopalians for some years, until the latter were able to build for themselves." At the end of two years' service Mr. Beach retired, and again for eighteen months the church was without a leader. Members of the church often read sermons for the morning service, and Daniel H. Home was particularly helpful in this way. Calls were extended to Prof. David Swing and to Rev. J. B. Stewart, but without avail, imtil in November, 1865, Prof. Bradford Y. Averell was ordained and installed as the first pastor of the church. Of this pastorate beautiful memories remain. His fine face and figure, his attractive voice and manner, his earnest sermons and zealous solicitude for his

30

charge won hearts and strengthened both the membership and the spiritual life of the church. But his work was cut short by serious illness which rapidly developed. On July 12, 1867. he passed away.

The bereaved church was again without a pastor for a term of fourteen months. In the meantime the church had gained an active and efficient helper in Charles A. Norton, who had become an elder in 1866. He was a man of fine education and noble character, who, so long as he lived, was devoted to the interests of the churcli and its Sunday School.

At last, in October, 1867. the second pastor of this church was installed. The Rev. David S. Johnson ,a graduate of Williams College and Andover Seminary, came from the experience of a seven vears' pastorate in the First Presbyterian Church of Waverly, New York, and now entered upon a service which was to continue for thirteen years. These were to prove very eventful ones. The country had already passed through its years of conflict in the Civil War, and its surviving soldiers were returning north, again to take up their interrupted tasks or studies. To many such, Chicago presented business attrac- tions, and Hyde Park became the permanent home of many distinguished men. This church received its share of them, some of whom remain to this day, true soldiers of the cross, as in their youth they were soldiers of their country. Such men added not only strength and power, but some of them, at least, brought a sweetness and gentleness of spirit unlocked for in men who for years had faced the hardships and leaden storms of war. But this little church and retired community, like every other throughout the land, had been called upon for a sacrifice of its youth. Curtiss Bogue, Charles Warren Everett, and Leonard W. Hopkins, all members of the little Christian community of Hyde Park, had been stricken while in the ser- vice of their country. Of these, Curtiss Bogue was, as Dr. Johnson relates, "the self appointed Samuel of the Lord's house. He kindled the fires, and swept the floor. His voice rang through the groves on his way to the chapel like a bell calling to prayer and praise. He was among the first to an- swer his country's call in the opening of the civil war." He was killed when home on furlough in a railroad wreck that made January 8, 1862, a day of woe to many Hyde Park homes. His comrade Everett was an able officer, wounded in the battle of Belmont and dying at the age of 22 years. Hopkins, a quiet earnest boy, an only son, went forth from a loving home to the rude trials of the camp. Stricken with fever,

31

THE OLD STONE CHURCH (AND INTERIOR) ERECTED IN 1869

'"he yielded up his life — a fresh, sweet flower laid on the altar of his countr}' and his Ciod." These names must never be forgotten.

During Dr. Johnson's long pastorate he saw his church pass successfully through many trials. The great Chicago fire not only destroyed much wealth in his congregation, but greatly increased the burden of debt under which it struggled. For, early in 1868, it had been decided to build a new house of worship. A building committee, consisting of Paul Cornell, James Wadsworth, and Homer N. Hibbard was appointed. Subscriptions were started and the ground broken at the corner of 53d St. and Washington Avenue, in May, lS(i!). hi Julv of the same year the corner stone was laid with impressive cere- monies, in which Rev. Arthur Mitchell of the First Church and Rev. James PL Trowbridge took prominent part. The "stone church," stately and commodious, quickly rose to its com- pletion and was dedicated on October 30. Rev. David Swing- preached the sermon, and under the direction of Mr. C. M. Cady, a highly esteemed member of the church and leader of its music, an anthem was sung in parts by the entire congre- gation. It was a great day and one of rejoicing, which marked the beginning of greater zeal and spirituality in the church. But the year proved to be one of intense activity in the bus- iness life of Chicago. Thousands of buildings were being erected in the city and the price of labor and building materials became oppressive. With an architect's estimate of $30,000, the actual cost of the stone church was $50,000, and debt became an incubus that burdened the life of its pastor until the end of his arduous pastorate. Strong helpers, however, were raised up to share his responsibilities. Claudius B. Nelson was installed as elder in 1867, and Erastus S. Williams, Joseph N. Barker and Homer N. Hibbard in July, 1873. These men were a tower of strength in those days of growth and sacrifice. We have a church manual issued in 1873 which shows a membership of 173, of whom 61 had united by pro- fession, and of those coming by letter, 68 were from Pres- byterian churches and 28 from Congregational churches.

How deeply the pastor and the elders felt their dependence upon the great Head of the Church during these years can be partly estimated from two events that followed the bewilder- ing effect of the great fire. Pew holders could not pay the rent, and pews were being surrendered. The trustees and session, in joint conference, after seeking Divine guidance in prayer, decided to change the financial plan and to depend

33

upon volunteer offerings for the support of the church, allow- ing all to retain their pews. This was one event. The other, which followed hard upon it, was the closer spiritual union of membership in meetings for prayer and the manifestly revi- ving presence of the Holy Spirit. From the New Year's Day meeting, evening meetings were continued for three months, and 47 persons of all ages, but largely children and youth, were gathered into the church fold. There came also 22 addi- tions from other churches, making in all 69 recruits to the little band that had almost fainted because of the fierceness of the. battle.

In 1876, when the financial cloud was still oppressive, Dr. Johnson tells us that "a wind swept up suddenly and whirled the spire of the church edifice clear over the roof and left it on the east side, a heap of kindling wood." The next day was Sunday. The pastor made a trembling appeal, and in fifteen minutes the $1,300 required to restore the spire was all sub- scribed. The quick and hearty response to every appeal when made by the pastor or trustees of this church has been a marked characteristic of this community. Never has it failed, as the history of these fifty years abundantly makes evident.

In 1877 a determined effort was made to reduce the debt, which was then the frightful sum of $43,000. By the great liberality of many members, and by the sale of the valuable business lot upon which the chapel stood, this debt was re- duced to $20,000. Even then, after the sacrifices which the year demanded had been made, the burden of the residue was still too heavy to be endured. And upon no one did this rest more heavily than upon the brave, warm-hearted pastor himself. Broken down at last in health, he resigned his pastorate in October, 1880, which, however, did not officially close until February, 1881.

It was the darkest hour before the dawn of day, for on January 30, 1881, by invitation of Geo. Willard, and without notification, Mr. Edward Kimball appeared in the pulpit and announced that he was there to clear off the church debt! Consternation reigned in the pews, but before the day closed it had been swept away by the subscriptions which followed the appeal. It is pathetic, the word of that long-suffering pastor, as he says : "that day begun in doubt ended with triumphant praise. You answered to God with open hands, and the debt vanished like the morning mist. At ten o'clock in the evening it was gone. The Lord had turned your captivitv and you were like them that dream." Like Moses,

34

he had gloriously led the church to the border of the land of promise, but was not permitted to enter in. No heart was more overflowing with joy than was his, or had a more com- plete sense of answered prayer.

We rejoice to record the years of usefulness and the free- dom from financial burden that afterwards fell to the lot of this beloved pastor, as for fourteen years he served the Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield, 111., and finally spent his last years in the quiet of a country parish in Hinsdale, 111., and in California. On April 17, 1903, he passed away. His funeral took place from this church, at his own request, as "the walls of it were built of stones from the old church."

The review of his pastorate must have given him much joy. Spiritual blessings had crowned his labors and those of the men and women whose leader he was. The Sunday School had ever been the nursery of the church. Year by year the children and 3^outh sought admission to its holy rites. In the second year of his service, fifteen persons were added on the profession of their faith. In 1871-2 ten of the older schol- ars of the school joined the church ; in 1874 forty-seven ; and in 1879 seventeen persons came into church membership in the same way. Seeing also the material prosperity of the church at length assured, we can understand the fullness of his heart when he said, "Let us give thanks !"

In 1878 two additional elders were elected. One of these, Samuel West, after serving the church and Sunday School very faithfully for seven years, was obliged by ill health to seek relief in Colorado, where he is still living. The other, George Stewart, was suddenly called to his heavenly home in July, 1888, after ten years of constant service. He was greatly beloved, a man of rare sweetness, great liberality, and whole- hearted devotion to his Master's cause at home and abroad.

In June of 1881 Rev. E. C. Ray was installed as the third pastor of this church. Coming from Hamilton College and Auburn Seminary and a pastorate of five years over the Third Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was still a young man, and came to us with unbounded enthusiasm for the work in this western field. His sermons, delivered without notes and with forceful eloquence, were scholarly and practical. His fame spread and the audiences soon filled the auditorium. His zeal awakened that of many, and every or- ganization of the church was inspired to greater activity. The benevolences of the church were greatly increased, not only because of the attractive way in which all subjects of

35

appeal were presented, but also by the earnest insistence that at least "the tithe" should be consecrated to God's Kingdom. The subscriptions toward the debt were soon collected. Then the new enterprise of building a manse was cordially under- taken in accordance with the pastor's design, and soon com- pleted as it now exists on the eastern portion of the church lot. It is an attractive structure of stone and brick, and of a style which compares well with the architecture of the pres- ent church edifice.

In 1882 Hamilton B. ijogue, after a service as elder cover- ing nineteen years, declined a re-election, and William A. Olmsted and John A. Cole were elected to the eldership. In 1886 Charles H. Arms was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of Samuel West from the city.

The six years of this pastorate were especially marked by spiritual activity. Additions were frequent, and in one year (1884) 49 persons joined the church on confession of Christ. More noticeable perhaps were the applications from those who for years had retained letters from home churches, which now were rememl^ered under the faithful preaching of the earnest pastor.

By the suggestion of the pastor, a member of the session was appointed to the work of resuscitating the Sunday School at Woodlawn. and from that day forward, under the fostering care of this church, no Sunday was allowed to pass without the school being called together, sometimes in a schoolhouse, sometimes under a tree, or at times in a barn ; until at length in 1885 a church edifice was built and a church organization effected, to which many of the members of our church and Sunday School were dismissed. Among these were James Wadsworth and his wife, who were of the original sixteen who in 1860 formed the Hyde Park Church. The W^oodlawn Pres- byterian Church, from that day to this, has held high rank among the sisterhood of Christian churches in this great city.

At Park Side a mission was founded, with a Sunday School and preaching service, and a small chapel built for its use. This property was afterwards transferred to another denomi- nation that seemed to have special facilities for doing the work in that locality. It was at this time also that the Hyde Park Church sent out its first missionary to a foreign land. Miss Sarah Wirt, afterwards Mrs. Peoples, was a graduate of Oberlin and fitted by experience in city missions for the wider field of Siam and Laos. The ladies of the church as- sumed her outfit, and the sum required for her sustenance was

36

Claudius B. Nelson George W. Bowman Samuel West

ELDERS

Hassan A. Hopkins Homei' N. Hlbbard Erastus S. Williams

Hamilton B. Bogue Charles A. Norton Joseph N. Barker

provided by the church. In 1882 she left us for that distant land, where for twenty-eight years she has labored faithfully and successfully. Her letters stimulated the church to further efforts, and at the present time no less than five missionaries are wholly or in part supported as the representatives of the Hyde Park Church on the broad arena of the Christless world. Steady beams of light are flowing out from this church to help disperse the gloom of dark places in the Laos, in Persia, in China, in India and in Japan.

The prosperity of these years hastened their close, for it was soon evident that the "stone church," so recently paid for, was too small to meet the needs of the community. Two plans were considered, that of a colony to found a second church in the immediate vicinity, or that of a new church edifice of adequate capacity. The latter was a startling alter- native, and much reluctance was felt at engaging upon so costly a task. In the meantime our pastor was urged to take up a larger work in another State, and in November, 1887, to the regret of all, he accepted a call to Topeka, Kansas. We have rejoiced in the work accomplished by Dr. Ray in that great State, and later as Secretary of the College Board of the Presbyterian Church of America. It is to all of us a keen sorrow that the state of his health does not admit of his presence wnth us today. His affection and solicitude for this church have never failed.

During the interval of one year which followed, the church was favored by the very acceptable ministrations of Rev. Wm. C. Roberts, D.D.^ and, as so often before in our need, of Rev. Galusha Anderson, D. D., of the University of Chicago.

In October, 1888, Rev. W. W. Totheroh became the fourth pastor, continuing in office until November, 1893. The neces- sity for an enlarged edifice had by this time become fully understood by all, and the decision was made not to colonize, but to enlarge the church edifice or to remove it entirely and build upon the same site. The building committee who were entrusted with the details of the matter, after much consider- ation, adopted the latter plan. A tabernacle was built for the temporary use of the congregation at the corner of 53rd St. and Jefferson Ave., and the work of demolition began. In the meantime a very satisfactory architectural design had been secured for the new building and a contract let for its con- struction, provision being made for utilizing the old material. The cost was $45,000. At this juncture the church exper- ienced a great loss in the death of Wm. H. Ray (the Principal

39

of the High School), who had been for years one of the most enthusiastic workers in the Bible school and in all church life. It was largely due to him, as a member of the building com- mittee, that the plan adopted was secured. He was a brilliant man of great promise. His class has perpetuated his name upon a memorial window in the Sunday School room, and by the sin- gle word "service" has rightly characterized his beautiful life among us.

In 1889 the new edifice was completed and dedicated with appropriate ceremony, in which Dr. McPherson, Dr. Barrows, and others took part.

In removing the old building it was found to be entirely impracticable to rebuild the old organ, which had already outlived its usefulness, t It was to the great gratification of all that the announcement came from Walter C. Nelson that he would provide a new organ in memory of his revered father, Claudius P). Xelson. This instrument still remains to help in every service of song. During these years, and particu- larly in those of preparation for the great World's Kxposition in 1893. there began to be a marked change in Hyde Park territory. Hotels, apartment houses, and blocks of buildings began to fill this quiet residence suburb, until like a wave the city of Chicago engulfed it. These changes presented many unusual opportunities for service b}- the several organi- zations of the church and particularly by the Board of Deacons.

In September, 1894, the Rev. Hubert C. Herring was installed as the fifth pastor of the church. He came to us from Iowa with Mrs. Herring, the daughter of John Woodbridge, who was al- ways a friend and who had assisted at the dedication of the first chapel in 1858. This pastorate continued until August, 1898, during which time the church prospered. Among the lasting results of these years is the establishment of the Mission Kinder- garten, which is maintained in charge of skillful teachers for the benefit of needy families in the neighborhood.

In March, 1898, a fearful calamity left our community in mourning. Of Elders Olmsted and Arms it may be truth- fully said that few^ men ever served the church of Christ with more singleness of purpose or greater fidelity. They were closely associated in business and in fullest accord in every good w^ork. Mr. Olmsted was active in civic afifairs as well as in the Bible School and Church conferences. Mr. Arms had for years been the indefatigable servant of the church in the offices of deacon and elder, and as superintendent of the Sun-

40

day Schot)l and teacher of adult classes. To these good men at the same nu^nent came translation. "With a shout, in the twinkling of an eye," they were summoned in a flame of fire and "they were changed." A memorial window keeps their precious lives in memory, lives based upon the Word of God, lives that blossomed and bore fruit in beauty, lives led by still waters and through green pastures upward to the hills and to the City of God. All who knew these men knew they wiere ready for the Master's call.

Much grief was felt in the church when Mr. Herring re- signed and left our community, Init his useful life in Omaha, and his later success in the leadership of the Home Mission department of the Congregational Church throughout the United States has l)een noted with great satisfaction.

In December. 18!)!). Rev. Joseph A. Vance, our present pastor and the sixth in succession, came to us from the City of Baltimore and from the Presbyterian Church South. He was most cordiall}^ received, and he has found a wide field for his genial and ardent nature. For ten years the church has greatly prospered under his earnest leadership. When he came he found a del:)t of $15,000. which had not been provided for when the new church was built. This was disposed of by a three-year subscription taken in connection with a black- board exercise conducted by the pastor at a morning session. Then came the enlargement of the main auditorium, which had become too restricted. Forty per cent increase to the seating capacity of the building was made at a cost of $20^000. This sum was raised by the issuance of church bonds, the redemption of which was to be met by the income from a certain reservation of seats. Quickly following this came the necessity of additional rooms for the growing- Bible School. This was met by cash subscriptions, and a very attractive addition to the Sunday School building was erected on the rear of the manse lot at a cost of $4,500. The four large rooms thus gained have made it possible to pro- vide for the higher grades of Bible classes, which are very flourishing and useful.

The Young Men's Bible Class was organized in this pastor- ate, and under the distinguished leadership of Prof. John M. Coulter has been very popular, having at present a member- ship of 100. The oflficers of the class are elected annually. Its special class benefactions are large, especially toward "Association House," a Christian settlement in the north- Avestern section of the city. For years the class has invited

41

two hundred or more boys from that settlement to Christmas turkey dinner in the building. The total money collected and given by our Bible school class for this settlement aggregates between $12,000 and $15,000, since the date of its organization in 1901.

Another unique organization is that of the Hyde Park Men's Club. It embraces a membership by no means con- fined to the church. It meets monthly in the lecture room of the church, where it is addressed by distinguished speakers upon live themes of civic interest. Its annual dinner is an important event, and the club is recognized as the most suc- cessful one of its kind in Chicago. It promotes harmony among all classes of Hyde Park citizenship.

Another most interesting organization is that of the Young Men's Preparatory Bible Class which has an enrollment of over sixty young men from sixteen to twenty-one years of age. The ordinary Sunday School class often fails to interest during these years, but great enthusiasm attends the proceedings of this class. The Young Women's Bible Class is another large organization which was founded in October, 1904, under Mrs. H. V. Freeman's leadership. It has now an enrollment of fifty-six, and is conducted by Mrs. A. V. Powell.

Perhaps the most notable event of recent years has been the adoption of the new "budget plan" for meeting the benevo- lences of the church. So wide had these become that nearly every Sunday-morning service was liable to be encroached upon bv special appeals from the pulpit. This interruption was especially distasteful to strangers, and it was determined to make one appeal only, in the beginning of the church year, providing for weekly or other payments and the distribution of the full amount collected by stated percentages to each benefaction. By the very efficient cooperation of the Board of Deacons, this plan has been entirely successful, resulting in an increased constituency of givers and in a larger total. The growth of the church during this pastorate has been as fol- lows : from other churches 781 ; on profession of faith 258 ; deceased 83 ; dismissed 554 ; total present membership 938.

That so much has been accomplished within the past ten years is a testimony not only to the wise and genial guidance which the church has had from its pastor, but is also a tribute to the loyal and persistent cooperation of the entire member- ship. ]\Iore than ever it can be said of the Hyde Park Church these brethren "dwell together in unity.'' From first to last this church has been a kindly and neighborly association

42

Thomas G. McCulloh Henry V. Freeman Charles H. Arms

ELDERS

John A. Cole George Stewart Harvey C Olin

William A. Olmsted John C. Welling David J. Lindsay

of friends. Gossip and detraction tind no welcome here, but appreciative words and helpfulness are ever forthcoming.

During;- these years also losses have come. From the eldership we ha\e lost Ralph F. Boyle, who died within one year of his election, Joseph N. Barker, David J. Lindsay, John C. Welling", and Elisha C. Ware. Joseph N. Barker was for years the senior elder of the ciiurch, having served in that office for thirty years. Born in Kentucky, he was a worthy representative of that sterling class of southern men and women who have added so much to the culture and prosperity of Chicago. No officer of this church has more clearly recog- nized the responsibilities of his office or sought to discharge them with greater fidelity. Strangers, the sick, and the needy were the objects of his constant solicitude. In the darkest days through which this church was ever called upon to pass, he was the "(ireatheart" who took upon himself its sorest burdens. Xo one can exaggerate the value of his consecrated life to this community in which so many of its years were spent. Homer N. Hibbard, for twenty-five years an elder, passed away in November, 1897. His interest in every feature of the church's life had been intense through all these years. John C. Welling was for twenty-five years an elder greatly beloved, and the true friend of the church in all its activities. IDavid J. Lindsay and Elisha C. Ware so recently among us, have left cherished memories in all our hearts. Of the fourteen elders chosen before 1888, three are still living, two of these in distant States. Of the nineteen chosen since that date, three have died and two have left Hyde Park ; one of these, Harvey C. Olin, to become Treasurer of the Home Mission Board of the General Assembly.

In reviewing the history of this church during the past fifty years, the helpful work done in its Sunday School has been prominent. It was the first religious efifort made by the little community in the first chapel. Paul Cornell and Curtiss Bogue were its first leaders and James P. Root its first ap- pointed Superintendent. Names very dear to this community are those that follow in the list of succeeding Superintendents; Homer N. Hibbard, Chas. A. Norton, George M. Bogue, S. P. Farrington, Maj. J. H. Cole, Joseph N. Barker, Samuel H. West, Fred H. Kent, Henry S. Osborne, Henry V. Freeman, Chas. H. Arms, Thos. G. McCulloh, Harvey C. Olin, Arthur H. Rugg, George C. Lazear and Samuel F. Beatty. Each of these in turn has caught up the Sunday School banner of this church, maintaining its splendid ministry and winning the aff^ectionate

45

regard of parents and scholars. Mention should also be made of the long- and faithful service of Mrs. F. F. Bosworth, who for eighteen years was continuously in charge of the Primary Department.

This history also reveals the arduous toil which has been thrown upon the able business men who have constituted the Board of Trustees. Again and again have these been charged with the details of extensive building operations which, with restricted means, they have wisely conducted. Probably the three buildings and the changes that have culminated in the present church edifice have cost about $125,000. There have been times also when much financial skill has been called for in arranging for current expenses. Notable men have served on this Board, some of whom, as Trustees Gilchrist, Sr., Ott, Robinson, Welling and Rockwell, were taken from our midst very suddenly. They have left a permanent memorial and today are worthily represented by their successors.

To glance even hastily over these years without special mention of the women of the church, whose cooperation has stimulated and strengthened every part of its ministry, is impossible. For this Jubilee week it has been decided that these services can only be properly recognized in meetings set apart for the purpose, and all will enjoy that more detailed treatment of the subject which will be so afiforded. Among the organizations in which their efforts have been efficient is the Sunday School, especially in the Beginners and Primary departments. The Presbyterian Hospital and Asso- ciation House ; and of church organizations, there are The Ladies' Aid Society, The Women's Foreign Missionary Society, The Women's Home Missionary Society, The Study Class of Foreign Missions and the Kindergarten.

The Young People's Society, organized in 1871, has been a flourishing organization from the first. It is at present actively engaged in mission work and maintains a Sunday evening service, which is largely attended.

The character of Hyde Park, as at first built up, was such as to present but few cases of want requiring the aid of the Church, and for many years the Board of Deacons was not heavilv taxed. Changed conditions in this territory have in- creased their burdens, and of late years they find great oppor- tunity for service in connection with the new budget plan of church benevolences. It is to their faithfulness and the diligence of the treasurer of their Board that its success has been made possible.

46

Walter C. Nelson Arthur H. Rugg John M. Coulter

ELDERS

<^ Elisha C. Ware

Henry H. Belfield

Ralph F. Bogle

Welland F. Sargent

Edward E. Hill

The present church edifice, in which we are nieetinj^ today, certainly demands a moment's thouglit. Is it not a typical outgrowth of Protestantism as shown in its architec- ture? Not now. as formerly, is it sou,s;ht to embody the reverence and godly gratitude of the community by an edifice of costly splendor, but rather is the edifice sulx)rdinate to the service of each individual spirit which constitutes the real temple. This church edifice is therefore designed to afiford helpful facilities for every function of an active church. We have a large auditorium of perfect acoustic properties, a large lecture and Sunday School room, many convenient class rooms for Bible Study, serving rooms for the social entertainments, a special place for little children, and ladies" parlors for all occasions. Xo one is neglected in the provision which is here made for spiritual service. We greatly rejoice as a people in this building dedicated to the worship of our God. Though of modest cost when compared with many other church edifices, it seems to present an ideal liome for an active membership.

One year ago this church made an impcjrtant forward step in the appoinment of Rev. Howard French to be its Assistant Pastor.

Our present representati\'es in the foreign field are the Rev. A. K. Reischauer in Tokio, Japan ; Mrs. Sarah Wirt Peoples at Nan, Laos ; Mrs. Loretta C. A'anHook, Tabriz, Persia; Miss Juniata Ricketts. Hangchow, China; and Mrs. D. J. Fleming, Lahore, India.

But dates and names, events and records, do not constitute a history of the real Church. These are but its outward manifestations. Spiritual influences ceaselessly radiate from every Church of Christ. Human hearts, consciously or un- consciously, are moved by them. To those who seek the Way the fears and sorrows of life here lose their prevailing power. What is the value to one human soul of that which effects a change of aim, a consecration of will, and secures a faith that overcomes the world? What the value to a com- munity, of influences that not onlv bind together l)ut fuse in one its diverse elements to a harmony of feeling, purpose and sympathy? What institution but the Church of Christ can so transform society? Indeed, this unifying power is the only' hope for the world amid the rivalries of the nations. If the masses of oriental lands are not brought into heart sympathy with the Occident, civilization must perish before their re- sistless onset when once they realize their power. The

49

Christian Church can change the heart cf nations, as its history proves. The lines of the poet, with a word of change, express this great truth :

"But there is neither East nor West

Nor border, nor breed, nor birth, WHien Christian men stand face to face.

Though they come from the ends of the earth."

This is the truth that Jesus saw^ afar as He prayed "that they may all be one."

"In building and not yet finished." Let us take courage for the years to come, and send forth from the Hyde Park Church strong beams of Hght that shall hasten the coming of the day when "all shall know Him from the least to the greatest."

50

During- the afternoon of Sunday a notable "neighl)orhoofl and fellowship meeting" was held, repi'esentatives of other denomina- tions in Hyde Park l)rins;ins words of greeting, congratulations, and Christian fellowship. It was evident that the churches of Hyde Park are not so much representatives of different denominations, as Christian organizations working together in a common cause. Of the addresses which follow it is possible to give only a summary, selected from stenographic notes.

Address by Rev. John R. Grosser, D. D., Pastor Kenwood Evangelical Church.

I bring to you and your honored Pastor the congratula- tions of the Kenwood EvangeHcal Church and my own con- gratulations. Some years ago. for a little time, I visited in Florida and spent a Sabbath in St. Augustine, and I worshipped in the Memorial Church there. There was in the pew with me a gentleman whom I did not know. I do not know his name now, but we enjoyed that service together, especially the musical part, for some of you may know that the church is wonderfully well appointed for music. The next day I met the same gentleman upon a steamer in the river, and as we were standing together I made a remark about being at the church the day before, and I said that the church was well appointed for music, but it was a dismal failure as a place for preaching. He hesitated for a moment, and then he said, "I don't know as that makes any difference, for about all there is to a church service in these days is the music." And so, my friends, as I look at this array of pastors before me, it seems to me that before we get through with our sermonettes you will be led to say there is something more to these services than the music.

You are celebrating your fiftieth anniversary. Bismarck said "the first fifty or eighty years," I have forgotten which, "were always the pleasantest of a man's life." Now that de- pends on how these years have been lived. You have all heard the old story about the nervous woman, who asked the conductor with a great deal of solicitude, as they were starting down from the top of Mt. Washington, "where would we go if this cable should break?" "That all depends," he quickly replied, "on how we have been living." This church has been living well. It is now fifty years old. This seems

51

like a long time, nearly as old as the Pastor, or some of these brethren here. I congratulate you on wearing the crown of early manhood, and I also congratulate you that you are located upon such magnificent vantage ground in this great city.

I heard some laymen preach not long since. I have heard quite a number of sermons from laymen. I am inclined to think they preach better than preachers do. This was at a banquet and they had subjects assigned. A doctor had the subject "What I would do if I was a business man"; and a business man was to discuss the question "What I would do if I was a doctor"; a lawyer was asked to say "What he would do if he was a minister." The lawyer was Judge Sears. He said, if possible, he would not be a foreign missionary, al- though he believed thoroughly in foreign missionary effort. He would not be a settlement worker, though he believed in that. He would not be the pastor of a rural church, though he believed in the far-reaching influence of the rural church ; but he would be, if he could, the pastor of a church located in the city, where the young men. business men and profes- sional men, full of promise, were located. This is exactly the position of this church, for he said "these young men would soon be a mighty power in the community, and it would be worth while to direct them in the right way." Now Judge Sears has the more modern conception of the church. He would not think of the church as a hospital. So often the church has been referred to as a hospital where there are a great number of in\alids and a few overworked persons min- istering unto them, but he would think of the church as a force and an army, where each man was expected to do his duty ; and because the church is a force, it should do something toward giving tone and character and flavor to society. I like that idea. Some of us are about ready to put up over the door "no admission except on business." One very efficient pastor asked the new member "what is to be your specialty, what phase of church work are you going to put your hand to?"

I rejoice in the prosperity of this church, and I rejoice in the beloved relationship, the sweet and effective relationship, that exists between the pastor and the people. You are actuated by one spirit, so that you can stand in this community reproducing the life of Jesus Christ, giving character and efficiency to this community, and through this city and throughout the whole world.

52

Address by Rev. Charles Bayard Mitchell, D. D., Pastor St. James M. E. Church.

I am deeply grateful to the program committee who have made it possible for me to come. I am glad to be here. 1 feel honored that I am permitted to stand and speak a word of congratulation to this splendid church, for what it has been doing and for what it is.

Fifty golden years! The prosperity of one church in the community is that of every other church. The strength of one pastor is the strength of all. Here on this corner this church has stood for fifty years proclaiming its glad evangel and is- suing forth its splendid influence. The glory of this church has been the glory of all the churches, and every church in this part of the city has gained something of its strength and splendor from what this church has been doing, and all of the pastors in this section of the community feel strengthened and more firmly intrenched in the work because of what this pastor has been doing and is doing. The real truth is the Church of God is a unit, and no one part of it can be hurt without all the other members feeling the sword ; and no one can get honor and win success without strengthening all the others. The da}^ has gone by when the kingdom is to be regarded as a divided kingdom.

I am very glad I was not born when my father was. He was a Methodist minister in eastern Ohio and western Penn- sylvania. There was not the happy relationship existing be- tween the churches then that exists today. I have heard my father say that in his early days Presbyterians would no more think of letting their children go to a Methodist revival than they would let them gO to the circus. My father said that in his early days he never thought of inviting a Presbyterian pastor into his pulpit ; and a Presbyterian pastor would no more think of inviting a Methodist pastor into his pulpit than he would think of flying. There was a great gulf fixed. My father did not regard any young minister equipped for his job until he could "lay out" the Calvinists. He was not fit to be a Methodist preacher until he was able to carry on a debate with his opponents. Every minister was sort of a Benjamin- ite. He was supposed to go out with his hand against every- body and fight for his position. I thank God that we are not expected to carry on that sort of warfare any longer. I never had a debate with a Calvinist in my life ; I never had a debate with a minister of any other denomination. I never heard of

53

such a thing in mv day, or experienced this unseemly condi- tion that existed in the day of my father. Now we are on friendly terms. The real truth is you cannot tell, when you go into a modern church, unless you have read the sign on the outside, whether you are in a Methodist or a Presbyterian church. We preach the same glad evangel, we are doing the same work, we have come together in the history of the church. I am glad I am alive today. I am glad I have lived long enough to see the day when Protestants present a solid front to the world.

The truth is that the Protestants, already bound together by the bond of love, are more a unit in the United States today than are the Roman Catholics, and especially is this true since we formed the Federation of Churches. Today, there are ;5o I'rotestant bodies of America bound together, 16,()00 ministers and nearly 20,000,000 communicants. These are bound together by a bond that is not simply sentiment. The Federated Council of the Churches of Christ in America is just as much a part of the Presbyterian Church as is the Presbytery or your own local Session. It is recognized by your church, its oflficers are the friends of your church as they are of mine ; and now that these great Protestant bodies are bound together, Protestantism is no longer a rope of sand. We have an organized institution, and when Protestantism wishes to speak on any great question it can speak with as much solidarity as can Rome.

We are united, and the church that worships here and the church that worships at 46th Street and Ellis Avenue are practically one. We belong to the same great Protestant force, and we are facing the same situation, and it is a glorious thing. Not since the days of Martin Luther has Protestantism presented such a solid phalanx under the leadership of our common Lord. It is a great day in which we are living, and we Methodists have a right to be in this church this after- noon, and all who belong to the Body of Christ have a right here. It is a part of our Father's vineyard, and we are here to congratulate you. We feel that your victory is ours, and we rejoice in it. Every good thing we hear of the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church shall make our church glad, and every honor that comes to your highly honored Pastor will warm our hearts, and make us glad that a man of God stands in this splendid place. W^e congratulate you and hope you will go on and on until you come to your centenary, and I do not see any signs of decrease of virility.

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George C. Lazear

A. E. Coleman

A. Stewart Baldwin

ELDERS

C. F. T.oweth

E. H. Bingham

S. S. Dorwart

Samuel F. Beatty

Charles AV. Bird

Frank F. Bosworth

When a man gets to be tifty, he says he is g'oing over the top of the hill, down on the other side ; but as a church you are stronger now than ever. What a splendid virility you have ! You are starting in on the second fifty years strong;er than on your first. It reminds me of the old man who was an optimist. He had just turned his hundred years, and he met a hollow- eyed, hollow-cheeked, lantern-jawed pessimist. "Well, old man, your race is nearly run!" "I don't know about that; I don't know about that." "Well, you don't expect to live very much longer?" "I don't know about that; feeling- pretty good." "W^ell. you certainly don't expect to live another hun- dred years?" "I don't know about that; started on the second hundred a g;ood deal pearter than I did on the first." So you start on the second fifty a good deal "pearter" than you did on the first fifty. God bring you a splendid harvest, and a splen- did victory and reward !

Address by Rev. Herman Page, D. D., Pastor St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

I am \-ery sorry that the dear old Rector Emeritus of St. Paul's could not have been here to bring his greetings in per- son. And yet 1 am glad he was called away, that the duty and privilege does not come to him, because it devolves upon me. and it is one of the happy moments of my life to come here this afternoon and extend to you not only my own personal congratulations, but those of my congregation as well.

As a previous speaker has said, we live in a very happ}' day. It does mean a great deal that we of the different de- nominations of Christ's army can come together and sit on the platform this afternoon. You know it is not so many hun- dred years ago that the Episcopalians and Presbyterians could not Ifitch up together, because one of the problems was whether vestments should be worn, and another was the read- ing of the Psalms aloud ; and it seems almost impossible to us that men could have fought and separated themselves over the things that did separate them. We certainly do live in a hap- pier time, and it is a happier time because we are not so much interested in platforms and creeds. We are too busy here in Hyde Park doing the Lord's work to think much about the formula. It is a happy thing to live in a day when the em- phasis is on the son who said he was unwilling to obey his father's behest, but went out in the vineyard and did the work. It is a happy thing to live in the time when we recog-

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nize the man or the woman who docs something- as better than he who says something. And when we are all of that mind, we need have very little anxiety about church unity, if we will only do the Lord's work. There is plent}^ of it right here in this great city, and if we do it as w^e should, we will not have much time to bother about the cjuestion of coming together in one great organization.

And as 1 stand here this afternoon, may I express my conviction that nothing would be more unfortunate than if we came together in one great organization ? The world has not quite learned the lesson of great charity. The day has not vet come when we can all look with charity and tolerance upon every question and opinion. If Dr. Vance could persuade some of his committee that it was a good thing to bring a boy choir and altars and candles into this church, I wonder how^ the people would feel. T venture to say there would be an exodus, and I am sure that if I were to change our order of worship, and substitute the extemporaneous prayer and take away the candles and vestments, there would be consterna- tion in my church.

We could not come together at the present time if we tried. When it comes to uniformity, nothing could be more unfortunate. There are these differences, and it would be a strange attitude toward God if we should feel that these dif- ferences do not stand for anything. We do not believe that God has allowed men to think along these different lines sim- ply to have division. We are w^orking out this great prob- lem. It is the problem of democracy, how^ men of different attitudes and different likes are going to work together in the House of God.

I am glad to come here as one representing a church that stands for dift'erent things from what the Presbyterian Church stands for in a superficial way, and I am glad there is another organization working for another Church of Christ that stands for something different. You do not believe that I believe my church represents all there is to be known about the w^ay of carrying on God's kingdom ; that all we have in that organ- ization is all there is ever going to be. If there were not other organizations doing things in a different way, and so often doing them in a far better way. what w-ould become of us? And so from the bottom of my heart I thank God for the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church.

There has been some talk about growing old. I remem-

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her when Phillips iSrooks delixered the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary address at the old Boston Latin School, he spoke of the fact that it was true of the really great institution that it never grows old; and I remember another phrase he used in that great oration, that it was a splendid thing to be born in the morning. And when we look out on this community, I remember that the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church was born in the morning of the life of this community, and it has taken the lead and grown up and become large and strong, even as this community has grown from a little rural community and become a part of the city. We can all thank God that this institution Avas born in the morning, and because it has kept close to Christ it has that i)ower that keeps an institution from ever growing old.

Address by Rev. Frank D. Sheets, D. D.,

Pastor McCabe Memorial M. E. Church.

It would be easy and delightful to devote the eight minutes allotted to me to a eulogy of Presbyterianism. But I will not do it. Dr. Charles Seymour Robinson once contributed to a little book, entitled "Why I Am What I Am" the article "Why I Am a Presbyterian." He was very competent to speak, for he loved your Zion. Among other things he said in answer, "Because I believe with the unbroken conviction of my entire life that this church is the nearest to the Scriptural idea of an evangelical church that there is on the earth, and I am sure it is the one in which I should be the happiest and most useful till I die." Methodists, Episcopalians, and Baptists here will not mind it if you Presbyterians say sotto voce "Dr. Robinson was right." Of course he was. And the real sw^eet thing about it all is that we non-Presbyterians say just the very same thing with the very same emphasis about our denominations. Isn't it a truly glorious consummation that such is the fact? Here we are today of "what-not" denominationalism, bringing greetings of fellowship to you Presbyterians, and this too, I am sure, without one whit of jealousy or one bit of despair.

The fact is. my friends, we evangelical folk are one in the essentials. And the essential things in men are the things they hold in common, not the things they hold separately. Therefore, on this Sabbath afternoon, whatever the escutcheon of our denomination, we have inscribed upon it Presp.vteriax for today.

Need 1 remind you that we have been working in you and

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with you since that liour when a congregational vote named you Presbyterian? We are glad that so much of your good blood in the many wives of your church households and in the numerous men of your church homes was drawn from the spiritual veins of Methodist fathers and mothers. Of course your success was certain. It required no prophetic gift to foretell it. We are a proud mother today because our denomi- national children have not been traitors to their faith while marching in the regiments of your army. They are good sol- diers, whether their orifiamme is borne by John Calvin or John Wesley.

We are glad that the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church rejoicing in tlie strength of its years, has become a citadel of the faith, a dominant local force for right- eousness and a Avorld-gospel propagator. It would shame you to keep this half century anniversary of your genesis had you not become what you are. For what you have done and are doing will bring inspiration to what we do or ought to do. The children of the faith round about always look up to the parents for the word of the Spirit and for the example. Everything you become and everything you do that contributes to the regnancy of the Kingdom makes it easier for us, and hastens the cjuicker enthronement of the Lord of lords. We congratulate you today that you are so masterful by the assets of your members and by your wealth. It all spells opportunity and responsibility. "A stick might fit a hole, or a stone a hollow, by accident. But a key and a lock are both complex. And if a key fits a lock, you know it is the right key." In just a word, the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church is the key that has fitted the lock of the Hyde Park neighborhood. Therefore, it is the right key and we are glad. All I have said seems so cold and distant. I wish I could bring you our hearts, warm and beating, that you might see written thereon, as in letters of fire across some vesper sky, their love and all good wishes. Since I cannot do this, I am sure you will receive me as the accredited messenger from the AlcCabe Memorial Church. For it. I speak in conclusion: We are glad that we are in Hyde Park, because you are here. W^e are not "moving soon" because of our church neighbor. We are glad that we think your stand for every- thing that is watermarked by the Divine will. It makes our ideals seemingly realizable. W^e are glad that we may be counted co-laborers with you. We are not ashamed of our company. We are glad for the ages of struggle and sacri-

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fice, hope and triumph you have written. They enrich our heritage. We are glad that at fifty you are not senile or blase, emasculate or moribund. You implant courage in us. We are glad that "church attachment" with you has nt)t gone with the "breaking down of the barriers of sectarianism." You cause us to love our church. We are glad that you verify the mission of the Apostolic Church. It makes doers of us.

And now we look toward the future transfigured by your resplendent past and your joyous present, with the wish and prayer that the fifty years to come may find yon "diligent in spirit, serving the Lord" ; a mother bountiful in the largess of your ministry, an almoner of loving mercy, a conserver of Christian unity, the creator of splendid manhood, the servant of "One who is your Master, even Christ." In the name of the McCabe Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, I bring to the Pastor and to the Members of the Hyde Park Presby- terian Church heartiest felicitations and a thousand good wislies.

Address by Rev. Nathaniel Butler, D. D., The University of Chicago.

First of all, for the church of which I am a member, and for the university in which we are all concerned, I want to oiTer our very best congratulations and best wishes and God-speed, for the time has come in the history of this church when its name is known throughout this city and beyond the bounds of the city. We know of your splen- did past and splendid ])resent. You are a stimulus to us all, and we thank God for this condition of things.

Men of my time of life can remember a period of years very difTerent from this idea of fellowship. My father was a Baptist minister in the state of Maine. My father was more imbued with the sj^irit of fellowship than most men of his day. I remember when he started for church each Sunday morning, he would always gather a handful of flowers to be left with the Catholic priest to be placed on the altar. That was many years ago, but in spite of that example, which I always remembered, I got the intellectual attitude which many of us assumed in those days, and which has been described here this afternoon. I remember perfectly well believing that God was more interested in the Baptists than in any other body of people, and I think that is vv'hat we all felt about our

61

own body. Just why God had spared the other bodies, I did not know, but I was sure he was doing his own particular work with the Baptists.

We are wondering today how the attitude has been so radically and totally changed, and I think the answer is this : World emphasis in our time has shifted from theology to re- ligion. Questions of theology on which we group ourselves divide, but religion is a great common interest, a thing we •do not learn but which is born with us like the social instinct, the desire to be with our kind. Religion is a thing common to us all, and as we emphasize religion and not theology fellow- ship has become inevitable. In the presence of those here I speak with diffidence, but I think we should all agree that the great purpose of religion is to keep the right relation with God and our fellow men. That is the one thing upon which we all agree, and we may define the function of the church to be the promise of anything and everything that can better human life and bring men and women into right relations with each other and with God ; and when we act on that basis, of course fellowship is inevitable.

Our fellowship is the fellowship of a great army, in which there are companies and divisions ; but the battle will not be won by the first or second regiment, but by each one shouldering his proportion of the responsibility. God's work is not being done by Baptists, Methodists, Episco- palians, Presbyterians alone, but by all working together in the group in which our lot is cast. I doubt very much if denominational groups could be made if they did not exist, but I agree with Doctor Page that we could not dispense with them, for we were born in them and grew up with them, and God has given each of us a certain thing to do. We see you doing your work, and we will go oiT in another place and do our part in the common service, and thus Chris- tian history moves in a circle. We begin with Jesus Christ and we go back to Him at last, and the circle is complete when we become one with the Father.

I bring also sincerest congratulation on the part of the university. We have reason to be glad that this church is so strong. Some of our own strong men are your members, and you embody what we believe is the great modern idea of education, not learning alone, but intelligent religion as well.

A great church like this is a benefit to the city. Our homes are safer, our children are safer, our prospects are brighter. It is a great civic institution. But when we turn to the great laymen's missionary movement and the great

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conc|nest of Christ, and see how little we have done in coni- parison with our resources, in comparison with what we can do. and see what has been accomplished by our little, and then take account of our great reeponsibility, it is not simply a matter of imagination that if we would only stand together, each taking our proportionate share of responsibility, the pros- pect of evangelizing the world in this generation would seem to be almost an easy thing to do. It can be done, it must be done. If the University and the Hyde Park Baptist Church were to send you a message in any words of scripture, it would be this, "The Lord increase you more and more, you and your children, and may God give all of you, each in his place, to know what is his work and to do it. and that men may know how to take the things of Jesus Christ and apply them in every phase of life."

WASHINGTON AVENUE ENTRANCE

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THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETY

On Sunday evening the Young People's Society held a special meeting, in charge of the president, Miss Alice Lee. The Pri- mary room was filled with old and new members, anxious to hear of the history and growth of the society. After the usual song and prayer service and Scripture reading. Mr. Edward Lazear gave an outline of the history of the societ^^ which was in substance as follows :

Young People's prayer meetings were held in this church on Sunday evenings as early as 1871. In 1872 the Young People's Society was formally organized, but in December 1886 was changed to a Cliristian Endeavor Society. The meetings were conducted according to the formulas of that organization : but the activities of the Society continued much as before.

The report of the "Lookout Committee" for 1887 shows 55 active members who had signed the Endeavor Society pledge, 31 associate members who had conscientious scruples against signing it, and an average attendance of lOo. The membership and the interest continued to increase, and in 1890 it was thought wise to form a Junior Endeavor Society.

The first recorded work of the C E. Society was the removal of a debt of $125 on the grand piano, easily accomplished; but missionary work was the ])revailing thought, and when the Christian Endeavor Society of Chicago sent out is first mis- sionary. Miss Jennie Coleman, a member of this Society, it con- tributed $50 a year to her support. The Society, among its other labors, collected good literature for distribution among the prisons of the state.

In 15)01 the Society returned to its previous plan of organiza- tion and resumed its former name. While this change resulted in a slight decrease in membership, the missionary work has inci-eased to a remarkable degree. In 1905 the Society pledged $400 a year for the entire support of one of its much loved mem- bers. Mrs. Elizabeth Cole Fleming, who became a missionary in Lahore, India. This sum has been regularly raised by the Society, partly by donations from different departments of the Bible School, partly by entertainments, partly by subscriptions from the young men of the Society.

Perhaps the most marked and beneficial result obtained by this organization has been the development of Christian charac- ter in its own members, evidenced by their becoming strong and persistent workers in Christian and Philanthropic fields.

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Monday, May Second

Young People's Social Evening

INIonday evening- was assigned to young people's organizations, not merely as a social occasion, but also for brief reports. The six organizations represented were brought togetlier socially for the first time, and the committee in charge arranged for a" most at- tractive evening. The more formal part of the program during which the various organizations reported through their representa- tives, was in charge of Mr. Ralph H. Rice, president of tlie Men's Bible Class. Summaries of throe of these reports have been ob- tained for publication, and are presented below. The Preparatory Bible Class, organized under the very efficient leadership of Mr. Merton Robbins, and developed by him into a very active organiza- tion, is unfortunately not represented by a report; and the same is true of Mr. McCulloh's Class. The history of the Young People's Society had been given the previous evening, so that that organiza- tion was not represented Monday evening in the formal part of the program. The reports of the three remaining organizations are as follows :

The Reed Bible Class.

In 1906 nine girls under tlie leadership of Miss Mary Reed organized a Bible Class, with a tentative constitution and the temporary name of the Reed Bible Class. The class, made up of girls over fifteen years of age, had as its aim the study of the Bible and the helping of as many poor children as could he reached. This aim has been remarkably w^ell carried out. The girls have completed a study of the life of Christ and a brief study of the early Old Testament history, and have begun a study of the history of the early church under Miss Coulter, during Miss Reed's absence in Japan. Besides materially help- ing many poor or sick children at Christmas and at other times, the class has organized a girls' sewing club. This club has been meeting every Thursday for over a year, and is still in a very flourishing condition.

Until 1908 the class grew very slowly but steadily. In the fall of that year Mr. McCulloh's class of twelve girls were ad- mitted. After this addition the class grew even more rapidly, and now the enrollment is 47, with an average attendance of 30. With the growth of the class came increased activity. Besides doing much charity work, the girls have also had several pleas- ant social affairs and entertainments, often in conjunction with the Preparatory Bible Class.

During the four years of its life, the class has developed from a simple organization with a chairman, secretary, and treasurer, to a complex organization with president, vice-

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president, secretary, treasurer, and four committees of great importance — social, membership, room, and finance. In the spring of this year (1910) a regular constitution was drawn up. According to it the class, called the Reed Bible Class, is to be made up of girls from 16 to 21 years of age; after 21,. the girls are considered alumnae. Thanks to Miss Reed, a permanent organization has been formed, which hopes to be- come a real influence for good in the church.

Young Women's Bible Class.

The nucleus of this class consisted of the members of a Bible class taught by Mrs. Henry V. Freeman. In October 1904. a constitution was adopted and officers were elected. The first president was Miss Annette McGibbon. who in her two years of service guided the class into the channels in which it still moves, for the work she helped inaugurate continues much the same. Mrs. Freeman's friendly, co-operative spirit was most helpful, and almost immediately the class found its place among the important activities of the church. The plan for its benevolences, undertaken then, remains the same.

The foreign mission interest is centered around Mrs. Eliza- l:)eth Cole Fleming's work in India, and each year about one- sixth of her salary is contributed. As the class became better organized, the Emergency Committee came into existence. Its membership comprised the entire class, and it had its sep- arate treasury. After advertising its readiness to do anything, from sewing and cooking to nursing and shopping, the class began to fill orders through its chairman, who received them and then called on the members of the class to fill them. The first two years were busy ones, and then the plan was modi- fied, until now the Emergency Committee fills only orders for lunches connected with the church activities and for which a charge is made.

The money that the treasurer of the Emergency Committee receives each year is used entirely for the Home Mission work at Association House. This settlement work came into promi- nence in the church about the time the class was organized,. and when the question of Home Missions came up, it was decided to center all the efforts in the library work there. The new Association House building, dedicated in February 1906, had no provision for library work except the unfurnished room, some dilapidated and unsuitable books, and many eager children. The class used every effort to furnish that room. The silent flooring, paneling, decorating, lighting and furnish- es

ings drained the treasury that year. Since then the class has bought new books and rebound old ones, besides paying some of the running expenses, having expended about $l,5U0 for library work.

When the class organized, there was no place in which to hold the Sunday meetings. The church auditorium was too noisy, and refuge was found under the organ loft In tiiis tun- nel-like room the class met to listen to Mrs. Freeman, while the machinery of the organ groaned and wheezed beside them. The claims for a suitable class room were heard, however, and when the new addition to the main lecture room was built, one of the best rooms came to the class, which has furnished it very attractively.

In November, 1906, Mrs. Freeman was forced to resign her leadership. Mrs. Ambrose V. Powell has been the most efficient leader since then, and. with a revised class member- ship of 56 workers, the class is anticipating many happy, successful years.

Men's Bible Class

This organization began in the autumn of 1900, at which time there was no class connected with the Sunday School for young men. Professor John M. Coulter, of the University of Chicago, recognizing this need, at the request of the Pastor agreed to teach such a class. The young men to whom the plan was men- tioned took to the idea enthusiastically, and the class was begun under the leadership of Dr. Coulter, and in charge of an executive committee of three, of which Mr. J. Elliott Jennings was chair- man and class secretary. During the second year Mr. Jennings withdrew from membershij:) and activity in the class because of his removal to Evanston. and a class organization of somewhat different character was perfected. The list of officers was ex- tended, including a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and certain committee chairmen in charge of membership, social affairs, etc. Since this reorganization, the presidents of the class have been A. Miller Belfield. 1903-1906; T. J. liair, 1906-1908; and Ralph H. Rice, 1908-1910. In 1900 there were perhaps 20 members in the class ; at present there are about l.-)() names on the roll.

The lesson topics usual in Sunday Schools did not seem to meet the needs of such a class. Accordingly, series of studies dealing with the social mission of Christianity have been used, and since these studies always bore directly upon the varied experi- •ences of life in a great city, animated discussions soon became

69

a feature of the class sessions. The following series of topics have been presented, each one of them usually extending through a year : The social teachings of Jesus, The social teachings of the Apostles, Jesus and the Christian character, Social ideals of the primitive church, The early missionary movements, Chris- tianity and the social crisis, The Church and social reform. The discussions have been of intense interest and benefit to all the members of the class. On account of them, the class has in- creased steadily in numbers and loyalty, the lives of the members have been directed into effective channels, ideals have been uplift- ed, and the attitude of the class toward their fellowmen and the vexing problems of life have been brought more into harmony with the teachings of Jesus. The Christian fellowship developed by the members of the class has been a striking feature which has been strengthened by frequent social meetings.

Early in its life the class began to be active along practical lines suggested by its discussions. Settlement work seemed to present a practical field, and the interest of the class was brought to the work of one of the settlement houses in the city, namely Association House, a gospel settlement located in a very needy district on the northwest side of the city. The work of this settlement was begun and carried on largely for girls and women, but a boys' work was beginning, and one of the members of the class, Mr. S. F. Beatty, was induced to take charge of a class of boys, meeting in the evening for study, recreation, etc. Other members of the class were also interested and took charge of other classes.

The need of better facilities, especially in the matter of build- ing and equipmentj was so evident that the young men of the class interested in the matter soon inaugurated a movement to build a separate building of moderate dimensions for the boys' work and other needs of Association House. The figure first mentioned was $500, for a temporary wooden building capable of serving' as a small gymnasium, especially for boys. At a dinner of the class, held about the middle of 1903, the matter was- taken up and considered and subscriptions made toward such a building, which upon investigation it was found would have to be a much more costly one than first supposed in order to answer the intended purpose. The figures mentioned were $1,500, and then $2,500, and, inasmuch as nearly $1,000 was sub- scribed at the dinner referred to, the latter figure was adopted as the one to be reached, if possible. An active canvass for funds was started, and various ways and means for raising money were

70

considered. Altogether about $10,000 was raised, including the gift of a fifty-foot lot for the building.

Upon taking up the matter of a building, however, it was- deemed best by all friends of the Association House to have a single building for its entire work, for both boys and girls. A general canvass for Association House was then inaugurated, resulting in the raising of a very substantial amount, some $30,000, and this with the fund raised by the Men's Class was put into a single building, occupying the property donated to the Men's Class for a boys' building. The new building contains ample equipment for both boys and girls, and is provided with a substantial corps of workers, and has adjacent to it a large play- ground, sufificient to accommodate several hundred children, owned in part by Association House at the time the building was built, and since added to.

Association House serves a large number of people in its com- munity, the number being estimated at perhaps 5,000, and it must be a very helpful and leavening influence in its district. This class has continuously maintained an interest in Association House and its work, a number of its members being always in the list of officers and directors, and the members contributing individually and as a class to the support of the work.

The class has recently taken an interest in another social betterment movement. This is a work for boys in the old station of the Illinois Central Railroad at 57th Street, South Park. This old building has been repaired and equipped with apparatus for social and gymnasium work with boys, and is directly under the supervision of the Hyde Park Branch of the Juvenile Protective Association, and the members of this class are affiliated with the work and with that association. Dr. T. Grant Allen being in charge of the class committee connected with the work.

The Men's Club of Hyde Park.

One of the notable organizations that centers about the church, in the sense that it uses the church for its meetings, and was organized by men of the church, is the Men's Club of Hyde Park. It is an organization to afford wholesome fellowship, entertain- ment, and instruction for the men of Hyde Park, and to develop and stimulate an interest in the development of civic and social conditions. The club fills a well recognized place, not only in the church, but in the community at large, as is evidenced by the sustained and increasing interest which has characterized its meet- ings. It has grown from an organization of about 45 members to one of over 300 members. It was organized ten years ago

71

through the foresight of Rev. Joseph A. Vance, D. D., and Dr. John M. Coulter, who gathered together some 30 or 40 men for social purposes, and who organized under the name of The ]Men's Social Union.

In the early days of the club it seemed to be more largely educational than it is at present, for as the years have gone by, while endeavoring to have each meeting contain something of real value, the club has emphasized its social side, believing that to have the men of the church and of the community come to know each other intimately has a very real value, not only to the men themselves, but to the church and to the community as well.

The first president of the club was Dr. John M. Coulter, who served for two years. He has been succeeded by the following men as presidents : Hon. William H. INIcSurely, 1902-04 ; Dr. Wilhs (). Nance, 1904-06; A. Miller Belfield/ 1906-08 ; Col. Nathan \\'illiam IMacChesney, 1908-10.

The club was incorporated in 1908, the application for the charter being signed by Thomas Madill, AV'illiam F. Cameron, and Nathan William AlacChesney. It is now thoroughly organ- ized with a constitution and by-laws, which provide for a Board of Directors of six members, a President, and a Secretary. The club is in a flourishing condition and has selected a statement by Dr. Henry \'an Dyke as expressing its point of view :

"Companionship is the one thing in the world which is abso- lutely essential to happiness. The human heart needs fellowship more than anything else — fellowship which is elevated and untir- ing, stronger and purer than itself, and centered in that which death cannot change."

YOU N G LADI ES'

Bl BUE CLASS

ROOM

CHURCH PARLOR

KINDERGARTEN ROO M

Tuesday, May Third

Reception tor the Ladies

Under the auspices of the Women's Societies of the churchy a reception was held at 3 p. m. The guests of honor were women who had attended the httle white chapel in the grove at the corner of Lake Avenue and 53rd Street. There were seventeen of these ladies present, some of whom were the children of the early church, each wearing an American Beauty- rose as a means of identification. They were Mrs. H. N. Hib- bard, Miss Edith Hibbard, Mrs. Lodge, Mrs. Nettie Moore^ Mrs. Paul Cornell, Mrs. Alvord, Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. A. V. Powell, Mrs. Leslie Lewis, Mrs. D. S. Johnson, Miss Edna Johnson, Mrs. Baldwin, Miss Renimer, ]\Irs. Hamilton B. Bogue, and Mrs. P. L. Sherman. The most honored guest, Mrs. Paul Cor- nell, the only living charter member of the church (among the women), carried a large bunch of roses, the gift of the ladies' committee.

The program began with a group of bird songs by Mrs. Charles Robbins, after which there was an address by Mrs. P. L. Sherman, who said, in ])art : 'Tn J 858 my husband and I were at the Richmond Hotel on the northwest corner of South Water Street and Michigan Avenue, when we received an invitation to attend the dedication of the little Hyde Park Chapel. The day arrived and we hired a horse and buggy and drove south to the little church. On our way we stopped at Kenwood, where my husband had recently purchased ten acres of ground on Lake Avenue in the vicinity of 47th Street. I was chiefly impressed by the beautiful wild flowers growing on the place, especially the great clumps of white and purple phlox. I have often wondered how many people now live on those ten acres. The only thing left of the beautiful trees and flowers that used to be there is one sickly little horse chestnut tree in the court of a flat Ijuilding.

"We drove on to the little church, and the first thing that greeted our sight was the decorated gate posts. There was an ordinary picket fence around the churchyard, but the gate posts were taller than usual, and around these posts were the most beautiful wreaths of wild flowers, as large as a wagon wheel and as thick as my arm. Inside, the church was most prettily decorated with similar wild flowers. There my

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memory stops. I do remember, though, that before we drove home we stopped at Mrs. Paul Cornell's and she gave us the most delicious cake. The sermon and the text have escaped me, but the memory of that cake remains to this day.

"Shortly after, we built our home in Kenwood and became regular attendants at the church. When the congregation divided, it was our duty to drive every Sunday afternoon to 39th Street, the end of the horse-car line, for the Episcopal clergyman. Of course that meant entertaining him at tea on Sunday evening, and then driving back to 39th Street with him at the close of the day. There was a Presbyterian wood pile on one side of the churchyard, and an Episcopalian wood pile on the other, but there were no squabbles. The Presby- terian and Episcopalian ladies met together for their sewing societies, and together they packed boxes and barrels for the soldiers."

Mrs. Fenton sang a group of songs, and Mrs. E. S. Wil- liams of Minneapolis, who was a member of this church thirty-five years ago, followed with a brief address. Mrs. Williams was chairman of the box committee when Mrs. C. B. Nelson was the president of the Missionary Society, and re- lated some laughable experiences in connection with her of- fice.

Mrs. Robbins sang again, and Mrs. Leslie Lewis read a paper written many years ago by Mrs. Homer N. Hibbard for the Ladies' Aid Society, entitled "A Leaf from an Old Book," the record book of the Ladies' Aid Society from 1870 to 1886. 'Tt was very pleasant to look back through the pages of the old book. They are fragrant with loving service of the ante- chamber of the sanctuary. They record a steady growth in power, love and faith. They preserve the memory of well- beloved faces which we shall never again see among us."

Miss Edna Johnson, daughter of Rev. David S. Johnson, Pastor of this church from 1867 to 1880, in a very simple and beautiful way, told of her first impressions.

"My earliest recollection of going to church is of being confronted by a flight of stairs and climbing up laboriously step by step with my mother's help. I think that must have been at the little wooden chapel, at least this is the only mem- ory which entitles me to be numbered among the honorary guests here today.

"I have a very distinct recollection of the old stone church, where I learned to climb by myself the long stairway lead- ing to the auditorium on the second floor. I used to enjoy

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sitting- in one corner of our long pew and saying the names of the different families over softly to myself as they assem- bled for the service." Miss Johnson continued with a most interesting series of stories of her recollections of a surprise party at the Pastor's house, a bazaar under the auspices of the "Busy Gleaners," and the Sunday School.

Letters were read from Mrs. W. A. Olmsted, now of Wash- ington City, and from Mrs. Daniel Home of River Forest, now 90 years old, a member of this church since 1864.

The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society.

The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society began January 22, 1869, when, at the second meeting of the Sewing Society, the ladies present resolved themselves into a missionary society ''for the purpose of gaining missionary intelligence," the president of the Sewing Society acting also as president of the Missionary So- ciety. Mrs. Norman B. Judd was the first president, serving for two years ; and Mrs. C. B. Nelson was appointed secretary. Mrs. Charles Hitchcock was treasurer for the first two years and says that her possession of a horse kept her in office rather than her missionary zeal. Her duty was not only to receive the dues but to collect them as well. The congregation was scattered from 47th street to Stony Island, and she often went twice a month before she succeeded in getting the fifty (or perhaps ten) cent subscriptions.

Mrs. Judd and Mrs. Hitchcock drew up the first constitution, which was quite simple, but adequate for the needs at the time. Not long after it was adopted, a request came from the ladies of the Second Presbyterian Church for a copy of it. There were seven articles and three by-laws, which were from time to time altered or amended as the needs of the society demanded. In Article 1 the name of the society was given as "The Ladies' Hyde Park Missionary Society," which should be "auxiliary to the Woman's Board of Missions located at Chicago." Article III is interesting in the statement that "the object of this society is to engage in earnest, systematic efforts in raising funds for the support of unmarried lady missionaries and native teachers and Bible readers to heathen women through the agency of the American Board, and to awaken a renewed interest in the hearts of Christians in the great object of spreading a knowledge of God's word among heathen nations." Article VI provided for a meeting to be held the "first Friday of each month for the transaction of business connected with the society. On the intervening Fridays, at any meeting of the Hyde Park Sewing

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Society, letters from missionary fields were to be read by any lady in possession of such intellig"ence." This method did not seem to be productive of great results for some time, for the secretary's reports showed that interest must have centered in the sewing, or else missionary information was more difficult to get than now. For weeks at a time the minutes read something like this: "Met March 26 at the house of Mrs. Nelson. No report. Adjourned to meet at Mrs. Bogue's Friday, April 2." These minutes, found in the little book of the first secretary, are- interesting reading to those who remember the pioneer work- ers in the Woman's Society. Names such as Mrs. N. B. Judd, Mrs. C. B. Nelson, Mrs. D. S. Johnson, Mrs. Salhe Bogue, Mrs. John Remmer, Mrs. Charles Hitchcock, Mrs. James Wadsworth,. Mrs. Stickney, Mrs. Van Doren, Mrs. George Stewart, Mrs. E. G. Clark. Mrs. Van H. Higgins, Mrs. H. N. Hibbard, Mrs. J. N. Barker. Mrs. E. S. \\^illiams, Mrs. Mary Lodge, and many more, set us to thinking of the "old times" and what very good times they were.

Within the next decade came a number of fine, earnest women who were well fitted to take up the work some of the first were ready to lay down. Among these were Mrs. M. E. W. Cole, Mrs. John A. Cole and her mother, Mrs. Alvord, Mrs. Henry V. Free- man, Mrs. L. D. Chapin, Mrs. Charles H. Arms, Mrs. W. A. Olm- sted, Mrs. H. H. Belfield, Mrs. W. C. Nelson, Miss Elizabeth Stewart, Mrs. Edgar L. Jayne, Mrs. John C. Welling, and Miss Mary Paul.

During the twenty-two years from the beginning in 18(39 to 1891 the society had seven presidents, three secretaries, and five treasurers, the longest terms of service being those of Mrs. H. N. Hibbard and Mrs. \\'. C. Nelson, who served the society as secre- taries from 1871 to 1891, each ten years. The next longest term was that of Mrs. John Remmer as treasurer for eight years, from 1871 to 1879, and Mrs. J. N. Barker a« president for six years. from 1874 to 1880.

The early records show a membership of 33. which increased to 50 in a few months, and the monev collected during the first year amounted to $56.43.

In October 1870, the society took upon itself the education- of a young girl in a school at Marsooan, who was called Noyem- zar. This name seemed to be such a puzzle to western ears that some one conceived the idea of having the name plainly written on cards to be sold at a cent each, thus adding to the fund in the treasury.

In December of the same year the society withdrew from the:

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American Board and united with the Assembly's Board of Mis- sions. This meant giving up the missionary fields in which they had been interested, and Mrs. C B. Nelson was appointed to can- vass the missionary ground and report at the next quarterly meet- ing, that a new field might be decided upon. Syria was the choice of the society, and Miss Eliza Everett of Beirut Seminary was asked to put one of her girls under our care.

"Woman's Work for Woman" had its first subscribers among us in 1871, and still continues to be read, though under a slightly dififerent name, "Woman's Work."

It was in June 1872 that the Woman's Board asked for an expression of opinion from all auxiliary societies as to whether the work of home and foreign missionary societies should in future be carried on as two separate organizations, or, as here- tofore, by one society. It was voted that there should be two separate societies, and steps were taken to form a Home Mis- sionary Society.

In this year scholarships were taken in the school at Tabriz, Persia, and in Mrs. House's school in Siam, after some corre- spondence with Rev. Mr. Shedd of Persia, Mrs. Rhea of Persia, and Miss Dean, the first missionary sent out by the new Board of the Northwest, and Miss Jewett. as to the best field for work. At this time and for several years the letters and home visits of Mrs. Rhea were a wonderful inspiration.

Just here was encountered the first serious difficulty in collect- ing facts for this history, being unable to find any official record of the society from 1873 to 1887 ; but from one source and another we find that we were carrying three scholarships. One was at Oroomiah, Persia, and two were at Bangkok. Siam, for each of which we sent $30 a year ; and for several years $20 annually was given to the Ada School in the mountains of Persia.

A most important epoch in the history of our society was in 1882, when we sent Miss Sarah C. Wirt as our missionary to the Laos people. Miss Wirt had been a missionary visitor in Dr. Wishard's church, the Fifth Presbyterian, before uniting with ours, and offered herself to the Board in response to Dr. McGil- vary's appeal for workers among the Laos people. Our society immediately set to work to get her ready for the long journey and her work as "our missionary." The ladies met at different homes and cut, fitted, and made many garments. Every one wanted to have a share in the preparations. The Young People's Society gave her a watch, and the Sunday School a medicine chest. She sailed from San Francisco September 21, 1882, with a com- pany of missionaries bound for the Laos field, and arrived at

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Bangkok November 21. On the ship was Rev. Samuel Peoples, M. D., to whom she became engaged in the course of the next few months, and they were married at Bangkok November 13, 1883. We were told that she wears the first wedding ring made in Siam. Their first home was at Chieng Mai, convenient to the dispensary and hospital where Dr. Peoples spent a good share of his time, and Mrs. Peoples often assisted most skillfully in caring for the sick and at surgical cases. In fact, it would be easier almost to say what she has not done in all these twenty-eight years, for, being a practical woman, she has had to turn her hand to all sorts of work. Her letters have been most interesting as well as instructive, and have been saved for us and those who come after, by Mrs. Myrtilla Alvord. who copied them all on her typewriter, making a large volume which Mrs. Cole has had bound and values highly as the work of her dear mother. Dr. and Mrs. Peoples have made two moves since they went out, first from Chieng Mai to Lakawn in September 18S5, and again in January 1895 to Nan. where they have remained until the present time.

During this year, 1895, our congregation, men, women and all, raised $1,000 to buy a lot on which to build a suitable place of worship at Nan, and later approximately $600, made up of memorial gifts, were sent to build a small church called Hyde Park Chapel, which contains a tablet bearing the names of those in whose memory the money was given. A pretty Sunday morn- ing custom is the marching of the Mission School children to this chapel, dressed in their clean white jackets, and singing hymns. The fine French stereopticon lantern which our people sent out to Mrs. Peoples, with slides for the Bible School, has given great pleasure to both children and grown people, and has been most valuable in illustrating Bible talks. The Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society has occasionally sent boxes containing articles for the comfort and pleasure of Dr. and Mrs. Peoples, and in 1890, when their son Samuel Ray Peoples was born, a baby's complete outfit was sent.

In 1895 the society adopted a new working plan which was suggested by Mrs. Herring, the wife of our pastor. This plan has made the duties of the president less arduous, has interested many more wonien than ever before in missionary work, and has proved very satisfactory in all respects. The women of the church are divided into ten groups of perhaps thirty in each, living as nearly as possible in one district. Each group or division has a leader and an assistant, who are responsible for one meeting each year, and who try to call on every lady in the division during the year. Each division has its special missionary field

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FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVES Mrs. Sarah Wirt Peoples August K. Reischauer Miss Juniata Ricketts

JNan, Liaos Tokyo. .Japan Hangchow, China

Mrs. Loretta C. Van Hook Mrs. Elizt-beth Cole Fleming

Lahore, India

Tabriz. Persia

which forms the topic of its meeting. Pledges are sent out to each member at the beginning of the year, and subscriptions are made, payable yearly, quarterly, or monthly, according to the convenience of the subscriber.

A Mission Study Class was formed in 1902. led by Airs. John Cole and consisting of twenty members. It continued for eight years, until the whole course adopted by the Ecumenical Conference was completed and a class of four graduated. Since then the Alission Study Class has been a permanent feature of our church life, and this year is studying Latin America under Miss Stewart's leadership.

In this same year we decided to give up our scholarships and take upon ourselves the support of another missionary. Through Mrs. Freeman we became interested in Miss Juniata Ricketts, who went out to Hangchow, China, and has been there ever since, with the exception of one furlough spent in this country.

In 1903 Mrs. Loretta C. Van Hook, a much loved member of our church, and a returned missionary from Persia, went back to her old field at Tabriz, and it has been our privilege to have a share in the payment of her salary.

The history of the Woman's Foreign Missionary .Society would not be complete if we omitted the name of the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Cole, Mrs. Elizabeth Cole Fleming, the youngest and latest missionary to go out from our church. The Young People's Society, many of whose members had been her life-long friends, assumed her support, but she is claimed bv all of us, for we have seen her grow up almost from baby- hood. In 1904 she married Dr. D. J. Fleming and went out to Lahore, India. Once she has been back, bringing her little two-year-old daughter, and those who were so fortunate as to hear her tell of her life and work in India will not soon forget it. In fact, the talks and letters of all our missionaries, which we are privileged to hear from time to time, are an inestimable inspiration to the workers in our society, and thrill us with the possibilities for the future of a work \\'hich in the last forty years has risen from so small a beginning to its present status.

The Woman's Home Missionary Society.

There has been a Home Missionary Committee in the church since 1882, Airs. Joseph N. Barker being its first chairman. When Mrs. Charles H. Root came to Hyde Park from a large working Home Missionary Society in St. Louis, she interested a few ladies in a Home Missionary Society. Also Mrs. M. L.

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Beers, we learn from the beautiful memorial to her, was one of the first ladies interested in the formation of our Woman's Home Missionary Society. She served on the executive committee and soon after she moved into her new house (Jefferson Avenue and 5-lth Place), threw it open for a musical and tea, at which nearly $50 was raised for the Society. But it is in the minutes of tlie Ladies' Aid Society that we find the first authentic account of its organization on April 18. 1888. At a meeting of the Ladies' Aid Society on that date, Mrs. Bogue stated the reasons why it had been thought best to form a Home Mission- ary Society. These reasons seemed so forcible to those present (40 ladies) that it was decided to organize a Home Mission- ary Society, and the following officers were elected : Mrs. Charles H. Root, president ; Mrs. Charles H. Lewis, vice-presi- dent; Mrs. T. H. Hamill, secretary; and Mrs. John A. Cole, treasurer. Madame Cole and Mrs. Hibbard were appointed a committee to prepare a constitution.

In the minutes of the Ladies' Aid Society for November 17, 1888, it is recorded that Mrs. Charles Root, the president of the Home Missionary Society, asked for the constitution, which was read, approved and adopted. It was stated that every month one meeting should be devoted to Home Missions. Another entry of January l(i, 1889, records "It was decided that limcheon should be served at the first meeting in each month, that being the day devoted to Home Mission work." These and other entries in the minutes of the Ladies' Aid Society seem to show that the Home Missionary Society kept pretty close to the Aid Society for some time.

While the Home Missionary Soicety considered different fields of labor each month, its one special interest was the sup- port of its missionary Miss Albertine Butts at Mary Allen Semi- nary, Crockett, Texas, and her work among the Freedmen. Lentil March 18!»5. the contributions of the Society went through the Freedmen's Board. After that date all funds were sent to the treasurer of the Woman's Presbyterial Society of Home Mis- sions in the Synod of Illinois, to be apportioned to various causes supported by the Board, which method still continues.

For many years the regular subject for May was the Presby- terian Hospital, and Miss Patterson, the hospital missionary, would give an account of the spiritual work in the institution and its results, telling many impressive anecdotes in a way that touched all hearts.

The sending of missionary boxes to home missionaries and minister's families has been a special feature of the work each

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year. No one can read the grateful letters from the recipients without feeling- the need for this phase of the work.

In November, 1900, Mrs. W. A. Olmsted established the Mia Olmsted memorial scholarship in the Girls' Industrial School at Concord, N. C, among- the mountain whites, credit for which was to be given to this society. Every year she sends the re- quired $75 through the treasurer of our Home Missionary Society.

The Home Missionary Society seems first to have come in close touch with the Foreign Missionary Society during the summer of 1893, as the Annual Report of April 189-i says: "We did not take the usual vacation of two months in the sum- mer, but instead held union meetings with the Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society in July, August and September."

In April 1905 the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society and the Home Missionary Society tried the experiment of meet- ing on the same day, with luncheon served between the meetings.

The combined societies decided to try still another experi- ment this year (1910), that of having one president for both Societies; therefore, at the annual meetings (February), Mrs. Robert F. Cummings was unanimously elected president of both the Foreign and the Home Missionary societies.

The Ladies' Aid Society.

In the early years we were very few in numbers, and the small society existed under several dififerent names. First it was called "The Ladies' Sewing Society," and held itself ready to take in sewing of all kinds, to be done on reasonable terms. After several years this method was discontinued, and in 1872 the "Ladies' Plome Missionary Society" took its place. This society met to make garments to be sent in missionary boxes. In 1874 it was reorganized under the name it now bears, "The Ladies' Aid Society."

Besides the usual work of such a society, it had then the care of the sick and poor. There was no other organization to do charity work, and for years any case of poverty, sick- ness, or suffering which came to the knowledge of the church was cared for by this society. Coal and comfortable garments, were distributed, nurses and medical attendance provided in cases of sickness, and nourishing food and delicacies furnished,, often for weeks at a time.

All recognized and respectable methods of raising money were well-known to the veterans of the society. Whenever a tight pinch came, and the fiat went forth that "something

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must be done," forthwith the fair, the picnic, the New Eng- land supper, the Martha Washington tea party, or some other enterprise called all the hosts together for service.

The Aid Society justified its name by more than once bring- ing up the arrears of the pastor's salary, when the trustees were unable to raise the money. There were a few years when we were called to walk in dark and trying paths. The debt which had hung over us ever since the building of the church had been growing more and more burdensome and oppressive. In January 1881, a memorable day in the history of the church, Mr. Edward Kimball appeared and announced that he was going to help lift that debt. When at length the societies of the church were called on for contributions, a few of the members of the Ladies' Aid Society gathered in neigh- boring pews and, holding their breath while they did it, pledged themselves to give $1,000. They felt frightened the next day when the glow of enthusiasm had faded a little, but they set to work stout-heartedly, with woman's characteristic impatience of being in debt, and with such blessing on their effort that the $1,000 was paid in six months, instead of the two years which had been given them.

For a long while the wear of time and weather on the church had been growing painfully apparent on walls and ceilings and floor. It grew worse. We were ashamed to have our new pastor, Mr. Ray, who came to us in the spring of 1881, believe that we were such bad housekeepers. One day a large piece of ornamental cornice fell, leaving an unsightly chasm. Something must be done. The treasury was empty and the trustees, when appealed to, shook their heads dis- couragingly. The cry went forth as to a forlorn hope, "The Ladies' Aid Society to the rescue!" By this time the Ladies' Aid Society had begun to be regarded as the Tenth Legion. or better, perhaps, "the Old Guard, which never surrenders.' Our energetic president, "Sirs. Higgins, said we must do it, and we did it in the summer of 1881. We came back to our clean and freshly decorated church on October 9, 1881. This campaign brought our treasury very low ; after all bills were paid, two cents were left.

The old book follows the fortunes of the Aid Society only so much farther as to record the aid given by the society in the building of the manse. On March 4, 1885, it was voted at a meeting of the Aid Society that the money in the treasury be appropriated to the parsonage fund. The enterprises for adding to this fund, by making aprons and comforters, and by

various entertainments, went on briskly during the year, to so good a purpose that a reception was held in the completed manse on the evening- of April 2, 1886.

The foregoing is an abstract of a paper written by Mrs. Homer X. Hibbard, for many years secretary of the Aid Society.

There was still a mortgage on the manse, which was car- ried until 1888, when the society decided to raise the money by personal subscription, which was done, "and the manse passed from the Ladies' Aid Society into the hands of the church trustees, becoming church property." It has been the mission of the society ever since, however, to keep a watch- ful eye on the manse, and to renew its decorations from time to time, as well as to assist with occasional repairs.

The society was growing, keeping pace with the growth of the neighborhood, and had about doubled its attendance in two years.

In 1889, the Financial Committee of the Trustees sent a letter asking help in raising money for the proposed new church, and $1,000 was pledged. The never-to-be-forgotten bazaar held in the Tabernacle the next December raised $700 of the amount, and on April 2, 1890, the society held its first meeting in the new church parlors. At that time began the buying of kitchen equipments, and china, glass, silver, and tables of various sorts, also sewing machines, which, continu- ing up to the present, has gradually accumulated a fine outfit.

The period of Mrs. Walter Nelson's presidency was marked by a very noticeable increase in membership, due to her per- sonal effort in interesting ladies and securing members. Mrs. Nelson set her aim for a membership of 100, and she passed it by ten, with an attendance often reaching 65. . Sociables were more popular then than now. In January 1893 the Aid So- lety gave one which was attended by 350 people.

At the March election that year, Mrs. T. G. McCulloh re- placed the faithful and competent Mrs. Nichols as treasurer, and has served in that capacity ever since, seventeen consecu- tive years, much to the satisfaction of the society.

The attendance, which had been waning a little, took an upward bound when Dr. Vance came, and has been soaring ever since, until, with an attendance of from 85 to 100 and more, we are even outgrowing our much enlarged accommodations.

As soon as the new church was built there was another church debt, and for three years in succession the society pledged and paid $500 toward it, making a total of $3,500 re-

corded as paid by the Aid Society toward tlie two church buildings.

Methods of raising money have been much the same from the beginning, but one bazaar was a unique success, a truly beautiful affair, which attracted widespread attention. It was called "A Trip Around the World," and was held in February 1901, under the direction of Mrs. J. E. Parke. The bazaar of December IHO!) surpassed all others by taking in over $1,800, besides being a notable success artistically.

In 1906 the day of meeting was changed from Wednes- day to Tuesday.

Since 1907 the society has had another period of rapid growth, and this time due to the formation of the Young La- dies' Guild, which has taken charge of the fancy work and made the last two holiday bazaars the great success they have been.

It falls to the lot of the Aid Society to do a good share of the entertaining in the church, and from time to time the Presbytery, the Synod, and other large gatherings have been served with luncheon or dinner. The first annual church dinner was served by the society in April 1904. Circum- stances prevented its repetition in succeeding years, but it is now becoming an established custom.

Not all of the work of the Aid Society is to raise money, for a very large amount of sewing is done for charity. Such institutions as the Presbyterian Hospital, Glen wood School, Crippled Children's Home, and the School Children's Aid So- ciety annually receive contributions of sewing or money, or both.

Golden Jubilee Banquet.

In the evening of Tuesday, the men of the church and their guests assembled at the Chicago Beach Hotel for the Golden Jubilee Banquet. It was an occasion of good fellowship and many reminiscences, and the most notable single feature, per- haps, was the singing of patriotic songs written by former members of the congregation. These songs were printed in the very handsome menu and program booklet, and included "The Battle-Cry of Freedom" and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," by George F. Root, and "Marching Through Georgia," by Henry C. Work.

Judge Henry V. Freeman acted as toastmaster, and his introductory remarks were in substance as follows :

"It is my pleasant duty as chairman to w^elcome here to- night the representatives of other churches of our neighbor-

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hood who are sitting at this table. We have with us Dr. Grosser, of the Kenwood Evangehcal Church, at the extreme right: next, Mr. H. L. Waite of St. Paul's Episcopal Church; then we have Dr. Nathaniel Butler of the University, repre- senting the Baptist Church ; next to him sits Mr. Hamilton B. Bogue, one of the charter members of our church ; then comes the Rev. Galusha Anderson, D. D. ; Dr. Hubert C. Herring, one of our former pastors ; Major James H. Cole, an early member of the church ; Rev. Dr. Frothingham, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery ; Dr. Edward H. Curtis, pastor of the Woodlawn Presbyterian Church, which is one of the children of this church ; Rev. C. Harmon Johnson, of the South Park Presbyterian Church, son of our former beloved pastor ; then Mr. Frederick W. Root, son of the late George F. Root, who rendered such distinguished service to the Union cause during the Civil War by his great war songs, some of which are on the program ; then Mr. Leslie Lewis, representing the South Park Congregational Church.

Recently Mr. Hamilton Bogue told me that Henry C. Work, another w^'iter of great war songs, the author of the famous "Marching Through Georgia," who was a member of this church in the early days, had at one time an attack of illness when he and his young wife were living in a frame house on Madison Avenue south of o3rd Street. Mr. Bogue, though working down town every day, frequently went over there, and in good old neighborly fashion sat up with the sick man night after night. At that time Mr. Work was compos- ing his well known war song "Kingdom Coming." Mr. Bogue recalls that while Mr. Work was lying wakeful at midnight he sometimes laughed out loud with hearty glee as some humor- ous situation developed itself in his mind, which he has set forth in that song."

"The men of that time were bearing the heavy financial burdens of the church. They were struggling to build it up. In every way, financial and spiritual, they were trying to serve the Lord. Their memories ought to be pleasant to us. tonight, now that most of them have passed to a higher and nobler service than that of earth. We realize tonight that this church has done a great work in the community. It has often seemed to me, and doubtless to others, that it was not making very much impression, but I am conscious tonight, as I look backward, that it has made and is making a very real impression. There has always been here a genuine Christian influ- ence making itself felt from generation to generation. The older

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members of the church cannot think of its past without recalHng the very large number of good men and women who were striving in all its history to serve God in sincere and earnest religious life and service. Such men and women are always making impres- sions for good, the extent of which neither they nor others realize at the time, but which nevertheless survive. If it were not true of this church and had not always been true of it that it has been earnestly trying to do the Lord's w^ork here, we should not be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, for this cele- bration is of no value unless it shall stimulate to higher efiforts and nobler service in the years to come.

"1 remember reading one morning many years ago that Rev. Galusha Anderson had been called to the head of the old Chicago University. He had lived here before, having been pastor of the Second Baptist Church. The people there still hold him in loving remembrance. Tonight they required his presence at a meeting of their own, in which they paid honor to the memory and loving service of an old member of his congregation. Dr. Anderson became president of the old university and later a professor in the new. There have been three different periods when the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church was without a pastor and it has called on him to serve as acting pastor in its pulpit. Now in the Indian Summer of his years he has retired from the new university's service and is doing valuable and earnest work in other fields. In these golden years he has all that should accom- pany old age. love, honor, and troops of friends ; and I am very sure that not the least grateful of the friends who cherish him are those of the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church. \\'e rejoice that he is with us tonight."

Dr. Galusha Ander.sox : 'T feel very much at home to- night, and I am very happy to l)e here. Still you belong to one denomination of Christians and I belong to another, and why am I happy? Simply because to be a Christian is a vastly greater thing than to be a Baptist ; to be a Christian is a vastly greater thing than to be a Presbyterian ; and because we meet here as Christians, as those who love Jesus Christ, our hearts flow together.

"Perhaps there is another reason why I felt at home in the Presbyterian church. ]\Iy grandfather was a Scotch Presby- terian. He was born in this country of Scotch parents, a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church of Leroy, in western New^ York. A few years ago, when I was in that village, the brethren found out there w^as a grandson of their Presbyterian elder in town, and thev would have me stav over night, and thev filled the

church full, I suppose just to see how the orandson of the Pres- byterian elder looked, and how he talked ; and I had a j^^lorious time with the Presbyterian brethren there.

"I remember some years ago when Mr. Kimball was trying to wipe out the church debt and did it. In the evening I said, although I was pretty poor in those days and have not bettered myself much since, 'I must pay -$25 on that debt because my grandfather was a Scotch Presbyterian' ; and he announced it and said 'blood will tell.' Well, that was a great day. I have always been glad I was present on that occasion. He came unexpectedly in the morning. The elders of the church were greatly disturbed ; they did not think it possible to raise that debt. I came in and found them in that condition. I remember Mr. Hibbard said 'you want to preach this morning, don't you?' 'Well, I am not so very particular about it.' He wanted to get an excuse to turn Kimball off. 'Well,' he said, 'you came here for the purpose of preaching, didn't you?' 'Certainly.' Don't you really want to preach?' he asked. 'Yes, I want to preach.' 'Mr. Kimball is here and wants to raise the church debt, and we don't think he had better do it.' 'Don't think a moment of me.' I said, 'I should like to see the debt raised.' And they let him begin. At ten o'clock that night we had the thing done. They could do more than they thought. That was a great day, a day of triumph for this church.

"Now the thing that cheered me most m the history I lieard Sunday morning was the reference to the mission which this church planted and took care of, and which grew into a strong Presbyterian church, and has been a strong Presbyterian church now for many years. So this church reproduced itself to the south of it. Now this proves what churches are for. They are in this world to establish the Kingdom of God in the hearts of men, and to propagate themselves by putting out these missions and then nurturing them until they grow into efficient churches.

"We must save the cities if we are to save this republic, and so the stress of our evangelical endeavor ought to be in the large cities. If we do it, we must proceed on the idea of Christ. Christ always turned his heart towards those that had gone astray. The Good Shepherd went after the sheep that was lost until he found it, and his ministry was summed up in the saying 'He came to seek and to save that which was lost.' If we are going to evangelize this great city, we must plant missions and save the people right in the worst places, and keep them there until we regenerate these neighborhoods."

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"In the early days of the McCormick Seminary some young men said : 'We want to plant a Sunday School, and we want to find the worst place on this side of the city in which to plant it.' Some men said : 'Go over there ; that is the worst place on the north side; they call it 'Hell's Hole."' They established that Sunday School, and they gathered in the children, and they preached the Gospel, and renovated the neighborhood, and today a flourishing Presbyterian Church stands upon the ver}^ place where they planted their mission, and it has stood there for years. They w^ent to the worst place first and that is what w^e should do. Now, how are we going to do it? Xo one denomination can do it, but all of them united together can do it, and we need not put aside our peculiar notions, either, unless we want to."

Judge Freeman : "Seme sixteen years ago Dr. Herring came to us as the pastor of the church, was with us four years, and was greatly beloved. When he went away he left behind him a sincere regret tm the part of the congregation, who had be- come deeply attached to him in the relation of pastor and people. He went from here to Omaha, and is now doing noble service in the Congregational Church, has become one of its most prominent and active Board secretaries, and is ren- dering yeoman service for God and humanity. We rejoice in his presence tonight and I have great pleasure in presenting him to you.

Dr. Herring: "It is a very great pleasure indeed to have a share in this semicentennial celebration. As Judge Free- man has said, I have pitched my tent in another camp for twelve years, but the camp is not so far away but that I have been able to hear the reports of your prosperity, the growth of your numbers, the enlargement of your plant, the splendid leadership that you have and the loyal and splendid following, and the wide and widening influence that you have exerted ; and the camp has not been so far away, either, that I have failed to have great pleasure in hearing of that prosperity, and in knowing of it rather intimately through the various chan- nels by which it came. It is a very happy thing to think that at the end of fifty years there is so much to be grateful for, and so much to be hopeful for, as you gather here.

My own memories of Hyde Park run back of my pastorate. In 1879 I came as a student at the old university at 35th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. Hyde Park was then a village somewhere southward. I do not remember that I knew any- body who had been there : nobody made such a daring trip.

A. L. Smith

Arthur V. Lee

Abner T. Hinckley

DEACONS

Anson S. Hopkins Henry S. Osborne

Charles E. Ware

Chas. L. Boyd

Edwin D. Wheelock

That university was presided over by Dr. Anderson, who has just spoken.

"I note that there have been changes here. I see more new faces than I thought I should, for as I have scanned your church roll from year to year, I have been interested to see how constant is the body of workers of this church. I pre- sume I know a great many of these young men if I only could place them. Presumably they were boys twelve years ago, when I left here, and they have grown to manhood, and there have disappeared the outlines of countenance which I should recog- nize.

"It is interesting to note that the men who werecarryingthe burdens of the old days are carrying them still, with reinforce- ments, and it is a pleasure to think of the years of friendly service given by these men.

"Your church is getting out of its youth. I suppose that in this country a church 200 years old is an old church, because that represents about the maximum which is reached by some of the far eastern churches that were organized in the early days. This church developed in organizing its spiritual muscle and strength, and is now ready for its great service. These past years, what- ever they have been, havebeen preliminary years, and you are to begin doing the great work of this church. Just as a man passing the age of forty might be said to be ready to do the utmost that in him lies, so you may say of this church. I want to call your attention to a single thing, and that is that your church, by virtue of its location, by virtue of its history, by virtue of its present strength, has upon it a sort of responsibility that would not rest upon a church of similar membership located in some other part of the country, where its function would be primarily that of a shepherd of a flock of people, and sending out its gifts for the evangelization of the world. You are here in a position of strength, in a locality influential in its nature, in the midst of a throbbing heart of the great interior of our land. Your church, therefore, takes on quadruple significance. You are those to shepherd a flock; you are those to send gifts out to evangelize the world ; you are those to provide for the generation that shall grow up around you ; but beyond that there is much to do here. You are in the midst of a city which must be conquered and held for Jesus Christ, if ever we mean to conquer and hold this great interior for Jesus Christ. Now that all means that there ought to be in your church life here a sort of quality in all these coming years of your maturity which shall dififerentiate you from a church dififerently placed. And I want to remind you that your

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church, situated thus, influences those heavily laden with obli- gations, upon whose success or failure depends the success or failure of this great experiment which would win the world. "We have come into an age of philanthropy when it is vastly easier than it ever was to get men to give of their substance for the relief of trouble and sickness, an age of reform when men's hearts are hot against corruption and evil as they never were, and an age of education when the truest desire of every home is that our children may be educated and the money of men is brought out like water to found educational institutions. All these things are luminous with hope. They cannot fail to stir one's heart to have a share in such great movements. But if philanthropy, reform, and education could accomplish all they desire unto its utmost limit, they would still fail to reach the need of humanity, for they have no power to bring man into relations with God, and the Church of Jesus Christ exists for that purpose. And I remind you, also, that neither reform nor education nor philanthropy can carry out that program unless behin-^ them and in them is the thrill and love of Jesus Christ which flows into the world through its church. But your philanthropy will die, and your reform will die, and your education grow cold and false, un- less the coming of Christ is added. The great, big, central respon- sibilit}' is on us who have in hand the afifairs of the church of Jesus Christ to make, if we can, the church and the world one, co-workers ; and it is for us to see, especially in the great cities, that the church is an institution of heaven. The church shall then get the most devoted elTort of our lives, and, so far as in us lies, with faith and prayer and activity let us help the church to win the battle and win the world for our Lord Christ."

Judge Freeman: "In 1872, when I first united with the Hyde Park Church, there was a young man here, with his wife and daughter, who became active in the church work. He became so interested in Christ's work that he gave up his business, and since that time has been a preacher and worker for the conversion of men. I am not going to take time to introduce him to you at length. Many of you have met him, many of you have heard of him, and I think many of you know of the work he is doing. Many parts of this and other lands have borne witness to his zeal and efficiency, and wher- ever his pilgrim feet have trod, he has left the impress of an earnest man seeking to serve his God and Master. I intro- duce Major James H. Cole.

Major Cole, after relating anecdotes of his early expe- riences in Chicago, and also in the army, closed as follows:

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"Friends, you do not know what this Presbyterian Church is to me. My father was a genuine Methodist minister, my mother was a Presbyterian, my oldest brother a Baptist minister, and my wife a Congregationahst. I am a mixture, and in my heart I belong to all of them. A mighty union has taken place down in the Auditorium this week, where all these denominations have united on missionary lines, and this is just what this Presby- terian Church has been doing for many years. God has a pur- pose for us all. That purpose is to get right with God. Re- peat the following after me :

'The Purpose of God: (1) In Christ. — By Him to recon- cile all things unto Himself. That He should give eternal life to all who believe on Him. That He might destroy the works of the devil. That also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. That in the dis- pensation of the fullness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ.

(2) In he Church. — That we should be to the praise of His glory. That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. That all may be one. That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church. That now unto the princi- palities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God."

Judge Freeman : "Mr. Hamilton B. Bogue is a charter member of the church, and the only one who is left here. He Avas one of the first three elders of the church. In those days I have heard it said of Mr. Bogue that he made himself a hewer of wood and a drawer of water for the struggling infant church. He is now among those who have, in the words of Webster to the veteran soldiers of the Revolution, 'come down to us from a former generation.' We are glad of the opportunity to hear from one who has for so many years been closely identified with the church history.''

Mr. Bogue: "My tongue never obeys when men lend their ears, so I hope you will indulge me in reading the little I will say. The foundations of Hyde Park Presbyterian Church have been builded so deep, so wide, and so solid, that it is little wonder that the span of its noble life counts fully fifty years. The pages of this bright primer say this is its Golden Jubilee Week, that it was born May 6, 1860. I well remem- ber the bright sunny morning. The little frame chapel, white with green blinds, seemed a fair structure among the oak and hazel at the northeast corner of 53d Street and Lake

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Avenue. There rested on the gate a generous wreath of the bright wild flowers so plenty then along the paths every- where, through the fields and wooded ridges. My mother said, 'See, there is Grandma Ryan under the trees across the street, may be she brought it.' She said, 'Yes, I made it for your church. I can't go inside, but Jesus came for all of us and He will bless us all alike.' The woman was an Irish Catholic, working whenever she could for neighbors' families. Did the humble woman give our young Calvin band a com- manding example against living in a narrow creed?

"Another incident leading toward wise theology had hap- pened the previous Friday evening when balloting for our choice of denomination in which to organize the church. The first ballot was seven for a Congregational church, four for a Presbyterian, and one for a Methodist. The Presbyterians were so astonished and grieved that they were in tears as they told their disappointment. They had lived here four years, holding weekly prayer meetings and often Sunday services in their homes, always believing the church would be Presbyterian. Paul Cornell had built the church with faith in the same result ; so confident were they that the question had not been discussed. There was one Congrega- tional family having four votes. They quickly conferred with the other three and a motion was made to reconsider the ballot. A new one was taken, resulting in eleven Presbyter- ian votes and one Methodist. Curtiss Bogue was the Meth- odist. Mr. Cornell urged him to change. He said he ought not to, as he would not enter the membership ; therefore he had no right to say what denomination it should be unless it be Methodist ; but whatever it might be called, it would make no difference in his work, for he would do all they would allow him as long as he lived near enough to get to it ; but for himself he had been converted from careless life into the Methodist faith as a brand from the fire, and he must live in it to the end of his days. So with such dedication, from three great militant creeds, the church has had good precept for its vigilant guard against narrow, ungenerous ways, and its well known and admired stand on all questions of religious principle have been well worthy of its beginning.

"The past years of the church glow bright with unvarying record of full duty well done. No scar of dissension can be traced on its pages or recalled in any memory. Trials have been encountered, but with true hearts and brave courage.

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Frederick A. Brown A. Miller Belfield Emil O. Rudert

DEACONS

John C. Riheldaffer Frederick R. Angrell

Arthur W. Cole

Theron M. Bates

Charles C. Robbins

Those responsible for its fame have so quickly got close to the troubles, and cured them so thoroughly, that trouble al- ways vanished, and under Divine help harmonious life and brave, efificient energy for its duties have continued unhin- dered ; and through all the passing years the church has in- creased its service as widening opportunities have multiplied, and the people whose homes have been within its limits have gratefully acknowledged its good influence and joined hands in holding up its bright banner. Surely the able, righteous, human-hearted pastor whom our good God permits to lead us now will, Avith the help of the full 900 and more worthy men and women enrolled in his fold, fulfill the commands of the Divine ^Master that the fields be well tilled and the har- vests all gathered.

"Good friends tell me they are glad when they realize that I have been held in the sacred fold full fifty years. I have done little indeed to deserve their praise. The high honor of being held in the membershoip roll of this noble church so long is very dear to me, and no influence in my life has helped as that has helped me. It has been one unchanging happy part of all good that I have known. I was young when first honored as one of its cup bearers, and that high duty, contin- uing as it did Avell into my middle age, is a loved and cher- ished memory. The church associations of all my family have been within its fold. The noble woman whose happy heart and pure soul have been the inspiration of my life, four years sweetheart, forty-three wife, came into its blessed shelter before she was nineteen. All our three boys and our daughter were baptized at its altar, and the daughter came back so that she should be proclaimed a bride at the same altar. Now with these dear memories filling my heart so full, I plead that the years that may remain to me may hold you in such willing charity that I may not be without your loving regard."

Judge Freeman : "Mr. Fred Kent was for a long time Superintendent of the Sunday School, and has since been liv- ing in Huron, North Dakota. We expected him here tonight, but unfortunately he is unable to come. Dr. Butler has con- sented to speak in his stead. I might say many good things about Dr. Butler, but I could not say anything you do not know. We listen to him with genuine pleasure always, and we have had the privilege of hearing him in our pulpit on many occasions."

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Dr. Butler: "I think it is most kind that I have this op- portunity, as you kindly gave me an opportunity on Sunday, to take part in your celebration, which I have discovered means so very much to every one of you, as it ought to with fifty years of splendid history. This is the occasion for us to look back upon the past. I could not bring to you any recollection of a past of any special interest, although my lot has been cast among Presbyterians, to my very great advan- tage I am certain, since I have lived in Illinois. But there are various ways of dealing with the past. Some are inter- esting and some very stupid. An old friend in Maine, once a college president, coined a happy word in telling of the past, as not reminiscences but 'reminuisances." I commend it to you as you gTOw old. Nevertheless. I can remember some years ago when I came out here from Maine, the town was hopefully looking forward to having 300,000 population, and was disputing with St. Louis.

"I went first to Lake Forest, a college of Presbyterianism, and I recollect Mr. D. R. Holt, whom some of you will re- member with great honor, Simeon Reed, Mr. Benedict, Wm. Henry Smith, and J. A\ Farwell, who are some of the men known far beyond Chicago in all Presbyterian circles. I could recall Dr. Kittredge of the old Third Church, and Monroe Gibson, an embodiment of sunshine, as well as some other men of energy and men of great power. Then there was Dr. Herrick Johnson. I am doing pretty well for a man brought up in the Baptist church, and I count myself very happy to have known such men, and to have been associated with them in the university, and to be honored with the acquaintanceship of so many men in your own church.

I think that our modern conception of the church and of the function of Christian men in this world is a most fortunate thing. I do not know any body of men that better embodies the modern idea of the church and the world and the function of the church in the world than Dr. Coulter's Bible Class. A man I met this afternoon referred to the old days when young peo- ple had to choose between enjoying life and going to heaven. The two things could not go together. They had to choose. We do not have to choose ; indeed we feel that if a man can help transform this world into the Kingdom of God, it is full proof that he will be in the Kingdom of God."

Judge Freeman : "The next speaker is one of us and needs

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no introduction. Yet I cannot but refer to the fact that not only is he loved and admired for the work which he is doing in the church with the Men's Bible Class, but he is recognized the world over as a distinguished scientist. He is, as we all know, one of the leading men in the University of Chicago, head of the department of Botany. In him there is no con- flict between science and Christianity.

Dr. Coulter : "This reminds me somewhat of the uni- versity alumni banquets which I attend occasionally. The general program consists of distinguished alumni who have achieved success of a certain kind and who give us their reminiscences, and then some fledgling is called out to stand for the university as it is today. I understand that I am to play the role of that fledgling tonight. You have had the representatives of the good old days, and I am to represent the present day.

"When we trace the history of a church like this, sit- uated as it is, a witness for Christ for fifty years, a com- plete transformation is to be expected. We expect a trans- formation in equipment, which we have ; and a transformation in numbers, which of course we have ; but it seems to me that the most significant transformation in this church, as in prac- tically all churches, is a transformation in the point of view. In the days that have been recalled to our memories, this church was in a rural community, in the quiet retirement of Hyde Park village ; and now it finds itself in the midst of a great metropolitan community, and the transformation in its outlook is not only remarkable but inevitable. It is not, as it once was, a quiet and restful and worshipful sort of a place, a kind of retirement from the business of the town into the country. It is a great organization, about which surge the problems of the metropolis, and it must confront these problems and help to solve them ; in other words, it has grown into a new organization with a new outlook. I have a friend who is fond of using this contrast : that the church of the olden days was regarded as a cold storage ware- house, while that of today is a power house. In those old days the church was regarded as a fold, to protect a timid flock from the wolves outside ; now it is a training camp, which is organized to equip men to go out and destroy the wolves. That figure feebly expresses the attitude of the church toward the world today.

"I like to think of this church recognizing as its attitude

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that which Christ held, for example, toward the Pharisee's. Sabbath. Christ found a ritual Sabbath, and he informed the ecclesiastics of that time that 'the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath' : and this is our view of the church today. The church was made for man, and not man for the church ; and as human need develops, and conditions are modified, so the church must become adapted to the changes. The church is not an organization that is fixed and that must impose itself upon men, an organization to which men must conform, but it must grow and adapt itself to human needs as they multiply and shift from generation to generation. The church today is not an organization com- pleted and let down from heaven, but it is a great organ- ization made to meet the needs of man. We have not changed the emphasis. The old worship function of the church is not being exchanged for something else, but there is added to this function what we may call the social service function, and we recognize in this a broader ministry of service. The church has begun to recognize the need of the community and the need of the world, and is beginning to recognize its own mission. Contrast the little village church with this great metropolitan organization, which adds to its worship, and to its far-reaching ministry in foreign lands, the ecjuip- ment of power which its members may use daily in a great city. The transformation is marvelous, and I am glad to recognize that in this church there are hosts of men with this, larger point of view, who are striving to meet the needs of a world, and are demanding from the church, as one great efficient organization that makes for righteousness, not merely service to the individual, but also service to the community."

Judge Freem.\n: 'Tt would be superfluous to introduce the next speaker. Some years ago I was sitting by the side of Dr. John H. Barrows of excellent memory, whom I was soon to introduce to an audience, and he told me that when lec- turing in India he was introduced on one occasion somewhat as follows: T am asked to introduce Dr. Barrows. Shall the mosquito introduce the elephant?' Tonight I am asked to introduce our pastor, Dr. Vance. I will present the elephant."

Dr. Vance: "It is a late hour, and I have too many chances to speak to most of you men to take much time this evening, but there are two or three things which I wish to say to you tonight, because it is a rare occasion, and because we cart.

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speak in a very heart-to-heart way. 1 think it is the hrst time ] have ever faced you men alone.

Before I say anything" direct to you, I want to express in behalf of our entire congregation our appreciation of those who liave made our history. We are rehearsing this week the story of fifty years of struggle into the great throbbing citv church that we are today ; and as we read it and hear it, we realize how^ true it is that no great results are born of little efforts or small sacrifices. We have come to our great vantage ground today and to our large growth because of the struggles of that little band of which our honored senior member is the illustrious representative tonight, and those who labored with him in pulpit and in pew. We should enshrine in our hearts, as well as in our memories, the names of Bradford, Averell, Geo. Bowman, H. A. Hopkins, and that servant of God, who is represented around this board tonight by his minister son, Dr. D. S. Johnson ; E. C. Ray, whose brilliant mind has perhaps not been surpassed by that of any other Presbyterian minister who has occupied a pulpit in this city, and who is still striving to labor for the church he loves, although in too poor health to be with us this evening ; and our Dr. Herring, who is now carrying the standard of our sister Congregational Church into the frontiers of this great nation, and is making his life avail as never before for the glory of God. These and those who have labored with them and under their leadership during these past fifty years, we honor tonight as those whom God has honored with fruitful- ness, great in their ministry.

"In behalf of the congregation a word of appreciation is due for the friends who are participating with us in this happy week ; the pastors from other churches, and this be- loved man. Dr. Galusha Anderson, who is as dear to us as if he had been originally a Presbyterian ; and those brethren who have come to us to share in our delight ; these and the other brethren we desire to thank very much for participating with us in this happy week.

"Then I desire to say a word to those who have helped to make the pastorate of these recent years fruitful to any degree that it has reached. When Mr. Cole and I went over his historical address, I said, T want you to say, Mr. Cole, if you please, that whatever has been accomplished during the past ten years of the present pastorate has been accomplished far

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more by the hearty cooperation and the united endeavor of the officers and members of the congregation than on ac- count of any special leadership they have had in the pastorate or pulpit.' Mr. Cole said it well, and I want to say it out of my own heart and with my own lips.

"I came to you ver}- young and inexperienced and very self-confident. Had I not been both, I should not have under- taken this pastorate. I shrank from it, but you have met me with a loving sympathy and a ready support that has over- ruled my blunders ; and God has made this pastorate one long love feast, so far as I know. You have been the readiest peo- ple I ever saw to respond to every call for service or for money. For example, when I discovered there was no Bible Class for young men, and there was nothing being done to help young men, after looking over the congregation I picked out Dr. Coulter as best calculated to enter into this work and lay hold of the young men going through a transformation period in their religion. I knew how busy he was, and what it would mean to him to take up religious teaching. It would burden him almost as much as preparing a sermon, but he said. 'Yes, I will take it.' x\nd never did a man stand to the Master's work more steadfastly than he has done through all these years.

"When this work was put on its feet and firmly estab- lished, I looked about and discovered that there was a tre- mendous leakage out of our church on the part of boys be- tween sixteen and twenty-one, which had to be stopped if this church was to do its work and these young men be saved for Christ. I went to Merton Robbins, who had never done any work of this kind. He took the class and made it one of the institutions of the city, as well as of our church ; and you men who know him know what these years have meant to him.

"Now this has been characteristic in every line of work in this church. It has been a happy pastorate in this. It has been hard work. There have been times when I have felt I would have to lie down for sheer lack of physical and men- tal strength to carry it through, but there was always some one ready to carry the prayer meetings or to take up any line of church work and to do it with efficiency. What could a man do but stand to his guns ; and so I have been with you in the happiest pastorate I think a man ever had.

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Clarence E. Flanders Geo. Pairweather Chae. H. Sagar

DEACONS

Merton C. Robbins Ralph H. Rice Thomas Madill

Thomas J. Hair Fred H. Tracht Donald Mcintosh

"A word in closing- about the general policy which has been pursued in the work of these years. I think I can talk to you in a very heart-to-heart way about this. Every great church is born of a g;reat purpose, intelligently cherished and persistently carried out. The growth of this one has not been reached by haphazard activity either on the part of the former pastors or on the part of those who have made the history of the past ten years. It seems to me that the great fruitfulness of this church for God has lain in the inspiration of the men and women who composed it, preparing them to go out into the world and solve the great ethical and social problems that lie at our doors in this great city, and it has been my pleasure and purpose in seeking to direct the affairs of your church to keep that always in mind.

"I believe that a pastor should minister to the needs of the people rather than make a career for himself. A preacher should nurture the spiritual life of those to whom he preaches, rather than try to deliver great orations. Some of you differ from me in that respect, some of you would much prefer that your preacher should attempt to preach great intellectual orations, rather than simply to minister to the spiritual life of the congregation ; but I cannot agree with you. I would rather be the poorest kind of a preacher and yet Sunday after Sunday bring messages to men which help them in their hour of need to overcome temptations and do their work and grow sturdy in their Christian character, than to have the reputation of the greatest pulpit orator in the land.

"Now this, perhaps, tells the story of the kind of ministry I have sought to fulfill among you. I came to you a southern man, though I had spent all of my ministry on the border, and had no prejudices against northern men or methods. I was a southern man. I think you have made me a union man. I think, as I have lived with you and learned to love you, there has come to me, as never before, to be no north, no south, no east, no west. And as I have realized year after year what it meant, that those men who wore the button of the Loyal Legion or the G. A. R. made up a large part of the Session that called me from the south to be your pastor, it has spoken volumes to me and called out my heart's appre- ciation.

"Then I want to say to you that I think you have done a

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great thing for me in helping me to preach, I would not say in helping me to become a preacher. What I am as a preach- er, and I know my weaknesses and limitations as truly as any of you do, but what I have become as a preacher I think I owe under God's grace as much to you as I do to any other human influence that has entered my life ; and I thank you for it.

"And then last of all I want to say this : that during these years that I have been with you, I have formed among you some of the dearest friendships of my life. I suppose I shall not make friends again like the friends I have made among you, because after a man passes forty he does not make many heart-to-heart friends, but your names are scores and legions almost: I say, 'God bless you all." "

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Wednesday, May Fourth

8 P. M.

MEMORIAL WINDOW

Communion Service

The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was an exceedini^ly impressive service, and fitly expressed the strong devotional •spirit that fifty years of Christian activity should infuse into a church. In the administration of the sacrament, Rev. C. Harmon Johnson, son of a former pastor, and Dr. Hubert C. Herring- officiated.

Rev. C. Harmox Johnson : It certainly gives me a great deal of joy to come once more to the table of our Lord in this house. I was quite a boy when I first sat down to the table that Christ spread for us, and it was in the old church some thirty years ago. When I was asked to participate tonight I knew that memory would have large place in what I might say. My mind instinctively turned to Hebrews, and in the first verse of the 12th chapter, after the recital which precedes, the writer says, "Wherefore, see- ing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of wit- nesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

The inspiration of a high ideal is brought out in this mar- velous chapter. God has set before us high ideals ; men and women who have gone before, whose lives have been pure and noble, mau}^ of whom, like Paul, have fought the good fight and finished their course, having kept the faith. These ideals are before us tonight, furnished by holy writ, and there are also those tonight furnished by memory, the inspiration of the high ideal and the inspiration of the witness of them that looked on. Every boy who has been in athletic games understands the inspiration of a crowd watching. We realize tonight that the past days are looking down upon us. There is need of greater care as we mark out for ourselves our plans and purposes and seek to carry them out in life.

In a chapel in Germany that old picture of Raphael's, Madonna of San Sisto, was for many years covered with dust. Much of its beauty was not seen. When the dust was wiped ofif, it was found by the generation that looked upon

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the picture then, that the clouds about the head of the Madonna and the Babe were full of angel's faces. We have had the reproduction before us often, but perhaps some of us have never noticed carefully that the clouds are not clouds, but angel faces, and they are looking at the Holy Child. God has given us the blessings of memory to see ranged on the sky line angel faces, and it cannot but be an inspiration to the sons and daughters of this church, as well as to the older ones, to indulge memory at this special time. God has given it to us for sacred use. I have not looked up the records of this church to see just who have gone before, but there w'ill come crowding into the minds of all of you names that came to my mind last night, as I sat at the supper with tlie men, and I jotted down a few^ of them. I am sure there were many others, but these came to my mind as I saw sons of some of them; others I knew were dear to them, and I imagined I could see ranged among the cloud of witnesse.*^, loved ones by the name of Wadsworth, Carmichael, Cornell, Williams, Stewart, \"an H. Higgins. Hibbard, Barker. Gilchrist. Norton, Ingraham, Hopkins, Olmsted, Arms, Bennett, Bogue. Nelson, , Parsons, Welling. The angel faces are looking on this multi- tude tonight, and there is no sweeter inspiration f(jr the son or daughter or loved one than the sweet inspiration of blessed memory.

After the battles of Sebastopol and Inkerman the soldiers returned home. The Crimean war had been fought and many were maimed, and we read that they were brought into the pres- ence of her Majesty, the Queen, to receive a medal ; and one came up who Iiad lost an arm and another a leg. and her secre- tary took in her hands the medal and pinned it upon the lapel of the old soldier's coat and proudly he passed out from her presence. But we read of one who was brought before the Queen whose limits had both been shot off, and he was borne into her presence and the marks of the war'were upon his face, the signs of suffering, and she arose from her throne and walked to his side and with her own fingers pinned the medal upon his coat, the tears dropping from her eyes. And so it seems, dear friends, as though in that future time, because of the promise, we too, like those who have gone before, shall receive not a medal, but the "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

Rev. Hubert C. Herrixg, D. D. : In the tender and lofty benediction with which we so often close the communion serv- ile

ice. beginning- "and now may the God of peace," tliere is one phrase on which I wish to ask you to let your thoughts rest as we receive the sacramental cup. It is the phrase "our Lord Jesus." Very large is the little word "our."

It speaks of possession. The wide-ranging relations of the eternal Christ are left out of view. He may belong to the uni- verse, to the generations, to the ranks of celestial hosts, to God. At the communion table we remember that he belongs to us.

It speaks of fellowship. In the solitude of personal need we come to Him. Along the horizon of individual vision we may seek to comprehend Him. By the grasp of personal faith we lay hold upon Him. But gathered around this common table u-e merge ourselves in a common life and say "our Lord Jesus."

It is a word of repose. Our lives drift on a restless current. Past us move the scenes of ceaseless change. C)ur treasured possessions slip from us as the years go by. At the last all are left behind, and our unclothed souls go out to the realm of mys- tery. But along down the current and past the changing scene and through the portals of farewell one possession abides, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever, who is our Lord Jesus.

He is ours because God gave Him to us. In the far counsels of the eternity gone He was dedicated to our salvation. "God so loved the world that He gave liis only begotten Son." The earth is full of purpose. "Not one thing walks with aimless feet." As these spring days pass and the miracle of nature's resurrection from the dead is once more wrought, there is not a leaf or twig or swelling bud which does not plainly have its goal. But in all the wide world nothing is more clear than the convergence of every line of the divine purpose upon Jesus the Christ. The redemption of men in Him is the kev to the world's long and vexed story.

He is ours because He won us. We had not possessed Him if He had not first possessed us. By His sovereign conquest of our hearts He made us His. He broke us down and within us was born the desire that He should be ours. We began to say, and we shall never g'et beyond saying, in the words of that sweet hymn which sprang from the trusting heart of Dr. Ganse :

"It was no love of mine, dear Lord, "And now I hold Thee by no bands

Which w^on Thy love to me. Of .saintly prayer or deed,

On me were Thy compassions poured I hold Thee by these trembling hands.

From the accursed tree. These hands of sin and need.

"Saviour and sinner we have met, And meeting" shall not part. The blood that bought me claims me

yet, Christ has me in His heart."

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But the converse is also true. He is ours because we have accepted Him. We who wait here in the hush of the sacramental hour believe that Christ is ours because we believe that we are Christ's. There came a time to each of us somewhere in the days gone by when in our inmost hearts we began to say our Lord Jesus. Perhaps it was back in the mists of the beginning of childish consciousness. Perhaps it was later, after we had for long years barred Him from our hearts. But sometime, some- where, we accepted God's gift of Jesus Christ. The choice thus made we have ratified by many a vow, and we hope, though upon us rests heavy the consciousness of our small desert. We are here tonight once more to say in sacramental speech that we claim for our own the abounding fulness of the Son of God.

A friend of mine, once student in Berlin, tells how the keen scholar and critic Adolph Harnack, lecturing one day upon the gracious and glorious character of Christ, seemed suddenly to for- get the time and place and company, and, stepping back from his desk with upraised e}es, cried out "Jesu mein Herr!'' "Jesus my Master!" Alay God give to our waiting eyes such freshened vision of His holy face tonight that we shall say with longing desire, old and yet new, "Jesu mein Herr."

He is ours because He has come to abide with us and in us. Strange beyond measure are the words which by warrant of the New Testament we take upon our lips : "Lo I am with you al- way." "I live and yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." "Until Christ be formed in you the hope of glory." No philosophies take account of this. No science has place for its mystery. But to some of us who know of an inner power which upholds, of an inner life which recreates, of an inner light which goes not out,. it is the surest of realities. By it the sin and folly which beset us have been defrauded of their prey. By it sorrow and mis- fortune have been shorn of their power to harm. It is Jesus, our Lord Jesus, who has brought us the gift of Himself.

Between today and the days when you and I worked and worshipped together as pastor and people, the gulf of years is widening fast. Your lives are thronged with interests and cares, and mine in like way. But as we gather here, we touch one another across the gulf and through the cares in many a tender memory, and above all by our common relation to our common Lord. From full hearts we join again in saying "our Lord Jesus." We look forward to the time when earth's hopes and dreams shall find fruition "forever with the Lord.''

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Friday, May Sixth

Congregational Gathering

Friday was the anniversary date, and it was fittingly com- memorated by a congregational gathering under the auspices of the women's societies of the church.

Dr. Vance read the following letter of regret from Rev. E. C. Ray, D. D., one of our former pastors:

The College Board, 156 Fifth Ave.,

Ne— York, Feb. 14, 1910. My dear Dr. Vance :

Your very kind invitation to me to preach the historical sermon con- nected with the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Hyde Park Church on Sunday, the first of May, must, with regret that I cannot express, be declined. How much I should like to be there it is impossible to put into words. But during the last fourteen months my strength has not been adequate to the work which needed doing while we were without a secretary; and, while we have a secretary coming, and the one man in America I wanted for the place, he is not yet here, and will have a great accumulation of affairs to handle when he comes, beside the closing of our year and preparing for the General Assembly, in all of which mat- ters I must try to carry my share. I have neither time nor strength that I could give to the preparation of a sermon, nor could I possibly be absent from New York at that time, as our spring meeting of the Board will occur May 3.

I could add a good many words, but what's the use? That I cannot be with you is one of the trials that I mtist bear the best I can. One thought will constantly help ; the knowledge of the progress, in every way, in the church that is attending your faithful and fruitftil ministry there. With a thousand happy memories and best wishes, I am

Cordially vours,

E. C. Ray.

Letters of regret from the following- friends were also read:

Rev. Chas. H. Bixby, Pastor Bmer- Rev. Chas. R. Hemphill.

itus St. Paul's Epis. Ch. Rev. W. S. Plumer Bryan.

Rev. W. H. Wray Boyle. Rev. John Newton Freeman.

Rev. Geo. N. Luccock. Rev. Geo. B. Safford.

Rev. Wm. C. Covert. Rev. Frank M. Carson.

Rev. John Balcom Shaw. John N. Mills.

Clifford W. Barnes. Rev. C. S. Nickerson.

Rev. James Mac Lagan. Rev. W. W. Moore.

Rev. Duncan O. Milner. Rev. F. T. McFaden.

Rev. Marion G. Cole. Samuel West. Rev. E. S. Fairchild.

The formal part of the program consisted of an historical ad- dress by Mrs. J. F. Gilchrist, which was abundantly illustrated by lantern slides showing the faces of old members and views of the former church and of Hyde Park. Mrs. Gilchrist's address

follows :

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"l.ong j'ears have flown since first we met

In the old church that stood in the shade. Gray hairs have come, but we'll ne'er forget

The good old times when we sang and prayed. We yet hear birds that sang each day,

While prayers and songs floated softly away From the old church that stood in the shade.

No stained windows reflected the light, Nor was pulpit in velvet arrayed ;

Yet every heart was cheerful and light, In the old church that ?tood in the shade."

This hardly reads like a description of the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church, yet the above lines were written many years ago by a for- mer superintendent of the Sabbath school, Mr. James P. Root. The old church stood in a grove of oak trees at the corner of Oak street and Hyde Park avenue. It was a quaint little building with a A—shaped roof. The double doors opened upon a center aisle flanked on either side by hard wooden benches. Halfway down on one side was a short bench seating but two, the organist and the choirmaster, and in the space thus made were the little melodeon and the big wood stove that smoked sadly when the wind blew from the east.

At first, all denominations worshipped together, but as they grew in numbers they divided, the Presbyterians meeting in the morning and the Episcopalians in the afternoon. One cold win- ter's day, tradition states, the Episcopal congregation had to return to their homes, as the Presbyterians had burned all the Episcopal wood, and there was a famous mock trial in Flood's Hall, where the prisoner was brought in dragging a great log to which he was chained.

The churchyard was enclosed with a picket fence, and from the gate a two-plank walk led to the front door. When the building was dedicated, the gate posts were decorated with great wreaths of beautiful wild flowers and the pulpit was banked with many lovely blossoms gathered from the nearby woods and fields. Those who saw the pretty sight have never forgotten it. The lot was donated and the chapel built in 1858 by Mr. Paul Cornell, the "father of Hyde Park," and on May 6, 1860, the First Presbyterian Church of Hyde Park was organized with sixteen members. In eight years the congregation outgrew the chapel, so another location was secured at the corner of Adams avenue and Oak street. Religious worship was held in the old

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chapel for the last time on April 3. 1S7(>. As our poet regret- fully remarks,

"They moved it away and cut down the grove,

Not a bird nor a prayer has stayed : Nothing to mark the spot we love,

Where the old church stood in the shade."

As a matter of fact, the church was only moved around the corner of the lot and faced upon Hyde Park avenue instead of Oak street. It became the Town Hall, and a strong- basement was built imderneath to accommodate prisoners. The Hyde Park jail still occupies the spot. The old building was moved to 79th Place and Madison avenue in 1892, where it was used as a hotel during the World's Fair. It has since been burned. As a church, jail and World's Fair boarding house it has been quite a factor in the discipline of the world.

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose earliest recol- lections of life began on Hyde Park avenue. Hyde Park avenue has long since changed its name to Lake avenue, and Oak street to 53rd street, and Adams avenue to Washington avenue. Then there were beautiful flowers in the gardens and roses clambered over the front porches. Just outside of her back yard was a ter- lible monster that went to and from the city of Chicago four times a day. Every time she heard the engine coming she would scam- per into the house just as fast as she could go, because she was sure that if it ever got off the track it would come right into the yard and chase her. On the other side of the Illinois Central right of way were the great big woods, so dense that she knew there were bears and wolves there. Her neighbor on the south was Mr. Hinckley, on the north was Dr. Flood. Across the street were the Campbells and Major Cole. North of the Coles were the Hibbards and the Bogues. Now Major Cole was a wonder- ful man, an evangelist, and in the estimation of this little girl he was of more importance than the Apostle Paul.

She started to school at the old Seminary Building on Hyde Park avenue opposite the jail, and it was a fearful and fascinat- ing thing- for the scholars to run over and peek in the windows to see who was locked up. Her teacher was Mrs. Parsons, whose picture we must show, because she started so many of the boys and girls who grew up in this church on the royal road to knowledge. She taught the first grade in the Hyde Park public schools for forty years. Mrs. Parsons attended this church, as did her Mrs Parsons. father aufl mother, Mr. and Mrs. Silas R. Ball.

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It was a proud day for the little girl when the first few grades were accomplished and she was advanced enough to attend the Kenwood school, where she completed the grammar school course and entered the high school. It may be inter- esting to know that the old Kenwood school was removed to the southwest corner of 55th street and Jefiferson avenue, and is now occu- pied by a drug store.

Every Sabbath morning the little girl went with her father and mother to the "stone church." It w^as built when basement houses were fashionable. The Sabbath school rooms were in the lower part, but the preaching was in the great room upstairs. There were some very queer but beautiful letters, pink and blue and gold, on the wall in a half circle over the pulpit, outlining the organ pipes, and they read "Let the People Praise Thee, O God. Let all the P^eople Praise Thee." The church had a most won- derful steej^le. It was so tall that it seemed to touch the sky, and the bell that pealed from it w'as given to the church by Pastor Johnson's father. And at the very tip of the top was a great golden cross that glistened in the sunshine ; altogether it was a marvelous steeple. One Saturday afternoon the little girl was looking out of the window^ watching a dreadful storm. There was a whirling black cloud just over the church, and even as she looked the steeple bent, described a semi-circle in the air, and crashed to the ground a s])lintered ruin. It was rebuilt, but not so high. Our poet immortalizes the famous steeple thus :

"And we built a steeple that touches the sky, And otherwise made a tremendous parade,

And thus we expected to ascend on high.

But not from the church that stood in the shade."

Alas, how often pride goeth before a fall !

After the morning service came Sabbath school. Major Cole w^as then the superintendent. The little girl's father and mother were among the Sunday school workers, so she was enrolled in the infant class, led by Mrs. James P. Root and Mrs. Fasset. Mrs. Root was one of the most efficient women of the early church, and her home was the scene of many a gathering. Mr. Fasset was Chicago's leading photographer, and Mrs. Fasset herself was an artist of no mean ability. A large painting of her's adorns one of the walls in the Capitol at Washington. Every Sabbath afternoon the little girl went with her father over to Pastor Johnson's house, where her father hitched up the pastor's

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horse. He needed a horse in those days, for the parish was wide and the houses were scattered from the city Hmits at 39th street south to 67th street. Streets were unhghted and unpaved. One had to carry a lantern to get safely to church at night, for Hyde Park then was not as it is now.

South Park was called Woodville. To the west was p^gan- dale, where the dogtooth violets grew in abundance and where the boys searched for birds' nests. Then came the pine woods, the only place to find the yellow violet. Across the dummy track on 55th street was Gansell's prairie, the home of the dainty white violet, where the boys played ball in summer and the children skated in winter. South of Gansell's prairie, the Midway Plai- sance was a plaisance indeed, not a straight road connecting Jackson and Washington Parks, but a beautiful, shady, winding driveway through an oak grove, where grew the very finest wild strawberries.

To return to our story. When the pastor's horse was hitched, the little girl and her father drove to Woodlawn, to a white country school house with green blinds, and there her father con- ducted a Sabbath school that grew into the Woodlawn Presby- terian Church. And the little girl grew old enough to teach a class in the Park Side Sunday school, the next home missionary enterprise of the church. After that school had also grown into a self-supporting church, the young people who had been teach- ing there went to work Sunday afternoons in Rosalie Hall, and the little girl's father and Mr. Henry Osborne rented a store on 55th street, where they conducted weekly meetings. From these two beginnings resulted the South Park (University) Congrega- tional Church.

A small boy came home from the Hyde Park Presbyterian Sunday School one day with a little picture card, and he said, "Mother, please read this to me." So the mother read, "Pray without ceasing,'' and the small boy said, "I do, don't I?" Now the First Presbyterian Church of Hyde Park understood the meaning of that text better than the small boy. It was a pray- ing church. There was always a little prayer meeting before the big one every Wednesday evening, to ask that God's bless- ing might rest upon the meeting that was to follow. After the midweek service there was a half hour meeting for the Sabbath School teachers, and after Sabbath School on Sunday there was a ten-minute prayer meeting.

Besides the Young People's Association, Major Cole hid banded the young men of the church into a society called "The Yoke Fellows of Hyde Park." The Yoke Fellows distributed

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tracts, and put up racks in the old Hyde Park depot, and in the Kenwood and Woodlawn depots, and in the old dummy station on 55th Street, containing tracts and a fine copy of the New Testament. The little girl possesses the Testament that used to be in the old Hyde Park railway station.

Sweetest of all was the girls' prayer meeting. In 1879 Pas- tor Johnson's dear wife gathered the girls into her house and taught them how to pray. The sweet influence of these weekly meetings, when timidly brave they prayed in turn, will never cease. Then the mothers had their meetings, where they discussed problems and prayed for the chil- dren. Thev met every other week. One week was the ladies' prayer meeting, and the other was the mother's meeting. Every mother was pledged to teach her children a certain num- ber of Bible verses and a hymn each month. There were eight mothers who were always there. Perhaps the mother who was most interested in the meetings and most helpful to the others was JNIrs. James M. Gilchrist. We think we are busy now, but just glance over this weekly calendar with me.

Mrs. D. S. Johnson.

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flRST-^ iRBSBYT&RI/5N "^ iUURCH.

CORNER FIFTY-THIRD STREET AND WASHINGTON AVE.. HYDE PARK.

Edward C. Ray, Pastor,

WEEKLY CALENDAR, MAR. 14 - 20.

Sunday. — Preaching; by the Pastor 10:30 a. m. Annual collection for the Presbyterian Hospital. Young Men's Meeting, 9:45 a. m. The lame man Healed. Acts iii: i-il. Sunday-School, noon. See other side. Teachers' Prayer Meeting after school. Park Side Sunday-School, 3:10 p. m. Norwegian Preaching in the church, 4 p. m. Young People's Meeting, 6:45 p.m. How should you see and hear? Matt.

xiii: 15-16. Park Side Chapel service, 7:30 p. m. Tuesday. — The Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society Annual Meeting, at the Church Parlors,

3 p. m., led by Mrs. W. H. Ray. Mexico and Gauiemala. Wednesday. — The Ladies' Aid Society, Mrs. Srtiith's. 2917 52d St., i p. m. Articles left from- the Paper Festival will be on sale at this and later meetings. Social Prayer Meeting, 7:45 p. m. Three searching questions. Micah ii: 7.

Bring scripture answers to them. Teachers' Meeting, 8:45 P- ™- See other side. Thursday. — The Annual Praise Meeting of the Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society, in the

Lecture Room, 3 p. m. Friday. — The Girl's Missionary Society Annual Meeting, 4 p. m.. Miss Gilchijisls, 5400 Wash- ington Ave. Mexico and Gauteniala. Saturday. — The Young Ladies' Missionary Society Monthly Meeting, 3 p. m., at Miss Camer- on's, 2711 51st St. Mexico and Gautemala. The next communion will be Sunday, June 6th.

YOU ARE CORCrlALLY INVITED TO ALL SERVICES.

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SUNDAY SCHDDL TEACHERS MEETING.

CONDUCTED BY THE SDPERINTENDENT.

Wednesday Evening Mar. 17th.

Lbssdh for Sunday, Mar, 21st,

MESSIAH'S MESSENGER. - Mal. iii : i-6 : iv : i-6.

GOLDEN TEXT,- Mal. Hi; i.

Malachi,

The messenger to prepare the way, v. i, -

The need and promise of the Saviour, v. i — (

His work with His people, v. 2 — 4,

His condemnation of sinners, v. 5-^6 and i,

Reward of righteousness, v. 2 — 4.

" Elijah (he prophet," v. 5 — 6.

" The great and dreadful day," v. 5,

Practical lessons, - - . .

Miss Ida Chapin.

Miss Carmichael

.Miss Annie Butts.

Mr. St^wari'.

Mr. Barker.

- Mrs. Olin.

Miss Joh.sston.

Mr. Harlick.

Mr Arms.

Teachers to whom parts are assigned, are requested to prepare written notes if possible. This tends to conciseness, and better enables us to utjilize the time. Papers not to e:tceed three minutes in length.

Every one cordially invited; teachers expected.

Sunday School at 12 o'clock noon every Sabbath. New scholars always welcome.

Bibles and Lesson Helps at the Presbyterian Book Rooms, t37 Wabash Avenue.

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Of the nine people who took part in this teacher's meeting, only three are living", and none of them attend the church at the present time.

I wish you could see and know the people of this village church as that little girl knew them. They were a remarkable company. In the early days, before she was born, David Swing preached to the congregation and was invited to become its pas- tor, but did not accept. It was just before the Civil War that the church was organized, and two fine young men, Mr. Charles W. Everett and Mr. Curtiss Bogue, marched away from it to fight for freedom's cause. The one, Mr. Everett, received a mor- tal wound at the battle of Belmont ; the other, Mr. 'Bogue. re- turned home only to meet as tragic a death in the wreck of the Illinois Central Hyde Park train in 18G2. There was yet another, a mere lad, Leonard, the only son of Elder and Mrs. Hassan Hopkins, who also went to war and died, a victim of the dread southern fever.

As we have already mentioned, a melodeon furnished the music for the little white chapel in the grove. Mr. Henry C. Work, a charter member of the church, played it. He frequently went to the church to practice, for as yet he had no piano in his Hyde Park home, and he was working on a new war song. Right willingly the little melodeon did its part, and the finished song, "Marching Through Georgia" was shown to Mr. George F. Root of the famous firm of Root & Cady, who published it. Mr. Cady led the singing in "The Little Old Church in the shade." And after the stone church was built, Mr. George F. Root, the author of "The Battle Cry of Freedom," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys Are Marching,'' and many other war songs, conducted therein a weekly song service.

Then there was Norman B. Judd, who nominated "the rail splitter and giant killer of Illinois," Abraham Lincoln, for the presidency of the United States ; and Claudius B. Nelson, in memory of whom we have our beautiful organ. Judge Homer N. Hibbard, president of the village school board, and Judge Erastus S. Williams, who gave "money, wisdom and love" to the Hyde Park church. There was Mr. S. P. Farrington. Super- intendent of the Sunday School in 1871, whose big house and whose big purse were always open ; and Mr. Granville S. Ingra- ham, who bought the Farrington homestead in 1872. Many names might be mentioned, but the little girl remembers most lovingly those who worked in the Sunday School. There was Mr. Barker, the first to greet the stranger within the gates; and Mr. Home, who looked as if lie might have stepped out of

129

the Old Testament, who knew his Bible by heart, and often preached a sermon; and his next door neighbor, Mr. Car- michael, who rented two pews ; one for his family and the other that the poor and the stranger might always find a wel- come place, and Mr. George Stewart : At a recent midweek service the topic for discussion was, "Can a board of trade man be a Christian?" for those who knew Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Stewart the question is answered. Mr. Ott always carved the turkey at the church dinners. Mr. Olm- sted's blameless Christian life was an inspiration to the large class of boys he taught. Mr. Arms was so much to us in so many ways that we have not words to express our apprecia- tion. Mr. Ware was always ready with a compliment. Mr. Welling was "a man sent from God whose name was John," only Mr. Welling was more like John the beloved than John the messenger. And Mr. W. H. Ray's short life of 31 years, like that of the Man of Nazareth, was crowded with an influ- ence that no one can measure. He was principal of the Hyde Park High School, as well as assistant Superintendent of the Sabbath School. There is but one word, "service," in the memorial wandow in the Sabbath School room. It was the life motto of all of these men. They truly walked with God and made others feel His presence. As for the little girl, to paraphrase from Lowell,

"My, when they made Old Hundred ring! She knowed the Lord was nigher."

A small boy, who was just beginning to use the contents of his tool chest, was very much disturbed because a friend, supposedly a Christian, did something that he did not approve. His mother tried to explain the difference between nominal Christians and real Christians, and the little boy remarked, "Mrs. So and So is a nailed down tight Christian, isn't she?" If the men of the church w^ere nailed dowm tight Christians, the women were no less so. The first organization was "The Ladies' Missionary Society" in ISGD. Mrs. Norman B. Judd was the mother of this organization. If we could only show you these women in their youth and beauty ! Mrs. Judd at that time was tall and very slender, with dark hair, and a clear delicate skin. She had a beautiful face that ex- pressed her lovely character. The society met at her home on Forty-seventh Street, in the house that was afterward used by the Kenwood Club. Mrs. C. B. Nelson, to whom the success

130

of the society was largely due. was the lirst president. Mrs. George Stewart, who seemed to the little girl the very person- ification of womanly virtue, was also president for a time. She attended many a 8:irls' meeting at Mrs. Stewart's lovely home. Mrs. Hitchcock was the treasurer for many years

Mr.s. Norman B. .Jurtd

Mrs. Geo. Stewart

because she had a horse and could get around to collect the dues, for the money was raised by weekly pledges. Mrs. Hitchcock's mother, Mrs. McClure, was a wonderful worker, not only in the Missionary Society, but in the Ladies' Aid as well. Her laces and her caps were so dainty, and she pieced such lovely silk quilts, that were sold for the benefit of the societies, and she invented the McClure apron, the sale of which brought many a dollar into the treasury of the Ladies' Aid Society.

If Mrs. Judd was the mother of the Ladies' Missionary Society, Mrs. Hassan Hopkins, "Auntie Hop,'' as she was afifec- tionately called, was the foster mother. Her husband was the senior elder of the church, for they were charter members, and he always held the baptismal bowl. He held it when the little girl was baptized. Auntie Hop was not ashamed to take her pail and scrub brush over to the chapel on Saturday and scrub it clean for Sunday, and she made the bread for the com-

Mrs. Has.san Hopkins

Mrs. C. B. Nelson

munion services. Mrs. Hopkins and her daughter Annie were the kind of women who invite little folks into the kitchen, so the little girl remembers her coc^kies better than her mis- sionarv meetings, but she was alwavs there. Then there was

131

"Grandma Bogue." Auntie Hop and Grandma Bogue were for years the coffee committee. Grandma Bogue was a real mother in Israel. She collected many a dollar for the church, and her sons cheerfully did the janitor work in the little chapel, sweeping it out, shining the lamps, and building the fires. The little girl was well acquainted with Grandma

Grandma Bogue Mrs. John Renimer Mrs. James Wadsworth

Bogue, because she trudged over there every morning with a tin pail for milk. Mrs. John Remmer was another charming- woman whose heart and home were always open to the church workers ; and Mrs. James W'adsworth came way from Woodlawn to attend the meetings.

The Ladies' Aid Society was organized in 1<S74 by Mrs. Judd and her close friend Mrs. Van H. Higgins. They came to Hyde Park from Dr. Patterson's church, the Second Pres- byterian, on the northeast corner of Wabash Avenue and Washington Street. Before the Chicago fire, Wabash Avenue used to be called the Avenue of Churches. The Sec- ond Presbyterian Church was our mother church, and helped us in many ways until we were able to stand alone. Beautiful Mrs. Higgins. with her cameo face and white curls, was always the Martha Washington at the annual colonial din- ners given by the Ladies' Aid Society. At the time of her death, September 1882, she was still president.

At first the societies met together and listened to a mis- sionary program while they sewed for the poor. Its objects, as then stated, were systematic visitation of strangers, the promotion of the social conditions of the church, and reliev- ing the wants of the poor. After the death of Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Talcott was president of the society. It was during her presidency that the ladies met together, day after day, and made up the carpet for the Sunday School room ; a tremen- dous task, worthy to be recorded in the archives of the church.

There were several girls' societies in the old stone church, the best known of Avhich were the Reapers and the Gleaners.

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The Reapers comprised the older o;irls or young ladies, and was organized in 1873. The Gleaners were the little girls of Mrs. Farrington's Sunday School Class in 1871. And singly, or together, they used to give famous entertainments. Dr. George F. Root once wrote a song for the busy little Gleaners to sing at one of them.

"Gleaners in the harvest field, raise your festal lay ; Here, amid the golden grain, celebrate the day. Let each heart of thankfulness to the Master come, Singing forth his blessed praise for the Harvest Home.

"When the harvest time is past and the day is done, When we all must leave our work at the set of sun ; Then, amid the golden glow of the autumn leaves. May we quit the field with joy, bringing home the sheaves.

"Saviour, bless thy little Gleaners, Let thy kingdom come."

The Reapers once gave the tragic tale of the Mistletoe Bough in the church parlors. During the first scene a minuet was danced, greatly to the consternation of the staid Scotch Presbyterians in the audience ; but Mrs. C. B. Nelson poured oil upon the troubled waters by saying "that wasn't dancing, that was simply meandering to music."

It was the custom of the church ladies to give a picnic in the park at the foot of 53rd Street every Fourth of July to raise money for the stone church. The men would sell tick- ets among their friends down town or on the Illinois Central train. The Illinois Central gave them special rates, and it seemed as if almost the whole city of Chicago attended. It was at one of these Fourth of July picnics that the lemonade got salted. The day was hot, supplies soon fell short, and every- body was thirsty, so they had to take the ice used for freezing the ice cream to cool the lemonade. They washed it off to the best of their ability, but it salted the lemonade sufficiently to make everybody more thirsty, and they kept coming back for more. It was a great occasion and netted the ladies $1100. They thought it rather mean that they should monopolize the park every July Fourth (or else the lemonade troubled their consciences), for the next year the ladies of the Episcopal Church served the refreshments and realized the profits, and after that for a number of years the two societies alternated.

133

In 1883, when Dr. Sheldon Jackson organized the Woman's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, a Home Missionary Committee was appointed in connection with the Ladies' Missionary Society. ]\Irs. Joseph N. Barker, who in her sweet, quiet way was a power for good in this com- munity, was the chairman of this Committee. It was also in 1882 that Madam Cole organized the Girls' Missionary So- ciety, and Miss Annie Butts was made president of the Young Ladies' Missionary Society. It is impossible to write a history of the ^lissionary Societies without eulogizing Madam Cole. She was wrapped up in them, and they were strengthened and sustained by her. Miss Annie Butts was also a woman of wide influence, as a teacher in the Sabbath School, a teacher in the 54th Street school, and afterwards as the head of the Kenwood Institute. iMrs. A. P. Willough- bv was so interested in missions that she gave the Alissionary Society a beautiful library. Mrs. Jacobs was such an efficient worker in all of the societies that at the time of her death

Miss Annie Butts _ 111 ,-.- 1 • 1

Mr. Ray preached a beautitul memorial ser- mon, comparing her to Dorcas.

In 1884, when the Presbyterian Hospital was founded, some- body was wise enough to plan a Ladies' Aid Society to act with the Hospital Board. This churcii was one of the first to respond to the call for members, and Mrs. Lodge, Mrs. Willoughby, Mrs. Leland, Mrs. Walter Nelson, and Mrs. Charles Root were among those who attended the first meeting held at the Third Church, to make up bed and table linen for the new hospital.

In 1883 the Young Ladies' Society joined with the young men and formed the Young People's Association, and this society and the Ladies' Missionary Society fitted out Miss Sadie C. Wirt for her long missionary journey to Laos. She is still there, but we know her as Airs. Peoples.

When Mrs. Charles Root came to Hyde Park from a large working Home Missionary Society in St. Louis, our Home Mis- sionary Committee seemed inadequate to her, so she interested a few ladies to enlarge the work and form a Home Missionary Society. Mrs. M. L. Beers was one of the first women to co- operate with Mrs. Root, and it is said that the first meeting was held and the society organized in her parlors. When Mrs. Beers moved into her new home on Jefiferson Avenue she threw it open for a musical and a tea at which fifty dollars was raised for the society. Of the first meeting Mrs. Root writes: "Madam Cole

134

was chairman and Mrs. Alvord our spiritual adviser." Mrs. Beers was elected president and Mrs. Jayne and others the Executive Committee. Mrs. Hibbard was the secretary and Mrs. LesHe Lewis was the treasurer for a number of years. The first Home

M.

Mrs. M. L. Beers

Madame Alvord

Madame Cole

Missionary sent out by the society was Miss Albertine Butts (sister of Miss Annie), who went to work among the freedmen at the Mary Allen Seminary of Crockett, Texas.

There were many other helpful women in the early days of the church, but time forbids their mention. No picture would be complete, however, without "Aunt Libbie Coffin." She went from door to door, collecting the mite boxes for the Missionary Societies, or selling aprons for the Ladies' Aid, and she pre- sented everybody in town, including Inspector Nicolas Hunt, with a small pocket pin cushion made with her own hands.

We have no records of the earliest meetings of these women's societies, but they are written above.

"And when God sliall come in glory and peace

To collect all the debts we have made, He'll surely grant us a full release

Because of the church that stood in the shade."

After Mrs. Gilchrist's address, the audience adjourned to the lecture room for an informal meeting, at which short talks were

Mrs. L. A. Tahott

"Aunt Libbie" Coffin

Mis. Van H. Higgiiis

given by Dr. Vance, Dr. Galusha xAnderson, Major Cole, Charles L. Boyd, and Leslie Lewis. The evening closed with refresh- ments and a social hour. Among those present were the fol- lowing:

135

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148

Saturday, May Seventh

REV. HOWARD D. FRENCH

ASSISTANT MINISTER AND

BIBLE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT

At 4:00 p. m. the younger classes of the Bible School met to hear something of the history of the church, and to enjoy a social hour. Mrs. J. F. Gilchrist showed them the same stereopticon pictures that she had used in connection with her address before the congregation on the preceding evening. Her talk to the chil- dren, while presenting essentially the facts contained in lier Fri- day evening paper, was skillfully modified and adapted to her youthful audience.

The Bible School

Most churches of any consequence have had their beg^in- ning-, during recent generations, in the Sunday-school. Here a few earnest and devoted Christians in a sparsely settled neighborhood have gathered together the children and pur- sued the study of God's A\^ord. The beginning has in many cases been very insignificant in the matter of numbers. Fre- quently the work has grouped itself around some one or two families or even individuals ; but the worship and word of God have meant much to them, and religious influences were considered of prime importance. This beginning has given God's Spirit a material and mental foothold, as it were, and the Sunday-school thus modestly begun, but faithfully sup- ported, has almost invariably grown into a church and gone forth to shape the moral and spiritual ideals and determine the social customs of the community.

Such was the beginning of the Hyde Park Presbyterian church ; and the story which follows from the pen of one of this school's devoted and successful superintendents most modestly expresses the part which men whose names and pic- tures appear on pages 153 and loO of this volume have had in making the history and creating the present spiritual ac- tivities of this church.

Even less is it able to show in an article like this the pa- tient devotion and wise efificiency of the other officers and teachers who have labored with these superintendents.

The school has been notable also for the societies of mis- sion workers which have been organized among its pupils and have flourished through most periods of its history, ref- erences to some of which are made in the article which fol- lows.

An additional word should be written about the present comprehensive and efficient organization of the school. Dur- ing the past eleven years there has been organized The Men's Bible Class, taught throughout this period by Prof.

151

Jno. M. Coulter, Ph. D.. of the Session of the Church. This class has pursued lines of sociological study and has been re- markably effective along practical lines, both in launching and developing the Boys' work at Association House, and in forms of settlement and mission work in our own community. At present the class is taking active part also in establishing a work for boys and girls at Hyde Park Center.

The Young Women's Bible Class was organized during this period by Mrs. Henry V. Freeman as teacher, and has been well directed by her successors, by Mrs. Jno. M. Coulter, and the present teacher, Mrs. Ambrose V. Powell. This class has been very fruitful, also in its activities at Association House Settlement, where it now maintains the library, and in various activities nearer home. A great addition to the school launched subsequent to the organization of these, were the Bible classes for boys and girls of the high-school age. The P. B. C. is the oldest of these, in which the young men were taught by Mr. Merton C. Robbins, and since his removal to New York City, by Mr. Geo. O. Fairweather. This has become one of the famous organizations of our school. Rivalling this, how- ever, are the Reed Bible Class, named after and taught by Miss Mary Reed, and the McCulloh Bible Class, taught by the former superintendent and present elder, Mr. T. G. Mc- Culloh. These are both large in numbers and active in re- ligious and social work. All of these are doing a great work in training for full efficiency the future leaders in the varied forms of activity of our church. It is impossible to trace the lines of influence that have gone out in the last fifty years from the training of this school, but of multitudes who have stood for truth and right from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico, it can be said. This man was born of them ; for the pupils of this school can be found today, try- ing to live out into daily life its teachings, in almost, if not quite, every state of our union. In view of these things it is felt that the following details of the school's history are worthy of permanent preservation.

More than fifty years ago, in a little frame building at the northeast corner of Lake avenue and Fifty-third street, a Sutiday-school was conducted each week which was destined to become one of the strongest and most flourishing Presby- terian Sunday-schools in Chicago. In those early days Mr. Curtiss Bogue conducted the school and acted as its superin- tendent until he enlisted in the army in the spring of 1861. While in the service he was stricken with fever and came home

152

S. Curtiss Bogue

1861 James P. Root

June 1861-1862 Homer N. Hibbard

1S63-1S64

SUPERINTENDENTS

Chas. A. Norton

1S65-1S6S