john chambers used to boast of his three big w's—walton, wanamaker, and whitaker. the two first-named are known to most of my readers. the third, who made a vow to give to the lord all he had or made over the amount of sixty thousand dollars, was a generous helper of the pastor.
the first great offshoot from the mother church on broad street is the bethany presbyterian church, in which messrs. wanamaker and walton, were generously interested and unceasingly active.
in 1875 mr. chambers said, "connected with our movements as a church, no single event in our history exceeds in point of grandeur or importance bethany mission, ... a very few, some thirty, of the young workers of our church headed by that remarkable young man, john wanamaker, left us and after there being a selection made in the southwestern part of the city, they started a sabbath school in the working room of a little irish shoemaker, with some ten little ragged children to begin with, and in the course of a very few weeks they had to take all the room in the little irishman's home, pretty much, and then they had not enough. a tent was erected that would contain some four or five hundred, and then the congregation agreed that there should be a house put up, and a one-story house was put up that would contain some five or six hundred".
it seems almost like a fairy tale when one contrasts the condition of things in the bethany neighborhood, as i first saw it in 1855, and as it is now. after our family had moved from girard avenue to the house on 20th street four doors below chestnut on the east side, my mother took me[147] one day to enter the public school situated, i believe, at 22nd and shippen. just as we turned the corner at twentieth and pine street, i looked across to the southwest. for many hundred of acres, there was an expanse of vacant lots occupied here and there with squatters' cabins, goose pastures and roaming cows, the streets not being yet "cut through". still in the days of the volunteer fire company, with all its lawlessness and also of abundance, yes, superabundance, of liquor saloons, it seemed one of the least promising portions of the city. now, it is densely built up with elegant homes and is the center of wealth, comfort, and culture.
i remember well, too, when the first band of workers went out from the mother church and on the 14th of february, 1858, in two second story rooms of the house at no. 2135 south street, began a sunday school, with twenty-seven scholars and two teachers, the seating capacity being eked out, if i remember rightly, with rough scantling brought up out of the cellar and laid upon bricks. long before hot weather, the rooms, halls, and stairway were crowded, so on the 18th of july a tent was set up on the north side of south street. after a summer under canvas, the corner stone for a chapel was laid on the 18th of october, dr. chambers with his brethren, leyburn, brainerd, and mcleod making addresses. the chapel which measured 40 by 60 feet was dedicated on january 27th, 1859, and on january 4th, 1862, rev. augustus blauvelt began his labors as city missionary, becoming after a year a missionary to china. i remember him as preaching a remarkable sermon on the kingdom of satan. he died in april, 1900.
the growth of bethany was continuous and surprising. i remember how those most interested conversed with each other about the name of the child now fully born and ready[148] for its clothing and christening. the walks and talks and experiences by the way, in going from the old home to the new enterprise, called up the words of the scripture: "he led them out as far as bethany and lifted up his hands and blessed them". so the name of bethany was decided upon.
on september 25, 1865, the enterprise was organized into a presbyterian church under the care of the presbytery of philadelphia, old school. the lot at the southeast corner of twenty-second and bainbridge streets, 112 by 138? feet, was purchased, and on february 13, 1870, the new and commodious edifice was dedicated.
to-day, with its large eldership, boards of trustees and deacons, its doormen and tithemen, its leaders of christian bands, its college established in 1881—the first of its kind in philadelphia, and of which for many years its vice-president, rudolph s. walton, was chief friend and benefactor, bethany is a center of blessing to thousands. of the deaconesses' home, the men's friendly inn, and other details of the great work we have not space to speak. at his decease in november, 1900, mr. walton left about $200,000 for the erection of a new college building.
no sooner was bethany church grown to adult life than it began to send forth colonies. the bethany mission was its first namesake. by this time, in the twentieth century, the boy that i once knew as no richer or poorer than the average, had become one of philadelphia's princely merchants, with hand ever open for gifts and help. a lot at the northeast corner of twenty-eighth and morris streets, measuring 114 by 136 feet, was secured. it was far away from any human dwelling, but it was in the direction of growth. the skilled fishers of men let down the net just where they knew the fishes would be in shoals—a method and policy following out that of their great teacher, jesus[149] christ, and of their earthly exemplar, john chambers. on this lot mr. john wanamaker and mrs. wanamaker (at whose wedding i remember being present, as a boy), in gratitude to god for the wonderful preservation from fire of the great wanamaker store, have erected, since the streets were opened, a superb edifice with all modern equipments and furnishing. this, at the present time, serves as a church and sunday school and for social gatherings. the main church edifice is to be erected later on the southern portion of the still unoccupied lot.
how gratifying this was to the presbytery of philadelphia is seen in the records given below. from the minutes of october 30, 1901, we make extracts of the
proceedings of the trustees of the presbytery of philadelphia.
mr. robert h. hinckley presented the following preamble and resolution:
"as a member of the special committee who reported june 1, 1899 (see folio 228) on the proposed location of a church at 28th and morris streets, i desire to report that in accordance with the permission therein granted, mr. john wanamaker has erected and dedicated to the memory of the late rev. john chambers a church building on the north east corner of 28th and morris sts., which affords ample space for a congregation of fifteen hundred worshippers, also for a large sabbath school and several large rooms suitable for reading rooms and for the general purposes of an institutional church. the ground and building cost mr. wanamaker over eighty thousand dollars, all of which has been paid and the building was dedicated during the third week of october, free of debt, as the john chambers memorial[150] church. i suggest, therefore, that we recommend to presbytery the following resolution:
resolved, that a special committee of three members of this presbytery be appointed to wait on mr. john wanamaker and extend to him the thanks and appreciation of the presbytery for his princely liberality and his magnificent recognition of the work and services of one of our most devoted ministers who has long since been called to his reward".
this was unanimously agreed to and the committee appointed.
in the above record, the name of robert h. hinckley is that of the surviving elder of the chambers presbyterian church and still an indefatigable worker in christ's name. on saturday afternoon early in may, 1901, in the presence of a large gathering of bethany church people and about five hundred children, ground was broken at twenty-eighth and morris streets. besides addresses from john wanamaker, rev. messrs. wm. patterson, john thompson, george van deurs, and the laymen edwin adams, robert boyd, and r. m. coyle, there were prayer and singing.
i visited this as yet unbuilt portion of the city on friday, jan. 23rd, 1903, which, besides being the 324th anniversary of the union of utrecht, our great national precedent for federal government and the date of the dinner of the holland society of philadelphia, was for me a veritable john chambers day.
starting from thirteenth and filbert, the site of the old church of the vow, and moving through the city hall buildings and wanamaker's grand depot and big store, i came to broad and sansom, where in 1830, towards the setting sun, there were but unoccupied lots, or only a few scanty buildings. further down broad street, near[151] spruce, i passed, having already studied the interior of, the new and imposing structure, the chambers-wylie memorial church. thence southwestwardly, i walked to bethany presbyterian church which, when started, was amid brickyards, vacant lots, and with a great area of the open country stretching to the southwest. i then boarded a gray's ferry car and rode past the united states arsenal and into a region where the streets had only very recently been cut through, and were but partially paved or curbed.
i found the church of the love of god, the john chambers memorial church, standing alone in its glory. no human dwellings were nearer than a quarter of a mile, though houses of worship could be discerned rising out of the fringe of dwellings. but this pioneering, "preparing in the desert a highway for our god", was exactly what the first independent church people and the bethany mission colony of 1858, had done before. it was simply planting the standard for the hosts to follow. what grand faith to go ahead of population and to be literally a forerunner of the gospel! outwardly the edifice, built of a combination of light brick, scotch granite, and terra cotta, seemed but little "like a church", yet only, as it were, to impress upon the mind the absurdity of ever calling an edifice—a thing built by masons and carpenters—a "church", which is a company of human souls called to do god's will. yet for such uses, and for such a company, and intended to be helpful to the education and training of the young in social holiness and for the worship of god, what could be better? in the basement was a gymnasium, with generous facilities for physical exercise, and that which is next to godliness. there were also a great entertainment room, a kitchen, tea room, and apartments for the janitor and his family. upstairs, on the first or main floor was the great[152] sunday school room proper, divisible, by movable partitions and curtains, into class rooms and able to hold in unity about twelve hundred people. offices, reading rooms, places for mothers' meetings, and, oh blessed modern addition—fulfilling at least one pastor's dreams—rooms, where invalids or mothers with small children might come, see the minister but not be seen by the congregation, stay as long as they could and leave, whenever they wished, through a side door without disturbing any one. kindergarten rooms and also those for the junior classes completed this "modern instance" of consecrated common sense expressed in a building.
after the courteous janitor had shown me about, i went up on the roof, whence projects many feet in the air a rotating star with electric lights showing at night, the red, white, and blue in alternation, while east and west along the ridge pole rises in large letters, electrically illuminated at night, the "church of the love of god"—though the corporate name of the completed enterprise is to be the john chambers memorial church. on the roof also is a great bell cast at the mcchane foundry, in baltimore. this is the gift of miss kate wentz, who, with her aunt miss cousty, were as i remember, among the most faithful worshippers during many years in the old church. its silvery tones made the air quiver with melody first on christmas eve. facing the south and the sunny hours is a superb stained-glass window, with the medallion portrait of the great pastor, as he looked in his prime, when his hair was just beginning to turn gray.
thus, in a southwesterly line, through the city of philadelphia, from near the spot where to-day stands the great reading terminal, has issued a chain of sweet influences, which, like those of the pleiades, cannot be bound.
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the dedicatory services of the john chambers memorial church, erected as a thanksgiving offering to the praise and glory of god, and in memory of the life and good works of his servant, the rev. john chambers, were held during the week beginning october 19, 1902, on entering the new house of the lord. the published pamphlet, which is richly illustrated with portraits and pictures of the church edifices, is a valuable souvenir of both old times and new.
yet this is not all. on june 9, 1898, some of the christian workers of bethany church began services in a tent in west philadelphia, near baltimore avenue and fiftieth street, and out of that beginning has grown saint paul's presbyterian church, which flourishes with high promise. its edifice was dedicated march 24, 1901. here again the great pastor is commemorated by a superb memorial window which sheathes the light and color that set forth most gloriously the good shepherd. it has been reared to the memory of john chambers by mrs. john hunter, the widow of mr. john c. hunter, so long the faithful elder in the old broad street church.
the basement of saint paul's church, furnished and fitted up by the brotherhood of andrew and philip, is named walton hall and contains a marble tablet in memory of rudolph s. walton, which reads as follows:
in loving remembrance of
rudolph s. walton.
a wise counsellor. a loving friend. a just man.
unto the life beyond—november 10th, 1900.
"for i know whom i have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which i have committed unto him against that day."
—ii timothy, i:12.
[154]
still further at rutledge, delaware county, pa., is another chambers memorial church, established and carried on chiefly by young men and women who are alumni of the first independent church and of the chambers presbyterian church. it has been liberally assisted by the trustees of the chambers-wylie church and contains stained glass memorial windows in honor of the pastor and also of the elders of the old broad street church.
in the handsomely printed and illustrated pamphlet, entitled "dedication souvenir of the chambers-wylie memorial presbyterian church", prepared by rev. thomas a. hoyt, d.d., pastor emeritus, and published for the building committee in 1901, one will find much interesting information concerning the two churches merged into one and still occupying a home in the commodious edifice on broad street, below spruce.
after due conference the two congregations executed formal articles of agreement may 27, 1897, and their action was ratified by the presbytery. for a short time they both become one, worshipped in the edifice of the chambers church, and when that was sold and torn down, the old epiphany church building at fifteenth and chestnut streets (wherein so long dr. richard newton, a favorite writer of children's books, ministered), then owned by mr. john wanamaker, was made use of. from this temporary abiding place the united congregation moved into their new and splendid temple, enjoying the first dedicatory services on the sabbath day, december 8, 1901, and continuing them during the five succeeding evenings.
the chambers-wylie memorial church.
the principal dates and items of financial interest are as follows: of the sum of $412,500 received from the sale of the property at broad and sansom streets, the sum of $200,000 was set aside as a perpetual endowment for the use [155]
[156]
[157]of the chambers-wylie church, and $60,000 were applied to extinguish the mortgage debt. the sum of $6,000 was given to the rutledge presbyterian church.
on december 26th, 1899, the congregation instructed the board of trustees to proceed with the erection of a new church edifice, according to an estimate submitted by j. e. & a. l. pennock, the cost of same to be $101,000 and in april, 1900, the erection of the building was begun. on august 8th, 1900, the corner stone was laid and on the first sunday of december, 1901, the church building was formally dedicated, the rev. thomas a. hoyt, d.d., preaching in the morning, and rev. henry c. minton, d.d., in the evening.
the entire cost of the church building was $103,915.66. the cost of organ, $10,000; cost of pews, $3,260; pulpit furniture, $600; stained glass, $1,500; heating system, $2,400; carpets, $3,457.
within two years after preaching the dedication sermon, the pastor emeritus fell asleep in god, and funeral services were held in the new edifice.
the board of trustees of the chambers-wylie memorial church met in the pastor's study, at noon on the same day, and passed the following resolution:
"the rev. thomas a. hoyt, d.d., our pastor emeritus and for seventeen years our pastor, whose death occurred in bryn mawr on monday, june 29th, was beloved by us all and by the church we represent. he came to us in 1883 and by his untiring devotion to the interests of this church and his skill in carrying into effect the union of the two churches now one in this present organization has made possible our present prosperity and position of influence."
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now, during the pastorate of rev. e. trumbull lee, with a few of the old "chamberites" and many new followers of the master the work goes on. god bless and prosper them one and all.
"not unto us, o lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."
"clasp, angel of the backward look
and folded wings of ashen gray,
and voice of echoes far away,
the brazen covers of thy book;
the weird palimpsest old and vast,
wherein thou hid'st the spectral past;
where, closely mingling, pale and glow
the characters of joy and woe;
the monographs of outlived years,
or smile-illumed or dim with tears,
green hills of life that slope to death,
and haunts of home, whose vistaed trees
shade off to mournful cypresses
with the white amaranths underneath.
even while i look i can but heed
the restless sands' incessant fall,
importunate hours that hours succeed,
each clamorous with its own sharp need,
and duty keeping pace with all.
shut down and clasp the heavy lids;
i hear again the voice that bids
the dreamer leave his dream midway
for larger hopes and graver fears;
life greatens in these later years
the century's aloe flowers to-day!"
