Evening Star Newspaper, January 19, 1930, Page 87

THE SUNDAY presence of a large concourse of people. The exercises occupied several hours, and were in the following order: *1. Singing by the congregation— “This Stone to Thee, in Faith We Lay.’ “2. Prayer by Rev. L. F. Morgan. “3. Scripture lesson—1st chapter He- brews; 2d chapter 1st Peter, verses 1 fo 10, by ‘Rev. C. C. Phelps. “4 Anthem by - the choir—I Give Thanks Unto the Lord.’ “5. Address by Rev. Bishop Simpson. “6. Colitection, un¥er the superinten- dence of Rev. H. Slicer. “7. Anthem by the choir—I Give ‘Thanks Unto the Lord.’ “8. Masonic ceremony; the corner stone laid by Di* W. B. Magruder, grand master of Masons for the District of Columbia. * “9. Doxology and benediction, by Rev. James H. Brown. “The address by Bishop Simpson was one of great ability, and riveted the at- tention of the Jlarge audience. The weather was very propitious, the dust being the only dsawback upon comfort. We understand the prospect of an edifice worthy of the Metropolis of the Nation is very encouraging.” ‘HOUGH in'eresting as the laying of the corner stone might have been and un- doubtedly was, yet it was to be some years before the church was to be completed. The delay unquestionably was due to the financial depression which gripped the country during that period and the years of the Civil War, The last great and successful effort toward the raising of sufficient funds for the building of the church was made by Rev. F. S. DeHass of the New York East Conference. Today we would call this divine a hustler, giving, however, the more modern meaning to the word, for his efforts were energetic and systematic, bringing the desired results to such a point that, by February 28, 1869, the church was ready for its dedicatory services, of which The Star of February 25, 1869, makes the following announcement: “The church will be formally dedicated on Sunday morning next, the exercises com- mencing at 11:30 o’clock. Rev. Bishop Simp- son will preach the dedicating sermon, and in the afternoon at 3:30 o’clock Rev. W. Morley Punston, the celebrated English divine, will preach, and at night (7:30 o’clock) Rev. Dr. Eddy of Chicago will officiate. A fine choir has been organized for the church, and will be under the leadership of Prof. J. H. Daniel. At the organ, which cost $15,000 (presented by Carlos Peirce, esq., of Massachusetts), Prof, Tasco of Georgetown will preside, * * * “To finish the spire, with chime of bells, etc., about $25,000 will be required, in addition to its present cost ($225.000), making a total cost of a quarter of a million.” N March 1, 1869, The Star carried an ex- cellent account of the services heid at the church the day previous, and which is deemed of sufficient interest to here repeat: “Dedication of the Metropolitan Church.— Yesterday the new church, at the corner of Four-and-one-half and C streets, known as the Metropolitan M. E. Church (a description of which was published in The Star a few days ago) was dedicated in the presence of a very large congregation, every portion of the build- ing being occupied and numbers unable to obtain admission. The dedicatory services were read by Rev. Bishop Simpson, Rev. Drs, DeHaas, Hamilton, Kyrett and Cookman as- sisting. The choir sang a dedicatory anthem under the lead of Prof. Daniel, Mr. Tucker presiding at the organ. Bishop Simpson then preached a most impressive sermon from the text—Ezekiel, xlvii9: ‘And it shall come to pass that everything that liveth, which moveth, withsoever the rivers shall come, shall live; and there shall be a great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither; for they shall be healed, and everything shall live whither the river cometh.’ “At the conclusion of Bishop Simpson’s ser- mon a collection was taken up, and a very large sum of money was realized. Among the contributors were Mr. Thomas Kelso of Balti- more, who contributed $1,000 in addition to the $5,000 hitherto contributed. An effort was made to raise $25,000, but the collections fell considerably short of that amount, reaching only about $10,000. Speaker Colfax contributed $100 and there were several contributions of that amount. “It is estimated that there were at least 2,000 people in and about the church during the service. Hundreds were unable to get even inside the door, and were compelled to leave. “Among the prominent gentlemen present were Gen. Grant, Chief Justice Chase and Judge Davis of the United States Supreme Court; Hon. N. G. Taylor, Commissoiner of Indian Affairs; Speaker Colfax, Senators Har- lan, Cragin, Trumbull, Cole, Doolittle, Howe, Hendricks, Patterson of New Hampshire, Wil- son and Sprague; Judge Fisher of the District Bupreme Court, Judge Pascall of Texas, Hon. D. N. Cocley, Representatives Raum, Cobb, Van Aernam, Clark of Kansas, Benton, CIift, Edwards, Mullins, Dawes, Judd, Morhead, Terry, Eckley, Humphrey, Churchill, Hubbard of West Virginia, McKess, Windom, Shanks, Whitte- more, Halsay, Shellabarger, Koontz, Chilcot, Washburn of Massachusetts, Washburn of Indiana, McCormikc, Longbridge, Pile, Moore, Corley, Newcob, Burleigh, Butler of Tennessee, Ross, Cullum, Higby, Fields and many others. “In the afternoon, Rev. W. Morley Punshon delivered a discourse from 4th and 5th verses of the second chapter of the First Epistle Gen- eral of Peter: ‘To whom coming as unto a liv- ing stone, disallowed, indeed, of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spirited sacrifices ac- ceptable to God, by Jesus Christ.’ A collection was taken up and about $2,500 additional was raised. “At night, Rev. Dr. Eddy of Chicago. an- nounced as his text the 4th verse of the 2d chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians: *And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demon- stration of the spirtt and of power’; and after STAR, *WASHINGTON, D. C,* JANUARY 19, 1930. Building at F and Fifth streets, site of Wesley Chapel, whose members were among the founders of the Metropolitan M. E. it had been anncunced that at the previous services $12,892.42 had been raised, $2,000 more were obtained, making altogether nearly $16,000 collected throughout the day.” Tfll actual construction of the church was left to some of Washington’s most reliable builders of 60 years ago, the stone work bzing executed under the direction of Matthew G. Emery, the last Mayor of Washington, who in after years presented the church with its par- sonage. > N. G. Reynolds did the bricklaying, C. E. ‘Walker the carpentering, John Kieler the plas. tering, while L. D. Parker furnished the plaster ornaments, the frescoing being done under the supervision of H. Schutter. The tiling was laid by Mr. French and the stained glass was fur- nished by Bleur of New York. Among the notable gifts to the church at the time of its erection were the memorial windows; the handsom;e organ from Carlos Peirce of Massachusetts, and the beautiful communion service from Mrs. James Foster of New York. The pulpit was designed by Bishop Simpson. Inside the church today are many objects of historic interest. Parts of the pulpit and altar rail are fhade of olive wood brought from the Garden of Gethsemene in the Holy Land, and of cedar from the forests of Lebanon. The keystone in the arch above the pulpit was cut from a stone found in the ruins of King Solo- mon’s femple, and bears the inscription “Jehovah Jireh.” Church. On the west sides of the wall, beneath the gallery, are two mural tablets in dark marble, in honor of Gens. Grant and Logan, who were regular attendants of the church, as was also Senator Leland Stanford. Another tablet is a memorial of Bishop John Philip Newman, who died July 5, 1899. Bishop Newman early be- came a pasttor of the church, was a highly distinguished divine, and in addition to his church duties served as chaplain of the United States Senate from 1869 to 1874. A white marble bust of the bishop also occupies a pedestal at the right of the pulpit, and else- where in the church is a tablet erected to the memory of Matthew Gault Emery, president of the board of trustees of the church for 32 Jears. - 'WINING up the outside of the church, on the east side, is ivy brought from the tomb of Martin Luther, tying in, perhaps, much religious sentiment from the history of Chris- tian movements in the Old World. Mrs. Newman, the bishop’s good wife, re- ceives a large share of the credit for having placed in the tower a chime of 16 bells, to which reference has been made. In connec- tion with Mrs. Newman’'s activities in this direction it was agreed that any person who gave $500 toward the chimes should have his name inscribed on one of the bells, and it is said: “Among those who complied with the terms was Rarey, the famous horse tamer. The bell bearing Mr. Rarey's name is thus inscribed: ‘In that day shall there be upon Residence of Gen. John A. Dix, Secretary of the Treasury in 1861, at 456 C street. the bells of the horses, holiness unto the Lord.—Zacharias, xiv.20.” Others for whom the bells were inscribed were: A. Ensign Newman, wife of Rev. J. P. New- man, D. D, first pastor of the Metropolitan Memorial M. E. Church. “She hath done what she could.—Mark, xiv.8.” Mrs. Clemence S. Lozier, M. D., New York City. “Holiness unto the Lord.” Mrs. Drake Mills, Williamstown, Mass. “The poor shall hear thereof and be glad.” Mrs. John B. Cornell, New York City. *“O come! Let us worship and bow down.” Julia Dent Grant, wife of U. S. Grant, Presi- dent of the United States of America. Nellle Wade Colfax, wife of Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States of America. Mrs. Gov. Cooke, wife of H. D. Cooke, first Governor of the District of Columbia. Miss Amanda L. Grant, daughter of Capt. A. Grant. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Mrs. Ellen Y. Daniel, Baltimore, Md. “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into ‘the house of the Lord.” Infant class of the Metropolitan Memorial M. E. Church. “Of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” The music of the chimes has pealed out for many years sending the message of the Gospel to all who could hear. The old year has been rung out and the new year rung in. Those in charge of the chimes have been: Mr. Frederick Widdows, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Gapen, Mr. Richard H. Johnston, who has been ring- ing them for the past 30 years. In addition to those already mentioned, President McKinley was a member and con- stant attendant of this church, and after his death a tablet was erected there to his mem- ory. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase and Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks were also members, besides many distinguished Washing- tonians and national legislators. LIST of the pastors of the church as fur- nished the writer by Dr. Montgomery, in- cludes the following names: “Rev. F. S. De- Hass, D. D.; Rev. John P. Newman, D. D.; Rev. Thomas M. Eddy, D. D.; Rev. O. H. Tiffany, D. D.; Rev. Henry R. Naylor, D. D.; Rev. Robert B. Baer, D. D.; Rev. E. D. Hunt- ley, D. D.; Rev. George H. Corey, D. D.; Rev. Hugh Johnston, D. D.; Rev. Frank M. Bristol, D. D.; Rev. John Reid Shannon, D. D.; Rev. James Shera Montgomery, D. D.; Rev. Harry Dawson Mitchell, D. D.; Rev. George Shaw Johnson. “Two of the former pastors have bees elected bishop while serving this charge, Rev. John P. Newman, D. D, in 1888, and Rev. Frank M. Bristol, D. D, in 1908. “The Sunday school superintendents have been David A. Burr, John A. Ruff, Andrew B. Duvall, Anderson P. Lacey, Harry O. Hall, Thomas G. Hensey, Percy M. Hughes, Thomas H. McKee, William C. Eldridge, Albert P. Tas- ker, J. Finney Engle, Evert L. Harvey, Oscar Allen, Thomas B. Mitchell and Eugene A. Scheele.” The thought of the passing of this historic church is very painful to Dr. Montgomery, the present pastor, who regards this old edifice with a great deal of veneration and respect, just as the community has come to regard the doctor for his sterling worth and ability, and it is to be hoped that, even though we must lose the church, we will not lose the doctor, who is not only the pastor of the church but the chaplain of the United States House of Representatives as well, and who, from his long ministerial duties in Washing- ton, has become one of us, and has truly en- deared himself to all. Nm door to the Metropolitan Church, on C street side, at number 456—recently purchased by the District from Mary Brunell— is the house where resided Gen. John A. Dix, Secretary of the Treasury from January 11 to Continued on Thirteenth Page.