1886]

to the church where Rev. R. R. Shippen gave an extended and exceedingly interesting historical address, recounting the history of Meadville, the church and the theological school up to the present time. This was followed by other addresses of nearly or quite equal interest from Mr. Alfred Huidekoper, President Livermore, Rev. G. W. Cutter, of Buffalo, Mr. Joseph Shippen, of Chicago, and Mr. Tilden, and the reading of a considerable number of letters from former pastors of the church, professors in the Theological School, and others, by Professor Barber. The hymns and anthems sung were those which had been used fifty years before at the dedication of the church.

Altogether the Celebration was a most enjoyWe shall be sorry able and memorable one. if the papers and addresses are not published in pamphlet form, to send to friends at a distance, and for permanent preservation.

On Thursday morning came the graduation exercises of the school. Five young men read papers and received their diplomas, viz.: J. B. Frost, L. M. Mason, Frank L. Phalen, Two Nicolai Schultz, and W. F. Moore. original hymns were sung on the occasion, written by Mr. Phalen and Mr. Tilden. The exercises closed with an address from Rev. Brooke Herford, of Boston.

199

to them, however, is in important respects different from that given them in other churches, just as our thought of religion in many other matters is different from theirs. To us the baptism of a child is not anything which confers any supernatural sanctity or favor of God upon the child; it is simply an act of public dedication or consecration of the child to religion, that is, to truth and goodness; it is a way of saying by the parents through the minister, "God has given us this child, a very precious gift; we earnestly desire that his life shall be true and worthy-in harmony with the things that the church stands for. So, here we bring him to say this-to say it in this most sacred place, and before God and the church, and to invoke aid, human and Divine, in the discharge of the great responsibility that comes to us with this child." This is essentially what baptism means to us as Unitarians. And with this meaning it seems to us rational and helpful.

The Lord's supper to us is a commemorative service, not at all a sign or symbol of a vicarious atonement, or blood-purchased redemption. We commemorate our own birthdays; Why we commemorate great events in history; we commemorate great and noble men. then should we not commemorate the sublime life and the martyr death of Jesus, the world's greatest religious teacher, the founder of our Christianity? This we do, in this supper or communion service. Jesus himself said, "This do in remembrance of me." Thus, in the spirit of his words, we observe the service as one of remembrance, of honor, of love, of reflection upon his character and teachings, of communOn Thursday evening Presi-ion with that Divine Spirit which so pre-emident Livermore, Professor Barber, Rev. R. R. nently guided and inspired his life, and which Shippen and Mr. Cutter went over to Union waits ever to guide and inspire ours. City (thirty miles away), and fittingly closed the natural meaning of the Lord's supper, and the Commencement day by ordaining Mr. we believe it is also the original, historic meaning of it. Given this meaning, we think the observance of the supper at once becomes something rational, beautiful, valuable.

Of the five young men going out from the school, two, Mr. Phalen and Mr. Mason, have already received calls from churches, and accepted the same, the former to Wilton, N. H., and the latter to Union City, Pa., to settle with a society which he himself, with a little aid from his fellow students, has built up during the past year.

Mason.

We are glad to learn that the prospect now is for a considerable increase in the number of students at Meadville next year.

SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
A correspondent desires us to answer in the
Unitarian the following questions :

1. Are the common church ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper observed by any Unitarian Societies? And to what extent? 2. Do Unitarian churches generally hold weekly prayer meetings?

3. Is the "Church of the Messiah", in St. Louis, a Unitarian Society? If so, what is the explanation of the statements in the June number of The Unitarian, that they admitted fifteen members "to the communion of church membership, on profession of Christian faith", and the confirmation class", and "six children were baptized”.

To these questions we gladly reply.

1. There is no uniformity among Unitarian churches as to the observance of the Lord's Supper and Baptism, but both are observed by many of our societies. The meaning we attach

This is

Answers to the two remaining questions we must defer to our next number for want of space.

LITERATURE.

THE STORY OF CHALDEA.- ("The Story of the Nations"

Series). By Z. A. Ragozin. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS,
New York. S. A. MAXWELL & Co., Chicago. Pp. 380.
Price, $1.50.

This book forms a good introduction to the
study of ancient history, for it is in Chaldea
As a mere story
rather than anywhere else that we find the true
cradle of the ancient world.
this volume is not so interesting as that on
Greece (of the same series), which we noticed
last month; this partly because we know so
much less about the Chaldeans than about the
Greeks, and partly because the Greeks were so
exceptionally gifted and interesting a people.
It contains
However, the present possesses features of
interest that the other did not.
more that is new; it introduces us to a civili-
zation farther removed from our own, and into

This is the third of "The Olden Time Series", gleanings from old newspapers of Boston and Salem, Mass., prepared by Henry M. Brooks. It contains many curious reminiscences of the olden times, giving interesting instances of the rigid New England observ- One of the interesting things brought out ance of the sabbath, when not to be a church in the historical address of Rev. Rush R.

Shippen at the late semi-centennial in Mead-old historic meeting-house of the society was ville, was the fact that Professor Huid koper demolished, and the new edifice, now the prophas sent out in all, through the aid of the erty of the First Baptist Church, was erected. Brooks fund, more than 60,000 volumes of This was completed and dedicated in 1873. In Unitarian literature, mainly to orthodox the year 1852 Dr. Lothrop received the degree clergymen. of doctor of divinity from Harvard College. During his long pastorate he greatly endeared himself to his people, and to many who did not sit under his ministry. For several years he was president of the American Unitarian Association.

A new edition, thoroughly revised, of A Dictionary of Boston, by Edwin M. Bacon, with an introduction by George E. Ellis, D. D., has been issued by Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. This book contains in compact form information upon every essential point regardChicago.-The senior editor of the UNIing Boston's present condition, its literary, TARIAN made a flying visit here June 14 and 15, historical, religious, charitable, and social in- to assist at the funeral of a former parishioner. stitutions and organizations; its system of public schools and other educational estab--On June 20 Dr. E. E. Hale preached in Chilishments; its commercial, financial and man-cago-in the morning for Prof. Swing in Cenufacturing corporations; its newspapers, mag- tral Music Hall, and in the evening for Mr. azines, and publishing interests; its steam and Jones in the hall where the All Souls Society horse railroads; its harbor, and, in fact, every worships. On Monday he went with a few feature that impar s an individuality to the others to Pullman, to make a study of that city and stimulates its industries. It is copi-On the last two Sundays of June the pulpit model industrial community. ously illustrated.

NEWS FROM THE FIELD.

of the Church of the Messiah was occupied by Rev. J. T. Bixby of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Mr. Sunderland.

-Prof. Swing has been preaching on “The The address of Rev. C. W. Wendte, secre- Unitarian Controversy in the West", and extary of the American Unitarian Association pressing profound solicitude that Unitarianfor the Pacific coast, will hereafter be Sanism should adopt and maintain an unequivoFrancisco. cal Christian position.

Let our readers not forget the Unitarian-Rev. J. R. Effinger, the new secretary of the grove meeting at Weirs, N. H., beginning July 25, and continuing nine days. We are sorry that this meeting and that of the Lakewood (Chautauqua) Summer School of the New Theology (mentioned on another page) come

at the same time.

-The new Unitarian building, 25 Beacon street, is at last finished and occupied. Appropriate opening services were held in the Channing Hall on Thursday evening, June 24. The address of the American Unitarian Association and the Unitarian Sunday School Society will hereafter be at the new place.

-In the death (June 6) of Rev. Samuel K. Lothrop, D. D., of this city, we lose a man who for two generations has been one of the best known and most honored leaders of Unitarianism in this country. He was born in Utica, N. Y., on October 13, 1804.

At the age of twenty-one he was graduated from Harvard College, and four years later he was ordained to the Christian ministry at Dover, N. H. In June, 1834, he became the pastor of the old Brattle Square Church in Boston, and remained in charge of the society as its pastor until its dissolution in 1876. During his pastorate the

Western Conference, and Rev. Mary H.
Graves, the new secretary of the Women's
Conference, have both entered upon their
duties and may be found at the Unitarian
rooms, 175 Dearborn street.
-Dr. Thomas Society (the People's Church)
has presented him with a purse of $1,000, to
pay his expenses to Europe for a summer's
rest.

Algona, Iowa.-The minister here, Rev. Ida C. Hultin, preached on Sunday, June 20, for the Unitarian society in Des Moines. The work in Algona has prospered well during the past year, a large study class, under the leaderof the minister, being one of its interesting features.

Dakota City, Neb.-This little city is a flourishing county seat a few miles from Sioux City, across "The Big Muddy", in Nebraska. Some friends there made arrangements for Rev. Mary A. Safford, of Sioux City, to preach on Sunday, June 13. The Lutheran church was kindly granted for the service. The church is pleasantly situated in a grove of trees. The day was perfect. The prairie around the church gave forth delightful incense from the many wild roses that starred the grass. The congregation was large, made up of representatives of all denominations. The service and the sermon took all into the glad heights of true religion, so that all felt that they had been "up into the mount".

Humboldt, Iowa.-The Unitarian society and the Congregational society held a

joint memorial service in honor of the dead "boys in blue", in the Unitarian church, on Sunday, May 30. A large congregation was present, 435 being seated and all standing| room occupied. Rev. Marion Murdock, pastor of the Unitarian society, and Rev. E. Carr, pastor of the Congregational society, made addresses.

supporting it. It was organized under the supervision of a committee consisting of Rev. Theodore C. Williams, Rev. Grindall Reynolds, R. L. Richardson and John Harsen Rhoades, appointed by a conference of Unitarians from the New York and Brooklyn churches. The prospect of success is very hopeful. A unanimous call has been extended to Rev. H. Price Collier, of Hingham, Mass., but it is not yet Jamestown, N.Y.-Dr. Townsend, pas-known whether he will accept. tor of the Independent. Congregationalist Church, still draws great audiences to the Opera House to hear him both morning and evening. The Jamestown Sunday Sun publishes one of his sermons each week. Recently the proprietors of the Sun have published a volume of his sermons, entitled "The New Theology", which is having a large sale through that section of the country.

Louisville, Ky.-The evening of June 19, the Ladies' Aid Society of the Unitarian Church had a very unique and interesting garden party, called a 99 "cobweb party, at the residence and grounds of Mr. J. L. Danforth.

Madison, Wis.-The interesting exercises of the Wisconsin Conference, held in the new Unitarian church at Madison, closed with a sermon in Norwegian by Rev. Kristofer Janson, of Minneapolis. Besides a few Americans there was a large attendance of Scandivavians, among them about twenty students of the state university, in Prof. Olson's department of Norse. The audience was greatly interested in Mr. Janson's discourse. At the close many lingered to shake hands and express words of assent and congratulation, and arrangements were immediately made for him to address the students at the university the next morning on the life and works of Bjornson.

Northampton, Mass.-On June 13, Rev. E. E. Hale, D. D., preached to a large audience in the Unitarian church. (It was in this church that he preached the first sermon of his ministry, and at that time supplied the pulpit for a few months.) In the afternoon he preached in the orthodox church at Westhampton, to the society of which his grandfather, Rev. Enoch Hale, was the first pastor. pastor, Rev. Mr. Todd, assisted in the service.

The

Northwood, Iowa.-On Monday evening, May 31, the minister at large for the State preached here in the court-house.

Oil City, Pa.-Students from the Meadville Theological School have gathered together a little company of liberal people here to whom they have been preaching most of Prof. Barber the time for a year past. preached here June 13.

Church has just closed its doors for nearly
Philadelphia.-The First Unitarian
three months. After July 4th, the German-
town church will close until September 5th.
Many think these long suspensions of service

are to be regretted, and for more reasons than
A much needed vacation trip abroad has
one; though in some cases they seem necessary.
been tendered Rev. Charles G. Ames.
-Rev. Joseph May spends his summer at his
cottage at York Harbor, where it is hoped the
soft breezes will bring to him the health and
strength that of late have failed him.

Manly, Iowa.-Excellent meetings here in the school-house on morning and evening of May 30. Preaching by Rev. Ŏ. Clute. Some fast friends drove from Mason City and Rock-The Ladies' Auxiliary held its last meeting Falls, ten miles away. The Manly people are of the summer on June 3d, with the Wilming

much in earnest.

ton Branch.

-Arrangements have been made with the J. B. Lippincott Co. to keep on sale a full line of Unitarian literature, which it is believed will be a great help to our cause in Philadel

Michigan City, Ind.-Rev. A. G. Jennings lately addressed the convicts in the Northern Indiana state prison here. Since that he has been appointed a member of a commit-phia and vicinity. tee to assist prisoners after they leave the institution.

New York.-A new church, called the Unity Congregational Society of the City of New York, was organized in March last, in the northern part of the city, at 128th street. It was formed to take the place of the old Fourth Unitarian Society. The property of the old society, consisting of a pipe organ, a piano and church furniture, will be transferred to the new body, which has leased the old chapel for temporary use. This movement is not simply a reorganization of the old church, but essentially a new movement, under new management and with a large number of new people

Rock Falls, Iowa.-Some families of English Unitarians moved to this beautiful farming section in Cerro Gordo county many years ago. In their new home they knew of Unitarian organizations only by reports from afar. Some of them heard of a Unitarian meeting to be held in Manly, and drove across the prairies to attend it. They invited the preacher, Rev. O. Clute, to visit them, and he went on Thursday evening, June 3. Though the Unitarian friends had worked loyally for many years for the only church in town, that church was refused them even for one evening. But they obtained an unused room, improvised seats, drilled a choir, invited everybody and

had a most enthusiastic meeting. They ex- and have engaged the services of Mr. Effinger, pect more meetings soon.