Decatur Democrat, Volume 1, Number 1, Decatur, Adams County, 4 April 1899 — Page 1

VOL- I-

Annual conference. Opening Session at the Church Aud= itorium Last Night. pecatur Opens Her Doors and Extends an Old-time Hethodist Greeting to All Visitors Who May Attend. TODAY’S PROGRAM. ~; oa m .-Examination of Classes. 130 P m.—Examination of Classes continued. „ m — Song and Pentecostal Service conducted by the North Indiana 3 :0 ° p. m. Co * ference Male Q uar t e tt. nn m. An Hour With Taylor University. Rev. T. C. Reade, D. D., P President. ..an m.—Anniversary of the Church Extension Society. Address by 73 P ‘ Rev. H. G. Jackson, D. D.

E It is a source of much pleasure and E satisfaction to the great church famE ilr of Methodists, as well as other E citizens of our city to throw open our ■ - Airs to the members of the North E Indiana Conference. Individually Ether will I), ‘ g rwtHli iu the different E home ß with a hearty welcome and Ean abiding hospitality. The church E homes of the M. E. congregation, on | the corner of Fifth and Monroe E streets in which the Conference will | holds its annual session is a beautiful, | commodious structure, well adapted E to the needs of this august body dur B ing the week of its deliberations and E transaction of the immense amount Bof business attendant upon such I session. This is the first time Decatur B has had the pleasure of entertaining B the conference, though for nearly B sixty years Methodism has been an B important factor in our city's religB ious welfare. The North Indiana B conference held its first annual conB ierence in 1844 at Fort Wayne. At B that time .Methodists held their meetB iugs in a log school house, and this B charge was included in a circuit B embracing Decatur. Monmouth and | Salem. From the log school house ■ th«y passed to a frame one which ■ the congregation soon out grew and I the court house becAme their sanetuI arv. From this humble beginning ■ the church has grown until now its I congregation numbers over five hun- ■ dred members and the church edifice I is a commodious modern structure. I a monument to the progressive spirit lof this branch of the Methodist I church. During the first years, the I rules of the church permitted minI isters to remain one year. SevenI teen devoted men, known in MethI odist phraseology as circuit riders; I labored faithfully for the welfare I of the young organization. How I much of the present prosperity of I the church is due to them will not be I known until the final reckoning beI fore the great white throne. In I 1850 Decatur became a station with I Her. Thomas Comstock as pastor. I Rev. E. N. Errick pastor during I 1862, heeding his country’s call for I men. entered the army and Rev. W. I W Pearce a refuge from the south I took his place. The church grew so I rapidly during these years that the I need of a new place of worship was I felt until in 1878 under the pastorate I of Rev. J, B. Carns the lots upon I which the church now stands were I bought and funds provided for the I building of the uew church. His I time limit having expired the church I "as built under the pastorate of Rev. I S. Metts in 1881 but dedicated I wiring Rev. M. A. Teague’s pastor - I ate. It was a source of great pleas I ure to the congregation during the I past year to have the now sainted I Bro. Teague occupy the pulpit durI Mg one Sabbath in Rev. Daniel’s I ansence. I u I lean .1..

*B9O, during ’be Rev. G. B. »ork’s occupy of the Pulpit the parson age was built, Bev W was the beloved pastor rorfour years, ; followed by «ev. Edwin T. \ re gg. under "hose charge ’be church was and furnished. ,remained be five years now allowed, Roving t o nokomo a year |°wlren,Rev. I 2' H ' Daniel [ appointto this

) W.H. DANIEL, PASTOR DECATUR M. E. CHURCH.

1 UsT' W^0 ’ (^ur >ug the past year I bis u !ea [ to the of I amono. ’ "h° hope that his stay i 111 ma y the full extent !As\r h i? rll l es of the church, todism has grown in Decatur,

THE DECATUR DEMOCRAT.

•so it has grown in the North Indiana Conference. Every year since that first conference held’in Fort Wayne in 1844 the body has grown in membership, and each member represents a growing branch of the Conference. These branches reaching out. ministering to the spiritual needs and seeking to better the condition morally and intellectualy of their congregations. Methodism was born in a college but has always labored hardest for the lowly. Reaching out to the slums, the back woods and tenement districts while it has built schools and founded universities. Fully realizing the high calling and noble work done by the members of the conference a welcome corresponding with the dignity of their position awaits them in the homes of our citizens. Not only Methodist homes but those of every denomination represented here will substantiate the fame Decatur has heretofore maintained by genuine hospatality. In continuing in this same strain of thought it might not be • out of place to add that about the building of a church or society there cluster many tender sentiments, memories of triumphs, failures, heartaches and happy realizations of hopes. Like the material structure which is formed by the laying in proper place each stone and timber, so the organization if formed by the lives and characters of individual members. When we think of the church home of our childhood, perchance there comes a vision of an old church with ivy clinging to the old walls, covering the angles and fissures and with delicate tendrils uniting the severed bricks. Around the membership of that chnreh there is another clinging vine of tender sentiments and in time the early struggles and later angular parts, sharpened by bitter experiences are hidden beneath the vine of Christian love. These struggles and their overcoming do not weaken the structure but forms a strong cable of individual loves, desires and sacrifices which anchor the church militant to the church triumphant. The church which seems at first made up by seperate and district individuals is joined by many a connecting link. The Decatur M. E. church is not old and it is not vine clad but the church organization has many hallowed memories of the sowers’long ago, many of whom have joined the “choir invisible.” Among these earlv Christian heroes who laid the foundation of Methodism was Thomas Fisher, Fredrick Myers and Thomas Archbold. Being thoroughly in earnest and feeling the need of a church they each pledged an a rount of money toward the erection of a suitable church. The result was a very comfortable frame church. The church building was — •in! ♦I. ,1 nnlv

J. Myers.has for many years beeniden- ‘ tified with the church’s best interests. He was the first recording steward 1 after Decatur was made a station, iHe also serves the Master in the ' capacity of local preacher and with

SPECIAL CONFERENCE EDITION.

DECATUR. INDIANA, TUESDAY MORNING, APRIL 1, 1899.

his entire family are earnest mem- ! bers of the M. E. church. His only; S ? D ‘. , Hunter Myers is a member i of the Northern Indiana Conference ' and is stationed at Gaston. In that I living structure of early days was a i maiden, Miss Hariet Evans, daughter of Judge Evans at Monmouth. | At the age of thirteen she united with the church. She came to Decatur to I live with her sister Mrs. Joseph Crabbs. Mr. Crabbs was one of the ; foremost men of his time in church | work and all the earl 5' records bear his signature. In several years Miss ; Hariet Evans was married to the j then rising young lawyer Mr. David | Studabaker. As Mrs. Studabakerl she labored earnestly and in many I ways for the upbuilding of the church and the different societies connected I withit. Judge Studabaker and bis daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and ; Mrs. John Niblick united with the i church simultaneously and the fam ily have been strong pillars in it. Mrs. N iblick has been identifed with the ladies societies of the church, having been selected president of the Mite I Society for four years and working ■ in the other societies as well. Judge Studabaker and Mr. Niblick are both members of the official board and have been for many years. Following in the footsteps of her mother and grand-mother is Miss Hariet Niblick who is now the Epworth League organist. Mrs Simcoke was another of the staunch early members and her place is taken by her | daughter Mrs. Ely. Father ' and | Mother Reiter as they were effection- I ately called in the early days are still I represented in the church by their ' grand daughter, Mrs. David Studa- 1 baker who is the efficient president of 1 the Decatur auxiliary of the Woman’s i Home Missionary Society while in j every department of the church her : help is felt. Mr. and Mrs. Gillig | were also pioneers. Their daughter I and husband Mr. and Mrs. Spangler j are now influential members and their

daughters, Mrs. James Rice and Mrs. C. E. Neptune are members of the present choir. Benjamin Rice, father of John Rice a present member was one of the early strong members. In the North Indiana Conference there are four rising young ministers who have come from this church, they are G. Hunter Myers, D. I. Hower, Jay Dorwin and Edgar Jones. Thus from the log school house which resounded with hearty amens and glad shouts of Christian exaltation to the present the church has widened and deepened in influence and the living structure has been securely built by the God who rules over all, and yet we are sowing ever sowing. Thecommodius edifice of the Methodist congregation is the scene of a busy place of activity. The noon trains yesterday brought the advance guard of the army of Methodist workers in the conference. Each train brought some few, though the greater number will arrive today. The basement of the church is headquarters for the book concern, and presents an air of business. Here, too is the executive committee’s place of business. Guests who arrive on the trains are taken immediately to the church and guides take them to the homes that have opened their doors for their accommodation and where they will find ready welcome. The church is splendidly arranged for holding a convocation of this kind, the small rooms connected with the lecture room make excellent committee rooms. These rooms during the first two days are occupied by the board of examiners, and the young men who form the classes will here have their standing determined in their studies which fit them for more efficient work. During business sessions seats sufficient for seating the membership of the conference will lie reserved, but at the services and public exercises no seats

not the only foundation they laid. Their entire lives were devoted to the service of the Lord Their descendants are still active members. T. J. Archbold, son of Thos. Archbold, is a local I preacher and with his wife, daughter o f Thomas Fisher, among the most prominent members. W. J. and M. V. B. Archbold grandsons, are prominent members, Fred Myer’s son, W.

i » a

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DECATUR.

' will be reserved. There is a cheeri- | ness and air of good fellowship about I the assembling of these men that is J rarely met with. The hearty handi shake anh brotherly feeling manifest, soon removes any feeling of strangeI I ness. This attitude on the part of I the visiting members will strike a ' sympathetic chord on the part of the people here who open not only their I homes, but their hearts as well, to the ' visitors. Many of the ministers are i accompanied by their wives, and all look forward to spiritual blessings ! and new zeal for the coming year’s ; work. The systematic methods emI ployed in performing the business of I conference, make u possible to transI act in a week’s time, an immense | amount of work, and a visit at the j church will convince any skeptic that j the gathering together of these men is ’ for business. Every member has his j duties to perform and they are not al- , ways light and easy disposed of. But I earnestness and diligence combine in the performance of duties and the consciousness of working for the I noblest causy possible is a further incentive. OPENING SERVICE. The initial service of the conference was favored by a sermon by the gifted Rev. F. G. Browne assistant editor of the Western Christian Advocate, published at Cincinnati. He is one of the best known men in the conference and has served the congregations of the following charges: Wheatland | street Logansport, Goldsmith, JonesI boro. Wayne street Fort Wayne, Mishawaka, Huntington. Since 1897 he has been assistant editor of the Westi era Christian Advocate. Rev. Browne 'is chairman of the conference board ■of examiners, which committee has i twenty members. This work has ; brought him here among the first and I he will remain during the entire session. Including the class for admisI sion there are five classes to lie ex- | amined. Rev. Brown is a native Indianian and a graduate of DePauw

University. He entered the conference in 1881, the same year in which he graduated with the degree Ph. D. A splendid audience assembled’for the opening session of the annual conferference. One of the grand old hymns that has helped so many on their way to Glory was the opening number. Rev. Smith, of Mishawaka, invoked the guidance and blessing of the God of all. in the affairs of the ; conference,and for blessings tothe local j church and people. “There’s a Widei ness in God’s Mercy” was heartily I sung by the congregation, after which Rev. Simpson announced that after the singing of the special number .by the choir Rev. Brown would : preach the initial sermon. He took for | his text, "The Apostolic Standard of Preaching the Message and the ; Method. — 2 Timothy IV-2.” Followed is a short abstract of his eloquent remarks: “Nothing so intensifies our interest in one’s estimate of his calling ' and what he deems the conditions of : success therein as the fact that we intend to make that calling our own. It is with this thoroughly aroused and essentially personal interest that every minister should come to the study of the Apostolic rule or standard of true preaching. Preaching is our calling, and if the author may be anxious to I know what Addison or Macaulay might have to say about the essentials of literary style, or if the soldier may i lie eager to know what Napoleon proI nounce indispensable to the success of a campaign, how much more should we with the gospel committed to our trust desire to know what Paul thought and said concerning our sacred vocation. M e should preach the Won! in its full scope. The world needs the whole Bible. Every section of the word is essential to a right view of God His works. His will. His plans. His Purposes. We should preach from the Old Testament as well as from the New. The New Testament

4 •* n EMISSION or CURTS A JEN4INQ*. _ - EDWARD G. ANDREWS, THE PRESIDING BISHOP.

is latent in the Old, and the Old is patent in the New. Both constitute the ‘word’ and together open to us an inexhaustible treasury of divine truth. The study and preaching of the word in its full scope will solve the problem of variety, in the choice and use of sermonic themes and materials. There is no class of men upon whom there are such exacting demands for intellectual vigor and fertility as are ministers. Lawyers speak only occassionally and have their subjects furnished them in the cases that they plead. Authors enjoy unlimited leisure for the production of their works. A narrow range of topics suffices for success in the lecture field. But with the preacher it is otherwise. He speaks! on frequent and regularly recurring | occasions. The interval between | Sabbath is very brief. It may not be spent in luxurious ease and idleness,! but in the discharge of many public and private duties. Too often it is consumed by unnecessary and annoying interruptions, and proves too short for the preparation for the pulpit that the preacher desires and a critical I public expects. Each Sabbath, morn- J ing and evening, the year round, he ; must come before the same congregation with a new theme, fresh thought 1 and interesting treatment. Neverthe-' less in the ‘word’ there is an exhaust- i less fountain of thought, suggestion I and truth, and he who drinks deep; thereat will experience no poverty of; thought nor lack of suitable themes. . If we preach the Gospel in its full > scope our ministrv will lie rounded and symmetrical. Much of the error, prejudice and narrowness that prevails in many localities and which gives certain sects their distinctive character is due to a false accentuation of one or more doctrines or requirements of the Scriptures. The Lord’s day and the sacraments are holy and divine institutions. We dare not disparage them. Likewise each doctrine of the Word, whether it concern the character of God, the person of Christ or some phase of Christian experience, has a value and importance of its own; but in preaching the Word we must present each doctrine ■ not only on its own merits but in its i just relations to all the other con- 1 comitants of the Christian system. | Because the ministry has not al-1 ways been regardful of the rela-1 five value and significance of each j section of the Word, giving to j one portion a degree of emphasis that ; does not belong to it and touching all i others indifferently or not it all, error, bigotry and fanaticism have widely prevailed. In the hearts of such a ministry the Word of God has been grossly perverted and mutilated, and Christian char-

acter in those to whom they have preached has been onesided, ill-bal-anced and incomplete. Let us preach the Gospel in its entirety. Let us give to each portion the weight that belongs to it and faithfully present the whole of it as the only hope of the world. Preaching of this kind will have much to do with the per son of Christ. His character fills and animates the Gos-

PRESIDING ELDER F. T. SIMPSON.

pel. He is its sun and substance. I As in the days of Roman supremacy ! all roads led to Rome, so in the realm |of Divine truth, revelation centers! i and culminates in Jesus Christ. His ' person is the golden mile post where i all promises and prophecies meet, j

The apostles preached Christ. It is more often said that they preached Christ than that they preached the Gospel. The truly successful minister will have much to say about Christ in the matchlessness of his character and the glory of his saving offices. The reproof or exposure of error is an important part of true preaching. Not only are we called upon to expose error, but also to rebuke sin. People expect preachers to be hard on their sins, and secretly despise them, if they weakly soften or falliate what God can not look upon with the least degree of allowance. When Massilon preached at Versailles, Louis XIV paid this expressive tribute to his eloquence. He said. ‘Father, when I | hear others preach I am very much | pleased with them, but when I hear you I am dissatisfied with mvself.’ ; We should cultivate the power of exhortation. It is to be regretted that this gift is being neglected. In the early days of Methodism young ministers were first taught to exhort and then to preach. They thus learned ' the value of direct appeal and how to i persuade men to forsake their sins and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. Doej trine holds a fundamental place in all ! true preaching. There is an idea i abroad that doctrine preaching is no i longer popular. There is a kind of I doctrinal preaching that never was I and never could be popular. If : preaching which purports to be doc- ! trina! is unpopular, it is not because > the doctrines of God’s word have lost their charm, but because they are presented false methods. There is scarcely any theme appropriate to the pulpit that does not rest on a doctrinal basis. Preaching after the method which the apostle prescribed in this text accords with the nature of man. When thus you preach the word forget nor that what you are attempting without, the concience is seconding within you hearers, and that approaching with the gospel the citadel of the human heart the con cience is the secret friend within that will throw open the gates, gladly capitulate and loyaly welcome the i truth. This method of preaching ! also accords with the func I tions of the Holy Spirit. He who is brave and faithful to reprove, rebuke ! and exhort co-operates with the Spirit i sent to convict men of sin. of rightj ousness and of judgment. Preaching i that is thus suited to the nature of ; man and that accords with the fune- \ tions and agency of the Holy Spirit ■ cannot fail. He who preaches aej cording to this rule will gloriously ’ succeed." I Rev. W. E. Gross followed, and in the absence of Dr. Parr, who was to have conduet-

' the character and devotion of men who present the word of God. It is appropriate that we at this time re ! consecrate ourselves to a realization i that God wants the souls of men. There is no higher calling than to CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR.

NO I.

ed the consecration service, performed that duty. He said in part: “During the days that are to come we will hear from the lips of men who are in the service of God, words of eloquence. Telling of the grand, glorious love’of the Saviour and its power to save the souls of men. Os all the departments of the work of the church and of life there is notmore important than