Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 June 1879 — Rev. Phillips Brooks and His church. [ARTICLE]

Rev. Phillips Brooks and His church.

The walls are massive, the pillars are massive, the chandelier is massive. There are fine windows, elegant colors, little cherubs and big angels hovering overhead, rich pews and costly upholstery down below, but all this does not detract from the general effect of strength. The chancel is peculiar. It is ’capacious, with an extended rail circling all about the communion table. It reminds one of the old English custom when the table was out in the body of the church. While there is, beauty about the whole structure, space and bigness are the special features impressing you. Corresponding with the big church is the minister. He is large large intellectually, large spiritually; New England’s leading, favorite preacher. He strides forward to his pulpit, which is a plain rich stand. It is a pleasure to see him step forth with a firm, imposing, but never pretentious, gait. He stands behind his desk. He grasps its sides, then sways hack and forth, or steps forward to emphasize a point. There is no ostentation in his manner. As you hear him you feel that he is larger than the church. While the audiences are large, you feel that he is larger than the audiences, but he is never greater than his subject. He makes himself inferior to that always, dwarfing himself by the side of that favorably theme, Christ’s power to make men better. While the rector of Trinity Church is an Episcopalian in his preferences and methods, lie is so sympathetic, broad and Catholic that he is very popular with all denominations, especially Unitarian and Congregationalists. You listen to Phillips Brooks and feel that here is a door widening, widening, widening till you are in the church universal, and right at home in the midst of all the saints