"S iU! T)r©Wvi

Our Brethren at Rest.

OUR BRETHREN AT REST.

THE

MEMOEIAL SERMON
PBEACHED AT THE
TWO-HUNDREDTH MEETING OF THE
EASTEEN CONVOCATION

GRACE CHURCH, NEWTON, MASS., OCTOBER 5TH, 1882,

REV. EDWARD L. DROWN,
¦I*
Vice-Dean of the Convocation and Eeotok of St. Paul's Chukoh,
Newbukyport,
WITH HISTORICAL NOTES; AND A SKETCH OF THE
SERVICES OF COMMEMORATION.

PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE CONVOCATION.

BOSTON:
A. WILLIAMS & CO.
©Irj Con«r bookstore.
18 8 2.

OFFICERS.

PRESIDENT EX-OFFICIO.
THE BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE.
DEAN.
The Rev. THEODORE EDSON, D. D.
VICE-DEAN.
The Rev. EDWARD L. DROWN.
SECRETARY.
The Rev. WILLIAM G. WELLS.
TREASURER.
The Rev. NATHAN K. BISHOP.

INTRODUCTORY.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE TWO-HUNDREDTH MEETING
OF THE EASTERN CONVOCATION OF THE DIOCESE OF
MASSACHUSETTS, HELD AT GRACE CHURCH, NEWTON,
OCTOBER 4 AND 5, A. D. 1882.

Resolved, "That the Eev. Mr. Drown be requested to
furnish the Secretary with a copy of the admirable memorial
sermon preached in this Church to-day, and that it be printed
by the Convocation."
Resolved, "That a brief history of the Convocation, and
also an account of the services held on this semi-centennial
anniversary, with letters received from former members, be
printed with the sermon." From the Records,
WM. G. WELLS,
Secretary.

SERMON.

" For He is not a Gorl of the dead, but of the living; for all live unto Him."
— St. Ltike xx. 38.
The first impression which the utterance of these
words will produce upon the mind of the thoughtful
listener is the conviction of the wonderful, yet latent
power, which resides in the revealed Word of God.
Who of us would have thought of defending our belief
in the conscious life of the soul after death, and in the
resurrection of the dead, upon the words spoken so
long ago at Horeb : "I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob " ? Who of
us has ever selected these words for our Easter theme?
And yet when the Divine Son of God was assailed
upon the doctrine of the resurrection, assailed by the
skeptical Sadducees, the proud Materialists and Posi-
tivists of their day, as His mind ninged over the vast
realm of the Scriptures, He selects these words as the
supreme and unanswerable basis of His argument. He
virtually declares not only that these are all-sufficient,
but beyond all, and unanswerable. His argument has
all the compactness and force of a logical syllogism,
thus ; God is not the God of the dead but of the living ;
yet He declares Himself to be the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob : therefore
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are not dead, but living,
alive unto God. The proud Sadducees were silenced,
the argument was irresistible, and " from that hour
they durst not ask Him any more questions."

6 SERMON.
I said the first impression produced by these words
is the conviction of the tremendous power, often for a
season latent, which resides in the revealed Word of
God. How often have we found, when some new error
or denial has arisen, which seemed to threaten the very
foundations of the Faith, that then some passage of
Holy Scripture, whose meaning we had never fathomed,
has glowed and burned with the glory of a new inspi
ration ! So will it be in time to come. The Word that
has conquered, will conquer ; it will bring into captivity
every thought unto the obedience of Christ. New
forms of error may arise, of which we do not dream,
new theories of science or of philosophy, but coming
generations will find them all anticipated in the Word
of God ; and passages that to us seem hard to be under
stood will then be clear as the noonday, and the Church
will walk in their light, brightening ever more and
more unto the perfect day of God.
I have chosen these words of the text as the key
note of this Memorial Service, that they may sanctify
and ennoble all our thoughts. We come not to lament
the dead, but to speak of those who are " alive unto
God." We come to give God thanks for all the good
vouchsafed to His church, in and by His servants, now
at rest. We come in the glad thanksgiving service of
the Holy Eucharist to awake the triumph song, " for
battles fought and victories won." We come, that
kneeling at the altar table we may realize anew, and
rejoice in the blessed truth, that —
" . . . . living saints and dead
But one communion make."
The roll of the members of this Convocation who
have passed on to the better life is long. Many of

SERMON. 7
the names have been illustrious in the annals of the
Church, and will be remembered through many coming
years. Among the bishops of the Church : —
The Right Rev. Alexander V. Geiswold, and
The Right Rev. Manton Eastbuen.
Among presbyters the : —
Rev. Dr. James Moess. Rev. James 0. Sceiptube.
Rev. Dr. John S. Stone. Rev. Benjamin Austin.
Rev. Dr. William Hoeton. Rev. Samuel J. Evans.
Rev. Dr. Alfeed L. Baury. Rev. Cheistian Wilteberger.
Rev. Dr. Henry Wateeman. Rev. J. S. Copley Geeene.
Rev. Dr. William Flint. Rev. W. Colvin Brown.
Rev. Dr. Patrick H.Greenleaf. Rev. Robert F. Chase.
Rev. Dr. Charles Mason. Rev. Edwin B. Chase.
Rev. Dr. D. Gordon Estes. Rev. Moses B. Chase.
Rev. Dr. George Packaed. Rev. William W. Page.
Rev. Dr. Alexandeb H.Vinton. Rev. William Waeland.
Rev. Dr. Edward A.Washbuen. Rev. Dextee Potter.
Rev. Petrus Ten-Broeck. Rev. George Denham.
Rev. Silas Blaisdell. Rev. Andrew Croswell.
Rev. Edward Ballaed. Rev. J. D. Reid.
Rev. Nicholas P. Tillinghast. Rev. James Thomson.
Rev. Henry W. Woods. Rev. John W. Leek.
Rev. John P. Robinson. Rev. Julius H. Wateebury.
Rev. John Iewin.
And all these names suggest solemn, yet wholesome
thoughts — solemn, as we think of the eyes closed,
the lips sealed, the hands folded ; yet wholesome and
inspiring, as we think of the labor well done and of
the welcome sleep in Jesus. I cannot speak of each
of these separately. Some labored here, but for a brief
season, and then passed on to other fields, and the
record of their work for the Master, to us, is lost.
Some were called to their rest in the very morning of
their days. Many worked in patient quiet, and their

8 SERMON.
labors are unknown on earth, yet known and remem
bered of God. Only three of our number still survive,
who knew and mingled with them all — three who still
abide as living bonds to unite the past and the present.
Distant be the day when their names shall be added
to the long roll of the departed. May God spare them
to testify in the future as in the present of what hath
God wrought.
I speak only of those, the very mention of whose
names challenges our attention; of those whose lives
and characters have become like household words
among many of the living.
How shall I speak, first of all, of him whose praise
is in all the churches, and whose memory has hardly
grown dim in the forty years since his departure hence
— the Apostolic Griswold ! I never knew him person
ally, but among the earliest memories of my child life
stands the vision of the venerable bishop, whose very
presence awakened a reverence my later years have
never known. He was profoundly read, not for that
day only, but even for the present — wise in speech, and
yet with him silence was golden. In all personal rela
tions he was meek, modest, and almost painfully retir
ing; yet when the truth was concerned, or any question
of right was involved, a lion in his boldness and a
soldier in his courage. No incident is more truly char
acteristic of his inner life than the well-known fact that
after he had read in the General Convention the last
pastoral letter he ever wrote, his dying legacy to
the Church, a letter written when party strifes had
separated the Church into factions, he mourned because
his letter had been received with such universal favor.
He feared that he had been misunderstood, or that he

SERMON. y
had not been faithful to the truth, because he could not
understand how, at such a time, the truth could be so
well and favorably received.
We are too near the long episcopate of Bishop East-
burn to grasp it in its fullness, or to anticipate the
verdict of posterity. Yet as the mists of the strife,
which lasted d-uring his whole episcopate, are clearing
away, as brethren are laying aside minor differences,
or at least not suffering them to longer hinder the
cordial affection of brethren, who cannot recognize the
changed estimate of Bishop Eastburn's sterling qual
ities and his many virtues ? His memory is held to-day
with an affection, sacred and reverent, to which in life
he was a stranger. The Church has rarely known a
Presbyter or a Bishop of more unswerving purpose in
what he deemed the right, or one of greater courage, —
sincere, outspoken, never uttering in private what he
would hesitate to speak openly before the Church, a
man who knew no such words as tact or compromise.
His whole soul never spoke more plainly than when
urged by some influential laymen, his friends for many
years, to abandon a certain course upon which he had
entered ; and when warned by them that if he did not
his friends would not stand by him, he simply replied,
" I did not expect any one to stand with me but God ! '
Such men have the very spirit of the martyrs ; and not
one of " the noble army of the martyrs " ever went
more fearlessly to the stake than would Bishop East-
burn have gone if the Lord had demanded the offering.
How sad it seemed when amid the gloom of Old Trinity
the solemn words of the Committal were said, that in
the vast assemblage no kindred were present, that he
left no drop of kindred blood. He has met his kindred

10 SERMON.
long since, " where partings and farewells are a sound
unknown." Among Presbyters, the name of Dr. James Morss
claims our first attention. Dr. Morss was for forty years
the rector of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, and was
among the last in New England to illustrate the type of
the English vicar. His appearance recalled the type.
Commanding and dignified in person, benevolent in
expression, on Sundays as he went to Church wearing
the long cassock, his presence riveted the attention of
the children, and called forth the respect of their
elders. Painstaking, diligent, a kind friend, a blame
less and active citizen, he lived at a time when the
sacred office of the ministry was held in high respect
by all, and he enjoyed the blessing now so rare in New
England of a lengthened and happy Pastorate.
Probably the whole Convocational movement in Mas
sachusetts was due, in a larger degree than to any other
man, to Dr. John S. Stone, rector of St. Paul's Church,
Boston. We of to day can hardly realize the impres
sion produced by his preaching, so clear in the great
truths that centre in the atoning work of Christ, so
full of deep eloquence, so instinct with the highest
Christian philosophy, and breathing the deepest love
for man ; yet Dr. Stone's place in memory is not so
much for his learning or intellectual power as for the
graces of a Christian character, manifest in every word
and act. With him religion was not a profession but
a life. His very presence was sunshine. As he once
said to me, " I never talk to my children about religion,
I try to show them what it is by my life." Let the
Church preserve his memory among her best treasures.
Of Dr. Alfred L. Baury many here in Newton could

SERMON. 11
speak more aptly and more advisedly than I. His
memory is embalmed in many hearts as that of a true
Christian gentleman. He was a man of polished,
almost courtly manners, refined and gentle, gracious
to all, and considerate for the needy. The indirect
fruits of his labors are visible here, all around us, and
these are more emphatic than words.
The Rev. Dr. William Horton built his own memorial
in the beautiful chapel beside the Parish Church, where
for ten years he was rector, in the City of Newburyport.
His benefactions to many of the Societies of our Church,
both General and Diocesan, will long perpetuate his
memory, and those who never knew him will long
revere this faithful and benevolent servant of God.
He gave his life and all his powers to the service of
the Church he loved, and he bequeathed to her all of
his earthly possessions. " He rests from his labors, and
his works do follow him."
Dr. Henry Waterman was so long associated with
the neighboring diocese of Rhode Island that the claim
our Church, in the Eastern Convocation, has upon his
memory is almost forgotten. Yet in the early years
of the Convocation, while he was the Rector of Christ
Church, Andover, he was among the most punctual and
active of its members. None who were accustomed to
listen to his preaching can ever forget its peculiar and
rare power, so full of Holy Scripture, so pervaded with
the best teachings of antiquity, his language borrowed
its tone from the old times he loved so well. I saw him
a number of times in the closing years of his life, and
when he was fully conscious of the great change so
near at hand, and of few men can it be so truthfully
said, with him, " Faith was the substance of things

12 SERMON.
hoped for." Long will loving hearts treasure his
memory in the sacred circle of those of whom the
Master said, " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God."
The Rev. Dr. George Packard was associated through
almost his entire ministry with the one parish of Grace
Church, Lawrence. It owed its origin to him, and he
was spared to see it in the maturity of its strength.
It is in itself the best witness to his faithfulness,, his
wisdom and power. He was modest and unassuming,
of great simplicity, yet of great force of character,
firm in his convictions, and intrepid and fearless in
what he believed to be his duty.
The Church in this diocese has known few abler men
than Dr. Charles Mason. In many qualities of mind
he inherited much of the rugged strength of his dis
tinguished father. Profoundly read as a theologian,
especially in the great writers of Anglo-Catholic the
ology, he possessed the rare power of expressing his
acquirements in terse and striking language. Although
at times almost abrupt in his manners, yet the moment
you met him you felt sure of the man. He had never
played the sophist with himself, and he was a stranger
to sophistry in his dealings with others. A warm-hearted
friend, a true gentleman, a learned theologian, it is
meet and proper that his memory should be forever
associated with the Theological School at Cambridge.
Blessed will it be for our Church if those who are
entering her ministry shall illustrate the virtues and
emulate the example of Charles Mason.
Dr. Edward A. Washburn labored in this diocese
only in the earliest years of his ministry. But even
then he gave abundant promise of his future career,

SERMON. 1 3
and is still remembered by some as one of the active
and leading members of the Eastern Convocation. He
was always manly, a true, knightly, Christian soldier,
filled with the spirit of the noble chivalry that never
deserts a friend, and is a stranger to fear. Positive in
his own convictions, he respected the honest convictions
of others. Liberal in his theological views, his liberality
was not narrowness. Never combative in disposition,
he was yet most brilliant in debate, and welcomed with
eager joy the arena of intellectual conflict. His char
acter is best illustrated by an incident in his earliest
ministry. When his appointed ordination to the priest
hood was deferred, because of exaggerated rumors,
magnifying a mistake, that he had offered prayers for
the dead, Mr. Washburn refused to avail himself of any
excuse, and refused to state that he did not believe in
the propriety of prayers for the dead, but rested his
defence upon the principle that whether he did or did
not so believe had nothing to do with his qualifications
for ordination. On this ground alone he was content
to rest, willing, if need be, to suffer for a season rather
than yield the slightest portion of that liberty where
with, as he believed, " Christ had made him free."
What shall I say of him whose memory is so vivid
. with us all — Dr. Alexander H. Vinton ! Can you not
recall him as he was — that splendid physical develop
ment, the grand pose, the open, expansive brow that
indicated a brain like that of Cuvier or Michael Angelo,
the depths of that expressive eye, betokening depths
of thought unrevealed, the dignity of every movement,
the majestic wave and sweep of the arm, and the voice
that lingers now in memory, rich and mellow as the
tones of an organ ? I think the true character of Dr.

14 SERMON.
Vinton never manifested itself more conspicuously than
years ago, in a Massachusetts Convention, in a scene of
almost dramatic interest. A distinguished lawyer of
Boston, a delegate from the parish of which Dr. Vinton
was rector, was arguing strongly, and with great
earnestness, against a measure which Dr. Vinton had
advocated, and in the course of the debate he alleged
that Dr. Vinton had not represented the views of his
parish ; and Dr. Vinton's reply was, beyond description,
most grand : " No, sir, I * do not represent my parish !
I represent the Church of God and the divine principles
of her constitution. I represent no parish, except in
so far as the parish is true to these principles. The
parish, sir," he went on to say, " is not what the law
makers on Beacon Hill may declare it to be, but what
God by His Word would have it. It lives or dies
according to its fidelity to the principles of the Church,
of which it is but a fraction." Eternity alone can
reveal how much the Church in this Diocese is indebted
to the learning, the intellectual power, and the personal
influence of Alexander H. Vinton.
But I cannot linger thus, as I gladly would, upon
each of the remaining names, in the long roll of " Our
Brethern at Rest." Of some I have not the requisite
information, and time admonishes that I must pass on
more rapidly.
Dr Edward Ballard, who labored for a while in this
Diocese, and who early removed to Maine, was earnest
and scholarly, and it is much to say of him, that he
was the tried and confidential friend of the late Bishop
Burgess. In Amesbury, the name of the kind and gentle Dr.
Estes is still affectionately remembered, and the little

SERMON. 15
church, completely provided with all needful access
ories for the reverent worship of God, still testifies to
his zeal, his beneficence, and his Churchly taste.
In Charlestown and at Greenfield kindly words are
still spoken, by those who knew him, of Dr. William
Flint ; and Dr. Patrick H. Greenleaf, who also minis
tered at Charlestown, has left the memory of the
marked intellectual power which he inherited from
his eminent father.
Loving friends at Salem, and his brethren in the min
istry, still recall the abundant promise, and the rare
powers as a preacher, of the Rev. James 0. Scripture.
In our shortsightedness, it seems mysterious, that such
should be so early called from a struggling Church,
which needs the best powers of her noblest sons. It
may be, the Church expectant in Paradise has greater
need of the ministries, which are so suddenly closed on
earth. Likewise among the early galled was the Rev.
Robert F. Chase, and he, and his brother Edwin, will
long be enshrined in the glory of the blessed promise :
" The righteous shall be had in everlasting remem
brance." The Rev. William Warland, to the last, loved to talk
of the blessed revival which took place in the parish,
at Woods Holl, under the influence of a lengthened
series of services held in that place by the clergy of
the Southern Convocation. He was a layman, then,
and the awakening may have had its influence in
strengthening his desire for the Christian ministry, and
may have been the seed of that calm and strong faith
with which he awaited the final change.
The older churchmen at East Boston still love to

16 SERMON.
talk of the abundant labors and wise zeal of the Rev.
John Irwin in the struggling, infant years of the
church in that place.
In Gloucester and in Marblehead, as in the parish
where he died, the Rev J. D. Reid has left the blessed
memory of a true Christian life — a life that was close
with God. He walked with God.
Many of the brethren well remember the zeal that
never faltered, and the peculiar fitness for his work, of
the Rev. John P. Robinson, missionary to seamen in
the City of Boston. None but the clergy who have
attempted to preach to those, whose home is on the
sea, can appreciate the difficulty of a successful minis
try among them. I have often preached in the church
under the charge of Mr. Robinson, and as often found
it crowded to its utmost capacity with three or four
hundred seamen. He knew their ways, and they
trusted and loved him.
Another missionary to seamen claims also our affec
tionate remembrance. Of his fitness for his special
work I cannot speak, but few men lived nearer to the
Saviour than he, and he was one of the saints of God
" of whom the world is not worthy." I heard the late
Bishop Eastburn say that he never saw the man at
whose feet he would so gladly sit, and learn of the
love of Jesus, as at the feet of the Rev. Christian Wil-
teberger. None of us will ever forget the special consecration
to a definite aim of the Rev. Julius H. Waterbury.
Whenever he met the clergy, in the meetings of the
convocation or elsewhere, whatever was said or what
ever theme was under discussion, seemed to him valu-
able, or important, only in so far as it contributed to

SERMON. 17
the cherished purpose of his ministry, the ennobling
and the enriching of the Worship of the Church. May
that life aim have been to him under God the prepar-
tion for the Worship of that better Church :
" Where the anthems of praise unceasingly roll ! "
Blessed is the teaching to us of the ministry, afforded
by the life of him whose name is so dear to many here
in Newton, the Rev. J. S. Copley Greene. He en
tered the ministry late in life, past forty years of age,
and he was led to this service of the Church by the
loving yet heavy chastisements of God. Possessed of
abundant wealth and surrounded by all the luxuries
which wealth can supply, God taught him, by repeated
afflictions, that the immortal soul craves nourishment
with something better and nobler than aught that
riches can purchase. Nor was he slow to learn and
to heed the lesson. He gave himself to Christ and
His Church, and he found his joy, in labors that never
faltered, in unceasing charities and in the peace of that
inner life that is 'hid with Christ in God. Few men
could testify so joyfully as he "Whom the Lord loveth
He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he re
ceive th."
How dimly we realize, brethren, that of each and of
all of that great company who at last shall cast their
crowns before the Lamb that was slain, it shall be said :
" These have come out of great tribulation and have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb, therefore are they before the Throne of
God." " God is not the God of the dead, but of the living ;
for all live unto Him." Can you imagine, brethren,
the number of souls which have lived, and which, this

18 SERMON.
life passed, are living now ? There are no statements
which the mind grasps so feebly as the statements of
numbers. We speak of hundreds, of thousands, of
millions, and hardly pause to realize the meaning of
the terms we use. We speak of the population of our
country as fifty millions. Have we any definite idea
of the number? Try and count a million, and how
long will it take ? Suppose you count two hundred a
minute, and the most expert accountant can do no
more than this, and suppose you count ten hours a
day, not pausing to rest, not losing a minute, and what
is the result ? In one hour you have counted twelve
thousand ; at the close of the day you have reached
one hundred and twenty thousand, and it will require
more than eight days to count a single million. Go
on ceaselessly for four hundred days and you have
only reached the population of our country. Still go
on and try and count the population of the globe,
twelve hundred millions, and untiringly at two hundred
a minute, for ten weary hours a day, you must toil on
for nearly thirty years. Then pause and realize how
small this number is compared with all the millions
which have ever lived, which are living now? This is
but a single generation, add to it all the generations
since Adam ! Think of all these souls, still conscious,
still active, and how infinitely small seems this earth
on which we live, when measured with this mighty
world of souls around us ! We are but a little colony
on the borders of the vast universe of souls ; only the
smallest part in God's great ownership — the few
leaves of the garden compared with the interminable
forest — the drops of some little lake compared with
the mighty ocean ! Scholars talk of the nobility and

SERMON. 19
dignity of the study of the great sciences, the sciences
which treat of earth and air and water, of the won
drous properties of matter, of the mighty forces of
nature — the sciences that sweep the heavens with
their telescopes and unveil the glories of worlds and
systems unseen by the natural eye ! Such studies are
noble and helpful, for they treat of the workmanship
of God — but how they fade into nothingness by the
side of the science of Theology — the science that
treats of God, the source of light and life — the science
that treats of this great world of souls — that lifts the
veil which conceals their abiding place — that tells us of
their works and ways, their hopes and aspirations, that
reveals the yet coming glory of their inheritance and
ours — that tells us that " They without us cannot be
made perfect."
And now think of the ceaseless activity of all these
conscious souls. When St. Paul declares : " There
remaineth therefore a Rest for the people of God," he
most significantly" drops the word he has before used
to describe rest, and employs instead the Greek word,
Sabhatismos, — the rest of the Sabbath, a rest from
earthly toil and care, but a rest that is not idleness, a
rest that finds its joy in the ceaseless worship of God !
How the mind is bewildered as it seeks to imagine this
worship of all the millions of the saints in Paradise.
Earth has nothing more inspiring than the worship of
a great congregation, — the many voices joined in
prayer or litany, uplifted in psalm and anthem ; but
oh! that ceaseless worship from the "multitude which
no man can number," — the very thought imparts a
glory to our poor and imperfect service. " Yes, it is
blessed to think that there is no feeble prayer which

20 SERMON.
we utter here which is not echoed and enlarged and
carried upward and onward by the unceasing tide of
prayer there ; no praises which we discordantly and
uncertainly offer which are not caught up and filled
with deep harmony by souls who know no discord ; no
eucharists which we penitently offer which are not
joined in that unceasing adoration of the Spotless
Lamb which they present who are clad in the robes
made white in the Saviour's blood."
"Our Brethren at Rest!" We long to know the
nature and the fullness of their relation to us. Yet
" we know only in part." " We yet see through a
glass darkly." Do they unite with us in this Memorial
Service ? Do their souls thrill with deeper joy as con
scious of our loving remembrance to-day ? We know
that, with them, memory and love abide. We know
that they pray for us. We know, also, as they are
nearer to Christ, so it is possible, if our faith be strong
and our hearts pure, that they may be nearer to us
than when on earth. There can be no union, between
them and us, except by and through the incarnation
of Christ; all other ties, affection and kinship, the
family relation, the ties of common interests and
mutual aims, and kindred sympathies, — are all weak
and transient, except as they are united and cemented
in Christ. The union of the dead with us is not a
union of sentiment, of natural affection. It is a virtual
and organic union, because they and we are grafted
into the same mystical body of Christ. He is the Head
and we are the members of His glorified Body. He is
the Vine and we are the branches, nourished by the
same divine life that is in the Vine. Many things here
on earth hinder the union of Christian souls, — all our

SERMON. 21
selfishness, all the countless temptations that beset us,
all the coldness of our hearts ; and as the holy dead
have escaped forever these hindrances, so, as we purge
ourselves from these, we shall draw nearer to them
until " we know even as we are known."
In a little while, at the longest, we too shall pass on
to the worship within the vail. We too shall rejoice
to feel that loving friends keep our memories fresh in
those dear temples where we loved to praise God.
With such thoughts there is no death. Our " Father's
house has many mansions ;" we are only waiting in
some of the lowest rooms, and when death comes, —
may it be only the message of the Father, to this one,
and that one, the loving message, " Friend, go up
higher."

HISTOKY

Any history of the Eastern Convocation must necessarily
be imperfect, as its actual records do not reach beyond A.D. .
1840. Before that time its record, as separate from other
Church effort, is merged in the history of the diocese, and
may be traced in any careful review of Church growth, and
ncreasing loyalty for the household of faith:
Keceiving early in the century the missionary impulse
from Rhode Island, where Bishop Griswold had encouraged
this special channel of effort, and adopted the name of Con
vocation, there were many earnest souls who believed in
thus organizing themselves for missionary work, looking
with confidence for true growth as a result, and also for
themselves a gain in devotion for and knowledge of spiritual
things. So organizing, their influence in the missions of the
diocese can be seen in its history.
From the start, it enlisted some of the most godly and
learned men, whose names now appear in the long list of
" the brethren at rest." Others, whose names are found then
among its active supporters, still live to encourage their
brethren. So that the reference to those who " have fallen
asleep," in the memorial sermon bound with this sketch, is
also a record of their work for Christ and His Church, and
forms part of our history. Their very names call up the
churches they constructed, the foundations they laid, upon
which others now build, with grateful remembrance of their
wisdom and foresight.
The first actual record in the files of Convocation is of a
meeting held at St. Anne's Church, Lowell, December 9th,
1845. It is in the clear handwriting of the first secretary,

HISTORY. 23
the Rev. Chas. Mason, D.D., the then loved Rector of St.
Peter's Church, Salem.
At that date the title was " Eastern District Missionary
Association." This continued till 1872, when the present
form was adopted.
Its geographical limit has embraced Essex and Middlesex
Counties, and it has also welcomed such of the Boston clergy
as were pleased to join its membership. It now has the
names of sixty-six clergy on its rolls.
The best history of its past is the record of actual increase
seen in the valuable statistics furnished by the Diocesan
Missionary, in his address on "the results of fifty years
labor." To this, in conclusion, we ask attention, as showing that
those from whose hands we have received our trust, did not
labor in vain.
The record represents increase only within convocational
limits. '
STATISTICS. 1832.
Churches or Missions ..... 7
Baptisms  85
Confirmed ....... 83
Communicants ...... 343
Sunday Scholars  550
Missionary Contributions (outside the Parish) $385
1857.
Churches or Missions  17
Baptisms  418
Confirmed .....-• 132
Communicants ...... 1682
Sunday Scholars  1432
Missionary Contributions . . . $3321

24 HISTORY. 1882.
Churches or Missions ..... 47
Baptized ....... 745
Confirmed ....... 419
Communicants ...... 6415
Sunday Scholars ...... 5611
Missionary Contributions . . . $12,646

TWO-HUNDRETH MEETING.
SERVICES OF COMMEMORATION.
The two-hundredth meeting of the Eastern Convocation
closed another chapter in its history. Though the actual
date of its organization would not mark the lapse of half a
century, yet the fifty years continuous labor within its bor
ders of its venerable and beloved Dean, would alone suggest
the observance of a semi-centennial, as it numbered its two-
hundredth session.
The anniversary was duly celebrated on the fourth and
fifth of October,. A. D. 1882. To fitly mark the occasion, an
order of service was prepared with much care. Unusual
interest was excited by the occasion, shown especially by
the large number of clergy at the services.
The Convocation, though old enough to claim attention as
a historical body, is still young and appeared with full ranks,
showing vigor untouched by age and declaring, chief of all,
its constant interest in missionary work, while, as it pitches
its tent from parish to parish, it endeavors to leave a bless
ing behind, as it always carries one away.
For this occasion many parishes extended an invitation,
but Grace Church, Newton, was felt to be on many accounts
the best selection ; with its church marked without and
within, with "the beauty of holiness," with a Rector
meeting every demand, and parishioners whose hospitality
is proverbial.

HISTORY. 25
The first service was held at four p. m. on Wednesday.
Evening Prayer was said by the Rev. Chas. Arey, D.D.,
Rector of St, Peter's, Salem ; the Lessons being read by the
Rev. Samuel Edwards, officiating at Trinity Church, Milford.
An address of welcome was made by the Rector, and
responded to by the Vice-Dean. The canticles and hymns
were sung by one of the choirs of the parish.
At the services in the evening, at seven o'clock, a large and'
deeply interested congregation filled the spacious church.
The Rev. G. W. Durell said appropriate Collects, and a
Lesson (Rev. xxi.) was read by the Rev. Geo. W. Porter,
S.T.D., Rector of Trinity Church, Wrentham. The Bishop
of the Diocese introduced the speakers, and was present
through the anniversary.
In introducing the Rev. Dr. Edson, he voiced the general
feeling of all : the great privilege of greeting and listening
to one whose thought could go so far back in the past.
"His stirring words showed," also, "that he was thinking
much of a bright future for the Church" in our diocese.
Dr. Edson then began his reminiscences of fifty years. His
opening words, telling of a visit received on an evening in
A.D. 1826, carried us at once back with him to the time
and the events he remembered so clearly. And so, as if in
the living present, he " related the story of what Bishop
Griswold and he and others were doing fifty years ago.
Though four-score and ten years old the speaker's eye was
not dim, nor did his natural force seem greatly abated, as
he looked down over the long past and led his hearers
through the ways ho himself had gone."
The Rev. Thos. F. Fales then took up the story, and told
us of the work as he saw it, twenty-five years ago.
Graphically he brought together the beginnings then with
the glad results of to-day, emphazising it with a reference to
the church in which we kept our feast of rejoicing. " To
the consideration of all this, he brought all the affectionate

26 HISTORY.
earnestness which always appears when he speaks of Christ
and His Church."
The Rev. J. S. Beers, the efficient missionary at large, in
the few moments left, showed us what he found in turning
the leaves of the history. For all the toils and sacrifices we
had been reminded of, he pointed to results in the highest
degree satisfactory.
This service was closed by the Vice-Dean (the Bishop
having left the Church) , with the last prayer in the Institu
tion Office, and the Blessing.
Thursday, at ten a. m., the Holy Communion was
celebrated. At this service the Convocation heartily wel
comed the Bishop of Washington Territory, the Rt. Rev. J.
A. Paddock, D.D., who officiated, assisted by the Bishop of
Massachusetts, with the Rev. Thos. R. Lambert, D.D., and
the Rev. J. I. T. Coolidge, D.D. The Memorial Sermon
was preached by the Rev. Edward L. Drown, Rector of St.
Paul's Church, Newburyport, from St. Luke xx. 38 : " For
He is not a God of the dead, but of the living ; for all live
unto Him." Subject: "The Brethren at Rest." The
earnest request of Convocation for its publication, is the
best evidence of their appreciation of its peculiar fitness for
the occasion calling it forth.
A business meeting was held at three p. m., when the
theme of the morning was taken up, with addresses by
both Bishops, the Rev. Dr. Tustin and others. Letters
were read from former members. They are appended to
this sketch.
A reception at the rectory followed, when clergy and
parishioners enjoyed the always pleasant opportunity of ex
changing greetings.
The closing service in the evening was made more
impressive by the presence of the vested choir of the Church
of the Messiah, Boston. Evening Prayer was said by the
Rev. J. M. Hillyar, Rector of the Church of St. Mary, for
Sailors, Boston, and the Rev. Geo. S. Bennitt, Rector of

HISTORY. 27
All Saints' Church, Dorchester, The Bishop of the Diocese
preached from Colossians iv. 11 : " Fellow workers unto the
kingdom of God," Subject : "The Parish, its history and
uses, and how the ministers and people ought to behave in
it," The Te Deum, with its grand acclaim of joy and praise,
closed the commemoration. Sixty clergy were present,
nearly all in surplices, and filling the spacious chancel.
The arrangements by the Rector (the Rev. G. W, Shinn)
showed that painstaking care which he brings to every duty.
The music too was in keeping with the memorial thought
which was uppermost in all minds.
These commemorative observances and holy solemnities
will be long and thankfully remembered.

LETTERS.

Baltimore, Sept. 25th, 1882.
My Dear Me. Wells :
I thank you very heartily for remembering me with a notice of
the semi-centennial of the Eastern Convocation of Massachusetts,
to be held October 4th. I had never the pleasure of belonging to
the Convocation, but of the Eastern District Association, its parent
or earlier name, I was for many years an active and interested
member. Its memories are very fresh and happy. It was a live
body, and did not a little to promote clerical intercourse and a free
interchange of thought and opinion. I believe it was in my day
that carefully written essays were first prepared, and scholarly dis
cussions of the sacred text. At all events, if they were known
before, they had fallen into disuse, and we revived them. I recall
many an improving hour and able paper, and sweet services in the
church in connection with them. The constant attendant on these
services is now the Nestor of your body, who will not fail to
interest you with his fifty years of recollections. My nearer con
temporary will make it quite unnecessary for me or any others to
enlarge his map of a quarter of a century of reminiscences.
But with them what names are associated in the history of
the Eastern District ! I cannot go back to the beginning, but I
see them as before me now — Vinton, Washburn, Mason, Packard,
Horton, Green — a bright " cloud of witnesses " in the upper sky,
while below and among the living I count others, no longer of you,
who were once leading participants in your counsels.
I beg to be remembered affectionately to former associates, and
to extend the warm hand of fellowship to every younger brother
who has since been introduced to your number.
To yourself, my dear Mr. Wells, I am, with the love of your
former pastor, Ever yours,
GEORGE LEEDS.
The Rev. W. G. Wells, Secretary.

LETTERS. 29
Bethel, Vermont, 2nd October, 1882.
The Rev. William G. Wells:
Reverend and Dear Brother, — I have had the pleasure to receive
your invitation to meet with the Eastern Convocation, at Newton,
this week. Accept my thanks for the obliging favor. I regret
much that my present engagements withhold me from joining the
auspicious reunion. The name of your Association awakens many
happy remembrances, and elicits fervent thanks for its long con
tinuance and abundant usefulness. Bright monuments of the good
work it had wrought in its early years remain in Lawrence and
Haverhill, and will endure.
I was honored with the office of secretary for a few years, being
third in succession, and consequently became especially familiar
with the routine of services and exercises, public and private. My
remembrance is that we received as much good in ourselves there
from as we wrought for others.
Pray present my cordial and most respectful compliments to the
venerable and beloved Dean, and to the reverend members of the
Association ; and believe me to be, with great esteem and regard,
Your faithful brother,
M. P. STICKNEY.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 08540 1538