Los Angeles Herald, Volume 44, Number 81, 1 July 1895 — FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH [ARTICLE]

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Rev. Howard Explains the Situation to His People

A DIGNIFIED, ABLE ADDRESS

The Congregation Must Decide Wbat Course to Pursue

A Question of Submission to Unjust Demands or of Being Made, an Independent , Church

At the morning meeting of tho First rresbyterian church, the pastor, Rev. Bert Estes Howard, read a notice of a meeting to he held this evening and then proceeded to deliver the following dignified, logical, able address, entitled An Explanation to the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Courca: My Dear People:—The notice which has jnst been read in your beariug, together witn my own relations to the presbytery and to you make it imperative upon me to offer a word or two of explanation in order that there may be no misunderstanding either in your action or in mine. In what I am about to say, there is no feeling of bitterness nor desire to influence you unduly nor to prejudice you in what you may think or do. I nave no words of reproach for the presbytery of Los Angeles and although I am convinced that their actions in relation to this churcii have been hasty and in transgression of tbeir rightful authority, I nave no disposition at tnis time to enter into any controversy over the matter nor to discuss the case on its merits. Today I shall confine m .self to a calm statement of certain essential facts, in order to set you right in your views of the significance of any action you may take at tlie meeting called for tomorrow evening, and to set my own position clearly before you. There is small need to review In any extended address the events tbat have led up to the present state of things. You are all aware of the fact that in the meeting of the presbytery in San Diego a recummeneution was passed by the presbytery, a recommendation which met with the approval of the delegates from tlie First Presbyterian chnrch. suggesting that should any considerable number of members feel it incumbent upon them to remain in the center of the city and organize a church there, an equitable division of the funds of the I'irst church be made. You also remember, for these events are ciuite rocent, that no steps were taken to organize a chinch out of the members who wished to remain down town, and that no one was authorized to receive any moneys that might be set apart for tlie uses of that portion of the First church who should go out from it. You will call to mind, too, the fact on Which I have no comment to make, that in just fourteen daya from the adjournment of the presbytery, and before any aata were given by which the recommendations of that presbytery could be carried out, a special meeting of the presbytery was called demanding that the First Tresbyterian church itself, as well as its property be divided by arbitrary act of the presbytery. At the meeting of tho presbytery held in the Second church of tnis city, pursuant to the call mentioned, the.old P'irst church, which W3 have all loved and for which we have given our time and our strength and our prayers and our tears, was declared no longei in existence, while out of its destruction there were declared to be erected two new cnurches to be known as the Westminster and the Central. In spite of our protests and our pleading our name was taken from us and our sacred associations rudely broken. It was stated in extenuation of this action of the presbytery that it was necessary in order to have a legal hold on the money of the corporation. In other words, the old mother church was destroyed for revenue. As to the moral andethical aspect of tnis action I bave no word to offer. Believing that the action of tbe presbytery was not in accord with tiie laws of the church or of the state, we still called ourselves the First Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, as we do now, and we issued letters of dismissal in the old form. At the same meeting of tbe presbytery that took from us our name and our history, a committee waa appointed to settle the affairs of the corporation known as the 1- irst Presbyterian Church, and lo divide its property bctwesn the alleged Westminster chinch and tbe proposed Central church. This committee met on tho --a of May, and without going into any investigation whatever as to the correctness ol the list of nanus presented to them as bona lido members of the Central church, proceoded to award them the sum of $23,791. We have never contested tlie right of the Central church to assistance. Hut we regarded tlie amount awarded by the presbytery aa out of all jttst demanas. Without rehearsing what you all know, that tbo trustees of this church havo no right to disburse moneys of the church except on tne requested the congregation, and tbat the session lias no jurisdiction whatever over the congregation acting in its corporate capacity. And as you know, at yonr annual meeting you, by a vote of 132 to To, instructed the trustees to proceed with the erection of a church on the site purchased on Twentieth street; pursuant to these instructions the trustees and committee have selected a plan and entered into contract with parties to have tbe same built at v cost of some $30,000. The contractor, knowing of the disturbances in the church, required some guarantee that the money would be paid when tne church was built, and to assure him. tho trustees placed tbe money in tbe Lands of guarantors,the same to be paid to the contractor aa ttie work progresses, and on completion. The church when built will absorb what funds we have on hand, and to make a payment to the Central church Would require the raising of funds by the sale of our church property on completion, or subscriptions by our members. I Wish all our meinbcra lo understand thia situation before the meeting next Monday evonjng. I pass on to review as briefly as possible tbe subsequent proceedings. Another special meeting of the presbytery, also held in the Second churcu, on June 24th, heard the repoit of the committee of award and adopted its decision. At tbe same time another committee was appointed to meet tbe session uf that part of Ihe church remaining after the Central Church waa se*. off from us, to put to us Certain questions defining onr uttitude toward the authority of ibe presbytery. That meeting was held Thursday ui«ht, June 27th. in the otlice of Mr. j. C. Salisbury. Th session was present with the exception of Mr. H. G. wyiie, who „evcrthelcss agrees in the attitude of the session as ther taken. Several questions were propounded to the session for a direct answer. The object of th" questions, as stated by the committee of tne presbytery, was in order to inform the presbytery as to our position us v session with relation to the authority ol the presbytery. In answer to the first inquiry, Do .you recognize the authority of presbytery under the constitution of the Presbyterian church in the United States of America. we all replied, "Yes." The second question was. Why do you advertise yourselves as the First Presbyterian chinch and issue letters in the name of the First Presbyteiian church, when the presbytery has given you the name Westminster?, I will not repeat the reasons assigned. It is enough tosiy that it was for reasons that seemed good and ufticient to us, und .that it was dune

without any attempt to cast disrespect or. the presbytery. Tbe third question asked W3S in relation to our position in the future, and as to whether we would submit to the name Westminster and use it i:i <y.ir future jroceedings and letters. Wo answered unanimously that while offering no disrespect to the presbytery, we could not submit. Then the question was put as to whether we as a session would take action requesting the trustees to pay to tbe Central church the $23,791 awarded by the committee. We replied that we would not, because ive considered the demand exorbitant and not just or equitable. It was then asked whether ne would present the call to our people for a meeting tomorrow night to vote on the question of instructing the trustees of the First Presbyterian church to pay to the Centra! church the sum of 123,791, awarded by the committee. We told them that we had no objection to the people voting on tbe question, provided there was opportunity for a free and frank discussion of the matter before the vote was taken. They replied that the meeting would be In their hands, and, to use the words of the chairmen, they would not allow us to speak at all, for "why should you," he said "be allowed to bulldoze tho people into voting as you want them to." The call of tho meeting by request of the presbytery was finally allowed to he read, with tho understanding that an explanation would be made of the exact nature of the vote, and that no members of other churches would be permitted to be present, and that no business would bo transacted other than the securing of ihe vote on the specific award made by that committee. The committee then proceeded in accoidance with the instructions of the presbytery to demand tbe resignation of every elder in our session. With the exception of Dr. J. D. Moody, this was refused. The matter of the further relation of the session and the pastor to the church and presbytery will be decided at the adjourned meeting of the presbytery, which is called for Tuesday afternoon in the Second church. I mention all these preliminaries, not for the purpose of argument or reproach. Yon will notice that I have refrained from entering into a discussion ot reasons that have prompted the action of your session. But I have desired only "that yov: might be allowed to vote intelligently. The motive of the presbytery in asking this vote is rot to attempt to secure a legal advantage over the church, but to get definite information as to the attitude of the church as well as the session in regard to the authority of presbytery. It seeks an expression on the part of the church, as it has secured it from the session, as to whether the church will suomit to the name Westminster and to the award of $211,Ti1l as decided by the presbytery, or whether the church will stain! with its session in refusing the demand. It must be borne in mind in all this matter that the question is not whether the Central people should have some money, but whether we as a church and congreI gaiion will submit to the amount that they have already specified. A mistake here may be serious. There is only one question really before the meeting and tbat is submission to 'he demands of presbytery or sustaining the position of the session. Presbytery must have this information in order to take further action intelligently. What that action will oe ran only be Burmised. On that 1 I bave nothing to say. The presbytery I wishes to ascertain whether the position lof tbe suasion represents tho sentiment of the whole church.

This is a critical time in tlie history iof this church and of your pastor. We must not misunderstand each other or 1 our position. Let me repeat jiis.t wbat the ! point is that we arc to decide tomorrow i night. The meeting is not called by j the officers of this church, but by the ' presbytery. The action to be taken has j ,io hearing whatever on tlie legal standing of tlie church. Whatever the vote of ; the church it will have no mandatory force. The presbytery have called the I pastor and session before th'm to find out I whether these men will submit to wbat we deem an unworthy and unwarranted action of presbytery. We have politely refused to submit. The congregation is now summoned before tbe same committee of presbytery to see whether they as a people will submit to the action of presbytery taking away the name they have borne so long and which was tbe ra I lung I efore there was any presbytery of Los Angeles in existence, or whether tbey will stand by their nastor and officers* It must be (dearly understood thai the vote is not to determine whether we as a congregation are willing to give the Cen--11 aljcliui'ch a share of the proceeds from tbe sale of tlie property, but whether we are willing to submit to the award of presOVtery giving them what the session and the pastor deem an unfair amount. The session has been asked to resign. The committee had no authority to n*k tlie pasior to resign. Logically thia will baa pait of the proceedings of presbytery Tuesday. So far as the action of presbytery goes, this church will be Without a pastor and without a session on Tuesday next. The real question which you must decide by your vote tomorrow night is whether you will stand by tbe presbytery which removed first your name and with it yonr honorable place in the history of rresbyierlaniani in California, then removes your session and will remove your pastor, or whether you will stand by thu pastor and the session and share the ecclesiastical fato which awaits them. I have no desire nor intention to influence your decision. I want your vote to be your own,{but I want it to* be intelligently made . 1 request as an especial lavor to mo that you will make it a point to be present promptly at the meeting tomoriow night though the hour be inconvenient.

and lo vote your sincere sentiment. It is due me, as 1 go away on Wednesday, to be gone two months, to know just where I stand in relation to this church and congregation. I lay frankly tbat I have no desire to leave ihe work that has been very pleasant to me. I cannot consent, however, to ctand in the way of the larger interests of this people who"have grown very dear to me. I crust that in your decision tomorrow night you will not be influence:! by your personal regard forme. Although a vote to submit t> presbytery means a vote to sever the relation that has bound us together for three years, yet I beg ol you to remember that the interest* of the individual must not take precedence of the interests of an institution. If you vote to submit to the dictation of "presbytery, I will go my way with no malice nor sentiment of ill will toward you. though I will go witli sorrow that I must needs leave you, and find a place somewhere in God's work where there is a free ecclesiastical environment. If. on the ot'.ier band, jou vote to abide by the decision of the pastor and session, then the result will undoubtedly be that presbytery will sever you from the denomination and disband you as a church. In other words it will make you an independent body. I do not urge you to do this. It is a serious step to take. But if it be your will after a careful thought to refuse the action of presbytery, when you are cast forth, I will go forth with "you without the gates ot denominationalism, bearing your reproach, if reproach it be. with you. In clos-iig I repeat again, that there may be no error, the vote of tomorrow night is on the one question not of giving some money t> Central, but of giving the specified amount of J23.791, involving the larger question of your relation to the pres-bytery itself. May God help you to decide right.

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Desmond Is Getting There

Because he is on the right track and has the speed. The public are with bim, too, and there are any number of reasons why they should be. Desmond's stack, in the'Bryson block, ia of just what wideawake people are after. He gives good value every time. A foil measure of what you want is what you want emphatically. Brisk business is the secrot of low prices. Desmond can sell cheaply because ne sells largely.and he sells largely because he sells cheaply. He proposes to keep it up, and offers bigger values than ever in 00c. 75c and Sl straw bats.

"Savonarola" Rev. Dr. Gunsaulus of Chicago will lecture on this subject tonight at 8 o'clock at the First Congregational church. Sixth ami Dill streets. The doctor is a lecturer of renown, impressive and entertaining. Admission, 60 cents.

Terminal Island

The pavilion and bath bouse are open for the season. Dish dinners, line bathing, boating and sailing.

529.20 to Phoenix, Ariz., and Return Via Santa Fe. T:cl;ct3 on sale Tuesdays and Saturdays. Through sleeper on Tuesday.

JOTTINGS

Pabst lieer

The Olympic. Hall is the only place In town where you will find ihe celebrated Pahst Mil* wauket beer on draught. I.envc orders for bottled beer. W. Garros, 121 W. First. Telephone 274.

Our Home Brew

Maier 4t Zobeleln's layer, fre?h from their brewery, on draught in all the principal sa. oons; delivered promptly in hollies or kegs. Office and brewery, 414 Alisostreet; telephone 01.

Haniman Fish Co.. San Pedro

Fresh fish and lob.ters shipped .'Mr ct to all joints in Arizona, Texas and Mexico, from cannery in Ban Pedro, at lowest wholesale prices. If you want. lieu hat lor the Fourth of Idly you can pet a lovely one ior $1 on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, .inly Ist, 2d or :id, at Annette Howe's millinery store, 141 b. hroadway. between first and Second. Froe ride (lo ticket holders and their families) to Sycamore Grove, July 4. lake the 1.. A. B. C. A, Special, at First street Terminal depot, at noun, for the picnic. Save t'ndertakers' Commission Mire your hacks for lunerals, $.1.50 each, from i.us i.raham. Stand, Arcade depot. Tel. 553. Dressmakers—All lashion books at LangB tad tor's, 214. South hroadway. Dr. Robert R Horsey will keep afternoon oflice hours for Dr. Wills during his absence. Dr. D. 3. Differ bather, dentist, rooms 4 and .0, 119 B, Spring st., Los Augeles. Buy the Whitney make trunk and traveling bag. Factory 423 South Spring street. The wall paper dealer ol tlie city is Kck slrrnn, 32-1 S. Spring St. flet wedding und visiting cards from H. M. Lee A- Uro., printers and engravers, 140 North Spring. They are specialists in this 1 ne.