Church Rededication - January 21, 1897
Congregational Church, Guilford Center
Chenango County, NY
The Congregational church edifice at Guilford Centre was the scene of an unusually interesting service on Thursday, Jan. 21, 1897, the occasion of its rededication. It was built in the autumn of 1816, and first occupied for worship in Jan. 1817, 80 years ago. It was rebuilt 40 years ago and now again, the original frame of substantial timbers being found as sound as the day the pioneers of Guilford reared it. But the old structure bore the marks of age, and its style was not adequate to the requirements of the 20th century. It was determined to remodel and rent it. According the members of the society have given as their forefathers did, liberally to rear a fit house for the worship of their fathers' God, and worthily have the artisans employed performed the work entrusted to their care, producing an edifice in every way gratifying to the members and friends of the first religious society organized in Guilford. In place of the somewhat plain meeting house of the early days we see a handsome audience room about 40 feet square, a room for smaller gatherings some 18x29 feet, and an entrance vestibule 11 x 18. This comprises the main floor. From the vestibule a stairway leads to a fine room above for social entertainments dinners, etc., with a seating capacity and table room for about 60. This is fully equipped with cooking facilities. Here nearly 200 of the old church and its friends found on Thursday that the ladies of the society are prepared to meet with prodigal generosity all demands upon their hospitality. Modern heating appliances of the most effective kind placed in the basement made the air throughout the entire house thoroughly enjoyable. A word more about the new audience room which occupies the rear end of the building. Six large colored glass windows admit abundant light, three looking north, and three south. The walls and ceiling frescoed a light tint, grateful and restful to the eye, with light and graceful border of darker hue, 20 large lamps in clusters of four, hang from the ceiling, with others against the rear wall for the choir, provide for brilliant lighting. In the northeast corner is placed the platform for the pulpit, with the seats for the choir and organ at the left of the pastor. A beautiful new carpet in olive green and pink covers the floor, while the dark seats arranged along three aisles curving towards the pulpit, complete a most inviting sanctuary for the worship of the Creator. The desk or pulpit is of handsome black walnut, and two chairs of the same material stand behind it. For the dedicatory service the ladies had embellished the desk and the space in front with flowers, conspicuous among which was a cross wreathed with pepper berries, sent for the occasion from California, by the family of Dr. John Janes, son of a former pastor. At 10:30 service began with the usual devotional exercises led by the pastor, Rev. E.L. Tiffany, assisted by Rev. Mr. Robinson, D.D. of Delhi, Rev. S.M. Keeler, a former pastor, Rev. Mr. Perrine, rector of Christ church, Guilford, and Rev. M.S. Godshall, pastor of the M.E. church, Guilford. Addresses were made by Messrs. Keeler and Tiffany, music of fine order by the choir, under the leadership of Mrs. Hattie Clark Horton, who also presided at the organ. At the close of the morning service, a cordial invitation to dinner was cheerfully accepted by the entire audience, which filled not only the pews but chairs placed in the aisle. After dinner the audience room was again filled, and the service resumed. S.A. Ives gave a financial statement of the building committee and delivered the keys to the official board of the church. Frank S. Clark replied on behalf of the church. The improvements have cost $1,572.96. The subscription and gifts received from friends, including $100 from J.J. Whiting, and $100 form Mrs. S. Camp of Winsted, Conn., amount to $1,554.50, leaving a deficit of $18.46. A fund of $76 raised by the young people's society was reserved towards painting the outside of the church. The trustee then announced that it was desired to raise a sufficient sum to buy a chapel organ, and offered an opportunity for gifts, stating that friends had already sent us $30 for that purpose. E.B. Bunnell of Guilford rose to give $5 and Geo. A. Ives of Bainbridge gave $15 for the organ fund and $10 for the building deficiency. A committee then passed through the audience for a general collection. Pastor Tiffany then said that some remarks were looked for from those whose recollections of the meeting house went back to its young days and called on Calvin J. Mills of Sidney, who came forward to the pulpit and asking the indulgence of the audience as one unused to public speaking, proposed to say something of the fathers whose efforts first built the church and whose names are inscribed on the marble slabs in the neighboring burying ground. He named Dea. Samuel Mills, Dea. Jesse Whiting, Daniel Johnson and Daniel Savage and their wives, also Julian Whiting and Mrs. Benjamin Skinner who in 1812 organized this church. He named Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson as one who in the early days read the sermon when there was no minister present, and Rufus Baldwin who succeed him as reader in later years. He enumerated the various pastors, beginning with Rev. Asa Donaldson and filling the list down to the settling of Rev. J.L. Janes in 1841, and a description of Guilford, its meeting house and services as he remembered them from 1824 to 1840. He said the extreme high pressure of Pastor Hull from 1832 to 1834 drove away a large part of the church, to form Christ's Episcopal church. He gave a warm tribute to the clergymen as he knew them as a boy, when his father kept ministers' tavern and "I took care of their horses." Mr. Mills alluded to the good music of the old days when the choir was led by Uncle Julius Whiting, and the organ built by Elsworth Phelps was played by Mrs. Hiram Whiting, and said he presumed it was "wind broken" and he proposed to give $20 toward the new one. But the crowning feature of the day was the dedicatory sermon by Rev. Mr. Robinson, D.D., of Delhi, concise, scholarly and eloquent, a synopsis of which would be so incomplete as to do it injustice, but which was listened to by a very attentive audience; followed by a dedicatory prayer by Rev. S.M. Keeler, after which the audience joined in singing "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," and the benediction by Rev. M.S. Godshall. Thus closed an eventful and enjoyable day for the Congregational church at Guilford Center.
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