,transcriber's ,note3 ,page numbers are 
indicated thus #c at the end of each    
printed page4     ,the ,messiah ,pulpit 
,a ,,statement3   the ,future of ,this  
,church  ,by  ,john ,haynes ,holmes     
,minister of the ,church of the ,messiah
  ,series #aiah-aiai----,no4 ,,vi       
,,price1 ,,five ,,cents  ,published by  
the  ,church of the ,messiah  ,park     
,avenue and #cdth ,street  ,new ,york   
,city  #a  ,,notice  ,the ,messiah      
,pulpit1 by tradition and practice1 is a
 free platform1 dedicated to the ideal  
of truth4 ,its sermons1 in both their   
spoken and written form1 are the        
utterances of the preacher1 who accepts 
for them exclusive responsibility4  ,the
 publication of these sermons is made   
possible by a private fund for this     
purpose4 ,contributions to this fund are
 needed1 and may be sent to ,rev4 ,john 
,haynes ,holmes1 #fa ,east #cdth        
,street1 ,new ,york ,city4  #b  ,a      
,,statement3  ,on the ,future of ,this  
,church  ,on ,sunday1 ,november #bd     

last1 as most of you know4 ,i was       
invited by unanimous vote of the people 
of ,all ,souls ,church1 ,chicago1 to    
take up the work laid down by 7their7   
beloved pastor1 the late ,dr4 ,jenkin   
,lloyd ,jones4 ,on ,thursday1 ,november 
#bh1 ,i received this call through the  
personal visitation of two members of   
the ,chicago church1 and agreed to give 
it most earnest consideration4 ,on      
,sunday1 ,december #a1 through my       
associate1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,i announced    
this call to the congregation of the    
,church of the ,messiah1 explaining that
 it involved the ministry of ,all ,souls
 ,church1 the directorship of ,abraham  
,lincoln ,centre1 and the editorship of 
the weekly liberal religious journal1   
called ,unity4 ,i stated in my          
announcement that ,i had asked and been 
granted ample time for the consideration
 of this call1 but that ,i intended to  
answer it as speedily as possible4 ,on  
,thursday last1 just five weeks to a day
 after receiving the invitation to      

,chicago1 ,i sent my reply for          
transmission to the people of ,all      
,souls ,church this morning4 ,i choose  
this same time to announce to you my    
decision4  ,at the beginning of my      
consideration of the problem1 ,i found  
questions of personal inclination and   
comfort inevitably to the fore4 ,for    
twelve years minus one month1 ,i have   
lived and labored in ,new ,york ,city4  
,every particle of moral energy which ,i
 possess1 ,i have invested here4 ,nearly
 all of my friends are associated with  
this community4 ,especially am ,i bound 
by ties of deepest reverence and        
affection to this church4 ,here are     
memories of joy and sorrow and great    
trial which are more truly a part of me 
than the voice with which ,i speak1 or  
the hand with which ,i turn these pages4
 ,it #c needed but this single summons  
to teach me what ,i had not known--how  
deeply my roots are struck into the soil
 of this place1 and how great the pain  
and hazard of their exposure1 removal   

and replanting4  ,it very soon became   
clear to me1 however1 that personal     
considerations could rightly have but   
little part in the settlement of this   
problem4 ,in no spirit of bravado1 but  
in simplest recognition of the truth1 ,i
 say to you that ,i believe ,i would    
have been betraying the profession which
 ,i have sworn to serve had ,i permitted
 conditions of personal affection1      
however lovely and precious1 to         
determine my decision in this case4 ,i  
take seriously the fact of my           
ordination--that as a minister of       
religion ,i have been set apart1 as the 
traditional phrase has it1 to the high  
purpose of propagating an idea1         
championing a cause1 seeking the best   
and the highest that ,i know in terms of
 ,god and of his holy will4 ,i am here1 
in other words1 not to make or to keep  
friends1 not to enjoy pleasant          
associations of hand and heart1 not even
 to serve a particular church1 but to   
serve1 perhaps at the cost of these     

other and more personal things1 the     
great idea of which ,i speak4 ,to allow 
my individual sentiments to fix the     
place and fashion of my professional    
service1 would be to me as dastardly a  
thing as to allow considerations of     
profit or prestige to make decision4    
,not even my wife or my children could  
interfere in this case4 ,my problem was 
to determine where ,i could best advance
 the ideals to which ,i have given my   
life--where ,i could find the weapons or
 tools best fitted to my hand for the   
doing of my work--and there to stand4   
,to remain in this church and city might
 be infinitely desirable to me as a man2
 but ,i must decide not as a man but as 
a minister1 and therefore if ,i         
remained1 it must be because ,i could do
 no other6  ,but there was another      
consideration which held me to this     
impersonal relation to the problem4 ,i  
refer to the fact that the ,great ,war  
had brought to a focus in my own soul   
the inward and largely unconscious      

spiritual development of a decade4 ,i   
had discovered1 through #d much         
tribulation of mind and heart1 the ideal
 which ,i sought to serve1 and disclosed
 to myself at least the picture of the  
realization of this ideal in            
institutional form4 ,this same ,great   
,war1 however1 had distracted my parish1
 absorbed the energies and attention of 
my people1 and in spite of wellnigh     
unexampled forbearance1 had introduced  
elements of misunderstanding and even   
alienation4 ,the conflict1 in other     
words1 had no more left our church      
unchanged than the world itself4 ,we had
 been shaken and distressed and tortured
 and driven1 so that we were no longer  
the persons we once were4 ,you knew me1 
and ,i knew you1 as we were yesterday2  
but we did not know one another as we   
were going to be1 or should want to be1 
tomorrow4 ,it was necessary that we     
should meet not on the plane of the     
past1 nor even of the present1 but on   
the plane of the future1 and thus find  

ourselves again1 and discover what now1 
in this new world1 we wanted1 and would 
be able1 to do together4 ,months before 
the ,war was ended1 it had clearly      
entered into my mind to summon you to   
conference on our future relations as   
minister and people4 ,this invitation   
from ,chicago but precipitated suddenly 
what was in itself inevitable sooner or 
later4 ,it introduced into a problem    
already existing between you and me1 a  
third element--namely1 the people of    
,abraham ,lincoln ,centre4 ,the problem1
 however1 in its nature1 remained the   
same4 ,i have work to do4 ,i have set my
 hand to the plow1 and ,i must find the 
field where ,i can best drive this plow 
through the furrow of my sowing4  ,in   
order to make plain the situation1 as it
 has presented itself to my mind during 
the last five weeks1 ,i must turn to the
 past for a moment1 and bring to you    
therefrom some fragments of             
autobiography4 ,those of you who were   
present at the meeting on last ,monday  

night1 have already heard what ,i am    
about to say4 ,i beg your undivided     
attention1 none the less1 that you may  
note the bearing of this recital not on 
a problem presented1 as then1 but on a  
decision made1 as now4  ,i entered the  
,unitarian ministry in the year #aijd1  
#e under the influence of motives not   
unfamiliar4 ,in the first place1 ,i saw 
the pulpit4 ,i went into the ministry   
for the same primary reason which has   
held me there through all these years   
gone by--a desire to preach4 ,i think ,i
 can say1 in no spirit of boasting1 that
 from my earliest days ,i have had an   
intense interest in the problem of      
truth1 and a passion to interpret and   
defend by the spoken word1 the truth as 
,i saw it1 to other men4 ,it is just    
this passion1 ,i suppose1 which makes   
the preacher1 as distinguished from the 
poet or the scientist4 ,so ,phillip     
,brooks would seem to suggest in his    
famous dictum1 that preaching is ,truth 
7conveyed7 through ,personality4        

,furthermore1 the truth which ,i desired
 to expound was theological in its      
nature4 ,my whole approach to the       
problem was along the lines of          
speculation in the field of religious1  
as distinguished from political or      
social1 thought4 ,god1 the soul1        
immortality1 the origin and destiny of  
man1 sin and salvation--these were the  
questions that held me1 even as a boy1  
partly1 ,i suppose1 because of native   
inclination1 partly because of careful  
training in a ,unitarian home and       
church1 mostly ,i am convinced because  
,i early came under the spell of that   
prince of liberal preachers1 ,dr4 ,minot
 ,j4 ,savage4 ,to do what ,dr4 ,savage  
was doing each ,sunday1 preaching to    
eager throngs the great truths of the   
,unitarian gospel--this became the      
consuming ambition of my life4 ,i wanted
 to stand in a pulpit and preach4 ,i    
decided to do so2 and if judgment in    
such a question can be based on         
experiences of inward joy1 ,i am ready  

to testify that my decision was not     
unwise4  ,i entered the church1         
therefore1 primarily because it had a   
pulpit4 ,but other reasons1 not so      
decisive1 and yet impressive1 persuaded 
me to this same end4 ,thus ,i saw in the
 church not only a pulpit but an altar4 
,indeed1 the pulpit distinguished itself
 in my mind from a platform or a        
teacher's desk1 by the fact that it was 
always associated with the presence1    
visible and invisible1 of an altar for  
divine worship4 ,it was easy for me to  
picture myself as saying all ,i wanted  
to say in #f college halls1 in theater  
meetings1 in public forums1 but ,i      
craved for my work on behalf of truth   
the atmosphere and environment of       
spiritual devotion4 ,it was my desire1  
in other words1 to be not merely a      
teacher or speaker1 but a preacher2 not 
merely a prophet1 but also a priest4    
,this does not mean that ,i am a        
churchman1 as such2 or that ,i find any 
permanent significance in rituals or    

other forms of worship4 ,but there is in
 me that which seeks the stimulus of    
praise and prayer1 the uplift of        
conscious communion with the ,eternal1  
the consolation of appeal to1 and trust 
in1 ,god4 ,not only from habit1 but from
 temperament1 ,i find myself at home    
amid religious rites4 ,nothing so moved 
me on my one trip to ,europe1 as the    
hours ,i spent under the shadows of the 
great cathedrals4 ,as a quiet place of  
worship1 as well as a high place of     
testimony1 the church called me in those
 youthful years1 and ,i gave answer4  ,a
 third motive for my choice of the      
ministry must not be forgotten4 ,i refer
 to the appeal of the church as a place 
for action1 a service station on behalf 
of public causes4 ,my vision of what we 
mean by public causes was strangely     
limited4 ,it scarcely went beyond the   
,unitarian denomination1 and the works  
of charity and kindly reform with which 
it has always been identified4 ,i was a 
passionate ,unitarian in those days4 ,i 

had read1 and been deeply stirred by1   
the story of the achievements which     
,unitarianism had wrought on behalf of  
freedom1 fellowship and character in    
religion4 ,i reverenced its saints and  
prophets1 and longed to follow in their 
train4 ,hence the eagerness with which  
,i sought preparation for the ,unitarian
 ministry--that ,i might serve the      
church--advance its glory and magnify   
its work4  ,it was with such ideas as   
these in my heart that ,i was ordained  
in ,february1 #aijd4 ,within two years  
there came an event which shook my life 
to its foundations1 revolutionized my   
thought1 and changed the whole character
 of my interest and work4 ,i refer to   
what we have #g learned to describe in  
our time as the social question4 ,this  
question1 of course1 is nothing new4 ,it
 has burned at the heart of life from   
the beginning1 and at intervals has     
flamed forth like the eruption of a     
volcano1 to the terror and glory of the 
world4 ,its latest phase1 as we know it 

today in the religious field1 made its  
appearance at about the time ,i entered 
the ministry4 ,i recall that the book1  
which first revealed the fires so soon  
to burst upon us--,prof4 ,peabody's     
,jesus ,christ and the ,social ,question
 --was published in #aijc1 the year     
before my ordination4 ,i was not        
unprepared for what was coming4 ,my     
deep-rooted reverence for ,theodore     
,parker1 the supreme prophet of applied 
,christianity in our time1 and my       
enthusiastic study of his life1 had     
revealed to me the meaning of socialized
 religion4 ,but ,i had caught only the  
pure essence of its spirit2 ,i had not  
thought to apply it to the social       
problems of today4 ,indeed1 ,i was not  
aware of the existence of such problems4
 ,my whole approach to the question of  
truth and experience up to that time1   
had been along the lines of speculation 
in the field of theological1 as         
contrasted with political or social1    
thought4 ,in the second year of my      

ministry1 however1 ,i read ,henry       
,george's ,progress and ,poverty2 then  
followed the writings of ,henry ,d4     
,lloyd and ,prof4 ,walter               
,rauschenbusch2 then came the deep and  
prolonged plunge into the waters of     
socialism4 ,for several years after ,i  
came to this church1 ,i was in a state  
of intellectual and emotional upheaval  
impossible for me to describe4 ,at last 
came a conviction which was a complete  
reversal of all my former ideas4 ,i was 
as a man converted2 ,i was as one who   
had seen a great light4 ,henceforth ,i  
was a social radical2 and religion1     
pre-eminently not a testimony to        
theological truth but a crusade for     
social change4 ,of course1 my interest  
in theology has persisted2 but its place
 in my life has tended to become ever   
more subordinate to other and more      
directly practical interests4 ,you know 
how the character of my preaching has   
changed since ,i first entered the      
,messiah pulpit4 ,you know with what #h 

waxing intensity of expression ,i have  
moved to the left of our various        
divisions on the social question4 ,you  
do not know1 hence ,i must tell you1 how
 this intensity of radical conviction is
 destined to continue in the years that 
are now before us4 ,for the war has     
accelerated the social crisis beyond all
 forecasting4 ,in two years has         
transpired what fifty years could not   
have consummated under more normal      
conditions4 ,three great                
empires--,russia1 ,germany1             
,austria--and several newborn countries1
 like that of the ,czecho-,slovaks1 have
 been captured by the ,socialists2 and  
the ,british ,empire seems promised to  
the ,british ,labor ,party in not more  
than another decade or two4 ,the social 
revolution long prophesied1 long hoped  
for1 long feared1 is here2 and this     
means in countries like our own1 still  
untouched by change1 such a sturm and   
drang periode1 as makes even the ,great 
,war pale into insignificance4 ,now in  

these years which are before us1 ,i     
propose to speak and serve for the      
speediest and most thoroughgoing social 
reconstruction4 ,i am committed both by 
conviction and temperament to the       
program of the ,british ,labor ,party   
and its policy of indirect or political 
action for the advancement of that      
program4 ,this is my predominant        
interest at this moment1 and through    
what is destined ,i suppose to be the   
whole period of my life4 ,this is as    
much the cause of our day as abolition  
was the cause of the days before the    
,civil ,war4 ,to this ,i have given all 
,i have--from this ,i intend to withdraw
 nothing that ,i have given4 ,not in any
 sense of bitterness or violence in     
method1 but in every sense of utter     
change as the end desired1 ,i am        
committed to the ideal of the complete  
democratization of society4  ,when the  
significance of this transformation     
first broke upon me1 ,i felt an impulse 
to leave the church1 and attach myself  

directly to the labor movement4 ,i      
recall how my soul leapt in answer to   
the great scene at the close of         
,kennedy's ,the ,servant in the ,house1 
when the ,vicar strips off his clerical 
garb1 seizes the dirty hand of his      
brother1 the ,drain-,man1 and cries out1
 #i ,this is no priest's work--it calls 
for a man6 ,i was deterred1 however1    
not1 ,i hope1 by cowardice but by       
wisdom4 ,on the surface ,i felt that ,i 
should miss the services of the         
church--the prayers and worship with my 
people4 ,deeper down1 and nearer the    
heart of things1 was an unshaken trust  
in the church as a social institution4  
,i loved her traditions1 reverenced her 
saints and prophets1 believed in her    
destiny--was unconvinced that she must  
necessarily serve the interests of      
reaction4 ,at-bottom1 was a perfectly   
clear understanding that my approach to 
the social question was a spiritual     
approach1 and my acceptance of it the   
acceptance of a religious task4 ,i saw  

my new position as nothing more nor less
 than the logic of ,christianity4 ,men  
must be free from all oppression1       
because they are children of ,god1 and  
therefore living souls4 ,they must be   
equal in opportunity and privilege1     
because they are members of the holy    
family of ,god1 and therefore brothers4 
,they must be lifted up out of poverty1 
disease1 war1 because their heritage is 
the life of ,god1 and they must have it 
abundantly4 ,the material aspects of the
 social question1 ,i would be among the 
last1 ,i trust1 to ignore4 ,these are   
central--but central only as the fetters
 are central to the problem of slavery4 
,furthermore1 the means which ,i        
recognized to the great end1 were also  
spiritual4 ,i could find no place in my 
thought for the use of violence4 ,the   
plea of class-conscious rebellion never 
won my acceptance4 ,only patience1      
persuasion1 and much love for humankind1
 seemed to me legitimate weapons of     
reform4 ,in other words1 ,i was again a 

victim of the logic of ,christianity4   
,and where did this logic hold me1 if   
not to the church8 ,where could ,i make 
plain my spiritual position1 or bring to
 bear my spiritual influence1 apart from
 the church8 ,if this institution must  
hold me altogether aloof from the social
 question1 then of course my duty was   
manifest4 ,but its pulpit was wide open 
to social preaching2 its altar a chosen 
place for social consecration2 and its  
machinery of service all at hand to be  
shifted from the gear of #aj charity to 
the gear of justice4 ,why not stay1     
therefore1 in the church1 as ,theodore  
,parker stayed1 and fight capitalism1 as
 he fought slavery1 in the garb of a    
minister of ,christ8  ,decision on this 
point came fairly early1 and it was     
favorable to the church4 ,strangely     
enough1 however1 it brought me little   
peace and surety in my church relations4
 ,outside1 in the denomination at large1
 ,i found myself in almost constant     
conflict with my fellows4 ,there were   

few meetings or conferences in which ,i 
did not speak in protest and vote with  
minorities4 ,here in the ,messiah parish
 there was no trouble1 thanks to your   
forbearance1 friendship1 and scrupulous 
loyalty to freedom2 but almost from the 
beginning there was uncertainty1        
wonderment1 at times unrest1 on the part
 of those longest associated with this  
society2 and the records show a         
melancholy tale of withdrawals of those1
 not unable to endure differences of    
opinion1 but impelled to turn away when 
the institution1 long precious in their 
sight1 no longer presented the          
recognizable attributes of a ,unitarian 
church4 ,that my own shortcomings as a  
man and a minister were responsible for 
much of this disturbance inside and     
outside the parish1 ,i have no doubt4   
,but as ,i look back over the years1 ,i 
also have no doubt that there was       
something much more fundamental here1 at
 the heart of the trouble4 ,that ,i was 
a heretic on the social question was    

insignificant1 for ,unitarians have long
 since learned not only to tolerate but 
to respect their heretics4 ,what was    
infinitely more important1 as ,i now    
see1 was the fact that unconsciously    
through these years1 ,i was coming to   
question not the church itself1 as ,i   
have explained1 but the whole order and 
purpose of the church as it now exists4 
,every ecclesiastical institution today 
is denominational in character4 ,it     
belongs primarily to some particular    
sectarian body1 and is pledged to the   
service of this body4 ,sometimes the    
central body is narrow1 as in the case  
of the more orthodox ,protestant        
denominations2 sometimes it is liberal1 
as in the case of the ,unitarians and   
,universalists4 #aa ,but always there is
 a distinctive form of organization1 or 
type of ritual1 or doctrine of belief1  
or spirit of association1 which binds   
these separate churches into a single   
group2 and always this distinctive      
feature is something which had its      

origin1 and still finds its vitality1 in
 the thought and experience of an       
earlier age4 ,every one of our          
denominations1 and every one of the     
churches in our denominations1 is       
representative of past controversies1   
not of present interests and duties4 ,no
 one sect can be distinguished from any 
other1 except by a reference to the text
 books of ,christian history4  ,now with
 the intrusion of the social question   
into religion1 a new concept of church  
organization came immediately to the    
fore4 ,the unit of fellowship was now no
 longer the denomination1 but the       
community4 ,the centre of life and      
allegiance was no longer the challenge  
of ancient controversy1 but the cry of  
present day human need4 ,the more ,i    
became interested in questions of social
 change1 the less ,i was concerned with 
questions of denominational welfare4    
,the more ,i became absorbed in the     
people of ,new ,york ,city1 the closer  
became my fellowship with other         

ministers similarly absorbed1 and the   
remoter my fellowship with those who    
were bound to me only by the accident of
 the ,unitarian tradition4 ,more and    
more my hand and heart went out directly
 to men who saw and labored for the     
better day of which ,i dreamed2 and only
 indirectly to those with whom ,i was   
appointed to serve1 but who could not or
 would not catch the vision of my       
dreams4 ,an irreconcilable conflict was 
here being joined--the old1 old conflict
 between a dead and a living fellowship4
 ,it was my intuitive1 although         
unconscious knowledge of this fact1     
which made me a rebel in every          
,unitarian gathering of the last ten    
years4 ,it was a similarly unconscious  
instinct of self-preservation which     
taught my ,unitarian brethren1 to whom  
the old association was still central1  
to resent the things ,i sought4 ,we had 
been born together1 and we lived        
together2 our past and our present were 
joint possessions4 ,but when we faced   

the future1 we divided2 my #ab          
colleagues1 many of them1 were content  
with old1 familiar ways1 while ,i sought
 new associations4  ,what was dimly felt
 in those days1 was suddenly transformed
 into something clearly seen by the     
impact of the ,great ,war4 ,if this     
stupendous conflict has revealed        
anything in religion1 it is that the    
sectarian divisions of ,christendom are 
no longer to be tolerated4 ,in the      
fusing fires of battle1 ,presbyterian1  
,methodist1 ,episcopalian1 ,unitarian1  
even ,catholic1 ,protestant and ,jew1   
have been melted1 and now flow in a     
single flaming stream into the mould    
which shall fashion them into a single  
casting4 ,man after man has returned    
from the front1 to tell us that the     
denominational church is dead4 ,a new   
ordering of ,christendom is at hand4    
,the unit of organization will be not   
the one belief1 nor even the one spirit1
 but the one field of service4 ,not the 
sect1 but the community1 will be the    

nucleus of integration4 ,we will have   
groupings not of ,methodist churches1   
and ,baptist churches1 and ,unitarian   
churches1 to remind the world of ancient
 differences1 but of ,new ,york         
churches1 and ,boston churches1 and ,san
 ,francisco churches1 to teach the world
 of present needs and future hopes4 ,our
 churches will be related as the wards  
in a city are related1 or the cities in 
a state1 or the states in the nation4   
,we shall be all ,christians together1  
as we are all ,americans together4 ,we  
shall have different religious ideas as 
we have different political ideas4 ,but 
we shall be organized religiously1 as   
well as politically1 in a single        
community4 ,our churches1 like our      
schools1 will be the possession1 and the
 resort1 of all6  ,this vision of the   
church as a community1 or civic centre1 
is the logical application of socialized
 religion4 ,it is no accident that      
together these two things have captured 
my life4 ,for a moment1 just as the idea

 of the social question set me thinking 
of leaving the church altogether1 so    
this idea of the community church set me
 thinking of leaving this church and    
organizing in this city an independent  
religious movement4 ,indeed1 this latter
 thought has been something more than a 
#ac momentary temptation4 ,to have a    
church has been with me from the        
beginning a necessity4 ,to have a church
 of the new community order has become a
 great desire4 ,last spring ,i seriously
 considered presenting to you my        
resignation1 that ,i might enter upon   
the fulfillment of this hope4 ,last     
summer ,i pretty definitely made up my  
mind to lay this problem and prospect   
before you1 as soon as peace should     
come1 and the distractions of war be    
gone4 ,then1 at the very moment when    
peace came1 as though to anticipate and 
thus forestall my decision1 there came  
the call from ,chicago4  ,most of you   
know what ,abraham ,lincoln ,centre is1 
and many of you by what pioneer devotion

 this church of the future was fashioned
 out of a traditional church of the     
past4 ,it is not perfect2 in some ways  
it is already itself became traditional 
again4 ,but it stands today as a more   
complete embodiment of what ,i feel a   
modern church should be than any other  
institution of which ,i know in         
,america4 ,the invitation from the      
people seemed to me an instant bestowal 
of all for which ,i seek4 ,i do not     
think ,i could have resisted this call  
to service1 had it not been for your    
rightful claims of loyalty and          
affection1 and my own reluctance to     
abandon the project of accomplishing my 
desires in ,new ,york4 ,these           
considerations made me hesitate--and    
while ,i hesitated1 ,i thought4 ,why    
should ,i turn elsewhere for the        
fulfillment of hopes which may be as    
surely if not as swiftly realized here8 
,why should ,i undertake to build an    
independent church in this city1 or     
accept the leadership of a church       

however remarkably developed in         
,chicago1 when the ,church of the       
,messiah1 pledged to freedom1 and long  
committed to the idea of progress1 lies 
ready to my hand8 ,why should ,i seek   
the easy inheritance of another man's   
completed work1 and thus avoid the hard 
labor of building an institution of my  
own1 which1 for that reason alone1 would
 be moulded nearer to my heart's desire8
 ,above all1 why should ,i assume that  
my people who have loved and sustained  
me these dozen years1 are unwilling to  
move on with me in comradeship #ad to   
the new pathways of the new world which 
we have entered1 or by what right make  
decision involving my future ministry   
here or elsewhere1 without taking them  
fully into my confidence and searching  
the utmost temper of their minds8 ,these
 were the questions which came to me    
promptly on the receipt of the ,chicago 
call4 ,should ,i undertake to organize  
an independent church in ,new ,york1    
should ,i go to ,chicago as minister of 

,all ,souls' ,church and ,director of   
,abraham ,lincoln ,centre1 should ,i    
stay here as minister of this ,church of
 the ,messiah--this was my problem4 ,i  
could not solve it1 with fairness to    
myself or to you1 until you had spoken4 
,hence1 the meeting of last ,monday     
night1 called by the helpful            
co-operation of the ,board of ,trustees1
 and attended largely by our people4    
,in addressing this meeting1 ,i stated  
in some detail the future conditions of 
church work which ,i proposed to        
establish or to find4 ,i had intended   
originally not to make these public1 at 
least all at once2 but rumor has been   
busy1 and exact information1 for        
purposes of correction1 if nothing more1
 has now become essential4  ,first of   
all1 therefore1 may ,i say that ,i made 
announcement to this meeting1 as ,i     
would now make announcement to you1 that
 ,i have left1 or am planning to leave1 
the ,unitarian denomination1 and propose
 not much longer to be known            

specifically as a ,unitarian minister4  
,the reasons for this change in my life1
 ,i shall make plain at another time2   
this morning ,i content myself with     
stating the fact4 ,almost a year ago ,i 
resigned the office of vice-president of
 the ,middle ,states ,conference of     
,unitarian churches1 which have held    
ever since ,i came to ,new ,york4 ,two  
months ago1 ,i resigned from the        
,council of the ,unitarian ,general     
,conference4 ,two weeks ago1 ,i resigned
 my life-membership in the ,american    
,unitarian ,association4 ,next ,may1    
when the new list is made up1 ,i expect 
to withdraw my name from the official   
roll of ,unitarian clergymen1 and thus  
sever the last strand which holds me to 
the ,unitarian body4 ,of course1 ,i     
shall join no other denomination1 and in
 #ae this sense shall be independent4   
,but to me this action means not        
isolation1 but entrance into that larger
 fellowship which ,i so long to share4  
,no barrier will then separate me from  

those ,episcopalians and ,baptists and  
,methodists and other men1 who are my   
real spiritual brethren4 ,i shall be at 
one with all men everywhere--at home    
with the family of mankind4 ,i shall not
 so much cease to be a ,unitarian1 as to
 become a ,christian4 ,this matter is of
 course personal2 and it thus affected  
only incidentally the problem which was 
before our meeting last ,monday night4  
,it is easy to find precedent for the   
occupancy of a ,unitarian pulpit by a   
minister not a ,unitarian4 ,at the time 
of the famous ,year-,book controversy1  
,mr4 ,potter of ,new ,bedford1 ,mass41  
and several of his colleagues1 withdrew 
from the ,unitarian body1 but continued 
to hold their ,unitarian pulpits4 ,the  
latest instance of which ,i chance to   
know was called to my attention by the  
death last week of ,prof4 ,george ,a4   
,foster1 of ,chicago ,university4 ,dr4  
,foster was born1 bred and ordained a   
,baptist2 and yet last year was called  
to fill the pulpit of the ,first        

,unitarian ,church church in ,madison1  
,wisconsin2 and died in the service of  
this church1 a ,baptist4  ,even in      
orthodox churches1 the  denominational  
tag is losing its significance4 ,thus1  
when the ,city ,temple ,london1 the most
 famous ,congregational church in the   
world1 sought a successor to ,dr4       
,campbell1 it chose ,dr4 ,joseph ,fort  
,newton1 of ,iowa1 a ,universalist4 ,we 
are getting sensible enough these days  
to recognize that the essential thing   
even about a minister is not his name   
but his manhood4 ,nevertheless1 my      
contemplated change in denominational   
status might well be regarded as a part 
of the whole problem before us1 and ,i  
therefore made careful mention of it    
last ,monday night4 ,secondly1 and more 
important1 ,i stated my desire that the 
church which ,i should serve tomorrow1  
might itself be undenominational1 at    
last to the degree implied by my        
conception of what ,i have called the   
community church4 ,by this ,i meant that

 the church should proclaim #af as its  
primary interest and aim identification 
with1 and service of1 the people of its 
community1 to the subordination1 and1 if
 necessary1 the ending of its connection
 with persons of various and scattered  
communities who have no other bond of   
union than that of a single             
denominational inheritance4 ,was ,i     
wrong when ,i ventured the assertion at 
the meeting of our ,society1 that in    
this church we have already moved far in
 this direction8 ,unconsciously1 in the 
last dozen years1 it seems to me1 we    
have been moving out of the             
denomination1 into the community4       
,nearly every interest in this parish is
 a community and not a denominational   
interest4 ,our natural affiliations as a
 church in this city have not been so   
much with churches of our own           
denomination1 as with churches of       
various denominations distinguished like
 ourselves as predominantly civic1 or   
community1 institutions4 ,this          

congregation is an independent          
congregation4 ,if the ,unitarian name   
adheres to it at all1 it is to the      
embarrassment of those whose            
,unitarianism is their pride1 and to the
 confusion of those who1 not ,unitarians
 either by birth or conviction1 desire  
to join us in spirit and active work4   
,for years1 like the chambered nautilus1
 we have been outgrowing our            
denominational shell1 and seeking more  
stately mansions4 ,is it not time1 now1 
that we left this outgrown shell1 and   
became at last the full and free        
community institution of which ,i speak8
 ,should we not at least clear ourselves
 of ancient entanglements to such degree
 that we may invite people openly and   
honestly to come into our portals not   
because they want to profess themselves 
,unitarians1 but because they want to   
confess themselves lovers and servants  
of mankind8  ,again1 ,i stated at last  
,monday's meeting my desire that the    
church which ,i shall serve tomorrow1   

may have a name which means something in
 the language and thought of our time4  
,the application of this principle to   
our church is obvious4 ,the name1       
,church of the ,messiah1 is precious to 
many of us1 because it awakens memories 
and revives tender associations4 ,but a 
name #ag is important not from the      
standpoint of those who know what it    
means1 or ought to mean1 but of those   
who do not know4 ,the name of a church1 
like that of a business1 is an          
advertisement4 ,it is a symbol1 a       
slogan1 a banner4 ,it should tell at    
once to everybody what is behind it1    
what it stands for2 and this is exactly 
what our name does not do1 except to the
 initiate4 ,dr4 ,savage tried to save   
the situation by associating with the   
name1 ,lowell's familiar line1 some     
great cause1 ,god's new ,messiah4 ,i    
have tried to breathe the breath of life
 into the corpse1 by attaching it       
deliberately to our various             
activities--as the ,messiah ,forum1 the 

,messiah ,social ,service ,league1 etc4 
,but all in vain6 ,our name suggests a  
hope of ancient ,judaism1 a period of   
,unitarian history1 a habit of          
,episcopalian nomenclature--and that is 
all6 ,it should be changed1 to give some
 adequate expression of our ideals4 ,the
 ,city ,church1 the ,people's ,church1  
the ,community ,church1 the ,church of  
the ,people1 the ,church of the ,new    
,democracy1 the ,fellowship1 the ,free  
,fellowship1 the ,fellowship of ,social 
,idealism1 the ,fellowship of the       
,kingdom1 the ,fellowship of ,spiritual 
,democracy1 the ,liberal ,centre1 the   
,community ,centre1--think of what we   
might call ourselves1 if we but had the 
courage4 ,and after all1 what courage   
would it take1 save that long since     
displayed by our fathers in this church8
 ,how many of you know that for fourteen
 years1 this church was known simply as 
the ,second ,congregational ,unitarian  
,society of ,new ,york4 ,then in #ahci1 
because the name ,unitarian was open to 

serious misconstruction1 this name1     
except in its strictly legal uses1 was  
dropped1 and the highly orthodox name we
 now bear1 was substituted4 ,i stated at
 our meeting that if ,i should remain as
 your minister1 ,i should hope that this
 church might similarly baptize itself  
afresh in the language of our own time1 
and in the spirit of our own life6      
,again1 at this meeting on ,monday last1
 ,i stated that a modern church should  
have free pews4 ,this statement needs no
 definition or argument4 ,the system of 
pew #ah rentals is an abomination1      
already abolished in countless churches 
more orthodox than our own1 and a       
scandal in any church claiming to be    
liberal or democratic4  ,lastly1 ,i     
stated my desire that my church should  
have a non-covenanted membership4 ,on   
the side of organization1 this means of 
course that we make our church and      
society a single body1 and thus abolish 
the present system of two unrelated     
groups1 the one business and the other  

spiritual in character4 ,on the side of 
religion1 it means that we abandon the  
idea of an inner group of members1 who  
have reached some spiritual eminence not
 attained by others4 ,of course1 in our 
body1 this sanctification aspect of     
church membership has disappeared from  
our apprehension4 ,but if this is the   
case1 why should we retain the form8    
,what is essential is organization and  
fellowship on the basis of simple       
brotherhood4 ,here we are1 comrades     
together1 worshipping and working to the
 great end of a better world4 ,we must  
be bound together in some way1 for we   
must be an enlisted body1 not a mob of  
unrelated individuals4 ,but let it be a 
,roll-,call to ,service--a joining of   
the church as of the ,red ,cross for the
 love of mankind4 ,in spirit1 our       
membership is already this2 but its form
 is not so much an embodiment of the new
 democracy of the saviors as an echo of 
the old aristocracy of the saved4  ,it  
was with these five points that ,i      

confronted the members of this ,society 
last ,monday evening4 ,i stated them    
much as ,i have stated them this        
morning1 and then asked not that action 
be taken1 but that sentiment be         
expressed4 ,since that time1 ,i have    
been assiduously collecting information 
of what took place4 ,official report of 
action taken1 of votes passed1 has been 
laid upon my desk4 ,friends have written
 or spoken to me their impressions of   
the gathering4 ,i have myself canvassed 
the members of the ,board of ,trustees1 
and have received replies to my         
questions which show such high endeavor 
to convey accurate information and sound
 advice1 quite apart from personal      
opinion on most points1 as does #ai     
abounding honor to the persons          
concerned4 ,from what has thus come to  
me1 ,i deduce three facts about this    
meeting4 ,first1 that the members of    
this church were willing to face without
 revolt or rebuke1 questions which more 
often than not in the past have been the

 occasion of unseemly quarrel and unholy
 schism4 ,secondly1 that the            
consideration of these questions was    
carried on for two hours without        
bitterness of spirit as between the     
members of the church1 or as between    
these members and the absent minister4  
,lastly1 that there is a large working  
majority in this church who desire the  
things that ,i desire4 ,taking these    
facts into my own soul1 which must be   
the last court of decision1 after all1  
,i have become convinced that ,i am     
confronted here by a situation which ,i 
can neither ignore nor evade4 ,my       
challenge to you has been answered by a 
challenge to myself4 ,to refuse this    
challenge1 is impossible4 ,to leave this
 fruitage of my twelve years of plowing 
and planting unharvested1 and thus to   
wither and be scattered1 would be a     
crime4 ,i have therefore declined the   
call to ,chicago1 and will remain here  
as your minister6  ,to this announcement
 of my decision in this case1 may ,i    

make1 in closing1 some two or three     
supplementary remarks8  ,in the first   
place1 for the benefit of such rasher or
 more enthusiastic spirits as may be    
present in this place1 ,i would state   
that ,i have no intention of abusing the
 confidence thus reposed in me1 or the  
power thus granted me1 by demanding     
immediate and final action on all the   
points of my program4 ,we are members   
here not of a political caucus1 but of a
 church2 and it behooves us1 therefore1 
to observe even the uttermost           
refinements of good-will and mutual     
consideration4 ,we must respect with    
scrupulous fidelity the rights of each1 
and seek nothing that falls short of the
 happiness of all4 ,determination must  
now yield place to patience1 and courage
 to sympathy4 ,conversion and not       
conquest is our method4 ,i had rather   
wait years to gain my point with the    
consent of every heart1 than carry off  
the victory #bj tomorrow with some      
hearts broken and thrown away4 ,i have a

 perfect faith in the power of          
persuasion--an unshaken confidence in   
the ultimate supremacy of love2 and am  
quite willing to leave to these mystic  
forces the determination of the time1   
the method and the ultimate form of our 
accomplishment4  ,on the other hand1    
lest there be those who think that deeds
 are not to follow upon words1 may ,i   
state that ,i take up my ministry in    
this church afresh today with the       
conviction that ,i am committed to a    
program1 and you committed to its decent
 and friendly consideration4 ,nay more1 
,i am persuaded that we are ready for   
unanimous action on some points4 ,at the
 regular annual meeting of this         
,society1 on ,monday1 ,january #ac1 ,i  
hope1 and have every reason to expect   
that a resolution will be introduced1   
providing for the abolition of the pew  
rental system of financial support1 and 
the establishment of the principle of   
free pews4 ,i shall recommend that      
certain methods be employed for the     

affecting of this great change3 7#a7    
that all present pew-holders be invited 
to surrender their sittings and to pay  
to the treasurer in the form of         
subscription what they now pay in form  
of rent2 7#b7 that those who may be for 
any reason unwilling to make this       
change1 be protected in their rights and
 be guaranteed their sittings1 so long  
as they may desire this arrangement2    
7#c7 that all new-comers be invited to  
support the church by subscription      
payments only1 and no pews or sittings  
be rented anew under any consideration  
after a certain date4 ,by some such     
procedure as this we shall gain our end1
 protect our present income1 and impose 
compulsion upon no single individual4   
,secondly1 it is my hope1 and           
expectation1 that at this annual meeting
 next week1 the problem of our name as a
 church will be taken up4 ,i shall      
recommend that a committee be appointed 
to consider a new name for the ,church  
of the ,messiah1 and to report back to a

 special meeting of the ,society perhaps
 in the early spring1 their             
recommendation on this point4  ,as      
regards the problem of non-covenanted   
membership #ba ,i propose to recommend  
that this matter be promptly referred to
 the ,advisory ,board for study2 that   
this body1 in turn1 report its findings 
to the ,board of ,trustees for similar  
study2 and that this ,board1 at such    
time1 and in such way1 as it and the    
ministers may deem proper1 bring the    
matter before the ,society for action4  
,this question is complicated1 and      
poorly understood4 ,we shall want to    
examine the experience and precedent of 
other denominational bodies1 and of such
 independent religious organizations as 
the ,ethical ,culture ,society and the  
,free ,synagogue4 ,we must find1 or     
create1 a system of membership which    
shall accurately and fully represent the
 spiritual idealism of this church1 as  
well as practical utility1 at its best2 
and this is a task calling at this      

moment not for action but for           
meditation4  ,there is left the most    
important of all questions which ,i have
 raised--the continued connection of    
this church with the ,unitarian         
denomination4 ,it is to me an occasion  
for surprise that some of you should    
have imagined that ,i was desiring1 or  
expecting1 action on this matter last   
,monday night4 ,i have been still more  
astonished to hear1 during the week1    
that some of you suspect or infer that a
 decision on my part to remain will     
involve an immediate intention to       
proceed to the capture of the church for
 purposes not disclosed4 ,on ,monday    
night ,i gave expression to a conviction
 and a hope1 and asked you to register  
opinion thereupon4 ,beyond that ,i would
 not go1 and could not if ,i would4     
,those of you who have been ,unitarians 
for years1 are ,unitarians today1 and   
desire to remain ,unitarians1 must be   
protected in your rights4 ,the          
indebtedness of this church to the many 

in generations gone who have served it  
for the sake and in the name of         
,unitarianism1 must not be repudiated4  
,moral obligation as well as legal      
necessity may make it impossible for    
this church to sever connection with the
 body of its origin4 ,above all1 ,i am  
insistent that there shall be no quarrel
 or schism on this issue4 ,there may be 
place here for change by evolution1 but 
never by violence4 ,no faction must     
presume to dictate what may #bb come    
beneficently by consent alone4 ,what ,i 
did on ,monday last was to plant in your
 minds the seed which found lodgement   
years ago in mine4 ,what ,i shall now do
 is to wait the germination of that seed
 through a period of years which may be 
less1 and may well be more1 than ,i     
endured4 ,and ,i do this with the more  
content and confidence1 that ,i have    
little doubt as to what the result will 
be4 ,i have not lived with you all these
 years gone by1 without learning the    
openness of your minds1 the instinctive 

passion of your souls for right1 the    
quickness of your sensibilities to all  
sweet influences of progress and        
good-will4 ,if there be truth in my     
conviction for change1 it will in time  
be your conviction1 as it is mine4 ,if  
this be      ,the freer step1 the fuller
 breath1     ,the wide horizons grander 
view1  then it will inevitably work     
enchantment in your hearts as it has in 
mine4 ,and if not1 then shall ,i trust  
those sweeping tides of change which are
 now engulfing all the world and        
destined so soon1 to obliterate the     
barriers of denomination1 so that this  
issue between us must vanish for good   
and all4 ,and in any case1 we may ever  
have the task of making our             
,unitarianism in this place of so new   
and wonderful a character that this body
 to which we are bound1 may itself      
become transfigured by the service we   
perform for ,god and man4 ,i am quite   
content1 therefore1 to postpone this    
question for an indefinite period4 ,by  

the inward consent of converted minds1  
or the outward logic of inexorable      
events1 this problem will be settled in 
due time1 and with perfect amity and    
concord4  ,lastly1 may ,i congratulate  
you1 as ,i am congratulating myself1 on 
the high adventure of the spirit which  
we undertake this day2 and appeal1      
without apology1 in frankness unashamed1
 for your support in this endeavor8 ,i  
call to my people in this church1 to    
join their hands and hearts in this     
great enterprise of faith4 ,not to      
divide1 but to unite you1 am ,i         
speaking3 for it is the challenge of    
high aim and struggle which alone can   
hold #bc us to accord4 ,i call as well  
to people outside this church--strangers
 and friends alike1 who have turned from
 the churches of the past1 but1 still   
devout in expectancy and love1 have     
waited long for the new church of the   
morrow4 ,our vision may be dim1 our     
purpose weak2 but we are trying for     
something higher and better than man has

 ever known--and we need the help that  
you can give4 ,we need your money--bills
 cannot be paid without it4 ,we need    
your names--a body cannot exist and     
labor without members4 ,we need your    
love--our hearts must falter if we have 
it not4 ,to all who hear these words ,i 
speak1 to all who read them when they   
are printed1 to all whom rumor may      
inform and question1 ,i cry out1 ,come6 
,to go on alone1 were not so hard4 ,i   
can do it1 if it be necessary4 ,the     
blazed trail1 as well as the broad      
avenue1 knows the footsteps of the      
,lord4 ,the wilderness and the solitary 
place1 as well as the crowded city1 is  
the abode of ,god4 ,but better than     
loneliness is comradeship4 ,the explorer
 may see from afar the ,promised ,land1 
the pioneer may spy it out1 but it is   
the marching host that enters to conquer
 and possess4 ,to you all1 therefore1 ,i
 lift my cry      ,we have chosen our   
path--     ,path to a clear-purposed    
goal1     ,path of advance6--but it     

leads     ,a long steep journey1 through
 sunk     ,gorges1 o'er mountains of    
snow4 4 4 4     ,fill up the gaps in our
 files1 ,strengthen our wavering line1  
,stablish1 continue our march1     ,on  
to the bound of the waste1     ,on1 to  
the city of ,god4  #bd