A Hymn Inspired By History by Quintella Davenport

“Hold the Fort” is a controversial Christian song.  Controversial because some Christians believe we should not be “holding the fort”.

 

My view is that we all go through times in our lives when “holding the fort” is a blessing and at that point in time the only thing we can do to survive.  Hear the history of this song and see if it touches your emotions as it did mine.

 

In 1870, Major Daniel Whittle, a former officer in the Civil War, imparted a stirring sermon at a YMCA conference using Revelation 2:25, “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.”  Major Whittle then shared an illustration of his war experience to close the emotional message.

  

            A small force of Northern soldiers in charge of guarding a great quantity

            of supplies at the Allatoona Pass was besieged and hard pressed by

            by greatly superior Confederate forces.  Finally General French,

            the Confederate leader, commanded the Federal troops to surrender.

            At that moment on a hill some distance away the Northern leader,

            General Sherman, flashed a signal to his troops—“Hold the fort, I am

            coming. Sherman”

 

Philip P. Bliss, a well-known writer of early gospel music, was in the audience that night.  He was so motivated by this account Major Whittle shared in closing that he could not rest that night until he had written both the text and music for a new song, “Hold the Fort.”  The next day at the YMCA service, Bliss introduced the new gospel hymn.  The hymn received an immediate and enthusiastic response.

  

This hymn later became greatly favored in the Moody-Sankey campaigns in America and Great Britain.  During a Moody-Sankey campaign in the British Isles in 1874, Lord Shaftesbury, an esteemed Christian statesman, spoke to the audience at the closing service:  “If Mr. Sankey has done no more than teach our people to sing, ‘Hold the Fort,’ he has conferred inestimable blessing on the British Empire, and it would have been worth all the expense of these meetings.”

 

Prior to his untimely death at the age of 38, Philip Bliss contributed other wonderful hymns which are still enjoyed:  “My Redeemer,”  “Hallelujah, What a Savior,” “Jesus Loves Even Me,” ”Wonderful Words of Life,” and many more.

  

Although Philip Bliss never considered today’s hymn to be one of his most powerful songs, his monument at Rome, Pennsylvania, relays this inscription—“P.P. Bliss, author of ‘Hold the Fort.’”

I challenge you to look up the hymn and read the words.  I don’t think you will find anything “non-spiritual” about this song.

 

Cyber Hymnal Link.

 

--Quintella Davenport

Freelance writer

 

Christian Sexism

The 21st century moves onward and there can be forgotten the reason why some things in our society changed.  For those who did not live in the 1930's-1970's they can have little understanding of the many social nuances that defined, limited and marginalized women in society and the church.



Grace E. Garten, WUMC Archives

A recent archival news piece brought this home.  In researching the life of religious educator and minister, Grace Elizabeth Garten, a news article written by Marguerite Macklin (possibly with the Oklahoma Record Journal or the Oklahoma City Times) reflects the tenor of the times. 

 

Garten, who had a degree from Oklahoma City University had done post graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and at Garrett Biblical College at Northwestern had contemplated missionary work to India but was held back by health issues but "her associates urged to go into the ministry, in fact she, at one time, was a licensed girl pastor representing Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa."

 

She had worked in Oklahoma City Public Schools, worked with Oklahoma Council of Churches to establish weekly Bible schools  held in city churches. School children were exempted from school at certain hours to go to these church schools.

 

"Licensed girl pastor"; can there be any more nullifying way to phrase the person or the work?  In the time in which this article was published a grown woman was still a "girl."  She was the eternal child always in need of supervision and control by male leaders.  She was never a leader except in approved realms of working with children, caring fields or the home. Women were, in this time period, seldom mentioned by their first names but only as "Mrs." Their identity was engulfed and submerged into one half of the marriage partnership.  A single woman was similarly challenged to be seen as an equal or peer with others working in the same fields.  

 

Women's groups in churches were often the result of men who felt women had nothing to contribute outside of "women's work."  Men would do the "important" things because they had the mental capacity and inclination to do those more challenges things like making decisions, planning, or managing funds.  As a result, women's groups often became the most impressively organized groups in a church, raising and managing vast sums, and making plans that often equaled the work of many major corporations in their diversity and complexity.  In a word, they often left the men in their dust, caps in hand and scratching their heads, trying to figure out what storm had just blown past them in their decision making, male dominated, and managing male world.

 

Given the power, leadership. influence, will and vision of women in such settings, can you imagine what might have been done for the total corporate Church had men and women worked together all along?

"JOASH DAY"

Taking inspiration from the Old Testament story of King Joash who rebuilt the temple (2 Kings 12), in the early decades of the 20th century official fundraising days were being celebrated in Methodist Episcopal Churches (and other groups).   The business of the church was often made of prosaic things like paying bills, honoring debts, and trying to move the church forward, sometimes in spite of the giving habits of a congregation.  As one early writer noted people might spend in a night at the opera more than they give in a year to evangelize the world...

 

In this section from an annual church directory of Wesley Methodist Church in Oklahoma City there is evidence of the use of this "Joash Day" approach.  It was outlined in a 1910 article , "The Chest of Joash" in the Expositor and Current Anecdotes, a resource for illustrations, church development, and sermons for ministers by Rev. Alfred Peache of 49th Avenue M.E. Church, Chicago, Illinois.

"A STATEMENT OF OUR AIMS     

Spiritual: - The inculcation of the spirit of Christ in the hearts and lives of all members of Wesley church; an atmosphere of warmth and inspiration in all our worship services; an encouragement of all to develop the habit and practice of daily prayer and meditation or worship; observance of the Lord’s Supper in our church at least once a quarter; the honoring of Christ in our daily lives as an expression of our appreciation of the worth of our Christian faith; and a practical, consistent fulfilment of this solemn vow, voluntarily assumed when we united with the church:

“I WILL BE LOYAL to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and uphold it by my prayers, my presence, my gifts and my services.”

Educational: - The efficient organization of the Church School, with consecrated leadership for all departments, and interested, competent teachers for all classes; training classes for young people and adults; all members of the church and constituency, as well, encouraged to attend Sunday School and Church Services; a purpose to make available the resources and facilities of our church to the young people attending college and under the leadership of the Youth Fellowship Department; training in Stewardship; a Preparatory Membership Class to train children in a proper way the duties and privileges of church membership; a wider recognition of the Boy Scout Organization and Camp Fire Girls; --an alert, informed church membership.

Social:- A warm, cordial welcome to all visitors and strangers in our worship services; cooperation of the entire membership with the ladies organizations when Church Family functions are had; social and recreational plans, class and departmental parties for children and young people and adults, properly supervised; fellowship dinners; all men of the church encouraged to affiliate with and lend support to the Wesley Men’s Dinner Club; an annual Father and Son Banquet, a Mother and Daughter Banquet; a renewal of the activities and a continuation of the program of the Greater Wesley Movements; an adequate plan to meet the social and recreational demands of our whole membership.

Financial: - EVERY MEMBER encouraged to support the church in proportion as God prospers him; a pledge from Every Member of the church, for some definite amount, to be paid into the treasury regularly each week, if possible – such pledges to continue until modified or discontinued by those making same; all bills against the church paid promptly and in full, as nearly as possible; a regular Pay-Up Sunday once each quarter. When all who are in arrears shall be urged to pay such delinquencies, and when the church may meet all its outstanding obligations; the organization of a Fellowship of Giving members whose members shall be encouraged to practice the three fold giving of Possessions, Personality and Prayer; the re-selling of our membership on the beauty, the adequacy, and the permanency of our magnificent Wesley Church, and the beginning of a plan to liquidate our indebtedness; the observance of Joash Day[1], when all who can will be asked to make special contributions to our Building Fund – a happy, successful, debt-free church.

Your Minister,

Matt L. Simpson

[Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. Directory & Yearbook. 1935-36. Wesley Methodist Church Membership Directory and Yearbook for the church year, 1935-36. S. Lewis Stockwell, Editor and publishers.]

---

[1]  Alfred Peache. “The Chest of Joash”. The Expositor, and current anecdotes. (April 1910, volume 11) p.372f. This article had outlined a special day for fundraising with special preaching, a march using a polished wooden chest.  It was seen again an article by Wm.S. Mitchell, “How One Church Paid Its Debt.” The Expositor, (July 1919, XX:10)pg.1-3.

Tracking Down the History of the Circle: The Social Service Circle

Today the term "circle" is being claimed by neopagan, social, and political groups to describe their members in a specific place or those addressing a particular topic.  One even appears to include a gifting pyramid style scam.

 

A work dated ca. 1917, 'The Beautiful Ministry of Womanhood: A Survey of the Opportunities for Ministries of Kindness for Christian Womanhood, Including Social Service Circle programs." by Dean C. Dutton, Ph.D. was published by The Great Life Publishing Company, Kansas City, Missouri.  It sold for fifteen cents and was only 33 pages softbound.

 

Trying to locate information on the Social Service Circle, the following was found:

"In 1912, Dr. Joshua Stansfield, minister of Meridian Street Methodist Church, formed a committee to be a link between the church and social service work of the city. It was called the Social Service Circle. Aid was given in various ways - support to French war orphans, milk money to School #12, college money loans to deserving, but needy students, and the purchase of everything from false teeth to sewing machines and steel chairs." (http://www.stansfieldcircle.org/index_files/Page570.htm)

 

Avenues of Faith: Shaping the Urban Religious Culture of Richmond, Virginia ... By Samuel C. Shepherd Jr. provides more clues that at about this same time a new emphasis was beginning to spread to enlarge the traditional spiritual focus of church work into improving the social setting of people and addressing the needs and issues surrounding illness, poverty, greed, and violence. The church had to be involved in a "new Pentecost" and understand that the church could not act or exist separate from bettering the life of others in society. This emphasis on a "community redemption" emerged in the late 1880's and was often known as "social gospel." (University of Alabama Press 2001; pg. 138-148).

 

In most churches surveyed, and with what little information could be found on the women's groups origins in them, apparently women often formed into mission driven groups and under this umbrella smaller groups devoted to a specific cause (orphans) or skill (quilting) might form in larger churches or communities.  Some larger early churches might have as many as a dozen smaller groups (or circles) functioning under the banner of that women's mission group.

 

One example is the United Methodist Women (who formed in 1972 as a single entity bringing together all the diverse women's groups of the denominations that had united in 1938 and 1968) of the new United Methodist Church.

 

Local UMW group

---> Circle for Quilting women

---> Circle for women working outside the home

---> Circle for Stay at home Moms

All would regularly unite for a common "UMW" event, meeting, or cause but would also take on their own specific causes or projects in addition to the general one.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken? Women's Church Groups

In the mid 19th century woman began to band together in North America in new and focused ways to achieve social and spiritual good.

Groups such as :
Ladies Aid Society
Women's Foreign Missionary Society
Women's Home Missionary Society
Women's Society if Christian Service
Wesleyan Service Guild

In the early 20th century a term appeared and was used widely: The Circle.  The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion Suggests that these groups grew out of the "sewing circle" or "social circles" and became a simple way to refer to small groups of women who gathered around a simple motive (missionary work, learning, social activism, fellowship).

Details of this use are hard to pin down.  Anyone with sources, information ,etc. is asked to add a comment.

Images Tell Story of Oklahoma City Church

 

Various church published histories of this church established in 1910 always list three versions of the church: the first wooden structure, affectionately called the "Cow Shed", at NW 32 and Classen; the second, and larger, structure at NW 25th and Douglas (just off of Classen) in 1911. That structure redesigned and augmented the building materials of the first structure in order to make more room.  Not as well documented was the third incarnation of the church, what was lovingly called the "Dutton Tabernacle" improved while Dr. Dean C. Dutton was pastor (1919-1923).  Here, for perhaps the first time, is more accurate chronology of the phases of development for this Methodist Episcopal Church (north).

First service here was Sunday, Dec. 25, 1910 with Bishop William Quayle preaching and Rev. Frank A. Colwell as pastor. Members were accepted that day and children baptized. Bishop Quayle also gave the first $100 to a building fund begun that day. The above building was built using a $300 mission grant from the M.E. North Oklahoma Conference in October 1910. The church formally organized on Nov. 10, 1910.

The "Sheep Shed" at NW 25 and Douglas, just off Classen Blvd.
An addition buts out on the right side for some fifteen feet (ca. 1911/15.).  They moved in the spring of 1911 to this location due to an influx of members with the closing of  Epworth University. The property was purchased for $600.00.  Members recounted tales of the way the tarpaper would whip and rustle in the high Oklahoma winds and remain cold in winter and warm in the summer. In the summer they brought in blocks of ice and set up fans to blow over the congregants to keep them cool. Pastors in these years : Frank A. Colwell (1910-1911); H.C. Betts (1913); Thomas Pingrey (1913); E.R. Houck (1914-1915); J.W. Cater (1915-1916); Charles Clark Smith (1916-1918).

 

"The Dutton Tabernacle" 1920; You can see the 'bones' of the other structures if you look closely. Aggressive growth, diverse program and strong membership participation saw the church grow to nearly 1,000. Dr. Dean C. Dutton (Ph.D.) was there from 1919-1922.

 

In 1923 the pastor was J.W. Waldron, in 1914 J.A. Baldwin (1924) and in 1925 Dr. William Forney Hovis arrived. In 1924/26, F.A. Colwell, first pastor and now a contractor was responsible for tearing down the Dutton Tabernacle to make room for the new sanctuary; a building across NW 25 was used for classes and events. In 1928 the above sanctuary was completed and dedicated. Later, the house was used as a youth and education building, Hadduck Hall. It was torn down in the 1970's.

---Appreciation to Wesley United Methodist Church for use of these photos from their archives collection.

Classic History Book of Oklahoma City

Story of the Oklahoma City University and Its Predecessors by H.R. Brill was published in 1938 by the University Press of OCU. At 263 pages it includes several plates of images.

 

H.R. Brill was a retired minister who ran the printing arm of the university.

 

It traces the roots of Oklahoma City University from its origins as Texas Wesleyan College, Fort Worth University, Epworth University (1904 in OKC), Methodist University (1912-1919 in Guthrie) and finally Oklahoma City University from 1919-1938 (the date of publication).

 

A detailed look via records, class lists, yearbooks and other records concerning the early schools, faculties and events.

For more on modern OCU click here.

Classic Work "Christian Symbolism in the Evangelical Church"

Thomas Albert Stafford
ca 1942

This book by Thomas Albert Stafford, with an introduction by Ernest Fremont Tittle is a classic work on Christian symbolism as it applied to non-Catholic churches and specifically to those in the "evangelical tradition".  It a 176 page book printed by Abingdon in 1942.

Thomas Albert Stafford was born in Ireland of English-Scottish-Irish ancestry. "Educated for teaching, he later became a minister and a student in many fields. His particular interests as a student have been New Testament Greek, theology, and Christian symbolism.  The present volume is in part the outgrowth of his interest in the Christian antiquities of Great Britain and Ireland - particularly the iconic crosses of Ireland.

Dr. Stafford holds the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Garrett Biblical Institute, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of England, and holds membership in various American societies of economics, statistical science and sociology. He has had more than ten years of successful experience in the pastorate, and has been connected with the Board of Pensions of the Methodist Church for over thirty-five years.  Formerly Executive Secretary of the Board, he now serves in its research department." (Cover notes from 1942 edition of Christian Symbolism).

Chapter titles:
1. Symbols, Symbolism and Symbolics
2. Restoration of Forms and Symbols
3. Symbols of the Godhead
     The Father
     The Son
     The Holy Spirit
     The Holy Trinity
4. Sacred Monograms
5. Symbols of Christ's Suffering
     His Passion and Death
     The Cross
6. Symbols on the Great Chalice of Antioch
7. Symbolic Stars
8. Symbols of Doctrines and Ideas
9. Symbols of New Testament Characters
10. Symbolism of Color
11. Teaching Christian Symbolism
Appendix:
Bibliography
Definitions of Church Terms  and Usages
Index.

Illustrated with some church interiors in photograph and drawing.
(246 Sta)

Early OKlahoma Methodist Leader Honored in 1928 Window

The district overseer of the Oklahoma City area of the Methodist Episcopal Church was David Guy Murray (1907-1913).  He was thus the first district supervisor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, North
church established in 1910 called Wesley Methodist Church.

 

His wife and family donated funds to add a stained glass window to the English Gothic sanctuary at Wesley UMC in Oklahoma City. The new sanctuary, and its art glass, were dedicated in May 1928.

“Gethsemane" is one of four tall and narrow windows (approx. 3 x 4 feet) located behind the pews under the balcony level in the south transept. These story glass pieces of art each convey a message in light and color. This one is based on Luke 22:41-4.

 

The company selected to provide the artistic glass designs for the windows was the Kansas City Glass Works, Inc.  located at 514-516 Wyandotte Street in Kansas City, Missouri, produced art glass products for a variety of buildings such as churches, depots, and private homes.

 

A new history of the 1910 church, and its windows, is in the works now. To learn more about the history of the church visit this page.

The First German Methodist Church of Oklahoma City

 Rev. J.A. Ross was the first missionary from the West German Conference to Oklahoma Territory.  He organized "SALEM CHURCH" on Nov. 15, 1891 and its first building was at California and Harvey Streets in downtown Oklahoma City.

 

The pastor from 1899-1908 was J. Buthman and he oversaw the building of the second structure of this congregation at Lee and 8th Street in 1907. 

The church became known as the GERMAN METHODIST CHURCH or the German Methodist Episcopal Church until 1925 when it became known as the Eighth Street Methodist Church.
 

In 1914, a funeral notice for Anton Classen, father of Anton H. Classen, president of the Oklahoma Railroad Company, was announced. It would be held at the German Methodist Church at 8th and Lee with pastor Rev. Klein officiating. (Oklahoman, July 16, 1914, pg. 7).

In 1926-27, the pastor was S.P. Gaskin, who returned to speak in 1932.

 

Early Oklahoma City records indicate (as do state wide records) a notable community of Germans residing in the region. "By 1890 there were 739 German-born residents of Oklahoma Territory. A decade later the German-born exceeded five thousand, and that number more than doubled to ten thousand by 1910." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History.  In 1932, at a celebration, services were to be held in German,  there was to be a sermon by the founder (A.J. Ross) and a basket dinner prepared by the women's societies of the congregation.

("Oldest German-American Church to Celebrate". Oklahoman (August 19, 1932. p10).

Excellent Resource Explores Francis Schaeffer

 
 

An excellent title for theology, church history, and modern worldviews courses is the small book (108 pg.) edited by Bruce A Little, Francis Schaeffer: A Mind and Heart for God (2010). 

 

Collected together by Bruce A Little, professor of philosophy at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (at time of printing), the work includes essays  on "Francis A. Schaeffer: The Man" by Udo Middelmann; "Francis Schaeffer: His Apologetics" by Jerram Barrs; "Grancis Schaeffer in the Twenty-First Century" by Ranald Maccauley; "Francis Scheffer: His Legacy and His Influence on Evangelicalism" by Jerram Barrs; "Sentimentality: Significance for Apologetics" by Dick Keyes.

 

It is highly readable making it a natural for introductory classes and its depth and scope make it a good addition to a reading list for advanced classes.

 

Schaeffer was known for his belief in humanity's creation in the image of God, although fallen, were still beings of sacred worth.  This guiding principle of dignity infused all of his actions, his thinking and his writings.  He was also a forerunner of an intellectual reformation that began in the 1970's and challenged the church to focus on cognitive development along with an authentic Gospel in order to meet the challenges of a post-modern society.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, Kansas

Private Collection of M.A.Hudson

The Episcopal Church came into the area of Minneapolis, Ottawa County, Kansas, formally before 1895. A local business gazetteer of 1878 does not list an Episcopal Church, only a Methodist, Presbyterian and a Baptist.   In the Journal of the Proceedings of the  Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas (1895) on pg. 21 is listed a lay delegate from Minneapolis' St. Peter's Episcopal Church. The individual was one A.R. Purton. So, it can be assumed the church was established sometime between 1878 and 1895.

An earlier postcard, often found for sale online, may show this church as early as 1905-1910. The basic structure of the two buildings is very similar, with only minor cosmetic changes reflecting changes over time.  The church was located at the corner of Third and Delia Streets. 

In the early 1970's, this wooden Episcopal Church was purchased to become the First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Minneapolis, Kansas.  The International Pentecostal Holiness Church was a denomination with roots in the south but had been active in Kansas from the early years of the 20th century.  The interior was a soft yellow in the 1970's, with warm polished wooden details, and an ornate chancel area with a stained glass window. Under the leadership of the Rev. Bob Cartwright and his wife Naomi, Raymond and Marge Rinehart, Marvin J. and Marilyn A. Hudson, Don and Ray Stepp, Richard and Carole Willard, and James and Norma Malloy with others, the church was launched and a wing was added to provide space for Sunday school classes and a fellowship hall.

History of the Diocese of Kansas, The first 100 years; being an historical review of the diocese of Kansas of the Protestant Episcopal Church from its formation in 1859 to its centennial in 1959. The Right Reverend Goodrich Robert Fenner, bishop; The Right Reverend Edward Clark Turner, bishop coadjutor.  Maps, however, indicate the Diocese did not extend to Ottawa County.

Local sources in the community indicated in 2013 that the building was renovated and turned into apartments, but they did indicate the stained glass and some features of the church had been retained.

INFLUENTIAL CHRISTIAN CLASSIC

The Cloud of Unknowing (Middle English: The Cloude of Unknowyng) is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The copy before me is subtitled "A Book of Contemplation the which is called the Cloud of Unknowing, in the which a soul is oned with God." Edited from the British Museum MS. Harl. 674, with an introduction by Evelyn Underhill, 4th edition. It was published in London by John M. Watkins, 1946.

The text, which birthed the idea of 'centering prayer', is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in the late Middle Ages. The precise identity of the treatise is unknown, although various individuals were suggested as its author over the years. The debate over who might have penned the original still occupies the academic hunger of many researchers.

The underlying message of this work proposes that the only way to truly "know" God is to abandon all preconceived notions and beliefs or “knowledge” about God. To be courageous enough to surrender your mind and ego to the realm of "unknowingness," at which point, you begin to glimpse the true nature of God.

While some dismissed the work as mere theosis (the entry into deification) or as too similar to transcendental meditation , others focused on its attempt to move the person into a deeper and closer relationship with God.  A mysticism familiar in various periods of Christian history.