CHAPTER XXV

THE CHURCH OF THE PRESENT: 1902-1908
 

"And there it is unto this day."—1 Chronicles5 : 9.

" A church including just the elements that have been united in this congrega¬
tion, and standing on the crest of the hill here in the centre of this great city—in
the whole western hemisphere where could you find a better site for God's house?
. . . There may be sermons in bricks as well as 'sermons in stones,' and our
prayer is that the sermon preached here, by our lives, and by every material par¬
ticle of this structure, may be always the true evangel, so that, of the endless pro¬
cession moving past our doors, many, when they look upon this house of prayer,
may get some clearer sense of the divine goodness and some stronger impulse toward
holiness and service."—William R. Richards, Pastoral Letter, December, 1902.
 

DR. VAN DYKE, like a true friend, came
back to the church in her time of need. His
old parishioners, feeling that for a time it
was impossible to think about a new pastor, grate¬
fully accepted his offer, in December, 1901, to serve
them as minister-in-charge until such time as they
should secure a successor to Dr. Babcock, and to
aid them in that undertaking by his counsel and
influence. *

Under his guidance, strengthened by his familiar
presence, by his example of loyalty to the church, by
the inspiration of his preaching, strong as of old,
and by the evidence, soon supplied, that the church
was in no danger of falling to pieces, the first feeling

* Dr. van Dyke's duties at Princeton made it impossible for him to
preach at the second service on Sunday or at the mid-week meetings, or
to perform the routine duties of a pastor. He was therefore authorized
to employ an assistant. The Rev. Shepherd Knapp served him in that
capacity, and continued under the new pastor until 1908.

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