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"BILLY" SUNDAY'S REVIVAL

    In the summer of 1907 Evangelical Protestant Churches of the city united in calling Reverend William A. Sunday to Muscatine. He sent his advanced agents into Muscatine. A tabernacle was built at the west intersection of Eighth Street and Iowa Avenue. Preparatory meetings and prayer meetings were held. Practically everybody in Muscatine who could sing, or thought they could sing, served in the choir. The Christians, without regard to their sectarian differences, united. In short we had a real revival of religion. In almost six weeks, Rev. William A. Sunday converted some 3579 people. He was here from November 10th, 1907, to December 14, 1907. When he left Muscatine, he was escorted to the depot by a brass band which our beloved Methodist brother, Joseph Bilkey, employed at his own expense. The subscription taken up for Rev. Sunday at the end of that service amounted to $3500.00. I will never forget those two months. Let the Minutes of our Session tell the story. Throughout the months of November and December, the Session records covering about nine pages are filled with names of those who joined our church. On January 8, 1908, Dr. King, our Clerk, made the following note:

     “The evangelistic meetings conducted by the Rev. W. A. Sunday through Nov. and Dec. resulted in awakening a wonderful interest throughout this City. Christians were strengthened and aroused to renewed life. Careless and delinquent church members renewed their vows and returned to Christian life and activity and hundreds were converted to the faith. 255 have united to this church as one of the results of the revival.”

     At the annual congregational meeting, I noticed that 270 were received during the year on profession of faith and 29 by letters from other churches. That we now have 600 affiliated members without including many who have left the city and have not taken letters and others who still remaining in the community neither attend ...

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... church nor contribute to its support. I notice that in one evening’s service 72 people were baptized into the church on January 2nd, 1908, and among them were some of the most devout members of our Session.

     On January 1st, 1908, some 32 saloons were notified in Muscatine to close until they had complied with the law and secured consent petitions. They secured the petitions and permission of the Board of Supervisors to reopen. They were open for 83 days, then the Law Enforcement League checked their petitions, found many illegal names thereon; the Board revoked its consent; and the saloons closed in this town for twenty years.

     After Reverend Sunday’s revival, Reverend Elliott continued to serve us with practically the unanimous approbation of the congregation until September 28th, 1911, when he resigned of his own free will and accord to accept a call to Bloomington, Illinois, in order that his children might enjoy the privileges of the college located there.

     On October 9th, 1911, the Presbytery of Iowa City expressed better than I can express it, what the people of Muscatine and the congregation and the church thought of Rev. Elliott, in the following language:

     “Whereas: Dr. Elliott has gone in and out among us for twelve years as a Pastor and co-Presbyter, be it

     Resolved:--That we express our appreciation of his work among us, his leadership and counsel in all of our deliberations, and his faithfulness as a servant of Jesus Christ.

     And be it further resolved:--That we commend him to the Presbytery of Bloomington, and to the Congregation of the Second Presbyterian Church of Bloomington, as a brother beloved and an efficient and faithful Minister of our common Master.”

     On January 21st, 1912, Reverend John Ballard Rendall of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, preached his first ...

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... sermon in our church. The text, Matthew 5:41; the subject, “The Second Mile.” It was an almost perfect composition, replete with classical quotations. It was more than an eloquently delivered oration, it was a powerful sermon. Many of us afterwards took the trouble to secure a copy of it and still have it in the archives of our treasures. I only regret that I cannot set it out in full. None of us will ever forget it. To attempt to summarize it would be a desecration. He preached again for us on the 28th and the congregation voted to call him as our pastor on January 30th, 1912. He was installed on April 26th, 1912, and spent the rest of his life in our service.

     I cannot resist the temptation to remind you all that in Reverend J. B. Rendall’s sermon of January 24th, 1934, while preaching on the subject “What’s wrong with us,” and the Fourth Chapter of Daniel, he prophesied this present war in the plainest kind of English. Let me remind you of some of the things he said that morning because it is so appropriate to our present day and age. He began with the words, “When I stated the subject of my sermon to one of the members of this congregation, he said “That’s easy. We forgot the First Commandment”. If that sums it all up, perhaps it is not necessary to deliver this sermon.” He then read us an editorial describing the world wide depression—how England was involved with India; Germany and France eyeing each other; Russia a silent threat to the peace of the world. Men out of work everywhere and especially in the United States. Then he pointed out to us that it was a quotation from Harpers Weekly published in the year 1857, and that it could not have been a more accurate description had it been published last October. Since then the United States has survived eleven depressions and come back to prosperity. “What’s wrong with America?” Then he enumerated every possible man made asset and said, “There is nothing wrong with America.” “America has lost nothing materially but the American people seem to have lost their faith, confidence and courage; their ...

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... faith in God, in the government, in each other, and in themselves. What has become of that faith?” He reminded us of the attitude of the American people during the winter of Valley Forge, the dark days of the rebellion, and the first world war, then asked us, “What is the remedy? A compound of faith, courage, and patriotism, and that in allopathic doses. Our depression followed the Jazz era when our minor prophets were Jazz and Gin and our major prophets were Wall Street and Prosperity. We had a religious depression long before the economic depression hit us, and I solemnly declare with all the love of America in my heart that is possible for a man to have, that no greater calamity could befall this country than to come out of our economic depression without first having returned to the God of our fathers.” He knew then that war would follow that depression as night follows a day unless we did repent. We did recover from that depression. We did not recover from our indifference, greed and selfishness. War did follow and we need Dr. Rendall’s remedy today as we never have needed it before in the history of America.

     Perhaps our very able Clerk in the Minutes of March 12th, 1934, which I have quoted in the list of our Pastors, said with that once citation, Acts 11:24 all that need to be said of Dr. Rendall’s service among us. But at a congregational meeting called to welcome Dr. David I. Berger, after he had been officially called as our pastor, the spokesman said, “During the past fifty years or more this church has been served by only three pastors, Parvin, Elliott, and Rendall—all of them great men of God, ambassadors of Christ and angels of light to this church and community.

     Twenty-two years ago, two years before Dr. Berger came to Dubuque as a boy, Dr. Rendall came to our church as its pastor. At first we simply admired his eloquence as a preacher, then we respected him as a man among men and finally we learned to love him as a sympathetic friend and brother. He was a strong, resource-...

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... ful leader of men, a tower of strength in time of trouble, a minister of mercy to the poor, the distressed and the bereaved of our community. He was always ready and willing to do more than his share of any good works; to ‘go the second mile’ as he phrased it himself. In fact it is largely due to his unselfish sacrifice that our church has come thus far through the depression without the burden of indebtedness.

     Naturally, we came to depend upon him, to lean on him, and, Dr. Berger, I am ashamed to admit that we sometimes laid down on him. This was the condition of things when on the 12th day of last March, the Master laid His hand on his shoulder and called him to his reward. He left our house unto us desolate. We were as sheep without a shepherd.

     Did I say desolate? Not altogether so, for provisionally we have some devout men on our session and elect members of this church who, when they found themselves faced with the awful responsibility of filling the vacancy left by the passing of Dr. Rendall, with one accord resorted to prayer for that divine guidance with which success is certain. The answer to their prayers came quickly, for on the 14th day of March, only two days after the death of Dr. Rendall, one of the elders of our church received a letter from Dr. Kaufman, late of Scott County, Iowa, in which he said: ‘Dr. Berger is a splendid speaker. He will do your church good at this time. His is a warm, evangelical message.’

     So it was that you came to supply our pulpit. The second time you preached here, one of the members of this church who knows the Bible better than I do said to me ‘He is a teaching priest.’ That stumped me. I did not recognize the reference. It sent me to my Bible to find out what it was. I found it in the 15th Chapter of Second Chronicles where Azariah, the son of Oded, said to Asa, the prophet, when Israel had been for a season without the true God and without a ‘teaching priest’ and ...

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... without the law. ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded’.”

     Dr. David I. Berger completely met our expectations. He was all that we expected him to be and more. He went “the second mile” to the limit. He introduced the priceless pamphlet “Today” to our church and was largely instrumental in originating our community custom of observing Good Friday by holding union devotional services. These and many other of his good works abide. There was almost universal regret when on June 17th, 1939, he resigned in order to accept an urgent invitation to become Professor of Bible and Dean of the Chapel of Coe College at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In his letter of resignation, he said,

     “After five years of exceedingly happy experiences in your midst I find that this choice is a very difficult one indeed. Mrs. Berger and I, as well as our sons, David George and Robert Walter, are profoundly grateful for your love and affection and will always cherish the blessed memories of our ministry in your midst.

     Praying that God’s richest blessing may rest upon you and trusting that you will ‘carry on,’ I am

     Affectionately yours in the Master’s Service,”

     The feeling of the congregation toward him is disclosed by his farewell letter dated September 3rd, 1939, as follows:

“TO THE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

     You have made us once more your debtors. The week just past has been one of constant and amazing surprises as well as wonderful experiences of love and good will.

     Your personal interest in our welfare, the many lovely gifts and the touching letters, which we have received, move us to deep gratitude and heart-felt thanks.

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     Friendship such as we had the privilege of enjoying in Muscatine has greatly enriched our lives and will continue to inspire us in the form of treasured memories.

     We realize now more fully than ever, that there are times when ‘mere words’ are very imperfect tools to express the deep thoughts of the heart.

     As you prepare to call a new Pastor, we trust that your warm hearts, open hands and sustained interest will be available for him and his family in the same measure as they have been for us.

     Knowing that ‘God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus’, we pray that ‘the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds thru Christ Jesus’.”

     Dr. Berger was instrumental in helping to secure for us our present pastor, Reverend Henry C. Schneider, whom he recommended very highly and who has, I may add, fully lived up to that recommendation and our expectations.

     Reverend Henry C. Schneider was called to our pulpit on September 6th, 1939, and still serves us. I have omitted three important historical facts concerning him in the roll of our pastors given at the beginning. Dr. Schneider was ordained by the Presbytery of Dubuque in April 1920. He is now serving his fourth year as President of Iowa Board of National Missions. This is a responsible office and our church should take pride in the fact that our pastor holds it. It is a responsibility that we should try to live up to and Dr. Schneider is doing everything in his power to increase our interest in missions—“The Great Commission.” This year in January, February and March, he held a School of Missions and expects to do so again in 1943. Noblesse oblige.

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    In the 1939 Minutes of Presbytery of Fort Dodge, on pages 9 and 10, we find two letters, both highly commending our present pastor and his good wife, both of which we set out in full. The first was signed by the Clerk of the Session of the Presbyterian Church of Boone, Iowa; the second by the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Fort Dodge.

     “Boone, Iowa, September 24, 1939.

     Whereas, the pastor relations of Dr. Henry C. Schneider and this church, by reason of his resignation, are about to be dissolved, it is therefore fitting and proper that some formal statement be made expressing the kindly sentiments of this church toward Dr. and Mrs. Schneider and our deep regret in accepting his resignation.

     Dr. Schneider has completed almost five years of his pastorate in our city, marked by a steady growth in our church membership, a deepening of religious spirit and five years of accomplishment of which he may feel justly proud.

     We highly commend him for the pleasant and harmonious relations he has fostered in all branches of the church work, his splendid work with the young people, his successful organization of the men’s association and the fine type of leadership he has given us. We bear tribute to his eloquence in the pulpit, his pleasing personality as a man and his faithfulness as a pastor.

     Therefore be it resolved that we, the communicant members of the First Presbyterian Church of Boone, Iowa, in meeting regularly convened, regretfully accept the resignation of Dr. Henry C. Schneider with our heartiest good wishes for success in the larger field to which he has been called and our sincere appreciation to Dr. and Mrs. Schneider for their life and work with us in the past.”

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     “September 29, 1939

    Rev. D. Paul Chapman, Stated Clerk,
    Presbytery of Iowa City,

    To the Brethren:

     Fraternal greetings from the Presbytery of Fort Dodge.

     Herewith you will find the letter of dismissal of the Rev. Henry C. Schneider. And at the instruction of the Presbytery I send you also these words of commendation.

     The Rev. Henry C. Schneider has been a member of this Presbytery since September, 1928. He was pastor of our church at Carroll for 6 years and has been pastor at Boone for 5 years. Under his leadership both these fields made marked advancement both materially and spiritually.

     Dr. Schneider is an eloquent preacher of the Word, a diligent pastor and an outstanding Presbyter. He has served this Presbytery as chairman of Vacancy and Supply and of National Missions. And this past year he was elected President of the Iowa Board of National Missions. The esteem in which he is held by his congregations in Carroll and Boone is equalled if not surpassed by the esteem in which he is held by his brethren in this Presbytery.

     He has been called to a larger task. Those who have called him believe with us that he is fitted for the task. With regret we dismiss him to your fellowship. May his sojourn with you be a source of blessing.”

     I need only add, and I believe that our congregation will all agree with me when I say, that he has fully lived up to these recommendations.

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