University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

A history of the Presbytery of Los Angeles, 1850-1928

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A history of the Presbytery of Los Angeles, 1850-1928

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Content A HISTORY O F THE PRESBYTERY O F LOS ANGELES 1 -A 1850-1928 ) ^ Q K A Thesis Presented to the Department o f History U niversity of Southern C aliforn ia in p a r tia l f u lfillm e n t of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts By E lisabeth Jean Harkness August 9, 1929. UM I Number: EP67448 All righto rcGcrvcd INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publiahwng UMI EP67448 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProOuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P O Rnx 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 This thesis, having been approved by the special Faculty Committee, is accepted by the Council on Graduate Study and Research of the University of Southern California, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M aster..of................ Secretary Date.. 1 ; 9 T h is Book I s D e d i c a t e d To REVEREND WILLIAM STEWART YOUNG, D .D ., LL. D. P a s t o r E m e r itu s o f Knox P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch , L os A n g e le s C l e r k o f t h e B o a rd o f T r u s t e e s o f O c c i d e n t a l C o lle g e S t a t e d C l e r k o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y o f Los A n g e le s S t a t e d C l e r k o f t h e Synod o f C a l i f o r n i a PREFACE T h is s t u d y p u r p o s e s t o c o n s i d e r p r i m a r i l y t h e h i s t o r i c a l d e v e lo p m e n t o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y o f Los A n g e le s i n r e g a r d to ch a n g e s i n b o u n d a r y , c h u r c h e x t e n s i o n , t h e g r o w th o f c h u r c h m em b ersh ip , t h e i n c r e a s e in r e l i g i o u s a c t i v i t i e s o f v a r i o u s k i n d s , a n d t h e c h a n g e s in t h e m eth o d s o f m an a g e in g t h e w ork o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y . I t w i l l n o t a t t e m p t t o d i s c u s s t h e o r i e s , i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , o r a p p l i c a t i o n s o f P r e s b y t e r i a n d o c t r i n e . N e i t h e r w i l l t h e l i m i t s o f t h e p a p e r p e r m i t men t i o n , much l e s s d i s c u s s i o n , o f th e i n d i v i d u a l w ork o f t h e men who h ave s e r v e d t h e p e o p l e so f a i t h f u l l y a n d c a r r i e d on t h e w ork o f t h e c h u r c h so n o b ly in t h i s P r e s b y t e r y . The a u t h o r i s d e e p l y i n d e b t e d f o r a s s i s t a n c e i n p r e p a r i n g t h i s p a p e r to Dr. W illia m S. Young, f o r many y e a r s s t a t e d c l e r k o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y o f Los A n g e le s a n d o f t h e Syn od o f C a l i f o r n i a , who h a s p u t a t h e r d i s p o s a l t h e r e c o r d s o f b o t h o r g a n i z a t i o n s and h a s g i v e n many k i n d l y e x p l a n a t i o n s and s u g g e s t i o n s . I f t h e r e a r e an y e r r o r s o f f a c t i n t h i s p a p e r , th e y a r e due t o th e i n e x p e r i e n c e o f th e a u t h o r in s i f t i n g an d a s s e m b lin g t h e n e c e s s a r y m a t e r i a l s from su c h a m ass o f e v i d e n c e a s t h e m in u te s o f t h e Loo A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y f o r t h e l a s t f i f t y - s i x y e a r s . il CONTENTS C h a p te r Page I n t r o d u c t i o n ............................................................................................................ v i l I E s t a b l i s h i n g t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch i n C a l i f o r n i a . . . . 1 C a l i f o r n i a a s a m i s s i o n f i e l d , 1848 t o I 8 5 8 .............. 2 The a r r i v a l o f t h e f i r s t m i s s i o n a r i e s .............................. S E s t a b l i s h i n g , t h e P r e s b y t e r i e s and S y n o d s .. . . . . . . . 6 U n ion o f t h e O ld an d New S c h o o l Synods i n 1870. . . 8 O th e r c h a n g e s i n t h e Synod o f t h e P a c i f i c ................... 10 The Synod o f C a l i f o r n i a a t p r e s e n t ...................................... 10 I I The B e g i n n i n g s o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y o f Los A n g e le s .................. 1 1 E a r l i e s t P r e s b y t e r i a n w ork i n S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a 1 E a r l i e s t m i s s i o n a r i e s 2 Los A n g e le s a s a m i s s i o n f i e l d i n I 8 5 O 3 R e v e re n d Jam es Woods, l 8 5 4 - 3 5 - - F i r s t P r o t e s t a n t C h u rch o r g a n i z e d i n Los A n g e le s 4 R e v e re n d W . E. Boardm an, I 8 5 O - I 8 6 I - - F i r s t P r o t e s t a n t C hurch e d i f i c e i n Los A n g e le s 5 C h u rch l a p s e d 1 8 6 2 -1 8 7 4 6 C o n d i t i o n s i n t h e Synod o f t h e P a c i f i c , 1869 The f i r s t s i x c h u r c h e s o f t h e Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y ............................................................................................................... 21 1 San D ie g o , 1869 2 S a n ta B a r b a r a , 1369 3 V e n tu r a ( N . S . ) , 1869 4 W ilm in g to n , I 8 7 O 5 A naheim , 1870 6 W e s t m i n s t e r , 1372 The E r e c t i o n o f Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , 1872........... 28 1 T e r r i t o r y 2 F i r s t m e e t i n g i l l I I I E a r l y S t r u g g l e s , 1 8 7 5 - 1 9 0 3 ....................................................................... 30 S o c i a l , E conom ic, and P o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s . . . . . . 30 1 S o c i e t y d i s o r g a n i z e d 2 Econom ic p ro b le m s 3 P o l i t i c a l c o r r u p t i o n 4 M o ra l i n e r t i a F i r s t w o rk o f t h e new P r e s b y t e r y o f Los A n g e l e s .. 30 1 L os A n g e le s F i r s t P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch 2 San B e r n a r d i n o C h u rc h 3 O t h e r e a r l y c h u r c h e s R o u tin e w ork o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y .................................................... 35 A s s i s t a n c e o f Home M i s s i o n B o ard T r a i n i n g i n c h u r c h h a b i t s 1 A t t e n d a n c e a t c h u r c h s e r v i c e s 2 G iv in g t o c h u r c h c a u s e s 3 S c r i p t u r e s tu d y S o c i a l i n f l u e n c e .......................................................................................... 37 1 E d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s f o s t e r e d 2 S a b b a th o b s e r v a n c e 3 T em perance c a u s e 4 C i v i c a f f a i r s M i s s i o n a r i e s ........................................................................................... 37 1 Sunday S c h o o l m i s s i o n w ork 2 D r. F r a s e r * s t r i p t o A riz o n a E conom ic d e p r e s s i o n o f 1877........................ 40 The “G r e a t D r o u g h t" , 1 8 7 8 -1 8 7 9 ................................................. 40 1 Some c h u r c h e s c l o s e d ; no new c h u r c h e s 2 P o v e r t y ; two o r t h r e e c h u r c h e s g r o u p e d The new C o n s t i t u t i o n ; im p ro v e d c o n d i t i o n s 46 New c h u r c h e s . ............. . . . . . . . . .. 46 New m i n i s t e r s a d d e d t o t h e r o l l ............................................... 47 Two a n n u a l m e e t i n g s o f t h e P r e s b y t e r y ; d o c k e t f o r e a c h ....................................................................................................................... 48 iv P r e s b y t e r y i n c o r p o r a t e d ................................................................. 49 C om m ittee on E d u c a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t i o n s . . . . . .............. 49 C h u rch B e n e v o le n c e s ; s u p p o r t o f ........................................ 51 Women's S o c i e t i e s . . . . . .................. ...................... 53 S a n ta Fe R a i l r o a d c o m p le te d ...................................................... 53 1 R a te w ar 2 F lo o d o f im m ig ra n ts 3 Tw elve new c h u r c h e s The " G r e a t Boom".................................................................................... 53 1 Boom to w n s 2 T w en ty -o n e new c h u r c h e s 3 Hard t i m e s a f t e r t h e boom S t r u g g l e t o s u p p o r t c h u r c h w ork............................................ 56 R e c o v e ry from boom; t h i r t e e n more c h u r c h e s ....................5 5 IV The T u rn o f t h e C e n tu r y , 1 3 9 3 -1 9 1 0 .................................................... 57 C o n d i t i o n s i n S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a .....................................57 G e n e r a l O b j e c t i v e s . . . . . ................................................................. 58 A c h ie v e m e n ts , 1894 t o 1 9 0 0 ,................ 59 1 Ten new c h u r c h e s 2 C hurch b u i l d i n g 3 F i n a n c i a l p l a n s 4 The Q u a r t e r - c e n t u r y R e u n io n Fund 5 R e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f Young P e o p l e s ' S o c i e t i e s 6 H i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d s 7 C hurch d i s p u t e s s e t t l e d E r e c t i o n o f S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y , . . . , ................. 66 T w e n t y - f i f t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f P r e s b y t e r y , 66 E r e c t i o n o f R i v e r s i d e P r e s b y t e r y . ...................................... 66 U n io n w i t h C um berland C h u r c h ............................................. 67 A c h ie v e m e n ts , 1900 t o 191CL............................................. 67 1 T w e n ty -s e v e n new c h u r c h e s ; w o rk o f Home M i s s i o n a r i e s 2 R e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e Home M i s s i o n C om m ittee 3 P r e s b y t e r y becom es s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g V 4 F o r e i g n M i s s i o n co m m itte e 5 C o lle g e A ids O c c i d e n t a l C o l l e g e s e v e r s r e l a t i o n s 6 Church o r g a n i z a t i o n s 7 P r e s b y t e r i a n r e t r e a t O f f i c i a l S e a l ; R e i n c o r p o r a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Hoffm an o f f e r ......................................................................................... 78 Ross-Hanna. M e m o ria l F u n d ............................................................ 78 V The War D ecad e, 1 9 1 0 - 1 9 2 0 ......................................................................... 79 New C h u rc h e s . . . .................. 79 M a t e r i a l p r o s p e r i t y 80 P e rm a n e n t C o m m ittees ......................................................... 82 M i n i s t e r i a l R e l i e f ............................................................................ 83 C h r i s t i a n e d u c a t i o n ......................................................................... 84 F o r e i g n m i s s i o n s ..................... 85 B o a rd o f C hurch E x t e n s i o n ..................................... 86 ¥/ar w o r k . ........................................... 38 The New E ra M ovem ent....................................................................... 90 VI The P r e s b y t e r y T o d a y ..................................... 92 The m o d ern t r e n d i n c h u r c h b u i l d i n g ................. 92 New E r a M ovem ent .................. 93 R e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y . . . . . . . 95 S t e w a r d s h i p ..................... 97 N a t i o n a l m i s s i o n s . .................. 97 F o r e i g n m i s s i o n s ................................................................... 98 M i n i s t e r i a l R e l i e f . . . . , ............................................................... 100 R e l i g i o u s e d u c a t i o n , , , . ............. 101 C i v i c a f f a i r s ................................ 103 I n f l u e n c e ........................................................ 104 C h u rch u n i o n m ovem ent ........................................ 104 V i MAPS Following Page I The Synod of C alifornia, 1929............. . . . ............... 10 II Los Angeles Presbytery, 1873 ...... ................................ 28 III Los Angeles Presbytery, 1902-1929..................................... 66 IV Los Angelas Presbytery, 1929............................................... 93 APPENDICES I Chronological L ist of Churches............................................. 105 II A lphabetical L ist of Churches, 1929................................ 113 III R oll of M inisters, 1928............................................................. 114 IV Synod of C a lifo r n ia 's National M is s io n s ........................115 V M aterials for Missionary Education.................................. 116 VI What i s a School of M issions^.............................................. 117 TII C hristian Education in the Synod of C a lif o r n ia .... 118 VIII Work of Church Extension Board............................................ 119 Bibliography................ 120 v i l INTRODUCTION The h i s t o r y o f a p r e s b y t e r y s h o u ld , p e r h a p s , b e i n t r o d u c e d by a b r i e f re v ie w o f t h e g e n e r a l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f w h ic h i t i s a com ponent p a r t , and w i t h a n o u t l i n e o f t h e d e v e lo p m e n t o f t h e c h u r c h i n t h i s c o u n t r y . I n c h u r c h g o v e rn m e n t th e P r e s b y t e r i a n p r a c t i c e d i f f e r s from t h e E p i s c o p a l by e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e p a r i t y o f m i n i s t e r s , an d from t h e C o n g r e g a t i o n a l by h a v i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e c h u r c h g o v e rn m e n t, t h e s e p a r a t e P r e s b y t e r i a n c o n g r e g a t i o n s b e i n g g r o u p e d i n p r e s b y t e r i e s , t h e p r e s b y t e r i e s i n s y n o d s, and t h e sy n o d s in a g e n e r a l a s s e m b ly . The o f j l e e r s o f a c h u rc h a r e , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e Con s t i t u t i o n o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C hurch o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f 1 A m e r ic a , ( l ) t h e p a s t o r s who p r e a c h t h e g o s p e l and a d m i n i s t e r t h e s a c r a m e n t s , s e r v e a s m o d e r a t o r s o f t h e c h u r c h s e s s i o n , a n d p e r f o r m o t h e r m i n i s t e r i a l d u t i e s , ( 2 ) t h e r u l i n g e l d e r s , e l e c t e d f o r l i f e o r f o r a te r m o f y e a r s a t t h e o p t i o n o f e a c h c o n g r e g a t i o n , who w i t h t h e p a s t o r make up t h e s e s s i o n w h ic h d e t e r m i n e s t n e p o l i c y an d p r o c e d u r e o f a c h u r c h , and ( 3 ) t h e d e a c o n s who h av e char^-e o f t h e c h u r c h b e n e v o l e n c e s . The t r u s t e e s , n o t named i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , a r e a g ro u p o f members c h o s e n by a c o n g r e g a t i o n a s a m a t t e r o f e x p e d ie n c y t o manage, u n d e r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e s e s s i o n , t h e f i n a n c i a l a f f a i r s o f a c h u rc h . ^M anual o f P r e s b y t e r i a n C hurch Law, 6 0 -6 2 ; 2 2 5 -3 2 6 . v i i i The t r u s t e e s s e r v e a s a l e g a l c o r p o r a t i o n u n d e r t h e la w s o f n s t a t e to h o l d t h e c h u r c h p r o p e r t y i n t r u s t f o r t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n . The c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a c c o m b lie s ^ o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rc h a r e (1 ) t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n o f e a c h c h u r c h vfhich man a g e s i t s own l o c a l a f f a i r s i n c o n f o r m i t y w i t h t h e c h u r c h law , (2) t h e P r e s b y t e r y o r d i s t r i c t j u d i c a t o r y made up o f a l l t h e m i n i s t e r s ( n o t l e s s t h a n f i v e i n num ber) and a l l t h e c h u r c h e s i n a g i v e n d i s t r i c t , (3) t h e Synod w h ic h i s g e n e r a l l y c o t e r m inous w i t h a s t a t e o r p e r h a p s two s t a t e s , and (4) t h e Gen e r a l A ssem b ly w h ic h t a k e s i n a l l t h e t e r r i t o r y b e l o n g i n g t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . A p r e s b y t e r y c o n s i s t s o f a l l th e m i n i s t e r s w o rk in g i n t h a t d i s t r i c t and o f one r u l i n g e l d e r e l e c t e d by e a c h c h u r c h , o r o f two o r more r u l i n g e l d e r s from e a c h c o l l e g i a t e c h u rc h ^ i n p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e number o f p a s t o r s . I t m e e ts on i t s own a d jo u r n m e n t and a l s o f o r c a l l e d m e e t i n g s when sum moned by t h e s t a t e d c l e r k t o d i s c h a r g e c e r t a i n s p e c i f i e d b u s i n e s s . The p r e s i d i n g o f f i c e r i s a m o d e r a to r c h o se n a t c e r t a i n s p e c i f i e d r e g u l a r m e e tin g s a s d e t e r m in e d by t h e b y la w s o f e a c h p a r t i c u l a r p r e s b y t e r y . E very p a s t o r i s s u b j e c t t o t h e p r e s b y t e r y t o w h ic h he i s a t t a c h e d u n t i l d i s m is s e d by l e t t e r t o a n o t h e r p r e s b y t e r y and r e c e i v e d i n t h a t p s r t i c u l a r p r e s b y t e r y . A m i s s i o n a r y t o a r e g i o n h a v in g no M anual o f I r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch Law, 2 1 5 -2 2 6 ; 1 9 0 -1 9 3 . p A c o l l e g i a t e c h u r c h i s one h a v in g more t h a n one p a s t o r , i b i d .. 1 2 S ?. i x p r e s b y t e r y r e m a in s a t t a c h e d t o t h e p r e s b y t e r y t h a t s e n t him o u t u n t i l a Synod o r t h e G e n e r a l A ssem b ly s e t s up a p r e s b y t e r y w h e re he i s w o rk in g .^ The r o u t i n e w ork o f a p r e s b y t e r y i s s e t o f f i n d e p a r t m e n t s . A t p r e s e n t i n t h e Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y t h e s e a r e ( l ) t h e E c c l e s i a s t i c a l D e p a rtm e n t w i t h f o u r c o m m itte e s c h i c h r e c e i v e , d i s m i s s , an d o r d a i n m i n i s t e r s , p l a c e m i n i s t e r s i n c h u r c h e s , s u p e r v i s e t h e r e c o r d s o f c h u r c h s e s s i o n s , a n d e x e r c i s e J u d i c i a l c o n t r o l o f d i s p u t e s b e tw e e n p a s t o r s and c h u r c h e s , o r b e tw e e n c h u r c h e s ; (2) t h e P r o m o tio n Work d e a l i n g w i t h f o r e i g n m i s s i o n s , C h r i s t i a n e d u c a t i o n o f l e a d e r s , m i n i s t e r i a l r e l i e f a n d s u s t e n t a t i o n , s o c i a l s e r v i c e , s t e w a r d s h i p and p u b l i c i t y ; (3 ) t h e O p e r a t i o n D e p a rtm e n t h a v in g chs.rge o f a l l home m i s s i o n w ork, c h u r c h e r e c t i o n , c o n t r o l o f c h u r c h p r o p e r t y , r e l i g i o u s e d u c a t i o n and Sunday S ch o o l w ork, e v a n g e l i s m , v i s i t a t i o n o f c h u r c h e s , r e s o u r c e s and f i n a n c e s , an d o t h e r t h i n g s o f l o c a l im p o r t ; (4) t h e T r u s t e e s , a l e g a l c o r p o r a t i o n t o h o l d an d manage p r o p e r t y ; (5) t h e A n n u ity D e p a r t m ent w h ic h r e c e i v e s g i f t s , f u n d s , e t c . , m an ag in g t h e s e when r e q u e s t e d f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f th e d o n o r d u r i n g h i s l i f e w i t h t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t t h e p r i n c i p a l comes t o t h e P r e s b y t e r y when t h e d o n o r i s t h r o u g h w i t h i t . A p r e s b y t e r y e l e c t s d e l e g a t e s to t h e G e n e r a l A s sem bly a n d u n l e s s t h e synod i s made up o f th e p a s t o r s a n d a r u l i n g e l d e r from e a c h c h u r c h o f t h e s y n o d i c a l d i s t r i c t . I b i d . , 9 1 ; The C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rc h i n t h e U . S . A . , 337 f f . X A sy n o d i s t h e c h u r c h J u d i c a t o r y w h ic h e x e r c i s e s im m e d ia te J u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r t h e p r e s b y t e r i e s ( n o t l e s s t h a n t h r e e i n num ber) w i t h i n a g i v e n d i s t r i c t , t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f w h ic h a r e f i x e d by t h e G e n e r a l A sse m b ly . I t h a s a p p e l l a t e pow ers o v e r c a s e s d e c i d e d i n t h e P r e s b y t e r i e s . The p o l i c i e s t o b e f o l l o w e d i n t h e m anagem ent an d c o o r d i n a t i o n o f a l l fo rm s o f c h u r c h w ork a r e d i s c u s s e d and d e t e r m i n e d i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n s o f t h e sy n o d . The G e n e r a l A ssem bly i s made up o f p a s t o r s an d r u l i n g e l d e r s fro m e a c h p r e s b y t e r y i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c h o s e n a s f o l l o w s : e a c h p r e s b y t e r y o f n o t more t h a n tw e n t y - f o u r m i n i s t e r s s h a l l se n d one p a s t o r an d one r u l i n g e l d e r ; e a c h p r e s b y t e r y c o n s i s t i n g o f more t h a n t w e n t y - f o u r m i n i s t e r s s h a l l se n d one p a s t o r a n d one r u l i n g e l d e r f o r e a c h t w e n t y - f o u r m i n i s t e r s o r f r a c t i o n a l num ber t h e r e o f n o t l e s s 1 ’ t h a n t w e l v e . The G e n e r a l A ssem bly m e e ts a n n u a l l y i n May an d i s p r e s i d e d o v e r by a m o d e r a t o r c h o s e n e a c h y e a r from i t s own m em bers. The A ssem b ly d e t e r m i n e s t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f P r e s b y t e r i e s a n d S ynods, a n d d i r e c t s a l l b r a n c h e s o f c h u r c h w ork. I t d e t e r m i n e s th e d o c t r i n e s , l a w s , a n d p o l i c i e s o f t h e c h u r c h , l a r g e l y a c c o r d i n g t o t h e v o t e on t h e o v e r t u r e s s e n t o u t t o t h e p r e s b y t e r i e s t o be p a s s e d u p o n . The h i s t o r y o f p r e s b y t e r l a n i s m i n t h e U n ite d S t a t e s d a t e s from e a r l y c o l o n i a l t i m e s . P r e s b y t e r i a n com m u n ic a n ts and p a s t o r s who h a d d r i f t e d i n t o t h e v a r i o u s c o l o n i e s g r a d u a l l y g a t h e r e d i n t o c h u r c h e s . R e v e re n d R i c h a r d 1------------ The C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch i n t h e U .S .A . , 1 8 0 4 -1 9 2 4 , 342 ; M anual o f P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch Law, 196 x i D e n to n , who came t o M a s s a c h u s s e t t s I n 1 6 3 0 , o r g a n i z e d t h e f i r s t P r e s b y t e r i a n C hurch a t H em p stead ^, Long I s l a n d a b o u t 1644. The f i r s t r e c o r d e d m e e tin g o f a P r e s b y t e r y was h e l d a t F r e e h o l d , New J e r s e y In 1 7 0 5 , an d t h e f i r s t .G eneral Synod w i t h f o u r P r e s b y t e r i e s m et i n P h i l a d e l p h i a i n 1 7 1 7 . I n 1 7 2 9 , t h e G e n e r a l Synod a d o p te d t h e W e s tm in s te r S t a n d a r d s . I n 1745 s t r i f e o v e r t h e s t a n d a r d o f m i n i s t e r i a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s a n d some l e s s e r q u e s t i o n s b r o u g h t a b o u t t h e f i r s t d i v i s i o n o f t h e c h u r c h , b u t , h a p p i l y , i n I 8 5 8 t h e two Synods r e u n i t e d on t h e b a s i s o f th e W e s t m i n s t e r S t a n d a r d s . I n 1 7 8 8 , t h e G e n e r a l Synod a d o p te d t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e C h u rch , d i v i d e d i t s e l f i n t o f o u r S y n o d s , and summoned t h e G e n e r a l A ssem b ly , w h ic h m et i n P h i l a d e l p h i a f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e . May 24, 1 7 8 9 . The G e n e r a l A ssem b ly e s t a b l i s h e d t h e S t a n d i n g C om m ittee on Horae M is s io n s i n 1302, t h e B o ard o f F o r e i g n M is s i o n s an d t h e B o a rd o f E d u c a t io n i n 1 819. I n 1311 t h e f i r s t T h e o l o g i c a l S e m in a ry was e s t a b l i s h e d a t P r i n c e t o n , New J e r s e y , w h ere members o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch had f o u n d e d P r i n c e t o n C o lle g e i n 1746. I n 1 8 1 0 t h e C um berland P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch was fo u n d e d by t h e w i t h d r a w i n g o f c e r t a i n m i n i s t e r s an d members i n f r o n t i e r p r e s b y t e r i e s , one o f t h e c a u s e s b e i n g t h e s t a n d a r d s o f m i n i s t e r i a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . I n 1338 t h e m a in body o f t h e c h u r c h d i v i d e d i n t o t h e O ld and New S c h o o l b r a n c h e s . The c a u s e s o f d i v i s i o n w ere l a r g e l y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e . The O ld S c h o o l, f o r one t h i n g , f e l t t h a t t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f c h u r c h e s l l b i d , 1 7 x i l i n nevf f i e l d s s h o u l d be u n d e r t h e s t r i c t s u p e r v i s i o n o f some c h u r c h J u d i c a t o r y , w h ile t h e New S c h o o l w ere i n c l i n e d t o a l low t h e f i e l d m i s s i o n a r i e s c o n s i d e r a b l e l a t i t u d e . When C a l i f o r n i a becam e a m i s s i o n f i e l d i n 1848 a l l t h r e e o f t h e s e d i v i s i o n s b e g a n w ork on t h e P a c i f i c c o a s t . CHAPTER ONE ESTABLISHING THE PRESBYTERIAN CH URCH IN CALIFORNIA As soon as C alifornia beoams a part of the United States in 1848, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church^ through the Home M ission Board appointed several m ission aries to preach the gospel, to further righ t id ea ls of personal and c iv ic conduct, and to help to e s ta b lish the in s t it u t io n s of church, school, and democratic govermnant in the new te r r ito r y . Other protestant churches had dona l i k e w ise. Vifhen the gold rush of 1649 began, many of these workers were, fortu n ately, already on th e ir way to C aliforn ia. Four m in isters, three Presbyterians and one B ap tist, reached Panama early in 1649, to await the a r r iv a l of the new steamer C a lifo r n ia . which had been sent around Cape Horn by the P a c ific Steam Ship Company to go on the Panama-Oalifornia run. Before the steamer, which was f i t t e d to carry one hundred passengers, arrived, the news of the discovery of gold had brought f i f t e e n hundred men to the dock at Panama. The four preachers ware, however, among the four hundred that f i n a l l y crowded onto 2 the decks of the ship. Other churchman came with each wave ^J. L. Woods, Pioneer Decade, 18, 19. 2 0. C * Coy, P ic to r ia l History of C a lifo r n ia , 125. of immigrants who poured into C alifornia in the early gold days. Some estab lish ed churches in San Francisco or other hay towns; others went out to the mining settlem ents where human passions of the raw and elemental sort held sway; while s t i l l others followed the American immigrants who were s e t t lin g in the l i t t l e towns or on the farm lands. The C alifornia of that far day needs a b rief word at t h is p oin t. While C alifornia was a Spanish colony, business enterprise had been so r e s tr ic te d , that few roads, no f a c t o r ie s , no shops, and in spite of the magnificent fo r e s ts , no lumber m ills had ever been developed. No commerce other than that carried in the one annual government supply ship from Mexico was permitted by the Spanish navigation laws. There were few, i f any, carpenters, p ainters, smiths, or other a r tisa n s in the country. The C alifornians had no v e h ic le s except the clumsy carretos with solid wooden wheels and not a sin gle boat to navigate the great ocean that washed the coast, or to chase away the English and American ships that d e fia n tly trapped o tte r along th e ir shores, and sold smuggled goods to the m issions and ranchos. When C alifornia became a neglected province during the Mexican revolu tion , smuggling became a commercial n e c e s s ity u n til Mexico granted the righ t to tra d e. Some few foreign ers in the course of years gained access to the country and started a few business 3 ven tu res. In the meantime p o l i t i c a l disurgan izatlon had la r g e ly destroyed c iv ic morale, so that the p ro v in cia l government was most unstable u n til O alifornla oama under the American f la g . But the p o l i t i c a l forms l e f t by the Mexican regime, though long outgrown by the slowly increasing population, were s t i l l in force when gold was discovered in 1848, and Congress, harassed by the slavery problem, was unable to sat up a t e r r it o r ia l government. The spring o f 1849 saw hundreds of thousands of gold seekers pouring into t h is region which was without adequate laws, courts, or p o lice power, without towns, banks, commerce, or fa c to r ie s , without adequate h o te ls or inns, without shops, su pp lies, or p ro v isio n s. This was the m ission f i e l d that awaited the men sent out by the Home Mission Boards of the various churches. "In those early times," says Reverend James Woods in h is C alifornia R e c o lle c tio n s , "those who came here had to la y th eir own foundations. They did not find an organized church, a house of worship, a waiting congre gation . They had to gather th e ir own congregation, organize th e ir own church, and build th e ir own house of worship." This statement applied to m ission work in successive parts of C alifornia for many a decade. Reverend Timothy Dwight Hunt, a New Sohoox m ission ary from Honolulu, was the f i r s t Presbyterian missionary to reach C a lifo rn ie, though some ship captains and ship chaplains of Protestant persuasion are said to have con ducted serv ices in C alifornia before Reverent Hunt's arrival* John W . Douglas and Samuel H * W illey of the New School, Sylvester Woodbridge Jr. (Old School) and Osgood C. Wheeler, a Baptist m issionary ware the four preachers who came up from Panama on the C alifornia on i t s f i r s t tr ip . Reverend Albert Williams came via Panama a short time la te r and Reverend James Woods with h is family came around the Horn from New York, and a fte r a long journey with storms in the A tla n tic and in the S tr a its and calms in the P a c if ic , they were forced to spend Christmas week, 1849, r o llin g in a fog among the Farralones o ff the Golden Gate # These men reached C aliforn ia when the gold rush was beginning and saw towns made up of ten ts and of frame b u ild in gs which came ready cut from New England to be put up quickly. The inside p a r titio n s of the la t t e r were quite gen erally made of cotton domestic. The Reverend Woods with h is wife and three small children found lodging in a San Francisco h o te l of t h is constru ction. The lower flo o r was one big room which served as kitchen, dining room, and bar. The second flo o r had two rows of small rooms on e ith er side of a narrow h a ll, a l l the p a r titio n s being white muslin; y et, happily, in sp ite of the apprehensions of Mr. Vtfoods, none of the drunken man who went carrying candles to th eir rooms started a conflagration at that time. Mr. Woods soon went to Btockton where he lived in a frame house 18 x 24, with shingle roof, plank flo o r , and muslin w alls and p a r titio n s . The rent was one hundred d o lla rs a month, bread was f i f t y cents a lo a f, onions one d ollar a pound, butter one dollar and a quarter, and potatoes tw enty-five cents a pound, but money was p le n t i f u l, and the c o lle c tio n plate always held a goodly p ile of f iv e , ten, twenty, end f i f t y d ollar gold p ie c e s. The m issio n a ries, young and f u l l of zea l, enjoyed the romance and high adventure of struggling to build up church and state in the rush of pioneer l i f e , with i t s make s h if t s , i t s law less s t i r and s t r i f e , i t s tragic d isa ste r s and i t s golden achievements. This paper cannot stop to t e l l how the eloquent Mr. Sylvester Woodbridge from Hempstead, the home of the f i r s t Presbyterian church in America, oast h is lo t with those who thought Benicia would be the P a c ific Coast m etropolis and founded the f i r s t Presbyterian Church in C aliforn ia there; nor how Mr. Woods, p le n t i f u lly supplied with money, made a building committee of one by h is buoy p arishioners, b u ilt the f i r s t Presbyterian church e d ific e in C alifornia at Stockton, nor how other pioneer preachers gathered congrégations on the s t r e e t s , in saloons, in mining camps, or under oak tr e e s, and preached the gospel of Christ to audiences of men far from home or fa m ilie s, or old a sso cia tio n s* There ware very few women, children, or old people. If there were any children in the community, the preacher was gen erally the school master. There were seldom more than one or two women among the members of the f i r s t m ission churches. Reports of the rush of people to C alifornia in the spring of 1849, aroused the l i v e l y in te r e st of a l l Home M ission Boards. Both branches of the Presbyterian Church decided to erect p resb yteries for the pastors in the f ie ld and to hurry other workers to th e ir a s s is ta n c e . The f i r s t presbytery in C alifornia was the Presby tery of San Francisco set up May 22, 1849, by the New School General Assembly in session in P hiladelphia.^ It consisted of Timothy D. Hunt, John % . Douglas, and Samuel H * W illey, and was annexed to the Synod of New York and New Jersey (N .S .). Next the Old School Presbyterians meeting in General Assembly at P ittsburg set up the Presbytery of C aliforn ia May 29, 1849, and attached i t to the Synod of 2 New York (O .S .). The pastors named as f i r s t members of ^J. L. Woods, op. c i t . , 98. I b id .. 9£. t h i s P r e s b y t e r y v/cre S y l v e s t e r W oo d b rid g e, J r . , A l b e r t W illia m s , Jam es Woods ( th e n on t h e s e a s ) , an d F r a n c i s H a r t who d i e d on t h e o v e r l a n d j o u r n e y . T h is P r e s b y t e r y h e l d i t s f i r s t m e e tin g i n B e n i c i a , on F e b r u a r y 20, 1850 The f i r s t C um b erlan d P r e s b y t e r y was h e l d on A p r i l 4 , 1 8 5 1 . The f i r s t P r e s b y t e r i a n c h u rc h on t h e P a c i f i c c o a s t h a d b e e n o r g a n i z e d a t C l a t s o p P l a i n s in O regon, b u t t h e O regon P r e s b y t e r y was n o t o r g a n i z e d u n t i l May, 1 8 5 1 , by t h e O ld S c h o o l G e n e r a l A ssem bly i n s e s s i o n a t S t . L o u i s , 2 M i s s o u r i . I t was a t t a c h e d t o t h e Synod of New Y o r k . On May 22, 1 8 5 2 , t h e Old S c h o o l G e n e r a l A ssem bly i n s e s s i o n a t C h a r l e s t o n , S o u th C a r o l i n a , e r e c t e d t h e P r e s b y t e r y o f B t o c k t o n , C a l i f o r n i a , a n d a t t h e same tim e s e t up t h e Synod o f t h e P a c i f i c , c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i e s of O regon, C a l i f o r n i a , an d S t o c k t o n , a p p o i n t i n g t h e f i r s t m e e tin g t o be h e l d in t h e F i r s t P r e s b y t e r i a n Church o f San F r a n c i s c o on O c to b e r 19 o f t h a t y e a r , b u t t h e news o f t h i s a c t i o n was slo w i n r e a c h i n g O re g o n . The R e v e re n d R o b e rt Robe, on h i s way t o a t t e n d a m e e tin g of t h e Oregon P r e s b y t e r y , met a G e n e r a l A d a i r a t A s t o r i a who t o l d him of th e a p p o i n t e d m e e tin g o f t h e Synod and t h a t t h e o n l y b o a t . A. W ic h e r, o p . c i t . , 6 4 . J . L . Woods, o p . . , 9 5 . 8 from Oregon that would reach San Francisco in time was s a ilin g that very n ig h t . In t h is emergency, at the urging of frien d s, the Reverend Robe appointed him self the repre se n ta tiv e from Oregon, sa ile d on the boat that night, and reached San Francisco in time to make a quorum to organize the new synod. The new Synod of the P a c if ic held sway over a l l the te r r ito r y west of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico and a fte r Alaska was purchased, it was also added to t h is Synod. Since i t was often d i f f i c u l t or impossible fo r the Oregon member to attend the meetings of the synod the General Assembly in May, 1856, set up the Presbytery of Benicia so that the C alifornians could have a quorum of th r e e . On May 25, 1857, the Hew School General Assembly meeting in Cincinnati esta b lish ed the P resbyteries of San Jose and Sierra Nevada, in addition to th e ir o rig in a l Presbytery of San Francisco, and of the three P resbyteries, erected the oynod o f Alta C alifornia. The Cumberland Church also had three P resbyteries and esta b lish ed the bynod of Sacramento in 1860. In 1869, the Old and Hew School branches of the church held th e ir General Assemblies at the same place and e ffe c te d a reunion--and the General Assembly of 1870 ordered the two C aliforn ia bynods to meet in the Howard S t r e e t P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u rch in San F r a n c i s c o on J u l y 12, 1 8 7 0 , t o m erge an d t o name and d e f i n e t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i e s o f t h e U n i t e d Synod, w h ic h t h e n c o n s i s t e d o f e i g h t y - o n e m i n i s t e r s a n d s e v e n t y - t h r e e c h u r c h e s . F i v e P r e s b y t e r i e s w ere made i n t h e m e r g e r : (1) O regon, c o n s i s t i n g o f O regon a n d W a sh in g to n t e r r i t o r i e s , an d A l a s k a . (2) San F r a n c i s c o , c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e c o u n t i e s o f San F r a n c i s c o , San M ate o , C o n tra C o s t a , an d t h e t o w n s h ip s o f O a k lan d a n d B ro o k ly n i n Alameda C o u n ty . (3) San J o s e , c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e r e s t of Alameda C ounty and t h e c o u n t i e s o f S a n ta C l a r a , S a n ta C ru z, M o n te re y , San L u is O b isp o , T u l a r e , I n y o , K e rn , S a n ta B a r b a r a , Los A n g e le s , San B e r n a r d i n o , San D ie g o , an d A r iz o n a T e r r i t o r y . (4) B e n i c i a , c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e c o u n t i e s o f D el N o r t e , K la m a th , H u m b o ld t, T r i n i t y , M e n d o cin o , L a k e , Sonoma, M a rin , Napa an d S o l a n o . (5) S a c r a m e n to , c o n s i s t i n g of t h e r e s t o f C a l i f o r n i a l y i n g in t h e e a s t c e n t r a l a n d n o r t h e a s t e r n p a r t s o f 1 0 the s ta te and the State of Nevada and the t e r r it o r ie s of Utah and Idaho• In C alifornia and Nevada at the time of the union there were seventy-four m in isters, sixty-one churches and 3732 members. It is doubtful i f there was a preacher or a church in Arizona, Utah or Idaho at that tim e. These three t e r r it o r ie s were in the next ten years detached and added to more a c c e ss ib le Synods east of them. ¥/hen Oregon, Washington and Alaska were detached to make the new Synod of Oregon in 1880, the Synod of the P a c ific was reduced to C alifornia and Nevada. In 1902, i t s name was changed to the Synod of C a lifo rn ia . At present, 1929, Synod of C alifornia has nine P resbyteries: The Redwoods (B en icia), Sacramento, San Joaquin, Nevada, San Francisco, ^an Jose, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and R iv ersid e• Cartocraft Desk Outline Map, California. No. 7105 iiü iu iiiiü iu m j, :A^ -1j 0 F 1 ' R; E y . • A ' 1 K > ‘ 'É1N,.ï '.0 4 .'-f V I S4A -C - PRES BYTE Î , V N - .' { ' / -A A S A # fc -T jE jR îf» * > ' ^ e m f <5 R»:-ç;5:S £ffi m m m m É Ïr v I.-D i . v; Ec T H E S Y N O D OP C A L I F O R N I A 1 9 2 9 Scale of Miles Published by DENOYER-GEPPERT CO., Chicago CHAPTER TWO THE BEGINNINGS O F THE PRESBYTERY OF LOS ANGELES One of the f i r s t Presbytorlan m issio n a ries to begin work in Southern C alifornia was the Reverend Frederick Buel, a Yale graduate, who, as a la y member of the American Bible Society, conducted the f i r s t Protestant se r v ic e s in the pueblo of Los Angeles early in the spring of 1850. In order that Mr. Buel might administer the sacra ments and preach the gospel as w ell as d istrib u te b ib le s , he was ordained by the Presbytery of C aliforn ia in July, 1850.^ Such travelin g m ission aries as he gathered the scattered and submerged protestant elements of the country side together and aroused th eir la te n t desire for the r e lig io u s teachings and s o c ia l p ra ctic es which they had known in th eir old homes. This desire led to organized e ffo r t to found Protestant centers of worship. The p rin cip le of comity gen erally prevailed in the f i r s t protestant church gatherings. The Reverend John W . Douglas, a rep resen tative of the American Home M ission Society, who had organized a Presbyterian church at San Jose in the f a l l o f 1849, made ^E. A. Wicher, The Presbyterian Church in C a lifo r n ia . 56. 1 2 a missionary tr ip to Loo Angeles In 1851.^ Many pioneer pastors m inistered not only to th e ir own churches, but f e l t i t th e ir duty to answer Macedonian c a l l s from a l l the bordering d i s t r i c t s without church p r iv ile g e s . W . W . P errier, quoting from the Home Missionary Ivlagazine of A p ril, 1657, says in Pioneer Church Beginnings in C alifornia that Reverend Douglas conducted "the f i r s t regular organized protestant church se rv ic es in Los Angeles." But John Stephen McCroarty says that Reverend J. W . Brier of the Methodist Episcopal church "held the f i r s t known protestant se rv ices in Los Angeles in June, 1850." Reverend D uel's se r v ic es preceded t h is date, but he was not a regu larly ordained m inister u n til July, 1650. Whoever was f i r s t , they a l l , no doubt, helped to create in the squalid l i t t l e town a public opinion in favor of community improvement. Los Angeles, lik e the r e s t of C aliforn ia, was engulfed in a flood of immorality in the tempestuous days of the gold rush. Various m ission aries and lo c a l exhorters of Methodist, B a p tist, Mormon and other denominations attempted to cope with the tide of e v i l . In 1850, there were 1,610 people in Los Angelas and 3,530 in the county^ most of whom were Spanish or ^ W '. W . P errier, Pioneer Church Beginnings in C a lifo r n ia , 18 ^J. S. McGroarty, Los Angeles County, I, 323. 3. Census, 1890, Pup. I, 9. 13 Indians, though quite a number of Americans and foreign ers were in b u siness. In 1852, the population of Los Angelas County Is described as follow s:^ Total, 8,329; w hites, 4,091; colored, 45; domesticated Indians, 4,193; foreign r e sid e n ts, 395. When the Reverend James Woods came to Los Angelas in November, 1854, as a resid en t m issionary, he says there were approximately fiv e thousand people in the pueblo, th ree-fou rth s of whom were Spanish or Indians, fiv e hundred Americans and fiv e hundred Europeans of various n a t io n a lit ie s . The only r e lig io u s se rv ic es held in the town were those conducted at in te r v a ls in the Plaza church by a p r ie st from San Gabriel M ission. Sunday was a day of pleasure, and b u ll-f ig h tin g was the ch ie f entertainm ent. ^ Horse racing in the s tr e e t s , drinking in Nigger A lley, stre et brawls in the afternoon and evening, and the murder of a few Indians 3 at night were regular week-end d iv er sio n s. Vice and d is s ip a tio n s of a l l kinds prevailed . N ine-tenths of the b u ild in gs in the town were adobe, the roofs covered with tar which melted and dripped from the eaves in hot weather. lU. 3. Census, 1850, Pop. Appendix, 982. ^E. A. Wicher, The Presbyterian Church in C a lifo rn ia , 131; James Woods, R e c o lle c tio n s , 197. ^J. L. Woods, op. c i t ., 68, 69. (James L. i s a son of James Woods. Both were Presbyterian m in iste r s. James L. was a child in h is f a th e r 's home in 1855.) 1 4 The s tr e e ts were quagmires in winter and dust heaps in summer. The more w ell-to -d o people lived in su b stan tial ranch homes outside the town amid the orange groves and vineyards that were beginning to find place among the great c a t tle ranges* Without any aid from the m ission board, Reverend Woods gathered a congregation, and on March 18, 1855, organized the f i r s t Los Angeles Presbyterian church with twelve members* William McKee, a schoolmaster, was la t e r in sta lle d as ru lin g eld er. Before he l e f t in September, 1855, Reverend Woods had secured a lo t at New High and Temple s tr e e ts for a church building and had provided for a successor to take h is p la ce. During Reverend Woods* stay, the times were rough and rude. There ware yet no sidewalks in t h is town and the houses abutted d ir e c tly on the roadway. The church goers attended se r v ic e s at eleven a. m ., than in the afternoon barred th eir doors and drew the shutters while a wilder element ran horse races in the s tr e e ts and brawled the afternoon away. Reverend Woods liv e d at the head of Main S treet. His diary for Sunday, A pril 20, 18o5, d escrib es a mob of people in the s tr e e t watching horse races, fig h tin g , screaming, swearing from two u n til a fte r six o 'c lo c k . Members of the crown sat on h is step s, leaned against the w a lls, and peered 15 through the shutters* James L. Woods r e c a ll s that on one occasion two young squaws with babies on th eir backs fought for two hours on a Sunday afternoon in the str e e t opposite th eir home. They would fig h t t i l l exhausted, then r e st awhile, only to begin th e ir screaming and hair p u llin g again. In sp ite of such scenes, there was a respectable portion of the population who liv ed orderly l i v e s . There were, hovjever, far too many who drank and cursed th eir l i v e s away, making day and night hideous for o th ers. The American law, in 1855, put a stop to horse racing, the chicken gane,^ and other 2 peace disturbing sports on Sunday. In September, 1855, Reverend Woods turned the Los Angeles congregation over to Reverend T. K. Davis, who remained a year, preaching sometines to a good congregation, sometimes to empty benches,^ then, discouraged by the unpromising con ditions in general and some e s p e c ia lly untoward events in p a rticu la r, such as had made Los Angeles a byword in the provinces from the beginning of i t s h isto r y ,^ the young pastor returned to the East, advising a l l the decent c it iz e n s to seek homes elsewhere and leave Los Angeles to Tq. G. Goy, op. c i t * ^J. L* Woods, op. c i t ., o8, 69* ■ 166. 4 J. 8. McGroarty, Los Angeles County, I, 34 1 6 i t s f a t e . Whan he returned fo r ty years la te r to a b ea u tifu l o ity of 100,000, he exclaimed, "vïhat wonders God hath wrought!" M inisters came and want in the next few years, but none were able to hold a congregation together u n til the Reverend W. E. Boardman, accompanied by h is w ife, arrived on the steamer Senator. February 6, 1859. The Los Angeles S tar. in the issue o f Saturday, February 12, 1859, in commenting on h is a r r iv a l, said in part; "Mr. Boardman i s a cle r g y man of the Presbyterian f a it h , and we hope he w i l l be enabled to organize a congregation in our m idst." A notice saying "that an e ffo r t i s being made to secure Mr. Boardman as a resid en t clergyman. W e hope the movement w i l l be su cc essfu l," appeared in the Star of February 19, and a second paragraph announced that the Reverend Mr. Boardman would conduct divine service in the United States D is tr ic t courtroom at eleven o 'clo ck on Sunday the tw entieth. In the next week's paper (February 26) the n otice read that church se r v ic e s would be held "in D is t r ic t School, No. 2 in the north end of the o ity near the Alameda Bath House, and the Star of March 5, announced that there would be preaching at School House, No. 2, every Sunday u n til further n o tic e , and week a fte r week for three years the Reverend Boardman*s sturdy l i t t l e announoomont of divine service on Sunday appeared every Saturday in the Star. 17 One month a fte r Mr. Boardman proached h is f i r s t sermon, the Star of March 12, announced the organization of a Ladles* Sewing Society to ra ise funds to build a church. The l i s t of o f f ic e r s , beginning with Mrs. Boardman as president, and Mrs. f . J. White as v ice-p r esid en t i s given in f u l l . They were to meet every Thursday to sew "for a moderate charge". From time to time the announcements of th eir meetings, bazaars, and f a i r s appeared in the Star. On April 11, 1863, they were planning a Calico party to l i f t the indebtedness from the church b u ild in g —and a Ladies* F e s tiv a l for the same purpose was held in September, 1863. This i s the la s t mention of th e ir work. A Sunday School was organized on Sunday, April 3, 1859. Either the Reverend Mr. Boardman was a man of power and persuasion, or the community was p a r tic u la r ly w illin g to cooperate at that time, for on May 5, another en terprise i s reported; At a meeting over which Mr. Boardman presided, the F ir st Protestant Society of Los Angeles to c o lle c t money and carry on the business of maintaining protestant worship was organized with the follow ing tru stees; I. S. K. Oziar, B. D. Wilson, J. R. G itc h e ll, N. A. Potter and William McKee. Their c o n stitu tio n abated that the annual meeting should be held on the f i r s t Wednesday in la May of each year, and that the Board of Trustees should meet on the third Saturday of each month. This organization went about i t s purpose of supporting church se rv ices and ra isin g money for a building, B. D. Wilson, a wealthy rancher, givin g generous support, though few of the congre gation were able to give any large sums. At the end of two years they had raised a considerable sum, and the Home M ission Board granted them $500 from the church erection fund. A brick building was begun on the lo t at New High and Temple s tr e e t s secured by Reverend James Woods, and the corner stone was la id in June, 1861. Building want slowly for that f a l l and winter were marked by t e r r i f i c rainstorms and flo o d s everywhere. On January 25, 1862, the Star noted that the w a lls of the church in the process of building had se ttle d at one corner; but the damage was repaired and a l l the brick work was completed and the contract l e t for the roofing and flo o rin g when the Reverend Boardman l e f t Los Angeles to go east to publish a book. He seams to have achieved considerable success during h is three years in Los Angeles. The Star, in the issu e of February 8, 1862, commended h is work in and out of the p u lp it, and hoped that he would return, thanked him for h is se rv ic es and extended good w ishes. The erection of the church building was attribu ted to h is e f f o r t s as w ell as the pro motion of other worthy th in g s. 19 The Ladies* Society struggled along for the next two or three years to complete and furnish the building, but no regular Presbyterian se r v ic e s were maintained in Los Angeles again u n til 1869, though several clergymen tr ie d to carry on. Whether d isru ption s due to war f e e lin g , or other causes were to blame, i t i s c e rta in that the Presbyterian church of the Protestant Society f e l l into decay. Such i s the m u ta b ility of human a f f a ir s that whan the newly elected Synodical m issionary, Dr. Thomas Fraser, made a raconnoitaring tr ip through Southern C alifornia in the spring of 1869, he could find n either church nor so c ie ty , nor any member of e ith e r .^ At t h is point several events which influenced the development of Southern C alifornia should be mentioned. The Overland Mail Route from Salt Lake to Los Angeles was opened^ in 1859, and the telegraph lin e to San Francisco was opened in 1860, and thence east in 1861, and in 1860, the "mud-wagons" on the San Francisco-Los Angelas Stage lin e ware replaced by Concord coaches.^ At the and of the decade the f i r s t transoontInental railroad was completed. ^Thomas Fraser, Manuscrip t l e t t e r w ritten to Dr. Edgar P. H il l in 190%. ^Los Angeles Star. July, 1860. ^Los Angeles Star, March 24, I860. 2 0 These improvemenliS, notwithstanding, there were vast stretc h e s in the Synod of the P a c if ic , which extended, as Dr. Fraser said, from the Rocky Mountains to the P a c ific , and from Mexico to the Aurora B orealis, for Alaska was also included in t h is far flung church te r r it o r y , where neither railroad , nor telegraph, nor even a good d irt highway reached. In t h is day of ra ilro a d s and paved highways with comfortable h o te ls and inns even in out of the way spots, the imagination can scarcely v is io n the hardships of an overland tr ip in a cramped stage from S eattle down to Los Angeles across the desert to Phoenix, when the passengers carried th eir own bedding and commissary for wayside camping. O ccasion ally, Indians, bandits, or "bad men from Bodie" staged road p a r tie s that at le a s t broke the monotony of tr a v e l.^ Yet for some ten years that f ie r y m issionary. Dr. Thomas Fraser, traveled t h is route and i t s by-ways, organizing churches, sometimes at the rate of one a month, and la t e r as hard times followed prosperity booms, retracing h is step s to advise on ways and means of maintaining them. By steamboat, on horseback, or more often on the seat beside a stage driver from whom he secured f i r s t hand ^0. 0. Goy, op. c i t ., 196, 196, 197. 2 1 knowledge of the country,! the intrepid clergyman went about the business of e s ta b lish in g churches in promising communities. He gen era lly advised against sta rtin g a church where conditions gave l i t t l e hope that i t would soon be self-su p p o rtin g . It i s said that some one hundred and tw enty-five churches owe th e ir organization to Dr. Fraser. Dr. Fraser made h is f i r s t tr ip south by stage in 1869, preaching in Salinas, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. In Santa Barbara, where one of the f i r s t churches of the future Los Angeles Presbytery was e sta b lish ed , he found a group including some Presbyterian eld ers who ware anxious to organize a Presbyterian church. Some of them had joined with other churches of d iffe r e n t denomination already started, but the town was growing rapidly and they f e l t that the time was favorable for beginning a church home of th eir own. Promising to return in a few weeks and organize a church i f they had made the r e q u is ite préparatio n s, Dr. Fraser went on to Los Angelas, where he could find no trace of the church organized by James Woods in 1856, or of the building put up. On searching the county archives, he found the record of tna tran sfer of the building to the Episcopalians by the Dr. Thomas Fraser, Manuscript l e t t e r . (In p ossession of Miss Julia Fraser of Oakland, and w ritten to Dr. E. H ill of P ortland.) 2 2 tr u s té e s in 1866, on two conditions: that regular P rotestant se r v ic es should be maintained and that the |.500 granted by the Presbyterian Board should be refunded. It la t e r developed tnat the "trustees" who made the tran sfer had not been reg u la rly elected or authorized by any congregation to donate such valuable property on any terms at a l l ; so through a court d ecisio n the Presby terian s rea lized some further returns from th eir former property. Part of t h is lo t had been given to the Los Angeles Board of Education. Dr. Eraser found that church serv ic es had been maintained, but the $600 had not yet been returned. This sum, however, was promptly refunded at h is request. Dr. Fraser remained in Los Angeles preaching in the Methodist and Congregational churches for two weeks, and exploring the adjacent country, with i t s f e r t i l e f i e l d s , orchards and vineyards, and he made up h is mind that Los Angelas was a place where the Presbyterians must have a church. Finding, however, no m aterial just then for reorganizing the Los Angeles church, though he was determined i t should some day be reorganized. Dr. Fraser went on to 3an Diego. Driving southward in the bright spring weather, through a charming country where herds of c a t t le , sheep and wild horses roamed the h i l l s yellow with mustard bloom, the 25 missionary "foresaw the wonderful development whan a new population would get hold of the Mexican land grants, plant orchards and vineyards, build up th rivin g towns, and introduce a c i v i l i z a t i o n worthy of the name."^ At San Diego he mat a Reverend Russel Clark, who had come from San Francisco for the b en efit of h is h ea lth . With h is help i t was easy to organize a church. A lo t and a b e ll for a church was promised them when they ware ready to b u ild . The h isto r y of the San Diego church i s pleasant reading. The f i r s t pastor, Dr. James S. McDonald, took charge April 18, 1870,^ preaching in Horton’ s H a ll. In the winter of 1870-71, Mr. J. W . Edwards, a winter to u r ist from Marquette, Michigan, gave $600, and Calvary Church, San Francisco, $300 toward building a church, which was dedicated on June 18, 1871. Dr. Scott, an outstanding man in the northern Presbytery of San Fran c is c o , preached the sermon. This church has never suffered any rev erses. As i t grew i t s f i r s t building was replaced by a larger one in 1882, and that by another in 1912. When Dr. Fraser returned to Santa Barbara from San Diego, he faced a d i f f i c u l t situ a tio n ; the Presbytarians ^Dr. Thomas Fraser, Manuscript l e t t e r to Dr. H i l l . 2 E. A. Wicher, op. c i t ., 143. 24 ware anxious to organize a church of th eir own, but some nine or ten had joined the Oongregational Church u n til a Presbyterian Church should ha organized. On considering the matter, the Congregational Church, of some twenty members, refused by a m ajority vote of one to grant l e t t e r s of dism ission to i t s Presbyterian members on the ground that i t was too weak to get along without th eir help, and c r it ic iz e d the P resbyterians for v io la tin g the p rin cip le of comity maintained in small communities. Dr. Fraser, however, was a b elie v er in h is own f a ith , and a fte r lis t e n in g in on the d iscu ssio n s carried on between the O ongregationalists and th e ir d i s contented Presbyterian brethern, he decided that a fte r so much b it t e r argument i t would be b etter to give the Presbyterians a church of th e ir own. So he ca lled a meeting on Monday, June 21, to organize a church for them i f they so wished. An old eld er, a member of the Congregational Church, moved that a Presbyterian church be immediately organized. The motion was carried and Dr. Fraser asking those who wished to join to stand, proceeded to admit the members of the Congregational church on the testimony of th e ir C hristian character given in the forogolng d iscu ssio n , and four or fiv e others by confession of f a ith , and the re st by l e t t e r , some th ir ty 2 6 members in a l l , and l e f t Reverend Dobbins in c o n tr o l.! The f i r s t meeting was held on Sunday, June 27, 1869, in an adobe house on the corner of Chahala and Canon Perdidô s t r e e t s , a p ulp it being concocted from a stand and a sewing-machine top draped In someone * s parlor table cover. Kerosene lamps from the homes of the members furnished lig h t for the evening se r v ic e . Mrs. L. G. O liver, wife of the senior elder, organized a Sunday School, sta rtin g i t s lib ra r y from her own bookcase. During the next month, an organ, hymnals, and Sunday School su pplies arrived from San Francisco, and the church carried on su c c e ssfu lly for a while in the adobe house, then in a school house for a year, and la te r in the court house. The f i r s t church b u ild in g, co stin g $2,300, of which $300 was a g i f t from Calvary Church in San Francisco, was dedicated in June, 1871.^ A larger building was put up in 1876, and a third in 1923, destroyed by the earthquake of 1926, has since been replaced. Dr. Fraser belong to the Old School Presbyterians. The f i r s t permanent Presbyterian church in Southern C aliforn ia had been esta b lish ed by the New School P resbyterians at Venture in the spring o f 1869, on the A. Wicher, pp. c i t . , 144. Z ib id ., 146. 2 6 p e t itio n of th ir ty -fo u r r e sid e n ts , only tw enty-six, however, being members. The Reverend Townsend E. Taylor, who became the f i r s t pastor, e ffe c te d the organization with the a ssista n ce of the Reverend 3. 3. Harmon and the Reverend Mr. B r is to l, of the Congregational A s s o c ia tio n .! The New School Presbyterians and the C ongregationalists had a join t Home M ission Society. This Ventura church was the only New School church esta b lish ed in Southern C a lifo rn ia . The fourth of the charter member churches of the l o s Angeles Presbytery was organized at Wilmington by Reverend W . C. Harding, whom Dr. Fraser had entrusted with the task of reorganizing the F ir s t Church of Los Angeles. F a ilin g t o t a l l y in Los Angeles, he n everth eless succeeded in Wilmington, where he organized the Calvary Church in 1870. The $500 refunded by the Episcopalians in Los Angeles was used in building t h i s church. Reverend W m . C. Mosher, who, with Reverend Harding, had been carrying on r e lig io u s work in and around Los Angelas in the la te p s i x t i e s , returned to C aliforn ia from the east in 1871, and preached in Wilmington for three years. Reverend Mosher was elected the f i r s t moderator of the Los Angeles A. Wicher, op. c i t . , 142, 143. ^W . G. Mosher, H istory of the Mosher Family 27 Presbytery which held i t s f i r s t meeting in h is church in March, 1872* The f i f t h church to be organized in the Los Angeles Presbytery was started in the t h r if t y German colony of Anaheim by the Reverend L. P. Webber in 1870, and has enjoyed a continuous existen ce from that t i m e . ! The six th church, organized March 17, 1872, was the Westminster Ohurch in the town of that name. Reverend L. P* Webber of Anaheim was the stated supply for sometime The prosperity of th is ohurch \v}i5oh began with seven members has fluctuated with economic conditions in the county. It now has a su b sta n tia l building and some two hundred members. It was received and enrolled at the f i r s t meeting of the Presbytery in March, 1782* A fter the union of the Old School and New School d iv is io n s of the Ohurch in 1870, the Old School Synod of the P a c ific and the New School %nod of A lta C alifornia were united as the Synod of the P a c if ic . The new churches in southern C alifornia were a llo tte d to the Presbytery of San Jose which stretched down the coast from San Jose to the Tehachapi end then south and west to Mexico and New Mexico. But San Jose was a long distance from San Diego and Phoenix when tho con ditions of tra v el were such as !'E* C. Wicher, op. c i t ., 148. 2 8 prevailed in those days. Oonsequantly, the m in iste rs connected with the s ix southern churches and the m issio n a ries oarrying on unorganised r e lig io u s work in the southern counties overturned the Synod to e s ta b lis h a separate Presbytery in the south, that they might meet more often with greater convenience and l e s s expense to d iscu ss and decide problems of purely lo c a l sig n ific a n c e . In accordance with th e ir wishes the Synod of the P a c ific meeting in Gilroy in 1872, erected the Presbytery of Los Angeles and appointed the f i r s t meeting of t h is newly formed presbytery under the enabling act as f o llo w s ;! Resolved; that the follow in g churches, to w it; Santa Barbara, San Buena Ventura, Wilmington, Anaheim, Westminster, and San Diego; and the m in isters, to wit; Rev. J. Phelps, D. D ., Rev. L* B. Nebber, Rev. H. E. Dobbins, Rev. J. Marquis, Rev. W . 0. Mosher, and the coun ties of Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in C a lifo rn ia , together with the te r r ito r y of Arizona be detached from the Presbytery of San Jose, and that the m in isters and churches w ithin these bounds be con stituted a new Presbytery to be ca lled the Presbytery of Los Angeles; That the f i r s t meeting of said Presbytery be held in the Presbyterian Church of Wilmington on the third Thursday of March, 1673, at 7 o 'c lo ck p. m ., and that Reverend Dr. Phelps, or in case of h is absence, the o ld est m inister present, preach the opening sermon and preside u n til a moderator be oho sen. !Frorn a newspaper clip p in g , pasted on the f l y - l e a f of the f i r s t volume of the minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery. ■ - * . <fi O ,00 # O 29 The new Presbytery met at the appointed time end place and the Reverend Joshua Phelps preached the opening sermon from Psalms 137:5-6. Five m in isters and two eld e rs held t h is r e lig io u s outpost. Four new m inis te r s were received from other p resb y teries. Reverend Mosher was elected moderator, Reverend Dobbins, commissioner to the General Assembly, and the several committees on Rules, Home and Foreign M issions, minutes of the General Assembly, Church Erection, R e lie f Fund, Benevolences, and Finances, e t c . , were appointed. The s t a t i s t i c a l report showed that 68 new members had been added during the year, making a t o ta l of 175. The committee on Home M issions was requested to a s s i s t the Presbyterians of Los Angeles to replant th eir church and get a permanent m in ister. The report of the state of r e lig io n in the Presbytery said that the churches were few and fe e b le , but that they a l l had Sabbath se r v ic es, in te r e stin g prayer meetings, and Sunday Schools with catechism and Bible c la s s e s . CHAPTER THREE THE STRUGGLES O P THE FIRST T W O DECADES, 1873-1903 When the Presbytery of Los Angeles began i t s work in 1873, so c ie ty in and around Los Angeles was in an unformed s t a te . The Spanish speaking C alifornians ware being outnumbered by newcomers from northern C alifornia, from the eastern s t a te s and from Europe. No set of id e a ls , tre^ditions, customs or h a b its was common to s o c ie ty as a whole. There was l i t t l e community s p i r i t . Intemperance, profanity, lack of Sabbath observance, in d ifferen ce to breaches of law and order and a general lack of s o c ia l cohesion la r g e ly p revailed . Public sp ir ite d leaders o fte n found th e ir e f f o r t s in behalf of c iv ic enterp rise frustrated by the sh iftin g of the popu la tio n , or by the in e r tia due to fin a n c ia l str a in . In sp ite of hard times the end of the decade saw tw enty-five churches on the r o l l , and of the twenty- six organ!zations e ffe c te d before A p ril, 1883, twenty- two are now going concerns. Some are in the present P resb y teries of Santa Barbara and Riverside and some in Arizona, b esid es those w ithin the present lim it s of the Presbytery of Los Angeles. Most of these churches suffered v ic is s it u d e s 3 1 of various sorts in the decade which Oleland c a lled "The Discontented S even ties" .! Many men lacked employ- mont since there were yet no in d u stries in the towns to absorb the increased flow of population follow in g the completion of the tran scon tin ental railroad in 1869. Ranching in C alifornia presented d i f f i c u l t i e s unknown to farming in the e a s t. Expensive ir r ig a tio n p ro jects were necessary to supply water, but the water resources of Southern C aliforn ia ware not yet developed except by private in te r e s ts inadequately regulated by law, so that the in divid ual farmer o ften found h is water supply cut o f f when most needed. Again whims of n atu re, such as excessive drought, fie r c e winds, or clouds of grass hoppers brought g r ie f and fa ilu r e to the newcomer inexperienced in the vagaries of C aliforn ia clim ate. P o l i t i c a l corruption in c i t y and state govern ments was rampant. A machine backed by railroad in te r e s ts manipulated the tax lews so that the burden of taxation was sh ifted from th eir p rop erties to f a l l h ea v ily on private en terp rise. Much of the best public land offered for sale at $1.25 an acre had been fraudently seized by sp eculators who ware holding i t o ff the market for a ^Cleland, H istory of C aliforn ia. American P eriod, Ch. XXVII 32 sp ecu lation . Land t i t l e s taken over from the Mexican regime, none too clea r at f i r s t , were muddled s t i l l further by g r a fte r s, bent on securing property when they could. The courts were also corrupt, and the C onstitu tion of 1849, provided inadequate means of checking these e v i l s . In the midst of such con d itions the nation al boards of various Protestant denominations were trying to found churches in t h is fro n tie r region, where times ware so hard that congregations could not furnish adequate fin a n c ia l support for the new churches. Though the d iffe r e n t s e c ts tried to observe the p rin cip le of comity, experience showed that a community church made up of divers denominational elements often f a ile d to thrive as w ell as two or more denominational churches. No Board assumed f u l l r e s p o n s ib ility for i t s success; a good many persons would work only in th e ir own church home. In 1873, the six m in isters of the s ix churches in the newly erected Los Angeles Presbytery, aided by the synodical missionary and rep resen ta tiv es of the Sunday School P u b lication s Board began the work of carrying the gospel to p laces without church se r v ic e s and of se ttin g up churches where the number of Presbyterians ana the prospects of future growth warranted. The Home 23 M ission Board provided the salary of the Bynodical M issionary as w ell as granting a su b stan tial sum toward the salary of each pastor of a m ission church. They paid what they could and the Board granted enough more to make up a salary of so r ts for the p astors. Of course the churches were urged to become self-su p p ortin g as soon as p o ssib le , but in t h is troubled decade not one church was s e lf-s u s ta in in g throughout i t s h is to r y . If the reader fin d s the chronicle of the stru g g les of the next twenty years wearisome reading, i t may be imagined that liv in g through these stru ggles was s t i l l more wearisome. The f i r s t task which the new Presbytery set for i t s e l f was the reorganization of the church in hos Angeles. The s itu a tio n seemed d i f f i c u l t , iîvery man sent out by the Board in the la s t ten years had f a ile d to organize the Presbyterians in Los Angeles. Some had succeeded in organizing congregations in the v i c i n i t y and some had given up and gone into business. Lr. Praser, the synodical m issionary, f e l t that the la r g e st town in the south was a point that must, at a l l c o s ts, be occupied. But Dr. Kendall, the secretary of the Board, in reply to h is request for a fo r c e fu l man to undertake t h is work, refused to support another attempt in Los Angeles, adding that the m issionary would have to do future work on h is 3 4 own faith * Whan Dr* Fraser received t h is l e t t e r , he declared he would go to Los Angeles and e s ta b lish a church there i f It took six months.^ Ke arrived , heard the reports of the pastors, canvassed the Presbyterians in town and announced se r v ic e s in the court house on the follow in g Sabbath* A goodly congregation appeared, and a fte r the sermon, he told them to prepare for regular church work. They seemed pleased at the prospect* Having planned to work slowly and thoroughly, Dr. Fraser announced that he would be in San Bernardino during the follow in g week, but that he would hold se r v ic e s in the courthouse again in two weeks. When the day arrived, another good congregation greeted the m issionary, and on that occasion, January 11, 1874, he organized the F ir st Presbyterian Ghurch of Los Angeles with twenty members and two eld ers which grew s te a d ily with the c i t y , the most important church in the Presbytery u n til i t s parish was overwhelmed by the encroaching business d i s t r i c t . After a period of calm s a ilin g t h is church was again the center o f storm and stra 88. On h is f i r s t v i s i t to San Bernardino, Dr. Fraser found that a former Presbyterian elder, a Dr. Craig, w&s most anxious to see a Presbyterian church in that town, ^Fraser, L etter to Dr. H i l l , Jan. El, 1901. 36 the eastern gateway to Southern C a lifo rn ia . A good many of the Presbyterians, however, were already united with the Congregational or other ohurches, which were most loath to give them up. The Methodist m in ister offered the use o f h is church, saying that the town needed a l l the church workers p ossib le and that some would never work outside of th e ir own church home. A fter a l l p a r tie s had considered the matter for a fo rtn ig h t, Dr. Fraser on h is return tr ip , January 18, 1874, organized a Presbyterian church, the f i r s t within the bounds of the present R iver side Presbytery. The church at Orange was founded in the same year, and in the next year the church at Pasadena was organized, when Mrs. Stoneman, a former worker in the Wilmington church, presented a p e t itio n signed by some th ir ty persons asking the Presbytery to organize the church. The Santa Monica c h u r c h , which in early days held se rv ices for the v a c a tio n is ts on the beach in sunmer even ings, also appeared on the r o l l in 1676, as did Santa Ana, one of the churches that had ups and downs as agricultu re flourished or f a ile d . At the second meeting of the Presbytery in 1674, i t was decided to hold the annual mootings in April instead of in March because the roads would be b etter by that time. Paved boulevaras were s t i l l a dream of the fu ture. An 36 adjourned meeting was held at the meeting of the Synod in October and a called meeting or two in the course of the year i f necessary. A moderator for the year was chosen at the spring meeting. The b usiness of the Pres bytery was assigned to the several standing committees, and as the p astors ware few in number each served on several committees. Hew m in isters ware received , th eir c r e d e n tia ls being s a tis fa c to r y , and those wishing to leave were dismissed to other P resb y teries. M inisters were assigned as stated su pp lies to vacant pu^^pits, and others ware in s ta lle d as pastors where churches were strong enough to c a l l a p astor. The records of the s e s sion of each church were examined yea rly . Buies of pro cedure were la id down for the clerk s of the se ssio n s. Ways and means of a s s i s t i n g feeb le churches ware devised. Requests for aid from the Home Board were equalized and sent in . The amounts asked and the amounts granted each year appear in the m inutes. The task of building churches during t h is period of fin a n c ia l depression never could have been carried on without the aid of the Board of Church Erection which granted ten per cent of the cost and loaned a further sum on a ten year plan. Passing on these requ ests was one of the d u ties o f Presbytery. Manses were obtained in the same way. Because of crop f a ilu r e s or other d is a s te r s , the struggling churches 37 Often found i t d i f f i c u l t to meat th e ir o b lig a tio n s , yet since certa in id e a ls of service ware always deemed a necessary part of church growth, every congregation was urged to contribute something, though but a m ite, to Home and Foreign M issions, Sunday School P u b lication s, Freedman, R e lie f and Sustantation, General C hristian Education of Ghurch Leaders, e t c . The Presbytery from the f i r s t took an a ctiv e in te r e st in c iv ic a f f a i r s . It was in flu e n t ia l in e s ta b lis h in g several academies and at a la te r date, in founding Occidental O ollage. Through the various churches the Presbytery advocated b etter observance of the Sabbath and promoted the cause of temperance. The influence of the Presbytery as a s o c ia l fa cto r would be d i f f i c u l t to measure, but the need for churches was gen erally recognized, though t h is was a period marked by a general slump in evangelism.^ The m issio n a ries went about v i s i t i n g fa m ilie s , holding se r v ic es, and organizing Sunday Schools. Many of the l a t t e r eventually grew into churches. In sp ite of the drought and hard times re su ltin g from other causes, tw enty-six churches had been started before the end of the decade. ^W aber, S t a t i s t i c s , 1 8 2 6 - 1 9 E 6 , 6 1 . ( C h a r t show ing p e r i o d s o f r e v i v a l and slu m p s i n e v a n g e l i s m . ) 3 8 On one occasion when Dr. Fraser had gone to San Diego to help out while the p u lp it there was vacant, he made h is f i r s t tr ip into Arizona. In a l e t t e r to Dr. Edgar P. H il l, of Oregon, w ritten in 1901, he says;^ I took a stage ride of over two hundred m iles to Arizona Oity through a horribly wild and d esolate country—lik e your lava beds in Oregon—encountered sand storms worse than any blizzard I ever experienced in VUsconsin, and on reaching my d estin a tio n , took quarters with a Chinaman who kept the only public house in the p la ce . Ha gave me the best room he had, but I could w rite my name in the dust on every a r t ic le in the room. At the head of my bad was a window, and in one of the panes a round hold just big enough to put my fin g er through. I asked the landlord how that hole came th ere. He said that a man was shot in that bad yesterday. "What you here fort A in ’t you afraid to be heref " V/hen I explained, he seemed in te r e ste d , and whan I l e f t charged me only h a lf price as he said--and subscribed for the O ccident. On v i s i t i n g from house to house as usual in a new f i e l d , I found h a lf a dozen woman members of as many d iffe r e n t churches but not a man p rofessing r e lig io n in a population of 1,000. Ho r e lig io u s se r v ic e s of any kind had been held in the place for yea rs. A large h a ll was shown me that I could use for preaching. I put up n o tic e s and told every one I could reach of preaching the next Sabbath. Though before Sunday came Dr. Fraser had begun to f e e l him self the "Solitary rep resen tative not of Presby ter ianism so much as of C hristian ity" , the day held some su rp rises for him. From the fo r t across the riv er came ^Fraser, L etter to Dr. Edgar P. H il l, 1901. 3 9 the m ilita r y commander, an elder of the Presbyterian church, to in v ite him to dinner a fte r s e r v ic e s, and when they reached the h a ll, i t was packed so f u l l that the missionary could scarce crowd through to the platform. Whan he gave out a hymn, a few women started the tune, got frightened and q u it. So the service proceeded without music. The pastor preached for an hour on the words, "Lord, I b e lie v e . Help thou mine unbelief", and announced serv ices for the evening. When he returned from the fo r t with h is m ilita r y frien d , in the evening, they found the place so crowded they could scarcely get in . Men stood around the door and peered into the windows. There was no music, but Lr. Fraser made up the lack by preaching for an hour and a h a lf . Then Dr. Fraser goes on to say, "On Monday morning everybody was a fte r me. ’W hy can’t we have t h is a l l the timet Why can’t you stay with ust * A judge said ’ the most d e lig h tfu l Sunday since I l e f t my eastern home." Another— ’the f i r s t sermon 1 have heard in twenty y e a r s . ’ Writing a l l t h i s to the Board and bagging them to send a man to Arizona Oity to follow up the work, I got, as in the case of Los Angeles, no response. Perhaps they had no man to send, or they were afraid of the expanse. Perhaps, a lso , tho men they might have sent were afraid of the clim ate; i t i s the h o tte s t place on the continent." 40 Suoh was the work of tha m ioolonarias who pioauerad in new f i e l d s ; they gathered a congregation by canvassing the town, they secured a h a ll to preach in, they were wholly responsible for the success of the s e r v ic e s, they aroused public opinion in favor of r e lig io u s work in church and Sunday School, they planned Sunday School lib r a r ie s and introduced r e lig io u s p u b lica tio n s, they estab lish ed contact between out of tha way p la ces and the Home Mission Board, and they served as s p ir itu a l advisors to many tired so u ls. In 1876, the report of the Presbytery showed eleven churches, seven church b u ild in gs and one parsonage, and stated that Los Angelas and Santa -Barbara were s e l f - supporting, but the next year sawy the beginning of a period of gloom. However, narrative report for 1877, shows two new b u ild in gs, one in Pasadena and one in Colton, mentions a m ission for the Chinese in Los Angelas and bravely s ta te s that a l l the churches had had a ccessio n s by f a ith and that no church had become ex tin ct during the year.^ The next year, 1878, was one of great discourage ment. This was the year of the great drought, of fin a n c ia l stringency, of in d ifferen ce about questions of public m orality and of irreverence for the ordinances of r e lig io n . M in u te s o f th e L os A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y . I , 5 8 . 41 Bundey School attendaiicQ f e l l o f f , congregations scattered and pastors found i t hard to secure support in th eir work. Ho new ohurches were sta rted . The meeting of 1879, had bean scheduled for Oolton, but the stated clerk , knowiing Colton to be without a pastor and fearing the congregation too weakened to en ter ta in Presbytery, changed the meeting place to Anaheim by means of a n o tice in the O ccident. At the meeting of 1880, the Colton congregation reported that they had been preparing to take care of the Presbytery and ware much disappointed, at the notice of the change. Ho t e l e phones or d a ily mail service expedited correspondence in those days. Though the fin a n c ia l depression was s t i l l great, the report shows b etter Sabbath attendance, good r e s u lt s in the temperance work, and improvement in so c ia l m orality and order. Two church b u ild in gs were completed and a church was organized in R iverside and two in Arizona. A third church was organized in Arizona in 1880. The poverty of the churches was so great that in 1880, eleven of tha eighteen churches were vacant or soon would be, and i t became necessary to group two or three under one pastor. Perhaps t h is year Was the turning point in the general f in a n c ia l, p o l i t i c a l and r e lig io u s slumn. When unemployment was high, taxes and other causes of d iscon ten t, aggravated by the drought of 1878, had 4E become unbearable, mob demonstrations against g r a fte r s and several d isg ra cefu l anti-O hine se r i o t s showed that a change must be made. An aroused public opinion had at l a s t forced a p o l i t i c a l housecleaning in San Francisco and in the state government at Sacramento. A new state c o n s titu tio n providing for the b etter regu lation of courts, taxes, railroad r a te s , fra n ch ises, and land t i t l e s , as w ell as other measures tending to am eliorate the economic con d ition s which had caused general, s o c ia l, commercial and in d u str ia l i n s t a b i l i t y , had been adopted May 17, 1789.^ It was some time, however, before a l l the hoped for b e n e fits were achieved. In 1681, Presbytery began to urge upon the churches the n e c e s s ity of meeting th e ir o b lig a tio n s to the Ghurch Erection Board and of assuming f u l l r e s p o n s ib ility for the p a sto r 's salary, la r g e ly provided for so far by the Home Mission Board. The committee on Ghurch Erection pointed out that the Board had given the churches six thousand, one hundred d o lla r s , or ten d o lla r s per member, while the churches had returned but six ty d o lla r s , or o about one d o lla r per member. The Home M ission committee reported that p r a c t ic a lly every church had received aid ^Gleland, op. c i t .. 4EE. P M in u t e s o f th e L o s A n g e la s P r e s b y t e r y , I , 1 1 5 . 43 toward the salary o f a sta ted supply or a pastor from the extent of $250 at Ojai to $1,500 at Tuscon. At th is meeting the Commissioners to General Assembly wore in stru cted to join with the m in isters and churches of Arizona in requesting that Arizona be attached to the Presbytery of Santa Fe, since Santa Fe was more a c c e s s ib le fo r them. The tr a n sfe r was soon a fte r made. The r e lig io u s narrative fo r 1881,^ comments on the increased attendance at se r v ic e s, on more l i b e r a l i t y in g iv in g , more d ilig e n t study of the S criptures, and the catechism, but adds "we cannot shut our eyes to the fa ct that there i s a great s p ir itu a l dearth throughout the region." A ll forms of sin and i n i quity, v ice and immorality, intemperance and profanity were prevalent . The Reverend H. M etcalf of the Presbytery of Hebraska, agent of the American Sunday School Union was commended for h is e x c ellen t work in supplying lite r a tu r e and Sunday School supplies fo r the Sunday Schools which he organized in d e s titu te p la c e s. He was one of a number of such agents who, in the course of years, traveled thousands of homes, and started Sunday Schools and furnished Sunday School lib r a r ie s where nothing of the sort had e x iste d b efore. Some of the Sunday Schools grew in to ^M in u te s o f t h e Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , I , 115 44 churches; a l l served a crying need.^ In A pril, 1882, San Diego was the only s e l f - su staining church. The Presbytery reminded the pastors that the Board had been lib e r a l for a long period "and that now the churches must learn to be self-su p p o rtin g ; that the pastors must arouse the people to ask fo r le s s and give more," or the Presbytery would be obliged to cut down on the req u ests. In that year the churches had received $5,450 from the Home Mission Board and returned $193.50. This year was marked by the organizations of m issions among the Spanish of Los H ietos, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, and by m issions fo r the Chinese. On April 14, 1883, the Presbytery held i t s eleventh meeting at Santa Barbara, most of the members going up by boat. This occasion marked the end of the f i r s t decade of the Presbytery. While the churches were a l l , with one or two excep tions, s t i l l dependent on the Home Mission Board, the prospects of sev era l promised self-su p p o rt in the near fu tu re. Improved economic con d itio n s were general throughout the region. Home and Synodical m ission aries reported the ^M in u te s o f t h e Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , I , 117 45 organization of four Spanish churches. It was resolved that h ere a fter a l l converts from Romanism must be b aptized. The ru le was not to apply to those already accepted by the m issio n a ries.^ The San Bernardino church was reorganized and plans were made fo r organizing churches in many places where m issionary work had been carried on. The Women’ s P resbyterial S o c ie tie s fo r carrying on Home Mission work made th e ir f i r s t report at t h i s meeting, though the women’ s s o c ie t ie s had done valian t work from the f i r s t . The Women’ s Mission S o ciety or the Women’ s Aid S ociety had kept many a stru gglin g church going. The C aliforn ia branch of the Women’ s Foreign Mission Board which had been organized in 1873, was merged in the Occidental Board of the P a c ific Coast in 1881; and the Women’ s Synodical S o ciety for Home M issions was esta b lish ed in 1879, and the P re sb y ter ia l S ociety in 1883.^ A comparison of the f i r s t and the eleventh reports w ill shov/ something of the net progress, but t e l l s l i t t l e about the e ffo r t expended or the in fluence for good exerted in many p laces: ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, I, 150. 'E. A. Wicher, op. c i t ., 286, 292 ïlin u tes of the Los Ang 1873, I, 11; 1883, I. 159. Minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery, S t a t i s t i c a l Report, 46 1073 1883 M inisters 9 25 Churches 6 23 Members (no account of mere attendance) 175 859 Sunday School Members 325 1,283 Contribution to Home M issions # 90.00 # 488.00 Contribution to Foreign Missions $ 62.00 $ 238.00 Total Money Used # 4,528.80 | 31,878.00 When the Los Angeles Presbytery began the second decade of i t s work, p o l i t i c a l and economic conditions were considerably improved under the working of the new c o n s ti tu tio n of 1879; a more eq u itab le system of land assessment had been esta b lish ed ; the sa le o f water for ir r ig a tio n purposes had been put under o f f i c i a l regulation; a State Board of Railroad Commissioners had been esta b lish ed to regulate r a te s , examine accounts, and prevent unlawful d iscrim ination s of various so r ts.^ P o l i t i c a l m orality, however, was s t i l l at a low ebb. The Central-Southern P a c ific Railroads were s t i l l accused of p o l i t i c a l mani p u lation s, and the blame fo r a l l l e g i s l a t i v e i l l s v/as la id at th e ir door. The improvement in the general condition of the s ta te was r e fle c te d in church a f f a i r s . In the f i r s t three years of t h is decade the churches paid o ff a large portion of th e ir indebtedness, f iv e new b uildings were put up in ^Cleland, op. c i t .. Ch. IQ iY lll• 47 the year 1885 alone, and the churches in the larger centers were grov/ing stronger and more prosperous. Four churches were organized in 1883, f iv e in 1884, four in 1885, and fiv e more in 1886,^ and the minutes of the Presbytery for April, 1887, show that the number of com municants to be 2,333, while the Bunday Bchool had a 2 membership of 2,838." This was a slow but su b sta n tia l growth. The Los Angeles City churches were growing more rapidly than those in the stru gglin g rural towns. A number of m in isters who have la t e r made h i s tory in the Presbytery were added to the r o l ls during th is p eriod. Among them was the Reverend W illian S. Young, who began h is work in the Riverdale (Glendale) Presbyterian Church in 1884, organized the Boyle (Hollenbeck) Heights Presbyterian Church in 1886, and served as i t s pastor fo r ten years. He was chairman of the informal committee instrumental in founding Occidental College of which he has been secretary of the board from the beginning to the present time; he has served as stated clerk and treasurer of the Presbytery sin ce 1899 (with the exception of one term), and as sta te d clerk of the Bynod since 1892. He is pastor emeritus of Knox Church in Los Angeles, which he organized in 1896, and of which he was pastor from 1902, ^See Appendix 1. ^Minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery, I, 294. 4 8 u n t il he became Superintendent of the Hollenbeck Home fo r the Aged in 1907, the p o sitio n which he now h o ld s . A ltogether Dr. Young has served the Los Angeles Presbytery in various c a p a c itie s fo r f o r t y - s i x years. Among the men who were a ctiv e in th is period are Reverend A. Moss Merwin, noted for m issionary work among the Mexicans, Reverend M. Boal, who has served as a f a i t h f u l pastor, W . D. Chichester, who started Immanuel Church as an o ff shoot of Los Angeles F ir s t Church. In 1883, there were tw en ty-five m in isters on the r o l l , f if t y - s e v e n in 1887, and seventy-nine in 1893. The population of Los Angeles had increased from 11,000 in 1880, to 50,395 in 1890. In the f a l l of 1883, the Presbytery decided that two meetings a year were necessary to transact i t s growing b u sin e ss. The rules were changed to e le c t a moderator at each semi-annual meeting; in the f a l l meeting of 1885, the minutes record several changes in ru les and procedures :^ 1 The Spring Meeting should consider the work of the sev era l boards and of the General Assembly; the a ffa ir s of the several churches as presented in th e ir records and reports; and the business of the Sierra Madre C ollege. E The F a ll Meeting should deal with general popular t o p ic s . Systematic b e n e f ic ie n c ie s , Temperance, Sunday Schools, e t c . ^Minutes o f the Los Angeles Presbyt ery , I, EEB 49 3 A docket of business should be made out fo r each meeting. 4 The order of e x e rc ises in organizing a church. 5 D irection s for moderating a pastor. 6 Rules fo r keeping the records of s e s s io n s . 7 Order of in s t a llin g a p a sto r. 8 A lphabetical abstract of Rules for J u d ic a to r ies. Under the scheme of representation in the General Assembly, one m inister and one elder fo r each twenty-four m in isters or fr a c tio n thereof greater than on e-h a lf, the Presbytery sent two m in isters and two elders to the General Assembly of 1885. In the f a l l meeting of 1883, the Presbytery resolved to incorporate under the name of "The Presbytery of Los Angeles" in order that i t might hold property and transact fin a n c ia l and le g a l business of various kinds. A committee on Educational I n s t itu tio n s was also named in the f a l l meeting of 1883. The Presbytery was always in te r e ste d in furth ering schools which should pre pare leaders for the world’ s work. In t h is decade a number of schools were organized by men belonging to the Presbytery, i f not by the Presbytery i t s e l f . The i l l - f a t e d Sierra Madre College of Pasadena, incorporated in 1884, was overwhelmed by fin a n c ia l d i f f i c u l t i e s from the f i r s t . A committee appointed by the Presbytery f i n a l l y sold the 50 property, paid, o f f the in str u c to rs, defended a le g a l action brought by the Pasadena School Board over t i t l e to part of the property, and f i n a l l y before the end of the decade wound up the matter, returning the net proceeds to the o r ig in a l donors of the property to the c o lle g e . A seminary for young la d ie s was planned for Pomona, in connection with an academy fo r both sexes,^ on October 6, 1883. The Board of Home M issions in November, 1883, offered to aid a school for Indian Youth. Such an in s t it u t io n was esta b lish ed in San Diego County. The most su ccessfu l and important school founded with the a ssista n c e of the Presby tery was Occidental C ollege, incorporated in 1885. It began a building on Boyle Heights; when t h is was burned down, the c o lleg e found quarters in a downtown building u n t i l it moved to b uildings of i t s own in Garvanzaoin 1898. For some years the Presbytery nominated the can didates fo r the Board of Trustees, and has always been activ e in ra isin g funds fo r the in s t it u t io n , and took a l i v e l y in te r e s t in i t s a f f a ir s while i t needed h elp . The co lle g e management has fo r some years been t o t a l l y inde pendent of the Presbytery, though the Presbytery, as always, is in te r e ste d in aiding in endowment campaigns and other matters where it can be of a s s is ta n c e . ^M in u te s o f t h e Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , I I , 1 1 . 51 It depends on the College for the tra in in g of many of i t s le a d e r s. Beaumont C ollege, proposed in 1887, did not m a teria lize Though in creasin g p rosp erity was evident, the Presbytery and the in divid ual pastors seem to have found i t hard to get the churches to contribute to the eight general boards of the church: Home M issions, Foreign M issions, R eligious Education, Sunday School and P ublica tio n s , Church Erection, M in iste r ia l B e lie f and Sustenation, Freedmen, Aid for C olleges. In 1683, the committee on system atic benevolence set out to educate the churches to comply with t h is aim: Something from each church. Something from each member. From each according to h is a b i l i t y . In 1883, f iv e churches, Arlington, San Buena Ventura, Anaheim, Orange and Los Alamos reported something for each of the eight boards, Westminster and Colton reported seven c o lle c t io n s , Santa Barbara, s ix , and Los Angeles F ir s t , fou r. Eight others reported from three to one, but seven churches did not raise a penny fo r any one of the Boards. The report of supporting boards went on to say that some churches having had aid from the Board of Church Erection and from the Home Mission Board had given nothing. 1 Minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery, I I , 11. 62 Though the Arlington (R iverside) Church had given $5.22 per member for the eight boards, San Buenaventura, $4.50, Anaheim, $4.34, the Westminster, $2.94, Los Alamos, $1.87, and Santa Barbara, $1.34, the average of the Presbytery per member for the Home Mission Board was only f i f t y - seven cen ts, in sp ite of th e ir indebtedness to t h is Board. In every church a few members were g iv in g a l l , or nearly a l l , while the m ajority v/ere g iv in g nothing. Only two churches in the Presbytery were self-su p p o rtin g . In the face of these conditions the churches were asked to become se lf-su p p o rtin g as soon as p o ssib le , and to take up a c o lle c t io n fo r each of the eight boards during the year. The minutes fo r the meeting of A pril, 1884, show that a motion was made not to endorse a request fo r aid from any church which had not contributed to the boards The narrative says that the year has been prosperous, that there are more members and more churches, s t i l l the churches p are not s e lf-s u p p o r tin g . The report fo r 1885, shows that debts were being l i f t e d and the minutes of A pril, 1887, sta te that the contributions of the churches were increasin g.^ ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, I, 182, 187 i d ,, 282. 2 9 4 . 5 3 In 1883 and 1884, the Women’s Missionary S o c ie tie s were doing such good work wherever organized that i t was determined to send a woman around to d iscuss these organizations in churches where none ex iste d with the view of g e ttin g the women of a l l the churches organized. A Sunday Bchool demonstration was planned for A pril, 1885. The Bunday School Board was in te r e ste d in fu rth ering the work. For some years w riters of boods and magazine a r t ic le s had been p raising C alifornia clim ate, f r u it and flow ers in the most extravagant t e r m s A s ir r ig a tio n developed and land was s t i l l comparatively cheap, a great many came annually to C aliforn ia, and more would have come but for the lack of transportation f a c i l i t i e s . In 1885, the Santa Fe Railroad, leading d ir e c tly in to Southern C aliforn ia, was completed. In 1886, a rate war between t h is road and th e Southern P a c ific reduced fares from M ississip p i V alley points from $125 to almost nothing. For three months a f iv e d o lla r rate from Missouri to Los Angeles obtained, and fo r one day in th is rate war, the price of tran scon tin en tal t ic k e t s was only one d o lla r . A great many people came to Southern C alifornia at t h is time, causing a boom in prosp erity, more or l e s s orderly during 1886-1887 • ^Cleland, op. c i t . , 440. 54 Twelve new ohurohos were organized in 1887;^ tha number of m in iste rs jumped from 37 in 1886, to 57 in 1887, and the church membership for the year Increased from 2,333 to 3,4 7 4 . The contrib ution to Home M issions increased from $800 odd to §2,544. The In tern a tional Land and Water Company, carrying on a g r ic u ltu r a l work in Lower O alifornia employed a great many Americans. The Reverend Isaac White organized a church for them at Ensenada, which was, by request, added to Los Angeles Presbytery. It was d issolved when the company 2 gave up i t s operations and the Americans l e f t Mexico. A plan for a Central Corporation to take over the management of a l l schools to be fostered by the Presby tery was under con sid eration. Before circum stances permitted the completion of the plan, the establishm ent of public high schools throughout the state made the need of private academies to prepare students for c o lleg e l e s s necessary. The energy of the Presbytery was hereforth devoted to building up Occidental C ollege. In the meantime the "Great Boom" took Southern C a lifo rn ia . Before the close of 1887, tw enty-five town s i t e s he-à been la id out along the Santa Po Railroad between the ^See Appendix 1; or Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, I, 281; II, 5, 24. 2 Dr. W . S. Young, the stated clerk , Private Interview. 55 San Bernardino county lin e and Los Angeles. Most of these la t e r grew into towns. But in 1088, w ildcat spe ^iilat ioi.s la id out towre in the d ese rts and on the under-developed h i l l s i d e s and in brushy and sandy wastes with no water supply and no other r e q u is ite s for maintaining a population; but people bought without in v e stig a tio n or carried away by mob psychology, without use o f sober ju d g m e n t In some of these not a home was ever esta b lish ed ; others were soon deserted. This was the period when the big frame to u r ist h o te ls were scattered over the country sid e . One of the la s t of these romantic monuments to economic f o l l y , a fter a checkered h isto r y , was re c e n tly torn down at La Verne to make room for a modern b u ild in g. When the collap se came, not a few "towns" were l e f t with one Inhabitant— the watch man of the empty to u r ist h o te l. During the rush of these events in 1888, f i f t e e n 2 churches were organized in the Presbytery. Though most of them survived, some soon passed out; a few endured for a score of years before changing con d itions scattered th e ir congregations. Others, lik e the boom towns, died a-borning and were never recorded. Six new churches were ^Oleland, op. c i t ., 443. ^Sea A p p e n d ix 1 ; o r M in u t e s o f th e L o s A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , I I , 24, 51. 5 6 founded In 1889,^ but the members of several d rifte d away before they ware ever e n r o lle d . I f property had bean donated to the church, i t came into the control of the Presbytery when the churches were d isso lv e d . At a la te r date other churches ware not infrequently estab lish ed on these s i t e s . ^See Appendix 1; or Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, II, 100. 134. CHAP TER FOUR THE TURN OF THE CENTURY 1090-1910 The twenty years follow ing 1890, form a tr a n s itio n period between pioneer times and the modern era of opulence. Few s e c tio n s of the world ever developed more rapid ly than Southern C aliforn ia during that time. In 1890, the census showed the population to be 50,395, which grew to 102,479 in 1900, and to 219,198 in 1 9 1 0 p A fter the fin a n c ia l depression of 1893 had passed, a period of in ten siv e development began. Great acreages were set out in orchards or planted to a g r ic u ltu ra l crops. New county and sta te roads and a network of interurban e l e c t r i c and steam railw ays opened the way to markets. Commerce and industry grew in the towns and c i t i e s . If the c la t t e r of t h i s new order of thin gs broke the drowsy charm of the somnolent, sunny afternoon sty le o f early C aliforn ia l i f e , i t was destined to produce more of the n e c e s s i t i e s , comforts and culture of progressive c i v iliz e d l i f e . The churches played a part in the l i f e of the tim es. P resbyterian church membership increased more than ^ U n ite d S t a t e s C e n s u s , 1 9 1 0 , P o p u l a t i o n , I I , 152 58 three times as f a s t as the population betv-zeen 1875 and 1910, and some other ohurches grew in number even more ra p id ly , but much remained to be done, for the church census of 1916, showed that the t o t a l church membership of the State of O a lifo r n ls was scarce one-third of the population*^ It Is tru e, of 00 u rse, that many immigrant church members n eg lect to a f f i l i a t e with any church a fte r coming to C a lifo rn ia , so that there i s always a large Inactive r e lig io u s group in the so c ia l body. To get such people into a ctiv e service again i s one of the perennial problems in C alifornia church work. The p articu lar problems of the Presbytery in 1690, were ( l) to provide new churches where needed and to build up weak churches; (2) to finance the work of the Presbytery; (5) to reorganize various branches of church work to meet the needs of the tim es. Most important was the n e c e ssity of rousing the ohurches to th e ir o b lig a tio n to support the work of Christ in th e ir own congregations f i r s t , and secondly in the wider f i e l d s of universal church work. The members of the churches of the southland a fte r twenty years of leaning on the Home Board for aid seemed s a t is f ie d with the habit of dependence; n either did the m ajority show much in te r e s t in any r e lig io u s work outside the narrow ^R elig io u s Census of 1916. 59 round of th e ir own oommunity l i f e . Between 1894 and 1698, ten new churches were organized, only four of which s t i l l s u r v i v e S o m e lik e hankershim, in the town of that name; Central, in Los Angeles; and O live, in Orange County, served for years before changing environment forced th e ir abandonment, while others lik e Almondale, Vineland and Del Mar never grew strong. Some are now in other p r e sb y te r ie s. The Presbytery was maintaining m ission chapels for the Mexicans in several communities and for the Welsh, Chinese and other n a t io n a lit ie s in Los Angeles. Sunday School and Home M ission aries went tra v elin g through the countryside, v i s i t i n g homes, passing out r e lig io u s p e r io d ic a ls and other lit e r a tu r e , helping and advising strugglin g ohurches in rural towns, founding Sunday Schools in new f i e l d s , thus preparing the way for p the churches of the futu re. By such incessant t o i l was the gospel work carried on. As p rosp erity increased, a wave of church building swept over the Presbytery and churches in the longer esta b lish e d or more prosperous centers replaced th e ir pioneer b u ild in g s by more commodious stru ctu res, while new churches ^Appendix 1. ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, IV, 418. 60 struggled to put up t h e ir f i r s t b u ild in g s. P r a c tic a lly a l l of them borrowed some money from the Board of Church E rectio n . The problem which most challenged the e f f o r t s of Presbytery was how to train the rank and f i l e to give each according to h is a b i l i t y to the support of each of the eight Church Boards. Though a few churches in the large centers had, before the end of the century, not only achieved se lf-su p p o r t, but also assumed r e s p o n s ib ility for d e f in it e m ission work, fa r too many churches were s t i l l dependent upon the Home Mission Board fo r a id . The annual o ffe rin g s to th is Board, as w ell as those to other general boards, was p i t i f u l l y inadequate. Though each church had been urged to hold a sp ec ia l c o lle c tio n for each cause each year, there was no uniform ity in the sums ra ised . Some weak ohurches gave much, and some rich churches, n o th in g . The r e s u lts seemed to depend upon the enthusiasm of the p a rticu la r pastor or of some member. It became clear that a general system of some sort was necessary. Consequently, various methods of c o lle c tin g these funds were d iscu ssed and t r ie d . Though the .Presbytery was not yet prepared to adopt the "big business" methods now in use, the f i r s t steps toward securing system atic support of church benevolences were taken. A program of bpecial Sundays for the demonstration of the work of each General Ô1 Board was planned, so that each should receive sp e c ia l a tte n tio n on i t s a llo t e d day.^ Perhaps the needs of the Homo Mission work pre sented the most v i t a l problem. Up to t h is time the con trib u tio n to Home and Foreign Mission Boards had come from the congregation as a whole. In A pril, 1697, the women contributed $2,290 and boxes worth $1,444 to Home Mission work, and the Women's P re sb y teria l S o ciety aided by the Young Peoples' S ociety gave tw o-thirds of a l l the money contributed to Foreign M issions.^ But these sums were very small compared with the money which Los Angeles Presbytery had received and was re ce iv in g . Some congre g a tio n s gave nothing at a l l . Since Los Angeles Presbytery was no longer a poverty-ridden, sparsely s e t t le d fr o n tie r te r r it o r y , the church leaders f e l t that the Presbyterians could and should furnish more toward the support of the Mission Board which had long aided the churches of Southern C a lifo r n ia . It was announced that Presbytery would h e s it a t e to recommend requests fo r aid for churches givin g l i t t l e or n o th in g . In order to get each member to consider the needs of each board, and to contribute according to h is a b i l i t y . ^Minutes of the Los Angeles p resbvtery. I I I , 222. 323. 62 o&ràs with blanks for su b scrip tion s to each cause were d istrib u ted to a l l church members.^ At the same time p astors were requested to preach sp e c ia l sermons on the days a llo t t e d to each and the se ssio n s were urged to make plans to secure a good response* The sermons in behalf of Home M issions explaining th e ir indebtedness to the Home M ission drew a considerable c o l le c t io n from non-members and from non-subscribers* In 1894, the la s t Sunday in January was set aside as Education Day, when pastors explained the need of trained man for the m inistry and urged the n e c e s s ity of r a is in g funds to a s s i s t worthy young men through co lleg e and th e o lo g ic a l seminary. But as la t e as 1698, tw enty-five churches f a ile d to contribute to the Educational Board.^ The M in is te r ia l R e lie f fund was sadly neglected during the early decades o f i t s h is to r y . The Centeriary Fund of 1888,^ had been c o lle c te d when C aliforn ia was su ffer in g the rea ctio n from the ”great boom". But a fte r twenty or th ir ty years the m in isters who had labored for meagre s a la r ie s when times were hard had reached the and ^Minutes of the Los Angelas P resb ytery, I I I , 325. 1 2.. ^ I b id ., 281. ^ïïabar, op. c i t . . 132. 62 o f th eir careers* Some had died leaving l i t t l e for their fa m ilie s ; others grew too feeb le to serve fu rth er, though they had been unable to accumulate a competence for old age. The report to the Presbytery in A pril, 1895, shows that th ir te e n fa m ilie s needing aid had received ^2,250 from the Board of M in is te r ia l R e lie f while the to ta l c o l le c ted in the Presbytery for that year was only #814.^ In the year 1897, only th ir ty -n in e of the seven ty-eigh t churches contributed to t h is fund.^ Iios Angeles Presbytery undertook to r a ise i t s quota of the Quarter-Century Reunion Fund, when the General Assembly in 1895, in it ia te d a movement to r a ise a §1,000,000 fund to memorialize the reunion of the Old and Hew School Branches, the money to be applied to the work of the General Church Boards.^ In the l a s t decade of the century, the Young Peoples* Society f i r s t gain mention in the minutes of the Presbytery"^ when a model c o n s titu tio n subject to the d ir e c tio n of the Presbytery was proposed for the use of a l l such organ ization s in i t s churches, and in 1897, the Young Peoples* S o c ie tie s were asked to hold th e ir conventions at the time of the F a ll Presbytery. The se ssio n s were asked to emphasize ^Minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery, I I I , 75. ^I b ia . . 225. ^Ib ld . . 127. ^ Ib id .. 219. 64 the rule of the General Assembly that the Young Peoples* S o c ie tie s ware subject to th e ir d ir e c tio n . In 1897, the P resbyterian H is to r ic a l Society in Philadelphia asked that the o b itu a r ie s of a l l pastors dying in the Presbytery be reported to that body,^ and in 1898, the Presbytery appointed a committee^ to keep a memorial of the l i f e of each pastor dying in the Presbytery, the f a c t s as soon as learned to be engrossed in a book kept for that purpose. At the same time the pastors of the various churches were asked to report the leading f a c t s about a l l eld e rs and deacons who died in t h i s Presbytery. In 1895, the f i r s t seriou s trouble with a r e fr a c tory pastor and congregation occurred.^ A bare m ajority, f i f t y - f i v e per cent, of the congregation of the Los Angeles F ir st Ohurch voted to S a ll the property at Second and Broad way ano build at Twentieth and Figueroa. When the Presbytery met the m inority protested end demanded a share of the pro ceeds of the sale of the property, declaring th eir in te n tio n to e s ta b lis h a new church in the old p arish . Both claimed the name. A ll attempts at r e c o n c ilia tio n having f a ile d , the ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, III , 278 ^I b ia . . 280. .. 185} l o s Angeles Times. Jan. 26, 1898. ‘ ^Ibld.. 185-186. 65 Presbytery attempted to s e t t l e the dispute by c a llin g the m inority fa c tio n the Central Church and the Figueroa Street congregation the Westminster and awarded the Central Church §£2,7 91 as i t s share of the property, guaranteeing i t by a l i e n on the Figueroa Street property, a mortgage of §10,000 being placed on the property. The Central Church agreed to these terms, but the Figueroa congregation f l a t l y refused, seceded from the Presbytery, and continued to defy the auth ority of the Presbytery u n til the l a t t e r had been upheld by the higher church ju d ic a to r ie s and the s t a t e ' s cou rts. The State Supreme Court ruled in part that the A r t ic le s of Incorporation of a church are a mere convenience in transac tin g b usiness and do not supersede the e c c l e s i a s t i c a l author i t y of the Presbytery or permit a church to withdraw from i t s ju r is d ic tio n .^ After dealing with the refactory pastor, B. E. 2 Howard, and the se ssio n , the Presbytery ca lled the two churches together to thrash out th eir d iffe r e n c e s . The Cen t r a l Church f i n a l l y , in December, 1899, gave up a l l claim to the Figueroa Street property and the la te r church was permitted to keep the name F ir s t . The Central Church without funds to b uild, held ^M in u t e s o f t he L o s A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , I I I , 1 8 5 ; L os A n g e le s T im e s , J a n . £6 , 1 8 9 8 . ^I b ia .. 185-186. 343-345. 6 6 services in various down tnwn h a lls for a number of years u n t il they were able to purchase an old mansion at Second and H ill s t r e e t s which they remodeled for a church. When the business d i s t r i c t f i n a l l y over-whelmed the parish, the remaining members took l e t t e r s to the Immanuel Church, th eir pastor becoming a s s is ta n t pastor of Immanuel u n til he took charge of a colony church on Vermont Avenue.^ In 1896, the Presbytery of Los Angeles overtured the Synod of C aliforn ia to erect a Presbytery to be known as Santa Barbara, which should comprise Santa Barbara and Ventura co u n ties, then a part of Los Angelas Presbytery. The county of San Luis Obispo from San Jose Presbytery also became a part of Santa Barbara Presbytery. Twelve m in isters and fourteen churches were detached from Los Angeles Presby- o tery to form the new presbytery. The tw e n ty -iifth anniversary of the Presbytery was observed by a program given A pril 15, 1898, in the Third Presbyterian Church of Los Angelas. Papers rem iniscent and prophetic were read by Reverend Robert Strong, Reverend W . S. 5 Young and Reverend H. P. Wilour. The er ec tio n of the Riverside Presbytery in 1902, took from the r o l l of the Presbytery in Los Angeles, twelve A. Wicher, op. p i t ., 228-229. ^I b id ., 251; Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, III , 196. ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, I I I , 267. 1 » "-T T: B t 67 m in isters and eight churches, among them several o f i t s o ld est churches located in San Bernardino and Riverside CO unt i e s . ^ The Union with the Cumberland Church in 1907, added a l l the churches and m in isters of that f a it h in the Presbytery. Westlake was the only o r ig in a l Cumberland Church in Los Angeles C ity. In some of the smaller com m unities the two churches were united a f te r the union. In the period between 1900 and 1910, when the population trebled and new developments in cojamerce and industry produced wealth A la d d in -lik e, the problems o f the Presbytery m u ltip lie d . Plans were outgrown before they were p erfected . Yet much was accomplished. Because of a general depression due to a s e r ie s 2 of dry years, the 5panish-American War, and other causes, no new churches ware organized in 1899, 1900 or 1901, and only two in 1902, but from that time the number of new ohurches grew yearly u n til the r o l l in 1910 showed twenty- seven added during the decade. While some of them lapsed in la t e r times others were destined to play an important part in the work in the Presbytery and in the l i f e o f the ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, IV, 105-104. 2 Weber, op. c i t ., E v a n g elistic index, 06 f f . % Appendix 1 68 oo/nmunltias where they ware lo ca ted . The actual f i e l d work necessary to gather a nucleus for a new ohurch was done by the Home M issio n a ries. The Look Out sectio n of the Los Angeles City Pastors*Com m ittee studied the new suburbs, the in d u str ia l quarters, and such neglected se c tio n s as the Eighth Ward and organized s e r v ic e s of the type that seemed most ad visab le, and put some m issionary in charge. In other ca ses the m issio n a ries worked under the d ir e c tio n of the Presbytery, the Synod, or the Board o f P u b lica tio n s and Sunday Schools. Every f i e l d old and new was worked over. The reports of the Reverend G. G * B u tte r fie ld and other Sunday School m is sio n a r ie s show how the work was done. Every year a report such as these for 1907 and 1912, appeared: 1907 1912 Travelod^ 7,460 m iles 61,099 m iles V isited 788 fa m ilie s 4,458 fa m ilie s Sermons, e t c . 200 1,055 Oonversions 25 116 E v a n g elistic Meetings 54 Organized Sunday Schools 7 28 Members 419 1,186 Ohurches organized from Sunday Schools 15 Members 3 59 C o lle c tio n s § 85 6 Chapel Property § 2,550 ^G. 0. B u tte rfield and P. G. Stevens 69 Real Estate d ealers and others in terested in the development of a l o c a l i t y not in freq u en tly deeded a lo t to the Presbytery on condition that a church should be erected w ithin a reasonable period. The Home Mission Committee of the Presbytery, in the meantime, was stru gglin g with the problem of financing the m ission work, both old and new. The Home M ission Board which had been generous for t h ir t y years, was s t i l l gran t ing more money than the churches were returning in o ffe r in g s In 1900, more than a score of churches ware s t i l l re ceiv in g aid , and many of those organized had to be helped, but so many churches were strong that the committee f e l t that the Presbytery should be self-su p p o rtin g and began to devise ways and means. Every church was asked to give at le a s t one cent per member per week the next year, but only seven did so. A weak and a strong church were linked together, and no new work was begun in a f i e l d not l i k e l y to be soon s e l f - supporting.^ The m ission churches ware asked to give a l l th e ir income above actual running expenses for the fiv e 2 days of Thanksgiving week. In 1903, the committee v is it e d a l l the m ission churches and planned an ev a n g elica l r e v iv a l. ^Minutes of the Los Angelas P resbytery, IV, 67. 97. 70 In 1904, the Home M ission report showed that the ohurohes as a whole were meeting th e ir r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s w e ll, though several union ohurohes ware in dire s t r a i t s , among them the ohurch at Lancaster, which the Presbytery advised should become Presbyterian, Methodist or Congregational in order that some church group should f e e l v i t a l l y resp onsible for the work. By 1907, the sta tu s of a f f a i r s was such that^Home M ission Committee in January, 1908, brought in a report to t h is e ffe c t:^ 1 That beginning in A p ril, 1908, the Los Angeles Presbytery should undertake the support and management of a l l Home M ission work w ithin i t s bounds. 2 That the Presbytery as a whole undertake to ra ise §9,000 for Home Mission work the f i r s t year, beginning A pril 1, 1908. 3 That a l l Home Mission work, both c i t y and county, be under one management. 4 That an allotm ent committee appointed by the Presbytery go over the l i s t of churches and a l l o t to each the minimum amount i t w i l l be requested to r a is e , taking into con sideration the number and a b i l i t y of i t s members. 5 That a l l members of the present committee r esig n , and a new committee of twelve, s ix m in iste rs and s ix e ld e r s, be elected by b a llo t , no one being e l i g i b l e who w i l l not agree to perform the work assigned. 6 The new Home M ission Committee to appoint an executive committee of f iv e to carry on at a l l tim es. ^ M in u te s o f t h e Los A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , IV, 3 2 1 . 71 7 That in case the Presbytery decides to enter upon self-su p p ort in A p ril, i t s h a ll at the January meeting in stru ct i t s Home M ission Committee to carry out I i t s v^ork according to the published plans of the Portland Presbytery. This report was adopted, a r t i c l e four being la id on the tab le (the a l l o t t i n g was made part of the duty of the new committee). A nominating committee prepared a l i s t o f eighteen names from which the new committee was e le c te d . The personnel was as follow s: Hugh K. Walker, moderator, A. B. Prichard, J. M. Newell, V V . S. Young, G. 0. B u tte r fie ld , E. B. Gaze; eld ers: John W illis Baer, Albert Johnson, G. R. Nye, H. M. Patterson, Daniel Stone, Robert Young. In A pril, the plan was carried out. The old committee turned over the work to the new committee. The c o n s titu tio n of the committee, showing i t s o f f i c e r s , d u ties and plan of procedure appears in f u l l in the minute s.^ The four o f f i c e r s and one elected member co n stitu ted the execu tiv e committee. The o f f i c e r s , who gave bonds, banked the money as received , kept an emergency fund to pay m issio n a ries and a contingent fund for su p p lies, e t c . , a llo t t e d to each church the minimum sum i t was expected to pay, and appor tioned to each m ission church the amount of aid i t could r e c e iv e . Printed blanks for making a p p lic a tio n for aid ^M in u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , I I I , 3 3 7 - 3 5 9 . 72 were furnished to the ohurohes wishing to put in requests for h elp . This was the f i r s t of a s e r ie s of reorganizations leading to the present budget system. The o o lle c t io n plan for the f i r s t year was as fo llo w s; th ir ty -fo u r churches were a llo t t e d eighty cen ts per member to r a is e , nineteen churches f i f t y - f i v e cents per member, and fo u r te e n .th ir ty cen ts per member, while twenty-one were given aid ranging in amount from one hun dred d o lla r s to nine hundred d o lla r s each. The Mexican churches draw the la r g e st amounts. The plan was quite s u c c e s s fu l. F orty-eigh t churches paid th e ir allotm ent or more. Five paid sums ranging from §1.15 to §1.55 par member. Only four f a ile d to rep o rt. Most of the Home M ission funds had always come from the Woman's S o c ie tie s and when th e ir con trib u tion s ware added to the amount c o lle c te d from the churches the sum needed was ra ise d . Remittances for Home M issions were to be paid d ir e c tly to the committee and not sent to the Home Board as b efore. Any surplus, however, together with sums donated s p e c if i c ly for the Board was. sent on.^ The Ecumenical conference on m ission s of 1900, gave an impetus to Foreign M ission work. The Year Book of Prayer fur M issionaries in the f i e l d , f i r s t published ^M in u te s o f t h e L os A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , I V ,3 4 0 . 73 by the Woman's Board, beoama a constant reminder of the needs of m issio n a ries scattered in fo reig n lan d s. Funds for foreign m ission work had been la r g e ly raised by the women, plus the con trib u tion s of the C hristian Endeavor and of the Junior Christian Endeavor and Mission Band. These three groups donated in 1901, §2,606.89, §569.05 and §214.43 r e s p e c tiv e ly , §3,386.97 in a l l . The ohurch c o l le c t io n s brought the t o t a l to §6,320 for 1,917 members, seventy-nine cents per member, but the committee complained that more than h a lf the sum came from the women, not from the pleadings of pastors nor the plans of s e s s io n s , and urged that the church should give one d o lla r per member per year, and t l a t §1,389 more than in 1901, be raised in 1902.^ At the same time the Sunday before Christmas was set aside for the Sunday Schools^ o ffe r in g s for foreign m ission s, while the church o ffe r in g was to be made at E aster. In 1903, the Women's P resb y ter ia l Society pledged i t s e l f to make up the d e f i c i t a r isin g from the l o s s of the c o l le c t io n s from the churches given over to the new R iverside Presbytery. In 1908, at the time of the reorgan ization of the Home M ission Committee, the Foreign M ission Committee announced a new program; a committee of la y members should be e lected and the Presbytery should plan a campaign to ^ M in u te s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , IV, 7 7 -7 8 74 arouse in te r e s t, and pastors should o a ll a tte n tio n to The Assembly Herald. From t h is time on f iv e d o lla r s per member was se t as the goal* After three months' prepara tio n the Presbytery put over a three weeks (April 15 to May 10) campaign in the in te r e s ts of foreign m issio n s. The next year (1909) the General Assembly held a School of M issions from May 19 to May 26, which led to new developments in the work for foreign m issions as the sums raised in the next decade show. In 1900, the committee on Aid for Collages asked greater support for Occidental College that i t might be maintained to o ffe r a f u l l c o lle g ia t e course instead of a preparatory course only, and urged that a greater attendance be re c r u ite d . The Presbytery asked a l l pastors and s e s s io n s to a s s i s t in r a isin g the endowment fund and in urging tho attendance of more studento. The regular ohurch g i f t s for c o lle g e support increased s t e a d ily in volume from §1,487 in 1901, to §12,627 in 1904, and the amounts raised grew from year to year.^ F in a lly , Occidental College acquired such strength and standing in Southern C aliforn ia that the tr u ste e s decided to make i t an unde nominational C hristian c o lle g e . The by-law which gave the Presbytery the right to nominate the candidates for ^ M in u te s o f t h e L os A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y . IV, 200 75 the co lle g e board of tr u s te e s was rescinded, and an amicable severance from t h is con trol of Presbytery was a ffe c ted .^ After the beginning of the new century the number of lo c a l organ ization s in the congregations of the churches everywhere m u ltip lied more or l e s s rap id ly. Though women's organ ization s had found a place in most churches from the beginning, men's organizations were slow in making th e ir appearance, for in 1902, only 2 s ix churches of the Presbytery boasted men's club s. The movement gained headway, however, and toward the end of the decade the "Big Brother" work was begun.^ The Young P eoples' Society was divided into Junior and Senior C hristian Endeavor s o c i e t i e s . Members of the Junior s o c ie ty a fte r several years' train in g were to be graduated into the Senior or Westminster C hristian Endeavor. One church in 1906, reported a King's Daughters' Circle."^ The Sunday School began to develop new methods ^Minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery, IV, 413 as. 3 Ib id . . 412. ^ Ib ld .. 247. 76 about t h is time. Not only C hildren's Day in the spring, but R ally Pay in the ea rly f a l l was str e sse d . Every churoh was urged to e s ta b lis h a Cradle R oll and a Home Department. The demand for Sunday School le sso n s arranged to set forth C hristian p r in c ip le s in orderly sequence led to the graded le s s o n s of a la te r day. Meetings for Sabbath School teachers grew into c la s s e s for train in g teach ers. About 1907, a Presbyterian Retreat was estab lish ed in M illa r d 's Canyon where groups of m in iste rs of the P res bytery may r e t ir e for a b r ie f sojourn of r e st and s p ir itu a l r e v iv a l The work of the Presbytery grew more complex year by year, demanding more P resb y teria l machinery for handling the increased volume of a f f a i r s . Beginning in 1905, a third 2 stated annual meeting was held in January. Yet b esid es the three stated meetingo in January, A pril and September, several adjourned and pro re nata m eetings were necessary each year to cope with the problems which arose. Besides supervising the work o f pastors, se ssio n s and congregations in the estab lish ed self-su p p o rtin g churches the Presbytery carried the r e s p o n s ib ility for the main- tainance of r e lig io u s work in the new, strugglin g churches. ^M in u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y ^ I b l 6 . . IV, 1 5 7 . 77 They sew that d e f i c i t s in pastors* s a la r ie s were made good in some way or another, carried fin a n c ia l o b lig a tio n s on property of weak organ ization s, and paid the Synodioal and General Assembly dues of new churches too weak to carry them selves. Sometimes i t was necessary to take over the se ssio n records and any remnants of property of some defunct church and strik e I t s name from the r o l l . The remaining members in good standing were given l e t t e r s to other ohurches. In 1906, the fin a n c ia l and le g a l busin ess of the tr u s te e s made i t necessary for the Presbytery to acquire an o f f i c i a l sea l to be used in a t t e s tin g o f f i c i a l papers. The Btated Glerk i s the custodian of the s e a l. When the Presbytery was re incorporated in 1907, A r tic le II of the A r t ic le s of Incorporation was amended to read a s fo llo w s: The o b je cts for which the Corporation i s formed are: To e s ta b lis h , maintain, con trol, and manage churches for r e lig io u s worship, schools, c o lle g e s , h o s p ita ls , asylums, cem eteries and other lik e r e lig io u s , educa tio n a l and ch aritable and benevolent i n s t i tu tio n s, and to take by purchase, g i f t , d evise, or otherw ise, and to own and hold in i t s own r ig h ts or in tru st for others r e a l and personal property of every kind and character necessary for the accomplish ment of any and a l l of the o b je cts above sp e c ifie d and to produce and maintain a l l b u ild in g s and conveniences necessary^ for the accomplishment of said o b je c ts. This enabled the Presbytery to buy and s e l l property of lap sin g churches, manage memorial funds and g i f t s , and other fin a n c ia l tr a n sa c tio n s. 78 In 19C4, A* P. Hoffman offarad to the Committee o f M in is te r ia l R e lie f of the Presbytery as a home for re tired pastors soma land near Tolaooa worth approximately §30,000 subject to th e ir assuming r e s p o n s ib ilit y for §10,000 due on i t , but the Minutes of January, 1905,^ show that the o ffe r was refused for several reasons, given as follow s: 1 Presbytery could not r a ise §10,000 to get the eq u ity . 2 The expense of maintaining the ranch was too g rea t. 3 The lo c a tio n was too remote and not on a car l i n e . 4 Since other sim ilar ventures In New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had f a ile d the Presbytery, though appreciating the o ffe r , f e l t that the r is k was too g rea t. The Ross-Hanna Memorial Fund for the a ssista n ce of weak and stru gglin g churches, bequeathed to the Presby- tery in 1909, has proved a boon indeed. With the clo se of t h i s decade the day of small beginnings was d e f in i t e ly p a st. ^M in u te s o f t h e L o s A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , IV, 1 8 8 . 2 I b id .. 385. CHAPTER F I VE THE W A R DECADE, 1910 to 1920 The tid e of regular e o o l e s ia s t io a l work, quickened by the evangelism of Dr. B i lly Sunday and oth ers, e s p e c ia lly in the churches of the E ast, was running strongly before 1814, and though church a c t i v i t i e s were slowed up by the World War, the end of the decade showed another r is in g wave both in the s p ir itu a l and in the m aterial progress of the ohurch.^ The Presbytery of Los Angelas organized twenty- four new churches in the years 1911 to May, 1914, in c lu siv e , p and more before the end of 1920. Some grew quickly into strong congregations, some were la te r moved or united with another church, while oth ers were dissolved when s h i f t s in r e s id e n ts of the communities l e f t tnem too weak to carry on. The growth in church and Sabbath school member ship was steady. The women's s o c i e t i e s increased in numbers under the urge of war and m ission work. Men’ s clubs had been slow in making th e ir appearance. F ifte e n churches reported men's clubs in 1908, but only twelve in 1909. Weber, op. c i t ., 4o, 01, 61, 159. ^See Appendix 1. 80 In t h i s ciaoade, however, a campaign to m obilize Lhe man power of the church led to the organization of men's brotherhoods in nearly every church, and s o c ie t ie s to su it young people of a l l ages from the cradle r o l l to the c o lle g e age were formed. The Presbytery of Los Angeles had, in the course of years, accumulated property of various kinds. Several Memorial Funds, bequests to be used for m issions or other sp e c ifie d purposes, a reserve fund for the use of the church Extension Board, the lands and b uildings of defunct ohurches and other p arcels of r e a l e s ta te had gradually come into th e ir hands. The management of these p rop erties to the best advantage, demanded the s e r v ic e s of a body of men s k ille d in such a f f a i r s . Consequently, in 1918, a Finance Committee of tw e n ty -fiv e , ca lled the Committee on Money and the Kingdom was organized and given auth ority as fo llo w s:^ The committee^ authorized by the Presbytery of i t s la s t meeting appointed by the r e tir in g moderator i s instru cted by the Presbytery to consider the present fin a n c i a l needs of the Presbytery and i t s future fin a n c ia l p o licy , to in v e stig a te a l l property and take such a ctio n as they consider best concerning i t , to ra ise money s u ff ic ie n t to the indebtadnosc of Presbytery, to e s ta b lish a reserve banking ^M i n u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , V I , 4 3 . 61 fund of fiv e thousand d o lla r s (§5,000) for the Board of Churoh Extension, to meet the promised o b lig a tio n s of the Board, and i f in the committees' judg ment i t i s b e st, to purchase property su ita b le for a summer conference, to suggest methods of securing money for interdenom inational work, to make a thorough in v e stig a tio n of the s a la r ie s of the pastors of the Presbytery, to f i l l a l l vacan cies on the committee; and the Board of Church Extension i s authorized to meet a l l the necessary expenses of the committee. In 1911, the report showed that the amount c o l le cted for church benevolences in the various churches varied from fiv e cents par member to §18.50 per member, the average par day par member in the Presbytery being two cen ts, while the average per day per member for the Presbyterian Church, U. 3. A ., was four and th ree-fou rth s cents per member. ^ The Committee of Systematic Beneficence, organized at t h is time in s titu te d the Every Member Canvass method of c o lle c tin g money for the budget. A card showing blanks for subscrip tio n s to each church cause and in d ica tin g the dates"for payments i s f i l l e d out with the name and address of each of the church members, who are then in vited to o a l l at the church o f fic e sometime during a stated number of days and f i l l out th eir cards. At the end of that time, members of the committee c a l l at the homes of the few members who were not able to get to the church to f i l l out th e ir cards. v lin u te s o f th e L o s An g e l e s P r e s W t e r y , V, 5 9 . 82 The General Assembly organized the budget ay at an of support for church woik in 1912 and 1913. The General Assem bly determine a tlie amount needed by the church as a whole and a l l o t s quotas to the various synods, vhieh in turn a l l o t 1he amount asked fo r among the various P re sb y teries. A committ ee of the Presbytery a fte r super-adding a sum for lo c a l work makes allotm ents to th e various churches according to t h e i r a b ilit y to pay. The permanent committees of the Presbytery were twenty in number in 1915.^ The committees on Temperance, Nar r a t iv e , Necrology, American Bible S o ciety , Sabbath Observ ance and American Tract S ociety carried on th e woik suggested by t h e i r names. The Freedman committee carried on the work of colored ev a n g eliza tio n . The Westminster church in Los Angeles was made a demonstration cen ter fo r the best type of negro church work. The Presbyterian brotherhood committee planned the work of men*8 clu b s. The Credentials Committee admitted pastors from other P resbyteries a fte r due exam ination. The Vacancy end Sup ply Committee kept the p u lp its of t he various churches f i l l e d . Another committee examined candidates for the m inistry. S ess ional Pecords of a l l churches were annually presented to a committee fo r examination and su ggestion . The minutes o f a l l se ssio n s were kept acoordin^r to methods determined M in u te s o f t h e Los A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y . V. 745 82 by the Presbytery* The Committee of M irxlstarial R e lie f looked a fte r the in te r e s ts of r e tired m in isters and m issio n a ries and dependent widows and ch ild ren . In A p ril, 191b, t h ir t y - eight ware helped to the extant of ^fl,lbO and in September of the same year #8,8bO was expanded in behalf of fo r ty - one a p p lica n ts.^ The number needing help increased with the growth of the Presbytery. The plan of having churches and p astors contribute a sum equal to ten per cent of the p a s to r ’s salary to the sustentation fund originated in 1 9 1 0 , ^ The pastor was asked to give two and on e-h alf per cent and the church seven and on e-h alf per c e n t. The annuity from t h is source i s separate e n tir e ly from the annuity derived from the older Pension R e lie f Fund, fach has i t s own endowment and pays i t s own a n n u itie s . A pastor may take advantage of eith e r or both, though a l l are now urged to subscribe to the su sten ta tio n plan. One committee had charge of the h a lf m illio n d ollar endowment drive for the %n ^’ rancisco I'heological Seminary and another with c o lle g e s tra in in g m in iste r s and 3 other r e lig io u s workers. There were seven candidates for ^ M inut e s o f t he L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , V, S ib ^ I b i d . . V, IV , 1 8 . ^ I b l d . . 5 3 . 84 the m inistry in 1910. The Presbytery looks to Occidental College for i t s trained lea d ers for young peoples* work as Well as for the preparation of men and women for the m issionary f i e l d s . Consequently i t sponsored O ccid en tal’ s #500,000 iindowment Drive in 1911, and took a l i v e l y in te r e st in the welfare of Greater Occidental at the opening of i t s new b u ild in g s in 1912.^ The C hristian Education Committee also planned a d e f in ite program of r e lig io u s a c t i v i t i e s for young people. A P resb y ter ia l Council composed of pastors and th e ir s t a f f workers discussed the needs of young people in the churches. In 1918, t h is Presbytery asked R iverside and Santa Barbara p r esb y ter ies to cooperate in asking the Board of P ublica tio n s to e s ta b lis h a Summer Conference on the P a c ific Coast, there being none nearer than H astings, Nebraska. Since t h is Presbytery then had a church membership of 25,088 with a normal number of young people, the need was grea t. The f i r s t summer conference was held at Ala- m itos Bay, July SO to August 5, 1917.^ A fter 1917, sum mer conferences conducted by trained lea d ers were held r e g u la r ly . Textbooks were obtained from the Headquarters of Young Peoples* work in P h ilad elp h ia. ^M in u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , V, 5 7 5 . ^ Ib ia .. V I, 47 , 65 Each member was expected to give devotional expression, p r a c tic a l se r v ic e s and money. The f i r s t sp ec ia l work for boys and g i r l s and the f i r s t D ally Vacation Bible Schools^ appeared in t h is decade, and C hristian Endeavors were organiaea into Junior, intermediate and Senior S o c ie t ie s . In 1917, Sunday evening se r v ic e s, e s p e c ia lly adapted to young people ware advocated: story sermons, 2 p ictu r es, orchestras, and other su ita b le a g en cies. S u it able p laces for week day assemblages of young people where in te r e s tin g p hysical and s o c ia l a c t i v i t i e s could be carried on were urged at t h is time. The a u x ilia r y b u ild in gs used as Sunday School, club, and s o c ia l h a lls are an outgrowth of t h i s movement. Nearly a l l churches have a s t a f f of trained C hristian lea d ers varying from one to ten or more to carry on education work. The Foreign M ission Committee developed i t s program tnrough t h i s period. An attempt was made to get a strong Foreign Mission Committee in each church. The work was planned in 1911, to follow the l i n e s la id down by the General Assembly. They aligned the Presbytery with the budget system, d istrib u ted lit e r a t u r e , and planned schools of m issions in the churches. A campaign was put on to in te r e s t the masculine reserve in the men’ s club s. ^M in u te s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , V I , 47 ^ I b i a . . V, 3 7 7 . 8 6 In 1912, a sp e c ia l campaign for m ission s in China was sponsored. At that time, the women’ s s o c ie t ie s ware doing w all and i t was determined that the brotherhoods should wake up. The General Mission Board of the Assembly showed that the churches had recorded p r a c t ic a lly as much money in the M iscellaneous Fund as in a l l the Board Funds and pointed out that the M iscellaneous Fund should not equal e ith e r the Home or the Foreign Mission Fund. The methods of arousing in te r e s t in the name of Foreign M issions were added to as time passed. Special sermons ware preached at the time of the Easter and Christmas c o lle c t io n s , r e tir e d m issio n a ries or m issio n a ries on furlough ware asked to speak, a summer conference was estab lish ed at Asilomar, where r e c r u its o fte n volunteered for the m ission f ie ld s ; m ission tr a v e l itin e r a r y ta lk s ware advocated and m ission study c la s s e s grew more numerous. Sunday Schools and the C hristian Endeavors put fo reig n m ission funds in th e ir budgets. Perhaps the most sweeping change was in the Home M ission Comimittee which, in 1915, erected the Board of Church Extension composed of seven p astors and eight e ld e rs, elected for a three year term.^ Since one-third ^M i n u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l a s P r e s b y t e r y , V, 1 2 5 . 87 of the hoard was to he aloeted annually, the f i r s t board was divided so that three pastors and two eld ers had a three year term, two pastors and three eld e rs had a two year term, and two pastors and three e ld e rs had a one year term. They asked $10,000 for Home M issions that year, b esid es the sum needed for the work of the Church Extension Board. The l a t t e r took in $19,806.26 the f i r s t year. In 1919, t h i s Board took in a t o t a l of #59,070.57 for i t s own use. In 1914, the Church Extension Board asked #15,000 for Home M issions and #20,000 for the Board of Church E rection. Of the la t t e r sum $7,500 was apportioned among the churches, and pastors and sessio n s were asked to ra ise the a d d itio n a l #12,500 among those members with means. Ten per cent of the amount raised by the Church Erection Board was to be sent to the Board of Church Erection in New York.^ In 1915, the churches were divided into s ix 2 c la s s e s , with allotm en ts per member as follow s: A * # 1.25 B’ # .87 1/2 O ’ # .50 A 1.00 B .70 C .40 This system prevailed for some time though the number of \ l i n u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l a s P r e s b y t e r y , 210 V, 28Ü. 88 c la s s a s and the allotm en ts varied# There were twenty- four m ission churches in 1910,^ and new ones were added perhaps fa s te r than e a r lio r ones became self-su pp ortin g# Much of the work of t h is board was discussed under new church work at the beginning of t h i s chapter# Soma bequests including the Mr. and ivîrs. A. Moss Erwin fund for the Mexican work in Irwindale, and the Kate K. Wood fund of #2,000, came to the Home Mission 2 Committee. Palmdale was made a deraonstration parish for fiv e years, the money coming from the county church work of the Home M ission Board. Home M ission work was carried on among the Mexicans, the Hebrews and the I ta lia n s as w all as in some neglected f i e l d s . The p rin cip le of comity was observed in interdenominational work in small towns. Thus the M ethodists took over a l l work in Lynwood and the P resbyterians the work in B ellflo w er . The war work of the church began when the Year of In te rc essio n was declared in 1914. The Presbytery used what influence i t could in behalf of war victim s in America, Korea and other p la c e s. It sent a r e so lu tio n of 2 sympathy to President Y fi l son in A p ril, 1917, and organized \ l i n u t e s of the Los Angelas P resb ytery, y , 34. 2 Ib id . . V, 194; 26-27. S i b i d . . VI, 1 9 ,2 0 . 8 9 a committee for n ation al service in October, 1917, at which time they sent a re so lu tio n of support to the Pro aident.^ The Presbytery had kept in touch with church members already in the s e r v ic e . The National Service Committee asked that names of a l l men and women called to the service be sent to th e ir headquarters and asked 2 for oon trib u tion s. In A pril, 1918, the churches were asked to contribute #600 to the Social Service Commission. At t h i s time a r e so lu tio n of lo y a lt y to the United States Government and o ffe r of aid to the men in service ware sent to Washington. Prayers were offered for the men on the b a ttle fr o n t. The minutes for A pril 8-11, 1919, show that £,024 men and th ir ty -n in e women belonging to the churches of t h is Presbytery were in the United States War Service, and that f o r t y - s i x lo s t th e ir l i v e s . I n A p ril, 1919, the Presbytery endorsed the League of Nations* Many su bjects of minor in te r e s t cannot find mention w ithin the compass of th is paper, but two items should not be passed over; Presbytery observed the 500th 5 anniversary of the King James Bible in A pril, 1911, ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery. VI, 6. ^I b ld . . 11. ^I b ia . . 19, 20. ^ Ib id ., 03. ^ Ib id ., 7, 42. 90 and in September, 1919, cave honor to Dr. W . S. Young who had served them as stated clerk for t h ir t y - f iv e years.^ The New Era Movement, which has had such an e f f e c t in quickening In terest in church woo'k, had itL beginning in t h is Presbytery with a conference in January, 1919. This chapter w i l l clo se with mention of the New Era committee organized in June, 1919, to serve as a clea rin g house for a l l benevolences. Their program as reported by Dr. H. 3. Smith was as follow s:^ 1 That the Superintendent of the Board of Church Extension be made a member of the New Era Committee. E That the Board of Church Extension be made a clearin g house for benevolences, a l l funds to be sent to i t s treasurer for d istr ib u tio n to the d iffe r e n t boards. 5 That th ir ty per cent of the congre gation benevolences be apportioned to the Board of Church Extensi on. 4 That the New Era Committee be authorized to arrange a New Era conference in the early f a l l , in v itin g the R iverside and Santa Barbara P resb yteries to p a r tic ip a te . In February, 19E0,. Dr. Robert Freeman of the Church Extension Board, moved that the Presbytery accept i t s New Era apportiormient of #559,811 for the year ISEO- ^M in u te s o f t h e L os A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , V, 75 2 l M d . , VI, 66. 91 1921, and pledge i t s e l f , in coopération with the whole Presbyterian Church, se r io u sly and h e a r t ily to endeavor to ra ise that sum.^ Prom t h is time on the Los Angeles Presbytery has been able not only to support i t s own work, but to contribute generously to a l l the general boards of the whole P resbyterian Church. ^M in u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , V I, 8 2 . OHAP T S R SI X THE PRESBYTERY TODAY, 1920-1927 In what way does the Presbytery today d iff e r from the Presbytery of f i f t y - s i x years agof Perhaps the most obvious d ifferen ce i s the increase in wealth in i t s te r r ito r y , which i s r e fle c te d in the moneys flowing into church tr e a s u r ie s . A glance at the follow in g fig u r e s i s illum inating:^ 1872 1929 Congregational Expenses # 4,267.80 # 1 ,6 5 9 ,2 2 8 .0 0 Church E d ific e s (ap proximately ) 10,000.00 10,000,000.00 Benevolences 261.00 480,922.00 Whether t h i s increase in m aterial p rosp erity i s an ou t ward sign o f inward s p ir itu a l growth has been questioned of la te years, but the growth in church membership has kept pace with the growth in the population, and the a c t i v i t i e s of the churches during the la t e r years do not ind icate decadence of r e lig io u s z e a l. The trend in modern church p o lic y i s toward i n t e n s i f io a tio n rather than exten sion in church b u ild in g . In the years from 1921 to 1927 in c lu siv e only seventeen ^Minutes of the Los Angelas P resbytery, Annual reports of Stated Clerk to Synod. 92 churches were organized, and none at a l l since 1927.^ On the contrary vary weak churches have been d issolved or united with another church. The church and Sabbath School membership has, however, been s te a d ily in creasing, and in te n siv e Loyalty Campaigns carried on in the ea rly winter increase the former, while R ally Day and other measures draw scholars into the Sunday Schools. These fig u r e s 2 in d icate growth. 1873 1928 1929 Churches ô 107 107 M inisters 9 326 317 Candidates for M inistry 0 37 38 Membership in Churches 175 45,906 48,853 Sunday School Attendance 325 43,078 45,372 The r o l l of pastors includes not only those in a c tiv e serv ic e, but a l l ordained m in isters liv in g in the Presbytery, those honorably r e tir e d , and those not in the work at p resent. The New Era Movement beginning in 1919-1920 has given impetus to the support of m issions and other forms of church work. The New Era Committee of the Presbytery appor tio n s the quota for the Presbytery handed down from the General Assembly through the the various churches and divided the sums received among the various Boards ^8ee Appendix I . ^Los Angeles Presbytery, Annual Reports o f Stated Clerk to the Synod. I:' ê'v r w - f , ‘ V , . . ', C d # W B I W 1 # % Q # .t S O Q j sà‘T - c < t > A - % " # 1 J b D r <u (tf ( D % ' > _ 1 c B Ô "O > * C O TO Q V*- m % eta I > 3 < t 5 W C # C # C K&amA -■^:: I. 94 according to the percentages determined, which vary some what from year to year. The scale for 1924, was as follow s:^ Occidental College 2 par cent St. Ansalmo Seminary, C aliforn ia 2 ” " Student Work in the U niversity 2 " ” State Church Federation 0.6 " " Denominational Promotion 2 '* ” The remaining 91.6 per cent to be considered 100 per cent was divided as follow s; I National M issions 1 Retained by Church Extension Board 2 Retained for Synod’ s flu id fund 3 Remitted to New York Treasury 23 1 18 per ft I f cent ff ff Total 42 tf ff II Foreign M issions 52 ff ft III Christian Education 1 Remit P hiladelphia Treasury 2 Retained for L.A.Presbytery 10.05 5.00 per r f cent tf Total 15.05 Tf tf IV M in iste r ia l R e lie f 10.00 Tf tf V Bible Society .75 tf If VI Federal Council of Churches .20 ff ff Total 100.00 tf tf The t o t a l benevolence quota of the Pre sbytery for 1929 was #396,03 6, to which #114,421 was superadded for m iscellaneous lo c a l causes. \ i i n u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y , V I, 229 95 About 1922, the General Assembly proposed a plan for the organization of P re sb y te r ie s. In 1924, a committee on the reorganization of the Los Angeles Presbytery, through i t s chairman, Dr. Robert Freeman, proposed a plan which was adopted.^ The general arrangement as modified by some la te r changes in the committees i s shown on the accompanying diagram. ^M in u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e le s P r e s b y t e r y , V I, 2 2 1 . 96 L O S AN GE L E S P R E S B Y T E R Y T R U S T E E S E X E C U T I V E C O U N C I L Moderator - Stated Clerk - Executive Secy. 3 Dept. Chairmen - 3 appointed by Council D E P A R T ME N T S ECCLESIASTIC P R 0 M 0 T I 0 N OPERATION O R CHURCH EXTENSION Chairman & Secretary Chairman £ c Secretary Chairman - Secretary Committees 1 . B i l l s and 0vertures(5) 2 . Examination of Can didates (5) 3 . C redentials (3) 4 . Review of Records (3) 5 . Vacancy M Supply (3) Committees 1 .Foreign Missions 2 .C hristian Edu cation 3 .M in is te r ia l Re l i e f and Susten ta tio n 4 . Stewardship 5 . S o c ia l Service 6 .P u b lic ity 7 .Every Member M obolization 8 . Ingathering Committees ( 5 ) 1 .Hor: j Missions ( 5) 2 .Church Erec ts) tio n and Property (5) 3 .New Work (5) (3) 4 . R eligious (3) Education & (3) Sunday School Work (3) 5 .Legal (3) (3) 6 .Evangelism (3) (3) 7 .Resources & Finance (5) 8 . Comity (3) 9 . Audit M Of f i c e Manage ment. (3) 1 0 .Church V i s i t ation (Whole Department) 97 The Stewardship committee was enlarged in 1926, from ten to twenty, one h a lf to be women.^ Seventy-seven ohurohes have system atic in stru ctio n in stewardship and twenty-four have a steward ship enrollment according to the report to the Synod in 1929. Those who sign up for stewardship resolve to l iv e th e ir l i v e s and manage th eir property with the Lord’ s work in the world in mind. The Board of Home M issions i s now known as the Board of National M issions. Home m ission work in th is Presbytery i s carried on by a committee of the Church Extension Board o f the Presbytery. This Presbytery which was for so long dependent on the Home M ission Board, in 1928, ra ised , $101,960 for the National M ission Board 2 above the #41,297.51 spent in i t s own f i e l d . It was announced in 1928, that there are m illio n s in our own country without ev a n g elica l churches, and 11,000,000 negroes, 36,000,000 fo reig n white stock, 350,000 Indians euid 5,000,000 people in the West Indies who need the help which the N ational M issions Board can render i f i t r e c e iv e s funds 3 from the P r e sb y te r ies. B esides the card su b scrip tion s, c o lle c t io n s are ^Minutes of the Los Angeles Presbytery, VII , 21. ^Synod of C a liforn ia, M inutes, 1928, 7,038. "^Rev. Robert Freeman, o f Pasadena Presbyterian Church L etter to p a rish io n er s, Leo. 12, 1928. 98 taken in the f a l l and at Washington’s birthday. A school of Home M issions i s conducted in the churches throughout the Presbytery in November of each year. Through the la s t f iv e years the cause of Foreign M ission has been h e a v ily str e sse d . In 1920, the Prayer Calendar was published. One day out of the year i s set a sid e for each m issionary in the f i e l d . On that day, prayers go up from the members of every church for the p a rticu la r m issio n a ries named in the calendar for that day. The Presbytery now urges a Missionary Council in every church^ to plan, promote and coordinate work su ita b le for the church m ission c la s s e s held in the winter and for the young people and c h ild r e n ’s organ ization s and for the Sunday School, so that overlapping i s avoided. Talks by returned m issio n a ries, p ictu r es, s lid e s , e x h ib its , l i v e s of m issio n a r ie8, e t c . , are used. Every church has been urged to take over the support of some p a rticu la r m issionary. Several of the stronger churches support s ix or more m issio n a r ie s. Weaker churches are asked to combine, each being responsible for a fr a c tio n of the support of a m issionary. A Sunday School 2 gouid, in 1923, share in the support of a p a rticu la r ^M in u t e s o f t h e L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y . V I I , 7 1 . V I, 1 9 9 . 9 9 m issionary by paying ten d o lla r s . P astors were requested to ask the lo c a l l ib r a r ie s to purchase the l a t e s t books on m issio n s. A m issionary train in g conference i s held every summer at Asilomar. At these conferences the d ele g a te s learn what the m issio n a ries in the service are accomplishing and return to th e ir homes fire d with a new zeal to help the oause. Soma r e c r u it s each year volunteer to devote th e ir l i v e s to m issionary work. In recent years the summer con feren ces s tr e s s schools of World Friendship for World Peace. In 1928, the m ission f i e l d s of A frica were studied. A pleasant phase of the m ission work of the P res bytery i s the Rest Home maintained in Los Angeles for m is sio n a rie s on furlough.^ In 1922, a fund was raised for a Japanese Union Church plant in Los Angeles, several church bodies a s s i s t i n g 2 as follow s; The Oongregational Church Extension Board # 3,000 The Congregational Building Loan 7,500 The Presbyterian Board of Church Erection 7,500 The Presbytery of Los Angeles 10,000 The American M ission Society 7,000 The Japanese Union Church 25,000 Total # 60,000 ^Minutes of the Los Angeles P resbytery, VI, 199. 2 I b id ., VI, 163, 168, 182, 183. 1 0 0 M in iste ria l R e lie f ha a taken a number of forma. From the e a r lie s t h isto ry of the church, funds were c o lle c te d for the b en efit of old or d isab led m in iste r s, but no regular s y s tem prevailed.. Those needirg a s s is ta n c e were helped to the exten t of the funds on hand. Later a pension plan was put in to operation, the funds being contributed by t he m inisters them selves. About 1924, a new pension plan was inaugurated.^ The oastor contributes two and one-half percent of his sa la r y and the church contributes seven and one-half }3ercent of the p a sto r ’s salary or a pastor can pay the %hole ten percent him s e l f . The Los Angeles Presbytery, except for good and s u f f i c ient reas cna, refu ses to place a c a l l in the hands of a pastor unless the church agrees to pay the seven and one-half percent pension premium, the Presbytery also r e fu s e s to d isso lv e the p a sto r a l r e la t io n i f a church has not paid up i t s seven and one-half percent dm s. Chur ches are requested to keep up the seven and one-half percent payments even when the pulp it i s va cant. In 192 6 the General Assembly put on a drive for #15,000,000 endowment fund to insure the p ro tectio n of a l l m inisters too old to b en efit by accumulations under the plan, and so r e t i r e the M in iste ria l R e lie f and Susten a tio n causes from the l i s t of ben- p ev o len ces. The quota of the Los Argeles ^M in u te s o f th e Los A ngela a P r e s b y t e r y . V I, 13 2, 1 6 5 ; VI 1 , 14 ^Weber, o p ,c i t . , 134 1 0 1 Presbytery for t h is cause was #528,766.97* Another aid for re tired m in iste r s and m issio n a ries i s the Monte V ista Groves Homes in Pasadena.^ A tract of land has been secured and a number of cottage homes b u ilt . Others are being b u ilt a s fa s t as money i s donated. Friends sometimes build a cottage for some p a rticu la r m in ister. The m in iste r s liv i n g here have the use of the co tta g es as long as they need them. R elig io u s Education, which became a d e fin ite department of church work in t h is Presbytery about 1917, has in these la te r years assumed more and more importance, with o f f i c e s at the Presbyterian Ohurch headquarters in Los Angelas. The P resb y teria l council of p astors and s t a f f - workers la y s out the plans for the work. Miss Rose Scott i s the d irecto r of t h i s work. Nearly every church has a r e lig io u s education d irecto r; tho larger churches have several r e lig io u s education le a d e r s. The C aliforn ia state laws make It impossible to carry on week-day r e lig io u s in str u c tio n in the public schools as i s the practice in some s t a t e s . Nearly every church has a d a ily vacation b ible school. Throughout the year the s t a f f leaders carry on work for junior, senior, and intermediate c la s s e s . ^The Monte Vista Groves Homes, Pasqual S t., Pasadena, are sponsored by the C aliforn ia Synod. 1 0 2 G irls camps both for Moxioan and Amerloan g i r l s are held at P a c ific P a lisa d es each year. American boys go t o camps 02i Oatalina Island under the au sp ices of the Y. M . C, A. Presbytery has for three years maintained camps for Mexican boys at i t s camp s it e in Bear Canyon, a branch of Ban Gabriel Canyon. In the Forsyth Memorial School for Spanish speaking g i r l s , Los Angeles, several g i r l s are preparing for m ission ary work among th e ir own people. A Young Peoples* 8u.mmer Conference for those of high school and c o lle g e ages i s held each year at Occidental College where the regular program of r e lig io u s education i s s t r e s s e d . Most of the lead ers in the educational work in the churches of t h is Presoytery are trained at Occidental C ollege. Consequently the Presbytery i s always concerned in r a isin g funds for t h is c o lle g e , which a lso prepares men for the m in istry and men and woman for m issionary work. The Theological Seminary at San Anselmo near San Francisco i s also p a rtly supported by funds from t h i s Presbytery. In the summer of 1929, the Presbytery was in terested in r a isin g i t s quota of an endowment fund the c o lle g e s of the Near East ; Robert Jollage, the Woman’s Collage at Constan tin o p le , the Syrian P rotestant C ollege, and the American U n iversity of B eirut. The Presbytery also keeps up a 103 C hristian center under the leadership of a Presbyterian pastor-teacher at the State U n iversity at Berkeley and at D avis, and cooperate in the r e lig i o u s program at U n iversity of C aliforn ia at Los A ngeles. The loaders of t h is Presbytery cannot j u s t ly be accused of mediaevalism eith er in thought or methods. The r e lig io u s p r in c ip le s taught are planned to f i t young people to l i v e in the world of today. A ll modern devices including the radio are employed in dissem inating right Id e a ls. In short, t h i s Presbytery i s making strenuous e f f o r t s to tr a in the r is in g generation in the p r in c ip le s of C hristian liv in g so that no wave of paganism may engulf the world of tomorrow. Neither are the in te r e s ts of the Presbytery con fined to what goes on inside the church w a lls . Through i t s Civic Righteousness Committee the Presbytery e x e r ts an influence in shaping public opinion in community a f f a i r s . It p e t itio n s l e g i s l a t i v e and peace o f f i c e r s to make and enforce laws reg u la tin g a l l elements and in s t it u t io n s in the s o c ia l l i f e of the community to the end that public murals may not be offended; i t frowns on v io la t io n s of the Sabbath; i t plans campaigns in favor of law observance, s e ttin g apart sp e c ia l days on which p astors preach sermons advocating respect for and obedience to our laws ; i t passes r e so lu tio n s in favor of or again st a l l important laws 104 a ffe c tin g the moral welfare of the people of t h is community, the c i t i z e n s of the United S ta tes, or the n ation s of the world. But perhaps the most potent fo rce s for fin e Ideals in philanthropy are exerted through the members of i t s churches, since thousands o f women in the P re sb y ter ia l S o c ie tie s and thousands of men in the Men’s Brotherhoods are, under the leadership of inspired p astors, d a ily devoting money, time, and energy to make t h is a b etter world to liv e in . Hopes for the future are made s t i l l b righ ter by the modern trend toward church union. A ll the branches of the Presbyterian Ohurch are planning to u n ite . A sim ilar movement i s apparent in plans of other denominations. There i s even ta lk o f u n itin g some of the Protestant denomi n a tio n s. In the meantime, not only P rotestant denominations, but a lso the Oatholio and the Jewish churches are joining in a number of interdenominational r e lig i o u s en terp rises, a l l looking to the betterment of human a ffa ir s# 105 APPENDIX I CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CHURCHES OF LOS ANGELES PRESBYTERY Charter Comments on Present Status Santa Barbara Presbytery Santa Barbara Presbytery Name M em bers D a te 1 V e n t u r a 26 1 8 6 9 2 S a n D ieg o - J u n e 1 3 , 1 8 6 9 3 S a n t a B a r b a r a 30 J u n e 2 1 , 1 8 6 9 4 W ilm in g to n ft - 1 8 5 7 1 8 7 0 5 A n ah eim - M a r. 1 6 , 1 3 7 0 6 V /e s tm in s te r 7 M a r. 1 7 , 1 8 7 2 7 L o s A n g e le s F i r s t ff If 12 20 J a n . 1 1 , 1 8 5 4 1 8 5 9 1 8 7 4 8 S a n B e r n a r d i n o 12 J a n . 1 8 , 1 8 7 4 9 O ra n g e 17 F e b . 8 , 1 3 7 4 10 P a s a d e n a 13 A p r. 1 , 1 8 7 5 11 S a n t a M o n ic a 12 S e p t . ,2 8 , 1 8 7 5 12 S a n t a Ana 13 S e p t . 2 8 , 1 8 7 5 13 S a n t a M a rie ( G u a d a lu p e ) 14 A ug. 6 , 1 8 7 6 1 4 C a r p e n t e r i a 14 S e p t . 2 4 , 1 8 7 6 15 O j a i 19 J a n . 1 , 1 8 7 7 16 C o l t o n 9 J a n . 1 9 , 1 8 7 7 1 7 N e w p o rt - 1 8 7 8 18 P h o e n i x , A r i z . 8 M a r. 1 5 , 1 8 7 9 19 T u c s o n , A r i z . — 1 3 7 9 Riverside Presbytery Second la r g e st church in t h is Presbytery Santa Barbara Presbytery Santa Barbara Presbytery ff If ff R iverside Presbytery D issolved 106 20 M a g n o lia A ve. 13 A r l i n g t o n , R i v e r s i d e Nov. 1 8 7 9 21 T o m b s to n e , A r i z .1 1 S e p t . 1 1 , 1 3 8 0 22 L o s A lam os 15 M a r. 1 5 , 1 8 8 2 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 23 L .A .S e c o n d 8 J u l y 1 8 8 2 24 L o s N i e t o s ( F i r s t S p a n i s h ) 1 8 8 2 - ■ 3 D i s s o l v e d 25 A n ah eim S p a n i s h - 1 8 3 2 --3 D ro p p e d 26 L .A . S p a n i s h - 1 8 3 2 - 3 D i s s o l v e d 27 S a n t a Ana S p a n i s h - 1 8 8 2 - ■ 3 D ro p p e d 28 Pom ona 14 May 2 , 1 8 8 3 29 S a n t a P a u l a 20 May 6 , 1 8 3 3 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 30 E l C a jo n 8 May 6 , 1 8 8 3 31 S a n P e d r o ( S t . A n d rew s) 8 N ov. 2 5 , 1 8 8 3 32 F i r s t C h in e s e L .A . 41 A p r. 2 , 1 8 8 4 33 G -1 e n d a l e ( R i v e r ~ d a l e , S e p u lv e d a ) 1 4 S e p t . 2 1 , 1 8 8 4 3 4 L . A. T h i r d — O c t. 1 5 , 1 8 8 4 35 T u s t i n C i t y 26 O c t. 1 9 , 1 8 8 4 36 Downey - 1 8 8 4 37 S a n G -orgonio (B eau m o n t) - A p r. 1 4 , 1 8 8 5 R i v e r s i d e P r e s b y t e r y 38 H o l l e n b e c k ( B o y le H e i g h t s ) 18 May 3 , 1 8 8 5 39 Hueneme 10 May 2 4 , 1 8 8 5 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 40 La C r e s c e n t a 8 D ec. 1 2 , 1 8 3 5 R e o r g a n i z e d , 1 9 1 3 41 E l s i n o r e 9 M a r. 1 4 , 1 8 8 6 R i v e r s i d e P r e s b y t e r y 42 W est A d a m s.L .A . (G -randview ) 27 M a r. 2 1 , 1 8 8 6 43 S a t i c o y 7 A p r . 2 5 , 1 8 8 6 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 107 4 4 C a r p e n t e r i a 16 45 E tiw a n d a 12 46 U p la n d ( N o r t h May 2 3 , 1 8 8 6 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y J u l y 1 8 , 1 8 8 7 D i s s o l v e d , A p r, 1 6 , 1837 O n t a r i o ) 39 J a n . 2 , 1 8 8 7 R i v e r s i d e P r e s b y t e r y 47 B a l l a r d s 8 May 26, 1 8 8 7 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 48 R i v e r s i d e C a l v a r y 27 J u n e 1 9 , 1 8 8 7 R i v e r s i d e P r e s b y t e r y 49 R e d la n d s 8 J u l y 3 , 1 8 8 7 I t n 5 0 A lh a m b ra 9 J u l y 1 7 , 1 8 8 7 51 L am anda P a r k 9 J u l y 1 7 , 1 8 8 7 D i s s o l v e d 52 B a n n in g 11 A ug. 7 , 1 8 8 7 T a k e n o f f r o l l i n 1902 53 B u r b a n k 12 O c t . 2 3 , 1 8 8 7 54 55 C a l v a r y , S o u t h P a s a d e n a A z u s a 9 11 O c t. Nov. 2 3 , 1 3 , 1 8 8 7 1 8 8 7 U n i t e d w i t h P a s a d e n a , N ovem ber 2 3 , 1887 56 E l M o n té e i t 0 25 Nov. 1 3 , 1 8 8 7 S a n ta B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 57 B e t h a n y , L. A. 31 D ec. 2 8 , 1 8 3 7 58 F u l l e r t o n 8 F e b . 1 9 , 1 8 8 8 59 N a t i o n a l C i t y 32 M a r. 1 8 , 1 8 8 8 D i s s o l v e d , A p r i l 191 8 60 G raham M e m o ria l C o ro n a d o 24 M a r. 1 8 , 1 8 8 8 61 M o n ro v ia 28 May 2 7 , 1 8 8 8 62 R i v e r a 24 May 2 7 , 1 8 8 8 D i s c o n t i n u e d , A p r i l , 1913 63 E l M onte 10 May 2 7 , 1 8 8 8 U n i t e d w i t h M o n ta i n View 1911 64 L ong B e a c h F i r s t 19 J u n e 2 4 , 1 8 8 8 65 La V e rn e 11 J u l y 1 , 1 8 8 8 D i s s o l v e d 66 F i l l m o r e 14 J u l y 7 , 1 8 8 8 S a n ta B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 67 Im m a n u e l, L .A . 135 S e p t , . 3 , 1 8 8 8 L a r g e s t c h u r c h i n P r e s b y t e r y 108 68 S p a n i s h , L .A . 6 S e p t . 2 , 1 8 8 8 U n i t e d w i t h D i v i n e S a v i o r 69 P a c i f i c B e a c h 10 S e p t . 16 ,1 8 8 8 70 E n s e n a d a ,L o w e r C a l i f o r n i a 16 O c t . 1 8 8 8 D is b a n d e d w hen e m p lo y e e s o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o . r e t . t o U .S 71 P l e a s a n t V a l l e y 8 N ov. 1 1 , 1 8 8 8 D i s s o l v e d 72 W e ls h , L. A. 20 Nov. 2 1 , 1 8 8 8 73 R o s e v i l l e - A p r. 1 2 , 1 8 8 9 D i s s o l v e d 74 A n t e l o p e V a l l e y 22 May ; 1 2, 1 8 8 9 D i s s o l v e d 75 S an F e r n a n d o 1 4 A ug. 1 1 , 1 8 8 9 76 I r w i n d a l e , A z u s a , ( S p a n i s h ) 20 A ug. 1 1 , 1 8 8 9 R e v iv e d J a n . 1 2 , 189 0 77 C ucam onga 15 S e p t .2 9 , 1 8 8 9 D i s s o l v e d 78 D e l M ar 9 O c t . 2 7 , 1 8 8 9 R eorg* d . 1 8 9 5 , D i s s o l v e d 1902 79 In g le w o o d 20 J a n . 1 8 9 0 80 P a lm s 22 D ec . 1 9 , 1 8 9 0 D i s s o l v e d 81 P i n e G r o v e (P .O . S a n t a M a r ia ) 10 J a n . 4 , 189 1 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 82 S an G a b r i e l ( S p a n is h ) 13 J a n . 1 1 , 18 9 1 83 L o s O l i v o s 8 M a r. 2 6 , 1 8 9 1 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 8 4 C h in o 15 M ar. 3 , 1891 85 N e w h a ll 16 May ; 51, 189 1 86 J u l i a n 14 J u l y 5 , 189 1 D i s s o l v e d 8 7 R ed o n d o 14 A ug. 3 0 , 1891 D ro p p e d 88 L a k e s i d e 13 M ar. 1 2 , 1 8 9 3 89 D e t h e s d a , L .A . 37 M a r. 2 6 , 1 8 9 3 9 0 S a n t a Ynez 9 S e p t, , 3 , 1 8 9 3 S a n t a B a r b a r a P r e s b y t e r y 91 P o i n t Loma 15 D e c . 2 4 , 1 8 9 3 D i s s o l v e d 92 L a n k e r s h im 1 4 A p r. 8 , 1 8 9 4 D i s s o l v e d , 1927 93 W e s t m i n s t e r , O n t a r i o 9 4 C e n t r a l , L .A . 95 Vineland 96 Almondale 97 Clearwater 98 Church of the Redeemer, L.A. 99 O liv e , Orange Co. 100 Knox Church L. A. 101 Highland Park L • A « 102 Calvary, South Pasadena 103 Church of the Good Shepherd 104 Brawley 105 H o lt v ille 106 Hollywood F ir s t 25 107 Tropico 108 San Diego (Mexican) 109 Westminster, L .A .( Colored) 110 Calvary, L. A. 111 South Park 112 La J o lla 109 — Apr. 22, 1 8 9 5 R iverside Presbytery 3 6 5 May 1 6 , 1 8 9 5 United w ith Immanuel, 1 9 1 5 19 Nov. 1 0 , 1 8 9 5 D issolved, Nov.1 4 ,1 3 9 9 19 Nov. 1 5 , 1 8 9 5 Dropped, 1901 - May 1 0 , 1 8 9 6 35 Oct. 2 7 , 1 8 9 6 13 1 8 9 6 Dropped, 1 9 0 7 40 Jan. 1 0 , 1 8 9 7 39 Sept . 24 ,1 8 9 8 10 June 2 9 , 1 9 0 2 Not same as No. 5 4 12 June 2 9 , 1 9 0 2 San Gabriel 18 Dec. 1 3 , 1 9 0 3 10 Dec. 1 3 , 1 9 0 3 D issolved 25 Dec. 2 0 , 1 9 0 3 35 Jan. 1 7 , 1 9 0 4 D issolved 12 Feb. 2 8 , 1 9 0 4 21 Oct. 9 , 1 9 0 4 66 Nov. 2 7 , 1 9 0 4 United w ith So.Park, 1 9 1 9 - Apr. 2 3 , 1 9 0 5 United with Calvary 1 1 3 F i r s t J a o a n e s e L. A. 1 1 4 C o v in a 10 O c t. 1 , 1 9 0 5 49 N ov. 1 2 , 1 9 0 5 U n i t e d w i t h J a p a n e s e U n io n 95 D ec. 3 , 1 9 0 5 1 1 0 115 El Gentro 11 Jan. 21, 1906 116 B e ll Memorial 15 Feb. 25, 1906 117 Miramonte, L.A. 22 Apr. 26, 1906 118 Dayton Ave.L.A. 49 Dec. 2, 1906 Called. Englewood Park 119 Euclid Heights 24 Mar. 10, 1907 120 Highland Park Second 97 Apr. 28, 1907 F ir s t ca lle d O livet 121 Westlake,(Cum berland, 1895) 97 Added 1907 United with F ir s t L.A.1928 122 Garvalia, (Wilmar) 45 Mar. 22, 1908 123 Westminster, Pasadena 51 June 14, 1908 124 Brooklyn Heights L. A. 23 Feb. 28, 1909 125 Sunset H ills , L. A. 22 Mar. 14, 1909 United with Bethany 126 El Sereno (Bairdstown) 21 Apr. 25, 1909 127 Mt. Washington L, A. 34 May 2, 1909 126 S t. Paul, L.A. 17 May 1, 1910 129 Imperial 33 Feb. 26, 1911 Federai-ed 130 Hope - May 2, 1911 United with Dayton Ave. 131 B e llflo w er — Oct. 15, 1911 132 Somerset 12 Oct. 15, 1911 Dropped 133 Shorb,Ave.L.A. - Nov. 26, 1911 134 Brooklyn Heights San Diego 66 Mar. 17, 1912 135 Van Buys 44 Apr. 7, 1912 136 Grace Church L. A. 25 June 24, 1912 137 P la ce n tia 31 Aug. 4, 1912 I l l 138 W i l sh ir e 7 2 Sept . 1 5 , 1912 139 D ix ie la n d 1 5 D ec. 1, 1912 D isso lv e d 140 y/ilm ington Park Long Beach - June 8, 1913 141 Long Beach, Second 126 June 22, 1913 142 San D iego, Second 37 1913 U n ited w ith S.D.W estm in s t e r to make S .D .C alvary 143 E ast San D iego 39 Sept .2 1 , 1 9 1 3 144 Torrance 36 Aug. 24, 1 9 1 3 D isso lv e d 145 West Hollywood 5 4 Nov. 2, 1913 146 South H ollywood 35 Nov. 9, 1913 147 D el D ivino S alvad or 1 67 Mar. 16, 1914 148 L in c o ln Ave. Pasadena 100 Apr. 5, 1914 149 Southv/est, L.A. 1 2 5 Apr. 5, 1914 150 E agle R ock,L.A . - Apr. 26, 1914 151 A zusa, M exican — May 3 1 , 1914 152 San D iego, W estm inster 4 5 Apr, 26, 1914 See no. l4 2 153 A rcadia F ir s t 26 May 10', 1914 154 C ypress Park - Aug. 11, 1915 Union o f Dayton Ave. and Hope 155 B elv ed ere(B ro o k ly n Ave. ) L. A. 28 Nov. 7, 1 9 1 5 1 5 6 A cton 14 Mar. 26, 1916 1 5 7 C alvary, Long Beach 339 Nov. 12, 1916 1 5 8 Lomita 48 O ct. 2, 1917 1 5 9 Laguna Beach 1 6 Dec. 2, 1917 1 6 0 Japanese U nion, L. A. _ F eb . 2 7 , 1918 1 1 2 161 Palm dale 49 May ' 4, 1919 162 San Juan C apistrano 48 Jan. 13, 1920 163 Vermont Ave. L. A. 244 J u ly 8, 1920 164 Emmanuel M exican Braw ley 29 Feb. 21, 1921 165 M essiah M exican, M onrovia ) 12 May : 22, 1921 166 Emmanuel M exican, La Verne 41 June 26, 1921 167 South Gate Gardens 44 J u ly 17, 1921 163 Otay M exican 21 Aug. 7, 1921 169 B e v e r ly H il ls 22 Aug. 14, 1921 170 Japanese (H ollyw ood) 41 Mar. 4, 1923 171 T r in ity , L.A. - Mar. 15, 1923 172 B elv ed ere G ardens, Com. 151 Mar. 15, 1923 173 Korean, L. A. 36 J u ly 8, 1923 174 Emmanuel, Long Beach 45 J u ly 3, 1923 175 Grandview, G lend ale - Jan. 4, 1925 176 A n geles Mesa, L. A. - Mar. 29, 1925 177 Jap an ese, Long Beach — May 9, 1926 178 El S ilo e , B e l v e d e r e , M exican 25 J u ly 18, 1926 179 Ivanhoe 16 J u ly 11, 1926 180 W i l s h ir e C rest 142 Nov. 16, 1927 1 1 5 APP3KDIX IV Forsythe Memorial School for Spanish-speaking girls, Los A ngeles. Several of the girls am fitting them selves for future m issionary work am ongst their own people. Presbyterian Chinese Mission Home, San Francisco. Stories of lives transformed through the influence of this Home are am ongst the glorious annals of Presbyterian M issionary history. Ming Quong Home (Home of Radiant L ight), Oak land. The Chinese babies are still housed here. Last year there were G 3 girls and 16 babies in Ming Quong. Occidental Chinese School, San Francisco. For over fifty years little Chinese children of San Francisco have been going to this school. Last year 163 children attended. Supported by Presbyterian women of California, co-operating with Presbytery of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay Cities B aptist Union: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. In the heart of San Francisco’s Russian settlem ent. Last year hundreds of people w ere reached through this fine Neighborhood project. The Presbytery of Los A ngeles carries on probably the most extensive N ational Mission program of any Presbytery in the Synod. It works through its Church Extension Board in four counties, Los A ngeles, Orange, San Diego and Imperial. Twenty- four per cent of the benevolence received in this territory is held for local work and taken from the National Missions allocation. F ifty-one pastors and assistants have their salaries supplemented or paid in full in this w ay and 40 churches are thus aided; 11 are Spanish-speaking; 6 are Oriental, and the balance are American. Among the outstanding pieces of work done for Americans is Grand View Church, which is but two years old but m inisters to a population of 14,000 and has a membership of 128 and a Sunday School of 302. Los A ngeles Mesa is but 20 months old yet it has 103 church members and 265 in the Sunday Sfhnnl. The Mexican and Oriental Work are fully under those departments. Synod of California’s National Missions Portuguese and Spanish N otes In the state of California there are not less than 350,000 Mexicans and 75,000 Portuguese. Work among these people is done through 16 churches, two organized departments of American churches, 14 missions and 7 settlem ent houses or Homes of N eighborly Service. The total membership of these churches is 1290, with the number of adherents prob ably tw ice as great. Church Vacation Schools are held in m ost of the fields and opportunities for sum mer encampments are offered to the young people. The Community Houses strive to interpret the highest standards of Christian living, w hile the churches stress the evangelistic m essage. The mem bership of the churches is sm all because the people are m igratory, and the losses are great every year. Gross gains upon confession of faith are annually about 16% of the total membership. The Division of Schools and H ospitals of the Board of N ational Missions maintains Forsythe Memorial School, which in conjunction with Belvedere N eigh borhood House is training Mexican girls for leader ship among their own people. The total number of contacts in the Homes of Neighborly Service for a single year were 54,857. Oriental Missions There are a number of States in this country which have some particular mission which is uniquely their own possession. This is the case of Oriental M is sions in California and some of the very finest work ever done in the missionary field has been done within the bounds of our own Synod. Oriental M issions w ere carried on by the Foreign Board for over 70 years but with the consolidation of the Departm ents of the old Boards the Oriental work was turned over to N ational M issions and largely as a privilege for the Sjmod of California. W e have 28 Japanese churches, 12 Chinese churches and 2 Korean, and many out stations, Sunday Schools and preaching points. The heroic efforts of the pio neer days are told over again today in Oriental work. In Dinuba the Korean church carried on for four years w ithout a pastor as there w ere no funds to employ one. But a good friend in the east this last year gave $700 toward the salary and Rev. Sareum C. Lee was called to the field. The church has doubled its membership since he began work last February. The Chinese are carrying on a splendid work under difficult conditions in practically all of our Pacific Coast cities of any size, and many of our very best Chinese are returning to China to help build the new Republic and to make the new China Christian. N ever has the Synod of California had a greater opportunity to give the Orient Christianity than it has today by developing and Christianizing the Ori entals in our own Synod who are rapidly becoming foreign m issionaries to the far east. San Francisco Of the 59 churches in San Francisco Presbytery only 16 have 250 members or more and 27 receive aid from N ational Mission funds. This does not count four mission Sunday Schools operated by local churches. Outstanding among these aided churches is the demonstration center at Trinity Church where the new program in the changing community has trans formed a dying church into a living and grow ing organization. N ine years ago there w ere 205 names on the roll of the church of whom 50 remain today among the total membership of 469. Two hundred tw enty-eight of these have been received on confes sion of faith. A thoroughgoing program interesting various groups makes this church a beehive of ac tivity and a center of spiritual energy, proving that the church can m eet the unusual city condition. In co-operation with the Spanish work section o f the Department of City and Im migrant work of the N ational Board, San Francisco Presbytery maintains the House of the Good Shepherd, a center for Span ish speaking work and an extended program of missionary work among the Portuguese. There are six centers where mission work among these people is carried on by the Rev. H. J. McCall and his helpers. Many more communities need this m inistry which is being abundantly blessed. Sunday Schools and wor shipping groups are grow ing up in communities where hitherto the soil had been thought arid for any Protestant work. The Jewish work, opened about a year, is located in the heart of the Jewish section and is carrying on a ministry of service under the leadership of Rev. Morris Zutrau whose work began with the pres ent calendar year. Two striking conversions have been registered recently in this work, one of them a young Rabbi who made profession of his Christian faith and has been received into the membership of one of our San Francisco churches. The Synod of California has besides all the regular field work of National Missions eight Sunday School M issionaries, who establish many Sunday Schools and reach hundreds of homes, and also four Indian Mission Centers— at Hoopa in Benicia Presbytery, Bishop and Owyhee in Nevada Presbytery, and North Fork in San Joaquin. The Synod and the Board of N ational M issions is Crusading with Christ to save Nevada and California. During the past year the Presbyterian women of California joined with Presbyterian women through out the United States in the support of the follow ing missionary projects located in California: Rosamond Goddard Community Center, North Fork, in the Sierras. For Indians— m ostly Mono and Hopi. Superstition and paganism are disappearing under the influence of work which has been pa tiently pressed for many years. 10% increase needed for National Missions APPENDIX V 1 1 6 l-H l-H l- H O N &! oo &! II 5 m ii m w I: % ^ & 1^- 8 k M f e < d o ^1 \o s:^ (/2 S i i t ii C Q ^ 1 1 6 APPENDIX V r ~ 1 j S x in a ^ r ~ ] uauio^ □ U3FÏ JO posodiuoo ssBio □ -...................- □ S iiT j a a j x ; u ib j S c j j J □ s s B Q X p n ; g u o i s s T posn sq oj poqjoj^ ................... ssa jp p Y -- ...................................- X q u 3 A ï3 u o ïjB u u o ju j ................................. S S ^ 1 3 S u p J E J S J O 9 J E Q ................................................ X j3 jX q s9 J j ................................................... q ^ -in q 3 ■ 3 J B Î S ...................................... U M O X J O iC ; |3 .......................................ja p E sq J O sssjp p Y ^ j a p E y j J O auiEjf^ ................................................ 3 ^ o o q jx a x : s s e p a A p o a d s o j d a q ; j n o q s u o p E u i j o j u i g u m o p o j a q ^ q s i u a n j aA V s p j o a a j j n o u C j o ^ ja p E a % a q ; j o j ^ , s d p q „ a a j j a q ; a j i s a p p u B X p n j s u o p s i u i j o a s j n o a b 3 u m u B % d a j B a ^ v v ; u o p B a n p a i C j B u o ] s s ] j \ ; j o j u a x u j J B d a Q a q j o x Xpn)g uoissip^ JOJ s d p H Jsanba^ 117 APPiSM DIX VI = » e ^ % WHAT IS A SCHOOL OF MISSIONS A PLAIN ANSWER TO A QUESTION FREQUENTLY ASKED D epartment of M issionary E ducation of the B o a r d o f C h r i s t i a n Ed u c a t io n o f ihû P resbyterian C hurch in the U. S. A 156 Fifth Avenue New York City t C v / 1 % . § 5M—11 -27— F So many are asking this question that it has seemed wise to attem pt a short answer in printed form. If any points are not made clear, or if there be a desire for further information, correspondence is invited by the author who is the General Director of the Department of Missionary Education of the Board of Christian Education. Fourth Edition November 1, 1927 2 DEFINITION The Church School of Missions is the whole Church (so far as possible) conccrtedly engaged in study of some phase of the work that is being done for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom in the world. The members of the Church who are so engaged are enrolled in classes of convenient size and pursue a regular course of study based upon a mission study text book. Not all the groups need meet at the same time nor at the same place, nor is it necessary that all study the same theme in order to have a School of Missions. The essential thing is that the whole Church be enlisted for a united study of its task. In the very phrase “ A School of Missions” is implied a carefully planned curriculum, an adequate force of teachers (or leaders), a sufficient supply of text books, and something of serious and thought ful reading on the part of those who are enrolled. Obviously a series of missionary sermons or addresses, or of popular meetings with missionary programs does not constitute a School of Missions, THE GROUPS These should usually consist of from fifteen FOR STUDY to twenty-five members each, and should be made up on the basis of natural associations as to age, sex and common interest. It is easy to thwart the purpose of this particular type of work by making the groups too large or too small. If too large timidity seals the mouths of the less informed and inexperienced members and the “ discussion group” degenerates into a lecture by the leader or a dialogue between the leader and the more loquacious members of the class; interest wanes, and those who most need to be drawn out are frozen out instead. If on the other hand the group be too small en thusiasm is lacking and again interest lags. The number that can be handled in a single group depends upon the experience and ability of the leader, but experience points to fifteen to twenty-five as the best in most cases. Special provision should be made for the young people, including a missionary story hour for the smaller children. TIME AND The evening on which the mid-week service is PLACE usually held is the tim e and the church is the meeting place in most cases. Some churches utilize the Sunday evening hour and some take still a different time. The groups are sometimes planned on a geographical 3 basis and meet in the homes of members. In this case the place should be announced in advance and there should be no variation from the announcement: it is fatal to move around from place to place. The advantage on the other hand of holding meetings in the church lies in the fact th at this is the usual place of holding church services and one which is common property of all the members. There need be no hesitancy on the part of any one about attending a session in the House of God, such as sometimes develops in con nection with meetings held in private homes. There is, moreover, a sense of unity and a degree of enthusiasm which is otherwise likely to be lost. Where the School of Missions is held at a customary hour of service there is the advantage of utilizing the time of a standing engagement rather than adding an additional meeting to an already crowded week. Let no one think that a service of worship is given up to make way for this period of study. The School of Missions always embraces in its program definite periods of devotion besides being suffused through out with a spirit of loyalty to Christ and His cause. W hat could be more devotional than a group of people sitting down together, ear- nestfully and prayerfully to consider the work which lies nearest to the M aster’s heart? SCHEDULE Each church makes its own schedule which is followed throughout the six or eight weeks that the School is in session. The essential features in this schedule are worship, study and fellowship. In many cases the last of these is secured by beginning with a supper served at the church for a nominal price (merely to cover expense) and followed by a brief period of social intercourse. The supper, however, is optional and not a vital part of the plan. The period of worship may precede or follow the study in classes. Usually it does both, a brief devotional service with hymns, Scripture and prayer preceding the meeting of the classes, which in turn are followed by a closing exercise in which the whole School comes to gether to hear an inspirational address or some equivalent and to engage in prayer. It is a common experience to find in these services that the prayers of God’s people are more spontaneous, specific and vital and that intercession has a new significance in view of the period of thought and study about the world’s need of Christ which has preceded it. A possible schedule for the evening is as follows: 6:30-7:30 P.M. Supper and social hour. 7 :30-7:45 P.M. Devotional service. 7:45-8:45 P.M. Study in classes. 8:45 9:15 P.M. Closing assembly and prayer. CURRICULUM Courses of study and text books should be carefully selected and announced in advance. Sufficient quantities of the text books should be secured and placed on sale at the first session of the School if not distributed earlier. The standard text books are all prepared under the direction of the Boards and are graded according to the age and experience of those for whom they are designed. The Department of Missionary Education will gladly advise concerning the selection of the courses or send sample copies of the books “ on approval” for inspection. Some churches offer a variety of courses in both Home and Foreign Missions. Others prefer to concentrate the attention of the whole School upon one theme using, of course, the appropriate text book for each of the different age groups. In an increasing number of cases the Church School of Missions is being conducted in two semesters, one in the fall closing just before Thanksgiving, the other in the winter during the lenten season. In this way Home Mission courses may be covered at one time and Foreign Mission courses at another with a brief interval between. PREPARATION The preparation for the Church School of Missions should he undertaken well in ad vance and should be the special responsibility of a thoroughly representative committee. This may be the Missionary Committee of the church or a special Committee appointed for the purpose. It should meet early to decide upon the courses and to apportion responsibility (through sub-com mittees or otherwise) for such items as : Publicity and advertising. Enrollment and records. Class-rooms and text books. Selection and preparation of leaders. Supper and social features. 5 Early announcement should be made to the whole church, fol lowed by frequent bulletins with additional information so as to create an interest and keep the project before the people. LEADERS No single phase of the preparation is so important as the securing of the right leaders. Do not depend upon outside help. Every church has people who are capable (whether they realize it or not) of doing this work suc cessfully. One of the chief benefits of the plan has always been the way in which it has helped to develop hidden potentialities thus producing capable and useful men and women for future service in the church. Where most of the leaders are without previous experience a normal class or institute is sometimes held in advance to prepare them for their work. Attendance at one of the summer conferences where the Mission Study courses for the coming year are taught by skilled leaders is an admirable way of securing this training. Other sugges tions to help in solving what seems a difficult problem (i. e., the securing of leaders) may be obtained from the Department of Mission ary Education. HOW IT To help visualize the plan in its actual working a WORKS glimpse is here given into a typical session of a Church School of Missions. The hour announced for the supper having arrived those who are present are seated at the tables and a simple and appetizing meal is promptly and efficiently served. Not every one was present when the blessing was asked for some men come directly from the day’s work, and some there are who are never on time even for church and for whom Gabriel will doubtless have to blow a second blast upon the final trumpet. There are others who for good and sufficient reason will not come to the supper at all but will be on hand when the class sessions begin. After the meal is served the Social Committee takes charge while the tables are being cleared and the class-rooms made ready. There may be a short impromptu program, or games may be played, or the time may be spent in conversation in small groups, the Social Com mittee taking pains to see that there are no “ wall flowers,” and that the more recent additions to the congregation are drawn into the con versation and thus into the fellowship of the church family. Promptly at the appointed hour for the devollonal service the pastor takes charge and calls the meeting to order. One or two of the old familiar hymns are sung in which all join heartily, then there is a message from the Word of God and a brief but earnest prayer. An other hymn, any special announcements for the evening, and the congregation breaks up into several groups for study each under its own leader and in its own place. Five minutes before the close of this study hour there is a warning bell, or a rap on the door, in order that the leader may have the op portunity of bringing his discussion to a head and clinching the points that have been made without running past the final limit of his time. When this final limit has been reached the classes are dismissed by their leaders and the members go promptly and quietly to the assembly room. Another hymn is sung, after which the room is darkened and pictures are thrown upon the screen to illustrate the work about which the classes have been studying; or some one speaks briefly on the general theme; or a pageant or missionary play is presented. Several minutes are then spent in prayer with definite pet itions, born of a new sense of the needs of men and of the spirit of Christ gained in the hour of study which has preceded the period of intercession. One of the great Kingdom hymns, a battle cry of the Church Militant, followed by the benediction, and the School of Missions has completed a successful and profitable session. There are many ways in which the closing period may be con ducted and a little ingenuity will secure the variety that adds zest to the interest and avoids the danger of becoming stereotyped. While the best brains of the Committee may well be employed in suggesting the features for this closing period the actual conducting of it, and especially of the closing moment of intercession, would best be in the hands of the pastor. HELP The Department of Missionary Education will render every possible assistance to those who are planning Schools of Missions. Correspondence is invited concerning particular problems. A “ Manual of Suggestions to Leaders” on each of the text books is available and will be sent free together with a generous package of leaflet literature to each leader of an “ enrolled Mission Study Class.” In order to secure this valuable packet without cost, write to head quarters or to your nearest Presbyterian Board Store, filling out a standard “Request for Helps” card for each group contemplated. The “Helps” are then mailed directly and immediately to the leader. WHY NOT Last year hundreds of Presbyterian churches held TRY IT? successful Schools of Missions and more than 10,000 separate classes were conducted with a membership of more than 200,000 persons. This year the number will be considerably increased. There is no need to urge those who have tried the plan to repeat the experiment ; but to those who have never conducted a School of Missions all who have had previous experience would say, “ Try it, it works.” Other Publications on this Subject Furnished free on request unless otherwise stated Missionary Education (Bulletin No. 14) Spiritual Possibilities of Missionary Education Materials for Missionary Education The A B C of Missionary Education (for women) If They Could, We Can Men and Missions Missions in the Church School (Bulletin No. 15) Books for Missionary Reading Conducting a Normal Institute Making the Most of the Summer Conferences The Mission Study Class Leader (75 cents) Christian Education holds IhelCeg to Future Ciuifi^ation H “ Bel '^rqd[9pBn:qj 'Scrippna; uoods ‘ u o tjB o n p a t T B p s T .iq 3 jo p jB o g 'a q q . o j jo ‘ s9 i0 S u y 3 o q ‘ 3g p j : T i t L 8 1 8 ‘ a jo o g e s o p f ssji^ o j J O îo 'js p u B J X i i T j g ‘ 3g J 0 j s q % y o ]^ 8 S S ‘ u b o u r q '1 '0 0 % 9 J I J M u o ^ -B u iJ o jiu ja q p in j joj X p n ^ g u o i s s i p i J O J t a s B i s n q j u o m a n » a u i i P ^ Î ^ : s a m o q e q j u i s ^ f c o q j s j j a q p u B e j o u i S u i j j o d a ^ : s d n o J O ,s % J ig p u B . s X o g S u x j o s u o d s p u B S u i z x u b S j ^ ; % o o q o g o i q x g u o i j b d b a X;xB(% o q j j o j p u B q jx M . S u i q j o ^ ^ ^ : u o i j B O - x p a u B T j s i j q Q o p n i o a i o j j o S p t i q J x o q j S x ix d B q q j : j u o p u o j i i i j o c i n g ^ j o o q o s - X B p u t i g e q j j o o t i c s o j o q j o j S u i x u o o X % q o ^ : s c I i q s J B ^ - p q o s a x iT p iA O J d p u B s j u a p x L j s S u i c l p q p t i B S x ix x x x B jjo ju L3L : u o i u o . ^ j o S u t i O J C s q j J O J g u i : s a j 9 j u i 5[ jo a a q o j n q o S u i 5 I B | ^ : a o i A j a s J O J s a i j i u n j j o d c l o a^o u S i i i j o j j Q Xq itotxB onpa U B ijsijqo guipiB ojb ‘q o jn q g a q j . . JO >iJO M 'aq; PB JOJ XJO10O3 auo S uiziu B g jo ‘MrjWO J w\ •B iu;ojijB 9 JO pouXg oqj jo q o jiitp XJ3A3 U1 su o issip î JO (o o q jg S uju o A a ABpung V ra a n X Q Æ • u o i j B D n p a X jB iT O iB S '.tn JO p o q j a x n a jq B r q B A j s o o i o q j j i a s j x p a A O j d sx sq s u o i s s x H JO l o o q o g a q j u o ijB g x js a A U X ib x x jd b X g : X N 3 S a a j • s a s s B p A p n j s u o i s s i t u Ogg qjxAA X jajX qsajg ja u u n g b sba\ X jajA qsajg s a p S u v so q JB 3 X JS B ] X p n jB u o i s a i i u a j i i i y a p j o j s d t i o j S u i p a p o - u a i 6 8 ‘ S S u i s i i i B i j a j x q s a j a b i u j o j i i b o î X S V J N O i x v D ü a a A a v N O i s s m ‘008T J9A0 s je q r a n u ‘868T a o u is p 9 j a n p a x 3 S9SSBP JO ‘jîp o q iiiu in ^ a q j , '000'Ô 9Z'Z$ ;n o q a 9JB SJ93SB q u 9S9Jd sqB juopiD D O ’0 0 0 ‘0 9 T j S u ij s o o ‘HtJi ayqj p a jg p la ïo o e q o j s i u o ra jq j u e p n j g g q X -aiuG H s ^ u g p i s g j j eqq. p u a ’ ‘qoQ^ S u r ja a s 9 j j - a a q j , y 9 9 jQ a p is q iq ‘0 0 3 2 S u ij a a s u in ip a j s 9p9%qj^ a ‘s S in p q n q jo C a u i e u iu s e p n p u i ju a u id in b a sq.j (9 3 9 ( 1 0 3 (BJU8 n ) Christian Education in the i9 2 8 Synod of California Los A ngeles Presbytery gives two hours in the spring and fall m eetings for promotion of the Comprehensive Program of Christian Education. Our five 1928 Summer Conferences for Presby terian Young People, Occidental, San Anselm e, Lake Tanoe, Lake Sequoia, and Humboldt, enrolled 605 delegates and teachers. Vacation Church Schools in California numbered 222, this summer, with an enrollment of about 24,000. Seven of the larger churches in San Francisco Presbytery have their Ladies’ Aid and Missionary Society united in one W omen’s Society. These Societies have active Christian Education Com mittees, Presbyterian Y o u n g People’s Councils (or L eagues) are now organized in all Presbyteries of Synod but two. In San Francisco Presbytery they are contributing to the Board of Christian Education under the plan approved by the three Boards. Miss Rose Scott reports that the Girls’ Camp for girls of Pioneer age enrolled: 109 in the two weeks for American churches; 50 for the week for Spanish-speaking churches; 47 for the week for Japanese churches. Banquets and special church services for F ath ers and Sons, and Mothers and Daughters are established parts of our annual church program in this Synod. Interest is increasing in the pro motion of the new Pioneer and Tuxis programs. An adaptation for all church situations of the State Y.M.C.A, Pioneer Program for B oys’ Clubs is now re.ady; write Rev. D. G. Stewart, W atson ville; or Rev, C. L. Duncan. Board of Christian Education aided students attending California institutions, last year, in the amount of $7535. A t the 1927 Forum in Los Angeles, Moral W el fare, Law Enforcement and World Peace were stressed. Our denomination is providing Christian training for the Young People’s A ge Group (18-23) in our Synod through the Young People’s Department of the Church School, and the Christian Endeavor Movement w ithin the local church. The last General Assem bly, and also our Mod erator, Dr. Hugh K. Walker, ask that major env- phasis be laid during the present church year on the work of our young people, in a fresh endeavor to understand their problems, encourage them in their spiritual experience, and enlist their counsel and help in the whole program and progress of the Church. A t the U niversity of California at Los A ngeles Mr. Thomas S. Evans, the Director of the new interdenominational student work in which Cath olics, Jews and Protestants participate, is a P res byterian elder, and son-in-law of A. T. Pierson, the fam ous missionary leader. A t the U niversity of Nevada, at Reno, the Fed erated C h u rch (C ongregational-Presbyterian), under the leadership of Dr. and Mrs. Wm. M. Case, every Sunday morning influences a consid erable group of students, with worshipful music of a high order and a forceful, spiritual m essage. The Campus Club of 35 to 45 college young people gather at the Manse Sunday evenings for a Supper Conference under leadership of Mrs. Case, who has had large Y.W.C.A. experience. A t least 100 different students are touched in the course of the year. Stanford U niversity has yearly 300 to 500 Pres byterian students. Palo A lto Church includes in its staff the pastor. Rev. Geo. H. W hisler, Educa tional Counsellor and volunteers. The Sunday morning Class is led by Mr. John L. McNab; the Sunday evening discussion group by students. The pastor held w eek-night class at the church and one at Fraternity House. He also visits students and has personal conferences. A t Davis, Rev. N. M. Fiske reports that on one Sunday two students confessed Christ, one from the Los A ngeles district and one from the Sacra mento district. Mr. Fiske recently secured a Baptist student graduate for the Congregational foreign board to go to Persia. Eleven different nations are repre sented in the student body. The U niversity of California at Berkeley has 9550 students registered. U sually about 1400 are Presbyterian. Already more than 350 students entering this fall at the U niversity of California have declared their preference for the Presbyterian Church. More than 250 attended the parties given by Berkeley Churches in their honor. Last year 922 students were invited for meals in W estminster House, the home of Dr. and Mrs. L. B. H illis. N early forty per cent accepted the first invitation, and 1704 portions of breakfast, luncheon, tea or dinner were served to students. W estm inster House has also been used by different organizations for m eeting, meals, and teas where 1685 other portions have been served. For several years the U niversity of California furnished more missionaries for the Foreign Board than any other educational institution in the country. A t the Annual Convention of the California State Union of the Christian Endeavor, Dr. H illis was again chosen pastoral counsellor. San Francisco Theological Seminary enrolls the third largest number of students, of our Presby terian Seminaries. It confers the degrees of M aster of A rts, Bach elor of D ivinity and Master of Theology. It has 7 M issionary Cottages for home or for eign missionaries who wish to study w hile on furlough. It offers this year three new courses in R elig ious Education. It has the most complete theological library w est of Chicago. The largest g ift so far reported in the recent financial campaign is the endowment of a new Chair of English Bible. Occidental College, w ith its 90-acre campus, an active faculty of 70 of the highest character, and an auxiliary adm inistrative of 15, is seeking to develop a program of scholarship and character among democratic, Christian-spirited surround ings for a student body of 725, 45 of whom last year w ere in the graduate scliool department. 1 1 9 A PPm oix V III w ork. T w o o r th ree independent m issions are conducted in the city. Rev. and M rs. Im m anuel Gittel und erto o k w o rk here ten m onths ago and w ithout any physical equipm ent except th eir hom e, have today Ju n io r and S enior G irl R eserve Club o rg an i zations 20 in attndancc. Boy Clubs 22 in a t tendance. A S unday School held in their hom e w ith 55 on roll. W ell atten d ed and enthusiastic open air m eetings are conducted each evening. Jew ish hom es are visited and m o th ers’ m eetings held. T hey need o u r G os pel and read ily accept if properly approached. M E X IC A N W O R K . T h ere arc not less than tw o h u n d red thousand M exicans in the territoi-y served by the P resb y tery of Los A ngeles. T h ey do o ur h ard w ork fo r us. T hey stan d at the source of all our w ealth and every in d u stry is dependent upon them . T he M ex ican is the atlas who holds upon his broad shoulders o u r indu strial w orld. In its m is sionary w ork am ong these people, the P re s b ytery spends an annual budget of $16,000, m ain tain in g eleven churches, five m issions and fo u r com m unity houses or H om es of N eig h borly Service. T h ere is a force o f seventeen w orkers. T h e larg est plant and the m ost o u t stan d in g w o rk is th t of the C hurch of the D ivine Savior, w ith its buildings and grounds w o rth seventy thousand dollars, its m em ber ship o f th ree h u n d red and tw enty-five and its S u n d ay School of over fo u r hundred. B ut the P re sb y te ry of Los A ngeles is res ponsible fo r o th er areas w here the w ork lags fo r lack of equipm ent. D u rin g the p ast five y ears not less th an th irty thousand M exicans have settled in B elvedere P a rk , and the P re s b y terian C hurch, serving them w ith both church and settlem ent w ork, has only a sm all fram e building m easuring th irty feet by forty. A t L aV crnc, people th ro n g a little bungalow to h ear the Gospel. A t San Diego, facilities arc hopelessly inadequate. T he contributions of the M exicans in a m aterial way is gigantic ; but they will m ake a spiritual contribution as well. It is fo r the church to decide w hether th at co ntribution shall be fo r good o r fo r evil. K O R E A N S . W o rk fo r this group in Los A ngeles and vicinity aw aits organization. S e r vices are now being held reg u larly at 240 N. B unker H ill A venue, and the outlook seems very hopeful. A perm anent church hom e would greatly encourage and aid this earnest group to reach th eir countrym en. T h e facts and figures set fo rth in this le a f let represent only in p art conditions on these fields. M any o th er m ission enterprises, fo r which the B oard of C hurch E xtension, of this P re sb y te ry is responsible, are equally needy. W e will take the liberty of sending you fro m tim e to tim e o th er in te rstin g m a- tcildl. ? Birds~Eye V i e w OF SOME OF THE CAUSES AIDED BY Your Church Extension Board (Pfi & j T h e P resb y tery of Los A ngeles is self- supporting from a m issionary point of view and thro u g h its C hurch E x ten sio n B oard does the w ork of the B oard of N ational M issions in the fo u r counties of Los A ngeles, O range, San Diego, and Im perial. T h is B oard supplem ents the salaries— and in some instances pays the com plete salaries— of 53 p asto rs and assistants. F o rty -fo u r churches are aided w ith m onthly checks, of which 27 are E nglish speaking churches, 11 are Spanish speaking, and 6 are O riental churches (Japanese, Chinese and K o rean ). In addition to establishing and strengthenin.g churches in their ru n n in g expeses, the B oard also m akes a practice in certain fields of help ing churches in th eir building projects, and in some cases in the purchase of strategically located sites fo r new churches. O R A N D V IE W — M idw ay betw een Glendale and B urbank, n ear civic center, across street from schools and library, in the h eart of a new and large residential a re a ; population 14,000. C hurch less th an tw o years old, still using public school building fo r services. A church lot 70x167 has been purchased, ad jo in in g lot 56x167 needed fo r fu tu re develop m ent. P re se n t church m em bership 128; 302 enrollm ent in Sun d ay School ; o th er o rg an i zations : Boy Scouts SO , Girl R eserves 30, In term ediate and S enior E n d eav o r Societies; D. V. B. S. 204 attendance this sum m er, 7 races re p resen ted : Japanese, Indian, Italian, Spanish, French, N egro, M exican. P re sb y te r ians assigned this field by S u p erin ten d en ts’ Council. C H IN E S E C H U R C H . L ocated on Los .Angeles S treet, n ear the Plaza. P ro p e rty con sists of tw o sm all buildings on a lot 27x85. T he Italian B ank survey of O rien tals in Los -Angeles estim ated th ere are 7,000 Chinese m this city. (T h is includes several thousand floating p o p u latio n ). T he Chinese M ission has a p resen t m em bership of 87 and Sunday School enrollm ent of 100. C onducts a night school w ith enrollm ent of 95 d u rin g the year and a day school of 20. C hristian E ndeavor services are conducted fo r the young people. T h e Chinese are quite largely scattered over the city, a large per cent of them , how ever, live in C hinatow n n ear this center. E m phasis is placd upon A m ericanization as well as the C h ristian izatio n of these people. A N G E L E S M E S A . L ocated in S o u th w est ern L os Angeles. W o rk w as begun in this prom ising residential center 20 m onths ago. T h ey now have 65 m em bers in the church and 165 S u n d ay School enrollm ent. A t present the services are held in three ^tore buildings and a garage. B oys’ Clubs, E n d eav o r m eet ings and o th er o rganizations are developing as they can be accom m odated in these cram ped quarters. A co rn er lot 40x120 is being paid for. T h ey need the ad jo in in g lot, 60x120, fo r fu tu re developm ent. T h e S u p er in ten d en ts’ Council assigned this field of 10,- 000 population to the P resb yterians. W e are held responsible fo r its cultivation, this being the only church of any denom ination in this g row ing area of a one-m ile radius. H O L L Y W O O D J A P A N E S E C H U R C H . O ig au izcd 2 1-2 years ago has nov.f 40 active m em bers and 50 enrolled in the Sunday School. Soon a fte r the o rg an izatio n a five- room bungalow and lot 50x155 w ere p u r chased by these brave people. B esides the p reach in g services and the S u n d ay School, a Y oung P eo p le’s Society is conducted, some phases of boys’ club w ork, a n ig h t school w ith enrollm ent of 25 young m en and a k in d e r g arten of 40 potential A m ericans being housed in the F irst P resb y terian C hurch, H ollyw ood. T h ere are fro m 2500 to 3000 Japanese in the H ollyw ood area and this is the only P ro te s t an t C hurch to carry on the C h ristian izatio n and /A m ericanization program . T R IN IT Y . L ocated in E ast L os A ngeles, n o rth of Stephenson A venue. E stim ated pop ulation in th is a ’rea in 1922 4500; to d ay 35,000 to 37,000. C om m unity is com posed of w age earn ers and clerk class. P re sb y te ria n C hurch w as organized fo u r years ago and now has 144 active m em bers, 230 in Sun d ay School. -A . Y oung P eople’s Society of 60, D aily V aca tion Bible School this sum m er of 120. O nly one m em ber of this co n gregation receives as m uch at $50.00 per week. T he high average fo r o th ers is $5.00 p er day, w ith larg e fa m ilies to raise. T h e P re sb y te ria n s ow n a lot 100x135. A single cell church house and a sm all an n ex 18x24. P a sto r insists he could have 250 church attendance if p ro p erly housed. C ould double S unday School a tte n d ance, but no room to care fo r increase. J E W IS H W O R K . T h e Jew ish population is rapidly increasing in L os A ngeles. E sti m ated population to d ay 80,000. P re sb y te ria n s only denom ination doing re g u larly organized 120 B I B L I O G B A I E Y S G U I ^ G E S O F F I C I A L R E C O R D S A I E ) K E P 0 H T 3 U n i t e d S t a t e s C e n s u s o f I G o O . P o p u l a t i o n I ( a p p e n d i x ) . 9 6 2 W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . 1 8 5 2 U n i t e d S t a t e s C e n s u s o f 1 8 9 0 . P o p u l a t i o n I . 9 W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . U n i t e d S t a t e s C e n s u s o f 1 9 0 0 . P o p u l a t i o n . W a s h i n g t o n , D . G . U n i t e d S t a t e s C e n s u s o f 1 9 1 6 . R e l i g i o u s B o d i e s , W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . U n i t e d S t a t e s C e n s u s o f 1 9 2 6 . R e l i g i o u s B o d i e s . \ 7 a s h i n g t o n , D . C . C a l i f o r n i a S y n o d . M i n u t e s . C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h U . S . A . 1 8 0 5 -1 9 2 4 , B d * o f C h r i s t i a n E d u c a t i o n o f P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h U.S.A., P h i l a d e l p h i a . 1924. F r a s e r , R e v e r e n d T h o m a s , D . D . L e t t e r w r i t t e n t o D r . P . H i l l , O a k l a n d . 1 9 0 4 . T h i s l e t t e r w a s w r i t t e n i n r e s p o n s e t o a r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e e a r l y h i s t o r y o f t h e c h u r c h i n t h e P a c i f i c S y n o d . D r . F r a s e r r e c o u n t s h i s e x p e r i e n c e s a s S y n o d i c a l M i s s i o n a r y . L o s i u i g e l e s I r e s b y t e r v . M i n u t e s . 1 8 7 3 t o 1 9 2 9 L o s A n g e l e s P r e s b y t e r y . R b . . o r t s o f t h e S t a t e d C l e r k . 1 9 2 5 L E R S P n l P R A 1 ::D P E L ^ I 0 D I C A L 3 L i t e r a r y D i g e s t , 8 1 : 3 3 4 ( J u n e 2 8 , 1 9 2 4 ) ” P e v / I r e s b y t e r i a n P e n s i o n P l a n ' ' . F u n k & V / a g n a l l s C o . , L . Y . L o s A n g e l e s , S t a r , 1 0 5 3 t o 1 8 7 0 Los A n g e le s , T im e s , 1881 to 1929 1 2 1 O c c i d e n t , 1 8 6 8 - 1 8 9 3 , S a n F r a n c i s c o , C a l i f o r n i a P a c i f i c E x p o s i t o r , 18 G 0 , S a n Frnn cisco, C a l i f o r n i a O T H E R W O R M S B r y a n t , E d w i n , V / h a t I S a w i n C a l i f o r n i a i n 1 8 4 6 D . A p p l e t o n C o . , H e w Y o r k , 1 8 4 9 R o b i n s o n , A l f r e d , L i f e i n C a l i f o r n i a , 1 8 4 6 . ( " u n p r e j u d i c e d ) R i l e y a n d P u t n a m , H e w Y o r k , 1 6 2 6 S t o d d a r d , G . A . , B e y o n d t h e R o c k i e s . A S o r i n g J o u r n e y i n C a l i f o r n i a . S c r i b n e r s , L e w Y o r k , 1 8 9 4 V / i l l i a r r i s , A l b e r t , A . P i o n e e r P a s t o r a t e a n d T i m e s B a c o n a n d C o . , S a n F r a n c i s c o , 1682 W o o d s , R e v e r e n d J a m e s , C a l i f o r n i a R e c o l l e c t i o n s J o s e p h V / i n t e r b u r & C o . , S a n F r a n c i s c o , 1 6 7 8 W o o d s , R e v e r e n d J a m e s L . , T h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h i n C a l i f o r n i a , P i o n e e r D e c a d e , 1 8 4 9 - 1 8 5 9 , H a n s e n C o . , S a n F r a n c i s c o , 1 9 2 2 . C o n t a i n s p e r s o n a l r e c o l l e c t i o n s o f t h e a u t h o r a n d o f h i s f a t h e r . R e v . J a m e s W o o d s . I n t h e a p p e n d i x a r e m a n y v a l u a b l e l e t t e r s w r i t t e n b y p e r s o n s c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e c h u r c h i n e a r l y d a y s . H i s t o r i c a l l y a c c u r a t e . 8 L C O H D A P : Y A U T H O R I T I L S C l e l a n d , R . G - . , C a l i f o r n i a i n t h e A i a e r i c a n P e r i o d . M a c m i l l a n C o . , N . Y . , 1 9 2 2 C o y , G w e n C . , P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y o f C a l i f o r n i a U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , B e r k e l e y , 1 9 2 5 . F e r r i e r , \7 . W . , P i o n e e r C h u r c h B e g i n n i n g s i n C a l i f o r n i a B e r k e l e y , 1 9 2 7 . i: M o O r o a r t y , J . S . , L o s A n g e l e s f r o m t h e I . I o u i i t a i n a t o t h e S e a 3 v o l . i U i i e r i c a n H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , C h i c a g o , 1 S 2 1 . H e C - r o a r t y , J . S . , L o s A n g e l e s C o u n t y . I l l u s . I , 3 v o l . A m e r i ' c a n H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , C h i c a g o , 1 9 2 3 . T h o m p s o n , C . L . , " T h e P r e s b y t e r i a n s " i n T h e S t o r y o f t h e C h u r c h e s . B a k e r , H . Y . 1 9 0 4 W e b e r , R e v . H e r m a n C . , I r e s b y t e r i a n S t a t i s t i c s , 1 8 2 6 - 1 9 2 6 , T a b u l a t e d , V i s u a l 1 z e d , a n d I n t e r p r e t e d . P r e s b y t e r i a n B o a r d o f P u b . . P h i l a d e l p h i a , 1 9 2 7 W i c h e r , E . A . , T h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h i n C a l i f o r n i a , 1 8 4 9 1 9 2 7 . i l l u s . H i t c h c o c k , H e w Y o r k , 1 9 2 7 .

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Harkness, Elisabeth Jean (author)

Core Title A history of the Presbytery of Los Angeles, 1850-1928

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Master of Arts

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,philosophy, religion and theology,Social Sciences

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c39-295291

Unique identifier UC11317429

Identifier EP67448.pdf (filename),usctheses-c39-295291 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP67448.pdf

Dmrecord 295291

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Harkness, Elisabeth Jean

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA