"More than ten thousand people," said the Record-Herald of April 8, 1901, "participated yesterday in the dedication of the Second Church of Christ, Scientist, at Wrightwood and Pine Grove Avenues. At eight o'clock in the morning, an hour before the commencement of the day's quadruple service, groups of worshipers began to assemble in the church. They came by tens and scores till every seat and foot of standing space was filled; and when, at 9.30, the doors were locked, hundreds congregated without and waited with eager patience till the first ceremonial was over and the side doors were opened to admit the waiting thousands to the second service.
"The capacity of the beautiful auditorium was taxed again at the later morning ceremonies, and after two hours, when this congregation was dismissed, yet again the streets about the church were packed with people and carriages.
"The utmost decorum prevailed throughout the day, and the multitudes of members, friends, and visitors seemed imbued with the same calm, unostentatious sincerity that characterized the simple ceremonies. Begun at 9.30, they were repeated at 11.30, at 3.30, and at 7.45 in the evening, each time before a different assemblage, and always without departure from the quiet, simple service peculiar to the Christian Scientists.
"There was no pomp, no allegory, no symbolism, no mystery, no ecstasy of appeal in the music, in the sermons, nor in the exercises which marked the progress of the dedication. During the day services, the sunlight filled the wide space of the classic white interior, and at night a thousand incandescent lamps illumined the edifice.
"The first test proved the perfect acoustic properties of the auditorium. The great crowds were attended by thirty ushers, and during the intervals between services every nook and corner of the building was examined and approved by visitors."
The ground, building, organ, and furnishings have cost about $120,000, and the entire amount necessary to pay for this building and the one for Third Church of Christ, Scientist, on the West Side—a total of about $240,000—has been quietly raised during the past two years. The money has been contributed by over four thousand persons. It is the custom of Christian Scientists to dedicate their churches free from debt, and these buildings will be no exception to that rule.
Description of the Church.
The exterior is characterized by a simplicity and breadth of treatment at once impressive and dignified, and is imbued with the subtle charm and refinement of the most beautiful of Greek orders, the Ionic of the Erechtheum of the Acropolis, a temple which all writers agree was almost faultless in its art.
Ascending a broad flight of granite steps, the recessed portico or loggia is reached. This recess, while serving as a covered way, is really for the purpose of isolating the colonnade and providing for contrasting lights and shadows, necessary accompaniments to the harmony of classic architecture. At either end of the steps are beautiful bronze tripods sustaining the lamps.
From this loggia five double doorways of mahogany open into the outer vestibule, passing through which one enters an extensive foyer, or inner vestibule. An idea of the size of this feature may be had when it is stated that almost the entire congregation can be comfortably accommodated in it. It is a well-lighted and cheerful place, and is provided with large fireplaces.
The auditorium extends above this lower foyer, forming its ceiling, and is reached by five broad flights of steps so disposed as to empty or fill all parts of the auditorium quickly. It is a fact that no auditorium of its size in the country excels this in its provision for quick and easy ingress and egress.
Upon reaching the auditorium one finds himself standing under a noble arched ceiling in the centre of which is a stained glass dome. The dome is thirty feet in diameter, and is richly paneled and ornamented.
The platform and Readers' desk are placed in the centre of the north side and form the common focus point from which the aisles generally radiate and the seats bank up.
The organ loft is back of the platform and over the Readers' rooms, and opens upon the main auditorium in the form of an ornamental, arched, open plaster screen.
The auditorium is decorated in ivory as a field, with all plastic ornaments in gold.
The most substantial construction has been employed, steel trusses being used to support the roof and ceiling, and they in turn are supported on steel columns. The size of the building is 100x116 feet, the auditorium being 84x112 feet. The auditorium will seat 1,450 people. In the rear portion of the building are located committee and toilet rooms and a room for each of the Readers. The four sides of the building, including alley and rear, are faced with blue Bedford stone.
The foyer and vestibule are paved with marble mosaic and generally wainscoted with marble. There are above six thousand square feet of mosaic flooring.
The windows are filled with handsome leaded stained glass. Mr. S. S. Beman is the architect.
Over the main entrance from Wrightwood Avenue is the inscription:—
"Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever." Revelation, 7:12.
On Pine Grove Avenue side of building:—
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John, 8:32.
Over entrance facing vestibule, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew, 11:28.
Over fireplace at east side of foyer:—
"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Ephesians, 5:14.
Over fireplace at west side of foyer:—
"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John, 8:12.
East of Readers' platform, on north wall:—
"Divine Love always has met, and always will meet, every human need."—Mary Baker Eddy.
West of Readers' platform, on north wall:—
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things." Revelation, 21 : 7.
The following was the order of exercises:—
Fantasia for organ, Tours, Mr. Walter Spry, Organist.
Hymn 161, "Shepherd, show me how to go."
Song, "Salvation to our Lord," Walter Spry, sung by Miss Bertha M. Kaderly.
Scripture Reading, I Kings, 8 :22, 23, 26–33, 35, 37–39, and 54–61.
Prayer.
Hymn 89, "It came upon the midnight clear."
Address by Mr. Bicknell Young.
Address by ex-Judge William G. Ewing at 9.30 and 11.30; Mr. Archibald McLellan at 3 and 7.45.
Song, "O Saviour Mine," Old German, Mrs. May Phoenix Cameron, accompanied by Mr. Root, organist of First Church.
Reading of letter from Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy.
Reading from Section of Mother Church Manual.
Lesson-Sermon, "Are sin, sickness, and death real?"
Hymn, 46, "We say to all men far and near."
Scientific Statement of Being, from the Christian Science text-book.
Correlative passage from I John, 3 : 1–3.
Benediction.
Postlude for organ, Priests' March (Athalie), Mendelssohn, Mr. Frederic W. Root.
The Readers of First Church, Mr. John H. Cameron and Mrs. Ruth B. Ewing, conducted the services at 9.30 a.m.
The Readers of Second Church, Mr. Bicknell Young and Mrs. Lucy K. Platt, conducted the services at 11.30 a.m.
The Readers of Third Church, Rev. Jesse L. Fonda and Mrs. Mary M. W. Adams conducted the services at 3 p.m.
The Readers of Fourth Church, Mr. C. M. Flint and Mrs. Harriet R. White conducted the services at 7.45 p.m.
At each of the services the following letter from our Leader, the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy was read:—
Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., April 4, 1901.
To the Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, Ill.
My Beloved Brethren:—Your card of invitation to this feast of soul was duly received—accept my thanks.
Ye sit not in the idol's temple. Ye build not to an unknown God. Ye worship Him whom ye serve. Boast not thyself, thou ransomed of divine Love, but press on unto the possession of unburdened bliss. Heal the sick, make spotless the blemished, raise the living dead, cast out fashionable lunacy.
The ideal robe of Christ is seamless. Thou hast touched its hem and art being healed. The risen Christ is thine. The haunting mystery and gloom of his glory rule not this century. Thine is the upspringing hope, the conquest over sin and mortality, that lights the living way to Life, not death.
May the God of our fathers, the infinite Person whom we worship, be and abide with you; may the blessing of divine Love rest with you. My heart hovers around your churches in Chicago, for the dove of peace sits lovingly on these branches and sings of our Redeemer.
Lovingly yours,
Address by Bicknell Young, First Reader.
The history of this church may be briefly told. It will be remembered that the edifice of First Church had been completed less than a year, when the congregation again outgrew its seating capacity. In order to relieve this condition, and with the sanction and co-operation of that church, one hundred and twenty-seven members thereof, residing in the north division of the city, withdrew from membership and organized and incorporated this church, known as Second Church of Christ, Scientist, of Chicago, on November 15, 1898. The first services were held in the Jewish Synagogue on November 27, 1898, and the Sunday services and Wednesday evening meetings have been held there since that time till now. Shortly after the organization of this church, Third Church was started in a similar manner, and in little more than a year thereafter Fourth Church and the West Pullman Society were organized in the same way.
In January, 1899, a joint meeting of the then three churches was held and a resolution passed authorizing the Conference Committee to proceed to the selection of sites and the erection of buildings for Second and Third Churches, respectively. In accordance with such instructions, the Conference Committee, consisting of the officers and Readers of the churches, the resident lecturers, and the Treasurer of the Building Fund, appointed Building Committees for Second and Third Churches respectively, and under the direction of the Building Committee of this church, this building has been erected and completed. Ground was broken on the 31st day of August, 1899, and the corner-stone was laid November 20, 1899.
These are the plain facts, but they represent vastly more than can be told in a brief address, of unselfish labor and unswerving devotion to Principle on the part of you loyal Christian Scientists, who have established the churches here upon the sure foundation of Christian Science demonstration. You have, indeed, wrought valiantly, and you come here to-day rejoicing with us in this fruition of faith and prayer. The Christian Science Churches of this city are branches of the Mother Church, situated in Boston, The First Church of Christ, Scientist. They are organized and maintained quite independently of each other, and yet in unity of thought and purpose.
They are the natural result of an unselfish and united endeavor on the part of Christian Scientists to bring to light the purity and healing efficacy of the gospel as revealed in Christian Science. The healing power of Christian Science, the peace it bestows, the discernment that it clearly gives of God's unchanging love and man's immortality, all these have brought happiness to us and changed our thoughts in relation to men and things, so that the "new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" begins to appear.
With this new light comes the conviction that Christian Science is revelation, and with that a spontaneous and natural affection for the Revelator springs up in the heart. This gratitude and love cannot be stifled by the foolish assertion that Christian Scientists worship Mrs. Eddy. Our love for one who has helped us to discern the way of salvation, is as natural and as indestructible as a man's love for his own mother. Mrs. Eddy asks in one of her works, "What has not unselfed-love achieved for the race?" This is the keynote of all her endeavors in behalf of mankind. This "unselfed-love" which is always actuating her leadership of this great cause, needs to be emulated by us all. Words express little, but the absolute Christianization of every thought would constitute the meekness that is might, and prove our gratitude more than words can ever do.
To our faithful Building Committee, Directors, Trustees, Furnishing Committee, and others who have been standing as sentinels on the watch-towers, this church owes a generous meed of praise and thanks.
A just and grateful acknowledgment of the wise direction of the Conference Committee, of the labors of the Treasurer of the Building Fund and his assistants, and of the splendid work of the Auxiliary Committee, cannot be out of place here. We wish also to thank our Jewish friends, who for more than two years have permitted us to occupy their building for our services, and who have evinced the kindest solicitude for our comfort and welfare.
So many of you have been instrumental in the erection of this building that to offer words of welcome seems almost like welcoming a man to his own house, but nevertheless, we do welcome you and all others that are here today, and we thank the infinite Giver for this large measure of "unselfed-love," and promise to "strive, watch, and pray" to be more and more worthy of His infinite blessings.
This house is consecrated to God's work; may it stand as a type of our aspirations toward the salvation of the world from sin, sickness, and death, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ; but let us remember that, in order to bring this to pass, the house of God "not made with hands" must be builded within, of the substance which to know aright is life eternal.
Here, as the Truth is set forth by our impersonal pastor, the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," may thought take on a divine afflatus and, rising to the full import of the gospel, manifest itself in the healing of sickness and sin. Here may the stranger recognize the fatherhood of God and be no longer a stranger.
Love illumines the altars of Christian Science. May it glow enduringly in our hearts till its effulgence fills the whole world. May this new-old understanding of God, abiding in our thoughts and abounding in our lives, ever repeat and accentuate the words of the poet,—
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace!
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be!
Address by the Hon. William G. Ewing.
The real significance of this occasion is not the dedication to God of a house of worship, but is rather the impression upon men of the thought of God which has made the building of this beautiful temple not only possible, but a pleasure and privilege to every one who has contributed to its construction.
Each of the many varying phases of Christian religious belief, in its ultimate analysis, is but an expression of the believer's concept of God. It is apparent, therefore, that when all people apprehend God alike, have but one and the same concept of Him, there will be and can be but one church. The promise that a nation shall be born in a day will be fulfilled when the people realize that there is but one God and all know Him; and it is only by knowing God that you can know man,—know yourself. Christian Science teaches that God is Spirit, Mind, Intelligence, Love, Principle,—the one infinite Good,—and hence is all-pervading, everywhere present. Mind made the universe, fills the universe, governs the universe; so that literally, "we live, and move, and have our being" in God. Everything of beauty, every joy that gladdens and glorifies humanity, is thought externalized, manifested; it is form or color unveiled; harmony revealed; song awakened.
Phidias was the constant companion of his wonderful chryselephantine statue of Minerva for years before his deft hands touched the precious materials of which it was wrought. Michael Angelo first saw the masterpiece of his marvelous genius walled about in a block of marble; he carefully chiseled away its prison-house, and now, for centuries, the world has seen the wonderful statue of the great Hebrew law-giver, and associated its artistic merit with genius, complex, manifold.
In this assembly there is one who mused, and loved, and worshiped in this great auditorium long before any human eye was gladdened by its perfect symmetry. We behold it now; like a benediction, an exquisite symphony in form and color, it rests about us all. And yet this dream of beauty was all the architect's own, held in the sanctuary of thought, until, in the very genius of love's generosity, he drew the veil and permitted us to see its stately, yet ever-changing, always restful lines, and to catch the melody in its song-fretted dome.
What occasion more fitting than this one, replete with love, to turn our minds gratefully to the gentle, loving woman who has wrought so generously for us. From her early childhood, devoutly consecrated to God, she learned of Him, and having abundantly received, hath abundantly given. Led by the hand that moves the world, she glorified life by the discovery, or re-discovery, of the abiding, mighty fact that man, God's man, is not maimed and halt and blind; not cringing, crawling, and crying; but erect, fearless, and free,—the spiritual image and likeness of God.
And this understanding of man's relationship to God is the pivotal thought of Mrs. Eddy's great contribution to the redemption of men from sickness, sorrow, and sin. It illumines with hope every promise of the Gospel and adds pathetic tenderness to the sweetest invitation that ever fell from lips of Truth upon the ears of men: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Secure in this abiding Truth the lame do walk today and the blind do see to-day as, by virtue of the same Principle, they did walk and see nineteen hundred years ago.
And now, my friends, our most reasonable service this bright Easter morning is not the dedication to God of this house built with hands,—that will perish. Our mission is the higher and holier one of dedicating ourselves to God, consecrating our lives wholly to the love of Truth and the good of men,—that is for all eternity.
Address by Archibald McLellan.
Those who are familiar with Christian Science and its operation in behalf of humanity need not be told its history, and to such I do not particularly address myself, but rather to those who are here by reason of a friendly interest, or who have been attracted by an unusual event,—the dedication of a church which stands for the destruction of sickness as well as the destruction of sin.
In the year 1866, a woman born and reared in the religious atmosphere of New England, when seemingly helpless and almost hopeless, in her extremity turned to God and was healed, just as thousands throughout all ages have been healed and saved when they have trusted God. This fervent, religious woman, knowing that God is no respecter of persons, entered upon the task of searching out His immutable law by which she was healed and by which she knew that all mankind might be healed. The fruit of her consecrated labor was given to the world in 1875 in her book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." This book is the text-book of Christian Science, and its author, Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy, is the recognized leader of the most remarkable religious movement of modern times, a religion founded upon the sacred revelation of Scripture, and which insistently and persistently declares that Jesus the Christ revealed the Father to all men for all time. Under the wise leadership of this wonderful woman, who but thirty-five years ago stood alone as the one Christian Scientist in all the world, the denomination has prospered and has grown to such proportions as to compel the attention of the civilized world and command the respect of unprejudiced thinkers.
In 1867 Mrs. Eddy established her first school for teaching Christian Science, and in 1881 she opened the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, chartered by the State of Massachusetts, which college is still in existence as the educational institution of the denomination.
In 1879 the first Christian Science Church was organized in Boston with twenty-six members. From that small beginning has grown a denomination with nearly five hundred organized churches in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Mexico, and Australia.
In 1886 a Christian Science Church was organized in Chicago, and since that date the growth of the cause has been rapid. At present there are five Christian Science Churches in this city, all in good fellowship, and all making common cause in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ which heals the sick and reforms the sinner. Two of these church organizations own and occupy their own buildings, and a third building is in course of construction and will be dedicated and occupied within the next three months.
It may be reasonably asked, "Why has this denomination grown so rapidly?" and an equally reasonable answer would be that in all ages humanity has been crying out for some certain demonstrable system by which it might be relieved from pain and suffering and find health and peace and happiness, and, above all, that it might know God, whom to know aright is life eternal. Those who have turned to God through Christian Science gratefully testify that they have found health, peace, and happiness, and a demonstrable knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ applicable to all their needs and never failing when honestly applied. It is not the purpose of Christian Scientists to proselyte from other denominations nor to interfere with those who are satisfied with their religious beliefs, nor do they seek to force their views upon those who do not agree with them. Christian Scientists appreciate and give credit to every sincere man or woman who has in any manner contributed to the welfare and happiness of mankind. They recognize as a fact that the orthodox churches have kept alive the love of God and the desire to walk in the footsteps of our Master, and they fully appreciate the good that they have done and are doing.
The Christian Scientists of Chicago, as evidence of their love for their fellow-men and their deep gratitude to God for His loving-kindness, have built this church with the hope that many may find within its walls that peace which passeth all understanding.
The following telegram from Mr. Edward A. Kimball was also read at each service:—
"Your church stands for the known God, who hath already done all things well and whose law is the law of health, holiness, and life for man.
The ministry of this church is to make known a gospel which will reform and elevate mankind, abolish sickness, compose all strife, and establish a universal Christian brotherhood which will abundantly satisfy the world. The church and people who in humble and glad obedience to God pursue such endeavor, deserve to prosper, and will prosper. May the divine blessing which rests upon those who learn and practise brotherly love, honesty, and purity, rest upon you all, cancel temptation, wipe away tears, and reveal the possibility of good.
