The Congregational Church--corner Stone Laid

The interesting Ceremonies ot raying tne v.,orner Stone of the n Congregational Church tock place last Monday, at 6 o'clock in the aftennoen. Rev. Mr. Siïiee, of the ïfethödttt Church, read a passage of Scripture appropriaie to the occasion, aftcr which the pastor of e chnrch, Rev. H. L. Hübbell, spoke substautially as follows : Mar ï'ïoy worship God any where but his ftmte 'nature craves fixcd places cf worahip. Thus the earliest records of our race teil ot sacred graves, altara and temples, vrhíle to-day throuhout our race, the religious nature oi i-.,n is expressfd in plac s and stniStiuea pot apart as holv ' (Jod's way is iu thc santtuary is not only the word of the Bible but it is the outer exnreMion of our inborn religious tendencies. As well expect public, justice without lawimd court room' í civil governmeut without legislMivu halla ;m.l a general éducation without teaoher, school term and school house, as to expert religión in men's hearta without stated tunes oud nlaoea of worship. And tl'.r.sc plaêes ot wornlup, when Christian, are the most profoündly Bigniflcaut svmbols the mind of man has ever devised. Thuv ïnean more for human culture and human progross than any merely sccakir school, college or university, because thcy represent the sesdi of that apringing or germinant power whioh has produced our entire Cliristian civihzation. It 'ome wild revolution swecp away any existmg governmeut aad the House of Go.l's worship become dcar and sacred to the pcople, tlus wilj develepe for them a Letter govornment, wiser aws, and higher institutions . The root ot the tree is more significant and valuable than any ouo of the brauch.es. Christiau churches represent thc root It is because Christian churches aro so foundly sagniticant pt Iranimi culturo, progresa iud redsmption froni sin, that thoy should be uade ittractive. Besides God Himeelf is the oost attractive ot all being U we could only soo Hira as He is. His work in the hearts and ■veters of men ís the most wonderful tlnng known o men, if v couM only see it as it is. The symbol tliat teil of Him and His wort should therefore be made as attractivo ns possiilf It should invite us to his vvorship and the tudy of his being and diameter. It should apieal to our higher esthetio nature and to all that vill win us to the place and service in wlnch God reveáis his heart and mind to the children of men I do not believe in extravagauee m eliurch building, uut Ido l.rlieve tlial lbo best house any people will pay i'or will do more tor God's "lorv men's piety and their truo missionary spuit than it WÜ1 to cultivate human prieto and vanity. We of the Congregatioual Churoh are not the only people interested in tina enterprUe. Chnat is our common Master. All Christian ohurohes belong to Him, and wo are all engaged in the same great work. Eacli ncw church edifioe representa another safe-guard of virtue and good order, another seed of human cuitare progresa and redemption f rom sin, another pledge of good will and good fellowship in lite, and another co-worfcer m the cause of our common Master. ïhis whole community haa therefore an interest in this work. lts representations present with us prove il. In tho name of these, our common intereats, aims, hopos, and faith, and especiaily in the name of our common Lord, we therefon: pi to lay the Corner Stone of a new house of worship to the Triune God. Other foundation ot the Spirtual Houso can no man lay than is laid, Jesua Christ himself being the Chiei Corner Stone. Before proceeding it ought to be stated that the stone which we are about to lay is iuniished by the Sunday School elassof Mrs. D. S. Woop. It is their " stone of witness" aud will remain such aa long as it shall keep its place m this house of God, witnessing to their personal interest in Chxistian work and influence. They being dead by it they shall still speak. Taking up the copper box within the stone, the speaker made the following statement of its couteuts : 1. The present organization of the churoh with a list of its membership, including the organization of the Sunday school with the names of Mrs. Wood's class, an 1 including aloo the organization of the various soeieties formed in aid of church work. 2. The present organization of the Parish with ita Board of Trustees. 3. Our last Church Manual, the TJniversity calendar, our city newspapers, copies of two oí our denominational newspapers and Missionary Magazines, and the last priuted Minutes oí our State Association. Following this the speaker took the hammer and struck the stone three tiuics, and said : "In the name of Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost I lay the corner stone oí a House to be built and dedicated to the service of Almighty God, accordmg to the faith, the polity, md usages of the CongTegational churches. Amen. Then followed a prayer, after which Rev. S. Habkell, of the Baptist church, being called upon, said in substanee : This solid committal of yourselves, brethren, to your great work, is of Tjleasing andhelpful interest to the other churches of the city. W Ui all, i not in the same boat with you, in boate pretty near yours. üur I'resbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal churces are latety launched, hut I believe thcir keels are not all clear of the shore yet; yours rests here gathering its stauuch and tino strueture about it; our Baptist and Lutheran chinches are hoping theirs will soon be laid. We are all inspired and encouraged by your enterprise and determined going ahead. u are iuterestcd with you also because our work and your work aro one. We see in these surioundings the locating of a battery of the Mme army line in which onrs arestahoned. And when we "sue the smoke of your guns in action here, wc shall end you ouríiearty cheers, knovTing that you command and would reduce the same trongholda as we. Iiithonameof m' donomination t inay also rejoice with you in tuis advance of that Congregationalimn which is conimon to us and you. A cougregationalism that has wrought so nobly for freedom, for education and spiritual religión. A congregationalism that has ever breathed on chains to melt them, and on darkness to dissipatc it ; that has yet, we believe, a missiou iu your hands and m our hands, so benencent to humanity the world over. Let its symbol bc the eyerenduring granite, the rook which its foot flrst pressed on the American shore. The rock which, like iteelf, has been tried by lire. The rock which shall bc last to dissolve when " ïhe elementa shall melt with fervent heat." The set address of the occasion was then giren by Judge Cooley, of the Board of Trustees, as f jllows : Wlicn I go by here day by day and see these great stones being built into an enduring wall, I am reminded of those wonderful old churches and cathedrals of Europe, constructed in the raiddle ages, and which, as they once gathered in pilgrims as worslupers, so now they attract travuiers from remote countries to admire tlieir solidity and extent, and to study their architectural perfectious. The church oí' to-day has the same general purpose in view with the cathedral of the middle ages, but we may properly be reminded that in any ceremony for the layiug ol a corner-stone iu the old times, when the priest had performeel his service, tnere woulü ttave been no 60ciety distinct froni the church to particípate, aud on whosc bohalf ohe might Speak as 1 am to upeak now. In those days there was not only no distinct civil organization as tlie handmaid aud helper of the rehgious body, but men had wholly failed to grasp the truth so plainly and so often taught l)y the founder of the Uhnstian religión, that his kiugdom was not of this world, and therefore the chiuch assumed dominion over the State, and sought to coerce belief, and to enforce spiritual duties through tho civil law. Of all tho'roforms of the last tive hundred years that is the greatest and most beneticent which has taught us that religión has its sphere of action distinct from the State, and that while the State is not to invade the domaiu of the conscience, neither is rehgiou to appropriate the functions of the State, but must trust lor her power to an enlightennient of the conscience, and to an elevation of the moral perceptions of individual Citizen. How complete is the acceptuuce of that form is best seen in our own country ana in organizations like our own, where the church trusts to the civil Corporation the complete control of its temporal offices, frora the raismg of its funda even to the employment of its oñiciating minister. This is a graat and solemn trust which the church confldes to all who atteud upon her Bervice ; but it is one which is icarlossly and saiely reposen, l'or while the church has been learning tliat the two great commandments are incapabie of being enforced by human laws, the people have aleo learned that human laws need to be supplemented by the precepts of a pure religión, and that in order to build up the best human society, the church must be sustained and strengthened in its sphere as the State must be supported and defended iu its sovereingty. The structure we shall erect here will not be as elegant or as costly as many of the older onee to which I have referred, trat as I believe it to be based on tho idea of volimtary association and support, so I do not in the least doubt that it wiil quicklv and harmoniousiy co opérate wTith civil institütions. J.t will build vp nothing that wil] red to Be ovcrturned by a n yólui ion eithor in church or State, butit will aid steadily in strengtheiang and perfecting atrue democracy by fitting the individual ir.au the better to.appreciateaid pctfcnd the duties devolving upon Wc have chosen for our site a spot facing the chief institation of learning of the State, and through the secular week the hclls of the school at our right anti ot the colleges across the way wil] bé 'the young people to come up hi"her ín tho. flelds ot ïntëlleolnal traint amant. ïlifibell of tliis church wil] oöme n.rt by a like invitution to thu jnaral and raliiiiiHia uaturc, and witÜ scjiool-bell and college-bell and cliurch-bcll we shall havo a chime, which, though it may not produce perfect harmony to the ear, wül nevertheless appeal haraoniously to all that is best inhuman nature. We have not contided our church to the 5choolsi we have put" oor schools in control of the church . but the schools in their spiiero have prepared the way iel an enlightened and yigorous faith, and and the ohuroh in ito spherfl has purifled andennobled the work of the schools, and wnen we place thein thua faóeto taoe with each othor, we that noithcr tlie apile of tho cliuro.li irowns npon the dome i the schools nor tho domo upon ■pira, but that they stand as friends and helpers in good neighborhood ; and the influenOe of each is eiven (I.miv and honrly to Bpreading order and making strong the influence of tho other. The church may look in üpon and criticiso the teachin(s of the schools, and science may look in upon and ciitioiao the teaching of the rliurch, bnt èaoh is an integral and necessary part of the perfect conmmnity, and whilo we invite leaming (o assist in laying' this corner-stone, we shall nut foixot that the religión this church is built to honor ia itself the corner-stone and the foundation of tha broadost learoing and tho highetft culture of which the world has knowledge, and apon wMCh may yet be built tho hihest of which our raoe ia oapable. It is cvidentlv Btting, therefore, that the civil corporate body should join tho relitáous body in laymt thia atone, and that it should put upon reoord iis sbidiag Faith that the "ause of a free religión is the cause oí good order and good govcriinn'iit. and that religión and culturo must go hand in hand in the development and perfection of civil iiislitutions. At the close of Judge Cooi.ht's addreaa Dr. Angell was oalled upon as the representativo rifa field of the educational- intimately connected with tho work of the church, and spoke briefly, pertincutly, and eloquently, after which the exercises terminated with tho singing af the doxology and the benediotion by Kev. Dr. Cockeb. At the recent session of the Board of Kegents oí the Univeraity Eugenk W. Hiloarh, Ph. D., was electcd l'rotos.ior of Öeology, Zoology and Botany. anfl instructor M. W. HARBisaTON appointed assistaut professor. Prof. HlLOABD has been already introduced to ourreadoi-s, and AsstProf. Hakrinctox has won an enviable reputation as an instructor. Instructor HuivniNa was also appoiiited ansistant professor in History and Rhetoric; Feaxk A. Scott of Ann Arhor, now In Germauy, instructor in Germán ; and G-. S. Gilpatrick, of Ohio, instructor in Mathematica. - Prof. Watson was givon leave of absence for one year fruin the close of the next collegiato year. - Tlie Board, by a vote of 6 to 1, refusod to appoint two medical professors of the homeopathie persuasión, adopting the following resolutions : Whereas, The Legislature of the State of Michigan at ita last session re-fiii:ictcd the law of 1855, requiring the appointment of homeopathie professors in the Medical Department of tlie Univeraity: "'! IVhertsas, It has alvrays been claimed by the Board of Regenta that the luw was an infringement ipon the rights and prerogatives of the Board; and Whereas, The Suprcine Court of the State has refused to grant a mandamus roquirmg the Lta to coniply with the law, thereby subBtantially confirmúig tlieir nction ; therefore, Resolved, ïhat we maintftin tbL poaition heretoloro taken, and decline to inako the appointments required hy the law. Itefnlrerl. Furt'ner, that wc do this in no spirit of faotdoua opposition to the apparent will of the Legislature, but because we believe the true and best interests of the TJniveasity demand it. Resolved, That we reaffirm the i'ormer action of this Board, expressing a wülingness to take oharge of au independent school of homeopathy, and oonnectit witu bhe ITniversity, whenover the means ehall be provided for the payinent of its professors.