PRESBYTERIAN NATIONAL UNION CONVENTION. THIS Convention originated in a proposal made in the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, at its meeting in the city of New York, in May, 1867, by George H. Stuart, Esq., an Elder in that body; in reference to which, the following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, The interests of the cause of Christ require us, at this time, to inaugurate measures to heal Zion's breaches and to bring into one the divided portions of the Presbyterian family; therefore, Resolved, That this Synod recommend to the several Presbyterian judicatories, now met or soon to meet, to unite with us in calling a General Convention of the Presbyterian Churches of the United States, to meet in the city of Philadelphia, on the second Wednesday of September next, or at such time and place as may be agreed upon, for prayer and conference in regard to the terms of union and communion among the various branches of the Presbyterian family. Resolved, That we recommend that the said Convention shall consist of a minister and a ruling elder from each Presbytery. Resolved, That certified copies of this action be immediately communicated, by the Clerk of the Synod, to the bodies included in this call. Resolved, That each body represented in said Convention shall, without respect to number of delegates, be entitled to an equal vote on all questions submitted for decision. Resolved, That the delegates appointed by the Presbyteries of this Church be required to report to this Synod for its action at its next meeting, the result reached by the Convention. Resolved, That Rev. J. N. Mc Leod, D.D., Rev. T. W. J. Wy 5 lie, D.D., and Geo. H. Stuart, Esq., be and they are hereby appointed a Committee of Arrangement and Correspondence in regard to such Convention. The time for the meeting of the Convention was afterwards changed by the Committee to the 6th of November. In the month of September, on the 24th day, in response to a circular letter issued by the Committee, a number of Ministers and Elders of the different branches of the Presbyterian Church, met in the city of Philadelphia to make arrangements for the assembling of the Convention. At this meeting the following Address was adopted and ordered to be published, signed by the Chairman and Secretary, in the different Presbyterian religious newspapers: TO THE PRESBYTERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Fathers and Brethren-Allow us respectfully to call your attention to the invitation addressed to all the churches of the Presbyterian order, to assemble in convention in the city of Philadelphia, on the first Wednesday of November next, "for prayer and conference to promote union and communion among the various branches of the Presbyterian family." That all these now divided departments of the Church of Christ should be one, is universally admitted; that they will be one, cannot be doubted. It is proposed to ascertain if the time has now come when they can be one; and if so, to take measures to accomplish this grand result. The present condition of our country, with slavery abolished and peace restored, now more than ever united in all its parts-the movements of a similar kind in the lands of our fathers-the urgent necessity there is for a combination of resources and energies, in order to supply the spiritual wants of the destitute at home, and to extend the Gospel among the heathen-and, especially, the evident influences of the Divine Spirit leading the people of God earnestly to desire and pray for the re-union of all who love the Saviour and seek for the redemption of our world-all these considerations lead us to hope that the time to favor Zion" in this regard, "yea the set time, is come." 66 Will you, dear brethren, give your co-operation by appointing a minister and ruling elder to attend this meeting? We are, dear brethren, your friends and fellow-servants in the love of the great God our Saviour. ALEXANDER REED, Chairman. The place appointed for the meeting of the Convention, was the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. And the Pastors of the churches of the several branches of the Presbyterian family to be represented in the Convention, were required to make it a subject of special public prayer on the Sabbath preceding its assembling. It was also asked that there should be much and earnest prayer in the closet, at the family altar, the social meeting, and the public congregation, on behalf of this first convocation of Churches of a common ancestry and of the same ecclesiastical order." Beside which, a general Union Prayer Meeting was appointed for the evening previous-Tuesday, the 5th inst., in the church at Philadelphia, to be continued on Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock. At the Tuesday evening meeting, the Pastor of the church, Rev. T. W. J. Wylie, D.D. presided; and it was an occasion of such interest, that it was resolved to hold an Elders' prayer-meeting at 9 o'clock, the next morning. The general prayer-meeting continued, was also held at 10 o'clock, led by the Rev. B. W. Chidlaw of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Convention was called for 11 o'clock, A. M., and when the hour arrived a large number of delegates and others, were found, "with one accord in one place," beseeching a blessing from on high to rest upon those who should come together, and upon their deliberations and acts. } FIRST REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. Wednesday, November 6th, 1867, 11 A. M. The Convention was called to order by the Rev. W. W. Barr of the United. Presbyterian Church, on whose motion George H. Stuart, Esq., was elected temporary Chairman. On taking the chair, the Chairman announced that the first business in order was the appointment of a temporary secretary, when, on motion of Rev. Wm. T. Eva, the Rev. G. D. Archibald, D.D., of the Old School branch of the Church, was chosen to that office. The Chairman called upon the Rev. David Blair, of the United Presbyterian Church, the oldest minister present, who opened the Convention with prayer. The 100th Psalm, L. M. All people that on earth do dwell, etc. was announced and sung by the Convention, standing. The Chairman then read the 4th chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and addressed the Convention in these words: Fathers and Brethren-Members of the same household of faith, and heirs to the same blessed inheritance, in the name of our once crucified and now ascended Redeemer, we hail your gathering to-day as the harbinger of better and brighter days for our now divided Zion, and for the cause of Christ in this land and in the world. This is the first general Convocation of Presbyterian churches in America. We hail your appearing in the midst of us; we believe every delegate has come up in the spirit of fervent love to Christ; and that you believe in the Unity of the Church, and have been praying for its manifestation in your closets, at your family altars, in the fellowship meetings, as well as in your great congregational gatherings. We rejoice in your meeting together in Philadelphia, and in the name of all the Presbyterian Churches here, we welcome you to this city of Brotherly Love-to our homes, to our hearts, to our heart of hearts, to our churches and our pulpits-and gladly hail you as brethren and fellow-servants of Christ. It may not be out of place briefly to sketch the origin of this Convention. I have been, as I suppose many here have been, long praying and hoping for such a Convention. At the last meeting of the General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, held in New York in May last, I felt constrained from a high sense of duty to propose a preamble and a series of resolutions, which, after some slight modifications, were adopted as follows: Mr. Stuart here read the resolutions, found on page 5. It was at first intended that the Convention should meet in September, but many important considerations led to its change to this day. The great object of our assembling is to give opportunity for prayer and conference in regard to the organic union of the whole Presbyterian family in the land. Oh, Dear Brethren! that we could realize the full value of prayer! It seems to me that Payson caught a glimpse of the value of prayer, which we need, when, as he stood near the kingdom of glory he exclaimed, "If I were permitted to return to earth again I should spend half my life in prayer." If this spirit of prayer be here, our conference will be sweet, and pleasant, and useful. Let us remember the purpose for which we are convened; we do not come to set up our denominational banners, or to gather around the standard of any one church; we come rather to unfurl the banner of King Jesus, to gather around the standard of the cross. Union is the order of the day among the nations of the world. Union is the great object for which we have been contending in our own land, and our efforts for which, God has so wondrously crowned with success. I never knew the value of union among the followers of Christ, until I stood upon our recent battle fields and heard men from different sections of Christ's Church speaking of Jesus and his salvation, and singing the songs of Zion, with those who were standing in their grave-clothes. Satan is, Brethren, marshalling his forces; Christ, the great King and Head of the Church, is calling us to come together; a voice comes to us from the colonies of the mother country where union has been already accomplished. It comes also from the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland and England, where they are happily and hopefully seeking a union of their divided forces. It comes, too, from the graves of Thomas Brainerd and John M. Krebbs, the respected Chairmen of the Committees of the Old and New School Churches on Union, now joined together in glory. The eyes of the Church are upon us. A cry comes to us from earth's perishing millions to close up our ranks, and to go forward to the conquest of the world for our blessed Immanuel. I hope that the spirit which has pervaded the prayer-meetings of last evening and this morning, may guide all our deliberations. I use not the words of man but of Holy Scripture, in invoking upon you the blessing of God, praying "that 66 Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what "is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the "love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with "all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power “that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." The Chair is now ready for business. On motion of Rev. J. Howard Suydam of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, a Committee on Credentials, consisting of one minister and one elder from each branch of the Church represented in the Convention, was appointed, as follows: Reformed Dutch, Pres., New School, Rev. J. H. Suydam, Elder James Peters. Rev. J. Fewsmith, D.D., Elder Jas. B. Pinneo. |