Part 6

“5. Your success as a preacher, and your increasing acceptableness to your own people.

“6. The more limited opportunity which would be afforded to you at New College of exercising your talents as a preacher.

“7. The difficulty which the Church anticipates in securing an appropriate successor.

“8. The fact that it would not be more difficult (if as much so) to supply the vacant office than your vacant pulpit.

“Other considerations, which we need not enumerate, have occurred to our minds. The foregoing we venture to submit to your attention. They have led us to the conclusion that, however honourable the invitation may be to you, and however it may be pressed upon your notice, and however usefully you might be employed in it, it does not appear to us to be your duty to relinquish your present position and sphere, where you have been so much blessed, in order to undertake the office in question.”

This letter decided the point. Attractive as was the post at New College, the claims of the Church at Kensington, especially so soon after the building of the new chapel, appeared more urgent: and it may be added that the deacons, especially Mr. Watson, turned the incident to account by proposing that £1,000 should be raised as a thank-offering for the continuance of the existing pastorate, the sum to be employed in liquidation of the chapel debt. This amount contributed to its entire extinction.

Encouraging years of labour followed, and in 1860 additions to the Church reached their highest point up to that time,—a proof of the Divine blessing on what had been done and determined; and it was regarded as a cause for special gratitude and thanksgiving.

The new chapel was thoroughly repaired and embellished in 1863, at a cost of about £600. Of this amount the sum of £400 was subscribed beforehand, and the rest was obtained by collections on the last Sunday of January, 1864.

In the spring of 1865 the Church, long aware of their pastor’s wish to visit the Holy Land, most generously came forward to gratify him in this respect, and opened a subscription which amounted, almost immediately, to the sum of £400, which was placed at his disposal to defray the expenses of the journey. A public meeting followed, when the money, enclosed within a tastefully devised oriental-like purse, mounted in gold, was presented, with an intimation that, during the absence of about four months, the friends would undertake to pay supplies. Before his departure he delivered two sermons on the first Sunday in February, and on the 7th of the month started with Dr. Allon, Dr. Spence, the Rev. John Bright, of Dorking, and Mr. Stanley Kemp Welch, on the much talked of trip. {88} It proved successful and gratifying, except that a serious illness befel Dr. Spence during his journey, and that the Kensington pastor returned as yellow as an old Indian, much to the dismay of his flock when they lovingly welcomed him back to the pulpit. The temporary attack of jaundice, however, proved not at all injurious, as after his recovery from it his health was if anything better than before. Certainly the journey gave him an interest in Palestine, and in the Scriptures relating to it, greater than ever, and furnished ample materials for lectures to the congregation.

The year after his return from the Holy Land he expressed a wish, not only for his own sake, but the better to meet spiritual wants in the Church and the surrounding district, that an assistant should be provided; and this matter came before the Church in February, 1866, when the following resolution was passed: “That this meeting desires to express its cordial concurrence in the deacons’ proposal for the appointment of an assistant to the minister, to be selected by him, and to be sustained, as an experiment for one year, by a special fund.” In pursuance of this resolution the Rev. Alden Davies became assistant minister, and proved so useful in visitation, superintendence of classes, and preaching on Sunday afternoons, and other occasions, that his services were prolonged for three years, greatly to the comfort of his senior colleague, and the satisfaction of his numerous friends.

Two important incidents occurred in 1868. The first was the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the pastor’s ministry at Kensington, when a large public meeting was held in the month of October. The Rev. Thomas Binney took the chair, and was surrounded by a numerous company of London ministers. Numerous congratulatory speeches were delivered, but that which alone needs particular notice was the statement read by Mr. Shepheard, one of the deacons of the Church who for many years had rendered most valuable and important services. He stated that in 1843 there were 251 members, and that since 1843, 1,200 members had been added, the number on the Church roll at the time the meeting was held being about 500; so, he said, “the Church has been doubled in number since our pastor commenced his ministry amongst us.” This report appeared all the more gratifying when it was remembered that in 1849 forty members had been dismissed to the new Church at Horbury. He also read a long list of sums, amounting altogether to £32,821, contributed by the congregation during twenty-five years, independently of the amount raised for the support of the ministry, and for incidental expenses in carrying on worship. Of the sum just mentioned, nearly £1,300 had been devoted to chapel and school building purposes; nearly £9,000 to missionary operations; £5,630 to the advancement of education; and £5,480 to relieving the poor. The other incident of this year 1868 was the laying of the first stone of the new schools in Allen Street.

It had for a long time been felt desirable that enlarged accommodation should be provided for the Sunday and Day Schools. The buildings in Hornton Street had become too small and altogether inconvenient. The Metropolitan Railway Company in 1868 wanted to purchase the premises for their own purposes, and this opportune circumstance enabled the friends to accomplish their long-cherished desire. Part of the ground in Allen Street purchased for the site of the chapel remained unoccupied. A plan for erecting almshouses on it had been suggested, but it failed though favoured by several friends. It was now available for schools, and consequently became appropriated for that purpose.

It was at first intended that the laying of the first stone should form part of the celebration just described, but circumstances compelled a postponement of the ceremony; it was, however, performed by the pastor soon afterwards.

When the twenty-eighth year of the existing pastorate arrived, the pastor, having reached the sixty-fourth year of his age, expressed to the Church an idea which he had cherished through his whole ministerial life. The first few years after his ordination he spent as a junior co-pastor, and his desire was, should he reach old age, that the last few years should be spent in service as a senior co-pastor. He thought at his age it was time to contemplate such an arrangement. This, with various considerations supporting his opinion, he submitted to his people, entreating them to remember the subject in private prayer. In the month of April, 1871, the Church resolved “that the time had arrived when provision should be made for supplementing the minister’s services by the appointment of a co-pastor.” The Rev. Chas. S. Slater, of Nottingham, having preached at Kensington with much acceptance, the Church, in the month of March, 1872, sent him a cordial and unanimous invitation to become co-pastor; but he stated that he felt obliged to decline it, whilst acknowledging the receipt of it in highly becoming terms. The obligation arose from the circumstance that his people at Nottingham were engaged in the building of schools, an enterprise to the completion of which he stood pledged, and therefore he could not leave in the midst of the undertaking. Disappointed in this attempt, and discouraged by further inquiries, the pastor informed the Church that “as difficulties in securing a co-pastor were found to be so great, it had been thought desirable for the present to seek the services of an assistant minister, and that the pastor would in the meantime avail himself of student’s help on Sunday evenings.”

The plan of occasional help on Sunday evenings did not prove a success. The evening congregation declined, and the need of more pastoral work being done became increasingly visible. Hence in October, 1872, at a special meeting of the Church, the pastor expressed the feeling he had, that under existing circumstances it would be most advantageous for the spiritual interests of the people that the ground should be cleared for an efficient successor, who could undertake the whole duty, and so render the plan of assistanceship needless. This communication, received in the kindest manner, evoked the expression of a desire for a continuance of the existing pastorate as long as possible. Numerous consultations and interchanges of opinion followed, all carried on in a most harmonious manner; the sequel was, the pastor yielded to affectionate solicitations, and for the present deferred his resignation.

In the month of December, 1872, an extraordinary service took place. It was occasioned by the death of Sir Donald F. Macleod, C.B., K.C., S.A., who had for some time attended divine worship in Allen Street and communed with the Church at the Lord’s Table. He died from a mysterious accident at the Kensington High Street railway station, and this circumstance, together with his distinguished character and rank, attracted a crowded congregation when his funeral sermon was preached. A large number of officers and civilians connected with India, including Lord Lawrence, were present, and the greatest respect was shown to his memory. The discourse was published by request, and as this sketch of Kensington Church history is intended to include notices of eminent members of the congregation, the following extracts are not inappropriate:—

“Having honourably and successfully occupied different posts of important service in India, he, in the year 1865, attained to the high position of Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjaub. . . . Sir Donald had a rare gift for putting himself into kindly fellowship with those he ruled, whether rich or poor, entering into their feelings and cultivating their regards, and by degrees he acquired a widespread influence in what might be called the country of his adoption, and all loved him as a friend and father; and it has been said, if the natives in the Punjaub had had to choose a prince, it would have been Sir Donald; a still more striking remark, given in the notice of his life by a leading journal, was recently made by a native gentleman, to the effect that ‘If all Christians were like Sir Donald Macleod, there would be no Mahomedans or Hindoos.’ . . . His calmness and self-possession during the fearful crisis of 1857 made him a safe counsellor when others were unnerved; besides which, on another occasion, during a terrible outbreak of cholera, he exerted himself in the care of sufferers, and in the burial of the dead, whilst others, panic-stricken, rushed away.

“He had an extraordinary power of making friends, and few have had so large a circle of friendship. ‘Wherever he went,’ remarks a relative, ‘his presence was like sunshine, and the sunshine was the reflection of another presence, even of Him of whom it is said, “In Thy presence is fulness of joy.’” . . . His bright, cheerful appearance, commanding figure, and pleasant utterances won all hearts, especially those of the young, who were attracted by the magic of sympathy, a rare gift, which he did not fail rightly to employ.”

“Into Thine hand I commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth,” were amongst the last words he uttered, and they were selected as the text for his funeral sermon.

In the winter of 1872 the pastor felt it necessary to change his residence, when the ladies of the congregation raised a purse, which, with the addition of £100 from one friend, amounted to between £300 and £400. This bountiful gift, conveyed privately by one of the contributors, touched his heart as may be supposed, and made him feel how great was his people’s generosity, and how gracefully they exercised it. The avoidance of publicity, and the delicate mode of conveying the present, increased greatly his sense of obligation, and attached him to so noble-minded a people more strongly than ever. Their interest in the future he resolved more than ever to consider.

The autumn of that year he visited America, being invited, with the Rev. Joshua C. Harrison, “the friend of his life,” to attend the Evangelical Conference at New York. This was most refreshing, and in renewed health and spirits he returned, in November, to his beloved people; the chapel during his absence having been restored, painted, and decorated anew.

Harmony and love continued, but the want of additional assistance still pressed on all sides. The services of the Rev. S. Matthews, now pastor at Southampton, were secured for one year, and he co-operated with the senior minister very pleasantly; other help was also obtained, but at length the inevitable hour arrived. The Church received the following communication from their pastor in November, 1874:—

“MY BELOVED FLOCK,—

“It is now two years since I made an important communication touching our relationship to one another. I then stated, that upon a review of our affairs it struck me that there were subjects for mutual congratulation and for devout gratitude, particularly in the cheering aspect of the morning congregation and in your generous responses to benevolent appeals; but, at the same time, that there were other things of a different character which weighed upon my mind, such as the state of attendance on Sunday and week evenings, the need of more pastoral activity, to which growing years, personal habits, and increasing claims outside the Church tended to disqualify me, increasingly in proportion to the lapse of time. What was needed I pointed out as consisting of an infusion of fresh and youthful blood, with a more comprehensive, steady, and systematic control of our Institutions: wants only to be supplied by a new, vigorous, faithful, and exemplary minister.

“I then ventured to touch upon difficulties, ascertained through experience, in the way of obtaining either an assistant or a co-pastor who would secure the confidence, sympathy, and support of the Church at large. Nor did I omit to notice a question long pressing on my mind, as to whether it was worth your while to incur increased pecuniary obligations for the sake of retaining services which, in the course of nature, could not be continued for many years longer.

“My judgment, I said, pointed in the direction of retirement, and I urged upon you the consideration that, on the whole, it might be easier, wiser, and better, at once, or very soon, to seek a new pastor altogether, than to aim at mere assistance or even a full co-pastorate. I also suggested that, perhaps, with my confirmed habits and tastes, I might serve the Divine Master more usefully in some other way, than by continuing to hold the office of a settled pastor.

“I intimated distinctly what a sore trial it was to me to make such a communication; with what deep sorrow I should separate from a people whom I had watched and loved for so many years, not, I hope, without some considerable success; and that I was prompted in what I said, not by desires for personal gratification, or by love of ease, or a preference for literary pursuits, but _simply and entirely_ by a sense of duty and a _supreme desire_, to promote the welfare of the Church at Kensington.

“My communication was very kindly considered by the deacons and yourselves, and at length I received a resolution affectionately entreating me to retain the pastorate without any stipulation as to time, and generously offering to provide an assistant. I complied with your request, so far as to say that without pledging myself to a permanent retention of office, I would accept your liberal offer to provide assistance, and would for the present continue my labours amongst you. A little more than a year afterwards, on my return from America, you invited for the term of twelve months my friend and brother, the Rev. S. G. Matthews, who has co-operated with me in the most harmonious and affectionate manner.

“His term of service will presently expire, and now that two years have elapsed since I made my communication—a period which you will remember I then specified—the whole subject returns on my mind with increasing force. Before I left home for the holidays, I stated as much to the deacons; and what I then thought and felt has been deepened by the effect of my recent great domestic sorrow, with respect to which many of you have expressed the tenderest sympathy.

“The more I reflect on the matter, the more I am confirmed in my former judgment—that, looking at my time of life, and at growing infirmities, which though they may not affect my pulpit labours, do affect my pastoral influence, and moreover, looking at pecuniary and other questions,—an entire change in the pastoral administration of affairs at Kensington seems desirable for the Church and congregation.

“Most reluctantly, with much pain, and at the cost of considerable self-sacrifice in more than one way, I reach the conclusion that our long and happy relationship must come to an end. Therefore I beg now to place my resignation in your hands, and to propose, with the view of relieving you from prolonged suspense and uncertainty, that it should take effect at Lady-day next, when I shall make way for a successor who will, I trust, under God’s blessing, perpetuate and advance the work which it has been my honour to carry on more than thirty-one years.

“I do not think I shall be charged with vanity if I add that I am persuaded this communication will give pain. Attachment has been so often expressed, the affection of many has been so strongly and practically shown, that it would be unreasonable and ungrateful to suspect I did not still enjoy your confidence and love. I am assured of both, and my hope is that though my pastoral relationship will cease, our mutual friendship will continue, and that in future days I may have opportunities of continued intercourse and occasional service.

“The Church at Kensington will have a large and warm place in my heart as long as that heart beats in this world; and my prayer is, that in the world to come we may all enjoy life and fellowship everlasting.”

An anxious discussion followed the reading of this letter at a Church meeting, held on the 12th of November, when the members recorded “the deep regret with which they had received from their beloved pastor the communication now presented by the deacons”; also their full appreciation of “the motives and reasons which had led him to his decision”; the “unabated attachment” which they still cherished towards him; and their gratitude to God “for the peace which had prevailed in the Church,” and the “many mercies vouchsafed” both to pastor and people.

A committee was formed to consider what further steps should be taken, and the meeting came “with the utmost regret and reluctance to the conclusion that the only course now open was to accept the resignation of their beloved and honoured pastor.” When the committee gave in their report, some members lovingly made further efforts to retain their old minister, but others equally loving saw that such efforts would be unavailing. At length all beautifully united in saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

It was then resolved “that this meeting considers advantage should be taken of the opportunity afforded by the resignation of Dr. Stoughton, for the members of the Church and congregation . . . as well as for attached friends generally, to express their esteem for Dr. Stoughton, and appreciation of his character and valuable services in the cause of evangelical truth, by a substantial presentation to him.”

When the resignation had been sent in and accepted, a sermon was preached reviewing the past, explaining the present, and anticipating the future:—

“It is over forty years ago [said the preacher] that there lived in the town of Windsor a venerable man of God, who in early life had enjoyed only scanty educational advantages, but who, with strong common sense and industrious application to the study of Scripture and other reading, fitted himself, under God’s blessing, for the work of the ministry, and well fulfilled his course. He lived as he preached. He was a moral and spiritual power amongst his neighbours. From the king on the throne to the humblest inhabitant he was held in respect. George III. would speak to some of his servants, who attended the ministry of this excellent person, in terms of gracious approval. When years advanced and infirmities increased, he set his heart upon having a colleague, and after the congregation had listened to several students from Highbury College, they fixed on a stripling, who won the heart and warmly reciprocated the affection of the aged prophet. As a son with a father, the young man served in the gospel for about seven happy years, rejoicing in the honour paid to the elder, in whose hoary hairs he gladly recognised a crown of glory, because the wearer walked in the ways of righteousness. Many of you will recognise at once who was that aged saint, and I need hardly tell any here who was that inexperienced but attached young man. After I came here it was long a cherished dream, that if I should live to be an old man, I might enter once more upon a co-pastorate. The sunny memories I had and have of that relationship fostered corresponding hopes, and seven years ago I began to pray for and desire some one who might be associated with me in the ministry, and grow into your affection and confidence, and at length succeed me within these walls. Many and many a time have I pondered the text of this morning, and imagined how I might preach from it when the wished-for coming man should be appointed. I used to think of what would be fitting on such an occasion. ‘He must increase, and I must decrease,’ I said over and over again to myself, and not without fear that poor human nature might, under the circumstances, prove troublesome and rebellious. I endeavoured to prepare for the hoped-for crisis by meditations such as I have expressed in your hearing to-day.

“But now I preach from the words without knowing who it is that the Master destines to occupy in future years the pulpit of this place. Who shall hereafter ‘increase’ I cannot tell. I only know who must ‘decrease.’