The History of Michael Church
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Chapter 1 - The Early Years
The Tilson Years
Mr Tilson led the congregation (which as yet had not been formally organized in any real way) with zeal from his understanding of the true role of the priesthood as promulgated by Bishop Benade on the basis of his perceived knowledge of the Writings. Financial support for the priesthood was considered by Tilson to be an affirmative offering of love and respect from the members, given voluntarily only through the weekly offertories. Any committees (consisting of men only) needed to take care of business matters relating to the school or society were appointed by him as pastor.
In spiritual matters he inspired his congregation to be aware of quite elaborate details of ritual which he felt were necessary for correspondential reasons, and individuals were encouraged to contribute to these. The chancel furnishings were designed by F. Elphick who himself painted the striking motif on the canopy above the altar. In addition to the banners already mentioned, various embroidered falls for the pulpit and lectern were created for special services by Mrs Tilson. Mr Misson made and contributed a marble baptismal font on a matching plinth and the Criagie family donated a brass plate to receive the offertory - carefully designed in shape, size, material and in the colouring of its enamelled inserts to be correspondential of spiritual ideas. Special boxes were made and donated to house the stoles and robes of the priest in the vestry. Albert and Harry Petersen chose with care the details of the elaborate wooden stand they made for the offertory box. Although the meanings are now often forgotten by many, all of these items are still in regular use by today’s congregation. So too are the original, simple, sturdy benches made of a now rare long-grained American pine. (Slight ‘modernization’ in the 1950’s included the addition of padded seats to prevent ladies from snagging their stockings and an extra board at the back to prevent little children from falling through!)
The Seeds of Discontent
Yet within a few short years problems began to arise. A few of these related to the running of the school but essentially they stemmed from Tilson’s adulation of and loyalty to Bishop Benade, that very charismatic leader who had been so greatly loved by Academy followers on both sides of the Atlantic. Since suffering a stroke while visiting London in 1889, Benade had appeared to be becoming increasingly autocratic. Then too there were a few dissenting voices among both priests and laymen alike regarding his proposals for the establishment of two churches - the Academy to be an internal Church and the General Church of the Advent of the Lord to be directed to the performance of more external uses.
In 1893 Benade returned to London from Philadelphia and on 23rd April 1894, in the presence of the Burton Road congregation he was married to Miss Kate Gibbs, an Academy member who had befriended him during his illness in 1889. Prior to this event, Benade had written to his Vice Chancellor in Pennsylvania of “uneasiness and disquietude in England arising from personal causes and especially from a wave of democratic feeling which has passed over the country”. Stressing that the Academy’s hierarchy rested on the doctrine of the government of the church by the priesthood, he established a “particular church of the Academy” under Tilson in London to as it were ‘screen’ new potential members by receiving them probationally into his society. At the same time he replaced Bostock as the Academy’s superintendent of the London school and transferred this job to Tilson instead.
The seeds were there for future problems. However, in the summer of 1894 all seemed relatively peaceful despite financial problems which for a time threatened the closure of the school. In August nearly all of the priests from the Academy in America came to England to hold a series of five day meetings with Chancellor Benade at Burton Road. How exciting and stimulating it must have been for the little congregation to meet these distant friends in person!
The social highlight of the meetings was held in the church hall on 9th August to mark the recent publication of the Psalmody. Bishop W. F. Pendleton presented a suitably inscribed silver loving cup to Mr Whittington as a token of his fine music which had contributed so much joy and reverence to their services of worship. Would that the harmony of the music had also reigned in the hearts of the congregation!
Burton Road Divided
But alas, this was not to be. As the results of Father Benade’s stroke became increasingly evident, the priests in America gradually withdrew from his leadership to set up a new General Church of the New Jerusalem under Bishop W. F. Pendleton with the Academy as its educational arm. So too was the little Burton Road congregation split. Despite the valiant attempts of Mr Whittington to act as peace maker, the issues were too strongly and emotionally held; in 1898 a minority of members under the leadership of F. Elphick withdrew. They worshipped for a time under lay leadership in private homes and in rented accommodations and set up a school of their own for their children. In 1900 they organized themselves as a society of the newly formed General Church and in 1901 happily received the Rev. Andrew Czerny as their pastor and as headmaster for their school.
At Burton Road, however, Mr Tilson and the remaining members of his congregation maintained staunch loyalty to Benade who by this time had settled in Streatham to spend his declining years. In 1898 Mr Bostock left to join the newly re-organized General Church in America leaving the little school further reduced. It remained small under Miss K. M. Dowling as sole teacher and Mr Tilson as its headmaster until its eventual closure due to lack of pupils in 1927.
Formal Membership
When the split occurred in 1898, for the first time the Burton Road Society organized itself formally as a definite “Society of the New Church”. Members could be received upon signing a declaration of faith and purposes which included a statement of affirmation of a belief in the Divine Authority of the Doctrines of the New Church and of a willingness to co-operate faithfully with fellow members of the society under the direction and government of its priest. In 1899 a legal Indenture was drawn up, signed and witnessed appointing legal trustees for the society and defining their role.
And so, within a period of a few short years, the original Academy society begun with such enthusiasm had become two: the larger group remained as a completely independent society at Burton Road; the smaller eventually found a home at a house in Peckam Rye where they worshipped until 1925. Each group continued to run schools where their children could be taught under Academy ideals and the descendants of these children, particularly of the Peckham Rye group are now scattered throughout the General Church world wide. Although numerically the smaller of the two, the Peckham Rye Society was part of the larger body of the General Church in Britain whose members from Colchester and elsewhere met annually for joyful Assemblies. The Burton Road congregation remained alone as an independent group centring one of its main annual festivities around the birthday of Bishop Benade on 3rd October - even for many year after his death in 1905.
During the years which followed, occasional attempts at co-operative efforts and even reconciliation were offered both by the Camberwell Society at Flodden Road and the General Church group at Peckham Rye, but these were firmly rebuffed by Mr Tilson. In a pastoral address in October 1909 given at a celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of his entry into the priesthood he stated emphatically:
reunion with either body could only take place by the sacrifice of the most vital, most distinctive principles; and by a profanation, on our part, of truths we have acknowledged.
So, while the founding pastor also continued to recommend charitable understanding and tolerance of each others' views, the basic personality clashes and differences in the understanding of the nature of church government kept emotions high and the two groups apart.
Progress at Burton Road
In a small booklet, it is not possible to go into much detail about the history of two societies so we shall have to confine ourselves to Burton Road alone.
A quick summary of events of interest occurring during its next epoch show that the Whittington family withdrew in 1902 and generously gave the society the free use of the building for a nominal rent of £1.10.0 per year. In 1912 the building was officially registered for the solemnization of marriages and the church was registered as a place of public worship. From 1914 to January 1920 the garden adjoining Longfield Hall and the two small school rooms were let to the L.C.C. for £1.5.0 per week - a welcome addition to a tight budget.
The Great War with its heavy casualties deeply affected most individual families and when it was over a subscription was raised for a brass memorial roll of honour on which were inscribed the names of young friends and members who had given their lives. Unveiled on 16th May, 1920 it bore thirteen names, including those of the eldest son of Rev. William H. Acton and three sons of Rev. G. Ottley. (These two priests had remained alone with Tilson under the banner of Benade and over the years had taken services at Burton Road during the pastor’s rather frequent episodes of ill health.)
In 1917 Mr Whittington offered the building to the society for outright purchase at half its original cost. Various individual members loaned money to make up the £800 purchase price and a deed of conveyance was signed naming contributors Mr Tilson, Miss Shaw and E. W. Misson as trustees.
Towards Reconciliation
Thus the years passed and history moved on under the guidance of Providence. In August 1919 the then Bishop of the General Church, the Rt. Rev. N. D. Pendleton, visiting in London, according to records, “accidently” met Revs. Tilson and Ottley. The result was a long and very amicable talk. Following it both priests were drawn to re-consider the possibility of joining the General Church. This they soon did and Tilson began to suggest that members of his congregation did likewise. In fact while he and Mr Ottley were abroad in May 1920 attending the clergy meetings in Bryn Athyn for the first time, seventeen members of the Burton Road congregation joined. Bishop Pendleton offered to accept the society as a whole into the General Church if it so wished. At its A.G.M. in June 1921 after much discussion it was agreed to accept this offer, to adopt a new set of rules, and to join the General Church under the name of the Michael Society. So on July 31st that same year at its first joint assembly with other General Church members held in Longfield Hall, the Michael Society was officially received into the General Church. In 1922 at the next A.G.M. one member announced that he preferred the sound of Michael Church rather than Michael Society. Apparently most members concurred in this for from then on this change appears to have been accepted and Michael Church it has remained.
In the Autumn, members of the Peckham Rye Society were invited to join the congregation at Burton Road for the annual Harvest Festival service and thus the old wounds slowly began to heal. (Incidently, it is recorded that the fruits of this service were donated to Guy’s Hospital and transported there in a taxi at the cost of eight shillings!)