Men's Bible Study Class

Dr. Frederick Harlan Page preached his first sermon in our Church on September 2, 1906, and he conducted his first Bible study class only five days later with 22 men in attendance. Dr. Page told them that they must represent an earnest brotherhood and must accept the judgement to seek the simple and vital truth of Christianity. They must accept the view that this world will never be right, until the mind of God is the measure of all things, and the will of God is the law of all things.

The course of study began with such topics as:

The Prophet Amos as Statesman and Preacher
Babylon, the Great City
The Hamniurabi Code and its Meaning
The Life of David

The name of the class was changed to "The Men's Class", because of the many topics discussed other than biblical, and later to the "Pastor's Class". Dr. Page was erudite in many subjects such as philosophy, church history, and the Reformation with all its leaders, customs, ordinances, and sacraments at the time of Martin Luther. The average number of men attending was 37 and they felt, "that they were in possession of knowledge of the great events in church history which could not be obtained in any other way, especially being delivered in his (Dr. Page's ) happy, conversational manner".

Other presentations were:
The Rise of the Papacy
The Influence of St. Augustine
The Effect of the Crusades on Protestant Reformation

On October 17, 1920, The Men's Class celebrated its 15th session with the announcement that Dr. Page would begin a course of study embracing 15 topics with emphasis on those great personalities behind the governing structures such as Socialism, Anarchism, Syndicalism, and Bolshevism. He claimed that there is a constructive spirit always at work in our society greater than any "ism", and it is well for us to have knowledge of them in these troubled times.

A few examples of these themes were:

The Church's Period of Domination
The Rise and Fall of Guilds
The American Idea
When the Feudal System Gave Way
Permanent Affects of the French Revolution
The Cure-ails of Today
When Greece Led the Way
The Roman Genius at Work

In 1923, The Pastor's Class began to meet with the Women's Philothea Society, and it was also led by Dr. Page. This arrangement was ideal, as it served to bring a much larger number of members together to receive the benefits of such an outstanding teacher. The Philothea Society added more than 100 attendees to the Class, and someone said that any Society members who were absent, "didn't know what they were missing, and those who have availed themselves of the privilege are truly grateful to Dr. Page for his interesting and inspiring talks."

With Dr. Page's resignation in 1925, the Pastor's Class came to an end after 19 years. Although the Pbilotheans continued to hold Sunday classes led by Dr. Charles Huntington, it is not clear if any of his Men's Class joined with them.

What a loss that those classes of Dr. Page were not, or could not have been recorded or preserved in some way!

Back

Trinity Church
(First Congregational Church of Waltham)
730 Main Street
Waltham, MA 02451
Copyright 2002