MILESTONES: September 27, birthdays for Lil Wayne, Avril Lavigne, Carrie Brownstein
Brooklyn Today
On this day in 1915, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, senior minister of famed Plymouth Church, had learned an important but painful lesson about trusting his business agent too much. Hillis, facing financial hardship, turned his business affairs over to Frank L. Ferguson, who was the president of Plymouth’s board of trustees. Hillis was pressured to “confess” that he had sought material gain. Ferguson attacked the minister publicly, accusing him of immoral behavior and speculating. According to archival documents of the Brooklyn Historical Society that are available online, Col. William C. Beecher joined with a group of other prominent church leaders to defend Hillis and state confidence in him as a pastor. Col. Beecher was the son of Plymouth Church’s founder, the Rev. Dr. Henry Ward Beecher. Hillis chose to ignore Ferguson’s attacks until the court action.
During his pastorate, Hillis published about 1,000 sermons, one each week in the Eagle. There are more than 20 published volumes of Hillis’ writings, including sermon collections, and even a novel. Some of his speeches were published as tracts as well. Plymouth’s community hall is named for Hillis.
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