Washington Gladden: Owego’s Famous Prophet

The public is invited to a live talk on zoom this Tuesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. by the Rev. John R. Tyson, Ph.D., professor of church history at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, on the famous 19th century pastor and popular author, Washington Gladden, who grew up in the Southern Tier of New York State.

Dr. Tyson’s talk on Washington Gladden will be to stress the many ways Gladden’s years as a young man were shaped in the Owego area and foreshadowed the person he came to be when he was well-known as the prophet of the Social Gospel. Gladden was an energetic and effective Christian minister. Gladden was probably the first leading U.S. religious figure to support the labor unions, oppose segregation, and work ecumenically. He was a prolific writer who wrote hundreds of poems, hymns, articles, editorials, and books. He may be best known today as the author of the hymn, “O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee.”

The Wikipedia introduction to its Social Gospel article explains, “The Social Gospel was a social movement within Protestantism that applied Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean environment, child labor, lack of unionization, poor schools, and the dangers of war. It was most prominent in the early-20th-century United States and Canada. Theologically, the Social Gospelers sought to put into practice the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10): ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ Gladden’s 1877 book, The Christian Way: Whither It Leads and How to Go On, was his first national call for such a universal application of Christian values in everyday life. The book began his leadership in the Social Gospel movement. Historians consider Gladden to be one of the Social Gospel movement’s ‘founding fathers.’”

This talk is sponsored by the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, a congregation that united Presbyterian and Congregational churches (Gladden was a strong supporter of uniting the two congregations), and the Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley’s Commission on Christian Leadership Formation.

Zoom meeting information:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88499106722?pwd=NytqWnBUUXlwemJqU3dXRDFkdkpqdz09

Meeting ID: 884 9910 6722 Passcode: FPUC

For the May 18 talk on Washington Gladden and Owego, Dr. Tyson has suggested the following resources. Participants are not required to watch them, but are welcome to do so as preparation for the evening’s talk.  

A very good, short PBS a video on “The Gilded Age” (10 min.) from “The American Experience” provides helpful context for the lecture on Washington Gladden. Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeWE_FaIP6k. Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mxp6Bcn7k4 for an overview of the social, and political context in which Washington Gladden ministered. 

You can also contact Pastor Bruce Gillette at pastorbrucegillette@gmail.com for more information.