Reverend R. Jay Roberts is another one of our pastors we know little about. He came from the Buffalo area. He was pastor of the Candersport Baptist Church in Pennsylvania before he came to Manlius. We have no information concerning his birthplace or birth date, where he went to school or whether he was ordained, or if he had a career in preaching after he left Manlius.
The Clerk, Mrs. Yettie Harris, wrote in the September, 1906, letter to the Onondaga Baptist Association that "the Church listened to candidates and supplies for two months and then extended a unanimous call to Reverend R. Jay Roberts of Buffalo, which he accepted. His pastorate began on the first Sunday of August, 1906. It was hoped that much good may result from this union of pastor and people." On August 30, 1906, Reverend and Mrs. Roberts were received as members on their letters from the First Baptist Church of Candersport. In the fall letter to the Association, Mrs. Harris noted that the parsonage debt had been paid.
One of Reverend Roberts' earliest efforts was to organize the Church. The minutes of the October 4, 1906, Business Meeting indicated that he appointed various Committees for Church work. The Clerk left a blank space, however, and we will never know his plan for organization or who was appointed to carry it out.
Reverend Roberts' talents as a dynamic speaker were appreciated. On November 1, 1906, a motion was made and carried to hold a series of evangelistic meetings. Reverend Roberts was to be the speaker, assisted by some other pastors from local Churches or the Association and by a singer. The time was to be determined by Pastor Roberts. The Church also signified its willingness to allow Pastor Roberts to assist some other Church in such meetings should the occasion arise. The possibility of holding Cottage Meetings was discussed. There was no further report on any of these activities.
The boys and girls of the Church were meeting together in the popular and worldwide Christian Endeavour movement. The need for a special group for girls only must have become evident. In 1906 a Farther Lights Society was organized and a "good interest was manifested. The Misses Ella Chapman and Florence Carr have given the girls interesting and helpful evenings." The Society took as its motto, "The light that shines brightest shines farthest from home." Like Christian Endeavour and the Philathea-Baraca Sunday School Program, the Farther Lights was nation-wide and interdenominational. A program originally for girls, it developed later into a Missionary Society for business women of all ages.
It was still not thought proper for anyone to leave the Baptist Church for any otherdenomination. In August 1907 two of our members wished to join the Presbyterian Church in Manlius. Although the two Churches cooperated in matters of use of the Sanctuary and in joint services, the two ladies were told that it is contrary to Baptist Church usage to grant letters to other denominations. They would have to join the Presbyterian Church; then the Baptists would remove their names from the roll.
In 1907 the Church recognized the need for a Music Committee, but instead of choosing musicians, it turned to the Board of Trustees. This was probably because the Church was in the process of financing and purchasing a pipe organ. There was no record of a discussion concerning choosing the organ or paying for the organ, nor was there a record of a vote for an organ. Nevertheless, an Esty Pipe Organ was installed in 1907. Mary Avery Woodworth was instrumental in the purchase of and payment for the organ. Mrs. Yettie Harris, organist as well as Clerk, wrote that "she made the new pipe organ possible with her liberal gifts. They were an incentive and an assurance of the future. The organ is a constant reminder of the loyalty of some gone before, as well as those who remain." In addition to Mary Avery Woodworth's contribution, the organ was financed by selling "shares" to other members of the congregation. The shares sold for $5.00 (or multiples of $5.00) for which the giver received a "stock" certificate. By December 7, 1908, the Church still owed $653.00 on the organ. (One of the certificates survived and is reproduced in this section of history.)
Pastor Roberts' preaching continued to please the Congregation. In her September 1907 letter to the Onondaga Baptist Association, Mrs. Yettie Harris wrote that "the preaching of our pastor is a spiritual force not lightly esteemed. He preaches at Eagle Village and held special meetings there in the spring when several professed conversions." Mrs. Roberts was Superintendent of the Primary Department of the Sunday School and "both pastor and wife are earnest workers among the young people of whom we have a goodly number." Mrs. Harris added a melancholy note to her letter. "It is something to have held our own in these days when the Churches in small country towns are continually giving of their best to enrich the Churches in the cities." She was referring to the migration to Syracuse from the villages and Country surrounding the city. In E. A. Hill's Centennial History of the Onondaga Baptist Association- 1825-1925 he noted that from 1825 to 1875 the work of the Association was principally in rural districts and outlying villages. After 1875, however, as Mrs. Harris lamented, the great movement was cityward, which made it difficult for many of the smaller country Churches to continue.
Pastor R. Jay Roberts resigned suddenly at a meeting on October 6, 1907. The Church Clerk read the resignation letter. We do not have a copy. The Clerk did mention that it was impossible for a Pastor and his family to live on the salary this Church can pay. There was no record of the Church attempting to help Pastor Roberts with his financial problem. Reverend Roberts' pastorate ended Sunday, October 28, 1907. The Roberts' letters were transferred to Buffalo (no Church mentioned) on October 23, 1908. The Church has no information of the further life of Pastor Roberts.
There is no doubt that many of the men and women of our early Church were outstanding members of the Congregation and Community and would have been appropriate subjects for a written appreciation of their lives. Unfortunately, information for such tributes is not generally available in our Church records or elsewhere. From the late 1800s to the present, however, this situation has improved markedly, for we have much better Church records and more sources of information. Therefore, as the history of the last 100 years unfolds, we will take time to pay tribute to some of those outstanding members who made our Church a 200 year survivor, rather than one of the many Churches that gave up and closed their doors to the future.
Mary Avery Woodworth was one of those members who made her presence a special one. She died on August 17, 1907, at the age of 65. Mary Avery was married to Alvah Woodworth by Rev. Charles Harris on January 2, 1878. She wrote the history of the Parsonage and the tribute to Mrs. Ella Barber (and perhaps many other things for which we do not have copies). Yettie Harris, Church Clerk, wrote that "she was identified with every good work for many years. She was the first president of the Associational Women's Missionary Society and always tried to arouse among us a deeper missionary interest." She attended many meetings of the Onondaga Baptist Association as a delegate and was very active in the Ladies Aid Society, The Trojans Sunday School Class, The Women's Foreign Missionary Society, and served on several important Church Committees. Her last interest was in the purchase of a new organ as reported earlier. Unfortunately, she may not have lived to see or hear the new organ played in the Church.
