Life Sketch
Charles Smull Longacre was born December I, 1871, the second of seven children of Henry W. and Elizabeth Smull Longacre. His birthplace was a farm near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, a historic region that shaped his interests and ideals throughout his later life.
As a boy he led an active life on the farm, helping his father tame western horses and taking produce to market. With his mother's help and encouragement he worked for an education, and graduated from Pennsylvania State Teachers College.
While he was principal of the junior high school in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and taking law at night school, his attention was called to our message by a colporteur, Oliver Thompson, who invited him to evangelistic meetings conducted by Elder R. A. Underwood. He never went back to law school, but continued to attend the meetings, teaching the things he heard at the meetings to another group. When he was ready for baptism he brought with him a group of eight with whom he had been studying. That summer he colporteured to earn money, and the fall of 1896 found him enrolled in Battle Creek College, where two years later he graduated from the ministerial course. He spent vacation time selling our religious books in Illinois.
To assist in meeting his college expenses, he worked in the college bakery, under the direction of Miss Florence Martha Hughes. On June 7, 1899, a year after his graduation, they were married by Elder Uriah Smith and together entered on a life of missionary activity.
His first years in evangelistic work were spent with Elder Lee S. Wheeler, and together they raised up churches in Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Uniontown, Connellsville, and Washington, Pennsylvania.
For nine years he acted as religious liberty secretary of the West Pennsylvania Conference, in addition to his evangelistic work. During these years two children were born to the family, Ethel Elizabeth (now Mrs. Harold Hannum) and Clarence Hughes Longacre. The greatest sorrow came to the family with the death of Clarence at the age of two years.
In 1907 Elder Longacre was called to South Lancaster, Massachusetts, where he spent six years, first as Bible teacher, then as principal of the academy, where he had the opportunity of teaching and training many young men and women who have been leaders in our work here and in mission lands.
In 1913 he received a call from the General Conference to become secretary of the Religious Liberty Association. In that work he continued until his retirement in 1950. He served as head of the American Temperance Society and was editor of Liberty, a national journal of religious freedom. He wrote several books on religion and religious freedom, some of which are Freedom: Civil and Religious, The Church in Politics, Religious Liberty and Civil Government, and Roger Williams—His Life, Work, and Ideals.
He was a three-time winner of Freedom Foundation awards for his papers on religious freedom. He was cited by Protestants and Other Americans United for the Separation of Church and State for "distinguished service in the cause of religious liberty."
Since coming to Takoma Park in 1913 he has served as pastor or associate pastor of the Takoma Park church. He also served on the faculty of Washington Missionary College for a time.
Elder Longacre was a member of the famed "Flying Squadrons" that helped swing enactment of "dry laws." He joined with William Jennings Bryan in 1920 in a campaign to lead Michigan people to vote dry and helped to lead such campaigns in Ohio, Virginia, and Maine.
In 1931 he represented the International Religious Liberty Association in Geneva, Switzerland, in opposing a thirteen-month calendar. As a leader of the opposition, he helped to defeat the proposal.
Elder Longacre was an outstanding preacher and lecturer, and a cultured Christian gentleman. The entire community was enriched by his presence. He was a friend to all. He believed in promoting good civil government. His theory was that if men will not work to get good leaders, they will surely be ruled by tyrants.
Elder Longacre took special interest in the sick, the poor, and the needy of the community, regardless of church affiliations. Probably he has visited and prayed with more sick people than any other minister in this area. Regardless of his regular and heavy duties, he took time to visit the sick every week, bringing heavenly comfort and divine assurance to them. Under his fervent prayers a number of sick persons have received miraculous divine healing. God blessed Elder Longacre's prayers of faith.
As a minister and loyal Christian, he has served his God and his church well. He has been the embodiment of a shepherd's devotion—strong in defense, tender in love.
And now if I might be indulged for a moment of personal reflection: It was fifty-one years ago that I became a student under his wise instruction. For four years I sat at the feet of this man of God. He was also the pastor of the church, and as I listened Sabbath by Sabbath to his earnest sermons I was thrilled and inspired to dedicate my life to preaching the gospel that saves sinners for heaven. Aside from the godly influence of my parents, Elder Longacre's prayers, sermons, and life had more to do in shaping my life than anything else. And, I believe that the other students in his Bible classes could say the same, betause most of them entered the ministry.
In his Bible classes the sweet dews of heaven descended upon us. His sermons lifted us to the gates of Paradise. And his prayers opened the very throne room of God to us. We all rise up and call him blessed.
One of the richest experiences of my life was when I was called, some years ago, to the pastorate of this church, and had the honor and privilege of working with him. He always refreshed my soul with words of courage. To visit Brother and Sister Longacre in their home was an inspiring occasion. They both were so kind and loyal.
Brother and Sister Longacre were true lovers. During the nearly sixty years of their married life, neither ever spoke a cross or a sharp word to the other. Their words were always kind and full of love. Is it any wonder that God could so abundantly bless his ministry?
He has baptized our youth, married our lovers, visited our sick, and buried our dead. He will be greatly missed by all of us.
And now he leaves to mourn, his beloved and devoted wife; his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Harold B. Hannum of La Sierra College, Arlington, California; two granddaughters, Mrs. Marguerite Hossler, of Ontario, California, and Betty Hannum of Covina, California; one sister, Mary Gable, of Pennsylvania, who is unable, because of illness, to be present today; seven nieces and nephews; and a host of true friends.
He leaves a thousand members of this church, of which he has been an honored member for forty-five years. We all feel our loss most keenly. Also, he leaves many thousands in many lands of earth, whose lives have been blessed by his wide ministry to a world field. We all mourn, but in the certain hope of a joyful resurrection to eternal life when Jesus comes.
C. J. COON
The Sermon
We are met here today to honor the memory of a great and good man. There is little that can be said to add to the luster of the name, Charles Longacre. His dedicated life is an eloquent exposition of the great truths of the Book of books, which he loved so sincerely.
Elder Longacre believed in a practical way in the pure and undefiled religion of which the apostle James writes. He consequently brought to his home the poor and needy, providing for them out of his meager salary. He loved his church and for it sacrificed in a manner reminiscent of our noble Adventist pioneers.
Now he has been called to his rest. His Lord arid Master has called him from the tasks of this life to a brief and dreamless sleep and quiet repose. For our friend and companion, and for all who cherish the hope that he cherished, death has been divested of its dread. The Scripture declares: "Christ . . . hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10).
No more comforting and reassuring words could come to us today than the assurance that endless death has been abolished. This dreaded enemy's rule over the human race has been broken. The feared foe has been conquered. Life and immortality have been procured for us and assured to us. This has become an accomplished fact through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ..
We turn to the last book of the Bible and note these reassuring words spoken by our Lord: "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades [the graver (Rev. 1:17, 18, R.S.V.).
The keys of all the unopened graves of all time are in the hands of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Our future eternal destiny is not now in the power of our archfoe, but in the control of our blessed Lord and Saviour. The hands that bear the imprint of the nails hold the keys. We need no longer fear. Fear and foreboding can now be banished. Hearts can be filled with hope and peace.
This great and wonderful fact our Lord sought to make realistic for us when He was here upon the earth. He endeavored to lead us to see that death is but a brief period of undisturbed rest, of guarded sleep for God's children. The psalmist grasped the great truth and sang, "He giveth his beloved sleep." Jesus, speaking of Lazarus who had been in the grave for four days, said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." Thus He demonstrated that He had divested death of its power.
One day while Jesus was carrying on His work of teaching and aiding the stricken, a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came to Him "and besought him, saying, 'My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.' And he went with him."
As the Saviour moved through the crowd of people toward the home of Jairus "there came ... some who said, 'Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?'" How little they understood the divine Teacher's mission. Jesus said to the father, "'Do not fear, only believe.'" The same heavenly Teacher encourages us to take this attitude of trust and confidence in our hour of tragedy and grief. "Do not fear," He says; "do not become confused; do not give way to hopelessness and despair. Only believe; only trust in Me. I have the keys to death, I have power over the grave."So, with the anxious father keeping close to Him, Jesus came to the home of Jairus. There "he saw a tumult, and the people weeping and wailing loudly." Quieting them, He said, "'The child is not dead but sleeping.'" But they thought they knew better. They knew that the thread of earthly life had been broken. So they laughed Him to scorn. Into the chamber of the lifeless maiden our Lord went, taking with Him the father and the mother and a few chosen ones. Then, quietly taking the little maiden by the hand He spoke simple but mighty words: "'Little girl, I say to you, arise.' And immediately the girl got up and walked."
How simple our greatest problems become in the presence of our divine Lord. Truly, He hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
One of our great Christian poets who knew so well the never-failing comfort that comes from trusting the Lord, expressed this thought beautifully in the following words of faith and resignation:
I long for household voices gone,For vanished smiles I long,But God hath led my dear ones on,And He can do no wrong.I know not what the future hath Of marvel or surprise,
Assured alone that life and death His mercy underlies.
I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.-JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.
Our friend and beloved companion, Charles Longacre, had just such an abiding and sustaining trust in God. Often he spoke of it with deepest sincerity. Those close to him know how he strove to exalt God and honor Him in whom he trusted so fully.
Often, on occasions such as this, Elder Longacre was called to comfort those who mourned. He sought to introduce the grief-stricken ones to his own beloved heavenly Shepherd, and he would read to them the beautiful shepherd psalm:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Ps. 23:1-4).
Today we comfort our hearts with these words.
Charles Longacre lived a long life—fourscore and six years. But length of life alone is not the measure of one's greatness or usefulness.
He had a zest for life and living. He was active, interested in all that went on about him. This, by itself, may but indicate a reserve of physical force and accompanying curiosity.
He was a student, a wide reader, a writer, one often called upon to speak publicly in defense of great principles. However, these by themselves do not assure one a place among the truly great. But here was a man who had dedicated his life to a great cause, whose love of life and whose purpose in living, whose writing, reading, and public speaking were all dedicated to God and to the service of his fellow men.
For more than three decades he was in the forefront of the battle for religious freedom, contending that God made man free to worship his Maker when and as his conscience dictates. To many thousands around the world the name Longacre is synonymous with the battle for religious freedom.
He ever taught the valuable lesson that in the home as well as in the state, a person should respect the honest ideas and convictions of all who differ with him.
He was also an outstanding champion in the noble cause of temperance, maintaining that we have no right to deface our bodies, which are the handiwork of God, nor endanger the lives and happiness of others through the use of anything that debases the soul and body and unfits one to properly exercise his God-given powers.
In summing up the dedicated life of this respected friend of all of us, we can say:
He was, first of all, a Christian, a devoted and loyal follower of his God. To the cause of God he remained consecrated to the very last moment of his life.
He was dedicated to the service of his fellow men. His wholehearted espousal of great humanitarian causes gives ample evidence of this. He believed in supporting loyally the government under which he lived. This he considered his Christian duty.One who worked closely with him for years says:
"In twenty-four years of close association we have been continually impressed with his unbounded good nature. . . . When contending for what he believed to be right, he stood like a rock, but always in every discussion he wore a little smile that showed he bore no ill will toward those who opposed him." This was another sign of his greatness.
Another who knew him testifies:
"His unhesitating courage countenanced no defeat. His crystal-clear logic, his fearless attacks—knowing he was right—made him a successful crusader for religious liberty. Rarely, if ever, had government committee council rooms resounded to more logical, more fervent, more impassioned appeals for the maintenance of religious freedom in America. And those appeals bore fruit. I marveled at his complete command of the subject and his ready answers to every question asked by members of the committees."
In the passing of Charles Longacre, the church has lost a valiant and dedicated leader. In the Takoma Park church he was an active elder for forty-four years, giving invaluable service. We shall miss seeing this buoyant and courageous man walking in and out among us.
The community has lost one of its outstanding and loyal citizens. It, too, shall keenly feel the loss.
We shall ever cherish the inspiring example of devotion to God's great cause that he has left us.
Charles Longacre was a sincere Christian, an ordained minister in his beloved church, a champion of worthy causes, a loyal citizen in his community.
We would not close these remarks without pointing to the hope that Elder Longacre ever cherished—his Lord's soon return to this earth in power and glory. To this event of surpassing importance, he ever looked. He often brought the following assurance to the grief-stricken:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. . . . For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
So we bid our friend, our companion, our loved one, farewell, and we keep "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).
R. R. FIGUHR
Prayer
Our Father and our God, we thank Thee for Thy infinite love and tender compassion, for Thy great understanding heart, and for the assurance that everything works together for good to all who love and serve Thee. Thou hast been the dwelling place of the people of God in all generations, and now we, too, seek our strength from Thee, for Thou art the resurrection and the life. 0 Thou who healeth the broken in heart, whose grace alone is sufficient for every human emergency, sustain these loved ones who mourn with an unfaltering trust in Thee, and bind up in Thy tender mercy their wounds of sorrow.
We thank Thee for the character of our dear brother; for his long years of service as a great champion of liberty; for his indomitable courage, his tenacity of purpose, his dedication of life. We thank Thee for what he did for Thy cause and for his country, for what he inspired others to do, and for what the memory of his life will continue to do in the lives of those who carry on. Nobly he lived and serenely he passed to his rest in simple faith in Thee. We praise Thee that we need not sorrow as those who have no hope, and that we may gather new courage from the testimony of our brother's life.
We thank Thee that Jesus, and not death, has won the victory, and that our loved one and friend will awake in our Lord's likeness. How wonderful to know that his God walked with him into the shadows that he might walk with his God in the sunrise of the glorious resurrection day. Lord, hasten that hour when the morn of eternity shall rise on the gloom, and the night of death and sorrow shall be no more.
We are so thankful, Lord, that at the bedside of death we need only say good night and not good-by. So we pay our tribute to a noble life at rest, and simply say, "Good night, beloved, sleep on and take thy rest." We will say good morning on the resurrection day which is almost here! In the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
J. A. BUCKWALTER
