Excerpts from an article written by the Rev. Dr. Thomas Pearne in the Western Christian Advocate, August 1874. Pearne was a well-known figure in his day, both in the Methodist Episcopal Church and in the federal government. He served as a missionary to Oregon and later as United States Counsel to the British West Indies. After his appearance at Lakeside, he served churches in southwestern Ohio. Pearne died in 1901 and is buried in Courtland, New York.
Pearne writes in his article:
The second camp-meeting held on the Lakeside ground ran from July 28 until August 4. I cannot forbear to speak of the great beauty of these grounds. They are certainly unsurpassed by anything I have seen. They gently ascend from the lakeshore to a height of perhaps 75 feet or more. The natural features of the place are fully equal to those of Put-In-Bay and Kelley’s Island; and when it is considered that not only no temptations to vice and dissipation are connected with it, it is thus seen as a most desirable place of resort, especially for families.
There are about 100 tents and cottages built since last year. These were all occupied, and 20 or 30 more could have been had. Attendance was greatest on Saturday and Sabbath, numbering on those days, it is supposed, 4,000 or more. On no day was the attendance small. There were about 70 travelling preachers present and laypeople from Memphis, Massachusetts, Iowa and Ohio.
The opening service was conducted by the writer. His subject was “Effectual Prayer” in which the aim was to lead Christians to ask largely and in faith for such great things as God as promised to bestow. The spirit of grace rested upon the people, and they were wonderfully drawn together. Almost all were agreed as to the desirability and necessity of holiness.
Dr. and Mrs. (Phoebe) Palmer were present during nearly all the meeting. A marked feature of the meeting was the presence of several German preachers, including Rev. Dr. William Nast and a goodly company of German laypeople.
After a couple day delay because of rain, the grounds were dedicated on Saturday, Aug. 1, 1874, by Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Eddy, his text was Psalms 132, verse 6 – “We have found it in the fields of the wood.” The doctor showed the utility of the present camp-meeting system, a system in marked contrast to the past. He instanced a fresher, more effective pulpit, a more liberal appeal and a larger aim and effort – a diviner power of song.
There were other sermons that weekend, with speakers equally well known in their day. Topics such as the missionary work of the church, education for the formerly enslaved and always prayers for the gift of holiness of love in each of their lives. The overall focus of the Lakeside camp meeting was not just the conversion of the unsaved, the gift of perfect love, called holiness and learning to share your faith with others either at home or abroad. The dedication of the Lakeside camp-meeting grounds signaled to the world that Lakeside was a place to seek a deeper, broader relationship with God and then use that relationship to serve their neighbors, at home or in a remote village in rural India. Lakesiders carried the light of their Lakeside experience into the world. They carried that light well and its ours to carry now; the light of Lakeside carried to wherever there’s someone sitting in darkness.
