History

History > Our Pastors > David Hale

David Hale
Patron Saint of Broadway Tabernacle

If any one person deserves to be singled out as the founder of the Broadway Tabernacle, it has to be David Hale, nephew of the hero of the American Revolution, Nathan Hale.

In 1827, David Hale was invited to New York City by Arthur Tappan, a prominent layperson associated with the Broadway Tabernacle in the 1830s, to assist in publishing the Journal of Commerce. By 1831 Hale and one of his associates had acquired ownership of the journal. Among the many innovations they introduced for their publication was a horse relay service from New York City to Boston and Philadelphia, which enabled them to get news to their readership hours before their competitors.

Hale and his family joined the Broadway Tabernacle in the mid-1830s. Until his death in 1849 he was the parish's most revered layman. Not only was he responsible for saving the Tabernacle building from the auction block in the Spring of 1840, but he was a major contributor and helped establish nearly 20 Congregational churches in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He also made substantial contributions to the building funds of Congregational churches throughout the Midwest. David Hale played a very significant role in dissuading a national gathering of Congregational churches from uniting with the Presbyterian Church.

Edward Warren Andrews, Our First Pastor >