Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-09-01
A Notable Sermon by the Rev. John
Todd.

As Rev. DIR. John Todd is a native of
Rutland, and is to preach the centennial
sermon on the I'd of October, the follow
ing notice of him and a recent sermon
preached to his congregation may be of
interest at the present time. 1t is taken
from the correspondence of the Spring
field Republican. ......
There are some men who are living ex-
ponents of the time and place to which
they belong. They eem to concentrate
and express all the peculiarities of their
surroundings, and when they pass away it
seems like the breaking of a spell, the
vanishing of some subtle, coherent power,
through which all things had continued
as they were up to that moment. Such is
DR.. Todd to Pittsfeld, and, in fact, to the
whole of western Massachusetts,, and long
may it be before his benign and whole
some influence fades from these Berkshire
hills. saw him in his pulpit to-day, for
the first time in ten years a little older
looking, little more subdued in manner,
possibly; but none the less original and
graphic in all his words and ways, and as
he came out of church, leading little
child by the hand, [ thought that age had
done well in bringing to the somewhat
stern face a eoftnees and kindliness of ex-
preston which was not there ten years
ago.
1t is said that DR.. Todd DEANS to retire
from active duty as a minister in a few
months, on the completion of his seven
tieth year, but his people will hardly con-
sent to see stranger in bis place while
their pastor retains his present bodily and
mental vigor. He preached to-day ser
mon upon Pittsfeld, and it was one of his
most characteristic discourses. Reading
the. text "The mountains shall bring
peace" he said that God had always put
special honor upon mountains. Sinai,
Tabor and Olivet behold highest earthly
manifestations. And out of the fastness-
es of the hills came in all ages the hard
lest, most self-reliant and most capable
men men fitted to be leaders of the
people and to bring peace by wisdom to
those whom they governed. The hill
towns of the country DR.. Todd COM
pared to the lowest foundation stones of
a great building, upon which the whole
rests; small, hidden from
sight, and rough-hewn, but the basis of
strength and beauty. Nor did he think
these villages of consequence merely as
feeders of the great cities; in themselves
they have life which is influential up
on the whole country. In these days of
rapid communication their good or bad
repute is known to all; deed of benevo.
lence, or a shameful crime is not shut up
within the limits where it originated,
and DR.. Todd believed that with the same
steadiness of effort man of talent may
rise to eminence in his calling, as surely
in Aoy spoffs 81 81 p iftHsid as at present in
a chrysalis state, and destined soon to ex-
pand into a city, and he desired before
the change took place to note what had
been accomplished during the day of
small things, for education, religion and
general progress. He could not give the
exact number of college graduates, but
the town had produced since its settle
ment in 1853, forty doctors, still larger
number of lawyers, six of whom had.rep-
resented their native district in Congress,
and goodly number of ministers and
missionaries. Twenty-three hundred had
been added to bis church, the Oldest in
the town, since its institution in 1854.
The means of education have been liberal
throughout the village, and popular opin-
ion has always favored their increase. AS
to it's growth in material prosperity, the
beautiful homes and the public buildings
of Pittsfeld testify to the enterprise of its
inha bitants.
We have no space to give an extended
report to DR.. Todd's remarks, but the SER
mon was one of great local interest, and
of practical value to those to whom it was
addressed, in regard to the future as well
as the past. On the whole, it was re-
cord of which every town might be proud
and to no man living is Pittsfeld more in
debted for it than to DR.. Todd himself.