The Portland daily press., 1892-05-23
Mr.. WHITMAN ACCEPTS,
And Free Street Church VIII Have to
Lose Its Pastor.

a sermon delivered by him on May Day,
and which, at the request of his parish
toner's, he repeated on this OCCASION
At the close of the sermon Mr.. Whit
man announced his acceptance of the call
to the presidency of Colby University.
He spoke in feeling and appreciative
terms of the church itself, of the uniform
courtesy that had been shown him, the
responsiveness of the people and the alb
solute harmony that had pervaded the
church since he began his connection
with it, In the second place he expressed
his confidence in the church. He said he
could well understand that the transfer
of any worker must necessarily make a
| difference in the church work, and he re-
ferred to the brilliant history of the
| church in great measure the result of
| the grand work that had been done in it.
The speaker hoped that the people would
not think his decision the outcome of
| tickleness He had believed and still be-
lieved thoroughly in the advisability of
long pastorates, but the call to Colby,
said he, is of an exceptional character
and the question is simply in the conflict
in two sets of duties. educational and
religious. Essentially religious work
cannot be set in comparison with essen
TALLY educational work. There is no
comparison between them, although they
are two phases of the same work, for
true education is essentially Christian.
No man attains full educational devel-3
opment until he has obtained the Chris
tan.
Mr.. Whitman then spoke of the rela-
ton that existed between the president
and students in small college. The
president is something more than mere
teacher. He is not only the educator,
but he is the religious instructor of every
boy and girl who goes there and every
parent of a student istherefore directly
interested in. him. If as pastor of
church the youth of that church were to
look to him for that attention to their re-
ligious life that should make them good
men and women, how much more import
ant was it that the same qualification
should dwell in him as president of the
college where they were not provided, as
at home, with the careful oversight of
their parents.
The speaker said that he realized this
conviction, that this call was of God and
he therefore was unable to resist what
was so plain duty. His attitude was to
accept it in view of this Judgment. 1t
was the answer of a good conscience to
God. He proposed vigorous rally of
all for the support of the church, and
that all settle into the thought to cooper
ate as heartily as possible for the COM
mon cause. In conclusion, Mr.. Whit
man said: 'sWe check all irritation and
personal disappointment by the thought
of conscientious regard for the king
dom Of Christi
During the delivery of his remarks, it
was evident that the pastor was deeply
affected, and many in the congregation
were equally stirred.
Rev. John Crosser at the First Presbyter-
ian Church,
Very large audiences gathered at the
First Presbyterian church, on Park street
at both the afternoon and evening ser
vices, to welcome Rev. John r. Crosser,
of Glen Falls, N. Y, who is making
brief visit in Portland. Mr.. Crosser was
the first permanent pastor of the church,
laboring with it for six years most sue
cessfully. The church was just organ
lied when he came here, holding meet
ings in hall on Congress street. He
left it much increased in membership and
permanently located in the Park Street
church. The affection in which he is
held by his old par1shioners and friends
was shown by the very large attendance
at both services. Mr.. Crosser preached
two very eloquent sermons. He will re-
main in Portland this week, and will
preach again next Sunday.
Madame joys.
This celebrated Haytien speaker
charmed the large audience at the Cos