The Portland daily press., 1894-06-25
FARE YE WELL"
Rev. DIR. James G. Merrill breaches His
Farewell Sermon to the Second Parish
Congregation.

A large audience was gathered at the
SecondParish church yesterday forenoon to
meet DIR. James G. Merrill for the last
time as pastor.
DR.. Merrill has made it pleasing custom
of his MINISTRY to preach each morning
before the regular sermon, a short sermon
to the children; and this he did not omit
yesterday, taking for his text the verse in
Peter: Grow in Grace, and in the know
ledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christi
He said that for five years he had preached
short morning Sermon to the boys and
girls; and now in the farewell of those
series he could take for textsno more ap-
propriate passage than this from St. Peter.
1t does notstollow that because we grow
we shall grow Alright. One of the saddest
things is to come back to those we have
known in youth to find that they have de-
veloped into careless OF vicious manhood.
There is danger of growing wrong. But
if these words of Peter are to be followed,
there is no danger. Keep to these words
and you will be an honor to your parents,
support to the community and rejoice
the heart of one who has prayed often and
fervently for you.
rill's text was: stFare Ye Weu.''
He said it would be inappropriate for a.
pastor, who is to continue to reside in the
neighborhood of the church, to say farewell
in the usual acceptance of the term. There
fore l use the words in. the sense of the
text.
At this time, at the close of passionate
of four years and half with you, and of
in he Init ic ,io+
to indulge in a few "reminiscences The
period of my ministry began at the time
when the nation was sobered by the expert
ence of the great war, at the beginning of
the nations tremendous strides in materi-
al prosperity, and at the beginning of that
wave of immigration, which has introduc ed
to citizenship all classes of foreigners. Be-
fore the church of my early ministry the re
also doomed up the great problem of MAX
ing of the newly enfranchised negro
Christian citizen. The church of that time
saw the problem of the future, and the
great council of 1875 assembled in Boston.
There were Grants in that gathering, DR..
Parks, DIR. Bacon, Henry Ward Beecher
and others. To have attended that coun-
Gil, and to have been in the Congregational
ministry in the years since has been great
experience. II never shall forget.' said DR..
Merrill, the sensation of distrust and sur
prise created when Prof. Parks of Andoy-
er, declared that We should hold thesShorter
Catechism only for the substance of faith"
The most orthodox of our theogoica1 semi
naries today would have been too liberal
for the Congregationalism of 1865; and the
most liberal of today would have been con-
sidered thoroughly heretical then.
But in spite of these changes in doctrine,
the conditions of Christian activity chad
lost nothing. One conspicuous modern
movement. the Christian Endeavor move
ment, had done a'great. work in forwarding
active, practical Christianity.
Speaking of his relations with the Second
Parish church, Dr.. Merrill said that short
time after his taking the charge, a small
cloud arose. not larger than mans hand
but Threatening and finally preventing a
successful solution of the problem. The
church army was not large enough to be
successful except with united action; but
it was so constituted that some must fight
at one time and others at another. The
traditions of the church prevented such
action as could have been desired. DR..
Merrill said he had no reflections to make
upon any persons OF party in the church.
He honored the church for its charities, and
its good work; and he was grateful for the
interest it had taken in himself and his
family, and he hoped God in His Providence
would soon send man who would ead the
grand old church forward