The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-04-10
BIDS FAREWELL.
Rev. W. j. Thompson
of Grace Church on
His Successor.
PEW AND PULPIT.
How the One Should Sup
port and Assist the
Other.

Five years ago he came to Worces-
ter at first to supply the pulpit, but his
preaching so favorably impressed the
people of Grace NJ. E. church that he
was persuaded to remain, and he has
been here ever since, having served the
church the Methodist limit of five
years. He leaves to go to the Newton
vile NJ. E. church, and will leave the
city tomorrow to attend the 103d ses-
| sion of the New England Methodist
Episcopal conference at Boston.
Next Sunday Mr.. Thompson will
preach in New York and return Mon
day to be present at the conference
and hear his assignment to the New
tonville church.
Communion services were held at
Grace church by Mr.. Thompson for the
last time at 7 o'clock last night This
evening Mrs. w. J. Cutting will tender
| Mr.. and Mrs. Thompson a reception at
her home, Orne street. The next
pastor of Grace church will be Rev.
DR.. James Boyd Brady of the Peo-
pies temple, Boston, and Mr.. Thomp-
sons sermon which follows, is an able
| introduction of an able man. He had
| no text but his theme was:
What the pew owes to the pulpit:
He said in part. My successor will
be a clergyman. That is the compre-
hensive title that includes rabbi, priest,
rector, and ministers of religion by
whatsoever name called and separates
| them as a vocation from all others.
THE Chinese have priests connected
with their joss houses. The rudest
tribes have their clergy class. The
| Jewish religion had a kingdom of
| priests. The divine founder of our re-
| ligiOn called from other occupations y
| men to devote themselves exclusively
to the establishment of Christianity.
There is not a religion today but
| has a clergy. No religion ever has or
ever can exist without it. Religion is
necessary for society and the clergy
| for religion therefore the clergy are a
necessity for society. 4 thousand new
| occupations have come and as many
vanished, but the clergy abides. 1t is
| the alpha and the omega of life's oc-
| equations. A church can live without
buildings, choir, money, but not with
out the clergy.
| My successor will be called a min
ister.' He is one who serves. Christ
washed the disciples feet; he Travelled
! through Palestine on foot to heal, to
preach and to do good to others. L
am among you as one that serveth.
I come not to be served, but to serve.
He called the - to serve. His call Of
Saul was I have appeared unto thee
to make thee an underworker,' hard
worker, under Christ for others.
Ministers are their successors serV-
| ing others as their highest and eternal
interest. So he does it regardless of
your reciprocation, yet you owe him
| pecuniary remuneration, as much as
| .1..vro in
! Commercially considered, capital
| invested in his education demands
return. A public man. his home, his
dress, his practice, his buying of lltera-
ture, his habit of hospitality are fac
| tors in the amount of his salary. he
breaches against infdels His right
| eousness cannot exceed the infdels un-
less you pay him a salary ample for
him family.
"The brevity of the minister's term
of service, from % to So years of his
age, after which the emoluments de-
crease, is another reason for his salary
being generous. The pew should not
say how little, but how much can it
pay.
sonage which recalls his friendly title
of the 'parson.' This is a corruption Of
| the person. He should be foremost
! in his respect of his sacred office.
'NIr. Mckinley is great not because
he is president, but because the peo-
pie over whom he presides are great
and we, in paying respect to President
! Mckinley, are simply respecting our
selves. In respecting minister, his
parishioners are simply respecting
| themselves.
THE Vestal virgins We're esteemed
sacred and Offenses against them were
severely punished. The Romans knew
that respect for religion involves re-
spect for its officers. A hundred years
ago, the pulpit was greatly respected
in New England. Contemporaneous
| with the respect was its influence
| Magnify the minister's mannerisms
and depreciate his piety and intelli-
| gence, and you weaken the influence
of religion in your nearer. Appreciate
your minister before your family, and
you multiply his influence in your
home.
MY successor will be called a 'di-
vine a title suggestive of his learning.
Moses, the greatest man of Israel, was
| learned in all the wisdom of the Egyp-
tians. Paul, the greatest man of
| Christianity, was graduate of the
most renowned school of his day. The
great role these men have played in
our religion is an indication of the i'm
Iportance of learning in it.
| Learning implies study. a minis
| ter from the divinity school has simply
completed his apprenticeship. He must
ever study, and this involves time.
so. if you demand his services to
preside at any meeting or to introduce
! friend. or you wish to call upon him,
let it be past meridian, for the morn
ings are his for study
Not to grant him this right, is to
hasten him rapidly over the dead line
drive him out of a living, and make
his success impossible, and force him
to dole out pious platitudes, repeat
death-bed stories and starve the souls
of his auditors. Do not be too ava
ricious of pastoral attention, do not
demand his presence somewhere every
night; let him study.
| My successor viii be an elder
which once meant a man with a beard,
matured, experienced, wise Wisdom
is time multiplied by brains. In the
esteem of the quarterly and annual
! conferences. he is especially equipped
for the ministry, ten times better than
! the layman. Automatically speaking
he is a hundred times better qualified
| to direct the church than the lay
man.
THE pope of Rome, by decree of the
vatican council, is infallible, yet Leo
] XIII believes that the whip is for the