The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-24
R|DDICK RET|RES
 FROM TIE PULPIT Rev. Dr. J. A. Duncan is Pastor
 of First Methodist DR. Rl0DICK IN CALIFORNIA Health Forces Pastor to Resien-Hls Successor Is Esteemed as an
 Able and Popular Man
 Sermon Yesterday.
DR. RI0DICK IN CALIFORNIA

The Rev. Dr. C. B. Riddick has resigned as pastor of the First Methodist church of Birmingham and has signihed his in- tention of retiring from the ministry. as- signing his poor health as the reason for so doing.
 Bishop Charles B. Galloway was notl- fled of the resignation late Saturday af- ternoon, and yesterday he appointed the Rev. J. A. Duncan, financial agent of Columbia college, to fill the pastorate. pr. Duncan has been in the city several weeks and has been acting pastor in the ab- sence of Dr. Riddick, who was on va cation at his old home in Downey, Los Angeles county, Cal.
 Dr. Rddick was pastor of the First Methodist church here fourteen years ago and it was during his term that the present handsome building of the church was erected. He has been here for the past eighteen months, having been as- signed to the First Methodist church at the conference in November, 1908. pr.
  able man as well as faithful pastor. He has innumerable friends In Birming- ham.
 Years of Hard Work.
 He has been in the ministry for years and in that time has done much service for the cause of Christianity His many years of hard work and his devotion to duty, has somewhat impaired his health. He has been advised to regard his phy- slcal welfare. and was. therefore, induced to retire from the ministry. Ills family Is with him in California. He will make Downey his permanent home.
 Dr. Duncan, who has been appointed by the bishop to succeed the retiring pas tor, has made an excellent impression Oh the congregation in the few sermons he has preached here. He ranks as ripe scholar as well as an able and eloquent preacher. He has already become closely attached to every member of his eongre- gatlon. The church was extremely for- tunate fin securing him as a successor to Dr. Riddick.
 Dr.. RIddck's Successor.
 Dr. Duncan Is a man of wide exper- fence. having In the twenty years in which he has been in the ministry, been connected with some of the largest and finest churches in the United States. He was at one time pastor of St. Paul's church in Denver, the church of which Dr. Riddck was also pastor of at one time. He has also preached from pulpits in Tennessee, and Virginia, and was at one time pastor of a Methodist church in Kansas City. Prior to his election as financial agent of Columbia college. he occupied the chair of moral philosophy in Randolph Macon college of Virginia.
 The resignation of pr. Riddick was an- nounced yesterday to the congregation, and at the same time the appointment of Dr. Duncan was made known.
 Sermon Yesterday.
 The first sermon of Dr. Duncan, since his appointment was delivered yesterday morning He chose as his subject Pro fanity," treating the theme in the board sense, and pointing out many things which the term profanity included. Choosing as his text from the Lords Prayer, "Hallow- ed Be Thy Name" the speaker said In part:
 Our attitude toward any name depends on what that name means to us. Great names in history stand for great ideas, sG we'll as for great men.
 Napoleon means military genius, Shakespeare means English drama, Moses means lawgiver So the Lords s prayer starts with name for God that conveys definite idea, Our Father and the first petition in this prayer is that this name shall be regarded always as sacred. It Is not to be used lightly. and it is not to be profaned by any unseemly conduct on the part of those who claim to be the children of this Father.
 'Our first business in life as Christian men and women is to keep holy the name of God. This name is entrusted to us. All that men can know of God is the God-lke they see in men.
 'If our daily ac.ion1 so interpret God to men that the divine name is a slight thing in their sight, tl.en we are wrong ing both, God and man; God, by misrepre- senting Him; man, by falling to give him such a conception of the divine character as he has the right to have.
 HIS uduit iS lOl to bc piohhhcd- HID does not mean merely that a man is not to swear. Many a man Is profane whose lips were never soied by an oath 1t is not the use of certain words, but the temper in which words are spoken tbat determines whether or not one is guilty of profanity
 But profanity is far more than a matter of words, 1t is the whole attitude of life. The word profane is literally outside of the faine. the temple, the holy place. Let there be no profane person among you. such Esau was. who for mess of pottage sold his birth right
 Essence of Profanity.
 s'This is the very essence of profanity the dspising, looking down uopn ones birthright He Is q profane man who has talents that he either neglects or abuses. He is profane who has resources tha. he wastes. Born as all men are, the children Of God, he is profane who de- epjscs that bIrthright and sells 1t for any kind of mess of pottage
 ..In word to us is committed the guardianship of the name that is above every name, a most sacred trust, and it