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Untitled Article
a less vain $ ad xddiculotis man than M . Malan . Let me , however , do justice to all . There was one part of the service at this chapel , which was an agreeable improvement upon what I had lately been in the habit of hearing ; that was the singing , which , in the Established Churches , stands in great need of a thorough reformation .
As a proof of the free and liberal spirit with which a professedly Unitarian minister is received at Geneva , I may mention , that I was invited to be present at one of the Monthly Meetings of the Ministers of that town and canton . We sat down nineteen tp tea , and afterwards adjourned to another room ,
where , after we had taken our places all round , the Moderator offered up a short prayer , and then asked all present , each in his turn , whether he had any information to communicate to the company . This elicited much interesting matter . There was one minister , who had been residing at Hamburgh , and who gave us an account of the religious sects in that town ; there was another who expressed his wish that some change should be made
in the Geneva Catechism , as he thought that one part of the catechumens were too young for it , and the other too old ; and there was a third , the pastor of the Reformed Church at Bourdeaux , who explained to us the method which he adopted in catechising the children in his flock . When it came to my turn , I informed the company of the change which was soon to be made in the conduct of the Monthly Repository . I was then asked , what were the leading doctrines of the Unitarians ; what their numbers ,
their form of worship , &c . —all which I explained in the best way I could , not forgetting to state , among other things , that we had a College at York , which was in a very flourishing condition , with respect both to its funds , to the qualifications of the tutors , and the attainments of the young men whoin it educated . I was heard with great attention ; and although some seemed surprised at one or two things v * hict } I stated as part of our belief , there was
no manifestation of bigotry or intolerance . The Moderator then asked us all in turn whether we had any thing to propose , and the business was concluded by a short prayer and benediction ; after which we conversed freely with one another . The whole evening passed off most agreeably , and I loo ] k back to it with feelings of no ordinary interest . The preaching of the Genevese clergy , though it may be a little too bold
for our subdued taste , is yet very effective . It is always animated and impressive , addressed to ( he eyes as welfas to the ears of the audience , and well calculated to interest and to fix the attention . But then these preachers have much more time to prepare their sermons than we have ; for there is among them a system of perpetual exchanges , a pastor being attached rather to a parish than to a pulpit ; and , as there are two pastors for each of the four city
parishes , besides one for each of the churches in the suburbs , and a number of young ministers who are not yet placed , no one has occasion to write more than about a dozen sermons in the cpurse of the year . Consequently these are all pains-taken productions , committed to memory , and delivered entirety without notes ; and as a list is published every Friday of the preachers for the next Sunday , specifying the church and the hour at which each will officiate , no one can complain that he knows not whom he is going to hear . The discourses which I heard were all on practical subjects . Nor
let me omit to mention , that these excellent men manifested the greatest anxiety to know which were Qur mo&t esteemed worts in theolo ^ , and on education particularly , which were our best books for children and the poor . " You are absolutel y rich in these works , " said one of them to me , «« and you would be rendering us an important service if you would tell us what
Untitled Article
642 The Gebeva Clergy .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1827, page 642, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1800/page/10/
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