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arose , not in scattered platoons , maintaining here and there a random and therefore ineffectual fire , but individually and collectively , we could not fail to command attention , to awaken admiration , to reform the heart , and to rectify the creed . It is precisely because we have been , as a body , to a great extent lukewarm , that we are disregarded , nor can we gain the public ear , or win the heart of our fellow-christians , or be welcomed by the sinful as messengers of the gospel , till we redeem our character , shew our sincerity by our zeal , our benevolence by our efforts , our attachment to Christ by our exhibition of his devoted spirit . We again , therefore , utter the voice of invitation—Whosoever will , let him come . Hundreds there are , we believe , ready to respond to the call—hundreds who need only the encouragement which they ought to receive . We call on those who have it in their power .
to give the requisite countenance . We appreciate highly what ministers and wealthy laymen have in parts of the country already done . We are not made to disparage or forget ( knowingly ) any righteous effort for a cause which is in our minds identified with the cause of truth and the best interests of man . Yet it is but a few worthies , comparatively , that have lent efficient aid , and they will be the first to acknowledge that their exertions have too often been disproportionate to their means and the goodness of the cause . Others we beseech by the love of Christ , and the mercies they have received , and by a regard to the welfare of their neighbourhoods , and the happiness of immortal souls ; we beseech them to aid , counsel and direct , to stimulate and sustain , all those who manifest their love of God by their love for man , and their love for man by their love of the gospel , and their love of the gospel by well-sustained efforts for the increase of its prevalence . We beseech such to compare what they have done with what they might do , and from themselves to turn to our body at large , contrasting its actual efficiency with the efficiency of which it is capable .
It is with peculiar interest and concern that we advert to the younger part of our ministers , and to those who are preparing for the sacred duties of Christian pastors . They are the hope of the church . Their habits are not yet fixed ; they have not encountered the crosses and chills which may have impaired the zeal of their seniors ; the progress of time has not cooled down the warmth of their hearts ; the influence of a former age lies as yet lightly upon them ; in a word , they bring new minds and young affections into the church . Would to God that they may be enabled to devote all their
energies to the great and honourable work of leading men to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 May none of them , as have but too many of their predecessors , be turned aside by the unconquerable force of circumstances to seek a livelihood and employment for their abilities in pursuits which , however honourable in themselves , have no immediate bearing on the duties of the ministry . We would have them to remember that the state of our churches , and the state of society , is such as to require , not geologists , not antiquarians , not scholars , not mathematicians , not schoolmasters ; but preachers and pastors , eloquent men and mighty in the Scriptures ^ men pervaded by one desire , that of reconciling man to God , and advancing the kingdom of Christ .
Turning from those who , by their station , are expected to be more influential than others , we call upon all individually who bear the name of Unitarian Christian . The work is yours ; the duty is yours . You recognize no peculiar rights of the clergy . You do well ; but , in consistency , lay not upon them any peculiar du ' ties . You are each a minister of Christ . Every
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duties of Young Ministers . 857
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 857, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/41/
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