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George Duffield

It was his first Sunday at Old Pine Street Church in Philadelphia. The congregation voted by a strong majority to call George Duffield (1732-1790) to be its pastor in 1771. A large crowd gathered to hear his inaugural sermon, but the old guard (called Old Siders)...

Sabine Baring-Gould

I’m searching for the right word to introduce Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924). Eccentric? Unconventional? Quirky? He reportedly taught with a pet bat on his shoulders. You get the picture! A recent biographer wondered how he had the capacity for such expansive...

Henry Ward Beecher

The dilemma of unanswered prayer is particularly vexing for us who pray. We who try to be diligent in prayer know the disappointment that attends prayers that seemingly go unanswered. Why doesn’t a loved one recover from illness? Why can’t family members...

Ernest T. Campbell

Political activist James Foreman asked Pastor Ernest T. Campbell (1923-2010) for permission to read the Black Manifesto in worship the next day at Riverside Church in upper Manhattan. The manifesto called for 500 million dollars in reparation from white churches and...

Maltbie Babcock

Suicide is on the rise in our country, yet we still don’t know how to talk about it. We speculate in hushed tones about the deceased mental state and rush to conclusions, yet we are hard-pressed to know what to say to grieving family members. This is not a new...