Qualifications for a Parson — 297
It is related of a certain church in New York, whose deacons and principal men are of the conservative order, that when recently in want of a pastor, they made application to a divine noted for his talents and brilliancy of oratory to become their settled minister. While negotiating the “call” they signified to the divine that they did not want a man to preach politics or temperance. “What kind of a preacher do you want?” inquired the minister. To which they replied that they desired a pastor who was “rather religiously inclined.” This reminds us of a popular preacher we used to know down East, one of whose prominent parishioners considered him the perfection of a preacher, because “he never meddles with either politics or religion!”