LETTER
OF THE
REV. WILLIAM E. CHANNING
TO THE
STANDING COMMITTEE
OF THE
PROPRIETORS OF THE MEETING-HOUSE IN FEDERAL
STREET,
IN THE TOWN OF BOSTON,
READ THAT THE ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 6, 1840;
AND THE
REPLY OF THE PROPRIETORS THERETO.
PRINTED FOR THE USE OF THE PROPRIETORS.
BOSTON:
JOSEPH DOWE.
1840
[2]
Cambridge Press:
Metcalf, Torry, and Ballou.
[3]
At the annual meeting of the Proprietors of the Meeting-house in
Federal Street, in the town of Boston, on the sixth day of May,
1840, a communication was read, which had been addressed by Rev.
Dr. Channing to the Standing Committee of the Proprietors. Upon
hearing the letter, the Proprietors voted to refer it to a
Committee, with instructions to report at a future meeting. The
following gentlemen composed that Committee: Mesrs. John Davis,
T.H. Perkins, John Welles, Henry Chapman, Jonathan Phillips,
James Savage, and George Ticknor.
At an adjourned meeting, held on the 21st day of May, the
Committee presented the following
REPORT
Boston, May 27, 1840.
"The Committee appointed by the Proprietors of Berry Street
Church, at their meeting on the sixth inst., to consider and
report on a Letter, of the first inst., from Rev. William Ellery
Channing, D.D., their Senior Pastor, communicated by the Standing
Committee, to whom it was addressed, having attended to the
duties of their appointment, and deliberately and solicitously
contemplated the interesting subject which it embraces, ask leave
respectfully to offer their unanimous result, in the form of a
Letter to the Rev. Dr. Channing, which they would recommend to be
adopted by the Proprietors, and by the whole Society. The Reply
thus recommended is, if approved and accepted, to be
authenticated and transmitted in such manner as the meeting may
direct.
(Signed)
John Davis,
T.H. Perkins,
John Welles,
Henry Chapman,
James Savage,
George Ticknor,
Committee
[4]
"Hon. Jonathan Phillips, one of the Committee had left Boston on
his way to Europe before any action of the Committee on the
subject referred to them; but his associates have entire
confidence that he would, if present, entirely concur in the
above Report."
The Letter, reported by the Committee, was unanimously
adopted by the Proprietors, and directed to be transmitted to the
Rev. Dr. Channing, as their reply to his communication, verified
by the signatures of the Chairman of the meeting, Samuel Greele,
Esq., and the Clerk of the Proprietors. They also directed the
Letter of Dr. Channing, the Reply of the Proprietors, and the
Report of the Committee to be printed for their use, under the
direction of a Committee, consisting of the members of the former
Committee, the Chairman of the meeting, and the Clerk of the
Proprietors.
G.S.H.
Boston, June 1840.
[5]
LETTER
TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CHURCH IN
FEDERAL STREET.
----------
Boston, May 1, 1840.
GENTLEMEN,
This day being the beginning of our parochial year, I think
it a fit season for a communication, which I have for some time
intended to make. I have, as you may recollect, proposed more
than once to relinquish my salary, but have as often been
requested by the Society to retain it. The last request was
communicated to me by the Hon. J. Davis and the Hon. J. Welles,
with a kindness which I shall always remember with gratitude. I
observed to them, that one reason for relinquishing the salary
was, that, by receiving it, I should excite expectations, which I
might not be able to fulfill. But I was assured, that I was to
consider myself wholly free, and to preach only when it might be
convenient. I have never lost the hope of being strengthened for
greater public labors; but as yet it has not been realized.
Under this experience I have gradually reduced my [6] salary, and
have resolved definitely to relinquish it from this day. It is
also my wish and purpose, that all my public functions should
cease. I do not desire, however, that a formal dissolution of
our connexion should take place. Having sustained the relation
of pastor nearly forty years, it will be gratifying to me that it
should continue, whilst circumstances remain as they are. I wish
that the members of the Society may feel that they have a right
to seek friendly and spiritual counsels from me, when in need of
such, and that I may have a right to communicate with them, when
I can hope to do them good. I beg, however, that it may be
understood, that the prosperity of the Society is far dearer to
me than any personal gratification of this nature; and if it
should be thought best, that there should be a formal dissolution
of the relation, I desire that this may
immediately take place.
In thus bringing my public labors among you to an end, I
cannot but acknowledge with gratitude that kind Providence, which
has sustained me so many years amidst much physical infirmity,
and which has made it the employment of my life to study and
teach the religion of Jesus Christ. After long experience, I
feel that life could not have been devoted to a more worthy end.
My [7] time has been given chiefly to the work of acquiring
juster, clearer, more quickening views of truth and duty. In
this pursuit I have spent my strength, and cheerfully surrendered
most of what are called the pleasures of life. That in so doing
I have obeyed a divine impulse, I believe; but I may have
followed it too exclusively. The inquiries and contemplations,
which belong to my profession, may have encroached on its more
active duties. My studies, which would have been light to a man
of ordinary strength, have produced almost daily exhaustion,
which has left me little spirit for social intercourse. It might
have been better for myself and for others, had I more frequently
torn my mind from the subjects, which have absorbed almost my
whole intellectual energy. For this error, if such it be, I ask
and hope a lenient judgment, because I have not given myself to
intellectual indulgence, but have carried into my seclusion a
sincere, and I hope a growing interest in my fellow-creatures,
and in the Christian cause. Other and more serious deficiencies
I might recall. Indeed no one can feel, more than I do, the
imperfections of my ministry. For these I desire the forgiveness
of God and man. Still I do not feel as if I had labored in vain.
My public services have been listened to with [8] interest, and I
have had proofs, for which I am most grateful, that deeper
effects than transient interest have been produced by my
ministry. Not that I have accomplished what I wished. As a
people, I fear, we are greatly wanting in that spiritual
elevation, that superiority to the world, that love of God, of
Jesus Christ, and of mankind, which is the end of religious
institutions. In truth, all churches need a new life, a new
comprehension of the spirit and high purpose of Christianity.
This I say for the truth's sake, and in sorrow of heart, and not
from any wounded feelings under the consciousness of having
exerted no greater influence. As far as I am personally
concerned, I have nothing to complain of, no reproaches to utter.
I have received for many years expressions of kindness, for which
I offer my sincere thanks. It is indeed a gratifying
consideration, that our long union has not been disturbed even by
a word of contention. I am nor aware that a thought or emotion
of unkindness has risen within me towards one of my parishioners.
Were I now to leave them, I could from the heart bid an
affectionate farewell to ALL.
I have spoken of the past. It is natural for me as such a
moment to cast a look towards the future. It is possible, that
some sphere of action, not now anticipated, may open on me. It
is more probable, that my present sphere will be contracted.
When I look round me, I see not one of the minsters, who filled
the pulpits of this city at my ordination. All have gone to
their account; and not a few, settled since, have also passed
away. He, who seemed destined to go among the first, survives
alone. Can I help applying to myself the language of the
apostle, "The time of my departure is at hand"? Nor is the time
very distant, when all, to whom I have ministered, will have
entered the unknown world. It is my fervent prayer, that we may
meet in the temple "not made with hands," and that a holier
worship than has united us here may bind us together forever.
I may on another occasion express my feelings more fully to
the Society. I earnestly desire, that they may continue to enjoy
the labors of their devoted pastor, and that through this and
other means of religion, their harmony may be perpetuated, and
their spiritual improvement never cease.
With respect and affection,
Your friend,
Wm. E. Channing.
[10]
[11]
REPLY
------
The Proprietors and Congregation of the Church in Berry Street to
their Senior Pastor, the Reverend William Ellery Channing, D.D.
Rev. and Dear Sir,
We have received from the Standing Committee of the
Proprietors the letter you addressed them on the first instant,
announcing your purpose, from that day, to relinquish the small
remainder of salary, which, at our earnest request, you had, till
then, consented to receive from us; and expressing your desire
that, without formally dissolving the connexion that has so long
and so happily subsisted between us, your public functions, as a
minister of Christ to this Society, may cease.
We do not wish to conceal from you, that we receive this
decision with regret and pain. Perhaps we feel it the more
sensibly, because it seemed to be our duty to acquiesce in it,
and thus make it final. For several years we have known that
[12] you considered such a separation, as you now propose,
desirable on account of the state of your health, and if we have
heretofore been unwilling to give it our concurrence, it has been
from feelings of respect and attachment to yourself, that have
grown old in many of our hearts, and sunk deep in all of them.
We may, from these feelings, have resisted your wishes longer
than we ought to have done, but we hope and trust we have not
been unreasonable; and now that the time has arrived, when we are
not permitted to hesitate in giving to them our full assent, it
gratifies us, that you do not seek to make the separation
absolute and entire, but that you are desirous on your part, as
we are on ours, to retain some of the bonds that have united us
during a connexion, that has been permitted to be so happy and to
last so long.
You allude to the possibility,that some inconvenience may
hereafter arise to us from the continuance of these bonds. We
anticipate none. We can imagine nothing but good from their
continuance. Still if, in the course of Providence, any
inconvenience should be felt, we shall, in the spirit of
frankness, with which you have spoken of our union and its
motives, avail ourselves of your permission to dissolve it,
trusting, that, with [13] the same frankness, you would claim the
right you grant; and if it should at any time seem important or
desirable to you to exercise it, that you would do so, and
separate yourself from us wholly. We do not, however, suppose it
at all likely that either part will take a step, which we are
sure neither would take but with great reluctance and from a
strong sense of duty; and we allude to this possibility, only
because you have done so, and because we think it important that
both should feel perfectly free to act in circumstances that
cannot be foreseen.
Our connexion, as you intimate, has been continued through a
longer period, than could at first have been anticipated, --a
period so long, that few remain among us, who bore witness to its
beginning. You came to us thirty-seven years ago, when our
numbers were so few and our circumstances so humble, that it was
apparent you came only from a sense of duty, and from a
disinterested desire to serve your fellow-men. Under your care,
however, we soon prospered and grew numerous. But, at every step
of our progress, we felt that, under God's good Providence, we
owed it chiefly to you. We have, too, as we trust, been thankful
for the ministrations we have enjoyed. We have certainly felt
them to be a privilege -- a great [14] privilege -- and we have
greatly valued them. Nor has their influence been confined to
ourselves. They have been felt and acknowledged beyond the
limits of our own Society, beyond the limits of our own won
country; and we trust that even yet neither their work nor yours
is wholly accomplished. We trust, that, long after both you and
we are gone to render up our last account, your spirit, in the
record of what you have here spoken, will be still active in the
great cause of Christ and of human improvement, to which you have
devoted your life. The only regret we feel, when looking back
upon the period of your connexion with us, is, that we have not
profited, as we ought to have done, by the privileges we have
enjoyed; that we have not become spiritual, and superior to the
world; devoted to duty, as you have labored to make us. We pray
God to forgive us for our deficiencies, and to make your
teachings more effectual to the generations that are to come
after us, than they have been to us and to our own.
We feel gratified by the suggestion, that your public labors
may not wholly cease; and that you may not only speak again to
us, but that it is possible you may become active in some other
sphere of usefulness. Amidst whatever circumstances the [15]
course of God's Providence may place you, we doubt not that your
influence will be elevating and improving; and that we shall
always witness and share its effects with thankfulness, seeking
such personal and more immediate intercourse with you, as or
relative positions may permit and authorize,and looking to you,
at all times, as to a Christian Pastor and spiritual friend.
It is, we know, a satisfaction to you, as it is to us, that
you do not leave us alone, but that we remain under the
ministrations of the able and devoted pastor, who has been so
long associated with you. We pray, for your sake, as well as for
our won, that his health may be fully restored; and that his
services, such as you have yourself been accustomed to witness
and share them, may be yet many years continued to us and to our
children. We can desire nothing better than such fidelity and
devotedness as his, except a corresponding faithfulness on our
own part to improve by them.
In conclusion, we would invoke on you the blessings you have
so often besought for us, adding, for the sake of the cause of
Christianity and human improvement, our prayers that your
strength and health by be increased, and that [16] your faculties
may be preserved unimpaired to a remote and happy old age.
On behalf of the Proprietors and the Congregation of Berry
Street Church.
SAMUEL GREELE, Chairman.
GEORGE S. HILLARD, Proprietors' Clerk.