Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 300, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1911 — Pastor Quits Pulpit to Be Expressman [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pastor Quits Pulpit to Be Expressman

CHICAGO.— Rev. Henry M. McDowell has preached his last sermon at the Woodlawn Park Congregational church. He resigned because certain members of the church objected to his action in donning overalls and working as anexpress messenger at |lB a week to augment his salary of $l2O a month froth the church. ■ That manual labor lowered the dignity of the pastor, was the objection made by the members of the church, and according to friends of the pastor, while they were unable to have him ousted from the pulpit, they made things so unpleasant for him that he resigned. The pastor's resignation and the disclosure of the actions of the members who forced It, has caused so much indignation toward them on the part of other members of the Church that they have withdrawn their memberships.

The objectors were members of two families, the heads of which were trustees of the church. “The Master I have been serving for 20 years as a pastor was a carpenter,” said Rev. Mr. McDowell. “It did not lower his dignity to do manual labor, and I do not think he would object to my being an express messenger so 1 could pay my honest debts. “It was Impossible for me to keep my family on the $1,440 a year I received from the church. 1 have six children. Each of them contributes to the church, yet none of them was earning money. Each of them attended the church suppers and socials, paying at theta put of my salary. “Then came serious illness, and, last spring, I found myself $250 In debt. Casting about for means of paying this sum, and certain that I could not pay it out of my salary, I found that I could add $lB a week to my Income by becoming an express messenger. I consulted with one of the trustees and he told me it would be all right for me to accept. I did accept, and my doing so raised a storm of protest. Finally it became so unpleasant that rather than continue the difficulty, I decided to atop the trouble by resigning.”