Baptist Church, Norwich, NY - Rev. MacMillan - 1919

First Baptist Church and Its Popular Pastor

Utica Saturday Globe, October 1919

The Norwich Baptist Church & Rev. H.R. MacMillan

 

Norwich [Chenango Co., NY]:  The centennial of Colgate university brings to mind how many young men from the old First Baptist Church of this city have been prepared there to become preachers, and have gone out through its portals into lives of strength and zeal in the gospel ministry. The adjective 'old" is applied to the local church because it is five years older than the university, having been organized in 1814.

 

Throughout her more than 100 years of history, 25 or more young men have responded to the call to the Christian ministry.  Numbers of them who are still living, returned to renew their fealty to their alma mater and join in the ceremonies of the celebration.  During their college days many of them were as prominent on the athletic field as they are now in their pulpits.  Among these was Rev. H.R. MacMillan, the present pastor of the Norwich Church, who was on the college track team throughout the four years of his course.  He was graduated form Colgate in 1902.  He was a member of the football team of 1900 and held the college record for the running high jump, which stood unbroken for 10 years.

 

Not content with bucking the line in college Rev. MacMillan has developed rare skill as a story teller and laugh raiser.  He is known as the fun making parson of Norwich and bids fair to rival his celebrated countryman, Harry Lauder.  Like Lauder he can sing and mayhap he might learn to dance if he believed, thereby he could make himself more efficient in his ministry.  But Harry doesn't preach, at least, not professionally, and the Rev. MacMillan may consider that stuffiest compensation not to learn to dance.