Scotsman Archive: Preacher as a man 14 April, 1950
"Time was when Scots were a nation of churchgoers, and the place of the Church in the community was unchallenged. Time was when the minister was respected because of his office. Such times are almost, if not quite, gone. It may be too much to say that for the majority of the people nowadays the Church means little or nothing. At least it is true that very many turn upon it uninterested or critical eyes.
"The minister has come down from his pedestal and rubs shoulders with his fellows. What place he holds in the esteem of the congregation over which he is set and of the community of which he is a member, he must win for himself; and the Church gains or loses according to the measure of that esteem."
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