The Emmanuel Messenger

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Emmanuel
messenger
Vol. 1, No. 11     Aug., 1952
Published Monthly By the Emmanuel Methodist Church
2700 South Downing St., Denver — Russell Rice, Editor
Rev. Palmer Writes Farewell Message
REV. PALMER
Now that our last Sunday at
Emmanuel is part of history we
can look back and view the past
eight years from a more objective
standpoint. To us they were wonderful, memorable years. A few
lines from a much-loved poem expresses much of what we feel:
"A part of me is left in every
place that I have loved—
"A part of every place that I
have loved is left in me."
To be sure, Emmanuel will always be a part of us, and we will
always be a part of Emmanuel.
There are so many thrilling memories it would be impossible to recount
them all, but they all begin and end
with you good folks who have been
so patient, understanding and long-
suffering with us. Your demonstrations of loyalty to Christ and His
Church, your sacrificial giving, and
your warm friendliness all combined
to make the experience of being your
minister one of infinitely deep satisfaction. Your gifts will be treasured
as tokens of a mutual love and
genuine    Christian    brotherhood.
For those of you who have not
heard our reasons* for leaving to take
over the presidency of Westminster
College in Salt Lake City, let me
briefly   state   them   here.
1. The success of a clown, we are
told, depends on his ability to know
when to leave, and always to leave
while his audience is laughing and
calling for more. A minister also
must   be   able   to   sense   when   he   is
MRS. PALMER
approaching the end of his effectiveness in a local situation. It is well
for both minister and church if he
can make the break while everyone
is   still   happy.
2. We believe also, that a minister
can stay too long in one place for the
good of both church and minister.
You will grow more as individuals
and as a church as you sense your
personal responsibility and rise to
meet it. I, too, will grow as I trj
to rise to meet the challenges of
college    administration.
3. We believe in church-related colleges.     We   want   such   a   school   for
our  own  children,   and  someone  must I
accept   the   responsibility   of   making!
them  live  and grow.
4. We believe this is God's will for
our lives. In all our planning there
seemed to be a higher power guiding
us and opening the doors which we
have felt led to walk through. We
could not with a clear conscience say
"No"   to   this   call.
And now, one word of caution to
those who may not be familiar with
pastoral  etiquette.
LeRoy King, as of September 1, is
your minister. I am no longer your
minister. All matters pertaining to
this church and your needs for ministerial help should and must go to
him. It will not be because of a
lack of love or willingness on our part
that we will be unable to return
here for weddings, funerals, baptism
or other services. It is a matter of
real embarrassment to a new minister
to have a former minister "called
back,"   so  let's   be   kind.
In LeRoy King you have a truly
wonderful leader. He was my personal choice, as well as the choice of
Bishop Phillips and your committee.
I covet for him the deep joys that
have  been  mine with  you.
Official Board
Bids Farewell
To Rev. Palmer
Each of us, whether we have
known Dick Palmer for only a
brief period or for the entire eight
years of his service with Emmanuel, have felt that it was only a
matter of time before he would be
called to do larger and greater
things in the Lord's work. That
time has now become a reality.
Dick informed the Official
Board at a special meeting held
on July 11 that he had been elected to the presidency of Westminster College of Salt Lake City,
Utah. A challenge of such magnitude, particularly in the field of
Christian education among our
youth, warrants the efforts of the
most qualified leaders. We all
know Dick has such qualifications
and though it was with heartfelt
regret, the Official Board unanimously consented to his departure
with best wishes and the fullest
blessings in his new undertakings.
The progress of Emmanuel over
the past eight years has been
phenomenal. Our church membership has now passed the 1,000
mark. It has grown and prospered far beyond the imagination
of the most optimistic. Every
phase of this growth and development has been under Dick's leadership and spiritual guidance. He
has done a remarkable job. Now,
even though he is leaving us, we
feel proud of the fact that we
were one of the stops along the
road of his successful Christian
career.
We are sure every member and
friend of the church will join us
in wishing Dick and his family
God Speed and continued success.
DICK BANTA
Chairman of the
Official Board