Mrs. Eddy Mentioned Them July 23, 1955 Issue

Hugh Black, 1868–1953

[Mentioned in the Message to The Mother Church for 1902, p. 10]

Hugh Black , preacher, teacher, and writer, was born on the island of Bute in the Firth of Clyde. His education was obtained at a public school in Rothesay and at the University of Glasgow, from which he received his D. D.

His first church was in Paisley. From there he went to St. George's Free Church, the largest in Edinburgh. The youngest man ever to be appointed to such a post in Scotland, he was the most popular preacher of his day. He had a forceful, almost dramatic, way of delivering his sermons, which were concerned with the way in which Christ Jesus' teachings touched everyday life. Dr. Black's sermons were not dry; they were illumined with his faith and humanity. Characteristic of his precepts are these: "The sentiment of kindness is got by being kind, the sentiment of gentleness is got by being gentle, by stopping the cutting word at the teeth if it cannot be stopped before, by crushing down the harsh judgment, by replacing the cruel thought with a tender one."

In 1906 Dr. Black accepted a call to take the chair of practical homiletics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The first half of each academic year, he taught, and the second half, he traveled, preaching primarily at colleges and interviewing students interested in the ministry. A student at Union tells that Dr. Black while warning the class against mannerisms in the pulpit constantly ran his fingers through his great shock of black curly hair. But he followed his own advice of always removing his rings before delivering a sermon. Except for serving as a chaplain with the American Army and being a guest preacher in London, he remained at Union until he retired.

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Hugh Black, 1868–1953

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