Excerpt from Fifty Years' Rectorship in Saint Mary's Church, Hamilton Village, Philadelphia, Jubilate Deo, 1844-1894: A Sermon by Thomas C. Yarnall, D.D., And an Address by the Right Reverend the Bishop of Pennsylvania, on the Third Sunday After Easter, April 15th, 1894, Together With the Presentation Address of William C. Hannis, Esq., April 17th, 1894

Unto what is the kingdom of God like? And whereunto Shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged ln the branches of it. St. Luke xiii. 18, 19.

The completion of fifty years rectorship in one parish may, to a certain extent at least, excuse me for indulging, at this time, in some personal reminiscences; With two or three exceptions, I have not cared to preach anniversary sermons. And particularly in this parish, it did not seem worth while to dwell upon what, for the first few years of my ministry here, did not Offer features Of sufficient general interest to warrant their public recital. Then, too, the history of our parochial exist ence did'no't reach back beyond the second decade of the century. For some years of its infancy this was a feeble country or suburban church, in a sparsely settled neighborhood, and had little to recommend it in the way of architectural beauty. The congregation was very small; the services possibly not always very attractive, nor always regularly held.

About ten years ago I gathered what records I could Of our early' history, making them a subject ofdiscourse at the time. With a few additions they were published in pamphlet form in 1887. Not very long afterwards I alluded in a sermon to some facts connected with what at that time had been accomplished here. And a few years later, when an anniversary of my ordi nation to the priesthood occurred on a Sunday, I made some brief impromptu remarks, at the close of my morning sermon, which were based upon what I could recall at the moment of the characteristics of some who' had taken part inthe ordination service which was held here on the nineteenth day of May, 1844. I was elected Rector of this Church on the eleventh day Of April of the same year. Of the members of the Vestry who elected me two survive, and the three who were ordained here in 1844 are still living, I think you will agree with mé that I cannot be justly charged with having, in all these fifty years, dwelt much in my sermons upon mat ters which might be considered as obtrusively Of a per sonal nature.

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