United Colleges - Vox Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Those of you who knew Dr. Riddell, learned to appreciate a similar zeal and ardour, because the gospel to him was a first hand vital ex¬ perience. It was not something he inherited, though he stood in the line of splendid family traditions. Nevertheless it was something he had made his own. For him Christianity was not a mere nodding of the head to give approval or assent to a creed or any formula of belief. It was rather a living experience of the truth of God’s word, as apprehended in a vital fellow¬ ship, and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, his Christian faith manifested it¬ self in everything he did. He bore the marks of his Master, which were evident even in his countenance and always in his behaviour. And just because Dr. Riddell set a very high standard for himself in belief and conduct, he lived on a plane of thought and feeling far be¬ yond the attainment or understanding of those who yield themselves to the subtle attractions of worldly wisdom, in fashion or popularity, or greedy gain or passing pleasures. These had no claim upon him since he had higher motives and objectives. When one dared to sound him out in his convictions it was like striking flint. He was so fundamentally sane and sound that in his personal habits and every day relationship to others one could have rung a coin on his conscience. I first met Dr. Riddell in 1940, when as chair¬ man of the Renfrew Presbytery I was presiding at the opening of a new church hall at Smiths Falls. Dr. Riddell was there and delivered his famous address on “The Elder.” Nine years later, in the spring of 1949, I had a letter from him intimating that he would like to spend the summer months in some town outside of the city, where he could indulge his hobby of gard¬ ening. I went to Ottawa to see him and he was easily induced to come to Carleton Place. I have since regarded this as one of the wisest acts I have ever done because his almost daily companionship was not only a blessing to me, but he became a highly respected citizen. And while Dr. Riddell was already well stricken with years, his presence was immediately felt, even by those whom he casually met on the streets or who heard him occasionally from my pulpit, with his strong resonant voice and his equally strong emphatic message. During the last few days in the press recog¬ nition has been given to Dr. Riddell for his ser¬ vice in the cause of higher education, particu¬ larly in Western Canada. This is only fair and just, but he once told me that some of his most satisfying work had been done after he had become Principal Emeritus of Wesley College in 1938. It was in this period he produced and published two books. The first was “The Elder,” containing the address which he gave in a trans- Canada tour along with the results of his schol¬ arly researches. The last time he delivered this address was when we ordained two elders in this church in April, and in it Dr. Riddell dis¬ played much of his old time vigour. He said of this brochure that it was the one piece of his work that had any survival value. The other book was the History of Methodism: The Middle West of Canada. He was pressed to write it because he was the one person who had a first hand acquaintance with the men and move¬ ments. He hoped that it would be a source book of information for later historians. And then there was his third and last work, which he was working on until a very few weeks ago. It was his memoirs, and he honoured me by asking me to go through it and make any suggestions. Certainly these memoirs give a sort of completeness to his long career, a sum¬ ming up of his life and thought. He preferred to call them “Gateways”—under Several phases. There was the “Gateway” concerning the life of a boy on an Ontario pioneer farm, with its hardships and advantages. You will recall his boyhood idea of God, — dwelling above the big tree in the barnyard, until that idea grew into the prayer to the Father, through communion and fellowship with Christ. What prayers they were! To me they often sounded like love let¬ ters, with the familiar and fervent, — “Dear Heavenly Father” — and “Our loving Heavenly Father” — for such they truly were. Next came the Gateway to our Education. Here were the difficulties of getting to school, the problem of finance, the struggle and the sacrifice. Out of this came his determination to help needy and worthy students, and the scholarships he established in colleges in Al¬ berta, Manitoba and Ontario. Then came Gateways to service. His desire was to preach, and not to teach, but he was Page Twelve

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REV. JOHN H. RIDDELL B.A., B.D., D.D., LL.D. Principal of United College, 1917-1938 The Funeral Address for Dr. J. H. Riddell delivered by the Reverend Donald C. Munro, Minister of Memorial Park United Church, Carleton Place, Ontario. Romans 1:16— I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of love unto salvation to everyone that believeth. T ' lHOSE of you who knew the late Dr. J. H. Riddell with any degree of intimacy will note the appropriateness of this text, for it is in itself a declaration of a great conviction, thor¬ oughly experienced, constantly proved and held forth as the supreme incentive to life and action. In this letter to the church at Rome these words are Paul’s “Apologia Pro Vita Sua,” the defence he made for himself as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, because it was indeed the gospel of Christ that had enabled him to carry on so triumphantly to the very end. It was this gospel of Christ that had arrested him with such compelling power when he was a young man. It was this gospel that had sus¬ tained him and upheld him through imprison¬ ments and ship wrecks — and cruel scourgings — perils by land and sea, and from ruthless adversaries everywhere. It was this gospel that had kept him steadfast when he was scorned and rebuffed and rebuked as a misguided fanatic and a fool. It was this gospel that had been his strength and his stay when he was obliged to pass through the deep waters of personal suf¬ fering and sorrow. But it was this very same gospel and its power to save that Paul believed would some day conquer the Roman empire and thence lay claim to the whole world for Christ, simply because it was of God and of God’s purpose to bring salvation to everyone that believeth. So, far from being ashamed of or apologetic for it, Paul gloried in it, rejoiced in it and lived by it. This is the way Dr. Moffatt translates our text: “I am proud of the gospel. It is God’s saving power to everyone who has faith.” At any rate, it was the power of God to St. Paul, because it had so completely laid hold of him and had transferred his character. It had penetrated his whole being. It had soaked and saturated his every thought and word and deed. “To me to live is Christ,” he said. “I determined Page Eleven

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soon brought from the pulpit to Wesley College, on account of his proven teaching and adminis¬ trative ability. Next he went to Edmonton, and the college which he founded with one student over a retail store. Then back to Winnipeg in 1917 he came to rehabilitate a college that had fallen on hard times, and how despite a business depression and other difficulties he won out. He called this his “terrible time.” It was during this period that he became known beyond the church and its colleges. For 25 years he was a Director of the British and Foreign Bible Society. He sat on various gov¬ ernment commissions. He was honoured by three universities. His counsel and sound judg¬ ment were always in demand. Had he not chosen the Church, he most assuredly would have been an eminent jurist and been elevated to the bench. Gateways always seemed open when others closed. Today I noticed people using gateways as escape, avoiding their public and private duty — their feeble alternatives to high ser¬ vice. But all Dr. Riddell’s gateways offered views out and beyond and forward looking. Even gateways came to him through his troubles and sorrows. A son Harold made the supreme sacrifice in the first world war. His beloved wife passed away in 1943. And then Gerald, with a very promising career on the interna¬ tional scene, was so suddenly taken. I was with him in that crushing experience, because Gerald was the very apple of his eye — the child and delight of his old age. Only by the power of his faith did Dr. Riddell come through that ordeal, and because he had also above everything else — the will to live, the will to think and do — even after his frail body was obviously break¬ ing under the strain. Thus the final Gateway was therefore one that looked out upon a golden future — rich with the wonderful promise of God — with vis¬ tas of farther horizons, the spheres of fresh labours of love and service. For when he passed through that last Gateway to the celestial city, I think the trumpets must have sounded for him on the other side. Servant of God — Well done! HONOUR FORMER LOCAL MINISTER DR. HIRAM HULL A MEMORIAL to a popular Hamilton minis- ter, who died in June of 1951, was unveiled at First United Church in 1952. The Rev. W. L. L. Lawrence, B.A., associate minister, conducted a memorial service for the Rev. Dr. Hiram Hull. Dr. Hull, who came to Hamilton in 1941 from the Toronto Conference as associate minister during the Rev. Dr. E. Crossley Hunter’s pas¬ torate, continued, officiating as pastor until the Rev. Dr. E. Melville Aitken, the present minis¬ ter, was inducted. He then served as visiting minister with Dr. Aitken and as such became endeared to thousands of Hamiltonians. A big man physically and spiritually, he has been described as a source of great spiritual strength, guidance and an example to all with whom he came in contact. Eighty years old at the time of his death, Dr. Hull, who died at his summer home, Juddhaven, Muskoka, covered most of Canada in his 60 years of preaching before settling in this city. Insisting on a teaching ministry and pastoral work, he also took an active part in young people’s work, Sunday School work and teacher training. He was a member of the Religious Education Council of Canada for 10 years. One of the commissioners who formed the United Church of Canada in 1925, he was born in Albion Township, Peel County, graduating from Wesley College, Winnipeg, being ordained in 1908. The memorial is in the shape of a handsome, enlarged photograph. Page Thirteen