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Storrs
1821-1900
Biographical Note
Richard S. Storrs was born at Braintree, Mass., in 1821. In his book “Preaching Without Notes,†he tells of his early practise and experience in pulpit delivery. After fifteen years patient effort he became one of the most accomplished extemporaneous speakers in America. He wrote much at first, developing a fine rhetorical style and a rich vocabulary that subsequently served him well as an impromptu speaker. His advice to divinity students was: “Always be careful to keep up the habit of writing, with whatever of skill, elegance, and force, you can command.†Because of this early training in writing he was able later in life to adopt the method of thoroughly preparing his thought for his sermons, and of leaving the choice of words and the framing of sentences to the moment of delivery. His greatest success was achieved after he became a purely extemporaneous preacher. He was for fifty-four years pastor of the Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn. During this time he produced a number of books, of which the most important is “The Divine Origin of Christianity, Indicated by its Historical Effects.†He died in 1900.