MR. DUNCAN MACPHERSON was born on the 10th June, 1872. His death took place rather suddenly and unexpectedly on the morning of Friday, 5th July, 1935. By his removal a prominent figure in the public and Church life of Kames has been removed. The Free Presbyterian congregation especially has lost a true friend and helper.
Mr. MacPherson was but 63 years of age and up to the time of his death he carried the full burden of the congregational interests. The sudden ending of a life which gave promise of many years of further usefulness is an impressive display of the absolute will of Him whose ways are in the deep, and none knoweth them.
The deceased, as a young man of twenty, had been associated as clerk and treasurer with the men who formed in Kames the first Free Presbyterian congregation. By his death the last living link connecting the present congregation with that choice band of Christians who stood for the truth in Cowal in 1893 is severed and we are left to mourn.
During the 40 years of the congregation’s existence Mr. MacPherson acted as treasurer. He was ordained to the eldership in 1921. For a number of years he was the sole elder, belonging to the congregation, residing locally. The responsibility which such a condition of affairs laid on his shoulders was not lightly undertaken nor carelessly discharged. To indicate how real and solemn his concern was I need only relate the following. For many years the burden of affairs had rested on the shoulders of Mr. Donald MacCallum, senior elder, an uncle of Mr. MacPherson. When Mr.Pherson was comparatively a young man Mr. MacCallum became seriously ill and his life was in danger. Mr. MacPherson, after having paid a visit to the sick man, was found sitting in his own house weeping bitterly. His wife, in an effort to comfort him, but mistaking the true cause of his sorrow, remarked that Mr. MacCallum might recover. “That,” replied Mr. MacPherson, “is not what troubles me; but if Donald MacCallum is taken away, I’ll have to shoulder the burden of the congregation, and it is my feeling of utter unfitness for the work that makes me weep.”
During the years he was in office, his ripe judgment, wise counsel, and whole-hearted sympathy made it pleasant and profitable to be associated with him. In the discharge of his duties, which were by no means light, his ability was beyond praise. His services were given with a willingness which clearly indicated how whole-hearted he was in the interests of the Cause of Christ.
As a man who was prominent in the public life of the community at large his help and advice were often sought for and ungrudgingly given. Although in the course of business, often coming much into contact with men who differed widely from him in religious questions, he never hid his light under a bushel. His regard for the Sabbath was specially marked and the many encroachments on the sanctity of the Lord’s Day were acutely painful to him.
He set a high value on the weekly prayer meeting as a welcome relief from the toil and worry of business. The loss of his presence and his prayers are keenly felt.
Mr. MacPherson was a man who recognised that Christianity is more than an empty profession. His services to the Church in Kames, although making considerable demands on his time, were not only freely given, but, apart from his family and his business, constituted his one interest in life. His liberality to the general funds of the Church, as well as to the congregation of Kames, was a prominent feature of his Christianity. Not wishing his left hand to know what his right hand did he hid his identity under an assumed name. By his removal the cause of Christ has lost a devoted friend and a sincere well-wisher.
Mr. MacPherson was married in 1897. His wife, who was a true partner and yoke fellow, both in temporal and spiritual interests, pre-deceased her husband by 11 years. She suffered long from a painful disease which she bore with true Christian patience and submission till she died on New Year’s Day, 1924. Mr. MacPherson is survived by a daughter and son to whom we extend our deepest sympathy. We pray that their great loss may be sanctified by Him who can turn the shadow of the grave into the brightness of the morning.—James A. Tallach.