SERMON OF IMMORTAL LIFE Preached at the Melodeon, On Sunday September 20th, 1846 / by Theodore Parker, Minister of the XXVIII Congregational Church in Boston, and now published by request. by Parker, Theodore - 1846.

Boston, MA: Jordan & Wiley, 1846., 1846.. Fair. - Octavo, softcover bound in tan printed wrappers with cream cord. The rear wrapper is lacking.The binding is chipped & creased. 32 pages. The pages are creased & bumped with dampstaining to their bottom front corners. Good reading copy.

First edition.

The title pages states that the pamphlet was printed by George Coolidge.

Theodore Parker [1810-1860] was an American Transcendentalist and minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and an abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1845 a sizable group of Parker's supporters resolved to provide him with an opportunity to be heard in Boston. Despite misgivings, Parker accepted and preached his first sermon at the Melodeon theatre in February of that year. Although this was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, Parker resigned his pastorate in West Roxbury in early 1846. He elected to call his new congregation the 28th Congregational Society of Boston. His congregation grew to 2,000 and included such influential figures as Louisa May Alcott, William Lloyd Garrison, Julia Ward Howe and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Parker worked with fugitive slaves, some of whom were in his congregation, and hid them in his house. He was indicted for his actions, but was never convicted.