Church of the Nazarene
Pepperell, Massachusetts 01463-1348
9788779419

• Education: Doctor of Divinity
• Experience: Ordained with 45 years in full-time pastoral ministry and supply work in retirement. Numerous published articles. Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene on the campus of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts.
• Comment to those looking at my sermons: Mark Metcalfe is Dr. Russell Metcalfe's son, and Mark maintains a small website for his father's sermons. Mark opened a SermonsCentral account on his father's behalf. Dr. Metcalfe is retired and living in Mount Vernon, Ohio. He is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene in Quincy, MA.
• One of my favorite illustrations: The Hayford Street Gang For the first 7 years of my life, I didn’t know about having a place to live. I was raised in a suitcase and my parents were song evangelists. When I was about 7-years old, my dad took sick for 4 years; right down flat in bed; he had leukemia. In a way it was a blessing to me. (That is terrible to say, but you have to understand that for the first time in my life, we had to stay in one place. We lived in Lansing, Michigan. The first house we lived in was on the east side of Lansing on Magnolia Street; we rented it. It wasn't the poor section of town, but it was getting down that way. Just two or three streets down was "tobacco road." I knew everybody on Magnolia street. We used to walk to school together because we liked each other, but we also did it for mutual protection because the people on "tobacco road" weren't always the friendliest people in the world. The people on the next street over, which was Hayford Street, had a kind of a gang. Probably they were just as nice as we were, but we just didn't mix with the Hayford Street people. More than once, I had been caught by myself by the Hayford Street Gang. You have to understand that my Mom and Dad were college graduates from Taylor University. They had not only been taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and salvation, but they had been taught Culture with a capital C! So here, in this tough section of Lansing, I had to go to school wearing knickers and a nice little hat; and I had to wear it. I was a gentle soul, at least for the first part of my time there. My father and mother said, "Don't take the shortcuts to school." Really, there were shortcuts, by going up the alleys and over the back fences but I had to go down Magnolia to Kalamazoo street and then right up Kalamazoo Street to the Allen Street School. Very often, I'd run into the Hayford Street Gang. If I was far enough a way, I would run as fast as I could. If I wasn't far enough away, I would do what I could with my fists. I eventually acquired enough respect that I could walk anywhere I wanted. When I was about 8 or 9, I was walking home in my dandy little suit. I looked down Kalamazoo Street about two blocks and what did I see? About 5 or 6 of the Hayford Street Gang. They were kind of lounging there; they were big tough kids; about the 6th grade. And I KNEW that I was going to get beat up. If I turned and ran, I was going to get it. (Did you ever have anybody after you? It's one of the most hellish things for a kid, really. It was one of the toughest things, getting back and forth to school, and I feel sorry for kids that have to go through that.) My very agile mind was running a hundred miles a minute. In one split second I thought “I'll run down this driveway and over the fence.” Then “No, I'm not sure what's in that back yard. I'll turn around and run back to the school. No, maybe it’s locked now! O God! What will I do?” Just then, I happened to see a great big fellow; he must have been in the 7th grade. He was walking the same direction at about the same speed. I asked him, "Hey buddy, do you mind if I walk with you?" He said, "No, I don't mind." So, I just smiled and pretended that he was my friend. I didn't know him from Adam. As we walked along, I was saying, "it's really nice weather and the Tigers are doing real good." When we came to the Hayford Street Gang, they parted like the Red Sea. They looked at us, and they looked at him, and we went on until we got to my corner, then I ran home as fast as I could. Many times since then I have faced situations where I was going to get beat up! There have been threats far more serious than the Hayford Street gang, but if God is with us–really with us–then we don't have to face life alone!
• Family: Russell's parents were itinerant song evangelists, Russell and Leona Metcalfe. Russell Jr. sang solos and trios with Russell and Leona starting at the age of 2. By the time he was 3, he was also singing alto to Russell’s tenor and Leona’s melody (or a “passed around” melody). Their trio stayed together a long time, even after the traveling days were over. When Sonny was 6 or so, he announced that God had called him to be a preacher. He sincerely believed it, and though he never understood it, he never doubted it. He was put up to preach a few times during the Sunday School hour in various churches. His first sermon at age 6 was in Oil City, Pennsylvania, which he prepared by reciting Romans 6:23. Russell married Helen Johnson and they had four boys. Russell was ordained in 1959 and pastored seven Churches of the Nazarene* in his 45 years of senior pastoral ministry. He received a Doctor of Divinity from Eastern Nazarene College. He is now retired in Mount Vernon, Ohio. * Cherry Valley OH, Atwater OH, Butler NJ, Poughkeepsie NY, Edison NJ, Melrose MA, and Wollaston MA - after retirement several interim assignments

• Sermons by Dr. Russell F. Metcalfe Jr.