USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > New Britain > Confession of faith and covenant of the South Congregational Church, in New Britain; together with the rules, and a catalogue of members > Part 1
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CONFESSION OF FAITH AND COVENANT OF THE SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN NEW BRITAIN 1860
M. L.
Gc 974.602 N38n 1656642
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01149 1526
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https://archive.org/details/confessionoffait00sout_0
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MANUAL
OF THE
SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
NEW BRITAIN, CONN.
JUNE, 1860.
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH e
AND
COVENANT
OF THE
SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
IN
NEW BRITAIN,
TOGETHER WITH THE
RULES, AND A CATALOGUE OF MEMBERS.
JUNE, 1860.
"The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Tim. iii. 15.
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth con- fession is made unto salvation." Rom. x. 10.
"Thy vows are upon me, O God." Ps. Ivi 12.
HARTFORD: PRESS OF CASE, LOCKWOOD AND COMPANY. 1860.
1656642
HISTORICAL NOTICES.
THE First Church,* in New Britain, from which the South Church separated in 1842, was organized April 19th, 1758, and for nearly seventy years was the only church in the Society of New Britain. The number of original members was sixty- eight, of whom thirty-two were males and thirty-six females. Seventeen were from the church in Newington, and fifty from the church in Kensington. The church in Kensington Society is the oldest in the town of Berlin. This in New Britain was the second organized, and subsequently that in Worthington.
In the list of original members is the name of JOHN SMAL- LEY, from the church of Christ in Cornwall. Mr. Smalley was invited to preach in this Society in November, 1757, shortly after receiving license, and was ordained to the pastoral office in this church at the time of its organization. He was born in the North Society in Lebanon, now Columbia, in this State, June 4th, 1734. He fitted for College under the tuition of his pastor, Rev. Dr. Wheelock, and after graduating at Yale in 1756, he studied Theology under Rev. Dr. Bellamy, of Beth- lem. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him in 1800, by the College at Princeton, N. J. Dr. Smalley performed, with very little interruption, the stated services of the ministry in this society until the autumn of 1808. After that time he preached occasionally till September 26th, 1813, when he delivered his last sermon. He died of apoplexy, June 1st, 1820, at the age of eighty-six, having survived by several
* This sketch of the First Church was taken from its published records.
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years every person who was active in inviting him to settle. From the commencement of his ministry to the settlement of his colleague in 1810, the number of persons added to the church, besides the original members, was two hundred and fifty-three, of whom two hundred and seventeen united by profession.
The only considerable revival during this period occurred in 1784. Between October of that year, and the March follow- ing, the number who joined by profession was thirty-eight.
In addition to the members of the church in full communion, there is a record, previous to 1767, of twenty-eight persons, who "owned the covenant;" that is, were admitted, on the "half-way covenant" plan then in vogue, to certain church priv- ileges, although making no pretensions to vital piety. After 1767 this record ceases.
Rev. NEWTON SKINNER was ordained as colleague with Dr. Smalley, February 14th, 1810; at which time the church num- bered one hundred and nine members, thirty-nine of whom were males, and seventy females. Mr. Skinner died of a fever, March 31st, 1825, at the age of forty-two. He was a native of East Granby, Conn., and graduated at Yale College in 1804. His instructor in Theology was Rev. E. Gay, of Suffield, Conn.
During his ministry the whole number added to the church was two hundred and forty-eight, of whom two hundred and three united by profession. One hundred and nineteen of these joined in the autumn of 1821-the fruits of the power- ful revival of religion which distinguished that year.
The next Pastor was Rev. HENRY JONES, who was ordained October 12th, 1825; at which time the church embraced two hundred and forty-five members-ninety-two males and one hundred and fifty-three females. Mr. Jones graduated at Yale College in 1820, and received his theological education at An- dover, Mass. He was dismissed December 19th, 1827, and afterwards conducted for several years the Greenfield Ladies' Seminary, and since then a school for boys, in Bridgeport.
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During Mr. Jones' ministry the church received sixty-three additions, fifty-eight of them by profession. There was a re- vival in 1826, as fruits of which thirty-eight persons united with the church, on the first Sabbath in February, 1827.
After the dismission of Mr. Jones, the pulpit was supplied a number of months by Mr. JASON ATWATER, at that time a member of the Theological Seminary, at New Haven. During the year 1828 there was a powerful work of grace under the joint labors of Mr. Atwater and Rev. Samuel Griswold; as the fruits of which seventy-one were added to the church in the early part of the following year:
Rev. JONATHAN COGSWELL was installed pastor of this church, April 29th, 1829, having been previously settled over a church in Saco, Maine. Mr. Cogswell graduated at Harvard, in 1806. He was dismissed April 29th, 1834, having been appointed professor of Ecclesiastical History in the Theological Institute, at East Windsor. During Mr. Cogswell's ministry, fifty-five were added to the church-twenty-nine by profession, and twenty-six by letter.
After the dismission of Mr. Cogswell, the pulpit was sup- plied by a variety of preachers, for nearly two years, in which time nine were added to the church-six of them by profession.
Rev. DWIGHT M. SEWARD, the next pastor, was ordained February 3d, 1836. Mr. Seward is a native of Durham, Ct. He graduated at Yale College in 1831, and studied Theology in the Seminary at New Haven. He was dismissed June 15th, 1842. During his ministry there were one hundred and nine- ty-four additions to the church-one hundred and thirty-six by profession, and fifty-eight by letter. There were two revivals in this time; the first in 1837, in consequence of which eighty- one persons united with the church. The other was in 1841, when the church received an accession of thirty-six.
The site of the first meeting-house, erected soon after the organization of the church, was in the north-eastern part of the village, and some eighty rods west of the cemetery. It was a plain substantial building, after the style of that period, and
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without steeple or bell. The second house was built in 1822, and was regarded as one of the results of the powerful revival of the preceding year.
SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
IN 1842 one hundred and twenty members of the First Con- gregational Church in New Britain withdrew, for the purpose of forming a separate church organization. On the 5th of July, of that year, at a meeting of the South Consociation of Hart- ford County, they were, at their own request, organized and constituted a new church, to be called the South Congregational Church, of New Britain.
The house of worship, the same as occupied at present, was dedicated June 29th, 1842. Sermon by Rev. Joab Brace, D. D., of Newington.
Rev. SAMUEL ROCKWELL was installed first pastor of this church, January 4th, 1843, having previously, for about ten years, been pastor of a church in Plainfield, in this State. Mr. Rockwell is a native of Winchester, Conn. He graduated at Yale College in 1825, and studied Theology at Andover and New Haven.
He was dismissed at his own request, June 20th, 1858, after a ministry of fifteen years and a half. During his ministry, two hundred and seventy members were added to the church- one hundred and thirty-seven by profession, and one hundred and thirty-three by letter.
Rev. C. L. GOODELL, the present pastor, was ordained and installed over this church, February 2d, 1859.
DEACONS.
On the 15th of July, 1842, Elijah Francis and Chauncey Cornwell, were chosen deacons. Deacon Francis died Novem- ber 1st, 1846, aged eighty-seven years. On the 22d of Janu- ary, 1847, Orson H. Seymour was chosen deacon.
ARTICLES OF FAITH.
ARTICLE I.
We, as a church, believe in one only living and true God; infinite and eternal; and existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who possess the same nature, and are equal in every divine perfection.
1 Cor. viii. 4. There is none other God but one.
Deut. vi. 4. Hear, O Israel : The Lord our God is one Lord. Deut. iv. 35, 39. Isa. xlv. 5, 6, 14, 21, 22. Deut. xxxii. 39. Isa. xliv. 6. Jer. x. 10. The Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlast- ing King. Ps. xc. 2. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. 1 Thess. i. 9. John xvii. 3. Hab. i. 12. Job xi. 7. Isa. xl. 13, 14, 26, 28. Mat. v. 48. Heb. vi. 18. Deut. xxxii. 4. Ps. cxlv. 3.
Mat. xxviii. 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. John i. 1, 3. Phil. ii. 1, 6, 11. Hcb. i. 2, 3, 6, 8. Acts v. 3, 4. Do. xiii. 4. 1 John v. 7. Col. i. 14-19.
ARTICLE II.
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Test- ament were given by inspiration of God, and are our only perfect rule of Christian faith and practice.
2 Tim. iii. 15-17. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in right- eousness. Gal. i. 8. 2 Pet. i. 21. Mat. xxii. 29. Ps. cxix. 97, 105. Luke xxiv. 27, 44, 45. John v. 39. Rev. xxii. 18, 19.
ARTICLE III.
We believe that God created all things for his own glory;
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and that he governs all things according to the counsel of his own will, in perfect consistency with man's free-agency and accountability.
Rev. iv. 11. For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Rom. xi. 36. Prov. xvi. 4. Neh. ix. 6.
Isa. xlvi. 10. Declaring the end from the beginning, saying, My coun- sel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Eph. i. 11. Job. xxiii. 13, 14. Rom. viii. 28. Isa. xiv. 24. 1 Peter i. 20. Ps. cxlv. 15, 16.
Acts ii. 23. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore- knowledge of God, ye have taken, and with wicked hands have crucified and slain. Aets iv. 27, 28. Ps. xxxiii. 11. IIeb. vi. 17. Gen. xlv. 5-8. Do. 1. 20. Isa. x. 6, 7. Luke xxii. 22.
ARTICLE IV.
We believe that in consequence of the apostacy of Adam, sin and misery have been introduced into the world; and that all men, unless renewed by the Holy Spirit, are destitute of holiness, and under the curse of the Divine law.
Rom. v. 12, 19. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Gen. i. 26, 27. Do. iii. 16, 19. 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22.
Ece. vii. 20. For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Ecc. vii. 29. Rom. vii. 18. Do. iii. 9-18, 20, 23. Ece. ix. 3. Rom. viii. 7, 8. Gen. vi. 5. Do. viii. 21. Jer. xvii. 9. John iii. 6, 7.
Eph. ii. 3. And were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. John iii. 36. Gal. iii. 10. Rom. ii. 5.
ARTICLE V.
We believe that Jesus Christ is both God and man; that by his sufferings and death, he has made atonement for the sins of the world; and that on the ground of this atonement, all who repent and believe in him, are freely pardoned and justified.
John i. 1, 14. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us .- 29. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Heb. i. 8. Gal. iv. 4, 5. Heb. ii. 14, 16. Rom. v. 8. Mat. xxvi. 28. 1 Pet. i. 19. 1 John ii. 2. And he is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Rom. iv. 25. Rev. v. 9. 1 Tim. i. 15. Do. ii. 5, 6. Heb. ii. 9. Rev. v. 9.
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Jolın iii, 15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life .- 18. Acts ii. 38. Rom iii. 24-26. Acts iv. 12.
ARTICLE VI.
We believe that all who are renewed by the Holy Spirit, will be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation; and that they will owe their salvation to the mere sovereign mercy and eternal purpose of God, in Christ Jesus, through repentance and faith in him, and not to any works of right- eousness which they have done.
1 Pet. i. 5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Phil. i. 6. John x. 28, 29. 1 Cor. i. 8. 1 John ii. 19. Rom. viii. 30-39. Prov. iv. 18. John vi. 37. Do. xv. 16. Do. xvii. 2, 6, 9. Ezek. xxxvi. 32. Not for your sakes, do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you .- 26. Rom. ix. 18, 21. 2 Tim. i. 9. Rom. viii. 29. Eph. i. 4, 5. According as he hath chosen us in him before the found- ation of the world. 1 Peter i. 2. Acts xiii. 48. 2 Thess. ii. 13.
Tit. iii. 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved ns. Acts xv. 11. Gal. ii. 16. Eph. iii. 8, 9.
ARTICLE VII.
We believe that the law of God, demanding perfect holiness of heart and life, is binding on all men; and that the fruits of regeneration will be exhibited in acts of practical obedience to that law.
Mat. v. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill .- 18, 19. Luke x. 25-28. Gal. v. 13-22. 1 Tim. i. 8-11. Ps. cxix. 96. Josh. i. 8. Mic. vi. 8.
Jolin xv. 14. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you .- 8, 12. Mat. x. 37, 38. Luke vi. 46. James i. 27. Do. iii. 17. 2 Cor. vii. 1.
ARTICLE VIII.
We believe that any number of Christians, duly organized, constitute a Church of Christ; the special ordinances of which are Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Rom. xvi. 4, 5. Unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in thine house. Mat. xviii. 17. Acts xiv. 27. 1 Cor. xvi. 19. Col. iv. 15. 2
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Mat. xxviii. 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Acts xvi. 15, 33. 1 Cor. i. 16. See also Gen. xvii. 7, 9, 10. Gal. iii. 29. Rom. xi. 16-24. Luke xxii. 19, 20. 1 Cor. xi. 23-26.
ARTICLE IX.
We believe that all mankind must hereafter appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to receive a just and final retribu- tion, according to the deeds done in the body: and that the wicked will be sent away into everlasting punishment, and the righteous received into life eternal.
2 Cor. v. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Acts xvii. 31. 1 Thess. iv. 16. Rom. xiv. 10. Jude 15. Rev. xx. 12, 15. Do. xxii. 11.
Mat. xxv. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Mat. xiii. 40-45. 2 Pct. ii. 4, 9. 2 Thess. i. 6-10. Rev. xxi. 8. Mat. xxv. 31-46. Dan. xii. 2. Mark viii. 38.
Do you cordially assent to these articles of faith ?
COVENANT.
IN the presence of God and this assembly, you do now seriously, deliberately, and forever, avouch the Lord Jehovah to be your God, Jesus Christ to be your Saviour, the Holy Ghost to be your sanctifier, and the Holy Scriptures to be the rule of your Christian faith and practice :- and do solemnly give yourselves up to God, to be wholly his, to be governed by his laws, to be guided by his Spirit, to be disposed of by his providence, and to be saved by his grace, in the way of the gospel. You promise to receive in meekness and love, the pure doctrines of the gospel, and by the aids of divine grace, to lead a life of piety towards God, and benevolence towards your fel- low-men.
You also submit yourselves to the government of Christ in his church, and to the regular administration of it, in this church; attending the worship of God, and the ordinances of the gospel; living in Christian charity and communion with its members; conscientiously endeavoring to promote its peace, purity, and edification ; and to discharge all those duties, by which God may be glorified, and the religion of the Bible ex- tended and established among men.
You enter into these solemn engagements in humble depend- ence on the grace of God, and with a full belief that your vows are recorded on high, and will be reviewed in the day of final judgment.
Thus you covenant and promise ?
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[Members of the Church will rise.]
We, then, as a Church, do cordially receive you into our fellowship and communion, and give thanks to God, who, we trust, has inclined your heart to fear his name. We promise to treat you with Christian affection ; to watch over you with tenderness ; and to offer our prayers to the great Head of the Church, to enable you to fulfill the solemn Covenant which you have now made.
Now we commend you to God, and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up in the most holy faith, and to present you faultless before the throne of his glory with ex- ceeding great joy.
BAPTISM OF CHILDREN.
BAPTISM was instituted by Christ, and is a seal of the right- eousness that is of faith. It is a precious ordinance, to which believers and their children are alike entitled; and by which they are brought into most tender relationship with the Cov- enant-keeping God.
The children whom God has given you to train for him, you are solemnly to dedicate to His service; you are to teach them the word of God-to instruct them in the principles of reli- gion-to pray with and for them-to set before them an ex- ample of piety and godliness, and endeavor, by all the means of God's appointment, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
These duties, resting upon you as Christian parents, you do promise and engage, by the aid of divine grace, faithfully to perform.
QUESTIONS
OF SELF-EXAMINATION FOR PROFESSORS OF RELIGION.
1. Am I at present in the exercise of a true spirit of piety -humble, tender, prayerful-disposed to know and do what- ever God requires of me, as necessary to promote his glory, my own spiritual improvement, and the salvation of my fellow- men ?
2. What is the prevailing tenor of my conversation? Is it spiritual or worldly-serious or trifling ; adapted to help or to hinder others in the great concern of life?
3. With whom do I associate as my intimate friends ? What are the prospects for another world of those in whose company I take most delight, and what influence has my ex- ample upon them ?
4. Do I love and study the Bible ? Do I understand and prize its doctrines and duties ? Do its precepts regulate my intercourse with men and my communion with God?
5. Do I perform the duty of secret and family prayer? How often and with what spirit? Have I enjoyment in these duties ; or do I perform them as a task, merely to pacify con- science, or keep up the form of religion ?
6. Is my religion merely negative, not doing any harm ; or am I positively active in devising and executing plans of useful- ness ?
7. How do I spend the Sabbath ? Is it, to me, a day holy to the Lord, a delight and honorable ; and am I careful never to profane its sacred hours, by worldly conversation, business or traveling ?
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8. Do I, in reliance on the Holy Spirit, strive to govern my temper, subdue my passion, and quell a spirit of fault-finding with my brethren and others around me? And is there in my tongue the law of kindness, and not of evil speaking or slander?
9. If I am a parent, are my children baptized-instructed in the truth, commended to God in prayer, and educated for eternity?
10. What proportion of my worldly property do I sanctify to the Lord? In what do I deny myself for the purpose of doing good ?
11. Do I feel any tender, practical concern for the salvation of sinners out of Christ? Am I faithful in counseling my impenitent friends to come to Christ ?
12. Am I interested in the Weekly Prayer Meeting of the church ; the Monthly Concert ; the Sabbath School? And do I sustain them by my presence, my influence, and my prayers ?
13. Do I realize that I am to live but once ?- That the character I form here, whether holy or sinful, will be mine for- ever ?- that the influence I am exerting, whether for good or for evil, will be felt when I am dead?
14. Do I aim so to live that I may be habitually ready for the coming of the Son of man ; and should I now be called to die, have I reason to believe that I should die in peace, and go to be forever with the Lord?
QUESTIONS FOR THOSE WHO CONTEMPLATE MAKING A
PUBLIC PROFESSION OF RELIGION.
1. You wish to profess religion -- Why ?
2. Are you a Christian ? What evidence satisfies you of it?
3. When you are admitted to the church, should this be the case, will you feel that your work is ended, or only just begun ? that you need more knowledge, more experience, more grace, more zeal; and is it your purpose steadily to aim at higher attainments in these particulars ?
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4. Are you cordially willing to cast in your lot with the people of God, to be a companion* of all them that fear him and keep his precepts ; and to be subject, in the Lord, to the oversight and discipline of his house ?
5. Do you desire to be useful in the cause of that blessed Redeemer, in whom you have hope ?
6. Do you realize that the act of profession is your own ? the responsibility of it yours? that to profess religion is one thing, and to possess it is another; and is it your desire not only to have the form, but the power of godliness ?
7. Have you any hearty and prayerful and practical desire for the salration of souls ?
8. Are you willing in any known respect, or whenever duty requires, to deny yourself for Christ's sake?
9. Do you expect to renounce the world as your portion, when you avouch the Lord in public?
10. Is it your highest desire and settled purpose to be holy and walk with God to the end of your life ?
11. Do you love Christians, as Christians? or because they love God and God loves them ?
12. Did you ever solemnly ponder the question, supposing you are a true disciple of the Saviour, Why did I ever become such, when others live and die in sin ?- Who maketh me to differ from another, and what have I that I did not receive ?
13. Do you cordially believe and love the great doctrines and duties of the Bible; and is it your earnest desire to grow in grace and in the knowledge of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ?
14. Do you at heart highly prize the love of Christ, the glory of God, and the progress of religion in the world ? And are you willing to devote your life, to the end of it, to the lionor and service of your Redeemer, and to the advancement of his cause on earth ?
* See Psalm cxix. 63.
RULES.
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I. ANNUAL MEETING AND CHOICE OF OFFICERS.
1. There shall be an annual meeting of the church on Fri- day preceding the first Sabbath in January, for devotional services, and the transaction of church business.
2. At each annual meeting, a clerk and treasurer shall be chosen for the ensuing year; and also a standing committee, consisting of the deacons and five other members.
3. It shall be the duty of the Standing Committee to assist the pastor in examining the qualifications of persons who may offer themselves as candidates for admission into the church. Also to aid in matters of discipline, and especially to bring before the church such cases, as in their opinion, may require its consideration.
II. ADMISSION OF MEMBERS.
1. Candidates for admission to the church by profession, shall be examined by the pastor and church committee, and publicly propounded two weeks previous to their admission, except in special cases, when they may be received on shorter notice.
2. Persons may be received by letter from other churches, by publicly reading their letter of recommendation, and stating that unless objection be made to the pastor or church commit- tee, within one week, the person shall be considered a member in regular standing :- their letters having been previously sub- mitted to the pastor and committee, and approved by them.
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3. Members from other churches not in communion with us, (and who decline to give letters of recommendation,) may be received as in other cases, on a certificate of their regular standing, and by assenting to our confession of faith and cove- nant; their certificate having been first approved by the church committee.
4. No member of a sister church shall be statedly invited to unite in our communion for a longer period than one year, without transferring his or her relation to this church ; unless good reasons shall be assigned for a longer delay, which reasons shall be approved by the pastor and church com- mittee.
III. DISMISSION OF MEMBERS.
1. Members of this church may be dismissed to other churches, by publicly stating to the church their application ; and that if no objection be made to the pastor or church com- mittee within one week, they will receive their letter of dismis- sion and recommendation; which letter, however, shall be valid for only one year from its date.
2. This church, adopting fully the principle of open or free communion, is ready, on due application, to dismiss its members to any evangelical church that adopts the same principle.
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