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THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST IN NEW LONDON THREE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 1642 - 1942
Presented by THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, NEW LONDON 10
Mr. & Mrs. Clark Bennett
Upon being received into membership June 6, 1954
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01290 1440
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GENEALOGY 974.602 N42LA
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019
https://archive.org/details/firstchurchofchr00laub
"I shall call that my country where I may most glorify God, and enjoy the presence of my dearest friends." John Winthrop, Jr. on the eve of his departure for New England 1631.
THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST IN NEW LONDON THREE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY MAY 10, 17, 31 AND OCTOBER 11, 1942
1642
1942
Edited by PAUL F. LAUBENSTEIN
NEW LONDON, CONN. 1946
Published by The First Church of Christ, New London and printed at the press of The New London Printing Co. New London, Conn.
Foreword
THREE HUNDRED YEARS IS A COMPARATIVELY SHORT TIME IN THE history of the Christian Church but it is a long time in this young country and for that reason we could not allow our Church, with its distinguished pastorate and close association with the formation of the town of New London and the Colonial government of Connecticut, to pass such an anniversary without some recognition of the event.
The demands and restrictions of wartime, unfortunately, made it impossible to celebrate the occasion with those features which in normal times might have been undertaken; therefore, the Committee regretfully decided not to attempt more than the modest program set forth in this booklet.
While herein are recorded the names of the officers and ministers of the Church over the many years of its existence, together with a sketch of its history, there would be no Church today without the devo- tion and self-sacrifice of those innumerable members of both the Church and congregation whose names do not appear. To them we owe a debt of gratitude for the magnificent inheritance which has come down to us in property, example, and spiritual background upon which to build an even greater institution for future generations to carry on.
Although each member of the Committee actively participated in planning and supervising the activities of the celebration, we are par- ticularly indebted to Professor Paul F. Laubenstein who so freely gave of his time and ability in the preparation of this memorial booklet, and to the guidance and enthusiasm of our pastor, George Avery Neeld.
Nathan Belcher Chairman, General Committee
iii
TERCENTENARY COMMITTEES
General Committee: Nathan Belcher, Chairman
Miss Louise Allyn
Miss Elizabeth Hislop Arthur L. Hjortland
Paul F. Laubenstein
Committee for the Reception and Dinner held at the Parish House May 10 at 6 p. m .:
Miss Elizabeth A. Hislop, Chairman Mrs. Charles Prentis, Jr.
Mrs. George A. Neeld
Mrs. Nathan Belcher
Mrs. Ralph P. Smith
Mrs. Graham S. Hislop
Miss Elizabeth Sweet
Mrs. Arthur L. Hjortland
Mrs. C. Harrison Whittemore
Committee on Decorating Parish House for the Reception: Miss Florence Gardner, assisted by Mrs. Henry C. Chappell and Mrs. Allen B. Lambdin
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(Photo by Howard W. Fisk-1942)
THE EXTERIOR OF THE MEETING HOUSE - BUILT 1850.
MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH 1642-1942
1. Richard Blinman, 1642-1658-non-conformist Puritan clergyman of Chep- stowe, Monmouthshire; fled to America with a band of Welsh followers in 1640, during persecutions under Charles I and Archbishop Laud; settled first in Marshfield, Mass., then moved to Gloucester, thence (1651) to New London with his church, here continued as the First Church of Christ in New London; for 75 years the town church. Five of Blinman's letters to Increase Mather have been preserved.
2. Gershom Bulkeley, 1661-1665-son of Peter Bulkeley, first minister and chief founder of Concord, Mass .; son-in-law of President Charles Chauncey of Harvard; author of Will and Doom. (Never ordained as pastor of the church.)
3. Simon Bradstreet, 1666-1683-second son of Gov. Simon Bradstreet of Mass. Three of his letters to Increase Mather have been preserved.
4. Gurdon Saltonstall, 1691-1708-succeeded FitzJohn Winthrop as governor of the state. Cotton Mather, son of Increase, preached his funeral sermon.
5. Eliphalet Adams, 1708-1753-offered presidency of Yale College 1724; socius of the college.
6. Mather Byles, Jr., 1757-1768-son of Mather Byles of Boston and great grandson of Increase Mather.
7. Ephraim Woodbridge, 1769-1776-vigorous opponent of the Half-way Cov- enant.
Interim-Revolutionary War Period-1776-1787.
8. Henry Channing, 1787-1806-uncle of William Ellery Channing, founder of American Unitarianism, the direction of whose thinking he greatly influenced.
9. Abel McEwen, 1806-1860-Scotch Covenanter; longest ministry; a socius of Yale; Timothy Dwight, famous president of Yale, preached his ordina- tion sermon.
10. Thomas P. Field, 1860-1876-eloquent Civil War minister, under whose pastorate the church received its present name. Associate pastor, 1856-1860.
11. Edward Woolsey Bacon, 1877-1886-scholarly preacher; able minister.
12. S. Leroy Blake, 1887-1902-wrote the history of the church in 2 vols., The Separates, and The Book.
13. J. Romeyn Danforth, 1903-1940-poetic preacher, beloved by both church and community.
14. George Avery Neeld, 1941-born of missionary parents in India; mature Christian thinker.
vi
(H.W.F.)
GEORGE AVERY NEELD
(H. W.F.)
THE INTERIOR OF THE MEETING HOUSE - 1942.
CONTENTS
Page
Foreword by Judge Nathan Belcher iii
Tercentenary Committees iv
Ministers of the Church (1642-1942) vi
Exercises Commemorating the Tercentenary 1-70
May 10, 1942 at 10:45 A. M. Service of Worship . 2
Prayer by the Rev. Nicholas Shepler 4
Sermon by the Rev. George Avery Neeld, "God of Our Fathers, Known of Old" 6
May 10, 1942 at 6 P. M. Reception and Dinner 24
May 10, 1942 at 8 P. M. Service of Worship . 26
Tercentenary Address by Lieutenant-Governor Odell Shepard 29
May 17, 1942 at 3 P. M. Clinic for Church School Workers 39
May 31, 1942 at 10:45 A. M. Service of Worship . 40
October 11, 1942 at 10:45 A. M. Service of Worship 42
Address by Paul F. Laubenstein, "The First Church of Christ in New London - Ten Topical Tableaux" 44
Officers and Organizations of the Church, May 1942 . 71
Brief Sketch of the First Church of Christ in New London, by Paul F. Laubenstein 75
Nubes Testium 1642-1942 100
The Church's Communion Service 1699-1819 107
List of Church Members, May 1942
Compiled and Revised by Elsie DeWitt 109
ix
(H.W.F.)
PARISH HOUSE - BUILT 1881
Exercises Commemorating the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Founding of the Church
The First Church of Christ in New London
1642
1942
THE TERCENTENARY CELEBRATION (1642-1942)
SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 10, 1942 AT 10:45
ORDER OF SERVICE
PRELUDE: Choral Prelude on Tune "St. Anne"-
"Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" . T. Tertius Noble
CHORAL INVOCATION Burnell
Surely the Lord is in this place. This is none other than the House of God, and this is the gate of Heav'n. Surely the Lord is in this place.
DOXOLOGY (Standing)
INVOCATION AND LORD'S PRAYER (Seated)
ANTHEM: "O Hear Thou from Heaven" from "Gloria Domini" Noble And all the people shouted with a great shout, Praise ye the Lord! Because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. And the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built a house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever. Behold, heav'n and the heav'n of heav'ns cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! O Lord my God, hearken unto the cry and the prayer of thy servant which prayeth unto thee. O hear thou from heav'n thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgive. O Lord God, thou that knowest the hearts of all the children of men, if any man prayeth unto thee for the sin of his own heart, and spreadeth forth his hands to this place, do thou hearken to his cry, and forgive. Make him a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within him. Cast him not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from him. Forgive, forgive.
RESPONSIVE READING: No. 37, page 43 * HYMN 442: The Church's One Foundation
SCRIPTURE LESSON: Deuteronomy, Chapter 8
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Three Hundredth Anniversary
ANTHEM: "Blow Ye the Trumpet in Zion" Woodman Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; sing aloud unto God our strength. Take a psalm, and blow ye the trumpet in the time appointed, on our solemn feast-day. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion. O remember the days of old, and consider the years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he will show thee; ask thy elders, and they will tell thee what works were done in their days. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what works Thou didst in their days, in the times of old. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness! Oh, that men would praise the Lord for all His goodness! Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towns thereof, mark ye well her bulwarks, that ye may tell it to the gen- erations following.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him, all creatures here below, Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER: The Reverend Nicholas Shepler
ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERTORY: "Inner Vision"
Adolphe Coerne
HYMN 447: I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
SERMON: "God of Our Fathers, Known of Old." Joshua 14:12 The Rev. George Avery Neeld
PRAYER
HYMN 443: A Mighty Fortress is Our God
BENEDICTION (Standing)
CHORAL RESPONSE
POSTLUDE: "A. D. 1620"
MacDowell
* The hymnal used in the Tercentenary services of worship was Hymns for the Living Age.
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The First Church of Christ in New London
Tercentenary Prayer by THE REV. NICHOLAS SHEPLER
Offered at the Morning Service, May 10, 1942.
O LORD, OUR LORD, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations gone by. Thou hast loved us with a great love and with cords of loving kindness Thou art continually drawing us unto Thyself.
We thank Thee for the founding and for the birthday of the Church. We thank Thee that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for It. We pray that we too may love the Church and give ourselves in sacrificial love and devotion to the Church.
We thank Thee for the tremendous power and influence of the Church down across the centuries. We rejoice that in the Dark Ages, it was the Church of the Living God that kept burning the sacred flame of love and truth and devotion in the heart of mankind.
We thank Thee for the 300th Anniversary of this old historic Church. We praise Thee for her great influence upon the life of our City and upon our State and our Nation.
O God, our Father, we praise Thee for the great and noble hearted men, who have stood in this pulpit and proclaimed Thy living truth. We praise Thee for the life and the marvelous ministry of him, who served here so long and who recently left us to be with Thee. May the sacred memory of his life linger long as a holy benediction in our souls. We know, O God, that our lives are richer, deeper and fuller because of the touch of his gracious spirit upon us.
We thank Thee for him who now ministers here to our souls. We pray, our Father, that the Church under his guidance and leadership may move forward and march on to new heights of spiritual triumphs and victories, make new spiritual conquests and attain new spiritual achievements.
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We bless Thy name, O God, for our fathers, who have wrought so nobly and given us this beautiful sanctuary in which to worship Thee in the beauty of holiness. May we enter humbly into the fruits of their labors and strive to maintain the beauty of this sanctuary.
O God, our Father, on this Mother's Day, we thank Thee for our mothers. We know that we are largely what we are because of mother's love and influence and the gentle touch of her kindly spirit upon us. If our mother is still with us, may we express to her our deep love and sincere gratitude for all that she has meant to us thru the years. If our mother has left us and gone into the great beyond, we pray that the memory of her sweet life may be a constant source of strength, and courage and inspiration to us.
Great God and Father of mankind, be with our boys wherever they are - whether on land or on the sea or in the air. May we know that they are fighting for our freedom and for our American way of life.
Bless our President and those who are associated with him. Grant unto him wisdom and strength and power and guidance from on high. Bless and fortify the United Nations, who today are battling for free- dom and justice and righteousness. Grant unto them victory so that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Stay the hand of the aggressor. Bring confusion within his ranks. Defeat his evil purposes, and bring in Thine own time, a lasting and endurable peace upon the earth for all mankind.
Lead us, guide us and direct us by Thy Spirit in all our ways. Bless this day to our highest spiritual good. Thru Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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The First Church of Christ in New London
GOD OF OUR FATHERS, KNOWN OF OLD JOSHUA 14:12
"Now therefore, give me this mountain"
Tercentenary Sermon delivered by the Rev. Mr. Neeld at the Morning Service, May 10, 1942
THESE WORDS OF CALEB are a fitting introduction to my sermon this morning when we are beginning the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of our church. The history of such an institution as the First Church of Christ in New London has real meaning and significance only when it reveals to us the evolution of fundamental principles and the events growing out of them as a preparation for confronting the future. History is an insight into a living process and not simply a chronicle of past events. Such a con- sideration of our church's history is especially important today because our country is at war, radical changes and new departures are under way with unprecedented rapidity and people everywhere are apprehen- sive as to the character of the civilization toward which the world is moving. What are the outstanding objectives for which we should strive in the spirit of Caleb who, as he looked into the future, said, after the forty years of wandering in the wilderness as a leader in probably the greatest spiritual movement of antiquity, "Now therefore, give me this mountain?" This morning, then, I shall invite your atten- tion in the first part of my sermon, to the history of the First Church; and in the second part, I shall endeavor to show the direction toward which that history points for the future.
We shall not make headway in the development of such a theme unless we can see the place of our church in its relation to the history of the Puritan Revolution which has been, and still is, the greatest moral and spiritual movement in the annals of human affairs. We are living in an age when the word Puritanism is associated with things we abhor. There is a widespread belief that Puritanism is dead and that Mr. George Santayana, with dignity and grace, pronounced the last
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rites upon it in his book, "The Last Puritan." We shall never emerge from the fogs of contemporary ignorance upon this subject unless we take a look at the Puritan Revolution in the historical perspective in which it is set.
Puritanism emerged at a time when the historic Church of Christ was in need of a new birth of freedom. The Christian Church of the Middle Ages initiated by Pope Gregory VII, Hildebrand, was carried to a climax in the thirteenth century, which Belloc calls the greatest of centuries. After the thirteenth century the church fell on evil days. It became corrupt and the Babylonian Exile and Schism of the Papacy were the result. After the healing of the papal schism at the Council of Constance, European society entered the era of the Renaissance, when political despotism spread throughout the municipalities of Italy and a despot occupied the throne of every nation which had emerged from feudalism during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when nationalism began to supercede the Christian ideal of a universal church and a universal Empire. Nationalism was securely established in Europe upon a Christian basis, at the time of the Protestant Reformation; but to insure the success of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther supported the dogma of the divine right of kings, which pointed toward the establishment of many political despotisms over the Christian reli- gion instead of one despotism such as existed before the days of Gregory VII, who as I have previously said, liberated the church from the overlordship of the empire.
These were the conditions, in brief, which prevailed in western civilization when John Calvin went to Geneva in the Alps, a city about fifteen or twenty thousand population which later became a member of the Swiss Confederation. John Calvin initiated the movement which came to be known as the Puritan Revolution. Martin Luther was the leader in starting the reformation which nationalized the Church by subordinating it to the control of the State; John Calvin was the leader who carried the work of Luther to its consummation by international- izing both Church and State and thus he created the epoch of universal Christian freedom. The Christian Church of the Middle Ages and Puritanism are both universal concepts of a world Christianity, the former was founded on the belief that the World Christian Order was to be a universal Church, the latter that it was to be a universal State.
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The First Church of Christ in New London
Those who devote so much time to the critical denunciation of Calvin for his part in the execution of Servetus, his despotic rule in Geneva, his austere character and his theological system, to which I shall revert later, have failed to see that the spirit of Calvinism was a living organism capable of constant change and revision but fundamentally indestructible in its real character. Calvin did not write the "Institutes of the Christian Religion" with the idea that he was stating the religious principles of a new sect, but with the conviction that he was affirming the fundamental tenets of a world Christianity. This is evident both from the contents of his treatise and the history of the Calvinistic movement in the world. This is no place for me to enter upon an extended discussion of the spread of Calvinism in Europe and America. The facts are too well known. Suffice it to say that Geneva became the center where Christian preachers from various countries came under the spell of the great international prophet and after receiving inspira- tion and instruction from him (went to France, Germany, Holland, England and Scotland where they) started the Huguenot movement in France, the Reformed movement in Germany and Holland and down the Rhine, established the church of Scotland and inaugurated the Puritan Revolution in England which eventually liberated the British Isles from the autocracy of the Stuart dynasty. Not the least important of these movements were the exoduses from Old England to New England where the Puritans established a theocracy in Massachusetts, which was a replica of the Geneva commonwealth in the days of Calvin. It was in one of these migrations of men and women who sought a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, that Richard Blinman, the founder of the First Church of Christ in New London came to Gloucester, Massachusetts, where our church was born.
"Institutions," someone has said, "are the lengthened shadows of great men." Dr. Blake says in his "Early History of the First Church," "Whatever else we may say, or think, we shall be obliged to admit that much of what we prize today is directly due to the men who laid the foundations." The four most important men during the earliest years of our church's history were Richard Blinman, John Winthrop, Jr., FitzJohn Winthrop, his son and Gurdon Saltonstall, the fourth pastor of the church. These four men each had a personality of his own; but they all agreed upon certain Christian principles for which
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they clearly and forcibly stood and from these principles the church has not deviated in any important way during the three hundred years of its history. Many changes have been made in the theology of the church due to the progress of science and the historic enlargement of Christian experience in the world, but these alterations have affected the external, intellectual framework of theology constructed under the limitations of the knowledge and experience of this day more than the fundamental, spiritual ideals upon which Puritanism was founded. These ideals and policies of the First Church of Christ in New London may be stated under five heads.
First of all, the spirit of religious toleration has been remarkable. What Dr. Blake said of John Winthrop, Jr. is substantially true of all the earliest founders of our church. He says, "John Winthrop, Jr. was a Puritan; but his Puritanism was not of the severe type. Witches and Quakers and Ann Hutchinson were summarily dealt with in Massachu- setts. But it is not on record that the first settlers of Connecticut or of New London, ever lifted the hand of persecution against a single person because of his religious beliefs. People were punished severely for breaking the laws but they were not put to torture for holding their convictions." We pride ourselves upon the fact that the first service of the Roman Catholic Church in New London was conducted in the First Church; that our ancestors did not lift the hand of persecution against the Episcopalians or Baptists, or any other Christian group when they established their churches in New London; that our church has created four branches which today are autonomous, independent Congrega- tional institutions; and that our forebears were strong enough to main- tain a rational, tolerant position when confronted with the loss of members whether individually or collectively, as in the case of the Rogerene Movement. Those who maintain that this movement did much to open the way for religious freedom in New London have failed to take into consideration the fact that its effect on the principles and policies of the First Church was negligible. Our church continued the policy of toleration after the Rogerenes ceased to be a nuisance in the same way as they did before this disturbance began.
Perhaps the most outstanding incident in First Church history in which this attitude of conservatism and toleration was shown was at the time of the Unitarian controversy which divided the Congregational
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The First Church of Christ in New London
churches in Eastern Massachusetts, captured Harvard University and was kept out of Connecticut only after a bitter contest. At the close of the Revolutionary War, Dr. Henry Channing was called to the pas- torate of the First Church, a position which he occupied for nineteen years. He was a Unitarian and the uncle of William Ellery Channing who, it is believed, received his early instruction and inspiration in Unitarianism in the Manse of the First Church. Later he became the outstanding leader of Unitarianism in New England and America.
At the council convened for the purpose of separating William Ellery Channing to the pastoral office of the Federal Street Church in Boston, the First Church of Christ in New London was represented by Dr. Henry Channing, its pastor and Mr. Jedediah Huntington, a deacon. Dr. Blake says that Dr. Channing was not asked to resign his position as pastor of our church, in spite of his Unitarianism at a time when it was a burning issue, but, adds that the records do not show that there were any converts.
There are those who say that the First Church of Christ has not made any significant contributions to the religious life of Connecticut. What is doubtless meant by this criticism is that our church has not been strongly evangelistic nor has it participated wholeheartedly in such movements as the Saybrook Platform, the Great Awakening, or opposition to Unitarianism. It would seem, however, that as we review the transient, ephemeral, not to say in some cases the unfortunate results of certain religious movements, in which our church has declined to participate, its reasons for doing so have been in most cases amply justified. It is high credit that our ancestors were guided by the law of reason which led them into tolerant, humane courses of action which necessitated a minimum of retraction. Such an attitude deserves to be accorded the highest position in the church councils of the modern age, an age which is given even more than the past to vagrant, emotional enthusiasms and cults with dubious intellectual foundations. The First Church of Christ has been an outstanding example of a conservative, tolerant, humane and steady type of Christian experience in Connecticut and the world.
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