USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > New Canaan > Canaan parish, 1733-1933, being the story of the Congregational church of New Cannan, Connecticut > Part 15
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VIII. MEMBERSHIP
The committee believes that a definite movement should be instituted to enlist the more active support of Church members, both new and old. This should be directed towards securing regular attendance at the Sunday service and participation in the Church's organized activity.
IX. COOPERATION WITH THE OTHER CHURCHES OF NEW CANAAN
The Committee considers that this cooperation, in' as full a measure as can be obtained, is highly desirable. It feels that it is an avenue of Christian service that should be fully explored, and suggests that a committee of three, a sub-committee of the Board of Deacons, might with advantage be appointed to consult with the other churches and investigate how their united efforts could be brought to bear on particular problems. The field of parental guidance and the religious nurture of children in the home, appears to be one in which all the evangelical churches might cooperate with special advantage. A spirit of Christian unity is something that our church should do every- thing in its power to further.
X. FUTURE GOALS
1. The Committee wishes to record its opinion that the present educa- tional equipment of the Church is inadequate for its needs. It realizes that the times are not propitious for the immediate expenditure of a large sum of money for further building, but it hopes that plans for the future will include an up-to-date religious educational building with sufficient room and equipment for all departments.
2. The Committee believes that the time is not far distant when the Church should add to its staff a permanent full-time assistant to the pastor to
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take charge of religious educational work and the work with young people. Presented the Twentieth day of November, 1933.
(Signed) A. MERVYN DAVIES, Chairman. MAY ANNA STRATHIE, HARRIET C. HOYT, ANNIE M. BEHRE, CHARLOTTE TAYLOR HEYL, WM. E. PIPER, J. WILFORD ALLEN, IRENE ROGERS MILLER, ELIZABETH ROCKWELL MILLER, HELEN L. SCOFIELD, KATHARINE T. SMITH.
ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEES
In the planning and carrying out of this and other portions of the pro- gram of the anniversary observance, more than a hundred persons have served on various committees. Following are the names of these persons so far as they are on record. It must be stated, however, that many services were rendered by people whose names were never recorded as serving on any com- mittee, and in many instances by persons who chose to remain unknown.
Executive Committee :- Judge Stanley P. Mead, Chairman; Miss Marjorie Parkington, Sec .; Gardner Heath, Walter Stewart, Samuel C. Fairley, D. A. St. John, Miss Fanny Hoyt, Dr. J. W. Allen, Mrs. Thomas Tunney, Mrs. W. C. Wood, Mrs. George Kellogg, Edwin H. Bouton, Miss Isabel Strathie, Rev. Merrill F. Clarke, Minister; Wayne G. Miller, Associate.
Publicity Committee :- Wayne G. Miller, Chairman; Walter M. Terry, Samuel C. Fairley (Miss Mary Louise Hall, Alternate), Lawrence Offen, Miss Marjorie Parkington.
Committee on Historical Settings and Records :- Mrs. Thomas Tunney, Chairman; S. B. Hoyt, George Kellogg, Mrs. Charles H. Demeritt, Gardner Heath, Mrs. Samuel C. Fairley.
Committee on Church Nights :- Mr. and Mrs. George Kellogg, Chair- men; Mrs. W. E. Piper, R. F. Bryant, J. B. Bouck, Jr., Mrs. Percy Davenport. Committee on Memorial Tablets :- Mrs. M. F. Clarke, Mrs. W. C. Wood.
Committee on Religious Education :- Mrs. R. L. Thomsen, Chairman; A. Mervyn Davies, Miss Estelle Kellogg, Miss Eleanor B. Cantrell, Samuel C. Fair- ley, Mrs. Oliver Finch, Miss Ellen Gregory, Richard Weil, Edwin H. Bouton,
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Mrs. W. E. Piper, Miss Ruth Silliman, Mrs. Kenneth E. Walser, Mrs. Gordon C. Aymar, Mrs. Laurence Offen.
Committee on Youth in the Church :- Mrs. Wayne G. Miller, Chairman; Mrs. Loren J. Keyes, Mrs. Gordon C. Aymar, Edwin H. Bouton, Ernest .Urban, Lawrence Bauer, Miss Marjorie Parkington, Miss Elizabeth Piper, Miss Ellen Harriet Thomsen, Miss Ellen Gale, Miss Edna Barnes.
Committee on Goals and Programs :- A. Mervyn Davies, Chairman; Mrs. John Behre, Mrs. J. Howard Hoyt, Mrs. E. J. Smith, Miss Isabel Bouton, Wil- liam Urban, Mrs. W. W. Torrey, Dr. J. W. Allen, Mrs. E. O. Heyl, Mrs. Wayne G. Miller, Mrs. George Strathie, Mrs. John White, W. E. Piper, Mrs. William Eten, Mrs. Myron Miller.
Committee for Service to Aged and Shut-In Members :- Mrs. B. P. Mead, Chairman; Mrs. George Kellogg, Miss Helen Rogers, Miss Louise Mead, Mrs. Fred Rockwell.
Committee on the Observance of Community Sundays :- William Urban, Chairman; William E. Piper, Frank H. Rae, Miss Mary B. Quigg, Harry Offen, Isaac R. Nesbitt, Miss Ellen Gregory.
Committee on Special Gifts and Memorials :- Rev. M. F. Clark, W. R. J. Planten, Joseph M. Silliman, Walter Stewart, Mrs. W. C. Wood, Mrs. T. W. Hall, Mrs. J. B. Bouck, Jr., Mrs. F. G. H. Fayen.
Committee on Building Alterations :- Walter Stewart, Chairman; Roger Silliman, Mrs. E. O. Heyl, Stephen Hoyt, Mrs. C. H. Black.
Committee on Pageantry and Dramatics :- S. B. Hoyt, Chairman; Mrs. S. B. Hoyt, Mrs. George Kellogg, Miss Estelle Kellogg, Richard Weil, I. B. Woundy, Laurence Offen, Louis Rockwell, Mrs. George Strathie, Lawrence Perry, Mrs. L. E. Katzenbach, Miss Dorothy Stearns, Miss Grace Isabel Colbron, Walter M. Terry.
Committee on Dedication Sunday :- Dr. Thomas Tunney, Chairman; Thomas F. Rae, Clarence E. Bouton, Miss Louise Mead, Merle Brown, Mrs. D. A. St. John, Mrs. Mary Rogers, Miss Fanny Hoyt.
The deacons and deaconesses of the church have been constituted a com- mittee to conserve the values of the celebration and to adapt and work out the recommendations of the Committee on Youth in the Church, the Religious Education Committee and the Goals and Program Committee.
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THE CHURCH IN 1934 THE DEACONS SCRUTINIZE THE SPIRITUAL HEALTH OF THE CHURCH
It is right that, after we have been reviewing, yes, even re-living, the glorious history of our church in pageant and memorial, and included a play which dealt with present-day training of children and young people in Christian attitudes, a thoughtful person interested in the church should pause and say: "Your material progress through two centuries has been wonderful, something to be cherished and celebrated. But in fundamental spiritual growth and influence has the life of the church and its members kept pace?"
This it is the province of the Deacons to watch. The By-laws say of the Board of Deacons:
"A Board of Nine (9) Deacons, Three (3) to be elected each year to serve for three years, who shall have in charge the spiritual welfare of the Church."
The survey here offered, in the name of the Deacons, is an effort, incom- plete at many points, to answer this difficult question, and to speak as our privilege and duty require.
I.
EVIDENCE OF CONTINUING SPIRITUAL VITALITY
Reviewing the hardships, struggles and new conditions to face which are evident in the two centuries of this church, one is convinced that great spiritual power and vitality have stirred and impelled its growth. No organization based on material interests solely could have endured, nor have been the Christian influence in the lives of hundreds of members of which our history is the record. We come away from reviewing it convinced that the spiritual value of eternal truths must, to a large degree, have been the driving force in the life of our church. Through many changes in the intellectual climate, shifts in thought of the world without and of emphasis as to what constitutes the very heart of the Gospel, material advances which have altered home life as well as personal habits and attitudes, and a theological change from rigid Calvinism to "Beliefs commonly held by Modern Christians" (as the best summary of today's faith is entitled), something akin to the faith, hope and love which abide have been present here.
When the church began, it was supreme in the ordinary life of its mem- bers, in matters ranging from civic interests to the discipline of the individual.
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Every resident of Canaan Parish had to be a member of our church, and at least support it by paying taxes. Community sentiment as well as the rules prac- tically forced him to attend its services. The meeting-house was for assemblies which laid the tax and discussed parish improvements, as well as for divine worship. In a real sense, the pastor of the church was the absolute leader of the parish, in things temporal as well as spiritual.
This "theocratic government" was altered by the beginnings of other groups worshiping under other than the congregational system, and ended with the incorporation of the town (1801). The chuch, now dependent on the voluntary gifts of its members, met the great change without disaster. The teaching, both as a result of this withdrawal from civic powers, and as a re- flection of then current emphasis, seemed to concern itself almost entirely with the individual life of its members. Salvation of the individual, the right belief and spiritual growth of each one, were the major concerns, as all were taught to think of their lives as brief interludes here, the gift of a sovereign and stern God, before the realities of a very bright heaven or a darksome hell. Sinners all, unable to fathom the mysteries of divine "election," as concerned them, they could only believe and hope. Nonetheless, they adhered to a lofty ethical code, and the added virtues of thrift and hard work, although nothing they did could alter the divine decree which had settled their future world. One under- stands how the gentler Methodist teaching of the grace of God fell on grateful ears, and withdrew many to that group.
II. "CHRISTIAN PIETY" AT ITS BEST
This period, when the church here and elsewhere was disposed to keep within itself, to distinguish between the worldly and the unworldly, and to mind very strictly the things of God, leaving alone the things that were Caesar's, produced a high order of individual character and of spiritual beauty. It was "Christian piety" at its best, and did not soon die out. All of us can recall Christian personalities here of strength and winsomeness, great lives lived with- in small surroundings and worldly limitations, but wonderful witnesses to the power of spiritual things. They were nourished and guided and inspired by the saintly example and gracious leadership of men in our pulpit, whom we have honored in this celebration, with the thought in our minds that there must have been spiritual strength in the pulpit to develop it in the pew.
III.
A WIDENING TASK FOR THE CHURCH
Changes of thought and emphasis, however, in Protestant teaching have been many and rapid since the "Great Awakening" of 1826. Sermons of our O
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pastors which have been preserved show that all were scholarly enough to know what Darwin meant, when he appeared, and "the higher criticism," and the scientific understanding of the world about us. When at the end of the 19th century a new sense of concern for the conditions of other people's lives was felt, this too was seen to have its basis in the teaching and life of the New Testament. It was plain that a fine and beautiful individual life of the spirit is not enough, but that it must, as the Master said, show itself in good works. Personal goodness was seen to include not only personal integrity, and church loyalty, but business relations, as employer and employe, and the spirit and attitudes toward one another fostered and developed in the church must be taken out into the manifold ways of man's life, the community, the state and nation of which he is a part.
The growth of this emphasis may be traced by comparing the sermons of the Rev. Robert Silliman, Rev. Justus Mitchell, Doctor Hoyt and the present pastor. In no sense is the present "social emphasis" exclusive. We believe no less than our fathers in the necessity and beauty of a deep spiritual life for each individual member of the church. We hold that this "new" emphasis comes only as a fruit of the abiding Christian experience of God in Christ. And we hope that the church today, enriched by having just called to remembrance its history and the memory of saintly individuals developed within the walls of its three houses of worship, is meeting the challenge of the present in the ministry of service which it is rendering both here and in its notable share in the world- wide task of the Kingdom. We devoutly hope that, as the times call for Christ- like lives as never before, we are keeping open here the channel to the Power which develops them. In an ever more complex world, we feel the demand that such should be lives of influence. The Kingdom of God for which Jesus stood, and preached and lived, must, we feel, be realized more effectively now, so that the things He hated,-injustice, selfishness and self-seeking, oppression of the poor and weak by the rich and powerful, misery, crime and war,-may be banished. This is our prayer and purpose for both individuals and the family of men.
IV. LOSSES AND GAINS
We who hold this purpose today never knew any other kind of church than that composed of voluntary membership. Yet in a survey of two hun- dred years, we are reminded that for nearly seventy-five, everybody had to belong to the church. William Drummond's "Visitation Record" (printed in this book) lists everybody in Canaan Parish as a person on whom he called as pastor, even though some were Church of England members. Today there are two other Protestant churches, a Roman Catholic and a Christian Science Society, as well as an African Methodist Mission. And the total Church mem-
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bership of all five does not equal the population. We live in a day of indifference among many to organized religion.
Such a shift throws a new light on our present task and situation. It means that there is a constant watchfulness to gather in new voluntary mem- bers. New Canaan has become the home of many former members of churches in New York and elsewhere. From these families, who have known Congre- gational or Presbyterian church life, many of our finest newer members are drawn. Others who were confirmed in European churches like the Lutheran and Reformed have added strength. Young people, trained in our Church School, are often from families without more than nominal church connection. These have become members of the church. And several of our active mem- bers live at some distance in neighboring towns, able to attend the services because of the quick automobile transportation.
But to realize that only a percentage of the population is connected with any church intensifies our task as regards our community. To establish and maintain the high standards we feel should prevail where we live, means great seriousness of purpose for active members. A natural expression of the ideals in which we have been nourished is in civic responsibility. It remains true today as formerly that church membership fosters consciousness of duties as citizens. The list of our own members holding public office in town and State is notable.
Behind this participation, and the ideals of our home life, we feel sure that there are spiritual power and growth. Such concerns of the spirit cannot be measured categorically or by any definite system. They are essentially quiet, very personal, often unappreciated forces. But we would point to certain ex- pressions of conviction which have been put into words. "The Aim and Purpose of this Church" was the topic of brief statements made by fifteen of our members three years ago, in response to a request by the pastor. They presented a varied but vivid picture of our church, what it meant to its mem- bers, and what they hoped it might become more fully. (The statements have prompted wide comment from other churches, and were printed last year in "The Congregationalist" now the "Advance.") The faithful service of many in our Church School and the church societies attests the attitude of many. The formation of new groups as our numbers grow, for special service, and of a strong new Young People's Department, and the enlargement of the women's work about to take place, all signify much.
We are happy to record the whole-hearted participation of our member- ship in this anniversary celebration, and the sustained interest throughout its program. Serious work has also come out of it, especially the study and re- ports of some of the committees, like that on work for the young people, and on "Goals and Aims." (These are printed in this book.) We see in them evidences of deep spiritual insight, and feel that they are admirable expressions
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of our spiritual aims and purposes at this period. The Board of Deacons urges a careful study of both.
V. "Go FORWARD"
Gratefully recognizing the service of many in our church program, we must, on the other side, be honest and admit that at times there is a tendency to let a few carry the burden. Too often many of us are apt to think of our Sunday service as a service of worship and sermon for which minister and choir are solely responsible, and to leave the spirit and purpose of the worship solely to them. Thus we lose sight of the spiritual fact that worship, its mood and its ministry, depends on the participation of us all, when we set ourselves to the common engagement of seeking God in music and prayer and meditation. We must confess that there are opportunities for service with the young mem- bers of our congregation which are being neglected, and which cry out for direction by consecrated leadership of older members. And we must also agree, to our shame, that in the face of community demands for right and bold action, we are too often indifferent and cold. We accept as inevitable condi- tions which, if we were all fired with the true New Testament spirit, we should never tolerate nor condone.
So we must conclude that we cannot answer the question yes or no, as to whether our spiritual growth and influence as a church have kept pace with our material progress. At times we are on the road with the Master, and again we lag badly. Yet it is a very hopeful sign that in a commemoration and celebration such as we have just had, we have not glorified in the past alone, but have honestly asked ourselves-and constantly throughout our anniversary -if we are measuring up, not only to our past and to the record of those who have gone before us, but to what Jesus Christ has a right to expect of us in this day and generation.
"Only speak to the children of Israel, that they GO FORWARD."
The Board of Deacons.
ACTION RESULTING FROM THE REPORT OF THE ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE ON YOUTH IN THE CHURCH
Participation in the anniversary observance by the younger members of the congregation, particularly those of high school age, was encouraged through the appointment of a special committee to consider the program of the church as it applied to this particular group. This committee, whose members are listed elsewhere, studied not only the existing church program for youth, but the work being done with young people in other churches. Back of the report as presented by the committee was a great deal of constructive work and careful study of the aims of the church in its work with youth, and of the methods best adapted to realize those aims.
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YOUNG PEOPLE'S DEPARTMENT
Reading from left to right, rear row: Letitia Roche, Helen Cable, Marjorie DeNike, Ellen Harriet Thomsen, Mary Jane Lewis, Helene Bach, Mrs. Ethel Finch, Hilda Orpet, Miss Ellen Gregory, Margaret Wylie, Harry Thomas, Florence Rieble, Edith Roche, Miss Ruth Silliman; middle row: Allan Wylie, Albert Orpet, Betty Henry, Irene Smilancsky, Helen Davenport, Edward Bickford, Harold Mead, jr., Raymond Tilly, Marian Sisco, Norman Littel, William Wylie; front row: Donald G. Bridgman, Wayne G. Miller, Nancy Lewis, Vincent Tibbals, Helen Ritzo, Verdin Cantrell, Ellen Gale, Howard Streychmans, Myron Keyes, James Bickford, William Holiday.
Pursuant to the recommendations made by the committee on Youth and the Church, the young people's work was reorganized into a Young People's Department of the church which should include all activities of the congre- gation for high school youth. This department in its first year stressed wor- ship and the building of worship and activities programs by the young people themselves. It met as one of the departments of the church school on Sunday mornings, and held its separate service on Sunday evenings. Its first officers were William Wylie, Jr., President; Miss Edna Barnes, Vice-President; Miss Helen Davenport, secretary, and Richard Weil, Treasurer.
At the annual meeting of the church, in October, the Rev. Merrill Fowler Clarke announced the appointment of Wayne G. Miller as part-time employed director of young people's work for the church. This addition to the staff was made possible through an anonymous gift to the church for this purpose by two members of the congregation. Mr. Miller assumed his new duties on November 1, working under the direction of a committee on Young People's Work appointed by the Deacons. The first members of this committee were :-
W. E. Piper, Deacon, Mrs. Paul Halstead, Mrs. Gordon C. Aymar, Donald G. Bridgman,
Frank Rae, Barbara Stearns, Ruth Becket, William Wylie, Jr.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES BY GEORGE E. KELLOGG, Church Clerk
In the early years of this church there was no Board of Trustees. The church was organized into what was called "The Church Society" and "The Societies Committee" was the operating unit, somewhat as our present Board of Trustees is today. During the first hundred years or more, most of their work consisted in the mere upkeep of the property. Very little money was available and not much was needed, there were no "trust funds" of the church to be looked after, and the minister received the only salary paid which was a very small sum as we measure today. The actual material upkeep of the church property was done voluntarily by the members themselves. When benches needed repairing, steps fixed, or door squeaks silenced, some member or members came forward to do the work as their contribution toward having a meeting house. There were no stoves to eat coal, no carpets to wear out, no paint to be renewed, and no plumbing to be repaired. The duties of the Societies Committee were comparatively simple.
This condition prevailed without very much change during the life of the first and second church buildings. However when the present building was erected, more modern equipment came into use. Stoves were installed, oil lamps used for lighting, and comfortably cushioned pews placed for use in- stead of the old hard wooden benches. The Societies Committee then had more things to attend to. More money had to be raised, for expenses began to mount. It became necessary to hire a sexton to keep the larger building in good order and to look after the property. The records of the Society back in the early days are very meager and we can only conjecture what the committee's duties actually consisted of, but no doubt they had problems about the management of the church property which were just as serious to them as many present day problems are to our Board of Trustees.
In the year 1902 this church was incorporated under the laws of Connec- ticut as "The Congregational Church of New Canaan" and the Church Society passed into history. The business of the church since that time has been in the charge of a Board of Trustees consisting of six members. These members are elected at the annual church meeting, two each year, to serve for a term of three years and are not immediately reappointable. The duties of the Board of Trustees as defined by the by-laws of the church read as follows:
"The board of trustees shall have charge of the financial affairs of the church. They shall have the care of all property of the church, real and personal, except such moneys as may be contributed for charitable and benevolent purposes; they shall certify all bills and turn the same over to the Treasurer for payment, but shall have no authority to buy, sell or transfer, or mortgage, any real estate with- out the same first being submitted to the church for approval. The
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board of trustees shall make and present to the church at the annual meeting, a budget of the probable-and extraordinary expenses re- quired for the ensuing year, and of the probable income. Should a deficit occur during the year they shall take such action as they deem best to promptly provide for meeting such deficit."
Previous to 1923 the chief source of income of this church was the renting of pews. At first a yearly auction was held by the Societies Committee and those bidding the highest had possession of the pew they selected, for the ensuing year. Pews in certain sections of the church, being more desirable than others, brought a higher bid. This system brought about much hard feeling among the church members, and was later changed so that a fixed sum was placed as the value of each pew. When desired, each pew was rerented to the holders of the previous year. This did away with all competition and pre- vented considerable ill will. In 1923 the renting of pews was discontinued entirely and they were made free to all.
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