USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > East Windsor > East Windsor heritage; two hundred years of church and community history, 1752-1952 > Part 6
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Lemuel Stoughton, Sr., records that as late as the last decade of Rev. Shubael Bartlett's pasorate "most people walked to Church." That was true of members living on The Street, or in the Allen District (now Station Nine and northward) or on Rye Street as it was of those close by the meetinghouse. In the late spring and summer children, all dressed in their Sunday best, usually walked barefooted, carrying their stockings and shoes. The brook north of the former white school, Scantic River, and possibly other small streams of ponds nearby were used for washing the children's feet before struggling into stockings and shoes and enduring the final brushing up for proper appearance at divine worship.
Parents and older people, or at least the more affluent ones, rode horseback, the ladies mounted on pillions. Deacon A. S. Roe recalls in his history seeing the old horse blocks on the hill from Scantic River to Pros- pect Street, now miscalled Rye Street. At these the riders dismounted or mounted, as the case might be, for the hill was too steep for the comfort and safety of the riders and the strength of the horses. Under these cir- cumstances attending morning and afternoon services was certainly more than a matter of an hour and a half as it is today. It was an all day pro- position. No wonder there was need for the small house the Society erected near Mr. Howard Barber's residence where the women could change their clothes and replenish the coals in their foot warmers. There, too, probably the faithful housewives distributed sandwiches made for the most part from home-grown products. But church-going was no picnic, it was the all-im- portant duty on the Sabbath.
The census of 1820 listed sixty-six carriages for the town of East Windsor, then including the present South Windsor. For the most part these were the two-wheel chaise or "one-hoss" chaise made immortal in
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Oliver Wendell Holmes' "The Deacon's Masterpiece." But twenty years later the Rev. Shubael Bartlett noted in his dairy that he had taken his chaise to a carriage maker at East Windsor Hill to have it built into a four- wheel wagon "for the greater comfort and convenience of my family." It was in the decade of the Forties that transportation by horse and wagon, although the Concord Buggy and the surrey with the fringe on top were still in the future, relieved what at times must have been the aching feet and tired limbs of the foot travelers. In terms of centuries modern trans- portation is in its infancy.
Scantic River Bridge near Osborn's Mill. Erected 1842. Replaced 1928.
Yet time long ago overtook and made antiquated some forms of transportation. The earliest settlers from Windsor to cross the Great River to the fertile meadows and uplands in East Windsor used boats and rafts. They soon established the ferry, Bissell's Ferry it was as long as it oper- ated. The General Court granted a charter for the first ferry in 1648, its eastern terminal being at the point later known as the Quarry Wharf. The approach to this landing was between two islands, long since victims of Connecticut River floods. The General Court in all its grants of rights for ferries, was particular to set the rates to be charged and frequently speci- fied the hours that the ferry should be available. Today's policy of state regulation of public utilities is certainly of ancient precedence. Prior to 1667 the Connecticut River ferry was relocated at the mouth of the Scantic River where it was in use until about fifty years ago. Also, for ten years immediately following the changed location the ferry was municipally operated showing, too, that the public operation of public utilities pre-
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dates the present. The Warehouse Point-Windsor Locks ferry was estab- lished in 1782 and operated for about a century. Lemuel Stoughton, Sr., re- lates that stone from his wharf at Quarry Wharf was removed and taken by boat upstream for the piers and abuttments of the suspension bridge which was removed in 1921.
The Connecticut River, however, was something other than a hin- drance to communication between the inhabitants of Windsor and East Windsor. Before the coming of the railroad it carried passengers and commerce. From 1826 to 1842 two lines carried passengers between Hart- ford and Springfield. Charles Dickens wrote a delightful description of his trip down the River on the Phoenix in 1842. In the same year Rev. Shu- bael Bartlett reports trips to Hartford on the boat, the landing being at the mouth of the Scantic River. Once being Hartford bound he tarried so long talking with Mr. Roe that he missed the boat and had to start the journey over the next day. On October 17, 1842, he took the boat to Hartford where he went by "railroad caar" to New Haven. The rail link between Hartford and Springfield was not completed until two years later. Here it might be noted that the old tied in with the new as railroad pas- sengers arriving in Hartford and bound for Boston were taken by stage from Hartford to Springfield where they boarded the Boston and Albany, or Western cars as they were first called.
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APPENDIX
TWO CENTURIES OF CREEDS, COVENANTS AND CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF EAST WINDSOR
I. Rules of Church Discipline taken from the Cambridge Platform and adopted for settlements of Rev. Thomas Potwine and Rev. Shubael Bartlett.
II. Covenant Adopted March 22, 1804.
III. Confession of Faith and Covenant adopted between 1810 and 1816 and renewed 1827, 1850 and 1871.
IV. Creed adopted 1893.
V. Kansas City Statement of Faith, adopted here 1915.
VI. Covenant adopted 1948.
VII. Present minister's Confession of Faith, accepted by installing council and church.
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I
RULES OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE
(Taken from the Cambridge Platform and adopted for the settlements of the Reverend Thomas Potwine and the Reverend Shubael Bartlett.)
1. The Word of God is the only infallible and unerring rule of church dis- cipline.
2. That the church shall have a manual vote in this house.
3 . That whenever we shall have occasion to send a messenger, that we shall choose him by proxy.
4. That whenever we shall have occasion to choose a council, that the church shall choose them.
5. We do agree to leave the examination of those who desire to join in full communion with the minister.
6. We do agree that those who have a desire to join in full communion have liberty to make relation of their experience in the church and congregation upon their admission to the church.
II
COVENANT ADOPTED MARCH 22, 1804.
"You do now solemnly in the presence of God, of holy angels, and of these witnesses, receive the Lord Jehovah in Christ to be your God: one God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. You believe the scriptures of the old and new testament, to be the word of God, and promise that by divine grace you will make them the rule of your life and conversation.
You own yourself to be by nature a child of wrath, and declare that your only hope of mercy is through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, whom you now publicly take for your Lord and Saviour; your Prophet, Priest and King, And you now give up yourself to Him, to be ruled, governed and eternally saved. You promise, that by the assistance of divine grace you will regularly attend all the ordinances of the Gospel as God shall give you light and opportunity, and to sub- mit to the rule and government of Christ in this church."
Exception to the Saybrook Platform Adopted August 10, 1804.
"That no articles contained in the Saybrook platform, shall be admitted into this constitution, which provide that the minister, or a council of ministers, or the consociation, shall have an absolute, controlling authority over this church as to any of their decisions, but shall be considered as advisory."
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III CONFESSION OF FAITH AND COVENANT (As reprinted in the 1871 Church Manual)
ARTICLE I.
You believe in one only living and true God, (a) the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; (b) who is a Spirit, (c) infinite. (d) eternal, (e) and unchangeable, (f) in his being, (g) wisdom, (h) power, (i) knowledge, (j) presence, (k) holi- ness, (1) justice, (m) goodness and truth. (n)
(a) Deut. vi. 4; 1 Cor. viii, 4, 6; Jerem x. 10. (b) 1 John v. 7; Matt. iii. 16, 17. and xxviii. 19; 2 Cor. xiii. 14; John x. 30. (c) John iv. 24. (d) Exod. iii. 14; Job xi. 7, 8, 9. (e) Psalm xc. 2. (f) Malachi iii. 6; James i. 17. (g) Job xi. 7, 8, 9. (h) Rom. xvi. 27. (i) Rev. iv. 8. (j) Heb. iv. 13. (k) Psalm cxxxix. 1, 2, 7. (1) Isaiah vi. 3. (m) Deut. xxxii. 4. (n) Exod. xxxiv. 6.
ARTICLE II.
You believe that God created all things; (a) that He preserves and governs all His creatures, and overrules all their actions for His own glory; and that in His control over whatsoever comes to pass, He is accomplishing His eternal pur- poses according to the counsel of His own will, in such a way that man is a free agent, and accountable for all his actions. (b)
(a) Gen. i. 1; John i. 3; Col. i. 16. (b) Col. i. 17; Rom. xi. 36; Acts ii. 23; Isaiah xiv. 24, 26, 27; Ephes. i. 11; Rom. xi. 36; Philiy. ii. 12, 13; Acts iv. 26, 27, 28,; Job xiv. 5; Isa. xliv. 21-28; Prov. xvi. 9; Psalm ciii. 19; Neh. ix. 6; Acts xviii. 28; Prov. xxi. 1; Psalm xix. 1-4; Isa. vi. 3, and liii. 5, 6, 7, 21; Ezek. xxxvi. 21-24.
ARTICLE III.
You believe that God created man upright, (a) that our first parents freely sinned and fell, (b) and that all mankind in a state of nature, before they are re- generated or born again by the Spirit of God, are dead in trespasses and sins (e) and without any holiness and true love to God, (d) and are justly exposed to all the miseries of this life, and the pains of eternal death. (e)
(a) Gen. i. 27, and v.1. Eccles. viii. 29. (b) Gen. iii. 6; Eccles. vii. 27. (c) Eph. ii. 1, 2, 3; Room. v. 12, and vi. 23; Gen. ii. 17; Gal. iii. 10. (d) John v. 42; Rom. iii. 13 and 18. (e) Gen. iii. 17; Deut. xxviii. 15; Rom. vi. 21, 24; 2 Thess. i. 9; Mark ix. 43, 44; Luke xvi. 24, 25, 26; Matt. xxv. 41 and 46; Rev. xiv. 11; John iii. 16.
ARTICLE IV.
You believe that God in His mercy hath not left all mankind to perish in their sins, (a) but from His own good pleasure, according to the infinitely wise and eternal counsel of His will, has convenanted to deliver a great multitude which no man can number, of all nations and kindred, and people, and tougues, from sin and misery, and to bring them into a state of salvation by a Redeemer. (b)
(a) 1 Thess. v. 9; John xvii, 2, 20, 21. (b) Tit. iii. 4, 5, 6, 7, and i. 2; Gal. iii. 16; Isa. lix. 21; Gen. iii. 15; Isa. xliii. 6; 1 John i. 11, 12; John iii. 16, and i. 12: Ezek. xxxvi. 27; Gal. v. 22, 23; Eph. ii. 10; Rev. vii. 9-17; Matt. i. 21; 1 Thess. i. 10.
ARTICLE V.
You believe that the only Redeemer of lost sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ, (a) who is both God and man in one person; (b) that in this mysterious union of the human and divine natures, He suffered, and died on the cross; (c) that He arose from the dead, (d) and ascended into heaven, (e) where He ever liveth to make intercession for all that come unto God by Him; (g) that He alone hath made an atonement for sin; and that without a special interest in this atonement there is no salvation. (g)
(a) Acts iv. 10, 12; 1 Tim. ii. 5. (b) John i. 14; Matt. xxvi. 38; John i. 1, and x 30; Philip. ii. 6; Luke i. 15; Rom. ix. 5; Col. ii. 9; (c) Matt. xxvii. 35; Heb.
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ix. 14, 28. (d) Matt. xxviii. 6; 1 Cor. xv. 20. (e) Acts i. 9; Col. iii. 1, 2. (f) Heb. vii. 25, and ix. 24; Rom. viii. 33, 34. (g) Heb. i. 3, and ix. 14, 28; Acts iv. 12; Matt. i. 21; 1 John i. 7; John viii. 24.
ARTICLE VI.
You believe that without a change of heart wrought in the unregenerate by the effectual agency of the Holy Spirit, who is truly God, no one can be an heir of eternal life, (a) and that the soul which is once made partaker of this renewing and saving grace, will never be permitted so to fall away as finally to perish. (b) (a) John iii. 3, 5, 7; Gal. v. 6; John i. 13. (b) Jer xxxi. 3; Heb. xiii. 20, 21; 2 Sam. xxiii. 5; 1 Cor. i. 8; Heb. vii. 25; Luke xxii. 32; 1 John iii. 9; 1 John ii. 27; Jer. xxxii. 40; John x. 28; 1 Pet. i. 5; Philip. i. 6.
ARTICLE VII.
You believe that adoption, faith, justification, sanctification, perseverance, and all the assistance of the Spirit of God, are bestowed, not as the reward of merit in those who receive them, but as the free and sovereign gift and grace of God. (a)
(a) Rom. iii. 24; Eph. ii. 5; 2 Thess. ii. 16; Rom. ix. 11.
ARTICLE VIII.
You believe that there will be a general resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked; (a) and a general judgment, (b) at which all the righteous will be admitted to everlasting happiness, and all the wicked sentenced to misery without end. (c)
(a) Luke xiv. 14; John v. 29; Acts xxiv. 15; 1 Cor. xv. 13-58. (b) Rom. xiv. 10: 2 Cor. v. 10; Eccles. xii. 14; Matt. xxv. 31-46. (c) Matt xxv. 34; Rev. iii. 21, and vii. 15-17; Matt. xxv. 46; Luke xvi. 22-26; Rev. xxii. 11, 14, 15; 2 Thess. i. 9; Rev. xx. 10, and xiv. 10, 11; 2 Pet. ii. 17; Jude vi. 7, 13; Matt. xii. 31, 32; Mark ix. 43-49; Rev. xix. 3.
ARTICLE IX.
You believe that the Lord's Supper and Baptism, are sacraments of the New Testment, (a) and that Baptism is to be administered to unbaptized adults who profess their faith in Christ, (b) and to the infant children of those who are mem- bers of the church. (c)
(a) Matt. xxvi. 27, 28; 2 Cor. xi. 23-26; Matt. xxviii. 19. (b) Mark xvi. 16. (c) Acts xvi. 31, 33; Luke xviii. 15, 16; 1 Cor. vii. 14, and x. 1, 2; Acts ii. 38, 39; 1 Cor. i. 10; Mark x. 13, 14.
ARTICLE X.
You believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testments are given by inspiration of God, and are the sufficient and only rule of faith and practice. (a)
(a) 2 Tim. iii. 16; 2 Pet, i. 21; Isaiah viii. 20.
IV CREED ADOPTED 1893
I. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who is of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made;
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who is sent from the Father and Son, and who together with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified.
II. We believe that the Providence of God, by which He executes His eternal purposes in the government of the world, is in and over all events; yet so that the freedom and responsibility of man are not impaired, and sin is the act of the creature alone.
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III. We believe that man was made in the image of God, that he might know, love, and obey God, and enjoy Him forever; that our first parents by diso- bedience fell under the righteous condemnation of God; and that all men are so alienated from God that there is no salvation from the guilt and power of sin ex- cept through God's redeeming grace.
IV. We believe that God would have all men return to Him; that to this end He has made Himself known, not only through the works of nature, the course of His Providence, and the consciences of men, but also through supernatural reveala- tions made especially to a chosen people, and above all, when the fullness of time was come, through Jesus Christ His Son.
V. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the record of God's revelations of Himself in the work of redemption; that they were written by men under the special guidance of the Holy Spirit; that they are able to make wise unto salvation; and that they constitute the authoritative standard by which religious teaching and human conduct are to be regulated and judged.
VI. We believe that the love of God to sinful men has found its highest ex- pression in the redemptive work of His Son; who became man, uniting his divine nature with our human nature in one person; who was tempted like other men, yet without sin; who by His humiliation, His holy obedience, His sufferings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection, became a perfect Redeemer; whose sacrifice of Himself for the sins of the world declares the righteousness of God, and is the sole and sufficient ground of forgiveness and of reconciliation with Him.
VII. We believe that Jesus Christ, after He had risen from the dead, ascend- ed into heaven, where, as the one Mediator between God and man, He carries for ward His work of saving men; that He sends the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin, and to lead them to repentance and faith; and that those who through renew- ing grace turn to righteousness, and trust in Jesus Christ as their Redeemer, re- ceive for His sake the forgiveness of their sins, and are made the children of God.
VIII. We believe that those who are thus regenerated and justified grow in sanctified character through fellowship with Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to the truth; that a holy life is the fruit and evidence of sav- ing faith; and that the believer's hope of continuance in such a life is in the pre- serving grace of God.
IX. We believe that Jesus Christ came to establish among men the kingdom of God, the reign of truth and love, righteousness and peace; that to Jesus Christ, the Head of this kingdom, Christians are directly responsible in faith and conduct; and that to Him all have immediate access without mediatorial or priestly inter- vention.
X. We believe that the Church of Christ, invisible and spiritual, comprises all true believers, whose duty it is to associate themselves in churches, for the main- tenance of worship, for the promotion of spiritual growth and fellowship, and for the conversion of men; that these churches, under the guidance of the Holy Scrip- tures and in fellowship with one another, may determine-each for itself-their or- ganization, statements of belief, and forms of worship; may appoint and set apart their own ministers, and should co-operate in the work which Christ has committed to them for the furtherance of the gospel throughout the world.
XI. We believe in the observance of the Lord's Day as a day of holy rest and worship; in the ministry of the Word; and in the two Sacraments which Christ has appointed for His Church: Baptism, to be administered to believers and their chil- dren, as the sign of cleansing from sin, of union to Christ, and of the impartation of the Holy Spirit; and the Lord's Supper, as as symbol of His atoning death, a seal of its efficacy, and a means whereby He confirms and strengthens the spiritual union and communion of believers with Himself.
XII. We believe in the ultimate prevalence of the kingdom of Christ over all the earth; in the glorious appearing of the great God and Our Saviour Jesus Christ; in the resurrection of the dead; and in final judgement, the issues of which are everlasting punishment and everlasting life.
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V
KANSAS CITY STATEMENT OF FAITH
(Statement of Faith adopted by the National Council and accepted by this Church in 1915 "in place of the one now in use")
We believe in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, goodness, and love, and in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord and Saviour, who for us and our salvation lived and died and rose again and liveth evermore; and in the Holy Spirit, who taketh of the things of Christ and revealeth them to us, renewing, comforting, and in- spiring the souls of men.
We are united in striving to know the will of God as taught in the Holy Scriptures, and in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord, made known or to be made known to us.
We hold it to be the mission of the Church of Christ to proclaim the gospel to all mankind, exalting the worship of the one true God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace, and the reali- zation of human brotherhood.
Depending, as did our fathers, upon the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, we work and pray for the transformation of the world into the kingdom of God; and we look with faith for the triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting.
VI
COVENANT ADOPTED 1948
I confess my faith in God our heavenly Father and my reverent love for Jesus Christ our Saviour, and my willingness to be guided by the Holy Spirit. I do cordially join myself to this Church, engaging to submit to its government and discipline. I promise to hold its name dear; to be loyal to its best interests; to cooperate and share in its work and worship and attend its services as God shall give me strength and opportunity; cheerfully to contribute to its support according to my means and ability; to live in peace, friendliness, and helpfulness with those about me; to keep my heart and life pure and to walk with its members in the spirit of Christian love.
In this fellowship, I recognize it to be the mission of the Church of Christ to proclaim the gospel to all mankind, exalting the worship of the one true God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood.
VII
OUR PRESENT MINISTER'S CONFESSION OF FAITH
On the afternoon of November 18, 1951, the fourteenth minister of the First Congregational Church of East Windsor, Rev. Oliver Barres, who like our first two ministers has come to us from Yale University, read before an Ecclesiastical Council of the Hartford East Association his Confession of Faith. This was accepted both by the Ecclesiastical Council and by the representatives of the First Congrega- tional Church, and it was voted that the Council proceed to the business of installing the new minister. In the service which followed, Margaret Barres, the first child born to a resident minister during his pastorate here since the birth of Dr. James F. English, now Superintendent of our Connecticut churches, was baptized by the same Dr. English, who also preached the installation sermon.
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Our present minister's Confession of Faith follows the form of the Apostles' Creed, which is once again being used by the congregation as an occasional part of the morning service of worship.
I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
God is transcendent, that is, He inhabits eternity; He did so before this world began and shall do so after this world has ended.
God is immanent, the Holy One in the midst of men, working His Word into history, touching through His Holy Spirit the spirits of men.
God is a Trinity, three Persons in the Unity of one Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal.
God is the Creator, Ruler, Sustainer, Protector, Judge and Saviour of the world, Himself uncreated, infinite, eternal, almighty, all-knowing, everywhere present, the beginning and the end, the source of all truth, beauty and goodness, unprovable, unsearchable, inconceivable, the power over, under and in all that is real.
God is love and is called Father in that He is the Father of His only-begotten, uncreated Son from all eternity, and also of those created beings whom His heal- ing and holy Spirit inspires to cry out in their prayers and praises, "Abba, Father." The word Father reminds us of God's unrelinquishable authority over us and of His care and tenderness toward us.
AND IN JESUS CHRIST HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD
God our Saviour, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Anointed, the Messiah Whose coming was foretold by the prophets, is perfect God and perfect man, con- substantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the manhood, one Person, God the Son Who took our human nature into union with Himself and shall retain it through all eternity. Thus He who is begotten of His Father before all worlds, He Who is God of God and Light of Light, He is also the joining link, the one and only Mediator between this finite, dependent, conditioned, existential sphere of temporary being, and that other infinite, self-sustaining, unconditioned, essential sphere of eternal being. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven to reveal the Father, to reconcile God and men, to conquer the powers of sin, death and the Evil One, and to re- store our fallen nature that we might have a share in the everlasting joy of the righteous.
WHO WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST; BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY
The Jews being the chosen people through whom God promised to send the Saviour into His world, God the Son was born to a Jewish maid of Nazareth, Mary by name. The conception by overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, without the aid of normal human paternity, is a testimony to the fact that this central event of human history-the life, death, resurrection and continuing ministry of our Lord- is a highly distinctive event, and is wholly the work of God from beginning to end, as indeed is man's salvation by grace. The extent of man's ability to cooperate in the inception of this great drama was limited to Mary's humble acceptance and joyful resignation: "Be it unto me as Thou hast said." As one Christian has put it. the enfleshment of God began when Mary said, "Into thy hands I commit my body," and ended when Jesus said, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit."
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