USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Newington > Half-century discourse, history of the church in Newington: its doctrine, its ministers, its experience; presented in the discourse delivered on Tuesday the 16th of January, 1855. > Part 4
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our hands, separated and set you apart to this sacred office, and thereby ordained you a minister of Jesus Christ in his visible king- dom, vested with full power and authority to preach the word of God, and dispense the ordinances of the gospel, wherever God in his providence shall call you to do it; and also to transmit the same office to others, where the way might be open for it, and more partic- ularly having ordained you a pastor of the flock of Christ in this place, committing them to your pastoral care and oversight in the Lord, to feed them with the sincere milk of the word and ordinances, that they may grow thereby ; and as we have thus committed the dis- pensation of the gospel to you, and the pastoral care of this flock of the Lord, we now exhort and charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and dead, at his appear- ing and kingdom, that you take heed to yourself, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you an overseer, that you faith- fully fulfill the ministry which you have received in the Lord, and feed the church of God which he has purchased with his own blood. Let love to Christ, and to the souls of the people committed to your care, engage and animate you, to be diligent in feeding Christ's sheep, and in feeding his lambs by a steady and faithful discharge of the duties of your office. Herein study to show yourself approved of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed ; and as your suffi- ciency for this arduous work is not of yourself, but must be of God, go to it in the strength of the Lord, and in a humble reliance on his grace, pray without ceasing, watching thereunto with all persever- ance, give thyself unto prayer and to the ministry of the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine, give thyself to reading and meditation, that thy profiting may appear, in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that can not be condemned. Let Christ and him crucified, the fallen undone state of man, and the way of the sinner's recovery and salvation through a Redeemer, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit, be the leading subjects of your preaching. Teach no other doctrine but what ministereth to godly edifying, not handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifesta- tion of the truth as it is in Jesus, commend thyself to every man's conscience in the sight of God, not shunning to declare the whole counsel of God; keep back nothing that may be profitable to the learers, give to every one his portion in due season, hold fast the form of sound words delivered in the sacred oracles, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, take heed to thyself and to thy doctrine,
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continue in them, that thou mayest both save thyself and them that hear thee. See also that thou faithfully dispense the Sacraments of the New Testament to proper subjects, as a wise and good steward in the house of God. And as you are intrusted with the keys of Christ's visible kingdom, we charge you, impartially to dispense the discipline Christ has instituted to be exercised in his church, making a difference between the holy and profane, without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Let unfeigned love to Christ, zeal for his honor, and a compassionate concern for the salvation of immortal souls, be the governing principles of your whole conduct as a minister of Jesus. As becomes a man of God, follow after right- eousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. In all things show thyself a pattern of good works. Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. And if you faithfully keep this charge, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the word of faith and good doctrine, and when Christ, the chief Shepherd of the sheep, shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away. And may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory everlasting. Amen.
No. Il.
NEWINGTON-ITS NAME AND ECCLESIASTICAL FUND.
The name of Newington was given to this place, as I have always understood, out of regard to the place of Dr. Watts's residence near London, and as a testimony of the love for the character and writings of that eminent minister and poet, which has ever been felt by the people of this place. True indeed, it is, that almost all the works of Dr. Watts are found in the public libraries of our people, are esteem- ed and loved as among the choicest books that have ever been pub- lished. I can have no doubt that the influence of Dr. Watts in his sermons, essays, catechisms and songs for children, lyric poems, psalms and hymns, has had a great and essential effect in forming the character and habits of our people, and I revolve it over and over in my mind as a delightful consideration. How many souls has he
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trained for the songs and the blessedness of heaven ! Every Sabbath day at least, the heavenly spirit of Watts is living in the hearts of our people. Their book of sacred music is made up of Watts's Psalms entire, Watts's three books of Hymns entire, together with a large selection of Hymns appended, taken from different authors.
Newington has for a long course of years enjoyed the benefit of an ecclesiastical fund, which has strengthened their bond of union, and which has relieved them of about half of the expense, in supporting the ministry. This fund has been derived from several sources, has been very carefully managed, and has come to be a great advantage to the society. When Rev. Elisha Williams was taken from this people to be the president of Yale College, the General Assembly of the state ordered the country taxes, as they were called, which were assessed upon the people of Newington, to be remitted to them for a number of years, in consideration of their sacrifice in yielding up their minister to the college. It appears, too, that the General Assem- bly required the college to repay money to Newington for the same reason. These moneys were put into the ecclesiastical fund. The people gathered those country taxes and appropriated the amount for this permanent benefit. There was also anciently a parsonage prop- erty, house and land belonging to the ecclesiastical society of New- ington, which was sold by order of the society, and the avails of it were added to the ecclesiastical fund. That house was standing when I came into this place, and in it I have performed pastoral service. It belonged to the Robbins family, and stood on that rich swell of ground directly opposite the dwelling-house of Lowrey and Martin Robbins. It went by the name of the Backus house, because he was the only minister that ever dwelt in it. Mr. Williams built a house of his own, which is still standing, the property of Martin Kellogg, the building being now one hundred and thirty five years old. Mr. Belden lived in his own house, but had the use of the parsonage land until by explicit agreement it was exchanged. An- other source of addition to the fund is found in the alteration of town boundaries, between Farmington, Wethersfield and Berlin, a costly one indeed, because it took away people that had belonged to this congregation. A consideration of money was made for the cutting off of those families, and that money was put into the fund. Mr. Belden used to speak to me of the Kensington consideration, and of families in the north part of Worthington, that once belonged here. Some families in the Stanley quarter, Farmington, some in the Wells and Pratt street, New Britain, and some in Christian Lane,
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toward Kensington, had been included among the members of this 1 congregation. They were set off for their own accommodation, in their nearness to other parishes. Mr. Belden lamented those ex- cisions because he wanted the people. I mention it as a matter of history in regard to the fund. There are other names which I ought to mention with honor, and I do, and with thanksgiving too. Rosanna and Sylvia Deming gave their property for the ecclesiastical benefit of this people. Amos Andrus left a handsome estate to this ecclesi- astical society, and I speak of it here as giving a memorial of him. I believe this to be the whole account. I have received the product of that fund regularly every year of my ministry. And I have to say that the treasurer has always been very careful to get my receipt in full, before the current year came round, which punctuality and entireness of payment give great advantage to a small salary. I may well say that the financials of our society have been managed with great care and faithfulness.
May 3, 1764, Ebenezer Kilbourn and Bevil Seymour were ap- pointed a committee to appear before the General Assembly, at HIart- ford, to remonstrate against the taking away of the inhabitants in Farmington that had been annexed to the society of Newington, which they considered a hardship; but if they must be taken away, to beg of the assembly an equivalence in favor of Newington.
Noah Stanley, Esq., states, " that his grandfather had three of his children baptized by Mr. Belding, at Newington-that about 1750, the people in Stanley quarter, (at least,) were obliged to pay to the ecclesiastical society in Newington, but not after 1754."
No. III.
ADDRESS of the Sabbath School, at the presentation of an Easy Chair to their Pastor, January 1, 1855.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR : It is with mingled emotions of pleas- ure and sadness that we come upon this first day of the New Year, to tender you our affectionate greetings. We are in the morning of existence, our future is radiant with hope and joy, and we promise to ourselves many long years of happiness and usefulness. But we feel saddened at the recollection of that arrangement which in so short a time proposes to close the active services of our aged pastor, whom
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1
we have so long and so tenderly regarded with love and veneration, from whose lips we have so often received the words of instruction and of kind admonition, and with, whose name are intertwined so many hallowed associations. The high standard of virtue and moral- ity which you have ever exemplified, and which you have ever im- pressed upon us by your advice, has inspired us with sincere respect for your character, and your kind forbearance and sympathizing familiarity have heightened that respect into abiding affection. Many who have in the past occupied our places, and who have gone forth into the busy scenes of active life enriched with your precepts, would to-day rejoice to mingle their best wishes with ours. And there are others too, whose familiar faces are vividly painted on our memories, but with whom the last farewells have long ago been spoken. We shall soon meet you in the Sabbath School and Bible Class no more ; your exertions in the formation of our intellectual and moral characters will have ceased, but their impress and influence upon our future destinies will remain, and can be estimated by the mind of Omniscience alone. But before the bitter day* of separation arrives, when we must bid you farewell, we come to crave another blessing, still another benediction on our future efforts, and would fain leave some slight testimonial of our gratitude and regard, which may bear witness to you, and those who may come after you, that we fondly cherished and revered the memory of our aged pastor and friend to the last. We do therefore present you with this CHAIR, f not as a reward for the many favors received at your hands, for we know that nothing this side of eternity can so well reward you as our virtuous and useful lives ; but we beg you to receive it as an expression of our determination to profit by your instructions, and as a memorial of our lasting affection, by which you may commune with us in the future. May it ever speak the warm emotion of our hearts and assure you of our never failing love. May it be to you in your declining years, a daily comfort and companion, and in weariness and pain, a faithful, soothing friend. And when at last the pulses of life shall have ceased, may this seat be exchanged for one in the mansions of the blessed above, at the right hand of him who sitteth upon the throne of God and the Lamb forever.
On the 31st of December, 1854, after I returned home from the Monthly Concert, I was informed that the whole Sabbath School
* 16th of January.
1 A RICH, AND COSTLY, AND ELEGANT SEAT!
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were to be at my house on the next day, to make me a New Year's visit, and to give me a word and a look of their kind regard. Ac- cordingly they came in a company of about two hundred, and afforded me a most gratifying occasion. The foregoing is the address made, in their name, and delivered to me by their superintendent, Mr. Levi ¿S. Deming, to which I replied, in amount, as follows:
TO ALL THIS COMPANY OF THE SABBATH SCHOOL: It gives me unspeakable pleasure, on this first day in the New Year, to receive you into my house, and especially as the whole Sabbath School, that I may look upon your pleasant faces, and may enjoy your kind feel-, ings toward me, which give me a revival of my joy that I have always had with you, and which I now peculiarly feel, because I am just about to give up my labors among you. I bless you all in the name of the Lord, and hope that the love of the gracious Redeemer will ever rest upon you. This meeting of the young here to-day makes a kind impression never to be lost. I accept this beautiful and costly chair at your hands, with feelings of tenderness which I shall not be able to express to you ; but I know you will readily accept my thanks. You have given it to me as an emblem of rest and of a quiet old age. It is about the first LUXURY that ever came into my house. I have had little to do with easy chairs in my whole life, because the good- ness of God has granted me health and strength for continual exer- tion ; but how much I may have to endure in this cushioned chair, who can tell ? Superintendent and Teachers in the Sabbath School, the Lord grant unto you infinite love in your care of the young, , and make every one of these a child of God. If my wife were alive here with us to-day, she would look upon you and wait upon you with unspeakable delight. I am happy to see you enjoy this elegant table of fruits and provisions, which is spread by the kindness of your families for the cheering of this meeting. I will commend you to God in prayer.
No. IV.
AT a special meeting of the Ecclesiastical Society of Newington, held November 28th, 1854, it was voted that Charles K. Atwood, Roger Welles, Jr., and Levi S. Deming, be a committee to draft resolu- tions to respond to a communication from Rev. Joab Brace ; who reported the following which were unanimously adopted.
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Whereas, At a former meeting of the Newington Ecclesiastical Soci- ety, held November 14th, 1854, a communication was received from our pastor, Rev. Dr. BRACE, tendering, with the concurrence and approbation of the Society, the resignation of active pastoral labors, to take effect on and after January 16th, 1855, therefore
Resolved, That we accept of the proposals of said communication, and in so doing desire to express our full confidence in him, and our firm attachment to him, as a friend and minister of the Gospel to this people. And furthermore, of our sincere gratitude to him for a wise and judicious course during his fifty years of devoted labor as our pastor and spiritual adviser ; and also for an ever ready manifestation of kindness and sympathy in the hour of trial and affliction, thus seeking by his counsel and example to promote our present and future welfare. The rewards of such faithful service can be but partially seen until the disclosures of that day which shall introduce to him the " seals of his ministry," his joy, and his crown.
Resolved, That this voluntary relinquishment of active labors as pastor, while in the possession of such intellectual and physical strength, exemplifies a peculiar characteristic of his ministry-the making of his own interest and happiness secondary to what he con- ceives to be conducive to the welfare of his people.
Resolved, That we shall ever cherish the memory of our present pastor with peculiar pleasure, and that it will be our happiness to receive, as in time past, his cheerful greeting and advice, pledging to him the continuance of our own best wishes for his future happiness and welfare.
Resolved, That we renew to our pastor and his family the expres- sion of our heartfelt sympathy in the late affliction, which has taken from him the partner of his life and his joys, and also from this com- munity the salutary influence, and the exemplary, consistent, Christian example of a firm and valued friend.
Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be recorded and that Gen. Martin Kellogg, Dea. Jedediah Deming, and Dea. Jeremiah Sey- mour, be a committee to present an attested copy to our pastor, Rev. Dr. BRACE.
A true copy of the original resolutions.
Attest, EDWIN WELLES, CLERK.
JOSIAH ATWOOD, MODERATOR.
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No. V.
SELECTIONS OF SCRIPTURE,
Read at the opening of the public service, January 16, 1855.
Moreover, Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. I. Cor. xv. 1, 2.
As ye know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. I. Thess. ii. 12.
Wherefore, also, we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power, That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. II. Thess. i. 11, 12.
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divis- ions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment. I. Cor. i. 10.
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ ; that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Phillip. i. 27.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I. Cor. xv. 58.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work. II. Thess. ii. 16, 17.
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No. VI.
" When quite young, my parents and other people told me, that the first settlers of Newington, in going to meeting at Wethersfield, in addition to the pulling off of their stockings and shoes to ford the streams, the women carried their infant children in their arms and the men carried their loaded guns for fear of the Indians.
DANIEL WILLARD."
When I preached my first sermon at Ellington, for Rev. Diodate Brockway, he told of his fall in the steeple, from a height of sixty-five feet, to the ground. "I had just returned from Hartford, and having brought with me an important letter for my brother Hall, I lost no time in hastening over to the new meeting-house, where I found that Mr. Hall was on the roof observing the work of shingling. I im- mediately went up, and delivered the letter. Just as I was ready to come down, the master workman said to me, 'We have been pre- paring some additional work above, and I want you to go up and see and judge of it.' I observed that a very heavy man, of, I judge, twice my weight, had just come down. So up I went fifteen feet above the bell story; and no sooner had I grasped the highest cleat with both my hands, than off it came, and let me over backward ! My fall was checked somewhat by that cleat, which I still held firm, and which caught upon the deck timbers as I went through. My weight twitched it out of my hands, and carried me down about half-way of the steeple, where I fell upon a two inch plank extending across the steeple, broke through that plank, and went down, with the pieces, upon a joiner's bench which stood in the bottom, crushed it to the ground, and tore quite through the pine boards twenty-four heads of the nails which had been driven into the slit-work beneath !" He was alive though dreadfully broken ; and he went on with the minis- try about forty years ! It was a marvelous preservation !
There are three occasions connected with my anniversary, which give much pleasure to my recollections. (1.) The meeting of the Sabbath School at my house on the first day of January, 1855. (2.) The gathering of the ministers and their families at my house immediately after the public service on the 16th, where my brethren gave me a look and a word of congratulation, and where they enjoyed the entertainment kindly provided by my people. They left their choicest benedictions for my people and me. (3.) The coming of my people to my house on the evening of January 17th. On the
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Sabbath, I had given my invitation to every human soul within the whole precincts, to call upon me at that time. That meeting also was amply furnished by the generosity of the people ; and I desired my two sons, Rev. S. N. Shepard, of Madison, and Rev. J. Todd, of Pittsfield, to speak unto the assembly, and pray with them, and bless them in the name of the Lord, which they did to my great satisfac- tion ; and I think I may say, that I never enjoyed, in the whole fifty years, a more agreeable interview with my people than the last.
No. VII.
PROCEEDINGS AT THE HOUSE OF THE PASTOR.
After the public exercises, the clergymen present, of different denominations repaired, by invitation, to the Pastor's house, and enjoyed a bountiful refreshment provided for them by the people. Rev. Dr. CLARKE, of Hartford, then called to order, and after a few appropriate remarks on the occasion, invited Rev. Dr. TUCKER, of Wethersfield, to address the company. Dr. T. spoke of the ties which bound this church to that under his own charge, from which this was colonized. He described the attachment which had been formed between the pastor at Newington, and himself, from meeting frequently for Christian communion and counsel. He closed with ardent wishes for the happiness of the retiring pastor, in what remains of life's journey.
Judge WELLES, of Wethersfield, was next called. He had been present at the ordination of Dr. Brace, and a member of the choir on that occasion. He contrasted the present condition of the parish with that fifty years since ; and pronounced the present prosperity the best comment on the influence of the ministry whose closing services they had attended with so much interest. He regarded the outflowing of Christian affection which was manifest among the people, as the best tribute to the fidelity of the pastor. No other commendation was needed, and his own heart was too full for words. on an occasion like this.
Rev. Dr. HAWES being next called upon, referred to the emotions he had felt in seeing an Indiaman-a gallant ship full freighted, and full rigged, outriding storms, and notwithstanding the tempests, coming safely into port, and casting her rich treasures into the lap of the owners. He had to-day witnessed a scene of deeper interest,-an
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aged standard-bearer, having borne the storms of a long life voyage, and faitlifully served his master, comes to pour into the bosom of his confiding church, and the circle of his brethren, the treasures of a long and rich experience. It was a fitting close of a favored ministry. This termination of the pastoral office, and laying down the commis- sion borne for more than half a century, while yet conscious of the possession of vigorous powers, and of the active confidence and affec- tion of a grateful people, was a delightful exhibition of the power of the gospel. He spoke of the strong affection which years of inter- course and mutual counsel had ripened, and of the fruits matured under the ministry now terminated. He could only congratulate the aged brother that he was nearing the port where all the garnered treasures of a faithful ministry were to be poured at the feet of his Divine Master, and where the sweet rest and peace would be eternal.
Dr. Clarke then called on Rev. Dr. MURDOCK, of the South Bap- tist Church in Hartford. Dr. M. said that although he had not come like those who followed our Saviour, because they " did eat of the loaves and were filled," he had enjoyed a feast-intellectual, spiritual, and physical. He was literally filled ; but he had come also to witness the miracles. He was sorry to feel that the age of such miracles was coming to an end. He had witnessed the miracle, in these days of change, of a pastor, for fifty years occupying the same pulpit, and at the close of this long period, holding the affections of his people with a stronger grasp than ever. He had seen the miracle of the pastor held in such affection and confidence, laying aside his commission and surrender- ing his charge, and from the same high motive that led him to gird on the armor fifty years ago. Although of another denomination, he had loved Father Brace from his first acquaintance. Precious fruits of his ministry-those who had been trained under it, had become use- ful members of his own church; and these he found to entertain such a regard for the pastor whom they learned to honor in childhood, as he himself could hardly hope to win from them. He had offen met Dr. Brace in the ministers' prayer-meeting in Hartford. He cher- islied the memory of that intercourse ; and loved to think that it would be renewed beyond the wastes of time.
Rev. Mr. FISHER, of the Free Episcopal Church in Hartford, was next called out by Dr. Clarke, in some playful allusions to the days of boyhood. Mr. Fisher spoke with much feeling of his relation to Dr. Brace, when the teacher of the academy, alluded to in the sermon. He had ever felt a deep interest in the ministry and the church of the father who had now retired, surrounded by strong affec-
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tions matured by a long and useful ministry. The scene witnessed three years ago, when the pastor proposed to lay down his commission, was one long to be remembered. It was difficult to say which was most to be admired, the tendering of his resignation while hale and vigorous, lest possibly he might outrun his usefulness, or the unanimous wish of his people that he should serve them still, and delay his resig- nation to a distant day.
Rev. Mr. ROCKWOOD, of Rocky Hill, was called upon as one of the young men in the ministry. He said that when he came to Con- necticut three years ago, Father Brace took him by the hand and welcomed him to the state. That first greeting, full of encourage- ment, was the introduction to an acquaintance which had been in- creasingly pleasant to this day. He spoke of the recent bereavement of Dr. Brace, as the loosing of another earthly tie, and as suited to increase the attractions of heaven. He felt assured that the colleague who might be called to settle here, would find the relation as pleasant as was his with Dr. Chapin. He Concluded with the desire that the younger ministers might enjoy the prayers and the counsels of the aged fathers in the ministry ; since they had come with the inexpe- rience of youth into the pastoral work in perilous times.
Dr. Clarke called on Rev. Mr. MERWIN, of New Haven, to point out the hidden spring of the fountain which had for half a century watered this heritage. Mr. M. remarked that he had been acquainted with the retiring pastor longer than any one of those who had spoken. He should reach the half-century of his own ministry in a few weeks. He remembered the revival in Yale College in which his brother Brace was so deeply interested. He had watched the progress of his friend, and admired the fruits ripened in his Christian course. He commended the discretion shown by his brother, in the resignation of active service while in full possession of his powers, and of the affections of his people. Three years before he had pro- posed to resign ; but when the people answered No, he had labored on to this time-the close of the half-century. Mr. M. had been impressed with the declaration of the pastor, that if called to live his life over again, he would choose the ministry as his profession, in full view of all its trials and difficulties. It reminded him of the military commander who said, at the festival which celebrated his signal vic- tory-"Gentlemen, I feel that I could fight the battle over again."
This interview at the house of the Pastor, formed an admirable close of the exercises, and will be remembered with satisfaction.
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