USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The churches of Mattatuck : a record of bi-centennial celebration at Waterbury, Connecticut, Novermber 4th and 5th, 1891 > Part 6
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" He's come quite as near it," I answered, " as man In the dim light of earth ever needs to, or can. A word that explains it has dropped from above,
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THE WATERBURY CHURCHES.
" One Joseph now points to the heavenly bliss, And urges the people to strive for this." "Not Joseph Bellamy, here returned, A mightier logic having learned ? Ah, here he would often weave his chain From a fervid heart and glowing brain, And with it would leave his listeners bound As under a magic spell profound. He cannot be here again to show The ills that the non-elect shall know ?" " That Bethlehem star is set," I said, "Your ancient Bellamy's with the dead. Perchance were he, sainted, to come again To labor on earth for the souls of men, He long might live as a man at large, Enrolled as a minister " without charge." The world has been moving, as you must know, Since he, sir, and you in death lay low. Old issues are passing, new truths appear, Earth's vision is broadening year by year. The clergyman stands of his age a part,
The product of forces that pulse in its heart, Athrill with its thought and aglow with its zeal, Discerning the false and embracing the real That leap into view at the turn of the wheel. His sensitive spirit is pained with the need Of society given to lust and to greed, And he eagerly lifts to the view of mankind The perfect ideal, the heavenly mind, Strength wedded with gentleness, virtue unpriced, The splendor of manhood, the crown of the Christ. And thus (while its product) he fashions his age, And leads ever up to a worthier stage;
His voice as the trumpet whose musical peal
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THE REV. MR. DAVENPORT'S POEM.
To conflict calls onward, to conquest as real. Our Joseph, succeeding you here, we esteem As a man for his time, in his office supreme, Awake to the truth and the need of the hour And bringing to duty high culture and power."
My visitor listened, and studied the while The church uplifting its shadow-wreathed pile. He seemed to be dreaming of years that are past As he waited in silence; then suddenly asked, " How solves he the question, profound and sublime, The deepest and grandest inquiry of time ?" My mind flew at once to the themes of our thought Whose study had special perplexity brought. The mode of creation, direct or by stages, The author or authors of Pentateuch pages, Free trade or protection as best for a nation, The Andover view of post-mortem probation, Prohibition or license, the Gospel of John- Are a few of the points that I lingered upon; But what was the query he questioned about, I shortly confessed I was somewhat in doubt. " I mean, sir," now turning in wonder to me, " How God can be sovereign, and man can be free. The question we struggled with, year after year, And settled with logic as weighty as clear, But found, having ended and laid down our pen, That the question was there to be settled again. Has this, my successor, 'mid time's evolution, Secured what is truly a valid solution ?"
" He's come quite as near it," I answered, " as man In the dim light of earth ever needs to, or can. A word that explains it has dropped from above,
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THE WATERBURY CHURCHES.
Just here, beside the cottage wall, The clustering lilacs made A bower of beauty and of peace Enwrapped in deepest shade.
What was my joy to see the girl Sit spinning here alone, As dignified, and calm and sweet As queen upon her throne.
Her profile only was in view, But this was classic grace;
And filmy wreaths of sunny hair Bordered the noble face.
I saw that while she twirled the wheel, Her eyes would oft incline To letters which I recognized (O blessed fact !) as mine.
Against the background of the years That picture still I see, --
The maiden at her spinning-wheel, So beautiful to me.
Her robe was homespun, white and blue, Her folded kerchief gray,
Her snowy apron wrought with flowers, The apple-blooms of May.
Her brow was decked with dainty cap, A rosebud gemmed her breast;
She wore a look of thoughtfulness And yet of peace and rest.
She charmed me as I stood and gazed, She seemed so pure and fair; I could have thought an angel sat In her old oaken chair.
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THE REV. MR. DAVENPORT'S POEM.
'O Ruth, my Ruth,' at length I said, And hastened to her side;
'I've come to give you all my heart, And pray you be my bride.'
She started, and the mantling blush Rose over cheek and brow; Will you be mine ?' I eager said, 'O tell me, tell me now.'
She sat me down beside her there Within the lilacs' shade,
And said, 'Of that of which you speak, I earnestly have prayed.
And yet I cannot clearly see The way my feet should tread,
And know not if my heart be right In urging me to wed.
Our God has called you to a course Of duty grand and high, A work too lofty to be shared With one so weak as I.
I think I love the holy Lord, And wish his will to do;
And so I wait his certain sign That I should go with you.'
' Ruth, let us pray,' I humbly said; We fell upon our knees; I heard the robin's happy song, The whisper of the trees.
'O Thou, whose mighty reign is love, Reveal to us thy way, O take us, guide us as thou wilt, Unitedly we pray.'
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THE WATERBURY CHURCHES.
As we uprose, Ruth turned to me And placed her hand in mine; ' I'm yours,' she said, 'my soul receives The Master's holy sign.
For, as you prayed, a glory fell That filled my raptured heart, And in it came a voice to me: With him till death shall part.'
She laid her cheek upon my breast, Her eyes agleam with bliss, And then with holy tenderness I gave the virgin kiss.
And nature seemed athrill with song, Rose-fragrance filled the air,
A brighter sun was pouring down Its glory everywhere.
The months rolled by, and when at length I here found blest employ, A bride I brought her to my home, My youth's sweet strength and joy."
The speaker had ceased, but continued to gaze In the gloom at bright visions of earlier days; And his tears that fell like the drops of the sky Proved it's pathos to live and it's pathos to die.
Together we came to the centre again,
And he questioned of much that's occurred among men.
" Who governs Connecticut now ?" said he, And I tried to explain of the possible three, Each claiming the chief of the state to be. I fear that my language was not quite plain,
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THE REV. MR. DAVENPORT'S POEM.
For he quickly added, " A wonderful gain, If governors three are now needed to reign !" And I briefly told of the nation great, Built up of sovereign state on state; Of the flag of the glorious stripe and star Proclaiming liberty near and far; Of the lands magnificent we have won, Spread out from the rise to the set of sun; Of the power of the nation, great and high, Which nothing, but Chili, dares defy; Of the hope we have that in coming time The people of every race and clime, Like the dwellers upon this favored shore, Shall exult in plenty and power; and more, In the purity, peace and life divine That flow from the gospel's holy shrine.
As I spoke at last of this gladsome day, When churches and people should come to pay Their gratulations to one that has told Her centuries twain, our mother old, He said, "How gladly I'd meet them there, To speak of her record so grand and fair ! But, lest I be absent those golden days, I'll voice for her now a song of praise." And his melody rang on the midnight air, And rose to God like the soul of prayer:
"Glorious Lord, whose praises ever Rise from earth and rolling sea, And whose honors starry heavens Rapturous chant eternally ! Hear us, Father, While we lift our song to thee.
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THE WATERBURY CHURCHES.
Thou did'st grant thy grace and favor To the fathers when they prayed; Through the wilderness did'st lead them When they humbly sought thine aid; Hear us, Father,
For on thee our souls are stayed.
For the mother church we bless thee, For the long and faithful years She has borne her holy witness To the God that calmed her fears; Guide her, Father, Through her gladness and her tears.
For the souls who here have sought thee, And the seeking surely find;
For the noble sons and daughters Who have gone to bless mankind, Lord, we thank thee, Give to us the Christlike mind.
On thy servant who delivers Here thy message sweet of love, Shed the richest, holiest blessing From the radiant courts above; O'er him ever Spread thy wings, O heavenly Dove.
When the work of life is ended, And the weary journey o'er, With the precious saints departed May we tread the golden shore, And, O Father, Worthily thy love adore."
III.
THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTERS.
THE CHURCH IN FARMINGTON.
BY THE REV. EDWARD A. SMITH.
The designation of one church as mother, and of another as daughter, has been frequent on this occasion. Your courteous circular of invitation refers to your own church as the mother of Water- town, Plymouth, Wolcott and other churches, and finally in all dutifulness speaks of the old church at Farmington as the "mother of us all." This use of the words "mother " and "daughter" is wholly appropriate, and yet a person who is in the habit of asking himself questions will presently begin weighing the words, "mother church " and "daugh- ter church," and asking how much of a truly maternal and filial relation has existed between Farmington and Waterbury.
The plain truth confronts us that there is at present no intimacy between mother and daughter. With all friendliness, there is still no direct and immediate intercourse between the two bodies. Was it ever otherwise? The old records, to which one at first naturally turns for an answer, surprise us by their silence on this point. It seems strange to say it, but the old books of the two churches scarcely betray the fact that one church knew of the existence of the other. The Farmington church indeed, when men first began to settle at Matta- tuck, laid a hand of remonstrance on certain men by the name of Judd and on a certain other named Standley, saying to William Judd that they "see not his call to remove on account of any strait
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THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.
ness for outward subsistence," and counselled him, " if it may be with satisfaction to his spirit to con- tinue his abode with them." The whole party they urge (there being as yet no church established in the new region) to be "wary of engaging far until some comfortable hopes appear of being suited for the inward man." This caution, you will no- tice, was given to settlers previous to the formation of the church. But when the church at Mattatuck was finally organized there is no mention made of the fact; there is no large written entry running across the page to record the birth of a new church. Truly, so.far as the old pages go, these churches were mother and daughter only as the ledge of rock on the hillside is mother to the big boulder which has rolled down to the meadow below. The boulder and the ledge have parted, and are nothing to one another henceforth. So, if one look no further than the surface, did Farmington and Waterbury apparently lead separate and distinct existences.
But if any one should infer that these churches were in reality strangers to one another, he would greatly err. No ! they were really in close contact, the currents of life flowing continually from one to another. All along through their history these churches, and indeed all churches of Connecticut, present one type of feeling, of doctrine, of usage, and this similarity of type would indicate contin- ual intercourse and interdependence. It might well be that old German villages a few miles apart, and with a mountain between them, should diverge greatly in dialect and usage and dress; but these Connecticut churches, though twenty miles apart, were really near neighbors in spiritual things.
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THE CHURCH IN FARMINGTON.
Indeed all the twenty-five churches of the state were in pretty close connection with one another. Distinct organizations, they yet formed a homoge- neous body of great unanimity of sentiment.
There were several forces which tended to press the settlements and churches near together. One of these was the Indian, who by perpetual menace of tomahawk and torch did unintentional mission- ary work in making men discover the goodness and pleasantness of brethren dwelling together in unity. Especially in frontier towns like these, white men found themselves forced into a certain harmony of feeling as a defence against their sav- age neighbors.
Another compacting pressure was found in their similar religious perils. They had to fight hard to keep up Christian faith and practice, amid the hard- ships and anxieties of frontier life. It is very easy for settlers in a new country to let religious life burn low. And these early Christian people in Connecticut in their earnest struggle against hea- thenism among themselves were able the better to understand one another's experience. They became readily sympathetic with one another, as is natural for men who are fighting the same battle with the same resolute purpose. It is possible that their opportunities for intercouse were limited, yet these men, craving contact with neighboring towns and churches, came quickly to an understanding with one another, and the occasional intercourse which was possible went far in the way of promoting a sense of fellowship.
The fellowship of the churches was still further advanced by the sessions of the General Court.
-
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THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.
The churches were virtually all present there, by their ministers or prominent church members. Their continual association with one another on that floor, as well as the discussion of matters belonging to the churches (which made up a large part of the business of the legislature), was one prolonged process of weaving the church life of one section with that of another. This body was not unlike a house of bishops in its care of the churches. It decided, for instance, that one church must hasten to get a preacher; that a complainant from another church had no ground for complaint; it granted or refused permission to form new churches. In this body, as in a forum, the leading men of each community touched the men of other towns and churches, and gave and received thought and sentiment on religious affairs.
Finally, there came the interesting experiment which the Connecticut churches made in harness- ing themselves up into a stiff ecclesiastical fellow- ship. Good understanding and order were to be compulsory. Ministers of a county or half county were to be put in groups charged to keep the min- istry pure. Churches and ministers were put into yet other groups called " consociations," and were made responsible for good religious order in their dioceses. It was an armor which they could not wear long. Before long it was to be laid aside; but the effort to give themselves close coherence showed first of all the enjoyment of a fellowship already existing. The almost unanimous accept- ance of the Saybrook system was proof of a strong consensus in favor of the system, and the existence of such a common consent is evidence that a cer-
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THE CHURCH IN FARMINGTON.
tain amount of fellowship had already come into being. But beside showing the existence of fellow- ship, the system provided for a further develop- ment of it. The meetings of the various ecclesias- tical bodies thus established brought men into fre- quent and close contact with one another. Although the records are strangely silent, the fact that men's hearts were warmed by Christian fellowship cannot be hidden. It lies written in records which are better interpreters of life than those yellow pages which make up the early archives of the church.
But this community of feeling is not a thing simply of the past. It is a happy reality of the present. There are now more avenues of commu- nication open between churches, and there is more of interchange of sentiment between them, than men are wont to suppose. Such measure of firm- ness and warmth of Christian faith as we happen to possess would, if it were realized, prove to be largely reinforced and braced by the goodly fellow- ship of the churches. To a very large degree we are aided by influences which circle among the churches, coming in to us at our windows and flow- ing out again to regions beyond.
Now in view of this comradeship of the churches we owe it to ourselves to recognize it and to get the good which it is designed to do us. In this connection we may properly ask ourselves whether we ought not to make more of the gathering of churches in conferences and the like. Possibly some of us have a distaste for these meetings. But believe me, many a man who has gone to such places prepared to be wearied with much dullness and many infelicities has in this unpretending assembly
5
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THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.
found an outlook given to him upon a wider field of the Christian life, and an opportunity afforded for beholding a type of religion different from his own, but noble, interesting and profitable to con- template. The Book of Revelation speaks of a cer- tain voice as being like a voice of many waters. Such a manifoldness of voice a man may detect if, with ear ready to hear, he will sit and listen in some of these assemblages of the churches. If he has a soul at all in sympathy with human life, he will hear (from among the commonplace and the tedious, always to be met with in such places) a voice varied and rich with the manifoldness of human experience.
We are set round about with a savagery not of war paint, but a savagery of immoralities, dishon- esties, quiet cruelties and selfish unbeliefs, and we need that help which can be got by contact with friends and by the sight of the regiments, divisions and corps of that great army of which we are a part. In view of this fellowship of the churches we owe it also to others to recognize it and to see to it that the strength of some be brought to the support of such other parts of our commonwealth as are weak. There are great changes going on. In one place the change consists of a coming in of foreign life, and the local church cannot alone grapple with it. In other places our sympathies are touched by the decay of the old New England life. When the farmhouses are falling to pieces, decay threatens also the old church. Old and fail- ing towns tend to become bad towns; and these are a source of infinite harm to the state. Bad men and women will come from them into your commu-
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THE CHURCH IN WATERTOWN.
nities; bad streams will flow into state politics; foul vapors will float down and rest on the life of the commonwealth. But where weakness appears, the strength which other regions can furnish should be brought to its aid. In old times the churches, as we have said, were members one of another; and we of this day are no less closely knit in interest with our sister churches. The prob- lem of the city is one to be studied by all of the churches. The problem of the country towns be- longs also to all of us. It cannot be solved by those who are in immediate contact with the evil, but must be taken up by all the churches of the state. The robust and well-to-do are, by means of their courage and gifts, to aid in bearing burdens which rest very heavily on other parts of the state.
The churches of Waterbury, Farmington and those which have sprung up in this region since we went apart, are all fingers of one hand, members of one body. The bond is no less real than it was in former days, nor do I believe that the church is less ready to meet obligations which we owe as members of that body of which our Redeemer is the Head.
THE CHURCH IN WATERTOWN.
BY THE REV. ROBERT PEGRUM.
Believing that the records of church history give to us numerous proofs of divine faithfulness and lead us to remember our own duties and privileges, we do well thus to assemble for the appropriate celebration of the bi-centennial of the First church
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THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.
of Christ in this city. My part in these interesting exercises is to extend the heartiest congratulations and best wishes of the first-born child to her aged mother on her two hundredth birthday; and, as it always affords pleasure to parents advanced in years to remember the youthful days of their chil- dren, it is my intention to remind our ecclesiastical mother of some of the experiences connected with the early life of the eldest daughter.
Watertown, originally a part of Waterbury, was first permanently settled in 1721. The "Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut " state that in October, 1732, thirty-two men petitioned the General Court for "winter privileges." The fol- lowing is a copy of the petition:
Whereas a considerable number of families in the northwest corner of the bounds of Waterbury town, by their great dis- tance from the meeting-house (which is to several nine miles and to those that are nearest three), and exceeding bad way, and more especially by reason of a great river, called Waterbury river, which for the great part of the winter and spring is not passable, are debarred from the hearing of the word preached, to the number of above thirty families, we having met together, September, 1732, and appointed the subscribers, then and there to petition the town of Waterbury for an abatement of our parts of the minister's rate for the space of four months (namely, the three winter months of this present winter com- ing and the month of March next) in case we should hire a minister on our own charge to preach the word among us, and they, the rest of said town, refusing, we have appointed Dea- con Samuel Brown and Lieutenant Samuel Heacock our com- mittee, to represent and lay our difficult circumstances before this honorable Assembly; and the humble prayer of your memorialists is that we may have liberty to hire a minister for the space of those four months before mentioned, being the most difficult part of the year, at our own charge, and that we also may have an abatement of our parts of the minister's rate
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THE CHURCH IN WATERTOWN.
and be discharged from paying the minister of the town of Waterbury during said four months, as we have a minister among us, either for this present year or for a longer time, as you in your great wisdom shall think best. And your memo- rialists shall, as in duty bound, ever pray.
This memorial, the original of which is still ex- tant, was dated October 4th, 1732, and signed by Samuel Brown and Samuel Heacock. On the back of it are thirty-two names, the list being headed by Capt. William Heacock and Dr. John Warner. The petition was granted for four years.
In May, 1733, they asked to be made a society, stating that they had hired a minister, Mr. Daniel Granger, that they were "universally suited in him " and that he was not "ill pleased " with them. This petition and two similar ones, in May and October, 1734, were denied. In October, 1736, forty- five families asked to be made a society, and were again denied; but they were allowed five months "winter privileges " for two years. In May, 1737, they asked again to be made a society, and were denied. In October, 1737, on petition, a com- mittee was appointed by the General Court to consider their case and report. In May, 1738, the committee reported in favor of their being made a distinct ecclesiastical society, and pro- posed a line of division; but Waterbury opposed the movement, and a new committee was appointed. This committee in May, 1738, reported thirty-seven families and a population of 230 in the proposed society. In October, 1738, the committee reported the same line, and the petition was granted, the society being named Westbury.
The first meeting house was erected in 1741. The second church edifice was built in 1772; and,
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THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.
as a very large quantity of heavy timber was used in its construction, the builders were obliged to get assistance from five towns in order to raise it. The present church edifice was dedicated January 29th, 1840.
In May, 1739, the ecclesiastical society of West- bury had leave granted them by the General Court " to embody in church estate," that is, to organize a church with the approval of neighboring minis- ters and churches. This church, with many others, was organized as the result of the "great awaken- ing," which began in 1735 and continued to 1741.
The first pastor was the Rev. John Trumbull. He graduated at Yale College in 1735, and was licensed to preach by the New Haven county Asso- ciation of ministers on May 29th, 1739. The min- utes of the council of churches that ordained Mr. Trumbull are still to be seen in the library of Yale University. According to these minutes, the exact date of his ordination and installation as pastor of this church was January 16th, 1740 (new style). The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the event was celebrated in 1890 .* From Barber's "His- torical Collections of Connecticut" we learn that
* The discourse delivered on this occasion was published in pamphlet form, with the following title: "A Memorial and Historical Sermon in celebration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Installation of Rev. John Trumbull, the First Pastor of the First Church of Christ in Watertown, Conn., Preached Sunday morning, June 1, 1890, by Rev. Robert Pegrum. Press of the Woodbury Reporter, 1890."
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