USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Kensington > Two hundredth anniversary, Kensington Congregational Church : organized December 12, 1712. Kensington, Connecticut, June 29th, 30th, July 1st, 1912 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
And so in this story of the Anniversary we try to tell some- thing of two hundred years-to show the power and truth of the lives of those who have guided the church from its pioneer-
21
struggle down through the centuries to the present-to hear again the voices of those righteous men whose effectual and fervent prayer has availed much-to hold up the example of those faithful lives as an inspiration for our own devotion and effort for the church and the kingdom of God.
"To her my cares and toils be given, Till toils and cares shall end."
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS
Sermon by REV. CORNELIUS W. MORROW, D.D.
"Raise the stone and there shalt thou find me, cleave the wood and there am I."
These suggestive words are found in a Greek papyrus con- taining sayings of Jesus, a papyrus probably dating as far back as the year 140 of our era. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt, two Egyptologists, at the little hamlet, Behnesa, where once stood the flourishing Roman city, Oxyrhynchus, "one of the chief centers of early Christianity in Egypt," 120 miles south of Cairo.
I am using these words as meaning that Christ is in all the normal activities of men,-in our industrial life, in our political life, in our professional life, in our life in the home,- as truly as in our religious life in the restricted sense of this expression, and that he is to be sought and honored in all the normal activities of man.
The theme to which your attention is asked is the mission of the church of Jesus. Let us reverently seek to get clearly in mind the end which our Lord would have his church keep in view and strive to realize.
To study a person, or an institution, intelligently we must have ideals, or standards. We cannot judge without princi- ples upon which to base our decision. Now a Christian church is to be estimated from the point of view of the program of Jesus. This is evident in the very name Christian,-that is to say, Christlike. A worthy church is one that follows the Divine Master.
Proposing in a reverent spirit of inquiry to regard the church from such an angle, the question arises, what was the aim in life, the mission, of the Lord?
He plainly taught that he came to establish the Kingdom of God, or of Heaven,-the terms are synonymous; and there- fore, the question arises, what did He mean by that kingdom?
REV. CORNELIUS W. MORROW, D.D.
REV. MAGEE PRATT
REV. HENRY L. HUTCHINS
23
Now, undoubtedly He meant God's reign in the hearts of men. Unmistakably He had reference to their spiritual life and, unquestionably, He had reference to their personal relation to God. He not only recognized, but stressed man's responsi- bility as an individual; but, on the other hand, he did not fail clearly to emphasize the fact of man's being of necessity a social creature, as in the Parable of the Prodigal Son and of the Good Samaritan. Man lives in relations with his fellows; he is a son, a husband, a father, a citizen, a business man, a professional man. As such Christ beheld him, and enjoined upon him the duty and privilege of living in those relations the only truly moral, satisfactory and triumphant life, which is the life of righteousness.
There is no good ground for holding that He aimed to set up a political kingdom, but He did purpose to introduce and to make supreme a moral kingdom which should furnish the form and spirit of all the thoughts and activities of men in all their relations both to God and to one another. "Jesus differed," a recent writer rightly says, "from the apocalyptists in looking not for the destruction of the present world, but for its absorption to a large extent by the new kingdom which was near at hand."
Even were this teaching not explicitly found in the life and words of the Great Master, it would be there implicitly, if His doctrine be true; for man is not an individual in any but a very restricted sense. When you think of him as an individ- ual self,- i. e., by analyzing him as a psychical being, throw out all the elements that belong to him as a social self,-you have what Aristotle would call a beast; indeed, something less than most beasts, for almost all beasts have some social char- acteristics. Take from a man his social characteristics and you remove from him his love, his language and his religion; and that is not all you remove from him. The truth is that we are not regarding concrete reality when we speak of man and society; as a matter of fact, it is always man in society. He is an integral part of society. He cannot exist sundered from his fellows; and as he withdraws from them he commits hara- kiri. Even for him to think much of himself as separated from others may be an evil thing, as it may result in a sickly, pietistic frame of mind and a feeling of irresponsibility with respect to those obligations which devolve upon him as in brotherly rela- tions to others.
24
Now, as far as Jesus is concerned, He not only recognized man as a social being, but enlarged and deepened the concep- tion of him as such. The religious views of the ancient Hebrews were racially narrow. It was of course under Christ's inspira- tion that St. Paul conquered his race prejudice and went to the Gentiles with his message of salvation. Today the dis- ciples of Christ are becoming impressed by the momentous truth, that Christianity is not only very extensive, but very intensive, not only comprehensive, but minutely particular. We see that it proposes not only to touch everybody, but to breathe its spirit of love into every legitimate human relation. It proposes to be supreme in human life down to its every detail. We are understanding that we cannot eat and drink to the glory of God, if we eat adulterated food and drink water with typhoid bacilli in it; and, further, that we must exert our- selves that our brothers shall, in this sense, also eat and drink to the glory of God.
Christ's program does not propose the establishment of a political kingdom, but it does propose the destruction, root and branch, of every political kingdom that is immoral, and to see to it that every political kingdom in all its elements is thoroughly Christian. It brooks no opposition in any respect in any human relation.
It seems to me plain that we need have no hesitation in saying that the mission of the Church of Jesus is to further, both directly and indirectly, the kingdom of God in all the ways in which the church can promote righteousness in human relations.
Both directly and indirectly. At this point there is dan- ger of making a serious blunder. It is true that Jesus wrought some of His greatest achievements indirectly. He did not directly attack slavery, intemperance, and other rampant social evils of His day, yet His spirit and teaching have been the strongest forces on earth against them. For not making the direct attack He had good ground. Had He not hidden truth in parables, had He not struck in a cloaked way at many of the glaring vices of His times, it is not venturing too far to say He would not have been permitted to preach even the three and a half short years; and St. Paul and many of His successors had to be on their guard lest they should, by indis- cretion, lose invaluable opportunities to sow Gospel-seed. But this fact should not be made the basis for any one of our
25
churches today here in America refraining from direct attack upon many social evils, which it can contend against not only without sacrifice of opportunity for service, but with increased opportunity through thus winning the respect of the community.
The indirect work of a Christian church may be very glorious; and where there is a large measure of the spirit of Jesus it must be; and of such indirect work I shall speak in a few moments; but, friends, when we pause to reflect do we not feel that Jesus, were He here on earth in America today, would not be silent on such questions as white slavery, divorce, special privileges, graft, bribery, adulterated food, the liquor traffic, child labor, the condition of the workingman and of the work- ingwoman? Speaking in no uncertain voice on these vital matters, which have to do not only with the body politic, but with the moral life of the nation, and involve the very existence of the church, He might have, perhaps, as nomadic a pastorate as He had of old in distant Palestine, but He would not be in any danger of being throttled; He could speak out, and He would speak out.
A church as His representative must take a mighty stand against flagrant wrongs in the social life about it, and must most earnestly and openly, here in America at least, seek to righten them; for only thus can it be a real power for right- eousness in the community and in the world.
I say in the world. Speaking of the church in general, Rauschenbusch does not misstate when he says that "The non-Christian peoples are getting intimate information about Christianity as it works in its own home. They travel through our slums and inspect Packingtown. They see our poverty and our vice, our wealth and our heartlessness, and they like their own forms of misery rather better. Our unsettled social problems dog the footsteps of the church wherever it goes. The social wrongs which we permit at home contradict our gospel abroad and debilitate our missionary enthusiasm at home."
He also calls attention to the significant fact (significant as having a bearing on some of our national problems, but also as having a bearing on questions of world-wide extent) that the church in Germany, by its attitude in days gone by to the rights of workingmen, has practically lost them all. Now they are in the ranks of social democracy, which while admir- able in some respects, yet is anti-church, atheistic and material-
26
istic, and, as you know, rapidly growing in numbers and power. The workingmen of America are teetering. If the church does not nobly, boldly, champion in their behalf the cause of right- eousness against injustice and oppression, they will take the same attitude as their brethren beyond the seas. And as sure as that two plus two make four, the cause of the workingman is going to win out in America. It ought to win; but it ought to be manifestly espoused by the church. If it is not, then the church in this country will be in the desperate condition of the church in Germany which, it is to be most devoutly hoped, is not too late in its present endeavor to win back what it so stupidly and wickedly permitted to slip away; yes, practically drove away from the institution supposedly representing the Carpenter's Son. I am glad that the church in America is awakening to its duty and privilege in this and kindred respects and that Stelzle's splendid work in New York City, Graham Taylor's in Chicago, and that of other social workers, may be regarded as signs of the approach of a thorough-going humane movement in the sphere of the industrial life, a movement of world-wide reach and power, inspired by the spirit of Christ.
It should never be forgotten that a true Christian church is "the incarnation of the Christ-spirit on earth," and as such cannot go sweetly on its isolated way. It must not forget that its Lord came in the line of the Hebrew prophets, who were social reformers and statesmen, who did very little, if any, fighting for the church as an institution, but fought and sacri- ficed for righteousness, as set over against oppression, everywhere in the social fabric. They were opposed to a religion of merely beautiful forms and rites. So was Jesus. A true Christian church represents Him. It makes uncompromising war on social evils. There is no doubt as to where its minister stands. He is outspoken. He does not truckle to the man with the gold ring; and he should be able to rejoice in the knowledge that his people are with him as he humbly, but boldly, seeks to show that he, too, like his great Master, is one of the prophets of righteousness.
A church that realizes the mind of Jesus must, it seems to me, avowedly, courageously and untiringly work for the uplift of man in all respects. Its spirit should produce all forms of philanthropy. It should oppose evil in any direction. As it seeks the furtherance of the kingdom of God it should not be halted by the charge of stepping outside of its sphere. The
27
way in which our courts are run, the way in which our political conventions are conducted, the way in which our elections are carried on, the way in which business is done in Wall Street and elsewhere,-such questions concern the American church vitally, for here enters a course of conduct that has its root in man's moral nature; and where that is the case the church must act or forfeit its right to respect. In fact, when under such circumstances it does not act, it so far ceases to be Chris- tian. Today in America there is no good excuse for the church's not playing a large, aggressive, positive part in the general national housecleaning that is already in progress. To do a great work for righteousness and through it acquire new life and increased influence there is an unparalleled opportunity for the church in this country. May this local church, and every church in the land, vigorously, outspokenly, directly engage in the battle for justice against injustice, honesty against dishonesty, purity against impurity, everywhere in the life social. Let there be no mincing of words. Rather permit the rich young ruler to stay outside of the church than to enter it with his gold, to introduce perchance the spirit of caste.
But there is another phase of the mission of a church, already referred to, to which I would draw special attention. A body of believers, animated by the spirit of Christ, always exerts a quiet, indirect, sometimes unconscious, influence,- an influence pervasive, transforming and mighty. It thus does a work which the human historian cannot put in his annals. The record, however, is kept above. Could we read the full story of the Kensington church we should be amazed and joyed to discover that in hundreds of instances the Christ-spirit transfigured human life, while those most concerned were perhaps scarcely conscious of the change being wrought in them, wholly unaware of the source of the transforming influence. Every truly Christian body has its hidden life, precious, fructi- fying, not less important than the life that is conspicuous. Prayers have been fervently made in this room and elsewhere, through the influence of this church, that were never voiced, but heard and answered by God. Under the persuasive words of the men of faith who have stood in this pulpit, the profound- est depths of the souls of many hearers have been stirred and a life in Christ begun, the preachers all unconscious of the good work wrought by them, perhaps never to know.
28
Then, how great, but real and fine that influence of a church which has its source in what I might call the mystic fellowship of its members. Those spiritually minded people, whom we call the Quakers, sometimes meet in a service where there are no audible prayers, no reading of the Scriptures, no speaking and no music; but to them and to any entering into the spirit of such a gathering, there is much uplift of heart and resultant strength for living the Christian life. And fellowship in every real communion of Christian men and women is spirit- ualizing. You and I, and all Christians, are blessed in our inner life just by sitting together in heavenly places with Christ and in Christ. Does not St. Paul teach us that by meditating on Christ we are transformed from glory to glory? The inner, secret life of the church is most blessedly and richly fruitful in the changes it brings to pass in our spiritual nature.
I am sure that did we know the heart-life of this church in all its height and depth, its length and breadth, we should be amazed at what God hath wrought through the instrumen- tality of this branch of Zion. Changes in the surface of the stream of the life of such an institution may be seen and studied, but changes equally as significant go on in the depths below, invisible to human eye. And this life, especially as concerns its depths, is not confined to the four walls of the church edifice, or to strictly religious exercises, but continues, or flows on, in pretty much every turn man's energy may take. "Raise the stone and there thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there am I." The spiritual life of the church does not become extinct when we separate at the door of the sanctuary and go forth to our tasks in the great work-a-day world. We take it with us. It sanctifies all we do; it breathes the spirit of love into all our relations with our fellow men.
So, then, the mission of the church is to represent Christ; to do the work He would have done; to further the Kingdom of God. The church is to work directly and indirectly. Where- ever it can promote the spirit of love, wherever it can further the cause of righteousness, there it is to see its field of labor.
One has well said that "Christianity has called the church into existence, not the church Christianity. Great and noble has been the mission of the church, blessed and beneficent her influence; but the revealed truth entrusted to her keeping is greater than herself. She is a witness to her glorified Master, and, in the sense of her own dignity, to forget for a moment
29
the undivided supremacy of her living Head, is to cut away the ground beneath her own feet. The chased and ornamental cup is beautiful to the eye, but its use is to convey the water to the parched lips of the dying man. The failing senses of the suffering wretch will not heed the beauty of the cup, if it be empty of the living water. The glory of the church is in the faith committed to her charge."
And what is that faith? Not merely an abstract creed, but a living faith which moves men to organize themselves into churches, not simply in order to establish churches, but because through the agency of the churches they can co-operantly, as earnest, ardent, tireless followers of Christ, further the inter- ests of the kingdom of God,-even righteousness in all the social relations of humanity.
My dear friends, for two hundred years the Kensington Church has been an organization loyal to its Glorious Head; and therefore, as we think of its future, we cannot doubt its continued devotion to Him; aye, we believe that with widened vision it will stand in this community for what is best and noblest, touching and transforming life in more directions and with greater particularity, helping, with increasing effective- ness, to usher in the great day when upon even the bells of the horses shall be inscribed the words, "Holy unto Jehovah."
ADDRESS AT THE CHRISTIAN LANE CEMETERY
DEACON DAVID N. CAMP
The early settlers of the Connecticut Colony were not only persons of strong religious faith and decided political opinion, but among them were men of unbounded enterprise. The first settlement of Hartford and Wethersfield had hardly been made and rude cabins erected, when inhabitants of these settlements, in 1639, petitioned the General Court "for some enlargement of accommodations at Unxos Sepos." The next year the grant was ordered, a settlement made, and in 1645, less than ten years after Rev. Thomas Hooker had crossed the wilderness from the vicinity of Boston to Hartford, Farmington became a town, with all the rights and duties of other towns in the colony. The governor, officers of the General Court, and some of the leading men from the older towns invested in the new enterprise. The place increased in population and importance. A church was organized in October, 1652.
In less than twenty years after Farmington became a town, attention became directed to this valley, as valuable for agricultural purposes. Jonathan Gilbert, Daniel Clark, officers of the General Court, and others, obtained grants of hundreds of acres in this place, then termed the Great Swamp. So uncertain were the bounds, that in one of the early grants to Gilbert he was allowed to take 350 acres, "provided that it be not prejudicial where he finds it, to any plantation that now, or hereafter, may be settled." The most direct path between Hartford and New Haven passed through this valley and brought the land into notice of travelers. Andrew Belcher, a Boston merchant, who had dealings with the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies, in passing between the two capitals seemed to have his attention called to this land. He married one of Gilbert's daughters, bought the tract of over a thousand acres owned by his father-in-law, and added to it by other purchases and grants from the General Court. He then pro-
THE HOME OF REV. WILLIAM BURNHAM 1709
THE HOME OF REV SAMUEL CLARK
1759
31
ceeded to construct roads and build tenement houses, preparing the way for settlement.
In the meantime the inhabitants of Farmington had ex- tended their lines on the east to Stanley Quarter and East Street, and on the west by the side of the mountain to Hart Quarter. In 1686-7 Richard Seymour and others from Farm- ington began a settlement at Christian Lane. The families remained connected with the Farmington church, attended Sunday services at Farmington and buried their dead in Farm- ington churchyard. At that time, the bier on which the coffin was placed was usually borne by men from the house to the place of burial. The journey to Farmington on Sundays to attend public worship and on week days to bury their dead, taken as it was on foot, eight miles over a primitive path, through the woods, must always have been a wearisome one.
. At length it began to be considered whether relief might not be obtained by having a minister for themselves a portion of the year. The purpose is shown in the petition to the Gen- eral Assembly as follows:
"The principal and only moving cause of this our humble petition is the remoteness from any town, whereby we are under great disadvantage for our souls' good, by the ministry of the word and in that your humble petitioners may be under the better advantage to set up and maintain ye ordinances of Jesus Christ in that desolate corner of the wilderness, we hum- bly request that your honors will please to annex to our bounds for the only use of said society all those lands that are between our bounds southward and Wallingford bounds northward for the benefit of the taxes of said lands, for ye support of ye public charge of said society. October 15, 1705."
The petition was granted, a new society was formed and a minister engaged. About the same time the question of a more convenient place for the burial of their dead was consid- ered. The Indians had a burial place on the banks of the Mattabesett to the east, and this beautiful place near the site of the meeting house, then building, was selected. Tradition tells us that the body of the generous donor of the plot, killed by the falling of a tree, was the first to be interred in this "God's Acre." (But Farmington records show that Mr. Burnham deeded the land, which he had previously purchased of Samuel Seymour, to the society.) The cemetery now became the rest- ing place of the lifeless bodies of the dead from the Great Swamp
32
Parish, not only from the families living on the plain, but from those two or three miles distant, as far north as the Stanley Memorial Church in New Britain. In some instances whole families were laid side by side in this cemetery, while in others there were separations, one portion finding a resting place in this ground while another was resting in a churchyard at Farmington, or the later cemetery at New Britain. Stephen Lee, who more than any other man was instrumental in securing the organization of the Great Swamp church and society, whose name stands next the minister's in the records of the church and who was the leader in securing the incorporation of the New Britain Society at a later date, died the year before that act was consummated and was buried in this cemetery. His grave remains isolated and alone while those of his widow and a large family are to be found in other cemeteries. Though separated in their place of burial, their spirits may be united where there shall be no death and no parting.
The meeting house once standing on yonder bank as guard- ian of this cemetery has passed away. The brave men and women who walked these streets and followed the lifeless forms of loved ones to this consecrated place are gone, but this ground shall be held in grateful remembrance of the lives and deeds of those who founded this ancient church. The storms of more than a hundred winters had swept over these graves; the ravages of time had left their impress on every part of this enclosure; when willing hands guided by noble purpose re- claimed the grounds and made them worthy to mark the beginnings of a noble enterprise.
THE HISTORY OF THE KENSINGTON CHURCH
REV. CARLETON HAZEN.
The history has been revised and expanded beyond the limits of the original address. Care has been taken to preserve the peculiarities of the ancient docu- ments cited.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.