The Newtown bee., 1889-10-04

"a ssSss.
 I The Present Lees Chapel
 Until the year 1789, when Francis As-
 bury began to give New England ssJes- |se, there was no church building owned Iby the Methodist Episcopal church, and mo organized society under it's jurisdic-
 tion. Down in the town of Cheraw, s.
 C.,Jesse Lee, then travelling with MT As bury in his tour through the Southern
 States met young man from Massachu-
 setts, who presented him such scondi- tion of religious affairs in New England Ias beg0t within him a strong desire and
 purpose to go as Methodist pioneer to
 this interesting field. This was in the year 1785 and it was not until the year 17S9 that Bishop Asbury, at the confer
 ence held on May 28, 1789, appointed Rev Jesse Lee as pastor of the brand
 new Stamford circuit. Norwalk Metho- disms has becomingly celebrated Lees l first sermon under the apple tree from
 the text, = Ye must be born again. June
 IS, he preached at Fairfield, now South l port. June l9,he preached in Bridgeport.
 June 21, in the court house at New Ha-
 ven. June 24, at Reading and afterward \ at Danbury and Ridgefield. But it was ! tours of visitation and preaching took l definite shape. On that date, at the
 house of Joseph Hall, Stratfield, one
 mile and half north of Toilsome hill, ] four miles from Bridgeport, having l preached from John K, 27, My sheep
 hear my voice, and I know them and
 they follow me- speaking at length sson that sound doctrine, peculiar to the
 Methodists, the possibility of falling from grace , he held a kind of class meeting, l organizing New England's first Metho- tdist class, composed of three elect ladies,
 Mrs Wells (formerly Hall), Miss Ruth Hall and Mrs Risley. The success of an organization depends largely upon it's first management. The debt Methodism owes to womensis beyond possibility of estimation. Methodism in New Eng land to-day, at the close of it's first cen 1tury, with it's four great conferences and large portions of three more; it's 1000 travelling preachers, Al ,525 communi- cants, 40, 1908 Sunday school scholars, To- v churches, $l0,4 ,2s0 worth of church property and it's annual payments of
 $868, ,050 for ministerial support and $63, ,49S for missions, besides all other benevolent collections, is not otashamed of the fact that it's first class were all wo- men and that of necessity one of these women, being the leader of the class, must have been the first lay officer of the church in New England.
 In the year 1795, this class, largely reinforced in membership and ambitious for greater facilities for the evangeliza- tion of surrounding country, construct ed and were occupying the original Lees chapel. It stood on ground with in d stones throw of the present resi- dence of Nelson T. Hall. There is not 9 church building in all the connection now, but what is more comfortable more elegant, than this first temple of New
 England Methodism. Only frame
 building, 3Ox24 feet on the ground, no I porch outside, no vestibule inside, no cushions on the seats, no carpets on the floors, no stoves, no paint inside or out
 side, the doors were never locked. But, I as Dr G. l.. Taylor has said: 1.-The in terior was sunny, like the religion taught
 there. No dim religious light for those
 early Methodists, either natural or spirit
 ual. All was clear, positive shining, like the experience they rejoiced in" In 1872, as the great majority of members lived north and southeast of the church, it was agreed to abandon the location
 and build in a more central place.
 The building was sold to Sherwood
 Seeley, who removed itand used the tim bers in constructing and repairing out |buildihgs on his farm; but two of the
 timbers remain, two large sills in fine
 state of preservation, filling in their fhundredth year an important place in g ]. barn owned by F. T.. Staples, who lives
 near the church. From one of these timbers, which will be sonnd at the end l of another century ifskept from expos
 ure, Rev Dr Taylor secured, Friday
 morning, September 27, section sufii-
 ciently large for a cane, which is to re- \ place the cherry cane presented Bishop l Foster at the last conference. In the
 Fall of 1872, the church, completed on
 the spot where it now. stands, was ded-
 icated, the sermon being preached by
 Newton Bangs from Haggai II, g. The
 deed of the land was given by Dan iel Sherwood to Andrew Lyon and Sher-
 wood Seeleys trustees, March %, 1913
 and was recorded by Nathan Wheeler
 register, in Book II, page ls9, in the j town of Weston. In 1856, extensive
 changes and Improvements were made ! in the building, at cost of s2000, under 'l the management of building commit ' tee consisting Of B- T Beers, Zenos Johnson and Robert Bonsall. gain in I 1885, as much as SS00 were expended in ! the addition Of the recess,in painting the exterior, decorating the interior and
 purchase Of furniture. And again ii -l 1889, q 70o-pound bell has been put ir the belfry, there has been exterior anS Interior painting and decoration at ar
 expense of over &300.
 a'he old Lees Chapel claims two soci