The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-05-05

Judas. The fact that he is still nomin-
ally in the household operates to aggra-
vate his selfcOnsciousness, which is per-
haps the heaviest chastisement that
could befall him. But let the danger
of our plan be remembered IC is that of
overlooking or forgetting error, and in
making light of an unrepented SIN. If
we may not follow the method of the
fathers we may well ponder their keen
sense of wrong and their answering
allegiance to duty.
Calamities befell the young church.
Its first house of worship dedicated in
'3S and enlarged in "a, was burned to
the ground In '64 Only the lecture
room desk, few cushions and books
remained of all that had been so patient
ly toiled for. The present chapel opened
in '66 was used as a church for nearly
nine years, the house in which we are
now worshipping being dedicated No
vember IA.
The society was poor for years. Ad-
vance from a material point of view was
by means of unusual exertion and sacri-
flee. But it was rich in brave men and
women. Certain names have come down
to us as household treasures. The first
committee chosen to fulfil the conditions
Stephen Bingham, Seth Hathaway Jr.
and E. J. Waters. The first deacons
were Stephen Bingham and Issac Cras-
sett. The names of Lawrence, Atwater,
Webb, SOuthwOrth and Gould appear;
then Scott, Hiram Bingham, Cobb, Nc
lntire and Redfield bring US along the
official line to men who are now living.
These worthless of old honored their call
ing. The resolutions recorded on the
death Of certain of them are not uncer-
tain tokens of the profound regard in
which they were held by the Church.
The society also had its pillars. Too
much credit can hardly be given to
Ashel Booth the arst President. In
tinatsly associated with him were DIR.
Horace Smith, Benjamin Webb, Alison
Squires and Hiram Ray. The first build
ing committee consisted of Stephen
Dewey, Ashel Booth, Stephen Pratt
and Seth Hathaway Jr. After the
FIRE of '64 another building committee
was chosen on which, in connection
with men new active in the society, were
Hon. T. ". Park and Geo. s. Bradford.
The third and last committee on build
ing contains the name of only one not
now in oar midst, that of Hiram BiHg-
ham.
Temporal affairs frightened. The
faithfulness of men, and no less that of
women, brought it's visible reward. The
fifteen years under Rev. A. LoOmis wit
messed an administration, most ecOnom-
ical from necessity. The memorable
twenty years under Rev. C. II. Hubbard
saw the village far on the road to pros
perity; and the twenty years since his
resignation have apparently established
the financial footing of the Society. Last
year more than six Thousand dollars
were raised without great sacrifice, more
than one third of which was discussed
in charities.
The church rolls have heightened.
With now and then backward move
nent, an increase of members annually
during the entire period of fifty seven
years, has been the rule. Beginning
with As the membership arose to
the number of 1872 in 10 To-day we
number more than four hundred.
AS to quality we should speak with
great modesty and yet subtracting some
thing from the glamour that gathers
around the past, and excepting the
giants of those days, We may say that
integrity and the energy of faith are
marked characteristics of the present
The church embraces just now large
number of those whom the future will
hold in great generation.