The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-08-19
HAvENMoBNNG COURIER MONDAY i9

choice of one to serve as an assistant deacon for the present, and were unan- imous in the choice of Moses Ford, The records then go on to show that a few new members were admitted from time to time. and that a number of children were baptized. They had no pastor but the Rev, Dr. Stiles, presl- dent of Yale college, appears to have been present frequently and adminis- tered the sacraments, though sometimes it was Rev MT. Beech. These records run on till January, l795, when they break off abruptly and lapse into com- plete silence. It was in May of this year that the legislature constituted the East Plain Ecclesiastical society, and in Au- gust the council met which organized this church. among the names of the original members of which ap- pear some of several who were recorded as belonging to the other organization, which seems now to have passed out of sight. Now what does this mean? We can only try to read between the lines and draw our in- ferences It looks as though the form CT organization had been attempted without the approval of, and in the faces of the opposition of the parent churches. for they had denied them their letters. And it looks as though as time went on they were not fellow shipped or recognized as a regular church by the New Haven churches, and as though these old churches still claimed them as members with all the duties and obligations thereto pertain ing. That they were not recognized as a regular church, seems borne out | by the fact that the record does not show case in which New Haven pastor came to them to administer the sacraments, and also by the fact that | in the record of the council which fin ally did organize this church reference is made to preparing the way for their | settlement as a regular, and acknow- ledged as a sister church. with the | word regular" underscored. And it | looks as if as time went on these strain ed relations became very uncomforta- ble, and there came to be a feeling that | it was not right, not Christian, for them
 to continue, and that concessions must be made and a compromise effected so that they might dwell in unity. And | it looks as there came to be an agree ment that if these people would aban-
 don their old organization and start anew in the regular way, and unite
 the church of the vicinage to a council
 to organize them, the New Haven
 churches would grant them their let ters, and their fellowship to the new | ha h Ivy not unanimous on the part of the Ham
 den people, for there were quite num- Der of those who had joined the former organization, whose names do not ap- pear when our church was organized
 It is probable that they felt too much | grieved at abandoning the movement which must have become very much
 cherished by them. It certainly does seem that far more concessions were made by our people than by the New Haven churches. But Abraham filling and some other of the influential spir- | its among them seem to have been | disposed to yield, and we may place 1t to their credit that they did so in the interests of peace and good will And
 so everything was dropped and an en- tirely new start was made. A council was called for the 9th of August, and this time there were representatives
 present from all the churches in New
 Haven, West Haven, Woodgridge, and
 Hamden. The record of the council
 sets forth that aSnumber of the inhabi- tants of East Plain society who were
 members of neighboring churches re- | quested advice of said council what
 steps they should take in order to be- come district and regular church.
 In compliance with this request the council unanimously recommended that
 they should apply to those neighboring churches with which they were connect
 ed for certificates of their regular stand ing therein while they continued with said churches and that such certificates be exhibited to said council at their next adjourned meeting in order to prepare the way for their settlement as
 a regular and acknowledged as a sister church. For this purpose the council adjourned until the 18th day of Au- gust, at which time they met, and
 agreeable to their former recommends
 tion twelve persons (the apostolic num- ptlp plOduCeu CeI tlllCdlc u LDSlT
 bership and regular standing in other
 churches We next read that they all
 subscribed to a quite remarkable doc
 ument, which perhaps is accounted for
 by the foregoing events. The docu-
 ment runs as follows: 'We, whose
 names are underwritten, members of
 neighboring churches, have agreed,
 with the appropriation of those church
 es and of the Ecclesiastical council con-
 vened in this society, to be established
 as a regular distinct church, for the greater convenience of attending gos-
 pei worship and ordinances. We pro-
 fess ourselves in charity with the regu-
 lar churches and standing ministry.
 "We also acknowledge the candor of
 the churches with which we have been particularly connected, and ask their
 Christian forgiveness and charity for
 whatever on our part, or on the part
 of any of us, may have caused grief
 Continued on Third Page)