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Un de4 symboiea suivants ^pparaftra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le caa: le symbole — «»signifie "A SUiVRE ", le symbols y signifie "FIN". rrata :o 36 .re, 1 a 3 32X Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely inck'ded in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: 1 2 3 Les cartas, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtro filmte ;ing the unify of Christ's Church throughout the world, of which this is l)ut a brunch, wc do now cordiully invite all who loA'o the Lord Jesus in sincerity un.l truth, to partici- pate witli us in the Conununion of the Lord's Supper. For the table is not ours but the Lord's. RULES, NOTICKS, &c. The members of other Churches and non-professing Christians who worship with this Church, are earnently invited to join without delay. Thi.' vJ))urch will receive letters of dismission from anv other .vangelical Church, but holds itself at liberty to ex- amine persons presenting such letters in the same manner as those received on profession of faith. Members '^f other Churches are receh^ed by vote at a Church Meeting. All applicants will be examined in the manner the Church Committee consider necessary. The names of those approved by the Church Committee for reception, will be read at the weekly prayer meeting, Sabbath service, or a church meeting, two weeks before the Communion. Those who are thus propounded will be voted upon by the Church before admission. A member who may permanently remove to another place, shrald within a year apply for a letter of dismission, if connection with a Church in the locality is practicable. The deacons of the Church remain in office for life, or until the Church by vote accepts their resignation or orders an electior. The other officers of the Church are elected at the Annual Meeting of the Church in each year. The Church Couimittoe consists of the Mini^:tcr, Pea- 8 UNION STREET CHURCH. cons, Clerk, and Treasurer, and any others the Church may consider necessary. The Trustees are chosen by vote of the members of the Church and Congregation, and remain in office one year, or until their successors are elected. All who worship statedly with this Church, whether members or non members, are fraternally invited to attend the meetings of the Church and Congregation, summoned annually, and from time to time, in order that the Church and Congregation may consult together, and co-operate in every matter relating to the welfare of the Church and Sanctuary. Members of the Church or Congregation are requested, when ill, to notify the pastor or deacons. This Church earnestly recommends the principles of Total Abstinence, and trusts each member will do all in his power to discountenance the drinking usages of society. The Church considers immoral conduct, breach of express covenant vows, neglect of religious or relative duties, and avowed disbelief in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, as offences deserving its censure. The censures inflicted on offenders are private reproof, public admonition, suspension from Church privileges or excommunication, according to the nature of the offence. Notice of any proposed important alteration in the rules and practices of the Church, must be given at a meeting at least two weeks before final action is taken. 4 " For one is your Master, even Christ, and ye are all brethren.''— Matt. 23. 10. Church s of the le year, svhether 3 attend nmoned Church lerate in rch and juested, [pies of all in society. 3ach of relative Dctrines reproof, leges or offence, he rules neeting Congregational Principles, History, &c. are all - g^Ci * Honest differences of opinion respecting church organiza- tion obtain, and will doubtless continue, till the end of time. Congregationalists believe it to be the privilege and duty of every person to search the Scriptures, and look to the Holy Spirit for light and truth. The right they claim for themselves they cheerfully' accord ; they acknowledge other Christian Churches, recognize the validity of their ministers, and welcome their members to the table of the Lord. They rejoice that the good and great of the earth are not confined to any one denomination of Christians, and they believe that the Divine Master recognizes the unity of His Church throughout the earth. John xvii. 20, 21. — "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word ; that they all may be one ; as thou. Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also maybe one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me." The following summary of Congregational principles and history is not put forward as authoritative, and should only be accepted as far as in accordance with the Word of God. The other statemonts should be compared with the best standard historical authorities. SUMMARY OF COxNGREGATIONAL PRINCIPLES. In religious belief, Congregationalists or Independents are Evangelical. They also believe that the Sacred Scriptures should be accepted above all human compositions ; and that tradi- tions or councils, canons or creeds, possess no authority over the faith and practice of Christians. They believe that the Lord Jesus is the only head of CONGREGATIONAL PRINCIPLES. the Christian Church ; and that the obedience due to Him should not be given to any man or body of men. That Christ's invisible Church is composed of all the redeemed on earth and in heaven. That Christ's visible Church on earth is made up of a great number of local Churches. That a local Church is an organization of Christians meeting in one place, united together for the worship of God and the work of the Gospel. That those who give evidence of true piety and regen- eration of heart are entitled to the privileges of member- ship in Christ's Church or Ecclesia. That all Church power resides in the members of a local Church, which is complete in itself, and subject to no external authority, save that of Christ, its head and master. That each local Church has power to perform all the functions, and do all the work which Christ has com- mitted to His Church on earth ; th:it it has a right to form its own creed, taking the Word of God for its standard ; and make such regulations, and none others, as are in accordance with the direction and spirit of the New Testament. That a Church has a right to elect its own pastor and church officers, and admit or exclude members. That a member of a local Church should submit to its government in all rightful Luitters ; but is not to be debarred from any of the privileges that belong to him as a Christian, by connection with a Church organization. That in view of the liberal teachings of Christ, a Church is not authorized to shui out from the Com- munion of the Lord's Supper those who love the Saviour Jesus, though conscientiously differing on minor points from the sn;»jority of the members. -I HISTORY, AC. 8 e to Him )f all the ? up of a Jhristians orship of d regen- inember- of a local 3ct to no lead and n all the las com- ri^ht to I for its e others, it of the istor and nit to its )t to be ;o him as at' on. l^hrist, a he Com- ; Saviour 3r points And that it is the duty of Christian Churches to hold Communion with each other, to entertain an enlarged affection for, and assist each other; that Christian Churches should co-operate for the promotion of the Christian cause; but that no Church, nor union of Churches, has the right or power to interfere with the faith and discipline of any other Church. Associations, unions, or councils, composed of the representatives of Churches may advise, but have no authority to con- trol the action of a Church. Congregationalists believe that the power of a Christian Church is wholly spiritual, and should in no way be cor- rupted by union with the temporal or civil power. SKETCH OF HISTORY, &c. As the Mosaic Dispensation with its types and shadows faded away before the brightness of the Redeemer, the Church of Christ arose in its place. Submitting Himself to the forms and ceremonies of the Old Testament, which He was to fulfil in His life and death, Jesus instituted a spiritual worship to supersede the formal and ceremonial. No narrow sectarianism did He propound to the world. He broke the fetters from the souls of men, and removed the heavy burdens. In the 18th chap, of Matthew, Christ refers to a Church as a brotherhood, and affirms the supremacy of its decisions. Christ gathered the materials for the Church at Jerusalem, and while He gave no special directions for its mode of government, the Apostles, after His ascension, recognized the brotherhood of believers, and the rights of all the members. The selection of even an Apostle was left to the Church, the number of names being one hundred and twenty, and was not made by the Apostles themselves. In like manner on the appointment of deacons, the election was made by the 4 CONGREGATIONAL PRINCIPLES, whole Church, although its members were numbered by thousands. Primitive Church Government.— That the Church organized in Jerusalem, as well as every Christian Church in the days of the Apostles, was governed *'Congregationally, " admits of no question. The mother Church at Jerusalem exercised no jurisdiction over the other Churches ; nor does the New Testament relate any acts of government by the Apostles, further than the laying down of general principles for the gui- dance of the body of believers of each Church ; nor is the aggregate of visible Churches in any one country spoken of as "the Church." Clement, of Rome, one of the early Christian writers, states that down to his time, the Church officers were appointed with the consent of the whole ecclesia or mem- bership. Cyprian states that in his day, the suftrages of the people were necessary for the election of a bishop, who presided over one Church, and not over a number of Churches. The Church historians of note of the present day, Hase, Kothe, Neander and Mosheim, the German Reformed Schaff, the Lutheran Guericke, the Episcopalians Bingham and Burton, the Roman Catholic Bollinger, state that the local Church in the early days of Christianity was supreme in itself, and that its members, not its officers, composed the controlling body. Br. Owen, a noted English divine of the seventeenth century, lays down the proposition that in no approved writer for the space of two hundred years after Christ is there any mention made of any other organically visible professing Church, but that only of the parochial or con- gregational. Mosheim says—-" In the first century, all the Churches HISTORY, &0. bered by Church Christian governed I. The isdiction sstament further the gui- )r is the ' spoken writers, rs were )r mem- rages of op, who nber of ', Hase, iformed ingham hat the upreme mposed iteenth ►proved hrist is visible or con- 11 mil PS were independent bodies, or none of them subject to the jurisdiction of the other. The Churches founded by the Apostles had no judicial authority, no control, no power of giving laws. On the contrary, it is clear as the noon- day, that Christian Churches had equal rights, and were in all respects on a footing of equality. Neither in the New Testament, nor in any ancient document whatever, do we find any thing recorded from whence it might be inferred that any of the Churches were at all dependent on, or looked up for direction to those of greater magni- tude or consequence. " Of the second century, Mosheim says, — " During a great part of this century, all the Churches continued as at first, independent of each other, each Church govern- ing itself by its own laws, enacted, or at least sanctioned by the people," yet, *' united together in one common bond of faith and love, and were in every respect ready to promote the interests and welfare of each other." Decline of Early Congregational Christianity. Towards the close of the second century, the Churches began to give up their privileges. Unity of spirit gave way to uniform legislation. Control was exercised over Churches in groups. Mosheim says, — " The whole face of the Church was changed, and took a new form, towards the close of the second century," and the ancient privileges of the people were diminished. Synods and councils arose, and not confining themselves to deliberation and counsel, " soon turned their influence into dominion, and their councils into laws, and asserted that Christ had empowered them to prescribe to His people authoritative rules of faith and practice." Gradually did the simple worship of the Apostolic days disappear; and the night of the dark ages fell upon the Church and the world. Eoclesiasties obtained control over the civil power, and the 6 CONGREGATIONAL PRINCIPLES, ecclesiastical and civil combined, crushed out nearly every vestige of free thought. Yet the world was not totally left without witnesses. From time to time men proclaim- ed the truth of the Apostolic days, either in whole or in part, until the Reformation burst asunder the heaviest shackles, and gave an unfettered Bible to our race in many countries. Revival op Congregationalism. — John Wickliffe, the forerunner of the Reformation, sowed far and wide the seeds of independent thought. Wickliffe encouraged men to read the Bible and think for themselves ; and thus prepared the way for the Reformation of a later period. £ .A J Towards the close of the sixteenth century, the promulga- ^ y tioi^of the polity of the New Testament as applied to the government of Churches, was undertaken by courageous men. The blood of Penry, Barrowe, Greenwood and others, moiste-'^d the eaith, while many were shut in damp prisons, or escaped to the Continent. Some of the exiles m Holland returned to embark for the new world, where they established Congregational Churches and Free Schools ; others returned to their native land, to take part in that mighty struggle which followed, for spiritual life and civil freedom. Congregationalism and Civil and Religious Liberty. - History relates, that Sir Harry Vane, a mem- ber of a Congregational Church, was the first man to proclaim the principles of civil and religious liberty on the floors of the British House of Commons. The historians Hume, Macaulay and Gibbon, men who loved not Congregational Independency, admit that it gave civil and religious liberty to the British Islands. Lord Brougham says of the Independents, — " They are a body of men to be held in lasting veneration for the unshaken fortitude with which in all tim^s thej have HISTORY, AC. arly every lot totally proclaim- hole or in 5 heaviest r race in ^ickliffe, and wide icouraged and thus jr period. )romulga- ied to the )urageous rood and : in damp the exiles Id, where ad Free take part itual life ELiaious ) a meiU' ? man to y on the tien who ,t it gave ■''They I for the iy have maintained their attachment to civil libert> ; for I freely confess it, they with the zeal of martys, with the puritv of early Christians, the skill and courage of renowned warriors, achieved for England the Free Constitution she now enjoys." "Of all Christian sects in Great Britain," says Hume the historian, this (the Independent) "was the first which during its prosperity as well as adversity, always adopted the principles of toleration." The Kev. Johnson Grant, an Episcopalian, says of the Independents of Great Britain,— " All the world will allow that in point of religious liberty, the conduct of the Independents when in power fulfilled the promises made by them in obscurity. They forgot and forgave the injuries they had sustained, and abused not their author- ity by the oppression of their brethren." Lord King, an Episcopalian, says, — "As for toleration, or miy general freedom of conscience, we owe all these to the Independents in the time of the Commonwealth, and to Locke, their enlightened and illustrious disciple." Representative Men of Modern Times. - The following are a few of the names of the represen- tative men, ministerial and lay, of Congregational In- dependency, since its restoration in the sixteenth cen- ' tury:— Penry, Barrowe, and Greenwood, martyrs ; Owen and Howe, Cotton and Goodwin, Nye and Charnock, divines of the sixteenth cmtmy, John Robinson and the J ilgrim Fathers ; Harry Vane, a martyr lor free govern- ment, one of the purest and noblest of politicians ; Oliver Cromwell, the world-renowned warrior and statesman, with leading statesmen of the Commonwealth and Protectorate; Ireton and Fleetwood, generals of the renowned "Ironsides;" John Milton, statesman and poet; Daniel Dofbo, champion of freedom, and Howard 1 '8 CONGREGATIONAL PRINClPLESj the philanthropist ; Crossloy and Morley ; Daniel Webster, liufus Choate, and Geo. Bancroft, — of Eni^land and America. Isaac Watts and Phillip Doddridge, poets and preachers; Eliot, Missionary of the 17th century ; John Williams, the martyr of Erromanga, Knill and Ellis of the London Missionary Society ; (loodell, and Dwight, and Hamlin. Missionaries of the American Board ; Jonathan Edwards and Edward Payson ; Dr. Kirk and Dr. Hopkins ; Leonard Bacon and Dr. Thomp- son ; Dr. Todd and Horace Bushnell; Bay Palmer and Ward Beeclier, of the United States. Dr. Wardlaw and Matthew Henry ; John Angell James and Dr. Alexander ; Kaleigh and Baffles ; Thos. Binney and Enoch Mellor ; Dr. Vaughan and Newman Hall, of the Mother Country ; Dr. Wilkes and Dr. Lillie, of Canada. Count Ajenor de Gasparin and Merle D'Aubigne, Monod and Pressense, ot the Evangelical Churches of the European Continent. Number of CongreGxVTIONal Churches:— In Eng- land, about 2200 ; Wales, 750 ; Scotland, 120 ; Ireland, 26; Channel Islands, 18; the Dominion of Canada, 120; other Colonies, 150 3384 In the United States, about .... ... 3100 In Heathen and other lands, 500 Evangelical or Independent Churches on the Continent of Europe, .... . . . 200 Total, 7184 There are also a large number of Union Churches essentially Congregational in their Church government. And in addition, not less than 15,000 Christian Chuiches bearing other names ; the greater part of them having terms of Communion which Congregationalists do not consider essential, yet similar in their mode of government. in HISTOKY, AC. 9 l^'ebster, id and 5, poets entury ; lill and ell, and merican n; Dr. riiomp- ler and law and :ander ; Mellor ; )untry ; ;nor de 3nse, ot ent. 'n Eng- 'reland, >anada, 3384 . 3100 500 . 200 7184 lurches ninent. iristian )f them )nalists [lode of The f?pread of Congregational principles through the earth can also be noticed in the tendencies of men at the present time in several communions and countries ^o resist the arbitrary exercise of ecclesiastical authority, and test both doctrine and practice by the Word of God. Congregationalism and Christian Union. —If the principles of Congregationalism were adopted, instead of a number of Churches struggling for existence in sparsely settled districts, persons holding different views on non-essential questions, might organize union Churches on a basis sufficiently liberal to admit those who love Christ, without any one having to give up his conscientious opinions. No religious body can hope by legislation, ecclesias- tical or civil, to induce men to worship in a uniform manner. Congregatlonalists look for the fulfilment of the I)rayer of Christ, that all His people may be one, in " the liaity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." '' Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ \:i snicerity."— Em. G. 24. " Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty."— 2 Cou. 8. 17. *' God is II Spirit; and they that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in truth." — John 4. 24. " One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." — Eph. 4. 5, 6. " Unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus through- out all ages ; world without end. Amen."