Pew Versus Pulpit
Like many of our ancestors, mine were God fearing and stoic in their belief. Reverence and respect were the bywords by which congregations gathered and worshiped. My ancestors in New England in 1659 were a puritan lot, wholly dedicated to the Lord. This is a part of the story of the beginnings of their church in Topsfield, MA, and what relevance it holds for our church today.
Topsfield, as so many towns in the Bay Colony, had had its problems with settling a church and obtaining a minister since its inception. In nearly every town in New England, the church and the minister were the main topics of conversation and at the bottom of many related quarrels. At the root of colony religious dissension was an ideal that each "congregation would be a little knot of brothers tied together by their common interests...great emphasis was put upon loving one another and peaceableness."
This worked out pretty well as planned in the first years of the Colony, but as the second generation came of age and appeared on the scene, members began to split into factions; the majority prevailing even over the minister. He previously was the one who could get everyone to come together and smooth over the rough patches. In later times, he could become a polarizing figure in the community. Even so, most individuals held a "genuine respect for the sacredness of his office and the pre-eminent position accorded to the man of God himself."
The Colony ruled that towns were responsible for paying their ministers, plus every citizen was required by law to attend the local church services. This brought politics into religion which was never a good mix. Setting his salary was the first and foremost item, before he even arrived on the scene. Setting his salary was one thing and collecting it was quite another; it was usually made up of a small amount of money, the bulk "in kind" (farm produce, bushels of grain, etc.) and his firewood - cut and delivered. It rarely worked out as promised, and he was forced many times to go to court to collect his wages. At best, he was forced to farm or perform other secular work to make ends meet for his family.The life of a village preacher was a demanding one. There were numerous written and unwritten rules for him - he was to tend to his religious duties and study, but he also had to farm or teach to support his family. He had to deal with the minutest concerns of his parishioners. "He was expected to be highly educated, set an example of 'holy walking'...and denied the privilege of attending town meetings as he was supposed to be divorced from mere politics."
There is some confusion whether Rev. Perkins, (Topsfield’s first preacher) was ever ordained as minister of Topsfield, even though he preached for the congregation there from 1656 to early 1663. Ordination of a minister in those days was the flock's approval of him and his work among them, but many times it did not occur for several years. The day of ordination was a day-long celebration and people came from miles around to join all the festivities, albeit sacred."In 1659 (early spring), a notable incident occurred. Zaccheus Gould is said to have sat down on the end of the table about which the minister and scribe sit, with his hat full on his head and his back toward all the rest. Although spoken to by the minister and others he altered not his posture. He spoke audibly when the minister was preaching....Zaccheus was presented Mar. 29 (1659) at the Ipswich Court for disturbance in public worship at the time of singing the psalm. Witnesses against him were the officiating minister, Rev. William Perkins and Isaac Cummings. Cummings' name appears on various occasions as a complainant against Zaccheus and his son John. The order of the Court was that the defendant be admonished."
Zaccheus' actions during that church service may have been the result of 3 years of Perkins' sermons; something said during the service, his mannerisms, or the lack of an uplifting message - Zaccheus had had enough. Others in the congregation may have felt the same but would never act on it..Information in records and narrative lead us to believe that numerous members in the Bay Colony found their church services becoming "dry" and uninspiring.
Villages throughout the Colony had problems with their preachers, most showing their disaffection by withholding their ministerial rates, not by disrupting the services with their hats on in the meeting house and their backs to the congregation. After some reflection following his outburst during the "singing of the psalm", Zaccheus asked for permission to speak to the Congregation after the next service, which was granted him. They may have expected an apology, but whether they got one or not is unknown. Apparently what they heard was a talk sympathetic to the Baptists and Quakers* which many did not care to hear, so they walked out on him. He had done little good for himself that day. It was not long until Zaccheus Gould was "summoned to Court to answer the complaint of his abusive carriages in the meeting house..." His punishment was admonishment, not a fine.Perkins did not please a good number of people (my ancestor Zaccheus Gould a leading detractor) so when "Topsfield proposed to organize a church 'in regular form', they passed over Mr. Perkins, then 56 years old, and an invitation to preach was extended to Mr. Thomas Gilbert of Charlestown." "Thomas Gilbert was a Scotsman, born there 1610; his religious education is not listed, but he was a minister at Chedlic and Edling in England." "Gilbert had been a clergyman of the Established Church of England, but ejected from his benefice by the 'Act of Uniformity' in 1662." He then emigrated to New England and settled in Charlestown. Sometime in early 1663, Topsfield officials approached him and offered the position in Topsfield as their new religious leader, also informing him they were planning to build a new meeting house and a parsonage for him to bring his wife to. The prickly subject of his salary had to be dealt with early in this meeting, and after spelling out their situation and the fact that neighboring Rowley Villagers were part of the congregation, Gilbert finally agreed to come. But only if the Topsfield villagers paid his salary, and also the church members who lived in Rowley Village and attended the Topsfield Church.
"The Rowley Villagers agreed to Rev. Gilbert's request if a meeting house was placed nearer and in a more convenient location for them.....to further accommodate the Villagers, Topsfield voted they shall have the liberty to set up a house to shelter their horses near the new meeting house...and also a rest house to shelter themselves with a fire in it while they contribute to the ministry in Topsfield.". And so a new meeting house was begun and placed in what is now the older part of Pine Grove Cemetery - the parsonage in a near-by pasture.
"The new church was gathered and Rev. Gilbert ordained on Nov.4, 1663.In the beginning, Rev Gilbert certainly received the reverence ministers got from their flock in those times; "a hushed silence when in his presence with bows from even the principal men of the town." The new "church" may have been "gathered" by the time of Gilbert's ordination in early November, 1663, but the new building was probably not finished since the proposal for it was only made shortly before they approached Mr. Gilbert in Charlestown. Although being the rough, barn-like building most meeting houses were in those days, there is a possibility it could've been enclosed.
A good description of a typical house of worship of the late 1600s is aptly described in Water's book, "Ipswich In The Mass. Bay Colony", Vol.I, 1633-1700;..."the meeting house was a very humble structure...built of round logs chinked with clay or moss, or, of logs hewn square and piled blockhouse fashion, it served a double purpose of sanctuary and citadel. Its roof was thatched, no doubt. At best, it was a roughly boarded and shingled affair."
Services began at 9 o'clock in the morning on the Sabbath, announced by ringing of the bell or a drummer marching through town, beforehand, alerting worshippers that 9 o'clock was near. After the morning worship, there was a break - then this procedure began all over again for services at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
On a Sabbath morning, parishioners approaching the place would see the walls covered with various and assorted notices tacked up - a kind of Puritan Bulletin Board, plus the gross sight of "dead wolf heads" nailed up on the front of the sanctuary" by bounty hunters as proof of their work to secure the moneys paid by the town. And always there, a copy of the "mandatory church attendance law", and who it covered and warning what the penalty was for absentism. Only the sick and disabled were exempt.
As worshippers entered the main door, "there was a central aisle that divided the interior into 2 parts - the men sat on one side and the women, with babies and small children, on the other. No pews, only benches. The interior was bare and cheerless. No plaster nor paint relieved the roughness and rawness of the walls and roof; the pulpit was destitute of any fine finish or coloring, only furnished with the Bible and the Psalm-book and the hour glass which revealed the length of the sermon to every worshipper." The floor was of rough, un-sanded boards, and a few small windows let in such low light, that at times the minister could barely make out the words he read to the congregation. There was no stove! No heat in the cold New England winters (members, early on, were allowed to bring their dogs to sit on their feet and keep them warm - later, small foot stoves filled with hot coals brought from home furnished some short relief from the cold.) and in the summer, the place was stifling hot and stuffy. Two hours every Sunday and one hour each Thursday evening, one was required to be there, sit, listen, and mull over every word from God's delegate.
"As they all came in, no 'sweet-toned' organ invited them to worship. There were instead, the rattle of scabbards, the clank of muskets. Every one above 18, except the magistrates and ministers....came with his musket or other firearms, duly equipped with match, powder, and bullets." Sentries outside, fully armed, performed guard duty during the services in case of an Indian attack.
A very formal atmosphere prevailed inside - one could not sit anywhere - each had their place! Depending on your community status, education, wealth, and age, you were assigned a certain seat. Later, you could have a more comfortable pew, which you had to build and pay for yourself, and get permission to place it in the sanctuary. The poorer members and servants sat at the back - the town leaders up front, the Deacon and magistrates sat around a table in front of the pulpit. Zaccheus and John Gould paid the highest ministerial rates in Topsfield at this time, and sat up in front, while Sarah Baker Gould and the several Gould children sat on the other side of the meeting house in the place reserved for the wives of those who paid the highest rates and were town leaders. Sitting on a bench for over an hour with several squirming children and/or a baby in a cold, dreary building may have seemed to women like putting in their time in Hell while still on earth.
Aside from the ordination of “Saint”, the foundations of this early church supports the very cornerstone of our own Christian Assembly of God. In some cases, we are recovering much of the determination and dedication prevalent in those beginning years of our nation. We express the same four convictions and have begun just recently to understand the importance of duty in direct involvement in national affairs. That we are all one people is commonly known. That we can live as one whole and still enjoy a personal religious experience is still being tested every day. Pew and pulpit working together will achieve the greatest good for this land and this generation.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
