New York City Congregational Church Association ecclesiastical council minutes
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Abstract
The minutes from 1868 to 1954 include resolutions and document proceedings regarding the establishment of congregations, ordinations, enstatements and dismissals of clergy, and investigations into church matters in Brooklyn and New York City Congregational churches.
Historical note
Formed in 1846, the New-York and Brooklyn Association of Congregational Churches sought to connect Congregational ministers of the two cities and coordinate ecclesiastical councils. Ecclesiastical councils, composed of ministers from member churches, were formal meetings held to create new churches as well as ordane, appoint, and remove ministers. Manhattan-based ministers separated from the organization in the 1870s following the Henry Ward Beecher scandal, forming the Manhattan Congregational Association. In 1896, under the guidance of Rev. Lyman Abbott, Beecher's successor at Plymouth Church, members of the Manhattan Congregational Association returned to the New-York and Brooklyn Association. Later known as the New York City Congregational Church Association, the Association's work was taken over by the Metropolitan Association of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ in the late 20th century.
Sources
- "Old Differences Settled: Brooklyn and New-York Congregationalists Have Reunited." New York Times, April 22, 1896, 7.
Scope and Contents
The New York City Congregational Church Association ecclesiastical council minutes date from 1868 to 1954 and measure 0.82 linear feet. The minutes include resolutions and document proceedings regarding the establishment of congregations, ordinations, enstatements and dismissals of clergy, and investigations into church matters in Brooklyn and New York City Congregational churches. Items in the collection span the period from when Brooklyn ministers, organized as the New-York and Brooklyn Association of Congregational Churches, met independently of their Manhattan counterparts, to their reunification in 1896. As such, all minutes prior to 1896 relate to Brooklyn churches, while churches in Manhattan and other boroughs of New York City are represented in minutes after 1896 and into the 20th century. Notable Brooklyn Congregational churches documented in the collection include the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church, Elm Place Congregational Church, Plymouth Church, Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church, and the United Congregational Church.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); New York City Congregational Church Association ecclesiastical council minutes, 1977.084, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the New York City Congregational Church Association, 1928-1954.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
