Minutes of the Massachusetts Congregational Conference, 1926-1930 (Volume 1926-1930) online

r^ CONGREGATIONAL LIBRARY ^\

\ ^\^_ BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS ip jj



x^iiizixiaia'juTXQxa -o~o~/"vxi-OX£?jxixx



Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive

in 2010 witii funding from
Boston Regional Library System



http://www.archive.org/details/minutesofmassach2630gene



THE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONGREGATIONAL CONFERENCE

1926



MINUTES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING



WITH THE STATISTICS



DORCHESTER, MAY 17, 18, 19



THE JORDAN & MORE PRESS
BOSTON



EDITOR'S NOTE.



This final page of the 1926 volume is penned on June 26, an
earlier date than for more than a dozen years^ and the book will
reach most of its readers before their summer vacation begins.
The Year Book tables and addresses of ministers are revised as
nearly as may be to July 1^ and in some cases^ by anticipation, to
September 1.

There are several cases of ministers without address, the local
scribes confessing ignorance and the state secretary unable to
surpass them in these cases. The note on page 62 of the statistics
is meant for every minister to read, and, if necessary, to act
thereon.

Next January is so far away that the usual exhortation to
promptness in Year Book reporting next winter will be omitted,
lest we forget.



CONTENTS



Officers of the Conference, 1926-1927
Committees of the Conference, 1926-1927
Board of Pastoral Supply
Apportionment of Expenses
Directory for Benevolent Contributions
Rules of the Conference .
Past Annual Meetings
The Next Annual Meeting
Minutes of the Meeting of 1926
Report of the Secretary .
" " " Treasurer .
" " " Board of Pastoral Supply
" " " Board of Ministerial Aid
" " " Boston Seaman's Friend Society .
" " " Missionary and Apportionment Com

mittee .....
" " " Committee on Federation of Churches
Rural Conditions .
Religious Education
Moral and Social Welfare
Colleges and Churches
Inter-relations
" " " Executive Committee .
Overture from Suffolk North Association on Andover
Seminary ........



STATISTICS



Explanatory .......

Statistics of the Churches and Sunday-Schools
Summaries: I. Church Statistics .

II. Benevolence ....

III. S. S. and Y. P. S. C. E. Statistics

IV. Annual Changes

V. Continued Table of Summaries
The Association and Conferences of the Churches
Ministerial Standing .....

Ministerial Record of 1925-1926
Names of Ministers .....

General Index ......



OFFICERS OF THE CONFERENCE, 1926-1927

Moderator. — Rev. Samuel H. Woodrow, Newton Highlands.
Vice-Moderator. — Dr. Enos H. Bigelow, Framingham.
Secretary. — Rev. Henry Lincoln Bailey, Longmeadow.
Registrar. — Rev. Francis J. Marsh, Upton.
Assistant Registrar. — Rev. Harrison L. Packard, Worcester.
Treasurer. — Ernest L. Miller, Newtonville.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The six officers named above, and Rev. Manley F. AUbright, Allston;
Arthur H.' Merritt, Dorchester; Elbert A. Harvey, Brookline.

TRUSTEES

Rev. D. Augustine Newton, Westboro, 1927; Charles D. Kepner,
Newtonville, 1927; Rev. Shepherd Knapp, Worcester, 1928; Gustavus J.
Esselen, Roxbury, 1928; Walter B. Russell, Jamaica Plain, 1929.

COMMITTEES

Program Committee. — ^Rev. Albert F. Pierce, Boston, 1927; Aaron Bagg,
Holyoke, 1927; Rev. WiUiam A. Knight, Framingham Center, 1928;
John C. Redmond, Boston, 1928; Rev. Shepherd Knapp, Worcester, 1929;
Isaac T. Ripley, Dorchester, 1929; Rev. Fred A. MacDonald, Worcester,
ex officio; Rev. Henry L. Bailey, Longmeadow, ex officio.

To Audit Accounts. — Charles F. Allen, Waltham; W. Herbert Abbott,
Newtonville.

Missionary and Apportionment. — -Mrs. Clifton H. Mix, Worcester,
1927; Frank E. Rowe, Winchester, 1927, secretary; Rev. Henry O.
Hannum, Newburyport, 1927; Elbert A. Harvey, Brookline, 1928, chair-
man; Rev. Ralph M. Timberlake, Dalton, 1928; George H. Leach,
Campello, 1928; Mrs. George E. Brock, Brighton, 1929, Mrs. Henry
Francis Smith, West Medford, 1929; William L. Adam, Pittsfield, 1929.

On Federation of Churches and Co-operation with Other Denominations. — •
Rev. Frederick H. Page, Waltham; Rev. Arthur J. Covell, Wakefield;
Rev. Merritt A. Farren, Boston; Rev. John J. Walker, Newton Highlands;
Delcevare King, Quincy.

On Evangelistic Work. — Rev. Claude A. McKay, Springfield, 1927;
Edward N. Huntress, Pittsfield, 1927; Rev. Horace F. Holton, Brockton,
1928; Ehner W. Keever, Waban, 1928; Rev. Stanley H. Addison, Marl-
boro, 1929; Harry G. Dixon, Neponset, 1929.

On Rural Conditions. — Ambert G. Moody, East Northfield, 1927;
Rev. Edward U. Cowles, Spencer, 1927; Rev. John J. Walker, Newton
Highlands, 1928; C. H. Tisdale, West Roxbury, 1928; Rev. John C.
Wightman, Northampton, 1929; Rev. Charles H. Baldwin, South Easton,
1929.



On Religious Education. — Miss Lorna G. Townsend, Campello, 1927;
Rev. Douglas Horton, Brookline, 1927; Rev. George E. Brown, Leomin-
ster, 1927; Sidney A. Weston, Boston, 1927; Rev. George W. Owen, Hyde
Park, 1928; Miss Ruth Richards, Medford, 1928; Rev. Lyndon S. Beards-
lee, Westboro, 1928; Rev. Henry E. Oxnard, Rehoboth, 1928; Mrs.
Manley F. AUbright, Allston, 1929; Rev. Eugene G. Bewkes, Norwood,
1929; Prof. Herbert C. Mayer, Auburndale, 1929; Rev. Laura H. Wild,
South Hadley, 1929; Rev. Erwin L. Shaver, Hyde Park, ex officio; Rev.
Herbert W. Gates, Boston, ex officio.

On Moral and Social Welfare.— EMhu H. Cutler, Springfield, 1927; Rev.
Robert W. McLaughlin, Worcester, 1927; H. A. Maxwell, Maiden, 1927;
Rev. Robert Campbell, Jr., Swampscott, 1928; Rev. Leslie C. Greeley,
New Bedford, 1928; W. R. Meins, Boston, 1928; Rev. Edward C. Camp,
Watertown, 1929; Rev. Harry W. Kimball, Needham, 1929; Rev. William
M. Macnair, Cambridge, 1929.

On Nojjiinations for 1927.— Uev. William B. Tuthill, Lowell, 1927;
Oren C. Boothby, Boston, 1927; Rev. Robert W. Coe, Campello, 1928;
Dr. Enos H. Bigelow, Framingham Center, 1928; Rev. Edwin B. Robinson,
Holyoke, 1929; Appleton P. WilUams, Newton Highlands, 1929; Elbert
A. Harvey, Brookline, ex officio

On Relation of the Colleges and the Churches. — Rev. Edwin B. Robinson,
Holyoke; Prin. Frank L. Boyden, Deerfield; Rev. John A. Hawley,
Amherst; Rev. Eric A. Lindh, Quincy; Prof. Eliza H. Kendrick, Welles-
ley; Prin. Alfred E. Stearns, Andover; Rev. Harry T. Stock, Boston.

On Women's Organizations. — Mrs. Wilham L. Adam, Pittsfield; Rev.
Frederick H. Page, Waltham; Elbert A. Harvey, Brookline; Rev. Henry O.
Hannum, Newburyport; Rev. Boynton Merrill, Boston.

On Conference Organization. — The above committee on Women's
Organizations, and Henry K. Hyde, Ware; Rev. Ashley D. Leavitt,
Brookline; H. Le Baron Sampson, Middleboro; Rev. Horace F. Holton,
Brockton; Harold S. Davis, Boston; Ethelbert V. Grabill, Roxbury;
Miss Clara Palmer, Chicopee; Mrs. Ambert G. Moody, East Northfield;
Mrs. Franlc G. Cook, Cambridge; Mrs. Fred C. Brigham, Springfield.

Delegates to the National Council, 1925-1929. — Rev. Albert F. Pierce,
Boston; Rev. Samuel H. Woodrow, Newton Highlands; Rev. Arthur J.
Covell, Wakefield; Rev. Edwin B. Robinson, Holyoke; Mrs. Henry F.
Smith, West Medford; Mrs. Ambert G. Moody, East Northfield; Rev.
Henry L. Bailey, Longmeadow; Mrs. Cornelius H. Patton, Boston.

1927-1931 .—Mrs. Frank Atkinson, Natick; Ethelbert V. Grabill,
Roxbury; Mrs. Bertha Jenkins, Campello; Rev. Robert W. McLaughlin,
Worcester; Rev. J. Burford Parry, Springfield; Theodore E. Plunkett,
Adams; Rev. JohnReid, Peabody; Rev. Willard L. Sperry, Cambridge.

Alternates. — Rev. William H. Spence, Salem; Rev. Charles N. Thorp,
Holyoke; Rev. Arthm- M. ElUs, Newtonville; Ambert G. Moody, East
Northfield; Stephen Alden, Brockton; Oren C. Boothby, Roxbury;
Mrs. George Seagraves, Wellesley; Mrs. John V. Holt, Andover.



CONGEEGATIONAL BOARD OF PASTORAL SUPPLY

Office, 615 Congregational House

Rev. Watson L. Phillips, Chairman

Appleton p. Williams, Treasurer

Rev. Arthub J. Covell, Secretary

George F. Kendall, Auditor

Massachusetts Directors. — -Rev. Claude A. McKay, Springfield, 1927;
Irwin W. Tapley, Haverhill, 1927; Rev. Frederick E. Emrich, Boston,
1927; Sylvanus G. Morse, Boston, 1928; Appleton P. Williams, Newton
Highlands, 1928; Rev. Arthur P. Pratt, Greenfield, 1928; Rev. D.
Augustine Newton, Westboro, 1929; Rev. WiUiam B. Tuthill, Lowell,
1929; George F. Kendall, Cambridge, 1929.

Connecticut. — Rev. Watson L. Phillips, New Haven, 1926; Rev.
Charles H. Ricketts, Norwich, 1926; Oscar A. Phelps, Hartford, 1927;
Rev. J. Edward Newton, New Haven, 1927; Rev. Ernest L. Wisner,
Bristol, 1928.

Maine. — Pres. Warren J. Moulton, Bangor, 1927; Rev. Milo E. Pear-
son, Auburn, 1927.

New Hampshire. — Rev. Frank G. Woodworth, Somersworth, 1927;
Rev. Edward R. Stearns, Concord, 1927.

Rhode Island. — Rev. Gideon A. Burgess, Providence, 1927.

Vermont. — Rev. Walter R. Blackmer, Saxton's River, 1927; Rev.
William F. Frazier, Burlington, 1928.



APPORTIONMENT OF EXPENSES
The churches are requested to contribute through the treasurers of
their associations for the expenses of the Conference a sum equivalent to
thirteen cents for each member, based upon the total membership of January
1, 1926, and the treasurers of the associations are requested to forward
the amounts as soon as possible to the treasurer, Mr. Ernest L. Miller,
20 Woodside Road, Newtonville.



DIRECTORY FOR BENEVOLENT CONTRIBUTIONS

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Congregational
House, Boston. — Frederick A. Gaskins, Treasurer.

Woman's Board of Missions, Congregational House, Boston. — Mrs.
Frank Gaylord Cook, Treasurer.

Congregational Home Missionary Society, 287 Fourth Avenue, New
York. — Charles H. Baker, Treasurer.

Massachusetts (constituent of Congregational) Home Missionary Society,
Room 611, Congregational House, Boston. — Rev. Oliver D. Sewall,
Treasurer.

Massachusetts Woman's Home Missionary Union, Room 609, Congrega-
tional House, Boston. — Mrs. Albert Greene Duncan, Treasurer.

American Missionary Association, 287 Fourth Avenue, New York. —
Irving C. Gaylord, Treasurer.

Congregational Church Building Society, 287 Fourth Avenue, New
York. — Charles H. Baker, Treasurer.

Congregational Education Society, Room 616, Congregational House,
Boston. — Arthur J. Crockett, Treasurer.

Congregational Sunday-School Extension Society, 289 Fourth Avenue,
New York. — Charles H. Baker, Treasurer.

Congregational Board of Ministerial Relief, 441 Lexington Avenue, New
York. — William T. Boult, Treasurer.

Ministerial Relief in Massachusetts is represented by the Board of
Ministerial Aid. — Charles L. Ziegler, 1257 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury,
Treasurer.

Boston Seaman's Friend Society, Room 618 Congregational House,
Boston. — Charles F. Stratton, Treasurer.



RULES OF THE CONFERENCE



ARTICLE I. — Name



This body shall be called The Massachusetts Congregational Con-
ference.

ARTICLE II. — Object

Its object is to promote (a) intercourse and fellowship between Congre-
gational ministers and churches of the Commonwealth; (b) the coopera-
tion of the churches with one another for their mutual comfort and develop-
ment, and for the rehgious care of the home field; (c) the presentation
and discussion of matters vital to our faith, and the interests of our denomi-
nation; and (d) the cooperation of this body with other ecclesiastical
bodies for the general increase of Christian union and spiritual efficiency,
and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in the earth.

ARTICLE III. — Doctrinal Basis

This Conference declares its steadfast allegiance to the faith which our
fathers confessed, which, from age to age, has found its expression in the
historic creeds of the Church Universal and of this Communion.

ARTICLE IV. — Denominational Basis

Being based exclusively upon Congregational principles, this Conference
shall, under no circumstances, exercise ecclesiastical authority over churches
or individuals, or interfere with the government or discipline of the
churches, or consent to hear appeals, or give advice in ecclesiastical causes
of any kind.

ARTICLE v. — Members

1. Each evangelical Congregational Church, Conference, and Associa-
tion in this Commonwealth may choose one delegate, and these delegates,
together with the pastor or pastors of each church (who shall be members
ex officio), the officers and committee members of this body, two delegates
from the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society, one from the Board
of Ministerial Aid, one from the Boston Seaman's Friend Society, one
from Andover Theological Seminary, and one from the Board of Pastoral
Supply, shall constitute the Conference.

2. Delegates from corresponding bodies and persons appointed to speak
before the Conference, together with such other persons as the Con-
ference may vote to admit, shall be honorary members, with the privilege
of speaking, but without vote.

ARTICLE VI. — Officers

1. The officers shall be a Moderator, a Vice-Moderator, a Secretary, a
Registrar, an Assistant Registrar, and a Treasurer. All members of Con-
gregational churches in this Commonwealth shall be eligible to any of
these offices. The officers shall be elected by ballot, the Moderator and
Vice-Moderator each to serve one year, the other officers each to serve
three years and until the election of their successors. The terms of all



1926] Rules of Conference 9

officers, save when chosen to fill vacancies, shall begin at the close of the
meeting at which they are elected.

2. The officers, together with three delegates annually chosen by ballot
for this purpose, shall constitute an Executive Committee.

3. The Moderator, or in his absence, the Vice-Moderator, shall preside
over all the meetings of the Conference and shall be chairman of the
Executive Committee.

4. (a) The Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Conference,
collect and publish in connection with the annual " Minutes " the statis-
tics of ministers and churches, distribute the publications of the Con-
ference, copies of which he shall preserve for permanent use, give suit-
able notice to the churches of the time and place of each annual meeting,
notify officers and committees of their election or appointment, and fulfill
such other functions as the Conference may from time to time direct.

(b) The Secretary shall receive a salary of twelve hundred dollars, and
by the authority and under the direction of the Executive Committee, he
may, when necessary, employ an assistant, at a compensation to be fixed
by the Executive Committee.

5. The Registrar shall keep a full record of each meeting, which he shall
preserve as the permanent property of the Conference, and he shall also
keep the minutes of the Executive Committee.

6. The Assistant Registrar shall aid the Registrar in making the records;
shall take his place during his absence; and, in the event of a vacancy in
the Registrar's office, shall act as Registrar until the office shall be filled
by the Executive Committee or by a regular election.

7. The Treasurer shall receive all money raised for the use of the Con-
ference, disburse the same as directed by the Executive Committee and
shall make an annual report, to be audited as the Conference may direct.

8. The Executive Committee shall have charge of all the interests and
business of the Conference between the annual meetings, shall fill all
vacancies occurring during the interim, and shall make an annual report
to the Conference.

9. The travehng expenses of the Secretary, Registrar, Assistant Regis-
trar and Treasurer, in attending the annual meetings, shall be paid by the
Conference.

ARTICLE VII. — Trustees

1. A board of five Trustees shall also be elected, two to serve three
years, two to serve two years, and one to serve one year; and on each elec-
tion succeeding the first, the successors of those whose terms expire shall
be chosen for three years and until others are appointed in their stead by
ballot; and all members of Congregational churches in this state shall be
ehgible thereto.

2. The Board of Trustees shall hold and manage trust funds for the
benefit of the Conference and perform such duties as may be prescribed by
vote of the Conference for their government, making an annual report to
the Conference. The Trustees may receive such property, real and per-
sonal, as may be given to the Conference or to the Board of Trustees to
be invested, used, and managed in such manner as the Conference shall
from time to time direct; and in the absence of such vote of the Confer-
ence, in such manner as a majority of the Trustees .shall by vote determine
at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Trustees, for the use and
benefit of the objects of the Conference.



10 Rules of Conference [1926

ARTICLE VIII. — Annual Meeting

The annual meeting shall be held at the appointed place on the third
Monday of May at two o'clock p.m., or at such other hour as the Executive
Committee may find expedient.

ARTICLE IX. — Organization

The Moderator or, in his absence, the Vice-Moderator, shall call the
Conference to order. In the absence of both, any member of the Execu-
tive Committee may call the Conference to order, and a moderator pro
tern, shall be chosen to serve during the absence of the proper officer.

ARTICLE X. — Committees

1. Immediately after the opening of the annual meeting the Moderator
shall appoint : —

(a) A Committee on Credentials, to which all credentials shall be referred.

(b) A Business Committee, the duty of which shall be to prepare* and
present all matters of business at each session, not presented through some
other committee of the Conference. All matters of business presented by
any member of the Conference shall be referred to the Business Committee
unless ordered to some other committee by the Conference. All matters
of business referred to any committee shall be reported for action before
the final adjournment of the annual meeting.

(c) A Budget Committee of three, which shall report before the close of
the meeting on the state of the treasury, the amount of money needed for
the ensuing year, and ways and means for meeting the need.

2. At each annual meeting there shall be elected by viva voce vote:

(a) A Program Committee of eight members, of which the Secretary of
the Conference and the pastor of the Church which is to entertain the
next annual meeting shall be members ex-officiis, the other members to be
elected two for three years, two for two years, and two for one year, sub-
sequent elections to be for three years each. This committee shall prepare
the program for the next annual meeting, selecting the preacher of the
annual sermon, and the various speakers for each session.

(b) A Committee of two, to be elected for one year, to audit the Trea-
surer's report.

(c) A Nominating Committee of seven, consisting of the retiring Moder-
ator or, in his absence, of the retiring Vice-Moderator, of each annual
conference, together with six other members; two to be elected annually
for three years, which shall make all nominations required by the Rules of
the Conference or by vote. The retiring members of this committee shall
not be eligible for re-election for at least one year.

(d) Such other committees as the Conference may vote to elect. Mem-
bers of these committees shall be elected for such terms as the Conference
shall determine. The Executive Committee shall present at each annual
meeting a list of the committees the appointment of which it recommends.

3. The reports of all committees that are to be presented to the Confer-
ence shall be furnished to the Secretary on or before April 1 of each year
and shall be printed and distributed to the churches not less than two weeks
before the annual meeting. These reports shall not be read to the Con-
ference save by special order; but the Program Committee may arrange
for the adequate discussion of any or all of the topics presented in the
reports.



1926] Rules of Conference 11

ARTICLE XI. — Massachusetts Home Missionary Society

In the practical administration of its home missionary work, the instru-
ment of the Conference shall be the Massachusetts Home Missionary
Society, a place for which shall be made in the program of the annual
meeting.

ARTICLE XII. — Board of Ministerial Aid

The Board of Ministerial Aid shall be the agent of the Conference
in the work of aiding needy ministers and their families, and shall make
an annual report to the Conference. On notice of a vacancy in the mem-
bership of the Board of Ministerial Aid, the Conference shall nominate a
person to fill the vacancy.

ARTICLE XIII. — Boston Seaman's Friend Society

The Boston Seaman's Friend Society shall be the agent of the Con-
ference in the work of promoting the spiritual and temporal welfare of
seamen, and shall make an annual report to the Conference. The Con-
ference shall annually elect five members of the Society for a term of three
years each.

ARTICLE XIV. — Board of Pastoral Supply

1. The Conference shall elect nine members to represent it on the
Congregational Board of Pastoral Supply, three members to be elected each
year to serve for a period of three years.

2. The Congregational Board of Pastoral Supply shall, through its
Secretary, make an annual report to the Conference.

ARTICLE XV. — Special Orders

1. Each session of the annual meeting shall be opened and clossd with
divine worship, and one minister to have charge of these services for all
sessions of the Conference shall be named by the Program Committee.

2. On each morning of the annual meeting, after the first day, the
minutes of the preceding day shall be read; the minutes of the last day
shall be read immediately before the final adjournment.

3. On Monday evening of each annual meeting the annual sermon shall
be preached, followed by the celebration of the Lord's Supper.

4. The place of the next annual meeting shall be recommended each
year by the Business Committee and designated by vote of the Conference.

5. As far as possible, all business of the Conference shall be completed
by noon of the second day of the annual meeting.

ARTICLE XVI. — Rules of Order

The Rules of Order shall be those of common parhamentary usage
subject to the following specifications:

1. No member shall speak more than twice on the same question without
leave of the Conference.

2. When a question is before the Conference the Moderator shall enter-
tain motions only as follows: To adjourn, to table, for the previous ques-
tioa, to postpone to a fixed time, to commit, to amend, or to postpone
indefinitely; these several motions shall have precedence in the foregoing
order.



12



Rules of Conference



[1926



3. No vote not essential to the conduct of the business of the Confer-
ence shall be passed except by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting ;
nor shall any such vote be passed, except by unanimous consent, until at
least fifteen minutes shall have been allowed for debate.

ARTICLE XVII. — Amendments

1. Any of the above articles, except the first five, may be amended at
any annual meeting by a two-thirds vote, provided that the proposed
amendment shall have been submitted to the Conference in writing on the
day previous.

2. Either of the first five articles may be amended by a two-thirds vote
but only after the proposed amendment has been submitted to the Con-
ference in writing at the previous annual meeting, and notice has been
sent to the several associations, conferences, and churches connected with
this body at least three months prior to the meeting at which action is to
be taken.



PAST ANNUAL MEETINGS



1898 Greenfield

1899 Brockton

1900 Amherst

1901 Andover

1902 Plymouth

1903 Great Barrington

1904 Fitchburg

1905 Lowell

1906 Worcester

1907 Westfield

1908 New Bedford

1909 Boston

1910 Springfield

1911 Haverhill

1912 Holyoke

1913 Fall River

1914 Gardner

1915 Pittsfield

1916 Cambridge

1917 Taunton

1918 Worcester

1919 Northampton

1920 Plymouth

1921 Lawrence

1922 Fitchburg

1923 Great Barrington

1924 Brockton

1925 Holyoke

1926 Dorchester



Moderator
Rev. G. R. W. Scott
John L. Brewster
Rev. Phihp S. Moxom
Henry M. Moore
Rev. Charles H. Beale
Wilham B. Plunkett
Rev. Wilham E. Wolcott
Seba A. Helton
Rev. Edward M. Noyes
Charles N. Prouty
Rev. Samuel C. Bushnell
Rev. Clarence F.Swift
Samuel Usher
Rev. Theodore E. Busfield
Victor J. Loring
Rev. Frank R. Shipman
Kenyon L. Butterfield
Rev. Edward A. Reed
Edwin O. Childs
Rev. George W. Andrews
Wilham B. Aspinwall
Rev. Frederick H. Page
Henry K. Hyde
Thomas Weston
Rev. Shepherd Knapp