We had my mother's funeral in this church. She was from there.
Posted on 07/30/2014 6:02:15 PM PDT by Pharmboy
STURBRIDGE, Mass. — Sarah Blanchard was sorry she skipped a worship service. Sarah Wood apologized for denouncing infant baptisms. And as for the Cheneys, Joseph and Abigail? Well, “with shame, humiliation and sorrow,” they acknowledged having had sex before marriage.
More than 250 years ago, their confessions of sin were dutifully logged by the minister of the church here, alongside records of baptisms, marriages and deaths, notes about meetings heated and routine, accounts of finances, texts of sermons, and, in some cases, personal accounts of conversion experiences from young adults.
Now, in a regionwide scavenger hunt, a pair of historians is rummaging through New England church basements and attics, file cabinets, safes and even coat closets, searching for these records of early American life. The historians are racing against inexorable church closings, occasional fires, and a more mundane but not uncommon peril: the actual loss of documents, which most often occurs when a church elder dies and no one can remember the whereabouts of historical papers.
“I have seen them be destroyed, lost, covered with mold or just forgotten,” said the Rev. Janet Leighninger, the pastor of the Federated Church of Sturbridge and Fiskdale here. “And as finances get tighter, as they are everywhere, and as congregations shrink, and they are doing that in many places, it becomes a matter of, ‘Do we do the ministry we are called to do, or do we preserve the past?’ ”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I have worked on Staten Island—it has some beautiful areas, and fantastic views of NYC. Nice folks also.
Thanks for the article—no one really thinks about what happens to these articles once a church closes.
I expect free republic anti Catholics to bring up the inquisition
I am done
Do you know that the pope recently apologized for it? Or that it was behavior by people In the church acting outside of church teaching? Same as Obama acting outside of the constitution ?
The church apologized for it it’s outside of church teaching and it’s not practisied any longer
You bring up slavery as to how America treats black people, right?
Same
Well, we Catholics have confession. We are instructed to not dwell on the past once our sins are forgiven
It comes from the words of Jesus at the last supper. ‘Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven
But we don’t practice anything that was perpetration by the spanish I don’t know how many centuries ago
Snd I don’t know what it was that they did do, never learned it don’t know
What it was
All it is is for a way to condemn Catholics by people who dislike Catholicism and can’t pinpoint why that is
Kinda sensitive about that, huh?
Sensitive? How?
I didn’t bring it up. Maybe you don’t recall it was you, sensitive about the inquisition, who brought it up?
Perhaps you’d like to share what it is about the inquisition that bothers you. You could tell us what it was and how it is relevant today
I can assure you no one here knows
No you didn’t read the context. You just reacted.
The context was the very old records were found in a Protestant that detailed sins of congregants.
The Catholics responded with “we never did that”.
I brought up the Inquisition when Catholics did exactly that. They issued written charges against congregants.
You just saw the word “Inquisition” and went all poofy tailed.
Perhaps you’d like to share what it is about the inquisition that bothers you. You could tell us what it was and how it is relevant today.
We had my mother's funeral in this church. She was from there.
Ted Kennedy never allowed a real priest anywhere near him. Crime families allow only tame priests into their lives.
If Kennedy had ever made a good Confession, we would all know about it, because a condition of absolution would have been a complete public repudiation of his support for abortion and other evils.
If anything could be heard over the sound of the priest slobbering on the Kennedys.
:’)
Thanks for posting!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.