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 ...
Maybe they'll surface in 250 years.
LOL, I think I really need some new glasses (or maybe I just need to wear the ones I have!).
I mis-read this as “In Church ANTICS, clues to the private life of early America”.
So you know, it gave my pause there for a moment!
(Marktwain you helped me with my confusion from the other day, that’s why I pinged you)
In Pennsylvania eamancpation did not occur until 1810.
Well, some would say recording confessions was quite an ‘antic.’
Interesting. Had an ancestor that kept leaving his wife and kids. He’d just wander off and months or a couple years later show up again. He was gone for 5 years and his wife married the school teacher in 1749, Plymouth, Massachusetts. They were called in front of the church and condemned because they hadn’t waited for 7 years and the teacher was fired. At the 7 year mark they married again. No one knows what happened to my ancestor. 2nd family? Living with Indians? Murdered? No idea.
In Catholicism it is against Church teaching for anyone, even the repentant, to write down ones’ sins.
The idea is that once Jesus forgives the sin it is forgiven. Reparations and penance are a matter to be handled after, but continued guilt and obsession- scrupulosity.
This is a horrible story, well written, I suppose, but, wow.
Fantastic comment! Post o’ the day! You REALLY made me LOL!!
Ditto!
Mike
“Peyton Place.....??????”
Somewhat of a G rated Peyton Place. There was a custom in New England called bundling, engaged couples or soon to be engaged were sown into bags and placed in the same bed sometimes with a board placed between them, may have been where the term woody came from, who knows.
Why this practice came into being, I have no idea, unless it was to test the resourcefulness of the man, or maybe to find out if either snored or farted like a pulling mule. Any of my reasons may have been grounds for calling off the engagement. I have often wondered how they got away with getting out of the bags and then sewed them back up after the deed. Apologies in advance if you have already heard this story.
I have an ancestor whose bride to be was a day and a halfs travel away. They had a my ancestor 6 months after their marriage. lol
Incredible.
Any Catholic priest who wrote down anything he heard in Confession, even if nobody ever read it, would be instantly and automatically excommunicated.
Not true. The penitent is not bound by the Seal of Confession. The priest and anyone who overhears the confession are bound.
Post of the day.....lol
The penitent can do what they want, of course, but he is advised to not write it down, and advised that it is never a part of forgiveness to do so nor to dwell or obsess
In a piece on why can’t Catholics do confession via email, it can’t be done. The Church doesn’t want anyone writing down their sins, and for the reason depicted in this story
One time while going through a Unitarian church steeple, I saw a pile of discarded copper crosses lying on a platform. I assume these were finials removed from the exterior when they decided Christ was not more important than other religious figures. That was back at the turn of the century, from 19th to 20th. The Coexist came much later.
I don’t know where you encountered this idea, but there’s no basis for it. Any person is free to write down anything he pleases about his own sins, or life in general. The Church has no rules about this, in connection with Confession or otherwise.
Of course obsessing about the past is not healthy, but this has nothing to do specifically with the Sacrament of Penance.
The reason the Sacrament of Penance cannot be received by e-mail, or telephone, or Skype, or by letter, is that the penitent and the priest are not physically present to each other. It has nothing to do with any prohibition of writing things down.
In fact, if a person who cannot speak for some reason wishes to confess, he can do it in writing. If he speaks a foreign language, he could have a trusted friend write down his sins in a language the priest will understand. (Of course, the friend would be bound by the Seal.)
In the late 1800's, most New England churches could seat hundreds and in some cases thousands. A small town could have a dozen churches. Today, most churches are lucky to get dozens to attend. I remember in my childhood, hundreds attending. The preacher would give a sermon clearly derived form the Bible. Nowadays, social justice has taken over many churches. One will hear nauseating sermons on accommodation of unspeakable notions. I expect church attendance will continue to decline. You can't get me to attend.
Can you imagine what Ted Kennedy’s priest must have heard????
Thank you for posting. This is very interesting.
Thank you for your kind words. You are all most welcome.
I don’t believe that was true during the Inquisition.
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