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or other almost deserted. Yet here his labours were not wholly ineffectual. Since Dr. Priestley's decease a small, but highly respectable congregation, has been formed, in which, till a regular minister can be procured, a few of the most intelligent and best informed members conduct the service by turns; and the society, upon the whole, is increasing, though some who once professed zeal in the cause have turned their backs upon it. The Unitarians in Philadelphia are now erecting a chapel for religious worship, to which many of different persuasions have contributed liberally.

Another Unitarian congregation has been formed at Oldenbarneveld, a new settlement in the back country of the state of New-York, under the patronage of Col. Mappa, a gentleman of a truly respectable character, and of considerable property and influence in that district, aided by the exertions of the Rev. Frederick Adrian Vanderkemp, a learned and pious emigrant from Holland, whose zeal for the doctrine of the Divine Unity has exposed him to many difficulties and privations. This church was, for a few years, under the pastoral inspection of the Rev. John Sherman, who in the year 1805 was dismissed, on account of his Unitarian principles, from his office as minister of the first church at Mansfield in Connecticut, where he had officiated upwards of eight years with great and increasing acceptance and success. Of the circumstances which led to this separation, and of the inquisitorial spirit which was exerted against him by the bigoted clergy in his neighbourhood, he published a plain and affecting account, a copy of which now lies before me. And if some expressions of irritation have escaped him, which it would perhaps have been better to omit, it requires but little charity to make allowance for them where the provocation was so great and unmerited.

This gentleman, in consequence of an attentive perusal of the works of Mr. Lindsey and Dr. Priestley, became a sincere and zealous convert to the doctrine

of the proper Unity and Sole Supremacy of God, to the simple humanity of Jesus Christ, and to the appropriation of religious worship to the Father only. A doctrine of such high importance, and so materially dif fering from the popular creed, he justly conceived it to be his duty to avow and teach. And in the first

*This worthy confessor's plain and artless narrative of the feelings of his mind upon this occasion, is well deserving of being here transcribed, and may it make a due impression upon all who are placed in similar circumstances, and called out to similar trials!

"Settled," says he," in the sentiment that God is one person only, and that Jesus Christ is a being distinct from God, dependent upon him for his existence and all his powers, I was involved in much trial and perplexity of mind with respect to the course which duty required me to pursue. I was aware of the prejudices of my brethren in the ministry, and foresaw that, should my sentiments be made public, they would certainly exert themselves to destroy my ministerial and Christian standing; that my standing with the people of my charge, whose confidence I was so happy as to possess, would be endangered, if not by their own prejudices, yet by the influence and exertions of others; and considering the state of the American churches, that I could hardly expect an invitation to minister to any people on this side of the Atlantic. Poverty, a diminution of my usefulness, and the unhappy condition of my beloved family, stared me in the face, and conjured me to be silent respecting my opinions.

On the other hand, I considered that, having avowed different sentiments at my ordination, it could not be reconciled to a frank and open honesty to allow the world to be deceived as to my real belief;-that it is the duty of the minister of the Gospel to instruct men in the knowledge of its important doetrines ;-that I was accountable to God for my conduct in this matter, who requires of stewards that a man be found faithful, and who certainly must desire his people to be acquainted with the truth, or he would never have revealed it ;-that no reformation from prevailing errors could take place, if those who are acquainted with the truth should, through the fear of persecution, conceal it from public view ;-and finally, that it is base and unbecoming the dignity of man, in this nineteenth century of the Christian æra, in this land of liberty and free inquiry, to bow down to popular absurdities and superstitions, and quietly to abandon the unalienable right of private judgment. These considerations determined me to put all temporal things at hazard, and to place my trust in that wise Providence which

place he communicated his change of sentiments to the congregation with which he was connected; when, to his great surprize and satisfaction, he found that, with a single exception, they were all earnestly desirous that he should continue his connection with them, and that each should quietly allow to others the right of private judgment in this and every other case. This however did not satisfy his clerical brethren, with whom, as residing in the neighbourhood, he had joined in a voluntary association. Being duly informed by Deacon Southworth, the dissatisfied member before alluded to, of his reverend pastor's departure from the faith, they first in a formal session, held in October, 1804, excluded him from their society, and disavowed ministerial connection with him. And in this measure was no injustice; for the associated ministers had as good a right to judge of the truth and importance of their opinions, as Mr. Sherman of his. But the zeal of these pious inquisitors did not stop here: they wrote an official letter to the church at Mansfield, stating, that they had judged it to be their duty to withdraw from their heretical brother their own ministerial connexion, and pretty plain. ly intimating their expectation that the society would follow their example, and dismiss their pastor, who stood convicted by his own confession of many capi

had always been kind, and which will either deliver us from the evil, or inspire us with fortitude to endure it."

Upon these generous and pious principles did this Christian confessor act throughout the whole of this arduous conflict; and however his ignorant and malignant persecutors might injure his good name, and deprive him and his family of the comforts of society, and leave them destitute of the necessaries of life, they could not rob him of the inestimable treasure of an approving conscience. How rapidly and extensively must the cause of Christian truth prevail, if all who were convinced of it possessed the fortitude and zeal of Mr. Sherman! But this is an elevation of character to which every one cannot attain. Different persons have different gifts, and are called to different duties. Let every one judge impartially for himself, and candidly for others.

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ial errors. This advice, though treated with merited neglect by a majority of the church, nevertheless male a considerable impression upon a small number of feeble-minded members, who, in April, 1805, addressed a letter to the venerable association, expressing their dissatisfaction with their worthy pastor for denying, as they express it, that "the man Christ Jesus is truly and properly God;" which, say they, "is a doctrine which we cannot be persuaded to give up but with the Bible which contains it." And they further profess that "the doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, as held by Calvinistic divines for ages, is a doctrine clearly taught in the holy Scriptures;" and that, "however mysterious and incomprehensible, it lies at the very basis of Christianity." Under these difficulties, they implore the advice of the reverend Association. But notwithstanding all the activity of Deacon Southworth, and the artifices and intrigues of some bigots in the neighbourhood, only ten signatures could be procured to this address. Such however was the eagerness of the venerable body, and such their zeal to exterminate heresy, that they immediately directed an answer to be sent to the complainants, advising them to have recourse to a Council or Consociation, which is an Ecclesiastical Court consisting of ministers and messengers, and invested by law with great and indefinite powers. But as the Consociation was to consist in a great measure of the same ministers of whom the Association was formed, who had already prejudged the cause, and as the congregation at Mansfield had never acknowledged the jurisdiction of this Court, they rejected the advice with the contempt it deserved. Nevertheless, as this worthy confessor saw that his unrelenting adversaries were determined to pursue every possible method to disturb the peace of the society, and to accomplish his ruin, and being desirous of preventing the disastrous consequences of religious discord, he came to the resolution of resigning his pastoral office. This resolution he communicated to his friends; and at his

desire the church and congregation concurred with him in inviting, according to the custom of the country, a Mutual Council of respectable ministers to give their advice in the case, and, if they should judge it expedient, to grant Mr. Sherman an honourable dismission and recommendation.

This council assembled in October, 1805, and Mr. Sherman first stated his case, and the reasons which led him to wish to resign his connexion with the congregation at Mansfield. After which, a deputation from the church, that is, from the communicants,* were heard on their own behalf; who stated, that

* It may not perhaps be known to the generality of readers, that, in the strict independent form of church government, the whole power of ecclesiastical discipline, the entire management of the property, and the sole right of choosing or dismissing a minister, is vested in the church, that is, in the body of communicants, of those who have been admitted into the communion of that church in particular, according to its prescribed forms, or who have been received by regular dismission from other churches. Mere subscribers have no vote, however numerous and opulent. Mr. Howard, the celebrated phiJanthropist, was the richest member, and the most liberal supporter of the congregation at Bedford; he also joined statedly in communion with the church; but not having been regularly admitted into the church, he was only regarded as an occasional communicant; and in the choice of a minister, not the least attention was paid to his expressed opinion and desire, and a minister was chosen who was by no means acceptable to him.

In Northamptonshire I recollect another instance in which a venerable minister of irreproachable character, of most amiable manners, and unimpeached orthodoxy, was dismissed from his office by the church, under some trifling pretence, in opposition to the sense of by far the most respectable part of the congregation. His friends appealed to a court of law, to reinstate their respected minister in his office. But Lord Mansfield, who whatever might be his political delinquencies, was a most liberal and impartial judge in all cases in which the rights of Protestant Dissenters were concerned, demanded to see the writings of the place; and finding that they vested the communicants with the discretionary power of choosing and deposing a minister, he dismissed the cause immediately, and the worthy veteran was obliged to resign his claims. Another chapel however was provided for him, where he continued to

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