National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States
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The National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States was a mainline Protestant, Christian denomination in the United States. Its organization as a denomination was delayed by the Civil War. Congregational leaders met again in Boston, Massachusetts in 1865, where they began to hammer out standards of church procedures (polity) and adopted a statement of faith, known as the Burial Hill Declaration. Denominational organization came in 1871 with formation of the National Council of Congregational Churches, which existed until its merger in 1931."History Matters, Becoming a Denomination" Congregational Library & Archives
/ref> In 1928, there were 5,497
Congregational churches Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...
in the U.S. with a membership of 939,130. These churches were served by 5,648 ministers. The Congregational churches originated from the
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
of colonial New England. Congregationalists were traditionally Calvinists strongly committed to
congregational polity Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or " autonomous". Its first articu ...
, from which the denomination took its name. In 1931, the Congregationalists merged with the
Christian Connection The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influe ...
to form the
Congregational Christian Churches The Congregational Christian Churches were a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United ...
. The National Council is a predecessor body to several American denominations, including the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
, the
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of about 400 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak ...
, and the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.


History

American Congregationalism grew out of the Puritan migration to New England in the 17th century. The Congregational church was the established church of Connecticut until 1818 and Massachusetts until 1833. The Puritans and their Congregationalist descendants had much in common with Presbyterians. Both denominations shared a
Reformed theology Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
; however, Congregationalists practiced a more decentralized form of church governance described in the Cambridge Platform. In this, Congregationalists were similar to Baptists, but where Baptists practiced believers baptism by
immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux#Immersion, Léo Quievreux * Immersion (album), ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian gro ...
, Congregationalists practiced
infant baptism Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions. Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
. Largely through the influence of Jonathan Edwards, Congregationalists came to adopt a moderate form of Calvinism known as New England theology and in a more radical form as
New Haven theology New England theology (or Edwardsianism) designates a school of theology which grew up among the Congregationalists of New England, originating in the year 1732, when Jonathan Edwards began his constructive theological work, culminating a little ...
. By the 19th century, Congregationalists were forming voluntary organizations for mutual cooperation and support among churches called associations. In some places, state-wide general associations were organized. In 1801, the Congregationalist churches of New England entered into a formal agreement with the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North Americ ...
called the Plan of Union. It remained in effect until 1852. By that time, Congregationalists had developed a greater denominational consciousness, which ultimately led to the 1865 Boston meeting where they began the process of establishing standards of church procedures (polity) and adopted a statement of faith, known as the Burial Hill Declaration. That was followed by the denominational organizational meeting in 1871. In 1927, motivated by the
ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
, Congregationalists united with the Evangelical Protestant Church of North America. This was a pietistic denomination of Swiss and German origin with about six thousand members, most of whom were located in the vicinities of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
. The Evangelical Protestants were easily absorbed into the National Council. They shared with the Congregationalists an affinity for
liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position ...
, social activism and congregational polity.


Beliefs

In 1913, the National Council adopted the Kansas City Statement of Faith. This confessional statement affirmed belief in the
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
and the Bible's role in revealing God's will. It also affirmed the "freedom and responsibility of the individual soul, and the right of private judgment." The church's mission was described as "to proclaim the gospel to all mankind, exalting the worship of the one true God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood." The Social Gospel flourished among Congregational churches, and the National Council pledged itself to work for a society that guaranteed a decent wage and denied privileges for the wealthy. In 1925, the National Council adopted a Statement of Social Ideals, which outlined a progressive "Christian social order". The five ideals include
universal education Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in col ...
, support for labor unions, the preservation and support of rural communities as well as price controls on agricultural products, the elimination of all forms of
racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
, and the abolition of all national armed forces except for internal police.


Organization

The Congregational churches adhered to
congregational polity Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or " autonomous". Its first articu ...
where local congregations remained legally autonomous and independent. Congregations managed their own internal affairs through church meetings where all church members were entitled to vote. The church meeting elected the congregation's minister and
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
s. At the same time, congregations voluntarily cooperated together in district associations and state conferences. Meetings of the National Council occurred every two years. Each district association elected one delegate to the Council, and each state conference elected two delegates, one of which had to be a woman. District associations with more than 10 churches were entitled to send one delegate for each additional 10 churches. State conferences with membership greater than 10 thousand were entitled to send two delegates for each additional 10 thousand members, and half of these additional delegates had to be women. The purpose of the National Council was to provide a forum to coordinate common programs and organizations of Congregational churches, such as managing a pension fund for Congregationalist ministers. A moderator presided over sessions of the Council. An Executive Committee elected by the Council was responsible for overseeing the work of the various agencies of the Council in between biennial sessions. Day-to-day affairs were managed by a full-time Secretary of the National Council.


Mission societies

Coordinating
missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
work was one of the primary functions of the National Council. Many of the National Council's affiliated societies were originally
interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...
when founded. Foreign missionary work was carried out by the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...
, an organization that predated the creation of the National Council. In 1928, the American Board sponsored 718 missionaries throughout the world. Several missions agencies operated within the United States under the umbrella of the Church Extension Boards. The
Congregational Home Missionary Society The American Home Missionary Society (AHMS or A. H. M. Society) was a Protestant missionary society in the United States founded in 1826. It was founded as a merger of the United Domestic Missionary Society with state missionary societies from ...
(org. 1826) was a
church planting Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...
agency that as of 1930 was responsible for four out of every five American Congregational churches in existence. In 1927, the society sponsored 1,539 missionaries. The Congregational Church Building Society (org. 1853) raised funds for grants and loans to build churches and parsonages. The Congregational Sunday School Extension Society (org. 1917) was responsible for establishing and maintaining Sunday schools in addition to recruiting college students to staff them. The American Missionary Association, which also predated the National Council, was primarily focused on education and evangelism among African Americans, Appalachian residents, Native Americans, and Mexican, Puerto Rican, Chinese and Japanese communities.


Seminaries

*Atlanta Theological Seminary (org. 1901, absorbed into
Vanderbilt University Divinity School The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion (usually Vanderbilt Divinity School) is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of o ...
in 1929) * Bangor Theological Seminary *
Chicago Theological Seminary Founded in 1855, the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is the oldest higher education institution in the City of Chicago and was established with two principal goals: first, to educate pastors who would minister to people living on the new west ...
*
Hartford Seminary The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary) is a private theological university in Hartford, Connecticut. History Hartford Seminary's origins date back to 1833 when the Pastoral Union of Connectic ...
*
Pacific School of Religion The Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is a private Protestant seminary in Berkeley, California. It maintains covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the Disciples of Christ, ensuring the school ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{cite book , last = Youngs , first = J. William T. , title = The Congregationalists , publisher = Praeger , series = Denominations in America , volume = 4 , edition = Student , date = 1998 , location = Westport, Connecticut , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kOuBhis1-7QC , isbn = 9780275964412 Congregationalism in the United States Congregationalist denominations Congregational organizations established in the 19th century United Church of Christ predecessor churches Religious organizations established in 1865 1931 disestablishments in the United States Former Christian denominations