Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northamptonshire: with biographical notices of their pastors, and some account of the puritan ministers who laboured in the county.Coleman, Thomas
History
Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northamptonshire: with biographical notices of their pastors, and some account of the puritan ministers who laboured in the county.
Coleman, Thomas
Clergy -- England -- Northamptonshire; Independent churches -- England -- Northamptonshire; Puritans -- England -- Northamptonshire
After the death of Mr. Toller his son was invited for six months as a
probationer for the pastoral office; at the expiration of that time he
received a unanimous call to that office, which he accepted, and was
ordained in October, 1821, when Messrs. J. Hall, Horsey, Edwards, Scott,
Bull, and Hillyard were engaged in the principal services of the day.
Thus, the eldest son of the late pastor, who had been educated for the
ministry at the academy at Wymondley, succeeded to the place of his
father in the most harmonious manner, and with the most cheering
prospects of comfort and usefulness. During the 31 years that have
elapsed since then, that harmony has been uninterrupted, that comfort
and usefulness continued--the son pursuing a similar plan to that which
the father adopted, in expounding the Word of God on one part of the
Sabbath, to give enlarged views of Scripture truth, and to present the
almost boundless variety the Book of God contains, habitually aiming to
preserve a connexion between one part of the Sabbath services and the
other. During the ministry of the present Mr. Toller 211 members have
been added to the Church.
In the year 1849 very extensive alterations were made in the Meeting
House, together with the building of a new vestry, school-rooms,
class-rooms, and a dwelling-house for the sexton; the whole cost of
which was about L1400, which was paid off within two years from the
re-opening. The place is greatly changed from what it was. The large
chandelier, with its dove and the olive leaf, is gone; the beautiful
gaslight taking the place of the candles. The old pulpit is removed
from its place, having long ago lost its noble sounding-board, it being
now understood that the voice is better heard without such an appendage.
The spacious windows on each side of the pulpit are lost, to make way
for the new school-rooms, which are open to the Chapel. But the whole,
we believe, has been greatly improved; additional room having been made
for the hearers on the Sabbath, for the week-evening lecture, and also
for the accommodation of the Sabbath-school, its Bible and its Infant
classes. The present number of Church members is nearly 200; the
scholars in the schools about 280.
Services are conducted in seven villages by members of the Church,
chiefly on Sabbath evenings.
An impartial review of the whole will, we believe, present to the pastor
and the flock the most abundant reason to "thank God and take courage."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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