Photo Recap of New England

As part of my studies, I recently took study tour with my school (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) to New England to learn more about the rich religious heritage of early America. Over eight days I toured a number of unique and historical sites in the New England region. While there is not enough space to document everything I saw, here are a few highlights from the week.

We left the Kansas City airport early in the morning, and the springtime green spread out beautifully below us, complementing the light cloud cover. During this flight I had a great talk with a fellow passenger about the Gospel and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Our first stop was Yale University, where we visited the Jonathan Edwards Library and Rare Book Center. I’ve never seen so many rare books: hundreds of rows of volumes from the 1600s and 1700s. One of the wonders was to see the manuscripts of Jonathan Edwards, including this notebook that contained many of his thoughts. Jonathan Edwards was not only one of America’s greatest theologians – he was also a meticulous thinker and organizer who was constantly writing notes to himself and organizing them in different notebooks.

The next site was also related to Jonathan Edwards. In Enfield, Connecticut, we saw the site where Edwards preached his most famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It contains vivid language intended to portray to the sinner the danger of remaining unreconciled to God. Edwards was not afraid to preach on hell, but his sermons and writings are balanced: he also spoke much of heaven and the glory of God. He preached on hell because it is part of the Biblical message, just as Jesus spoke on hell. His sermons sparked revival in his hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts, in the 1740s.

Continuing north, we came to this large field. At first glance, it may look like any other large field. However, it was here that the famous English evangelist George Whitefield once preached to a crowd of around 500 people. Whitefield and Edwards were friends, and Whitefield toured New England, fanning the revival flames and preaching constantly on the new birth. Whitefield stood on the rock and preached to the crowds who gathered in this field from miles around.

Northampton, Massachusetts was the home of Edwards for much of his time in ministry. We visited the site of his church – the church building there today is not from his time period, since the congregation went through multiple buildings due to fires.

One of the saddest aspects of touring New England is seeing the many church buildings that have abandoned Biblical faith. ‘Unitarian Universalist’ is one of the most common doctrinal positions. Edward’s church in Northampton has fared no better. This sign in front of the church seems to sum up everything that this church stands for – and while some of this stuff may be good, it certainly isn’t the essence of Biblical faith. (By the way, how does one ‘share spiritual resources’???)

While Edwards was a famous Great Awakening minister, he enjoyed friendships with other men, such as David Brainerd. Brainerd was a missionary to the Native Americans, dying at the age of 29 of tuberculosis. Brainerd died in Edwards’ home, and Edwards went on to publish Brainerd’s Journal, a book that would turn into a classic of Christian spirituality.

As Brainerd lay dying in Edwards’ home, he was nursed by Edwards’ daughter Jerusha. In a sweet and exceptionally sad story, Jerusha contracted tuberculosis from Brainerd and died only four months later at the age of 17; they are buried side-by-side, furthering the belief of many that they had a romantic friendship.

The Haystack Prayer Meeting occurred behind the campus of Williams College in August of 1806. During a terrific thunderstorm, five students who had gathered to walk in the woods and pray decided to crowd under a haystack to wait out the rain. In the meantime they gave themselves to prayer and dedicated their lives to the work of missions. These men went on to work for the cause of missions, later inspiring Adoniram Judson to devote his life to missions and take the gospel to southeast Asia.

We also made a stop at Rutland, Vermont. This cemetery was once the site of the church where Lemuel Haynes pastored. Haynes was the first African-American in the United States to be ordained a minister; he was also a soldier during the American Revolution, and he wrote against both slavery and African colonization.

Crossing from Vermont to New Hampshire, we visited the campus of Dartmouth College. This institution was founded in 1769, providing training for both ministerial students and native Americans. As you can see, it has a beautiful campus, though it has drifted far from its original purpose.

One of my personal favorite sites on this trip was the tomb of George Whitefield. Years ago I read Arnold Dallimore’s two-volume biography of Whitefield, and it was very formative for me. Whitefield preached during the Great Awakening throughout England and America. His tomb, in fact, was not sealed until the early 1900s, and it was often opened for visitors to observe…ugh!

In my previous post I mentioned the ‘Haystack Prayer Meeting.’ Another famous site for missionary history is ‘Missionary Rock,’ where Adoniram Judson and his friends committed to the work of foreign missions. This site is behind the campus of Andover Seminary, and its effects have been felt around the world.

Driving from Maine to Rhode Island in a single day is quite a drive – I was rewarded by this view from my hotel room. Interesting fact that I learned while in Rhode Island: the name of the state is actually “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.” It was founded by Roger Williams to form a sanctuary for religious freedom.

Roger Williams, who founded the colony, was (for a brief time) a Baptist; he established the first Baptist church in America in Providence, Rhode Island. While the church no longer teaches anything like what Williams believed (or anything like the historic faith of Baptists), it continues to have a beautiful sanctuary.

In Boston, I had an opportunity to do some exploring. While not a site of religious significance, I finally got to tour the USS Constitution – the last time I was in Boston, the ship was closed. The ship was launched in 1797, and it is the world’s ‘oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat.’ The ship saw action during the Quasi-War, the Barbary Wars, and the War of 1812.

These canons are still used to fire salutes during ceremonies. The ship gained the nickname ‘Old Ironsides’ when, during a battle in 1812, sailors observed that some British canon shots simply bounced off the strong hull.

Of course, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get a picture at the wheel…

One evening in Boston, we joined some local pastors for a ‘For the Church Regional Micro-Conference.’ It was a great opportunity to learn more about the challenges that Christianity faces as it deals with modern culture.

Finally, on the last day of the trip, we visited the campus of Harvard University. (Say it like a New Englander…Hahvahd…) This is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, founded in 1636 by the puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was created in order to train ministerial students (like so many of the early colleges) but (like so many) has abandoned that role and changed its motto from ‘Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae’ (Truth for Christ and the Church) to ‘Veritas’ (Truth).

It was a busy eight days, but a great opportunity. Not only was this a chance to see many of the sites that I had read about in the past, it was also an opportunity to learn through lectures, research, and reading assignments. Few classes that I have ever taken have been this enjoyable!