Geophysical investigations of the Tabernacle (Yilki) Cemetery, Encounter Bay, South Australia

Geophysical investigations were undertaken using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) at the Congregational Tabernacle (Yilke) Cemetery, Encounter Bay. These yielded 25 probable and 16 possible grave locations, identified due to the presence of adjacent stratigraphic breaks in the soil profile on multiple GPR lines. Two larger areas of disturbance were identified in the GPR survey and an additional area by the EMI survey which may represent possible locations of the former Congregational Church, founded by Reverend Ridgeway Newland in 1846. While the results show no direct evidence of coffins and approximately half of the site was inaccessible to GPR survey, the results show that the currently accepted number of burials for this site (29) is probably too low.

The 1870s

The 1870s were generally happy and successful ones for Twain and his family as they became part of a congenial community in Hartford, Connecticut, and writings flowed from his pen. During this decade, Twain wrote Roughing It (1872), The Gilded Age (1873), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). He lampooned greed and corruption in The Gilded Age and numerous essays. Tom Sawyer contains several stories about Sunday school escapades and revival meetings based on Twain’s childhood. Twain’s friendship with Joseph Twichell, the pastor of the Asylum Hill (Congregational) Church in Hartford, was deep, meaningful, and long-lasting. Their relationship as well as an examination of Twain’s view of Christ, human nature, sin, salvation, Christianity, and the church helps illuminate Twain’s religious convictions during the 1870s.

Pastoral leadership in a congregational church setting: The case of the Baptist Convention of South Africa

This study attempted to explore the role of pastors in a congregational church setting by using the Baptist Convention of South Africa (BCSA) as a case study. The focus is on the type of leadership relevant for such a system. A proper understanding of congregational church governance and biblical pastoral leadership is encouraged. It is argued that the BCSA would do well to adopt an attitude that views ‘congregational church governance’ as ‘sacramental democracy’, where church members view church meetings to be just as holy as any other sacrament, for example, a holy communion or baptism. Such an understanding of congregational governance offers an environment that is conducive to effective pastoral leadership. The pastor relates to the church as a biblical leader, who uses his or her authority to empower others, as the pastor is also under the authority of Jesus Christ as a follower.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study has significance for Christian Ethics, Practical Theology and New Testament. It is undertaken within (intra-) the Christian leadership discourse, with interest in Applied Ethics that combines Philosophical, Theological and Human Science approaches, especially with reference to (South) African sociopolitical and ecclesiastical contexts. The research builds on the existing Christian leadership discourse.

“Life-Affirming Religion”

Despite doubts about a career in the ministry, May accepts an appointment to be pastor of a Congregational church in Verona, New Jersey. There he preached well but controversially, giving anti-fascist sermons about the civil war in Spain, decrying anti-Semitism in America as well as Germany, and publishing his first book, The Art of Counseling. In personal life, he and Florence had their first child, a son Robert.

Seeing Sanctuary: Separation and Accompaniment

“Seeing Sanctuary” explores the practice and labeling of immigrant sanctuaries in the Trump era of migration enforcement and family separation. The essay utilizes the case of a class visit to a migrant sanctuary in Amherst, Massachusetts, and explores the challenges, rewards, and sense of futility from this flawed but necessary form of accompaniment. In March of 2018, my “History of Deportation” class visited Lucio Pérez, a Guatemalan migrant and nineteen-year resident of Massachusetts, who resides in sanctuary at the First Congregational Church. At this writing, in August 2020, thirty-five months since he entered the church, Pérez is still in sanctuary. Facing deportation in October 2017, Pérez sought refuge, five months prior to our class visit. The essay, drawing from the public narrative of Pérez, distinguishes the open defiance of Pérez’s sanctuary from the broader “sanctuary city” efforts at non-compliance with federal enforcement schemes.

When a Child

Jane Elizabeth Manning was born in southwestern Connecticut, the child of a freed slave. Although Jane’s family owned their home, her father’s death in 1825 was an economic blow. This may have been the reason that Jane was sent to work at a young age, likely as an indentured servant. As a young woman she gave birth to a son. She never identified the child’s father, and her silence suggests that her pregnancy was the result of sexual assault. Jane joined the Congregational Church in 1841, and then joined the Mormon Church in the winter of 1842–1843 after hearing an LDS missionary preach.