Formed in 1846, the New-York and Brooklyn Association of Congregational Churches sought to connect Congregational ministers of the two cities and coordinate ecclesiastical councils. Ecclesiastical councils, composed of ministers from member churches, were formal meetings held to create new churches as well as ordane, appoint, and remove ministers. Manhattan-based ministers separated from the organization in the 1870s following the Henry Ward Beecher scandal, forming the Manhattan Congregational Association. In 1896, under the guidance of Rev. Lyman Abbott, Beecher's successor at Plymouth Church, members of the Manhattan Congregational Association returned to the New-York and Brooklyn Association. Later known as the New York City Congregational Church Association, the Association's work was taken over by the Metropolitan Association of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ in the late 20th century.
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Sources
- "Old Differences Settled: Brooklyn and New-York Congregationalists Have Reunited."
New York Times, April 22, 1896, 7.
From the guide to the New York City Congregational Church Association ecclesiastical council minutes, 1868-1954, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
Formed in 1846, the New York and Brooklyn Association of Congregational Churches sought to connect Congregational ministers of the two cities and coordinate ecclesiastical councils. Ecclesiastical councils, composed of ministers from member churches, were formal meetings held to create new churches as well as ordane, appoint, and remove ministers. Manhattan-based ministers separated from the organization in the 1870s following the Henry Ward Beecher scandal, forming the Manhattan Congregational Association. In 1896, under the guidance of Rev. Lyman Abbott, Beecher's successor at Plymouth Church, members of the Manhattan Congregational Association returned to the New-York and Brooklyn Association. Later known as the New York City Congregational Church Association, the Association's work was taken over by the Metropolitan Association of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ in the late 20th century.
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Sources:
- "Old Differences Settled: Brooklyn and New-York Congregationalists Have Reunited."
New York Times, April 22, 1896, 7.
From the guide to the New York and Brooklyn Association of Congregational Churches records, 1847-1896, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
