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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250305T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250305T140000
DTSTAMP:20260302T172007Z
CREATED:20260209T130507Z
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SUMMARY:Belonging: An Intimate History of Slavery and Family in Early New England
DESCRIPTION:ACCESS VIDEO TRANSCRIPT + RESOURCES\nThis talk celebrated the release of Belonging: An Intimate History of Slavery and Family in Early New England with author Dr. Gloria McCahon Whiting. \nNew England is often considered a cradle of liberty in United States history\, but it was also a cradle of slavery. From the earliest years of colonization\, New Englanders bought and sold people\, most of whom were of African descent. In Belonging\, Gloria McCahon Whiting tells the region’s early history from the perspective of the people\, like Jane and Sebastian\, who belonged to others and who struggled to maintain a sense of belonging among their kin. Through a series of meticulously reconstructed family narratives\, Whiting traces the contours of enslaved people’s intimate lives in early New England\, where they often lived with those who bound them but apart from kin. Enslaved spouses rarely were able to cohabit; fathers and their offspring routinely were separated by inheritance practices; children could be removed from their mothers at an enslaver’s whim; and people in bondage had only partial control of their movement through the region\, which made more difficult the task of maintaining distant relationships. \nBut Belonging does more than lay bare the obstacles to family stability for those in bondage. Whiting also charts Afro-New Englanders’ persistent demands for intimacy throughout the century and a half stretching from New England’s founding to the American Revolution. And she shows how the work of making and maintaining relationships influenced the region’s law\, religion\, society\, and politics. Ultimately\, the actions taken by people in bondage to fortify their families played a pivotal role in bringing about the collapse of slavery in New England’s most populous state\, Massachusetts. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Gloria McCahon Whiting is E. Gordon Fox Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison\, where she has received numerous teaching awards for her courses on early American history. Her scholarly work has been featured in a variety of journals\, including the Journal of American History\, the William and Mary Quarterly\, and Slavery & Abolition. She recently launched a public-facing digital humanities project on slavery\, liberty\, and the American Revolution\, which can be found at freedom-seekers.org. And her first book\, titled Belonging: An Intimate History of Slavery and Family in Early New England\, was published in August of 2024 by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/belonging
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Book Talks,Diverse Voices
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Belonging25Carousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250307T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250307T123000
DTSTAMP:20260228T144639Z
CREATED:20260209T130744Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T144639Z
UID:9050-1741339800-1741350600@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:The Afro-Christian Convention: Exploring our Deeper Roots
DESCRIPTION:This in-person workshop\, held at 14 Beacon Street in Boston\, provided an opportunity for participants to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of the history and legacy of the Afro-Christian Convention as the fifth stream of the United Church of Christ (UCC). It was designed for church and community leaders as well as anyone interested in the history of this important\, and until recently overlooked\, Christian tradition within the UCC. \nLed by Dr. Julia Speller\, Professor Emerita in American Religious History and Culture at Chicago Theological Seminary\, the workshop highlighted key spiritual values that sustained the Afro-Christians throughout their journey\, revealed the close connection between these values and the UCC’s founding commitments as a united and uniting church\, and examined ways individuals can more deeply embody these values and commitments\, as they prepare for the important work of justice at such a time as this. \nIn addition to the small-group discussion with contributing author and educator Julia Speller\, participants received a copy of the recent publication Afro-Christian Convention: The Fifth Stream of the United Church of Christ (Pilgrim Press\, 2023) and a brownbag lunch. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Julia Speller is Professor Emerita in American Religious History and Culture at Chicago Theological Seminary where she served for 25 years. Prior to and concurrent with that time\, she served as the director of Christian Education for Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where she has been a member for over five decades. Julia is currently a member of the United Church of Christ Historical Council and has been engaged in the work of several UCC committees over the years. She also serves on the Congregational Library & Archives Board of Directors. She is the author of Walkin’ The Talk: Keepin’ the Faith in Africentric Congregations and holds a BS in Business Administration from Chicago State University\, an MA in Religious Education from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary\, as well as an MA and a PhD in the History of Christianity from the University of Chicago.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/acc-workshop
LOCATION:Congregational Library & Archives\, 14 Beacon Street\, Boston\, MA\, 02108\, United States
CATEGORIES:Congregational Story,Diverse Voices
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SpellerCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250312T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250312T140000
DTSTAMP:20260228T145009Z
CREATED:20260209T130920Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T145009Z
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SUMMARY:Religion and Black Abolitionism in the Era of the American Revolution
DESCRIPTION:In January 1773\, Massachusetts slaves submitted the first of four petitions that decade to the legislature of the colony requesting their release from bondage. Around the same time writers such as Phillis Wheatley and Caesar Sarter began to attack both slavery and the slave trade in print. \nMany scholars have discussed these individual writers and the petitioning campaign of Boston’s blacks as an example of the ways in which subordinate groups used the rhetoric of Revolution to advance their own claims. In this talk\, Christopher Cameron located the origins of their political thought even further back in puritan religious ideology and discussed the advent of black petitioning and other forms of antislavery writing in the colony\, which represented the beginning of the organized abolitionist movement in America. \n  \nThis event was part of our Religion of Revolution lecture series\, sponsored by New England’s Hidden Histories. \nThe Congregational Library & Archives newest digital exhibition\, Religion of Revolution: Congregational Voices on Liberty\, is free to visit anytime at https://congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com/online-exhibits/revolution. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Christopher Cameron is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He was the founding president of the African American Intellectual History Society and currently serves as the founding secretary of the Black Humanist Studies Association. Cameron received his BA in History from Keene State College and his MA and PhD in American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cameron is the author of To Plead Our Own Cause: African Americans in Massachusetts and The Making of the Antislavery Movement and Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/religion-and-black-abolitionism
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Diverse Voices,Religion of Revolution,Revolutionary Stories
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/RBACarousel400_0.png
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250319T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250319T140000
DTSTAMP:20260311T112400Z
CREATED:20260209T131123Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T112400Z
UID:9055-1742389200-1742392800@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:The World of Mary and Roger Williams
DESCRIPTION:ACCESS VIDEO TRANSCRIPT + RESOURCES\nThis virtual program with Dr. Charlotte Carrington-Farmer focused on Mary and Roger Williams\, the influential seventeenth-century couple whose lives left an indelible impact on New England. \nRoger Williams\, an English immigrant to New England\, was famously banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 for his “new and dangerous opinions” on religious freedom\, the separation of church and state\, and Indigenous land rights. Following his banishment\, Williams settled the town of Providence with the permission of the Narragansett Sachems\, creating a colony that was arguably the freest in the western world. \nThe traditional narrative centers Roger Williams as a lone “hero” in the founding of Providence\, but none of it would have been possible without his wife\, Mary Williams. For years at a time\, Mary was the head of the Williams family\, and she played a central role in colony affairs. Part of the challenge of telling Mary’s story in her own words is that she left behind so few of them\, especially compared to her husband. \nAs this program highlighted\, Dr. Carrington-Farmer shines new light on Mary and Roger Williams in her recent essay “More than Roger’s Wife” in the New England Quarterly (2024) and her anthology\, Roger Williams and His World (2025). \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Charlotte Carrington-Farmer is Professor of History at Roger Williams University. She received her PhD from the University of Cambridge and specializes in early American history. Her book\, Roger Williams and His World (Peterborough\, Ontario: Broadview Press\, Jan. 2025)\, sets Roger Williams in his wider Atlantic world context. Her research centers on dissent in seventeenth-century New England\, and she has published book chapters on Thomas Morton and Roger Williams\, and an article on Mary Williams. She has also published a journal article and two book chapters on equines in colonial New England and the early modern Atlantic world. Her current book project is titled: Equine Empire: Horses and the Making of the Atlantic World. She is active in the field of public history and has received funding and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities\, Yale University\, the Mellon Foundation\, and the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/world-mary-roger-williams
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Book Talks,Congregational Story,Women's Voices
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/WorldofWilliamsCarousel400.png
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250325T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250325T143000
DTSTAMP:20260228T145555Z
CREATED:20260209T131313Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T145555Z
UID:9057-1742907600-1742913000@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition:  A Virtual Roundtable
DESCRIPTION:Thousands of church properties worth billions of dollars are being sold or repurposed each year. Nothing can stop the currents of change. But congregations and cities can take steps now to ensure a legacy directed toward communal good rather than private interests. \nIn Gone for Good?\, Mark Elsdon marshals a diverse team of authors\, including pastors\, scholars\, developers\, and urban planners to explore the spiritual and practical aspects of church property transition. Congregations and cities can take steps now to ensure a legacy directed towards communal good rather than private interests. \nThis virtual program\, featuring Mark and three contributors to Gone for Good?\, focused on how to assess the impacts of churches on their neighborhoods—and the gaps they will leave behind\, the primacy of mission in any conversation about church property\, transforming ministry in rural churches\, and much more. \n  \nSPEAKER BIOS \nJennie Birkholz\, MHA is a national healthcare leader and consultant specializing in faith-based initiatives\, rural community well-being\, and collaborative networks. With over 20 years of experience\, she has partnered with healthcare systems\, faith communities\, and nonprofits to develop innovative programs that strengthen community resilience. A co-author of Gone for Good?\, she explores the evolving role of rural churches in her chapter. As a national speaker\, she brings deep insight into how faith communities can drive meaningful change in health and social care. \nPatrick Duggan is the Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Church Building and Loan Fund (CBLF)\, the oldest church-building society in the United States. He served as senior pastor of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead\, United Church of Christ from 1995 to 2023. \nMark Elsdon lives and works at the intersection of money and meaning. He is the author of We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry and editor of the book\, Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition. Mark holds degrees from the University of California\, Berkeley; Princeton Theological Seminary; and the University of Wisconsin School of Business. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church\, USA and serves as co-founder of RootedGood and principal at Threshold Sacred Development. Mark lives in Madison\, Wisconsin with his family. \nBob Jaeger co-founded Partners for Sacred Places in 1989 and currently serves as its President. He has overseen the publication of a recent study on the Economic Halo Effect of older sacred places and the development of programs to help congregations with internal capacity building\, capital campaigns\, engagement with the community\, and the shared use of space. Bob holds a master’s degree in Preservation Planning from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/gone-for-good
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Book Talks,Contemporary Congregationalism,Public Programs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GoneForGoodCarousel400.png
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