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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251001T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251001T140000
DTSTAMP:20260227T112734Z
CREATED:20260209T140732Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T112734Z
UID:9148-1759323600-1759327200@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Gathered Into a Church: Indigenous-English Congregationalism in Woodland New England
DESCRIPTION:This virtual book talk featured Dr. Lori Rogers-Stokes discussing her important new book on Indigenous-English Congregationalism in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the decades around the turn of the eighteenth century\, a period bookended by King Philip’s War and the First Great Awakening. \nPuritans in the American colonies created Congregationalism\, a Protestant denomination where power rested in each congregation rather than a larger central body. As has often been told\, the official puritan mission included outreach to Indigenous people. This may appear as nothing more than forced conversion under colonization\, but church records from Massachusetts—digitized and made public for the first time—reveal the authenticity of this Indigenous religious experience\, as evidenced by commonalities between the Congregational way and some aspects of local Native American cultures. The records also show how the decentralized churches stood in contrast to a growing civil government in the colonies. \nWith church records now available\, Rogers-Stokes revealed a more realistic picture of diverse congregations and contrasts their internal workings—which show inherent flexibility and a focus on a shared creation of community—with a developing civil government focused on consolidating power around white landowners. The result is a story that can expand how scholars write about this period\, this region\, and these communities\, both settler and Indigenous. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Lori Rogers-Stokes is an independent scholar\, public historian\, and contributing editor for New England’s Hidden Histories\, a digital history project of the Congregational Library & Archives. She is the author of Gathered into a Church: Indigenous-English Congregationalism in Woodland New England\, out in September 2025 from the University of Massachusetts Press\, and Records of Trial from Thomas Shepard’s Church in Cambridge\, 1638–49: Heroic Souls (Palgrave Macmillan\, 2020). Lori studies the history of Woodland New England\, where Indigenous people and English colonizers took actions that continue to shape our lives today.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/gathered-church
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Book Talks,Congregational Story,Diverse Voices
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/GatheredChurchCarousel400.png
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T190000
DTSTAMP:20260227T113127Z
CREATED:20260209T141248Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T113127Z
UID:9150-1759944600-1759950000@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Spirits in the Stacks: A Ghostly Tour at the Congregational Library & Archives
DESCRIPTION:Feeling spooky? This program\, offered both in-person and via Zoom\, featured chilling tales of the macabre as NEHH Project Director Dr. Tricia Peone guided guests through the haunted history of the Congregational Library & Archives. \nAttendees heard ghost stories drawn from the 400-year history of Congregationalism and learned why the CLA has collected occult literature. They viewed rare books and manuscripts from the CLA’s collections\, including seventeenth-century books on ghosts and witchcraft\, nineteenth-century pamphlets on vampires and seances\, and twentieth-century haunted house sermons. \nThis interactive tour began with a discussion of puritan belief in ghosts and the invisible world\, including works by Boston ministers Increase and Cotton Mather that continue to shape the way people understand these topics. Dr. Peone explored the legacy of New England’s supernatural landscape and how this history continues to affect us today. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Tricia Peone joined the CLA in 2022 as the Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories. Prior to joining the CLA\, she was a research scholar at Historic New England for the Recovering New England’s Voices project. She has also previously worked as the public programs director at New Hampshire Humanities\, a university lecturer teaching classes on the Salem witch trials\, early New England\, and public history\, and as a researcher for cultural heritage organizations. Her scholarship focuses on early New England\, particularly the history of magic and witchcraft\, and her work on these subjects has appeared in journals\, books\, blogs\, and on radio and television. She holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in the early modern Atlantic world and history of science.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/spirits-stacks
LOCATION:Congregational Library & Archives\, 14 Beacon Street\, Boston\, MA\, 02108\, United States
CATEGORIES:Public Programs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/NEWSpiritsStacksCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T140000
DTSTAMP:20260227T113555Z
CREATED:20260227T113328Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T113555Z
UID:12813-1760446800-1760450400@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Spirits in the Stacks: A Ghostly Virtual Tour
DESCRIPTION:Feeling spooky? This program\, offered both in-person and via Zoom\, featured chilling tales of the macabre as NEHH Project Director Dr. Tricia Peone guided guests through the haunted history of the Congregational Library & Archives. \nAttendees heard ghost stories drawn from the 400-year history of Congregationalism and learned why the CLA has collected occult literature. They viewed rare books and manuscripts from the CLA’s collections\, including seventeenth-century books on ghosts and witchcraft\, nineteenth-century pamphlets on vampires and seances\, and twentieth-century haunted house sermons. \nThis interactive tour began with a discussion of puritan belief in ghosts and the invisible world\, including works by Boston ministers Increase and Cotton Mather that continue to shape the way people understand these topics. Dr. Peone explored the legacy of New England’s supernatural landscape and how this history continues to affect us today. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Tricia Peone joined the CLA in 2022 as the Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories. Prior to joining the CLA\, she was a research scholar at Historic New England for the Recovering New England’s Voices project. She has also previously worked as the public programs director at New Hampshire Humanities\, a university lecturer teaching classes on the Salem witch trials\, early New England\, and public history\, and as a researcher for cultural heritage organizations. Her scholarship focuses on early New England\, particularly the history of magic and witchcraft\, and her work on these subjects has appeared in journals\, books\, blogs\, and on radio and television. She holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in the early modern Atlantic world and history of science.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/spirits-stacks-virtual
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Public Programs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/NEWSpiritsStacksCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T140000
DTSTAMP:20260526T085941Z
CREATED:20260209T141506Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260526T085941Z
UID:9155-1760533200-1760536800@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Finding an Archival Home:  Understanding the Accessioning Process
DESCRIPTION:ACCESS VIDEO TRANSCRIPT + RESOURCES \nChurches\, both active and engaged in the legacy process\, may find themselves needing to partner with external repositories to properly steward their important historical records. \nThe process of working with repositories to donate materials can be surprisingly complex and time intensive for both the donor and repository. Every archive\, library\, and museum has their own unique accessioning workflow and rules for collecting\, so when the stewards of church records understand the overall process\, they are able to set realistic expectations when working with both repositories and church administrators. \nThis virtual workshop with the CLA’s archivists\, Zachary Bodnar and Billy McCarthy\, explored the accessioning process from start to finish with an eye towards setting expectations for donors and best practices to follow when working with external repositories. Zachary and Billy will also discussed the gift agreement\, a document that legally transfers physical ownership; explored how to talk about copyright and other legal rights with a repository; and offered a peak behind the curtain at the CLA’s accessioning procedures. \nThis program was part of our Church Stewardship Initiative (CSI). Find the videos of past workshops and free resources on our CSI webpage. \n  \nSPEAKER BIOS \nZachary Bodnar graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science from Simmons University\, with a concentration in archives management\, in 2018. Prior to his work at the CLA\, Zachary worked at the Bellamy-Ferriday House and Garden archive\, the Vassar College Special Collections\, the Harvard Law School Library\, and the Harvard Botany Libraries. Zachary joined the CLA as an Archives Assistant in 2017\, helping to prepare materials for digitization through the New England’s Hidden Histories program. In 2018\, he took on the title of Archivist. His professional interests include metadata collection and management\, digital archiving\, audio/visual preservation\, and archives management. \nBilly McCarthy graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) at Simmons University with a concentration in Archival Management. He started working at the CLA through a graduate internship and was hired full-time as an Archivist in 2018. Billy is the Head of Reader Services\, helping the CLA’s visitors with reference requests and facilitating in-person research. Billy also serves as the collection manager for the archives\, working with CLA’s offsite vendor to protect and maintain the organization’s archival records. Some of his professional interests include increasing access\, collection management\, processing of complex materials\, and facilitating research.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/finding-archival-home
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Archives,CSI
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ArchivalHome400.png
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T140000
DTSTAMP:20260301T114255Z
CREATED:20260209T141709Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T114255Z
UID:9159-1761051600-1761055200@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:The Bicentennial of the American Unitarian Association and Congregational History
DESCRIPTION:ACCESS VIDEO TRANSCRIPT + RESOURCES\nOn the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the American Unitarian Association\, Dr. Dan McKanan\, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Senior Lecturer at Harvard Divinity School and editor of A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism (Skinner House Books\, 2017)\, joined us for this fascinating virtual talk. \nThe founding of the American Unitarian Association in 1825 was the culmination of a generations-long family quarrel within the Congregational churches of Massachusetts. Many Unitarian Universalists today remember it as the beginning of a theological journey that would lead away from both Congregationalism and Christianity as a whole. But the Unitarian founders understood themselves as custodians of the best traditions of their puritan forebears. They hoped to spread the puritan values of learned ministry and congregational independence across the United States\, while paring away the excesses of Calvinism and revivalism. \nAnd even as their theology diverged\, their organizational habits ran in parallel with those of their more orthodox siblings. Both groups were prolific founders of schools and reform societies that transformed their nation\, even as both groups lagged behind their Baptist and Methodist cousins in the struggle for hearts and minds. This bicentennial is thus an opportunity to reflect on the shared legacies of Congregationalism. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Dan McKanan is the Emerson Senior Lecturer at Harvard Divinity School\, where he works closely with students preparing for Unitarian Universalist ministry and with scholars of Unitarian Universalism from around the world. He is the author of six books\, including Prophetic Encounters: Religion and the American Radical Tradition\, and the editor of the two-volume Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/aua-bicentennial
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Congregational Story
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AUABicentennialCarousel400.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251029T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251029T200000
DTSTAMP:20260414T125440Z
CREATED:20260209T142134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260414T125440Z
UID:9162-1761764400-1761768000@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:NEHH@20: Re-Examining Stories from New England Communities Digital Exhibition Launch
DESCRIPTION:ACCESS VIDEO TRANSCRIPT + RESOURCES \nFor twenty years\, the New England’s Hidden Histories project at the Congregational Library & Archives has been digitizing\, transcribing\, and providing free online access to early New England Congregational church records. Since 2005\, this landmark project has grown into a digital archive with 130\,000 images and over 26\,000 pages of transcription\, representing collections from 160 historic New England churches. Working in partnership with libraries\, archives\, museums\, churches\, and other cultural institutions\, the project team has uncovered valuable\, and too often overlooked\, firsthand accounts that preserve the voices of early New Englanders. \nIn this virtual event\, curators Dr. Richard Boles\, Associate Professor of History and the Interim Director of Religious Studies at Oklahoma State University\, and Dr. Tricia Peone\, Project Director of New England’s Hidden Histories\, launched a new online exhibition to celebrate the project’s milestone anniversary. NEHH@20: Re-Examining Stories from New England Communities showcases the work of scholars\, church historians\, and transcribers who have contributed to the project and uncovered new histories in the process. The exhibition explores the important research that has come from this archive and its impact on community histories of New England. Learn more about the making of the online exhibition\, the history and evolution of the NEHH project\, and the curators’ favorite stories from the archives. \n  \nSPEAKER BIOS \nDr. Richard Boles is an Associate Professor of History and the Interim Director of Religious Studies at Oklahoma State University. His first book\, Dividing the Faith: The Rise of Segregated Churches in the Early American North\, was published by New York University Press. It examines the transition from racially diverse churches during the early eighteenth century to separate African American and Native American congregations by the early nineteenth century in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. His most recent publication appears in the just-released Routledge History of Religion and Politics in the United States Since 1775. \nDr. Tricia Peone joined the CLA in 2022 as the Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories. Prior to joining the CLA\, she was a research scholar at Historic New England for the Recovering New England’s Voices project. She has also previously worked as the public programs director at New Hampshire Humanities\, a university lecturer teaching classes on the Salem witch trials\, early New England\, and public history\, and as a researcher for cultural heritage organizations. Her scholarship focuses on early New England\, particularly the history of magic and witchcraft\, and her work on these subjects has appeared in journals\, books\, blogs\, and on radio and television. She holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in the early modern Atlantic world and history of science.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/nehh20-virtual-launch
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:NEHH,NEHH@20
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/NEHH20LaunchCarousel400.png
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