Baptist Social Practices

We can expect to understand much of the general trends in the meetinghouse's past through analysis and interpretation of the archaeological evidence we have so diligently excavated and categorized, but to substantiate and nuance our interpretations requires that we uncover the historical evidence in records to compliment this physical evidence from the ground.

For a primary documents detailing the meetinghouse's role within the larger Providence Community, refer to these materials held in Brown University's John Hay Library; unfortunately, due to library policies, no images can be offered here for reference:

- Fifth Festival of the Sewing School in the Vestry of the First Baptist Church in Providence: May 11, 1865. (Broadsides Collection, RB1340 1865)

(Included singing of the song "Mine eyes have seen the glory" probably in celebration and recognition of the recently ended Civil War; implies a patriotic function of the church, a church that was an institution that connected people to celebrate and reflect on public issues. The annoucement advertises "Refreshments for the Children", suggesting that these sewing festivals were attended by families and thus gave the women in the society a unique opportunity to serve as public leaders (see Lawes thesis below))

- King, Henry Melville. Historical Catalogue of the Members of the First Baptist Church in Providence, RI. Providence, R.I. : Townsend, F.H., Printer, 1908. (Archives, 1-UK583pro)

- Announcement of State Memorial Service for President James Abram Garfield: Sept. 26, 1881. (Broadsides Collection, RB717 1881)

(The service was held in the "First Baptist Meetinghouse", implying the church's function as a conduit by which issues in the national and international stage reached the Providence public)

- Christmas Festival of the First Baptist Sabbath School: Dec. 24, 1873. (Broadsides Collection, RB975 1873)

- Municipal Celebration of the Eightieth Anniversary of American Independence: July 4, 1856. (Broadsides Colleciton RB 978 1856)

(The festivities included a choir comprised of students of local public schools and a reading of the Declaration of Independence by "High School Student" Stephen Essex, implying that these ceremonies sought to bring those outside of the church into its realm as it perpetuated social norms (see Hansen thesis below))

- Faith Triumphant: A Pageant of Three Centuries of Baptist History in Rhode Island: 1938. (Broadsides Collection, HB15606 RI)

(The program for the performance of an original play on the Baptist heritage in Providence and Rhode Island; interesting primary document indicating how the congregation viewed its place in Rhode Island history, or at least how they sought to portray it)

- Minutes of the Proceedings of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Sabbath School: June 3, 1894. (Rider Collection, Box 305 No. 5)

- The Endeavor (Monthly Periodical for the First Baptist Mutual Benefit Association): February, and March, 1896. (Rider Collection, Box 409 No.3)

(Certainly the most telling and inclusive of these documents: summarizes all the social events of the church in the months of January and February, 1896. We learn of a Young Ladies' Improvement Society "to promote the social acquaintence of the ladies of the church", checkers tournaments, woodcarving classes, attendence at the Sunday School, Sabbath school performances, lectures on "banking, electricity, the phonograph and telegraph, Alaska, Minerals of the West, Beetles, and glaciers", a "Current Events class which discusses timely subjects", and a "strong debate on the Venezuelan question")

This library also houses the following Providence Baptist Meetinghouse specific secondary sources:

- Watson, Arthur E. Angell's Apple Orchard, 1774-1929. Providence: The Akerman-Standard Co., 1929.

(Provides a celebratory and meticulous history of the meetinghouse's construction and renovation, with passing references to such events as a "Peace Jubilee at the close of the Civil War", public mourning "at the death of Washington", and the general "notable gatherings that took place within the walls of this building; due to the bias of the author (as a member of the church writing this commemorative pamphlet for the congregation), this source should be utilized with reservation. In a way, this document functions both as a primary and secondary document, indicating how a member of the congregation viewed and tried to portray his church's history)

- King, Henry Melville. The Mother Church: A Brief Account of the Origin and Early History of the First Baptist Church in Providence. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1896.

Here too, this document gives a firsthand account of how a church goer - in fact, the pastor at the time - conceived of his church's and congregation's history; as before, the discussion, limited to the church's earliest history after its construction in 1775, should be read with a judging eye due to the writer's bias.

- Dinneen, William. Music at the Meetinghouse, 1775-1958. Providence : Roger Williams Press, 1958.

(Though his focus is on the musical history of the congregation, Dinneen of necessity touches on other contemporary events that were connected with the music as he follows this narrative; in fact, his discussion of this more periphery aspect of church life leads to a clearer picture of the small-scale holistic social developments throughout the church's history. Here, for example, Dinneen gives evidence for outdoor sermons in the summers of 1908-1915, pageants int the 1920s and 1930s, municipal meetings, a "Neighbors' Night" in January 1910 at which 100 boys and girls met in the meetinghouse to discuss Burma, a public meeting in June 1910 on the "transportation and parking problem on the East Side" (some things never change!), and Independence Day celebrations, which included a choir consisting of students from local public schools.)

Surprisingly, few and far between are the books that discuss and demonstrate the social role of church institutions in New England society; some of the following, however, may be helpful in understanding certain aspects of the church institution:

(Social Manifestations of Religious Belief and Practice:)

- Wood, James E., Jr., ed. Baptists and the American Experience. Valley Forge, NY: Judson Press, 1976.

- Brackney, William H., ed. Baptist Life and Thought: 1600-1980. Valley Forge, NY: Judson Press, 1983.

(Pertainent sections on church mutual benefit societies that should be read in conjunction with such an association's publication at the First Baptist Church- "The Endeavor".)

- Leonard, Bill J. Baptist Ways: A History. Valley Forge, NY: Judson Press, 2003.

(General Discussions of the Baptist Church in American History:)

- Leonard, Bill J. Baptists in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.

- Brackney, William H. Baptists in North America: An Historical Perspective. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

(Discussions of Specific Social Functions of Churches in Antebellum New England:)

- Lawes, Carolyn J. Women and Reform in a New England Community, 1815-1860. Lexington, KY: Univeristy Press of Kentucky, 2000.

(The discussion of church sewing circles in antebellum New England as forums where women "reigned supreme" and thus where they could voice and compound their politcal and social ideas in the second chapter is of particular relevance to the First Baptist Church's social history in light of the document announcing the "Fifth Sewing Festival")

- Hansen, Karen V. A Very Social Time: Crafting Community in Antebellum New England. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994.

(This work includes a useful chapter entitled "Getting Religion: The Church as a Soical Instituion" in which Hansen posits that churches - as institutions innerently concerned with morality and one's relationship to others - served to create and perpetuate social norms; in this way, they reinforced gender roles through their social events, assimilated immigrants, provided "respectable" entertainment (discussed in "Church as Theater" section), and spread visions through social work.)