Letter to the Association 1772

FROM BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER AND STOW CHURCHES,

TO THE ASOCIATION, IN 1772

To the Elders and Messengers of the several Baptized Churches, maintaining the Doctrines of a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the divine Essence-Original Sin-Eternal Personal Election-Particular Redemption-Effectual Calling-Free Justification by the Righteousness of Christ, and the Saints' final Perseverance in Grace to Glory; together with the absolute necessity of good works, as honourable to God and profitable to men; designed to meet in Association at Leominster, on the 29th instant. 

The Church of Christ of the same Faith and Order, meeting at Bourton-on-the Water and Stow, sendeth christian salutations, 

Grace, Mercy, and Peace, be with you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

DEARLY BELOVED BRETHREN, 

We congratulate you on this your annual assembling together; may you be honoured with the Divine Presence in it. The glory of God be your aim and His blessing be your reward. No doubt but your minds have been affected with those extraordinary bankruptcies which have given a great shock to national credit and caused a considerable stagnation in trade. The difficulties also that attend the poor, on account of the extravagant price of almost all kinds of provisions, call for your earnest cries to, and deep humiliation before, the Lord. But, above all, as you cannot but be apprized of, may you be deeply concerned for the languishing state of religion throughout the land, some few churches excepted who, in this respect, are distinguishingly honoured by God. Remember that you are God's watchmen, set upon the walls of Jerusalem, who are to cry to Him day and night, giving Him no rest till He establish and make it a praise in the earth. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, spare thy people O Lord and give not thine heritage to reproach. As our invaluable liberties are still continued to us, may they be religiously and fruitfully improved by us. Thanks be to the God of all grace, we are at peace among ourselves, and are favoured with uninterrupted opportunities of hearing the blessed truths of the gospel, but with respect to their quickening, enlivening power upon our hearts, their purifying practical influence in our lives and conversations, this we are too much strangers to; we think it is not enough to hold fast the form of sound words, and express some zeal for the peculiar doctrines of christianity, but we want to drink into their spirit, be cast into them as a mould, and to have such an inward sense of their weight and importance as might, beyond all outward evidences, engage us to set our seal to them as a sure and faithful testimony. Our meetings are well attended, but few, alas very few, are enquiring the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, whilst some who, we doubt not have believed with the heart unto righteousness, neglect to make confession with the mouth unto salvation. This is our present melancholy state. O for a plentiful effusion of the Divine Spirit, that the desert might blossom as the rose, and the wilderness be turned into a fruitful field. Brethren, pray for us, as we do for you, that you may have a comfortable meeting, be directed and assisted in everything that lies before you, and return to your respective charges with hearts considerably quickened for the important service in which as ministers you are engaged.

And now we commend you to God and the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified, and think it an honour to subscribe ourselves, 

Your very affectionate brethren in the endearing bonds of the gospel. 

Sigu'd at our church meeting this 19th day of July, 1772. 

Benjamin Beddome, Pastor. 

Richard Boswell, John Collett, William Bailey, James Ashwin, 

Thomas Kite, Robert Hanks, Richard Dalby, William Fox, 

One baptized, not received in, Two dead. Numbers about 158.

(This is reproduced in Stokes book on the Midland Association)

Stokes's Chronological events

In William Stokes' History of the Midland Association of Baptist Churches he has a list of chronological events. Here is the list up to the year of Beddome's death.

CHRONOLOGICAL EVENTS.

The following Remarks, &c. were intended for a column in the foregoing Chronological Table, but the want of space prevented that arrangement. The author was advised not to suppress them,—-he 

therefore gives them in the somewhat dissociated form below. 

1762 Middleton Cheney joined—John Pyne, pastor at Shrewsbury. 

1763 Cannon-street chapel, Birmingham, enlarged for the first time. 

1764 Mr. L. Butterworth came to Bengworth—Covenant adopted at Bromsgrove. 

1765 Dudley joined. - [John] MacGowan, [1726-1780] author of the “Dialogue of Devils," one  of the preachers this year. He was supplying at Bridgenorth.

1766 Eighteen associated churches—Association held at Hook Norton for the first time. 

1767 James Kettilby died, aged 71, preacher at Bewdley 50 years.

1768 Decrease 5.—-L. Butterworth ordained at Bengworth after four years' probation. 

1769 Mr. Poynting's Sermon printed by the Association, the first thus honoured

1770 Leicester left.— P. Jones died, 30 years pastor Upton on Severn

1771 Mr. J. Willis settled at Upton. Death of Dr. Gill, aged 73

1772 Sutton-in-the-Elms left to join the Northampton Association.

1773 Church members at Bewdley, l2.—-Mr. John Sandys pastor at Shrewsbury. 

1774 Members at Cannon-street, Birmingham, 112.—Second time of holding the Association at Bengworth. 

1775 Brettel Lane joined -— Association held at Dudley for the first time.

1776 Cannon-street, Birmingham, 140 members—Association held at Tewkesbury for the tenth time. 

1777 Cirencester joined—Association at Birmingham, the fourth time.

1778 Robert Hall entered at Bristol College, 15 years of age.

1779 Mr. J Stennet, minister at Warwick.—Association held at Cirencester for the first time. 

1780 Decrease 7. Died this year, aged 54, Mr. Turner, pastor of Cannon-street, Birmingham, for 25 years. 

1781 Mr. Stephens pastor at Upton. - Baptists in Birmingham as one to 385 of the whole population. 

1782 Middleth Cheney left — Agreed to have an Association Book, to be kept by L. Butterworth. 

1783 Darkhouse church formed — Mr. P. Reece settled at Warwick.

1784 .Darkhouse joined the Association — Preaching by Baptists commenced at Willenhall. 

1785 Church formed at Needless Alley, (now Bond-street) Birmingham.

1786 Needless Alley, with 50 members, joined the Association — Thomas Edmonds called to the ministry, at Cannon-St, Birmingham. 

1787 Cannon~Street members 235. — First Baptist meeting-house opened at Willenhall. 

1788 Byeford admitted — T. Smith, and Joshua Bissell, ordained joint pastors of the Darkhouse, Coseley. 

1789 B. Beddome’s last appearance at the Association.— Mr. [Henry] Taylor, pastor at Cannon-Street, Birmingham, resigned, and was succeeded by Samuel Pearce.

1790 S. Pearce ordained at Cannon-Street, Birmingham, August 18. - The6 Association resolved, that “No church to be admitted or retained, but such as agree with the doctrines of the Association."

1791 Robert Hall, of Arnsby, died March 13, aged 63.- Sermon on the oppressive, etc, tendency of the Test, etc, Acts, by Samuel Pearce, February 21.

1792 Willenhall admitted.— Baptist Mission formed at Kettering, Oct. 2. First Public collection ever made for the Baptist Mission, was made at Birmingham, £70 collected.

1793 The Coppice received — Day of fasting and prayer appointed on account of the alarming state of the nation — March 20, J. Thomas and W. Carey ordained missionaries to the East Indies.

1794 Shifnal received — Derby spoken of as an “infant interest."

1795 Beddome, for 55 years pastor at Bourton, died September 3 aged 79. - A day of fasting and prayer appointed.-—A meeting of the Committee of the Baptist Mission in Birmingham, when 

Messrs. [Jacob] Grigg and [John] Rodway were designated Missionaries to Africa, September 16. 

1796 Wolverhampton received. - J[ohn] Palmer ordained at Shrewsbury.- J[ohn] Wilson ordained at Warwick.

Bromsgrove Trust Deed 1744

In his History of the Midland Association of Baptist Churches from ... the Year 1655 to 1855. ... With the Confession of Faith of 1689, Also an Essay on Creeds William Stokes says that Beddome was one of the signatories to the Bromsgrove church's trust deed (Friday) June 12, 1744. The other signatories were Philip Jones (Upton) d 1771, Benjamin Belcher (Henley-in-Arden), John Pointing (Worcester) 1719-1791, John Overbury (Alcester) 1673-1764, James Kettilby (Bewdley) 1697-1767.