14 A HALF CENTURY. 



In the Churcli the spirit of self-sacrifice was inculcated. 

 With no pretense or outward show, and with little noise, the 

 great problems of Church life and laying wisely the founda- 

 tions of Christian character, ministering to the poor and the sick 

 and sending the gospel to the heathen, were solved. Prayer 

 meetings were regularly sustained and well attended. The 

 Church meeting was held every Friday afternoon and a con- 

 ference meeting every Friday evening. The monthly concert 

 of prayer for foreign missions was established soon after the 

 organization of the Church, and for many years was held the 

 first Sunday evening in each month. The pastor was ac- 

 customed to prepare interesting papers upon the different mis- 

 sions, and these were illustrated by maps and charts, and the 

 Sandwich Island mission, then a foreign mission field, the 

 Nestorians, the Mahratta mission, Ceylon, China, and the Indian 

 missions were terms almost as familiar as household words to 

 the members of the Church. The Church and congregation 

 were thus kept well informed in regard to most of the missions, 

 and the attendance which kept the rooms of the vestry crowd- 

 ed was evidence of the interest taken in the monthly concert 

 of prayer. 



At the same time the interest in the Pagan world was so 

 stimulated, the work at home was not neglected. The pastor 

 was able to make visits to all the families of his people, and at 

 the annual meeting in 1846 a person was appointed to circulate 

 books and tracts among the members of the Church and con- 

 gregation with a suitable compensation for his services. A few 

 years later all the Evangelical Churches in the place engaged 

 in evangelistic work in the organization of the New Britain 

 Tract Society, and this Church was largely represented in that 

 society during the more than thirty years of its active effort. 



During Mr. ; Rockwell's pastorate there were added to the 

 Church on confession of faith, one hundred and thirty-seven, 

 and by letter, one hundred and thirty-three; total, two hundred 

 and seventy. The net gain was one hundred and nineteen, or 

 nearly one hundred per cent. Several of the members who 

 had been active in the organization of the Church had passed 



