First Baptist Church in America
by Stephen Stookey
Title
First Baptist Church in America
Artist
Stephen Stookey
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
First Baptist Church in America, Providence, Rhode Island, stands as the oldest Baptist congregation in America. The church, organized by Roger Williams circa March of 1638, stood for religious liberty and church-state separation amidst a New England climate that favored state established churches and aggressive suppression of religious dissent.
Roger Williams knew well the suppression of dissent in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Objections to the religious establishment in Salem, MA, resulted in his 1635 arrest for violating the colonial religious codes. Williams refused to remain quiet, leading to government plans for immediate deportation to England. Imprisonment, or worse, would certainly follow Williams's landing in the mother country. Tipped off to eminent deportation Williams opted for self-exile into the New England wilderness in January of 1636. Fleeing into the harsh New England winter with little provisions Williams found gracious shelter with a band of Narragansett Native Americans. The spring following Williams established his own colony--Providence Plantations. The new colony, predicated on freedom of conscience/religious liberty and church-state separation, laid the colonial foundation for the modern state of Rhode Island. These founding ideals, ensconced in the original charter, reflected Williams emerging Baptist convictions.
Williams, along with like-minded Christians settling in the recently created city of Providence, organized the first Baptist congregation in the Americas by March of 1638. Williams remained with the congregation only four months before departing over self-doubts as his right to reestablish baptism by immersion of adult believers without first receiving said baptism. He spent the remainder of his days as a church unto himself, seeking either the 'true' church or divine sanction to reestablish biblical practices believed lost.
The congregation developed a close relationship with the first Baptist-related college in America, The College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (est. 1764)--known today as Brown University. Located on College Hill since 1638, the congregation continues to reflect its founding ideals: "sharing the good news, with Christ-centered enthusiasm, biblical preaching, dynamic caring ministries, advocating the separate and complementary relationship between church and state, and the vitality of traditional worship. What Roger Williams established is still worth standing for." (http://www.firstbaptistchurchinamerica.org)
Beautifully pictured here for display in home or office is the present and third meetinghouse for the historic Baptist congregation. Construction on the present First Baptist Meetinghouse began in the summer of 1774, amidst the backdrop of New England protests against British taxes. The 1774 closure of Boston Harbor following the famed Boston Tea Party brought shipbuilders south to Providence for employment constructing First Baptist's new meetinghouse--at the time the largest construction project in New England. The meetinghouse formally opened in May 1775, with the steeple complete in early June. First Baptist Meetinghouse influenced the architectural style of Baptist churches in America, opting for the formal New England architectural style of mainline Protestant churches--particularly Congregational meetinghouses and Anglican churches. The steeple bell marked a first for Baptist churches in America.
Image captured with a Canon 50D & Canon 15-85 lens.
FAA Featured Image:
Christian Theme Artwork Group
1/21/2015
Uploaded
January 20th, 2015
Embed
Share