THE WEST PARISH HISTORY CORNER: In the early days of our congregation all issues were resolved quickly and peacefully. Right? Well not exactly. Read what Elizabeth Jenkins had to say in her excellent history of West Parish that appeared in Barnstable, Three Centuries of a Cape Cod Town. "Church services were greatly disturbed in 1725 by a dispute over whether the psalms would be sung the "old way or the regular way" (The old way was to sing the psalm one line at a time). This struggle in West Parish grew so hot that the civil authorities (meaning cops) were called in to quell the disturbance of Sunday Worship, but the spirit of conciliation is evident. "It was concluded that we sing as formerly for the present to give opportunity for persons to inform themselves as to the regular way and some of the brethren did express their willingness (after some time) to sing the tunes as they were placed in the Psalm-book. None objected (or not above one or two)" The one or two must have been persistent for in December it was voted "to sing one half of a year in the old way and the other in the regular." Poor Rev. Russell records, "During the half year we sang the old way, the singing was very broken and confused, Bro Bodfish singing the Psalm." By June they voted to, "sing the regular way until the church order otherwise." In January 1729, it was voted to call a Council to decide the matter and to sit down satisfied with the result. The record ends. The regular way triumphed. Had this issue not been resolved, we would still be singing our hymns a line at a time, led by the talented voice of Allen Nelson. Bob Russell, |