Richards, George; Packard, Theophilus, Jr. Ministerial Duties and Immunities : A Sermon, preached at the Installation of Rev. William H. Gilbert, over the First Parish in Ashfield, Mass., December 3, 1851. Boston: Press of T. R. Marvin, 1851. First Edition. [12113]
Removed, no wrapper, 8 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches, 31 pages. Good. Pamphlet.
The text is Acts 6:4, "We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."
Pages 23-31 are written by Theophilus Packard, Jr., and are biographical sketches of the eight pastors of the church from its founding in 1763. These are the Revs. Jacob Sherwin, Alvan Sanderson, Thomas Shepard, Mason Grosvenor, Burr Baldwin, Sereno D. Clark, and William H. Gilbert. Another list gives the congregational ministers that the church has produced over the years, and, if living, their present ministries.
George Richards (1816-1870), b. New London, CT; d. Bridgeport, CT. He was educated at Andover Theological Seminary and at the Yale Theological Seminary, where he became a tutor at the college. He was first the associate, and later the primary pastor of the Central Congregational Church in Boston (1845-1859), and afterwards was pastor of the First Congregational Churches in Litchfield, CT, and then at Bridgeport, CT.
