Federal St Church – 1809 Presbyterian - John Witherspoon

(See Marker on the Corner) 100 Federal St Bank of America corner of Federal St and Franklin St - This is the first Presbyterian Church in Boston. The building was originally a group of Calvinist Presbyterians (Puritans) meeting in a converted barn on Long Lane (Now Federal St) in 1729. After 3 enlarging renovations it was sold in 1861 and they moved to Arlington Street Church.

Presbyterianism started in Pennsylvania although the name was used before then at times for Puritan before they separated; In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established the first presbytery in North America, the Presbytery of Philadelphia.

However, there were a few Presbyterian Ministers that were quite influential during the American Revolution. The following one is not from Boston but is of interest.

John Witherspoon (1723-1794) was an important "political parson" of the Revolutionary period. He was a Presbyterian Minister with a doctorate. He represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress from 1776 to 1782, in which capacity he signed the Declaration of Independence and served on more than one hundred committees. As president of Princeton, Witherspoon was accused of turning the institution into a "seminary of sedition."

Dr. Witherspoon enjoyed great success at the College of New Jersey. He turned it into a very successful institution and was a very popular man as a result. He also wrote frequent essays on subjects of interest to the colonies. While he at first abstained from political concerns, he came to support the revolutionary cause, accepting appointment to the committees of correspondence and safety in early 1776. Later that year he was elected to the Continental Congress in time to vote for R. H. Lee's Resolution for Independence. He voted in favor, and shortly after voted for the Declaration of Independence and was one of the signers of it. Another member argued that the country was not yet ripe for such a declaration, he argued that in his opinion it "was not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it." Witherspoon was a very active member of congress, serving on more than a hundred committees through his tenure and debating frequently on the floor.

In November 1776, he shut down and evacuated the College of New Jersey at the approach of British forces. The British occupied the area and did much damage to the college, nearly destroyed it. Following the war, Witherspoon devoted his life to rebuilding the College.

What fruitage did these spiritual leaders produce? Mt 7:15-20. Consider John 17:16 vs Acts 20:29, 30. What would Jesus have said seeing this?

-Source Links-

https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/witherspoon.html

https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/john-witherspoon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Street_Church_(Boston)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbytery_of_Boston

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=176241