I am writing today from beautiful New England.

This week I have been preaching and conducting a prophecy seminar at the Torrington Seventh-day Adventist church in Connecticut. Today, before my last meeting I was able to explore some older churches here in the area. Just as the United States is a melting pot of different cultures, so the Seventh-day Adventist church is a melting pot of different churches and denominations, made up of people from all denominations, who, in the mid 1800s came together during a religious awakening, and formed a church, taking Bible truth form each denomination and expelling non Biblical tradition, thus creating a church that goes strictly by the Bible, called the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I have a deep appreciation for each denomination and congregation who has preserved and shared with the world their light on the gospel and the Scriptures. God has always had a people. A people who love Him with all their hearts and want to follow Him. It is because of the light that each church had and shared during the religious awakening that I now have the light that I treasure as  a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. Even the Seventh-day Sabbath was not new to the Advent believers, but was shared with us by Rachel Oaks, a Seventh-day Baptist.

This is a Congregational Church in Milton Connecticut, established in 1829. Jane, my friend from Torrington and I drove by this church, and Lauren a neighbor of the church, was walking her dog. When she saw we wanted pictures she ran and got another neighbor Laura, who unlocked the church so we could go in. Laura also shared the history of the church with us. There was an older church built in the congregation, but during the course of time it was painted yellow. Part of the congregation could not stand the color yellow so they built this church instead of going to a church that was painted yellow.

According to Life Sketches, Page 309 and other references, Ellen White and other Seventh-day Adventists commonly used Congregational churches for some of their evangelism meetings.

Here is the original organ. Can anyone tell me what kind it is?

Lauren shared with us, how these steps were to make it easy for people to step off their carriages.

A special thanks to Lauren (Left) and Laura (Center) for dropping what they were doing in the middle of their busy morning today, to show me and Jane (Right) their beautiful church. I am so glad that God worked it out so we would meet Lauren walking by the church at the exact time we passed by.

In 1838 this Congregational Church was built in Plymouth Connecticut.

In the churchyard lies a graveyard with the oldest gravestone reading 1749. Soldiers from the Revolutionary and Civil War are buried there. Many of the grave markers attest to the deep spiritual fervency of the church at that time. One grave marker for one resting saint says that she “walked with God.”

This stone is hard to read it is so old. It says, “Beneath this stone lies Deac. Daniel Potter, who in a comfortable hope of one day rising to a glorious immortality fell asleepe October 29^th 1773.” I did not misspell sleep. Apparently in 1773 that is the way it was spelled. With the understanding this soul had of the state of the dead, I can’t help but wonder if the Congregational Church did not share their understanding of this truth with the believers who helped form the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In front of the church is a memorial for President Lincoln and the members of this church who gave their lives in the civil war. As a Seventh-day Adventist I appreciate the sacrifices made by this Congregational church local congregation in securing freedom for all mankind, and keeping united a country that celebrates religious freedom so we can all worship God in accordance with our own conscience.

This is the First Congregational Church of Litchfield, Connecticut. This congregation has been meeting since 1721, but this current church was built in 1829. I took a few pictures of the outside, and then wanted to see the outside. Usually there would be nobody there during the weekdays, but on this particular day they were getting ready for a sale to raise money for missions. A lady getting ready for the sale, opened up the church for me and let me take pictures. She gave me a lot of history of the church. This is the fourth church this local congregation has met in. She was so nice, I gladly gave her a donation for her sale.

Check out this pulpit with a staircase! This pulpit, built in 1829 is a strikingly faithful reproduction, based on recollections and certain parts still in existence of the pulpit built in the 1700s.

This is the view from the pulpit. Check out the pipe organ. It’s a 21 rank, two manual reuter organ. Installed in 1971, it replaced an electrified augmented tracker pump organ salvaged from the previous church.

“There shall be nothing in the white, unadorned meetinghouse to distract the worshipers from a sense of the Living God and His Work, preached, read and made visible in the bread and the cup on the plain table.” –Congregational Church Documents

The Litchfield Congregational church has been faithfully served by 26 different distinguished and dedicated pastors since 1721. Two of these pastors also served on the battlefield. Timothy Collins was a surgeon during the French and Indian war. George Richards was a chaplain during the civil war. Judah Champion was the longest serving pastor for 55 years, until he retired at age 79.

It was an honor and privilege to be able to visit these churches, where the gospel has been preached to and hope given to many a sin weary soul for centuries. While the churches are beautiful and magnificent, it is the members of the congregations who receive my deepest respect and appreciation, for keeping the doors of these churches open, so people can hear the good news of God’s love. I also thank God that at one of the churches somebody just happened to be walking by who knew someone who could unlock the doors and let me in. I thank God that at the other church, a kind lady just happened to be there getting ready for a sale, and was kind enough to take a break and show us around.

I also appreciate the Torrington First Methodist Church, for allowing the Torrington Seventh-day Adventist Church to worship and hold evangelistic meetings in their church. This is where we held the Daniel prophecy seminar I was here for this week. The original section of this church was built in 1865.

I also want to thank the members of the Torrington Seventh-day Adventist Church for hosting me this week and making me a part of their wonderful family. Bruce (second from left), Larry and Jane helped set up each night before the meetings. Larry and Jane also had me to their home during the meetings. Jane has been studying for a while, with several of the people who came to the seminar, and will continue to prepare them for baptism later this month.