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Enfield, Connecticut

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  In following the journey of preacher Jonathon Edwards, I, Stephen Adamas, have traveled to the city of Enfield in the colony of Connecticut. This town resides near the Connecticut river, in between the towns of Hartford and Springfield. The meeting placed used the Second Meeting House of the First Church of Christ. Jonathon Edwards, while preaching her in July of 1741, has delivered one of his most famous sermons to date. This sermon is called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Many of the congregation that listened to this sermon said Edwards used very fiery imagery. Edwards warned of the possibility that wicked men could be sent to hell at any moment. The concept of being sent to hell was a common theme during the sermon, and that those who rejected Christ or those who did not Satan at all times could be sent to Hell. It is believed that Edwards came to this church specifically because it’s congregation had not been influenced by the teachings of other Great Awakening ...

Boston, Massachusetts

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  I, Stephen Adams, have now travelled to city of Boston, in the colony of Massachusetts, learn about the impact of Reverend George Whitefield on the city and its inhabitants. Whitefield has traveled from the city of Newport, Rhode Island, and is speaking to a crowd at the Boston Common. Boston Common is a large park in the middle of Boston, near the neighborhood of Beacon Hill. Boston Common Mr. Whitefield, as I previously mentioned, was a preacher from England who used similar language in his sermons with that of Jonathon Edwards. This language is what many are calling a “Great Awakening”. The people of Boston were obviously interested in Reverend Whitefield, as it has been reported that more than 5000 people saw him at the Common. It is projected that about 17,000 people lived in Boston at the time. While many people likely traveled to her Reverend Whitefield, it was an amazing amount of people. However, it has been reported that some people died during these sermons, as peopl...

New Haven, Connecticut

  I am now residing in the town of New Haven, in the colony of Connecticut. New Haven is split by the Quinnipiac River, which is joined by the Mill River as it spills into the New Haven harbor and later in the Long Island Sound. New Haven is also home to famous Yale University, one of the first universities in the colonies. My name is Stephen Adams, a fledgling preacher who is learning by traveling to several towns in the northeastern colonies. It is early in the year of 1742, and there is a rift happening in this town. There is this religious movement occurring across the colonies, and people are calling it a “Great Awakening”. However, in New Haven, this is causing some people to leave their current churches. Some people are calling the traditional preachers “Old Lights”, and the Great Awakening preachers the “New Lights”. There is a group of people, led by a James Pierpoint, who are attempting to get permission to establish a new church in the New Lights style. Many of the Old...

Newport, Rhode Island

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  This is preacher Stephen Adams again, and this time I am writing from the town of Newport, which resides on the Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic ocean in the colony of Rhode Island. It is the year of 1742. Newport is a large commercial port, and many people travel through its town. The main church in Newport is the Trinity Church, which was founded in 1698, but have recently constructed a church in 1725. I am here today to observe the impact of George Whitefield, who is from England. Whitefield is a preacher much like Jonathon Edwards, who teaches a new way to follow Christianity. Whitefield’s style of preaching has been described as charismatic and, much like Edwards, was able to elicit emotional responses from the congregation. Another preacher who followed Whitefield shortly after was Gilbert Tennent, another preacher that visited Newport. Tennent was from New Jersey, but he shared in ideals of Edwards and the preaching that some are calling a “Great Awakening”. One lady,...

Northampton, Massachusetts

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  My name is Stephen Adams, and I am a preacher here in the English Colony of the Massachusetts. My goal is to learn from pastors across the state. I want to study their messages and learn how to best communicate with the congregations about God. I currently live in the town of Northampton. Northampton is a small town that resides on the Connecticut river. We are almost from Boston, so we very isolated from any outside interaction. It is currently the year 1734, and our town’s leading pastor is Jonathon Edwards. Edwards took over the congregation from his grandfather, who was Solomon Stoddard. Edwards has recently changed his style of preaching. The older version was all about reciting verses from the Bible and studying the scripture. Edwards now makes religion more personal and talks about our own personal connection to sin. Edwards is using Northampton’s 2 nd meeting house, which was created in 1661, over 100 years ago. We call this place meeting house hill. This meeting house...