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       33.        1671                                   99

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    Repent of your Labour but to pray fr ye God of peac wth our selves

    hopeing that by such means he will be pleased to create peace for us: soe

    commending you to his gratious direction in this & all yr concernments

     We Rest in him to serve you in what we may:

            Signed by us whose names are underwritten in the name

              and by the consent of the church.

     

                                William Titcum

                                Harcules Woodman

                                Richard Bartlett

                                Stephen Greenleaf

                                Caleb Moody

                                Samuel Plummer

                  The answer to the foregoing letter

     

    Dearly beloved brethren in or Lord Jesus

    The lecture ys week, calls for my attendance soe that I cannot inlarg

    but in breif you may by these understand that your letter has bin read before

    the church, & ye answer is yt they judg not meet to send any messengers to in

    courage or countenanc you in what you have done in reference to your Re

    verend pastor, nor in what you are farther about to doe in respect of your

    ordination of Elders as being doubtfull of such proceedings, yet neither doe

    they think meet by messengers or by writing to bear testimony against yr

    actings or absolutely to condemn them.

    But for myself as one that you were pleased to direct your letter unto I

    must needs say that I conceive you are farr out of gods way & yrfore doe

    most earnestly beseech you to desist from such irregular proceedings & un

    heard of in any church in N E yt I know of:  The Reasons why I conceive

    your late transactions to be irregular are these

     1 In yt you have not called in counsell in an orderly way by desiring your

    pastor & ye brethren wth him to joyne with you in calling in advise, now

    it seems to me irrational as well as unbrotherly, that brethren Especially a

    pastor should not have liberty as well as brethren yt have offence against him

    to chus such as may hear the matter between you

     2 In that tho he has offered you to joyne with you in calling in advise you

    have not closed wth his motion, nor bin moved therby to put any stop to yr

                                                                    (actings

    3 As to yr deposing of yr Reverend Pastor from ye exercise of his pastoral office

    you mention noe advise from ye messengers of Salisb. Church to incourage

    you therein nor doe I believe any church in the colony will stand by you

    in it, you know what the judgmt of ye churches is as to that case expressed

                                                                In