A Short History of Beneficent Church

Origins

The town of Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams as a haven for religious dissenters. The village, strung along the River on the East Side, remained a small and isolated place at the head of the Bay. It was burned during King Philip’s War, and rebuilt after that. In nearly a century Providence’s only churches were the First Baptist, that Williams had started and then left, and a small Quaker meeting that served many people from the surrounding countryside.

However, by about 1720 the population of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony to the North, had grown by leaps and bounds and began to spread into central part of that State. While people in the Worcester area were part of Massachusetts, the Blackstone River provided an easy route to the port of Providence. This town then became a major trading point for the inland populations, and it began to grow. In the 1720s both the Anglican Church of England, and the Puritan Congregationalists began congregations on the East Side. The Anglican congregation served servants of the crown who were stationed here for political, trade, and military purposes, and was called the King’s Church. The First Congregational Church was founded with aid from wealthy Massachusetts benefactors, and served Puritans brought here by the natural growth of the town with its nearby trading partners. The Congregational Church soon hired a pastor with a Harvard degree and a member of an important Boston family.

New Light

In the 1730s and 1740s a religious storm spread through New England and the other colonies. Famous preachers like George Whitfield and Gilbert Tennent toured the colonies and encouraged large congregations to turn to faith. Their approach was often emotional, and it appealed to the common people who were often distanced by the more academic meanderings of the educated clergy. This “Great Awakening” came to Providence through the preaching of Tennent and Elisha Paine. Ferment erupted in the local Congregational Church when the Pastor refused to accept the Revival. In 1743 the congregation soon broke into two factions, each claiming to continue the First Church. Many of the pro-revival “New Light” members lived on the West Side of the River. In 1744 Daniel Abbott donated to them the piece of land on which the Church now sits. They decided to settle here, the first Church on this side of the River, and took the name “Second Congregational Church of Christ.” The carpenters and craftsmen in the group soon erected a new Meeting House. Eventually they called one of their own, a carpenter, Joseph Snow, Jr. to be their first pastor.

Congregationalists from Massachusetts and Connecticut had organized their towns with a special design: a town green or gathering place in the center, surrounded by a Meeting House and School. Roger Williams’ Rhode Island had not developed public education, and the town of Providence was laid out as an unfocused string of houses. The new West Side residents maintained their Puritan traditions in many ways. The main road of the West Side (Weybosset Street) moved – from either direction – dramatically to the Meeting House, and a town green (Abbott Park) was put in front of it. When the Bay and cove areas on either side of the Weybosset peninsula were filled in, the pastor suggested that the new connecting street be called “Westminster,” in honor of the strongly Calvinist Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism. When public education was slow to come, the Church and pastors eventually operated a West Side school for area residents. When another pro-revival preacher, James Manning, began what was to become Brown University in Warren in 1766, Pastor Snow invited him to Providence to preach. Many people who came forward soon joined this Church. The First Baptist Church, that had previously opposed the revivals, became jealous, fired their pastor, and called Manning as their Pastor. Manning brought the school with him to Providence. But since the Baptists had no large meeting house then, the first several graduations of Brown University were held here.

Puritan values were so strong on this side of the River that an unsuccessful move was made in 1770 to separate the West Side from Providence as a new town to be named Westminster.

But as a New Light congregation, the Second Church was also very distinct from other New England Congregational Churches. Because the Pastor was not a college graduate, and had been ordained by other “Strict” or “Separate” Congregational clergy, he was not recognized by more “established” congregations. Mr. Snow’s more emotional sermons were also disdained by some classes. The Awakening brought into the congregation many people who – in the milieu of Rhode Island religion – held Baptist views on that sacrament: favoring adult baptism by immersion. Instead of splitting on this issue, the congregation chose to welcome people with varied views on baptism. Some families had their children baptized as infants, others waited and let their children make their own professions and be immersed later on. This toleration on theological issues became a hallmark of the later congregation.

Snow was also convinced by his New Light friend, Samuel Hopkins of Newport, to join the antislavery cause. The Church welcomed free Blacks into membership at an early date.

Unlike established Congregational Churches, this congregation was one of the first Congregational Churches in the country that had to “pay its own way,” without the benefit of tax or missionary support. A separate Beneficent Congregational Society was set up in 1785 to provide an endowment to aid the congregation. Later the Church took the Society’s name.

Beneficent drew in a broad and inclusive membership, and soon rose to be the largest Congregational Church in the Colony/State, and for a time the largest religious congregation in Providence. While the congregation began with a greater economic cross section of people than the other churches, as new residents came to the West Side, particularly those developing tool and related industries, the Church grew in numbers and in economic position. Its early importance can be seen in the fact that when the Revolutionary War started, Church member Nicholas Cooke became the first independent Governor of the State.

A Heart Strangely Warmed

In 1791 an Irish Methodist pastor, James “Paddy” Wilson decided to come to America. He had toured Ireland with the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. Wesley had told people of how his heart had been “strangely warmed.” He began ministries to reach out to the poor in Britain and America. Wilson had planned to become a Methodist pastor, but was invited by the Captain of the ship on which he was sailing to consider becoming Assistant Pastor here, as Mr. Snow was growing old. Wilson decided to stay in Providence, and began a pastorate during which the present Meeting House was built and the congregation grew in strength and prominence.

As a Wesleyan, Wilson continued the emotional and revival bent of the Church, but – because he was not a strict Calvinist – he also continued the congregation’s isolation from much of the rest of the Congregational establishment. “Paddy” Wilson used his many windowed new study in the drum of the dome to look out on the growing City and anticipate its needs. As a foreign-born person himself, he encouraged careful attention to new residents.

After the construction of Slater's Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island had grown to be a center of the American Industrial Revolution. Sharing Wesley’s concern for factory workers, Wilson reached out to the City’s industrial workers and owners.

While keeping its distance from the denominational establishment, Beneficent’s warm evangelicalism caused it to early become involved in missionary causes.

The Church also began to direct its emotional energy into music, and became known as an outstanding place for various musical ministries.

Connecting and Enlarging

After the death of “Paddy” Wilson, the congregation finally began to call pastors with college educations, and more closely related to the Congregational family. By this time the old First Church on the East Side had become Unitarian, making Beneficent the oldest evangelical Congregational Church in the City. Pastor Mark Tucker was not only active in the Rhode Island Missionary Society, but a Vice President of the American Home Missionary Society and a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His presence in the inner circles of both of the most powerful missionary bodies in the country put him in the center of mission strategy. John P. Cleveland was considered to be one of the finest preachers in the country, and came to Beneficent after many prominent undertakings, including President of Marshall College in Michigan, and a key leader on the inclusive side of national church conflicts and issues. A. Huntington Clapp left Beneficent to serve as Corresponding Secretary and then Treasurer and Editor for the American Home Missionary Society. (1865-1893). These three pastorates locked Beneficent into key religious movements around the country. In 1858 the Church became the final independent Congregational Church in Rhode Island to join the State Conference.

These clergy joined with Church Organist and Church School Superintendent Stephen Wardwell in promoting Anti-Slavery causes, and both Cleveland and Clapp served as Chaplains in the Civil War.

Prosperity and Social Concern

After the Civil War the growing West Side became a fashionable residential district. The expanding jewelry district made Providence the wealthiest City in the United States, with large Victorian homes on Broad Street and Broadway. Pastor James Vose was a strong advocate for children, promoting an annual celebration to be called “Children’s Sunday.” The Sunday School grew to record proportions and, with the construction of the Round Top Center, was one of the first churches to provide special space for the Church School. The growth of railroad and trolley services in the area, also helped the Church to develop some membership outside of its core area. Dr. Vose’s highly regarded literary skills (he wrote at least three books), brought Brown students into the congregation, and mentored writers such as Charles M. Sheldon (In His Steps).

The latter part of the nineteenth century brought wealth and prominence to the congregation – seen in crystal chandeliers, luxurious new space, and prominent powerful members. (Dr. Vose performed the wedding of young Abby Aldrich, daughter of United States Senator Nelson Aldrich to John D. Rockefeller Jr.) However, there was also a growing social conscience demonstrated through community service. The Steere family were not only generous to the Church, but also founded Steere House, one of the first large homes to serve the elderly poor. Church member Dr. Charles V. Chapin, began service to the City in the 1880s as its public health officer. Chapin broke ground in public health issues nationwide, leading to water purification and steps to stop communicable diseases.

The Church also continued its outreach to new residents, founding a new Swedish- speaking Church, and beginning its longtime outreach to the Chinese community.

A New Identity

New trolley lines, once thought a benefit to downtown churches, soon became a nemesis as the downtown offices and stores made their way up Weybosset Street. Between 1895 and the First World War the vast majority of downtown churches had moved out into new growing neighborhoods. Beneficent was one of only a few congregations that decided to stay downtown. Its continuation here was helped by attachment to a residential district that ran from the Church across the present highways down to Rhode Island Hospital. Later, when this district began to serve Black and Chinese populations, the Church continued to draw from the area.

Pastor Asbury Krom helped the Church find a new identity as its residential base shrunk. He was viewed as a ground breaking liberal scholar. But he also took a lead in bringing advocates of radical reform to the congregation. Labor union leaders, women’s suffrage advocates, Socialist thinkers, and various reformers were invited to forums at the Church. The Providence NAACP was organized in the Church. Ministry to Armenian immigrants was first conducted in the Church, and then led to a new congregation.

The Church itself was also reformed. In 1909 pew rents were finally abandoned, and everyone was welcome to sit where they chose. The Church itself was incorporated, and a whole host of women’s groups combined their efforts by incorporating as the Women’s Guild. The receipt of an estate from Lucinda G. Maxfield began the Church’s extensive scholarship program.

Depression and New Heights

“Parson Pete” Wilson came to Beneficent as a young man at the deep point of the Depression. His spirit was entrepreneurial, inclusive and warm. He took advantage of the growing media and became a popular radio preacher. An advocate of peace, he encouraged the Church to abandon a dull nationalism and seek ways to peace and international community. Yet he also encouraged the Church to open up the Round Top Center as an ISO center for military personnel in the State during the Second War. An ecumenist, he brought leaders of many faiths to the building, and became a strong advocate of the World Council of Churches. The congregation joined the United Church of Christ in 1961. As the nearby neighborhood changed, Dr. Wilson welcomed increasing numbers of people from all economic conditions and many cultures into the congregation. A historian of note, he wrote two books on the history of Beneficent, and served many years as the President of the Congregational Christian Historical Society.

Dr. Wilson encouraged the congregation to undertake continual challenges into new uncharted territories. The congregation sponsored refugees from many parts of the world. Other endeavors included a new Sunday School wing, a parking lot, refurbishing and moving Palmer House, and finally the massive undertaking of building Beneficent House, which was completed in the final year of his pastorate.

New Challenges

The last decades of the twentieth century challenged Beneficent in many new and unexpected ways. The population of the City of Providence declined from 250,000 in 1950 to 160,000 in 1990. The ethnic mix of the City also changed. While Beneficent was way ahead of its time in becoming a multicultural congregation, is was still predominantly white-Anglo-Saxon, and, of course, Protestant. This was the ethnic group that lost the most people in the City, particularly on the West and South sides. The new interstate highways were completed in the mid-1960s that led to the development of the suburbs. Not only did a high proportion of the Church’s leadership leave the City and become commuters, but the highways themselves completely devastated Beneficent’s old neighborhood, leaving the Church – with little more than the exception of Beneficent House – without a residential neighborhood. The movement away from public transport to automobiles meant that people that had come to Beneficent by trolley or bus, were now forced to get a car or go somewhere else. With the membership spread over a wide geographic area, the ability of clergy to efficiently serve the wide area narrowed, while at the same time many suburban members began to seek programs designed around “convenience” for people driving long distances, rather than lengthier quality programs. Conversely, though, none of downcity Providence’s Protestant churches were able to see significant growth from the suburban areas where their older members had moved.

Beneficent’s stress on education led many of its “baby-boom” children to do well and locate elsewhere in places of booming economies. Similarly changes in Chinese immigration caused a decline in the congregation’s Chinese services. Many of the older moderate theologically and politically Cantonese immigrants were replaced by Mandarin immigrants with politically conservative and theologically fundamentalist views.

This all occurred at the same time that mainline Protestant churches as a whole began to lose membership. Secular legislation in the 1960s ended free-radio broadcasting for mainline churches, and the media became a tool of people with other agendas.

Downtown Providence also suffered. Large businesses became vacant, a movie theatre across the street became “X rated,” buildings were burned and empty lots appeared.

Beneficent carried on creatively in spite of the adverse conditions. The Church responded to demands for reparations for slavery with major support the African-American community. The Interfaith Counseling Center was begun in 1973. Crossroads Rhode Island (then Travelers Aid) and the suicide prevention hotline the Samaritans began and grew in Church facilities. The Church joined with other area churches to minister to people in need in the down town area by founding the Providence Intown Churches Association (PICA).

A New Day

The media tell us the downtown Providence has turned around, and that we have become a Renaissance City. Johnson and Wales University has grown and surrounded the Church.

The Church is also taking new initiatives in a new time. A Haitian immigrant congregation was shepherded in the building for four years, while nearly half the cost for a building for the new Laotian congregation was donated by Beneficent. Palmer House has become an at-cost office building to serve many not-for-profit groups. The Church has served as an overflow shelter for the homeless, and has hosted many major peace events. In 2001 the congregation voted to become an Open and Affirming congregation, welcoming people from the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities.

In all of these ages Beneficent has served an ever-widening group of people. The Church has been emotionally warm, theologically inclusive, educationally attuned, and concerned for social justice. Today the Church seeks to grow an inclusive justice seeking community in the heart of the City.

SENIOR PASTORS OF BENEFICENT CHURCH

Joseph Snow, Jr. – 1746-1793
James Wilson, M.A. – 1793-1839 *
Mark Tucker, D.D. – 1839-1845 *
John Payne Cleveland, DD – 1846-1853
Alexander Huntington Clapp, DD – 1855-1865
James Gardiner Vose, DD – 1866-1901
Asbury E. Krom, DD – 1901-1932
Arthur Edward Wilson, DD, L.H.D. – 1933-1967
Edward King Hempel, Jr. – 1968-1970
August Ralph Barlow, Jr. – 1970-1997 *
Joan Maureen Haner, Interim – 1997-1999
Richard Henry Taylor – 1999-2006
Diane L. Christopherson, Interim – 2006-2007
Beverly Edwards, Interim – 2008-2009
Nicole Grant Yonkman and Todd Grant Tonkman – 2009-

* These pastors also served additional years as Colleague, Associate Pastor, or Teaching Minister.

Information compiled and edited by the
Reverend Richard H. Taylor, Pastor Emeritus
Originally published on October 17, 2004

Voices from the Archives:
»Why the Back Wall of our Meeting House is Shaped Like a Prow
»Women at Beneficent

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