Ministers are ordered to reduce the length of church assemblies.

December 23, 1639

(OS-12/13) The General Court orders ministers to reduce both the length and frequency of church assemblies. It takes the action, according to John Winthrop’s journal, because, “There were so many lectures now in the country, and many poor persons would usually resort to two or three in the week to the great neglect of their affairs and the damage of the public.”

Sources
  • Winthrop, John