Join the 17th Century
Explore the story of early Boston, Massachusetts, and the wider 17TH century world
How did Indigenous people shape Congregationalism?
Congregationalism is not an obvious popular subject. Nor does independent scholar and author Lori Rogers-Stokes’ new book, Gathered Into a Church, boast lurid stories of hangings or bans on Christmas.
But this groundbreaking, beautifully written book is a riveting read. It cuts through our preconceived ideas about how real people lived: in mingled communities in perhaps the most important part of early New England life: their faith. In a close reading of church records, Lori reveals how, far from living in bifurcated ways, English and Indigenous people came together at church, and the ways in which Indigenous people shaped and embodied the highest ideals of Congregationalism.
“These records of Indigenous-English congregations show us that a different path did exist,” she writes. “People travelled on it. The opportunity was there. We can learn something from the story of how that opportunity was lost, and perhaps our knowledge can move the needle even a fraction against the problems we are reaping now.”
You can purchase Gathered Into a Church: Indigenous-English Congregationalism in Woodland New England at a 20% discount from University of Massachusetts Press, using this code: UMASS20.
Indigenous Peoples DAy!
Across Massachusetts, from now through October 13, events are taking place in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. We’ll be going to Newburyport, Mass., where there will be music, crafts, speakers, dancers and more - and the ceremonial launching of a handcrafted traditional muhsh8n, or mishoon dugout canoe, and a paddle on the Merrimack River. But wherever you are, you can find a way to celebrate and honor Indigenous Peoples Day. Have a look at our round up!
our 2024 annual report is out now!
Yes, it’s a little late… But we have finally managed to produce our very first public annual report. We think you’ll like it. In it, we tell you how, in 2024, we:
hosted 13 illuminating presentations
produced a politically pertinent fall lecture series, Tyranny vs Liberty
reached 8,000 people in dozens of countries across the globe
achieved audience satisfaction, with 89% of those surveyed saying our events were very good or excellent.
Find out what you made possible - with your participation, your donations, and your enthusiasm for the 17th century.
Events
gathered into a church
Lori Rogers-Stokes
ONLINE, MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2025, 6-7:30PM ET
We think of New England’s people as separate groups: white English Puritans, enslaved Africans, Indigenous people. But what if, instead of existing in different worlds, they were gathered together? Independent scholar and author Lori Rogers-Stokes offers us a wholly new perspective on New England, Congregationalism and the reality of everyday, mingled life, in this talk on her fabulous, eye-opening new book.
“We need a full and honest
reckoning with our history.”
— attendee, Tyranny vs Liberty series
Knowing the full picture
When we asked our audience why the 17th century mattered, they replied with gusto. “Knowing the whole picture can’t help but change what we think we are,” wrote one person. “The dispossession of Native nations has left a long painful legacy,” wrote an Indigenous woman. “We are today a ‘nation of rebels’,” wrote another person, “the outgrowth of radical protestantism.” What more did they say? Find out now!
English New England, 1620
We think of colonial Massachusetts as the home of black hatted puritans, friends of Oliver Cromwell and led by John Winthrop. Yet it was separatist puritans settling in Plymouth a decade earlier who established the New England Way of church practice, based on participation and self-government. Cattle, advice, and leadership flowed north. Award-winning historian Francis J. Bremer tells the story.
Defend your rights!
The rights we take for granted did not begin in the 20th century, or in the Revolutionary era - but with the Massachusetts Body of Liberties in 1641, the first bill of rights in the English-speaking world. Honoured as much in the breach as in practice, the rights of 1641 - to equal justice under law and protection from arbitrary rule - remain for us to expand and defend today, as historian Lori Rogers-Stokes argues.
“This talk opened a new world for me.”
— attendee, ‘I Pledge Allegiance’: Sovereignty and Sanctuary in the Dawnland