A Puritan Preacher

“There is a narrow way that leadeth unto heaven and there is a broad way that leadeth into hell and many there be that go therein; the papists and protestants do meet in that way and may shake hands in hell.” From a sermon preached by Gabriel Sanger in 1634 in the parish church of … Continue reading A Puritan Preacher

A matter of the heart, not the head

As I walked the dusty streets of Plimoth, Massachusetts, Samuel Fuller fell into step beside me. “The church hierarchy in England says that we are not a legitimate church, because we have no ministers. A church is made up of Christian people; they don’t even have a church. Who made them ministers and bishops?” On … Continue reading A matter of the heart, not the head

The last best hope of mankind

Twenty-five years ago, as I walked the dirt streets of Plimoth, Massachusetts, Samuel Fuller fell into step beside me and began to visit.  “The churchmen in England say that we have no church here because we have no ministers.  A church is made up of Christian people; they don’t have a church over there.  Who … Continue reading The last best hope of mankind

I have a funny name

I belong to an old family, the various spellings of the name revealing to which genealogical line we belong.  Our ancestors came from Wiltshire to Massachusetts on 1638.  The descendents of Edmund spell their name Goodenow or Goodnow and are mostly still found in New England.  Another subgroup of this line spells their name Goodeno … Continue reading I have a funny name

Catechism Classes

About the only thing my parents had in common was a feeling that the church in which they had been raised had let them down. My father was a descendant of New England Puritans, with some French and Scottish blood thrown in.  He was born in Iowa, grew up in Minnesota and arrived in Saskatchewan … Continue reading Catechism Classes