Local History

Brick Union Church Official Record Book Established 1796 page 2

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Part of Official Record Book of Brick Union Lutheran Church

Title

Brick Union Church Official Record Book Established 1796 page 2

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7. The Church Council shall never consist of less than eight and never more than twelve members (without the Minister) and two-thirds shall be a quorum for all business and fewer shall execute no business. N. B. Unless the absent members send their vote by the present members.

8. The Church Accounts shall be examined once each year, and that every year on January the [[strikethrough]] of January [[/strikethrough]] <6th>, as on the Day of the Blessed Three Kings (Epiphany), whereby we all shall be present (if it be possible) so that all of the congregation may see how their gift of love and contributions were used for the honor of God and the good of the congregation and thereby be encouraged to even greater generosity.
Therefore a separate book shall be kept for this purpose into which the yearly church accounts and the deliberations of the Church Council shall be orderly recorded.

9. And so that everything shall be recorded orderly, correctly and in due time into the Record of the Church Council George Hegler is hereby chosen and designated as permanent Secretary, Whose duty it now will be to be present every time the Church Council meets or the Annual Account done and to take the Record and to maintain it.

10. Since Our Saviour says in Matt. 18:17 about the overt sinners that one shall accuse them in the presence of the congregation and “if he does not listen to the congregation then he shall be considered to be a heathen and Publican.” And the apostle Paul in I Cor. 5:13 says “eliminate from among yourselves he who is evil.” Thus it is hereby decided that if anyone in the congregation leads an objectionable life or lives in obvious sins and vices such as: quarreling, fighting, envy, gluttony, drinking, dancing, jumping, gambling, lying, cheating, whoring, adultery, false oath taking, swearing, cursing, disregarding the Sabbath, disdaining the word of God or the Sacraments or whatever name the evil might have and one or the other of us elders or Deacons knows about it, then we do not want to be silent or to hide the evil so that we do not become party to another’s sin, but we want to bring it early to the attention of our Pastor so that the vice may be punished duly according to the Word of god so that God as a just judge, who knows and sees every thing might not punish the whole congregation for it, punish the evil ones together with the innocent and one rotten sheep infest the whole congregation. The preacher shall, along with all who are involved in the above mentioned sins, go over the different steps of admonition according to Matt, 18:15, 16, 17, and when these are no longer able to help then all those sinners who wantonly persist in their sins shall be excluded publicly and solemnly, as a blemish on the Christian congregation, from the church of Christ and from the enjoyment of the sacraments until such time of their repentance according to the explicit order of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his Apostles.

11. We Elders and Deacons do not want to lead a provocative life ourselves either with luxuries, dancing, drinking, grambling, lying, missing the Church Church etc., for that is not becoming to any Christian, much less to a Christian Deacon or Elder, but if one or another of us should do such a thing nevertheless, then he shall, if no admonition according to Matt. 18:15, 16, 17, will help anymore, not only be dismissed from his office and another from the congregation be chosen in his place, but he shall also until the time of his repentance by excluded from the congregation and that shall occur publicly according to I Timothy 5:19, 20, “Those who sin may be punished before all so that the rest may stand in fear.”

12. Since sad experience teaches us that many people nowadays completely forget the order of Lord Jesus in Luke 10:7, 8, and of The Apostle Paul in I Cor. 9:14 and Galatians 6:6, 7, by refusing to help carry the burden of the congregation and yet demand the Holy Sacraments we have hereby determined that noone shall have a part in the Holy Sacraments but those that lead a Christian life, diligently come to hear the word of God and then also help carry the burden of the congregation.