Fictitious Meeting

I believe it is the first time I reveal this. At the close of my city ministry, an attorney requested a meeting with me, with another Congregational minister present. The attorney told me that the whole Church had met—it had been a night-time meeting—a great crowd of people—and they had decided they wanted me to go. I thought of all the good people. I thought of the authority of the Church. I think I estimated 60 people. It needed to be close to that number, for a quorum. Anyway, while that meeting could not be constitutional (it was summoned in haste), I felt that I should defer to the Church. Two years later, the same Congregational minister reported to me who had been there. He named three voting members, and said there were “a few others” besides. There had been no crowd of people. It was a plot.