Browse the Marlborough Association of Congregational Ministers records

The Marlborough Association of Congregational Ministers was formed and first met on June 5, 1725 in the house of Rev. Robert Breck, the second minister of the Marlborough First Parish Church. The formation of the association was the result of a vote of the Framingham Association the previous April. The association dealt with "cases of conscience, questions of difficulty in church discipline, or matters of disagreement, between the parties in a church, or between pastor and people." The original members of the Marlborough Association were John Swift, Robert Breck, John Prentice, Israel Losing, Job Cushing, John Gardner, and Ebenezer Parkman. The association met four times annually, with Marlborough as the designated meeting place, though in practice meetings took place in the homes of many of the member ministers. Due to declining membership, the ministers decided to dissolve the Marlborough Association on October 18, 1814.