CLA is pleased to offer online exhibits, sometimes wholly unique and sometimes as a companion to physical exhibits. These exhibits teach community members about the Congregational Library & Archives, the collections we hold, and the many ways Congregationalism has impacted history.

"We do Give up ourselves to one another"

Exploring digitized Congregational disciplinary records at the Congregational Library & Archives

The term “church discipline” may reinforce the notion that Puritans were censorious busybodies, but the goal of the Congregational disciplinary process was not so much to punish as to draw wayward church members back into the fold—for the spiritual health of the individual and for the cohesion of the church community. The questions asked by Congregationalists of the past during the disciplinary process mirror many we ask ourselves today: what is our responsibility to one another?