our mission
The Samuel Stillman Association seeks to unite American Baptist churches to further their common Gospel mission through worship, fellowship, education, and outreach. In carrying out the ministry to which Jesus has called us, we cooperate fully and effectively with The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts (TABCOM) and American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA). The Association is the agency through which churches may apply for and become members of ABC-USA. We promote dialogue in discerning the mind of Christ as American Baptist churches and strategic planning and programming on matters of common concern.
joining the association
We welcome American Baptist churches in our region, both established churches and new church plants, to join the Samuel Stillman Association.
Constitution, bylaws, and standing rules
› Request an application
Executive Board
Bonnie Sestito, Moderator
John Odams, Vice Moderator
Kathie Zeman, Clerk
Deb Beatty Mel, Treasurer
Patrick McCorkle, Area Resource Coordinator
Jason Rutherford, Chair of Ordained Ministry
Xinyu Li, Chair of the Nominating Committee
Earl Norman, Member at Large
Deborah Porter, Member at Large
Who was Samuel Stillman?
Samuel Stillman (1737–1807) served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts, for 42 years. An advocate of American independence, Rev. Stillman was the first non-established minister to preach before the General Court of Massachusetts (1779), where he advocated the separation of church and state as well as the abolition of slavery. He performed the marriage service of a formerly enslaved couple, Hartford Turner and Dinah Ned, in 1784.
Later, Rev. Stillman was called upon to serve as chaplain to the Continental Congress. He made the final speech at the Massachusetts Convention for the Ratification of the Federal Constitution in 1787.
An original trustee of Rhode Island College (now Brown University), Rev. Stillman also played a leading role in the establishment of the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society. His grave is located at the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street in Boston.
› Learn more from Wikipedia