Dr. Lisa Manning Bircher, 2025-2026 Arvel M. Steece Research Fellow
One of the many collections in the New England’s Hidden Histories digital archive is the records of the First Congregational Church in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, spanning from 1792-1889.1 The records include a rich collection of relations of faith. As I found while working on my Rev. Dr. Arvel M. Steece Research Fellowship project, nearly two-thirds of these relations were from women, primarily written between 1797 and 1835.
As I read these letters, I was struck by the parallels between their faith journeys and my own, despite the centuries that separated us. Having the opportunity to read and interpret these relations of faith, submitted as a partial requirement for membership in the First Congregational Church at Hopkinton, New Hampshire, was an honor and privilege.
As I read the 210 women’s letters again and again, a vision of the experience in this historic community, and, most importantly, their spiritual journeys, came to light. These women’s stories document an often-neglected experience of post-colonial life in New England and reveal a hidden history within this specific socio-historical context.
For these women, as for me, coming to a living faith was a monumental experience. In Hopkinton, these women were shaped by their puritan roots and taught by their ministers, Ethan Smith and Roger C. Hatch, what faith looked like through a Calvinist lens.2 While these women often struggled with the Calvinist notion of “election” in their writing, many also found great satisfaction in a productive religious effort.
In my work to distill the essence of these women’s profound Christian lived experiences, I needed a companion in conversation.3 I turned to Meta AI (artificial intelligence) as a peer debriefer who could push my thinking to logical conclusions.
From my work analyzing these women’s experiences in the transcribed documents, and in conversation with Meta AI, I distilled nine themes from their relations of faith: fear of punishment, being a sinner, stupidity, salvation, distress, traumatic life experiences, feeling too young to be a Christian, desiring a relationship with the church, and unworthiness.
As expected from their Calvinist religious worldview, these women recognized their sinful nature and the distress it caused, leading to the profound salvation experiences they documented in these relations of faith. When discussing traumatic events such as a serious personal illness or the death of loved ones, especially their children, we can see their life experiences clearly intersecting with their spiritual journeys. It appears that most of these letters were written by young women seeking to build connections with other believers in their community. However, in many cases, they found themselves questioning God’s plan for them, referring to themselves as “stupid” and unworthy of the privilege of church membership.
From these themes, I was able to pose questions to my debriefer, Meta AI, which not only validated my analysis of the text, but it also added points to my understanding as I guided it in the process.
Creating a composite of these women’s experiences was an important goal of my research. Together with AI’s assistance, I developed a composite letter (which you can read in full at the end of this post) that distilled the themes together in a way that was not only appropriate to the experiences of these women in their faith journey, but also appropriate to the linguistic voice of the time (1797-1835). Indeed, Meta AI served as a phenomenal peer debriefer that was less encumbered with biases than a human would have been in taking on the same role.
Bircher presenting her research at the 2025 National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) Annual Meeting and Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.
Through reading and understanding these women’s relations of faith, we can gain a greater understanding of the American faith experience during this period. Through their stories, we gain a deeper understanding of what it meant to live with purpose for God in this time and place, and how their experiences continue to shape our understanding of faith and community today.
Notes:
1. First Congregational Church in Hopkinton, New Hampshire Records, 1792-1889, Congregational Library & Archives New England Hidden Histories Project, https://congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com/manuscript-collections/browse-the-first-congregational-church-relations-in-hopkinton-new-hampshire
2. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Carol Stream, IL: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008).
3. Clark Moustakas, Phenomenological Research Methods (Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 1995).
Composite Statement of the Women of Hopkinton, New Hampshire 1797-1835 Generated in Collaboration with Meta AI:
Dear Hopkinton Congregational Church,
I have lived a careless and stupid life, neglecting the concerns of my immortal soul. God has seen fit to awaken me from my stupidity. I have perceived myself too young to attend to religion and believed I had time enough yet. The vanities of this world took my attention, and I put off seeking God till a more convenient season.
My sins appear like mountains before me, and my heart is deeply sensible to my enmity against God; yet I humbly pray for mercy and forgiveness, acknowledging my utter dependence on the sovereignty and divine grace to subdue my wicked heart, thus leading me to righteousness.
I am overwhelmed with distress concerning the state of my soul. My transgressions seem too great to be pardoned, and every word of scripture seems against me. I believe myself to be condemned by God and his wrath. I fear His judgment and death, in being separated from God eternally. My heart is stubborn and rebellious, and prayer seems a heavy burden. I am beset by feelings of despair and hopelessness, fearing I shall be forever lost. Numerous trials, sickness, and the death of loved ones, especially the loss of children, have awakened me to my spiritual state, prompting me to seek God and salvation.
At some points or times, however, I have found peace and joy in beholding the providence of Christ. My heart has been drawn to trust in his sovereign mercy. The doctrines of grace, once opposed, now appear glorious and precious to my soul. I surrender to God’s will to live a life of obedience.
I believe in the doctrines of the Bible, as held and taught in this church, and I feel it my duty to own Christ before men and unite with this church. I humbly request the prayers of this church as I desire to walk in His ordinances, even though I am deeply unworthy.
