Transcribed, with commentary by Christopher Roy Hutson
The following is one of several notes sent in from various quarters and gathered under the general heading "Progress of Reform."
Bro. Campbell has made much excitement in the cities on the seaboard. In our city 22 have joined, 19 of whom have been immersed, the remaining three were from other establishments; our number is upward of 60. The Church is set in order with three Elders, three Deacons, and three Deaconesses. Put a Note in the Evangelist that we meet in the Bazzar [sic], Harrison street, and wish Brethren passing through our city, to call upon us.
W. K. Pendleton, asserted his opinion in Millennial Harbinger 41 (1870), 53, that three was the minimum number of deacons for each congregation; yet one might infer from this letter that Alexander Campbell had held a similar view. On the other hand, this rule of three was never widely adopted, and numerous congregations are known to have had only one or two deacons. So perhaps Pendleton's rule of three was entirely his own, and the number three here is coincidental.
In his discussion of "The Deacon's Office" ("Ancient Order XIX, Christian Baptist 4 [1826], 77-78), Alexander Campbell took the mention of the deacon Phoebe of Cenchrae in Romans 16:1-2 as a clear and obvious indication that first-century chuches had women deacons. Carman's letter suggests that it was equally clear to the new converts in Baltimore how deaconesses as well as deacons and elders were required for the new congregation to be "set in order."
For a description of the worship of this Baltimore congregation in an approving account from passing visitors Isaac W. Tener and James T. McVey, see MH 4.9 (Sept, 1833), 477. The growth of the congregation may be followed through letters to the editor of the MH in subsequent years.
XPIC