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friendly prayer for an honorable dismission.

As for me, your Rev. Assembly sent me to the congregation at Breuckelen
to preach the Gospel there, and administer the sacraments. This we have
done to the best of our ability; and according to the size of the place
with a considerable increase of members. There were only a few members
there on my arrival; but these have with God's help and grace increased
fourfold.

Trusting that it would not displease your Reverences, and would also
be very profitable to the Church of Christ, we found it easy to do
what might seem troublesome; for we have also taken charge of the
congregation at the General's Bouwery in the evening, as we have told
you before. An exception to this arrangement is made in regard to the
administration of the Lord's Supper. As it is not customary with your
Reverences to administer it in the evening, we thought, after conference
with our Reverend Brethren of the New Amsterdam congregation, and mature
deliberation, that it would be more edifying to preach at the Bouwery,
on such occasions, in the morning, and then have the Communion, after
the Christian custom of our Fatherland.

As to baptisms, the negroes occasionally request that we should baptize
their children, but we have refused to do so, partly on account of their
lack of knowledge and of faith, and partly because of the worldly and
perverse aims on the part of said negroes. They wanted nothing else
than to deliver their children from bodily slavery, without striving for
piety and Christian virtues. Nevertheless when it was seemly to do so,
we have, to the best of our ability, taken much trouble in private and
public catechizing. This has borne but little fruit among the elder
people who have no faculty of comprehension; but there is some hope for
the youth who have improved reasonably well. Not to administer
baptism among them for the reasons given, is also the custom among our
colleagues.(1) But the most important thing is, that the Father of Grace
and God of Peace has blessed our two congregations with quietness and
harmony, out of the treasury of his graciousness; so that we have had
no reason to complain to the Rev. Classis, which takes such things,
however, in good part; or to trouble you, as we might have anticipated.

(1) The enslaving of Africans having at first been justified
on the ground of their heathenism, the nation that to
baptize them would make it unlawful to hold t