1822-1899

Mosby Our Ministry Dog

June 6, 2006 - August 15, 2017

Sadly, we report that Mosby passed away Aug 15th after a short battle with lymphoma in his liver and lymph nodes.

As is typical of his whole life with us, he didn’t let us know that he was in pain until the very end. For all the nine years he was with us, Mosby was a faithful working dog for his church – not just attending worship services on Sunday morning, but by visiting people in their homes, nursing homes, and hospitals. We well remember how happy some folks were to see him – Phyllis Wallace, Gladys Upson, Stanley Kimball, Phyllis Caldwell, to name but a few of the many people to whom he brought a little pleasure with his wagging tail and gentle paw. Mosby was also well-known in town, making many visits to the Council on Ageing activities: the seniors in different interest groups, the breakfasts and luncheons for veterans, to name a few. Who can forget the town’s anniversary parade a few years ago, when he represented First Baptist on our church float? We were impressed that all along the parade route, we’d hear cries of “Hey, Mosby!” from everyone. He was definitely a town dog, as well as a church dog. We miss him desperately, as most people do whose dogs have died, but we do know that his life, especially as it relates to his calling of Therapy Dog for the Ministry, has left a mark on our church and our town.

In June 2010, Mosby and the First Baptist Church of Littleton were featured on
a CBS special the “Ministry of Animals” that aired on CBS affiliates around the country.

Picture of Mosby is one of the

Top Boston Globe Photos of the Year

2009 Boston Globe story & video below

Boston Globe video on Mosby

Boston Globe Article on Mosby by Erica Noonan

A Dog With A Calling

A dog with a calling

To church, hospitals, and assisted living centers, Mosby brings a healing ministry based on unconditional caring and comfort

By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff | July 16, 2009

LITTLETON - Mosby is a Baptist, but his ministry is inclusive. Anyone - atheist or believer - will get a hand licked by the 3-year-old golden retriever, deemed too friendly for work as an assistance dog for the disabled but perfectly suited for a career in spiritual outreach. Mosby is a ministry dog, one of a growing breed of assistance dogs assigned to clergy and church workers to offer a special kind of comfort.

A few times each week, Mosby dons his vest and nose-lead, chows down a Pup-Peroni dog snack, and hops in the backseat for a short ride to Emerson Hospital in Concord, assisted living centers in Ayer and Westford, or the Life Care Center of Nashoba Valley in Littleton.

Mosby’s busiest day is Sunday, however, when he can be found lying in a pew alongside his owners, Lynda and Larry Fisher, at the First Baptist Church of Littleton, where they are longtime members.

His presence is especially welcome during what has been a hard year for the First Baptist community. Several members are coping with serious illness, deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, and job layoffs, said First Baptist’s pastor, the Rev. Deborah Blanchard.

“A dog ministry breaks down barriers right away,’’ said Blanchard. “It helps put aside the barriers and connect on a real level to offer comfort and love.’’

The idea of a formal training program for ministry dogs sprang up just over a decade ago, when a divinity student and dog lover made a case to NEADS, Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans, a nonprofit organization based in Princeton that is one of the nation’s largest assistance-dog training programs.

“She explained how she’d be going to hospices and working with the elderly and sick children, all populations who can’t have a dog but could really benefit,’’ said Sheila O’Brien, the agency’s chief executive officer. “She said, ‘You know, Sheila, dog spelled backwards is God.’ ’’

In 1998, NEADS graduated its first ministry dog, a schnauzer named Lynks. Since then, it has trained more than 15 dogs serving a variety of churches.

Last year, 74-year-old Lynda Fisher approached NEADS with hopes of being matched with a ministry dog.

She and her husband, Larry, 78, had lost their longtime canine companion, a 15-year-old Brittany spaniel named Jessie.

You could say she had a dog-sized hole in her soul.

“I told them, ‘I’m a deaconess at my church. Part of my duties is to visit the sick and infirm, and it would go so much better with a dog,’ ’’ Fisher recalled.

Although the dogs are generally designated for ministers, Fisher’s 40-year affiliation with First Baptist and enthusiastic devotion to her faith, and to dogs, won her an exception to the rule.

NEADS trainers introduced her to a few puppies, but sparks really flew with Mosby, named as a puppy for John Mosby, a Confederate officer who worked to help heal the nation’s wounds after the Civil War.

“I like to think it was God saying, ‘Lynda, this is the dog for you,’ ’’ she said.

She and Mosby trained together at NEADS headquarters and on April 13, 2008, Mosby received his orders and a blessing at a dedication ceremony at the 187-year-old American Baptist church on Littleton Common.

During weekly outreach visits to Life Care, Mosby visits often with 92-year-old Phyllis Wallace, whose diabetes keeps her bedbound and away from Sunday services at First Baptist.

Mosby is not the only church worker making the rounds at Life Care: local chaplains, priests, and rabbis regularly visit and hold services, including Wednesday Vespers and Sunday Mass, said executive director Ellen Levinson.

But Mosby may generate the most enthusiasm. During a visit to the facility’s unit for Alzheimer’s disease patients, residents halted a bingo game to reach out to touch the dog. Several elders who had been sitting in silence started talking animatedly.

“Isn’t he beautiful?’’ murmured one woman in a wheelchair.

“I love it when the dogs come down. It makes everyone smile. It brings back happy feelings,’’ said Charlotte McCullough, a nurse who oversees the unit. “It makes people think of their childhoods.’’

On Sunday mornings, Mosby helps Larry Fisher, a church greeter, pass out programs, comes up to the altar for the children’s portion of the service, and licks hands at coffee hour.

“It’s more fun when he’s here,’’ said 12-year-old Alyssa Mackensie after a service last Sunday.

Mosby ministers at home too. The Fishers, Medford natives who have been married for 51 years, are longtime community volunteers. But Mosby keeps them active in their senior years, mingling with the crowds at Littleton’s Halloween and July Fourth celebrations. Mosby makes friends wherever he goes while pulling them along by the leash, the Fishers said.

“Life without him would be so much duller,’’ said Lynda Fisher. “I know we’d be a lot less active.’’

Not everyone in the congregation or community-at-large likes dogs, so Fisher says she is vigilant about keeping Mosby away, unless people clearly want him nearby.

Dogs are not welcome in all houses of worship, and federal law does not guarantee access to churches, mosques, and temples, even for service dogs, though O’Brien said she has not encountered criticism of the ministry dog work by NEADS.

Some animal advocates are concerned that Mosby and his working colleagues get too few opportunities to socialize with other dogs. NEADS asks owners to plan play dates and make regular visits to offleash dog parks, “so the dog has a chance to be a dog,’’ she said.

There is also a growing demand for therapy dogs of all types. NEADS began providing dogs for military veterans with physical injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder in 2006, and more dogs are requested by injured vets every year. She also predicts there will soon be a boom in demand for dogs trained to assist autistic children, and to detect blood-sugar imbalances in diabetics.The pool of trained therapy dogs is limited, with NEADS graduating just 50 or so annually from all its programs.

But one advantage for the ministry dog program is its acceptance of a wider variety of breeds, even tiny shih tzus, while traditional assistance dogs tend to be retrievers or German shepherds, large enough to guide a client through traffic and crowds, said O’Brien.

Most of Mosby’s clients have been to First Baptist members, but the Fishers say he is available for visits to any area resident, of any religious affiliation.

Mosby does not proselytize, and neither do the Fishers, who carry no religious materials on their visits.

Dogs, unlike stressed family members and shy children, are also never in a rush to end a visit to a hospital or nursing home.

“He lifts their spirits for five minutes, but at least that’s five minutes,’’ said Lynda Fisher. “That’s a good thing.’’

Matters of Faith is a series of occasional articles examining religious life in area communities. Erica Noonan can be reached at enoonan@globe.com.

Rev. Ken Downes

Rev. Joyce Reed

1822-1899

Previous to the organization of the Baptist Church in 1822, there had been but one church in this town, established in 1715. This church, originally a Congregational one, had gradually departed from the Puritan faith and standard of theology, and for some years previous to the time alluded to, had been essentially a Unitarian Church - the Deity and atonement of Jesus Christ; regeneration by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and justification by faith, were truths which were either denied or carefully kept out of sight in the public instructions of the Sabbath. Prayer meetings on weekdays, itinerant preaching, and all efforts for the conversion of the heathen, were stigmatized as the doings of fanatics.

So far as is known, not more than three or four persons in the town at that time held evangelical sentiments. Two of these, in the year 1818, commenced holding weekly prayer meetings. They were permitted by the minister to hold meetings on Sabbath noons, but were forbidden to hold them on weekdays. About this time one of these brethren, who was afterward a deacon of this church, agreed to meet another brother living in Westford, who held like views, once a week on the top of a high hill, called Nashobah Hill, about one-half mile southeast from the present meeting house and on the boundary line between Littleton and Westford. Here on a spot between the two parishes, they erected an altar of stone, and met regularly from the spring of 1819 until late in the fall, their special object being to pray for a revival of religion in both of these adjacent towns. During the winter they continued to hold meetings at their houses, and were occasionally assisted by students from Andover, who, hearing of their circumstances, kindly came over to help them. The three brethren met weekly on the hill for some time with no indications of approaching blessings. But late in the spring a little cloud appeared like a man’s hand; one after another was awakened, and soon the interest became general in both towns so that crowded meetings were held in different houses, attended by large numbers of young converts and inquirers. During this revival, which continued through this year and part of the next, it is thought that about 40 persons were converted in this town, and a large number in Westford.

In the winter of 1819, Mr. Benjamin Willard, then a licentiate of the Baptist Church in Harvard, commenced preaching in this and some adjoining towns. About this time, some of the brethren, on comparing their views of gospel ordinances reached without previous consultation with each other, were mutually surprised to find that, contrary to their previous instructions and prejudices, they had become Baptists by the simple study of the Bible. The rite of Baptism was first administered in this town on June 22, 1819. One of the two candidates on that occasion had been converted under the preaching of Whitefield, many years before. Feeling it his duty and privilege to follow the Savior in Baptism, at the age of eighty, he was carried to the waterside on an ox sled, being unable to go any other way. The administrator of the ordinance was Rev. Abisha Samson of Harvard. Although much opposition was experienced, the word of God grew and multiplied. Much interest was manifested in the truths of vital religion; meetings for prayer and gospel preaching were largely attended; and notwithstanding the great hatred and contempt which they met in certain quarters, Baptist principles became more and more generally recognized as the principles of the New Testament. It is not our purpose to speak reproachfully of any, or to ‘set down aught in malice.’ Much allowance must be made for the laxity of public opinion in regard to religious toleration at the time of which we speak. There has certainly been a great advance since the Baptists of Littleton were subjected to social and civil disabilities and to various petty annoyances, because they honestly differed from their fellow citizens in matters of Christian faith and practice; since a fence was placed around a pond to prevent their having access to its waters, for the purpose of performing the rite of Baptism; and it was only after ‘much debate’ that the town granted this ‘despised sect’ the use of a school house for religious worship.

Previous to the spring of 1822, it appears that 33 persons belonging in Littleton had been Baptized and received to the fellowship of the Baptist Church in Harvard. In the month of March, in this year, a church was organized as the First Baptist Church of Christ in Littleton. Until July, in 1823, the church remained destitute of a pastor. At that date Bro. Amasa Sanderson, who had supplied the pulpit half the time for a year previous, received and accepted a call to become the pastor. He was ordained the 9th of July, 1823. The meeting house, a small brick structure standing about a mile-and-a-half west of the present house, having been completed, was dedicated on the same day. Rev. Charles Train of Framingham, Rev. Dr. Baldwin of Boston, and Rev. John Parkhurst of Chelmsford, were among the administering brethren who participated in the services. Bro. Sanderson continued to serve the church faithfully until March 1831, when he was compelled to resign on account of failing health. During his pastorate 17 were added to the church by Baptism and 28 by letter. In March 1831 Bro. Benjamin Manning was licensed by the Church to preach.

From March to August, 1831, the church was without a pastor. In the latter month an invitation was extended to Rev. Silas Kenney to become their minister. He remained nearly three years, during which time 20 were added by Baptism and four by letter.

For the next three years the church was supplied with preaching chiefly by the students of Newton Theological Institution. During this time 13 were added by Baptism and two by letter.

In June 1837, Bro. Oliver Ayer was ordained pastor of the church. Bro. Ayer continued to perform the duties of his office with much acceptance and success until he resigned in September 1843. In 1840, Rev. William Miller, by invitation of the church, lectured several days on the Second Coming of Christ. Soon Millerism prevailed quite generally in the church and among the people. There were added this year by Baptism 65, and by letter 15. One peculiar feature of this revival is thus alluded to in a communication from Rev. Mr. Ayer: “Men everywhere were studying the Bible. In the barroom, post office, or stores, any man was ready to read or hear the word of God.” Mr. Ayer adds: “It was a fearfully solemn time. God was present in a peculiarly impressive manner.” The majority of those who embraced at this time the Adventist doctrines returned before long to the old landmarks; but some of the members of the church “got so far over the dam,” as one has expressed it, “that they floated off with the flood-wood of Millerism.” It is cheering to find that a large proportion of those who were added to the church during this time of excitement remained steadfast.

In August, 1840, the brick meeting house in which the church had worshipped 17 years was burned. The church was enabled, however, to build immediately the present house, a more commodious structure than the former, and situated in a more desirable position. (1)

Although we have no picture of the first meeting house which was built of brick, we have an interesting description of its appearance by Prof. Laban E. Warren who united with the church as a young man in 1853. “The old brick meeting house which they built the next year after the church was organized was really a wonderful structure for a church so small and so feeble . . . . It stood on a road leading to the westerly part of the town only a few rods across the fields from my early home, and though I was a small boy when it burned in the summer of 1840 I can still recall very distinctly how it looked. The exterior was exceedingly plain. No steeple, or belfry, cross or stained glass windows to indicate it was a meeting house. The inside was most attractive. A gallery extended around three sides of it with an ample space for singers, screened off with yellow curtains. The pulpit was very high, with a large window behind it and a large canopy or sounding board above.”

“My first attendance at the Sunday School was here and I recall the very first lesson that I recited. It was the fourth commandment as paraphrased in the old couplet: “We must not work, we must not play upon the God’s holy Sabbath Day.” (2)

During the period of Bro. Ayer’s labors 89 were added by Baptism and 32 by letter; one was restored.

Rev. Mr. Ayer resigned the pastorate in September 1843. Until the following spring, the church was supplied mostly by Rev. Mr. Powers of Bolton. In April 1844, Rev. Theodore H. Lunt commenced his labors as pastor, but remained only one year. He was afterwards deposed from the ministry and finally excluded from the church. Rev. Aaron Haynes accepted a call to the pastorate in April 1845. He remained about two years during which time 32 were added to the church by Baptism. The latter part of Bro. Haynes term of service was unhappily marked by much difficulty and dissension in the church. In 1846, fifteen members were dismissed to help form the church at West Acton.

From June 1847 to February 1848, Rev. B. H. Clift served the church as pastor. No additions were made this year.

In May 1848, Reverend George Mathews accepted the invitation of the church to become their pastor. He resigned his charge in 1852. The state of religion seems to have been generally low in the church for a number of years after the revival enjoyed in 1845-6, in connection with the labors of Bro. Haynes.

In the summer of 1852, Rev. F. E. Cleaves assumed the pastoral charge and remained until October 1857, when he was compelled by ill health to resign. His labors were very acceptable to the church, and he left behind him an enduring remembrance of his worth and ministerial fidelity. He was permitted to Baptize 15 persons during his pastorate, and to see the church increase in strength and united more firmly in the bonds of brotherly love. (1)

In December 1857, Mr. D. F. Lamson, then of Newton Theological Institution, commenced supplying the church, and continued to preach for most of the time on the Sabbath until the following July, when having accepted the unanimous invitation of the church and society to settle with them, he was ordained as their pastor July 22, 1858, and entered at once upon the discharge of the duties of his office. During Mr. Lamson’s pastorate five were Baptized, 12 added by letter. His pastorate ended in April 1861.

In June 1861, Rev. C. M. Willard entered upon a pastorate with the church, which ended in November 1867. During Mr. Willard’s pastorate, 24 were added to the church by Baptism, 14 by letter, and one by restoration. (3)

The last Charter member of the church died March 26, 1866. He was Deacon Jonathan Peirce, 79 years and 9 months of age. He seems to have been one of the younger men, approximately 36 years of age, who helped organize the church and was held in high respect by all. (2)

Immediately following the pastorate of Rev. C. M. Willard, through the wise and efficient action of Bro. Charles H. Pierce, our present parsonage, attractive and convenient, was secured.

Rev. C. L. Frost followed Mr. Willard in a pastorate beginning in August 1868, and ending in June 1869, during which period one was Baptized, and one received by letter.

In September 1869, Bro. James F. Morton, a recent graduate from Newton Theological Seminary, accepted a call to the pastorate, was ordained on the 28th of the same month, and closed his labors as pastor in September 1872. No Baptisms occurred under his ministry with us. Two joined by letter.

During, and immediately following Rev. J. F. Morton’s pastorate, our meeting house was raised, remodeled, beautified and provided with a vestry, at a cost of about $3000.

Following Mr. Morton, Rev. N. B. Sperry assumed pastoral charge of the church in January 1873, and continued the same until May 1875, during which time Bro. Laban E. Warren was licensed to preach the Gospel, seven were Baptized, six added by letter, and one was restored.

The next pastor was Rev. William Read, who began labors in July 1875, and closed them in May 1878. During this period 15 were Baptized, seven were added by letter, and one was restored. In November 1878, Rev. Paul Gallagher became our pastor and ended his term of service in November 1880. The records show that during Mr. Gallagher’s pastorate five were Baptized and four added by letter.

In December 1880, Rev. W. H. Evans accepted a call to the pastorate and labored with us until July 1883. During his period of service five were Baptized and three added by letter. (3)

In December 1883, Rev. R. G. Johnson began his labors and remained until August 1888. In the fall of 1886, special evangelistic meetings were held with splendid results. In 1887, a baptistry was installed. Previously Baptisms had been performed in Lake Nagog. Twenty were received by Baptism and four by letter during this pastorate.

In September 1888, Rev. William J. Cloues began his pastorate, remaining until July 1899. Up to the present time, 1947, this is the longest pastorate in the history of the church. In January and February 1892, special Union Evangelistic services with the Congregational church were held. There appears to have been a marked spiritual revival as a result. While Mr. Cloues was pastor, 21 were Baptized and 19 received by letter.

Acknowledgments:
(1) Rev. D. F. Lamson
(2) Rev. G. E. Crouse
(3) Rev. R. G. Johnson

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