Newington Gospel Hall, CT
Newington Gospel Hall was founded in 1928 as an Italian-American open brethren assembly known as the Hartford Italian Assembly Hall. Matt Brescia's father, George Brescia, was saved in 1921 at Philadelphia, fluent in both Italian and English, and joined the assembly in Philadelphia initially. Around 1928, a crowd of Italians (40-50) were saved in tent meetings in Hartford, and blessing was granted from brethren in Philadelphia to start an Italian hall in Hartford, of which Mike Magnal & George Brescia were involved, along with his twin brother Joe, and another brother Matt.
In 1944, in Hartford, Cecile Louise Marr was unwilling to take "unqualified oath of allegiance" to the U.S. as "a member of a religious section known as Plymouth Brethren", as did Damiano Colella, Mary Josephine De Santis. By 1948, the assembly was rebranded as Charter Oak Gospel Hall, and by 1996 when rebranded in its present name it was primarily English-speaking.
Locations
- @ 464 Farmington Ave. +1933+
- 73 Windsor St. +1936+
- 57 Albany Ave. +1941-1948+
- 49 Charter Oak Ave. +1948-1975/1983
- 345 E. Cedar St. 1996-current
Correspondents
- G. DeLuca +1936+
- Joseph DeLuca +1941-1954
- Nick Vendetta 1948+
- Matthew Brescia @ West Hartford 1955-1967
- Matthew J. Brescia @ Windsor 1968-2022
Matt Brescia's father, George Brescia, was saved in 1921 at Philadelphia, fluent in both Italian and English, and joined the assembly in Philadelphia initially. Around 1928, a crowd of Italians (40-50) were saved in tent meetings in Hartford, and blessing was granted from brethren in Philadelphia to start an Italian hall in Hartford, of which Mike Magnal & George Brescia were involved, along with his twin brother Joe, and another brother Matt.