Arthur Bardwell Patten was a distinguished United States Congregational Church

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

 clergyman who served congregations in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and the Pacific coast. He was the author of books, hymn texts and poems. His best remembered work is the hymn text “Faith of Our Mothers” written circa 1920.

Early life and education

Patten was born in Bowdoinham, Maine

Bowdoinham, Maine

Bowdoinham is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,612 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The town is located on the west side of Merrymeeting Bay.-History:Fort Richmond was...

, on March 26, 1864, the son of Captain Bardwell P. Patten and Frances J. (“Fanny”) Meserve. His Patten ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Bowdoinham; a section of the town called Patten’s Landing is named for them.

Patten was educated at Colby University (AB 1890) and received his theology degree from Bangor Theological Seminary

Bangor Theological Seminary

Located in Bangor, Maine, and Portland, Maine, Bangor Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary, founded in 1814, in the Congregational tradition of the United Church of Christ. It is the only accredited graduate school of religion in Northern New England....

 (in 1893). He was ordained as a Congregational minister in Everett, Massachusetts

Everett, Massachusetts

Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. The population was 41,667 at the 2010 census.Everett is the last city in the United States with a bicameral legislature, which is composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council...

, on February 1, 1894. Patten was part of the world mission movement of the late 1800s that strove to “reach the world for Jesus in our generation.”

Ordained ministry

Patten served pastorates at First Congregational Church, Everett, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1897, First Congregational Church, South Hadley, Massachusetts

South Hadley, Massachusetts

South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,514 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, 1897–1905; First Congregational Church, Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...

, 1905–1909; Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, 1909–1917; Forest Grove Congregational Church, Oregon, 1917–1919; Center Church, Torrington, Connecticut

Torrington, Connecticut

Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the northwestern Connecticut region. It is also the core city of the largest micropolitan area in the United States. The city population was 36,383 according to the 2010 census....

.; 1919–1929; Madison Congregational Church, Connecticut, 1929–1934.

Patten was the author of books, articles and poems, including:

• “The Awakening” - 1892
• “The Religious Training of Children” – 1897
• “With God at Sea” (poem) in “The Sea Breeze” by Boston Seaman’s Friends Society – 1900
• “Youth, Plus” (poem)
• A Hymn for the Dedication of the New Organ at Torrington, CT – 1922
• "Can We Find God?" - (George H. Doran Co., New York) - 1924
• “Open Letter to Prof. John Dewey" - 1933

Personal life

Patten married the former Kate Howes Ryder of Chelsea, Massachusetts (born November 26, 1876) on October 1, 1896. They had had three sons: Ryder (the eldest; 31 July 1897 - August 1957), Julian and Roger Wolcott Patten (the youngest). Tragedy struck the family on July 8, 1903, when A.B.'s son Roger aged one year and a half was drowned while they were vacationing at Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....

, New Hampshire.

Arthur B. Patten died at Claremont, California

Claremont, California

Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...

on May 10, 1952.

The text of “Faith of Our Mothers”

Faith of our mothers, living still,

In cradle song and bedtime prayer;

In nursery lore and fireside love,

Thy presence still pervades the air:

Faith of our mothers, living faith!

We will be true to thee to death.



Faith of our mothers, loving faith,

Fount of our childhood's trust and grace,

Oh, may thy consecration prove

Source of a finer, nobler race:

Faith of our mothers, living faith,

We will be true to thee till death.



Faith of our mothers, guiding faith,

For youthful longing, youthful doubt,

How blurred our vision, blind our way,

Thy providential care without:

Faith of our mothers, guiding faith,

We will be true to thee till death.



Faith of our mothers, Christian faith,

Is truth beyond our stumbling creeds,

Still serve the home and save the Church,

And breathe thy spirit through our deeds:

Faith of our mothers, Christian faith!

We will be true to thee till death.