of the Awakening was sealed by his encounter with the great British evangelist, George Whitefield, who toured the colonies in 1740. Parsons was undoubtedly present when Whitefield preached at Middletown, an event that drew thousands from the surrounding countryside. Whitefield later visited Lyme twice, preaching from Parsons' pulpit at a time when many churches were closing their doors to the "New Lights." Parsons also tried to deliver the awakening experience to individuals on face-to-face terms, dedicating his time to the converted who needed his guidance. As he recalls in his diary, sometimes as many as thirty people came to his study for counsel one day. In Lyme, as elsewhere, the revival shattered congregational unity. Opposition to Parsons' views—and concern about his evangelical forays beyond his own parish—led eventually to his ouster in 1745. By this point, Parsons was acknowledged one of the most prominent and eloquent leaders of the Awakening. He was invited to preach throughout eastern Connecticut and in Massachusetts. His sermons were published and widely circulated. In 1744, at the invitation of Boston minister Thomas Prince, he wrote an authoritative account of the revival at Lyme. From Lyme to Newburyport With help from Whitefield, Parsons was invited to take charge of a new Presbyterian congregation in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The church was run along radically democratic lines, without any influence from "councils, conferences or synods". In fact, rather than being Presbyterian in polity, the church was what might be called an "independent" or "strict" Congregationalist body. In the thirty years Parsons served the church, it would grow from nineteen members to being one of the largest congregations in New England. Whitefield visited Parsons during his last tour of New England in 1770. Taken ill, Whitefield died in Parsons' house and was interred in a crypt constructed under the pulpit. His funeral, at which Parsons preached, was attended by thousands. The tomb, which would soon carry Parsons own remains as well, became a shrine for New England evangelicals . Revolutionary agitator Like many of his fellow New Lights, Parsons became an early and outspoken supporter of American resistance to England. When New England revolutionaries resolved to resist the tea tax, Parsons organized the young women of his congregation to brew local herbs in place of imported tea. The Boston Massacre victims were mourned by the tolling bell of the "Old South," Parsons' church. On that day, Parsons preached a notable