A group of Episcopal clergymen in the area published a statement protesting "against the aforesaid proceedings, to the end that all those or our communion, wherever disposed, may be cautioned against receiving said Reader or Preacher (Mr. James Freeman) as a Clergyman of our Church, or holding any communion with him as such, and may be induced to look upon his congregation in the light, in which it ought to be looked upon, by all true Episcopalians." A flurry of letters ensued, many of which were published in the local newspapers. One man even suggested that the "heretics" ought to be burned at the stake, as in the old days. The wardens of Stone Chapel, as well as the majority of the congregation, supported their new pastor in every way they could. Freeman himself kept aloof from the dispute and the controversy gradually subsided. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1793.