A Long and Inspired History
In 1884, a
group of earnest people in the United Congregational Church
began a movement to establish a Sunday School and other
Christian work in the southern part of the city. They made
a start in a building on Thames Street not far above
Wellington Ave. This became known as Grace Chapel.
Breaking
old ties...
Soon worship services and other activities were added. In
time, the United Congregational Church recognized the fact
that the chapel had grown to a size and power sufficient to
warrant separate organization and maintenance. Because of
this and the fact that the chapel attendants wanted to make
this a Presbyterian body, the Congregational Church decided
to withdraw its assistance and support, with the full
consent of the chapel congregation.
First
step—a congregation....
On June 19th, 1888, the organization of the First
Presbyterian Church was accomplished by a commission from
the Boston Presbytery. Forty-seven persons were accepted
into membership at the meeting. Thus the church came into
being through the determination of a small group of men and
women, largely of Scottish background, who desired to
follow the form of worship, model of government, and
theological convictions of the heritage of John Calvin and
John Knox, in which they had been nurtured.
A
place for all to worship....
The cornerstone
of a new church building was laid on the current site in
1892. The land was given to the congregation as a gift in
memory of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Mumford Hammett.
This gift carried a stipulation: “In the matter of sittings
or renting of sittings, no section of the church or block
of sittings shall be set aside for the use of the poor, but
they shall be provided for anywhere throughout the church
by selecting any unleased sittings.” The building was
purposefully designed with no balcony, and no provision was
made for a future balcony, in order to provide equal
seating for all parishioners.
The building was raised, stone by stone, by the original members of the congregation as a sign of their personal commitment to God and to the mission of the Church in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.
As a result of their dedicated efforts, and in spite of trials and great difficulty, the first preaching service was held in the church Vestry (Fellowship Hall) on March 24, 1894. On April 5, 1896, Easter Sunday, the first worship service was held in the sanctuary. What great joy that must have been for the congregation, now numbering one hundred and eighty-four, and for the many guests present for the occasion!
A true sanctuary...
The sanctuary,
adorned with strikingly beautiful stained glass windows,
include “banner” windows on the north and south sides of
the church. These windows are taken from banner decorations
used at the Second Council of the Alliance of Reformed
Churches, held in Philadelphia in 1880. They indicate the
vast heritage we have in our Presbyterian and Reformed
churches, a heritage that has come to us through the ages
and from many countries of the world. Every Sunday, these
windows remind us that “we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses.” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV)
Ongoing
labors of love...
Through the years, many additions and modifications have
been made. These include the addition of the Manse at 6
Everett Street, a three-floor education building erected in
1959-1960, a major work of restoration and refurbishment in
the sanctuary completed in 2000, and a movement of the
church offices to the Manse in the same year. Over the
course of the church’s history, the congregation of the
First Presbyterian Church has been served by eleven
pastors:
-
Rev. R. Gordon McKay, 1888-1890
-
Rev. James M. Craig, 1890-1897
-
Rev. George W. Mead, 1898-1906
-
Rev. Aquilla Webb, 1906-1909
-
Rev. Nathaniel J. Sproul, 1909-1918
-
Rev. Robert R. White, 1919-1925
-
Rev. A. Murray Porter, 1926-1930
-
Rev. Harry F. Cost, 1930-1948
-
Rev. William J. Clark, 1948-1963
- Rev. Dr. Tyler L. Johnson, Jr., 1964-1996 (Pastor-Emeritus)
-
Rev. Dr. William J. Maxwell, 1997 – Present
-
Rev. Douglas Forsberg, Assoc. Pastor, 2002 - Present
Since its official organization in 1888, generations of members and friends of the First Presbyterian Church have given faithful witness to Jesus Christ. Today, the congregation seeks to continue that same faithful witness, to the glory of God!