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CHURCH HISTORY


A Proud Heritage ~ A Promising Future

In 1733 the Reverend John McKinstry was traveling to New York when his wife became ill, forcing the family to stay in the area for a while. He was asked to preach to the eleven families of "The Great Marsh, " as Ellington was then known, and became their minister with salary of 40 pounds and the use of a woodlot." In 1737 the parish voted to build a meeting house, and, after the necessary approval from the General Assembly the first church was built on the present town green.

The church has had thirty full-time pastors. One of the best known was the Rev. Diodate Brockway, who served from his ordination in 1799 until his death in 1849. During Mr. Brockway's ministry the second meeting house was built in 1806 in the park across from the present church. Operating expenses for the church were met by the rental or sale of pews.

In 1867 the congregation decided to build a new meeting house across the street on the site of the present church. The town gave $5000 toward the cost of the building, and the brick basement contained town offices. A tragic fire resulted in the complete destruction of this building in 1914.

The present church was completed in 1916 at a cost of $30,000 for the building alone. In 1955 the church responded to the need for additional space for the Church School and parking by conducting a capital campaign to purchase additional land and build the education wing. The first parsonage was willed to the church by Miss Sarah Gilbert in 1898. Her house was used until 1973 when it was sold and the current parsonage on Middle Road was purchased.

The Rev. Michael S. Bennett was called as Senior Pastor in 1990 and worked with the congregation to expand the quality and quantity of program offerings and to plan for church growth. In response to growth, the Rev. Don Bailey-François became the first Associate Pastor in 1996. In the late 1990’s, the Target 2000 Capital Campaign helped us to prepare for ministry in a new century with a new elevator and many other improvements.  The congregation called the Rev. Don Bailey-François as its Senior Pastor in January 2003.  The church, with its new pastoral team, now looks forward to increased community involvement and continued growth.

 

Our Church Album

The McKinstry Parsonage - built in 1730

Second Church - 1806 - 1868

Third Church - 1868 - 1914

Ruins of the Third Church - Oct. 5,1914

Interior of the Third Church

Our Past Pastors

Rev. Diodate Brockway

Sixth Pastor 1799-1829

Rev. Lavius Hyde

Seventh Pastor 1830-1834

Rev. Ezekiel Marsh

Eighth Pastor 1835-1844

Rev. Nathaniel H. Eagleston

Ninth Pastor 1845-1850

Rev. George I. Wood

Tenth Pastor 1850-1854

Rev. Thomas W. Fessenden

Eleventh Pastor 1859-1864

Rev. Hiram B. Woodworth

Twelfth Pastor 1865-1869

Rev. Shearjashub Bourne

Fourteenth Pastor 1873-1875

Rev. David S. Holbrook

Fifteenth Pastor 1876-1880

Rev. William T. Hutching

Seventeenth Pastor 1886-1892

Rev. Lyman P. Hitchcock

Eighteenth Pastor 1892-1897

Rev. David E. Jones

Nineteenth Pastor 1898-1917

Rev. James T. Carter

Twentieth Pastor 1917-1922

Dr. John T. Nichols

Twenty-first Pastor 1922-1935

Rev. Roscoe F. Metzger

Twenty-second Pastor 1935-1939

Rev. Theodore S. Darrah

Twenty-third Pastor 1939-1943

Rev. Glenn T. Eno

Twenty-forth Pastor 1943-1945

Rev. John C. Miller

Twenty-fifth Pastor 1945-1951

Rev. Kenneth E. Johnson

Twenty-sixth Pastor 1952-1956

Dr. Alison R. Heaps

Interin Minister 1956-1957 & 1965

Rev. Wayne Sandau

Twenty-seventh Pastor 1953-1965

Rev. Donald P. Inglis

Twenty-eighth Pastor 1966-1973

Rev. Russell E. Camp

Interim Pastor 1973-1974

Dr. Sheldon T. Smith

Twenty-ninth Pastor 1974-1989

Rev. Susan M. Prichard

Interim Pastor 1989-1990

Rev. Michael S. Bennett

Thirtieth Pastor 1990-2002

The Rev. Don Bailey-Francois

Associate Pastor - 1996 - 2003

Rev. Marcia Lynn Cox

Interim Pastor 2002 - 2003

The Rev. Don Bailey-Francois

Thirty-first Pastor - 2003 - Present

The Rev. Dr. Jay M. Turbush

Interim Associate Pastor - 2003

The Rev. Claudia F. Muro

Associate Pastor - 2003 - 2006

The Rev. Jean McCusker

Interim Associate Pastor - 2007 - 2008

 

The Rev. Susan Prichard

Interim Pastor - 2008 - 2008

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Revised: 09/12/2008 09:47 PM