Our Church History

The United Church of Christ in Keene, the second oldest Christian fellowship in southwestern New Hampshire, was "gathered" in the wilderness settlement of Upper Ashuelot, now Keene, on October 18, 1738. Pioneers had arrived in 1736 to carve out homes in the primeval forest. In 1737 they erected a rude meetinghouse, "40 feet long and 35 feet wide and 20 feet stud," far down Main Street, and on May 5, 1738, they extended a call to the Rev. Jacob Bacon to be their first pastor.

The candidate accepted, and in connection with his ordination on October 18, 1738, an organization of 19 professed Christians was constituted into a church body. Their names are those of all Keene's first inhabitants and settlers, for the church of the 18th century was an all-encompassing civil as well as ecclesiastical institution.

The United Church of Christ in Keene is a merger of this First Church with the Court Street Congregational Church, formed out of the original body in 1867, which took place in 1963. The congregation of today pays homage to the pioneers, and in no less measure gratefully recognizes their literal and spiritual descendants who have maintained and nurtured Christian witness and service in Keene for over 250 years.

The nucleus of the church building at the head of Keene's Main Street and Central Square is the 210-year-old 50x70 foot frame of Keene's fourth meetinghouse raised in June 1786. The structure originally stood south of its present location, near the site of the Civil War Soldiers Monument today. Placed with its broad side and central doors facing down the wide expanse of Main Street, the church was "consecrated to the Divine Being" on October 29, 1788. It was painted white or light yellow with green doors. The interior arrangements were typical of their time: broad aisles and unpainted pine pews all around the room with boxed partitions between, and topped by a row of twelve-inch high turned spindles. A wide aisle led to the pulpit high on the opposite wall with a "wine glass" base, and suspended above it was a dome-shaped sounding board. The town's first church bell was hung in 1792, and a public clock was installed in 1794.

As soon as the division of religious and civil authorities in Keene was complete in 1828, and as plans for the development of the Common were formulated, the meetinghouse underwent its first major renovation. Under a January 1, 1829 contract the structure was turned one quarter around and moved north almost to its present site. The building was brought up to date with prevailing taste by the construction of an entrance bay and porch and a new spire 130 feet high. The interior was entirely altered with the installation of long, narrow "slip" pews painted white and a pulpit located at the far end of the long sanctuary. It was in this period that the gilt weathervane still perched atop the spire today was installed.

Finally in 1859-1960 the last major renovations and alterations were undertaken, again for the purpose of bringing the building in line with contemporary usage. Moved back four feet, the whole structure was raised to allow the introduction of a vestry below the auditorium. The sanctuary was enlarged; 138 pews on the main floor and 42 in the balcony. A new façade was added with elaborate decorations, Corinthian columns, pilasters, urns and enriched pediment and cornice surmounted by a rebuilt spire 152 feet 2 inches high.

The 60x90 foot church remains almost unchanged in appearance since its dedication January 29, 1861. There have been some minor changes in the 60x70 foot and 30 foot high auditorium; a kitchen was constructed in part of the vestry in 1870. This space was converted into Chapel and office use in 1959-1960. Installed on one wall is a portion of a stained glass window from the Court Street Church. Other historic souvenirs of this building, removed in 1965, are the pulpit chairs now in use, communion silver, baptismal font and a memorial cross.

In 1924, a two-story brick parish house was erected adjacent to the church, and this structure was renovated and enlarged in 1959-1960. The most cataclysmic accident of recent history was the loss of part of the spire in the great 1938 hurricane. Some 37 feet 6 inches was replaced in exact duplication of the original. The church today appears almost as it did in pioneer photographs of Central Square taken just after the close of the Civil War.

Within the church are numerous objects of historical importance. The ornate rosewood pulpit, made by local cabinet makers, was a gift in 1860 from Abijah Kingsbury. A fine mahogany communion table still in use was also locally crafted and presented to the church in 1829 together with a side chair which was copied to constitute a pair in the present century. Also dating from the turn of the century is the central chandelier with its cluster of incandescent electric bulbs. A sanctuary gallery clock was presented by John Pond in 1829, since electrified.

At either side of the pulpit recess are bronze plaques. One memorializes the Rev. Zedikiah S. Barstow (1790-1873) and his wife, Elizabeth Fay Blake Barstow (1792-1869). Dr. Barstow occupied the pulpit of the First Church for half a century, the longest pastorate in the history of the church, 1818-1868. It is interesting to note that during all this time, the pastor used as his parsonage the historic "Wyman Tavern" of Dartmouth College and Revolutionary War fame which in 1968 became Keene's first museum and period house under the auspices of the Historical Society of Cheshire County. The other tablet recognizes the Rev. Aaron Hall (1751-1814) pastor 36 years, from 1778 until his death. The Rev. Mr. Hall represented Keene at the convention which voted New Hampshire adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1788. Both ministers were outstanding leaders in matters of religion, education, temperance and charitable works in community and state.

The church's Berkshire/Gilbert pipe organ, one of the largest and most versatile in the state, incorporates elements from the First Church's 1903 Hutchings-Votey and the Court Street Church's Johnson instruments and has most recently undergone additional renovations by Czelusniak et Dugal. It is a three manual instrument of thirty stops and forty ranks of pipes. It is used for a wide variety of programs, recitals and concerts and has proved to be popular with musicians and organ enthusiasts.

A published history of the First Congregational Church, by David R. Proper, is available. For further information, contact the Historians Committee, United Church of Christ in Keene.

Rev. Dr. Zedekiah S. Barstow's Semi-Centennial Discourse entitled “Remember The Days of Old”, has been republished by the Historian's Committee of the Keene United Church of Christ in Keene. The sermon was preached on July 1, 1868 at the close of Dr. Barstow's fifty years’ pastorate and originally published by his children back in 1873. Rev. Barstow served as pastor of the First Congregational Church 1818-1868 and Pastor Emeritus 1868-1873.

The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. Each of these was, in turn, the result of a union of two earlier denominations.

PREAMBLE OF UCC CONSTITUTION

The Congregational Churches were organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (1620) and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) acknowledged their essential unity in the Cambridge Platform of 1648.

The Reformed Church in the United States traced its beginnings to congregations of German settlers in Pennsylvania founded from 1725 on. Later, its ranks were swelled by Reformed folk from Switzerland and other countries.

The Christian Churches sprang up in the late 1700s and early 1800s in reaction to the theological and organizational rigidity of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist churches of the time.

The Evangelical Synod of North America traced its beginnings to an association of German Evangelical pastors in Missouri. This association, founded in 1841, reflected the 1817 union of Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany.

Through the years, other groups such as Native Americans, Afro-Christians, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Volga Germans, Armenians, Hungarians and Hispanic Americans have joined with the four earlier groups. Thus the United Church of Christ celebrates and continues a wide variety of traditions in its common life.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

The characteristics of the United Church of Christ can be summarized in part by the key words in the names that formed our union: Christian, Reformed, Congregational, Evangelical.

Christian. By our very name, the United Church of Christ, we declare ourselves to be part of the body of Christ—the Christian church. We continue the witness of the early disciples to the reality and power of the crucified and risen Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.

Reformed. All four denominations arose from the tradition of the Protestant Reformers: We confess the authority of one God. We affirm the primacy of the scriptures, the doctrine of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the principle of Christian freedom. We celebrate two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper or holy communion.

Congregational. The basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the congregation. Members of each congregation covenant with one another and with God as revealed in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. These congregations, in turn, exist in covenantal relationships with one another to form larger structures for more effective work. Our covenanting emphasizes trustful relationships rather than legal agreements.

Evangelical. The primary task of the church is the proclamation of the gospel or evangel — the good news of God's love revealed with power in Jesus Christ. We proclaim this gospel by word and deed to individual persons and to society. This proclamation is the heart of the liturgia — the work of the people. We gather each Sunday for the worship of God, and through each week, we engage in the service of humankind.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

The above description can be amplified by significant phrases commonly used by Christians, which express the commitments of the United Church of Christ. That they may all be one (John 17:21). This motto of the United Church of Christ reflects the spirit of unity on which it is based and points toward future efforts to heal the divisions in the body of Christ. We are a uniting church as well as a united church.

In essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity. The unity that we seek requires neither an uncritical acceptance of any point of view, nor rigid formulation of doctrine. It does require mutual understanding and agreement as to which aspects of the Christian faith and life are essential.

The unity of the church is not of its own making. It is a gift of God. But expressions of that unity are as diverse as there are individuals. The common thread that runs through all is love.

Testimonies of faith rather than tests of faith. Because faith can be expressed in many different ways, the United Church of Christ has no formula that is a test of faith. Down through the centuries, however, Christians have shared their faith with one another through creeds, confessions, catechisms and other statements of faith. Historic statements such as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Evangelical Catechism, the Augsburg Confession, the Cambridge Platform, and the Kansas City Statement of Faith are valued as authentic testimonies of faith.

In 1959, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ adopted a Statement of Faith prepared especially for the United Church. Many of us use this statement as a common affirmation of faith in worship and as a basis for study.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

There is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's holy word. This classic statement assumes the primacy of the Bible as a source for understanding the good news and as a foundation for all statements of faith. It recognizes that the Bible, though written in specific historical times and places, still speaks to us in our present condition. It declares that the study of the scriptures is not limited by past interpretations, but it is pursued with expectancy for new insights and help for living today.

The Priesthood of All Believers. All members of the United Church of Christ are called to minister to others and to participate as equals in the common worship of God, each with direct access to the mercies of God through personal prayer and devotion.

Recognition is given to those among us who have received special training in pastoral, priestly, educational and administrative functions, but these persons are regarded as ministers—servants—rather than as persons in authority. Their task is to guide, to instruct, and to enable the ministry of all Christians rather than to do the work of ministry for us.

Responsible Freedom. As individual members, we are free to believe and act in accordance with our perception of God's will for our lives. But we are called to live in a loving, covenantal relationship with one another—gathering in communities of faith, congregations of believers, local churches.

Each congregation or local church is free to act in accordance with the collective decision of its members, guided by the working of the Spirit in the light of the scriptures. But it also is called to live in a covenantal relationship with other congregations for the sharing of insights and for cooperative action.

Likewise, associations of churches, conferences, the General Synod and national boards and agencies of the United Church of Christ are free to act in their particular spheres of responsibility. Yet all are constrained by love to live in a covenantal relationship with one another and with the local churches in order to make manifest the unity of the body of Christ and thus to carry out God's mission in the world more effectively.

The members, congregations, associations, conferences, General Synod, and national agencies are free in relation to the world. We affirm that the authority of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and interpreted with the aid of the Holy Spirit stands above and judges all human culture, institutions and laws. But we recognize our calling both as individuals and as the church to live in the world:

• Ministering to its needs.
• Contributing to the welfare of all.
• Being enriched by those aspects of culture that help to make human life more human.
• Working through institutions and supporting laws that reflect God's just and loving purposes for the world.
• Seeking justice and liberation for all.

This is the challenge of the United Church of Christ.