A Brief
History of First Congregational Church
(excerpted from the extensive and well-researched booklet
"For the 75th Anniversary of First Church" by Dick Fagley)
One
matter on which our senior historians are agreed is that the founding father of First
Church was a lady! Her name was Emilie Barnes Turner. She and her husband, Spencer were
members of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church. It was she who on August 19, 1911, called
on Clyde Nisbeth to broach the idea of a Congregational Church in Chappaqua. In less than
a month (September 11) a small group - Clyde Nisbeth, Henry Pratt, Samuel Thompson, Dr. W.
W. Mills, and William R. Coffee - had met with Mrs. Turner at her home, and agreed on a
letter to be sent to residents of the community:
"You are cordially invited to attend a special church service on Sunday
afternoon, September 17th, at 3:30 o'clock. Upon the invitation of several residents of
Chappaqua, Rev. Arthur 0. Pritchard, one of the Pastors of the Westchester Congregational
Church will speak ... After the church service, there will follow an opportunity for free
and open discussion of the advisability of starting a Congregational Church in Chappaqua.
The Pastors of the flourishing Westchester Congregational Church of White Plains and
Scarsdale have been consulted and have expressed their enthusiasm over the outlook and
their willingness to cooperate."
The response to the September service and discussion held in the small white Baptist
Church on King Street was an agreement by 30 who attended to pursue the proposed
church-forming project for a period of 6 months. Out of this planning came a short term
arrangement with John J. Huber, of Dayton, Ohio, a graduate student at Union Seminary.
Space for services was secured at Hyatt's Auditorium, on the second floor of a building
near the corner of King and Greeley, which was reached by an outside iron stairway.
There were at the time only four churches in Chappaqua: the Friends Hicksite Meeting in
the old 1753 structure; the Friends Orthodox Meeting on King Street, the Episcopal Church
of St. Mary the Virgin, under Dr. Glendenin, son-in-law of Horace Greeley; and the Baptist
Church, served by a part-time lay preacher.
The enthusiasm engendered by hopeful beginnings, and kindled by Mr. Huber, led to a
decision to shorten the trial period to 4 months and to "gather the
congregation" on January 21, 1912. This old Congregational term signifies our
dependence on the Almighty, Who, through the Lord Jesus, does the gathering, and on Whom
the welfare of the venture ultimately depends. On that key Sunday, the Reverend John
Huber, "this outstanding young man received into the church, thirty-seven Charter
Members, of which twenty-four by confession of faith and thirteen by letter." While
not a resident minister, John Huber is included with the other full-time pastors.
Looking over the list of thirty-seven in our Pilgrim Church Register and Record, one is
impressed by the variety of denominations represented by those joining by letter, which no
doubt applied to those joining by confession of faith. This service must indeed have had
special excitement, since a dozen of the new members first received adult baptism and
seven children also were baptized.
The date and circumstances of the Covenant of First Church remain elusive, apart from the
fact that it was taken from the Kansas City Statement of Faith, adopted by the National
Council of Congregational Churches in 1913. It expresses our witness unity and continuity:
COVENANT
Believing in Jesus Christ as Our Redeemer and Lord, trusting in His Revelation of the
Loving Heavenly Father, acknowledging our dependence on the Holy Spirit, we covenant with
each other to worship and work together as loyal disciples of Jesus, to live among our
fellow men a life of righteousness and brotherly love, and to do all within our power to
promote the reign of God's will in all human relations.
During the next months and years, the new congregation was faced with limited membership
and resources and a two-fold task. First was to develop within the limits of Hyatt’s
Auditorium a meaningful program for the existing program and new members. The other was to
plan, finance, and build a new structure for the worship and work of the church.
One of the first active programs was the Ladies’ Aid under the presidency of Helen
Haviland, whose concern with fresh flowers for the front of the church led to the eventual
establishment of the Helen Haviland Fund to assure that First church would never worship
without them. She was well known as the long-time Sunday school superintendent.
Emilie Turner’s special role in the new church was the organization and development
of the choir. She recruited choir members and contributed a small organ for their
accompaniment.
At the first Annual Meeting on April 27, 1912, the following officers were elected:
Deacons:Clyde Nisbeth, Henry Pratt, Dr. W. W. Mills, Warren Matthews, E.C. Haviland, Fred
Sutton
Trustees: Samuel Thompson, Spencer Turner, William R. Coffee
Clerk: W. T. Lee
Treasurer: E. R. Pratt
Rev. Tiffany Otis Barnes, a graduate student at Union, provided ministerial leadership
until his death in 1918. The Barnes Memorial organ in the stone church was dedicated to
his memory.
In 1912, the Constitution was approved in April; the church was incorporated in July; the
Sunday School was initiated in October; weekly pledge cards for regular and mission
contributions were prepared; weekly invitations to attend were sent out; a pulpit supply
committee was instituted. Discussions were begun on construction of a new worship space.
Property on the northwest corner of Orchard Ridge and King Street was purchased for
$2,700, some of which was raised by selling coupons representing a square foot of land.
Sufficient funds were raised by August, 1914, when the ground-breaking tool place. The
cornerstone containing a Bible, membership and Sunday school lists, pictures, a church
calendar, and local newspapers was laid on October 24, 1914. Because this structure was
eventually to serve as the cellar of a larger church, the construction came to be called
The Undercroft. Fundraising was an important function of this effort; Ladies Aid sales,
fifty cents a plate dinners, and donations of supplies, time and talents as always were
contributed by members and friends of First Church.
The First World War, the death of Rev. Otis Barnes, the rural nature of the area and the
unattractiveness of the unfinished structure caused a slow in the influx of capital for
several years. The arrival of Dr. Dow B. Beane proved a necessary shot in the arm for the
struggling congregation. During his tenure from mid 1920 until 1926, the church, both the
structure and the membership, began to grow again. The completion of the auditorium above
the undercroft provided sufficient worship space, but less than ideal conditions for the
enhancement of worship through music. The congregation soon acquired an adequate (reed)
organ and enlarged the sanctuary area by adding a chancel and choir loft.
During 1930 one of First Church’s most effective and popular ministers, Rev. Galen
Russell began a pastorate that focused on the importance of lay leadership. He and his
wife were instrumental in sponsoring an interdenominational youth group for 15 to 25 year
olds known as the Hillside Club, the Men’s Club of Chappaqua, Girl Scout Troop #1,
and the Quaintance Club (predecessor to the popular Couples’ Club of the 1960’s)
and other activities that served to attract many new members. During his tenure, which
ended in 1943, membership increased by 50% and the budget had grown to almost $7000.
Growth in the ensuing years forced the congregation to begin the funding of an increase in
space. In 1945 a program was launched to fund the building of a new parish center.
The population increase soon to be called the baby boom caused the space-strapped the
church to send church school classes to the Friends Meeting House a block down King Street
or the Baptist Church even further down the street. The arrival of the dynamic Ken Nye
provided First Church with the impetus and excitement to embark on a project, which we now
appreciate as our current worship space, at the other end of Orchard Ridge Road at Bedford
Road.
Ground was broken for the Parish Center in April 1951, the cornerstone laid in September,
and the majority of the worship center completed by the following September. Members’
donation of labor and materials, as with the building of the old stone church, helped
bring in the project $1.00 under budget, even with the addition of the cost of the roof,
which was not in the original estimate. Members bought bricks a $1.00 each, laid tiled
floors painted walls and woodwork and moved the hymnals, baptismal font and pulpit from
one end of Orchard Ridge to the other.
Ken Nye’s chronology:
February 28, 1948 - Congregation authorized purchase of property - $7,500
February 28, 1949 – Authorization of fundraising campaign – pledges $79,000
May 30, 1950 – Construction of parish center authorized - $218,000
April 29, 1951 – Ground breaking service
September 23, 1951 – Cornerstone service for entire building (corner of Memorial
Room)
September 1952 – Parish center completed
Many new classrooms for church school and a new kitchen for the women’s society
fostered even more activity and growth at First Church. These spaces and the Parish Hall
were well used to house fund-raising dinners, Boy Scout Troop #2, the Christmas Fair and
Barn Sale.
By the mid fifties, First Church had again outgrown its space and was holding two worship
services and seating worshipers in the halls with loudspeakers transmitting the service to
those who could not be accommodated in the Parish Hall. A church population of almost 1000
was worshiping in a space intended to accommodate perhaps 250. In June 1955 a new
sanctuary with an east-west aspect, a chancel for the organ and choir and link containing
offices connecting it to the existing structure was dedicated. First Congregational Church
became the social and spiritual hub of the Protestant community in the area.
Once the physical worship needs of the congregation were met, Rev. Nye turned again to
improvement of its spiritual health. Rev. Alfred D. Moore was called as Associate Minister
of Visitation to assist him in ministering to the ever-increasing flock. In 1959, a
much-needed increase in available church school space and the completion of office and
choir and music rooms was undertaken. Membership had risen to nearly 1500 and Church
School enrollment had swelled to almost 1000. In 1960 Rev, Ed McLane arrived to sharpen
the focus on Christian Education. He is perhaps most famous for his "Commuter
Congregation" on the 7:05 to Grand Central Station.
This era with its change of the area’s demographics marked the end of the population
growth at First Church and the retirement of Ken Nye, who was replaced in 1965 by Dr.
Vernon Loescher. Activities begun during Rev. Nye’s tenure were continued and
extended – Couple’s Club added Fifties; Progressive Dinners became Holiday
favorites; and special Senior Citizen Dinners were held for St. Patrick’s day and
other holidays. In 1968 under the supervision of Edwin Biltcliffe, a much-needed new organ
was dedicated. The beautiful and edifying needlepoint panels that grace our sanctuary were
completed by the talented Congregational ladies during this period. Dr. Loescher’s
tenure also saw the revamping of the organizational structure of the church, establishing
the Church Council as the main governing body and giving various boards the
responsibility of managing various aspects of church life.
Dr. Loescher was replaced in the mid 1970’s by Richard Ryder. When Rev. Ryder decided
to move to Florida, Rev. Timothy Ives became and continues as First Congregational
Church’s spiritual leader.
Note that Dr. Rev. Tim Ives left The First
Congregational Church in 2004. |
