First Church of Christ, Wethersfield

First Church of Christ, Wethersfield
2009 photo
First Church of Christ, Wethersfield is located in Connecticut
First Church of Christ, Wethersfield
Location within Connecticut
General information
Architectural styleGeorgian Colonial
Address250 Main Street
Town or cityWethersfield, Connecticut
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°42′46″N 72°39′07″W / 41.7129°N 72.6520°W / 41.7129; -72.6520
Completed1761
Website
www.FirstChurch.org

The First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, is an American Colonial Era church located in the Old Wethersfield Historic District of Wethersfield, Connecticut. The congregation was founded in 1635, and the cemetery dates from the 1600s, but the current Georgian-style, brick meetinghouse, with its distinctive white steeple, was built in 1761.[1] The interior of the current meetinghouse was built as a transverse church [de], altered considerably in 1838 and 1882, but returned to the original layout in 1971–1973.[2]

Background

According to a plaque at the tower entrance door, George Washington attended church here on May 20, 1781, during a conference with Count de Rochambeau at the nearby Joseph Webb House to plan the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War.[3]

In 1774, John Adams visited Silas Deane, Wethersfield merchant and envoy to France, and subsequently wrote in his diary: “We went up the steeple of Wethersfield meeting-house, from whence is the most grand and beautiful prospect in the world, at least that I ever saw.”[4]

The church, equipped with an Austin organ, hosted the first eighteen years of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival [Wikidata]. This competition for young organists has been held annually since 1998 in the Hartford area, and was co-founded by First Church music minister David Spicer.[5]

The congregation was affiliated with the United Church of Christ from 1961 through 2004 when the congregation overwhelmingly voted to break away citing theological and social differences, including gay marriage.[6]

References

  1. ^ "The First Church of Christ". Wethersfield Historical Society.
  2. ^ The Meetinghouse, The First Church of Christ in Wethersfield
  3. ^ Photo of George Washington plaque, May 31, 2009
  4. ^ Daniel (June 22, 2007). "First Church of Christ, Wethersfield (1761)". Historic Buildings of Connecticut. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  5. ^ "Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival". FirstChurch.org. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Wethersfield Church Breaks Affiliation". Hartford Courant. June 7, 2004. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
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