Allin Congregational Church

Allin Congregational Church is a historic United Church of Christ church in Dedham, Massachusetts. Built in 1818 by conservative breakaway members of Dedham's First Church and Parish, the current building was constructed in 1819 in the Greek Revival style.

Allin Congregational Church
Allin Congregational Church in 1941
LocationDedham, Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
DenominationUnited Church of Christ (1963–present)
Previous denominationCongregational Christian Churches (1931–1950s)
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (c. 1950s–1963)[1]
Websitewww.allinchurch.org
History
Former namesThe Orthodox Church (c. 19th century)
Founded1818
Architecture
StyleGreek Revival
Years built1819
Administration
DistrictMassachusetts Conference of the UCC
Clergy
Minister(s)Rev. Cheryl Kerr
Laity
Organist(s)C. Martin Steinmetz
Religious education coordinatorLindsay Popper
Parish administratorJane Hayes
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History

The preaching of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield helped to revive the churches of Dedham during the Great Awakening.[2] The theological debates that arose as a result, however, helped bring about a split in the churches into different denominations.[2] Allin Congregational Church was founded in 1818 when more conservative members of the First Church and Parish broke off from the increasingly liberal First Church.[3][4][5]

In the early 19th century, all Massachusetts towns were Constitutionally required to tax their citizens "for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety."[6] All residents of a town were assessed, as members of the parish, whether or not they were also members of the church. The "previous and long standing practice [was to have] the church vote for the minister and the parish sanction this vote."[7]

In 1818 "Dedham [claimed] rights distinct from the church and against the vote of the church."[7] The town, as the parish, selected a liberal Unitarian minister, Rev. Alvan Lamson, to serve the First Church in Dedham.[8] The members of the church were more traditional and rejected Lamson by a vote of 18–14.[8][9] When the parish installed and ordained Lamson, the more conservative or orthodox members left in 1818 decided to form a new church nearby.[8]

They first met across the street, in the former house of Jason Haven, a former pastor of First Church when it was still united.[3] In 1819, the current church building was constructed to meet the needs of the growing congregation.[3] At the time, First Church's building faced the street that Allin was on, so the two churches were facing each other. The church was officially incorporated in 1929.[10] The new congregation was initially called the Orthodox Church,[11][12] but was later renamed Allin Congregational Church after John Allin, the founder and first pastor of First Church.[3]

During the split, the departing members included Deacon Samuel Fales, who took parish records, funds, and the valuable silver used for communion with him.[13][14][8] Members of the First Church sued and the case, Baker v. Fales, reached the Supreme Judicial Court. The court ruled that "[w]hatever the usage in settling ministers, the Bill of Rights of 1780 secures to towns, not to churches, the right to elect the minister, in the last resort."[15]

The court held that the property had to be returned to First Church, setting a precedent for future congregational splits that would arise as Unitarianism grew.[13] The case was a major milestone in the road towards the separation of church and state and led to the Commonwealth formally disestablishing the Congregational Church in 1833.[16] The orthodox faction supposedly responded to the decision with the saying, "They kept the furniture, but we kept the faith."[13]

Despite the court ruling, the silver was not returned to First Church.[17] It remained hidden away until 1969 when it was donated to the Dedham Historical Society as a neutral third party.[17] Today it is on permanent loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, and replicas have been made for both churches.[18]

Allin Church joined the Congregational Christian Churches when the denomination was created in 1931. In the 1950s, the church became part of the conservative denomination the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, before leaving in 1963,[19] when it became part of the United Church of Christ.[3]

Organ

The organ at Allin Church is over 100 years old and contains 3,500 air-blown pipes.[20] Originally built in 1912 by Ernest M. Skinner for Appleton Chapel at Harvard University,[21] and some of the pipework was altered by Skinner in 1931.[20] The next year, Appleton Chapel was demolished and replaced by the current Memorial Church. The organ was put into storage, and in 1938 was installed at Allin Church by the Frazee Organ Co.[20] In 1958 R. Kershaw changed nine ranks of pipes and added a new coupler.[20] Today, the organ has 55 ranks of pipes and a repaired console which was added in 1999.[20] The current organist and Minister of Music at Allin Church, C. Martin Steinmetz, has been organist for over 50 years.[21]

List of ministers
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
  • Rev. Ebenezer Burgess (14 March 1821 – 13 March 1861)[22]
  • Rev. J. Frank Robinson (c. 1940s)[23]
  • Rev. Harry Butman (c. 1952)[24]
  • Rev. Elton W. Brown (c. 1963)[19]
  • Rev. Cheryl Kerr (14 June 2009– )[25]

Notable members

See also

References
  1. National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, 1963 handbook
  2. Lockridge 1985, p. 162.
  3. "Allin Church History (In Brief)". Allin Congregational Church. Archived from the original on 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. Rose, Harold Wickliffe (1964-01-01). The Colonial Houses of Worship in America: Built in the English Colonies Before the Republic, 1607–1789, and Still Standing. Hastings House.
  5. Robinson, David (1985). The Unitarians & the Universalists. Westport, CT: Greenwood Heinemann. p. 37. ISBN 0313248931. OCLC 233269204.
  6. "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Wikisource.com. 1780. Retrieved 2006-11-28. See Part the First, Article III.
  7. Ronald Golini. "Taxation for Religion in Early Massachusetts". www.rongolini.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  8. Sally Burt (2006). "First Church Papers Inventoried". Dedham Historical Society Newsletter (January). Archived from the original on December 31, 2006.
  9. Worthley, Harold Field (1970-01-01). An Inventory of the Records of the Particular (Congregational) Churches of Massachusetts Gathered 1620–1805. Harvard University Press.
  10. Smith 1936.
  11. Mayflower families through five generations: descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620. family of Henry Samson. General Society of Mayflower Descendants. 2006-01-01. p. 203. ISBN 9780930270308.
  12. The Genealogical Helper. Everton Publishers. 1991-01-01.
  13. Robinson 1985, p. 37.
  14. "UUA, United Church of Christ 'just friends,' say leaders". UU World Magazine. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  15. Eliphalet Baker and Another v. Samuel Fales, 16 Mass. 403
  16. Johann N. Neem (2003). "Politics and the Origins of the Nonprofit Corporation in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 1780–1820". Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 32 (3): 363. doi:10.1177/0899764003254593.
  17. "375 Years of History in Short". First Church and Parish in Dedham. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  18. Dedham Historical Society 2001, p. 28.
  19. "National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, 1963 handbook". archive.org. Commission on Publications. 1963. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  20. "Appendix 7: Offsite Visits" (PDF). First Parish in Concord. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-12-15.
  21. sfeijo@wickedlocal.com, Sara Feijo. "Allin Congregational Church organist celebrates 50 years at the keys". Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  22. New England Historic Genealogical Society (1905-01-01). Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Society. p. 409. rev%20ebenezer%20burgess.
  23. "Faith, Peace Outlined for Kiwanians". The Deseret News. 21 December 1950. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via Google Newspapers.
  24. Bendroth, Margaret (2015-08-12). The Last Puritans: Mainline Protestants and the Power of the Past. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469624013.
  25. "Cheryl Kerr Installation". Eventful. Retrieved 2016-09-22.

Works cites
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