Newton, Massachusetts. Central Congregational Church. Records, 1868-2003
Introduction
The Central Church in Newton closed its doors for the last time in December 2002 after several years of struggle. Membership started to decline after the 1940s, following the trend in this region for a smaller family. Central could not maintain membership necessary to keep the church running, so decided to close before their endowment was exhausted. The remaining members of the church decided to donate their records to the Congregational Library. Kenneth Frail was the church's representative in the transfer.
Timeline
| 1868 | Church organized, Chapel opened at Washington and Court Streets |
| 1870s-1930s | Church building continually expands |
| 1888 | Howe Young People’s Society organized |
| 1899 | Church incorporated |
| 1905 | Central Club organized |
| 1911 | Three separate organizations join to form the Woman’s Association |
| 1912 | Central Guild Organized |
| 1920 | Free-pew and voluntary contribution system adopted, Parsonage dedicated |
| 1948 | Church approves national merger of the Congregational Christian with Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ (not officially formed until 1957) |
| 1960 | UCC constitution approved of by church |
| 1971 | Cooperative with Newtonville Methodist Church begins; Central membership is approximately 380. Its peak in the 1940s was 1000 |
| 1975 | Parsonage is sold. Minister emeritus Randolph Merrill dies. |
| 1976 | Church faced deficit between $5,000 and $10,000 dollars due to decline in membership, and cuts down teaching role to Andover-Newton students |
| 1980 | Pastor William Tolley lead church in sponsoring two Vietnamese refugee families under the flag of helping end world hunger. Also, a task force to improve the building failed to push through. |
| 1982 | Church continued to solve its membership problem with Harvard professor Donald Oliver, who facilitated a survey to determine the community’s needs. |
| 1985 | Mary Lou Roadman acts as first female moderator in church’s history. The church was involved in peace activism, particularly targeting Ethiopia, U.S.S.R., and Nicaragua |
| 1987 | Task force on church growth and community dissolved after eight years |
| 1991 | New efforts were made to assess church needs and direction explored through a questionnaire |
| 1994 | The church revived its teaching status as a parish by supporting students from Andover-Newton again. |
| 1990s | Financial and membership problems continue |
| 1999 | Sunday school closed due to too few students |
| 2001 | Task force on the future of the church determined the church will have to close. The task force recommended consolidation with the other Congregational churches in Newton. However this recommendation was abandoned in 2002 when no one church could be agreed upon by the majority of the community. |
| 2002 | The task force on selling the building accepted the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church’s offer of $2,500,000 for the building, including the stained glass windows and organ. |
| 2003 | January 12 was the final service for the church |
This material was taken from pamphlets in Series VI, Box 32, folder 8. Refer to those items for a more complete timeline.
Ministers
| Joseph B. Clark | 1868-1873 |
| James R. Danforth | 1873-1874 |
| E. Frank Howe | 1876-1882 |
| Frank W. Gunsaulus | 1883-1885 |
| Pleasant Hunter, Jr. | 1886-1889 |
| David H. Taylor | 1890 |
| John M. Dutton | 1892-1899 |
| Ozora S. Davis | 1900-1904 |
| Jay T. Stocking | 1905-1914 |
| Abraham J. Muste | 1915-1918 |
| McIlyar H. Lichiter | 1919-1924 |
| Arthur M. Ellis | 1924-1931 |
| Randolph S. Merrill | 1931-1956 |
| Benjamin R. Andrews, Jr. | 1956-1962 |
| Robert J. Harding | 1963-1973 |
| Baldwin Callihan (interim) | |
| Ernest Heeren | 1973-1977 |
| Robert C. Senior (interim) | |
| William Tolley | 1978-1991 |
| Joan M. Haner | 1991-1993 |
| Robert Melhorn | 1993-1998 |
| Ann Suzedell (interim) | |
| Jeffrey Belcher | 1998-2001 |
| Joan Haner (interim) | 2001-2003 |
Scope and Content
Series I: Church Records, 1868-2003
This series includes committee minutes, annual minutes, by-laws, constitution, covenant of faith correspondence, financial, and building records. Many, especially earlier records, have all the afore mentioned types of records together in chronological order.
Series II: Membership, 1868-2002
This series includes baptisms, deaths, marriages, admission, and dismission in registries. There is also a comprehensive membership index file organized by last name. The baptism index is much less comprehensive. Researchers should check the registries first.
Series III: Ministers, 1883-2001
All files about all ministers, including interim, are here in alphabetical order. Not all ministers have files. There are also some files from pulpit search committees. This series also includes sermons
Series IV: Auxiliary and Social Groups - Includes Sunday School, 1869-2002
The most complete set of records for the Auxiliary groups is the Woman’s Association and its antecedents. Copies of the annual reports are included, although they are frequently found with the church’s annual report as well. The women’s groups are grouped together, sub-divided and in chronological order within the sub-divisions. Besides, the Woman’s Association, this series includes the Sunday school, music-related files, some Central Guild, and the Spiritual Life records. These records are listed first and in alphabetical order.
Series V: Newsletter, 1932-2002
The Courier was the Central Church’s newsletter. A copy of each issue was kept and is in chronological order.
Series VI: History, 1880-2002
While the documents in this series covers the years back to the founding of the church, the oldest document is from 1880. Included in the series are photographs, programs from events, orders of service, anniversary celebrations, histories of the church, biographies of some members, clippings, a list of World War II servicemen, and two folders about helping displaced persons in the 1950s and 1970s.
