The Congregational Church in Exeter is a parish of the United Church of Christ located on Front Street in Exeter, New Hampshire. The congregation was first gathered in 1638 by the Rev.

John Wheelwright John Wheelwright (c. 1592–1679) was a Puritan clergyman in England and America, noted for being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Antinomian Controversy, and for subsequently establishing the town of Exeter, New Hamps ...

following his expulsion from the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

. The current congregation is a merger of the former First Parish and Second Parish of Exeter. Second Parish split from First Parish in the 1700s during the

Great Awakening Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...

over theological differences. The two congregations then reunited in 1920.

Nicholas Gilman Nicholas Gilman Jr. (August 3, 1755May 2, 1814) was an American Founding Father, a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and a signer of the U.S. Constitution, represent ...

, a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

, was a member of the church. During the schism of the two congregations,

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

was founded by John Phillips and other members of the Second Parish. The current Phillips Exeter Academy chapel now occupies the building of the former Second Parish. Church member

Amos Tuck Amos Tuck (August 2, 1810 – December 11, 1879) was an American attorney and politician in New Hampshire and a founder of the Republican Party. Early life and education Born in Parsonsfield, Maine, August 2, 1810, the son of John Tuck, a ...

was keenly involved in early efforts to address the abolition of slavery, and held meetings on the subject at the church. Today, the church has an active membership, a

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

, and various mission and outreach programs. The current Senior Pastor is author and minister the Rev. Dr. E. Carrington Heath. The congregation is a member of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

. It has been an Open and Affirming (actively welcoming LGBTQ people) congregation since 1996. They are also partnered with a church in Pfizda,

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, and work to help prepare housing for refugees settling in New Hampshire, and give to a number of local non-profits. The current building, located at 21 Front Street in

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

, was built in 1798 and can seat 400 people. It is the fifth meeting house built by the congregation, and was designed by Ebenezer Clifford, a local builder. The building has a number of distinctive features. Its

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

is believed to be the earliest such roof built on a church in the state, and its only entrances were through the projecting entrance bay (unlike earlier traditional meeting houses, which had entrances on three sides). In 1838 the interior of the building was remodeled, removing

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in chu ...

s, and converting the gallery to a full second floor. The sanctuary is now located on the upper level, with meeting rooms and other facilities below. An addition was made to the rear of the church in 1930, giving it a more square footprint. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1971 as The Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) and alternately The First Church. It is included in the Front Street Historic District. Notable items inside the church include the pew in which

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

sat when he came to visit his son at the nearby

, a portrait of Lincoln, and a portrait of the Rev. Wheelwright. The church sanctuary organ is an

Aeolian-Skinner Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866– ...

with three manuals and 20 ranks of pipes, dedicated in 1951. There is a small, working memorial garden at the side of the church, in which are also buried town fathers Folsom and Gilman. In literature, the church building figures in

John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to G ...

's 1989 novel ''

A Prayer for Owen Meany ''A Prayer for Owen Meany'' is the seventh novel by American writer John Irving. Published in 1989, it tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960s. ...

''. Irving grew up in the congregation.

References

External links

The Congregational Church in Exeter, UCC
- official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Congregational Church in Exeter Buildings and structures in Exeter, New Hampshire United Church of Christ churches in New Hampshire Congregational churches in New Hampshire Churches in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Historic district contributing properties in New Hampshire Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Churches completed in 1798 18th-century churches in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire

See also

References

External links