Allin Congregational Church

Part of a series on
Dedham, Massachusetts
History
1635–1792 1793–1999 2000-present TV and film
People
John Allen Fisher Ames John Andrew Barnes, III Louis Brandeis Samuel Dexter Ted Donato Leon A. Edney Henry B. Endicott Katherine Endicott Jonathan Fairbanks Jason Fairbanks William B. Gould I Connie Hines Reggie Lewis Horace Mann Sacco and Vanzetti Richard Everett
Places
Fairbanks House Dedham Community House Mother Brook Old Avery Oak Tree Endicott Estate MIT Endicott House Wilson Mountain Reservation
Organizations
Horse Thief Society St. Mary's Church St. Susanna Church Allin Congregational Church Public Service Recognition Award
Schools
Dedham Public Schools Dedham High School Noble and Greenough School Rashi School Ursuline Academy

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.

History

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.^[2][3] The members were protesting the selection by the church membership of a liberal candidate to be the new pastor.^[4] They first met across the street, in the former house of Jason Haven, a former pastor of First Church when it was still united.^[2] The new congregation was initially called the Orthodox Church,^[5][6] but was later renamed Allin Congregational Church after John Allin, the founder and first pastor of First Church.^[2]

In 1819, the current church building was constructed to meet the needs of the growing congregation.^[2] 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.^[7]

At the time of its establishment, Allin Congregational Church was more conservative than its neighbor, First Church.^[2] By the 20th century, First Church was no longer Congregational, but Unitarian. Allin Church remained Congregational, and 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,^[8] when it became part of the United Church of Christ.^[2]

Organ

The organ at Allin Church is over 100 years old and contains 3,500 air-blown pipes.^[9] Originally built in 1912 by Ernest M. Skinner for Appleton Chapel at Harvard University,^[10] and some of the pipework was altered by Skinner in 1931.^[9] 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.^[9] In 1958 R. Kershaw changed nine ranks of pipes and added a new coupler.^[9] Today, the organ has 55 ranks of pipes and a repaired console which was added in 1999.^[9] The current organist and Minister of Music at Allin Church, C. Martin Steinmetz, has been organist for over 50 years.^[10]

List of ministers

• Rev. Ebenezer Burgess (14 March 1821 – 13 March 1861)^[11]
• Rev. J. Frank Robinson (c. 1940s)^[12]
• Rev. Harry Butman (c. 1952)^[13]
• Rev. Elton W. Brown (c. 1963)^[8]
• Rev. Cheryl Kerr (14 June 2009– )^[14]

Notable members

• Warren Fales Draper's father was a deacon of the church, and Draper attended as a child.

See also

• First Church of Christ, Scientist (Dedham, Massachusetts)
• St. Mary's Church (Dedham, Massachusetts)
• St. Susanna Church (Dedham, Massachusetts)

External links

• Church website

References

1. ↑ title=National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, 1963 handbook
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Allin Church History (In Brief)". Allin Congregational Church. Retrieved 2016-09-23. 
3. ↑ 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. 
4. ↑ Worthley, Harold Field (1970-01-01). An Inventory of the Records of the Particular (Congregational) Churches of Massachusetts Gathered 1620-1805. Harvard University Press. 
5. ↑ 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. 
6. ↑ The Genealogical Helper. Everton Publishers. 1991-01-01. 
7. ↑ Smith, Frank (1936-01-01). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. 
8. 1 2 "National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, 1963 handbook". archive.org. Retrieved 2016-09-22. 
9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Appendix 7: Offsite Visits" (PDF). First Parish in Concord. 2003. 
10. 1 2 sfeijo@wickedlocal.com, Sara Feijo. "Allin Congregational Church organist celebrates 50 years at the keys". Retrieved 2016-09-24. 
11. ↑ Society, New England Historic Genealogical (1905-01-01). Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Society. 
12. ↑ "Faith, Peace Outlined for Kiwanians". The Deseret News. 21 December 1950. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via Google Newspapers. 
13. ↑ Bendroth, Margaret (2015-08-12). The Last Puritans: Mainline Protestants and the Power of the Past. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469624013. 
14. ↑ "Cheryl Kerr Installation". Eventful. Retrieved 2016-09-22.