Church History

1791

• Greenfield, New Hampshire was incorporated.
• At the first Town Meeting an amount of “thirty pounds was voted for preaching.
• The Church was organized with 28 members as the Church of Christ in Greenfield
• It was a congregational in polity, bound together by a covenant, a statement of faith and articles of discipline.

1795

• The Greenfield Meeting House was built by both the town and the church.

1891

• The New Hampshire Legislature passed the “Religious Tolerance act”.

• The church reorganized as the Congregational Church of Greenfield, keeping it’s original creed and covenant and adding a temperance pledge.

1848-49

• The Sanctuary was built on the second floor which had previously been a balcony.

1852

• The Sanctuary was dedicated to the worship of the Almighty God.

1959

• A 50 year lease agreement was signed between the town and church which specified the sanctuary level for the church use and included the downstairs area for church fellowship activities on Sundays.

1961

• The Congregation voted to join the newly formed United Church of Christ.

1999

• Because of an increasing uneasiness with many positions the U.C.C. had taken the congregation voted to leave the denomination.

2001

• After a comprehensive analysis of denominational options, the congregation voted to join the Evangelical Covenant Church.

2005

• Church leadership began negotiations with the town, because the lease was to run out in three years.
• Voters of Greenfield overwhelmingly approved the agreement between the church and the Board of Selectmen, with only about 10 of the 150 attendees opposed.
• The opposition enlisted the help of Americans United for Separation of Church and state, which suggested the possibility of legal action.
• The congregation decided they did not want to put the town through a protracted lawsuit.

2007

• The congregation voted to purchase land and construct a new church building.