CONGREGATION GATHERED 1788
In 1788, a small group of men and women, all members of churches in their former towns, met at the home of John and Sarah Cummings to make plans for a church in Hancock. Prior to this time, preaching services had been held three or four times a year in private homes and barns. 10 men and 7 women signed the original covenant on August 28, 1788.
FIRST MEETINGHOUSE BEGUN 1789
The first Meetinghouse was built on land donated by James Hosley, one of the original members of the church. Hosley also donated land for a town common and burial ground. Those who helped raise the structure’s frame on September 16, 1789 were well-provisioned. Months in advance, Seth Hadley had been directed to procure three barrels of New England rum and store it for the occasion. A committee was appointed to provide two barrels of beer, “and all the needfull vesals for holding and carring the drink.” The structure resembled a large two-story dwelling and the following spring “pew ground” (that is, the floor space where pews were to stand) was sold at auction.
FIRST PASTOR CALLED 1790
Reed Paige, a native of Hardwick, Massachusetts and a graduate of Dartmouth College, was called as the town’s first settled minister in 1790. Ordained in Hancock in 1791, Paige served until the time of his death in 1816. The house that he built for his family still stands at the bottom of Norway Hill.
MEETINGHOUSE BURNS 1819
On October 28, 1819, the Meetinghouse burned to the ground. According to local lore, a young boy stopped near the Meetinghouse and set down the bucket of coals he was carrying from the blacksmith shop to the schoolhouse because it was too hot in his hands. The building went up in flames and was a total loss.
SECOND MEETINGHOUSE ERECTED 1820
After the fire in 1819, the town and the congregation organized quickly to replace the Meetinghouse. They decided to build a much grander structure, patterning it after the Meetinghouse that had recently been erected in Dublin. There was some debate as to where it should be sited, but in the end, they decided to locate it on the same spot. Thirty years the building would be moved.
REVERE AND SON BELL INSTALLED 1820
The 1193 pound bell that rings still marks the hours in Hancock today was cast by Paul Revere’s son Joseph in 1820, one of 398 bells cast by members of the Revere family between 1792 and 1828. Revere bells are typically 77% copper, 21% tin, and a small percentage of unintentional impurities such as zinc, lead, and nickel. Revere is said to have sometimes added a pinch of silver to his alloy, in keeping with the superstition that a bit of silver adds a a nice tone.
SECOND PASTOR SETTLED 1822
After the death of Rev. Paige, the Hancock Church went without a settled minister for six years. To the congregation’s great relief, Archibald Burgess accepted the call and was ordained in December of 1822. It was during Burgess’ tenure that the Vestry was built. Burgess served as President of Hancock Academy which held classes in the Vestry. He as also interested in foreign missions and wrote a scholarly book on the subject of baptism.
VESTRY BUILT 1836
When the 1820 Meetinghouse proved cold in the winter, the members of the Hancock Congregational Church decided to build the brick building we now know as the Vestry in order to have a more congenial place for winter worship. Until some years after the Civil War, the first floor of the Vestry was fitted with pew slips. The second story was dedicated to classroom space and served for many years as home to the Hancock Academy.
LADIES CENT SOCIETY FORMED 1844
All women willing to pay fifty-two cents a year were invited to become founding members of The Ladies Cent Society in 1844. Thirty two women responded and for fifty years, the members of this organization offered generous support to various mission endeavors. In the mid-1890s the surviving members merged with the Ladies Sewing Circle. Well into the 1970s, this group met regularly to sew and sell their wares for the benefit of those in need.
MEETINGHOUSE MOVED 1851
We’re not exactly sure how they did it–no doubt is took lots of logs, oxen, strong backs, and probably some strong rum–but in 1851, the citizens of Hancock decided to move the Meetinghouse from its original position on the Town Common and line it up with the Vestry building. It remains in this position today.
YOUNG PEOPLE’S SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR ORGANIZED 1885
Part of a national movement headquartered in Boston, this group for young adults (and later a Junior Society for youth) had a thirty year run in Hancock (1885-1915). The Society’s purposes were to promote earnest Christian life among members, increase their mutual acquaintance, and make them more useful in service to God.
ORGAN INSTALLED 1929
The earliest congregationalists were austere in their musical taste. The only songs they allowed were ones with words taken directly from the Book of Psalms. By the 19th century, rousing new hymns had become standard and in 1929, the church acquired a pipe organ to accompany its hymnsinging. Initially, the organ pipes were painted gray.
JOINED THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 1958
It was a controversial decision, initially voted down and a factor in one pastor’s resignation, but the Hancock Church did finally decide, to join the newly formed denomination known as The United Church of Christ. A merger of four Protestant denominations of the Reformed branch of the Protestant tradition, the UCC today has approximately 5,100 churches and 1.1 million members.
MEETINGHOUSE RESTORED 2014
The first major restoration of the Meetinghouse in over a century was competed in 2014. The project cost $1.3 million dollars and included replacement of the slate roof, improvements to the structural stability of the first floor and bell tower, as well as the addition of a vertical lift, restrooms, and a more efficient heating system.
CHURCH and COVID 2020
OPEN and AFFIRMING 2022
CURRENT PASTOR CALLED 2023
There have been 28 settled pastors (and many supply, bridge, and interim ministers) who have served the Hancock Church. 26 of them have been male. In 2020, the congregation broke with that tradition and voted to call The Rev. Judith Copeland as its first female Pastor and Teacher. Like the church’s very first pastor, Reed Paige, Judy is a graduate of Dartmouth College. Oct. 1, 2022 The Rev. Elizabeth Simmons was called to lead the church into the future. A future that has promised is reimaging church for the people of today. We love our history and tradition, and we need to be relevant for today.