The beginnings of our church coincided with the political beginnings of the town. The First Parish in Bedford, now Unitarian Universalist, called the first minister, Nicholas Bowes, who was ordained in 1730. Part of his settlement fee was a parcel of 16 acres upon which he built his home, known as the Domine Manse, a structure still standing (with renovations) at 110 The Great Road.
The fourth minister, The Rev. Samuel Stearns, began his ministry in the original meetinghouse (First Parish). During his pastorate (1796-1834), he organized a female seminary in 1797; the meetinghouse was rebuilt with pine from town forests devastated in the September gale of 1815; he organized a Sabbath School in 1818; and in 1833 the Trinitarians voted their separation from the First Parish and were holding services in the home of the pastor (now 26 The Great Road). The Trinitarian Society built a new meetinghouse on donated land directly across The Great Road.
The Rev. M. Frank W. Thompson (pastor from 1920-1946) was ordained as the pastor of the newly reincorporated Trinitarian Society in 1920, which now became The Church of Christ in Bedford. The two-family house built in 1829 and standing next door to the meetinghouse was renovated in 1920 to become the parsonage for the Thompson family, and it continues to this day to serve as “The Manse,” or minister’s home.
Following World War II, we saw Hanscom Air Force Base constructed, Route 128 developed, and a rapidly growing population. By 1958 the Church’s addition of Fellowship Hall to the meetinghouse gave class and meeting areas, offices, and kitchen.
It was during the pastorate of The Rev. Mr. Walter E. Wyman (1961-1969) that the congregation voted after careful study to become part of the United Church of Christ. At this time they adopted the present name, The First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Bedford. The exterior of the building was restored and the sanctuary was reconstructed to echo a colonial atmosphere. The service of rededication was on September 25, 1966.
During the pastorate of The Rev. Mr. Perry E. Haines, Jr. (1969-1980), we saw the revision of operating organization and adoption of new By-Laws; inclusion of an administrator and a Christian Nurture coordinator, expansion of the role of choir director-organist into that of a Minister of Music with multiple singing and ringing choirs and dramatic services and plays; and significant development of Junior High and Senior High Youth activity. In the 1970’s and early 1980’s First Church’s youth program served youth from most of the churches in town.
From November 1980 through March 2010, The Rev. Ms. Jamie R. Howard served as our 25th pastor. She came to a congregation blessed by stability in their lay staff, represented by a dedicated Administrative Assistant, Coordinator of Christian Nurture, and Minister of Music, and blessed with a willingness to engage in new experiences in worship and learning. During her pastorate the church has: undergone major (2001) and minor (1980’s) By-Law revisions; experienced major shifts in adult programming; continued to support the involvement of children and youth in all areas of church life; helped foster the development of an ecumenical Christmas family-to-family outreach program; helped create the Violence Prevention Coalition of Bedford; engaged in goal-setting workshops in 1981 and 1982 that led to a Parish Self-Appraisal in 1983 and to renovation and additions that created new classrooms and meeting spaces, new offices, a church parlor and library, new offices, better handicapped accessibility, and more.
The
congregation continues to be a welcoming community understanding of theological
diversity and supportive of ecumenical and interfaith ventures.
