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TRINITY CHURCH WAS FOUNDED IN 1963
When eight women gathered around a dining room table on the morning of September 13th, 1961, none had any idea that, with this group, God was beginning a work in Bolton that would lead to the formation of Trinity Church, Congregational. The eight women, from different backgrounds and denominations, had come to the home of Ralph and Olive Daman on Whitcomb Road, united by a common desire to study the Bible. The effect of the weekly studies was so evident in these women's lives that similar teaching was desired by their families.
By October 16, 1963, twenty-three children had enrolled for Sunday School classes held at the home of Thomas and Ruth Johnston, and a week later a men's Bible class was formed at the home of Clyde and Barbara Wheeler on Old Bay Road. Many people involved in these studies began to experience the desire to worship together as families, while other people from Bolton, hearing of the studies, wanted to join the group and form a church.
At the same time, Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland was considering sponsoring some kind of mission outreach. When Dr. Donald Ewing, pastor of Trinitarian, heard of the Bolton group, (some of whose members were attending the Wayland church), he met with the group and discussions began regarding the possibility of forming a "mission church" in Bolton, with the initial help and support of Trinitarian. On October 5, 1963, at the Wheeler home, several families pledged to worship together as a congregation, and the first service was held on October 20, 1963 at the home of Paul and Barbara Weatherbee on Harvard Road. Dr. Ewing, who had agreed to paster the fledgling church until a full-time pastor could be found, conducted the service.
On Saturday, November 16, 1963, the entire congregation met and voted to accept the church covenant and the name Trinity Church, Congregational. At the same meeting it was agreed to purchase the Seaman farm on Wattaquadock Hill Road. The farm included seven acres of land, a house which would become the old parsonage, and a barn which would be the future sanctuary of the church. In bitterly cold weather, in the unheated barn lit by gasoline lanterns , a service of dedication was held on the evening of December 8, 1963. Two weeks later, on December 26, the church was officially incorporated.
Renovation of the house and barn continued throughout the following year, with the barn being completed as the new sanctuary by June. Later that year, Rev. John West, from Kentucky, was called as the first full-time pastor. He was successed by Rev. David Libby in 1969 and in June, 1976 John Crighton became Trinity's third pastor.
Trinity Church has grown rapidly. In 1974, an educational building was completed and six years later a second floor, used as a temporary sanctuary, awas added. On June 8 a ground-breaking ceremony was held to mark the start of the construction of an enlarged permanent sanctuary. The sanctuary is the architectural stye of the WEst Parish Meetinghouse in W. Barnstable, Massachusetts, which being completed by 1719, is the oldest Congregational building in America. By the fall of 1986 approximately 300 people were attending worship services on Sunday morning.
From its humble beginnings to the present time the 'heartbeat' of Trinity Church has been expressed in it's covenant: "We covenant with the Lord and with one another and do bind ourselves in the presence of God to walk together in his holy ways. We will strive to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, to be firm in faith, quickened in hop and constant in charity. And we will consecrate our time, talent, substance and influence as heirs of God and with Christ. Amen."
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