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In September of 1801 Abraham Marland and his wife, Mary Sykes,
sailed from Liverpool, England, to America to establish themselves
there. The only resources Marland had to sustain him through
were some bales of woolen cloth in the hold and in his pocket,
his mother’s Book of Common Prayer. Although Mrs. Marland
had died when Abraham was only four and he lived with his
uncle, whose family were dissenters (from the Anglican Church);
his mother’s faith had become part of him. He vowed
to establish his mother’s church if he prospered in
the new world. And prosper he did. In 1807 after successful
ventures he came to Andover to live. |
In 1834 the Marland Manufacturing Company was established in Andover.
Abraham’s dream of an Episcopal Church became a reality. At
the instigation of Mr. Marland, Episcopal services began as early
as 1833, but it was not until August of 1835 that the proposed parish
began to take shape. On August 6 the Episcopal Society of Andover
appointed its first wardens and vestry with Abraham serving as Warden.
From the first white church dedicated in 1837 to the present structure,
Christ Church has benefited from the generosity of the Marland family.
Their gifts have included the land on which the first church was
built and one-half the expense of the building and its furnishings,
the land for the burying ground, the Marland rectory and the Marland
coin silver communion service.
In December 1835 South Church permitted the Right Reverend Alexander
Griswold, Bishop of Massachusetts, to conduct a Christmas service
according to the Episcopal rite. Bishop Griswold invited the entire
congregation to receive communion and many responded.
The first church was a neo-Classical wooden building with four
fluted columns crowned by a wooden bell tower. Bishop Alexander
Griswold consecrated it on October 31, 1837. On November 1, the
Rev. Samuel Fuller, Jr. was instituted as the first rector. Mr.
Fuller used the Rose Cottage across the street from the church
as the rectory. It was from the steps of the Rose Cottage that
Lafayette addressed the residents of Andover in 1825.
Over the years the church building received various improvements.
In 1851 a rooms were provided for Sunday school, the chancel was
enlarged. Consideration had been give to the building of a new
and larger church. In August of 1885 the Parish of Christ Church
received a letter from John Byers, a former parishioner who lived
in New York. He volunteered $25,000 in memory of his mother and
father and his offer was accepted. Plans were made for the new
church then disaster struck. On February 28, 1886, the old church
burnt to the ground. Parishioners rushed in and saved the original
Communion table. Wind and extreme temperatures were factors in
the total loss of the church. All else was destroyed. The destruction
of the old church by fire turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The new church would be built at the same sight as the old. The
architects for the new church were Hartwell and Richardson, well-known
Boston architects. The parish met in the Town Hall during the
construction of the new church. The consecration of the new church
was on January 4, 1887.The entire cost of construction ($42,000)
was funded by Mr. Byers.
The Rev. Frederick Palmer ushered the parish into the twentieth
century, serving as rector from 1888 to 1913. The Rev. Charles
W. Henry, rector from 1913 to 1937, conceived the idea of a community
church to serve the residents of Shawsheen Village, a northerly
section of Andover. He received permission from Bishop Samuel
G. Babcock to organize and officiate with other Protestant clergymen,
at “undenominational” services. The Rev. Albert C.
Morris, rector from 1937 to 1941, encouraged the establishment
of the Andover Thrift Shop.
In February of 1941 a small group of women, under the chairmanship
of Mrs. Carolyn Howe, opened the Andover Thrift Shop to benefit
Christ Church. It has become one of the church’s most successful
fund-raising ventures. A chapel was completed in 1959 and named
for the Rev. John S. Moses rector from 1942-1959. During the term
of the Rev. J. Edison Pike (1959-1980) the town and the church
grew rapidly. A new education building with the Meeting Room (donated
by the Andover Thrift Shop), North Chapel and 12 classrooms, a
new kitchen, sacristy and robing room were built to accommodate
the expanding parish. Under Mr. Pike’s guidance, strong
community outreach programs were developed, including the Christ
Church Weekday Nursery and the Christ Church Professional Nursery
for the Handicapped, refugee resettlement, and a closer working
relationship with other community churches.
In December 1981 the Rev. James A. Diamond was instituted as
Christ Church Rector of until 1999. Mr. Diamond’s ministry
emphasized the sacramental nature of faith within increased offerings
of Holy Communion and Healing and Anointing services. Under Mr.
Diamond’s leadership, Christ Church expanded outreach programs,
such as Bread & Roses, Neighbors in Need, and Greater Lawrence
Habitat for Humanity. A midweek service was begun on Wednesday
mornings and continues today. In January of 2001 the Rev. Dennis
Jarry became the thirteenth rector of Christ Church. His service
to Christ Church was cut short by his tragic death in December
of the same year. Christ Church and the Rev. Jeffrey Shilling
Gill will complete a three-year Priest-in-Charge transitional
period in September 2005 and he will become the fourteenth rector
on September 15th.
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