history of the north congregational church

The first European settlers arrived in New Salem in 1737 and built the first meetinghouse in 1739 with the help of the town of Hadley. In the earlier days, New Salem was a poor, isolated town. By 1800, that population doubled to nearly 2000 within 25 years. At that time, most of the people there attended services at the First Church in New Salem Center.

As the town grew in population, especially in the northern part of town, the people realized that residents in the North were traveling a long distance for church. In 1802, the First Parish committee established a North End Society and meetings began in homes to give northern residents a closer place of worship. In 1807, a meetinghouse was built on Fay Road, then moved to its present location about a mile away, to the center of the North New Salem Village in 1836.

As the First Parish was drifting towards Unitarianism, the North Church declaired itself Trinitarian in 1824 and separated from the Parish. From 1843-1867, the pulpit was served by preachers form various denominations. The church was in the Methodist denomination from 1867-1879. By 1883, pastors from the Central Congregational Church began serving this church.

In 1902, the North Congregational Church was rededicated and re-organized a Congregationalist Society. The pulpit was served by laymen, then shared pastors with Mission Covenant Church from 1949-1961. In 1961, the church hired Richard Seawright as its first full-time pastor.

After using guest preachers from 1968-1970, the church called on Pastor Ted Boren as its second full-time pastor. Pastor Boren has been with us ever since. He and his wife Janet founded the North New Salem Christian School in 1973, and it continued until 2002. On December 30th, 2001, the church voted to adopt a new constitution which established elders. The church continues to be served by deacons and deaconesses.

From 1802 to Present.