History
Christ Church, Swansea, was incorporated as a parish under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on January 7, 1846. The first communicants were Elizabeth Slade, Sarah Slade, Susan Cole, Mr. & Mrs. William Pearse and John Mason, Esq., wardens, and John A. Wood, Joseph D. Nichols, Preserved S. Gardner, Benjamin H. Chase, and John E. Gray, vestryman.
The Rev. Amos D. McCoy, rector of the Church of the Ascension in Fall River, who had started to hold evening meetings in the old Union Meeting house as early as May, 1845, continued to lead this group in its spiritual struggles to build the foundations of a permanent church organization. These good men and women worked hard to hold the church together until funds might be raised to buy land and erect a church building. Finally, then money was raised as the records say “at home and abroad.” The land was purchased and a building committee appointed. This first church building was consecrated on December 2, 1847 by the Right Rev. Manton Eastburn, Bishop of Massachusetts. In January, 1848, the first rector, the Rev. John B. Richmond of Providence, Rhode Island, took charge and stayed until the end of 1851.
Christ Church, Swansea, was incorporated as a parish under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on January 7, 1846. The first communicants were Elizabeth Slade, Sarah Slade, Susan Cole, Mr. & Mrs. William Pearse and John Mason, Esq., wardens, and John A. Wood, Joseph D. Nichols, Preserved S. Gardner, Benjamin H. Chase, and John E. Gray, vestryman.
The Rev. Amos D. McCoy, rector of the Church of the Ascension in Fall River, who had started to hold evening meetings in the old Union Meeting house as early as May, 1845, continued to lead this group in its spiritual struggles to build the foundations of a permanent church organization. These good men and women worked hard to hold the church together until funds might be raised to buy land and erect a church building. Finally, then money was raised as the records say “at home and abroad.” The land was purchased and a building committee appointed. This first church building was consecrated on December 2, 1847 by the Right Rev. Manton Eastburn, Bishop of Massachusetts. In January, 1848, the first rector, the Rev. John B. Richmond of Providence, Rhode Island, took charge and stayed until the end of 1851.
Christ Church Parish was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth on January 7, 1846, as an Episcopal church of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts with the guidance of the Reverend Amos d. McCoy of the Church of the Ascension in Fall River. In a little more than two years, a few men and women were able to organize a parish, buy land, erect a church, and lay out a cemetery. For more than fifty years they managed to maintain the work of the church in a town with a population of never more than 2,000 and at least three other established churches.
The Ladies’ Society was formed in June of 1846. It held innumerable clambakes, suppers and lawn parties to provide money for the meager salaries of the rectors and to help the poor. Sometimes there was a rector living in the parish. Sometimes services were conducted by clergymen from Fall River. There were always those who cared for the altar, sand in the choir, called on the ill and the bereaved, and kept the church clean and warm. The parish survived. It was an achievement.
The year 1900 was a turning point. In 1858 there had come to live in Swansea Village a man who had made a fortune in the stagecoach business in California. Frank S. Stevens became a force in the burgeoning mill business in Fall River, served in the state and local governments, and was a member and a supporter of Christ Church. At his death in 1898, his widow was left to carry out the provisions of his will, one of which was a sum of money for a new church building. In 1899 the last service was held in the old church, a simple wooden building of the Romanesque design. One reporter of the event commented that there were tears in the eyes of many. Whether these were tears of joy at the contemplation of a new building or of sorrow for the loss of the household of memoires, no one presumed to ask. The old building was deconsecrated, sold and moved down the road for a new purpose.
There were no tears, however, on June 6, 1900. The weather was fine, and the people began to arrive early by horse and carriage to participate in the Service of Consecration. The town hall, not quite ten years old, was opened for the robing of the clergy and the choir, and many guests were entertained at the Stevens’ mansion across the street. When the doors opened for the eleven o’clock service, there not nearly enough seats for those assembled. All were invited to see the inside of the English Gothic granite building designed by the eminent architect Henry Vaughan. The Reverend Edward Benedict was called to officiate; for the first time in many years there would be a full-time rector. He and his wife devoted themselves with grace and energy to the services of the church and well-being and happiness of the community. Mr. Benedict died suddenly in 1907, but Mrs. Benedict spent the rest of her life in Swansea in joy dedication to her church. She started the Young Women’s Guild, later renamed the Katherine Benedict Guild, worked tirelessly for the Ladies’ Society, and was active in the Woman’s Auxiliary of the Diocese of Massachusetts. Together with her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius S. Hawkins, she provided the impetus for those devout members of the parish who joined with them to teach in the church school, form junior groups of girls and boys, sponsor a junior choir, and generally enliven the parish.
It was at this time, The first Episcopal worship, in the Pottersville section of Somerset, was conducted by the Reverend Edward Benedict, Rector of Christ Church in Swansea. It was held in a Pottersville barn on 14 May 1905. During the following two years, the mission purchased land and built a Church on Pratt Avenue, Somerset. Services were first held here on 3 March 1907. Shortly thereafter, the Ven. Samuel G. Babcock, Archdeacon of New Bedford, lead the worship until 1910. From 1910 through 1948 services were lead by the Rev. John Wynne Jones, followed by the Rev. Sherrill B. Smith, both of whom were also Rectors of Christ Church, Swansea.
Following the sudden death of the Reverend Benedict, the enthusiasm and leadership carried over into the rectorate of the Reverend John Wynne Jones, who was the first to occupy the new rectory in 1909. He loved the music of the liturgy and delighted in the excellent choir. Mary A Case, sister-in-law of Frank S. Stevens and sister of Elizabeth Case Stevens, took a special joy in providing a good choir director and finding young people with voices that would enhance the service. Father Jones, as he was affectionately called by people of many faiths, was widely known. Although he never owned a horse or a car, there was always someone with a carriage and later a car to take him on his rounds and to preach each Sunday at the Mission of Our Saviour in Somerset. Father Jones served until his death in 1938 at the age of eighty.
The years of World War II brought changes. There was rationing of gasoline, food and other fuel. Families stayed at home and renewed their community commitments. It happened that the superintendent of the public schools, Frank Chace, was s devout Episcopalian and a man of great energy. With the able help of his wife, he directed the church school, which grew apace. There Reverend Sherrill B. Smith lead a new teenage group dedicated to participate in the services of their church and participate in diocesan activities. It was a time of spiritual growth.
Before the Smiths left, the exodus of young families from the city to the country had begun. Thus when the Reverend Francis H. Glazebrook and his family arrived in 1952, the congregation happily embraced his idea of forming the Christ Church Day School for preschool children. The church school also expanded and flourished.
It was about this time that the Harvest Festival began. For over six decades this has been a time of reunion, celebration, and opportunity to interact with the community of Swansea. It was and continues to be a source of income for Christ Church. An outgrowth of the festival is “The Harvester,” a newspaper or booklet published yearly since 1964, with the exception of the pandemic year of 2020. It contains articles of historical and current interest and is widely read and collected by schools and libraries.
In the summer of 1964, the parish was shocked by the accidental death of Father Glazebrook, and decided to install a stained-glass window in his memory. From this beginning a series of memorial windows on the life and ministry of Christ were executed by Charles Connick Associates of Boston. Farther Glazebrook’s successor, the Reverend Allen Webster Joslin, was particularly interested in the completion of this project.
Father Joslin, working with Martha Griffiths, the church’s devoted and innovative organist and choir director, gave the parish an appreciation of the beauty and order of the Episcopal liturgy. Special services, whether memorial or celebration, were always uplifting experiences. Patiently and effectively he worked with the congregation through the various forms of the trial liturgy to a general acceptance of the 1970 Book of Common Prayer.
There Reverend Edward C. Boucher came to Christ Church in 1981. In a very short time he and his wife, Holly, became valued members of the parish family. In response to the hopes of the vestry and the committee that called him, Father Boucher stated his eagerness to enter the heart of the parish family as his processors had done before him. It was with same enthusiasm for parish life the Reverend Elizabeth Grundy, 24th Rector, was called and served for 10 years.
In 2006 we made church history with the installation of our first female rector Rev. Elizabeth Grundy and our first female Senior Warden Diane Stains.
The Reverend Alan R. Hesse was called to serve the parish in September 2017. He and his family, Dr. Timothy T. Orwig and their son, William E. Orwig Hesse embrace the people of Christ Church and the Village of Swansea. Under his leadership, there has become a clear focus on outward mission, connecting mission with other churches and parishes, connection to the Diocese while maintaining a zeal for good and faithful worship. During the COVID-19 days of the 2020-2021 pandemic, not one service or Holy Day was missed. Worship services were carried live from the sanctuary of Christ Church or the church grounds. Every service was simulcast to the public via quickly emerging technology of the time. This has been unique across many houses of faith.
Founded by a few Methodists, a few Baptists, and a few Episcopalians, this parish struggled through the nineteenth century supported by the descendants of the original founds. In 1903 the number of baptized persons was only 100; by 1925 that number had doubled. The postwar migration from city countryside caused a growth to 366 members. The size of the parish membership shifts and changes with society’s ever changing commitment to church life. What has never shifted over the 175 + years, is Christ Church’s willingness to remain faith to the Gospel message and commitment to Christ Jesus.
