1824

August: Rev. Daniel A. Clark is invited by residents of North Amherst to conduct religious services.

1826

A parish organization, the Congregational Union Society of Amherst, is formed by 59 individuals, eight of whom were women, either widows or those owning property in their own name, who had no vote in parish meetings.

January 25: A church fund is formed, with subscribers pledging money and land to create a permanent fund to support the preaching of the gospel. Two conditions are attached to expending the income derived from the fund: that it shall be used only for the support of a minister who conforms to the Westminster Assembly’s Shorter Catechism and that the meeting house always be located within 50 yards of the original (and present) site.  June 8: First parish meeting and election of officers of the society: Moderator, Oliver Dickinson; clerk, Charles Cooley; treasurer, Chester Dickinson; parish committee, Joseph Cowles, Noah Smith, Jr., Daniel Dickinson; assessors, Daniel Russell, Jr., Jonathan Cowls, Ashley Hubbard.

Joseph Cowls donates land and Oliver Dickinson funds and superintends the building of the church. Construction is supervised by Winthrop Clapp of Montague. Among the conditions Mr. Dickinson included in conveying pews in the church to purchasers was the stipulation that the pew world be forfeited if any Negro or mulatto was admitted to the possession or occupancy of it.

November 10: Oliver Dickinson, Chester Dickinson and Jonathan Cowls pay George H. Holbrook $324.60 for a steeple bell and its installation. The bell is warranted from breakage for one year. November 15: An ecclesiastical council meets at the house of Joseph Cowles organizes the church. Rev. Heman Humphrey, second president of Amherst College, moderates and a confession of faith and covenant are adopted. Letters of dismission and recommendation from 47 persons are accepted. The council adjourns to the church building and at 11:00am the meeting house is dedicated.

December 20: First regular meeting of the church and election of officers: Clerk, Daniel Dickinson; deacons, Daniel Russell, Jr., Ransom Dickinson; treasurer, Ransom Dickinson.

1827

January: Communion services are initiated, to be held the first Sunday of every second month. The Sunday School is organized in the spring. Until stoves were installed in the church the school was regularly suspended from Thanksgiving until the first Sunday in May. March 7: Rev. William W. Hunt (1796-1837), “not only a rare preacher, but a model pastor” is installed as the first pastor.

On April 2 the first child is baptized and on April 5, the church’s first recorded gift, there is a special collection taken “in behalf of the suffering Greeks.” April 11 the first wedding (Joel Parker and Harriet Kellog) is held. On April 27 a collection is taken to procure a library for the Sunday School.

1828

December 8: The parish votes to raise $12 for support of sacred music and to pay Jonathan Cowls $19 for a bass viol.

1830

Oliver Dickinson agrees to drop the clause in pew deeds that denies blacks the privelege of a seat.  October 25: The parish votes to raise $75 for the support of a singing school.

1831

A revival brings 35 new members. March 17: By act of the General Court, the name of the the Congregational Union Society of Amherst is changed to Amherst North Parish.

1832

Oliver Dickinson purchases a communion set ("two plated flagons, 10 plated cups, 2 plated platters") from John B. Jones, Washington Street, Boston, for $75.53.

1833

Pastor Hunt's name tops the list of founders of the Anti-Slavery Society in Amherst.

1834

Money is first raised for parish expenses, by voluntary subscription.

1835

January: Stoves are added to heat the church at a cost of $83.23 (raised by subscription).

1837

Contributions to the American Tract Society, the anti-slavery movement and foreign missions. Monday concerts initiated to raise income for missions.

July 5: The Female Sewing Circle is established with Mrs. Hunt as president.  It is the custom for one of the ladies to read aloud while the rest sew. October 5: Although he had been ill for some time, Rev. Hunt dies unexpectedly.

1838

Rev. Corbin Kidder twice declines the church's call to the pastorate. Deacon Ransom Dickinson charged with dishonesty and unchristian conduct toward neighbors and his uncle Oliver Dickinson. A specially called council recommends restoration to good standing with a confession. The young men of the church establish a lyceum for the promotion of debating. October: Rev. George Cook, his spirit “like a spring or early June day” is called to the pulpit.

1839

Four of five officers of the new North Amherst Anti-Slavery Society are church members. January 15: Rev. George Cooke installed as pastor

1839

Construction of a parsonage begins. Mrs. Cooke is president of the Sewing Society, which now includes male members who join the women in the evening “for social intercourse.”

1842

During an interior renovation the balcony at the eastern end of the church is removed, the pulpit installed and the direction of the pews reversed. Although individual ownership of pews is still widely practiced, Chester Dickinson releases the three he owns and specifies that they be open to all and never again sold.

1841

April 12: Parish votes to allow the northwest school district to erect on its land a building that will be available to the church for lectures, gatherings and a singing school.

1843

Three point resolution drafted by Pastor Cooke condemning slavery as an "enormous sin against God" ratified.

1852

May 20: Rev. Cook resigns because of poor health. September 15: Rev. George E. Fisher installed as pastor. There is an influx of 90 new members in Rev. Fisher's first year, including the painter Erastus Salisbury Field.

1853

A revival brings 89 mew members to the church.

1855

Deacon and Treasurer Austin Loomis reports that during the 15 years of his service the church used 31 gallons of wine at an average yearly expense of $5.40

1858

Dissension had begun within the first three years of Rev. Fisher's term, leading him to think about leaving. Criticism of his handling of benevolence funds and gossip about his attentions to the daughter of a prominent North Amherst farmer had led him three times to call for councils of the local churches to examine the charges. Despite the conclusion of the councils that the charges are unfounded, criticism continues and on January 6 the church to accepts Rev. Fisher's resignation while expressing full confidence in him. January 10: Rev. Fisher's farewell sermon.

1859

October 5: Rev. John Winn Underhill (1829-1862) installed as pastor.

1860

North Church becomes a member of the newly organized conference of churches in the East Hampshire association.

1862

October 17: Rev. Underhill dies in office.

1864

Rev. William L. Gage declines the church's call to the pastorate. Rev. S.O. Dyer is engaged as acting pastor and serves through 1865.

1865

October 5: Rev. Daniel Henry Rogan (1830-1905) installed as pastor.

1866

Attendance at church meetings is made voluntary. Subscriptions are taken for a chandelier. November 21: Rev. Rogan dismissed.

1867

Rev. C.H.S. Williams declines the church's call to the pastorate. September 19: Rev. William Dodge Herrick (1831-1903) installed as pastor. During Rev. Herrick's tenure women are extended the right to vote at chruch meetings dealing with business matters.  A revival brings 20 new members.

1869

The parish purchases the town’s share in the building now known as the Parish Hall, formerly used in part as a school.

1871

A revival brings 53 new members.

1873

The church votes that the second Sunday evening service of each month be a Sunday school concert.

1874

May 25: Rev. Herrick resigns to return to his former pastorate in Gardner.

1875

January 7: Rev. George F. Humphreys installed as pastor. November 4: Rev. Humphreys dismissed.

1876

Rev. D.W. Marsh is acting pastor, serving through 1878. The ladies of the church form the Busy Bees, who assemble clothing to be sent to needy families in the west and south, as well as to urban missions in New York and Boston.

1877

October 30: Fourteen women of the church form the North Amherst Auxiliary to the Woman’s Board. At their first public meeting the members hear an address by Mrs. C.H. Wheeler of the Armenian Mission.

1879

July 3: Rev. George H. Johnson installed as pastor after having supplied the pulpit since September 1878. $1,471 is spent on repairs to the church, including replacing windows.

1885

The tax system is abandoned in favor of voluntary pledges. A revival brings 26 new members. January 14: The Society of Christian Endeavor is organized at a meeting of young people held at the parsonage.

1886

The Ladies Home Missionary Society is organized, with Mrs. Clara M. Johnson as president.  It meets the first week of every other month, alternating with the foreign mission society.

1888

December 31: Rev. Johnson leaves to accept the call to Memorial Church, Georgetown. Rev. and Mrs. Fisher return to town and Mrs. Fisher begins a series of major donations to the church, including the organ.

1889

January 1: Former pastor Rev. William D. Herrick supplies the pulpit until November 1, 1890.

1890

November 12: Mrs. Todd, soprano; Mr. H.P. Schauffler, baritone and Mr. B.H. Dingley, violinist join organist Mr. H. Lawrence Crane in performance at the organ opening. December 4: Rev. Eber William Gaylord (1845-1925) installed as pastor. The parsonage is renovated.

1892

A furnace replaces the stoves and the church’s third bell is installed.

1896

June 3: Performances at an organ recital include Handel's Overture in D by organist W.C. Hammond and a reading of Will Carleton's poem "A Convict's Christmas Eve" by Margaret M. Powers.

1901

November 15: The diamond jubilee celebration includes an address on “The Effect of Old Church Training on Social and Business Life” by Asa Spear of Brooklyn and mid-day dinner served by the ladies in Parish Hall.

1902

Rev. Gaylord resigns. Rev. John P. Manwell installed as pastor. The interior of the church is redecorated and electric lights are installed.

1903

The Oliver Dickinson Guild is established for promoting social relations among men in the community. Deacons are George L. Cooley, Asa Adams, C.H. Kellogg, and F.T. Cooley.

1906

The Ministerial Fund is increased by bequests from Elizabeth Fisher and Austin Loomis.

1908

A bequest by Mendell Howard establishes the Deacon's Fund for the assistance of needy persons in the community. Rev. Byron F. Gustin is installed as pastor.

1922

Rev. Gustin retires. Rev. Frank C. Seymour is installed as pastor.

1924

Parish Hall is renovated and rededicated on November 23.

1926

November 13-15: Three-day centennial celebration. Walter Ebenezer Dickinson donates Erastus S. Field's portrait of Oliver Dickinson to the church.  Entertainment includes vocal performances by Elsie Cooley and Clara Dickinson, whistling by Mrs. Thomas H. Nims, and a production of Sara Kingsbury’s play “The Rich Young Man” featuring Rev. Seymour as Rabbi Amos, “the rich young man,” and Eunice Seymour as Makaria, a Greek slave in the household of Rabbi Amos.

1934

Rev. Seymour resigns after the death of his wife.

1935

February: Rev. Theodore Dixon installed as pastor.

1942

November 14: Rev. Dixon resigns to accept the call to a church in Plainfield, CT.

1943

The parish-church arrangement is terminated. The sanctuary is redecorated. North Church and North Hadley Church are "yoked" and Rev. H. Robinson Shipherd is called to both pulpits. On October 19 there is a united service of the two churches in recognition of the new pastor and a rededication of the newly decorated North Church.

1949

Rev. Robinson retires from the ministry. September 25: Rev. Howard Foster Boardman is installed as pastor.

1951

November 17-18: The historical exhibit during the celebration of the church's 125th anniversary includes the 1832 communion set.

1953

Rev. Boardman resigns to accept the call by a church in Newton, Iowa. Rev. Grover Rieger is installed as pastor.

1954

April 8: A fire in the sanctuary destroys the Erastus S. Field protrait of Oliver Dickinson. Fire damange to the sanctuary leads to restoration of the church, including excavating the basement to provide space for the Sunday School and extending the main floor to add the pastor's study. The organ, which suffered extensive damage, is restored by the Delaware Organ Company.

1955

Rev. Grover Rieger installed as pastor. Under the leadership of this "young and vigorous" pastor, 100 new members are added. March 27: Service of rededication.

1957

September 1: Rev. Rieger resigns to accept the call from a church in Bethesda, Maryland. November 3: Rev. William J. Lorimer called as pastor. When the Congregational and the Evangelical and Reformed Churches decide to merge into the United Church of Christ, a sharply divided North Church decides by a narrow margin (23 to 22) to subscribe to the union.

1958

Margaret Bates is appointed director of religious education.

1959

The yoking arrangement with North Hadley Church is discontinued.

1960

December: First Board of Deconesses is established (Charlotte Grant, Thelma Cary, Helen Parsons, Margaret Southwick, Sadie Mitchell, Ruth Carey). Rev. Lorimer resigns.

1961

Rev. Russell Claussen called as pastor.

1962

Renovation of Parish Hall includes the Walter Ebenezer Dickinson Room. Although smaller groups continue to carry on some of their interests, the Woman's Association and the Missionary Society are disbanded.

1966

The original parsonage is sold and the Nelson Circle home acquired. Rev. Claussen resigns to accept a call from the national board of home ministries. Rev. Frank Dorman called as pastor.

1968

The Board of Deaconesses is incorporated into the diaconate. Rev. Dorman offers his resignation to test the willingness of the congregation to follow his leadership.

1970

Following a March vote that he continue as pastor, Rev. Dorman resigns in December. Confessing that he had moved from liberal to radical since coming to North Amherst, he proclaimed his belief that the American government was exercising an illegitimate authority no longer derived from the consent to be governed and that the church had become "a captive of our culture ... supportive of the status quo and unable to speak the prophetic word of God's judgement and grace. My stance for the time being shall be in but not of the church."

1971

The Ladies Social Circle disbands. Mount Holyoke professors Robert Berkey and J.W. Fiegenbaum serve as interim pastors. July 18: Rev. Philip Hall installed as pastor.

1975

March 23: A rededication follows redecoration of the sanctuary. The hand-hewn cross, made and donated by Alton D. Acker is presented.