-66-
The
building is believed to have been
completed in 1813, and was consecrated in 1817. Many of the
subscribers
to the building fund were not Episcopalians. A provision of
the
subscription pledge form noted that the chapel was to be a
place of
worship by every denomination of Christians, when not occupied
by the
Episcopal Church clergy.
The church was a chapel under the
control of
St.
Peter's Church from 1812 until 1826, when it requested a
separation
from the parent church, which was granted. The Parish of
Christ Church,
Quaker Farms was officially established in 1827.
The first clergyman was the Rev. Sturges
Gilbert who
also officiated at churches in Bethlehem, Roxbury and
Woodbury. He
served until Easter, 1827.
From that date until 1866, the church
shared a
clergyman with St. Peter's although both churches retained
their
identity as separate parishes.
In 1966 Christ Church requested a
full-time
clergyman, who was the Rev. John A. Rogers, Jr. He served from
1966 to
1970.
The present Vicar, the Rev. Timothy 0.
Carberry, is
the second full-time clergyman of the parish, having served
since
December, 1970. In June of 1972, the church elected Father
Carberry as
its own rector and became an independent self-supporting
parish, ending
its history as an aided parish.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
RIVERSIDE METHODIST CHURCH
The
early Riverside church was built about
1810 between the Housatonic River and the road to Derby by
people
living in the area called Stevenson, consisting of sections of
Oxford,
Monroe and Newtown.
People of all denominations built the
meeting house,
and work was done on a community basis for the building of a
two
storied chapel with galleries in the rear and on two sides
Inside the chapel there were three windows
on each
side of both upper and lower floor. The pulpit and the alter
were at
the opposite end of the chapel to the entrance. The original
windows
were of plain glass, and later a stained glass window, "The
prodigal
Son," was installed behind the alter.
The chapel was early lighted by 18 oil
lamps hung in
a chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Lamps on the side
posts and
candles on the alter completed the early lighting system. A
man stood
on the six foot ladder to light the lamps for services.
Water from the well at the house was
carried across
the road in a pail for the cleaning of lamps and other
necessary
purposes. A large stove heated the chapel.
