First Church of Woodbury
Photographed May 5, 1870
Courtesy of L.Guppi

People of Faith and the Growth of Woodbury

Woodbury has been the beloved home of generations of people from all walks of life and from nearly every corner of the globe. The town as we have come to know it has been in existence for more than 300 years, and has seen the growth of its population and an ever increasing ability to accommodate diverse religious faiths and practices. While the very earliest settlers of the town did not appreciate other religious beliefs, a certain degree of tolerance was nevertheless built into the structure of the church. As the world has changed, the First Congregational Church has shown that its covenant with God has been resilient enough to adapt to the times while still keeping faith with fundamental principles.

The Beginning

In its earliest days, Woodbury was what has come to be known as the First Congregational Church and Ecclesiastical Society. Much of the subsequent history and growth of the town owes its nature and form to those earliest days in the late seventeenth century when a small group of believers, looking for a more accepting way to allow membership in the church, split off from the Congregational church in Stratford and made its way north to the Pomperaug River and a new life. These Puritans were not looking for freedom from anything, but freedom to pursue their faith, a very rigorous spiritual discipline. In those days and for those hardy souls, living the religious life and following orthodox Christian, Calvinist beliefs were absolutely central to everything. The life of a faith was no easy path with a loving and forgiving God, but an arduous struggle to attain God's grace.

Early Church Doctrine

Puritans were interested in returning to a more direct individual relationship with God, getting away from the hierarchy of the established Anglican church and giving each individual church autonomy and the authority to govern itself, ordain its own ministers, and giving the lay leadership a significant role to play in the life of faith. Our town meeting form of government grew out of this form of self government, perfected by experience within the Church in dealing with its affairs. To underscore this, the church building was called a "meeting house", and civic affairs such as town meetings were conducted there as well as worship services. It should be noted that only male church members of property and generally accepted moral character were considered suitable for positions of leadership, whether in civic or religious institutions.

The Church's Buildings

The early church building was very small and simple, and was located near the South Green and the rocks upon which the Masonic Temple now stands. This was the center of town and the town's physical growth started from this point, spreading down into the Hollow to the west and north and south along what is now Main Street. As time passed and the town and church both grew, the early church building was replaced with a second, larger one, in the same part of town, in 1747. by this time a number of other church societies had been formed in newly settled parts of town. These church bodies were the nuclei of our neighboring towns of Bethlehem, Southbury, Roxbury and Washington. The original church society thus became "First Church".

The Revolutionary War had fostered the growth of the town as a supply center and the town prospered and grew. By the early 1800s it was clear that a new or renovated church building was necessary. There was, however, some controversy about the site of this new church building. From our vantage point a disagreement over the site of a building seems ridiculously petty and narrow-minded, but if we consider how important the church was to its members, we can understand a bit more about the rift that divided the congregation in two.

The Congregational Church was the establishment church, supported by the civic and spiritual leadership of both town and state, and by the tax dollars of all, whether members or not. The site of a new church building was extremely important because it made an important statement to everyone, members and nonmembers alike, about the importance and centrality of the church to the town. To place the church building away from the center of the town would be to suggest that the church itself was not to be central to everyone's life. This was an insupportable thought to these Calvinists for whom the threat of hell and promise of heaven were real and immediate. Presumably, as growth in the north part of town continued, faithful members looked for a building nearer to the new center of town. A committee formed by the Connecticut General Assembly recommended a new site for the church building, but the dispute about the placement of the building was not resolved, and a splinter group broke away and built its own church in the north part of town. Thus was formed the North Congregational Church. First church finally erected its new church building in 1818 at the spot recommended by the committee back in 1814.

The 19th Century and Changes in the Church

The 19th century brought with it immense and rapid change, with population growth both from births and from immigration. Technologies changed, and with that, employment and settlement patterns. Family life, too, changed as women's domestic work became less essential to the economic well being of the family and young people no longer sought work within families, but in mills, factories, and other businesses. As women's income-producing activities within the home lessened, their role as moral torch bearer grew, and moral authority passed from the men in church and home to the wives and mothers sequestered in the home. However, as women were marginalized in their homes so the church also became less central to the life of the town.

With the passing of the responsibility for moral development passing from men to women, the idea of God and man's relationship to God also changed. The judgmental and implacable Father in Heaven meting out reward and punishment impartially and justly but without mercy gradually was joined and eventually superseded by the loving and merciful Son. The earlier theology of predestination did not allow an individual any free will in attaining God's grace, no matter how hard he might work to deserve it. In the Victorian period, God came down to earth and entered into a more personal relationship with the faithful. Comfort became attainable both spiritually and materially during this period.

Steadfast Within a Changing World

Industrial development eventually left Woodbury and other area towns behind. The streams in Litchfield county weren't large or powerful enough to fuel industry the way they did in the Naugatuck River Valley, and the railroad went to other areas. Farming continued to be viable, but little other economic activity was centered in the town. As the town itself grew sleepier, even the great upheavals of the 20th century do not appear at first to have made much of an impact on the faith life and practices of First Congregational Church.

After the baby boom years of the 1950s and early 60s, church membership seemed to swindle away. Perhaps, as the fierce and judgmental God of the early settlers no longer met the spiritual needs of the more comfortable Victorians, so the comfortable God of the Victorians was no longer successfully addressing the needs of people who had endured the unimaginable horrors of two world wars, a holocaust, and conflicts in Asian countries half way around the world, fighting an enemy that was as much a concept (Communism) as a people and all the more fearful for being so distant from us in every way. A vast diversity of religious possibilities opened up as awareness of all the world's religious traditions made the certainties of the past difficult to accept without question. At the same time, however, the church remained and endured, continuing to provide a spiritual base for its members and service to the needy in the world at large. While smaller in numbers, the faith work of the church was no less powerful during these years.

The Church Today

As First Congregational Church enters its fourth century, Woodbury is undergoing rapid and radical change, along with all of society. The church is evolving to meet the needs of its members and all those, near and far, who are in need of spiritual or physical help. Our understanding of God has grown, so that we realize that He encompasses not only the fierce Father and the loving Son, but also the embracing Divine Spirit that transcends human limits and definitions.

Within the church structure, programs for all ages are growing, with vibrant church school, youth programs, and adult education. The church is committed to meeting the needs of those outside the church family, not only through its traditional outreach program, but through its annual youth mission trips, involvement with the Waterbury Soup Kitchen, Community Services Council and sponsorship of the Red Barn Thrift Shop, among other activities. Fellowship opportunities abound, with potluck suppers and fun gatherings developed by the church boards and committees.

Enduring Values

No matter what the changes in society bring, at the core of the life of the church, animating all its activities, are the faith, values and covenant of those remarkable believers who brought their vision and uncompromising faith to this fertile valley. The First Congregational Church continues to serve as a beacon of faith and of memory to the town of Woodbury.

For Further Reading:

The First Congregational Church of Woodbury, Connecticut, by Marion Mabey.
First Congregational Church ©1994
History of Ancient Woodbury, by William Cothren. Bronson Brothers, ©1854
Early Connecticut Meeting Houses, by J. Frederick Kelly. Columbia University Press ©1948
The Feminization of American Culture, by Ann Douglas. Avon Books, ©1977
Connecticut in Transition 1775-1818, by Richard J. Purcell. Wesleyan University Press ©1963
Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial Connecticut, by Anthony N.B. Garvan. Yale University Press ©1951
Our Own Snug Fireplace, by Jane Nylander