A Short History of First Christian Church of Hagerstown

The number thirteen is usually thought of as an unlucky number.  This was not, however, the case in the history of First Christian.  In April 1875 thirteen persons met in the YMCA building on Public Square in Hagerstown.  These eight women and five men were members of the Beaver Creek, Boonsboro, and Downsville Christian Churches who were living in Hagerstown and felt because of the distance to travel, iit was time for a Christian Church to be established in Hagerstown. They met to “attend to the worship and ordinances appointed by the Redeemer”.

By December 16, 1876 their number had grown to sixty-seven persons and they organized as a congregation participating in the movement of the Christian Churches and Disciples of Christ.  The Christian Churches were a group in Kentucky under the leadership of Barton W. Stone, who united with the Disciples of Christ under the leadership of Alexander Campbell of Bethany, VA (now West Virginia) on January 1, 1832.  These two groups believed in Christian Unity and taking the Bible only as their guide.  They never did settle on which name to use, thus – Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as we are known today.

Their first order of business was to buy the Presbyterian Church building on South Potomac Street which the Presbyterians were vacating to move to their new building on the corner of West Washington and South Prospect Street.  The South Potomac Street building was expanded several times over the years as the congregation grew and by 1929 they were starting to discuss the possibility of a new House of Worship. A depression and World War postponed their plans for many years.

In the 1950’s the congregation again began making plans for a new building and the result is the beautiful building that we now worship in with its white spire reaching heavenward to 170 feet, which was designed to be the tallest structure in Hagerstown. 

The inspiring stained glass windows were designed by George Payne Studios of Patterson, New Jersey, with the glass coming from Italy.  The windows in the sanctuary depict the life of Christ in chronological order.

The organ has a history all its own. It was purchased for $4,000 in 1935 when the builders, M.P. Moller Company brought it back to Hagerstown from Temple Adoth Israel of Bronx, New York.  The organ was re-engineered in 1960 by Moller and moved to the present building at a cost of $18,650.  Over the years Leon Cross, a life long member of First Christian and a master organ builder and technician, has continued to build the organ into the magnificent instrument that it is today by buying some new parts, but mostly from parts salvaged at a fraction of the cost of new ones.  The parts have come from at least eight churches and a funeral home. Like the ecumenical people of First Christian, Mr. Cross says the organ is truly an ecumenical instrument. (For more information on the History of the Organ, click on this link.  The Organ

No history of First Christian would be complete without mentioning our “Timothies”: those of our congregation who have heard the call and followed our Lord into professional ministry. Nineteen persons (the most recent being Brian Adams who graduated from Lexington Theological Seminary in June, 2005) over the years have completed their training and have or are now serving in ministry in Disciples of Christ churches and institutions. The most prominent of them being Frederick D. Kershner, educator, pastor and ecumenist 1875-1953.  A few of his accomplishments were: President of Lynchburg College, President of Texas Christian University, Founder of Brite College of the Bible, and Editor of Christian Evangelist.  The list goes on.

First Christian Church has truly been blessed. The original thirteen persons could never have dreamed that the church they founded would one day worship in the beautiful building we have today or be a congregation of over 1,000 members.  With God’s blessing, we will continue to serve Him and His people.

       Jerry E. Norris                                                                                                                               Lay Minister of Visitation, First Christian Church