Congregational Church of Harvard, United Church of Christ.

Who We Are

This is the community Protestant Church of the town of Harvard (the town also has a Unitarian Church and a Roman Catholic Church). Our people come from all denominational backgrounds and enjoy our very inclusive fellowship. We are a mainline Protestant church that believes God has been made known to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that God continues to be made known to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

United Church of Christ

This congregation is a part of the Central Association of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ. The Central Association is made up of about 110 churches and meets twice a year for fellowship and learning. Clergy gather in its five sectors for study and sharing each month. The Massachusetts Conference provides resources, camps and retreats, staff assistance, and common mission for the 430 UCC churches in the state.

History

This church was founded in 1821 when a group of Trinitarian Christians broke off from the First Church to start a new congregation with "orthodox" beliefs. The Town of Harvard granted the new church a "piece of the Common" for its new building and the Rev. George Fisher was called from Wrentham. The main sanctuary has changed little since 1821, though it was raised in 1882 to permit a full first floor providing classrooms and offices. The Parish Hall addition was added in 1967 to provide additional classrooms and a large gathering hall and kitchen.

Pastor

Rev. Dr. Gregory Schmidt, Pastor

Greg comes to our church with 20 years of pastoral experience having served churches in Duxbury, Massachussets, Ithaca, New York, Short Hills, New Jersey, and, for the past 12 years, Shelton Connecticut. Greg loves being a part of the church community and helping people wrestle with and then respond to their faith, and God's call in their lives.

Greg and his wife, Sharon, have two sons, Matthew and Jonathan. They all enjoy skiing, swimming, golf and music. Matthew and Jon are HUGE Beatles fans, Sharon loves Pat Benetar and Greg's obsession is Elton John.

Feel free to drop in, write or call him with your thoughts on Major League Baseball especially the New York Mets, music and the sad state of corporate rock radio, or even theological and church related matters.

Better yet, come join us for worship on Sundays at 10:00 and be part of this exciting community of faith.

Feel free to contact Greg if you would like to discuss

Organist /Choir Director - Thomas Dawkins

Thomas Dawkins is a 2002 magna cum laude graduate in Music with Highest Honors from Brandeis University, where he became the first winner of the Ira Gershwin Prize for excellence in musical performance. This season he will take the podium of Sudbury Savoyards for the first time as music director of The Yeomen of the Guard. He has performed as a solo pianist with the New England Philharmonic, the Salem Philharmonic, the Longy School of Music and the Brandeis University Orchestras and in collaborative recitals at Brandeis, Longy, and MIT. He has sung as a bass-baritone soloist with Longwood Opera, Chorus Pro Musica, Paul Madore Chorale, The Master Singers (Lexington), Nashoba Chorale, Belmont Open Sings, Boston Repertory Orchestra, Assabet Valley Mastersingers, and The Masterworks Chorale, as well as being a member of Boston's Handel & Haydn Society chorus and The Orpheus Singers. In the past, he has been a member of Opera Aperta and is an alum of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops). He works as an accompanist and vocal coach privately and at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. He also plays piano, oboe, English horn, bassoon and contrabassoon with the Concord Orchestra and professionally. He is the organist for Boston Jewish Spirit in residence at Emmanuel Church, and he was recently appointed interim music director and organist for the Congregational Church of Harvard.

Office Administrator

Susan Buck, who is generally in the office Monday through Friday, 9-3.

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