St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Hanover, Massachusetts)

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St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
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St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
Location within Massachusetts
42°6′48.5″N70°48′54.1″W / 42.113472°N 70.815028°W / 42.113472; -70.815028
Location Hanover, Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
Denomination Episcopal
Website standrewshanover.org
History
Status Parish church
FoundedJuly 28, 1725 (1725-07-28)
FounderThe Rev. Dr. Timothy Cutler
Dedication St. Andrew
Consecrated
  • October 11, 1731 (1731-10-11) Scituate
  • June 11, 1811 (1811-06-11) Hanover
EventsDecember 25, 1986 (1986-12-25) Church proper destroyed by fire. (Later restored.)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Administration
Province Province 1
Diocese Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Deanery South Shore
Clergy
Rector The Rev. Kevin Holland Sparrow [1]

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is an historic church located in Hanover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1725 in what is now known as Norwell, an area that was then part of Scituate). It is one of the oldest parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. [2] [3]

Contents

The church reported 564 members in 2019 and 257 members in 2023; no membership statistics were reported in 2024 parochial reports. Plate and pledge income reported for the congregation in 2024 was $92,402 with average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 50 persons. [4]

History

The first meeting of the parish took place on July 28, 1725 at the North Meeting House in Scituate after a group of townspeople invited the Rev. Dr. Timothy Cutler of Christ Church, Boston, to lead a service and preach. [5] : 1  Between 1727 and 1731 regular meetings of the parish took place in a private house in Scituate, led by the resident minister of Christ Church, Quincy, the Rev. Ebenezer Miller. [3] On October 11, 1731, Miller led a service to open the first church building in front of a congregation of 150. That wooden building, located about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the present location, would serve as the parish's home until they moved to Hanover, which they did in 1811 after outgrowing the old church. [2] Several notable figures, such as John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Robert Rantoul, and Horace Mann, were at "a large all-day gathering in the cause of education" in September 1838. [5] : viii 

The first resident minister for the parish, the Rev. Addington Davenport, was appointed in 1733. Addington remained only until 1737, but upon leaving for his next appointment made a gift of 7 acres (2.8 ha) of land "with dwelling house, barn, and other buildings thereon." [5] : 5  Proceeds from this gift would help fund the purchase of land and building of a rectory in 1849.

On December 24, 1986, the church was destroyed by an electrical fire, but later rebuilt. [2] [6]

On November 6, 2011, the parish celebrated its bicentennial by displaying rare sermons and other artifacts, as well as a piano and organ concert and old church history stories. [2] Today, the church sits on Church Street in the Four Corners village of Hanover, a scenic village that was the starting point of Hanover itself.

References

  1. ↑ "St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Hanover, MA". The Episcopal Church . Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Simpson, Neal (November 5, 2011). "St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Hanover celebrating bicentennial". The Patriot Ledger . GateHouse Media, Inc. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 "St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Hanover, Massachusetts) records". Massachusetts Historical Society . Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Explore Individual Parochial Report Trends". General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Briggs, Lloyd Vernon (1905). History and Records of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church. Boston: Wallace Spooner. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "St. Andrews Parish History". St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
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