Compiled by
Minnie Douglas Bennett
for the occasion of the 125th Anniversary of the building of the present meetinghouse
1959
Revisions and Additions by
Bruce J. Crowther
Richard J. Ross
Earle T. Stewart
For the celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the Church
1992
This post is part of The History of the Original Congregational Church of Wrentham series. Previous posts can be found here.
Part 8.
The pastor of the Church from 1892 to 1898 was the Reverend Edward C. Hood, who was a graduate of Princeton College and Union Seminary. During his first year ground was broken for the parsonage on South Street. The lot was purchased from William M. Proctor, and the plans were drawn by Mr. Hood, himself. Mr. Proctor then donated additional land. Early in his pastorate Mr. Hood formed an improvement society for young men, encompassing such activities as classical reading, debates and drama. A Junior Christian Endeavor Society was organized by Mrs. Hood in 1895. On January 5th of the following year individual communion cups were first used by the congregation, the old style tankards and cups being given to a mission church in Raleigh, North Carolina. During his six-year tenure, Mr. Hood added some 80 members to the rolls and, with his talented wife, became both a spiritual and social force in the community. After leaving Wrentham he was instrumental in establishing the Maverick Dispensary to aid the needy of East Boston.
The eleventh minister, serving from 1899 to 1903, was the Reverend William J. Minchin, a graduate of Bangor Seminary. His four short years were busy and fruitful. In addition to editing an enlightening monthly paper, called "The Wrentham Parish Visitor," he was responsible for liquidating a $1,200 church debt, shingling the chapel, repairing the horse sheds, repainting both the interior and exterior of the church and chapel, and piping gas and water into the church. On November 20, 1902, in compliance with the provisions of Section 55, Chapter 36, Revised Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachuse