Monadnock Moment No. 124

Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction - 1750 to 1877

The Birth of a Church

In April of 1842 a group of citizens of Washington, New Hampshire formed the "First Christian Society." These people felt that the places where they had previously worshipped were too strict, so they decided to build their own church. During the Adventist Movement of the early 1840s the members of this new church came to support the Advent hope.

William Farnsworth, a member of this congregation, announced one Sunday that he was going to observe the seventh day of the week as the sabbath. A dozen other church members followed his lead. These people were released from the church for this belief in the seventh day sabbath, and they began to meet on their own.

In January of 1862, after meeting as a loosely knit congregation for many years, they formally organized a new church which recognized the seventh day sabbath. The majority of the original First Christian Society eventually accepted the seventh day sabbath, and this new group came to control the church property.

This group is considered the first seventh day sabbath keeping Adventist congregation. And their small church, which still stands in the woods of Washington, is considered the birthplace of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.