History Page

As an Episcopal Church we are part of the Diocese of Connecticut. The Diocesan House is in Hartford. The Bishop of Ct. is the Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas. Our Suffragan (assisting) Bishops are the Rt. Rev. James Curry and The Rev. Dr. Laura Ahrens. We are part of the national ECUSA, Episcopal Church USA. Our leader is the “Presiding Bishop”, the Rt. Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, rather than a Pontiff whose authority is persuasive not binding. The Episcopal Church is part of a world-wide connection of national churches called the Anglican Communion (Anglican refers to “English”, the historic starting place for all these churches). The pastor of our church is Fr. Dave Carter whose title is “Rector” an old English term for the priest-in-charge of a parish. Currently the Rev. Ron Glaude and his wife, Grace, are residents in the parish.

Christ Church has been a center for Christian life and nurture in northeastern Connecticut for close to 175 years, since 1828.

The current church built of rubble stone and brick was consecrated in 1882 and owes its existence to the memorial giving of the Vinton family in honor of the Rev. Dr. Alexander H. Vinton and his wife, Eleanor Stockbridge Thompson Vinton. Many of the six Tiffany windows including the Rose window were given by Vintons. The Rev. Phillips Brooks of Boston who wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem” was a friend of the Vintons and preached at the laying of the cornerstone. The architect, Howard Hoppin’s unusual design, seems to reflect an Eastern or old European influence. As one commentator at the time put it, Christ Church is “not modeled after the usual sort of country church or chapel, but like some old monastery chapel of the sixteenth century”. Many continue to give generously of their time and financial resources to maintain the church as you see it today.

Christ Church has participated in the Ministry of the Episcopal Church since its earliest days having its own “outpost” in Abington (south Pomfret) at one time. Today this includes not only welcoming all who enter our doors, equipping them to respond to Christ’s Call in their daily lives but also supporting missionaries and extensive Outreach work. Nourishing people means providing a good Church School and Adult Education program. Indeed, three Rectors participated in founding schools. Most recently Fr. Frank Bigelow was founder of the Rectory School (bronze plaque outside), a boarding/day school for 5 - 9th grade boys (and day girls), across the street. We still function as Rectory’s Chapel and Church-Home. We are quite a diverse community in some ways bringing varied perspectives and concerns to our worship and program. This leads us into new ventures like an expanding Teen Program. This may be partly due to the fact that we draw members from Pomfret, Woodstock, Putnam, Thompson, Brooklyn, Danielson, Eastford and beyond.