First Church of the Resurrection
Front of church, photographed from outside
Church exterior in 1997
40°47′51″N 81°22′12″W / 40.7975416°N 81.3699945°W / 40.7975416; -81.3699945
Location901 Tuscarawas Street East, Canton, Ohio
CountryUnited States
DenominationNon-denominational
Previous denominationUnited Church of Christ[1]
ChurchmanshipEvangelical
Membership60[2]
Websitewww.firstchurchcanton.com
History
Former name(s)
  • First United Church of Christ,[1][3][4]
  • First Evangelic and Reformed Church,[4]
  • First Reformed Church,[3][5]
  • Jerusalem's Reformed Church[4]
StatusChurch
Founded1810[3][4]
Founder(s)Rev John Peter Mahnenschmidt[3][4]
Dedication1862[3][4][5]
DedicatedOctober 5, 1862[3][4][5]
Associated peopleBezaleel Wells[4][5]
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeGothic Revival[6]
GroundbreakingSpring 1861[4][5]
Construction cost$7,000[4]
Specifications
Capacity450
Number of floors4
Number of towers1[4]
Tower height28 feet[4]
Number of spires2
Spire height145 feet (44 m); demolished in 1948[4]
MaterialsStone,[4] wood, brick
Bells2[4] (English-style, full-circle ringing[4])
Tenor bell weight1,800 pounds (820 kg)
First Church of the Resurrection, listed as First Reformed[6]
First Church of the Resurrection is located in Ohio
First Church of the Resurrection
Coordinates40°47′51.15″N 81°22′11.98″W / 40.7975417°N 81.3699944°W / 40.7975417; -81.3699944
Websitewww.firstchurchcanton.com
Part ofDowntown Canton Historic District
NRHP reference No.82003647[6]
Added to NRHP9/28/1982[6]

First Church of the Resurrection is an historic church at 901 Tuscarawas Street East, Canton, Ohio,[3][7] which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3][6] The church was dedicated, and its sanctuary completed, in 1862.[3][4][5] In 2023, after its membership dwindled, First Church became a campus of RiverTree Christian Church.[2]

History

In 1810, the Union (Reformed and Lutheran) Church was built.[5][8] Two years later, its Sunday school began.[8] In 1843 a choir was formed,[8] and in 1862 the present church was built.[3][4][5] In 1866[3][5] or 1871,[5][8] English-language services began. The church's ladies' aid society was founded in 1979.[5][8]

In 1897, it incorporated as the First German Reformed Church.[5][8] The following year, a Sunday-school addition was built and the church was remodeled.[3][4][5] In 1903, its Women's Missionary Society was founded.[5][8][9] Three years later, the Andrew Carnegie Fund paid half the cost of a new organ.[4][5][8] In 1916 the church was again remodeled,[4][5][8] and in 1926 and 1927 a parish house, educational center and social hall were added.[3][4][8]

The parish house was destroyed by fire in 1937.[4][8] Three years later, the church's name was changed to the First Evangelical and Reformed Church.[8] In 1941, a new parish house was built on the old site.[4][8] Its name was again changed to the First United Church of Christ in a denominational merger with the United Church of Christ in 1959.[3][8]

In 1966, a new Fratelli Ruffatti organ was installed,[4][8] and four years later a Bach musical festival was presented.[8] The 901 Food Pantry began distributing food to the local community in 1978.[8] The following year, the Karl Koepke Memorial Chapel was dedicated.[4][8] In 1982 the church was listed on the National Register for Historical Places,[3][8] an outdoor lighted sign was built and the west parking lot opened.[4][8]

A new six-ton, 1,600-pipe Kegg organ was installed in 1993.[3][4][8] From 2002 to 2005, a new office wing, classroom and meeting area were built.[3][4][8] In 2005, the church severed its ties with the United Church of Christ and became the independent First Church of the Resurrection.[1][3][8] The Shepherd's Garden was dedicated in 2007,[4][8] and traditional and contemporary worship services began.[8] Handel's Messiah was performed in 2008,[8] and the church celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2010.[3][8] All services are now conducted in English, rather than German.[3]

In 2018, the declining congregation of First Church sold its building to RiverTree Christian Church, a non-denominational multisite congregation, for $100. RiverTree used the building to launch the One Center for Leadership, a coworking, leadership development and community engagement space.[2] Under the terms of the transfer, First Church continued to meet in the building, and in 2019, it called the Rev. J.R. Rozko and the Rev. Amy Rozko, a married couple and Anglican priests in the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others, as co-pastors.[10] However, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic posed additional challenges and membership dwindled to just 20. After the departure of the Rozkos in 2023, First Church voted to join RiverTree Christian Church as its eighth northeastern Ohio campus.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Canton Repository: Lydia Cooper 90th birthday". The Repository. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Goshay, Clarita M. (September 24, 2023). "RiverTree Christian to open 8th church on historic Canton site". Canton Repository. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Goshay, Charita. "Canton Repository: First Church to celebrate 200th anniversary". The Repository. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 The History of First Church 1810–2010 (DVD). MilePost Productions. 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Bollinger, Rev Theodore (1917). History of the First Reformed Church of Canton, Ohio. Cleveland, Ohio: Central Publishing House.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "National Park Service, National Register Digital Assets 82003647".
  7. ↑ "Stark County Auditor – Parcel 28044".
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Membership at First Church of the Resurrection (Media notes). Canton, Ohio. 2016. pp. 7–9.
  9. ↑ Herman, John (1883). Acts and Proceedings of the Ohio Synod and the Reformed Church in the United States. Dayton, Ohio: Reformed Publishing Co. p. 7.
  10. ↑ Goshay, Clarita M. (November 3, 2019). "Married couple to share the pulpit of Canton's oldest church". Canton Repository. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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