irst Christian Church of Baltimore has a continuous history as a congregation since 1810 and has been affiliated with the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ since the 1830's. Alexander Campbell, the leader and central figure of the denomination, was both a personal visitor and correspondent during this early period.
The congregation traces its origin to the work of Charles Farquharson, a Scottish immigrant and student of the Haldane School of Theology in Edinburgh, Scotland, who began preaching to a small group in his home in the Fells Point section of Baltimore. Prior to construction of the first church building, services were held in private homes and public halls. William Carman, an early member, founded the first Sunday School in Maryland. Samuel Sands, another early member, performed the typeset for the first printed copy of the Star Spangled Banner, which later became the National Anthem.
Artifacts from some of the churches outlined below are on display at First Christian Church.
The first sanctuary was on North Street near Market Street (now Guilford Avenue near Baltimore Street). Still preserved are the minutes of the building committee meeting, held in February, 1834, which resulted in its construction. The well known early Disciple clergyman, Walter Scott, preached at the North Street Christian Church in 1841 and 1842. North Street Church and Paca Street Church
In 1840, a number of members left the North Street Church over doctrinal differences. A meeting was held on July 26, 1840 with 37 members signing a declaration beginning the Paca Street Church. A church was secured from the Dunkards in 1849 and after renovation was dedicated on May 26, 1850. Alexander Campbell was the principal speaker and gave an account of the event in his publication, the Millennial Harbinger.
In 1869, the North Street building was sold and a second church building was erected at the corner of Dolphin and Etting Streets. The congregation met here for a number of years, then united with the Paca Street Church. They turned the Dolphin Street property over to the Paca Street Trustees who in turn turned it over several years later to the Second Christian Church, a black congregation.
By 1886 business enterprises of the city had so crowded the Paca Street Church that steps were taken to secure a lot at Harlem Avenue and Dolphin Street. The last service at Paca Street was held August 28, 1887. Chairs used at the communion table at this church are on display at First Christian Church.
Harlem Avenue Christian Church
The Harlem Avenue Christian Church was dedicated March 11, 1888. In 1897, the church had organized a mission church school. A lot was secured at Fulton and Walbrook Avenues and a building erected. This chapel was dedicated in December 1898. It was first known as the Fulton Avenue Church, then called Seventh Christian Church, and then Immanuel Christian Church. The State Missionary Society took it over in 1915 and continued to operate it for some years until Christian Temple assumed the responsibility. It was finally abandoned in 1930. What equity remained merged with Govans Christian Church.
On June 24, 1888 45 Harlem Avenue members withdrew and organized the Third Christian Church, which became known as the Calhoun Street Christian Church. Its early minister, Peter Ainslie, was a great religious leader of this country. He was one of the founders of the Federal Council of Churches and was world-renowned in the ecumenical movement. He started a number of mission churches throughout Baltimore, one of which, in 1903, was situated on 25th Street in north Baltimore. In the late '20s, the congregation relocated further out at a new site on York Road near Cold Spring Lane in Govans. The actual move into the new facility was made June 22, 1930 under the leadership of the minister Lawrence E. Cousins.
The congregation remained at Harlem Avenue until 1920 when they purchased property at the corner of Liberty Heights and Copley Road, in the Ashburton area of the city. The Harlem Avenue church was sold to a black congregation in 1920. The Copley Road building was dedicated May 27, 1923. Here, the name First Christian Church was adopted in recognition of its early beginnings.
The church remained there for four decades during which time the Sunday School program which had begun under Preston Fiddis at Harlem Avenue Christian Church gained international recognition. Morris Craig Schollenberger led the Copley Road congregation for 24 years, the longest pastorate in the church's history.
The Copley Road and Govans congregations united in a merger in 1963, forming the First Christian Church of Baltimore. The church's present location, a 4-acre site on Roland Avenue and Bellmore Road, is the former estate of J. Cookman Boyd. The congregation met in the Boyd mansion house until the present sanctuary was completed, after which the mansion was razed. Dr. Henry F. Speight, Jr., Govans minister, became minister of the merged congregation. The Church Today
The two merged congregations have since been augmented by many new members from within and outside the denomination, including some former members of the Calhoun Street Church. The congregation at Roland Avenue has been served by a number of ministers, with David A. Caldwell having begun his pastorate in 1989.
Photos: Left, the 25th Street building. Top right, Govans Christian Church. The Sunday School building is at the back of the sanctuary and is seen to the right.
Just above is the J. Cookman Boyd mansion which was razed to make room for the First Christian Church as it stands today (below).
