History

The Really Old History

Wakeman Congregational Church has its earliest roots back to the founding of Wakeman in 1819. The first settler was a man named Augustin Canfield (crazy enough, some of his descendents are still active in our church!). The earliest settlers were from Connecticut, as they received land in the Wakeman area as compensation for their land in Connecticut being burned by the British in the War of 1812 (hence the entire region in which Wakeman is a part is called the Firelands). The earliest settlers were largely Congregationalists and began worship services from the beginning of settlement.

The Slightly Less Old, but Still Really Old History

Wakeman Church has been largely influenced by Oberlin College which is about 15 minutes away. In the 1830’s Charles Finney, an incredible preacher and revivalist, but a lousy theologian, was teaching at Oberlin. In the 1840’s, some of his followers were preaching and ministering in Wakeman, and there came a division between those who followed Finney’s men and some of the old school people, who were not into the whole revivalist thing.  This led to a group breaking away from the Congregational Church and forming the Second Congregational Church on August 31^st, 1844. This is the official birthday of Wakeman Congregational Church (and interestingly enough, the same birthday as the present pastor Matt Reed, though born quite a bit later). The members of Second Congregational followed after the teachings of Finney’s men.

Slightly More Recent, but Still Pretty Old History

In 1879, the church built a new facility, which is still one in use today.  It’s old and has some issues (as most old buildings do), but is historic and is a beautiful building. The incredible pipe organ was built and the basement area, known as Pilgrim Hall was also built. In 2002, the church bought some of the surrounding property from the local school district, where we now have the flag pole, playground, baseball field, the outer field, and the junky looking blacktop area that we hope to make into a tennis court someday. In 2007 the church began building the outside pavilion and finished it in 2009.  The church was independent up until 1960, when it voted to join the United Church of Christ. Like all major decisions, this had a certain element of controversy.

Who We Are, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going

Wakeman Congregational Church is in a period of transition. We are part of a very rich historical heritage, and we don’t want to simply forget our past. Congregationalism goes all the way back to the Pilgrims and Puritans of New England. There is a rich theological heritage there, and we claim some of those great pastors and theologians, such as Jonathan Edwards, as our spiritual forefathers.  We have also been clearly influenced by the historical movement often known as the Second Great Awakening, and the revivalist teachings of Charles Finney directly affected the founding of our church. There was incredible passion for the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ from that time that made an impact on society, particularly in the area of the abolitionist movement.  In May of 2014, the congregation voted to dissolve ties with the United Church of Christ.  As was with our merger in 1960, the decision did not come without controversy, but with much prayer the church voted to leave.

It is our utmost desire to bring into Wakeman Congregational Church the best of both of these worlds. We want to return back to an emphasis on solid biblical doctrine, primarily within the reformed tradition of the earliest Congregationalists. We want to rebuild our identity in Jesus Christ and the key foundations of the historic Christian faith.  At the same time, we don’t want to be accused of cold and lifeless theology that makes no impact on everyday life. We want to regain the life changing passion that is seen in Charles Finney and poured into the hearts of each of our attendees. We want to be people who are filled with God’s Spirit in such a way that it overflows into all of our works and into all of our relationships, that people may know that God is present at Wakeman Congregational Church.