September 11 Today in OPC History

Harold J. Ockenga, pastor of Park Street Church in Boston, was the speaker at an opening rally on September 11, 1955 for Covenant Fellowship on the north shore of Boston. A week later regular meetings began at First Baptist Church in Wenham, Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter the work was renamed "Presbyterian Fellowship," and meetings continued in several members' homes.

In 1961, the church became a congregation of the Presbytery of New York and New England of the OPC, with 21 charter members. It purchased a former Methodist church building in Hamilton, and in 1964, it called its first pastor, the Rev. Wendell L. Rockey, Jr. The April 1965 issue of the Orthodox Presbyterian Messenger described the composition of the Hamilton church in this way:

“The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has been established here and leaders have come from other of our congregations. Two members of the Session, Norman Johnson and Hillis Partington, are from our Bridgeton and Westfield, N.J., churches, respectively. And ruling elders T. Grady Spires from Florida and Dr. John Haas from Philadelphia, from other church backgrounds, complete the Session. It is not unusual on a given Sunday for five or six ministers and their families to be present in the congregation. The Rev. Charles Schauffele is Sunday school superintendent and the college class is taught by Dr. Burton Goddard. Dr. Martin Wyngaarden, Dean David Kerr, and Dr. Gwynn Walters, all associated with Gordon Divinity School, worship regularly with their families. Mrs. Walters is a member of our church; and Mrs. Kerr was formerly a member of one of our churches in the Philadelphia area.

“Families from Canada, Wales, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and Sweden give the life of the congregation an international flavor. Thus, on the church roll appear names like Swart, Ingwersen, Westland, and Pugrabi, plus staunch New England names such as Smith, Aborn, and Copeland. The pastor is assisted by Mr. James Bosgraf from the Bethel, Church, Wheaton, Ill., a student for ministry at Gordon Divinity School. Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Caldwell sponsor the Machen League. . . . These and other families make our task most unusual: finding opportunities to put their talents to work.”

In 1975, Pastor Rockey resigned to take on the labor of planting a daughter church on Cape Cod, and he was followed by Kenneth Ironside, who pastored the church until 1983. Under his successor, James Kern, the church moved in 1988 to greatly expanded facilities in nearby Ipswich. Subsequent pastors include Charles Wingard, David O'Leary, and Gregory Hills.

In 2016, the congregation withdrew from the OPC and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

Picture: First Presbyterian Church meeting in its Hamilton, Mass., building, ca. 1980.