the History of

Pilgrim Congregational Church,
United Church of Christ


17th Century

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1620:	Pilgrims landed in the New World.
1636:	Harvard College founded as the first of many schools for the education of clergy and lay leaders.
1647:	Act passed requiring all town residents to financially support public education.

18th Century

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1700:	Congregational opposition to slavery began.
1772:	Boston Tea Party began in Old South Meeting House. Daughter of a Congregational minister, Abigail Adams, appealed to her husband, John, to provide for women's rights when shaping the Declaration of Independence.
1785:	Lemuel Haynes became the first black man ordained in North America.
1799:	The first Missionary Society formed in this country.

19th Century

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1817:	Established Brainerd Mission and school at Bird's Mill in the Cherokee Nation seven miles east of Chattanooga.
1865:	American Missionary Society worked to educate freed slaves and their children. More than 500 schools and colleges formed including Howard School in Chattanooga.

20th Century

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1914:	Pilgrim Congregational Church was established in downtown Chattanooga by Rev. Charles Haven Myers and a group of about 100 people from First Methodist Church who sought doctrinal liberty and a church life with freedom from outside powers.
1921:	After meeting in temporary spaces for several years, Pilgrim Church began construction of a new church building at the corner of Oak and Lindsay.
1944:	Rev. Arnold Slater began a 27 year ministry at Pilgrim Church. Rev. Slater continues today as Pastor Emeritus.
1957:	The Congregational Christian Churches joined with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to create the United Church of Christ.
1958:	Construction began at 400 Glenwood Dr. on a new building for Pilgrim Church.
1960s:	Pilgrim Church took a leading role in the Civil Rights Movement in Chattanooga, speaking out and expressing concern over racial inequality and prejudice.
1961:	Pilgrim Church became a member of the United Church of Christ.
1970s- present:	Pilgrim Church has continued its leadership in the community be striving to bring about racial justice, equal rights, and ecumenical cooperation.
1995 to present:	The Rev. Dr. John W. Mingus, Sr. called as our pastor. Congregation grows as an inclusive and diverse community living its mission. Pilgrim sponsors a refugee family from Bosnia. Pilgrim helps to bring the Interfaith Hospitality Network to Chattanooga. Pilgrim Church sponsors a refugee from the Sudan. 21st Century We enter the new century stronger than ever as a congregation and more committed than ever to being the church God calls us to be. In the spring of 2002 we began to clearly identify ourselves as God's Beloved Community, an inclusive community for all God's people. On June 1, 2003 we formally voted to declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming Church in the United Church of Christ. On June 1, 2006 The Rev. Dr. John W. Mingus Sr. retired from Pilgrim and now lives in Florida. 2006: Rev. Dr. Janice Mynchenberg is called to serve as Interim Pastor.

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Pilgrim Church | 400 Glenwood Drive | Chattanooga TN 37404
423. 698.5682 | 423. 698.5688 | pilgrim@chattanooga.net