
Acton Congregational Church (ACC) dates its beginning at 1832,
although its history can be traced to the First Parish of Acton,
which originated in 1735. The church is located in Acton Center,
within the historic district; Acton is located west of Boston,
next to Concord.
With about a thousand members, ACC has its roots in the First
Parish Church of Acton, established in 1735. In 1832 some 60 Trinitarian
members withdrew from the parish to form the new Evangelical Church,
which is our present church, and built its own meeting houses, one in
1833 and a larger one in 1846. The latter is the basic building in use
today, with several renovations and additions, including a major addition
for new Sunday School space, completed in 2002. In 1983 The Rev. Dr.
Richard H. Olmsted was installed as the 28th minister of the congregation.
The Rev. Gail Miller was called as Associate Minister in March of 1995.
The church is currently seeking a third Associate Minister.
Congregationalism is that system of government of a religious denomination
in which the members of the congregation govern the church; this system
developed out of traditional Puritanism in the United States. The church
members make decisions for the church, through boards, committees, special
function groups, and congregational meetings and votes. In addition, our
church is an active member of the United Church of Christ (UCC), one of
more than 6,000 UCC congregations in the U.S. Each congregation practices
its own form of organization, worship, education, and mission.