The History of Lincoln Congregational Temple
      United Church of Christ

 The Oldest African American Congregational Church
in Washington, DC

     It may be said that the movement to abolish slavery helped give rise to Lincoln Congregational Temple United Church of Christ (Lincoln Temple).  Following the Civil War, thousands of freedmen sought refuge in Washington, D.C.  For a time, they were sheltered in such places as the Wisewell Barracks at 7th and "O" Streets, NW.  While there, these newly freed persons benefited from food and clothing and education, including religious instruction based on Christianity, provided by a number of benevolent organizations and church groups.  A number of these entities were abolitionist in philosophy and practice.
     From such humble beginnings emerged an institution that was nurtured by Christian love, cultivated by a people united by a common experience and bound together by a desire to succeed in a society that was not fully accepting of them.  Consequently, over the past 136 years Lincoln's clergy and laity have labored to educate, enlighten, protect, inspire, serve, guide, encourage, feed, console, and meet the urgent and ongoing needs of the African American community.
      From the days just following the Civil War, through the Civil Rights Movement and through today's civil, moral, and cultural shifts, Lincoln Temple continues to open its doors to those who traditionally comprise the membership as well as to the surrounding community in all of its diversity and seeks to affirm and utilize the gifts of everyone who chooses to be part of the Lincoln Temple family.
     The time line below captures some of the highlights that have shaped the History of Lincoln.

LINCOLN TEMPLE TIME LINE
 * 1863 Wisewell Barracks Sabbath School instituted
 * 1868 Colfax Industrial Mission at 11th and "R" Streets, NW erected by the American Missionary Association "for the education of the colored children of Washington."
 * 1869 Formal Dedication and first Sunday service at Colefax Mission under leadership of Rev. G. N. Marden
 * 1870 Colefax renamed Lincoln Industrial Mission in memoriam to fallen President Abraham Lincoln
 * 1880 Ten Negro members from First Congregational join with Lincoln Industrial Mission and Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church is chartered
 * 1881 Rev. Simon Peter Smith installed as pastor of Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church
 * 1901 Lincoln Memorial merged with Park Temple Congregational Church
Rev. Sterling Brown, Pastor of Park Temple, serves as pastor of the merged congregations: Lincoln Memorial Congregational Temple
 * 1929 Construction of new church building at 11th and "R" Streets overseen by Rev. Robert Brooks
 * 1952 Lincoln member, Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, leads lunch counter sit-ins in downtown Washington, DC
 * 1953 Rev. C. Shelby Rooks succeeds Rev. Brooks as pastor
 * 1957 The United Church of Christ is formed from the merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical Reformed Church: ("That they may all be one.")
 * 1961 Rev. Channing E. Phillips installed as pastor
 * 1963 Lincoln Temple served breakfast to participants in the March on Washington
 * Mid 1960's Jessye Norman, Howard University student sings in the choir
 * 1968 Lincoln Temple is a station for food and clothing during the riots following the Martin Luther King assassination
 * 1969 Sanctuary serves as concert hall to musician and vocalist Roberta Flack
 * 1970 Rev. Benjamin E. Lewis (Associate Minister under Rev. Phillips) becomes senior pastor
 * 1972-1974 Construction of Lincoln/Westmoreland Housing I and II and establishment of programs for indigent families
 * 1986 Adopt-A-Family Program established
 * 1991 The Shaw Community Ministry was incorporated to minister to residents of the Lincoln/Westmoreland Housing facility with support from Lincoln Temple
 * 1994 Rev. Vernor R. Clay becomes pastor
 * 1994 Lincoln Temple is listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places under the name - Lincoln Industrial Mission-Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church
 * 1999 Rev. Anthony Hudson becomes Interim Pastor
 * 2002 Dr. Kwasi Kwakye-Nuako becomes Supply Minister
 * 2004 Lincoln Temple celebrates 135th Anniversary
 * 2005 Rev. Dr. Nathan A. Harris is installed as pastor

                                                                   M. Davis, A. Houston, J. Cooper, Rev. N. Harris