MAYFLOWER CHURCH CONGREGATIONAL

The MAYFLOWER CHURCH CONGREGATIONAL, EUCLID AVE. at Lockwood Ave., formed in December 1920 from the merger of Park Congregational and Calvary Congregational churches. Park Congregational Church originated as an interdenominational Sunday school (July 1886) located at Doan and Crawford (Ashbury) streets, which subsequently became the Union Chapel, staffed by supply pastors. In Jan. 1888 Union Chapel became the North Branch of the EUCLID AVE. CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. On 2 Oct. 1890 the mission organized as an independent entity, Park Congregational Church, under Rev. M. L. Berger as pastor. It moved to the corner of Cullison and Crawford streets in 1892.

Calvary Congregational began in 1889 as a mission Sunday school of the Euclid Ave. Congregational Church, in the Lake View area (Euclid Ave. toward Collamer Ave.). In spring 1890 the Sunday school moved to a new building on land loaned by JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER. Later that year 24 members organized as the Lake View Assembly of the Euclid Ave. Congregational Church with Rev. William A. Knight as pastor. Four years later, with 115 members, it became an independent church, Lake View Congregational Church of Cleveland; Rev. Albert B. Christy was its pastor. The church moved to Euclid and Lockwood avenues in 1909 and changed its name to Calvary Congregational Church, with Rev. Robert A. George as pastor.

In 1920 Calvary merged with Park Congregational to form the Mayflower Church Congregational at the Lockwood Rd. site. The church retained both pastors, Rev. Howard Lee Torbert from Calvary and Rev. James Ross Greene from Park. The pastors divided their time between Mayflower and a branch in the village of EUCLID. After Greene retired (1922), Torbert served as pastor until Mayflower merged with the EAST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH in 1931, creating EAST CLEVELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.


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