Winter Social

Invitation postcard.

On Fat Tuesday (February 9, 2016) I attended the Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation Winter Social at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. The connection between Cedar Hill Cemetery and AHCC is the late Rev. Joseph Twichell, the first pastor of AHCC and friend of writer Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain).

Pew marker for Mark Twain.

The social began (appropriately) in the Twichell Room with wine and cheese and various finger foods. As soon as I walked in, I recognized a couple that I (thought) knew. They recognized me too but for a while we could not place the connection. After running through a variety of activities and groups, we discovered it was through the roller hockey that our sons played. I don't think they ever played on the same team but I often saw the same parents each week in the stands sitting along side us or coming and going. I miss those days. Anyway, it's a small world.

Twichell Room at AHCC

After some short speeches (really), we took a "tour" of the church. Actually, this was just an excuse to go into the church and up into the choir loft to see and hear a demonstration of their fabulous pipe organ by organist, Susan Carroll. I wish I would've wrote down what she played for us (rather obscure stuff). The link above include a video clip of the previous organist playing Bach. Pretty impressive.

Sitting in the choir loft for the organ demonstration.
Note the pipes behind us (the top of my head is at the extreme top left).

View of the choir loft and organ (at right, behind organist).

During the tour, I learned that until 1818 the Congregationalist Church was the official state church of the state of Connecticut. All Connecticut residents were required to attend church and/or pay taxes to support the Congregational faith. Anyone belonging to another Christian sect had to provide documentation signed by their church officer indicating attendance and financial support of their separate church in order to avoid paying taxes to the Congregationalists. This resulted in Thomas Jefferson's famous letter regarding the separation between church and state.

I also learned that the architect of the AHCC was Patrick Keely. He designed many of the Catholic Churches in New England during the 1800s.

I am looking forward to the upcoming season of tours and walks through Cedar Hill Cemetery.
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Links:
https://www.ahcc.org
http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=20
http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/joseph-hopkins-twichell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2013/06/finally.html
https://www.ahcc.org/music-arts/sanctuary-organ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6fgRfrTb78
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists_in_the_history_of_separation_of_church_and_state#cite_note-Jeff_Reply-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Keely
http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org
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Written Saturday 20 February 2016.