History

Christ Church was founded in 1848 under the leadership of twelve local community leaders, who met with Albert Patterson, missioner at large for Boston and the vicinity. They began meeting for morning prayer in Rumford Hall — the same location that would eventually become Waltham’s City Hall.

In 1849, the congregation moved into a gothic wooden building on Central Street, where the Rev. Thomas Frederic Fales served as first pastor to the growing parish. During Waltham’s rapid industrialization they soon outgrew that space. Robert Treat Paine — great-grandson of the signer of the Declaration of Independence of the same name — chaired the committee to build a new church, which was consecrated in 1902.

Christ Church today is housed in that stone English country–style church on Main Street, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Join Mike Balulescu for a guided tour of the stained glass windows of Christ Church — and through them, the story of our parish and our city. The oldest window, an 1862 depiction of Jesus as the Shepherd, traveled here from the first wooden church on Central Street.

The tour visits the altar window dedicated to Lydia Lyman Paine — commissioned by Robert Treat Paine from the English firm Clayton & Bell, and bearing Lydia’s own likeness — and a rare 1906 window confirmed to be from Tiffany Studios, recognizable by its luminous double-painted glass. The masterpiece is the great West Window by Charles Connick: an homage to Waltham itself, weaving symbols of the city’s industrial heritage, from watch escapements to automobile parts, among the biblical figures.

These windows are irreplaceable works of craftsmanship, and their care is part of our stewardship as a parish. We hope this tour helps you see them — on Sunday or on the screen — with new eyes.

Over its history, Christ Church has responded to the needs of the Waltham community in many different ways. Through the years there have been basketball teams, theatrical performances by the Fieldstone Players, couples groups, handbell choirs, the Fleur-de-lis girls’ and young women’s group, and the Sir Galahad Club for boys and young men. For today’s opportunities, visit our Outreach page.

Join us as we build the next 150 years of our history.