The first Labour Church was founded at
Manchester in October 1891 by a
Unitarian minister,
John Trevor. It asserted that "improvement of social conditions and the development of personal character are both essential to emancipation from social and moral bondage, and to that end insists upon the duty of studying the economic and moral forces of society." as well as a
Socialist Church, based on the Labour Churches, being opened in
New Zealand at
Christchurch. By 1897 there were at least 4 Labour Churches in
Massachusetts. After John Trevor left in 1900, the Labour Church began to decline. At the annual conference of 1909, held in
Ashton-under-Lyne, the name "Labour Church" was changed to "Socialist Church". However, by the beginning of
World War I the recently renamed Church had disappeared. ==References==