|
Historic Highlights:
The 1960's
In September of 1960, a group of approximately thirty-five people considered forming a new church. After several meetings, financial support was pledged, a
new minister was hired, and fifty-one charter members joined. In October of 1960, corporation papers were completed, and the First Congregational Church of
Pittsfield was underway. Soon thereafter, the congregation elected to join with the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ. One of the first acts, as
well, was to form a Women's Fellowship, with twenty-two ladies as charter members.
The first pastor was the Reverend Scott Kittredge, and the first service was held October 2, 1960. Early services were held in living rooms and in the
then-VFW Hall. In August of 1961, the membership voted unanimously to purchase the former Donald H. Shorey Funeral Home and property, which included three
buildings on Park Street. A mortgage was secured with the Maine Conference United Church of Christ, the first but not the last time that the Conference has
aided the life of our local church. Over the next several months, it was converted into our present sanctuary, parsonage, and what was then our Fellowship
Hall and Sunday School rooms. An organ was purchased at this time which would fill our sanctuary with music for the next forty years.
The Women's Fellowship organized and began operating the Pennywise Shop on Hathorn Street. The Pennywise has had several “homes,” but is now located in Lane
Hall (what was once our Fellowship Hall and Sunday School rooms). Membership nearly doubled in the ensuing years, as people found “the Church that Love
built” to be a place of warmth and Christian growth. Our Sunday School was ever-expanding, and by the end of the 1960's, it was seen that we needed more
room for classrooms. In 1968, it was voted to purchase the Severance home on the comer of Park and Middle Streets, and convert its many rooms into a Sunday
School.
The 1960's saw us grow into a thriving church as well as a teaching church. We had four pastors in the 1960's, and two of these were ordained in our
sanctuary. George Dillon followed after Scott Kittredge, and then Robert Saunders became the first man ordained at our church, beginning a line of seven
pastors (not including interim pastors) who were ordained at our sanctuary. Robert Saunders was followed by Gene Laramy, who ushered us into the
1970's.
The 1970's
The seventies were quite interesting in times of disruption and yet pacification. At the beginning of the seventies, we thought we might lose our physical
presence on Park Street, in that the Town of Pittsfield was hoping to convert central Pittsfield into a shopping mall. The people of the town, however,
voted down this urban renewal project, and our church remained exactly where it was.
Gene Laramy left our church upon his graduation from Bangor Theological Seminary in 1972, and it was then that we hired Harlan Corell, who had the longest
tenure in the history of our church, until the present pastor. Social Action and Outreach were the hallmarks of the 1970's, and our church was at the
forefront.
During the 1970's, the Severance home was renamed Bennett Hall, in honor of Blanche Bennett, our church's- first Sunday School Director. Later, in 1977, our
final payment on the Conference mortgage was made; so now we had clear title to all four buildings (the parsonage, Lane Hall, the sanctuary, and Bennett
Hall). Our church had long wished for a spire to call attention not only to the heavens, but also to the people who pass by, and so it was that we began
fund-raising efforts to purchase and install a spire at the front of our sanctuary. This was completed in 1979, and it stands there to this day. In 1978,
Harlan Corell left our pulpit and it was subsequently filled by George Fowler on an interim basis. It was the Reverend Fowler who brought us into the
eighties.
The l980's
The eighties saw our greatest turnover in the rate of pastors. No less than six pastors served our pulpit in that time. The Reverend Fowler was followed by
the Reverend John Clarke, who in turn was followed by Dr. Walter Cook from Bangor Theological Seminary, who served us on an interim basis. There are many
stories of how people would see Dr. Cook walking from house to house, visiting his congregants, and anyone who would stop and talk. He served as a portion
of oil upon unsettled waters, and brought much joy and peace to many here. Our library is dedicated to his service in the Lord. After Dr. Cook, William
Jordan served here, and it was during his tenure that we embarked on yet another building project. Citing the need for better equipped Sunday School rooms
as well as a more efficient kitchen, the church members decided to tear down Bennett Hall and replace it with a more modem facility. In 1985, ground was
broken and a new building was planned. Several members of the church donated their time and financial resources in order to complete Memorial Hall in time
for our 25th Anniversary Celebration. It was now, with the movement of our Fellowship Hall into Memorial Hall, that Lane Hall became the Pennywise
Shop.
Our Memorial Hall has been used by many organizations in and around town: the Boys and Girls Club, TOPS, Weight Watchers, Sebasticook Valley Hospital, the
Cub Scouts, Al-a-non, and the Family Violence Project, just to name a few. We also, in our own opinion, put on the best public suppers in the
county!
The end of the 1980's saw the Reverend Jordan passing the mantle onto Fred Gagnon, and he in turn entrusted the pulpit to the Reverend Ellis Carr. Ellis
Carr oversaw our transition into the 1990's.
The l990's
As of the 1990's, our church had been served by student pastors (with the exception of interim pastors) for over twenty years. We therefore learned to adapt
to many different styles and to change itself. There was a brief resurgence of attendance under Ellis Carr, but as he passed the mantle on to Jim Behrendt
(also a student), our numbers began to trail off. When Pastor Behrendt left after a year, the church was at a turning point. So it was that six months after
Pastor Behrendt left, our church voted unanimously to move from a part-time pastorate and church, to a full-time church, and hired Andrew Gibson, a graduate
of Bangor Theological Seminary, to be the Pastor.
Since 1992, we have seen the addition of a beautiful stained-glass window which adorns the front of our sanctuary, which was installed in the memory of
Ralph and Muriel Gould, both charter members of the church. The fifty-year-old Lane Hall/Pennywise building, which was in desperate need of repair, was
renovated. A re-dedication of that building was held in 1996. Our church again faced a crisis in 1997, when our pastor, Andrew Gibson, was called into active
military service in Bosnia. We called the Reverend Henry Wyman, who was serving part-time at a neighboring church, to be our interim minister while Pastor
Gibson was away. Soon after Pastor Gibson returned, in the fall of 1998, we called our first Assistant Pastor, a student at Bangor Theological Seminary, and
a member of our church, Ernie Campbell. Ernie served for one school year as our Assistant Pastor, and has gone on to be the interim pastor of the Madison
Congregational Church.
Most recently, we have purchased a new organ, to replace the aging Conn organ in our sanctuary, and we are looking forward to creative ways of meeting the
needs of our growing congregation.
Into the New Millennium
We know it isn't the building that makes the church, but this one does mean a great deal to many of us. God is, and always has been, very much with this
church, and with His continued help and spiritual guidance, we will look forward to the future.
Text by Novella Rogers and Andrew Gibson
Thanks to Al Wyman for supplying the document to the PHS for inclusion here.
|
