One shot to get it right

LEOMINSTER — Knowing you only get one chance to successfully celebrate a 275th anniversary, the Rev. Dr. Keith Alderman reached out to a member of his parish about writing a play to commemorate Pilgrim Congregational Church’s milestone.

“It’s kind of like ‘A Christmas Carol,'” he explained a few day’s before today’s celebration. “The ghost of the first minister comes and talks to me and I tell him a few things, but we go though the whole history… Then we go to the future.”

But before looking ahead to the waiting decades of Leominster’s oldest church, Alderman makes a point of laying out the congregation’s past.

Founded in 1743, the Pilgrim Congregational Church predates the Revolutionary War and the city it is now based in. According to Alderman, it has gone by many different names, and existed in many locations and buildings, before settling at its current address in 1872.

“Pretty much the whole center of Leominster has burned down several times. They didn’t have as good of a Fire Department back then and all the buildings were made of wood, but this one hasn’t burned down yet,” he said. “We’re in something like our sixth building now.”

Changes have also been seen inside the church throughout its nearly three century history. The size of the congregation has ebbed and flowed as wars and national tragedies have pulled people in, only for hectic schedules and the demands of day-to-day life pull them back out again.

The dress codes have changed a little, too. Jack Hathaway, who has been a member of the church for over 60 years, can recall an era when suits and ties were the Sunday dress code.

“When I was a kid sitting in these pews back in the 1950s, you couldn’t get in,” he said. “The whole place was full. The balcony was full.”

The congregation is about 300 people strong now.

Only about half those parishioners attend church regularly and the congregation’s demographics have changed a lot in recent decades.

“St. Leo’s was always Irish, St. Anna’s was Italian. You had the Baptist church, the Methodist church. This church, for some reason, always tended to be the one for Leominster businessmen and industrialists,” said Hathaway. “If you ever drive up Grove Ave. and look at all of the big, old homes up there, those are the people I’m talking about.”

Having affluent members was particularly helpful to Pilgrim Congregational’s survival as it subsists almost solely off donations from the congregation.

Artifacts from the church’s history are scattered throughout the building as evidence of past generosities. Among the most notable are two stained glass windows to the right of the pulpit. Commissioned by parish member Martha Rockwell in honor of her late husband, Edward, the windows were made by the New York-based luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. Just a few feet away is the church’s massive, historic pipe organ that was a gift of local industrialist F.A. Whitney, who also attended the church.

Generosity from a congregation member was all that kept the church from succumbing to thousands of dollars in debt it had accumulated by the late 19th century. Had it not been for a large amount of silver gifted to the Pilgrim Congregational Church by a parishioner named Mary Ann Chase, it’s possible the church wouldn’t have made it to the anniversary its members are now celebrating.

Though church members may no longer be the same wealthy captains of industry that once flocked there, the spirit of generosity has continued.

Jack Hathaway’s wife, Bonnie, is the co-founder of the Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network, a nonprofit agency providing shelter and assistance to local homeless families that started at Pilgrim Congregational Church.

“Our church was one of the first ones to bring it into the community,” she said. “When people go into shelters, a lot of times they are separated. Our focus is on keeping the families together. It’s not a long-term stay, but it’s one long enough for them to hopefully raise the money they need to get into housing.”

Though unable to say whether his church will go on for another 275 years, Alderman said he is optimistic about the future, as is Marilyn Wilson, the fictional reverend from the anniversary celebration’s play. Set in 2041, her scene describes a congregation of over 400 people getting ready to celebrate its 300th anniversary.

“This is a community that solves its own problems,” said Alderman. “We love each other, we have our differences at times, but in the end, we come together, worship God, and go forward helping the community. That’s what we do.”

Follow Peter Jasinski on Twitter @PeterJasinski53.