HISTORY OF SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
In 1851, the members of the AChurch of St. Johnsbury Plain@ completed four years of prayerful discussion on the needs of the growing community by voting that Athe interests of religion require a new church at the South end (of town); that a building be erected at the expense of the whole society to be owned and occupied by a colony from the mother church of not less than one-quarter nor more than one third of its membership, chosen by committee of designation and to be organized at their consent@. Thus, on October 23, 1851, the colony of 66 members formally organized South Congregational Church.
With the colony worshipping at St. Johnsbury Academy, the society entered into an ambitious building program. Asa Edgerton received the $3000 contract for the construction of the church building, and Horace Carpenter, whose workmanship is now evident in the existing structure, began cutting timber from nearby hillsides to provide lumber for the project. The house of worship, with its classic architectural symmetry and typical New England Wren features, was built as an exact replica of the mother church. Changes in the original plans brought the final cost for construction to $4006.57. On January 14, 1852, members of South Congregational Church gathered in their sanctuary to dedicate the new edifice to the glory of God.
The worshipers who gathered on that January day found box-type pews with straight backs and no cushions. Light shone through the small-pane windows onto the lovely mahogany pulpit. As evening fell, the room was illuminated by whale-oil lamps, casting a warm glow on the white walls and ceiling.
The church=s interior underwent extensive renovation as early as 1888. The pews were rebuilt, the ceiling and walls frescoed, and memorial stained-glass windows were installed. Another renovation was completed in 1969, when the pulpit was moved closer to the congregation, the new organ was installed, and the choir loft moved to its present location. In May, 1998, the sanctuary of South Church was rededicated at a service celebrating the completion of the most recent renovation which recaptured some of the Afeel@ of the beautiful decor of the original construction.
TIDBITS AND VIGNETTES
THE CHURCH STEEPLE
The South Church steeple was an engineering masterpiece. Eight wooden timbers spanned the entire distance from the base to the weathervane. The church steeple became a local landmark and a symbol of South Church. The congregation began illuminating the steeple during evening hours on October 2, 1955.
Unfortunately, generations of exposure to Vermont weather caused the wood to decay. Steeplejack Cecil Percy of Waterbury, Vermont, inspected the spire in May 1970, and discovered that the southern side of the steeple was deteriorating at the base. Mr. Percy recommended the steeple=s removal. Church officers, fearing a strong gust of wind might send the spire toppling across the Academy, moved quickly to rectify the problem.
In June, the support posts of the steeple were cut. A large crane lifted the spire from its perch and placed it on the ground nearby. Throughout this operation, shuddering organ music pealed forth from the sanctuary. More than one life-long member of the congregation preferred not to witness the demolition. With the steeple lying on the ground, Gordon Woods Associates of St. Johnsbury took careful measurements and numerous photos, and made a series of drawings of the spire. The congregation explored a variety of options as they sought to replace the steeple. Wooden, fiberglass and aluminum construction were considered for the new spire. Finally, Campbellsville Industries, Inc., was commissioned to build an aluminum replacement. The new steeple, weighing between two and three tons and an exact replica of the original, was raised to its resting place on November 1, 1971.
(The total cost of the steeple project was $30,000Ccompared to the $4000 price tag for the entire church in 1852!)
THE ORGAN
Thaddeus Fairbanks presented South Church with the first pipe organ in the community in 1856. George Jardine of New York City constructed the organ in 1855, using a total of 984 pipes. Until 1876, the organ stood in the gallery. In that year, the instrument was moved to the southeast corner of the sanctuary. The Jardine organ offered three or four basic sounds, and was best suited for the limited demands of early 19th century English church music.
After more than a century=s service to the faithful, the organ was replaced after determining that it was much less costly to build a new organ than to rebuild the old. The new organ would lower maintenance cost while providing greater reliability, a greatly expanded tonal variety, and freedom from some the problems created by the changing Vermont weather. The congregation dedicated the organ, designed by church organist, Robert Rachlin and constructed by David Cogswell of the Berkshire Organ Co., on October 5, 1969.
The new organ was designed to meet the specific needs of South Church, focusing on the instrument=s use in leading congregational singing, accompanying the choir, and rendering solo organ music. Some of the 114-year-old lumber and some of the larger pipe bodies from the original organ were incorporated into the new design. The 1083 zinc and spotted metal pipes were placed in the cental forward apse. The choir loft was moved to its present central location, and houses the electronic console, positioned to make it possible for the organist to direct the choir.
A memorial gift added a set of chimes in September, 1976.
THE CHANDELIER
The burnished brass chandelier in the sanctuary, purchased from a legacy left by Miss Emma Taylor, was part of a renovation project completed in 1888. AMade expressly for the place it occupies, it will prove a very pleasant reminder of one who did so much to aid in the works of shedding the light of the gospel@.
THE BELL
When the second North Church building was erected in 1847, a new bell, weighing 2,500 pounds, cast in the key of F was installed. The ringing of this bell shook the steeple and within five years a crack appeared in the bell=s rim. In 1852, when South Church was being built, the congregation decided to recast the North Church bell to create two twin bellsCone for North Church and one for South ChurchCto symbolize the relationship between the two congregations. Accordingly, the bell was sent to the Meneeley Foundry where enough metal was added to make the two new bells. One of these twin bells, weighing 1,500 pounds and cast in the key of G, was mounted in the South Church belfry. From 1853 until recent years, this bell struck the passing hours for the town clock in the church belfry. In 2009, after several years of summoning the faithful to worship by means of a bell rope, the bell and clock works were rebuilt and reconnected under the supervision of David Brown, restoring the ringing of hours to the sound of the village.
TOWN CLOCK
The three-sided, brass-works town clock is located in the base of the South Church tower facing north, south, and west. The clock, which was purchased from donations by the townspeople, was made by Reeve and Company of New York, and installed shortly after the church=s construction in 1852. A movable rod running from the works room to the rear (east side) of the church building activated a fourth clock face which could be viewed from Railroad Street. The face of that clock, with hands intact, has been painted over, but is still visible at the rear of the church.
For 42 years, Mr. Alden True maintained the town clock, winding it every third day. Mr. True passed away in 1982, and the clock is now maintained by the town. The unique clock works may be seen upon request.
MEMORIAL WINDOWS
The Jewett window was installed in the southeast corner of the sanctuary. Ephraim Jewett was the second clerk of South Church, and the fifth superintendent of the Sunday School. When he and his wife, Caroline Taylor, died in the fall of 1865, the Sunday School children began collecting money for this window which was given in their memory. The anchor at the top symbolizes our steadfast hope in God. Ephraim=s name is Awritten@ on the banner. The white medallion below is inscribed ACaroline P. Taylor, wife of Ephraim Jewett.@
The red-robed man in the middle window on the south wall is Paul, the Apostle. This beautiful window was dedicated to the memory of Lucy P. and Thaddeus Fairbanks (inventor of the platform scale which revolutionized weighing and started Fairbanks Scale Co.) The angel=s banner in the upper portion of the window proclaims AWell Done@, attesting to this couple=s dedication to God and faithful service to the Church.
The last window on the south wall contains a graceful tree, and honors Judge Jonathan Ross. The open Bible contains the Latin phrase Lex Rex, meaning ALaw of the King@, and symbolizes Judge Ross= love of God=s word. The crown symbolizes his recognition of God=s sovereign power, and the scale, his dedication to justice. This was the last window to be presented to South Church.
The window in the northeast corner was given in memory of James K and Sara Pierce Colby by their children. The Colby=s were members of the original colony who formed South Church, and St. Johnsbury Academy=s Colby Hall bears the name of this, their first Headmaster. The four Latin words in the center section of the window call to mind some of James Colby=s positions and activities: Academise is translated Teacher, Praeceptor, Principle; Ecclesiae, Church member, and Diaconus, Deacon. Mr Colby was one of South Church=s first two deacons and also served as Sunday School Superintendent. The Latin phrases in the bottom section refer to Sara Pierce Colby. Ejus Conjux means His Wife; Christi Discipula, Disciple of Christ. The final phrase, Multorum Adjutrix, Helper of Many, refers to her devoted service in a variety of capacities, including wife, mother, Sunday School teacher, and teacher at the Academy. The crown in the top section acknowledges God as the supreme power.
The last memorial window is the St. John window, given in memory of Joseph Fairbanks and Almira Taylor, both long-time members of South Church. Almira Taylor is remembered as an advocate of education for women, and was instrumental in founding the St. Johnsbury Seminary for Women. The oyster shell at the top symbolizes Christian baptism. The John and Paul windows are copied after designs by Albrecht Durer (circa 1515).
THE SANCTUARY CLOCK
A rosewood veneer case encloses the clock located on the back wall of the church sanctuary. This clock, with its ripple-front design, was manufactured by Atkins & Company during the 1850's. The clock is of particular interest because it features a thirty-day Awagon spring@ movement invented by Joseph Ives, a movement powered by a leaf spring rather than a coiled spring or weights.
THE HANDBELLS
Handbells became a voice in the South Church music ministry in 1956, when Virginia Jones purchased a 15 bell set of ASwiss@ bells to use as an adjunct of the Searchlighter Quartet for which she wrote or arranged most of the music. Under her leadership the group of four women rang and sang their way across Vermont at women=s meetings, church suppers and other events. The original Atinny@ Swiss bells were a temporary instrument, for Mrs. Jones had already placed an order for a full two-octave (25 bell) set of handbells from the Petit-Fritsen foundry in Holland. These bells arrived in 1960, and Searchlighter Quartet continued to perform for the next two decades.
In 1978, when Mrs. Jones was no longer able to direct the quartet, she donated her two sets of handbells to South Church under the care and direction of Claire Moore and Jeanne True. In the ensuing years the group expanded to a choir of eight ringers, eventually adding male ringers. One bell was added to the set in 1979, making it possible for the choir to ring the standard two-octave handbell music which was just beginning to be published. The Petit-Fritsen handbells were totally reconditioned in 1983 thanks to a fund-raising campaign and several memorial donations. Three additional bells were added in 1985 and eight more in 1987 to complete a full three-octave (37 bell) set.
Under the directorship of Phillip Goss, the ringers became active in the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers and attended state and regional bell ringing events with other choirs. Music Director, Phil Brown, joined the group in 1984. In recent years handbell participation has expanded to include a 14 member adult choir and a youth choir. These choirs are an integral part of the worship life of South Church, while also performing concerts and attending state, regional and national events. This increased level of activity and interest inspired a fund-raising drive in 1992 which, along with memorial contributions, allowed the church to purchase a new four-octave (49 bell - now expanded to five-octaves) set of Malmark Handbells in September, 1993.
A TRIP INTO THE PAST
A few selections of interesting or amusing incidents in the life of South Church gleaned from the pages of Edward T. Fairbank=s book, Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, A Review of One Hundred Twenty Years:
FIRST ACHRISTMAS TREE@ IN THE TOWN
The first appearance of the AChristmas Tree@ as such in the town was in the auditorium of the South Church on Christmas Eve of 1863. Two fir trees fifteen feet in height were erected on the platform; these were suitably decorated and loaded with gifts for the Sunday School...all accomplished under the direction of the Superintendent Ephraim Jewett, who had made a trip to Boston to obtain the most approved equipments. There was something for everybody, including copies of Mother Goose Melodies, for Principal Colby, Judge Jonathan Ross, and other grown-up boys. The fiftieth anniversary of this occasion was observed in the same place in a graceful manner: The illumination was from colored electric lights which flashed from the shapely spruce tree rising some twenty feet from the floor.
FIRST ABROADCAST@ OF CHURCH SERVICE
In November, 1878, a transmitter made by S.H. Brackett of SJA science department was mounted on the desk of the South Church pulpit, through which the entire service, vocal and musical, was distinctly rendered in the pastor=s house on Park Street. It so happened that the sermon that morning was on the theme of new heavens and a new earth, and occasional references to the graphic imagery of the Apocalypse coming over the wire with a weird and far-off effect seemed like new announcements sounding down from another world.
The conveyance of a church service over telephone wires attracted wide attention, and was reported by the press all over the country. (Thus South Church may justifiably lay claim to being the Amother@ of the Aelectronic church@, with the current ministry of airing Sunday worship services over the local cable access station, seemingly, a consistent expression of this pioneering spirit!)
(NOTE: The Brackett telephone was adjudged an infringement on the Bell patent and was thereafter withdrawn.)
THE FOUNTAIN
On May 4, 1881, a fountain was erected on the front lawn of the South Church. This account of the event appeared in the local paper: AQuite a company gathered at the South Church yard Saturday evening to witness the opening of a new fountain. There was music by the choir; a quaint report of doings of the Acommittee@; song, AHail to the Fountain@ by little girls; reading of lines written for the occasion by Miss Emma L. Taylor; and a doxology. The fountain stands about eight feet high, the water dripping down a tier of iron basins. These, with a pair of flower vases, cost about $175". Further, an old newspaper clipping mentions that on Children=s Day, there would be Abaptism of infants at the fountain@.
The fountain was later disassembled and given for scrap metal during World War II.
WORTHY OF NOTE
South Church has a rich history of accomplished people who served her well as both pastors and lay men and women. At least fourteen of her members have been ordained ministers. Of particular note are: Dr. Ozora Davis, who became president of the Chicago Theological Seminary and of the National Council of Churches; Dr. Paul Moody, who became president of Middlebury College; Dr. Benjamin T. Marshall, who became president of Connecticut College; Dr. Caroline S. Woodruff, a longtime member of South Church and Searchlight=s first president, who later became president of Castleton Normal School and president of the National Education Association...and, while a student at St. Johnsbury Academy, Calvin Coolidge (30th President of the United States) worshiped at South Church.
SOUTH CHURCH TODAY
South Church is an independent congregation with standing within the Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ and the Conference=s Northeast Association. Throughout her history, the church has been characterized by a spirit of openness to the direction of the Lord. The congregation has a long standing commitment to ecumenism, Christian education, and the ministries of music and caring. Among recent events and developments characteristic of South Church are:
*The creation of a Sunday School program that features class-offerings for all ages conducted the hour before worship.
*The 1990 completion of an accessibility project that makes it possible for persons with disabilities to participate in the life of the Church. This project included the installation of a personal PA system, the development of a format for large print bulletins, the construction of an accessible rest room, and the installation of an elevator/wheel chair lift.
*The formation of hand bell choirs for all age groups. These choirs join an already remarkable ministry that includes choirs for youth, and the Chancel Choir for adults. This ministry employs a wide variety of musical talent, both instrumental and vocal.
*The creation of a hospital chaplaincy program in conjunction with area churches and the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital.
*The steady stream of Scouting groups, community theater organizations, fellowship and support groups that are housed at South Church bears testimony to the congregation=s ongoing commitment to serve our God and our community.
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