History of Salem's Church With the Lighted Steeple is Now in Print

Tabernacle Congregational Church, UCC in Salem, Massachusetts, took those historical records one step further, however, and published a history of their 273 years.

The book, entitled "Salem's Church With the Lighted Steeple," is a compilation of articles written by members of the church over many years, including a 100-year history, written in 1832 by John Punchard, who served as clerk of the church for 40 years. More recent writings have been done by members Nellie S. Messer, Alice C. Woodbury, and Arthur Phippen, celebrating the first two hundred years from 1735- 1935. Bringing the history up to the present time are articles by Rev. Elizabeth King, Catherine Piemonte, Robert Maier, and Betsey Bennett.

"Having served as church historian for about 10 years, publishing the material which had been found in many different places, from filing cabinets, to storage bins, to a vault which was full of boxes and chests of material, had become almost an obsession," said Catherine K. Piemonte a member of Tabernacle. "I believed our members really needed to know what had taken place in our past."

What they found out was an interesting and inspiring story the church had buried in the basement.

"Photographs and pictures of the church's history as far back as 1775 were resurrected from various resting places and were used in the book to make the story really come to life," said Piemonte. "Our minister, Rev. Laura Biddle was most encouraging and appreciative of the project and felt it would be a wonderful document for future ministers and parishioners."

From the beginning of the settlement of Salem, the church played a large role in the lives of the parishioners. On August 6, 1629, they covenanted with themselves and God to "walke together in all his waies, according as he is pleased to reveale himselfe."

Tabernacle still uses this covenant in its services. The centuries following the church's founding brought a division and then re-uniting of the congregation, a relationship with the sailing ships exploring the Far East, and an ordination and commissioning service of the first missionaries who left American shores for foreign lands. But some people may think that the most extraordinary story is the record of the ordinary events of ordinary people who sat in the same pews almost 300 years ago -- just as current members do now.

Piemonte typed the manuscript on Microsoft Word and used a local publishing company to print the book. The book, a 300-page publication, contains over 100 photographs -- including pictures of many ministers of the past, as well as artifacts from the church's historical room. Copies of the book are available at the church for $30.00 plus $5.00 for mailing. Members are selling it from the church on Sundays and making it available from the church office.

"This fundraiser for the church will enable the church to rescue all those wonderful volumes of church meetings, old photos which are sensitive and need to be stored correctly, and place them in a room in the church where they will be available but safeguarded for posterity," said Piemonte. The archival material is being sorted by date and placed in acid free folders, which will prevent further deterioration of the materials.

"We believe that future ministers and parishioners will have better access to this vast amount of material and that it might be a wealth of information for future historians in the area," said Piemonte.

Catherine K. Piemonte may be contacted through the church office at: 50 Washington St., Salem, MA 01970, (978) 744-3164 or kpiemonte@comcast.net.

Tell us how God is speaking in and through your church. Have you reached out to the community in unique ways? Initiated a new mission project? Found a new way to minister to those within the congregation? Share your story and help us to spread the good news! Contact Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane, Editor, at cochranem@macucc.org.

You may reprint this story by including the following line in your article:
"Source: Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ, www.macucc.org/spotlight"

• Talk with others about how God is Still Speaking at your church. Send us your story at spotlight@macucc.org. Suggest to others that they subscribe to Spotlight.
• Forward this email to your members.

History of Salem's Church With the Lighted Steeple is Now in Print

Tabernacle Congregational Church, UCC in Salem, Massachusetts, took those historical records one step further, however, and published a history of their 273 years.

The book, entitled "Salem's Church With the Lighted Steeple," is a compilation of articles written by members of the church over many years, including a 100-year history, written in 1832 by John Punchard, who served as clerk of the church for 40 years. More recent writings have been done by members Nellie S. Messer, Alice C. Woodbury, and Arthur Phippen, celebrating the first two hundred years from 1735- 1935. Bringing the history up to the present time are articles by Rev. Elizabeth King, Catherine Piemonte, Robert Maier, and Betsey Bennett.

"Having served as church historian for about 10 years, publishing the material which had been found in many different places, from filing cabinets, to storage bins, to a vault which was full of boxes and chests of material, had become almost an obsession," said Catherine K. Piemonte a member of Tabernacle. "I believed our members really needed to know what had taken place in our past."

What they found out was an interesting and inspiring story the church had buried in the basement.

"Photographs and pictures of the church's history as far back as 1775 were resurrected from various resting places and were used in the book to make the story really come to life," said Piemonte. "Our minister, Rev. Laura Biddle was most encouraging and appreciative of the project and felt it would be a wonderful document for future ministers and parishioners."

From the beginning of the settlement of Salem, the church played a large role in the lives of the parishioners. On August 6, 1629, they covenanted with themselves and God to "walke together in all his waies, according as he is pleased to reveale himselfe."

Tabernacle still uses this covenant in its services. The centuries following the church's founding brought a division and then re-uniting of the congregation, a relationship with the sailing ships exploring the Far East, and an ordination and commissioning service of the first missionaries who left American shores for foreign lands. But some people may think that the most extraordinary story is the record of the ordinary events of ordinary people who sat in the same pews almost 300 years ago -- just as current members do now.

Piemonte typed the manuscript on Microsoft Word and used a local publishing company to print the book. The book, a 300-page publication, contains over 100 photographs -- including pictures of many ministers of the past, as well as artifacts from the church's historical room. Copies of the book are available at the church for $30.00 plus $5.00 for mailing. Members are selling it from the church on Sundays and making it available from the church office.

"This fundraiser for the church will enable the church to rescue all those wonderful volumes of church meetings, old photos which are sensitive and need to be stored correctly, and place them in a room in the church where they will be available but safeguarded for posterity," said Piemonte. The archival material is being sorted by date and placed in acid free folders, which will prevent further deterioration of the materials.

"We believe that future ministers and parishioners will have better access to this vast amount of material and that it might be a wealth of information for future historians in the area," said Piemonte.

Catherine K. Piemonte may be contacted through the church office at: 50 Washington St., Salem, MA 01970, (978) 744-3164 or kpiemonte@comcast.net.

Tell us how God is speaking in and through your church. Have you reached out to the community in unique ways? Initiated a new mission project? Found a new way to minister to those within the congregation? Share your story and help us to spread the good news! Contact Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane, Editor, at cochranem@macucc.org.

You may reprint this story by including the following line in your article:
"Source: Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ, www.macucc.org/spotlight"

• Talk with others about how God is Still Speaking at your church. Send us your story at spotlight@macucc.org. Suggest to others that they subscribe to Spotlight.
• Forward this email to your members.