Congregation marks 150 years of worship

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle Congregational Church officially marked its 150th anniversary with a celebration worship service on Sunday, Oct. 25, honoring its past and looking forward to the future.Along with a full house of worshipers, there were special guests in attendance, including the church’s longest-serving pastor, Rev. Dr. Robert Grove-Markwood, and his wife, Susan. The Grove-Markwoods served the local church for more than 25 years.
Participating in the worship were Rev. Timothy Stohlberg, current pastor; Rev. Deborah Blood, conference minister of the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ; Bob Grove-Markwood, president of the BTS Center in Portland and pastor of the Presque Isle church from 1988-2013; and Rev. James Fletcher, elder chaplain of Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland and PICC pastor from 1980-87.
Susan Grove-Markwood reprised her role as organist and music director for the service, leading the PICC Choir in song and also accompanying the Handbelle Choir, under the direction of Roberta Griffiths, in a prelude selection.
Following the service, a time of fellowship with special refreshments followed.
The Oct. 25 celebration was the culmination of several months of preparation and sesquicentennial activities. There were displays at the Northern Maine Fair Historical Pavilion in August; a community walk in September, which also featured a collection of non-perishables for local food pantries and a hot dog roast; and in October, a special concert offered by the Aroostook River Voices and a potluck supper for the congregation.
In addressing the congregation, Rev. Blood extended greetings from the entire Maine conference and spoke of challenges facing the church in general, including declining membership. She offered encouragement, calling local churches to share their gifts in new ways, reaching out to one another and thus strengthening the whole.
Special greetings were also read from former pastors Garvey MacLean and John Westerhoff, as well as Maine Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, who extended their congratulations to the congregation.
“From the earliest days beginning in 1865 to today’s celebration — faith and consistency within this community has helped to support countless individuals and families,” said King. “It is my hope that you continue to enjoy bountiful fellowship and rejuvenation in each other and build upon the legacy of those before you.”
“This celebration is about more than a beautiful and historic building,” wrote Collins. “It is about a community of faith that for a century and a half has joined together in heartfelt prayer and song, in compassionate outreach to those in need, and in service to all. The spirit of sharing and cooperation guided by the leadership of the early church founders lives on today in Pastor Timothy Stohlberg and his wife, Marcia, and in your active and involved congregation.”
In the Presque Isle church’s 150 years, changes have been a way of life; the original congregation consisted of five members, and the church building itself has transformed from one shared as a town hall in the early years, through fires and several rebuildings to the structure as it exists today.
Church records offer the following highlights:
The original founding members were Charles Fitz-Abner Johnson, George Curtis Jr., Elisha E. Parkhurst, Sarah C. Johnson and Eliza W. Curtis. Parkhurst’s descendants still attend the church, among them Marilynn Bonenfant, his great-great-granddaughter.
The original structure was built in 1865 on land donated by Sumner Whitney from his farm, and also served as the town’s meeting hall. Three entities actually were involved; the Presque Isle Congregational Society and the Maysville Congregational Society used the building, and the town Building Society maintained ownership. Interestingly, pews were sold — to members and non-members — to earn money to pay the pastors; Whitney himself purchased one, located in the back corner. The most expensive pew at that time was listed at $14.
The church was extensively rebuilt in 1907; however, in 1909, it fell victim to a devastating fire. Fortunately, church records and the new stained-glass windows were saved.
A new building was completed in 1910. The Presque Isle and Maysville groups merged into one congregation in 1914. After fire destroyed Presque Isle’s high school in 1922, the church was used for classes that fall and winter.
In 1927, according to historical documentation, “A pipe organ was installed with funds from the Mary and Martha Club matched by E. E. Parkhurst.”
In 1936, the Presque Isle Congregational Church was officially created, as the church and parish (the building society) joined into one entity, the Congregational Church of Presque Isle. The pastor at that time was Rev. E. Milton Grant, a leader in the recreation department who originated the Presque Isle outdoor pool.
The 1940s and ’50s saw further renovations to the building. In 1961, members voted to join the United Church of Christ; thus the PICC, United Church of Christ was born.
Other highlights include the church’s organ. Records indicate its Estey pipe organ quit in 1974, and a 1906 Kilgen tracker organ, which had been in a church in Brooklyn, N.Y., was purchased and installed. That organ is still in use today, and its pipes take up the space of an extra room behind the sanctuary.
Under Fletcher’s 1980-87 service, additional remodeling and carpeting were completed, and during Bob Grove-Markwood’s tenure the church took its first steps into electronic media: in 2002 it developed a website and began using email.
Stohlberg, who actually served as a pastoral associate when Grove-Markwood began work with the Bangor Theological Seminary in 2012, became the church’s settled pastor in 2014.
Poised at the beginning of its next 150 years, the church maintains its sense of community, faith and strength for the journey. In a message on the PICC website, Stohlberg sums it up: “As people of faith, we are called to the work of remembering and celebrating. By means of these, we keep faith with our past, stay vital in the present and assure our future.”