Military Street Baptist Church bids adieau to longtime home

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
 HOULTON, Maine — The final sermon was spoken at the Military Street Baptist Church Sunday as the congregation closed the doors to its 110-year-old building and began the transition to its new church located on top of Drake’s Hill.    Pastor Randall Burns said Sunday’s final service was filled with emotion.
“It was a great day,” Burns said. “We went into the day, kind of with the feeling like we would if it were a funeral for a great, old saint. There was surely some grief, but there was also great joy.”
Two services were held Sunday with near capacity crowds as church members said goodbye to the building they have called home for so many years.
“There is a lot of sentiment and emotion that goes into a space in the 110 years that building has been on the corner,” Burns said. “To neutralize it for Christian service, for our purposes, is fairly traumatic. But at the same time, there is such joy and anticipation for what is awaiting us on top of the hill.”
This coming Sunday, the congregation will hold its first service at the new Military Street Baptist Church. Burns said he is anticipating a large crowd for that service. An official grand opening ceremony is scheduled for June 29-30, with members of the public invited to come see the facility.
The decision to sell the existing building and construct a new church on top of Drake’s Hill (which technically is still Military Street) has been several years in the making.
Back in 2004, the church congregation started planning for a new sanctuary after they discovered a multitude of renovations were needed to their building on the corner of Military and Kelleran streets. Burns said aside from the obvious lack of handicapped accessibility, there are a number of structural and cosmetic issues with the existing building. The stained glass needed upgrading, as did the floors, roof and electrical wiring.
The estimated cost of those renovations was over $1 million.
The late Dallas Henderson and the late Dr. Phil Dwyer were two church members who came up with the vision of a “City on a Hill” movement. Their children, Sam Henderson and Jim Dwyer, are carrying on their families’ roles with the project. The “City on a Hill” team is comprised of Brian Gardiner, Sam Henderson and Bill Goetsch, along with Burns.
With 22 years of service as the church’s pastor, Burns is the longest tenured minister in the history of the Military Street Baptist Church. A relative of former minister Alton Maxell, who has since passed away, also attended the service, Burns said.
“I wasn’t removed from the emotions that people were feeling,” he said. “Looking at the beautiful stained glass windows and seeing the peaceful environment that it has been for so many people. It was touching. I have officiated so many weddings and funerals there. It really has been a precious space.”
The existing building was sold to Houlton businessman Pete Chase, who has been one of the many individuals assisting with the construction of the new church.
Military Street Baptist Church celebrates its 146th anniversary on Wednesday (today). The original Military Street Baptist Church was located on the hill near the former Ricker Classical Institute before Houlton’s “Great Fire” in the late 1800s.
When it comes time for him to close the door one final time, Burns said he expects emotions to overcome him.
“I will have a moment, by myself, to say goodbye, but for right now, I am too busy,” he said. “I feel that emotion welling up and I may need to have a good cry. But the church building is just the tool. It’s the people that make the church.”