Saving God's House His Way

Saving God's House His Way

A handful of parishioners in the village of Milton faced a crisis: Should they abandon the near-derelict Congregational Church where many had worshiped most of their lives, or start repairs and figure out how to pay for them later?

Built in 1791, the little white church is the oldest in the township of Litchfield, Conn., (pop. 1,378) which includes the village of Milton. It was originally on the village green, but in 1828 the building was harnessed to oxen and hauled onto a shallow stone foundation perched on a knoll. It overlooks the Marshepaug River on one side and has the heart of Milton at its front door.

The church, which seats about 100, thrived in the days when a passing car was considered an event. Life-long Milton resident Orcelia Winn remembers that when she was a little girl, the choir was full and three rooms were packed with children at Sunday school.

With no furnace, the church closed in winter and the community of Milton worshiped at home. “I’ve been a member for 66 years, and before that, as little girls, my sisters and I went with our parents in summer,” Winn recalls. “We didn’t have a car, so on winter Sundays we’d stay home and listen to the sermon on the radio and sing my mother’s favorite hymns.”

As years went by, however, the church’s lack of heat and bathroom facilities became more than most parishioners could handle. Winn remembers one Sunday when the organist was the only other person there. “She played a hymn and read something from the Bible and then she said, ‘Well, I guess that’s a service,’ and we left. If we had about 15 to 20, that was a big congregation,” Winn recalls.

Its stone foundation also worked against the old church. In winter, the stones would shift, making the beams resting on them heave and warp, cracking plaster and letting in moisture. The steeple also was in sad shape. Too heavy for the rafters, it caused the timbers to bow, and a poor attempt at attaching it to the roof allowed rainwater to seep in through nail holes.

“Over the years, it was easy to say, let’s see what we can do next year,” Winn says. “Finally, it was a question of spending, or you’re not going to have a church.”

Margaret Kane, the church treasurer, recalls that only three people wanted to save the church and try to rebuild the congregation; the rest, about 12 in number, were ready to throw in the towel. Then one day someone said something that touched a chord in everyone. “If your house needs repairs, you fix it,” Winn remembers one of them saying, although she can’t remember which. “This is God’s house. It’s up to us. It’s our responsibility to do something.”

So, on a wing and a prayer, in late 1996 Robert Fischer, who became the building committee chairman, hired a construction company. At a cost of more than $100,000—with one-third up front, the remainder left to faith and fund raising—the company lifted the rickety church off its shallow foundation and moved it about 50 yards to the right.

A full basement was installed, and the stones of the foundation were sent to Massachusetts to be recut and put back where they had rested for more than 160 years.

As staggering as the undertaking seemed, the little group of parishioners had put their faith in the right hands. Donations of time and money poured in, not only from Milton but from Litchfield and surrounding towns. The Seherr-Thoss Foundation, a local charitable fund, footed the bill for scaffolding and replastering. The floors were redone by a next-door neighbor, front steps were donated, pew cushions were sewn, chairs were reupholstered, the pulpit furniture was refinished as a gift in memory of someone’s father, and even the tattered Christian flag was replaced with a crisp new one given by a friend.

In 1998, the church reopened with a furnace in the corner of its new basement to keep it warm throughout the year. The parish is still working on installing a bathroom, but as for all the other repairs, the church’s now-growing membership doesn’t owe a dime.

Elf Lefferts writes from her home in Litchfield, Conn.

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