Churches of Sandisfield – Talk and slide show by Ron Bernard

Sandisfield historian Ron Bernard opens our season with “Churches of Sandisfield,” a talk and slide show. For 250 years churches shaped community life in Sandisfield. Come meet the pastors and notable personalities whose fascinating biographies are in Ron’s new Sandisfield history book, The Little Brown Church of New Boston, Mass. and the Lives of Its Pastors : 150 Years of Heritage and Revival.  In many ways the history of our churches is the history of our town.

Full of interesting and often surprising anecdotes, Ron’s book finds, as Bernard Drew wrote in the Eagle, “stories that go beyond buildings and liturgical matters.” From Drew’s review: “The book chronicles the lives of those who stood at the pulpit of the congregation that broke away from the Congregational Church at the Centre in 1874 (that building burned in 1908) because of the uphill distance for New Bostoners to attend services. The South Sandisfielders similarly put up their own chapel in 1909; it’s now home to the Sandisfield Historical Society. The Baptist Church in Montville became Congregation B’Nai Brith and is now Sandisfield Arts Center.

“The New Boston Church has had 47 pastors (including seven students) since the first, Elbridge Bradbury. Most served short terms, departing for more prosperous settings. Yet today, under the leadership of the Rev. Eric Kriebel, it has a growing attendance, according to one parishioner I spoke with.”

You’ll be able to purchase a signed copy of the book at this talk, or write to Ron at PO Box 91, Sandisfield 01255.