West Hartford Landmark Undergoes Transformation

First Church of Christ’s steeple campaign seeks community support

By Michael Savino

Jane Willan still remembers her reaction upon first seeing the First Church of Christ in West Hartford Center.

Willan was coming to interview to lead its congregation. She recalls approaching the church from Interstate 84 and being blown away by the steeple.

“The first time I pulled up in front of it, I could hardly believe that I was going to be interviewing there,” said Willan, now the senior pastor. “It’s a gorgeous building, it’s old, it’s packed with history.”

It’s a reaction a lot of people likely have when they pass the landmark that has sat at the intersection of South Main Street and Farmington Avenue for 77 years.

The building doesn’t look the same today, though, at least for the time being. That’s because the First Church is renovating the 22-story steeple.

The congregation is hoping the rest of the community will help cover some of the $400,000 cost given the building’s history.

“We felt that we could appeal to our friends and neighbors and the community,” said Julia Rosa, chairwoman of the committee raising money.

But members also said they hope the project will remind the rest of West Hartford that the First Church is still very active. Besides Rosa, members include Don Clark, Luke Frey, Amy Melvin, Jeff Mitchell, and Joy Taylor.

“That’s why we do things out front so people see this church is alive and highly functioning and doing all kinds of things in the community,” Willan said.

Topped With Gold Leaf

The First Church of Christ has been operational since 1713, back when the town was just the West Division of Hartford. The church used various meeting houses until it constructed a building on South Main Street. That building burned down in early 1942, leading to the construction of the church and steeple that still stand today.

The church has routinely painted the steeple to keep it looking pristine. That is how the congregation learned the structure would need more significant restoration.

“We found out very quickly that it was going to be a lot of repairs,” said Bob Cave, who oversees the church’s buildings and grounds committee.

Cave said the project will include fixing some roofing issues and replacing the wood that makes up the steeple’s exterior.

The church will also upgrade the decorative top to include a gold leaf. “It’s going to be, at least for me, a dramatic change from what I’ve been getting ready for,” Cave said.

Rosa said the congregation approved the project in February and work began in May. The members wanted to move quickly because the steeple houses organ pipes, a carillon — a keyboard and a series of bells — and other instruments.

“It’s important to preserve that because we would — it would be impossible to rehouse organ pipes or anything,” Willan said.

Carillon Continues

The work has been ongoing, but members said their regular Thursday carillon concerts continue and are open to the public. Four will be held in July beginning on July 6. More information is available on the church’s website: www.whfirstchurch.org.

Members also said it was just important to them to keep the steeple looking its best. “We think of it as a centerpiece of West Hartford,” Willian, the senior minister, said, adding the point of the steeple is to “draw your eye up toward God.”

Rosa said that was a big reason why the congregation felt they could ask the general public for donations. She said people not affiliated with the church would likely not feel inclined to donate for other maintenance or renovations.

Many members describe the steeple as iconic, though, and Rosa said her committee “was not conflicted” about seeking help from people who enjoy seeing the steeple or listening to the carillon music.

“This is one that we really feel is worthy of community outreach, to really specifically ask the community ‘would you support the effort that’s going on,’” Rosa said.

One Hundred K Goal

The church hopes to raise $100,000 from the public to help offset the total cost of the project.

The fundraising committee created a Go Fund Me page and put up a “Save the Steeple” banner on the project scaffolding with a QR code that directs people to the page. (Information on donating is available at: www.whfirstchurch.org/save-the-firstchurch-steeple.)

Members of the committee were also outside the church seeking donations during June’s Celebrate! West Hartford festival. “We’re willing workers,” Rosa said of her committee of six volunteers. “We’re worker bees.”

Fundraising efforts have also included asking members of the congregation and some of the church’s vendors for donations.

The project and the need for donations, comes at a time when the First Church of Christ, like many religious organizations in the U.S., is seeing its membership drop. Cave said the church can hold 1,200 people, but estimated 150 to 200 people come on a typical Sunday.

Aside from that, members said they hear from others in West Hartford who didn’t realize this church is still active.

Cave recalled opening the church so the public could see Christmas decorations, and passersby being surprised. “People walk in, they say ‘oh my gosh, it’s still a church here,” he said.

Willan said the church “just wants to be a community place that brings the Christian faith or faith itself into the community” while partnering with people of other beliefs.

She’s hopeful the steeple project will bring attention to First Church of Christ and everything it does in the community. “What it might do is bring attention to how alive this church is,” she said.

Cave said the renovation project will get people to look at the building, but he doesn’t think that will be enough to reverse the membership trend. “People come to church because of the people, the minister and the ministry,” he said. He does share hope that people will like what they see if they interact with the church, noting its involvement in the community, nursery and academy.

He also credits Willan with making sure the church is “adjusted to the time.” In June, the church participated in West Hartford’s Juneteenth and Pride events. “She’s been a dynamic change and we are a church in change,” Cave said.

Rosa, meanwhile, said the fundraising efforts have created chances to engage with the public. She said she even gave some children a tour of the church after learning they had never been inside.

“There’s a lot of goodwill going on the front of the church, which was really lovely,” she said.

The church hopes the project will be completed sometime in August. Contractors are lowering the scaffolding as they make progress.

To donate to the Save The Steeple project, go to www. gofundme.com/f/30rff4dnu0

Significant Dates In First Church’s History

The first meetinghouse of the Fourth Church of Hartford, built circa 1712, was a simple unadorned, and unheated wooden structure with a steep pyramidal roof.

Rev. Benjamin Colton served as minister for 44 years, from 1713 to 1757. His pastorate was followed by that of Nathanael Hooker, the grandson of Thomas Hooker. A scholarly, but frail man, Hooker led the congregation from 1757 until 1770 when he died of tuberculosis.

The original meetinghouse served the parish until 1742 when the expanding congregation voted to replace the building. That church was completed in 1744.

The second meetinghouse was a two-story building measuring 54' long by 40’ wide with a gable roof and attached steeple tower.

In 1833, the Ecclesiastical Society, the ruling body of the church, built the “vestry” or lecture hall on the southwest corner of Farmington and Main streets. When West Hartford incorporated as a town in l854, the vestry was the site of the first Town Meeting.

In 1880, the ecclesiastical society proposed a plan to erect a new church building on the southwest corner, exchanging property with the town for the vestry and the land upon which it stood.

The Greystone Church, constructed of Monson granite instead of wood, was built in 1882 at a cost of $33,000. The church was dedicated on June 6, 1882.

With the destruction of the Greystone Church in a dramatic fire on January 3, 1942, construction of the new meetinghouse became imperative.

During construction, the congregation accepted the invitation of Rabbi Abraham Feldman to worship at Temple Beth Israel rent-free. The congregation worshiped at Beth Israel for 22 months, forging a friendship between the two congregations which is often celebrated at a combined Thanksgiving service along with the congregation of St. Johns Episcopal Church (who worshipped at Beth Israel after a fire in 1992).

The cornerstone of the sanctuary was laid in June of 1946 and completed by September. The chapel was added in 1956. Information provided by the First Church of Christ history posted on its website.