By Carla Charter
Among the re-enactors taking on the roles of historical members of the Orthodox Congregational Church in Petersham will be several portraying their actual ancestors.
Rev. Luther Willson will be portrayed by his direct descendant Fred Day.
Rev. Willson was called to the Church in Petersham in 1819, after leaving a Connecticut church which did not accept his Unitarian views. The same issue soon repeated itself at the Petersham church, where again some members were not happy with Willson’s views, according to according church member Barbara Hanno, who is assisting with the reenactment.
These members gathered a council of various churches from Greenwich, Brookfield, North Brookfield and Hadley. The congregation separated on June 25, 1823, and formed their own church calling themselves the Orthodox Congregational Church and called the churches to recognize it.
“Similar schisms were happening all over Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire,”according to Reverend Geoffrey Smith, the current pastor of Orthodox Congregational Church, which is celebrating its bicentennial this year.
Rev. Daniel Grosvenor, the Congregational Church’s pastor, and the congregation met in members’ homes until they built the current building around 1829. Meanwhile, the Unitarians and their pastor remained in the church building, as it was decided that the congregation with the largest membership would retain the building and other church assets.
“I have always known about Rev. Willson being a pastor in Petersham. Our family ever since then has had a presence in Petersham,” said Day, a summer resident of Petersham and former member of the Historical Society. “I am very happy to do it. I am looking forward to the re-enactment. I definitely want to make him proud. He was my great-great-great grandfather. This is all about the Orthodox Congregational Church and their 200th anniversary. He was an important part of them starting their journey.”
Unitarian Church members Catherine Willard and William Willard, will also be portrayed by their descendants—Jean Robinson and her cousin Robert Hall, according Hanno.
“I looked for descendants for the roles. And I know they were all honored and excited about portraying them,” she said.
Other re-enactors who are not taking on the roles of ancestors include Rev. Smith, who will be portraying Pastor Aaron Whitney, the first Congregational Minister in 1738. Whitney will also make reference to another pastor, George Whitefield, a well-known English minister at the time who traveled through England and America during the Great Awakening. Although he never came to Petersham, there is record that Whitefield preached in West Brookfield.
The Great Awakening, according to Rev. Smith, was a movement led by Rev. Jonathan Edwards of Northampton.
“Back in the early 1700s there was a malaise in religion, it was very dry and academic,” Smith said. “The Baptists, Presbyterians and New England Puritans decided to liven it up a little. They introduced more emotion and made it less dry and academic. It was the end of Puritanism and the start of Congregationalism. One of the results was a schism between the Congregationalism and Unitarianism. That’s how the Petersham church started.”
Joel and Anna Goddard will be portraying two couples who stayed with the Congregational Church and were two of the first signers of the Covenant which created the Orthodox Congregational Church, on June 25, 1823.
The reenactment will take place on June 24 at 2 p.m. on the North Common of Petersham under a tent on the location of the second meeting house in town, where the original church split happened. Along with the re-enactment, church members will speak about the history and their memories of the church. There will be a reception at the library following the event. The Orthodox Congregational Church is working in conjunction with Petersham Historical Society, Petersham Memorial Library and Petersham Unitarian Parish for the re-enactment event.
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.