Members of the Central Congregational Church came together on the evening of May 4 to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
The event featured a musical program that included a variety of genres such as gospel, Dixieland, pop, reggae, R&B and the church’s own choir, special guests, and Music Director Dave Valario. The celebration continued with a worship service held on May 5.
They were various custom pieces of music that Valerio created for the event, along with songs from popular singers such as John Newton, Burt Bacharach and Bob Marley.
Central Congregational Church had its beginning in March of 1874, according to information provided by the church. At that time, the people of what would later become Attleboro Falls had to travel by foot or horseback to Attleboro – or the “Old Town” section of North Attleboro for congregational worship. On March 19, 1874, a Congregational Church was formed calling itself Central Congregational Church of Attleboro (North Attleboro did not separate from Attleboro until 1887).
A movement formed to erect a church building and was pushed forward by Pastor Handel N. Daggett and others. The old village burial ground was the site selected, located behind the present church building. It was necessary to relocate some of the bodies interred there. Five weeks from the formal recognition of the church organization, a small group of men finished all arrangements and work was started on the church building on May 5, 1874. The building was completed within a year.
Many would express a ‘Word of Appreciation, for the church’s long-standingcommunity involvement. These included Health Director Anne Marie Fleming, Joan Badger, of the Board of Health and Lenore’s Pantry, Leslie Scales, the executive director of the Attleboro Area Inter-faith Collaborative and Kelly Fox from the Greater Attleboro Area Council for Children.
Flemming and Badger began the Word of Appreciation portion of the night with how the church has helped them over the years.
“I can say that although the church has seen many changes over the last 150 years, the heart always remains the same,” said Flemming.
The Words of Appreciation were concluded by Scales and Fox, who also showed their love and support for the church.
“Central Congregational Church has gone above and beyond when helping us. We at ACC value your contribution to the cause.” said Scales.
Fox finished her speech by adding “You’ve generously, kindly filled the wishes of so many children through the years and made sure that they were not forgotten. We are looking forward to many more years of collaboration with the church.”
