Emmanuel Church (Killingworth, Connecticut) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 50 Emmanuel Church Rd., Killingworth, Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1800 |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 99000924 |
| Added to NRHP | August 05, 1999 |
Emmanuel Episcopal Church is a very old church building located at 50 Emmanuel Church Road in Killingworth, Connecticut, United States. It has a long and interesting history, starting over 200 years ago.
Contents
History of Emmanuel Church
The church group first started in the mid-1700s. It was known as the Episcopalian Society of North Bristol and North Killingworth. In the year 1800, this group officially became a parish, which is a local church community, within the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
The church building you see today was built in 1803. At first, it was called Union Church. The church was officially opened and blessed by Bishop Hobart of New York in 1817. Nathan Bennett Burgess became the first pastor in 1801, working part-time.
A New Name and Challenges
In 1869, the church was made a bit bigger. It was also given a new name: Emmanuel Church. The name "Emmanuel" comes from Latin and means "God is with us."
However, the church faced tough times in the late 1800s. There were only a few families left in the congregation. They even thought about selling the church building.
Pastor Gilbert's Arrival
Things changed when Reverend George B. Gilbert arrived in 1909. He was a pastor who had studied at Trinity College and Berkeley Divinity School. Reverend Gilbert was known for his friendly style and his interest in helping ordinary people.
He helped Emmanuel Church become strong again. More people joined the church, and he organized fun picnics. These picnics would bring hundreds of people to the church's quiet location in Killingworth.
A Famous Country Preacher
Reverend Gilbert served Emmanuel Church for almost 40 years. During this time, he also led other churches nearby. In the late 1930s, a magazine called Christian Herald wanted to write a book about a "traditional country preacher." Their readers suggested Reverend Gilbert.
He wrote a book about his life called Forty Years a Country Preacher. It was published in 1939 and became a huge success. The book was even on The New York Times Best Seller list for several months! This made Reverend Gilbert famous. He was featured in Life magazine and Time magazine.
Reverend Gilbert's son, Charles, shared that his father wrote the book by hand. His daughter, Virginia Gilbert, typed it up.
Helping Others
Reverend Gilbert was not just a pastor. He also served as a state representative and a chaplain for the state Senate. He believed in helping those who were less fortunate. He would often welcome homeless people and those released from prison to live and work on his farm.
"He liked to help poor people, that was his bent," his son said. "We always had one or two strangers, people who were down on their luck, living with us." Reverend Gilbert passed away in 1948 at 76 years old.
Changes and Improvements
After Reverend Gilbert's death, the church struggled again. His daughter, Virginia Gilbert, worked hard to keep the small congregation together in the 1950s.
In the late 1960s, the church became a "mission." This meant it received extra money from the state Episcopal diocese. This help allowed the church to get electricity for the first time in 1970!
In 1980, Emmanuel Church joined a group of local churches called the Middlesex Area Cluster Ministry. This group helps provide pastors for smaller Episcopal churches in the area.
A big change happened in 1989 when a parish hall and kitchen were built. This was important because it gave Emmanuel Church its first indoor plumbing facilities. Before that, for 189 years, the congregation had used an outhouse!
Inside the Church
The church has a special organ built by Karl Wilhelm Inc. This organ was made using old building methods from the 1600s. It is made of white oak wood. The decorative pipe shades are hand-carved butternut wood, covered with real 22 karat gold leaf.
The organ keys are also special. The natural keys are made of ebony, and the sharp keys are rosewood covered with cow bone. The organ has 8 "stops" of metal pipes, which are made of a tin-lead mix. These pipes can make many different sounds, from very soft to bright and loud.
The church also has a Bourdon pipe, which makes deep bass notes. These are played with the feet on the pedal board. There are a total of 636 pipes in the organ!
Besides the organ, the church also has one beautiful stained glass window and a shiny brass chandelier.
Current Activities
Today, Emmanuel Episcopal Church is still an active church. It has many outreach programs that help people in the community and beyond. These programs include:
- Helping Hands Food Bank
- HK Back Pack programs (helping kids with food)
- Welcome baskets for the Albert J. Solnit Children's Center
- Amazing Grace Food Pantry
- St. Vincent dePaul's Place
- Bishop's Fund for Children
- Heifer International (helping families worldwide)
- Lulac Head Start
- New Horizons Women's Shelter
- Collecting clothes for Native American communities in South Dakota
- Supporting Mision Divino Salvador in Bogota, Colombia
The church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. This means it is recognized as an important historical site.
See also
