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Central Congregational Church
Central Congregational Church sits like the Rock of Gibraltar on the lower end of Broad Street.
It’s a granite example of 19th century magnificence, anchoring other beautiful buildings around it.
The church has dedicated parishioners. But one look at its towering walls begs a fundamental question: How do Lynn worshippers keep churches the size of Central Congregational repaired and open?
The question is one congregations citywide ask routinely and the answers they come up with differ from church to church. Their solutions to meeting the enormous costs involved in maintaining a big building vary.
Many congregations and organizations share space in the stone church dominating Baltimore Street. The former temple on South Common Street is the house of worship for a Spanish-speaking congregation slowly renovating the gigantic brick building one small project at a time.
For every flock making ends meet in a local church with a long history of worship, there is another parish renting storefront space or trying to survive in a big church that prospered when the city counted over 100,000 residents.
Central Congregational is holding a combined yard and bake sale on Saturday. It is almost laughable to suggest the money will sustain the big building’s heating and repair bills.
Rev. John Lawther and his congregation deserve credit and respect for their faith commitment to a historic house of worship. But it is important to ask another question about Lynn’s big churches: Is there a collective way to sustain them and build a community-wide commitment to their survival?
Washington Street Baptist Church dominates downtown and Rev. Eric Nelson is never shy about spelling out the importance of a unified front when it comes to keeping big Lynn churches alive.
Maybe the time has come for a citywide congregation conference to bring together people of faith to talk about their individual challenges and ways congregations can pool resources to improve the common good.
A number of surprise revelations could emerge from a congregation conference. Small storefront parishes could find new homes in big churches with ample space available for worship. For instance, Central Congregational and the South Common Street worshippers could pair up with community organizations in need of meeting and program space.
The conference could also bring worshippers who never met simply because they were never invited into the same room at the same time.
Lynn’s landmark churches are testaments to departed but not forgotten Lynn residents who graced the city’s skyline with magnificent structures built with stone, rope and muscle. They deserve a methodic plan to ensure their survival.