Greetings to all, and I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far! At this, the end of the year 2023, there is so much to be grateful for in our lives and in our church, and as Historian for Marlborough Congregational Church I have gratitude to give as well.
I am grateful for those who have given of their time to support and help organize, digitize, interview, catalogue, and do all of the other parts of telling our history, even if their projects haven’t started yet. To those people who are giving of their own time to help with that endeavor, thank you. Thank you very, very much.
We have boxes and files and cabinets and things that were stuck in the dungeon, the attic and belfry, and even right on our very walls…full of history. From the books and ledgers from centuries past to sermons delivered on the centennial, we are fortunate to have not only the documents which have lived in the church itself, but those saved and considered precious by members who donated them back to tell the story. Thanks to efforts of those who have saved, we have documents like the very first Unto the Hills, the predecessor of the Hilltop Echoes, from October 1936. To those who sent in books, documents, photos, and other curiosities which can now be researched and brought into the light, thank you. Thank you very, very much!
To those volunteers who work around the building in their own capacities and come across items of historic importance, recognizing their value in the story of our church, this has been a busy year! From pictures to folios and even most recently, the shovel which broke the ground on May 20,1973 as the construction of the Community Fellowship Hall began you’ve dug up (har har) some amazing finds! Without folks who are constantly digging into the corners of MCC, some items might have stayed buried under insulation or stuck in closets. Thank you very, very much!
Of course, none of this is possible without the most important member of this endeavor to tell our story: YOU. That’s right. You. Without the support and enthusiasm of this congregation, from members near and far, this project to tell our history would not be possible. You have shared your photos, letters, baptism and marriage forms and you’ve shared your stories week after week at coffee hour or when we meet one another at the church. You have brought information about items we have hanging on walls and even under pews. I have learned more about the history of this church (which I will share back as early as January in the first of those books we talked about) from you than I ever could from the papers and books we have. You have supported and shown great care for our church and excitement in the process of going through it all and trying to collect stories. Thank you, Marlborough Congregational Church, for taking this project of telling our story on right alongside the historians of the church.
Now we are winding down 2023, having spoken in the Hilltop Echoes, on Facebook, and even in church a few times. There has been so much progress this year already and what I can tell you is this: your patience this year will begin to bear fruit in 2024! There are projects in the works to begin bringing the history out to us all, so be on the lookout! I’ll keep you updated.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and Merry Christmas (for later on). Thank you again for a wonderfully supportive 2023, Marlborough Congregational Church, and as I’m fond of saying, I can’t wait to see where we’re going from here!
For the last time this year, I’m history!
Steve Pozzato
Arcane Technology Solutions, LLC