Pittsfield church resurrected as arts venueBy Anthony Fyden
12:00AM / Wednesday, March 03, 2004
 | | The historic First United Methodist Church on Fenn St. in Pittsfield is getting a new lease on life as a community meeting center and performing arts venue. (Photo By Anthony Fyden) |
PITTSFIELD — The legendary Blind Boys of Alabama, a Grammy Award-winning gospel act, will perform at the First Methodist Church in Pittsfield on March 26. That’s good news for gospel music lovers, and it’s also good news for downtown Pittsfield – because it underscores the ongoing emergence of the church as a popular concert and events venue.
The Fenn Street church, with its outstanding acoustics and seating capacity for nearly 1,000 people, has quietly been building a reputation as a theater and music venue for the past few years. The transition has been driven by the church’s need to bring in revenue, the lack of quality meeting and events space noted by a number of groups and cultural organizations and the desire of community leaders to revitalize downtown Pittsfield.
“We want to be seen as a community asset,” said Jim Hunt, a church leader who works in the Berkshire Juvenile Court system. “Our goal all along has been to maintain a presence downtown, and we have this enormous building.”
In the face of a dwindling number of suitable meeting places, more community organizations have been migrating to the Methodist church. Some have used the site for years – 90 to 100 people enjoy a free hot meal every Tuesday at the weekly “Harvest Table.” Others have begun using the venue more recently, such as the Sioga Club, which coordinates substance abuse meetings; Shakespeare & Company, which runs a special program for youth offenders; the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Jimmy Fund and other groups. The Common Grounds Coffee House, which presents a monthly folk music series, is also based out of the church.
What further sparked interest in larger-scale events was the Eagles Orchestra being displaced from its rehearsal space in the old Eagles Building and needing a new place to practice and perform. The Public Arts Resource Center, the nonprofit organization that sponsors the Eagles, began working with the church, and the band now calls the venue home. This spring, the resource center will present six performances of the musical “Cabaret.”
The Berkshire Music School and the Colonial Theatre are working on plans for a large-scale jazz concert, which will also be staged in the church. The community organizations are not charged for use of the venue, but most try to make a donation of some kind, according to a fund-raising letter.
The transition has been exciting for many church members, who said they enjoy bringing excitement downtown and like to see the historic site used by the community. There were some concerns, however, when the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition wanted to use the venue to stage “The Laramie Project,” which dramatizes the brutal killing of a gay man. The subject matter was serious and the language was graphic, so church members talked the matter over, according to Hunt.
“We do everything by committee here,” he said. “We decided to go ahead; there’s no way to whitewash a murder. The language had to remain if you wanted to tell the true story. We approved it.”
The relatively small church membership and a willingness to be open to new ideas have helped make the transition a smooth one so far, Hunt added. While the building has the size, centralized location and acoustics to host performing arts, some upgrades are needed. The church, in association with the resource center, is trying to raise $26,000 for a portable stage, new 200-amp wiring to accommodate lights and sound and lighting equipment.
“Once these improvements have been made, Pittsfield will have a venue that holds 1,000 guests for good quality entertainment,” reads a solicitation letter from the resource center that will be mailed to businesses. “The economic impact to the businesses in the area can be immediate. If stores and restaurants market properly, there will be a substantial number of customers who may want dinner before or a drink afterwards.”
The church has a storied past. The Rev. Lemuel Smith preached the first Methodist sermon in Pittsfield about 1789, according to church records. The church was first located at the school house on Elm Street, then moved to the first meeting house on West Street (1800-1827), to a brick building on East Street (1829-1852), to the large wood building with a tall spire located on the corner of First and Fenn streets (1852-1874), and finally to the present site on the corner of Fenn and Pearl.
"The sanctuary was remodeled in 1925, and Tiffany style memorial windows were installed," the church history states. "An education wing was added in 1955. In the 1960s, renovations included relocating the kitchen and dining room to the main floor, adding a chapel and youth room and updating the sanctuary and organ. In 1972, a new console and pipes were installed for the organ. In 1978 a new slate roof was put on the south side of the church."
As membership dwindled and the local economy flagged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the congregation took "a long, hard look at its past, its present and its future," and embarked on a "Road to Renewal" plan. The church adopted Habitat for Humanity as a community service focus (nearly $50,000 has been donated) and sought ways to increase membership and renovate the building. The Road to Renewal plan marked a turning point for the congregation — including a commitment to remaining downtown.
Many building improvements have already been made, including better accessibility for the handicapped and the addition of a "Columbarium and Meditation Room."
In 2000, the church began a new phase, starting with the retirement of its pastor, the Rev. John Parker and associate pastor, the Rev. Robert Skidmore. A new pastor, the Rev. Dr. Roger A. Davis, was installed in July 2000.
The planned upgrades to accommodate performing arts fit well with the overall goal, parishioners believe.
Church officials said they hope the upcoming show featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama will send a signal to the entire Berkshire community that First United Methodist Church – and downtown Pittsfield – are ready to host big-time events.
The Blind Boys of Alabama, founded over 60 years ago at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind – recently notched their third consecutive Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul/Gospel Album for their latest release “Go Tell it on the Mountain.” The group has also been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. While the Blind Boys perform many traditional gospel songs, they lend their own style to the music they cover, including “gospelized” versions of songs by Prince, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, Jimmy Cliff and others.
Tickets to the March 26 performance are $32; $42 for “premium seats.” Information and tickets: 528-3394. |
