History
Kathy Dube
A Brief History
Bristol residents formed the first Methodist "class" in the tradition established by John Wesley, founder of Methodism, in 1833. By 1834, the Methodist Episcopal Society of Bristol was legally incorporated and land purchased for a church building on West Street. A typical small country church, the structure was completed and dedicated in mid-1837.
Steady growth spurred the decision to leave West Street in favor of a larger structure to be built on the corner of Center and Summer streets., closer to the center of town. The then new 1880 structure was eventually partially torn down to make way for an even larger sanctuary on the same site. The new sanctuary was dedicated in 1894. The cost was borne entirely by John Humphrey Sessions, a prominent industrialist and early convert to Methodism. The structure, built in the Akron style and with the prominent tower depicted at the top of the ornament, has been a fixture in the downtown area ever since.
Prospect United Methodist has a wealth of historic photographs, books and artifacts under the care of the church History Committee. Much of the material is maintained in a room above Sessions Hall. Committee members are working to catalog and organize these historic items. The History Committee also maintains the Historic Display Case inside the Center Street vestibule and undertakes special projects from time to time to help familiarize members with church history, such as a commemorative ornament and the Historic Photo Gallery dedicated in May 1998.
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A Prospect Memory
The first issue of the Tower, Prospect’s newspaper, was published in February 1936 under the heading “The Prospect Tower Rings Its Bell.” The yearly subscription price was 25 cents. The purpose was reporting on the faith and works of the church. The church tower was used as the inspiration because, it was written, the Tower’s head is in the clouds while its feet remains on the ground.… “the pinnacle reminds us of the past, the clock of the present, and the dedication to the worship and service of God bids us think of the future.”
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History Repeats Itself
The current economic plight of Prospect Church certainly is a major concern to current church members, but travel back in time to Prospect of 70 years ago and you would realize how a lack of money was a dominant issue in December of 1938. A letter from Edgar French, chairman of the Finance Committee that year, was sent to all church members saying the church was unable to pay the salaries of church staff. [Note: Edgar French was the father of one of Prospect’s oldest church members, Virginia French Wall, a long-time member of the History Committee.] The letter stated that the church was in serious financial straits and that if only all church members would give $1 each, it would go a long way toward alleviating the situation.
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Prospect in Earlier Days
The only pastor of Prospect ever to be elected a Methodist bishop,
Rev. Dr. Ernest G. Richardson, returned to the church to dedicate a plaque to benefactor William E. Sessions at a 100th anniversary service on Oct. 28, 1934.
Dr. Richardson served as pastor of Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church, the original name of today’s Prospect United Methodist Church, from 1910 through 1912. Dr. Richardson later was elected a bishop, serving Philadelphia at the time of the centennial anniversary. The plaque, located in the back of the sanctuary on the left side of the center entrance, is dedicated to
W. E. Sessions … “Who enriched the church with his life and his many benefactions.” W.E. , son of John Humphrey Sessions, the original Sessions benefactor, was born in 1857 and died in 1920.
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Prospect In Earlier Days
Youngsters Visit Synagogue: Oct. 9, 1960
Church School students from Prospect took a field trip to the former Beth Israel Synagogue on Oct. 9, 1960. Seventy-five students from the Junior Department (Grades 4, 5, and 6) were accompanied by parents and Sunday School teachers to meet with Rabbi Philip Blachorsky, who explained the meaning of the Jewish Festival of Booths, or Sukkot.
He interpreted the meaning of the festival, the symbolism, and ceremonial objects in the Synagogue. Afterwards, to the delight of the children, refreshments were served outdoors by the Beth Israel Synagogue, in the true Sukkot festival tradition.
[From Wikipedia: Sukkot, known as both the Feast of Booths and Feast of Tabernacles, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). The holiday lasts seven days. The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, “booth, tabernacle”. The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the ancient Israelites dwelled during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.]
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Deaconess Emeritus, Carrie H. Reynolds
The February 1950 Prospect Tower lamented the loss of Prospect’s beloved Deaconess Emeritus, Carrie H. Reynolds. Her funeral on Jan. 23, 1950, was largely attended with the Rev. Lewis Davis, pastor, and the Rev. Paul DuBois, former pastor, presiding. A testimonial in the Bristol Press written by the late Clarkson Barnes editorialized … “Carrie Reynolds is gone but her work in this city will long be remembered, and those who were privileged to know her will revere her memory for many years to come.” Who was Carrie H. Reynolds? In this and future Towers we will explore the legacy of Mrs. Reynolds and the considerable work she did for Prospect and the city at large.
Carrie Reynolds was born Carrie Hutchinson on Feb. 22, 1874. Her parents were Henry and Mary (Wooding) Hutchinson, active members of this church. She attended Bristol schools and Prospect’s Sunday School, joining the church as a teenager. She later graduated from Wilbraham Academy and the Lucy Webbs Hayes Deaconess Training School in Washington, D.C. Nevertheless, she remained a member of Prospect Church (then Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church) until the day she died.
Upoh upon the occasion of her death on Jan. 23, 1950. Carrie Hutchinson, born in 1874, was raised in Prospect Church. Her marriage on June 14, 1898, to the Rev. Richard H. Reynolds, native of Cornwall, England, took place at this church. He had been admitted as a member of the New York East Conference a short time before. For two years the couple resided in Woodbury, where he was pastor of the North Woodbury Methodist Church. However, he had to resign a short time later as a result of illness. The couple moved to New Mexico hoping he might regain his health, but sadly, he died there on June 4, 1901. He is buried in West Cemetery in Bristol. Thereafter, Carrie Reynolds dedicated herself to a life as a deaconess, feeling compelled to carry on the work of her husband. She entered the Lucy Webb Hayes Training School in Washington D.C. in 1903. Upon completion of the two-year-course, she first served as deaconess at the Stamford Methodist Church followed by a short stint at the New York Avenue Methodist Church in Brooklyn. In May of 1911 her home church under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Ernest G. Richardson (later to become a bishop) called her and the conference assigned her to become a deaconess here. She was to serve 26 years in the post.
What Is A Deaconess?
In the Methodist tradition, women could be set apart for service in and through the church before they were permitted to be ordained which occurred in 1956. Even after they could be ordained, many chose to become a deaconess in order to perform a variety of services in a lay capacity. A deaconess was commissioned, not ordained. The UMC web-site traces the roots of deaconesses to Phoebe in Romans 16:1. The Office of Deaconess was officially recognized by the Methodist Church starting in 1888. Lay men are now accorded an opportunity to serve in a life-long relationship of service when the Office of Home Missioner was established at the 2004 General Conference. The Offices of Deaconess and Home Missioner are currently the only active offices in the United Methodist Church for laity called to full-time vocations in servant ministries. Both offices form a covenant community that is rooted in scripture, informed by history, driven by mission, ecumenical in scope and global in outreach. There may be fewer than 2,000 deaconesses serving the church around the globe.
Upon her death on Jan. 21, 1950, the late Clarkson S. Barnes wrote the following testimonial in the Bristol Press:
“The death Friday of Mrs. Carrie H. Reynolds, deaconess emeritus of Prospect Methodist Church, brought sadness to many Bristol people, not only to the members … but also to members of other churches, both Protestant and Catholic alike. For Mrs. Reynolds did not confine her work as deaconess to Methodists alone. She served wherever a helping hand was necessary, and many families who never stepped foot inside Prospect Methodist Church found her to be a friend upon whom they could call in time of need. No doubt one reason why Mrs. Reynolds could help out so sympathetically when sorrow came to a family was because her own life was touched with sadness when she was yet a young woman. Married at the age of 24 to a Methodist minister she became a widow at age 27. Carrie Reynolds is gone, but her work in this city will long be remembered, and those who were privileged to know her will revere her memory for many years to come.”
Virginia Wall and Lorraine Bulluss remember Carrie Reynolds as a charming woman always dressed in black, with a cap on her head, because that was what deaconesses wore. “She was a lovely woman, very friendly, and was a helper to the minister,” Virginia recalls. Lorraine remembers that Carrie Reynolds lived near the church. Her office was in space off Sessions Hall where the chapel is located today.
Carrie Reynolds was proclaimed Deaconess Emeritus of Prospect upon her retirement due to physical disabilities in 1937. Nevertheless, she remained a member of the Official Board of Prospect until her death. She resided in Brooklyn for 10 years followed by three years at the old West Haven Methodist Home. She is buried in West Cemetery.
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