The First Congregational Church, 2150 Foothill Drive, will celebrate its 125th anniversary this year beginning in April and continuing with special ceremonies through Thanksgiving.
The Rev. Peter R. K. Brenner, senior minister of the church, said the First Congregational Church was the first non-Mormon church to be established in Utah and was built in April 1865 in what was then Independence Hall in downtown Salt Lake City."There were Catholic priests here in the valley, of course, but there was no Catholic Church until after our church was well-established."
The Rev. Brenner said the congregation moved to a large new church at 400 East and 100 South in 1891. A year later, a huge stained glass window was installed in the building, depicting Christ's walk along the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. The beautifully colored glass window shows Christ with a disciple on each side.
"That church also had the second oldest and second largest pipe organ in the state, after the one in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. The organ contains 2,700 pipes.
"When the church at 2150 Foothill Drive was built in 1965, some of the pews from the former church building, the pipe organ, two large, stately sanctuary chairs and the stained glass window were moved to the new building."
He said it was well that the furniture, the organ and the window were moved promptly, as the older church suffered a fire shortly after the moving process was completed and much of the interior of the former church building was damaged or destroyed.
The pipe organ was installed in the new church's sanctuary, behind a wooden latticework. The two sanctuary chairs stand on either side of the latticework and the stained glass window graces the side of the church near the pulpit.
A small chapel, where weddings, Sunday school and other church meetings are held, contains the pews from the old building.
The Rev. Brenner said his church's celebration of its 125th year will gather momentum throughout the spring and summer and culminate with a grand Thanksgiving service in which members of the congregation will dress in authentic Pilgrim costumes and hold "as authentic Pilgrim feast as historic records will allow us to."
He said he and his associate minister, the Rev. Bob Coates, direct a congregation of more than 300 who live mostly in Salt Lake, Davis and Tooele counties.
A special Sunday school for adults is held each Sunday morning at 9:30 followed by an adult worship service at 10:30 a.m. A youth Sunday School is also held at 10:30 a.m.
A 45-minute social hour is held after the worship service, generally at 11:30 a.m. in the church's Pilgrim Hall and each Sunday evening, youths from sixth through 12th grades meet for Pilgrim Fellowship at 7 p.m.
Adult study groups are held every other Monday night at the church and a men's breakfast group is held each Wednesday at the church beginning at 7 a.m.
The church supports Boy Scout Troop 410, two Cub Scout Packs, 3411 and 3410, and a Girl Scout Troop. It also sponsors a host of seminars and other special activities throughout the year.
In addition, the First Congregational Church was one of several in the area that built Friendship Manor, a senior citizen retirement complex at 1320 E. 500 South, and the Rev. Brenner said his church continues to be active in the management of that facility.
The Rev. Brenner said the Congregationalists were among the first Protestants to reach America from England and Europe. "The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower who landed in America in 1620 were Congregationalists."
He said there are several different groups of Congregationalists today, divided mainly into the United Church of Christ, the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (of which his church is a member), the Conservative Congregational Christian Churches and the Independent Congregational Christian Churches.
"They differ mostly in their political structure," he said.
His church is autonomous, self-governing and free thinking, he said, and believes in the Trinitarian concept that God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are One. "We believe God came to earth as Jesus Christ and we believe the Holy Spirit is the power of God's grace and Jesus Christ's love."