PETERSHAM—A 1700s Bible belonging to Rev. Daniel Grosvenor and signed by him in 1782 will be on display in Petersham this weekend as part of the bicentennial finale of the Orthodox Congregational Church.

The Bible was donated to the Petersham Historical Society in 1927 by a descendant of Rev. Grosvenor.

“When a group of historical society members got together this summer to organize the archives, a letter from the Grosvenor family was found in the files that said they were sending the Bible to Petersham Historical Society from Switzerland, where the descendant’s family then lived,” said Barbara Hanno, church member and vice president of the Petersham Historical Society.

“The society members recognized the name of Rev. Grosvenor, so we were aware of his significance to the church history and were eager to find the Bible,” Hanno added. “The former archivist for the society was consulted and the Bible was located within the archives. We are very excited to have the Bible back in its rightful place of importance. It will be on display this weekend.”

Upon hearing of the Bible, Rev. Geoffrey Smith, current pastor of the Orthodox Congregational Church, said, “hearing about something historic like that, I was very happy.”

The Bible will be part of the timeline display at the church, which will also include newspaper clippings, photos and church records. There will be a slideshow of the church’s history, created from various records as well as photos of events, such as church fairs, Sunday School and special family moments. The slideshow was created by Mark Van Scoy, who assists the church with technology. The timeline display and slideshow will be available to view on both Saturday and Sunday.

Giving the keynote address, entitled “Looking Back and Looking Forward,” will be Rev. David Purdy, who served as pastor at the church in the mid-1990s and from 2017-2020. Several other former pastors of the church will be sharing their memories as well. The church’s elder members will be sharing their reflections on how worship services have changed over the last century.

State Rep. Andrew Saunders will be presenting a citation from the Commonwealth on the occasion of the church’s bicentennial. Rev. Dr. Ashley Clere, executive director of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, will speak via a recorded message. The church will be open on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. The keynote address and reception will be held on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Rev. Grosvenor trained at Yale and served as a minister in Grafton and Paxton. He married Deborah Hall in 1776 and they had 10 children. Rev. Grosvenor also served as a Revolutionary War soldier and a trustee of Leicester Academy, according to Hanno. He retired to Petersham due to poor health to be with his family. When the church separation occurred, he stepped back into the role of minister and often held church services at his home, since the congregation had no building, she continued. Rev. Grosvenor died at the age of 81 in Petersham.

In the 1800s there was a larger schism within Congregationalism, during which the Unitarians split from the Congregational Church. However, in Petersham, according to Rev. Smith, there were more Unitarians than Congregationalists. The town’s only church decided to split and become Unitarian. The members who wanted to remain Congregationalists led by Rev. Grosvenor built their own house of worship a block down the street, he continued.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.