Facelift for Historic Church
A facelift is underway for the Presbyterian Church of the Moriches, a historic Main Street landmark dating back to 1839. The towering edifice, with its iconic steeple and porte cochere to keep parishioners dry when dropped off in horse-drawn carriages, occupies the site of a church Union Meeting House first built in 1809.
The white building and its dark green highlights are getting a cleaning, window work, and a fresh coat of paint from Paul Mercandetti and crew with Paul’s Painting and Powerwashing of East Islip. Painting the church’s skyscraping steeple is not part of the current effort due to budgetary constraints, said Bill Phillips, the church’s Property Management Chairman. To help fund a makeover of the famous spire, go to www.pcusacm.org/page/give.
According to “A History of the Presbyterian Church of the Moriches,” by long-time congregant Winifred Thomason, the Presbytery of Long Island formally established a parish extending from Quogue to South Haven in 1748 served by circuit-riding preachers educated at Yale, Dartmouth, and Princeton. Not yet having a central location, parishioners conducted worship services at their homes. The freedom to practice their religion was a key reason these early settlers came to the New World.
In 1755, the Parish of the Moriches was formally organized, with Rev. Abner Reeve serving as its first pastor. A decade later, the Rev. David "Priest" Rose took over the duties and soon cemented himself in the history of early America. He was one of the signers of a statement to approve the Resolutions of the Continental Congress, among the first documents from the Colonies making their case for freedom from England.
“When the British won the Battle of Long Island in 1776, their response to the local churches was harsh and oppressive,” Thomason wrote. “Pastor Rose fled to Connecticut with his family for the duration of the Revolutionary War. He was highly regarded as a soldier during the war. At the war's end, he continued as our pastor and added to his pastoral duties by becoming one of the leaders in rehabilitating and rebuilding the southern section of Brookhaven Town. Several other men of our parish also served the patriots' cause for freedom.”
According to Thomason, the church building was enlarged in 1861 with the addition of two side aisles, one on the east and the other on the west. In 1886, it was reconstructed into its present form, which was lengthened to 69 feet to include the front vestibule with the steeple above it, a prayer meeting room (the present church parlor), and a Sunday School room.
A bell originally used in the 1839 building was incorporated into the new belfry. A Sunday School was attached in 1931, and a kitchen and small basement were added to the growing church. In 1994, a new Sunday School wing was built by the parishioners.
Entering the church, one is struck by the beauty of the vast array of golden pipes representing the grand organ purchased from the Estey Organ Company in 1908. Refurbished in 1979, the organ is a “beautiful and prominent feature of our sanctuary,” Thomason said.
“The world is vastly different from what it was in our beginnings, two hundred and fifty years ago,” the church wrote upon celebrating its Sestercentennial. “Yet, our aim remains the same: to serve the Lord with gladness. We heartily welcome all visitors, both those who would like to explore the beauty of our church and those who would like to experience the warmth of our congregation, whose tradition stretches back 250 years. May the beauty of our edifice, the heritage of our tradition, and the friendliness of our congregation resound in praise to Jesus, our Lord and Savior.”
Services are held each Sunday with the Rev. Antionette Walrond presiding.