Smithfield Church celebrates 275 years in Amenia

AMENIA — Recognized as a landmark structure on Smithfield Valley Road, the Smithfield Presbyterian Church just commemorated its 275th anniversary in Amenia.

Tracing its origins back to 1742, the church was founded by Moravian missionaries who were living among the Pequot tribe in the Shekomeko area of New York. Because the church’s founding coincides with the year that the missionaries helped the settlers to establish a religious community, Pastor Douglas Grandgeorge explained, the church ties its beginnings with its Moravian roots.

Over the course of time, a total of three churches emerged in the Smithfield Valley with the current Smithfield Presbyterian Church rising 168 years ago.

The church’s milestone anniversary was celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 29 — along with the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation on Oct. 31, 1517. 

In an interview before the service, Grandgeorge shared some highlights of the church’s history.

One early highlight was a visit by English evangelist George Whitefield, who preached to the congregation on June 17, 1770, not long before his death in autumn of that year. 

So many people came to hear the famed preacher that the service had to be conducted under an oak tree near the church cemetery. The tree was revered by the congregation until a storm took it down in 1957.

By the middle of the 20th century, Grandgeorge said, there were too many Presbyterian churches established in too small an area. The churches tried unsuccessfully to combine their congregations, but ultimately the smaller churches were closed down. The two that remained were the South Amenia Presbyterian Church in Wassaic and the Smithfield Church.

To date, Grandgeorge said the Smithfield church is one of the fastest growing churches in the area and has maintained its number of parishioners over the years.

Designed by architect Nathaniel Lockwood, the church’s Greek Revival structure has been identified as a landmark on Route 83 at Smithfield Valley Road, according to church member Susan Bang. The church and its adjoining cemetery have also been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since February 2012.

The church has been preserved, by and large, with a few welcome additions and improvements.

It received a tracker pipe organ from the First Congregational Church in Kent and has made repairs to its Steinway piano. 

Around 2014, the church members noticed that the iconic columns located at the front of the church were slipping off their bases, resulting in an extensive restoration that cost nearly $400,000. 

“All of the churches I have pastored in my lifetime have been 19th-century churches,” Grandgeorge said in reference to his experience with the Smithfield Presbyterian Church. “This is the first time I’ve had an 18th-century church and that’s rather exciting.”

The service on Oct. 29 featured music by organist Hampson Sisler from the American Guild of Organists, trumpet player Matt Finley from Pine Plains and clarinet player Norman Baker from Ancramdale. The music program included a rendition of J.S. Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by a choir with two soprano soloists.

Entitled “Four Columns” in honor of the church’s restored columns, the morning’s sermon spoke of the four pillars of the Protestant faith. A potluck luncheon of baked ham, wine and cheese followed the service and poet Kevin McEneaney read a poem to commemorate the occasion.

Also in celebration of its 275th anniversary, the church is looking for recipes for a new congregation cookbook. The  church’s first cookbook was published in 1915 and the second in 1976; it is hoped that the new cookbook will include updates of past favorites.

For more information on how to contribute to the cookbook, contact Susan Bang at 917-991-9714 or at sbang@susanbang.com.