You might have noticed that there is a bit of a mess over in the basement of the historical church building, called Fessenden Hall! It is a space that served our church for generations, but that we had outgrown for church-wide events, which was one of the main reasons that we built Hobbs Hall.
But we discovered that we still have a lot of church programming and community events that need a smaller and homier space than Hobbs Hall, and have been trying to host them in Fessenden, including the Soulful Home dinner, the parents group, new member potlucks and other gatherings. Last year, we curated the dishes and pots and pans for smaller events (<24 people) but discovered that there were some sorely needed updates to really make the kitchen usable:
- The hot water tank was not working at all
- The stoves no longer worked properly
- Our dishwashing system was not in compliance with health codes
- The wallpaper and paint was decades old and peeling
- Some of the old plumbing was leaking
This year, we have had a small group of volunteers who saw the value of Fessenden Hall on our campus and who imagined a “minor” refresh to brighten up the space as we made some of the updates needed to return Fessenden to a condition that serves the KentUU and wider community. We have already gotten a new hot water heater, stove and dishwasher, and updated faucets
These volunteers have been volunteering their time to help transform our space for our current needs:
- Jennifer Gregg: Building and Ground Coordinator
- Randy Ruchotzke: Moderator
- Randy McCrystal: Volunteer
- Don Gregg: Former Moderator
- Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, Connections Coordinator
How You Can Help!
We have plenty of volunteer energy and and a few members who have made financial donations for the refresh, but even minor updates are costly in a building that is over 150 years old. We are needing about $5000-7000 in additional funds to help pay for the structural improvements (plumbing and wiring updates) so that we don’t draw down our building & grounds fund. Due to the age of our historic church building, it’s important that we maintain resources for upcoming unexpected building repairs.
If you would like to help support this small renovation, please consider making a one-time special donation to the “Fessenden Kitchen” project. (Please be sure mark the donation with “kitchen renovation” in the memo line.)
More of the Story…
Our congregation’s history includes the stories of our male (and a couple of female) ministers, and male leaders who were the “face” of the congregation, but there are dozens of untold stories of the women whose unrecognized efforts created the life of the congregation. We don’t know the specifics of all of the old stories, but we do know from existing plaques that Marge Fessenden and Kathryn Boehm were instrumental in a 1959 renovation, and that Sister Jordan Haddad–in the 1990’s helping us to host the Family and Community Services Hot Lunch Program–all provided resources to help Fessenden Hall serve the KentUU community and beyond.
Women have long played a very active role in church affairs. A number of women’s groups have come and gone over the years that played a variety of roles in church life: The Clara Barton Guild, The Association of Universalist Women, the Women’s Universalist Missionary Association, the Helen Gilson Society, and the Abigail Danforth Society (named for our first female minister). The wives of ministers (starting with the wife of our first minister who we only know as “Mrs. Willson”) also provided much of the unrecognized fundraising and labor that made our church run.
