In the 1850’s, Miss Anna Eliza Hunt wrote to the Rev. Theodore Edson, Rector of Saint Anne’s Church in Lowell about the “enfeebled state of religion” in Chelmsford, and asked him to come to hold Episcopal services. Meanwhile Miss Hunt began a Sunday School for children. Her long term desire was to establish an Episcopal congregation in Chelmsford but she knew that would require many resources, a place to gather being foremost, clergy, and the money needed for the same. She spent the next 50 years methodically gathering the human and capital resources to establish a congregation. She had to rely on others, visiting clergy and generous patrons in order to have official services, to purchase property and build a church. Even so, she spent even more time and energy building a community of faith. She established a church school, organized prayer meetings, and oversaw fellowship events. All of this would grow into All Saints’ Church.
In the 1860’s to 1890’s Chelmsford was a farming community that was slowly being transformed into a suburb of Lowell, a bustling textile mill city. The trolley that ran through Chelmsford Center to Lowell allowed the better-off workers to buy a home in Chelmsford and commute into the city. Chelmsford also became a vacation destination for those who could afford a home in the country. We believe Miss Hunt was in the latter group.
It is notable that the founders of All Saints’ chose to locate their church in the center of the town and built a church that was significantly different in appearance from the New England Meeting House architecture of the Unitarian, Baptist and Congregational churches also in the Center. The church the founders built had the permanence of stone and appearance of rural England. The Chapel was begun in 1879 and the small congregation spent the next 13 years struggling to pay for permanent clergy. Nonetheless, the work of raising children in the Episcopal Church and building up the church community continued. Our founding years established a tradition of self-reliance and lay leadership. In 1892 the arrival of the Rev. Wilson Waters, who served as Rector for almost 40 years, solidified All Saints’ Church as a permanent and stable local institution. In the same way, “The Stone Church” became a landmark for all who passed by.
After World War II the town of Chelmsford grew from about 5,000 people to over 30,000. Chelmsford had been a small suburb and farming community outside of a depressed former mill city. The glory days of All Saints’ Church were marked by the 23-year rectorship of the Rev. Paul Twelves, from 1954 to 1975. In those years it became a bedroom community for the growing high tech industry. Right before Rev. Twelves arrived, the parish began to address the fact that their facilities were woefully inadequate. Instead of building a new sanctuary, All Saints’ built the Parish Hall, with a primary concern for serving the children and youth of the town. The gym and stage indeed became a social center. A church basketball league, plays, performances, dinners and other social events helped All Saints’ become a place where people, young and old gathered. In this time, All Saints’ served as the center of many people’s social lives.
In 1960 the new sanctuary was built. Strong lay leadership was behind both building projects. Money was never overly abundant, but they insisted on buildings of permanence and distinction. We are the grateful recipients of their foresight. In the 1960s, All Saints’ was a vibrant and energetic congregation with a large church school and many social opportunities. It was also a church that engaged and wrestled with the great social issues of the day. Paul Twelves went to Selma, Alabama, to participate in civil rights protests. Not all members of the congregation supported this activity, yet continued to hold Paul in high esteem. In the early 1970’s All Saints’ tried to reach out to alienated and disaffected youth. There were periods when homeless youth lived with the Curate in the Rectory, to the chagrin of some. Nonetheless, a tradition of social outreach and political advocacy was established and grew.
In this new millennium, All Saints’ is a solid presence--the stone church literally in the center of town, a spiritual and musical haven serving all of Chelmsford and surrounding areas. Our congregation strives to be friendly, inclusive and caring. We consist of many professionals working in the software, high tech and pharmaceutical industries. We are teachers, blue collar workers, artists and parents at home raising families. We are busy elders and retirees. We are many young couples and active families. One thing is for sure; most members are very busy, juggling work, family and other obligations and are pulled in many directions, reflective of the culture we live in.
Our church treasures and lives the traditions of the Episcopal Church, while at the same time, welcoming other ideas and reaching out a helping hand to many groups. We are hosting a new Korean church and are exploring joining with them in mission projects. We have reached out to the local Sierra Leone community to help them rebuild their war-torn land. We also participate in welcoming children from the Chernobyl region during the summer. We regularly staff a local feeding program and provide Christmas gifts for children who have parents in jail. In our worship we include songs and prayers from different cultures. We long for diversity yet struggle with the fact that we remain relatively homogeneous. In 2002, after a period of prayerful deliberation, All Saints’ adopted an inclusivity statement to welcome gays and lesbians as well as other marginalized groups into our common life. In these and many other ways we are trying to seek Christ in all persons.
Over the last few years we have introduced innovative education programs, for example, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for children, Journey to Adulthood for youth, and via media for adults. These more open-ended programs challenge participants to be intentional about spiritual growth. The programs we offer are a strong support to our children, providing religious education and the opportunity to grow into leadership roles. We offer adult programs in discussion and prayer to provide a solid spiritual footing and growth. Our music program is a model and of such quality that people are drawn to our church because of it. Many dedicated lay leaders run our programs, change them over time and are empowered to develop new ones. They are the thread that hold the fabric of All Saints’ together, weaving their ideas and creativity into one to make our church what it is today.
We have continued to improve our facility by refurbishing our Parish Hall, adding an elevator and ramps for handicap accessibility, and adding air conditioning. We did not raise enough money up-front to pay for this undertaking, but accomplished it all the same. We still struggle as generations before us, with the challenges of having enough financing. We are therefore creative in ways to raise money and we rely heavily on our volunteer and lay leadership. Many of us want to have a common identity and mission so that all of our programs will be united with singularity of purpose. We are intentionally studying our past and present to see what direction All Saints’ will take from here.