Concert supports use of former Dresden church as a cultural center

Community organizers are raising money for repairs and upgrades to the former St. John’s Episcopal Church in Dresden, photographed here on Saturday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

DRESDEN – A brass band concert on a sprawling riverside farm on a sunny Sunday helped fund plans to expand the use of a former church as a cultural center – to host more such events on-site and indoors throughout the year.

The concert was free, but donations were requested, by Downeast Brass, a quintet of well-known local musicians who donated their performance. The event was a fundraiser for plans to offer more arts and cultural events at the former St. John’s Church and Meetinghouse in Dresden.

Built in the early 1800s and located on Route 27 next to Dresden City Hall, the former Episcopal Church building is already occasionally used for special events, including an annual Christmas concert that has featured the Downeast Brass Band for decades.

Peter Walsh, an organizer of the concert and a member of the Friends of St. John’s Church/Meetinghouse, said those special events will continue, but he and others hope to develop the former church into a full-fledged cultural center that can host art, music, lectures, religious gatherings, weddings and other community events.

The sign at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Dresden, a historic landmark in the Lincoln County city. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

He said that for some people in the city it might be too expensive or too difficult to travel out of town for such cultural events due to a lack of transport, so it would be great to offer them directly in Dresden.

“We have a lot of people in the city who can’t afford to go to big concerts, and people like seniors and others who may not have transportation and can’t get there,” Walsh said. “We want to bring art to people who can’t afford or don’t have the means to go elsewhere.”

Last year the church held a historic sermon in which the Reverend Paul Tunkle portrayed the late Reverend Jacob Bailey, who ministered to parishioners in the area from 1761 to 1778.

And, says Walsh, other religious ceremonies could return there as well.

The building has not been used as a church since the 1980s or 1990s. In the 1990s, a group of local residents raised money for the restoration of the building, which is overseen by a board of trustees. At the time, the group restoring the building hoped that it would be used regularly for a range of activities, but aside from the annual Christmas concert, not much has materialized.

Now the building needs further restoration and modernization. Among other things, the towers need to be replaced, some of which have been blown away in storms in recent years. John Young, a local carpenter, built new towers for the building.

Walsh said the building’s acoustics are remarkable, making it a great venue for music.

Loren Fields, French horn player with Downeast Brass, said at Sunday’s concert that the Christmas concert in Dresden and Windsor Fair are the band’s two favorite concerts. He said playing at St. John’s Church was special for them.

The organizers are collecting money for the repair and conversion of the former St. John’s Church in Dresden into a municipal cultural center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“We love playing at Christmas in that little sanctuary there,” Fields told the 50 or so people who came to the benefit concert. “So dig deep into your pockets, it’s a great place.”

Kathy Moran, who Walsh said will serve as chair of the Friends of St. John’s Church/Meetinghouse, said the group also plans to host movie nights for children, speakers, lectures and art events. And she said they are open to ideas for other events as well.

“When you walk through those doors for the first time, you realize what a magical place this is,” Moran said of the building. “We have a lot of ideas for it, but it takes the community to make it happen with us.”

Necessary improvements to the building include ramps to make it accessible to all and bathrooms.

Sunday’s concert came about after band member Dwight Tibbetts told Walsh that they would like to do a benefit concert for the Friends group because they had such a good experience playing in Dresden. The band, which also includes Mike Peterson, Adam Newton and Andy Forster, played a variety of songs, including songs made famous by Frank Sinatra and Led Zeppelin.

Sunday’s concert took place at the Eastern River lavender farm of Margo and Barry Clifford of Rhode Island, who made the sprawling farm available for the fundraiser.

Walsh said similar activities are taking place in other former church buildings in Maine.

“It’s wonderful to bring back these beautiful buildings that were once the center of a community and to bring art, music and culture to people,” he said.

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