A common foundation of faith

Centuries ago, the Church of the Pilgrimage and First Parish Church -- located within sermonizing distance of each other in Plymouth's historic Town Square -- were one.

But in 1801 the more conservative members of First Parish Church grew unhappy with a Unitarian -leaning minister who questioned orthodox Christian doctrines, so they left and eventually built their own church next door. Thus, the Church of the Pilgrimage was born.

The bitter feelings have long since eased -- ``We get along fine today," said the Rev. Gary Marks of the Church of the Pilgrimage -- and this month the two churches come together to celebrate their common ancestry.

A month-long celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Pilgrim congregation in England, to which both present-day congregations trace their roots, began this week. Events are scheduled for five Tuesday evenings in August . All the programs are free and open to the public.

Specifically, the two churches are observing the anniversary of the ``covenant" agreed to in Scrooby, England, by the Separatist congregation that went on to become America's Pilgrims.

The Scrooby Covenant not only separated the congregation from the legally established Church of England , it subjected them to government prosecution.

William Bradford , whose journal is the main source of our knowledge about the Pilgrims, wrote of the 1606 covenant that the church members pledged to work in the way of God ``whatever it may cost them. And he added, `and it did cost them,' " according to Sarah Clark , First Parish's minister.

The signers of the covenant fled England, leaving all they owned there, and went first to more tolerant Holland. But displeased that their children were growing up Dutch, they decided to found a colony in the New World, where they could practice their religion without government interference.

Today's First Parish, now a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association , follows the teaching of the Scrooby congregation's original minister, John Robinson , who told members to expect ``more truth, more light" -- that is, beliefs can develop over time, Clark said.

The Church of the Pilgrimage is a member of United Church of Christ , a diverse organization of Congregationalist churches.

Marks , the minister of the Church of the Pilgrimage for 35 years and a fellow of the Pilgrim Society , kicked off the celebration on Tuesday, and Stephen O'Neill , Pilgrim Hall 's curator, will offer ``A Short History of Burial Hill " on Aug. 8 at First Parish. O'Neill, who recently mounted the exhibition ``Journey's End: Death and Mourning in Plymouth Colony " at the museum, said the Burial Hill graveyard goes back to the 1620 s. He will talk about different types of gravestones, notable burials, and the landscape of the graveyard, with its striking view of Plymouth Harbor.

First Parish music director Lynne Wilkinson will treat the audience to the sights and sounds of Pilgrim times in an interactive program called ``Trimmings and Trappings -- Life in 17th Century New England Revealed Through Costume and Story " on Aug. 15 at First Parish. Dressed for the period, Wilkinson appears as the fictional character Sarah Starr , bringing baskets of clothing, wedding presents, and period products.

She will teach children three common street-seller cries from England and explain how a child could have a ``pudding" on her head. (An early attempt at the crash helmet, the pudding was a roll of fleecy material tied to the heads of toddlers to protect against falls.)

On Aug. 22 , Peggy Baker , Pilgrim Hall's director, speaks on ``John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrims: A Personal Voyage of Discovery " at the Church of the Pilgrimage.

On Aug. 29 , James Baker, research librarian at Plimoth Plantation for 26 years and now curator at the John Alden House in Duxbury, will speak on ``Out of the Pilgrim Shadow: An Anecdotal History of Plymouth's First Parish 1660 -- 1960 ."

Baker will speak about the succession of church buildings built during the years when Town Square, an old English market square instead of a New England green, was the center of Plymouth life. Locals brought milk and eggs to sell at the Thursday markets and posted notices on the massive tree that grew there until the day it fell down, killing a local resident.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.