Skaneateles Religious Society celebrates 215th anniversary
By Rev. Craig Lindsey
Origins of the social life of Skaneateles are intertwined with the history of the Schaneateles Religious Society. Following the end of the American Revolutionary War, according to Clark’s History of Onondaga County the first explorer of this region was John Thompson in 1793; and according to Leslie’s The History of Skaneateles the first pioneer settler was Abraham Cuddeback in 1794. At that time, there were Onondaga Tribe, Native Americans living around the lake. Cuddeback had left Orange County NY October 2, 1793 traveling through Albany, and reached the South end of Skaneateles Lake on June 14, 1794, where he built a series of rafts to float all his worldly goods to their new home at the North end of the lake, these worldly goods included 1 wagon, 3 pair of Oxen, 1 Colt two-years old, 12 milk cows, 1 wife and 18 children. By 1801, Missionaries from New Hampshire attempted to gather people from their separate farms and homesteads to be communities together. Before their were separate Townships or Villages, this region legally was identified as Marcellus, and culturally/ religiously/ ethnically we were identified as “Skaneateles,” or as it was spelled then “Schaneateles.” On July 20, 1801 the Rev. Aaron Bascom gathered 15 persons (8 women and 7 men) and commissioned these the Skaneateles Religious Society. The Schaneateles Religious Society gathered whenever an itinerant preacher came through the area. Mild confusion arose, when on October 13th, the Rev. Caleb Alexander was able to gather another 18 persons in what is now the Village of Marcellus and commissioned these as the Skaneateles Religious Society. There were three purposes of the Religious Society, to provide public education, to worship God and hear people’s confessions, to act as the courts settling conflicts. However, these courts were not based on “the Rule of Law” but on “the Role of Forgiveness,” meaning that what was important was not who was guilty, or who should be punished, but rather how do we forgive one another and live together peaceably.
On Christmas Day 1805 (there were no Football Games, and the Dickens characters in the Village were real), a meeting of the Religious Society was called to settle a conflict tearing apart the fabric of this community. The issue was whether Skaneateles should continue as a Religious Society, or whether a church needed to be created, along with the schools and governance of a township and Village? By a vote of 8 to 7 (not the boys against the girls) the conflict was resolved with commitment to create a church. In 1809, what is now the Free Baptist Church on State Street, was originally built by the Skaneateles Religious Society at the corner of East Street and Onondaga Street, with construction completed by the whole community working together. At the time, the Skaneateles Religious Society was the only completed Sanctuary in Syracuse, Auburn or Rochester. The model at the time, was to build the church on the tallest hill, with a steeple pointing toward heaven, as a moral beacon for the community.
However, in 1816 several members of the Skaneateles Religious Society left the fellowship, preferring the Church of England style of worship and prayer. These formed what is today St. James Episcopal Church. The Skaneateles Religious Society continued, in 1818 formally being renamed The First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. From 1820-1852 Roman Catholics met in one another’s homes until building St. Mary’s of the Lake Church. In 1831, the Presbyterians sold the white clapboard church to the Baptists who continued to worship there until 1841 when they dismantled the structure rebuilding on 321, which this summer received fresh siding. In 1831, realizing that the Village had developed here around the North end of the Lake, and that it was difficult to climb the hill, especially by horse and wagon in the winter, the First Presbyterian Church built a second building, this time on Genesee Street. There is no competition between the churches, if anything we partner and attempt to outdo one another in mission, service, ministry and celebrations. Following the paradigm of the 3 Little Pigs, where the first Church was built of wood, the second was built of brick! Except, there was little attention to the flow of the Lake from South to North, and over the next 60 years the timbers rotted as mortar was washed out from between bricks. During a religious Revival in 1891, the balcony and floor began moving, so everyone was evacuated and the building was demolished into its own foundation. The 3rd Sanctuary was built that year, with the bulk of the cost paid by Mr. Thomas Hall who had two conditions. The first was that “there would be a pew designated as a welcome place for strangers.” Second, that his gift was to be used for structure not artwork, so Rev. OL White contacted all of the original families of the Skaneateles Religious Society asking if they would like to be memorialized in the windows. While many had become part of other denominations, or lived elsewhere now, they contributed to the Stained Glass windows making this an extremely ecumenical house of worship. When opened, the sanctuary ceiling was orange with gold bands, the walls were Salmon pink, with red oak wainscoting, and a green asbestos tile flooring.
For many years, this Sanctuary was used for High School Commencement exercises, before development of the Gazebo in the park. Throughout the 1960s, dances were held for Youth from across the community with music by local bands. Beginning in 1995, the First Presbyterian Church building went through many renovations and updates, including re-leading the Windows, replacing the Pipe Organ, Nurseries and Community rooms, and installing air conditioning. In 1975 the church spun off Presbyterian Manor Suites as an independent affordable communal residence for Senior Citizens, located in the community. In 2001 First Presbyterian Church became the indoor venue for Skaneateles Festival concerts. That same year, the congregation sponsored refugees from South Sudan, which developed into the John Dau Foundation, providing health care to over 190,000 patients in a location that previously did not have running water or electricity. As part of this 215th Anniversary Sunday worship service three infants were baptized, representing the Skiff/ Brennan, Way/Clark , and Allyn /Earhart families; a hymn was sung, the lyrics of which were written by Mary Soderberg; Dr. Lindsey’s sermon was on “Importunities as Important Opportunities.”
