12/05/2025
An official statement from the Governing Board:
The Thinking (& Praying) for Winthrop Congregational Church and The Winthrop Community Center
We have a foundational treasure sitting at 16 N Franklin St. It’s a gorgeous centerpiece, and it’s the reason Holbrook became Holbrook. Thanks in large part to Rob & Amanda Carson, it is still in relatively good shape. We don’t want this invaluable resource to shutter or deteriorate.
As important as the building is, it is the two uses of the building that are far more important. First, that a strong church flows out of that building, blessing Holbrook with the love of Jesus and representing Jesus heartily. Second, that a lively Community Center provides healthy programming for all kinds of things, especially for middle-high schoolers and families.
Because of several factors, a strong church is the key to a lively, sustainable Community Center. Over 2025, a number of us have worked hard to rebuild the church. We have had fun doing it too.
Our goal is to “sponsor creative, harmonic, and stable community life as God’s Good News in Holbrook” and our strategy to do this is to 1) platform youth early in the leadership of everything we do; 2) be a resource to strengthen Holbrook families; and 3) be a good Center of Holbrook in every way.
Now, to continue with the plan and go forward into great things, we presently have two possible paths before us.
The first path is: continue as we are—a church with a tiny membership, almost no income, and a Center that desperately needs staffing, oversight, and backing. Upsides? The name on the sign on the front lawn remains “Winthrop Congregational Church” and there are hopes we might get significant grants to provide the needed ongoing finances for the Community Center. Downsides? In my past experiences, it has been hard to run an organization well relying primarily on grants. They tend to be very iffy, slow, and temporary things. The Center would have to not only do all it’s programming, but also keep maintenance on the entire building. The church itself would likely, by most definitions, slowly peter out to nothingness.
The second path is: Find a strong church to fulfill both goals—that is, bless Holbrook with the love of Jesus and expand the Community Center. The Winthrop Community Center would become a separate 501c3 and still be eligible for grants. Upsides? 16 N Franklin is used well for Holbrook and the building itself is maintained. Downsides? The name on the sign on the front lawn changes to “Restoration Community Church” (a wonderful church already in Holbrook), the lineage of Winthrop Congregational Church ends, and a very different church takes the baton.
These are the two paths the 12 members of Winthrop Congregational Church have been considering.
