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Growth
In this pioneer period, the church grew slowly. But things changed in the 1850s. The
death of Dr. Little ended this early phase. With the engagement of Rev. William B. Hayden, a
twenty-five year pastorate began that constituted the heyday of Swedenborgianism in
Portland. He was born in New York City, became a book publisher and then entered the
Swedenborgian ministry. He became the first editor of the Messenger, the official
publication of the national Swedenborgian church. He was a brilliant speaker and
apologist of church doctrine and was very progressive, bringing concerns for ecumenism
and social service to his Portland ministry. He was a charismatic leader and was much
loved by his parishioners Consequently, during his tenure, the church grew to a peak of
183 members.
Many prominent and influential people joined the church during this period. Among them
were James Phinney Baxter, a business and political leader and a civic reformer and scholar
who created our public library and park system. The now famous Baxter State Park is
part of his legacy. Another prominent member was the pharmacist H.H. Hay, after whom the
Hay building(in down-town Portland) is named. The negative side of this period was that
along with the numbers of important and prominent people there developed a kind of
gentrified quality to the congregation. This was reinforced in 1867 when a new church
building was constructed on High Street. The first church building had been destroyed in the
great fire of July, 1866, and this New Jerusalem Temple, as it was called, was extremely
costly to build, was far bigger than was needed and quickly came to be a major financial burden.
Rev. Hayden retired in 1876 and for the next twenty years the church steadily continued to
lose vigor. Old members passed on, fewer new members joined and the church's debts grew
steadily. Indeed, by 1900 there were only 45 active members and attendance at worship
averaged about thirty. Meantime, many of the remaining members became hostile toward the
minister and were staying away. In 1903, the Christian Science Church, which had been
renting the "temple" for its services, found other quarters and this was a major financial blow.
The final straw came when a coal strike ensued early that winter, which left the church
without heat. The remaining members decided to meet in the Sunday school room to stay
warm. However, this move of seeming defeat led to an interesting discovery, something that
hadn't occurred in the church for decades: a feeling of real intimacy. This rediscovery of
their sense of community led them to sell the burdensome edifice and so, on the day after
the final service in December of 1903, the "New Jerusalem Temple" was torn down.
The Move to Stevens Avenue
The remaining core of the congregation decided to reorganize as an urban missionary society
and they began holding services at the YMCA. But the results were disheartening and in 1907
plans were made to construct a new church building in the suburbs. It was decided to
locate in the Deering section of town where most of the membership had moved over recent
years. A lot was acquired on Stevens Avenue, designs supplied by the office of the famous
architect, John Calvin Stevens, and our present building was completed in April of 1910.
This building was intended as the parish hall, and the people had hopes that their little
congregation might grow until they had the resources to build a proper church on the
adjacent vacant lot. This first phase cost $3,300 in all! Ministers were supplied and paid
through grants from the national denomination as a mission church. However, church growth
efforts were sporadic and membership never rose above 45.
Leadership Under Robert Gass and Michael Salvetti
Robert Gass joined the church in 1921, and until limited by old age, he was steadfastly loyal
to the church and very active. He was a Mason and his connections brought in new members. In 1945,
he conceived the idea of renovating the building to make it look more" churchy." They removed
what was the ceiling and floor of the second story, creating the present high-ceiling sanctuary
and chancel area as well as the new organ loft. He also promoted the idea of becoming a non-
sectarian community church. But by the early 1950s they could no longer afford a minister and
the church dwindled in numbers. By the late seventies, during cold weather, they held meetings
in each others homes once a month, keeping the church closed because of the high cost of heating.
During this time, Michael Salvetti came to serve as lay leader for the group. He did a great
deal to keep the church going including building maintenance, public relations, leading the
services and generally keeping people together. He was well loved by the members, who
numbered between six and ten.
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