By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer
    
Workers stood atop Trinity Episcopal Church as it made its way slowly down the streets of Saco on Dec. 4, 1959.
They used poles to lift tree limbs and lines out of the way as three sections of the church were moved from Pleasant Street to Main Street. Hundreds of residents lined the streets to watch as church women served hot coffee to workers.
“I remember that day,” said Helena Gannon of Saco.
“The church came right down the middle of the street,” added historian Roy Fairfield.
The story of Trinity Episcopal’s move through downtown is one of hundreds of stories of churches in Saco documented in “Houses of Worship,” published recently by Saco Area Historical Society to tell the history of 14 churches.
The book takes the reader through the churches’ history with stories, photographs and accounts of the struggles and dedication of each congregation.
Churches represented in the book are Anchor Ministry Fellowship, Bible Baptist, Church of the Nazarene, Congregation Etz Chaim, Cornerstone United Methodist, First Parish Congregational, Most Holy Trinity, Notre Dame de Lourdes, The Salvation Army, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox, Trinity Episcopal, Unitarian-Universalist of Saco and Biddeford and United Baptist.
Editor Sallie Huot said the project began with a desire to compile in one place information about the history of religious life in Saco. Some churches in the area date to the time before Maine was a state, while others were formed in recent years as churches merged.
Book editors asked members of area churches to write their own chapters, which they said allowed churches to tell their stories in unique ways that reflect their congregation.
Anne Dobson, president of Saco Area Historical Society, said she was pleased with how clearly the voices and stories of each church came through.
After editors sent letters to churches asking them to be involved, they hosted a meeting to provide more information about the project. Editor Kitty Chadbourne said interest grew as people in the community began to talk about the book. She said some churches had history archives to draw from, while others had to compile research.
“For many of the churches, they had gone through their own problems of their buildings disappearing or joining other churches,” she said. “They all had their own hurdles to overcome.”
Gannon, an editor, also wrote the history of Most Holy Trinity, relying heavily on newspaper archives, church records and information from church members. She included an epilogue to update readers on how church members have adjusted to recent church mergers.
Gannon said she was inspired during her research and writing by Rev. James Doherty.
“He said, ‘Helena, if you don’t do this the information will be lost,’” she said.  
Dobson, who wrote the chapter on Unitarian-Universalist Church of Saco and Biddeford, said several written histories of the church already existed. She used the church’s extensive archives to tell the story of the church, which was named when Second Parish Unitarian Church of Saco and Universalist Church of Biddeford merged in 1964.
Fairfield, editor of “Houses of Worship” and author of several local history books, said there was a close tie between churches in Saco and Biddeford. Some churches started in Biddeford and moved to Saco, while Congregation Etz Chaim in Biddeford served Saco residents. He said it is valuable to have a written compiled history to use as a reference.
“It’s a good addition to Saco and Biddeford history,” Fairfield said. “It’s more than just a book about house of worship. It’s a reflection of social, political and economic climates of Saco.”     
Chadbourne said it is interesting to see links between churches and the formation of local government. The book also allows readers to further understand what was going on both in and beyond Saco at various points in history, she said.
“It was all a reflection of what was happening in the world around them at the time,” she said.
Gannon agrees the book tells of more than just church history.
“It’s more than churches, it’s the community,” she said.
Copies of the book are available at Dyer Library and Saco Museum for $21.