The Brooklyn Congregational Church was organized in 1848, with a church building being completed in the town in 1852. That building remained in use until being replaced by the present Pilgrim United Church building in 1895. The church stands aside Brooklyn Shore Road, overlooking Herring Cove and the Brooklyn Harbour, home to a small fishing fleet.
In 1925, with
Church Union in Canada, the Methodist, Congregational and the majority of Presbyterian churches united to form The United Church of Canada. At this time, the newly formed pastoral charge of Brooklyn contained the appointments of Beach Meadows, Brooklyn and Sandy Cove. It was also at this time that the church was renamed Pilgrim United Church.
Quite a plain church, befitting a congregation of moderate means, this one is a bit of a departure from its peers in that the bell tower and steeple are an addition to the corner of the nave, beside the entrance, instead of being the entrance. Though the original windows in the nave and the bottom of the tower are Gothic arched, a front window is Roman arched and all windows in the attached hall, added later, are simple rectangles. The building is now clad in vinyl siding and looks to have had a run in with a windstorm not long before we visited, as a few pieces of siding were missing from the front gable and one side of the steeple.
The tower has a cute oval window in each of two sides, the vinyl framing for it taking the shape of a squashed octagon. The steeple is reminiscent of older "Witch's Cap" steeples, with a tall spire on flared eaves, making the brim of the cap.
History of the Brooklyn Pastoral Charge
The Brooklyn Pastoral Charge consists of the appointments of Beach Meadows (Emmanuel United Church), Brooklyn (Pilgrim United Church), and Mill Village (Bethany United Church). All are located in Queens County, Nova Scotia
A Congregational church congregation was organized in Brooklyn in 1848 and a church building was erected and opened for worship in 1852 and the name of Pilgrim Congregational Church was adopted. This was replaced by a new church building in 1895. The Brooklyn congregation, at first served by ministers from Liverpool, was later part of the Congregational Pastorate of Brooklyn and Milton. The Brooklyn congregation entered the United Church of Canada in 1925 and was renamed Pilgrim United Church.
From the United Church Maritime Conference