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 a little park across the road from the church, on a grassy verge, stands the original bell from the 1895 church. It served the church for barely a year when a crack was discovered in the bell and it was taken down. Below is the text from the black granite plinth on which the bell rests.
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL BELL FROM THE
PILGRAM UNITED CHURCH, BROOKLYN.
IT WAS INSTALLED IN THE BELL TOWER
IN 1899 AND REMOVED IN 1900
DUE TO A CRACK IN ITS STRUCTURE.
THE BELL WAS DONATED TO
THE COMMUNITY OF BROOKLYN
BY KENNETH AND MADELYN DAGLEY.
DONATIONS RECEIVED FROM
THE LIVERPOOL KINSMEN CLUB AND
OTHER INTERESTED PEOPLE WERE
USED TO INSTALL THE BELL IN THE PARK.
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.
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