There have been 31 Pastors of the First Baptist church going back to 1800. That averages about 6 1/2 years for each of them. Two of us really skew the results. Rev. John Sterry and I have both served almost four times the average.
When I arrived at First Baptist in June of 1985 I was excited about the prospects. FBC wasn't my first church. I had served the Cross Mills Baptist Church for two years while I was attending classes at Andover Newton Theological School. There weren't even that many more people attending services in Norwich. The attendance at Cross Mills was up around 33 people per week and in Norwich it was down to 45. The difference was that I had an opportunity to do full time ministry.My starting salary was $13,000 and I was given a home to live. Lori and I were expecting our first child when we got here and Rebecca was born a few weeks later. I remember that first summer was one of exploration and discovery. Even before I got here I read through the Annual reports of the last twent years and got acquainted with the church and the people who made it run.
Among the names that stood out were three in particular. Walter Schoepfer. George Strouse and Percy Kilmister. These ministers had shaped the ministry of the church in the 20th century. Walter Schoepfer was synonymous with the glory days. We were bursting at the seems during his tenure and all the kids loved him. Some called him the little general. Others viewed him as the loving grandfather they always wanted. One thing was certain. He was missedwhen he decided to move on to Charlestown Rhode Island to become the Pastor of the yoked parish of Cross Mills and First Baptist Charlestown. Yes, he and I had that connection. He went to serve the church I was coming from. I was delighted to meet his wife, Lucy, shortly after I got here. Through her, I felt that I got to know him and I too came to love him.
George Strouse left his legacy in more ways than one. He had family here and his family was devoted to the church. They worked with others to insure that a vital ministry remained even in those difficult days. Rev. George Strouse himself, was a preacher of the first order. He was an evangelist who wanted to see the world saved and he used every opportunity to preach the word. He also brought in speakers to help with that aim. He pastored the flock and encouraged them to live out the faith. You get the sense that he was a community minister. He worked with every group in town in order to witness the faith. His son once told me that he walked more miles in this city than anyone he knew. He did it because he loved Norwich and its people.
There was a mystique surrounding Percy Kilmister. He was the man who inspired a generation of young people and changed the ministry of our church. He was well respected in the community and he seemed to be friends with everyone. When we changed the name of our church to the West Side Community Church, it seemed to broaden our mission. We were no longer those "stuck in the wood" Baptists who kept to themselves. Rev. Kilmister also brought a dramatic flair to worship in a new way with his lofty eloquence and poetic flair. He was charismatic and he drew people to Christ in a way that we had never seen before. He was "the modern" minister that the church needed for those dark days of the Depression.
As I looked back on the ministries of these men I stood in awe of what they had done. They were my heroes and I simply prayed that one day I could do half as much as each of them did for our church. Twenty three years later I still stand in awe of them and am proud to be in their number as one who loved and served the First Baptist Church.
Cal
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