TRURO — At the instruction of property owners Bob and Kathy Valleau, Pastor David Brown and his parishioners moved out of the Chapel on the Pond before the month of March came to a close. The mostly Jamaican congregation had been worshipping at the church in North Truro’s Pond Village for seven years.
Bob Valleau told Brown in February that the church had to be empty by the end of March because it would be listed for sale on April 1.
As of April 9, when this edition of the Independent went to press, the property did not appear to have been listed. Brown said that day that leaders of the community fundraising effort working with his congregation had reached out to the Valleaus and were awaiting a response.
For the past two months, a grassroots effort to purchase the chapel for the congregation’s continued use has galvanized the Outer Cape. The campaign got a kickstart from an anonymous donor who gave $500,000 and pledged to match donations up to $500,000 more. The campaign has brought together conservationists, interfaith groups, and others who want to see the property continue to serve a community purpose rather than be sold for a private house.
The coalition’s vision is for the Truro Conservation Trust to purchase the chapel with an agreement to lease it to Pastor Brown’s congregation long-term for $1 per year.
On April 1, trust chair Fred Gaechter told the Independent that “we have adequate funds in hand to make an offer.” He did not want to say the total amount raised at that point, however.
As of April 9, a GoFundMe campaign set up by Kate Wallace Rogers had raised over $73,000, which is expected to be matched by the unnamed donor. The trust has also been receiving contributions directly from individuals and businesses, Gaechter said. The group is still accepting donations. “You don’t stop raising funds until you’re in a situation where you know you have enough,” Gaechter said.
In the meantime, the congregation has temporarily relocated to the Wellfleet United Methodist Church, where it held its Easter service. Pastor Brown missed it, he said, because he was visiting Ocho Rios, Jamaica, for church and family reasons. In his absence, Pastor Susan Grant and Minister Rebecca Henry have run services, Brown said.
“I wasn’t there, but I understand it was awesome — it was well attended,” Brown said of the Easter service. “Most of the folks that generally come to the Chapel on the Pond were able to make it.”
The congregation will continue to hold weekly services in Wellfleet at 11:30 a.m., following the Methodist service.
The campaign has supporters beyond Truro. The response in Provincetown has been generous, according to the Rev. Kate Wilkinson of the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House there. She has been working with Gaechter on the campaign.
The Harbor Lounge in Provincetown donated its April 4 opening day proceeds to the campaign.
St. Mary of the Harbor, an Episcopal church in Provincetown, donated its Easter collection to the campaign, said the Rev. Brian Raiche. “The whole community here wants to support the Jamaican community at Chapel on the Pond,” Raiche said.
A letter went out to St. Mary’s parishioners last week describing the trust’s plan as “preserving a home for this vibrant multi-generational Jamaican congregation and maintaining the building as part of the Pond Village neighborhood.”
“I’ve been so heartened by this community’s generosity,” Wilkinson told the Independent. As of last week, she said, more than 400 individuals and businesses had made financial contributions to the campaign.
“I’m grateful,” Pastor Brown said of the invitation from Wellfleet’s Methodist church to use its space. Still, he said, “We’re waiting to see whether things reach a place where we can return home for worship,” Brown said. “There’s no place like home.”
A video documenting the congregation’s last day at the Chapel on the Pond by photographer Elias Duncan can be found on the Independent’s website.
