In The Beginning

While our landmark building has been the home of Pilgrim Congregational UCC since 1893, our history in Tremont goes back to 1859. Organized as the University Heights Congregational Church (Tremont was known then as University Heights as it had been home to Cleveland University from 1850 to 1853), the church had thirty-four charter members.  The Rev. William Brewster, a Wesleyan Methodist, came each Sunday to preach at the Brooklyn Township schoolhouse. The group included 5 Wesleyan Methodist, 10 Methodist Episcopal, 4 Presbyterian and 11 Congregationalist. Outsiders expressed doubt that a church comprised of individuals with such diverse ideas on religion could hold together. However, with Rev. Brewster as their first pastor, the congregation moved forward asserting, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”

As the congregation grew, they moved to the Humiston Institute in what had been a Cleveland University building. Changing their name to Jennings Avenue Congregational Church, the congregation completed their first building in 1869 on the corner of West 14^th Street (then Jennings Avenue) and Howard Avenue. The Congregation added transepts to that building in 1877. The building was designed by Joseph M. Blackburn and is one of his earliest works still standing in Cleveland.

Growth Leads to a New Home

By 1891, the congregation had 961 registered students in their Sunday school program and the church began outgrowing its building. Rev. Charles Mills became pastor that year and the congregation voted to build a new larger church just one block away. The cornerstone was laid on July 6, 1893, and in 1894 our present building, renamed Pilgrim Church, was dedicated. The old church was sold to the St. Augustine Roman Catholic congregation for $20,000; and that congregation still occupies the building today.

Pilgrim Church has had a long history of ministry to the surrounding neighborhood. The church established recreational rooms in the old building in 1873 to keep young men out of saloons. This came to be called the Friendly Inn, and a parallel sewing school was established for young women in 1876. Pilgrim helped establish the Jones School and Home for Children on West 25^th in 1886 (Carlos and Mary Jones were members).

Responding to community needs became an even greater focus after the completion of the present building in 1893-1894. The building was designed to be open all the time, and the lower floor was equipped with separate entrances for men and women to place them closer to their respective recreational areas.  The Pilgrim Institute, which was similar to a settlement house, responded to community needs by offering classes in practical subjects, such as languages, music, stenography, bookkeeping, penmanship, mechanical drawing, and gardening. The church maintained a Literary Society; Fine Arts, History, and Travel clubs; and a Boys’ Brigade. The building was the first one on the west side to have electricity. Pilgrim opened the first library, kindergarten, and cooking school. In 1899 complete photographic views and models of the building were sent to the Paris Exposition, where it was praised as the “finest example of an institutional church.” (from Historical Sketches of Our Twenty-Five Churches and Missions, Cleveland, 1896, p. 90-97).

A community building was added in 1920 to house a community gymnasium and four-lane bowling alley. Membership peaked at 1,297 members in 1924. The congregation was led by Reverend Charles Mills and Reverend Dan Freeman Bradley during the early decades of the 20^th Century. A renovation in the 1950s sought to modernize the church’s appearance.

Challenges and Resurrection

The 1960s and 1970s brought freeways and flight from the inner-city. Church membership plummeted under the pressure of outside forces. Construction of Interstate 71 sliced through the heart of Tremont. In one year nearly 400 homes were demolished in the immediate vicinity of the church. Tremont’s population declined by nearly half during the mid-1960s and early-1970s; dropping from approximately 30,000 down to about 16,000.

The impact on the Pilgrim Church was staggering. Despite these challenges, the congregation chose to remain in the city when other churches were following the population to the suburbs. Pilgrim Congregational UCC was declared a Cleveland Landmark in 1973 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 (NR76001399).

While Cleveland’s population continued to decline during the 1980s and 1990s, there also began, during this period, a nascent “back to the city” movement. Newly formed community development corporations began to organize neighbors, rehabilitate housing, and facilitate new construction.

Fortunately for Pilgrim Church, a dynamic new pastor appeared just as these other signs of hope began to be planted in Tremont.  Dr. Laurie Hafner was named pastor in mid-1990, and she had a vision for Pilgrim’s renewal. Under her leadership and commitment to social justice, Pilgrim became a Just Peace and Open and Affirming Church. During her tenure, the building began to be more fully used again for various social services and arts organizations.

The historic building underwent much needed rehabilitation and restoration, returning historic design features and fixtures that had been lost, and renovating the Annex as a home to Interfaith Hospitality Network. She left the congregation in 2006. During her 16-year tenure the congregation grew, several major capital campaigns were initiated, and Pilgrim Church regained its respected voice in the greater Cleveland community.

After an interim period, Rev. John Tamilio was called as pastor in 2008 and served until 2012.

Rev. Ellen Marsey served as interim pastor until Rev. Kelly Burd was called as settled pastor in 2014. Under Pastor Kelly’s leadership, Pilgrim pledged to support those under threat of deportation by becoming a Sanctuary Congregation and also weathered the Covid-19 pandemic. She served as pastor of Pilgrim until 2021.

The Rev. George Graham was called in January 2024 and reached out to the Tremont neighborhood and the wider community to deepen connections. In fall 2024, the congregation planned a series of events to celebrate its 130^th anniversary in its landmark building and its 165^th anniversary as a congregation. The gym has been used recently by Radical Hospitality to provide seasonal shelter for people who are unhoused, and the lower level was recently refreshed to welcome Adoption Network Cleveland as a community partner.

Looking toward the Future

Throughout its history, Pilgrim Congregational UCC has boldly answered the call to teach and live the Gospel message while fostering extravagant welcome and inclusivity. Yet, as rich as our history is, we cannot live on our legacy alone. We desire to grow as a vibrant, witnessing community of faith, reaching out to all looking for a church home and responding to needs of the wider community.

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Information from With Doors Wide Open: A History of Pilgrim Church 1859-2009, by Terry L. White (Cleveland: Pilgrim Congregational UCC, 2009) and A Guide to Cleveland’s Sacred Landmarks, by Lloyd H. Ellis, Jr. (Kent: Kent State University Press, 2012).