PITTSFIELD — As she offered a hug to a childhood friend entering Pittsfield's Second Congregational Church, Vera Purry-Kennedy said, “This is what this doorkeeper does.”

Purry-Kennedy grew up at Second Congregational and now lives in Maryland.

Vera Perry-Kennedy who grew up in the Second Congregational Church and now lives in Maryland, goes to church whenever she's back in Pittsfield.

“Anytime I come home, I come to church here,” she said. “We were all kids here. And I guess they embraced children at that time. The Scripture is, ’Bring up a child in the way they should go, and they will not depart from it.’ We had Sunday school that taught us that sort of thing. And, [for] some of us, it just stuck.”

She remembers delivering Easter speeches “in our cutest little ruffly outfits,” she said. “I’m glad I don’t have to do them anymore.”

That feeling of warmth continued through the service.

It felt more like a gathering of family bound by love than an institution bound by obligation. And although there were just 17 people in the sanctuary, the church felt neither formal nor empty.

That might have been partly due to the presence of Melia and Johnnie Teixeira and their two children.

“My family has been long members of the church since way before I was born,” Melia Teixeira said. “So we just came back to show the kids the church, to do the service with my mom, because we haven’t been in a couple years.”

The Teixeiras also wanted to take family photos in front of a stained glass window dedicated to her grandmother, Nancy Hall.

The Rev. Carol Killian conducts an an Easter Service at the Second Congregational Church on Onota Street in Pittsfield on Sunday.

Second Congregational is marking its 180th anniversary this year.

Having experienced racial intolerance at First Congregational church, seven Black congregants struck out on their own to establish Second Congregational Church in 1846.

Its most famous pastor was the Rev. Samuel Harrison, who served from 1850 to 1862 and returned in 1872 until his death in 1900.

Born a slave in 1818, he and his mother were freed in 1821. In adulthood, he spoke publicly against slavery and racism and persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to enact equal pay for Black chaplains.

Historian Frances Jones-Sneed of North Adams sat in one of the pews at yesterday's service. In a project spanning 20 years, she's set to launch a book of Harrison's sermons and his autobiography.

"Easter Sunday I thought would be really kind of nice time to come back to the church," she said. "Since my introduction to the church 30 years ago, I've been here a number of times, especially when they used to do the Martin Luther King service. I'm a great friend with a number of people who attend this church."

Less than three weeks after Second Congregational Church lost its oldest member, Magdalene Adams, 94, a new person stepped forward to offer his commitment to join the church.

Hugs went around the prayer circle to welcome the new person into the fold.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a new member,” said Ivan Newton, who is a deacon at the church. “So having a new member come in today is a wonderful thing to happen.”

Maddlean Mosley, 92, is now the oldest member. She first came to the church in the 1950s, having come to Pittsfield at the age of 19.

A man and a child hold hands during an Easter Service at the Second Congregational Church on Onota Street in Pittsfield on Sunday.

“It’s a blessing,” she said of the interest of the new person. “We’re open for anybody who freely comes. … People like me are moving on.”

Gracie Walton sings during an Easter Service at the Second Congregational Church on Onota Street in Pittsfield on Sunday.

Vocalist Gracie Walton offered a solo, “Make Me Whole.”

How did she choose that particular song?

“I let the Lord decide,” she said.

The Rev. Carol Killian preached at the Easter service on the theme of hope.

“My hope has always been that this church is always a beacon of justice and action,” she told The Eagle. “It’s a very small congregation, but they do get out. And these are hard times, again these are hard times.

The Rev. Carol Killian conducts an Easter Service at the Second Congregational Church on Onota Street in Pittsfield on Sunday.

"I think this church stands for hope for the whole community, but especially for the Black community," Killian said. "There are people who care about the community, and I think this church has stood for that always. That’s part of the history and the heritage of Samuel Harrison.”

WHAT: Book launch

TITLE: “The Autobiography and Sermons of the Reverend Samuel Harrison, 1818-1900”

EDITORS: Edited and annotated by Frances Jones-Sneed and Dawn Morin and published by the Samuel Harrison Society

WHERE: Second Congregational Church, 50 Onota St., Pittsfield, April 25 at 4 p.m. Program, including readings and songs, to be followed by reception.