Time Capsules Returned To Congregational Church

By Shannon Hicks

Members of Newtown Congregational Church who attended last Sunday morning’s worship service had a nice surprise at the end of the service.

John Martocci, chairman and CEO of Newtown Savings Bank, visited the church at the conclusion of the November 7 worship service and presented NCC Senior Minister Steve Gordon with a pair of time capsules that had recently been uncovered. The time capsules are believed to have been buried by members of Newtown Congregational Church in their former church house, which was located at 41-A Main Street until about three weeks ago.

That building was purchased from the church by Newtown Savings Bank in 1996, but the church had continued to rent the building from the bank until earlier this year.

NCC recently finished an addition and renovation to its sanctuary at 14 West Street. The church’s sanctuary, offices, Christian Education classrooms, and meeting rooms are now located under the same roof on West Street.

The capsules were discovered about three weeks ago but had been put into a bank vault for temporary safekeeping.

The bank has moved forward with its own expansion project, building a new 16,000-square-foot office building. It was during the demolition of the old building on October 9 that the time capsules were discovered.

After a work crew from Industrial Wrecking of Bridgeport leveled the former church house, a metal box wrapped in a Sunday, October 24, 1948, edition of The New York Times was discovered behind the 1948 cornerstone of the original wooden building on the site. The brown box appears to have been soldered shut, and it retains its original shape.

The second time capsule was found behind the building’s dedication plaque dated 1957. This one is a silver box that has become a bit misshapen over time, and it still has a chunk of concrete attached to it. Much of the box is also covered with a green patina.

In presenting the time capsules to the Rev Gordon last Sunday morning, Mr Martocci said he thought it was interesting that the time capsule had been wrapped in the newspaper.

“I thought it was important to keep that newspaper, so here is everything,” Mr Martocci told the Rev Gordon.

NCC’s sanctuary was packed that morning, so many of the church’s members were able to see first-hand what the time capsules look like. The first Sunday of each month is Communion Sunday, which many people make a point of attending, and by the time Mr Martocci made his presentation the church’s children had also returned from their Sunday school classes.

In accepting the capsules, which were carried in a large white plastic bin, the Rev Gordon thanked Mr Martocci not only for the receipt of the items that morning but also for years of “the bank’s continued kindness and patience with the church.”

The contents of the time capsules are unknown at this point. Church records do not seem to cover what went into the containers, so it will be a matter of waiting until they are opened this year to find out what was left by church members to represent themselves nearly 50 years ago. Rev Gordon said the capsules will be opened within the next few weeks.