Due to extreme cold temperatures, our Sunday service is cancelled on 12-31-17. Stay warm and safe everyone!
Events at Central during 2016 Railroad Days
Central Church is delighted to be participating in the exciting events to be held during the 39th Annual Galesburg Railroad Days. All of our activities will be held on Saturday, June 25. We hope you can attend these outstanding events.
LUNCH ON THE LAWN
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Have lunch with us! Burgers and brats, sides and beverage. Seating provided. All proceeds go towards preservation of our historic building.
PRESENTATIONS
Railroading in the Prairie State
The Origin of Illinois Railroads: Failure to Triumph
Auditorium, 10:30 a.m.
Illinois Railroads in the Twentieth Century: From Profits to Despair and Renaissance, Auditorium, 1:30 p.m.
A rapid run through the colorful, surprising, and important history of the railroad industry in Illinois, from original failure to unprecedented success to near-extinction and then unexpected renaissance. Part 1 at 10:30 a.m., Part 2 at 1:30 p.m. A book signing will follow each presentation.Simon Cordery is the author of The Iron Road in the Prairie State: The Story of Illinois Railroading (Indiana University Press, 2016) and chair of the nominations committee of the National Railroad Hall of Fame.
Mrs. Lincoln’s Salon
South Room, 12:00 noon
Mrs. Lincoln’s Salon takes place in her Blue Room on April 4th, 1865. Mr. Lincoln and their youngest son, Tad, are at City Point, Robert, their eldest, is with General Grant in pursuit of Robert E Lee and Mary is alone in the Executive Mansion. The audience is invited to reminisce with Mrs. Lincoln about her childhood, her days in Springfield and her children as she celebrates Tad’s 12th birthday, and the end of the Civil War. Drawing from her own letters to friends, family and political figures of the era, Mrs. Lincoln’s Salon paints a picture of Mary Lincoln that is both sympathetic and truthful.
Mrs. Lincoln’s Salon is a 30 to 45 minute presentation with a question and answer period afterward.
Debra Ann Miller is a professional actress, vocalist and voice-over artist with over 30 years of experience as a performer for live audiences, television and film. Debra has balanced her career between commercial and educational theater since graduating from Michigan State University’s Department of Theater in 1981. Since 1997, she has toured the country with Michael Krebs as one of our nation’s more controversial First Ladies, Mary Todd Lincoln. In recent years she has focused on writing and producing one-woman plays in which she portrays important historical figures such as Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott and others, including Mary Todd Lincoln in “Mrs. Lincoln’s Salon.”
BUILDING TOURS
Broad Street entrance, 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
Join us for a free guided tour of the beautiful Central Congregational Church, built in 1898 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours begin on the front steps of the church.
Bickerdyke Returns to Central – Photos!
We’ve just added a new gallery with photos taken at the Bickerdyke event held on May 11, 2016, at Central Congregational Church. The link below will take you directly to the photos.
2nd Bickerdyke Day Photo Gallery
2016 June edition of “The Crier”
The link below will take you to a PDF version the June edition of our monthly newsletter, “The Crier.”
Mother Bickerdyke Day returns to Central!
Mary Ann “Mother” Bickerdyke, as portrayed by Pam Johnson, will be at Central Congregational Church on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Stories from her fascinating life will be told in a fast-paced presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. Before and after the presentation, the South Room (parlor) of the church will be set up with living history displays of what was going on right here in Knox County during the Civil War. Reenactors, all in period dress, will demonstrate some of the ways our town and county supported the men and boys who were away at war. Come and see how bedding, clothing and food were made, gathered and shipped to battlefields. Learn about the personal items and mementos from home that the soldiers carried into battle. You will learn about the role of horses, both at home and at war, and how the value of horses changed as the war went along. Meet a Union army recruiter. Talk with one of the townsfolk who took it upon himself to call on the families that the soldiers left behind, and hear how the town supported those loved ones. Visit with Mary Allen West, as portrayed by Gail Masinda. Songs from the Civil War era will be performed. A bake sale, with proceeds to benefit the Central Church Preservation Fund, will be available.
The event is free and open to the public.
May 2016 “The Crier”
Sandburg and Central
We’ve added some photos to our collection! First is a set of photos taken at the “National Icons, Local Treasures” benefit concert held on April 27, 2016.
Next we have two wonderful photos of Carl Sandburg appearing at Central in 1953.
Enjoy!
Carl Sandburg Festival
The month of April is packed with activities for the Sandburg Festival. Of note for Central Church is the concert on Wednesday, April 27. Proceeds from the evening will equally benefit the Carl Sandburg State Historic Site Endowment and the Central Church Historic Building Preservation Fund. For more details, check out the following sites.
Click this link to go to the Sandburg Festival site event page. Scroll until you get to April 26. (The date of the event is actually WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27!). There are lots of great details of the event and presenters. We hope to see you there!
Click this link to go to the Galesburg Register-Mail story that ran April 25 which gives a brief description of the remaining events.
Rev. Dr. Sterrett Collins, our new pastor!
Rev. Dr. Sterrett Collins was officially installed as pastor of Central Congregational Church on Sunday, April 3, 2016, in a worship service attended by family, friends and members of the church. Rev. Collins first came to Galesburg as a student at Knox College. We are delighted and thankful that his life journey has brought him back!
Click here to view a brief slideshow of photos from the service and reception.
April 2016 Newsletter, “The Crier”
Click the link below to open a PDF version of our monthly newsletter, “The Crier.”
Central Congregational Church, Galesburg, Illinois 