By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
7/9/09
The historic building on Edge Hill Road that for over 100 years served the First Baptist Church congregation has new ownership.
According to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, Connelly Construction Co. of Dorchester purchased the property on June 30 for $450,000.
The company has yet to file for permits to build at the property, but workers have been observed doing maintenance inside the church. Steve Connelly, the new owner, did not wish to comment on his company’s plans.
The church, which dates back to 1886, was put on the market in April due to dwindling membership. The property is in a single-family residential zone.
According to Pastor Norman Bronson, who had served for two years, the membership recently has dwindled to less than 20 mostly older parishioners and the numbers weren’t enough to keep it viable. The congregation has since merged with the First Baptist Church in Norwood, where Bronson is head of the ministry.
Funds from the sale will go toward support for charitable endeavors and to the success of the Norwood church, Bronson said.
“We can save that church,” Bronson told the Times back in April, referring to the Norwood church, which itself has stood over 150 years in that community.
“It’s kind of like this church is planting its heart in that church. So this church is going to die, but that one is going to be saved,” Bronson said.