History

History > Our Pastors > Albert J. Penner

Albert J. Penner
The Seventh Pastor, 1950-1960

Shortly after Albert Penner's arrival, the church decided to adopt a new name: the "Broadway Tabernacle" was dropped in favor of the "Broadway Congregational Church," returning to the name by which the church had been known briefly in the early 1830s. The Penner years were marked by a concerted effort to develop programs that would respond to the personal and social needs of diverse groups.

One of the most popular new programs was the Monday Evening Recreation Club for Older Men and Older Women. Every Monday evening for several years this project attracted about 150 persons, many of who were retired veterans of the theatre. A trained social worker and volunteers from the church assisted this group. For the large numbers of servicemen who flooded the city on weekends, the church provided a canteen staffed by church volunteers and assisted by young women who served as hostesses. The church also opened a storefront church called Plymouth House on West 56 Street near Tenth Avenue primarily to serve Hispanic families who had recently relocated into the neighborhood.

Active support of the arts by the church was at an all-time high. For several years the church sponsored The Broadway Chapel Players, whose collaborators were professional actors. In each of several years they performed a series of ten-week offerings of outstanding religious dramas for audiences that crammed the 200-seat Taylor Chapel. Another dramatic company, recruited from members of the church and their friends, presented plays that had been offered previously on Broadway. The church also made available sorely needed rehearsal space for the then fledgling Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe.

In 1960, Dr. Penner resigned to become the minister of the Massachusetts Conference of Congregational Churches.

Lawrence Lazelle Durgin, Our Eighth Pastor