South Church at 150

About the Book

This fifty-year history of South Church offers us some wisdom. The story of South Church is the story of community. Real people of considerable depth share their lives and their work in the pages of this history. All of the complexity of life is brought into the context of community that has as its center the love of God in Jesus Christ. Whether in worship, committee meetings, study groups, couples club, or youth group there is a sense of people coming together to discover a new dimension to life. There is a call to shape one’s life according to the light and grace of God—but there is no externally enforced conformity. There are no easy answers and there is no quick fix for the institution of church as it responds to changed circumstances. But the history of South Church reveals that people of diverse perspectives when they gather in the light of the transcendent love of God can move forward in fresh and exciting ways.

Reverend Joel H. Huntington, South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Pittsfield, Massachusetts

About the Author

About the Author, John Anthony

John Anthony, a native of Hamilton, Bermuda, spent his formative years living in eight different states and 13 towns and cities. After high school, he attended the Bryant and Stratton School in Boston.

In 1955 John with wife Priscilla and son Mitchell settled in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, close to the Adams birthplace of his first cousin, Susan B. Anthony. The family joined and became active in South Church in 1956. A second son, Dale, completed the family in 1957.

The Anthony’s have been very active in the life of South Church.  Priscilla has served as editor of the Epistle, the church newsletter, since 1981, and John has served on most of the boards and committees, as well as teaching the senior high class for ten years. He was moderator of South Church in 1977-1978, and has been church clerk since 1992. In 1987 he and Priscilla were both named Honorary Deacons for life.  In 1992 he founded and still serves as the moderator of The Men’s Forum, a discussion group for retired men. In recent years he has served on the Spiritual Life Committee, helping to organize church retreats and various study groups to help foster a deepening and continuing focus on spiritual awareness in the life of South Church.

During his years in Pittsfield, John served terms as president of the Lee Rotary Club, charter secretary of the Central Berkshire Jaycees, and as president of the Berkshire Council Boy Scouts of America. In 1964 the Council presented him with the Silver Beaver Award reserved for adult scouts making a significant contribution to the area Boy Scout program.

Anthony’s business career included ten years as human resources director and twenty years as sales and marketing manager for the Specialty Paper Division of the Mead Corporation. After his retirement, he was one of six industry members elected to the first class of the International  TAPPI Decorative and Industrial Laminates Hall of Fame “for outstanding and sustained  contributions to the laminate industry.”