A forward-looking congregation in an historic building, Bedford Presbyterian Church has about 500 members drawn from a 15-mile radius in northern Westchester and neighboring Connecticut. The church is well known in the area for its creative worship, its outreach ministries and the excellence of its youth program.
Sunday morning worship at BPC is grounded in progressive Presbyterian tradition and at the same time always reaching for new ways to celebrate God and help people make spiritual connections. Alternative music is offered on the first Sunday of each month from September through June, featuring a variety of musical styles, from gospel to jazz to soulful rock ‘n roll and more. Other Sundays feature the music ministry of our Choir, organist and Music Director John Lettieri, a handbell choir, two children’s choirs and a children’s tone chime choir. Dance, poetry, theatre, film, drums and juggling have all been included in worship at BPC from time to time, along with first-rate preaching by the Reverends Paul Alcorn and Rachel Thompson.
Opportunities to participate in outreach abound at BPC. The high school youth program is centered around work trips to Appalachia and Nicaragua, accompanied by adults from the church. We have had a long-term involvement locally with Habitat for Humanity and the Midnight Run. BPC was a co-founder of the Emergency Shelter Partnership in which local churches and synagogues provide shelter for homeless people during the winter months. The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry is another ongoing project. We believe that living our faith means involving ourselves in social justice work, near and far. In addition, BPC offers ongoing educational opportunities for children, youth and adults. Any and all of our programs are open to anyone interested in participating.
OUR FOUNDING
In 1680, a group of 22 men from Stamford obtained a grant to establish a settlement in the northwest corner of that township. They found the tract of land by following an Native American trail to the bend of the “Mahanas” River. The place was known as the “Hopp Ground,” because of the many hop vines growing there. Even though they had a grant from Stamford, these honest men also purchased the tract of land from peaceful Mohican Indians who resided there. On May 16, 1681, the General Court of Hartford granted the petition of the people of the Hopp Ground, giving them the “privileges of a plantation and doe order that the name of the towne be henceforth called Bedford.”
Shortly after the founding of the town, plans were made to build a multi-purpose “meeting house” to be used for town gatherings, including religious services. The building wasn’t erected until 1689, but the people began meeting for worship from the beginning. In its first years, the church was either Congregational or Anglican. Which it was at any given time depended on the date, the minister, and the waxing and waning power of the local Anglican bureaucracy. It is believed that the congregation became Presbyterian under the pastorate of the Rev. William Tennett who came to Bedford in 1720, and who later founded the “Log College,” which became Princeton University.
THE HISTORY OF OUR BUILDINGS
It is not known how long the first meeting house stood. In the early 1700s, it was replaced by a new one, which was burned by the British in 1779 during the American Revolution, along with almost all the other buildings in the village. A third church building was erected after the war in 1783. Because of the devastation of the war, the people who built the church could do no more than raise a very simple structure. It was unplastered and unpainted inside, and the worshippers sat on wooden slabs supported by legs at each end and two in the middle.
As the country recovered from war, so did Bedford, and the church became gradually more prosperous. In the early 1800s, one of the most illustrious members of what was by then known as “The Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Bedford” was John Jay. Retired to Bedford, Mr. Jay had served as President of the Continental Congress, Governor of New York, and the first Chief Justice of the new nation’s Supreme Court. His gift to the church of silver communion ware is still displayed on the communion table on most Sunday mornings.
The cornerstone of the present Victorian Gothic church building was laid in 1871, and the building was finished and dedicated in 1872. The funds for the building of the church, a total of $50,000, were a gift from Mr. & Mrs. Francis A. Palmer. Mr. Palmer was a descendant of one of the first settlers of Bedford, and a life-long member of the church. One of the Palmers’ stipulations in presenting their gift was that the church was to be forever after a free church. This was a change in policy as the church had garnered a steady income since 1856 by renting pews to its members.
Existing histories make no mention of the building of the manse. The date of its completion is known, however, thanks to a diary entry by the Rev. Peter Heroy stating that on April 25, 1865 he and his family “moved into the new house.”
There are two plaques on the walls of the present-day sanctuary. One is in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer and their generous gift. The other is a memorial to Mr. Heroy, who was installed as pastor in 1857, a role he retained until his death at the age of 63 in 1878. A history of the church written in 1881 for the 200th anniversary celebration says, “The grief of an affectionate flock for a Minister whom they trusted and loved, is yet fresh, and is felt amid the festivities of this celebration.”
