A deal between the Town of Lisbon and the town’s Historical Society to lease the Newent Congregational Church for the next 99 years for a dollar per year has drawn criticism from some residents and at least one town finance official, and raised questions over the town’s restrictions on religious ceremonies at the old church.
The church was essentially gifted to the town in 2023 and, in turn, the town decided to lease the church to the Lisbon Historical Society, under an agreement in which the town and the Historical Society jointly cover the costs of repairs, maintenance, and utilities for the property.
Lisbon, a tiny town of roughly 4,200 people, holds votes on town matters by referendum in which the selectmen set the location and hours of voting, according to the town ordinance.
When the town held a public hearing in July of 2023 on the proposed lease with the Historical Society, there was no public opposition, and the members of the public in attendance who spoke in favor of the lease were all Historical Society members, according to meeting minutes. The lease was approved. The whole meeting lasted four minutes.
But the lack of public interest has changed since the town proposed an expenditure of $37,000 to place vinyl siding on the church and the fact that, under the terms of the lease, no religious ceremonies can be held at the former church, now called the Newent Meeting Hall. A public hearing and vote on the expenditure was held on February 15.
Dennis Savage, chaplain for the Lisbon Fire Department, believes the town is already spending too much money on town-owned property and that the restriction on religious gatherings isn’t legal.
“They want the town to pay for it, tax money,” Savage said in an interview. “The taxpayers shouldn’t bear all the burden just because the town fathers want to buy property.”
“I was actually told at a Republican Town Committee meeting that we couldn’t hold Christian services,” Savage said. “That’s in their contract, and I don’t believe that’s legal.”
Philip Kinslow, a member of the Lisbon Board of Finance, says he has serious reservations about the deal between the Town and the Historical Society, although he indicated that he is only speaking personally and not on behalf of the Board of Finance.
“They come to us with $37,000 of vinyl siding on the building, if you put vinyl siding on the building, it doesn’t keep the history of the building,” Kinslow said. “We’re stuck in this 99-year lease and in the end, the town is going to make $99 off it, but we’re going to be paying thousands of dollars in repairs,” Kinslow said.
“This is just a money pit for the town, and I understand the Historical Society is a nonprofit, but they’re making money for other events or whatever they want to do and it’s costing the taxpayers money. I’m one hundred percent against that,” Kinslow continued.
Kinslow also argues that it makes little sense to preserve a historical church and not allow any religious services or ceremonies.
“How are you going to maintain the history of a church building if you don’t allow any religious events?” Kinslow said. “That kind of blows my mind. We’re trying to maintain the history of a church, a place of worship of God, and yet you can’t worship God there. You can’t even have a women’s retreat or men’s retreat or children. That kind of baffles me.”
Reached for comment, however, Thomas Sparkman, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, says part of the lease agreement included putting siding on the church.
“It’s a town building that was leased to the Historical Society,” Sparkman said. “They have a responsibility to maintain a certain amount of the upkeep but there is a responsibility on the part of the town to do some repairs as well, and one of the points in the lease is that we would take care of the siding issue before transfer of the lease. Obviously, we didn’t do that but it’s still something we have to do.”
Sparkman also says the restriction on religious services in the old church was made on the advice of town counsel. Essentially, if they allow for any religious ceremony, they would have to open up the property to all religious services, and Sparkman cited the recent public outcry over an afterschool “Satan Club” in nearby Lebanon, Connecticut, which made national news as an example of how such a proposal can go awry.
“We have an opinion from counsel that says that there is a prohibition or a thing about church and state and her recommendation is that a municipal building not be used for religious services,” Sparkman said. “If we allow [a Christian event] then how could we restrict any of the other twelve or eighteen religions that practice in the United States, according to the Census, including Satanism, which was an issue in Lebanon a few weeks back.”
The Lebanon Elementary School hosted an afterschool program called the Good News Christian Club. When the Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple wanted to host an afterschool program at the school, officials were unable to say no, despite public outcry, because prohibiting the Satanic Temple would violate free speech and equal protection laws.
Town officials in Enfield used a similar argument in voting to remove the rainbow Pride Flag that was hung from town hall, saying that if they allowed one group to fly a flag on municipal grounds it would subsequently be open to all groups being allowed to fly their flags.
“We don’t prohibit anybody from doing any civil ceremonies,” Sparkman said, “but anything religious we’re going to err on the side of caution.”
Using government funds to maintain and repair churches, however, is a bit of a legal gray area, according to a report by the Commonwealth Beacon, which reported on a similar issue in Massachusetts in 2023.
A 2016 lawsuit that argued taxpayer dollars can’t be used to restore religious iconography for a historic church made its way to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, with the parties eventually agreeing that repairs made to the church must be determined on a case-by-case basis to ensure a separation of church and state.
The big difference, however, is that the Acton Congregational Church was still owned by the church, whereas the Newent Congregational Church is now owned by the Historical Society and is now a meeting house as opposed to an active church.
Paula Adams, president of the Lisbon Historical Society, says this is now the fourth building in town the small Historical Society cares for and that she is excited about the potential for the property, which includes a town green – the lawn on which the meeting house now sits.
“It is a town building, so we have to take care of it,” Adams said. “It’s not a church anymore. It’s a town building and it’s going to become a cultural center and it’s going to be used for many different things, town functions.”
“It’s a great space for movies, lectures, concerts, plays. It’s got a lot of positive uses as a cultural center,” Adams continued. “It’s a very positive thing. With the church came a green. We never had that before. Now that the town has the church, it’s a meeting house. It went back to its original name from the 1700s.”
A special town meeting was held on February 15, 2024, where a vote was taken among Lisbon residents in attendance and the $37,000 expenditure for re-siding the building was passed.
“I’m tired of the town not being transparent and not being honest with the community. There’s not a lot of accountability in this town. There’s a lot of money being spent that taxpayers don’t know is being spent,” Kinslow said.
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