Page 6 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, ApriL 4, 2026 End of an Era The East Saugus United Methodist Church will hold its final service Easter Sunday, ending 211 years of worship By Laura Eisener O ne of the oldest churches in town, the East Saugus United Methodist Church, will hold its final service on Easter Sunday. It is the final chapter for residents who grew up in that church, which was built in 1854. According to a history compiled and written by Stephen P. Carlson in 2016, the congregation can be traced back to 1815, and the first church on this site was built in 1827. The current sizable building had additions built in the 1950s, and an adjacent parsonage added, although a microburst or possibly tornado famously destroyed its steeple on June 8, 1946. In repairing the damage to the building, a new front pavilion was installed in 1949 under the guidance of architect Arland A. Dirham of Boston. They decided not to replace the steeple at that time, but two stained glass windows from 1879 that had been near the pipe organ and were undamaged by the storm were moved to this new entrance space. In 1965 the congregation held a huge celebration, the 150th anniversary of the Methodist congregation in Saugus, which included several special events over several weeks. There were special guest speakers on several Sundays, and on February 22, 1965, they celebrated the 110th anniversary of the dedication of the church building. The building is now 211 years old and has had many renovations, one of the most recent being a beautifully renovated kitchen. Some of the parishioners have been members for decades. Steve Carlson joined this church in the late 1990s when the Center Methodist Church on Main Street had similar issues and was purchased by a different congregation. Bill Stewart joined the church in 1949 when he was 15 years old — going on 76 years. Joan Joyce started going to ESUMC at age five and joined the church at 13 years old — a member for 55 years. David Hart has been going to ESUMC for 80 years. While there have been two other congregations renting space for their services in the building in the past few years, THE PAESANI CLUB ANNUAL POLENTA PARTY ANTHONY’S OF MALDEN 105 CANAL STREET MALDEN, MA. 02148 THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026 6:00PM COCKTAIL HOUR SAVE THE DATE! LA MORA CONTEST FEATURING SAL “THE GOLDFISH SWALLOWER” BARRESI East Saugus United Methodist Church will host the last service in its more than two centuries of history on Easter Sunday at 10 a.m. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) LOOKING BACK: The way the church looked during a Christmas service in 2018. (Photo courtesy of Joan Joyce) Inside the sanctuary of East Saugus United Methodist Church during a recent Palm Sunday service (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) TOWN MEETING | FROM PAGE 3 remaining unfilled for nearly two years. At the same time, our schools continue to be underfunded, reflecting a broader lack of meaningful investment in one of the town’s most essential services. Finally, there is a clear need to restore proper checks and balances between town government bodies. Without accountability and transparency, we risk making decisions that do not reflect the best interests of our community. Until these issues are addressed, it will be difficult to move forward in a way that is responsible, informed, and truly beneficial for our town. Carla Moschella: For most residents of Saugus and most towns, the top priorities are usually public safety, good quality of life, a good educational system, and amenities for the residents. Saugus offers all of these benefits. Public safety needs to remain a priority so that people feel safe and comfortable in their environment. Appropriate funding for police and firefighters is critical to a community’s success and desirability to home buyers and renters. And educational excellence and achievement are the keys to a strong future for the community. Question Two: What do you consider the top priority for residents in your precinct as you prepare for the opening of the 2025 Town Meeting session? Jeanie Bartolo: There are several priorities for Precinct 6. First and foremost, the people who live in Cliftondale Square have spoken and they want to keep the integrity of Cliftondale Square and do not want it being developed into huge apartment buildings. We do have a serious traffic issue in the Square. Even though the area roads have been painted to relieve the congestion, it has not worked. The Square is bumper to bumper from 2:30 to 5:30pm every day. Like my fellow Town Meeting members from Precinct 2 (Bob Camuso, Jeanne Meredith, Matt like many churches the primary congregation has diminished to a point that it can no longer sustain the needs of upkeep of the building. Its congregation is dispersing to other local houses of worship: Above the Hills Church and Santidad JVP Ministries. The future of the historic building is in the hands of the Methodist diocese. Sanjula Lal is the current pastor of the East Saugus United Methodist Church. Parlante), I am concerned about Caddy Farms’ potential construction and the disastrous effects it will have on Cliftondale Square if they try to divert traffic onto our side streets. These are tiny residential neighborhoods, and this should not be allowed ever to happen. Litter and trash are another major issue in Saugus. I really believe it is time for Saugus to purchase their own street sweeper. We need signage saying when the street sweepers are coming so residents can move their cars. As it stands now no one knows when to move their cars, so the sweepers just clean the middle of the street, and the trash builds up along the curbing. Alicia R. Bonito: Precinct 6 sits between both elementary schools; there is a lot of cut through traffic during pick up and drop off. Public safety remains paramount as many people enjoy the walkability of our precinct. E moto in residential areas has been a major problem. TOWN MEETING | SEE PAGE 7
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