Sunday, November 15, 2026
St. Agnes may be the towering presence on Rockville Centre’s religious landscape, but the United Church has built a century of history.
The congregation marked the milestone Nov. 7 with music, memories and celebration. The anniversary celebrated its roots and place in community life. About 70 guests attended the centennial soiree, hosted by Pastor Scott Ressman. The evening included dinner, a cabaret, dessert and raffle drawings.
At a special centennial worship service the next day, the Rev. Freeman Palmer, conference minister of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, was the guest minister.
“This weekend's celebration honored a history, but it was also very much about our future,” Ressman said. The theme, “One hundred years. Still being formed,” reflects its belief that God isn't finished with the congregation and its calling to love, serve and welcome others.
Among the guests was 101-year-old Irene Randazzo, a congregant since 1987. Two friends encouraged her to visit after she and her husband failed to find a connection at other churches.
“From day one, it felt like a family, so I joined,” Randazzo said. “I love this church and the people in it, the people who make the church,” she said. “I'm just so happy that I've been able to come.”
A painting of three lemons on a plate also told Randazzo's story. Ressman said her daughter, Susan, told him lemons are her favorite. After several paintings failed to please her, Randazzo painted the lemons and found joy in the result.
The congregation’s story began in late 1925, when a small group gathered in the library basement to organize a church. Its first worship service was held Jan. 3, 1926. The church opened its first Morris Avenue building, designed to resemble a large home. It became a gathering place for worship, music, education and community activities.
As the congregation grew, it outgrew the building. During the Great Depression, it provided food, clothing and other assistance. A new sanctuary opened on the church’s tennis courts in March 1941.
During World War II, members aided blackout preparations, Red Cross work and relief efforts. An honor roll recognized young members in military service, some later commemorated with gold stars.
After the war, the church flourished, and its nursery school reached more children. In the early 1970s, the Congregational and Rockville Centre Presbyterian churches began worshipping and planning together. The United Church of Rockville Centre was formed in 1973. The Morris Avenue property became its home, along with the organ from the Presbyterian sanctuary.
In 1997, the congregation continued solely as a member of the United Church of Christ. In 2004, it voted to become “Open and Affirming,” welcoming lesbian, gay and bisexual people into the full life and ministry of the church.
For Lori Dunne, a congregant for about 12 years, the church’s progressive outlook made it feel like home. A neighbor encouraged her family to visit as they sought a church aligned with their values.
“I looked all over to find the church that aligned with mine,” Dunne said. “And this was it. You know, it really was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it exists.’”
Dunne and her husband were married there. She cited the White Gift Pageant, which collects gifts for two organizations, and the church's Halloween event.
She praised its progressive, nonjudgmental outlook: “You accept everyone wherever they are.”
Neighbors Bob and Lenore Furlong, members of St. Agnes, attend events to support Ressman and the church. Lenore is a teacher assistant at its nursery school.
Lenore called Ressman “giving,” “warm” and “community minded.” Bob described him as funny, inclusive and someone who “wants to do good.”
“Anything they have, we always come to support,” Lenore said. “This is a wonderful church. It's a wonderful community.”
Derrick Davis and Katie Travis performed with pianist Kelly Horsted, music director for the Complers and the Voice Series at The American Opera Project since 2006.
Davis, who stars as the Phantom in the Off-Broadway production of “Masquerade,” sang selections from “West Side Story,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Ragtime.”
“You have no idea the immense level of gratitude that I have for you opening your doors and allowing me to be a part of this celebration with you,” Davis told the audience. “It means the absolute world.”
Travis, who has portrayed Christine Daae in “The Phantom of the Opera,” sang selections from that show, “South Pacific” and Jeff Blumenkrantz's “Giving Thanks.”
“I just want to say how grateful we are that our kids can be around such wonderful people, trying to do incredible work in this world, in this climate,” Travis said. She drew laughter when she added that children should be around such great “older people.”
