Lyndeborough Community Day returned for the first time since 2019 on Sunday, doubling as a community event and a fundraiser for the purchase of the former Congregational Church in Lyndeborough Center.

The Lyndeborough Historical Society has been heading the charge to purchase the church and preserve the building. The society has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with the church organization, and has been working for the past few years to raise the agreed-upon purchase price of $156,000.

Stephanie Roper, treasurer for the Historical Society as well as the Heritage Commission, which was a co-sponsor of Community Day on Sunday, said so far they have raised a total of $92,000 in private donations from citizens.

“So we’re well on our way,” Roper said.

Community Day was a longtime tradition in Lyndeborough, including a barbecue lunch, demonstrations by the Lyndeborough Lafayette Artillery, lawn games and vendor booths, but the tradition was put on pause in 2020 due to COVID-19 and never restarted until this year. Roper said it’s important to keep those community traditions alive in a small town.

“We are really trying to help the community. Now that the school is in Wilton, there aren’t too many connections that are just Lyndeborough. Part of pushing for this, for the return of Community Day, was to show that we really are a community, and this is part of the community,” Roper said.

Part of that community is keeping the Congregational Church intact and preserving the 1837 building, Roper said.

“A lot of people haven’t been inside of it, and don’t know how neat it is, and how important it is to our identity,” Roper said.

Selectman Bob Howe, who also serves on the Historical Society and Heritage Commission, said one of the purposes of Community Day was to continue the conversations around the church, and get input from residents on its future uses.

Roper said the building has one of the largest meeting spaces in town, larger than both Center Hall and Citizens’ Hall. Conversations around the building have included public uses such as emergency management and public meetings to rentals for weddings and concerts.

“There are lots of possibilities,” Roper said.

Upcoming fundraisers for the church purchase include a town yard sale, scheduled for Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Center Hall at 1131 Center Road. The Historical Society has also started a GoFundMe page to collect donations for the church purchase. The GoFundMe is available at gofundme.com/f/help-save-this-building-for-the-community.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.