The Hudson United Pentecostal Church was organized in 1961 with the first services being held at the home o Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lapan on the Boyd Road.  Sunday School classes were begun at the same time; using the family basement, garage, and re-purposed chicken house for classrooms.  The services were conducted by the Rev. Harvey H. Howe, then pastor of the Manchester United Pentecostal Church.

      Pastor and Mrs Howe along with the small parish began searching for a church site and were successful in purchasing land at the corner of Derry Road and Philips Drive in Hudson in 1963.  Work began on the church building and by September the foundation was completed.   On a few subsequent Saturdays, as many as 29 men from other churches in the district gathered for a “church-raising Bee”.  The first floor was completed followed by the sidewalls, and then the roof.  Within 11 days the building was made weather tight; all with volunteer labor.  Through the winter months others volunteered services to complete the interior.  Sam Lapan served as head carpenter with Pastor Howe overseeing the work.  The church was completed and dedicated in June 1964.

     In the spring of 1965 a seven-room garrison style house was built by the membership as a parsonage; thus providing a permanent residence for the Rev. and Mrs. Howe and their family.  Some funding for these buildings came from district and international headquarters of the Pentecostal Church.  The local church took out a mortgage from a New Hampshire bank for the balance.  A short time after the completion of the parsonage, the Rev. Harvey M. Howe resigned his pastorate in Manchester, moved to Hudson, and assumed full-time duties of the church here.  Beginning as a small handful of members the growth of this church has mirrored the growth of the Town of Hudson over the years.

     The present pastor is Rev David Howe; son of the founding pastor Harvey Howe.  Rev David worked as Associate Pastor with his dad prior to assuming the pastorate.  He and his wife June have shared 45 years of life together serving the church in Hudson.  In 2013 the church celebrated 50 years of organization in Hudson and changed their name from Pentecostal  to The Sanctuary United Pentecostal Church.  The new name provides more identification for a church in these times; offering a sanctuary in a troubling world.  As a church, Sanctuary United Pentecostal is not a mega-church.  It is a church that knows it’s individuals, provides an influence in the community, and in the world.

     The photo of the Pentecostal Church is from the Historical Society Collection; showing the church C 1975.  Much of this historical background is from “The Town in Transition” as published by the Society in 1977; as well as various newspaper articles.