The Trinitarian-Unitarian controversy in the 1820's resulted in the withdrawal of a majority of church members from the existing First Parish Church and the formation of the Second Parish Church. A Warrant for the formation of a second religious Congregational Society was signed by twelve male residents of Sherborn and on February 22, 1830, the Pilgrim Society, then called the "Sherborn Evangelical Society", was formed. The signers of the warrant were: Daniel Leland, 2nd, Asa Clark, Benjamin Dowse, Amory Babcock, Benjamin Bullard, Aaron Coolidge, Jonathan Eames, Jonas Greenwood, Daniel Leland, George B. Hooker, Walter Barber, and Europe Fay. The new church started with 66 men and women as charter members. The frame of the Pilgrim Church was raised on July 8, 1830, and the building was dedicated in November 1830.

One of the major distinctions of the Pilgrim Church was the pastorate of the Reverend Edmund Dowse, who began his ministry in 1838 and served for sixty-seven years, reputedly the longest ministry in the United States. He also served over 50 years as Chairman of the School Committee, and was instrumental in having the railroad routed through Sherborn. Rev. Dowse was a Massachusetts State Senator for two years and served as Chaplain of the Senate for twenty-five years. His portrait hangs at the rear of the sanctuary over the chair in which he sat in the Massachusetts Senate.

Ministers who have served with the Pilgrim Church:

Samuel Lee             1830-1836     Lewis A. Chase         1938-1943
Daniel Talcott Smith   1836-1838     Ernest A. Thorsell     1943-1944
Edmund Dowse           1838-1904     Alfred G. Bliss        1943-1944
D. C. Littlejohn       1904-1906     John K. Hammon         1945-1947
Edward Blanchard       1906-1909     Verne Smith            1947-1951
Amasa Fay              1909-1912     Tristan P. Knight      1951-1953
Henry E. Bray          1912-1918     Gustav Leining         1953-1960
C. Leonard Holton      1919-1923     James E. Turner        1960-1963
Albert B. Reynolds     1923-1929     John Morgan            1964-1972
Mary F. Macomber       1929-1934     Paul Cross             1973-1977
Merritt S. Buckingham  1934-1937     Kenneth Powell         1979-2004

   Peg Wallace (Interim Minister) 2004-2006

Janet Mackey and Jane Fadden (Co-Interim Ministers) 2006-2007

John F. Hudson 2007 - present