A White Meetinghouse on Pepperrell Road
Set along the Piscataqua River in the small village of Kittery Point, Maine, the First Congregational Church of Kittery is the oldest church building in continuous use in the state, and many consider it the oldest church in Maine outright. The 1730 meetinghouse, the 1729 Parish House (also called the Olde Parsonage), and the Old Burying Ground across the road are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They sit together as a single historic campus that has watched over three centuries of life on the Seacoast.
The church is a congregation of the United Church of Christ and an Open and Affirming community. Its members describe themselves as seeking three things: to make friends, to do good, and to seek meaning. Their Sunday worship is supplemented by a calendar packed with community potlucks, concerts, yoga, tai chi, Bible study, AA meetings, and seasonal fairs that draw neighbors in from across the Seacoast.
What makes First Congregational distinctive is the way the building itself remains a working part of the ministry. The historic sanctuary still hosts Sunday worship, the Parish House still holds Sunday School and weekday classes, and the Old Burying Ground still receives visitors looking for the graves of ministers, sea captains, and signers of the Declaration of Independence. History is not displayed here; it is lived in.
Two Sunday Services and a Livestream
Sundays at First Congregational offer two worship services that share the same Scripture readings and message, but differ in pace and tone.
The 8:00 a.m. Short Format Service is a quiet, reflective gathering built around prayer, sermon, and Scripture. There is no music, and it typically lasts about 30 minutes, making it a peaceful way to begin the day.
The 10:00 a.m. full service lasts about an hour and includes hymn singing along with contributions from the choir, the bell choir, or guest musicians throughout the month. Early in the service the minister offers a Children's Message, after which kids are invited to Sunday School in the Parish House for stories, crafts, and creative activities. Crayons and coloring books are available at the entrance for those who prefer to stay in the sanctuary. The 10:00 service is also livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person.
After the late service, the whole congregation gathers in the Parish House for coffee, tea, and conversation. In summer the coffee hour moves outside to lemonade on the lawn in front of the Sanctuary. Visitors are made welcome at every step.
Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month at both services, and all are welcome to participate. The congregation uses grape juice instead of wine, and the bread is gluten-free. Communion is usually shared by intinction, with worshippers coming forward to receive the bread and dip it lightly into the cup. On some Sundays the elements are served in the pews instead.
The 1714 Origins and a 1730 Meetinghouse
The congregation's story begins long before the current building. In 1652 this region became part of Massachusetts through an Act of Submission, and towns were ordered to provide a meeting house and a preacher. Kittery was brought to court more than once for failing to do so. In 1714 a group of 18 men and 25 women successfully petitioned the Massachusetts Court for permission to organize a church. On November 4 of that year they signed a covenant and confession of faith drafted by the Rev. Newmarch, who was ordained and installed as pastor the same day. He served for 60 years, until his death in 1754, and baptized an astonishing 1,796 people, including William Whipple, a future signer of the Declaration of Independence.
A new meetinghouse was built in 1727, paid for largely by subscription from well-to-do members including both Pepperrells, Timothy Gerrish, Elisha Gunnison, and Robert Cutt. A parsonage followed in 1729, its expensive glass donated by Sir William Pepperrell. That first meetinghouse burned to the ground in a violent 1730 thunderstorm, and the current church was built the same year. Its windows contained over 1,200 panes of glass given by the Pepperrell family, kept busy being replaced by the sexton after dogs left behind by worshippers jumped through them on their way out.
In 1874 the town asked the church to move so the road could be widened. After a hired contractor backed out, Levi Randall brought his oxen and rolled the building back about 100 feet, an episode that still gets retold in parish lore. Like most New England steeples, the original tall spire was a magnet for lightning strikes, and after the insurance company refused another replacement in 1892 the current copper-clad dome was installed. The bell in the belfry traces its own history: cast in London for the 1727 meetinghouse, recast in London after the fire, and recast again in 1823 at the Revere Foundry in Boston, run by Paul Revere's sons, before finally being returned to Kittery in 1826.
The Galleries, the Silver, and the Enslaved
First Congregational has done serious work to recover the people who were part of its earliest story. Like most New England congregations of the 18th century, the church served enslaved as well as free members; at least 29 Black individuals had an established relationship with the church through baptism or membership before 1783, and roughly 79 others are believed to have attended. Original galleries on three sides of the sanctuary held seating for these parishioners, sweltering in summer but possibly warmer in winter than the box pews below. Two of those galleries were removed in an 1840 renovation along with the original 1730 pulpit and the box pews, but the 1908 renovation by architect John M. Howells brought the Lady Pepperrell box pew and the original pulpit back into the sanctuary, where they remain in use.
The silver service tells its own story. Between 1798 and 1814 the Rev. William Briggs kept sparse records, celebrated communion only once, and saw membership collapse to a single member, Tamsen Haley Bellamy. When he claimed the church owed him $800 and threatened to take the silver, she reportedly scooped it up in her apron and hid it. The pieces are now housed in a safe deposit box, very definitely not used as tableware.
The Old Burying Ground across the road has been part of the church from the beginning. It holds the graves of ministers stretching back to Rev. Newmarch, the Thaxter family, Captain William Whipple (father of Declaration of Independence signer General William Whipple), the Cutts and Gerrish family lots, and a memorial to those lost in the shipwreck of the Hattie Eaton. The most famous stone belongs to Levi Thaxter, whose epitaph was written by poet Robert Browning.
Open and Affirming Since 2011
On May 15, 2011, the congregation adopted an Open and Affirming statement declaring itself inclusive of all people regardless of age, race, nationality, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, physical or mental ability, family structure, faith background, or socio-economic status. The statement calls members to promote justice and peace and invites all into the full life, ministry, joys, and responsibilities of the church.
The decision shapes a congregation that hosts a monthly conversation series called "Uncovering our Hidden History," including a January 2026 lasagna dinner and learning lesson co-hosted with the Second Congregational Church of Kittery and the Maine Middle Passage Port Marker Project to acknowledge Kittery's role as the only documented Maine arrival site tied to the transatlantic slave trade.
Midweek Rhythms in the Parish House
The 1729 Parish House holds more than Sunday School. A regular weekly calendar offers space for body, mind, and recovery.
Mondays bring a one-hour Zoom Bible study and discussion at 10:00 a.m., led by a church member and open to everyone regardless of prior experience. Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m., independent instructor Erica Hoven teaches a 60-minute all-levels yoga class by donation. Wednesdays start with Patrick's Tai Chi and QiGong at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Reading and Meditation Group at 10:00 a.m., afternoon tea at 3:00 p.m., and the "There is a Solution" AA group at 7:00 p.m. On Sundays at 4:30 p.m. another AA group, "Seaside," meets in the building. Thursdays feature a Meditation and Reading Group in the Parish House at 10:00 a.m. and choir rehearsal in the Sanctuary at 6:30 p.m.
Potlucks on the Lawn and the Blue Fest Fair
Through the warmer months the church lawn becomes the gathering place for the community. Monthly potlucks on the lawn follow a different theme each month, from "Salad Spectacular" to "Summer's Bounty," with neighbors bringing everything from green and pasta salads to retro gelatin creations. Winter moves inside for evening potluck suppers like "Love Your Neighbor," which gathers casseroles, stews, and Valentine-themed desserts for fellowship and giving.
The Blue Fest Community and Craft Fair is the congregation's signature summer event, a day-long community fair on the lawn featuring a pancake breakfast, live music, and more than thirty local crafters, artisans, and nonprofit exhibitors. The Easter Pancake Breakfast each spring draws families for pancakes with real maple syrup, a visit from alpacas and donkeys from a neighboring farm, and a scavenger hunt around the church campus, with half of the proceeds going to the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick. Tuckermans at 9, an a cappella group, returns each year for a spring concert in the Parish House.
The 1729 Parish House is also available for community use. Outside instructors and groups are welcome to rent the space for classes, workshops, and programs by emailing the office.
Anchored in Community
The congregation takes its mission of being "anchored in love and growing in faith" beyond its walls in concrete ways. Members regularly stock the peanut butter shelf at Footprints, the local food pantry, and pack weekend backpacks through End 68 Hours of Hunger. Each holiday season they sponsor families and ensure wish lists are fulfilled, donate toys to The Bear Project and to children on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and place wreaths on veterans' graves in the Old Burying Ground through Wreaths Across America. Annual fundraising proceeds are distributed to a long list of local and national organizations including Fair Tide, Footprints, Fuel and More of Kittery, Hospice of York, Seacoast Wheelers, Meals on Wheels, Traip Academy Scholarships, the Music Boosters, and the Parkinsons Unity Walk.
Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals
Because the 1730 sanctuary lacks running water, weddings, baptisms, and funerals are coordinated through the church office along with use of the Parish House for hospitality and gathering. The minister, the music director, and the historic building itself are all available to mark life's milestones. Baptisms are offered to all ages.
Minister, Coordinator, and a Music Director
The Rev. Patty Fox serves as Designated Minister. She came to Kittery Point with more than a decade of parish ministry experience and over fifteen years in social services and mental health, a background she credits with teaching her to listen. She and her wife Lisanne raised two adopted children, now in their mid-20s, and explore the Maine coast with their dogs Daisy and Percy. She keeps a mandolin, guitar, banjo, and bodhran within reach and is rarely happier than when singing with whoever is nearby.
Jennifer Gray, the Church Coordinator, is a lifelong Kittery Point resident who enjoys greeting visitors and sharing the church's history. The Music Director leads the choir, bell choir, and guest musicians who shape the 10:00 a.m. service.
Visiting and Giving
The campus sits at 23 Pepperrell Road, Kittery Point, Maine, and the office is open Monday 8:00 to 4:00, Wednesday 8:00 to 4:00 (remote), and Friday 8:00 to noon. The phone number is 207-439-0650 and email is kitterypointucc@gmail.com. Sunday services are livestreamed on YouTube. Giving is available online through Tithe.ly, and planned giving options are offered through the church's planned gifts page for those interested in legacy gifts. Parking is free, the Parish House is an accessible venue, and restrooms (including one with a changing table for families) are located in the Parish House.