Perched at the top of Cottage Road on a hill South Portlanders have called Meetinghouse Hill for nearly three centuries, First Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ sits as a stone-and-mortar witness to the religious and civic life of the southern Maine coast. Known simply as the Church on Meetinghouse Hill, the congregation traces its founding to May 7, 1733, when the General Court of Massachusetts set aside the lands south of the Fore River as the Second Parish of Falmouth, serving early European settlers in what was then part of Massachusetts under the British flag. Today the congregation numbers roughly 550 adult members and welcomes people from South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and Portland who turn to the church in times of joy and need.
The congregation describes itself as a progressive community of faith that seeks to follow Jesus' teachings, pursue justice and live God's love. Its motto is Where God and People Meet, a phrase that captures a posture of radical welcome: No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. Members and visitors are greeted by a building shaped by nearly three hundred years of additions, a music-rich sanctuary, and an active calendar of worship, formation and advocacy.
Sunday Worship at Ten
Sunday morning is the heart of life at First Congregational. Worship begins at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary and runs until about 11:15 AM. The service is carried live on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page for those who feel more comfortable worshiping from home. Within the sanctuary, the church offers both masking and mask-optional sections. Bulletins for each Sunday are posted in advance and can be read at any time.
Worship is shaped around relevant preaching and a variety of music styles. The congregation draws on the Meeting House Choir, a handbell choir, a separate bell choir and accomplished staff musicians, with new voices welcomed into leadership at every age. Communion is shared on the first Sunday of each month and on special holy days. In the United Church of Christ tradition, communion is offered to anyone who seeks a connection with Jesus Christ; the congregation has long welcomed all to the table. Communion is currently offered as prepackaged individual servings of bread and juice for safety and comfort. Baptism, the other sacrament recognized in the UCC, is most often celebrated on the second Sunday of the month and is offered to infants, children, youth and adults who wish to begin a life of faith.
Music at the Heart of Worship
Music is woven into the identity of First Congregational Church in ways that go well beyond Sunday morning. Three ensembles gather regularly in the sanctuary and rehearsal room. The Meeting House Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 8:15 PM in the Rehearsal Room under the direction of Co-Director of Music and Choir Director Deirdre McClure, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and also leads the Penobscot Bay Orchestra and the Sea Change Chorale.
Co-Director of Music and Accompanist Josie DiPhilippo, a South Portland musician and master of piano performance from the University of Southern Maine, supports worship from the keyboard and has performed across New England with organizations including Opera Maine, the Choral Arts Society, Opera in the Pines and the Monteux Music Festival. Sharon Potter directs the handbell choir, and a separate bell choir rehearses under Terry Foster. The two bell groups rehearse on Wednesday afternoons at 4:45 PM in the sanctuary.
Each time the music department includes an African American Spiritual in worship, the church commits to paying forward a royalty to the Indigo Arts Alliance, a Portland organization that cultivates the artistic development of people of Black and Brown descent. Members and visitors are invited to contribute to this fund by selecting Royalty for Spirituals when giving online.
Growing Together: Children, Youth and Adults
The congregation's faith formation work is organized around a simple conviction: God is still speaking. Children are included in adult worship until after the Time for All God's Children, the children's sermon, and then they move to their Sunday School classes. Sunday School runs from September through May and gives children the chance to explore humanity's story with God through age-appropriate learning. The Associate Pastor, Rev. Stephen Savage, joined the staff in 2020 as Associate Pastor for Faith Formation and Visitation and oversees much of this work alongside the Education, Growth and Fellowship Team.
Confirmation is offered for older youth, and a recent class gathered on Meeting Jesus on the Road in May 2025. For adults, the church gathers around weekly Bible conversation in Last Week's Lectionary, a one-hour reflection on the prior Sunday's lectionary texts held on Tuesdays at 12:30 PM in the Davidson Lounge. A Prayer Shawl Ministry meets on Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in the same room, knitting and crocheting shawls to give to members and friends in times of need.
The Discovery Center Preschool
Housed in the church's lower level, the Discovery Center Preschool is a certified and accredited traditional program for children three to five years of age. The preschool's mission is to nurture a child's individuality and creativity through a theme-based curriculum paired with child-centered, hands-on learning. Two classes make up the program.
The Frog class offers a first preschool experience for children up to age three and a half, meeting from 8:45 AM to 12:00 PM with a choice of three days at $375 per month or four days at $475 per month. The Butterfly class, for children up to age five and a half, prepares children for kindergarten with four mornings a week from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM at $525 per month; children bring their own lunch. Both classes integrate dramatic play, science and discovery, math, literature and pre-writing, artistic expression and music and movement. A certified yoga instructor teaches twice a month, and Miss Jess from the South Portland Public Library visits monthly. The school's facility includes preschool classrooms, outdoor play space and a gymnasium for active play during inclement weather. A yearly $75 registration fee is required to enroll.
Annual traditions tie the preschool community together: trick-or-treating through the church at Halloween, a family potluck in the fall, a Spirit Week with themed dress-up days in the winter, and a Spring Art Show with classical music and refreshments. For more information or to schedule a tour, families can call 799-3361 ext. 107 or email discoverycenter@fccucc.org.
An Open and Affirming Congregation
On November 12, 2000, the members of First Congregational Church voted to declare themselves an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, revising the statement in 2020. The covenant reads: We, the members of First Congregational Church, welcome and affirm all persons of every race, age, gender, marital standing, physical or mental ability, economic status, nationality, and sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression into the full life and ministry of this community of faith, including membership and leadership.
The church's theology grounds this welcome. The congregation reads scripture in the spirit of in essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity, and embraces testimonies of faith rather than tests of faith. Drawing on John Robinson's farewell to the Pilgrims, members believe there is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's holy word. The 1959 Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ, in the form of a doxology, holds a central place in the congregation's worship and devotion. In 2007 the congregation was the first venue in Maine to present the film For the Bible Tells Me So, and continues to engage its members through the work of the Diversity Committee on questions of welcome and belonging.
The Wabanaki Allies Working Group
First Congregational Church was founded in 1733 on unceded land of the Wabanaki Confederacy. In recent years the congregation has set out to reckon honestly with that history and to build more respectful, just and sustainable relationships with the Wabanaki and other Indigenous peoples.
The Wabanaki Allies Working Group, a project of the Mission and Social Witness Team, organized a three-part educational series beginning in 2020 with support from the Haney-Leighton Fund. Part one was an online workshop with Wabanaki REACH entitled Interacting with Wabanaki-Maine History. Part two, in late 2022 and early 2023, centered on the book The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations, with online talks by authors Shirley Hager and gkisedtanamoogk. Part three, a workshop on Deconstructing Christian Imperialism in Wabanaki Territory, was piloted in 2023 with Rev. Alison Patton and Marvin Ellison among its reviewers.
In May 2024 the Mission and Social Witness Team voted to join the Wabanaki Alliance Coalition, a network of more than 250 faith-based and community partners working to promote Wabanaki sovereignty and tribal well-being. Members of the working group participate in monthly coalition meetings and advocacy days in Augusta at the Maine legislature. In August 2024 the church sponsored a group visit to the Portland Museum of Art's Jeremy Frey exhibit Woven. A compilation of twenty land acknowledgments and a meditation on land acknowledgments now guide the congregation's worship and meetings.
Dismantling Racism
A dedicated Dismantling Racism ministry invites the congregation into ongoing study and action. Members read widely, including works by Ibram Kendi, Robin DiAngelo, Isabel Wilkerson, Bryan Stevenson, Heather McGhee, Ijeoma Oluo, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Layla Saad and Nicole Hannah Jones, and engage with audio and visual media such as the Open Yale course on African American history, the 1619 Project documentary on Hulu, and podcasts including NPR's Code Switch, Hidden Brain, Brene Brown's Unlocking Us and On Being.
The ministry also curates resources specifically for parents and caregivers, offering articles, podcasts and discussion guides for talking with children about race and racial violence. The church regularly supports Black-owned businesses, including through bookshop.org's network of independent and Black-owned bookstores, and partners with the Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland. Each time the music department uses an African American Spiritual in worship, the church pays a forward royalty to the Indigo Arts Alliance in recognition of composers who historically went unnamed and uncompensated.
Environmental Justice and Toss the Tanks
The Environmental Justice Group at First Congregational Church is committed to caring for God's creation and advocating for environmental justice in Maine. The church participates in the statewide Environmental Priorities Coalition through the Maine Council of Churches, with FCC UCC member Jill Saxby serving as the church's liaison. Together the coalition has championed priority bills in the Maine Legislature on topics including Wabanaki self-determination, growth management, the Land for Maine's Future program, 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, PFAS contamination, stormwater pollution, clean transportation options and consumer utility costs.
The most visible local expression of this work is the Toss the Tanks campaign, which calls on the South Portland City Council to negotiate with Suncor to remove nineteen aging oil tanks at the Hill Street Tank Farm, remediate the land and establish zoning protections for future development, all without city financial burden. South Portland students and residents have lived in the shadow of these tanks for more than seventy years; eighty-one percent of surveyed residents support their removal. The church helped organize a community forum attended by more than eighty residents who worked with SMRT Architects to envision new uses for the hundred-acre site, with possibilities including affordable housing and green space by 2030.
Community Crisis Ministry
Community Crisis Ministry is one of the most distinctive ministries of First Congregational Church. It began in November 1999 with a one-million-dollar gift from a church family, given on the conditions that the funds be spent within three years and not be passed through existing charities. The congregation prayerfully chose three areas: elders, children and families, and households in crisis. The Discovery Center Preschool and a SAGE (Senior Advisory Group Extraordinaire) program grew out of those initial gifts, alongside the Community Crisis Ministry itself.
Today CCM helps neighbors in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth who have nowhere else to turn. All requests come by referral through local General Assistance programs or through community school departments, and when individuals have exhausted other resources, CCM funds are used to meet basic needs of all ages. There are no forms to fill out, no further criteria to meet and no religious requirements. In its first twenty-six years CCM has supported more than 2,100 local families with housing, furnishings, home repairs, utilities, medical, dental and mental health services, groceries, education and camp, car repair, gasoline and other transportation. The work is now directed by Chelsea Byun, who joined in July 2026, and continues to be sustained entirely by donations from church and community members, with personnel and administrative costs covered by the church's annual budget. An Angels program, a connected part of CCM, offers practical help through volunteers: rides to church, visits from a pastor, a driveway shoveled, a lawn mowed, a basement emptied.
The Children's Closet
The Children's Closet offers gently used clothing, books and toys for children and youth from newborn through the teen years. After moving to a new location within the church, the Closet is now open by order, with a request form that gathers basic information and the items needed, from tops and jeans to baby needs, books, games, stuffed toys and dolls. Pick-ups are scheduled by appointment, with the Children's Closet also open on the fourth Saturday of each month from 12:00 to 2:00 PM. The Closet is staffed by church volunteers and supported through the Mission and Outreach Team.
Mission and Outreach Partnerships
Through the Mission and Outreach Team, First Congregational Church distributes over $5,000 annually to a wide range of partner agencies. Recent recipients include Habitat for Humanity, the Maine Council of Churches, the Preble Street Resource Center, the Wayside Soup Kitchen, the Fannie Peabody Center, the Protestant Hospital Ministry, the Family Crisis Center, the Center for Grieving Children, Heifer International, the Maine State Prison Pastoral Fund, Ingraham Volunteers and the Southern Maine Area Agency on Aging. Members also volunteer with the South Portland and Cape Elizabeth Food Pantry, the Preble Street Soup Kitchen and the Children's Closet. The Mission and Outreach Team inspired the congregation's participation in the United Church of Christ effort known as Mission:1 in November 2011, a campaign that drew national attention and was featured in United Church News.
Vision and Mission
First Congregational Church describes itself as a Christian family that is loving, welcoming and serving. Its full mission statement names four commitments: to worship God as made known in the Scriptures, as revealed in Jesus Christ and as encountered through the Holy Spirit; to serve members, the community and the world, working in faithful witness toward justice and peace for all people; to educate people of all ages toward a deeper understanding of their individual faith pilgrimage, their relationships with others and their responsibilities as stewards of God's created order; and to grow in fellowship as the Body of Christ, inviting others to share in the Good News of God's love.
Governance
The church is governed by a 2009 set of by-laws that organize ministry into five teams coordinated by a Church Council. The Spiritual Life and Worship Team oversees worship, music, communion, chancel, narthex, the lay visitation ministry and the reception of new members. The Education, Growth and Fellowship Team oversees faith formation for all ages, fellowship activities and efforts to grow membership. The Mission and Outreach Team oversees mission, outreach and the distribution of designated gifts, including the work of the Wabanaki Allies Working Group, the Environmental Justice Group, the Community Crisis Ministry and the Children's Closet. The Administration Team oversees all church property, finances, insurance, rentals and the planned giving program. The Care and Connections Team oversees the care and nurture of members and friends, including the Lay Visitation Program and efforts to build community.
A History Spanning Three Centuries
The congregation was established May 7, 1733, when the General Court of Massachusetts set aside the lands south of the Fore River as the Second Parish of Falmouth. The first Meetinghouse was built in 1734 across Cottage Road, in what is now Mount Pleasant Cemetery, with hand-hewn white oak timbers, two tiers of windows, galleries on three sides, square box pews, no heat and no steeple. The Rev. Benjamin Allen was called as the first minister in 1734 and served until 1754; the Rev. Ephraim Clark followed with a forty-two year pastorate, the longest in the church's history.
After a difficult stretch late in the eighteenth century, the church was revived in 1801 and became the First Congregational Church in Cape Elizabeth. A new meetinghouse replaced the 1834 original and stood in the cemetery until 1891, when it was moved across Cottage Road to its present location. Outside timbers and trusses of the original building have been incorporated into additions and renovations and remain visible in the third-floor classrooms.
When the city of South Portland was incorporated in 1898, the congregation was already 165 years old. Membership grew dramatically after World War II, climbing from about 200 to roughly 1,000. The parish house wing, including church offices and Guptill Hall, was erected during this period, and the new sanctuary was dedicated in December 1960. In April 1961, members unanimously approved the Constitution of the United Church of Christ and joined the new denomination. The old sanctuary space was completely redone in the spring of 1973, creating the Davidson Lounge, Laity Room and present chapel.
A 1990 gift to the elevator fund led to a major building project that broke ground in April 1998, adding an elevator, the Wright Pavilion, a ramp and classroom changes; parking was doubled and the grounds were landscaped. In the last three decades the congregation has adopted its mission statement (1992), revised its worship schedule and format (1998) and affirmed its Open and Affirming statement (2000). Annual rhythms now include a celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in January, a PRIDE Sunday in June, an Earth Sunday each spring, and a Christmas Eve schedule with a five o'clock all-ages interactive pageant and an eight o'clock service of lessons and carols.
Visiting First Congregational Church
The church sits at the top of Meetinghouse Hill at 301 Cottage Road, South Portland, Maine. From Portland and points north, drivers cross the Casco Bay Bridge to South Portland and turn right at the third traffic light onto Cottage Road; the church is on the right at the top of the hill after one more light. From Route 1 north, drivers turn right at Cash Corner onto Broadway, follow Broadway through South Portland to Cottage Road, then turn right and go up the hill. From I-95, drivers take exit 45 to the access road to Route 1, then follow the Broadway and Cottage Road directions above. Parking is available on the church grounds, with additional spaces added during the late-1990s building project, and the building is fully accessible through the elevator and ramp.
Office hours run from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday through Thursday, with other times available by appointment. The church phone line is (207) 799-3361, with separate extensions for the Discovery Center Preschool (ext. 107) and the Community Crisis Ministry (ext. 112). Giving is available online through the church's secure giving page, and a weekly bulletin is posted online each week for those following the service from home.
Pastors and Staff
Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton has served as Senior Pastor since September 2023. Ordained in 2000, she has served urban and suburban communities in graduate academic, church and conference settings from Chicago to Connecticut to Maine. A Bates College alumna, she lives with her husband Craig Patton and their young adult sons Tobey and Rowan, and finds spiritual refreshment in autumn leaves, farmers' markets, coastal hikes, nature photography and local ice cream.
Rev. Stephen Savage joined in 2020 as Associate Pastor for Faith Formation and Visitation. A 2017 graduate of Andover Newton Theological School, he lives in Portland with his wife Jacqui, a piano teacher and church music director in Saco, their three children and two dogs.
Music is led by Co-Director of Music and Choir Director Deirdre McClure, Co-Director of Music and Accompanist Josie DiPhilippo, and Handbell Choir Director Sharon Potter, with Terry Foster directing a separate bell choir. The Community Crisis Ministry is led by Director Chelsea Byun, who joined in July 2026. The church's daily operations are supported by Business Manager Melissa Yosua-Davis, Community Engagement Manager Kat Roderick, Building Manager Tom Conlon and Interim Outreach Ministries Coordinator Kathy Cotter.