A Granite Sanctuary on Cliff Street
Set on a quiet street in the small seaside town of Nahant, Massachusetts, the Nahant Village Church has been gathering for Christian worship for more than two centuries. The congregation calls itself the oldest church in Nahant, and its granite and wood sanctuary, built in 1868, remains the heart of a community that has grown, merged, and opened its doors wider with each generation. Today the church is an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, known for an unusually eclectic music program, intergenerational worship, and a strong welcome for every person who walks through its doors.
Sunday Worship at Ten
Worship is held each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and lasts about fifty minutes. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month, and baptisms take place whenever a family or adult requests them. The service is intentionally intergenerational, so children of every age worship alongside the rest of the congregation. The pastor describes the liturgy as beginning with an extravagant welcome, and the language is not accidental: the hour weaves music, scripture, prayer, and a brief reflection into a single act of gathering in the presence of God.
Each service closes with fellowship hour, when the congregation spills into the social hall for refreshments and what the church calls spirited conversations. Those who cannot attend in person can join online through a Zoom link that is shared weekly, and recordings of recent services are posted to the church's Facebook page so the wider community can follow along at any hour.
Music That Crosses Genres
Music is one of the most distinctive parts of worship at Nahant Village Church. The church describes its musical range as classical, folk, jazz, gospel, spirituals, traditional, and original, and the instruments to match are unusually broad: organ, piano, recorder, violin, flute, guitar, and drum all find their way into services during the year.
The Village Ringers, the church's handbell choir, are a particular point of pride and have been known to mark community milestones with bell pieces performed for neighbors and friends. A volunteer vocal choir rehearses at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday morning, and the church welcomes singers of every kind of voice. Lay readers and lay leaders are also woven into the liturgy, with opportunities to read scripture, lead prayer, or share a testimony.
Open and Affirming Since 2014
On Pentecost in 2014 the congregation formally voted to become an Open and Affirming church, becoming the 140th congregation in its conference and the 1,200th in the United Church of Christ to take that step. The covenant the members adopted welcomes all persons, including those of every race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, family structure, faith background, ability, and economic circumstance, into the full life and ministry of the church.
The covenant extends to the sacraments, rites of confirmation, ceremonies of marriage or covenant, and end-of-life services. A guiding scripture verse hangs over the whole life of the congregation: Love kindness, do justice, walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
Two Centuries on Cliff Street
The congregation's roots reach back to 1820, when Sunday services were first held in a small stone school-house on the peninsula. In 1832 the first church, called the Nahant Church, was built as a summer chapel for Boston visitors; preachers during those early decades included Phillips Brooks, rector of Trinity Church in Boston and author of O Little Town of Bethlehem. That first building was badly damaged in a storm in the 1850s.
The current Village Church traces its founding to 1851, when year-round Protestant families organized as the Independent Methodist Society. In 1868 the granite and wood main sanctuary that worshipers use today was completed, and in 1905 the society affiliated with the Essex South Association of the Massachusetts Congregational Conference.
In 1959 the summer Nahant Church and the year-round Village Church merged into a single congregation, and in that same year the church joined the United Church of Christ. By the mid-1960s the older Nahant Church building had been renovated into Christian Education rooms, a fellowship hall named Swansburg Hall in honor of beloved pastor Rev. Ed Swansburg, a kitchen, a pastor's study, and a chapel that preserves the stained glass memorial windows from the original Village Church.
Pastor Emily J. Kellar
The Rev. Emily J. Kellar, a United Church of Christ minister, serves as the congregation's pastor. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she graduated from Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and earned a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School, where she was inducted into the Jonathan Edwards honors society. She completed her Clinical Pastoral Education with Hebrew Senior Life in Roslindale, Massachusetts, and is a certified educator in the United Church of Christ, Southern New England Conference.
Before coming to Nahant, Rev. Emily served the Pilgrim Church of Duxbury and the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth. She has also served on the Committees on Ministry of two associations in the Southern New England Conference and later directed the long-term Clergy Life and Leadership program at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, D.C. She currently serves on the board of Back Bay Mission, a UCC ministry in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Weddings in the Sanctuary
The sanctuary comfortably seats 350 guests for a wedding and the chapel seats 75 for smaller ceremonies; both spaces are handicap accessible. The church musician brings experience across traditional and contemporary wedding repertoire on organ and piano. The congregation requires that the pastor of Nahant Village Church officiate at weddings held in the building.
Baptisms and Memorials
In keeping with the wider Protestant tradition, the United Church of Christ recognizes two sacraments, the Lord's Supper and Baptism, and Baptism at Nahant Village Church is always offered within Sunday worship to mark the baptised person's entrance into the wider Christian family. The minister welcomes infants, children, and adults, and extends a particular welcome to families of mixed Christian backgrounds, including those combining Protestant and Catholic traditions.
Funerals and memorial services can be held in the sanctuary, which holds 325, or in the chapel, which holds 75. Swansburg Hall and its full kitchen are available for the receptions that often follow.
Christian Education for All Ages
Christian education for all ages has been part of the church's ministry since the mid-1960s, when the Christian Education rooms were added to the renovated older building. The church offers learning for adults through the week as well as formation woven into Sunday worship, and continues to develop additional adult faith formation offerings.
Visiting Nahant Village Church
The church sits at 27 Cliff Street in Nahant, Massachusetts. Parking is available on the street near the building. Worship is held each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and runs about fifty minutes, with the volunteer choir rehearsing beforehand at 9:00 a.m. Children of every age are welcome in the service, and Communion is open on the first Sunday of the month. Online giving is offered, and recordings of recent services are posted to the church's Facebook page each week. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., and on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.