No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are On Life's Journey,

You Are Welcome Here!

We covenant with God and with one another as members of First Parish Church to be an Open and Affirming Church.  We affirm the dignity and worth of every person created in the image of God. We are one body with many members: people of every age, marital status, family structure, faith background, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, racial and cultural identity, and socio-economic status. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we invite all into the full life, ministry, and sacraments of the church. We honor the guiding principle that discrimination is incompatible with Christ's message of unconditional love.

"God is still speaking" is our way of saying that God is still active in the world today and still speaking to us!

Our Denomination: The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church. Our branch of the family tree is the Congregational Churches that were organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (1620) and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) acknowledged their essential unity in 1648. In each tradition, the basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the congregation. Members of each congregation are in sacred and holy relationship with one another and with God.  These congregations, in turn, exist in covenantal relationships with one another to form larger structures for more effective work. Our covenanting emphasizes trustful relationships rather than legal agreements. Each congregation or local church is free to act in accordance with the collective decision of its members, guided by the working of the Spirit, but it also is called to live in a covenantal relationship with other congregations for the sharing of insights and for cooperative action under the authority of Christ. This is the United Church of Christ, responding to the call to unity in diversity: "that they may all be one." John 17:21 "God is still speaking" is our way of saying that God is still active and speaking in the world today.

United Church of Christ : http://www.ucc.org  Maine Conference, United Church of Christ: http://maineucc.org

First Parish History: 

First Parish Church is the oldest religious society in Maine in continuous existence. Our current church, a classic, New England Congregational meetinghouse, was raised in 1747. It originally faced the stone building (now our offices), but was turned in 1882 to face the road.

George Washington was just 15 years old when this beautiful church was constructed. Throughout the 20th century, First Parish Church has stood as an inspiring landmark and a gathering place for a vital community of faith.
This is a house of faith and only God knows how many people have been encouraged, inspired and touched by God's love by being in this church.

The First Meetinghouse: In 1636, an oratory (as a meetinghouse was then known) was erected on land granted to Sir Ferdinando Gorges for the purpose of worship according to the Church of England, as required by Charles I, in a Royal Charter to Gorges in this place then called Agamenticus. It was located in York Harbor, near the site of St. George's Episcopal Church today.

The Second Meetinghouse: Completed in August of 1667, the second meetinghouse measured 40 feet by 28 feet with a turret on top. All new materials were used in construction, with the exception of the seats from the previous meetinghouse. The price of this building was 120 English pounds. It was built on "land given to the use of the ministry", part of it a glebe granted by Governor Edward Godfrey as early as 1641, a trust, he said in 1657 in a paper to the Council of State, London, for the maintenance of a "house for the worship of God and endowment of minister." It was along what is now Lindsay Road. In 1673 the Church was organized after the Congregational tradition and remains in that tradition in affiliation with the United Church of Christ.

The Third Meetinghouse: By 1710, the second meetinghouse was deemed unsafe and out of repair. A special town meeting was held where it was decided to build a new meetinghouse. It was to be 50 square feet and sit on the north side of the (old) burying ground. It was also voted to raise the funds through a free will offering and if there was not sufficient money raised that way then the funds were to be raised by a town tax. It is not know if the town tax was needed, but it is a pleasant thought! It was completed in 1712. In Colonial times the church, or meetinghouse, as it was known, was used for civic as well as ecclesiastical purposes. Public meetings were held there. It also served as the courthouse for the county, and the meeting place for the provincial government.

The Fourth Meetinghouse: On April 19, 1744, it was voted, "that there be a meetinghouse built in this Parish, by subscription, of 70 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 25 feet stud, and sett in the same place where the old meetinghouse now stands." Plans for this meetinghouse lagged as Rev. Samuel "Father" Moody was absent from York, serving as chaplain with the troops on the Louisburg Expedition. On March 25, 1747, the Parish voted again to build a new meetinghouse adding to the former vote, "that there shall be a steeple built at one end." The steeple was most probably designed by Samuel Sewall, Esq., of York. The Parish voted to tear down the third meetinghouse, and, "to use such stuff and materials as will answer." 

When the church was constructed it faced west where the Parish House (office) now sits. In 1882 it was decided that it would look better facing the road, which was not there when the church was originally built. So, the church was lifted up, turned, and set back 20 feet to its present location, where it stands today as a glorious house of God. The Church was restored to the simplicity and beauty of the late Colonial period of church architecture in 1951.

You enter this church not as a stranger but as a guest of God. offering God your love and service. Be grateful to the strong and loyal men and women and children who in the name of God built this place of worship, and to all who have beautified it and hallowed it with their prayers and praises.  May all who love this house of faith find the inspiration of their labor and rejoice in the power and love of God, that His blessing may rest on you both in your going out and on your coming in.  - From a 12th Century English Church