Celebrating 350 Years -- The First Congregational Church of Greenwich

The First Congregational Church of Greenwich, the oldest church in town, will kick off a year-long celebration of its 350th Anniversary on Sunday, May 10.

In the year ahead the church will “honor the past, celebrate the present, and lean into the future.”

As part of the year-long celebration running from May to April 2016, First Church will be honoring its past, celebrating its present and leaning into the future. To honor its long and storied past the church will publish an update to its First 300 Years, published in 1967. Church members are compiling memories from seniors and digitizing records and photographs.

In partnership with the Town of Greenwich’s 375th Anniversary, the church will be kicking off an Old Greenwich neighborhood tour on Saturday, May 16 at 10 a.m. There will be a slide show and discussion of historical points of interest followed by a tour of the church’s stained glass windows that are related to the town’s history and people of note buried in the main cemetery, including the Binney Family.

“Celebrating the present” will include music, art, guest speakers, parades, and parties. The Brenda Stiers Memorial Lecture Series will be kicking off on Sunday, May 17 at 6 p.m. with a presentation by Dr. Maryan Ainsworth, Curator of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a talk titled “Saints and Relics: Cranach’s Saint Maurice and Luther’s Reformation” followed by a wine and cheese reception.

“Leaning into the future” will focus on making a difference both in the life of First Congregational Church and the wider world. A capital campaign will make significant improvements in and around the church, and will also raise money for outreach to serve others in need in nearby communities and the world. Serving others outside the congregation has been a long tradition of the church and its members. The legacy began in 1810 and flowered in 1852 when children in the congregation and Sunday schools across America contributed 10 cents each to build the missionary ship, Morning Star, to carry humanitarian aid across the Pacific.

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The church traces its history back to a summer day in 1640 she n a small group of families landed on what is now Old Greenwich, seeking to build a community in the ‘no-man’s land’ between English New Haven and Dutch New Amsterdam. The Town of Greenwich dates its founding to when these first settlers “bought” land from the native people in 1640. Even though church services were held in the homes of the settlers in early years, it took another 25 years before the church and town were chartered by the General Assembly in Hartford, and Greenwich officially became a town. “The First Church of Christ in Greenwich” also was established at that time. Today, the church is part of the United Church of Christ and known as The First Congregational Church of Greenwich in Old Greenwich.

First Congregational Church has been an integral part of the Greenwich community for 350 years and continues to serve it today. Many local organizations meet in its buildings and use its facilities for gatherings and performances. It is also a place residents of the community turn to in times of need. For those without a church home, First Church provides a place for memorial services and weddings. In the past 65 years, the church has hosted an estimated 1,600 weddings, 2,000 baptisms, and 1,900 memorial services.

The First Congregational Church of Greenwich is located at 108 Sound Beach Ave., across from Binney Park in Old Greenwich.

Photo: First Congregational Church of Greenwich. Credit: First Congregational Church of Greenwich via Facebook.