First Congregational Church - New London, Connecticut
| Current events |
Show us where you're from! Click on this button
to place a "pin" on a map of the world! |
What's coming up |
First Church is actively involved with the UCC's nation-wide ad
campaign, "God is Still Speaking". Click on the picture
below the buttons on the left to see the ads and find out more about the
UCC. We are continuing to host groups such as Flock Theatre and Connecticut Lyric Opera as they seek to perform in downtown New London. Click on the Arts Department page to see what they are all about! Be sure to look around the site and see all the other updates made to the webpages. |
We are very excited to announce the start of a new contemporary worship
service starting each Sunday morning at 8:30! This new time for Praise
and Worship will begin February 6th! Be sure to click on the "Praise
and Worship" button at the left to find out more details!
The season of Lent comes very early this year (Easter is March 26th), and with it comes our Five Friday Lenten Concert Series featuring local organists during lunchtime. Take a look at the Music Outreach Events page in the Arts Department to see who is performing and when. Check the Calendar page often as it is continually updated with information about our upcoming music events, church functions, and more. For additional information, contact the church secretary at (860) 443-8409. |
Brief History
The Beginning
The First Congregational Church in New London was
organized as a congregation under the leadership of Rev. Richard Blinman in the
town of Gloucester (Cape Anne), Massachusetts in the year 1642. Blinman
and his followers had journeyed to the Massachusetts colony to escape
persecution in England. The congregation had been in Cape Anne for about
nine years when Blinman and about 50 others moved to a place then variously
called Towagog, Nameaug, Pequott, Pequod, and Pequot. The town had no
settled pastor, and Blinman filled that need. The congregation had been
inexistence for about 15 years when the name of the town was changed to New
London.
For many years the Church was known as the First Church of Christ, the name given to the first church planted in a town. Thus the first church in New Haven, in Hartford, in Middletown, in Fairfield, and in other ancient towns were originally called and are still known by this name. "First Church" was so called because it was the first (and only) church to be organized in the area extending from Bride Brook on the west to the Pawcatuck River on the east, and from the Long Island Sound to the towns of Bozrah, Norwich, and Preston on the north. In 1998, the congregation voted to change its name to "The First Congregational Church in New London, United Church of Christ".
The
Current Building
The present granite church was built in 1850 - at a cost of about
$43,000. Designed by the noted architect Leopold Eidlitz of New York, the
church building was constructed from local granite (some of it quarried at the
site). A new organ (Hook and Hastings) was purchased. Electric
lights were installed in 1910. The present church bell (the sixth) was
installed in 1876. By arrangement with the town, it was used to summon
people to town meetings, to sound fire alarms, and to toll the noonday and the
evening curfew.
During the "revitalization" of the 1970's, the Parish House was sold to the U.S. Postal Service, and a new Parish Hall was built in 1976. This houses our administrative offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms used by church members as well as community groups.
A
Sense of Mission
This congregation was instrumental in the creation of the New London
Food Pantry. After distributing food to the needy from our own food locker
for a number of years, the congregation chose to join other groups in New London
to establish and support a community-wide food distribution system.
In 1986, the congregation established a program of free meals for the hungry in the community. In the years since, members of the Fishes and Loaves Committee have gathered in the Parish Hall kitchen each month to prepare and serve nutritious meals for all who present themselves. Between the program's inception in 1988 and the present, about 30,000 meals have been served.
We
Extend a Warm Welcome...
...To all who visit our historic church. May your time among us
bring you something of the joy and fulfillment that we share as a community.