It is an institution that has withstood the test of time. Founded 50 years before the founding of America, the church is among the oldest in the nation and has survived presidential assassinations, a Civil War, two World Wars and an era where people have increasingly turned away from religion. From its 120-foot bell tower, the First Congregational Church has seen vast changes since its founding and this year it celebrates its 300th anniversary.

“The availability, openness and welcoming to the community was an important part of what I value in that church, and that makes a lot of difference,” said Gary Klingsporn, who served as the church’s minister from 2010 to 2022. The name First Congregational Church has several meanings on Nantucket. It was the first place where a woman served as pastor, in 1880, when a 34-year-old poet and temperance leader from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, named Louise Baker was called onto lead the church. It was also the first church on Nantucket to host a same-sex wedding, in the early 2000s.

“It makes you feel like you’re part of the island when you’re there, and when you’re coming to the island, the steeple is one of the first things you notice,” said Joe Hale, the chair of the church’s 300th anniversary committee, who noted the church is raising funds to enhance its exhibition space in its tower. “It’s the most beautiful panoramic view you can get of the island.”

For three centuries, the church has moved twice, added a second sanctuary, brought in a bell, built a tower and constructed a theater. And throughout all of those changes, the church has remained a fixture of the community, serving as a welcoming place for generations of islanders. Not only does it host Sunday services, weddings, funerals and baptisms, it also hosts the Assembly of God Church, Congregation Shirat Ha Yam, the Bulgarian Education Center, The Warming Place and Alcoholics Anonymous.

"The First Congregational is much more than just an historic church, it is a vital part of our community’s religious, social and cultural life,” congregants Peg and Phil Read wrote in a testimonial to the Nantucket Current. “It is special because it is so welcoming and accepting to all. It is special because one can find comfort and a sense of peace in worship.”

The church was first built in 1725 near a kettle hole bog off West Chester Street called No Bottom Pond. At the time, it served not only as a place of worship, but as one of two town meeting houses. Only later did it take on its name, the First Congregational Church. Seventy years later, the building was taken apart piece by piece and reassembled on its new site on Centre Street, known then as Beacon Hill. An 80-foot tower was added to the building and a 1,000-pound bell was installed. It was the first bell to be rung on the island, ringing at sunrise, noon and 9 p.m. According to church records, a vote was taken in 1807 to keep the doors to the tower shut, “preventing unscheduled ringing.”

By 1834, the congregation had become so large that it spent $8,000 on an even larger sanctuary, what is now referred to as the Summer Church. The original church, called the Old North Vestry, was rotated 90 degrees and placed behind the new structure. It was bare-bones in those days. Reverend Samuel D. Hosmer, who presided over the church from 1862 to 1872,described the pews at the time as “old-fashioned square compartments” without cushions or elbow supports. As for heat in the winter, Hosmer remarked: “Who ever heard of an old church with any fire, save the flame of devotion to warm the worshippers.” That attitude must have changed in the coming decades. Years later, the Old North Vestry became the second building on the island to install electricity.