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At a town meeting in 1792, it was voted to build a meeting house, forty feet by fifty feet. The house was not raised until July, 1799. The pews were sold at public auction to pay for finishing the house. With the removal of the shire to Fayetteville, the congregational church also shifted. In 1832, they joined with four other Protestant sects to build the Union Church (now Union Hall). There were fifty-two pews. The pews were sold at auction. Each sect "had the pulpit" for the number of Sundays equal to the number of pews which they had subscribed. The Congregationalists had 20 Sundays, the Universalists 19, and the Methodists 13. In April, 1838, the Congregationalists decided to construct their own Meetinghouse in order to "secure the use and occupancy of the New Meetinghouse to the members of the Society and the control of the pulpit to the Congregational Church." The congregation changed its name to the "Orthodox Congregational Society of Newfane" in 1839. By September, 1838, the new Meetinghouse had been raised. The next year all the structural work was completed and nine sheds for parishioners' horses were built behind the church. The building seated 300 people and was built at a cost of $4000 plus many donated materials. It was dedicated on Sunday, October 2, 1839. The Congregational Meetinghouse underwent a major change about 1865 when the gallery was cut down and the "Desk" or Pulpit was altered. Historical records are sketchy, but this seems to indicate that the building was originally a single story structure with a main floor and gallery. With the gallery removed, the building could be divided into an upstairs place of worship and a downstairs area used for many different purposes. In 1875, the Ladies’ Aid Society was organized, and a Young People’s Christian Endeavor Society began in 1888. Ministry with young people has long since taken other forms, but the Ladies’ Aid is still a vital part of the life and work of the congregation. The choir was located in the back of the renovated upstairs worship space. In 1891, a platform was constructed adjacent to the rostrum for use by the choir. In 1897, slate replaced the wood shingles on the church roof and more modern pews were installed in the sanctuary. A furnace was put in the first floor of the church in September, 1904, in place of the old wood-burning stoves. In December, 1914, the church was incorporated in the State of Vermont as "The First Congregational Church of Newfane." Also in 1914, electric lighting was installed. Prior to this innovation light came from kerosene lamps, with reflectors, placed in swinging brackets fastened well up on each window casing. In the middle of the auditorium was a large chandelier hung from the ceiling and carrying a cluster of oil lamps. During the summer of 1921, the church interior was redecorated through the efforts of the women of the church. The sanctuary of the building was completely refinished, including new lighting from Spain, in 1968. The congregation was a member of the Vermont Congregational Conference until the Congregationalists nationwide merged into a new denomination, the United Church of Christ, in 1957. First Congregational Church of Newfane became part of the United Church of Christ in 1976.
The First Congregational Church of Newfane (also known as the "Newfane Congregational Church," or just the "Newfane Church") has about 65 active members who are regularly involved in the worship and ministries of the church. There are also many members and friends (resident and non-resident) who are connected with the church and often contribute in many ways to the life of the church. In 1999, the Church defined its Mission with the following statement: As Members of the Newfane Congregational Church Our Mission is to live and grow together in faith. Our Goals are for all ages and all people: 1) To witness to God's Love by sharing with and caring for people in our local and global communities. 2) To provide lively worship in a welcoming atmosphere. 3) To offer enrichment through opportunities for learning, spiritual growth, and service. To participate in these opportunities as individuals. Even in laid back Vermont, life is often hectic, focused on activity and material concerns. The Church's place on the Common is a reminder that life has a spiritual component, and that values like "faith, hope, and love" are of greater significance to life's fulfillment than the values of acquisitiveness, consumption, and activity that predominant in our culture. The Church holds Sunday Worship Services at 10am, with special services at Christmas, Lent, and Easter. Communion is observed the first Sunday of the month (except during Lent). The history of the Churches of our area are observed each year. On the last Sunday of June and July, worship services are held, respectively, on Newfane Hill (where the church was first gathered) and at the Brookline Church on Grassy Brook Road. The Church is under the preaching and spiritual leadership of the Rev. Dr. Chris Petrak. After 18 years as the head of staff of a downtown church in Stroudsburg, PA, Chris moved to Vermont in 1997 where his South Newfane home became a Bed & Breakfast and he translated his hobby as a bird watcher into a regular weekly column in the Brattleboro Reformer. In 1999 he also became the part-time minister of the Newfane Church, focusing on the preaching and teaching ministry of the church. He is the co-chairman of the Heritage Festival in 2008. For a small membership church, the Newfane Church has a remarkably vital music ministry under the direction of Donald Maher and assisted by Martha Clark - both experienced and talented musicians. They provide the organ and piano music which accompanies worship, direct the volunteer choir, and arrange for special music and musical events. In addition, Don directs the church sponsored Newfane Community Bell Choir which supplements the music of the church and provides bell choir music for community events and in neighboring churches. Although the church has few young families with young children, volunteers are prepared to provide Sunday School whenever children are present during Sunday worship.
Churches with a small membership often struggle to pay the expenses of the church. As the costs of heating, utilities, insurance and upkeep on old buildings rise, they become increasing threats to the survival of a congregation. The Newfane Church is no different. What is different about the Newfane Church, is that it holds only one fund raiser a year in order to supplement the support provided by members and friends - the Heritage Festival. The "benefit" which Heritage Festival provides allows the church to cover these expenses and to open its building to a wide range of community uses including:
This continuing presence and mission is possible because the church's 65 members are supported by an additional 200 members and friends in the community and throughout the Northeast who help with Heritage Festival every year - flipping hamburgers, slicing pie, popping popcorn, emptying trash, peeling apples, rolling dough, dicing potatoes, sorting fleas and dusty old books, moving tables and chairs, and doing the hundreds of other jobs. ... and then there are the 80 plus artists and craftspeople who display their work - and the thousands of visitors who wander about the Common, lunch in the Food Tent or Church Deli, try their luck at the Super Raffle, take home a home-made pie, and have an all-time good time at one of southeastern Vermont's premier events during Vermont's most colorful season. Copyright © 2006-2008 First Congregational Churchof Newfane, VT All rights reserved. |
