After the French and Indians were defeated in 1759,
Massachusetts looked to its District of Maine as an area of
opportunity for development and profit. Settlers began to
move into the Penobscot River area in the late 1760's.
John Brewer and his brother, Josiah, arrived at the
cove behind the present Second Congregational Church in
1770. John and Josiah were from Worcester, Massachusetts
and other settlers from Worcester and from Cape Cod
followed.
These early settlers were the lineal and religious
descendents of the Pilgrims and Puritans. Most
were Congregationalists and came intending to
live in Christian community and to have a gospel influence on the surrounding area.
The outbreak of the Revolution brought a temporary halt
to the growth of the settlement. Some, like Josiah Brewer,
went back to Massachusetts to fight the British. Others
fled to escape the British who gained control of the
Penobscot.
Again, because of the size of the town, two meeting
houses were built in the 1790's. The South Meeting House
and one somewhere in, or near what is now North Brewer.
These meeting houses were
built on town property and were used for both town meetings and church meetings.
In Brewer Village (the settlement which had grown up
along Brewer's Cove) by 1843 there were saw mills, a
blacksmith, small industries such as a potash works, at
least one store, wharves, a school house, a meeting hall
(Union Hall), an inn, an animal pound, a post office, a
doctor, and a number of dwellings. The village was
surrounded by farms which separated it from the rest of
Brewer.
By 1843 the general population was no longer required to support local clergy, so local churches began to shoulder this burden alone.
Sunday services had been held in
homes, in the halls of the LaPayette Hotel (Probably the
Inn) or in the school house, located in front of where
Epstein's annex is now located. By 1843, Union Hall had
been built in the Southeast corner of the school house lot,
and here Sunday services were being held. the attendance at these meetings was mixed,
"being composed of Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists,
Presbyterians, and others."
The Congregationalists of Brewer Village requested an
ecclesiastical council to meet at Union Hall to consider
forming a Congregational Church. The council met January
18, 1843. The council approved the formation
of the new church which was named the Third Congregational
Church.Nineteen were transferred from the First Congregational
Church of Brewer.
Samuel Jones joined by profession of faith, becoming the first
member received directly into the Third Congregational
Church. These original members represented eleven families;
that were sea captains, farmers, saw mill owners and general store owners.
The first meeting of the church was held in Union Hall
February 1, 1843. The meeting then adjourned to February 8, 1843, at Union Hall
and on that date the organization was completed and the Meeting House was dedicated on October 9, 1846 and during this period the church grew and many of the social organizations supported the church by raising money.
In 1905 the church was reconstructed
and and the parish was reorganized under new by-laws and with these new by-laws the church was named Second Congregational Parish
of Brewer, Maine.
The new church was dedicated on January 7, 1906.
On February 8, 1943, the Second Congregation Church celebrated the one hundredth anniversary with many dignitaries from the local area attending.
In 1958 the Second Church joined with other Brewer churches in a series of Lenten services, the start of an ongoing tradition that continues today.
In 1959 the downstairs was remodeled and dedicated on November 28th.
A new kitchen was installed and folding wall dividers were installed to allow a more flexible use of the space.
The Second Congregational Church continues to grow and today is a proud member of the greater Bangor/Brewer area.
In December 2001 the Church became a
member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference after being a member of the UCC since 1961.
