The First Congregational Church of Brewer was established in 1795, officially recognized in 1800.The building itself was built in 1828 and moved to its present location in 1889. (We find this date potentially questionable as we have found a map dated 1885 which shows the Congregational Church already in place on Church Street in that year. Was there already a church in place which was replaced by the present one?) At the same time, or at least some time prior to 1910, the church must have been substantially remodeled, or even replaced, as we have also found a photo of the church, dated 1885, which shows a completely different building. A 1910 photo shows essentially the building we see today. No mention can be found anywhere of the church's remodeling, nor of the construction of another church after 1885, of 1889. This is, unfortunately, not an unusual situation, as we often run up against questionable dates and chronologically disordered photos when researching old buildings and sites.
Be that as it may, the church has done its good deed for the month of September by opening its doors to a local group of artists who suddenly found themselves without a place to meet and paint. In return, they have painted a quilt of the church which is to be raffled off to help pay for repairs to the church's roof. The Bangor Daily News ran an article on the story, reprinted below.
We have learned that the church had a pipe organ installed in 1903 and restored in 1969. More to come as the
Pipe Organ Database is nonfunctional at this moment.
Artists Thanking Brewer Church for Giving Them Place to Paint
SEP 7, 20166:26 PM EDT BY CAITLIN BURCHILL
When the Hammond Street Senior Center in Bangor closed, it left a void in the lives of many local seniors – including some artists who loved to paint there.
A church in Brewer has given those folks a new space to create.
The “Age(less) Artists”–as they call themselves—have painted a quilt to raffle off to help pay for a new roof for the First Congregational Church. For a small fee, the church has opened its doors, whether the artists are church members or not.
“We were kind of at odds end. Where are we going to meet? Part of our fun is being together,” said artist Necia Yates of Levant.
“It’s really filled a huge void,” said artist Kathy Clegg of Hermon.
“I was astounded and delighted and grateful. All sorts of feelings. It’s just, wow. It’s so cool,” said Rev. Grace Bartlett.
About a dozen artists painted the quilt which features historical landmarks.
You can get tickets in several ways. You can visit their Facebook page to learn more. You can also call or email Necia Yates at 884-4514 or nay624@roadrunner.com. They’ll also be sold during the Brewer Days celebrations inside the Brewer Auditorium Saturday – the church will have a table set up.
The quilt will be auctioned off Easter Sunday.
From the Bangor Daily News