Sepia scenes

This is the First Congregational Church of Derby, Ct. We have been members since 2001 and have made many friends here. Unfortunately our pastor plans to retire in the next two years or so, and we wonder what will become of our small congregation.

Here is some history taken from http://www.electronicvalley.org :

First Congregational Church

"The First Congregational Church has been around for a long time. In fact, it might be described as the mother of all religious institutions in the Valley. The building pictured above officially opened with Reverand Zephanaiah Swift preaching the first sermon on May 1, 1821. However, the congregation's roots go much deeper than that!

In colonial times, every settlement had to prove that it could maintain a minister before the general Court would recognize it as a town. When Derby was officially incorporate on May 13, 1675, city residents assured the Court that they had engaged the services of Rev. John Bowers, who had promised to move to the settlement. The church members met at the parsonage or in the homes of other families until the town voted to build a Meeting House on Nov. 21, 1681. The "Church of Christ in Derby" had been formally organized on Feb. 25, 1677."

Visit our hostess, Mary T, at Sepia Scenes to see many more sepia-fied photos and join the fun!