Church building in Calais finds new life with area nonprofit

Mary Lane has many memories of her time with the First Congregational Church of Calais. Some are amusing, some heartfelt, but all of them have contributed to her understanding of faith and community. That's particularly important today given that the church is being delivered into new hands, with its last service expected for Sunday, May 31. After that the church building will become part of Sunrise Opportunities, where adults with disabilities and memory loss will be cared for under the nonprofit's programs.
Lane has been with the church for over 50 years and has deep perspective on the change. "We had weathered ups and downs throughout our history, but the last 10 years had brought us to consider that our work might be drawing to a close. It certainly hasn't been an easy decision," she says. After deliberating over options, the congregation settled on Sunrise Opportunities, "an important charity that helps challenged and disadvantaged people. In that way some of our work in the community will continue. For that we give thanks," she adds.
Thom Michaud, CEO of Sunrise Opportunities, says, "We're so excited and grateful that the church chose us." The nonprofit will move its Frank N. Beckett Center program for adults over to the ground floor of the church building. "There are too many for our current space," he explains. The larger space also expands "opportunities for opening adult daycare," he adds. Adult daycare is a program for adults who live in their own homes with a caregiver or family members but who have memory loss problems, such as dementia and Alzheimer's. The daycare centers allow for a safe environment for the adult while their caregiver and family members have time to work, run errands or take a break. "It extends the ability of the family to keep their loved one at home." He adds, "The program will fall in line well with our current programs."
The second floor, where the congregation worshiped and concerts were held, will continue to serve as a community space. Michaud mentions the Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra and how its concerts in the space are much loved. While the timeline for transferring programs isn't set in stone yet, he hopes to be in the building by a year's time.

A long history of service
In another five years the Congregational church will be 200 years old. However, the current building is not. According to a revised history compiled by John E. McLeod, there were only eight people in the original church membership back in 1825, when they met in the Old Center School House on Main Street. They decided to build the first church at the top of the hill near the current church site. "From old accounts, it was originally very plain," McLeod writes. The congregation grew and so did its needs. When the old school house burned down, leaving the members without a place to conduct Sunday school, they decided to build a new church.
In 1871 construction began based on the plans of the Boston‑based architect John Stevens, whose church designs can be found throughout New England and in Saint John. The roof was slate, and the original weathervane atop the main steeple belfry was an imposing 165 feet above ground.
The church also had a Stevens tracker-action pipe organ, which attracted the attention of organist Leon Corliss, who retired to the Calais area. Lane had joined the chorus in 1970 and remembers with amusement a mishap a few years later. "Mr. Corliss liked to open all the stops on the organ once in a while, which caused a vibrating effect. One time when the choir, standing in front of the organ, was singing, some decorative wood high up on the organ came loose and tumbled down upon us." Corliss and his choir members were stunned into silence. Luckily Dr. Hazen Mitchell was attending the service, so he went up to the choir loft and made sure everyone was unharmed. Once they were pronounced unscathed, the organist and choir proceeded to the front of the church, and the service continued accompanied by the less‑resonant piano. "The trustees made sure that all the pieces were securely attached before we were allowed into the choir loft again," Lane remembers.
Lane says, "For some reason a very simple event that happened in 1986 has stayed with me. We were at a low point with different ministers each Sunday and Christmas was upon us. The laity organized a Christmas Eve service during which Bob Treworgy, a well‑known pharmacist and church member, read to us, 'One Solitary Life,' a simple and short statement about the life of Jesus. I realized that no matter what you believe or don't believe about Jesus, he made an incredible impact on the world, which has continued to this day."
The magnificent building served its congregation through ups and downs, but in 1992 it burned to the ground. Lane says, "When I think back over the years, I see a sea of faces of people who came and went, but while with us they tried their best to serve others and make our church community a place where we would enjoy being together." After the fire, "the members, as well as the community, felt the devastation. At the time we had no idea that a beautiful structure would be built on the site, thanks to the blessings of insurance coverage. There's no doubt that we have enjoyed the comfort and efficiency of the new building."
Dr. Mark Hatfield was the minister at the church starting in 2006 on a Sunday‑only basis while he worked full‑time at another church in St. Stephen. Upon his retirement in 2016 he began working part‑time for the Calais church to help the congregation see if it could reverse the downward trend in membership. "It's a sad thing when you've been part of a church for the bulk of your life and then it's gone," he remarks. But once the congregation made the decision to find a new life for the church building, they met the challenge. "We're responsible for this beautiful building," he relates. The question was how to find a new owner that had the financial resources to care for it but would also use it in a manner that was "doing good work." Sunrise Opportunities fit the bill.
Lane intends to write the church's recent history, picking up where McLeod's history left off. "It will be a labor of love," she says, and a fitting testament to a church with a rich history of serving the community.