In 2010 the First Congregational Church of Wiscasset embarked on a capital campaign to provide funding for a major project of exterior and interior renovation on the 1909 sanctuary. The major part of this campaign and the most visible is the replacement of the steeple. The original steeple had extensive structural damage from the weather over the last hundred plus years. The congregation decided to replace the wooden steeple with a faithful reproduction made from fiberglass that would be able to withstand the ravages of weather and time better than the original. The bell tower on which it sits was refurbished and remains of wooden construction.

With the raising of the new steeple, the skyline of Wiscasset will return to its proud historic look with the Meetinghouse and Court House sitting side by side at the top of the Town Green. The original church building and steeple was constructed in 1909, after an unexplained fire destroyed the entire sanctuary.

There have been structures on the site going back to the eighteenth century. Because Massachusetts' colonial law required that a community have a settled minister and a meetinghouse before a town charter could be granted, the major business of the very first Wiscasset town meeting in July 1761 was discussion of the hiring of a minister and building of a "townhouse" meetinghouse.

The word church was not used at the time to describe such a building. A church was a fellowship of believers who were united by a covenant of faith. Worship services did take place in the meetinghouse as well as town meetings and occasionally court sessions. Parish and church were not the same organizations either. You became a member of the parish by paying taxes and you became a member of the church by being baptized and accepting the church's covenant. When the church was formed, it met in the meetinghouse but that did not make the structure a church. Today the First Congregational Church and the building are considered one and the same, legally, but many members would say, "A building does not a church make."

Like the first meetinghouse, today's First Congregational Church of Wiscasset continues as a true community center.  In addition to weekly worship services, the facility hosts many local events throughout the year, including the annual Wiscasset Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, blood drives, community chorus rehearsals, social service clinics and the annual Summerfest event.  This last, a traditional summer church fair, has since its inception donated all of its receipts to local and area charities.  After 250 years First Congregational Church of Wiscasset remains, both figuratively and literally, at the heart of Wiscasset.

The goal of the First Congregational Church of Wiscasset Capital Campaign is $320,000. The majority of this sum deals with the steeple and the roof. The congregation has raised $220,000 from member pledges. Additional outside donations and pledges have brought the total raised to approximately $245,000. These additional funds include sizeable donations from the Wiscasset Garden Club, Ames Supply of Wiscasset and a leadership grant of $15,000 from TD Bank. Even though the steeple is now in place, the budget is still short by approximately $75,000. Donations both large and small will be greatly appreciated.

Capital Campaign Committee: Doc Schilke (Co-Chair), Shirley Roth (Co-Chair), Charlie Howe, Bud Lewis, George Roth, Ellie Tracy, and Linda Winterberg.