Bangor’s All Souls Congregational Church has been talking about rebuilding its auxiliary wing for decades. After an influx of new members, the congregation decided now is the right time to do it.
The plans for renovations and the congregation’s success in raising money for them makes the church stand out as a growing community despite a long period of decline for Christianity in the U.S. The church has already raised nearly $2.8 million of the more than $3 million needed since officially starting a fundraiser in February, according to co-pastor Rev. Chad Poland.
“We see new faces almost every week,” Poland said of the 326-person congregation, adding that about 50 new members have joined in the last two to three years.
The new building, attached on the side of the historic church at 10 Broadway, will have a smaller footprint than the 1954 addition it’s replacing but will add a second story, which church leaders say will cut down on wasted space, make the building more accessible and expand green space outside.
The updated space will house administrative offices on the upper level and education programs on the lower level, according to co-pastor Rev. Rebekah Timms. It’ll make the building more flexible for potential future growth if the congregation wants to create more programs, she added.
Programming is already robust, with nursery and Sunday school for kids, adult classes multiple days per week, grief support meetings, and gatherings for different segments of the community like teens or retirees, according to Timms and Poland. Several community groups use space in the side building, including Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and a home school group.
Church offices have moved into temporary spaces on State Street, but all of those programs will continue in parts of the main church building during construction, Poland said. Worship services will also continue as usual at 10 a.m. on Sundays, except for in July and August when they shift to 9 a.m.
Poland attributed the influx of new congregants in part to the way communities were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think people’s priorities shifted and people saw the value of community,” he said, adding that he thinks people are especially in need of communities that feel authentic.
That excitement and growth, combined with the high cost it would’ve taken to repair the aging addition, made this the right time to rebuild, Poland said.
The congregation is the heir to First Congregational Church, which was built on the same land in 1821 and merged with Central Congregational Church to become All Souls Congregational Church after the Great Fire of 1911.
The extra wing was added in 1954 and connected to the main building in 2005, Poland said. That structure was designed by well-known Bangor architect Eaton Tarbell, who was famous for creating the old Bangor Auditorium, which had a roof that sloped inward.
The church’s auxiliary building had no insulation because Tarbell “designed it to breathe,” and a recent estimate showed that about half of the space’s energy is wasted, Poland said. It also has several 1950s-style sunken levels, making them inaccessible.
Although the wing is being completely torn down, the congregation is working to repurpose some of the historic elements into the new space, such as a copper fireplace hood and granite from the original building, Timms said.
Demolition is set to begin by the end of this month, with an opening of the new space set for fall 2027, Poland said.
