Union Congregational Church of Isle au Haut and has stood high on the hill above the town since 1857 to welcome all who come to the island. Although associated with the United Church of Christ, services are held in July and August with guest preachers from far and near representing many different denominations.
For over ten years the church has sponsored a Strawberry Festival on the fourth of July featuring homemade strawberry shortcakes. Other summer events in recent years have been an auction, Christmas Camp and pageant on July 25 th , and hosting other island historical societies. During the winter months the church joins the store in providing a free meal to the community twice a month. The church can be approached along a back road near the Town Hall, or up the hill along the boardwalk from town. Come visit and see the Good Shepherd stained glass window, and the Memorial Garden where beloved family and friends are remembered. Sign the guest book and absorb the peace within, or sit on the bench outside and enjoy the view. We welcome you!
Services are held on Sunday mornings in July and August at 10:00am. The church is open to visitors from May through October.
Union Congregational Church of Isle au Haut was founded in 1857 on the outermost island in Penobscot Bay. The church with its tall steeple is set high on a hill overlooking the village and Thoroughfare. The Reverend Joshua Eaton was the first pastor, and through the years the church has been served by many visiting ministers, missionaries, and seminarians who would preach for a few weeks at a time. The Reverend Frank Snell served as both minister and physician from 1914 until his death in 1926. To make it possible for him to live on the island year round, a house was built to serve as both a parsonage and doctor’s office and is used to house our visiting pastors to this day.
In 1941 the Reverend Fred Hoskins became the summer minister and eventually made Isle au Haut his family’s vacation home. From 1957 to 1961 he oversaw the establishment of the United Church of Christ as one of its first two co-presidents, later becoming the General Secretary of the Council of Christian Churches. It was at this time that Union Congregational Church joined the UCC denomination.
In 1961 Fred’s son, Ted Hoskins, became the island’s resident summer minister. Ted merged the morning and evening services into what became a typical summer Sunday service. After the children help to ring the bell, a hymn sing follows with spontaneous requests by the congregation for favorite hymns, and a children’s sermon is integrated into the traditional Congregational service. In 1994 Ted became the minister on the Sunbeam mission boat, while continuing to serve the island church each summer until 2013.
During the 1970s, the Church led a concerted effort to revive the year-round community by starting a Community Development Fund. This facilitated the creation of a power company to bring electricity to the Island in 1971. The fund also made microloans, supported the Island Store, and sent local children to summer camp. In recent years, the Church and the Island Store have co-sponsored free community suppers twice a month throughout the winter.
An important gift of land was made to the Church between Acadia National Park and the southern coastline of Long Pond. Part of this property was given to the Town of Isle au Haut as a public beach. Most of the remainder of the land was put into conservation for the protection of the pond and the enjoyment of everyone on the Island. To commemorate the many years the Hoskins family served the island, a plaque has been placed at the beginning of the Herrick Trail naming this land the Hoskins Sanctuary.