Maine’s historic St. Peter’s by the Sea Chapel celebrates 125 years

CAPE NEDDICK, Maine — St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Chapel is celebrating its 125th anniversary this summer, with a look back at its long history and a handful of events planned in the coming weeks.

George and Nannie Conarroe, a prominent Philadelphia couple who spent summers at The Cliff House in Maine, provided the vision for the church in the late 19th century. After her husband died, Nannie had the chapel built in 1897 on acreage the couple owned on Bald Head Cliffs. The exact site at 535 Shore Road was intentional: George had wanted fishermen to see from the sea the cross that rose from atop the church. Indeed, back then, one could stand on the church property and see far in just about every direction.

Now, in 2022, the church stands just as firm in its original place but is surrounded, though not dwarfed, by tall, handsome trees. From the ground, the view of the Atlantic Ocean is now blocked. However, the view on-site remains breathtaking with those trees that shine a bright green in the sunlight, and a memory garden that was put in place 15 years ago to serve as a final resting place for those who wish to have their cremated remains buried there.

“It’s really a wonderful spot,” Louesa Gillespie, a longtime trustee and member of the church, said as she gave a tour of the premises on Tuesday.

The York Water District tried to make its own mark in the area when it built a huge storage tower behind the church in the1960s, according to Gillespie. The tower, well, towered over the church and blocked that view fishermen had of the cross from the ocean.

“There was such an outcry that it was taken down,” Gillespie said.

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Summer-long celebration

This weekend, St. Peter’s Church by the Sea will hold the signature event of its summer-long celebration of its anniversary. On Sunday, Aug. 7, the New Legacy Swing Band will perform a jazz concert on the seaside lawn of the church’s rectory from 4 to 6 p.m. Members of the church and public are invited to attend and enjoy an afternoon of music, wine and cheese, courtesy of The Beachmere Inn.

The church, a seasonal one that’s open from early June until the second weekend of October, kicked off its celebration weeks ago, with a benefit picnic and choral concert on July 10 among other festivities.

Following the concert this Sunday, the church has other plans too: a benefit brunch, to be attended by Bishop Thomas Brown, following the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, Aug. 21; an organ concert by musician Ray Cornils at 4 p.m. on Sept. 18; the annual “Blessing of the Beasts,” in honor of people’s pets, on Oct. 2; an “au revoir” party at the rectory at 5 p.m. on Oct. 7; and the last service of the season on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The church does not have a set membership, according to Gillespie, but does have dedicated trustees, scores of faithful attendees, and those who visit from afar because they have fond or special memories of the place.

“We always ask at the end of a service if we have any newcomers who’d like to introduce themselves,” Gillespie said. “Some people come from Canada, California, Tennessee, and all over.”

A historic church

While its surroundings have changed over the last century-plus, the church’s original interior has been maintained and surely has a warm familiarity for those who attend church there. The red door at the entrance gives way to a red carpet that lines the center aisle and leads to the altar.

“It’s very typical of Episcopal churches to have red doors,” Gillespie said.

The stained-glass windows that line each side of the church are the originals – as is the large east window that looms over the altar and depicts Christ and the apostles Peter and John. A few of the windows were stolen during a burglary in the 1950s but were later recovered. Even most of the lights inside the church go back to the beginning, according to Gillespie.

“They had electricity then,” Gillespie said.

Not that there have not been any additions over the years. At the altar on the south side of the church, for example, a stained-glass depiction of the breaking of the bread at Emmaus was installed in 1958, in memory of the Rev. E. Frank Salmon’s sister, Constance Emily Brooker. As well, the Allen organ at the front of the church – the one on which Ray Cornils will perform in September – was provided as a gift in 1985.

Nationally known architect Charles M. Burns, of Philadelphia, designed the church. Local talent built it: Edward B. Braisbell, of York, served as contractor, using native stone and wood for construction, and Sidney D. Winn, of Cape Neddick, served as head mason. The church has a vaulted ceiling, a slated roof, and ceramic ridge tiles; in 1999, it officially made the National Registry of Historic Places.

“We did extensive work on rehabbing this church about ten years ago, over a period of time,” Gillespie said.

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One of 18 summer chapels in Maine

The church held its very first service on July 1, 1898, with the Rev. Henry Adams Neely at the helm. Weeks earlier, the Ogunquit Memorial Library – also a project by the Conarroes – had opened. The church’s rectory was built behind the church in 1898.

St. Peter’s by the Sea opened just five years after the first Episcopal service was held at the Methodist Church in Ogunquit. These days, the church is one of 18 summer chapels along the Maine coastline, with Trinity Episcopal Church in York and St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Kennebunkport being the closest ones to St. Peter’s.

Over the course of a season, three priests live in the rectory and serve the church – one in June, another in July, and a third from August until October, according to Gillespie.

Nannie Conarroe died in Philadelphia in 1917, “leaving the church and library to become part of Ogunquit and Cape Neddick’s heritage and charm,” according to documents Gillespie used for a slide presentation delivered at the local library last year.

‘A community church’

Every Sunday in the summer and early fall, a member rings the church’s bell moments before the morning service begins – an invitation to one and all who would like to attend.

“We’re a community church,” Gillespie said. “We serve the community.”

Gillespie has been there for that bell throughout her life. Earlier this week, she said she has attended St. Peter’s by the Sea since the 1950s and has been one of its trustees for decades. Many members of her family were baptized, married and buried at the church.

“Approaching the church and going in every Sunday is very peaceful,” she said. “It’s been such a part of my life.”

Gillespie attributed the church’s perseverance – it has survived through all kinds of weather, economic crises, and other “ups and downs” over the years – to the “wonderful passion” of the people who consistently work together on its behalf.

“In a day where a lot of churches are closing, this summer chapel is alive and well,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine’s historic St. Peter’s summer chapel celebrates 125 years