Our History

After its founding in 1956, FPCNC initially held Sunday worship services in the Masonic Temple on Main Street in New Canaan.

In 1959, four acres and this majestic early twentieth century home, Bliss House, was contributed to FPCNC by Susan Dwight Bliss.

A late 1950’s Sunday worship service in the Bliss House Common Room.

In 1968, construction began on the contemporary and majestic sanctuary.

Adjacent to Bliss House and prior to its opening in May 1970, the sanctuary begins to take shape.

The Reverend Guthrie Speers welcomes the congregation into their very own work in progress.

The First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan was founded in 1956 under the first called Senior Pastor, the Rev. T. Guthrie Speers, Jr.

The first Clerk of Session, or principal elder, was Stuart L. Higley. By the mid-1960s, Rev. Speers and the growing and enthusiastic congregation had outgrown its original location, the Masonic Hall on Main Street, and began planning a new permanent home on a five-acre parcel of land on Oenoke Ridge that had been donated by Miss Susan Dwight Bliss, in 1959. The cornerstone was laid in November 1968, and the first Sunday service took place on May 17, 1970, in the new Sanctuary. Rev. Speers continued as FPCNC’s Senior Pastor for more than 36 years until his retirement in 1992.

From 1995 to 2007, the dynamic and impassioned advocate of progressive Christianity, Rev. Dr. Gary A. Wilburn, served as Head of Staff; followed by Rev. Paul E. Gilmore, who served as Head of Staff from 2010 to 2018. Our current pastor is The Rev. Dr. R. Scott Herr, who came to us after serving 12 years at The American Church in Paris.

From its inception, we have been a vibrant, loving community of faith well known for our commitment to openness and diversity, to social justice and inclusivity, to ecumenical fellowship and interfaith relationships. The church’s music ministry is regarded as one of the finest in the region, and the church is proud of its strong Scottish heritage.

At the core of our being is the belief that the church is called to serve the greater communities in which we live. We try and live by the motto of being a congregation that is “internally strong, externally focused.” The First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan was instrumental in the founding of New Canaan’s Waveny Care Center, South Avenue Cottage, and other important town and Fairfield County services. A significant portion of our budget and congregation’s interests and involvement today is in service and ministry to the local community of New Canaan and the world beyond our doors. Our pastor, along with other members of the congregation, are active members of various community service clubs, boards and committees.

About Our Scottish Heritage

The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to Scotland. In 1560, the Parliament of Scotland adopted the Scots Confession of faith as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom. Later that same year, the First Book of Discipline was published, outlining important doctrinal issues but also establishing regulations for church government, including the creation of ten ecclesiastical districts with appointed superintendents which later became known as Presbyteries.

We at the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan are proud of our Scottish heritage, and we hold Scottish Heritage Sunday every year in early May. The celebration embraces all things Scottish, including a bagpipe-and-drums band, Scottish dancing and music, and even gastronomic delicacies from the island kingdom. We enthusiastically encourage our male attendees to don their kilts!

SERMON ARCHIVE

Read previous FPCNC sermon transcripts:

WE ARE PART OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.)

PCUSA’s Mission is to inspire, equip and connect the church in three main areas:
Evangelism and discipleship, servant leader formation, and justice and reconciliation.

About Our Scottish Heritage

SERMON ARCHIVE

WE ARE PART OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.)

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