A 300th Anniversary Harvest Dinner on Friday, October 17, will conclude Newtown Congregational Church’s tercentennial celebrations. The event will begin at 6 pm in The Great Room at the church, 14 West Street.

Tickets are $15 per person and are available at church office through October 12.

Capacity is 150 people, so time is running out to purchase a ticket to reserve a seat for the catered roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings by LeReine’s Cuisine. Pumpkin pie is being provided for dessert.

Former pastors and friends will be honored and entertainment planning is in the works.

Efforts began in the autumn of 1711 to “call Mr Phineas Fisk to the pulpit but these efforts were not availing,” according to the history of Newtown Congregational Church. It was not until May 1714 that NCC began gathering, led by Thomas Tousey. Founded nine years after the first piece of land that became Newtown was purchased from members of the Pootatuck tribe, NCC is the oldest church in Newtown.

The church’s first location was in the building that currently houses Newtown Meeting House, at 31 Main Street. The meeting house was first constructed where the Main Street flagpole stands today. The building was moved in July 1792, 132 feet to the southwest, to its current location at the intersection of West and Main Streets.

The church began its 300th anniversary celebration on January 5, when Senior Pastor Matthew Crebbin told those gathered that morning for worship and Communion service that “in this new year, our 300th year, we celebrate longevity. We should celebrate it, but we shouldn’t be too impressed [with ourselves].

“For 300 years,” he continued, “this congregation has been alive through the light and the dark. We have celebrated God in ways big and small. We made it — because God’s grace has sustained us, because God’s light has shone forth.”

On Sunday, March 30, in place of a sermon, Rev Crebbin offered a series of readings that loosely outlined the history of the church. The readings tied the church’s history in with that of the town and the country.

Musical interludes by Rev Crebbin and many others carried the morning’s well-attended service. 

NCC hosted a special Colonial style serviceon May 18. 

Members were invited to first gather that morning outside Newtown Meeting House. Shortly before 10 am, the group proceeded from the meeting house to the current church building on West Street.

That same month, the church welcomed the Field of Flags — a traveling exhibition of American flags, one for every serviceperson who has been killed in the War on Terror — to its front lawn for the second time.

On Labor Day the church won first prize for its float depicting the original “meeting house” with pictures of the 2014 structure.

A history book of the activities in the last 50 years will be available in January.

Marie Sturdevant chaired the 300th Committee, assisted by researchers Emi Lydem, Barbara Bigham and Gordon Williams; Barbara Gardecki, Marlene Whitney, Evelyn Watts, Louise Zierzow, Jeane Roberts,  Patricia Hubert, and Jackie Bibeu.

Many helped with the various projects and the committee members appreciated the time and talents devoted to the projects and celebrations by them.

For additional information or to make reservations for the harvest dinner, call 203-426-9024.