HISTORY OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF WARNER
In 1765 the Proprietors of Warner voted to build the first meeting house, which was constructed as a crude log cabin in the Meeting House lot, now known as Parade Ground Cemetery. It burnt two years later and a .church raising bee. was held to build a new structure, a 24 by 30 foot frame building. The first permanent Congregational minister was Rev. William Kelly, who was ordained in 1772.
Eventually, in 1789, another church was built, known as the .church under the ledge.. It was open to the rafters and never plastered. It was used as a place of worship and to hold town meetings. By 1819 it was decided to build a larger church in the Lower Village.
As the town population grew and the center of town moved to the main Village, the church was moved to its present location n 1845, which was done without any interruption of services. On Sunday of moving week, the congregation met in the shored-up church where it stood in the roadway. The galleries were removed in 1856, a bell tower was added, and the church was enlarged and modernized in 1868. Mrs. Redington gave the stained-glass windows and the porte-cochere, over the entrance which is useful in bad weather but unfortunately detrimental to the true colonial lines of the original structure.
The table at the front of the altar was carved by long-time Warner resident Edgar Keene. The long table in the back of the sanctuary and the similar table in Fellowship Hall were made by Toimi Parssinen in memory of his wife after her death from a long battle with cancer in the 1970s. When the chapel was built in the back of the Parish House the pulpit and all the benches were made by Charles H. Hill, a Warner carpenter and builder.
Prior to the Toleration Act of 1819 several smaller religious groups, such as the Antipedobaptists, Methodists, Universalists, Shakers and Osgoodites were active in Warner. Some members were motivated by their religious beliefs but others used it as a way to circumvent paying taxes to support the clergy. The Baptist congregation, after many meetings and an acceptance of the Articles of Faith, built their church in the Warner Village in 1833. Rev. George Cutting was the first minister. Membership ebbed and flowed throughout the years; by 1880 the church was very active adding several new members each year and making improvements to the structure.
By the 1940's the population of Warner had declined to 1,113 residents. Membership in both churches was declining. It was decided to merge the two churches into one. The Ministers of both churches, Alexander Chandler and Harry Smith, agreed to resign to allow the selection of one new minister. In the next several years four ministers worked to unite the congregation as they remained separate entities. The former Baptist church, being smaller, was used for services during the winter and the former Congregational church was used during the summer. The Reverend Ivar Pearson would be the one to bring the two congregations together to become the United Church of Warner.
In 1953 the Baptist parsonage became the home for the minister and the former parsonage , built at a cost of $2,472 in 1893, became the Parish House, used today for Sunday School and the pastor's office. The former Baptist Church was purchased by the Masons in 1965.
The United Church of Warner continues to answer to the spiritual needs of the community with a very active congregation of adults and children. A variety of activities are offered throughout the year including Sunday School, Bible classes, prayer groups, musical events, potluck meals, prison ministry and mission work. The illuminated towering steeple shines out to all who pass through Warner.