On Sunday, August 23, the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury held a gathering to celebrate the successful completion of its 2011-2014 capital campaign to restore and renovate the historic church. Built in 1833 on grounds near the West Tisbury cemetery, the current building was moved to Music and Main streets in the village center in 1866.

The event featured a self-guided building tour in which guests learned some of the history of the 182-year-old meeting house, including the town clock located in the belfry (installed in 1895 and funded in part by a chain letter) and a now long gone tin coated steel ceiling installed in the sanctuary in 1910 and taken down in 1961 when it became an object of congregational ‘agitation.’

The current campaign raised $500,000 in total for restoration work of the interior and exterior of the church sanctuary and other needed renovations and repairs, including $150,000 in Community Preservation Act funds granted by the town of West Tisbury for foundation work.