The Church the Whalers Built

If you’re walking around Sag Harbor Village, the First Presbyterian Church, aka Old Whalers’ Church, is hard to miss.

Situated on Union Street, steps from the village’s main drag, the Whalers’ Church boasts historic and architectural significance. Built in 1844, in the Egyptian Revival style on the outside and Greek Revival style on the inside, the church’s present building is far grander than its original structure. 

First known as the “Old Barn Church” — built in 1766 as a meeting house for the inhabitants of Sag Harbor, who were predominantly whalers — it stood just across the way from its present location, on the adjacent corner of Church and Sage streets. Early records indicate a “great religious revival in 1842 had started a movement to build a new church, with wealthy shipowners, captains, local businessmen and church members of lesser means supporting the effort.” They commissioned one of the nation’s leading architects at the time, Minard Lafever, to design the new building, topped by a magnificent 185-foot steeple, visible for miles and used as a welcome home beacon for men who had been away at sea for years.

In 1994 the church was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Aside from the steeple, which was lost in the Hurricane of 1938, Lafever’s original design is what we see today.

And while it is, technically, a house of worship, it’s original purpose as a gathering place for the residents of the village, regardless of faith, is perhaps the very thing that sets Old Whalers’ apart from the rest.

Currently, the church is led by Sag Harbor resident Nancy Remkus, an interfaith minister who took on the role to help rebuild the congregation after a decline in recent years, a trend that was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. While services are always held every Sunday at 10 a.m. and the amount of attending congregants has increased, it’s the “open arms” ethos that Remkus and her tiny but mighty team uphold that makes the Old Whalers’ Church an approachable and welcoming place for visitors that are looking for engagement beyond the pulpit.

“It is like we’re building a community within a community,” Ms. Remkus said. “That’s what I think, why I’m here. I think that I really have felt a lot of people in the Sag Harbor community find it hard to find a place where they’re connecting, where they’re together. And I think that we’ve opened this up to be a community space.”

Downstairs is where Sag Harbor’s food pantry is headquartered, consistently providing emergency food to upwards of 300 people each and every week. In one of the office rooms above the chapel is Canio’s Cultural Café, the educational nonprofit arm of Canio’s Books that aims to promote community interest in the cultural arts through discussion with local authors, artists and educators. The Hamptons LGBT Center (part of the broader LGBT Network that covers Long Island and Queens) has been located at Old Whalers’ since 2013, providing a safe space and programs for the LGBTQ+ community on the East End.

Events and activities held at Old Whalers’ run the gamut, ranging from mini festivals, dinners, craft fairs, singalongs, talks, film screenings, coffee hours, bingo, animal blessings, historical reenactments and myriad live musical performances from both the amateur and the professional. In October, the church hosted a community Halloween party, adorning the front steps with homemade jack-o-lanterns and holding a costume party in the sanctuary, along with outdoor singing and dancing. 

As the holiday season gets underway, the church hosts an interfaith Thanksgiving service, slated for Nov. 20, complete with poems, prayer and pie. “It’s one of the most wonderful [events] of the year, with people of all faiths gathering,” Ms. Remkus said. “Everyone is welcome. To me this is the step toward peace, when we acknowledge each other’s faith. Plus, the pie is amazing.” 

Additionally, the annual Christmas tree lighting, craft fair and singalong is slated for Nov. 29, with the Christmas pageant and church holiday party set for Dec. 21. During the pageant, there are performances from the all-female acapella singing group the Sweet Adelines as well as from the Sag Harbor Community Band. 

“I’m not sure that all Presbyterians would agree with my beliefs, but philosophically, we are both a departure gate and an arrival gate, and everything in between,” Ms. Remkus said. “And a place for children along with seasoned souls looking for a place to land.”

Old Whalers’ Church is located at 44 Union St. in Sag Harbor. For more information call 631-725-0894 or visit oldwhalerschurch.org.