Tallmadge's First Church, Still Going at 85 Heritage Drive
First Congregational Church of Tallmadge stands at 85 Heritage Drive in Tallmadge, Ohio, in the same Summit County town where the congregation was born in 1809. The current building, finished in 1969, sits one block east of North Avenue and less than a mile north of the historic Tallmadge Circle, where the original 1825 meeting house still stands under the care of the city. People from five different counties gather here for worship on Sunday mornings and for Christian education, music, pastoral care, and community outreach through the week.
A United Church of Christ congregation, First Congregational Church is led by Senior Minister Rev. Daniel J. Doty, with a Director of Christian Education and a Director of Music on the staff, and lay volunteers filling most of the teaching, fellowship, and service roles. The congregation's mission is "To Make God the Foundation of Everyday Living," and the core value that runs through everything is a wide open welcome: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."
From a Cabin in the Wilderness to a Sanctuary on Heritage Drive
The story of First Congregational is the story of Tallmadge itself. On July 12, 1806, the Reverend David Bacon contracted to purchase 12,000 acres of the township he then named Tallmadge, after its largest proprietor. Bacon, a Connecticut minister, traveled home to recruit settlers from the east. In Bacon's home - the first cabin built in the township - the Church of Christ in Tallmadge was instituted on January 21, 1809, with nine charter members. The Church was the basis of the town, giving it its true character from the beginning. Some of those who were in the Bacon cabin when the Church was organized lived to see the original membership of nine grow to 300.
Worship in the early years was held in log cabins and barns. In 1815 the first Tallmadge Academy was built on the north side of the square, and it was used for church services as well as a school. A December 1819 sermon by the Reverend Simon Woodruff on the text "Behold now where we dwell the place is too strait for us" launched the building campaign for a proper meeting house. Subscribers pledged $3,500, payable in installments of lumber and wheat (wheat was then twenty-five cents a bushel), and a crew cut enough timber for the building in a single day on December 24, 1821. Construction began in August 1822, and the meeting house was dedicated on September 8, 1825. It had square pews with doors, a high pulpit on the south end accessed by a winding stairway, no heat, and no water supply. Members carried small foot stoves from home until stoves were added in 1833.
The building was remodeled in 1849, with the pulpit moved to the north end and modern pews installed. The first organ arrived in 1867, and between 1886 and 1889 an addition on the north end created space for a new organ and choir. A new heating system arrived after 1862. For many years the church ran two parallel organizations - the church itself for worship and Christian activities, and a separate Society for business. In 1902 the dual structure was abandoned and the church was incorporated as the First Congregational Church of Tallmadge. When the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches and the General Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged to form the United Church of Christ in 1957, First Congregational voted to join the new denomination, and remains a UCC congregation today.
By the early 1960s the original building had outgrown the program and still lacked running water. A 1964 self-study led the congregation to build a new facility one block east of North Avenue. Construction began in 1968, and on May 12, 1969, the church moved into the current building at 85 Heritage Drive. The 1825 meeting house on Tallmadge Circle was turned over to the Ohio Historical Society and is now managed by the city of Tallmadge. It remains available for weddings, baptisms, memorial services, community events, and special church services.
Sunday Worship at Ten, In Person and Online
One Sunday morning service gathers the congregation each week, at 10:00 AM, in the sanctuary on Heritage Drive. Worship is offered three ways: in person, on Facebook Live, and later in the week through the recorded service on the church's online worship page. Worship is the heart of the faith community here. The church celebrates the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ: the power of God's grace active in the world and in our lives. In response, the congregation returns to God its praise and thanksgiving, its prayers and hymns, its gifts and offerings. The service follows a traditional pattern, centered on the sermon, scripture, hymns led by the Chancel Choir, and the sacraments of baptism and holy communion.
Visitors can expect a warm reception. The Linger Longer coffee hour in the atrium runs from 8:15 to about 11:30 every Sunday morning, with coffee, donuts, and treats. Ushers and greeters are stationed around the entrance, and a visitor form is available for anyone who wants to share contact information. Nursery care is offered in a staffed room on the second floor for children under three, both during the Sunday School hour and the worship service. A Cry Room at the back of the balcony is equipped with two cribs, toys, a pew, hymnals, Bibles, and a large window so parents with very young children can follow the service while keeping little ones nearby.
Music Ministry: Chancel Choir, Bell Choir, and Grace Notes
Music is woven into every Sunday at First Congregational. The Chancel Choir, directed by Nancy Lynn Robinson, sings each Sunday morning from September through early June at the 10:00 AM service and adds its voice to the Christmas Eve festival and the Maundy Thursday service. Rehearsals are held on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:00 PM in the Music Room or Sanctuary. The Bell Choir, open to anyone age twelve and up and directed by Amy Doty, rehearses on Thursdays at 6:00 PM and aims to play in worship about once a month; no prior experience or music reading is required. Robinson also leads Grace Notes, a smaller vocal ensemble that draws on the chancel choir members and others who enjoy singing a variety of styles from traditional hymns to modern praise music. There are no auditions for any of the groups.
Children, Youth, and Treehouse Preschool
Christian education at First Congregational runs from preschool age through high school. Sunday School classes meet on the first and third Sundays of the month at 9:00 AM, with separate rooms for preschoolers, early elementary, school-age, older elementary, and middle school students. Children's Worship, a half-hour service for children younger than sixth grade, is offered every Sunday during the school year from 10:30 to 11:00 AM. Children leave the sanctuary after the children's moment and gather in their own space where the weekly scripture is shared through object lessons, games, crafts, and occasionally a movie in the church's movie theater. Before Children's Worship, children are invited to attend choir rehearsal or the sanctuary service with their parents.
Vacation Bible School takes place the last week in June, Sunday through Thursday from 6 to 8 PM, and welcomes children ages four through sixth grade. Wendy Brown, the Director of Christian Education, organizes the program. Friday overnight lock-ins for older elementary students, VBS, and seasonal children's events round out the year.
For high schoolers, the United Youth Ministry serves students in grades 6 through 12. The group gathers at varying times during the month for fellowship, faith formation, and fun. Confirmation is open to all youth in eighth grade and above each fall, with confirmands taking a trip to Boston to explore their Congregationalist roots before affirming their baptism in worship and becoming church members. A week-long Summer Youth Mission Tour has been part of the program since 1974, and recent trips have taken youth groups to inner-city Chicago, rural Kentucky, and Birmingham for disaster relief housing work. Most recently, the 2025 tour sent the high school group to Cincinnati to partner with Washington UCC's Summer Mission Immersion Program.
Treehouse Preschool, founded by the congregation in 1973, operates out of the church building as a non-sectarian school serving the wider community. Morning and afternoon classes meet on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for three-, four-, and five-year-olds, and a Me and My Parent class is offered for two-and-a-half-year-olds alongside a parent or grandparent. The school follows the Tallmadge City Schools calendar and runs from September through mid-May.
Spiritual Care Across a Lifetime
First Congregational takes seriously its calling "to provide for the needs of the congregation… serve the community… and reach out to others." Pastoral care is offered at every important transition: the birth of a child, a marriage, a hospitalization, retirement, or the end of life. The Hearts In Service Ministry and other trained lay members share that work with the pastor, visiting the homebound and those in assisted living and retirement communities. Prayer requests can be sent through a form on the church's prayer page, with options to share the request with the pastors, the confidential prayer chain, the church, or all of the above.
The Warrior's Journey Home Ministry also meets at the church. Founded at First Congregational shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center, the Rally Point Circle gathers on the fourth Sunday of each month at 6:00 PM in the narthex, providing a safe space for veterans, their family members, and friends to tell the truth of war and its impact. The ministry's protocols address moral injury, soul wound, and spiritual injury. The Alzheimer's Association Caregiver Support Group meets in person at the church on the last Tuesday of every month at 10:30 AM for caregivers of people with dementia.
Baptism is offered at every age, infant through adult, and weddings are scheduled for church members and sometimes for people from the wider community. The sanctuary has a wide center aisle, a fine organ, and seats over 300. Weddings for members and the community are coordinated through the office of the Senior Minister and the Administrative Coordinator.
Mission and Service in Summit County
First Congregational partners with several local ministries. The church works alongside Northwest Church of Christ in Tallmadge to host Family Promise of Summit County, providing temporary housing for homeless families with young children. Volunteers prepare meals and stay overnight at the church to be available to the families. On the last Saturday in April each year, around 40 volunteers from the congregation partner with Rebuilding Together to make repairs and updates for a homeowner in one of the surrounding neighborhoods.
First Congregational is a partner in Faithful Servants Care Center, an urgent care clinic for people without health insurance. Volunteers serve as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and in nonmedical roles such as registration, chaplaincy, and meal preparation. The church also gives financial and volunteer support to Miller Ave. UCC in west Akron, where the congregation takes turns providing a free Saturday lunch for the community several times a year. Special offerings through the United Church of Christ include One Great Hour of Sharing, which supports disaster relief, refugee assistance, and development work around the world.
Fellowship for Every Age
Fellowship is built into the rhythms of the church. The Women's Fellowship brings all women of the church together in monthly groups for service and support. The Women's New Initiative hosts additional gatherings on the first Monday of the month, from fall through spring, with speakers, service projects, and food. Men's Ministry gathers men of all ages on the third Saturday of each month from 9:00 to 10:30 AM in the David Bacon Room.
The Congregators, a group of couples and singles 50 years old and over, meet the first Tuesday of each month at 1:00 PM at different local restaurants for food, fellowship, and a few words of wisdom shared by whoever hosts. The Heritage Quilters meet in the Education Wing, room 205, every Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, marking, layering, and binding donated quilt tops. The group carries a 95-year history of quilting and earning money for the Women's Fellowship and the church. Elder's Fellowship, for active seniors 65 and older, includes an annual retreat, a writing class called Elder's Writes, and a singing group called The Golden Tones. Sup with Seven creates small dinner groups of seven people each several times a year to help members get to know each other better.
Mission, Vision, and Core Values
Everything the church does flows from a short set of convictions. The mission is "To Make God the Foundation of Everyday Living." The vision is "To become the church that others look to as the example of doing Christ's ministry." The core values, drawn straight from scripture, are: representing Jesus in the world through his teaching (Matthew 5-7); putting God first by serving others (John 10:30); honoring the commandment to "love one another" by creating a church family of love and support (John 13:34-35); inviting courageous conversations about life and faith to learn and grow (John 9); and welcoming everyone on the journey, with the words of Luke 19:1-10: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."
Office hours at 85 Heritage Drive run Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to noon, with the office closed on Friday. The church can be reached at 330-633-4931 or info@fcctallmadge.org.