Our History 

In 2017 we celebrated our 125th anniversary as a Church and as an active participant in the life and history of our Key West Community.  We take pride in ourselves being an all-inclusive Church and we warmly welcome all who wish to join us in prayer or in any and all parts of our Community life.

Right from the very founding of our church community we have been open to other faiths, persuasions, philosophies and ways of life.  In fact, our very founding mothers and fathers were former members of the United Methodist Church of Key West.

Right from the very beginning of our founding of the present Congregational Community on July 20, 1892 we have served the needs of the Key West Community in many spiritual and physical ways, including visiting the sick and shut-ins, addressing the needs of the poor and opening our doors to any and all who would like to be part of us. 

It was right from our very beginning that our founding families were determined to establish us as an independent church, seeing all God’s people as his children, and as our brothers and sisters.

As we built our church structure, and with an eye on being progressive, we implemented the many new innovations of the time, including the use of electricity, so that “a stranger shall always be ‘taken-in.” [from our 1992 anniversary book, pg. 7].

We’ve always been about our Lord’s work, not looking at the person’s denomination, or philosophy or even lifestyle, but always seeing Jesus in each and every person that was in need.








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​In 1898, Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross arrived in Key West and met with our pastor who offered the churches help in caring for the needs of our soldiers and others during the Spanish-American War, especially as we experienced it in Cuba.

During our church life, we have been integral in the life and development of the Island of Key West. Meetings would be held in our facilities to deal with the needs of the Island people and its visitors.  We were a busy church community in those early days.  It is recorded, for example that just in the year 1907, many services took place through and in our church: 42 funerals, 61 Baptisms, 21 Marriages, and 1350 calls to the home-bound, elderly and sick and need were made.

During World War I, the church took an active role in providing “a home away from home” for the servicemen that visited here and trained here.  In turn we helped them feel a part of us by offering them a role in many of our own activities as well as the full life of the Island community.  Our Church was able to also join with other city organizations in providing entertainment and a place for our service members to relax during their time with us.






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The Island began to feel the hurt and pinch of the Great Depression during the 1930’s and became another fatality in the struggle to stay financially above water.  The church was no different, yet, the loving community it was, saw them gather together for support, and the Pastor of the time, Rev. Richard Evans let them thru this time of need, successfully.

The 1940’s were the war years and just like World War I, the Church stepped forward to help our service men and women, as they came to the  Island for training.  We opened our center to the servicemen, who would come to just relax, play board games, listen to the radio, or just  “get away.”

During the war years, “Rev. John Pickens stepped in to fill the vacancy of the Rev. Reinke.  Pickens had been minister to the Poinciana Community Church, a church established to serve the civilian employees who worked on the Key West Naval Base and lived in Poinciana housing project.” [ibid, pg 21].  So, we continued to be an all-inclusive Church, searching and accepting all those the Lord sent to us.

It was in 1962 that we found ourselves, once again, traveling into a new experience.  “In keeping with the decision of the General Council of the congregational churches of the United States and the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ, the First Congregational Church of Key West voted January 10, 1962 to join the new United Church of Christ.” [ibid, pg 26].

It was during the 1970’s, that the congregations were getting smaller and smaller.  As we can all remember, it was back in those late 60’s and 70’s that the national trend of church attendance was falling across the board in all major churches.  And, of course, with a trend such as this, so does the financial end of things follow.

It has been a tough road for most all the churches of Key West since that time.  Even having a full time minister with a family has become next to impossible, financially.  But the Spirit of the Lord has walked with us.  For 17 years, we had the privilege of having a retired Navy Minister and his wife as our pastor.  Rev. Ron Paige became an exemplary representative of the church throughout the Key West Community, involving himself in various activities, all of which were aimed at serving all those in need, no matter their faith, their status, or their philosophy.

Upon his departure, the congregation, in their search for a new leader, asked Fr. Tom Sterner, a National Catholic Church priest, to assume the duties of Pastor.  Fr. Tom is currently the Senior Program Manager for the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition for the homeless in Key West and the Lower Keys.  Fr. Tom’s Church is independent of the Church of Rome, but with the basic concepts of catholicism, absent certain believes held by those of the Roman faith.  To Tom, the most important thing a community needs to be is a “giving community,” a community that understands and responds to the call of the Gospels to help all and any who are in need, whether materially, physically or spiritually.  The community must be the outward sign of the love and life of Jesus that we find within ourselves.

Fr. Tom is also joined in ministry with Fr. Cesar Guzman, as an associate, and Bob Green as a Lay Minister and organist.  Additionally, our Church board is evolving in its structure, providing all members of our community the ability to utilize their gifts for the greater honor and glory of God.

We are looking to our future.  We are excited to be able to share our prayer, our worship and our facilities with members of other faiths, such as the Church of the God of Prophecy and with the Bahai’ Community of Key West.




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​Join us, visit us, seek out answers to your questions.  Help us make our actions today, pleasing examples of what our history will be about tomorrow.

Established 1892

Our past is rich in tradition, however we seek to keep only those traditions that bring others closer to the Lord

First Congregational Church of Key West  © 2014

Key West

First Congregational Church