Our history
At the beginning of the 1900's, Kennebunk Beach experienced a surge of interest and activity when the railroad arrived.
Suddenly land that was of no value to farmers and shipbuilders, was attractive to entrepreneurs.
Needing to expand the use of the train service beyond the workday riders, the Seashore Company built small hotels along Kennebunk’s Beaches.
They would bring all of their employees and take pictures of them them enjoying the porches and return to Boston and New York and promote the area as a spa, where one could enjoy the refreshing, healing waters of the Atlantic, in the company of fellow” Rusticators”.
People would arrive by train, with trunks of clothes and be carried by horse and carriage to one of the 50 hotels that dotted the beaches.
They'd stay for a month, or for the season, taking their three meals a day in the dining rooms of the establishments and the occasional restaurant.
The Kennebunk Beach Improvement Association (KBIA) was founded as a non-profit organization to place trashcans and benches on the beaches for these visitors.
Dresses were long and sweeping, swim suits were scratchy wool garments, changed into at The Dipsy Bath House.
Small lots were offered for sale and the summer cottages started to appear.
It was at the behest of The Darrach Sisters that the Seashore Company built a small “Chapel in the Pines “as “a place for the people of Kennebunk Beach”.
When clergy of any denomination visited the area, they were invited to hold a service.
If an author was in town, a reading was offered.
If a couple had stories and treasure to share from their recently completed Grand Tour of Europe, they would do so in the chapel.
This was truly an ecumenical, open place for people to gather and share.
So it remains today.
The Chapel in the Pines was willed to the Episcopal Diocese by the Darrach estate and renamed Trinity Chapel.
The requirements of the will state that it cannot be sold unless the proceeds are used to build another chapel for the beach.
In the 1950’s The Reverend Dr. Norman Kellett and his family found the now silent chapel and sought the permission of the Bishop to pull it out of the woods and start saying services.
The diocese consented, with the stipulation that it function as a “vicarage”. ( it would have to be self supporting and would receive no funds from the diocese). and so it did.
For the next fifty odd years Dr. Kellett built pews, added on to the original structure, sought community involvement and support.
A look at the beautiful stained glass windows, each of a local scene with a matching canticle below will prove a basic understanding of what our beach community is all about.
Every bit of the structure, every bit of decoration, every ships model donated in memory of some loved one.
The memorial garden was planted by Lois Carlson in memory of her husband and holds markers remembering our beloved.
The bell that rings in the steeple to call to worship, to announce a wedding, or when young children are learning how to ring the bell, was once on a railroad train.
The first Sunday that Dr. Kellett rang this bell to call to worship, people came running in their bathing suits from the beach to ask where the fire was.
The vicarage that houses the priest in charge and his family was originally the firehouse for Kennebunk Beach. The large downstairs room housed the fire hose, a large structure wound on a large wheel, which was pulled by a team of men or occasionally, a horse.
The firemen would sleep or meet in the room above. Later a porch was added to the back, which is now the kitchen. There were two rooms and a garage added later to this little structure adjacent to the chapel.
This charming cottage was given to the Kellets and then to the Diocese by Marjorie Strong, a Kennebunk benefactor. It was the dream and commitment and work of Norman and Marjorie Kellett for over fifty years that brought this lovely place into the 21st century.
The vicarage is now home to The Reverend Dr. Leander Harding, his wife Claudia and,on occasion, sons Martin and Edgar.
We have a ten week summer season, starting the last Sunday of June and saying Goodbye on the first Sunday of September.The chapel is open every day from morning to dusk, for quiet contemplation, or a noisier visit by KBIA campers. Dogs and sand are ok too.
All are welcome, all of the time.
The chapel is always tucked in for the winter, to open again in the spring, and by special arrangement at other times .
We are a full service chapel and this summer Father Harding welcomed new members in Baptism, joined a couple in Holy Matrimony,
Blessed a new home, Blessed all of the Beasts and The Children, revisited a memorial dedication and helped a family say goodbye to an old friend.
We are planning a Blessing of the fleet for 2014. Sail on over, float by in your inner tube, kayak or plank your way to the cove!
Every Sunday we have an American Roots Jam Session, in the shade, on the grounds. People come to play their instruments, some to sing, some to listen. We host speakers and events that interest our parishioners, often in conjunction with The Brick Store Museum.
We are fortunate to have great musical talent in our midst and from time to time they provide a family friendly concert. There is nothing more fun than children dancing in the aisles!
One great mystery remains. How old are we?
Despite the best efforts of The Brick Store Museum, The Diocese of Maine, The State of Maine tax records (in Augusta), The Wave, (a summer newspaper of the time) and local memories, no one knows the exact start date of the chapel.
The records of The Seashore Company, which built the chapel, were lost in a flood in someone’s basement, long after the company was dis banded.
We may be 109 years old, (tax records go back to 1904), or maybe 113, or somewhere in between.
The committee for Trinity Chapel is committed to ensuring that this “place for the people of Kennebunk Beach” will be here for another 100 plus years.
Suddenly land that was of no value to farmers and shipbuilders, was attractive to entrepreneurs.
Needing to expand the use of the train service beyond the workday riders, the Seashore Company built small hotels along Kennebunk’s Beaches.
They would bring all of their employees and take pictures of them them enjoying the porches and return to Boston and New York and promote the area as a spa, where one could enjoy the refreshing, healing waters of the Atlantic, in the company of fellow” Rusticators”.
People would arrive by train, with trunks of clothes and be carried by horse and carriage to one of the 50 hotels that dotted the beaches.
They'd stay for a month, or for the season, taking their three meals a day in the dining rooms of the establishments and the occasional restaurant.
The Kennebunk Beach Improvement Association (KBIA) was founded as a non-profit organization to place trashcans and benches on the beaches for these visitors.
Dresses were long and sweeping, swim suits were scratchy wool garments, changed into at The Dipsy Bath House.
Small lots were offered for sale and the summer cottages started to appear.
It was at the behest of The Darrach Sisters that the Seashore Company built a small “Chapel in the Pines “as “a place for the people of Kennebunk Beach”.
When clergy of any denomination visited the area, they were invited to hold a service.
If an author was in town, a reading was offered.
If a couple had stories and treasure to share from their recently completed Grand Tour of Europe, they would do so in the chapel.
This was truly an ecumenical, open place for people to gather and share.
So it remains today.
The Chapel in the Pines was willed to the Episcopal Diocese by the Darrach estate and renamed Trinity Chapel.
The requirements of the will state that it cannot be sold unless the proceeds are used to build another chapel for the beach.
In the 1950’s The Reverend Dr. Norman Kellett and his family found the now silent chapel and sought the permission of the Bishop to pull it out of the woods and start saying services.
The diocese consented, with the stipulation that it function as a “vicarage”. ( it would have to be self supporting and would receive no funds from the diocese). and so it did.
For the next fifty odd years Dr. Kellett built pews, added on to the original structure, sought community involvement and support.
A look at the beautiful stained glass windows, each of a local scene with a matching canticle below will prove a basic understanding of what our beach community is all about.
Every bit of the structure, every bit of decoration, every ships model donated in memory of some loved one.
The memorial garden was planted by Lois Carlson in memory of her husband and holds markers remembering our beloved.
The bell that rings in the steeple to call to worship, to announce a wedding, or when young children are learning how to ring the bell, was once on a railroad train.
The first Sunday that Dr. Kellett rang this bell to call to worship, people came running in their bathing suits from the beach to ask where the fire was.
The vicarage that houses the priest in charge and his family was originally the firehouse for Kennebunk Beach. The large downstairs room housed the fire hose, a large structure wound on a large wheel, which was pulled by a team of men or occasionally, a horse.
The firemen would sleep or meet in the room above. Later a porch was added to the back, which is now the kitchen. There were two rooms and a garage added later to this little structure adjacent to the chapel.
This charming cottage was given to the Kellets and then to the Diocese by Marjorie Strong, a Kennebunk benefactor. It was the dream and commitment and work of Norman and Marjorie Kellett for over fifty years that brought this lovely place into the 21st century.
The vicarage is now home to The Reverend Dr. Leander Harding, his wife Claudia and,on occasion, sons Martin and Edgar.
We have a ten week summer season, starting the last Sunday of June and saying Goodbye on the first Sunday of September.The chapel is open every day from morning to dusk, for quiet contemplation, or a noisier visit by KBIA campers. Dogs and sand are ok too.
All are welcome, all of the time.
The chapel is always tucked in for the winter, to open again in the spring, and by special arrangement at other times .
We are a full service chapel and this summer Father Harding welcomed new members in Baptism, joined a couple in Holy Matrimony,
Blessed a new home, Blessed all of the Beasts and The Children, revisited a memorial dedication and helped a family say goodbye to an old friend.
We are planning a Blessing of the fleet for 2014. Sail on over, float by in your inner tube, kayak or plank your way to the cove!
Every Sunday we have an American Roots Jam Session, in the shade, on the grounds. People come to play their instruments, some to sing, some to listen. We host speakers and events that interest our parishioners, often in conjunction with The Brick Store Museum.
We are fortunate to have great musical talent in our midst and from time to time they provide a family friendly concert. There is nothing more fun than children dancing in the aisles!
One great mystery remains. How old are we?
Despite the best efforts of The Brick Store Museum, The Diocese of Maine, The State of Maine tax records (in Augusta), The Wave, (a summer newspaper of the time) and local memories, no one knows the exact start date of the chapel.
The records of The Seashore Company, which built the chapel, were lost in a flood in someone’s basement, long after the company was dis banded.
We may be 109 years old, (tax records go back to 1904), or maybe 113, or somewhere in between.
The committee for Trinity Chapel is committed to ensuring that this “place for the people of Kennebunk Beach” will be here for another 100 plus years.
