The Old Red Church on Oak Hill Road in Standish will open its doors Sunday morning at 10:30 for its annual Colonial Service.

But, unlike the 1800s services that it’s modeled after, this Sunday both men and women may use either of its front doors and the service will be considerably shorter than the eight-hour marathons of yesteryear.

The Old Red Church stands on a site that was given to the proprietors of the First Parish Meeting House in payment for their service to King George in the war of 1754.

Completed in 1804, the building was home to its congregation until 1859. Families in the community purchased the various pews in the church and occupied the same pew every week.

The pews differ from those of more modern churches in that they are boxed in and have latching doors to access the space. Inside each box, firm wooden benches line the walls – walls that provide the hard upright backs for the occupants to lean against.

According to Dana Edgecomb, curator of the Standish Historical Society, those who were brave enough to admit being sinners sat on the benches that faced the back of the church.

Families sat in their own pew box every week. In wintertime, they brought heated soapstones from home and placed them on the floor to help keep their feet warm in the drafty building.

Congregants also brought a meal to these services that began at 8 a.m. They would break around noon for dinner; then resume the service for another four hours.

Ushers were always on hand to use the tickling stick on sleepy churchgoers. And if tickling did not rouse them, prodding with the stick generally did.

Church records indicate a disagreement in the late 1820s among its members. According to Dana Edgecomb, curator of the Standish Historical Society, some of the congregation desired a more liberal pastor and the dissension eventually caused a rift in the membership.

For a while, the church held two separate services in an attempt to appease the factions but in 1834 the renegades left and built their own church down the street, the Standish Congregational Church, which was destroyed not long ago by fire.

A second floor was added to the Old Red Church in 1848 in order to house the Standish Academy. But the school existed only a short time, as a trustee made off with the academy’s money four years later.

Over the years, various organizations have used the second floor. It became Standish High School for five years at the end of the 1800s and again from 1902 to 1914.

Today, as home to the Standish Historical Society, it houses a wide and varied collection of artifacts from Standish’s past. Edgecomb enjoys showing visitors the quilts, clothing, tools, and other vintage items on display.

It takes a lot of work to keep up the Old Red Church, registered as an Historic Landmark. The building is owned by the town and managed by a board of trustees.

Joline Webber has been one of those trustees for almost 35 years.

“I took a gentleman’s place who had been a trustee for over 50 years,” she said.

According to Webber, last summer the front and sides of the building were painted. This year, the back section was raised.

And now, workers are replacing clapboards on the back in preparation for painting.

Webber said that for the yearly Colonial service, two of the trustees take the original pewter communion service out of safekeeping and put it on display at the Old Red Church.

An appraiser who examined the set 15 or 20 years ago believed that one of the pieces had been made by Paul Revere.

The pastor for Sunday’s service will be Reverend Dr. David Glusker. He has preached at the church for the past three years.

Glusker is well known to many in the area for his service as minister of the First Radio Parish Church of America. For eighteen years he was heard on radio and seen on the two NBC stations in Maine, retiring from this ministry in 2003.

In a recent phone conversation, Glusker spoke about his upcoming appearance at the Old Red Church and the topic of his sermon:

“I’m talking about my experience last year volunteering for missionary work in the Bahamas,” he said.

Glusker said he plans to discuss the four essentials of faith: reading the Bible, praying, worshipping and serving.

L. Jordan Berry will provide organ music at the service.

According to Berry, he has been playing the antique pump organ at the yearly Colonial Service for the past 28 years.

“The condition of the organ is very good,” Berry said. “Playing it involves playing the keyboard, constantly pumping the bellows with my feet, and using the knee brace volume controllers.”

He says there are also a number of stops to change the sound of both the bass and treble.

Local singer Terri Parsons will perform vocal solos in the service.

All are invited to attend Sunday’s Colonial Service, and partake in light refreshments served immediately following.

The Old Red Church in Standish holds its annual Colonial Service this weekend. The church was built in 1804.