MECHANIC FALLS – Once, long ago, families walked to the First Congregational Church of Mechanic Falls as the steeple bell tolled. They packed the pews, hundreds of voices filling the old wooden building with hymns and prayers. Over the years, members became friends and then became like family.

But 168 years after the church was formed, the pews are all but empty. Regular attendance has dwindled to a dozen people, many of them elderly. The old church bell sits on the front lawn because First Congregational hasn’t, in five years, had enough money to replace the rotted steeple and return the bell to its proper place. In April, the remaining members realized they could no longer afford even the most basic part of church life: a minister.

“Over the years, things have changed,” said Ruth Malcolm, a longtime church member and volunteer. “People don’t bring their families to church like they used to. If you don’t keep your youth, you just don’t have anything.”

This weekend, First Congregational Church members will gather for a final worship service. The church, founded in 1840, will close its doors for good on Sunday.

“We just knew we couldn’t keep going,” Malcolm said.

Built on Elm Street, the Protestant church was the center of life for many in Mechanic Falls. Generations of families worshipped there every Sunday. Townspeople gathered for potluck suppers, rummage sales, blood drives and Boy Scout meetings.

Malcolm and her family joined First Congregational in the early 1960s. She liked the traditional feel of Sunday service: the prelude to worship, the hymns, the choir, the sermon and the reading of scriptures. Malcolm’s husband became an organist and she became a volunteer. They raised their five children in the church.

“The people were friendly and welcoming,” Malcolm said. “It’s just like another family, and they’re always there for you.”

But her church family dwindled over the years. Some people moved away. Some stopped attending because the church’s lack of parking made it difficult for them. Some older members got sick or died. No new members took their place.

Shrinking membership meant shrinking funds, and the church soon had trouble getting enough money to survive.

In 2003, workers tore down the rotted steeple and bell tower, placing the old bell on the lawn until the church could build a new steeple.

“We tried and tried to raise money for that steeple,” Malcolm said.

Five years later, the antique bell still sits on the front lawn.

The steeple was one expense on a long list of expenses for the old church. At their annual meeting in January, members discussed their options for the future. They decided to wait six months and see if anything improved.

By April, though, the church could no longer afford even its minister.

Members decided First Congregational would close in the fall. In the meantime, a series of lay preachers filled in for the Sunday service.

Judith Hayes was one of them.

“It’s one of the nicest churches I’ve been in in a long time. The people are just so friendly. It’s just a great little church,” she said.

Hayes will deliver the church’s last sermon on Sunday. She doesn’t have a title for it yet, but she knows what it will be about.

“It’s about going on from here,” she said.

The local historical society is slated to take over the church building on Jan. 1. Malcolm is hopeful the group will be able to keep up the old building and, perhaps, restore the steeple and bell.

Malcolm is happy the historical society is willing to take the old church on, and she’s thankful for the people who helped keep the place going for so many years.

She’s not quite sure what she’ll do after the church is gone. For the first time in more than 40 years, she’ll have to find a new place to worship.

“I’ll probably go to a few different ones and make up my mind,” she said. “It’s kind of hard when you’ve been to the same place all the time, and it’s just like part of your family’s gone.”

The First Congregational Church will hold its last worship service on Sunday at 9 a.m. followed by coffee in the vestry. It will be open to the public.