Since 2007, a dedicated group at First United Methodist Church of Boothbay Harbor has sold homemade pies on the church lawn. For about a dozen Saturdays, Memorial Day through September, visitors and locals can have their tastebuds tingled with offerings ranging from strawberry rhubarb to pecan, lemon meringue to cherry, chocolate cream to blueberry, their best seller. There are also jams, breads, crafts and other baked goods, but pie is the star. And it helps to get there early.

A woman standing in line said she tried to get a pie last year at 9:10, but they were all gone. Pies go on sale at 9 a.m. sharp. The June 7 pie sale offered 23 pies at 9 and, by 9:04, there were only five left. By 9:10, only three. By 9:30, none. The Pie Ladies ask that you buy only one pie, so other shoppers have a chance. Pie enthusiasts begin to line up 30 minutes before opening. A summer resident said after you try once and fail, you know to come earlier next time.

"In 2018, we sold 30 pies in 30 minutes, and the word got out. People started coming early,” said Cathy Blake, Church Council chair and Pie Lady. “We have several regular customers and many visitors, too,” she said.

The Pie Ladies are organized. They have t-shirts, and soon aprons, with professional logo design by Wayne Stanley, boxes, labels, a pre-order process for A-listers, background music, and the entire block smells like pie. You need only follow your nose to the church lawn or, if raining, the vestry.

All the pie ingredients are donated, and they have a core group of about eight Pie Ladies, usually six per event, each baking between two and four pies. Liturgist and Pie Lady Maggie Tourtillotte specializes in berry pies, including the blueberry. Church Treasurer and Pie Lady Betty Lou Townsend works the sour cream-based pies, has a craft table and is known for her pickles which they sell in the fall. “I make hundreds of jars of pickles, a wide variety, and I grow my own cucumbers – usually “straight eight” and “company best” varieties,” she said.

Through their sales, the Pie Ladies support other non-profit organizations. In 2024, they raised and donated $5,650 to Salem Ministry, Community Resource Council, The Community Center, Meals on Wheels, Boothbay VETS, Boothbay Region Ambulance Service, Boothbay Region schools, and others including scholarships for two youths to attend Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop.

“Methodists are known for their Sunday suppers, and the dessert at those suppers is always pie. We are extending that theme, that fellowship,” said Blake.

Pie sales for the remainder of 2025 are June 14, July 5, July 19, Aug. 2, Aug. 16, Aug. 30, Sept. 13 and Sept. 27. They have additional sales during holiday fairs and festivals. The sales take place on the lawn of their 1879 church house in the harbor (81 Townsend Ave.) and they accept cash and local checks.