Welcome to First Congregational Church
No matter who you are or where you are in life’s journey, you are welcome here.
Our Mission: Seeking, Serving and Sharing Christ.
Who We Are…
Our faith community believes that by the grace and love of Jesus Christ we make a difference in our world. You can see this in the multiple ways we are involved in our larger community and in the excitement and love in our members. Our lives matter because they matter to God and we in turn live in ways that make a difference for others.
In our worship and fellowship the stories of faith come alive and shape in us the qualities of thankfulness, compassion, inclusiveness, humility, forgiveness, and a desire for peace and justice in our world. In Worship we are renewed and transformed and we go from church to make a difference.
We believe there is a great challenge and a joy in being a parent of children and youth. Now is the time our children learn the values and build a foundation of faith which will take them through their lives. Parents cannot do this alone. They need a loving community who supports them in parenting and who joins with them in instilling real faith and good values.
We believe we have a particular responsibility to support our children and our youth to know that they matter to God and can make a difference in God’s world. We support them to find their individual path to God’s call to servant ministry. While affirming all that is good and beautiful in our culture, we also know that there is an alternative path to fulfillment in life – one based on not in narcissistic self-interest – but on a life shaped by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Our Faith… The Essentials.
Our community is not formed by a strict doctrinal test, but by a shared covenant with one another to seek, serve, and share Christ. As we say at the beginning of worship: “No matter who you are or where you are in life’s journey, you are welcome in this place.” As we read the gospels Jesus practiced a surprising inclusion of persons in his fellowship, including people that the larger society and religious community judged and excluded. And we likewise celebrate diversity.
We affirm that through the Hebrew and Christian scriptures we are shaped and guided to love God with all that we are and our neighbor as ourselves. The scriptures are our authority through which we are made whole through the grace and love of God. We affirm a triune God. God is our creator – the source of all love and life. Jesus is the one through whom we best see and know God and through whose life, death, and resurrection the world and we are reconciled to God and to one another. The Holy Spirit offers us the wisdom and power to be the people of God that we may fulfill our vocations as God’s children.
We believe in both a personal and a social gospel – the two for us are inseparable. Jesus came calling both individuals and institutions to a life that is just and peaceful. His purpose was to reconcile all of life to God and bring about a new creation. You will hear us talk about personal devotion and prayer and also concern for the poor, the excluded, and the environment.
We are a member of the United Church of Christ denomination. We affirm the importance of connect to the larger church and a desire to be ecumenical both with other Christian denominations and other religious traditions. The people in our church come from many faith backgrounds.