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.