Our Mission Statement

At First Congregational Church we reach out as a family of faith to all people with our gifts and service, to bring others into a personal relationship with Christ and for the sake of unity and peace in God’s world.

These two professions of our beliefs can be also be found on the inside front and back cover of our hymnals.

The Covenant of First Congregational Church

"We covenant with the Lord our God and with one another, to rely upon God's grace for spiritual strength, to look to the holy scriptures as our rule of faith and practice, and confessing Jesus Christ, to engage in a life becoming a faithful follower of Him, until the name of God be glorified in us.

We will ever be loyal to the Church of Christ, here and elsewhere, upholding it with our prayers, presence, gifts, and service."

The Statement of Faith

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, and to his deeds we testify:

    He calls the worlds into his being, creates man in his own image and sets before him the ways of life and death.

    He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

    He judges men and nations by his righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.

    In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, he has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself.

    He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the Church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

    He calls us into his Church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be his servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

    He promises to all who trust him forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, his presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him.  Amen.

Covenant of Relationship
This was passed by Unanimous Vote of the Congregation, 1999.

As members of the body of Christ, we struggle to live our lives in ways that reflect our respect for our community and for one another. Our efforts to live together effectively are guided by the following principles:

1.   We will be honest with one another.

2.   We will speak to — and of — one another with respect. We will not engage in back stabbing, name calling, or gossip.

3.   We will honor the right of others to hold views that are contrary to our own. We expect that others will respect our views equally.

4.   When the Church votes to undertake an action, we will all be responsible for the successful implementation of that action. We will not work to subvert the success of that action.

5.   If we have an issue with the words or actions of a member, a board, or the Pastor, we will take our issue directly to that party.

6.   We will communicate directly with one another, using the first person, “you” and “I.”

Example: When you [do or say something], I feel [good, bad, angry, uneasy, etc.]. I wish that you would [take a specific action].

Example: Your vote [to do or to say something], makes me feel [good, bad, angry, uneasy, etc.]. I think a more appropriate action would be to [take a specific action] because [reason]. Would you consider reopening this issue so that my position can be heard?

7.   Clarity is the key to understanding. We will attempt to paraphrase (repeat in our own words) what the other party has said to confirm that we have understood. We will ask others to do the same whenever we think that we have not been understood.

8.   We will listen to understand, but at the same time we will realize that understanding does not necessarily mean agreeing.

9.   If parties in conflict can discuss their differences and reach agreement, there is no conflict and no reason for intervention.

If the issue/conflict remains, however, we can ask one or two others to go with us as we make another effort to reach agreement. In some instances, it may be appropriate for boards or committees to take this action.

 If agreement is still not reached, it may be appropriate for the issue to be addressed by the larger Church — by the Church Council or ultimately by a meeting of the church membership.

 Our humanity means that we may not always succeed in employing these guidelines as effectively as we would like. Our wish to live as effective Christians means that we recognize the need to work at strengthening our skills. We also recognize the need to learn from — and to forgive — our failures and to take strength from our successes until the day arrives when we can truly say that we are living as the loving community that Christ would have us be.