Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side; …And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light. …New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.
Those words of the poet James Russell Lowell express the outlook of those faith communities who understand themselves to be “progressive.” This congregation has just celebrated its 375th anniversary; we are “old” in years, but our thinking and our ways of faithful witnessing are not. We believe very much that the relentlessly ongoing nature of God’s creation means that, to paraphrase the title of retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, “Christianity must change, or die.”
We try to describe our vision of Christ’s call for us as a congregation as, “Being and becoming an open and affirming, shalom community.” We believe that our ministries must be intentional, not merely results of custom or habit, and that we should always be able to answer well to the question “Why?” we do anything we do. To that end, we have some current emphases in our ministries.
Support of and participation in the ministries of our mission partners: Hands On Hartford/Center City Churches, Christian Activities Council, Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice, and the larger United Church of Christ;
A membership growth and vitality ministry;
A commitment to ministries with children and youth, with an emphasis on equipping parents with resources for the ongoing Christian formation of their children;
Intergenerational worship and community service opportunities for everyone;
A commitment to enable our adult members to be passionate, articulate persons of faith through exciting, substantial Bible study and adult education series;
An outstanding, expansive and diverse ministry of music and the arts for and with everyone.
Hopefully, this summary can give a “flavor” of our efforts to be an historic church, making history in the present.
