About Us
Beliefs
We are a congregation of the United Church of Christ. The UCC is a moderate to progressive Christian denomination, placing emphasis on justice, peace, and God's all-embracing and abundant love for all persons.
​We are members in good standing of the Southwestern Association of the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ, and we occasionally work ecumenically in collaboration with our local brothers and sisters in other faith traditions.
Vision and Values
We are a community of God’s people who respond to Christ’s mission to serve and love ourselves and others. With the Grace of God, we aspire to put our faith into action by:
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Opening our hearts in worship;
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Opening our arms in hospitality;
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Opening our minds through education;
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Opening our hands for stewardship.
Our spiritual growth will be reflected over the course of time through:
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the sharing of God’s presence in our lives;
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a heightened sense of belonging and appreciation of all God’s children;
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fostering lifelong learning;
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responsible use of our resources;
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caring for the environment, including our buildings and those who use them;
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expanding the well-being of the people and wider community we serve; and
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increasing awareness of, and participation in, the ministry of the church.
Open and Affirming
Jesus accepts all people. We aspire to follow his example.
We gladly invite and welcome all persons into the life and ministry of this faith community and to full participation in all the sacraments and rites of this church.
Since we believe that all people are created in the image of God and are loved by God, we welcome those of every age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, faith background, national or ethnic origin, physical and mental ability, kind of family, socioeconomic status, and physical appearance.
Seeking justice for everyone, we promise to offer intentional and extravagant welcome to all God’s children.
Staff
The staff consists of a pastor, a music director (who is also both organist and choir director), a bell choir director, a Sunday School director, a sexton, and a church administrative assistant. Along with our many volunteers—and in conjunction with our moderator, treasurer, assistant treasurer, clerk, and librarian—these are the folks who make our church “work.”
How We Work
We are, like all churches in the Free Church tradition, autonomous. That is, after God, ultimate authority belongs to the congregation. Between congregational meetings our Council, chaired by the moderator, acts on the congregation’s behalf, referring crucial issues back to the congregation for special action. What binds us together in our work is covenantal relationships within the church and with the wider church.
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Day-to-day management of our program is in the hands of committees. In addition to a Diaconate, committees include Christian Education, Christian Service, Finance, Flowers, Maintenance, Memorial Gifts, Music, Nominating, Pastoral Relations, Personnel, Stewardship, and Worship Planning.
Stewardship
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History
The roots of our church go back to the settlers who established Peterborough in 1749. As the “First Church” in town, we were Presbyterian in orientation but gradually became Congregational in affiliation. In 1822 a Presbyterian Society was formed in town, and our church has descended from this society. In 1825 the group built a meeting-house on what is now the intersection of Old Street Road and Sand Hill Road.
As the center of the town’s activity was moving toward the river, the congregation decided to move also. In 1839 the old meetinghouse was taken down, and using many of the original bricks and timbers, a new church was built at the present site on Concord Street. That new church was dedicated in 1840. The church bell, weighing 1,258 pounds, was hung in the belfry in 1841.
The Presbyterian and Congregational members of this church kept separate identities for a number of years, but in 1858 the two groups dissolved and re-formed as the Union Evangelical Church. In 1894 the name was changed to its present form, Union Congregational Church, having dropped any official Presbyterian connection.
In 1961, along with the majority of New Hampshire’s Congregational churches, the congregation became part of the United Church of Christ, created by the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church.