251 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 645-3647 | Worship every Sunday @ 10:30 a.m.
251 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 645-3647 | Worship every Sunday @ 10:30 a.m.
You Are Welcome Here
We, the people of the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington, a congregation of the United Church of Christ, exist to reveal to all people the will of God through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. We are an Open and Affirming (ONA) congregation, beliving that all people are created in God’s image and loved by God. In celebrating the diversity of God exhibited in humanity and expressing God’s unconditional love for all: we invite and welcome into our faith community persons of every sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, race, ability, nationality, economic and social status, faith background, marital status and family structure. In our faith community we encourage all to “Be the Church” through participation in all facets of our faith community. In Galatians 3:28, the Apostle Paul wrote “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” We are one church and one body of Christ united in living out God’s love for all. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!
Founded in 1743 with the Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins, a noted anti-slavery advocate and co-creator of the New Divinity Movement with Jonathan Edwards. The church’s current stone structure along with adjoining parish hall, parsonage and carriage house were all constructed in 1882. Moving away from its strict Puritan & Calvinist beginnings, First Church progressively has become more open and inclusive. Among the church’s most notable members is W.E.B. Dubois, who also received financial support from First Church to attend Fisk University. In 1957, with the merger of the Congregational Christian churches with the Evangelical and Reformed Church, First Congregational became part of the United Church of Christ. At its annual meeting of January 16, 1964 the following motion was made and passed: “The church declares officially and publishes that its fellowship is open, as it has been, to all who qualify for membership, without restriction as to race, class or ethnic background.”
