What We Believe

Members of First Church believe many different things about God, and about the person of Jesus Christ. Many of us hail from other traditions: Catholic, Southern Baptist, Lutheran, Jewish; some of us were raised without any religion, or were once committed atheists. This makes an interesting mix! We find common ground in our yearning to build beloved community, what Christians have long called “the Body of Christ.” We have no accepted tests of faith, but we share a commitment to stand with the oppressed, as Jesus did, and put our faith into action for a just world. We believe that “God is Still Speaking.”

We belong to the largest Protestant denomination in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, called the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC was founded in 1957 as the union of several different Christian traditions: from the beginning of our history, we have affirmed that Christians did not always have to agree to live together in community. Our motto—”that they may all be one”—is Jesus’ prayer for the unity of the church. For a statement of broadly held United Church of Christ beliefs see the national UCC website.

The UCC is a church of firsts: the first to ordain a woman, Rev. Antoinette Brown in 1853, and the first to ordain a gay man, Rev. Bill Johnson in 1972. We were active in the abolition movement and the civil rights movement. And Barack Obama, our first African-American president, is a longstanding member of the UCC.

The UCC is a non-creedal church: there is nothing you have to believe in order to belong. And we are a non-hierarchical church: each congregation takes care of its own money, hires its own ministers, and follows its own conscience in matters of moral, cultural and political importance. We are supportive of other religious traditions, understanding that there are many paths to one light.

No one individual has a monopoly on God’s truth. The revelation of God is ongoing, and our life experiences help us break scripture open again and again in new ways. This is our work (and play!) each Sunday morning. Hear this quote from one of our forebears in the faith, Rev. John Robinson, addressed to the Pilgrims as they arrived in this country to inaugurate a more democratic, open way of being church: “There is more truth and light yet to break forth from God’s word!”

During Lent 2009, small groups of us gathered to make good on the urging of the UCC Constitution to each generation to “make this faith its own,” by brainstorming a series of We Believe statements relating to aspects of modern urban life, by turns: Isolation and Community, Poverty and Justice, Sexuality and Death. You can read our We Believe statements here.

Open and Affirming Statement

In 1998, we became an early adopter of the “Open and Affirming” resolution proclaiming our church welcoming of LGBT folk into our full life and leadership, by unanimous consent.

We, the First Congregational Church of Somerville, United Church of Christ (long known as The Friendly Church), proclaim ourselves to be an Open and Affirming congregation. We celebrate the wide range of gifts found within a diverse community. We acknowledge that the Christian Church has often excluded people based on their sexual orientation.We therefore commit ourselves to welcoming all people into the full life and ministry of the church regardless of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, race, ethnicity, nationality or economic status. We continue to commit ourselves to the struggle against injustice in all forms.

With God’s grace, we join together as a covenant community, believing that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” -Romans 8:38-39

Safe Church Policy

First Church Somerville UCC aspires to be a congregation of love and fellowship where all can seek a closer relationship with God in a trusting, nurturing place. As part of this mission, First Church’s goal is to provide a safe environment for all those who are entrusted to our care. This atmosphere is to be free of verbal or physical abuse or any type of sexual misconduct or harassment. A PDF version of Our Safe Church handbook is available here.