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*What is Congregationalism? We acknowledge the sole authority of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Ours is a local congregation in the national United Church of Christ, with our roots in the Congregational tradition dating back to the Pilgrims and Puritans. We are self-governing through elected boards and committees, calling our ministers, setting budgets, deciding how social issues are addressed, and shaping our local programs. This church is self-supporting through monetary pledges and commitment of time and talents, receiving no financial support from the larger UCC (United Church of Christ) organization. We are proud of our heritage, and seek God's guidance as we face new challenges of living according to God's plan for us. Please join us in worship, growth in Christian faith, mutual support and reaching out to others in love as witnesses to God's grace.

Mission & Core Values

As a congregation*, we believe everyone is a beloved child of God, and that our diversity enriches our life as a community. Ours is a tradition of actively supporting liberal social issues through our actions, financial support, volunteering, collaboration and fundraising.

Our mission in the community is one of outreach and support. Having Friends Inn, our soup kitchen, serves three dinner meals weekly to people in need, in cooperation with two other local churches. A Prayer Circle and visitation by members and friends continue our outreach in the local community. Fellowship groups and support groups meet here weekly. During the months of July and August we provide worship services at Cherry Grove on the 2nd and 4th Sundays in the Community House on Bay Walk at 12:30 PM.

Our mission in the world consists of annual financial support to:

Christians for Justice Action
Deering Conference Center, New Hampshire
Emmaus Homes
Gay/Lesbian Switchboard
Greater Sayville Food Pantry
Habitat for Humanity
El Hogar Boys Home and School, Honduras
Interfaith Nutritional Network
LI Aids Care Coalition
Mercy Center
Nassau/Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless
NY Help Honduras
Parish Resource Center
Phoebe Ministries
Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
UCC Coalition for Gay/Lesbian Concerns

Funds for these Wider Mission grants come from both our pledges and our fundraising efforts.

Popular annual events such as our Chicken Barbeque, Roast Beef Dinner, Victorian Tea, and Concert Series are well-attended by people in the local community, and help us fund our outreach programs.

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Worship Life

We recognize two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion. All are invited to receive communion on the first Sunday of each month and on special occasions. Inclusive language, which recognizes both genders, is used in worship, music and education.

Worship is enhanced with inspirational music by our Chancel Choir under the direction of James Ahrend, Minister of Music. Not only is the music program stylistically diverse and blended, but also enjoys a tradition of creativity and original works by Jim, former director Ed Hupton and the late Dorothy Lee Hausske.

After worship, you are cordially invited to join us in Fellowship Hall next door for coffee and conversation. Immediately following coffee, we gather for Sermon Talkback where we continue the dialogue begun in worship. On the last Sunday of each month, we hold Church Chat where we discuss matters of concern regarding our church or worship.

Worship Schedule
About Our Pastor
Sermons

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Church Covenant

Our church covenant is sung or spoken together on the first Sunday of every month. Originally adopted in 1976 it was set to music in 2000. Below the text of the covenant are download links for the musical versions (you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open these files).

In response to God’s love, we covenant with each other...
...to be faithful to the demands and inspirations of the Eternal Spirit revealed in the event of Jesus Christ;
...to accept and respect each other with love and concern in our worship and witness;
...to reach out with the courage of our convictions in the cause of justice, liberation and equality for all.
In this, we covenant to keep the ultimate promise:
I care, I am with you.
(Adopted 1976)

Church Covenant - vocal score

Church Covenant - full score

Get the free Adobe Acrobat plug-in

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Faith...what do we believe?

A quote from the UCC web page: "The UCC has roots in the 'covenantal' tradition—meaning there is no centralized authority or hierarchy that can impose any doctrine or form of worship on its members. Christ alone is Head of the church. We seek a balance between freedom of conscience and accountability to the apostolic faith. The UCC therefore receives the historic creeds and confessions of our ancestors as testimonies, but not tests of the faith."

The original Statement of Faith of the UCC dates back to 1959, and in keeping with the theme of "unity amongst diversity," it has undergone some adaptations and modifications since then. Here are a couple of links about our still-speaking-faith, through witness, tradition, and testimony:

Faith Page from UCC.org
UCC Identity and Core Values

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Statements & Awards

Open and Affirming Statement

In response to God’s love, we have entered into a covenant with each other. In doing so we have made three important commitments:

We have promised faithfulness to God.

We have pledged acceptance and respect to each other.

We have committed ourselves to reaching out with the courage of our convictions in the cause of justice, liberation and equality for all.