We believe the Apostle’s Creed; the Nicene Creed and the Athanasias Creed are faithful descriptions of the doctrines of the Scriptures.
We hold the Savoy Declaration, created by the early founders of Congregationalism to be a faithful Systematic Theology of our beliefs.
We believe the Bible is God’s Specific Revelation, inerrant and infallible, and is our primary guide in our beliefs and practices.
WHO WE ARE
Sharon Congregational Church is an historic, independent church dating back to our founding in 1739. We have always been Congregational in our leadership style and in 1961 joined other Congregational church in becoming a new denomination, made up of churches from four different historic traditions. In 2018 the Lord led us to leave that denomination over several issues related to how God’s Word teaches and directs us to believe and live. Since then, we have been pastored by a minister from the Evangelical Association, a Baptist pastor and our current minister is ordained in the conservative Presbyterian Church. We still operate as a congregational church, we have an Executive Council that oversees day to day operations, but our direction and decisions are done by a congregational vote. We are rediscovering our early Creedal and Confessional roots; our focus is to be Christ honoring and caring to our community.
While we are certainly an historic church, our mission is continually refined by the call of Jesus to be His light in the world today. We don’t rest on our laurels; rather we stand on a firm foundation that allows us to proclaim, in action and in words, a new vitality of faith and adventure as we live the life that Jesus gives us. Every day we seek to listen to those who are suffering, those who struggle and those who want to find a new direction and power for their lives. This is not your typical congregational church and it certainly isn’t conventional. Through fresh inspiration, we are discovering dynamic worship and service that allow every man, woman and child to draw nearer to Jesus. We may not be a large church, but we are surely a living church looking to the future with resolve, hopefulness and joy.
Highlights
1739 Organization of the town and church1742 Erection of the first meeting house1755 Ordination of Cotton Mather Smith: 52 year pastorate1768 Erection of the second meeting house1770 Visit of the great evangelist, Reverend George Whitfield1823 Great religious revival: 199 persons joined the church1824 Present meeting house built1863 Renovation of the sanctuary: church closed for nine months 1939 Tracker organ relocated to the gallery1955 Erection of the church house at a cost of $90,0001961 Vote to join the United Church of Christ1989 250th anniversary celebration2007 Name changed from First Church of Christ Congregational to Sharon Congregational Church 2016 Vote to become an independent church