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Gathering around a table at the church

About Us

Our Mission


We seek to love God with all our hearts, souls and minds and to love our neighbors as ourselves through worship, education and service. We seek to be a caring church community dedicated to the nurture and sharing of each other’s faith and spiritual growth and committed to serving the local and world-wide community in love.

The purpose of this Church shall be to bind together followers of Jesus Christ in the love of God and of neighbor through the worship of God in Christ, the development of Christian character and fellowship and the extension of the principles of the Christian faith. (Bylaws 2013)

The Life of the Church

The church is active in missions, supporting the local food pantry, low-income housing, and global outreach programs such as the CROP Walk and Neighbors in Need. The annual Fall Festival raises funds for local charities.

OUr Team
welcome to our church

Our Story

In 1744, the Rev. Jonathan Lee rode into this “wilderness” on horseback to become our first pastor. In New England tradition, our first Meeting House served as the center of political, social, and religious assembly. Our present Meeting House, built in 1800, remains as a living example of Puritan simplicity.

Church History >

Etching of Congregational Church of Salisbury

Denomination

The Congregational Church of Salisbury is part of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a denomination which was formed in 1957 with the merger of two church bodies – the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church. Today the United Church of Christ includes almost 2 million people in nearly 6,500 congregations.

What We Believe

Just as the Holy Bible is at the focal point of our Meeting House, this hallowed book is central to our faith, reflecting our ongoing commitment to the word of God and to the interpretation of its meaning in our daily lives. We are drawn together by our common confirmation: “We covenant with God and one another to walk together in God’s holy ways. We unite for the worship of God and for continued striving to do God’s will and for the service of God and humanity…” We believe in the Holy Trinity: God the Creator, God the Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.

We Are Open and Affirming

Covenant and Policy

Covenant is a holy promise of devotion that is shared and is how we relate to one another. The UCC Statement of Faith defines covenant as a gift of the Holy Spirit binding all faithful people together. We celebrate our covenant every time there is a baptism, when we gather for Holy Communion, and when we welcome new members into the life of our church.

Covenant relationship is the foundation for our way of being the church. This church acknowledges Jesus Christ as its Head. It is congregational in its polity (how the church governs itself). The United Church of Christ polity can be described as a dynamic “partnership covenant.” Partners include the UCC National setting, the Southern New England Conference, and the Litchfield North Association.

This covenant values the commitment each part of the United Church of Christ has made to one another to live together, to work together in behalf of the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ in the world. The commitment to covenant with other parts of the UCC is complemented by each congregation’s autonomy: our freedom to discern and follow the Holy Spirit in our life together.