Who are we?
The First Congregational Church of Milford is an independent member of the United Church of Christ located just off the Oval in Milford, New Hampshire, just west of Nashua, NH.
Purpose
The purpose of this church is to bind together persons who believe in God, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and depend on the guidance of the Holy Spirit; to provide opportunities for Christian worship, teaching the Gospel, celebration of the sacraments, and furtherance of Christian fellowship; to render service to all humanity and to strive for righteousness, justice and peace.
Covenant
The objectives of this Church and its basis of fellowship are expressed in the following confession and covenant:
“In a humble sense of our unworthiness and dependence on the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, we give up ourselves to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in an everlasting covenant not to be forgotten. Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we covenant with God and one with another to walk together in His ways as He reveals Himself to us; to unite in maintaining the public worship of God among us; to perform the duties of Christian love toward each other; to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; to foster the spirit of Christian fellowship; to proclaim the Gospel to all the world; and to seek in every way to relate the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all of life.”
Church History
The First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, was organized in 1788. Previous to 1788, a meetinghouse was raised in 1784 on the Milford Oval. Reverend Humphrey Moore was called to serve as the first pastor in 1802, and continued his pastorate for thirty-four years. Since that time there have been twenty-nine pastors, whose labors have enriched the life of this Church. In 1962, redecorating was done throughout the church.
Founded by 19 local families, the First Congregational Church of Milford was originally part of the Congregational Churches in the USA. These were first organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (1620) and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) acknowledged their essential unity in the Cambridge Platform of 1648.
Since its inception, the First Congregational Church has been driven by its Purpose, guided by its leaders and members, and united by its Covenant.