About First Church Williamstown

As a passionate and progressive community, we draw inspiration from diverse Christian visions of principled people who actively seek a just world.

Our congregation comes from all walks of life: serving schools and agencies, constructing things, owning businesses, supporting social movements, pursuing research, or creating artworks. Some of us have young children, others are empty-nesters or widowed or retired. Some grew up in Williamstown; others recently discovered the Berkshires.

As this body of Christ, we find ourselves compelled by stories of Jesus, whose movement of love and justice has transformed the world. While humbled and grateful for the best elements in our historical heritage, we are even more enthusiastic to trust the Holy Spirit to lead us to a renewed tomorrow.

Statement of Purpose

Inspired by the teachings of Jesus, the First Congregational Church in Williamstown, Massachusetts strives to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8) as an inclusive, committed, and welcoming community that fosters spiritual growth and supports loving action.

Our Faith

  • As Community

    We see our church as a public witness and community hub. Faith is personal but never private, as writer-activist Jim Wallis says. Towards this end, we create space to dialogue about local, intellectual, and world concerns. We embrace the arts. We share the building with friends, people, and mission-driven organizations. We provide an entryway into service and justice opportunities and do not shy away from the thorny area of faith and politics.

  • Always Growing

    We encourage and support different ways for people to grow in their faith: scripture study, meditation, various forms of prayer, and hymnody. People may grow in their faith when they connect with nature or perform community service.

  • Action

    We view faith as a journey, not a destination. Asking questions is more important to us than arriving at answers, and how we believe is more important to us than what we believe. Through programs for all ages, small group conversations, book groups, and more, we seek to stir and deepen our experience of love in the way of Jesus.

  • Social Justice

    Faith has been a catalyst for many of the most impactful social justice movements of our time. We openly affirmed LGBTQIA+ people in the church before other denominations had started arguing about it. From critical examination of race and “white privilege” to divesting from fossil fuels, to supporting Berkshire County immigrants, we see ourselves as one small part of the great tradition of faith-based social justice activism.

Goals & Objectives

  • To strive constantly to be a moral, ethical, spiritual, and service pillar of the Northern Berkshire community.

  • To see the stresses of change as an opportunity for growth. To develop healthy and sustainable mechanisms for grieving the losses to our community.

  • To develop healthy and sustainable mechanisms for grieving the losses to our community — our congregants, our institution, and potentially our physical structure.

  • To assure that the pastor, congregation, and church community enjoy freedom of expression, dialogue, and action.

  • To live within our fiscal means while being generous with our spirit and resources.

  • To hold fast to Sunday worship and faith formation as dynamic works in progress which address the diverse needs in our community.

  • To see our church as a public witness and community hub.