What it Means to be a Congregationalist

             The right of every individual’s immediate access to God is the fundamental precept of Congregationalism.  Its adherents believe that Jesus Christ alone is Head of His church; that His Spirit can act through and speak directly to each member and each congregation without benefit of bishops, hierarchies, or presbyteries.  Congregationalism derives its name from the prominence it gives to its body of Christian believers. 

                 Each church is a self-governing unit with duties and responsibilities shared equally by all members.  At First Congregational Church of Kingston, NH, our members make up the Boards and Committees that assume the various responsibilities of the church. The chairpersons of the Boards make up the membership of the Cabinet.  The Cabinet meets monthly to listen to reports of the Boards and to act on business.  The Congregation holds a Budget Meeting in January, and an Annual Meeting in April. All are encouraged to attend. Only members may vote.

We are an independent Congregational Christian Church associated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.  We are guided by the Christian principles of faith, freedom and fellowship.
 

Statement of  Faith

First Congregational Church of Kingston (Kansas City 1919 amended)

WE BELIEVE in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, goodness and love, and in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Saviour, who for us and our salvation, lived and died and rose again, and liveth evermore, and in the Holy Spirit, who taketh of things of God and Christ and revealeth them to us, renewing, comforting, and inspiring the souls of men.

WE ARE UNITED in striving to know the will of God as taught in the Holy Scriptures, and in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord, made known to us.

WE HOLD IT TO BE the mission of the Church of Christ to proclaim to all mankind the gospel, exalting the worship of the one true God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace and the realization of human brotherhood.

DEPENDING, AS DID OUR FATHERS, upon the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, we work and pray for the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God, and we look with faith for triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting.

WE BELIEVE in the freedom and responsibility of the individual soul and the right of private judgment.  We hold to the autonomy of the local Church and its independence of all ecclesiastical control.

WE CHERISH the fellowship of the other Congregational Churches, united in state and national bodies for counsel and co-operation in matters of common concern.

Historic Highlights of the Church

The parish church of Kingston was gathered September 17, 1725 with Ward Clark as minister. His successor, Joseph Seccombe, reaped 177 members during the Great Awakening and fostered four daughter churches. Most notable among the members of the church was Josiah Bartlett, first Governor of New Hampshire and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Elihu Thayer, Minister from 1776 to 1812, founded the New Hampshire Missionary Society.

A society at nearby Andover aided the church in organizing the Sabbath School in 1813. The present church was built in 1825 and redecorated in 1879.

Temperance and Sunday School causes brought churches together and federation with the Methodists in 1917 resulted. The 1950's saw the restoration of the sanctuary, the addition of the Edith Drinkwater Rent Memorial Room and the building of a new parsonage.