Celebrating
125 Years of Worship & Service
"If the roots are holy, so are the branches." Romans 11:16
SUnday, September 8th, 2019
Anniversary Worship begins at 10:00am
with a luncheon to follow
with a luncheon to follow
If you would like to make a donation to help defray the cost of our 125th celebration, you can mail a check to the church office at 406 8th St. South, Moorhead, MN 56560 or click the "donate" button below.
A brief history of 1st CONGREGATIONAL UCC Moorhead
On the evening of January 23, 1894, following a full day of sessions, prayers, discussions and sermons at The Moorhead Opera House, the First Congregational Church of Moorhead was formally received into the Congregational denomination. Not having their own building yet, the new congregation of 31 members worshipped in the Baptist church building. It was very cold so the deacon would arrive early to heat bricks in the wood stove, wrap them in papers and hand them to congregants as they entered the church to keep warm. By the late 1890's, membership had grown significantly and the cold wasn't getting any warmer so it was time for a new church building of their own. On January 20, 1901 First Congregational dedicated their new brick building on 8th Street with a gathering of over 500 people in attendance.
During the Great Depression financial difficulties were felt by most and there came a time when a decision needed to be made whether to merge with another denomination again (prior to 1894, Moorhead Congregationalists worshipped with Presbyterians) or begin sharing a pastor. Our Moorhead members ultimately voted to "stay Congregational" and share a pastor with Oak Mound and Glyndon Congregational Churches. The pastor's salary for serving three churches was $1,600 plus use of the parsonage. We continue to work closely with other UCC churches by combining our seasonal adult education offerings and having monthly summer worship together with all UCC churches in Fargo-Moorhead.
Over time our building has been remodeled to keep up with our congregation’s needs and helping us become more accessible. In 1952 this meant adding Sunday School and fellowship areas, in the 70’s it meant selling the parsonage and making building repairs, in the 80’s it meant putting in an elevator, most recently it has meant creating gender inclusive bathrooms and remodeling our chancel.
In 1961, First Congregational of Moorhead voted to become a part of the newly established United Church of Christ.
In 1978, Margaret Reed was the first woman to serve as Moderator for the congregation.
In 2005, after an extensive course of study we became Open and Affirming. We edited and reaffirmed our Open and Affirming Statement in 2018. In 2017 we quickly and easily voted to designate ourselves a Fair Trade Congregation, making publicly official our decade-old Fair Trade commitment. We are currently in the educational process of deciding if we will designate ourselves an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation.
Our social justice commitment is equally strong for lgbtq justice and for economic justice. We were on the forefront for Marriage Equality in our community both during the Minnesota Marriage Equality campaign and in the campaign for Marriage Equality nationally.
In 1987 we joined with other churches in the area to form Churches United for the Homeless, which currently has 51 employees who house hundreds of people each day in emergency shelter. We continue to support Churches United with volunteer hours, financial contributions, in their food program, and with auxiliary programs we have started. In 2016 we began forming a program called Make it a Home in which we walk alongside families moving out of Churches United into independent housing, presenting them with evidence-based tools to help them remained successfully housed. In 2018, thanks to a grant from the FM Awesome Foundation we began training other churches to do the same.
Our work with Central Cities Ministries, a group of 16 local churches who pool our benevolence money, gives out over $20,000 a year in small grants to help with housing and other unmet needs. In 2017 we entered into a partnership with Ruby’s Pantry and MState Community and Techical College to bring a monthly pop-up food pantry to our community. Each month our 200 member congregation feeds 300 households.
From 1894 to present, our congregation has been thoughtfully served and prayerfully led by 22 pastors.
Our Mission Statement is Honoring Tradition, Seeking Justice, and Embracing Diversity, we express Christ’s Love through Worship, Word, and Deed. It is a good reflection of who we are. We honor the tradition we inherit, celebrate the diversity of our community, and seek justice for all people.
During the Great Depression financial difficulties were felt by most and there came a time when a decision needed to be made whether to merge with another denomination again (prior to 1894, Moorhead Congregationalists worshipped with Presbyterians) or begin sharing a pastor. Our Moorhead members ultimately voted to "stay Congregational" and share a pastor with Oak Mound and Glyndon Congregational Churches. The pastor's salary for serving three churches was $1,600 plus use of the parsonage. We continue to work closely with other UCC churches by combining our seasonal adult education offerings and having monthly summer worship together with all UCC churches in Fargo-Moorhead.
Over time our building has been remodeled to keep up with our congregation’s needs and helping us become more accessible. In 1952 this meant adding Sunday School and fellowship areas, in the 70’s it meant selling the parsonage and making building repairs, in the 80’s it meant putting in an elevator, most recently it has meant creating gender inclusive bathrooms and remodeling our chancel.
In 1961, First Congregational of Moorhead voted to become a part of the newly established United Church of Christ.
In 1978, Margaret Reed was the first woman to serve as Moderator for the congregation.
In 2005, after an extensive course of study we became Open and Affirming. We edited and reaffirmed our Open and Affirming Statement in 2018. In 2017 we quickly and easily voted to designate ourselves a Fair Trade Congregation, making publicly official our decade-old Fair Trade commitment. We are currently in the educational process of deciding if we will designate ourselves an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation.
Our social justice commitment is equally strong for lgbtq justice and for economic justice. We were on the forefront for Marriage Equality in our community both during the Minnesota Marriage Equality campaign and in the campaign for Marriage Equality nationally.
In 1987 we joined with other churches in the area to form Churches United for the Homeless, which currently has 51 employees who house hundreds of people each day in emergency shelter. We continue to support Churches United with volunteer hours, financial contributions, in their food program, and with auxiliary programs we have started. In 2016 we began forming a program called Make it a Home in which we walk alongside families moving out of Churches United into independent housing, presenting them with evidence-based tools to help them remained successfully housed. In 2018, thanks to a grant from the FM Awesome Foundation we began training other churches to do the same.
Our work with Central Cities Ministries, a group of 16 local churches who pool our benevolence money, gives out over $20,000 a year in small grants to help with housing and other unmet needs. In 2017 we entered into a partnership with Ruby’s Pantry and MState Community and Techical College to bring a monthly pop-up food pantry to our community. Each month our 200 member congregation feeds 300 households.
From 1894 to present, our congregation has been thoughtfully served and prayerfully led by 22 pastors.
Our Mission Statement is Honoring Tradition, Seeking Justice, and Embracing Diversity, we express Christ’s Love through Worship, Word, and Deed. It is a good reflection of who we are. We honor the tradition we inherit, celebrate the diversity of our community, and seek justice for all people.