Who We Are
We are a covenant people, freely gathered and freely received. All
are welcome at our door and invited to the LORD's Table for worship and communion. Upon joining this church, members
old and new, recite this covenant from our constitution together . . .
As disciples of Jesus Christ, trusting in his help, we covenant with him
and with each other to walk in his way, to seek to live as he lived, and by active fellowship in the church, and by loyal
love in all personal relationships, to aid each other to be good citizens of the Kingdom of God. Amen.
What We Are
The first congregational church was formed in England in 1581. It
was a Free Church in opposition to the established Church of England. It declared the principle of autonomous government
by its own congregation. Seeking freedom to worship God in this special way, many congregationalists fled to America.
Settling in the northern colonies, their churches grew with the country.
Bethany began as a Sunday School in 1867. It was orhanized as a congregational
church in 1855 and built a chapel on Main Street. Affiliated with the Conference of Congregational Christian Churches,
when that denomination merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ, Bethany
voted to join with them.
As a self governing church, Bethany is supported solely by the free will
offerings and efforts of its members and friends.
