Congregationalists are Christians who believe in the spiritual equality of all believers, referred to as “the priesthood of all believers.”
While Congregationalists hold the Bible as sacred scriptures and take them seriously, we do not, of necessity, take them literally. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth came to show us the way to God. We earnestly support each other to follow God’s commandment to love with all our hearts, and all our minds, and all our souls, and to make that love manifest by truly loving our neighbors as ourselves. In following Jesus, we are committed to seek the “Peace of Christ,” the peace born of justice and compassion for all whom God has created.
Each individual has the freedom to interpret the Good News of Jesus. We follow the principle of organization that the local congregation is completely autonomous in matters of policy and practice. This includes selecting our own pastor, electing our own church officials, and determining our own by-laws.
While the origins of Congregationalism go back to the Pilgrims and Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Roslindale Congregational Church is today a proud member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC was established in 1957 as a united church in a global ecumenical movement committed to Christian unity. We are an autonomous congregation when it comes to our decision-making and finances, but also a congregation in covenant with other UCC churches within the denomination. Roslindale Congregational Church, UCC, retains both identities as a church rooted in congregationalism but oriented towards Christian unity.
© Roslindale Congregational Church, UCC