What We Believe

An Introduction

At Pilgrim Church, we encourage each other to do three things:  Pray, Serve, and Connect.

Prayer: How do you pray? The Lord’s Prayer, conversation with God, grace at meals, Lectio Divina, centering prayer, asking God for help, confession, meditation, virtual prayer: there are so many ways to pray and most of us need more prayer. We ask to open our ears and hearts. We pray to make room for God. Through prayer, we become more aware of God who is already with us, loving us, now and always. 

 

Service: By offering our gifts and our different ways of experiencing God through service, we build heaven on earth. There are so many ways to serve in and out of our community: teaching Sunday School, buying items for the food pantry, mission trips, visiting church members in need, Back-to-School Backpack Program, and more.  We serve not to receive, but by God’s grace to see what we can learn together. The world needs more love; we bring hope when we take care of each other for love’s sake. 

 

Connection:  We are a live and virtual community seeking to build deeper connections. We connect through our service at church, our fellowship, and service to organizations outside of church.  Connections are made on mission trips, with our friends, and with organizations in need.  In the last few years we have begun connecting through social media and online streaming capabilities.  By connecting with each other, we can do more together than individually.  Therefore, we continue to seek ways to deepen our connection with members of the church and with our neighbors. 

 

We believe we can build sacred spaces and relationships that truly are heaven on earth. Though we are imperfect as people, prayer makes us thoughtful and considerate; service teaches how good it feels to love each other; and connections build a team of ministers wanting this world to be God’s world as well. 

The History of Pilgrim Church in Southborough

Click here to read a history of our church.

Our Statement of Faith and Covenant from our By Laws (Full Bylaw Document Here)

This church looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to achieve its creative and redemptive work in the world. Each member shall have the undisturbed right to follow the Word of God according to the dictates of his/her own conscience, under the enlightenment of the spirit in which this church interprets the Word of God:

We believe in God the Father, our creator; in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our redeemer and Lord; and in the Holy Spirit, God’s presence in our lives. Believing this, we covenant with God and with one another

• To follow Jesus Christ as the only head of the church;
• To grow in our understanding of the will of God;
• To live according to Christ’s teachings;
• To share with others the news of God’s redeeming love;
• To be accepting, caring, forgiving members in our community of Christian Faith.

Mission Statement: Pilgrim Church is an Open and Affirming Christian community dedicated to spiritual growth and service to others through God’s love.

Vision Statement: Growing Faith, Strengthening Families, Loving All

Open and Affirming Statement:  Seeking to be inclusive, Pilgrim Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, of Southborough welcomes individuals regardless of gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, race, age, ability, ethnicity, faith background, or socio-economic status.  We commit ourselves to the ongoing work of being an Open and Affirming (ONA) Church reflecting Jesus’ wish: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)  We are an inclusive church:  We welcome everyone. 

Anti-Racism Statement:  At this time of crisis around issues of race and ethnicity, Pilgrim Congregational Church in Southborough adds our voices to those of other religious leaders and congregations around Massachusetts.

To that end, we have outlined the following beliefs and steps needed to be taken by our congregation:

1. We commit to being anti-racist members of the community.
2. Systemic racism exists. We state it unequivocally.
3. We condemn the murders of those whose voices were silenced unjustly and too soon, for example, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
4. We celebrate peaceful protest as a right while condemning violence.
5. We seek to educate ourselves, our church and our community about the systems that have allowed all this to happen and we will find ways to eliminate the toxic effects of racism in the world through our ministries.

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