Our Congregation

Welcome to Pilgrim Congregational Church, a community of thinking, caring people who attempt to practice generosity and compassion, understanding that to be the Way practiced and taught by Jesus of Nazareth in his God-filled life. What binds us together is not a creed or a doctrine but a covenant with God and one another to seek and follow that Way.

We not only allow, but encourage, differences of opinion, as we question and wrestle with the universal issues of life and faith. We strive toward thoughtfully-examined, well-considered faith, using the best tools of education and interpretation available, and employing different practices and paths toward spiritual growth. We are, thus, Pilgrims on a journey of faith and Spirit.

We are young and old, paired and single, USA-born and foreign-born, gay and straight, well-to-do and not-so-well-off, professionals and blue collar workers. We invite all people who are seeking a community of faith in which to explore and deepen their relationship with God, each other, and their own inner selves, to join us on our continuing, unfolding journey.

Founded in 1957, Pilgrim Church is still relatively young, as is our denomination, the United Church of Christ, established by a merger of Congregational and other churches that same year. But it has deep roots dating back to the Pilgrims who landed in 1620 on the shores of what is now Massachusetts.

Those Pilgrims left behind their homes and all that was familiar and set out from England on the little ship Mayflower, seeking religious freedom. We continue to value and protect that same religious freedom.

As those Pilgrims were about to set sail, their pastor, John Robinson, who was not able to make the journey, said in his farewell address to them, "There is yet more truth and light to break forth from God’s holy word." So even as we look back in gratitude to our spiritual ancestors, we present-day Pilgrims look to the present and the future with a desire to be open to the eternal but ever-changing Spirit, and to be an expression of God’s love in our time and place.

For more about the United Church of Christ, the denomination to which we belong, go to http://www.ucc.org

For more on the Northern California-Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, the regional federation of UCC churches to which we belong, go to http://www.ncncucc.org/

To view our Constitution and By-Laws, click here.