The purpose of our Church is to bind together followers of Jesus Christ to share in the worship of God and in making his will dominant in the lives of persons individually and collectively, especially as that direction is set forth in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.
The Church continues in a long line of witnesses to the Congregational Way, and welcomes all persons to its Fellowship of Faith and Freedom.
Our History
The church was gathered in 1781 as the First Ecclesiastical Society of Barkhamsted. The first meeting house was built in 1784. Reverend Ozias Eels was ordained in 1787 as the first pastor.
In 1843 the Congregation voted to build a new meeting house in the “modern style”. The current Greek Revival meeting house was built starting in 1844. The original meeting house was dismantled about the time of the Civil War. The name of the Church was changed to First Orthodox Congregational Society.
In 1914 the Church was incorporated and became the First Congregational Church of Barkhamsted, although it is also known as Barkhamsted Center Church.
The present meetinghouse is in a National Register of Historic Places historic district and is in the final stages of restoration.
Northeast Fellowship 