The bell rang out in the tower at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 30, 2008

to signal the beginning of Rev. Conni Ess' first worship service as

pastor of First Congregational UCC in Pierce City, Missouri.

You are always welcome at Pierce City's First Congregational United Church of Christ! We are located at the corner of Walnut and Washington Streets in Pierce City, Missouri  (about a block north of the bandstand at Walnut and Commercial).

Join us each Sunday for:      10 a.m.    WORSHIP SERVICE

First Congregational UCC, Mailing address:  c/o 206 N. Elm St., Pierce City, MO 65723

Phone:    contact Jack or Joann George at 417-476-2875

E-mail: hbwmuseuminpcmo@aol.com

Visit our Yahoo.com profile page by clicking on the "Information" link above, 

or one of these United Church of Christ sites:

National United Church of Christ (UCC)   http://www.ucc.org/index.php

Missouri Mid-South Conference (UCC)    http://www.mmsucc.org/default.asp

The Springfield News-Leader printed many stories about the May 4, 2003 tornado that damaged much of Pierce City, Missouri's historic downtown business district.

The First Congregational United Church of Christ had its bell tower knocked down as well as other damage. Here is a link to a story in the News-Leader about the new bell tower!

http://springfield.news-leader.com/specialreports/tornadoes/0704-Tornadotor-123347.html

First Congregational United Church of Christ

Pastor Conni Ess, sophia42@sbcglobal.net

MAILING ADDRESS:   c/o 206 N. Elm St., Pierce City, MO 65723

PHONE:    417-476-2875 - Jack or Joann George

Web Master Kristin                         E-mail: hbwmuseuminpcmo@aol.com

 What is the United Church of Christ?

The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. Each of these was, in turn, the result of a union of two earlier traditions. 

The Congregational Churches were organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (1620) and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) acknowledged their essential unity in the Cambridge Platform of 1648.

   The Reformed Church in the United States traced its beginnings to congregations of German settlers in Pennsylvania founded from 1725 on. Later, its ranks were swelled by Reformed immigrants from Switzerland, Hungary and other countries.

The Christian Churches sprang up in the late 1700s and early 1800s in reaction to the theological and organizational rigidity of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist churches of the time.

The Evangelical Synod of North America traced its beginnings to an association of German Evangelical pastors in Missouri. This association, founded in 1841, reflected the 1817 union of Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany.

 What does the logo symbolize?

The symbol of the United Church of Christ comprises a crown, cross and orb enclosed within a double oval bearing the name of the church and the prayer of Jesus, "That they may all be one" (John 17:21).

It is based on an ancient Christian symbol called the "Cross of Victory" or the "Cross Triumphant." 

The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ. The cross recalls the suffering of Christ—his arms outstretched on the wood of the cross—for the salvation of humanity. The orb, divided into three parts, reminds us of Jesus' command to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The verse from Scripture reflects our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.