join us
Join us for Worship every Sunday
9:30AM - 10:30AM
Join us for Worship every Sunday
9:30AM - 10:30AM
Serves January-March and July-September
Serves April-June and October-December
Every Wednesday at 5pm the Church is open for our Food Co-Op operation. We are a proud partner with The Food Bank of Iowa. Any and all donations are welcomed and appreciated.
Welcome to the website for the Berwick Congregational Church located in Berwick, Iowa. Our basic beliefs can be summarized as follows: Christ alone is the head of the church. All church members are spiritually equal and called to the work of ministry as they share their gifts and their understandings of God. Believers are bound to one ano
Welcome to the website for the Berwick Congregational Church located in Berwick, Iowa. Our basic beliefs can be summarized as follows: Christ alone is the head of the church. All church members are spiritually equal and called to the work of ministry as they share their gifts and their understandings of God. Believers are bound to one another in voluntary covenant (rather than by a creed) because each believer has intellectual freedom and a personal relationship with God. Mutual respect for diverse expressions of sincere Christian belief is fundamental to our walk of faith. The Bible is fully sufficient as the primary light in our daily lives and will inspire individuals and direct the church with fresh light and truth for every generation. Every local church is called into wider associations of fellowship, but none have authority over the local church. Click here to read more about us
Berwick Church is blessed to have two ministers, serving the congregation. We bring unique perspectives and personalities to the ministry and, most importantly, we love the folks at Berwick. The church members at Berwick are a gifted group of people that seek diligently to serve Jesus Christ through their love of each other and the commun
Berwick Church is blessed to have two ministers, serving the congregation. We bring unique perspectives and personalities to the ministry and, most importantly, we love the folks at Berwick. The church members at Berwick are a gifted group of people that seek diligently to serve Jesus Christ through their love of each other and the community. We are honored to serve this church. Our goal is to help all of us see the manifestation of Jesus Christ in the world around us and to get even more excited at what he has in store for us!
To contact Berwick Church:
Berwick Congregational Church began as “Union Chapel” which was not denominationally constituted and was served by ministers with various backgrounds (United Brethren, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational and Baptist). The trustees decided that the first denomination to organize would own the building. The building was constructed on the farm of F. E. Elliott. Mr. Elliott donated 2 acres of land just east of the Berwick Cemetery. The building was built with donations from F.E. Elliott, Henry Taylor and his father Mr. Taylor. Additional contributions came from the community and the building was erected for $2,500.
The church became a Congregational Church in 1875 under the leadership of Rev. C.W. Blodgett. The people believed that the town was growing in the area of the current church site. In November of 1899, the building was dragged to its current location and reopened just after the new year. By 1924, the Congregational Church was ready for a remodeling. Verbal family recollections during that time passed down the belief that a Lutheran Church in northern Iowa was willing to give their windows; so the church had them transported by farm wagon and installed in the Berwick Church building.
It remained Berwick Congregational Church until October of 1939 when it seemed appropriate to join forces with the Methodist Church to become Berwick Federated Church with a divided budget that supported the Methodist Church and the Congregational Church. This cooperative ministry went on for more than 20 years until the body decided that it was time to either be Methodist or Congregational. The decision was to become a Congregational Church. This took place just as a portion of the Congregational denomination entered a merger creating the United Church of Christ. Berwick voted to be a member of the United Church of Christ and remained in membership until 1996 when it joined with the Congregational body that did not join the merger.
In 1997, the church called the Rev. Richard Miller-Todd (Congregational) to be their minister. In 1998, the church formally joined the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. Rev. Miller-Todd remained the pastor until 2011 when he resigned. The Rev. Theron (Tom) Conrey (Presbyterian) served the church as interim for more than a year and he then asked Rev. Miller-Todd to return to Berwick to begin serving alternately on a quarterly basis. The three months that one minister is preaching the other is “off” and able to be away for periods of time. This arrangement has given added energy to the congregation and the pastors.
The church is also a member of the Iowa-Nebraska Association of Congregational Christian Churches. In 2014, the church played a major role in hosting the national Congregational meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
We covenant with one another to seek and respond to the Word and the Will of God. We purpose to walk together in the ways of the Lord, made known and to be made known to us. We hold it to be the mission of the church to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all the world, while worshipping God, and striving for truth, justice and peace. As did our fathers, we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us. We pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God, and we look with faith toward the triumph of righteousness and eternal life.
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