A Heritage of Faith since 1719, and an Open, Affirming, Reconciling congregation, Niantic Community Church is a federated congregation of the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ. It is also a welcoming home to people from a great variety of church backgrounds and life experiences.

The Niantic Community Church exists to celebrate God and to follow in the way of Jesus Christ: serving our neighbors near and far; striving for wholeness, justice, and peace in our church, our community, and our world. We affirm that every member of our congregation is a minister: a servant of God.

We have strong commitments:

• To outreach;

• To faith formation for both children and adults; and

• To living out Jesus’ extravagant, joyful hospitality.

Our Beliefs

We understand that “belief” and “faith” are mostly about where we put our trust. We put our trust in God; we come to know God primarily through Jesus Christ.  We also understand that God is filled with mystery and wonder: everything human beings know is the size of a drop of water in the ocean of God.

“How” we believe has more meaning for us than “what” we believe. Both are important — but we have a primary concern for how our faith leads us to live in ways that revere God and honor all of God’s creatures and creation.

Jesus Christ

We recognize Jesus of Nazareth as God’s Living Word: the one who calls us — and leads us — to an intimate relationship with our Creator. Putting our trust in Jesus means practicing his teachings, starting with deep humility, radical forgiveness + joyful acknowledgement of our interdependence with all creative. Committing to follow Jesus allows us to appreciate + treasure our neighbors who have committed to follow other religious traditions.

The Bible

We take the Bible seriously, as a primary testimony about God and the human experience of God. Because we take the Bible seriously, we do not take it literally. The books of the Bible contain poetry, story, song, prophecy, and apocalyptic writings, but not facts or history in the way that we moderns have come to use. Learning what the Bible has to teach us is a lifelong commitment, revealing insights that change with age and experience — so studying the Bible and other books that reflect on the Christian faith is an essential part of our church life.

Sacraments

We practice two sacraments — rituals where we understand that God is the main actor, and we are receiving the mysterious and wonderful gift of God’s presence. Those sacraments are Baptism and Communion.