Our Mission

Our church’s mission is about building community. It is clear from the biblical witness “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.” (Acts 4:32) that this is what we are called to do. Therefore, what our vision of community is and what are dreams for our community are, become a very important part of how we go about ministry.

Building community also necessitates the pastor and parishioners being “in” the community: at the school, at the library, at the post office, at the local diner, at the town office–places where ministry happens outside the walls of the church.  This is our mission.

What We Believe

We believe in the dignity and worth of every part of God’s creation. Therefore,  we are passionate about both issues of human equality and justice as well as justice for the global economy and environment.

READ MORE AT UCC.ORG

Our Ministry Leaders

DR. TIMOTHY JOHNSON
DR. TIMOTHY JOHNSONTREASURER

Dr. Timothy Johnson is a Doctor of Optometry as well as our Music Director. Dr. Johnson is a 1983 summa cum laude graduate of Pacific University College of Optometry in Oregon, and has been providing primary eye care in Bellows Falls, VT for over 30 years. He is also a past president of the Vermont Optometric Association from 1992-1994 and 1998-2000. Tim took piano lessons from the time he was in second grade until he was a senior in high school. His mother was a church organist, and that is where he inherited the love of church music. As an active member of the United Church of Bellows Falls, he currently serves as our Treasurer. He has served as Moderator and Mission Board Chair in the past, as well as in many other capacities.
ELIZABETH HAGGERTY
ELIZABETH HAGGERTYMODERATOR

Betty was born in Northfield VT, the youngest of the three children of Emma and Edward Sargent. She attended the Northfield public schools, graduated from Northfield High School, and went on to graduate from UVM with a BS in Elementary Education.

Both her, and her husband, Hugh, lived in Lyme NH for a year. During that time, Betty taught grades 3 and 4 in Orfordville, NH, and Hugh was a teaching principal of the school. We moved to Morrisville, VT in 1967, when Hugh became the elementary school principal and eventually the Assistant Superintendent. In 1978, they and their two children moved to Bellows Falls, when Hugh became the school Superintendent. I taught at and was director of Falls Playschool from 1982 to 1999, before retiring.

Betty joined the United Church of Bellows Falls in 1982, and has served the church in various capacities—choir, Board of Deacons, Board of Trustees, Board of Missions, Moderator, committees, Women’s Fellowship.

Within our community and beyond, she is active in the BF Woman’s Club, and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of VT. Betty also volunteers at Central Elementary School. Currently, she is President of VT. Mothers. Also, she has served on the Rockingham Free Public Library Board of Trustees and Friends of the Library, and on the board of Our Place Drop-in Center.

Faith

Hope

Love

Get Connected

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church to join faith and action.  With over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S., the UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world.

“So much of Heaven has gone from Earth
That there must be a Heaven
If only to enclose the Saints . . .”

Emily Dickenson

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.”

Wendell Berry

“The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God – if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.”

Maya Angelou