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The roots of our church family are as deep
as the roots of our Judeo-Christian tradition and our Biblical faith. As a part
of the wider United Church of Christ family we grow from our four primary
sources:
- 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 U.S. began
in 1725 with congregations of German settlers in Pennsylvania. Later, their
ranks were swelled by Reformed folk from Switzerland and other
countries.
- The Christian Churches sprang up in the
late 1700's and early 1800's in reaction to the theological and organizational
rigidity of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist churches of the
time.
- The Evangelical Synod of North America,
founded in 1840, traced its beginnings to an association of German Evangelical
pastors in Missouri, and reflected the 1817 union of the Lutheran and Reformed
Churches in Germany.
- Through the years, other groups such as
Native, African, Asian and Hispanic Americans, Volga Germans, Armenians and
Hungarians have joined the four earlier groups. Thus we are enriched through a
wide variety of traditions. We are part of a church in covenant that includes
more than 1.5 million members in approximately 6000 churches nationally.
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 The "God is Still Speaking" Initiative launched in 2004 by the United Church of Christ, illustrated by this logo with the comma, recalls the famous quote by Gracie Allen: "Never place a period where God has placed a comma."
It celebrates the spirit of welcome that is the heart of our worship and fellowship.
The United Church of Christ at Valley Forge
was chartered in June of 1960 at a worship service consisting of seventy
members in thirty-four families. With growing membership, our ministry and facilities have expanded as well. The first building program was started in March of 1961, with
additions in 1970 and 1992. Another new addition, dedicated in September, 2005, created new fellowship space and expanded classroom facilities to accommodate our youth programs and community
service projects.
Since the formative days of 1959-60, UCC/VF
has experienced many changes and shared in many opportunities for ministry.
From worship to workshops, services to seminars, homeless shelters to food
cupboards -- with the young and young-at-heart -- we are a challenging and
joyful family of faith. We are a people in mission -- many missions.
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