South Church at 150: in Our Own Words

This fifty-year history of South Church offers us some wisdom. The story of South Church is the story of community. Real people of considerable depth share their lives and their work in the pages of this history. All of the complexity of life is brought into the context of community that has as its center the love of God in Jesus Christ. Whether in worship, committee meetings, study groups, couples club, or youth group there is a sense of people coming together to discover a new dimension to life. There is a call to shape one's life according to the light and grace of God-but there is no externally enforced conformity. There are no easy answers and there is no quick fix for the institution of church as it responds to changed circumstances. But the history of South Church reveals that people of diverse perspectives when they gather in the light of the transcendent love of God can move forward in fresh and exciting ways. Reverend Joel H. Huntington, South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Pittsfield, Massachusetts