Welcome to Foothills Congregational Church! We are a friendly, caring, and supportive Christian community, joined with one another in our individual and shared journeys of faith. We are also a diverse group - in age, political preferences and in religious beliefs that range from "traditional" to "progressive." However, we find a common bond in our mutual respect and love for others that is fundamental to the teachings of Jesus.
OUR VISION: We are an Open and Affirming Congregation, which means we provide a spiritual home that welcomes each individual as a beloved child of God. We affirm the humanity of all people, welcoming into the full life and ministry of the church, people of every ability, age, ethnicity, culture, economic status, gender, sexual orientation and religious belief.
With roots dating back to the Pilgrims, we are a member-Congregation of the United Church of Christ, (UCC). As a progressive denomination, the UCC is a national leader in human rights issues, carries a strong commitment for outreach to people
needing help, and rejects church dogma in favor of personal and relevant faith. Consistent with these goals, Foothills has associated
itself with "The Center for Progressive Christianity" and we strongly embrace the UCC "God is Still Speaking" initiative.
We also are a church where people have fun - be it enjoying a good cup of coffee and conversation in the courtyard between services or participating in the many social and spiritual activities of the church.
In 1960, the move to establish the Foothills Congregational Church began, initiated by a small but determined band of worshipers and
sponsored by the First Congregational Church in Palo Alto and the Congregational Community Church in Sunnyvale, with great help from
the Northern California Conference of Congregational Churches and the Board of Homeland Missions in New York.
The founding group rented
a house on Second Street in Los Altos, eventually moving to permanent quarters in the building vacated by the Christ Episcopal Church
at 461 Orange Avenue in May 1961. By October, 1961, a total of 176 Charter Members were registered. Rev. Charles M. Bezdek, now Minister
Emeritus, served as minister from 1961 until his retirement in 1986.
The Orange Avenue church sanctuary had been designed by the renowned Ernest Coxhead and completed in 1914. Additions were made in 1926 and 1951, completing a quadrangle, now wisteria-laden and surrounded by magnificent foliage. A minister's study was added in 1966 and a new Parish Hall was built in 1973. In 1982, the Orange Avenue church was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.
We convenant with you, O God, and with one another, and do bind ourselves in your presence, to walk together in all your ways, according as you are pleased to reveal yourself to us.
