First Congregational Church, Belding, MI

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Belding, MI
First Congregational Church, Belding, MI

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Learning to Love God and Others https://app.easytithe.com/app/giving/fccbelding

10/31/2026

Reminder to stop by the church tonight for Trick or Treat between 6pm and 8pm. Hope to see some great costumes. We'll have candy, hot chocolate and dog treats.

10/30/2026

☕ Coffee and Conversation is on this morning!

Every Friday from 10:30 to 12:30, the coffee is on at First Congregational Church of Belding. Come for a cup, stay for good conversation, and meet some neighbors. There's no agenda and nothing to sign up for. Everyone is welcome, whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey.
Bring a friend or just bring yourself. We'll save you a seat.

10/27/2026

We’re looking for a few more candy donations for our Trick or Treat event this Saturday! If you’d like to contribute, please drop off your donations at the church. Pastor Paul will be in and out of the office this Wednesday, or you can bring them by during our Coffee and Conversation this Friday between 10:30 a.m. and noon. 🍬🎃⛪️

10/25/2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 180 Birthday Celebration

10/24/2026

October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and 180 years is a lot of shepherds to be grateful for. From the Christian Church of Otisco to First Congregational Church of Belding today, these are the pastors who have served this congregation:

1846 to 1891
Elder N. Godfrey, 1846
Rev. G. A. Hendryx, 1847-1848
Rev. Wilson Mosher, 1848-1873
Rev. Elisha Mudge, 1873, returned 1878
Elder David E. Millard, 1874-1878, recalled 1885
Rev. J. G. Bishop, 1888-1890
Rev. W. D. Clark, 1890-1891
1892 to 1924
Rev. C. K. Deyo, 1892-1895
Rev. B. V. Childs, 1895-1899
Rev. J. J. Staley, 1899-1901
Rev. J. E. Butler, 1902-1904
Rev. A. Secord, 1904-1907
Rev. N. J. Meyers, 1907-1909
Rev. Edrie Collins, 1909-1913
Rev. Allan J. Blair, 1914-1918
Rev. W. J. Rooke, 1918-1924

1924 to 1964
Rev. Hubert Ellis, 1924-1935
Rev. Glenn Weimer, 1935-1938
Rev. Elwyn Evans, 1938-1941
Rev. Henry L. Rust, 1942-1944
Dr. Edith Dorral, 1944-1945
Rev. Halley Oliver, 1946-1948
Rev. Percy Graham, 1948-1950
Rev. H. B. Johnson, 1950-1957
Rev. Gerald Bowen, 1957-1959
Rev. Thomas Rebentisch, 1959-1964

1964 to today
Rev. Earl Collins (interim), 1964-1965
Rev. Wilford Wood, 1965-1972
Rev. Richard Bayles, 1972-1975
Rev. James F. Williams, 1975-1980
Rev. Kendall Downing and Rev. Lillian Downing, 1980-1988
Rev. Dr. Dick M. Woodward, 1988-2004
Rev. David Smith (interim), 2004-2005
Rev. Bill Freeman, 2005-2006
Rev. Byron Davey, 2006-2011
Pastor Paul Hulford, 2013 to today

10/23/2026

180 years.

On January 25, 1846, sixteen members organized as the Christian Church of Otisco. Thirty years later, they dedicated our current building on October 1, 1876. And on December 27, 1892, forty-three charter members reorganized the church as First Congregational Church of Belding.

Sixteen, then a building, then forty-three, and every generation since. Thus far the Lord has helped us.

Join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM as we celebrate 180 years of faith in Belding, and stay for the potluck afterward. All are welcome.

10/22/2026

🎉 You're invited to our 180th anniversary celebration! 🎉

First Congregational Church of Belding is turning 180! We started in 1846 as the Christian Church of Otisco and have been a Congregational church since 1892. For 180 years, this community has gathered here to worship, serve, and care for one another.

Join us this Sunday, October 25, at 10:30am for a special anniversary worship service, with a potluck lunch right after. Bring a dish to share if you can, but please come either way. There will be plenty of food and good company.

📍 First Congregational Church of Belding, 301 West Washington St, Belding

Everyone is welcome, whether you've been here for decades, used to attend, or have never walked through our doors. Come celebrate with us!

10/21/2026

This is a reminder that the Bible study will begin tonight at 6:00 PM. I hope to see you there!

10/19/2026

Rome promised peace and security. Coins carried the slogan. Monuments celebrated it. Augustus built an altar to it. The Pax Romana felt true for people inside the walls. Roads were safer. Trade moved. Wars were kept farther away. Order held.
That order was enforced. Legions kept it. Taxes funded it. Resistance was crushed by crucifixion and other public violence. Client rulers and local elites stayed loyal because the arrangement worked for them. Tacitus later put the counter view in the mouth of a British leader: they make a desolation and call it peace. Paul quotes the empire’s own advertising to a church in a free city that owed its freedom to Rome. He calls the promise a fatal lie. Sudden destruction comes when people trust it most. He hands them no sword. He gives faith, love, and the hope of salvation. The armor is only for withstanding, not for striking.
We are closer to the people the pax worked for than to the ones it crushed. Our versions of the slogan still sell. Stronger borders. Safer neighborhoods. Bigger economies. Order at any cost. They feel true when the arrangement is working for us.
The kingdom of God does not arrive that way. It does not enforce peace by force or by making a desolation and calling it peace. It feeds the hungry, welcomes the stranger, and calls the comfortable to loosen their grip so more people can stand inside. Its ethics run against every empire’s logic of loyalty, exclusion, and control. No empire has ever been a Christian nation. The kingdom of God is not tied to any tongue, tribe, or nation. Christian nationalism forgets this. It baptizes the power that already exists and calls the result the kingdom. That move has always protected the people already secured and left the rest outside the walls.
Which peace are we actually trusting? The one Rome sold, or the one Jesus brings?

10/19/2026

Pastor Paul will be sharing his story at Trinity United Methodist Church of Grand Rapids, MI tomorrow evening in Grand Rapids.

Address

301 W Washington Street
Belding, MI
48809

Opening Hours

10:30am - 11:45am

Telephone

+16167942610

Website

http://www.fccbelding.com/

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