About Us
THREE FOUNDATIONS
FAITH
Faith serves as the cornerstone of congregational churches, providing believers with a spiritual foundation and guiding their worship practices and beliefs.
FREEDOM
Freedom within the congregational church allows for autonomy in governance, worship styles, and theological interpretations, empowering congregants to express their faith authentically.
FELLOWSHIP
Fellowship fosters a sense of community and support among all congregants, nurturing relationships that strengthen individuals' faith journeys and enrich the communal worship experience.
Our
Story
With a strong tradition of conviction, autonomy, and community, Pilgrim Congregational Church celebrates a historic presence in the Green Bay area dating back to 1836. At that time, five individuals traveled from Mackinac Island to Green Bay sensing a call from God to create Christian community here. Over the next several decades, this group of resolved people lived out their faith through advocacy and works of justice. Green Bay was a final stop on the Underground Railroad before Canada, and the local Congregational Church served as a station, a safe haven for people escaping slavery. Around the turn of the century, a time when alcoholism was rampant amongst American men, women suffered the effects of patriarchal culture, unable to get divorce, own land, or be employable outside of their homes. Green Bay’s Congregational church members participated in protests during the temperance movement, hoping to create more just and healthy families.
In 1929, the Union Congregational Church building was constructed west of St. James Park in downtown Green Bay. After voting to join the United Church of Christ denomination in 1964, a band of dissenters from that church fellowship felt called to continue the Congregational Way of faith, freedom, and fellowship that requires local churches to remain autonomous in order to follow the Spirit’s unique leading for particular contexts. Joining a denomination would thwart the local church’s ability to adjust constitutionally, doctrinally, and practically, and these freethinking people followed their conviction as they believed the Spirit was leading them. Forty-two people gathered in the basement of Harold and Bertha Fuller’s home, where they voted to create a new church community, Pilgrim Congregational Church. After meeting at YWCA for a few years, construction on a new building began in 1968, with a first service held in the sanctuary on April 20, 1969.
Pilgrim Congregational Church continues this legacy of conviction, autonomy, and community in the Green Bay area, located currently at 991 Pilgrim Way in Ashwaubenon. Members of Pilgrim Congregational Church participate in local acts of love and justice, including serving meals at local shelters, advocating for mental health and prison reform, supporting immigrant communities, caring for the sick, and celebrating the dignity of all individuals. You are welcome to join in this legacy and become part of God’s redemptive story as it unfolds here at Pilgrim Congregational Church.