Designated Term Pastor (DTP)

In 2027 First Congregational Church, North Adams will celebrate its bicentennial. Although steeped in our history and tradition, we at FCCNA are more widely recognized for our abundant welcoming spirit. Our worship gives voice to all. Those present in the sanctuary, new members zooming in from the Midwest, and absent snowbirds worship and chat together each Sunday via our innovative, hybrid services. Although our once-thriving mill town has declined economically, North Adams is a charming and inventive city, nestled among beautiful mountains, and anchored by a world-class contemporary art museum and a small, public, and affordable liberal arts college. Our congregation, largely composed of retired professionals (medicine, education/academics, finance, social services, industry), values mission. In 2023, we succeeded in quadrupling our own resources through strategic fundraising campaigns to alleviate local hunger, provide Syrian relief, and mount a Juneteenth street fair to celebrate our neighbors of color. Since 1987, Berkshire Food Project has operated out of our fellowship hall, serving a total of 85,385 meals in 2023. Our music director organizes choral concerts 2–3 times a year, which draw their audiences from the community and whose freewill offerings benefit local social service agencies. Music is also central to our worship services, which tend toward the traditional. Periodic potlucks, women’s gatherings, mission activities, book discussion Updated 1/2022 groups, and after-church coffee time unite us in fellowship. To sustain our life as a congregation—our central intention—we sold our 10 Tiffany windows and an auxiliary building in 2018. In the future we seek to create a worship model that fully reflects our abundant spirit and offers flexibility to pastor and congregation alike; realize the potential of our historic property; strengthen our community outreach; and offer a space where all comers can feed their spiritual needs and curiosities.