First Congregational Church (Berkshire, New York)

First Congregational Church is an evangelical, historic Congregational church located at Berkshire in Tioga County, New York. The first "Berkshire" Congregational Church was founded in 1803, and continues now in Newark Valley. The whole area now comprising Richford, Berkshire and Newark Valley had comprised only one town, Berkshire, originally. The present-day Berkshire Congregational Church was established in 1833, as a natural outgrowth of the one in Newark Valley.[2]

First Congregational Church
Location12445 State Route 38 (corner of Glen Rd. and Main St.), Berkshire, New York
Coordinates42°18′6″N 76°11′18″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1889
ArchitectPierce & Dockstader
Architectural styleGothic Revival, Queen Anne
MPSBerkshire MRA
NRHP reference No.84003101[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 02, 1984

The church is affiliated with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC), the Greater Hudson Valley Fellowship of the CCCC, and is "in fellowship with all churches which acknowledge Jesus as Christ to be their divine Redeemer and Lord".[3] The church's stated purpose is "to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ (Matthew 28.18-20) locally and globally, drawing non-Christians and the unchurched to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to encourage and edify Christians to become obedient followers of Christ and well-equipped ministers for Him, and to exalt and worship God in all things."

The church building is a Victorian Gothic / Queen Anne style, generally square shaped structure completed in 1889. It is built of brick over a random ashlar rock faced foundation. It features a tall bell tower and asymmetrically gabled roofline. The interior layout is based upon the Akron plan.[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[1]

In June 2012, the church hired Jerry Platz as its new pastor.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. HISTORY of BERKSHIRE, NY FROM OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE -- A MEMORIAL HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK. EDITED BY: LEROY W. KINGMAN. W. A. FERGUSSON & CO. ELMIRA, N. Y., 189?http://history.rays-place.com/ny/berkshire-ny.htm
  3. First Congregational Church webpage "What We Believe" https://sites.google.com/site/berkshirechurch/who-we-are/what-we-believe
  4. "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)" (Searchable database). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2016-08-01. Note: This includes Mary Joan Simmons (December 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: First Congregational Church" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-01.


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