About Us

History of The Second Congregational Church
Cambridge Historical Society – Summer 2022

OUR MISSION – The Second Congregation Church takes its inspiration from Ezekiel 34:16 “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed. . .”

Oh how easy it is to get lost! With our cell phones and iPads, our 24-hour news cycles, there’s virtually nowhere to go for a moment of peace and quiet. That’s where our Church comes in. We provide a holy place of respite in the tumult of life. So come, put aside the cares of the week and find yourself in the presence of God.

WHO WE ARE – Many Faces, One Faith.

We are an open and affirming church. We affirm that every person has sacred worth as a unique creation made in the image of God. We welcome in a spirit of hospitality all who seek to follow Jesus. As a congregation we invite people of every age, race, ethnicity, national origin, faith background, marital status and family structure, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, mental and physical ability, socioeconomic status, and educational background to share in the life, leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings, and joys of our church family. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.

(802) 644-5533 ~ jeff2cc@myfairpoint.net

It seemed appropriate and delightful to add the following poem, penned by Alice Flagg, a well-respected resident of this town and early member of our first dwelling. It evokes a fitting image of passing time and the enduring spirit of community that took shape here, and that continues to animate our church.

The Old Brick Church at Jeffersonville, by Alice Flagg, circa. 1880

The old church stands where it used to stand
Still whole and sound without,
But a new church stands upon the hill,
Where the Chadwick House burnt out.

Within, the old church has been changed
To meet new needs of time,
And here will be the subject, dear
And purpose of my rhyme.

I seem to see in memory, clear,
The old white double-door
Swing open at my memory’s call
On this terrestrial shore.

I softly tread the broad stairway
With jute rope carpet spread
And upward look at the right-hand hall
To the green baize door ahead.

At the top of the stair, I stop to rest
On the window-ledge, so wide,
And by the light of memory, there,
View Sunday-book inside;

The mended book you may recall,
I read o’er and o’er
About a lad who lived by the sea,
On a rockbound Hampshire shore.

I close the book, and turn again,
To the swinging, green-baize door,
And, entering the familiar place,
Find a treasured scene, before;

There are the seats, remembered well,
Of white and polished brown.
And there, I missed the old friends, dear
Who lived about our town.

Then looking back at the alcove, deep,
I recalled the ones who sang
And the music of the anthem, fine
That through the old church rang;

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come
Let all the world rejoice;”
Or, “Jesus Lover of My Soul”
Or some blest hymn of choice.

There up ahead, the pulpit stood
The white-haired preacher, gone
With many of the folks of town
His blessing rested on.

Walking the silent place, alone
My memory sought old friends
I found them at a Harvest Feast,
And here my story ends.

~ Alice Flagg, circa 1880.

Source: Historical Sketch of the Second Congregational Church by Mrs. M. S. Hawley, 1937