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There are very few things in this country that are 375 years old, and Stamfords First Congregational Church is one of them. The original charter of this church was granted to a group in Wethersfield in 1635, says the Rev. Cari Jackson, senior pastor.
Six years after that a group seeking to expand and enlarge the membership took the charter and moved the church to Stamford.
The 100-year-old current church at 1 Walton Place is the sixth building in the congregations long history. The fifth was located at the site of the current Veterans Park, where there is a plaque listing the names of the churchs six founders.
Jackson says the First Congregational Church has a long history of openness and welcoming. In 1981, the church started the first homeless shelter in Stamford, and we celebrate National Homeless Person Memorial Day in December every year at Veterans Park.
Jackson is testament to the open and inviting atmosphere at First Congregational. She is not only the churchs first woman pastor, she is also the first minister of color.
A native of Baltimore, Jackson joined First Congregational in 2009 after serving as minister of a Presbyterian church in Brooklyn Heights.
"Being a city girl, I didn't know what to expect in Connecticut. But I couldn't be happier with everything about Stamford and Connecticut," she says.
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