"Since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church."

(I Corinthians 14:12)

          This is the advice given by Paul to one of the churches that he helped to establish.  That small group that founded the Rockwood First Congregational Church in the 1880s was certainly eager to cultivate and grow their spiritual gifts, and the history of the church has shown that the body of Christ has indeed been built up through their sharing of those gifts with one another and the community.

            As with any attempt to build, there first has to be laid a solid, steady, and firm foundation.  Those who came together to organize the Rockwood First Congregational Church were committed to the Congregational Way, a type of church government and life that emphasizes the liberty of conscience of the individual believer and the autonomy or self-governance of the local church, directed in matters of policy and theology only by prayerful discernment and democratic vote of its members.  Based on the principles of “faith, freedom, and fellowship,” the heritage of the Congregational Way goes back to England, where Christians seeking to “purify” the Church of England and purge it of its strict, discriminatory, and non-scriptural mandates on congregations and clergy were forced to ultimately break away from that body.  The history of the Congregational Way is rooted in the basic tenets of classical Protestant Christianity, such as a Trinitarian concept of God, a high view of scripture, and the practice of two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  In two large groups, one that separated immediately and another that remained connected to the Church of England even upon migration to the “New World” of North America, these “Puritans” as they were labeled sought to follow the call of God on their lives and congregations as they best understood it from the reading, study, and prayerful discussion of scripture.  The separating group, sailing on The Mayflower and arriving in present-day Massachusetts in 1620, created first the Plymouth colony, and the later “non-Separatists,” as they were called, sustained the far more successful Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Believing in the utmost importance of education and the marriage of faith and reason, these Congregationalists, as they were now identified, were instrumental in the origins of both schools of higher learning Harvard and Yale beginning in the 1600’s.

          The church has been built up in structure.  Though certain persons met regularly in the early 1880s in the old schoolhouse in Rockwood, the church was formally established on April 4, 1886, in the home of Emeline Swallow.  As the church felt the need for a meeting house, one was constructed and then dedicated on September 19, 1886.  Due to the need for the installation of new power lines, the Detroit Edison Company purchased the building in 1964.  Income from the sale, along with a grant of six acres of land on Mather Street, secured for the church a new place of worship and the spacious grounds that surround its present location.  Groundbreaking for the Mather Street meeting house took place on November 20, 1966, and dedication was held on December 18, 1967.  The church celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1986 during the leadership of the Rev. Roger Dallwig.

         The church has been built up in ministry.  Throughout its history, the Rockwood First Congregational Church has nurtured several individuals as they have felt the call to serve God through the ordained ministry.  The Rev. Walter Stiles was ordained on April 30, 1967 by the church, as was the Rev. George Marshall on January 26, 1969.  In the 1990s, two members of the church, now Rev. Marilyn Danielson and Rev. Wayne McLeod, were raised up for ministry out of our church community, pursued seminary education, were ordained and now serve Congregational churches in Portland, Michigan, and Toulon, Illinois, respectively.  On May 12, 2002, the Rev. A. Wesley Crocker, who served as minister of the church from 1987 to 1997, was honored with the distinguished title of Pastor Emeritus.

         The church has been built up in its spiritual life.  Under the Rev. Wesley Crocker, the church held healing services that were assisted by member David Marshall, and which continue today on the last Sunday of each month.  Rev. Crocker also introduced the congregation to the Stephen Ministries lay-caregiving program and directed an active nursing home ministry.  The Rev. Robin E. Honaker, who served the church from 1998 to 2000, continued the healing services and also led a workshop to assist members in discovering their spiritual gifts. This emphasis on healing has remained consistently a part of the consciousness of the community, with Rev. Packer again offering healing services on the last Sunday of each month.  A number of new worship experiences have been developed in very recent years.  In 2002, during the pastorate of Rev. Charles A. Packer who has been serving the church since 2001, an observance of the Wise Mens' visit to Bethlehem on Epiphany was begun with members encouraged to bring gifts to the church pursuant to a needs list submitted by each church board.  An evening service on All-Saint's Day has been an opportunity for the congregation to remember those members and friends who departed this life during the previous year.  Rev. Packer has also led a "Celebration of Marriage," including the renewal of vows.  At Thanksgiving, a 17th century period feast followed by a historical worship service is well attended each year.  Recognizing the talents of many in the congregation, dramatic series services have been held during the Lenten Season since 2002.  With the guidance of Paul St. Amour, a youth group flourished during the 1980s and 1990s, sponsoring many statewide and regional retreats at our church over the years.  The youth group still meets today, along with a younger group that has been formed, the Action Crusaders, for those children who are not yet teen-aged.

         The church has been built up in its outreach.  A number of themed fundraising dinners have been successfully held, including the Birthday Dinner, Valentine's Dinner, St. Patrick's Day Luncheon, Souper Bowl Sunday, Father's Day Barbecue, Taste-Fest and Soup and Salad Luncheon, among others.  In addition, a church yard sale takes place yearly, as do a Holiday Craft Sale and Luncheon, Easter Egg Hunt, Christmas Caroling, Cabin Fever Game Night, Dinner and a Movie Night and all night lock-ins and sleepovers for the youth.  The church has opened its doors several times since 1998 to the Rockwood Area Historical Society for concerts of spiritual music.  Walking With The Lord members meet to walk the streets of the local community for fellowship, outreach and health.  Vacation Bible School is held each year in July.  The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts regularly meet in our fellowship hall.  Also, a labyrinth is available on the grounds of the church for walking and reflection.  Our fellowship hall was recently extensively remodeled due to a grant from Rev. Packer's mother, Karen Gilliland Packer, who succumbed to cancer in 2007.  The renovated hall was dedicated in September of 2008 and was named the Karen Gilliland Packer Retreat Center.  Many talented members of our church diligently worked on the renovation of the hall, and it is available for rental to the community.  In addition, due to the generous application of several memorial funds, other improvements were made to the church, including a meditation waterfall garden in the church's foyer.  Mrs. Packer's extensive Christmas village also is on display at the church during the Holiday season.  Guided spiritual retreats are now led quarterly by Rev. Packer and are attended by church members and friends and non-members alike, all benefiting from the enhanced space following the recent projects to upgrade our church building.

          The church continues to be built up in its fellowship.  Its energetic membership, full of ability and ideas, is committed to the Congregational Way of following Christ and being the church in spirit and action.