Who are we?

What is the Eliot Church of Newton like?

I remember the first time on entering Eliot – there was a big bearded guy in bib overalls singing loudly, and an old dog who walked up the center aisle and then lay next to his owner’s wheelchair in the front pew. I said to myself, I think this church could work for me. Over time I had the opportunity to become involved in different work at Eliot and hear what others were doing; to see the kids learn and grow in a safe environment, and to see how members cared for each other.

– Patrick O’Reilly, part of Eliot for over 25 years.

Dear Rick,

As a Jewish woman, actively involved at Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, raised on Jewish studies and strong family traditions, I have learned to be very committed to Jewish values, one of the most important is social justice through Tikkun Olam— the repairing of the world.

In my professional work and now in my retirement years, as you know, I have dedicated a good amount of time participating in a lot of interfaith work as a board member and co-chair of our Interfaith Spirituality Committee at Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries.

I have been disheartened with the divisiveness and actual contempt expressed by the present administration led by the most amoral and contemptible president in my lifetime. However, hearing your beautiful and meaningful sermon on Love and the need to integrate the physical and spiritual in our love relationships helped uplift my spirit.

I found some moments during the service to be in prayer and was heart warmed to know that being at Eliot Church offered me that opportunity.
It is moving to me to find that space among you to quietly recite my healing Hebrew prayers for some family and others currently in need.
You as pastor, your church leaders, and verbal welcomes from parishioners helped me to get to that place. It made the interfaith effort that I have enjoyed for many years bear great fruits to be able to find this sacredness among you.

Warmly, Maxine (Lyons)

Building Community

As part of the household of God, we are a caring, strong, and loving family.

WE are an Open and Affirming Congregation, welcoming ALL people.

WE support each other in fellowship, through patience, understanding, and forgiveness.

WE are in covenant with the United Church of Christ and celebrate our partnership with diverse religious and secular organizations.

Growing Faith

From diverse backgrounds, we grow in our relationship to God and each other, through worship experiences and sacraments, prayer, a love of music, exchange of ideas, and pondering the word of God. Our faith is inspired by the teachings of Jesus as found in the Bible, but we honor many traditions and our community includes several interfaith families. We support each other in our spiritual journeys, respecting the different ways in which we experience the sacred.

As believers and seekers, we take the Bible seriously, but not always literally. We hold no rigid formula for faith. We believe that God is still speaking to us, through worship, prayer, fellowship, and the leading of the Spirit.

We value our children and encourage them on their faith journeys.

Living Love

We see all people as beloved children of God. We welcome strangers and take care of people in need. We are committed to serving our community and working for social justice and peace.

We believe that we are all stewards of God’s creation, called to protect and care for the earth that God entrusted to us.

We pray for courage, compassion and wisdom as we live this way.

Eliot's History

Eliot Church continues the Puritan (Congregational) tradition in the United Church of Christ. Thirty-seven neighbors at Angiers Corner first established the church here in 1845. The present building is our fourth structure; we outgrew the original by 1860 and two other structures were destroyed by fires in 1887 and 1956.

The church was named for the puritan minister, Rev. John Eliot, who began his work as an "Apostle to the Indians" nearby.

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We invite you to click on the file below to read a brief history of Rev. John Eliot, missionary, authored by one of our parishioners, R. Mitsein John Eliot: Apostle to the Indians.

Stained glass showing John Eliot as the Apostle to the Indians

As his personal struggle for justice was sometimes controversial, so has been the history of this church. In its 150 years, Eliot membership has fluctuated considerably, sometimes reaching 1000 and other times dipping to 30 or 40 loyalists. Controversies have not been avoided, beginning with the issue of slavery and continuing through the civil rights movement and the debate over the war in Vietnam.

Read more about the history of the UCC church here.