Our roots run deep in the Hiram community, as the church was created in 1835.

Since the beginning, the congregation has embraced a spirit of inclusivity, neighborliness, Justice, and a faithful courage to follow God's calling. Within the life of this church, the community has encouraged individuals to grow in faithfulness and discover meaning and fullness as they follow the way of Christ. And, within the life of this church, the Spirit has led the people to give birth to movements and bodies serving the community (Hiram Farm and Little Village Early Learning Center) and world (Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, which became Hiram College). This is a church that honors the creative and compassionate Spirit of God, and seeks to move with it to join in Christ's ministry of healing, mending, and reconciliation of our world. 

You are welcome to join and participate in the work and life of the Church. Bring your faithfulness, your imagination, your being into the congregation and let's be the Church together. 

At Hiram, we understand that every person is a beloved Child of God and one who belongs to the community. To honor this, we proclaim that each and every person is welcome in the Church: "whoever you are and wherever you are on Life's most Holy journey, you are welcome here." This means that we welcome each person to share their gifts of ministry: all ages, races, sexualities, classes, abilities, etc - everyone has gifts to share and beauty to bring into being, and we welcome and honor it all. Finally, we honor this conviction by welcoming everyone to celebrate the Lord's Supper and receive of the bread and cup. The sacrament of communion is one that we celebrate each week in worship; it is an invitation to remember who Christ is and to remember who we are - loved, called, and made in the image of God. 

Within the community, we welcome and make room for faithful interpretation and conviction of all of God's children. There are no creeds or doctrines required for belonging; there are no particular ways of reading scripture that one must adopt to be a part of this community. Our denomination emerged with a common call, "No Creed but Christ," which was a way of reminding the Church that we can find unity without uniformity. Each person is given the freedom to read, discern, and interpret scripture for her/himself and to honor their life and faith experiences. AND, each person is tasked with the responsibility to listen to the other, hear the other, and honor the other as a sister/brother with all of our differences. Faith is made stronger with generous conversation; community is made stronger in diversity; we are each made better when in relationship with sisters and brothers. 

Here at Hiram Christian Church, we understand that along with the gift of belonging in this world and community, we are called and invited to participate in Christ's ministry of healing, mending, and reconciling the world. This has led individuals in our storied congregation to Love their neighbors in expansive ways, to forgive and extend Grace in this world, and to work for Justice for the poor and vulnerable. This has led the congregation to engage in the generative work of creating organizations that bring goodness into the world: it led the early congregation to give birth to the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, which became Hiram College in 1850. More recently, it has led the body to begin the Hiram Farm and the Little Village Early Learning Center, bringing caring communities together. In each of these endeavors, the individual, the community, and the world become more whole and alive.