THE CENTER OF OUR COMMUNITY
First Congregational Church UCC Hartland is located in downtown Hartland, in the heart of beautiful Lake County. We have been at the center of the community since our founding as the first church in 1842 and remain as vital and active in our community as ever. Our carillon rings out over the community several times daily, as do our good works.
OUR HISTORY
First Congregational Church UCC Hartland was organized in 1842 and has been sited on the corner of Church Street and East Capitol Drive in the heart of Hartland since 1856. The building we worship in today was dedicated in 1924 with additions in 1953 and 1986 and is on the National Historic Register. A Waukesha County Historical Society Marker notes our long history in the community.
Our pipe organ has provided musical accompaniment to worship services since 1927 and we still have the melodeon (circa 1853) that was carried across the Watertown Plank Road and back to Hartland founder Stephen Warren’s home each Sunday. Learn more of our long history of shaping our community and making the world a better place here. (Hartland’s First Church Est. 1842)
AS A FAMILY OF FAITH, WE BELIEVE
- Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer.
- Everyone is a child of God, unconditionally loved and accepted.
- As an Open and Affirming church, we welcome all. We affirm diversity and celebrate unity.
- As a body of Christ, we are a church family bound in covenant and relationship.
- The good news of salvation is revealed to us through all who have been inspired by God.
- God calls us to discipleship and service. Membership in this church is based on belief in Jesus Christ, an earnest desire to live a Christian life, a pledge of loyalty to Christ and to cooperate with other members to participate in the wider mission and to minister to our elderly and infirmed.
- We believe God is still speaking today and calling us to new ministries of justice, peace and compassion.
An Active Church Council
Our Staff
Pastor James A. Langreder
Jim grew up in the community, attending Kettle Moraine High School. He has attended churches in the area since he was a child, always feeling the presence of God in his life. He has served a number of different churches in our community since his youth, doing everything from leading music programs and teaching Sunday School to being a youth minister and choir director.
Jim was a music buyer and store manager at the Giving Tree Christian Book Store from 1993 until 2003. He has owned his own business since 2003. His company, Little Prince Home Services, provides home cleaning, shopping and decorating services to residences throughout Lake Country and our communities.
For nearly twenty years Jim has served Emmanuel UCC in Dousman in a variety of roles including youth minister, Sunday school teacher, music minister, choir director and pulpit supply.
Jim's pastoral training includes a variety of courses in faith formation, pastoral care, leadership skills, history and polity, ministering to LGBTQ youth, boundary and racial justice training, leading congregations through transitions, all through the Damascus Project of the Wisconsin and Minnesota conferences of the United Church of Christ's learning module for members in discernment on their path to ordination. Jim served his chaplain internship Lakeland Hospital in Elkhorn as well as Burlington Memorial Hospital. In 2022 he served the First Congregational Church of East Troy as a member in discernment with the SE Association and as a licensed minister of the Wisconsin Conference of the UCC. He also serves as the vice-moderator for the SE Association of Wisconsin.
Today Jim lives in Delafield with his husband Alex, the owner of ElleBelle Salon in Wales. Jim and Alex have three adopted children and are advocates for foster care. In their free time, his family enjoys biking, enjoying nature, taking family vacations and spending time with friends and loved ones.
Jim's approach to ministry is simple. "We build community by building relationships. Jesus was all about sharing meals and talking with people, really getting to know them. My hope is that any church I serve becomes a beacon of hope, love and light within its community."
Peace and Love!
Jim Langreder
262-309-5086
The Waukesha Freeman ran a nice article interviewing Pastor Jim shortly after he joined our congregation. Learn more here.
RUTH HANSEN, OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Ruth has enjoyed serving as the part-time office administrator at First Congregational Church UCC Hartland since 2012. She is also the part-time Pastor at Salem UCC in Wayne. Ruth lives in Hartland with her husband Carl, their young adult son, and two cats. Their daughter lives in Japan, teaching English to elementary school children.
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
The United Church of Christ is a mainline progressive Protestant denomination with over 1.4 million members and 600 churches. Our roots are in the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. These two denominations merged in 1957 to become the United Church of Christ. Our Heritage includes the Pilgrims, abolitionists, settlement houses and shelter, liberal arts colleges, hospitals and facilities for the elderly and children, and civil rights leaders.
We affirm diversity and celebrate unity. We believe God is still speaking today and calling us to new ministries of justice, peace and compassion.