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
REVEREND DAVE SCHNEPF – 262-201-4033
My hometown is Indianapolis, IN. Deep down I am a Hoosier at heart. I attended the University of Indianapolis where I majored in teaching high school social studies. When I was a senior in high school, I experienced a call to ministry. After undergraduate school, I attended Eden Theological Seminary where I earned my Master of Divinity degree. I was ordained as a minister into the United Church of Christ on June 30, 1985.
While serving my first congregation in Shelbyville, Indiana, I met my wife, Kristi, while attending a wedding reception. The last seat “just happened” to be beside her. We have shared the last 33 years together as a married couple. We have been blessed with three children who are now grown: Abby, married to Patrick; Rachel, who is married to Jeff; and Jacob. Recently we were blessed with two grandsons: Owen and Ashton. Later in my ministry I developed a passion for church growth. So, I attended Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, where I earned my Doctor of Ministry. My doctoral thesis focused on how to enable a mainline congregation to stop a downward spiral and start to grow again. Presently, I have 38 years of experience serving as an ordained pastor. Recently I began to serve as interim minister at First Congregational Church UCC Hartland and First Congregational Church of Genesee UCC. In terms of hobbies, I enjoy a good round of golf, wetting a line at a favorite fishing hole, and working on a piece of wood in my shop.
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.