Congregational Church of La Jolla

Specialties

At the Congregational Church of La Jolla, God isn’t just a word, and Jesus Christ isn’t a set of rules by which we judge others. God is a loving presence in our lives, and Jesus Christ — through he Holy Spirit — tranforms us into a family which cares for its members and reaches out to the world. Though we cherish our traditional architecture and worship, we are also an open-​minded congregatation. Witht he rest of the United Church of Christ, we value diversity, and decry discrimination in all its forms. We are an open and affirming church.

History

Established in 1889.

The Congregational Church of La Jolla was gathered in August 1889 when the first worship service was conducted in the small beach resort of La Jolla, California. The congregation originally consisted of Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists. In 1897 the church was incorporated as the Union Congregational Church — the legal name still used by the church.

After the Presbyterians and Episcopalians formed their own churches, the small Congregational Church constructed its current building at the corner of Cave Street and Ivanhoe Avenue in 1916.

The church has enjoyed remarkable stability in its pastorates, and has generally found itself in the mainstream of what has been traditionally known as the Congregational Way. In 1931, our church entered the union of the Congregational Churches with the Christian Connection, forming the Congregational Christian Churches. Then in 1957, our congregation voted to enter yet another union — this time that of the Congregational Christian

Meet the Manager

Sam G.

Manager

Sam Greening, a native of Kentucky, has been serving as pastor of the Congregational Church of La Jolla since 2005. He received a B.A. from the University of Louisville, and an M.Div. from Drew University (Madison, NJ). Before settling in California, Sam served churches elsewhere in the United States as well as in Germany, Colombia, and Puerto Rico.