HISTORY
“Billings First Church” is more than a nickname. As Billings’ mother church, we have endured for over 140 years. From the frontier days to the Great Depression to the Civil Rights era, our church has changed and evolved in many ways. However, one constant remains: throughout history—in moments of compassion, justice, and peace, in our worship, sacraments, prayer, seeking, action, and silence—God continues to speak.
“Who’d Want to Live in a Town Without a Church?”
The land where the city of Billings stands has long been the home to Indigenous peoples, including the Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Lakota Nakota Sioux, and Blackfeet. The land was alkali flats when it was part of the Montana Territory in the late 1800s. This was the era when white settlers colonized the land and the government forced Native peoples onto reservations. When the railroad was built through the valley in 1882, the city of Billings was founded by settlers eager to make their fortunes in the West.
The railroads made travel to Montana Territory easier, prompting the American Home Missionary Society to send out ministers to plant Congregational churches. One of these ministers, Benjamin F. Shuart—previously stationed in Minnesota—was sent to the “tent city” of Billings. Despite warnings that the rough-and-tumble railroad town was no place for organized religion, he found enough people to start a church. This was the first faith community in Billings, and the second Congregational church in the state.
Shuart only remained the church’s minister for a short time before resigning for health reasons and pursuing other ventures in the Billings area. However, the small frontier church he founded found its footing, and many other ministers would serve the church over the years.
“A House of God, for the People”
The townsite company donated the church several city lots on the far north edge of Billings. Though a wooden building was built, it was quickly replaced by a brick edifice. The brick church, finished in 1883, was funded by Frederick Billings—a railroad magnate and the city’s namesake—thanks to the generosity of Julia, his wife. Built of locally fired brick, this church was a Billings landmark for many decades as the city grew around it. The original wooden building became the parsonage until a bigger foursquare-plan house replaced it in 1914.
From its earliest days, the Congregational Church was a place for the whole community. The little brick church hosted not only church services, but also ice cream socials, concerts, theatrical performances, weddings, and funerals. The Episcopalian, Methodist, and Catholic denominations held services in the building before formally organizing on their own. The Congregational Church grew to include choirs, a busy Ladies’ Aid, and thriving Sunday School programs. During the Spanish Flu, the church even served as a makeshift hospital.
By the 1920s, the church was bursting at the seams, and the congregation dreamed of rebuilding on a grander scale. They began by building a “Parish House” wing, completed in 1928. New meeting rooms and an upstairs fellowship hall created more space for Sunday School, scout troops, and YMCA programming. For the first time, the church had bathrooms and kitchen facilities. The church’s next goal was the rebuilding of the old 1883 church. However, when the country was rocked by the Great Depression, the church was forced to delay its plans.
After World War II, church membership grew by leaps and bounds. The Sunday School was overwhelmed by children of the Baby Boom, even as the old building continued to deteriorate. Under the pastorate of Rev. T. F. Rutledge Beale, the church began an ambitious building program. An Education Wing with ample classroom space was built along the alley in 1951.
Finally, in 1957, the old brick church was replaced by a larger modern edifice, built to accommodate the church’s various worship services, women’s circles, social groups, and choirs. The original 1889 bell was reinstalled in a new tower, a symbol of the church’s legacy. The church campus was completed in the 1960s, when the parsonage was moved to the far West End. In its place, the church created Shuart Memorial Park, a rare green space in an urbanized downtown.
A Just World for All
For our church, living the faith has always been an act of community. We chartered Boy Scout Troop 2, now the oldest troop in Montana, in 1916. Our work to help refugees over the years included the resettlement of 9 families from Europe around 1950. In 1969, the church was a founding co-sponsor of the Community Day Care, which provided childcare to working and student parents for 40 years. The church incubated the city’s first Meals on Wheels program in 1971, and in 1979, the south lawn was converted to a bus stop hub. We are proud of the role we played in the Not in Our Town movement, combating antisemitism in Billings. In current times, we are grateful to be in relation with organizations like the Native American Development Corporation, Lutheran Family Service Rocky Mountains, and United Campus Ministry.
Our Billings sister church, Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, was founded in 1960. The tie between our churches is embodied in Mayflower’s bell tower—the steeple from our 1883 building. Members from both churches serve on the board for two affordable housing complexes, the churches cooperatively established: Big Sky Apartments and Prairie Tower.
In 1998, First Congregational adopted an Open and Affirming covenant, committing to welcome and support LGBTQ+ members. We are also a WISE congregation for mental health, seeking to become more welcoming, inclusive, supportive, and engaged with all of God’s people.
The Church United
Billings First Congregational Church is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC), formed in 1957. We are the oldest congregation in the UCC’s Montana–Northern Wyoming Conference. The UCC was formed by a merger of the Congregational Christian Churches, our prior denomination, with the Evangelical & Reformed Church and the Afro-Christian Convention. We are honored to be part of a denomination with this rich diversity of heritage and tradition.
Sources
Directory of the First Congregational Church, Billings, Montana. 1916–1917. 1916.
First Congregational United Church of Christ: Our First 100 Years. 1982.
“First Congregational United Church of Christ (Billings, Montana).” Wikipedia.
Trails Revisited: The Story of the Montana–Northern Wyoming Conference, United Church of Christ. Small, Lawrence F., 1998.