The Fryeburg New Church is actually not so new! We’ve been an active part of the Fryeburg community for well over 100 years. We are part of the Church of the New Jerusalem, a denomination which has been in existence for nearly 300 years. Johnny Appleseed, Helen Keller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and many others have been readers of Emanuel Swedenborg, the 18th Century scientist and philosopher whose teachings, along with the Bible, form the basis of our Church.

1. The Divinity of the Lord
2. The Sacredness of the Word
3. The Life of Faith and Charity

We are a Bible-based, Christian community church, worshipping and following the teachings of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We approach God in the Divine-Human presentation of Jesus Christ, believing that the Christian Trinity of The Father (Creator), the Son (Redeemer), and the Holy Spirit (Sustainer) are all essentials of one Divine Being. That Being is Love and Wisdom united in Spirit. A person, created in the image and likeness of God, is emotion and thought in action: a spiritual being living in a material world.

We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God. While it was “written” (originally transmitted orally) by human beings, what is written has divinely inspired meaning for all people for all time. The writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and others are sources of help and guidance, but the Bible is the foundation and container of our faith and teachings.

It is true as a historical record of a people in relation to the One God: this is the literal level of meaning. It is also true as a symbolic portrayal of the spiritual development of human beings in relation to their God, and this is the spiritual level.

While there is great value in the literal level of Scripture, particularly the teachings of Jesus and the lessons of the Old Testament, there is to be found within the spiritual level and infinite wealth of guidance and inspiration for our development as spiritual beings living in covenant with God.

For example, stones, swords, water and wine correspond to different kinds of knowledge, truth and wisdom; wood, fire, and bread represent different kinds of emotions, passions and love; and the travels and wars of the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land correspond to our own changes and inner struggles as we grow and develop toward that spiritual state where God is the center of our being.

   “What ye have done for the least of these my brethren, you have done for me . .” Matthew 25:40

If you are looking for a spiritual home, please come and join us for worship, or call and visit with the pastor. Decide for yourself if the New Church is right for you.

This symbol was originally developed in the late 1960s by Project Link, a team ministry in Bellevue, Washington, started by Revs. Calvin Turley, Owen Turley, and David Johnson. It was later adopted as an emblem by General Convention as a whole. The four squares represent the diversity of humanity and the four corners of the earth, individual yet linked and connected to each other; the cross, the traditional Christian symbol, is at the center; and the circle representing the oneness of God connecting and uniting all of the different elements of life and religion.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
       Serve the Lord with gladness:
come before his presence with singing.
       Know ye that the Lord he is God:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
       Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise: be thankful
unto him, and bless his name.
       For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting,
and his truth endureth to all generations.
        - Psalm 100