First Congregational United Church of Christ

Sunday, May 27th is Pentecost Sunday, the birth-day of the Christian church. Acts 2: 1-21 tells the story of the Holy Spirit blowing among the gathered disciples causing them to feel, in a radical way, the presence and power of God.
Join guest preacher, Rev. Chris Engstrom, to explore the meaning of this event for us. 
Ya’ll [...]

Sunday, May 20th, join us to celebrate our Sunday School children and youth! They will be singing and playing instruments during worship and having a special treat during Sunday School.
Our guest preacher will be Rev. Chris Engstrom who will lead the conversation about listening for God’s call in our lives. The focus scripture is John [...]

Jesus called himself, The Vine, and his disciples, the branches. The vine is no Tree of Life with dense bark, a thick trunk and branches. Nope, Jesus’ kind of Vine is all branches and fruit.
Sunday’s focus gospel is John 15: 9-17 where Jesus tells his disciples they essentially have been promoted from servants to friends. [...]

In Sunday’s focus scripture, Acts 8:29-40, Philip the Evangelist from Acts 6 has an interesting encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch. A eunuch was a castrated male who was deemed ‘safe’ to serve women. This un-named man held a high ranking and trusted position as treasurer to an Ethiopian queen. Philip senses the Spirit’s directions and follows, [...]

Sunday’s focus scripture, John 10: 11-18, uses the metaphor for Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In the ancient Near East there was no one more present with a flock of sheep than the shepherd. For families who depend on sheep for their livelihoods, the shepherd’s total commitment to the sheep kept many people thriving. Without the shepherd [...]

Isn’t it just like Jesus to show up at meal times? He’s always invited, tho … Jesus isn’t revealed in lightening bolts or cloud arrangements. No, just set out a simple meal, say, fish and chips, and the Risen One will show up.
In Sunday’s focus scripture Luke 24: 36b-48, Jesus shares the ancient Near Eastern [...]

Easter in the church is the high holy day 2nd only to Christmas. Church attendance is high because we all want to hear the news that Christ is risen. We want assurance of life after death and that injustice can’t kill God. But resurrection isn’t just a one time event and it’s not just that [...]

Join us on April 5th, Maundy Thursday, at 7:00 p.m. as we recall the story of Jesus’ last meal, betrayal, and death. The choir will sing, we’ll share communion, and several people will tell this remarkable story of great love, care, and betrayal.

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On Saturday, April 7th, join us anytime from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary to walk [...]

Palm Sunday takes us through a wide range of experienced emotions – from joy & friendship to betrayal & denial. We will continue the theme of ‘ journey’ into the last days of Jesus from the gospel according to Mark 11: 1-11, 14:1-15:47 with “Storytelling in Eight Movements.” 
Join us for this interactive liturgy, scripture, song, and prayer on Sunday, [...]

In Sunday’s focus scripture, Jeremiah 31: 31-34, we read some words of hope from the ‘gloom & doom’ prophet. Jeremiah was known as a bit of a curmudgeon – his Hebrew nickname meant “death and destruction.” But that could happen to anyone who was unpopular because he was trying to warn people about being defeated [...]