Welcome to First Church!
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First Church is a vital, vibrant, and exciting family of faith which is open, welcoming, and affirming to all of God’s children!
Our varied ministries of faith, hope, and love are captured on this website. Our church family touches the lives of hundreds of people, both near and far, with healing and hope. Please take a moment to browse our many ministries.
Explore where God calls you to serve, and join us as we travel on the journey of faith together in a loving, caring, compassionate, and supportive community!
Faithfully,
Kate VanDerzee-Glidden
Senior Pastor
Open, Welcoming and Affirming
Whoever you are, you are welcome into the full life of First Church! Our worship, our church family, was not complete until you arrived!
We are an Open, Welcoming and Affirming Church of the United Church of Christ. What does that mean? It means that we celebrate the diversity that makes us all unique and cherished children of God. It means that we believe our community is richer for that diversity. Whether you are gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual or straight, whether you are single or married, whether you are comfortable or struggling economically, whatever your age, race, mental or physical challenges, we invite you to find a spiritual home with us.
The following statement was adopted by our congregation in 1994 and revised and reaffirmed in 2014 to reflect our commitment and our alignment with other United Church of Christ congregations.
Open, Welcoming & Affirming Statement of First Church of Christ, Congregational*
We understand that we are all children of God who are called to be in community. Any person who joins us in membership shall be part of our Church family and shall be invited to share fully in our Church life and ministries.
Our Church seeks to break down the barriers of prejudice, declaring respect for the worth and dignity of all persons who come to our Church family regardless of race, age, marital standing, gender identity or gender expression, economic status, mental or physical challenges, nationality or sexual orientation. With Jesus Christ as our guide, we rely intentionally upon the power of the Holy Spirit to bring us together as a community of justice and love.
As an open, welcoming and affirming Church, we join with our sisters and brothers in the United Church of Christ who are like-minded in this struggle for love and justice.
*Amended at the 2014 Annual Meeting. First Church is a member of the Open and Affirming program of the United Church of Christ.
As an LGBQ friendly church / gay friendly church, our pastors perform same sex marriages.