Outdoor Summer Sunday Worship

Let’s enjoy the sunny summer weather together! Join First Congregational Church for Sunday Worship Services on the lawn for the following Sundays at 9AM:

  • July 4th
  • July 25th
  • August 15th
  • September 5th

In case of inclement weather, communication will be sent out before the service.

During the warm summer months, if we are not meeting outside on the lawn, our Sunday Worship Service will be online only, on Zoom and Facebook Live at 10AM.

If you are not on the FCCR mailing list, contact our church office at office@churchofreading.org to get connected!

Not able to meet in person? We’ll livestream at 9 AM and video recording will be posted on both Facebook and www.churchofreading.org/videos by 10 AM

See you there!…

Continue Reading →

Outdoor Prayer Service

Join us out in nature for a brief evening vespers service outdoors. These will not be live streamed, and will include a little bit of music, time to share your joys and concerns, and come together briefly during the week. We also hope to offer these meetings at some fun outdoor locations around town. Outdoor prayer services will meet at the following times:

  • Wednesday June 30th at 7PM – on the church lawn
  • Saturday July 10th at 5PM – on the church lawn
  • Wednesday July 28th at 7PM – Location TBA
  • Saturday August 21st at 5PM – Location TBA

Sign up to attend an outdoor prayer service by filling out the form below. If you have any questions or would like to join our mailing list, please contact our church office by emailing office@churchofreading.org.

See you there!…

Continue Reading →

Our New Pride Flag

We are so excited to share our new pride flag with the community! You can see it waving at you as you walk down Woburn Street. A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible, helped think through the location and installation, and did the work to install it.

Our new pride flag was hung both in celebration of June and to show the community that FCCR is an open and affirming congregation. Did you know in May of 2002, First Congregational Chruch voted to become an open and affirming, or ONA, congregation? In doing do, they commited to explicitly embracing all groups who have at one time or another been shunned or discriminated against by the Christian church, not just those who are gay, lesbian or transgender, but also those with varying ethnicities, economic or social status, physical and emotional abilities, etc. This is the statement that was voted on and approved:

Believing that Christ’s call — “Come unto me” — is unconditional, we, as Christ’s disciples in the First Congregational Church of Reading, United Church of Christ, strive to live out this call to be the Body of Christ. In doing so:

We welcome and embrace all people — people of all races, ethnicities and ages; mental, emotional and physical abilities; gender identities and sexual orientation; economic and social standings, and family and religious traditions. Celebrating the full diversity of God’s creation, we invite all to join us in our worship and to participate in the full life and ministry of this faith community.

Therefore, guided by the Holy Spirit and with God’s grace, we joyously declare this to be an open and affirming congregation, welcoming and providing safe sanctuary to all.

Happy Pride everyone!

Continue Reading →

Ecumenical Pride Worship Service

Sunday June 27th at 10AM, FCCR will be joining together for an online ecumenical worship service with Old South United Methodist Church and Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading to celebrate Pride!

Each church will share a prayer and a story about why LGBTQ+ affirming ministries are important to our mission and ministry.

If you would like to help with this service, please email Rev. Emelia at emelia.attridge@churchofreading.org.

If you’re not on First Congregational Church of Reading’s mailing list and would like to request Zoom access for this service, email our church office at office@churchofreading.org.

See you there!…

Continue Reading →

Trans 201 Workshop with Mordecai from NAGLY

Did you attend Trans 101 with Renee? Do you need a refresher? Confused about gender and pronouns (and want to learn more about being a better ally?)

Mordecai (he/him) is an instructor and volunteer with North Shore Pride and NAGLY, and will be our guest presenter for a workshop and presentation on June 24th at 7PM!

Even though this is called “201” you don’t need to have taken a “101” workshop, but the name implies that this will be a refresher on introductory topics and go more specifically into topics like they/them pronouns, nonbinary or genderfluid, and learning vocabulary that was not necessarily covered in Renee’s workshop a few years ago.

After the presentation, if you have a question about anything, you can submit that anonymously here and Mordecai will do his best to answer it! All questions are welcome in this safe and brave space of learning!

Depending on interest, we may be able to offer in person attendance over the big screen/sound system in the sanctuary for those unable to connect via Zoom. Please email Rev. Emelia at emelia.attridge@churchofreading.org if this would be something you’re interested in!

Fill out the form below to register for this event!

Continue Reading →

In Person Worship: This Summer!

We are so excited to begin offering in person worship services! Join the First Congregational Church of Reading community in our sanctuary, over Zoom, or on Facebook Live Sundays at 10AM.

Any Sunday that the weather will be too hot to gather in the sanctuary, communication will be sent out before the service and worship will commence online only – on Zoom and Facebook Live.

To join our mailing list or the receive information about how to connect on Zoom, contact our church office by emailing office@churchofreading.org.

Masks are required at all times inside the church building.

See you there!…

Continue Reading →

Summer Sunday School

We’re looking forward to summer at First Congregational Church of Reading and have already begun planning for Summer Sunday School Meet-Ups! Families with children ages pre-k through 8th grade are invited to join in person at these events.

Masks are required at all church events.

June 6th at 2:30PM – Tie Dye
Join for an afternoon of tie dying on the church lawn! Bring something to dye and the colors will be provided.

June 13th at 2:30PM – Nature Walk & Scavenger Hunt
Join for a nature walk and scavenger hunt beginning at the Wood End School Parking Lot! Wear comfortable clothes and shoes suitable for walking in the Town Forrest.

July 11th – Water Balloon Bonanza!
Join on the church lawn for games, relay races, and a lot of water balloons! Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that won’t slip.

August 15th – Assembling School Kits for Kids in Need
Join us to assemble school kits for kids in need. More information will be sent out closer to the date.

Don’t receive emails about our Summer School Programs? Want to sign up for any of the above events with you kids? Fill out the form below!

Contact our church office at office@churchofreading.org with any questions!

Continue Reading →