This summer, we’re collecting 100 bottles of maple syrup for Reading’s St. Vincent de Paul summer meals program to assist families struggling with food insecurity here in Reading.
In July, as sales begin for school supplies, you’ll hear from Mission Ministry about our annual summer collection for school kits for Church World Service.
In August, we’ll be serving our homeless and unhoused neighbors on Boston Common with Common Cathedral.
Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/churchofreading.
To learn more about First Church or these mission projects reach out to office@churchofreading.org.…
Once again, the Mission Ministry will celebrate the arrival of the Christmas season with collections for vital local charities. We will continue to update this page as more details become available. You will find all the latest updates here.
Now until Sunday, January 4th: Used coat collection
We are once again a collection point for the Anton’s Coats for Kids drive. Please drop off gently used coats for kids and adults in the box near the Chapel. The last drop off is Sunday, Jan 4, noon. Any winter coat in good condition (no rips, stains, broken zippers) is welcome, especially plus sizes. Each fall, Anton’s Cleaners collects, cleans and distributes approximately 50,000 coats for children and adults. Nearly 90 social service agencies make sure that the coats get to those in need, free of charge. Since the program’s inception in 1995, Anton’s have collected and distributed over one million coats.
More info at https://antons.com/cfk/about-us/
November 30 – December 7: Coat Boston and The Holiday Shop
Coat Boston and The Holiday Shop are charitable giving programs based on the belief that everyone deserves to have a warm coat during the winter – especially the youngest and most vulnerable in the community. Last year we supported their mission by providing 35 coats, 2 bags of hats, and one bag of toys.
We are looking to support their wish list again this year:
- Coats – New winter coats for children size 6 moths and above, to teen and adult sizes XXXL.
- Winter Accessories – New winter accessories – hats, mittens, and gloves in child to adult sizes. (If you also buy a coat, consider coordinating.)
- Toys – New toys, action figures and ethnic dolls, ages infant through middle school
- Gifts for Children and Teens – New books, art supplies, and games, ages pre-school through high school
- Sports Equipment – New sporting equipment, all ages, soccer balls are in demand
- Gift Cards – Gift cards from vendors such as Amazon, Target, and Stop & Shop in any denomination
For the coats, you may purchase and donate a new coat, for infants through adults. Or you may contribute cash, Kohl’s cash, or gift cards to our Mission Ministry, and we will purchase the coats with the combined funds. The Mission Ministry is also donating benevolence funds to buy new coats.
Coat Boston also has an Amazon Wish List of coats, from infants to teens and adults, which you can access by clicking here. Or you can visit www.coatboston.org under “Donate” which has links to the Amazon wish list. If you purchase from the wish list, the coats will be delivered directly to Coat Boston. This is available through November 24, 2025.
Please contact Linda or the church office with any additional ideas or questions about this important drive.
For additional information you can visit their website www.coatboston.org.
December 14 – Toiletries for Emmaus House
more info coming soon!
December 21 – Food and household products for the Reading Food Pantry
more info coming soon!…
We are opening our doors to the community during the Reading Tree Lighting festivities to be held on November 30th. Visitors will be greeted with a cup of hot cocoa and a small bag of homemade cookies. The town activities run from 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM, with Santa turning on the Christmas lights at Reading Common at 4:30. The event is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season!
In addition to treats, our guests may enjoy a production of “A Christmas Carol” provided by Creative Arts. Shows will be held in our sanctuary at both 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM.
For a successful event, once again we need our FCCR Christmas elves to bake, set up, serve cocoa, clean up, and so forth. Please use the link below to sign up to bake and/or assist for an hour or so during the event. Baked goods may be delivered to the church kitchen any time on November 30th before 1:00 PM. Our hospitality is always greatly appreciated by those seeking a toasty beverage and place to get warm on this first Sunday of advent.
Reach out to Cindy or the church office with questions. Thank you!! …
Reach out to the church office at office@churchofreading.org or 781-944-0205 to learn more.…
Food Insecurity has been in the news and at the top of our minds, so the timing of our November Food Drive couldn’t be better.
There are black shopping bags in the corner of the sanctuary, and shopping lists in your bulletin. These items are what the Reading and Lawrence food pantries have designated as most needed items. You can shop for the items on the list or purchase other nonperishables that are on sale to get the most for your money.
Suggestions:
- Shelf Stable Milk (e.g. Parmalat)
- Canned Beans (all kinds, not baked)
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit (no sugar added)
- Peanut Butter
- Tuna
- Canned Ham & Chicken
- Soups (low sodium)
- Pasta Sauce
- Laundry Detergent
- Tissues
- Instant Coffee
- Canned Potatoes
- Canned Pasta
The Food Pantries have asked that you don’t bring items in glass jars, but there are usually plenty of options in cans, plastics, or bottles.
Please fill a bag and bring it to the church by November 23rd when we will also be presenting a check to Simone Payment from the Reading Food Pantry. Thank you in advance!…
Our second all church read is “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” by John Koenig. Get the book and read it – discussion after church on November 16th!
Once again, the Mission Ministry will celebrate the arrival of the Christmas season with collections for vital local charities.
This year our first recipient will be the Coat and Holiday Shop, which benefits Greater Boston communities.
Subsequent collections will be the gathering of toiletries for Emmaus House, Inc., and of food and household items for the Reading Food Pantry. The main collection box will sit just inside the church Sanctuary.
Our collection schedule is as follows:
- November 30 – December 7 – NEW coats for the Holiday Shop, winter accessories, toys, gifts for children and teens, sports equipment, and gift cards.
- December 14 – Toiletries for Emmaus House
- December 21 – Food and household products for the Reading Food Pantry
- From now until Sunday, January 4th – we are also collecting gently used adults’ and children’s coats for Anton’s Coats for Kids & Families project. The box for Anton’s coats will be outside the Chapel.
More specific details on the later collections will be posted closer to the dates. Thank you in advance for your participation and generosity in this holiday season!
After Church on November 23
Mark your calendars! Let’s give thanks together! 🦃🍽️
We are so excited to gather as a church family for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner!
Join us immediately following the worship service on Sunday, November 23rd, for food, fellowship, and celebration. It’s the perfect way to kick off the holiday season with your church community.
More details will be coming soon, but for now, please save this date! We can’t wait to see you there!
Dear Church,
“Pace e Bene!” Peace and good things! St Francis greeted everyone with this phrase, and today you can see it all over Assisi, his home. I just returned from a pilgrimage to Assisi where I spent a little over a week with 13 other clergywomen studying, discussing, and visiting the places and stories of St Francis and St Clare. I will share more about this trip during a presentation after church one Sunday (probably in January after the holidays). I’m still processing so much of this trip, and the depth of learning I experienced.
What I find most compelling about pilgrimage is the idea that for hundreds of years, millions of faithful people have physically walked the same steps. Pilgrimage is an embodied spiritual discipline where we physically visit and lay eyes on the material things associated with the Holy. For medieval pilgrims, the goal was to visit a specific place (the basilica de Santiago in Spain, where the remains of St. James are buried, or Jerusalem itself) to receive pardon for themselves or a loved one so that they would enter heaven and not suffer in purgatory. I may not hold the same theology as these medieval pilgrims, or even the pilgrims that I share the space with today. What I learned through this experience was that the practice (or “spiritual discipline”) of going on pilgrimage flexes the powerful muscle of imagination. It’s not an easy discipline (with all the change after centuries have passed and the modern world around us) but in each location, I found myself activating my imagination to summon up images of what these places looked like in the 13th century. For example, I could envision St Clare walking down the road outside our hostel, leaving her family and expectations of marriage, filled with devotion and conviction to follow a life of poverty like Francis. This took the books I read and turned historical fact into lived reality (a humbling experience).
The most challenging place we practiced this spiritual discipline was outside a teeny-tiny stone chapel without any windows off the side of a highway (and really, in the backyard of someone’s modern house and garden). Somehow, this little stone church continued to stand for nearly a millennia — throughout wars, industrialization, and modernization. There, under an overpass, we were invited to imagine a medieval Lepersarium: a whole complex of buildings and community for the lepers outside of the city of Assisi. Here, regardless of whether you were born into nobility or poverty, all were rendered equal by leprosy. While they lived outside the city, they were not alone; loved ones would visit and bring food, and Francis and his brothers would care for them. They would have said mass in this …
This Sunday! October 26, 10am
Get Ready for a “Fully Alive” Worship Celebration!
This week is a Sunday you won’t want to miss!
Join us on Sunday, October 26th, at 10 am for our special All Music Sunday. Our sanctuary will be overflowing with sound and spirit featuring our Choir, Orchestra, AND Handbells!
Bring a friend!
This Sunday, October 19
Join Our Sunday Book Discussion: All Are Welcome!
Haven’t finished the book? No problem! We want everyone to feel comfortable joining our discussion this Sunday.
We’ll kick things off by providing a brief synopsis of the reading, so you can jump right into the conversation whether you’ve read every page or none at all.
Immediately following our worship service, grab a coffee and a snack at Fellowship Hour. Then, make your way back to the Sanctuary for the conversation. We’ll start the discussion approximately 15 minutes after worship concludes.
Come share your thoughts, listen to new perspectives, and enjoy some deeper connection with your fellow church members!
