First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles A Voice of Progressive Christianity in the Heart of Los Angeles. It is also home to what is considered to be the second largest church pipe organ in the world.
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With in-person services and events resuming, please take a moment glance through our newsletter, The Meetinghouse, for the latest at First Church: https://bit.ly/3CY5Etn First Church is the oldest continuously operating Protestant congregation in the city of Los Angeles. We are traditional in our style of worship, but progressive and open when it comes to theological perspective. We're committed t

o practicing a faith that honors both the heart and the mind. In other words, all seekers are welcome, including those who might be recovering from a lousy experience with organized religion. We don't pressure people. Nor do we try to "cram religion down anyone's throat." In the true spirit of Jesus, we offer welcome, love and respect. While we take the Bible seriously at First Church, we don't necessarily take it literally. In other words, we try to interpret the scriptures in a way that make sense in our contemporary world.

This Sunday, we'll continue our series Painting the Stars with "Toward Healing the Rift." Dr. Bull will share an Organ P...
09/11/2026

This Sunday, we'll continue our series Painting the Stars with "Toward Healing the Rift." Dr. Bull will share an Organ Prelude Concert featuring music by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Cathedral Choir will sing music by Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter and William Dawson, and Laude will honor poet and novelist Wendell Berry through Michael Conley’s profound choral setting of Berry’s poetry, “The Peace of Wild Things.” Join us online or in-person by visiting www.fccla.org/calendar.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

Our community gives thanks for the life of Wendell Berry, whose writings and work daily inform our own commitments to gr...
09/10/2026

Our community gives thanks for the life of Wendell Berry, whose writings and work daily inform our own commitments to growing and sharing healthy, organic food with our surrounding communities through our Gardens & Urban Farm at the Cathedral. We are grateful for Mary Berry and all our friends at the Center who continue his work. This Sunday, we will honor Wendell Berry through Laude's performance of Michael Conley’s profound choral setting of Berry’s poetry, “The Peace of Wild Things.”

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

photo by Guy Mendes

09/09/2026

On August 30th in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina, we celebrated the music of New Orleans and her rich diverse cultural ecosystem which has birthed the music that defines our country. We explored the theme of "Understanding Community" by leaning in to the authentic voices of our own, with soloists, chamber choir, bell choir, instrumentalists, and large choir calling and responding in open invitation of all of our authentic and impassioned participation.

We give thanks to our Cathedral Choir, Bell Choir led by …, conducted by …, soloists …, Molly…, , pianist …, and our guest saxophone artist

A beautiful night in LA…Join us tomorrow morning for Dr. Bull’s Organ Concert on the Great Organs at 10:30am - followed ...
09/06/2026

A beautiful night in LA…

Join us tomorrow morning for Dr. Bull’s Organ Concert on the Great Organs at 10:30am - followed by the Cathedral Service at 11am. Then, join us for Coffee Hour in the Barnum Room.

Photo by Sandi Cochran

09/03/2026

On Sunday, August 30, Laude performed a beautiful arrangement of Thomas Dorsey's "Precious Lord" by Arnold Sevier, led by Dr. Ianthe Marini. To watch the full performance, visit our YouTube channel .

This Sunday we continue our Another Kind of Freedom series with "Understanding Community." We will be joined by Guest Or...
08/27/2026

This Sunday we continue our Another Kind of Freedom series with "Understanding Community." We will be joined by Guest Organist Emmanuel Duperrey, as well as Dr. Bull as he returns from his leave in Germany. Guest saxophonist Jordan Leicht will be featured throughout the service, including in an arrangement by Katelyn Dietz with solos from Katelyn and Molly, and in a rendition of "Take 5" with the Cathedral Ringers. Laude will sing a Thomas Dorsey piece, and Cathedral Choir will perform "Down By the Riverside," featuring Brandon Harris. Join us online or in-person by visiting www.fccla.org/calendar.

Artwork: "Out Chorus," Romare Bearden, 1980

08/21/2026

We were so fortunate to host the premiere of a new arrangement by Laude’s Katelyn Dietz of the Peter Eldridge tune “That which can’t be explained”. Thanks to Katelyn for her marvelous composition, singing, and direction, and to additional featured singers Chohi Kim, Frank Hobbs, Kion Heidari, David Conley, Scott Graff, and soloist Rohan Ramanan.

Join us this Sunday as we continue our series Another Kind of Freedom with "The Sacred Potential of a Moment." Guest Org...
08/20/2026

Join us this Sunday as we continue our series Another Kind of Freedom with "The Sacred Potential of a Moment." Guest Organist Dr. Emma Whitten will share music on the Great Organs by Elisabetta de Gambarini, Chelsea Chen, J.S. Bach, and more. Laude and Cathedral Choir will share music by Marie Esabel Valverde, Thomas Keesucker, and William Dawson, and Brandon Harris will share a solo performance of "Wade in de Water" accompanied by Dr. Whitten. Join us online or in-person by visiting www.fccla.org/calendar.

Image: The highest-resolution image of the sun's surface ever captured NSF / NSO / AURA / MPS

Address

540 S Commonwealth Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
90020

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

Telephone

+12133851341

Website

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