First Congregational Church, New London

08/30/2021

Sunday's service of farewell for pastor Sara Ofner-Seals

Worship for Sunday, August 29 at First Congregational Church, New London.

08/02/2021

07/25/2021

Worship for Sunday, July 25 at First Congregational Church, New London. We are an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ.

07/23/2021

Our scripture passage for this Sunday is the familiar story of Jesus multiplying the bread and fish to feed a crowd of 5000 people. But what was the actual miracle? Did Jesus really magically multiply the elements, or was the real miracle that everyone shared what they had so that there was enough for everyone to eat their fill?

This Sunday at First Church we will explore this miracle, and what it has to say about living the abundant life that God intends for us. Worship begins at 9:30am, in person or on Zoom. If you would like to join remotely, follow the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85245537918

Hope to see you on Sunday-- all are welcome!

07/18/2021

ICYMI: Sermon and Communion for Sunday, July 18

Sermon and Communion for Sunday, July 18 at First Congregational Church, New London. We are an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ.

07/16/2021

Since the dawn of human consciousness, human beings have sought to connect with something larger than themselves. Call that something God, the Divine, the Source— it seems to be built into our DNA that we seek connection with a higher power. And we humans have attempted to do this in many different ways—through prayer, meditation, engagement with holy texts, though music, and sometimes even through the use of natural substances.

Despite thousands of years of practice, however, many of us still seem to struggle when it comes to forging that connection with the ultimate source of our being. As Christians, maybe we follow Jesus’ instructions to go to a quiet, private place. We utter the words of the Lord’s prayer, just as Jesus directed us to. But we may still find at times that our personal prayer lives leave us wanting. And so we start to have questions. Am I doing it right? What is prayer really for? And perhaps the biggest question that comes up for many of us- why should we pray, when it often seems we don’t get what we pray for?

Join us this Sunday as we explore these questions together. Worship is at 9:30am-- either in person or on zoom. All are welcome!

07/15/2021

07/13/2021

Technical difficulties meant that we were not able to post a video of this past Sunday's worship service. But if you need your worship fix, here is a video of opening worship at UCC General Synod from Sunday night!

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.’s history in the United Church of Christ and the Civil Rights Movement go back years and reflect a legacy of justice orientation a...

07/09/2021

Without a doubt, the single most influential person in formation of the Christian church (other than Jesus, of course), was the apostle Paul. Paul was responsible for the formation of Christian communities in places as far reaching as Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. After forming these communities, he kept in contact with them, sending them periodic instructional letters, or epistles, that now make up a large part of the New Testament canon. Our scripture reading for this Sunday is the opening of one such letter— Paul’s letter to the early church in Ephesus.

Paul sometimes gets a bad reputation for a number of things that he supposedly wrote, including comments about women remaining silent in church and slaves being obedient to their masters. For these reasons, as well as for his rather circular, sometimes rambling prose, he is not always a favorite for preachers or for lay readers. But every now and then, if you take a moment to really dig into the prose, you can find some beautiful theology that actually stands the test of time and continues to provide instruction for the 21st century church. This week's passage is an example of this, which we will dig more deeply into on Sunday morning.

Worship begins at 9:30am, in person or on Zoom-- hope to see you there!

07/08/2021

Through the writings of Howard Thurman, I have learned what I have always known. The religion of Jesus has always been about desiring a more equitable and just society, which begins first in the so…