First Congregational United Church of Christ (River Falls, WI)

06/12/2026

We all know that Jesus was a great teacher, but another aspect of his ministry was his compassion. Simply put, Jesus had compassion on people. Compassion literally means to suffer with someone, which sounds strange, but also very Jesus like. Rather than run from pain, Jesus often went toward people in pain. Join us this Sunday as we explore our call to be compassionate creatures. Summer worship is at 9:30 am and Coffee Fellowship follows.

06/08/2026

Mark your calendars: It is time for the annual River Falls Days concert! Join us on the church lawn for some great music, great food and great company as we welcome back the Slapdash Bluegrass Band. The concert is on Thursday, July 9th from 6-8pm and the Rollin River Food Truck will be serving from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Plus there will be free cookies and drinks. Bring a chair, invite your friends and join us!

06/03/2026

We are a congregation of young and old alike. Baby Leo, who was baptized just two weeks ago is our youngest member, and two of our oldest members are turning 100 this year -- Lyle Wood on June 17 and Darlene Sumption later in September. This Sunday in the Fellowship Hall we will have cards available so you can wish Lyle well as he approaches this milestone. Lyle still somehow manages to ride his three wheeled bike around his neighborhood. Congratulations Lyle!

Here is a picture of him with his wife Helen.

06/03/2026

Join us on Monday, June 8th at 11am in the sanctuary as we celebrate the life of Joyce Kampstra, wife of the Rev. Roger Kampstra. There will be a visitation an hour before and a lunch to follow in the Fellowship Hall. Joyce will be remembered for many things: her wit, charm, loving parenting, but also for her call as faithful pastor's spouse and all that entails. Her obituary and a link to the livestream of the worship service is below. May her family be blessed with grateful hearts and warm memories.

Joyce Marilyn (Below) Kampstra of River Falls, WI passed away peacefully at home on […]

06/03/2026

Summer High School & College Youth Bible Study:

Our first gathering will be: Wed, June 17 at 10:00 am at Selah Vie Bistro and Coffee Cottage, 208 N Main Street, RF. Alex will buy coffee for the group! Join us all High School and College Youth! We hope to meet weekly at different local coffee shops. Contact Alex for more details.

06/02/2026

The next time you are at church please take time to admire the congregation’s new fused glass piece depicting Genesis 1:1—
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Be sure
to notice:
• Left panel: Darkness and chaos swirling in the upper left corner that turns to ordered aspects of creation, including the moon and stars, desert and desert flowers.
• Middle panel: Skies, mountain ranges, a meadow with flowers and butterflies, a sparkling stream, and a flowing river with fish.
• Right panel: The sun and a rainbow anchoring the top right corner giving way to a forest, river and deer.

The decorative borders on the right and left sides were created by pre-school and kindergarteners while the interior sections were made by elementary students, teens, and the Knitting Group women. Special thanks to the artist who helped us Theresa Charpentier and the anonymous donor who helped to pay for it.

It is located just to the right of the Third Street doors when you enter church. May it remind us of the beauty of God's creation and our call to be good stewards of it.

05/31/2026

What a great day! Today our church awarded over $40,000 in church scholarships to four graduating high school seniors and seventeen already in college or grad school. They are future teachers, physical therapists, pilots, business people, teachers and so much more. Our church interns contributed over 500 hours of service inside and outside the church walls. Here are lots of pics from our day. Thank you church, may God bless all who received scholarships and may God bless all who contributed to our church Scholarship Fund!

05/28/2026

Thank you! We are now about one third of the way toward our goal of 10,000 diapers collected for the River Falls Food Pantry. As of today we have 3015. The deadline is Sunday, June 21 which is Father's Day. Here is what it looks like now in our Gathering Area. You are amazing First Congo folks!

05/27/2026

This Sunday is Graduation Sunday when we recognize our graduating High School Seniors and award scholarships to seniors, those already pursuing higher education and those going off to our church camps. Those who applied for church scholarships and their families shold be in attendance to receive them. On the church calendar it is also Trinity Sunday. In an age when it is just so incredibly easy to isolate ourselves and feel alone and lonely, the communal aspect of our faith and life will be the focus of worship. Join us at the 9:30am summer worship service. Sarah Plum is singing a wonderful song for our churhc kids during special music and graduation cake follows during Coffee Fellowship. Lastly, we ask all our churhc people to provide graduation advice to our graduates which will go into the college packs this fall. Join us!

Here are some pics from Graduation Sundays past!

05/26/2026

Our church softball season begins next week, Monday June 1st at 7:30 PM at Hoffman Park, Field #1. Come cheer us on! We play every Monday at Hoffman Park throughout the summer until August 24th. We are the team in the red shirts. Our next two games are June 8th at 7:30 PM (Field #2) and June 15th 6:15PM (Field #1).
We are looking forward to another fun season seeing friends and families play softball. If you still want to play on the team contact Deb Hoffman at (612)308-4945, [email protected]. Must be 14 or older!

Here are some pics of teams past!