Join Our Team as Director of Music! 🎶
First Congregational United Church of Christ is seeking a passionate and dynamic Director of Music to lead our diverse and vibrant music program. The ideal candidate will be an inspiring organist and choir conductor who collaborates closely with the Senior Minister to create engaging and meaningful worship experiences. If you have a heart for ministry and a talent for music, we invite you to apply!
Looking to Grow Your Faith?
Do you have a spiritual longing for a deeper connection, meaning, and purpose in life?
Our congregation offers a variety of opportunities to deepen your faith and strengthen your spiritual journey. From Sunday worship to Bible studies to fellowship events, we provide a space for you to connect with others and with God.
WE HOPE YOU JOIN US ON YOUR JOURNEY
Looking to Join a Community?
Do you feel a need for belonging, support, and shared values?
We are a faithful, diverse, inclusive and relevant congregation that honors and celebrates each individual. We believe that diversity strengthens our community, and we are committed to creating a space that welcomes people from all walks of life. Our congregation is made up of people with different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.
Whether you identify as LGBTQIA+, a person with disabilities, someone who has experienced racial injustice, or simply feel like you don’t fit in elsewhere, we welcome you with open arms.
YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE
Worship This Week
Worship This Week
December 15 ~ TWO Services at 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
We continue the season of Advent, lighting the candle of Love. We welcome Glenn Priest as choir director.
9:00 a.m. We gather in the sanctuary to light the candle of love and Pastor Wes will preach on Isaiah 61:1-4
11:00 a.m. ~ On the Third Sunday of Advent, the candle of love joins the candles of hope and peace to light our way to Bethlehem. Pastor Wes will preach on Isaiah 61. The choir will sing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. All are welcome.
Fellowship Time follows 11 a.m. service ~ Cookie Extravaganza!
Please bring a plate of cookies to share.
Click here to read Pastor Wes’ blog.
Sharing God’s Love This Holiday Season
This holiday season, we are reminded of the profound impact that acts of kindness and generosity can have on our community. At First Congregational UCC, Sarasota, we believe in the transformative power of sharing God’s love. This season, we invite you to join us in making a difference by participating in various initiatives designed to uplift those in need. Together, we can create a ripple effect of love and hope that resonates far beyond our church walls.
Ways to Share
Community Meal
Volunteer for the Community Meal on Christmas Eve
Join us on December 24th from 4–6:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church to help serve our monthly Community Meal, a warm and welcoming dinner for those in need. Volunteers are needed to:
- Prepare appetizers and desserts.
- Set up, serve, and greet our guests with Christmas cheer.
We also need Christmas Cookies to accompany the meal. Please deliver cookies to St. Paul’s by 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Your time and effort bring the gift of nourishment and fellowship to our guests. To volunteer or for more details, contact Carol Hagglund.
Thank you for helping us share the Christmas spirit!
Christmas Love Offering
Support Christmas Love 2024!
This annual fundraiser led by our Mission Team supports local charities and organizations working tirelessly to help our neighbors in need. This year’s recipients include African American Studies at the Betty J. Johnson Library, ALSO Youth, Sarasota Bay Estuary, and several others providing vital services to our community.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 to make a meaningful impact. Please write checks to the church with “Christmas Love” in the memo line. Your generosity is a blessing!
And A Heartfelt Thank You!
Angel Tree Gift Tags
A heartfelt Christmas thank you to the “Angels” who selected a Salvation Army tag and purchased gifts for a child or senior in need. All 70 tags were chosen!
We hope that by providing gifts for others, your joy is increased this holiday season.
Toy Drive for Alta Vista School
Thank you to everyone who generously donated toys for the children at Alta Vista School! Your gifts of books, board games, Legos, and dolls will bring joy to many children this holiday season. We are grateful for your kindness and support in making this outreach a success.
First UCC Women Christmas Bag Program
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in this year’s program. Thanks to your generous donations and efforts in assembling and wrapping Christmas bags, we are able to bless shut-in seniors in our community, bringing joy to residents of Orchard Place and Meals on Wheels this holiday season.
Your efforts are a true reflection of the spirit of Christ’s love in action.
Discover Our Culture
First Congregational United Church of Christ, rooted in Sarasota with a passion for God, all God’s people, and God’s planet, prayerfully seeks to be a light to the world. We covenant with God and each other to honor racial justice and people of color in all we do. We are open, affirming and allies of LBGTQ+ people. We seek creation justice, learning to actively care for our planet. We commit to study, learn and live these values.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” John 15:5
Our Covenants
Creation Justice
It is our duty to conserve natural resources, protect the existing natural environment and repair damage.
Open and Affirming
We work faithfully and prayerfully to end discrimination against our LGBTQIA+ siblings.
Racial Justice
We are intent to discuss America’s original sin of racism and that everyone is made in God’s image.
Honoring Pastor Wes’ 10 Years of Inspired Leadership
Celebrating a Decade of Devotion and Leadership
Video created by your loving church family in collaboration with:
~ Carol McCloud: Power Point Presentation Pre-production
~ Gregory Chestnut: Music Selection
~ Douglas Kingsley: Post-production Graphics & Video Editing
Latest Sermon
Morning Meditation
Upcoming Events
Open and Affirming Covenant
March, 2021
We of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota, Florida, by vote of our Church Council and ratification by our congregation became an Open and Affirming Congregation in 2001, as documented in our church bylaws. We now re-commit to God and one another our covenant with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning sisters and brothers.
As we celebrate the diversity of the people of God, we commit to remain an Open and Affirming congregation that welcomes all our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters with love and support. We will be a place in which they can be fully themselves, where their full selves are embraced and where their God-given talents are utilized in the life and work of the Church.
We honor the vision of those in our congregation who, more than 20 years ago, founded COLLAGE (Coalition of Laity for Lesbian and Gay Equality) to provide support for LGBTQ+ persons in the congregation and community. In league with COLLAGE, we will continue to reach out to and welcome LGBTQ+ persons into our church family. We will serve as a refuge from hurtful words and harmful actions and work toward eliminating social injustices too often directed against them.
This covenant statement is hereby adopted this 16th day of March, 2021, by unanimous vote of our Church Council.
Creation Justice Covenant
January, 2021
We of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota, Florida, by vote of our Church Council and ratification by our Congregation, do solemnly commit to God, one another, and all creatures, to walk in God’s ways by cherishing the earth and all living beings who dwell upon it. This is the divine creation and we commit to promoting its health and sustainability.
We acknowledge at the outset that we are inseparably part of the web of life; our well-being dependent on the welfare of fellow creatures. We recognize the utmost value in creation – inherent value independent of creation’s usefulness for us. In this covenant, we understand that our creation is in crisis, in large part because of human activity. As a consequence, we promise to educate ourselves and others about the causes of and solutions to environmental degradation.
We commit to finding ways to respect and conserve our natural resources for the benefit of future generations and for the future of the planet. Because of our covenant with God and the earth, we will seek divine guidance and strive to follow God’s will. We will pursue justice for the earth, protect vulnerable living things from exploitation, and seek remediation of the environmental damage humans have caused.
This Covenant Statement is Hereby ADOPTED this 19th day of May, 2020, by unanimous vote of the Church Council of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota, Florida.
RATIFIED this 24th day of January, 2021, by a Congregational vote of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota, Florida.
Racial Justice Covenant
January, 2022
We of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota, Florida, by vote of our Church Council and congregation, commit to God and one another our covenant with our sisters and brothers of color.
As we celebrate the diversity of the people of God, we commit to remain a congregation that welcomes all our brothers and sisters with love and support. We will be a place in which we all can be fully ourselves and where our full selves are embraced. We will serve as a refuge from hurtful words and harmful actions too often directed against others.
First Congregational United Church of Christ of Sarasota has a history of embracing diversity and racial equity. We have sought and still seek to confront racism and the oppression of people of color. We strive to model the love and grace of Jesus as he reached out to all, especially those on the margins.
We reaffirm our Christian call to understanding and unity through discussion, research and the sharing of personal witness to identify systemic racism in all its forms.
We lament current racial injustice conditions, and commit to actionable steps of hard listening and anti-racist engagement by our ministers, church officers, church community and as individual participants in our local and greater community. These steps will build on our current practices of intentionally selecting diverse lay leadership, and promoting programs and community activities that reflect our stance on diversity and inclusion.
We reaffirm our commitment to policies of equity and steps to dismantle harmful myths, actions, rules and laws. We also commit to celebrating different cultures and voices, both in worship and in our community.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
This covenant statement is hereby adopted this 30th day of January, 2022, by unanimous vote of our Church Council and the vote of our congregation.
Please click here for a list of resources put together by the SCOR group (Sacred Conversations on Race). The group meets Wednesdays at 3 on Zoom. All are welcome. See the events page for more information.