Unite. Worship. Serve. Thrive.
Cultivating Faith, Community, and Diversity Together.
Looking to Join a Community?
Longing for belonging, support, and shared values?
You are not alone ~ and you are welcome here.
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 where all people feel seen, heard, and valued.
Whether you identify as LGBTQIA+, live with disabilities, have faced racial injustice, or simply haven’t felt at home elsewhere ~ you are welcome here, just as you are.
YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE
Community in Action: Working and celebrating together
Easter Worship: Celebrating new life together
Looking to Grow Your Faith?
Searching for spiritual meaning, connection, or a fresh perspective on God?
We offer a welcoming space to explore life’s big questions, grow in faith, and walk your spiritual journey ~ with others and with God.
Our congregation honors diverse faith stories. Whether you’re a lifelong believer, a curious seeker, or somewhere in between, you’ll find space here to reflect, wrestle, and rejoice.
We don’t require certainty ~ only openness.
We believe faith grows through curiosity, compassion, and community.
WE HOPE YOU JOIN US ON YOUR JOURNEY
Meet Our Pastor
Rev. Dr. Wes Bixby
Senior Pastor
“Maybe you’re new to our church, new to Sarasota, or new to church altogether. Whatever brings you here, I’d love the chance to get to know you better. Please know I am available to talk with you and help you connect in meaningful ways with our community of faith.
“During times such as these, we are aware that many in our community are facing challenges. If you are in need of prayer or care, please let me know.” 🙏
Glimpses of Our Vibrant Community
At First Congregational UCC Sarasota, community isn’t just a word — it’s how we live. Here are just a few moments that show how we grow in faith, serve with purpose, and celebrate life together:
Worship This Week
Worship This Week
June 22, 2025 ~
Two Services at 9 a.m. & 11 a.m. ~
Wear ORANGE to worship in solidarity with Brady’s Work to End Gun Violence.
June is PRIDE Month!
9 a.m. ~ Join us in the chapel as we worship today focusing on the Psalm 31. All are welcome.
11 a.m. ~ In the Sanctuary and Online ~ Pastor Wes will preach on Psalm 31. The choir will sing, “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me”. All are welcome!!
Please join us for a special video on Rev. Dr. Bill Johnson (first openly gay minister ordained in the United Church of Christ). Refreshments provided by COLLAGE.
Click here to read Pastor Wes’ blog.
Journey Through the Psalms with Pastor Wes
Special Program ~ Journey Through the Psalms with Pastor Wes
Beginning May 12 – Read at your own pace
Feeling disoriented, uncertain, or spiritually weary? You’re not alone. Pastor Wes invites you to join him in a personal and communal journey through the Psalms—a sacred space to process life, praise, grief, hope, and everything in between.
Starting May 12, you are encouraged to read the Psalms—at any pace that fits your life. Read one a day and finish by October 2025, or read three a day to complete the journey by July 18.
There’s no pressure. No finish line to sprint toward. Just an open invitation to explore the ancient poetry that has comforted and challenged generations.
Along the way:
– Morning Meditations from Pastor Wes will focus on the Psalms (beginning the week of May 5) ~ See today’s Morning Meditation below, or click here to access Pastor Wes’ entire blog.
– Read out loud, draw, color, journal, or reflect—whatever helps you listen deeply to your soul
– Use your favorite translation—or explore new ones
– Let the Psalms become a sacred soundtrack for your summer
Whether you’re reading at breakfast, bedtime, or on a park bench, may these ancient songs open your heart to new ways of living as an Easter-ing people.
Let’s read, reflect, and rediscover together.
Morning Meditation
Read Psalms 88-90 Prayer based on the Psalms today.
God of the blues, where minor
keys don’t always resolve into major melodies; God of moments when life is not
a half-hour sitcom where everything turns out just fine in the end, hear the
heartbreak and soul ache for the brokenness and bruises of life. Listen to our cries when our efforts for
peace, justice, caring, and love to rule the day are laughed at by others. When we feel our works and the church are in
vain, let Your holy spirit revive our souls again with a balm in Gilead to heal,
help, and hold us. As we rest in Your
refuge,...
Morning Meditation
Read Psalms 88-90 Prayer based on the Psalms today.
God of the blues, where minor
keys don’t always resolve into major melodies; God of moments when life is not
a half-hour sitcom where everything turns out just fine in the end, hear the
heartbreak and soul ache for the brokenness and bruises...
On the Horizon
A glimpse at upcoming gatherings and special opportunities to connect
Think of these as some of the can’t-miss moments in the life of our church ~ special chances to gather, celebrate, learn, and serve together. While this highlights a few one-time events, you’ll find a full picture of what’s happening by checking our calendar, the current newsletter, the Midweek Message, and the Sunday bulletin. That’s where you’ll find the details for ongoing gatherings like study groups, ministry meetings, and outreach opportunities ~ we’ve always got something meaningful going on.
22
June
12:00 am
22
June
~ Our wonderful congregation did this last year in June, which is designated by activist organizations nationwide as Gun Violence Awareness Month. Brady, United Against Gun Violence, has selected June 21st this year as ASK Day, when we all commit to ASK if there’s a gun in the houses where our children and grandchildren go...See Full Event Listing
26
June
4:00 pm
26
June
4:00 pm
Grief is as unique as your fingerprint, and no one can tell you the exact “right” way to grieve. As we process our grief, having a safe space to share our emotions matters.
Please join Pastor Wes to share where you are. Whether your grief is from a family member or friend’s death, anticipatory grief with an illness, or the...See Full Event Listing
28
June
12:00 am
28
June
On June 27th -29th, we are delighted to welcome Amanda Udis-Kessler. Amanda blessed us in March with two Zoom sessions on the use of sacred language. Amanda will continue the conversation with us in person! On Saturday, June 28th, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Amanda will share how to craft worship that reflects our values as a church....See Full Event Listing
30
June
4:00 pm
30
June
4:00 pm
The next gathering to discuss the Psalms is on June 30 at 4 p.m. in the Oasis Center and on Zoom. There is a handout in the narthex with tips for reading the Psalms. You can find the daily devotions on Pastor Wes's blog and Facebook. All are welcome to come, listen, and learn from the wisdom of the Hebrew Hymnal....See Full Event Listing
Local Faith Leaders Call for Justice, Equity, and Inclusion in Sarasota
Local Faith Leaders Call for Justice, Equity, and Inclusion in Sarasota
“Our destinies are bound together, and the path to true peace is paved with justice and the recognition of our shared humanity.”
— A Call to Solidarity, Sarasota Faith Leaders
Standing Together for Justice, Inclusion, and Positive Peace
Rev. Dr. Wes Bixby, Pastor of First Congregational UCC, along with leaders from diverse faith communities, has co-authored two powerful opinion columns published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, calling for justice, equity, and solidarity.
📖 A Call to Solidarity: Towards Positive Peace (January 30) (Read as PDF) – This column challenges harmful policies targeting LGBTQIA+ individuals, immigrant communities, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. It calls on Sarasota to reject exclusion and embrace true peace—one built on justice, dignity, and compassion.
📖 Black History Month Message (February 19) (Read as PDF)– This piece honors Black history as an essential part of American history and includes a call to action. It highlights the ongoing struggles for racial justice, the importance of acknowledging the past, and the moral imperative to build a more equitable future.
Together, these statements affirm that peace is not the absence of tension but the presence of justice. We invite the Sarasota community to stand in solidarity with those who are marginalized and work toward a future rooted in inclusion and compassion.
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
UCC Sarasota values – click here for the pdf
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.
Latest Sermon
In "Comforting Care", Pastor Wes reflects on the familiar yet deeply profound words of Psalm 23. He invites us to reconsider the psalm not just as funeral liturgy, but as a bold declaration of trust and challenge for daily life. Through humor, humility, and depth, he explores what it means to truly live with God at the center — not just in peaceful moments, but also in trials, tension, and even awkward tables set before enemies. This sermon calls us to let Psalm 23 comfort us and interrupt us, revealing sacredness in the familiar and the mystifying.
Latest Sermon
In "Comforting Care", Pastor Wes reflects on the familiar yet deeply profound words of Psalm 23. He invites us to reconsider the psalm not just as funeral liturgy, but as a bold declaration of trust and challenge for daily life. Through humor, humility, and depth, he explores what it means to truly live with God at the center — not just in peaceful moments, but also in trials, tension, and even awkward tables set before enemies. This sermon calls us to let Psalm 23 comfort us and interrupt us, revealing sacredness in the familiar and the mystifying.
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.