The single best way to learn about this caring congregation is to get involved. There are so many ways to connect! First Congregational Church offers a variety of ways for adults to explore, learn, and have fun together. These include active service and mission projects, racial justice pilgrimages, parent support groups, and a wide range of learning opportunities through our regular Sunday morning forums.
Small Groups
Our Small Group programs offer many ways to learn, grow and build community as we share the journey together. Groups are a way to connect around existing or new interests, delve into complex issues or just hang out. Spend time with old friends or make new ones. With so many learning and social opportunities, you can stay engaged and inspired every day. If you have something you want to explore, and there isn’t a group yet, you can form one!
MacKenzie Lectureship
The annual MacKenzie Lectureship program brings gifted speakers to the congregation for a weekend. This program was established in 2000 in honor of the Rev. Bruce MacKenzie and his wife Jeanette upon Bruce’s retirement as Senior Minister of First Congregational Church and in thanksgiving for their extraordinary service to the Boulder community. The MacKenzie Lectureship is made possible through an endowed fund of First Congregational Church. It serves as an enduring legacy of the spirit of intellectual and theological inquiry which were so much a part of Bruce McKenzie’s vision and ministry.
Volunteer Opportunities
It also takes a village, or a congregation at least, to ensure a successful and meaningful worship service. Ushers and greeters, Sunday school teachers, cookie bakers, and singers are all important roles to play on Sunday morning. Membership in the congregation is not a prerequisite for any of these. New voices are always welcomed in the Chancel Choir and Congregational Bells, as well as in the children’s choirs.
If you are looking for meaningful opportunities to be of service, you can prepare meals for Boulder’s unhoused community at our 4th Sunday Soup Kitchen, host Friday evening Community Table, or bring canned food for our monthly food pantry drive. Sign up to volunteer with one of our mission partners – Family Learning Center, Growing Gardens, Intercambio de Comunidades, Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, or Reading to End Racism at YWCA Boulder County.
Ministry Meetings
As a church in the Congregationalist tradition, we believe we’re better together. That’s how we make our decisions, elect our lay leaders, and call our ministers. We believe that meetings matter. So, we have a lot of them! We encourage you to dive in and join us as a member so that you can participate in all aspects of the church’s life fully, including perhaps serving on one of our Boards or Committees.
Our Ministry Teams, Small Groups, and service activities, however, are open to everyone. In fact, the passion around Social Justice is what brings many people to our church home. The five Ministries (Climate Action, Gun Violence Prevention, Racial Justice, Mental Health/A2A, and LGBTQIA+) provide ways to be the hands and feet of God, and to focus the passion of people who want to facilitate change in a troubled world.
It is possible to visit First Congregational UCC in Boulder and quietly enjoy the music and be nourished by the message of a Sunday worship service, but so much more is possible when you decide to get involved.