First Church Stratford will present weekly mini Advent concerts, featuring pianist and organist Dr. Joe Utterback. The concerts will be held in the church sanctuary, 2301 Main Street, Stratford. The final concert is at 3 PM on Wednesday, December 18. There is no admission fee. Come and enjoy the wonderful music of the season!

Our memorial Christmas poinsettias are now on sale. The cost is $12 per plant. Order forms are available outside the church office. A digital copy of the order form is in the weekly Note from Your Pastor. All orders must be received by December 15. For more information, please email the church office or see Beth Turner after worship.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, December 1, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Join us for Stewardship Sunday on November 19! During our 10 AM service, we will collect pledge cards for A Spiritual Journey, our 2025 Stewardship Campaign. Pledge cards and donations can be placed in the Steward Ship. Checks may also be dropped off in the church’s mail slot by the Church Street door. In addition, bank EFT forms can be filled out and mailed to the church. Please return your pledge card even if you use EFT. Remember that, if circumstances dictate, a pledge can be adjusted up or down by calling the church.

Thank you for your generosity and support!

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, November 3, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Join us for our annual tag sale on Saturday, November 2, from 9 AM to 3 PM. Items for purchase include holiday décor; toys and games; china and glasses; linens; kitchenware; garden tools; decorative bathroom items; pictures; lamps; books, both for children and adults; and CDs and DVDs. Please help support this wonderful event!

The Women’s Service League will sell baked goods at the tag sale on Saturday, November 2. Bakers are needed to make items for the bake sale, including cookies, brownies and muffins. Breads, pies and cakes are also requested.

Baked goods can be dropped off at the church (Church Street entrance) from 5 to 6 PM on Friday, November 1, or on Saturday morning before the sale begins. Proceeds will be used to help fund the WSL's building improvement projects. Thank you for your support!

Our Contemporary Worship team will lead worship one Sunday each month! Join us on October 27 at 10 AM for an uplifting and powerful morning of music and scripture. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

First Church Stratford will partner with Rise Against Hunger for a meal packaging event at our church on Saturday, October 26, from 10 AM to 12 PM. Volunteers will join together to package as many as 10,152 meals to help meet basic hunger needs in our local community. To learn more or sign up to participate, please visit bit.ly/RiseHunger2024.

The Women’s Service League is hosting a Pumpkin Potluck supper on Saturday, October 19, beginning at 5 PM. The supper will be held in Lower Packard Hall and includes musical entertainment by Jacqui Owens and Eric Nyquist. The cost is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children ages 12 and up. Children under 12 are free.

To sign up to attend, please visit the WSL table during fellowship hour after worship on October 6 or 13. Please bring food items in disposable (aluminum) dishes, if possible, for easy clean-up.

First Church Stratford's Rose Window Concert Series kicks off on Sunday, October 13, with a Broadway Favorites concert. Performers include Galen Donovan, Emma Gulick, Nick Stanford, Irene Yezersky and Nicole Yezersky. The concert is at 3 PM in the sanctuary; there is no admission charge. Join us for a great afternoon of music, including songs from The Notebook, Kinky Boots and Cabaret.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, October 6, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

On October 6, during our World Communion Sunday service, we will collect the Neighbors in Need Special Offering. This year's NiN theme is “Mental Health Justice For All!” One-third of the offering benefits Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM) and two-thirds are used by Justice and Witness Ministries to provide grants to UCC churches and organizations, as well as fund a variety of direct service projects, justice initiatives and advocacy efforts.

Offering envelopes will be placed in the bulletins on October 6. Please make checks payable to First Congregational Church and write NIN in the memo section.

Donations are also accepted through UCC’s Mobile Giving/Text-to-Give. Text the letters UCCNIN to short code 41444.

Thank you for your continued generosity!

Our Contemporary Worship team will lead worship one Sunday each month! Join us on September 22 at 10 AM for an uplifting and powerful morning of music and scripture. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

First Church Stratford's Youth Choir will return this fall. Rehearsals will begin on September 15 (Kickoff Sunday) after the picnic. Youth Choir is open to children and teens ages 10 and up. Please bring a friend or two–all are welcome!

Our annual Church Picnic is on Sunday, September 15, right after morning worship. To sign up to attend, please visit our home page or go to bit.ly/September15Picnic. You can also stop by Upper Packard Hall during fellowship hour on August 25, September 1 and September 8. All are welcome!

Remember, because of the picnic, there will be no parking in the church lot on Sunday morning! There is parking available on Church Street, East Broadway, Main Street and in the municipal lot on Church Street, but PLEASE do not park in the lot that belongs to the stores!

Join us for Kickoff Sunday on September 15! During our 10 AM service, we will welcome our Chancel Choir back to worship and celebrate the beginning of the Sunday School year. Please remember to bring your backpacks, book bags or laptop cases for Blessing of the Backpacks.

Welcome back to Sunday School! The first day of classes is Sunday, September 15. For more information about Sunday School, please email Youth Ministry Administrator Jacqui Owens at fccstratfordyouthministry@gmail.com.

The Chancel Choir will return to worship on Sunday, September 15. Rehearsals begin on Thursday, September 12, 7-8 PM in the sanctuary. New members are always welcome!

Our Fall Bible Study on the Book of Psalms will begin on September 11th and run for six consecutive Wednesday evenings, concluding on October 16th. The classes, which will be held in the Board Room, will begin promptly at 7:00 PM and finish no later than 8:30 PM.

There will not be a book to purchase for this study. Steve Wasko will send out a list of the psalms before the first meeting on September 11th. The psalms will be categorized in six genres: Praise Psalms, Lament Psalms, Thanksgiving Psalms, Kingship and Covenant Psalms, Songs of Trust and Wisdom Psalms. Each week, the  group will discuss a different genre of psalms, beginning with Praise Psalms on September 11th.

The psalms were considered to be the ancient hymnal of God’s people. We will hopefully discover how praying the psalms can help us be more honest with God and draw us closer to God. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Steve Wasko at (203) 997-2213 or steve.j.wasko@gmail.com. You can also text him at the same number. Please include your name and email address so you can be included in group emails. Blessings.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, September 1, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Our Contemporary Worship team will lead worship one Sunday each month! Join us on August 25 at 9:30 AM for an uplifting and powerful morning of music and scripture. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, August 4, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Our Contemporary Worship team will lead worship one Sunday each month! Join us on July 28 at 9:30 AM for an uplifting and powerful morning of music and scripture. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, July 7, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Join us as we honor our graduates on Sunday, June 30. During our 10 AM worship service, we will recognize those who graduated from high school or college this year. In addition, we will award scholarships to some of our outstanding church members.

Our Contemporary Worship team will lead worship one Sunday each month! Join us on June 23 at 10 AM for an uplifting and powerful morning of music and scripture. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, June 2, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Celebrate with us on Sunday, June 2, as we honor the members of our wonderful music program at First Church Stratford. The Chancel Choir will sing its final anthems of the season and the liturgy will focus on the importance of music in our worship. Don’t miss this special service!