Thinking you might like to try us out? Please come!

 

There is a place for you here!

• As St. Paul said, we are all parts of one body, and we need different kinds of people to create the whole. You might be the very part we are missing!

• We proudly welcome all LGBTQ people without reservation.

• Our members come from many social backgrounds, rich and poor, young and old, healthy and sick, and all levels of education.

• Our members come from many religious backgrounds. You don’t have to be a protestant much less a member of the UCC. You don’t have to be sure about what you believe, or even if you believe. UCC churches say, “belonging comes before believing.”

• We are very informal. You can bring your morning coffee into church, and nobody cares about your clothes as long as you’re wearing some!

 

Where we are and where to park:

• We are located just north of Rte 128 on 35 Conant Street at the corner of Cabot St (Rte 97). We are a big white church with a steeple in the middle.

• There is plenty of parking in our Conant Street lot, just east of the church.

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How to get into the building (two ways):

1. Through the big doors in the middle with the pillars, steeple and STAIRS.

2. Through a basement-level door at the corner of the building by the parking lot and sidewalk.

   • This leads to the elevator for wheel-chair access to the sanctuary. You may need someone to hold open the door for a wheelchair to pass through.

   • Go through the fellowship hall and then through two sets of fire doors.

   • You can go up to the sanctuary level using either the elevator (at your left) or the stairs (at your right). The restrooms are on the lower level near the stairs.

 

What happens when you arrive?

• One of our greeters will welcome you, give you a bulletin and may ask for your name and contact number, (if we are doing Covid tracking at the moment).

• You can sit anywhere. We encourage you to say hello to whoever is nearby and tell them you are new. It is perfectly okay to talk to other people while the organ is playing the prelude.

• It is also okay to bring your coffee with you into church.

 

What happens during a typical service?

• A typical service includes three sections:

  • Preparation (welcome, announcements, call to worship, an opening prayer and singing)

  • Proclamation of the word (scripture and sermon and music)

  • Response to the word (prayers, singing and a benediction)

• We generally sing three hymns, dispersed through the service.

• The choir usually sings an anthem, and during the summer, soloists provide special music.

• Sometimes after the service, we have coffee and goodies in our entry hall, right outside the sanctuary. We love to meet new neighbors and visitors, so please do take the time to stop and chat with people!

 

What's up with the offering?

• There is always an offering plate at the back entry of the sanctuary for you to place your offering/donation/pledge into. It is picked up each week at the end of the service.

• While any donation is welcome, you do not have to put anything in the offering plate if you aren’t comfortable about giving. We understand that sometimes people are going through a rough time with money, but they still have a right to be welcomed as part of God’s community.

• Each year, most church members pledge to give a certain amount each week to help pay the costs of running the organization – paying the pastor, musicians and church secretary, heating and repairing the building, and supporting our good works both inside the church and in our community. Some goes into the pastor’s discretionary fund, to help folks in need.

 

Prayers

• We don’t believe that God has a gender, so we try not to choose one - you will hear us use Father, Mother, Creator and many other descriptors. You can choose whatever words are comfortable for you – he, she, you, thou, they, father, mother, creator, lord, – whatever fits your sense of God’s divine love.

• During the time of the pastoral prayer, our of our pastoral leaderships will invite the congregation to share their prayer requests. Please don't hesitate to chime in! After the sharing a pastor will pray and hold silence, before leading the congregation in the Lord’s Prayer, which is printed in the bulletin.

• There are also prayer requests cards in the pew which can be filled out and put in the offering plate. The pastor will pray for those individuals during the following week's Tuesday morning zoom to prayer. You are always welcome to join us at 10 am on zoom - email or call the office for the link!

• You may also submit your prayer requests using our online form!