First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
What We're Excited About
Maybe what we should say, right off the bat, is what we're NOT excited about!
We're NOT excited about "cookie cutter Christianity". We know that the Spirit of God is at work in a lot of new and creative ways, and every single one of us has special gifts and perspectives to bring to the world. We love finding the common ground where we can make a good difference in the world - and we know that God's Spirit is alive and well in a lot of places and a lot of people, whether or not they consider themselves Christian.
We're a church with about 300 members, but our community reaches into our neighborhood, our city and around the globe!
Right now, we're excited about sustainable living and ways we can help, as individuals and as a church, to live in ways that sustain life for the planet and all the creatures on it! We were delighted that Van Jones was present in our sanctuary this January, a guest of the Midsouth Peace and Justice Center, sharing ideas for a "green economy". Our latest step: installing motion detectors on our lights. You'd be surprised how much energy we're saving!
We're excited about the Cooper-Young neighborhood - which is why we love working with the Cooper-Young Farmers' Market, for example, and the Cooper-Young neighborhood and business associations.
We're excited to work for justice and peace in any way we can, which is why we love to partner with the Memphis Gay/Lesbian Community Center, the Midsouth Peace and Justice Center, Tennesseans for Fair Taxation and the Tennesseans for Equality project.
We're excited about the creative voice of the arts, which is why we support such an active arts program through our own sanctuary space, why we partner with the Eroica Ensemble, Voices of the South, and host arts events as much as we can.
The journey of faith is never boring!
We've come from all sorts of places spiritually. Some of us came to First Congo because we wanted to connect deeper with our Christian roots. Others of us have not been involved in church before and we're experiencing a church community for the first time.
Here are some of the things that excite us about being part of the First Congregational family.
Faith :: Christianity :: Getting Started